Mankinholes Chapel (Part 1)

There are several generations of Hileys buried in the graveyard of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Mankinholes, high on the moors above the Calder valley.

The next few posts will look at the history of the chapel, the Hileys who are buried there and Henry Hiley's memories of burials at the chapel.

From Calderdale Council Lumbutts & Mankinholes Conservation Area Character Appraisal 2008:

There is a long-established and strong tradition of non-conformism in the Upper Calder Valley - people in the area had always fought against outside authority and whilst their faith was very important to them, the community had largely dissented from the established church. A strong core of Quakers, formed in 1653, would meet illegally in each other's houses. Many local people were prosecuted for holding these illegal meetings, and for not paying their church levies. Pilkington Farm on Mankinholes Bank was well known at the time as a Quaker meeting house and was also used as a burial ground.

Other religious dissenters in the area included early Methodists, some of whom were known to and admired by John Wesley. Wesley himself visited Mankinholes in 1755, with the Wesleyan Methodists establishing a congregation there in 1814. A chapel was built to serve the communities of Mankinholes and Lumbutts as well as the surrounding area of Langfield, and a Sunday school was added in 1833. By 1836 the members of the congregation were at odds with each other and an eventual split occurred with a break-away group establishing their own chapel at Lumbutts in 1837.

The original Mankinholes chapel with the Sunday School building on the right
1905-1910
Included with the permission of Daniel Birch

The original Mankinholes chapel was entirely re-built in 1911, leaving the Sunday school as it was. When another chapel closed down in 1954 its stained glass windows were transferred to Mankinholes. The congregation continued to flourish, but the building declined with structural decay and dry rot leading to its demolition in 1979, with the stained glass being moved to the rival chapel at Lumbutts. The burial ground remains together with the Sunday school building which was sold off as a private residence.

Inscription on the old Sunday School building

Many of the Hileys who lived in Walsden in the 1800s and early 1900s were active in the Methodist Church. Henry Hiley wrote 'We were Wesleyan Methodists. My great grandfather, Charles, had helped to start a chapel in Walsden, my grandfather, Samuel, was a big worker there, my Uncle Frank as well.'

The graveyard at Mankinholes

There are 7 graves at Mankinholes with a total of 27 Hileys (or people with Hiley connections) buried in them.