Welcome

Situated in beautiful countryside on the edge of Ogden Moor, Mount Zion is one of only two heritage chapels to be found in Calderdale. The Grade II* listed chapel provides important evidence of a continuing Christian presence, firmly rooted in the past, but seeking to influence the present and inform the future.

Mount Zion is an historically significant Christian Methodist place of worship, now no longer used for its original purpose on a regular basis. It is a ‘heritage’ chapel. Sympathetically preserved and maintained (through its architecture, art, artefacts and archives) Mount Zion both tells the story of Methodism and aspires to help people to explore aspects of our collective wider, shared history and heritage. It is not a museum, it is a vibrant, living space, which may be accessed and used in a variety of ways by the community, people of all ages and of all faiths and none.

Mount Zion is important in the history of Methodism. John Wesley regularly visited and stayed in the sexton’s cottage which adjoins the chapel, in a room known as the ‘Prophet’s Chamber’.

 

Furniture and artefacts from the ‘Prophet’s Chamber’.

 

The first chapel was erected in 1773 and replaced by the current one in 1815. The original foundation stone and the 18th century sundial remain and the Chapel’s interior was designed by Leeming and Leeming in 1881. The original pew rent board is still in situ and the Belgian organ dating back to 1892 remains in working order.

The Chapel houses the Hird Collection of Methodist ceramics and a range of important documents and artefacts. A comprehensive record of baptisms and burials at Mount Zion over the centuries, may be found on the data base on this website, along with a detailed plan of the monumental graveyard which surrounds the Chapel.

 

Mount Zion Sunrise

 

© Mount Zion Heritage Chapel
Page updated: February 22 2024
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