Askam in Furness, Duddon Road WM Chapel, Lancashire
Askam in Furness, Duddon Road WM Chapel was erected in 1870 at a cost of £375. There were 300 sittings in 1873. It probably closed when the new chapel opened in 1909. Its exact location has not been established.
Sources
Cumbria Archives Service Carlisle DFCM1/2/82-97, Carlisle WM District property schedules, 1862-1877
Cumbria Archives Service Carlisle DFCM3/1/43-62 Carlisle WM District property schedules, 1898-1917
Wesleyan seating returns, 1873
Carlisle Library, 1A287, Methodist Property Statistics 1940, 1980, 1991
Askam in Furness, Duddon Road WM Chapel, Lancashire
Grid ref SD213777
Askham in Furness, Duddon Road WM Chapel was erected in 1909. In 1940 the chapel had 300 sittings on forms and there was a schoolroom. By 1980 the number of sittings had fallen to 100. It continues to be used as a Methodist place of worship. This building is an example of the experimental strain which entered Wesleyan architecture in the early years of the twentieth century in contrast (1) to the traditional gothic which remained the style of choice elsewhere (2). The walls, which were probably of brick like the perimeter wall, have been rendered and make a sharp contrast with the red facings. These are partly of brick and partly of the then fashionable terra cotta. Gothic was not abandoned but it is used in innovative ways such as the patterned brickwork above the three light window. The newel caps on the perimeter wall are a striking but egregious feature. Sandstone was probably chosen for the principal foundation stones for practical reasons.
1 See also Milnthorpe, Beetham Road (1904) in Westmorland and Cookham Rise in Berkshire
2 eg Brampton, Main Street in Cumberland of 1900 and Sedbergh in Yorkshire (now Cumbria) of 1914.
Sources
Cumbria Archives Service Carlisle DFCM3/1/43-62 Carlisle WM District property schedules, 1898-1917
Carlisle Library, 1A287, Methodist Property Statistics 1940, 1980, 1991
Site visit, 23.7.2016
Comments about this page
Askam is correct
It is fortunate that the Methodist Church does not subscribe to the doctrine of infallibility. The official accommodation returns consistently mispelt the name of these chapels from 1873 to 1947 (for understandable reasons the 1940 returns were delayed). By 1971, however, the Chapels Department had discovered the correct spelling.
If the Ordnance Survey is to believed, the 1870 chapel occupied part of the plot now covered by the current chapel. See the 1891 and 1911 editions of Lancashire XV.4 25 inches to the mile.
Interestingly, it is listed as Askham in the Statistical Returns of Methodist Church Buildings, 1941, so either the village dropped the ‘h’ at some point or we have perpetuated a historic typo!
Either way it is certainly Askam now
Thank you for alerting us to this, I have corrected the name to Askam
Name of Place and Church:
Ashkan or Askan? All maps give the name of the place as Askan, as does the church board in your pictures, but you call it Ashkan. Which is correct?.
I assume “Roas” also should be “Road”
I am a New Zealand Methodist
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