Zion Independent Congregational Chapel in Upper Settle

Zion Independent Chapel was built in 1816 into the steep hillside of Upper Settle and for the next two centuries played an important part in the life of the town and surrounding area. Sadly, due to falling congregations, it closed in 2015 just a year short of its bi-centenary. The Chapel trustees tried hard to find a buyer for the chapel and adjoining manse and cottage but were unsuccessful and have therefore very kindly donated them to the North Craven Building Preservation Trust (NCBPT), to ensure the future of this fine Grade II - listed building and its site.

The reason we know so much about Zion is because the Chapel trustees have also donated their entire archive to the Museum of North Craven Life, housed close by in The Folly; from their earliest days they kept everything faithfully, enabling us to access minute books, registers, accounts, bills, magazines, photographs and many portable objects stretching back over 200 years. This collection of about 1,000 items has been recently enriched through the donation, by his granddaughter, of the papers of the Revd. George Moffat, Zion’s longest-serving minister.

Zion was one of the three first places of worship to be built in Settle. There was no parish church in the town until 1838 as Settle was a part of the ancient parish of Giggleswick. The Quaker Meeting House was built in 1678 and the first Wesleyan Chapel in 1796.

Nonconformity flourished in Craven thanks to the efforts of ‘The Itinerants’, a group based in the industrial West Riding who made it a part of their mission to strengthen the churches in rural areas. Their stirring preaching drew great crowds in Settle and it is reported that at one open-air gathering in 1813 an audience of ‘not less than a thousand’ was present. There was clearly a pressing need to build a chapel! The response of the working people of Settle was astounding. Within a year or so, the sum of £200 had been raised. The Itinerary Society contributed a further £100, land was purchased from Mr John Birkbeck and the new chapel was erected in 1816. The situation of the chapel is of particular significance, standing as it does at one of the highest vantage points in the town and close to the majority of the working population who lived in Upper Settle, many of whom were employed in the wide range of occupations that existed close to home. Independent chapels were often named after places in the Bible. Zion was the name of the original hilltop fortress captured by King David which became the oldest part of the city of Jerusalem. Time and again in the Psalms Zion is mentioned symbolically as ‘the holy hill’ and ‘the City of the Lord’. Settle’s Zion Chapel could not be better named!

The early years in the life of the chapel were far from easy. The congregation was entirely responsible for managing and funding its own affairs, including the payment of a minister.

There were frequent changes of minister and many periods when services were taken by students from Idle Academy near Bradford, who often had to make the journey to Settle on foot, a distance of some 35 miles. The role of the chapel deacons was paramount in ensuring continuity and survival. They were dedicated men who were at the heart of community life and usually tradespeople who were in daily contact with their neighbours. Such a man was James Lambert, printer, stationer and bookseller in Cheapside, who was a member of Zion for 50 years and served as a deacon for 26.

One minister, from 1835 to 1838, the Revd. John Williams of Grassington reduced the congregation to a state of chaos and was asked to resign because he actively preached against the Temperance movement! Another, the Revd. William Jackson was, in 1852, asked to resign because of neglect of his duties. At this point a unique development took place - for a period of several months the Revd. Rowland Ingram, having just resigned as vicar of Giggleswick, preached at Zion every Sunday evening, providing a first example of inter-denominational co-operation and community spirit which was a hallmark of Zion ever after. In those days, the chapel interior was very bare and uncomfortable with upright deal pews, forms for the children and a big iron stove which either smoked, scalded everyone with hot steam or went out; the gallery was not used in winter, there was no floor-covering of any kind and the space was lit by groups of tallow candles which had to be trimmed during the service and frequently went out - much to the delight of the youngsters. There were two ‘singing pews’ but no instrument except a bass fiddle, played by Titus Nelson.

There was a change for the better after the appointment of the Revd. Samuel Compston in 1855; he was the first minister to really ‘settle’ in Settle and he set the pattern for all the dedicated ministers who followed right up to the closure of the chapel in 2015. Samuel revitalised the life of Zion: the long-standing chapel debt was extinguished, a choir formed, a harmonium (and later a pipe organ) bought and a number of mid-week activities begun. The interior of the Chapel was completely refitted in the early 1870s and a schoolroom built on at the back which also served as a hall with a stage for entertainments.

