Chowbent Chapel

The origins of Chowbent Chapel are a consequence of events that happened in 1715. The first chapel in Atherton, a chapel of ease to Leigh Parish Church was a "small brick edifice", dedicated to St. John the Baptist at Chowbent. It was built in 1645 "on land owned and loaned by “Ye Lord of Atherton", John Atherton, a supporter of religious dissent. Sometimes referred to as the Old Bent Chapel, it was not consecrated and used by a Presbyterian congregation. The chapel was also used by the vicar of Leigh who used a Bible and Book of Common Prayer which were kept there for his use. During the 1715 Jacobite rising, its fourth minister, James Wood and members of his congregation were asked to…

The chapel dates from 1721 on land donated by Nathan Mort of neighbouring Alder House It is built in rustic brick, in Flemish bond on a rubble sandstone plinth, with stone quoins, an eaves cornice and a slate roof. The side elevations have three bays and the rear four bays, both have round-arched windows. On the roof is a small cupola housing a single bell. A two-storey extension was added on the south side in 1901. Its facade has a gable pediment with an oculus within the tympanum. There is a fanlight above the double doors with a sundial above and a commemorative plaque above that.