“Too small for factories.” That quote attributed to King Edward VII perfectly captures the essence of chapels like this one on the Isle of Man. Today, we explore the story of Chapel.
Chapels dotting the Manx landscape hold a special place in the island’s heritage. For almost 1500 years, Christian heritage has marked the Isle of Man. The landscape is filled with stories of John Wesley. It tells about people converted by him and how their faith was passed down.
Methodist chapels sprung up across the island. They mirrored the earlier keeills. Keeills were small earth and stone chapels of the Celtic missionaries. There were about 200 of each. This was in an area of only 227 square miles. Today, about 34 keeill sites still have something to see. Around 33 Methodist chapels remain open. Many former Methodist buildings remain but serve other purposes.
Methodism arrived on the Isle of Man in 1758. John Murlin was diverted by a storm in the Irish Sea. He was known as “the weeping prophet.” Murlin is remembered with a plaque in Wesley’s Chapel. He is also buried in Wesley’s tomb. Murlin made little impact. Methodism did not get established until John Crook arrived in 1775. Crook based himself in Peel. Peel was the main fishing port. Each summer, Peel welcomed the herring fleet. It included many Cornish boats. Cornwall became a Methodist stronghold.
The first Methodist meeting place was a summer house. It was at Mount Morrison. It overlooked Peel Bay and St Patrick’s Isle. The summer house is said to have housed smuggled goods. The summer house was demolished. Parts of the walls remain. They form a corner of the garden wall to Mount Morrison.
By Wesley’s first visit in 1777, a chapel had been built in the town below. It was near the sea front in Shore Road. Wesley used this building during his visits in 1777 and 1781. During his second visit, John Wesley was in Kirk Michael. He stopped to look at the plain tomb-stones of Bishop Wilson and Bishop Hildesley. Their remains are side by side. It is at the east end of the church.
Wesley did not like the Manx language. His hymns were not translated and printed until 1795. The Isle of Man has a good cross section of chapel styles. They range from simple country chapels to large town churches. They feature horseshoe galleries. Many of the 200 Methodist chapels built were for Primitive Methodist societies. A very few were of the Methodist New Connexion.
John Butcher was sent by the Bolton Circuit to mission the island. He arrived in 1822. He established at least 14 societies within 12 months. Hugh Bourne and William Clowes visited the Isle of Man. They filled the chapels. They held camp meetings.
In 1848, William Hartley was appointed Town Missioner for Douglas. He was based at a floating chapel. It was moored in Douglas Harbour. This was an Anglican enterprise. It developed into “The Bethel.” It was also known as “Douglas Town and Seamen’s Mission.” Hartley died later that year of typhus fever. He was the grandfather of Sir William Hartley. Sir William Hartley was the benefactor of Hartley College. William is buried in the family grave. It is in the churchyard of St George’s Church in Douglas.
In the 1940s, the Isle of Man District gifted a cover for the communion table. It went to Wesley’s Chapel. The cover had carvings. They were based on Norse designs. These designs came from Celtic crosses from the island. The original stones are mainly housed in parish churches.
Set at the center of the British Isles, the Isle of Man has the oldest Parliament. It is called Tynwald. Methodist Church members have played a considerable part in the island’s government. Chapels like this one stand as testaments to a vibrant spiritual history. They blend Celtic, Viking, and Methodist influences. They reflect the Isle of Man’s unique identity.