[Square Chapel Centre for the Arts][]Mutton - Freshly Dressed!

The Rise and Fall
of Square Chapel

The book

[Book cover]

The brief history on these pages is adapted from Jessica Sutcliffe's book about the history and architecture of Square Chapel. The book is on sale at the Box Office.

The origins of the building

Square Chapel was built in 1772 and designed by the eighteen-year-old Thomas Bradley (it is believed that Bradley also designed the Piece Hall).

When it was first constructed it must have been an astonishing sight, a commanding red box set in green fields and uncompromisingly modern. It was very large and the sixty-foot-long trusses were approaching the limits of timber technology.

[1772 Drawing]
Drawing, 1772

Even its colour was striking for it was built in fashionable red brick with stone dressings, and the contrast of these materials may have been emphasised by being painted. There are traces of paint on brickwork and stone on all four walls which have been analysed and found to contain a mixture of lime, linseed oil and bull's blood.

The esteemed preacher and former collier Titus Knight, who was almost certainly responsible for having Square Chapel built, became its first pastor. He wrote a poem, Hhadash Hamishcan, to counteract criticism of the expense.

[Rev. Titus Knight]
Rev. Titus Knight

It was a time when religious ferment was rife in the hills of West Yorkshire. John Wesley visited the chapel in July 1772 and described it thus:

"My old friend, Titus Knight, offered me the use of his new meeting, larger than Dr Taylor's at Norwich, ...and finished with the utmost elegance; but I judged more people would attend in the open air, so I preached in the cow market to a huge multitude."

The nineteenth century

In the years that followed Knight's death, Halifax was expanding rapidly and the nineteenth century saw an astonishing acceleration in the pace of industrialisation.

Square Chapel continued to flourish. A town map of 1825 showed an extension attached to the west end which presumably was used for vestry purposes and later to house some sort of school. By 1855 it seems that the school extension had become too small and land was sought to build a new one, but a decision was eventually made to build a new church instead.

The architect Joseph James designed an impressive church in gothic style with a spire, 235 feet tall.

The last service held in Square Chapel was on 12 June, 1857. The building now became a Sunday School and major alterations were made to the interior. The pulpit and galleries were taken out and replaced by a floor at gallery level. The space below was divided with a wide central corridor and several rooms to either side.

The twentieth century

[Square Congregational Church]
Square Congregational
Church, 1970

Church and Sunday school flourished side by side but the later years of the nineteenth century saw a gradual decline in the church's fortunes which carried on and accelerated into the twentieth century. Square Church closed its doors in 1969 and two years later was destroyed by fire. Now only the spire and foundations remain.

Square Chapel itself is remembered by many citizens of Halifax as an assembly hall used for classes, school-prize givings, Boys' Brigade groups and rehearsals for the Square Orchestra. It was requisitioned by the army in 1939 and never fully recovered from the beating it took!

Like the church, the chapel was to suffer from vandalism and arson. It was acquired by Calderdale Council in 1969 but they were unable to find a suitable use for it and sought permission to demolish. Despite being a grade II listed building, Square Chapel remained seriously threatened for several years until in 1988 when it was bought by the Square Chapel Trust...

» The restoration work