Image ID: 13676

Old Meeting House, Stockwell Gate, Mansfield, 1972

Courtesy of J W Purdy

Stockwell Gate
Mansfield
England

The chapel was founded in 1662 when ministers thrown out of their livings for failing to accept the Act of Uniformity sought refuge in Mansfield because the town was not then a corporate borough. At first they met in the old Parsonage - later occupied by a firm of solicitors - under the guidance of the Rev. Robert Porter. When the Act of Toleration was passed in 1689 most of the ministers returned home, but the Rev. Porter remained to lead the congregation that had come into existence. The Meeting House itself was built in 1701 - 100 yards away from the main road by law. Since 1701 there have been four major extensions to the chapel changing the entrances, building an organ chamber and constructing a new entrance porch in memory of the wife of Mr John Harrop White, who wrote a book on the Meeting House's history. Inside the chapel is further evidence of its long and beautiful past. An Act of Parliament Clock, dating from around 1748, still keeps good time, attractive stained glass windows line the walls and the two old centre pillars are made from solid Sherwood Forest Oak.

Date: 1972

Organisation Reference: NCCM001515

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