The pattern of services on Sundays was simply amazing by today’s standards: morning Sunday School, followed by morning service, followed by afternoon school, followed by afternoon service, followed by evening service! This pattern, with the later omission of the afternoon service continued well into the 20th century. Many people travelled a distance and services were also held in the workhouse at Giggleswick, Tosside Chapel and outlying farmhouses.

Social activities were numerous and there was something happening nearly every weekday evening - choir, orchestra, sewing circle, woodwork class, young people’s fellowship, men’s and ladies’ evenings and dramatic society; most of these regular activities contributed to the ongoing need to raise funds for all aspects of Zion’s work including missionary work. Entertainments, ‘socials’ and garden parties were a regular part of the calendar and involved the whole local community, taking place in venues across the district, including the Music Hall (later the Victoria Hall) and the gardens of the larger houses such as Ashfield, Cragdale and Whitefriars. On top of all this the groups arranged outings and even holidays to different parts of the country. The sheer amount of organisation that went on is quite breathtaking!

The Sunday schools were especially important for the part they played in broadening the overall education of the children; as well as studying scripture, the children went on regular rambles in the hills above Settle and learned about the natural history and antiquities of the area. They collected specimens, carried out scientific experiments and were expected to write up their discoveries afterwards. They were also encouraged to write and put on plays and other entertainments. Two of Zion’s most famous sons - the Revd. Benjamin Waugh who founded the NSPCC and Dr James Riley who as a medical researcher in Dundee did groundbreaking work on mast cells, greatly advancing our understanding of how to treat and manage inflammatory and respiratory conditions - received their earliest education at Zion’s Sunday School. James Riley has recently been honoured with a bronze plaque on the newly designed Waterfront development in Dundee.

The Revd. George Moffat was Zion’s longest-serving Minister and on his retirement in 1976 he was presented with a book of memories, which contain a whole range of anecdotes, some serious and others light-hearted. Here is just one of them, recalling the 1934 Junior Christmas party: “We could not believe our EARS! Father Christmas was coming along the narrow passage to the Sunday School door on a HORSE! Poor creature! It must have hated coming into that warm, brightly-lit room and being pushed through the doors ... Then it happened. Horse manure all over the school room floor. Following was a distraught Mr Nelson with a bucket and shovel trying to catch the mess as it fell ...”

So what of the future for this greatly-loved building and its role at the heart of community life in the town? At the time of writing a small team of NCBPT trustees have been tasked with putting together a schedule of activities for the development of Zion and investigating funding opportunities. In these uncertain times we must all hope that the necessary support will be forthcoming.

The memorial plaques and stones
(Recorded by M.J. and E.M. Slater in October 2018)
(Birth dates estimated from death date and age at death)

Eva Marsden 1905-1999
Thomas Marsden 1903-1973
Peggy Robinson 1922-2010
Violet Amy Squire 1877-1878
John Barret Squire 1851-1907
Marie Squire 1846-1919
Mary Hardacre 1803-1866
Samuel Hardacre 1839-1871
John Hardacre 1811-1884
Elizabeth Bentley 1870-1875
Phebe (sic) Thomson ?-?
James Thomson 1807-188(5?)
Thomas Atkinson Morphet 1810-1875
Sarah Morphet 1820-1879
Jane Lord 1848-1892
Joseph Severs 1807-1857
Isa(bell)a Thomson ? — 1854
Elizabeth Thomson ? -1832
Ja(...) Thomson ?-1861
Esther Ann Ineson 1827-1880
Darius Ineson 1822-1898
William Lord 1843-1859
Grace Lord 1815-1889
John Lord 1816-1894
Sarah Bell 1848-1872
Sarah Jane Bell 1872-872 (4 months)
Arthur Bell (1873-1874 (14 months)
Janet Bell 1878-1884
Mercy Dugdale 1826-1861
Mary Dugdale infant daughter
Maria Louisa Dugdale 1858-1879
William Dugdale 1831-1909
Mary Dugdale 1824-1911
Alice Dugdale 1864-1938
Henry Dugdale 1865-1954