History of Mount Zion Chapel
During the years of the construction of the Settle-Carlisle railway and
the 22 cottages at Hawes Junction and Moorcock, the Midland Railway
Company contractors provided a wooden structure, near to the railway
bridge that marks the county boundary, for use as a school, reading
room, and chapel. Once construction work was complete, and a
permanent community was in residence, the Middleham Primitive Methodist
Circuit raised funds for a permanent chapel. Reuben Alton,
the
coal merchant who lived at 14 Junction Cottages, must have been on good
terms with the Railway Company's officials, because the
stonemasons engaged to
build the new chapel were Groves & Woodiwiss who had built the
new
station and cottages. The style matched that of the cottages,
with a front of Bradford stone, and the chapel was painted in the
colours of the Midland Railway: maroon and cream. As far as
we
know, this is the only place of worship to be built by railway
contractors. The circuit paid for the work by asking each
chapel
in the Middleham circuit to raise one pound and nine pence, and Reuben
Alton laid the foundation stone on May 1st 1876, to
coincide with the opening of the Settle-Carlisle line to passenger
trains on that exact day. Did he lay the stone as the first
passenger train crossed the Dandry Mire viaduct? The
chapel was completed for the opening services on October 7th. that same
year, and was originally known as "Mount Zion", though in
December it
was decided to call it "Hawes Junction" on the Middleham Circuit plan.
For over a hundred years, the chapel thrived, with a
membership
of up to fifty, and at one time there were seventy children on the
Sunday-School roll. Regular weekly services continued up to
1999, but membership dropped to just two. Special services
continued, and attempts were made to support the small congregation for
monthly morning services in 2000. The "Friends of Hawes
Junction
Chapel" were formed to raise funds to arrange special services, and to
maintain the building for religious and community use. We
have
been amazed at the support of so many friends, and this generous
support, together with
a grant from the Methodist Circuit, has enabled the building of the
recent extension to
provide a toilet with disabled access, and a utility area.
The
chapel has also been redecorated inside and out in the original Midland
Railway colours.
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