THIS morning's Memories appears without a picture of Greenbank Chapel at the top end of Bondgate in Darlington. It appears as if, as usual, I wrote so much there was not room, so once again the blog acts as overspill.
Alan Hardwick has kindly provided the view up Bondgate towards the Primitive Methodist chapel, an enormous ecclesiastical edifice, that was built in 1879. He believes that the "mystery" Methodist picture that has appeared in the column these last two weeks could be of the chapel; other theories are that it is of the one that used to be in Station Road, Redcar. As both are gone, it is difficult to know how to adjudicate, unless readers can provide further information.
As this morning's column says, the Primitives split from the Wesleyans in 1807. Their branch established itself in Darlington in 1822, and I believe they had a little chapel somewhere in the Woodlands area - where St Teresa's Hospice is today. Whether it was a proper brick-built affair, I cannot say. It may have been a shed.
Greenbank, which was on the corner of Greenbank Road and built on the corner of the Greenbank Estate, always looks to me to be of gargantuan proportions, overshadowing everything in that area of town. It cost so much to build that its congregation didn't pay off its mortgage until during the First World War. Now a block of flats, built curiously on stilts, is on its site.
The Greenbank chapel's congregation amalgamated with Bondgate's in 1963, and its last service was held in September 1965. I think that in the fantastic Memories of Darlington 3, there may be details of the last marriage service held there, but someone has nicked my copy off my office shelves and it is now out of print.
The chapel was demolished in 1967.
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