St John's Chapel
| St John's Chapel | |
| County Durham | |
|---|---|
 St John's Chapel Town Hall | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NY883380 |
| Location: | 54°44’13"N, 2°10’48"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 307 (2001) |
| Postcode: | DL13 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | County Durham |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Bishop Auckland |
St John's Chapel is a village by Stanhope in County Durham. It is found in Weardale, on the south side of the River Wear on the A689 road down the dale between Daddry Shield and Ireshopeburn.
The 2001 census reported a population of 307, which has remained fairly stable for 30 years, this masks the out-migration mainly of the younger generation affecting the population structure.
Originally St John's Chapel was a medieval hunting stop. It then grew as a centre of lead mining after 1600.
History
St John's Chapel was the penultimate stop of the Weardale Extension Railway which opened on 21 October 1895, being mainly a freight line carrying limestone, iron ore, lead ore and fluorspar to the industrial areas Lancashire. It closed to passenger traffic in 1953 and later to freight in 1963. The station was entirely demolished.[1]
About the village
St John's Chapel Town Hall was completed in 1868.[2]
St John's Chapel is increasingly popular with cyclists, walkers and bird watchers. In 2013 a Visitor Information Point was opened in the Market Place. The village has two pubs, the Blue Bell and the Golden Lion, and one café called Chatterbox.
Churches
The parish Church is dedicated to St John the Baptist (from where the place name originates). The present building was built in 1752 on a medieval chapel of ease. The medieval chapel was extant in 1465 when bishop Lawrence Booth granted a chantry to be set up. Sir Walter Blackett provided funds for the rebuilding. The chancel was extended by Ewan Christian 1881–1883.[3][4][5]
A Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1852 and demolished in 1960. The Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built in 1869.
Events
The Weardale Show - organised by the Weardale Agricultural Society - is a family-friendly agricultural event held in the village in the last weekend of August.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about St John's Chapel) |
References
- ↑ Nick Catford. "St. John's Chapel Station". Disused Stations in the UK. http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/s/st.johns_chapel/index.shtml.
- ↑ "St John's Chapel to Burtreeford, Cowshill & Wearhead". NYD Walks. https://www.nydwalks.co.uk/post/st-john-s-chapel-to-burtreeford-carshill-wearhead.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1232171: Church of St John the Baptist, Stanhope (Grade II listing)
- ↑ Egglestone, William Morley (1878). Stanhope Memorials of Bishop Butler. pp. 92.
- ↑ Parson, William (1827). History, directory, and gazetteer of the counties of Durham and Northumberland, Volume 1. pp. 271–272.