| The small Gothic chapel, built in the time of Henry
VII still remains today although in 1974 arsonist set it alight
which destroyed most of the wooden ceiling. In the years following this,
the building has fallen into a state of disrepair and sadly very little
remains.
Some of the Dukinfield Family were buried at Old Hall Chapel and by
raising sections of the wooden floor, left loose on purpose, their
tombstones could be viewed. Their inscriptions read:
"Here resteth the body of Sir Robert
Dukinfield, of Dukinfield, baronet, who departed this life, November the
6th, 1729, in the 88th year of his age."
"Here resteth the body of Susanna, Daughter
of Sir Robert Dukinfield and the Ladye Dukinfield, who departed this life,
January the 21st, in the year 1722, and in the 34th year of her age."
"Here resteth the body of Martha, Daughter of
Sir Robert Dukinfield and the Ladye Dukinfield, who departed this life,
September the 13th, in the year 1723, and in the 51st year of her
age."
The chapel at Dukinfield Old Hall occupies a very
prominent place in the history of English Nonconformity, being the first
Independent Church set up in the Kingdom. This was due to the work of a
remarkable man, the Rev. Samuel Eaton M.A. (1597-1665), who was a Cheshire
man, born at Great Budworth, where his father was vicar.
The property now rests in the hands of a local business
man, Mr. Roland Bardsley, who prides himself as being a Dukinfield lad.
Mr. Bardsley over the years has bought a considerable about of Tameside
land including the land surrounding Old Hall Chapel. This makes access to
the building impossible without his permission and raises the question,
why was this land sold to him in the first place. The building can be seen
however from the Peak Forest Canal bank off Ashton Road (if you use a pair
of binoculars).
If action is not taken soon to protect this historical
building from the elements (and the occasional knock from a JCB) than
another piece of Tameside's history will be gone forever.
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