Salem Chapel is a former

Congregational church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

, located on

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

Lane,

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated opposite the former Tetley's Brewery.

History

Built in 1791 by the Rev Edward Parsons, Salem is the oldest surviving non-conformist chapel in

Leeds city centre Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is roughly bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road to the north and the River Aire to the south and can be divided into several quarters. A ...

. Salem Chapel is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and its distinctive curved façade was added in 1906. 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. The chapel was closed as a place of worship in 2001. The psychologist and writer Reverend Harry Guntrip preached the last sermon.

Present

In 2009, the building was purchased by Professor Adam Beaumont, founder of telecommunications company aql. 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. On 17 November 2011, Salem Chapel was awarded a blue plaque by the Leeds Civic Trust in recognition of its architectural and religious significance. The plaque was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Rev’d Alan Taylor. As of April 2018, Salem Chapel is also home to the Estonian Consulate for the

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

and the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

Auditorium

Salem Chapel is often used to host the launch of Government initiatives. In February 2015, Salem Chapel hosted the then-

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

and then-

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born 23 May 1971) is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A ...

for talks as part of the government's Northern Powerhouse proposal. Osborne returned to Salem Chapel in February 2017 with Lord Jim O'Neill to launch the inaugural Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) report. 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. 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; Tiina Intelmann, Estonian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and

Matt Hancock Matthew John David Hancock (born 2 October 1978) is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 20 ...

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department for Cultu ...

. 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. 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.

Salem's ministers

* 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

File:Salem Chapel Leeds Civic Trust Plaque.JPG, Leeds Civic Trust blue plaque, Salem Chapel, Leeds File:Salem Chapel, Hunslet Lane, Leeds (19th July 2014).JPG, Salem Chapel, Leeds File:Witch hunt ? (5034514702).jpg, Door, Salem Chapel, Leeds

References