ONE of the high spots in the history of Delph Independent Chapel came in its early years.
“The villagers were on their best behaviour and didn’t clod him,” wrote Ammon Wrigley of a famous visit by cleric, theologian and evangelist John Wesley.
The date was April 7, 1780, with Wesley’s appearance later celebrated in a bust that had a prominent place in the Chapel.
Delph’s gain was at the expense of Heights Chapel where he was banned from preaching.
In a book by Marty Rogers, Wesley said of his trip: “I went to Delph, a little village upon the mountains where a remarkable work of God is just broke out.”
One of the Chapel’s most revered ministers was Noah Blackburn who served his congregation from 1786 to 1821.
The Gartside family were remembered in an impressive monument including Henry Gartside who built Christ Church, Denshaw and John Gartside, founder of Gartside Breweries.
In 1866, the Chapel was rebuilt courtesy of monies provided by Misses Buckley from Hollyville in Greenfield. London architects WG Habershon and AR Pite were recruited. They designed other ecclesiastical buildings in Marple and Stockport.
After the church’s closure as place of worship it became a set for a Channel 4 film, Resurrected, starring Rita Tushingham, Tom Bell and David Thewlis.
It told the story of a soldier, thought to have been killed in the Falklands conflict, but who reappears, apparently suffering with amnesia. The first 10 minutes of the movie are shot on location, in and around Delph.
Again, captions would be real handy.