Chowbent Chapel - History

History

The origins of Chowbent Chapel are a consequence of events that happened in 1715. The first chapel in Atherton, a chapel of ease to Leigh Parish Church was a "small brick edifice", dedicated to St. John the Baptist at Chowbent. It was built in 1645 "on land owned and loaned by “Ye Lord of Atherton", John Atherton, a supporter of religious dissent. Sometimes referred to as the Old Bent Chapel, it was not consecrated and used by a Presbyterian congregation. The chapel was also used by the vicar of Leigh who used a Bible and Book of Common Prayer which were kept there for his use.

It was a long, low building having three windows and a porch on the south side and a large window in the east gable......... The pulpit was of the old-fashioned Puritan three-tier style. ..........

In 1715, during the Jacobite Uprising, its fourth minister, James Wood and members of his congregation were asked to guard the bridge at Walton le Dale and the ford at Penwortham near Preston against the supporters of the Old Pretender who were marching on Preston. The Chowbenters were successful but in doing so offended Richard Atherton who would inherit the Atherton manor and on whose land the chapel was built. In 1721 Richard Atherton, a staunch supporter of James II, expelled the congregation on political grounds.