Burnhope Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel next to the Colliery School in 1880. This fell into ruin after the second world war. The new mine owner, Utrick Ritson allowed the Primitive Methodists to hold their meetings in the Colliery Office, while they raised funds to build their own chapel.
It is built of brick and local stone. Men of the Methodist faith went to the local quarry (Ibbetson’s Sike) with picks, shovels and wheelbarrows, hewed the stone and wheeled it back to the site of the new chapel. The women of the village made clippy mats, quilts and underwear in order to raise funds. Sewing meetings were held in various homes where everything was made by hand. An exhibition was held in the Colliery School for fundraising.
The Chapel building was completed in 1888. The opening services were held on Saturday February 16th 1889. Following the first services, a public tea was held in the Colliery School room.
The Consett Guardian newspaper of 22nd February 1889 described the new chapel as, “A neat Gothic structure standing on a slight eminence at the east entrance to the village, and may be looked on as being quite an ornament and credit to the place.” It had a seating capacity of 200.
At the time of opening there was a membership of 74 with 68 Sunday School children and 11 male teachers.
In 1938 at the Jubilee celebration the Sunday School had a membership of 130 scholars and 14 teachers.
Over the years many repairs, renovations and installations have been carried out, most notably in 1907 the arrival of the pipe organ. The money for this expense was a loan which was repaid by 1909. In 1927, numbers of the Women’s Own group provided a communion rail.
Originally the organ had to be pumped by hand.
Mr Harry Baron was a member of Park Primitive Methodist Chapel. He joined the Junior Endeavour Youth Group, became a member of the choir and a Sunday school Teacher. He remembers celebrating the Chapel Anniversaries which took place on 2 consecutive Sundays. A quote from myprimitivemethodists.org.uk states “Anniversaries were there to serve the needs of the church, in mission, evangelism and ministry.”
Methodists have tended to celebrate anniversaries, remembering when a chapel was opened or when the Sunday School started.
Many said it was an opportunity to dress up, parade through the streets singing, and return to the chapel where parents would be queuing up outside for the “saying of pieces”. There were always refreshments to be shared.
In the early days of carol singing, the men took their fiddles around the outlying villages, and after playing and singing they were invited into Holmside Old Hall. Each one was given a hunk of yeasty cake and a chunk of cheese.
In later years, members of St John’s Church congregation joined together with chapel goers for carol singing around the area and were provided with refreshments along the route.
The Park Primitive Methodist Chapel finally closed in December 2021 due to falling congregation numbers and the rising cost of upkeep.