Salem Chapel is a former
Congregational church , located on
Hunslet Lane,
Leeds ,
West Yorkshire ,
England .
[1] It is situated opposite the former
Tetley's Brewery .
[2]
Salem Chapel, Leeds
History
Built in 1791 by the Rev
Edward Parsons , Salem is the oldest surviving
non-conformist chapel in
Leeds city centre .
[3]
Salem Chapel is a Grade II
listed building and its distinctive curved façade was added in 1906.
[4]
The historic chapel was the birthplace of
Leeds United Football Club in 1919. Salem's hall was the venue for a public meeting in which
Leeds City F.C. was disbanded over financial misdemeanours, and Leeds United F.C. was formed.
[2]
[5]
The chapel was closed as a place of worship in 2001.
[6] The psychologist and writer Reverend Harry Guntrip preached the last sermon.
[3]
Present
In 2009, the building was purchased by
Professor Adam Beaumont , founder of telecommunications company
aql .
[7]
[8] Beaumont funded the renovation and restoration of the chapel, which now houses aql's head offices, as well as data centres, an exhibition space, a bar and a 370-seat glass-floored auditorium.
[3]
[9]
On 17 November 2011, Salem Chapel was awarded a blue plaque by the
Leeds Civic Trust in recognition of its architectural and religious significance.
[2] The plaque was unveiled by the
Lord Mayor of Leeds , Councillor Rev’d Alan Taylor.
[10]
As of April 2018, Salem Chapel is also home to the Estonian Consulate for the
North of England and the
Isle of Man .
[11]
[12]
Auditorium
Salem Chapel is often used to host the launch of Government initiatives. In February 2015, Salem Chapel hosted the then-
Prime Minister
David Cameron and then-
Chancellor of the Exchequer
George Osborne for talks as part of the government's
Northern Powerhouse proposal.
[13] Osborne returned to Salem Chapel in February 2017 with
Lord Jim O'Neill to launch the inaugural Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) report.
[14] In January 2018, it was used to launch
Transport for the North 's
Strategic Transport Plan to transform transportation in the North of England over the next 30 years.
[15]
In addition to Cameron, Osborne and O'Neill, Salem Chapel's auditorium has hosted other notable figures for events and talks, including Britain's first astronaut
Helen Sharman OBE and
Bas Lansdorp , CEO and co-founder of
Mars One , as part of 2018's Leeds International Festival;
[16]
Tiina Intelmann , Estonian Ambassador to the United Kingdom,
[12] and
Matt Hancock ,
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport .
[17]
The launch of Leeds: Cradle of Innovation , a book on the history of innovation in the city by urban geographer Rachael Unsworth and local historian Steve Burt, was held at Salem Chapel on 14 June 2018.
[18]
It is among the venues used for Leeds Digital Festival and Leeds International Festival and has hosted the annual FinTech North since the event's inception.
[19]
[20]
Salem's ministers
[21]
1784–1833 – Rev
Edward Parsons
1833–1841 – Rev John Ely
1841–1866 – Rev Wm. Hudswell
1866–1875 – Rev Henry Tarrant
1876–1890 – Rev George Hinds
1891–1929 – Rev Bertram Smith; Rev Francis Wrigley
1929–1933 – Rev Arthur Briggs
1929–1938 – Rev Harry A. Turner
1934–1946 – Rev Harry J.S. Guntrip
1944–1946 – Rev Vernon Sproxton
1946–1954 – Rev J. Norman Beard
1949–1956 – Rev Reg. Williams
1954–1968 – Rev Norman Charlton
1966–1968 – Rev Jean Mortimer
1969–? – Rev Graham J. Cook
1976–1982 – Rev Adrienne Savage (sharing with Cottingley)
Also associated with Salem, the ministers of the South Leeds Team:
1968–1973 – Rev Alice H. Platts
1971–1976 – Rev Tony Addy
1973–? – Rev Geoff. Rodham
1977–? – Rev Simon Swailes
1981–? – Rev Colin E. Richards
Gallery
Leeds Civic Trust blue plaque, Salem Chapel, Leeds
Salem Chapel, Leeds
Door, Salem Chapel, Leeds
See also
References
^
"Salem Chapel events space" (PDF) .
^
a
b
c
"Heritage honour for birthplace of Leeds United" . Yorkshire Evening Post . Retrieved 23 August 2017 .
^
a
b
c
"Salem Chapel events space" (PDF) .
^
Historic England .
"Salem United Reform Church (Grade II) (1255568)" .
National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 5 September 2017 .
^
"Salem Chapel, Leeds, Parsons, W. Hudswell, Smith, and 3 others" . openplaques.org . Retrieved 23 August 2017 .
^ Tebbutt, Chris.
"Hunslet remembered – Schools and religion" . www.hunslet.org . Retrieved 23 August 2017 .
^
"Where did it all start for Leeds United?" . Time Out Leeds . Retrieved 24 August 2017 .
^
"aql: The History of Salem Chapel, aql Head Office and data centre – Data Centre Alliance" . www.data-central.org . Retrieved 23 August 2017 .
^
"Profile: Adam Beaumont" . The Yorkshire Post . Retrieved 23 August 2017 .
^
"Leeds Civic Trust Blue Plaques" (PDF) .
^
"Estonian Honorary Consuls in the United Kingdom – Embassy of Estonia London" . london.mfa.ee . Retrieved 11 July 2018 .
^
a
b ERR (19 April 2018).
"Estonia opens honorary consul office in Leeds" . ERR . Retrieved 24 April 2018 .
^
"rebuildingsociety MD Daniel Rajkumar joined the Institute of Directors to hear the PM set out his long term economic plans for Yorkshire" . rebuildingsociety.com . 6 February 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2017 .
^
"Let's stop the brain-drain from the North and claim the ultimate prize, says George Osborne's new think-tank" . The Yorkshire Post . Retrieved 24 August 2017 .
^
"Adam Beaumont: How high-speed data has a key role to play in improving Yorkshire's transport infrastructure" . Retrieved 8 June 2018 .
^
"Leeds International Festival reveals Helen Sharman OBE, June Sarpong, Viv Albertine and more!" . www.visitleeds.co.uk . Retrieved 8 June 2018 .
^
"Telecoms operator aql brings gigabit broadband to West Yorkshire businesses" . Bdaily Business News . Retrieved 8 June 2018 .
^
"Ahead Partnership – New book highlights the global impact of Leeds innovators and pioneers – include Ahead Partnership!" . www.aheadpartnership.org.uk . Retrieved 18 June 2018 .
^
"2016 Leeds Digital Festival: Step back to the 90s" . Retrieved 8 June 2018 .
^
"FinTech North Does it Again: A Showcase for Northern Business and Talent – Fintech North" . Fintech North . 2 May 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018 .
^ Griffin, Frank (1984). Salem: A Short History .
53°47′32.4″N 1°32′27.6″W / 53.792333°N 1.541000°W / 53.792333; -1.541000