Bethesda Methodist Chapel

History of Bethesda Methodist Chapel

The Grade II*-listed Bethesda Methodist Chapel in Stoke-on-Trent, is one of England’s grandest town chapels, impressive for its size, ambitious in its architectural design and in its heyday capable of attracting huge congregations to hear many noted preachers. For a long time during the 19th century, Bethesda was Stoke’s most popular place of worship.

Known as ‘the Cathedral of the Potteries’, the two-storey Bethesda Methodist Chapel dates from 1819 and is one of the largest surviving chapels outside London, seating 2,000 people. It closed for worship in 1985 after congregations dwindled and is currently on Historic England’s heritage at risk register, where its condition is described as ‘fair’.

Urgent structural repairs to the exterior of the chapel were completed with the help of £108,716 funding from the UK government’s Cultural Assets Fund which was distributed by the National Heritage Memorial Fund. The funding was part of a £3,689,000 investment awarded in 2022 to Historic Chapels Trust, to support urgent conservation works for Bethesda Methodist Chapel and seven other Grade I and Grade II* listed chapels in England, all on Historic England’s Heritage At Risk Register. The repairs were a key milestone for the Historic Chapels Trust to find suitable long-term owners for the chapels and secure their futures.

In 2003 the chapel gained national attention when it came fourth in the BBC’s Restoration television series, which saw viewers vote for which listed building would win a grant for remedial works. It has been owned by the Historic Chapels Trust, which looks after redundant non-conformist and Catholic places of worship in England, since 2002.