Square Chapel was built for the Rev Titus Knight, a former coal miner. He initially set up his own meeting house in cottages on Gaol Lane in 1763 for a congregation of protestant dissenters.
He was a popular preacher and quickly outgrew the Gaol Lane premises. Around £2000 was raised and Square Chapel was built. It opened in 1772.
The Rev Cockin (who went on to preach at Square Chapel) described the building as “a chapel sixty feet square, so stately and elegant, displaying so much symmetry and taste, as were altogether a novelty to dissenters in the North of England”.
Square Chapel from Jacob's History of Halifax. Calderdale Libraries
Knight continued to preach until 1791 when he began to suffer from poor health.
He was succeeded by Rev Cockin (1791 – 1828), Rev John Barling (1829 – 1833), Rev Alexander Ewing (1834 –1836), Rev Enoch Mellor (1846 – 1861).
Square Chapel was a popular place of worship for non-conformists and with the industrialisation of Halifax and increase in population, by the mid-19th century there was a need for more space for worshipers.
A new church was financed by the Crossleys of Dean Clough.
The foundation stone was laid by Frank Crossley in 1855 and Square Church opened in 1857. It featured a 235 foot gothic spire and was known as ‘Crossley’s Cathedral’. Square Chapel became a Sunday school and services were held in the new church.
Illustration of Square Church from 1863. Calderdale Libraries
The first minister of the new church, Rev. Enoch Mellor, was a renowned preacher and the church was often filled to capacity. Mellor left for Liverpool in 1861 but was persuaded to return in 1867. The minister who replaced Mellor was not as popular with the congregation.Rev. William Roberts demanded that the list of church members be written on a roll rather than in a book, as rolls are mentioned several times in the bible. He kept the roll with him always (some people said he took it to bed with him) but one day lost it and it was not recovered for several months. Luckily the deacons had continued to write the members’ names in their book.
The congregation asked Mellor to come back, and he did to their great relief. Mellor preached against the introduction of Sunday band concerts on Skircoat Moor and against the new Halifax racecourse, which opened in 1878. The much-loved minister died of cancer in 1881.
In 1879 Louis John Crossley, son of John Crossley (Deacon at Square Chapel and Chairman of the Church’s Building Committee), connected a transmitter to the pulpit of the church by a line to Halifax railway station. Using the wires of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, he transmitted the sermon with clarity over 36 miles to Manchester.From the 1930s, as the population of Halifax town centre declined and churchgoing became less central to people’s lives, the congregation of Square Church declined.Square Church closed in 1969.
The interior and roof were destroyed by fire in 1971, leaving only the spire and foundations. It is not known how the fire started, though firefighters stated that it started at the front of the church, near the altar. At the time of the fire, the trustees had already received permission from Halifax Corporation to demolish the church and develop the site. In 1972 another fire ravaged the shell of the church.
In 1973, the trustees accepted an offer of £500 for the fire-damaged church and nearby chapel from the Halifax Corporation. However, in 1974, the price was increased to £12,000 after negotiations with the church at a national level. The valuation was based on the use of the land for industry less demolition costs and work on the graveyard.Despite anger from some councillors, the government ruled that the local authority would have to buy the buildings from the trustees. The newly formed Calderdale Council bought the buildings and undertook a survey to determine if the spire could be saved.
In December 1976 the demolition of the ruined church began, with the spire being retained.
Remains of Square Church and some of the gravestones from around 2013. Photo by Kenn Peel, Calderdale Libraries
In 2013 plans were put forward to build a new Central Library that would incorporate the spire and remains of Square Church.
The new Central Library and Archives opened in September 2017.
Exterior of Central Library and Archives 2019. Calderdale Libraries
Researched by Natalie Midgley