Memories of the Chapel - can you help?
Background
Loxley Chapel was built in 1787 and closed in 1992. It is a Grade 2* listed building. Originally built as an Anglican church, it was rented out to Protestant Dissenters or Independents in 1798, and they subsequently bought the building.
Here is a view of the chapel in its heyday.
The chapel could hold 1000 worshippers, and attracted an afternoon congregation of up to 200, according to the Religious Census of 1855. It was the scene of nearly 2000 baptisms, 134 weddings and nearly 10,000 funerals. It also had a flourishing Sunday School. The chapel closed for services in 1992. The chapel and graveyard became privately owned when the chapel closed and sadly were neglected until the intervention of FoLC. Regrettably the chapel suffered a serious fire in 2016 and now is a roofless ruin.
The churchyard extends to just over 10 acres and comprises two sections, the oldest surrounds the chapel on three sides, with the first recorded burial being 1806. An extension is located above the chapel alongside Long Lane.
The site is an important part of local history, and the cemetery contains graves of interest including 13 War Commission graves and graves of some of the victims of the Sheffield Flood of 1864. The cemetery, but not the chapel itself, is now looked after by a dedicated team of volunteers under the auspices of the Friends of Loxley Cemetery (FoLC).
The Project
Next year, 2027 sees the 240th anniversary of the opening of the chapel and the FoLC Committee feel that it would be good to celebrate it by publishing a booklet covering its history which would include people’s memories of their interactions with the chapel, whether that be christenings, weddings, funerals, attendance at Sunday School or simply at services.
We recognise that the people who have personal memories are fast reducing in numbers – old age takes its toll! So, we are asking everybody who has a memory of the chapel to contribute to our proposed booklet.
You can help us by completing this short form describing your memories.
If you would rather talk to us directly, by a discussion on the telephone or face to face, we could arrange to meet you at a mutually conveniently place and time. Please text Peter Easter on 0777 830 5219 to arrange.
We are also very interested in expanding our library of pictures that we hold of the chapel and cemetery. So if you have any that we could have or copy that would be great, please contact us as above to arrange.
The small print: All contributions will be kept securely in accordance with GDPR requirements and will not be shared with other organisations, other than via the proposed booklet and FOLC website. Unless otherwise advised we will acknowledge the source of the contribution. Owing to potential space constraints it might not be possible to include all contributions received