Turnpike, Newchurch
The original chapel at Newchurch was a single storey building built on land at Burnley Road at Mill End in 1761, but after a few years the rapid increase in the congregation meant that more accommodation was needed, so a gallery added. Soon after this enlargement John Wesley himself preached there and recorded in his journal, "August 1766: I rode to Rossendale, which, notwithstanding its name is nothing else than a chain of mountains. The rain in the evening obliged us to preach in the new house near a village called Newchurch". This chapel stood until 1806 when it was sold and a new chapel and school was built at the junction of Turnpike and Bridleway at a cost of slightly over £1,000. The old School was pulled down in 1867 and the same year a new School was built, with the cornerstone being laid on the 20th of April by Mr. E. M. Sugden of Wesley Villas Rawtenstall and a trustee of Longholme Methodist Chapel.
The old chapel lasted until 1871, the last service being in June that year, and it was demolished almost immediately afterwards and the new chapel was built on the same land. The cornerstones for the new chapel were laid by Mr. Peter H. Whitehead of Rawtenstall and Mr. James Smith Sutcliffe of Bacup. The church was opened 18th July 1872. The cost of the new building was £2,200 with much of the material being used from the old chapel.
A new Sunday School was added as an extention on the West side of the building at an estimated cost of £5,000 and was opened on the 20th February 1926.
By the late 1940’s the building had deteriorated to such an extent that it was decided to pull down a large portion of the building and using material from the old site to transform the Sunday School into a place of worship. The demolition started in October 1951 with the roof coming off first and then the walls were carefully taken down and the stonework was used to build a gable end on the portion that remained. The upper floor of the Sunday School was made into a new chapel which had seating for about one hundred people.
A major modernisation was undertaken between 1985 and 1987 at an estimated cost of £20,000. with the chapel being moved from the first floor onto the ground floor to make for easier access and the upper floor was made into a modern church hall.
