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Jonas Lee and his chapel
Page 113
It seems that the Methodist community at Southfield had an influence on the establishment of the first recorded Methodist Chapel in Briercliffe. One of the staunchest members at Southfield appears to have been the indefatigable Jonas Lee. Born c.1783 he was a lay preacher who firstly addressed congregations at Southfield and Pendle Bottoms, but he resolved to build a chapel at Thursden, where he lived. (Jonas was the uncle of his namesake, the Minister at Hill Lane).
In those days Thursden was a remote, but fairly populous place. All the farms were occupied, (though Jerusalem was yet to be built), and there were quite a number of cottages in the valley which have all but disappeared. (Goes on to talk about industry.)
Jonas Lee was one of a large family which had branches residing at a number of places in or near Thursden. There were Lees at Shuttleworth Pasture (two families) and Cockridge, but Jonas lived at Thursden Scars where in 1841 there were ten dwellings. Some of these were the cottages at the bottom of Badger Lane, the foundations of which can still be seen, but most of the houses were set back from the river where Thursden Cottage now stands.
It seems that there were three distinct buildings at Thursden Scars; the present Thursden Cottage, (which was then divided into at least two dwellings); another, larger building at right angles to the cottage and lying in the direction of Broadbank House; and, thirdly, there was a small building in front of these two. Jonas Lee had part of the second building. It was of three storeys, almost certainly designed as a 'handloom weaving factory', not unlike Higher Buildings and Hill Factory at Lane bottom.
Although he was not a builder, Jonas, in 1813 converted the uppermost floor of his house into what became know as Thursden Chapel. He installed rough pews and made a pulpit, according to legend, out if an old gig. A 'lecturn' was fixed to the splash board. One of the wheels of the gig must have been in full view of the congregation for Jonas is reputed to have preached from the text, 'A cart wheel' (Isaiah, ch.27 v.27) on a number of occasions.
There is more about Jonas but I will skip to the next paragraph about the chapel.
The chapel at Thursden does not seem to have survived its creator for long. It was a tumbledown, roofless ruin by the 1880's, but by that time Thursden was declining rapidly. Jonas Lee's house and chapel were abandoned to nature, but they remained images of a romantic past. One writer put it in the following manner:
"At the head of clough the stream is spanned by a small stone bridge. Descending to the bed of the brook a good picture of Thursden is obtained, a picture framed by the shoulders of the hills through which Thursden water forces its way. Sitting by the edge of the stream, we can see in the foreground the ruins of an old building. This is known as Jonas Lee's chapel...The chapel now stands lonely and ruinous in this wild clough."
Another writer wrote the following in reference to the chapel. He was writing in 1896.
And yonder is the chapel, across the valley, where his (Jonas Lee's) voice would thunder or plead according as the subject he held in hand might dictate. But the little sanctuary is now dismantled. Its walls are roofless, its windows destitute of panes, its garden walls stand, but the garden is overrun with weeds. The sweet singers are not there, birds find a home in the cracks of its walls, and the whole place wears a woebgone yet kindly look, that tells of a generation very many of which have passed to the shadow land."
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Mel
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