PRACTICALLY every street corner in Darlington once had a nonconformist chapel of some sort on it. Many of them were built with a Gothic fervour in late Victorian times and must have frightened their congregations as much as they lifted up their souls.

On Thursday, August 18, in Darlington library, archaeologist Peter Ryder will launch his new book which is a survey of all the chapels, meeting houses and mission halls that were built before 1914. Peter traced 50 of them, starting with the Skinnergate Quaker meeting house of the late 17th Century – but only 21 of them still stand.

How long some of those 21 will remain standing must be open to debate. The huge 1813 Bondgate Methodist Chapel is now looking for a new future and then the mission hall on King Street – most recently known as Route 66 – does not look especially healthy.

The book reveals quite a diversity of religious buildings, from the ranters of Queen Street to the spiritualists of Winston Street, which may no longer be that important to current generations but were once absolutely central to the lives of our predecessors. It is only when they are brought down, as the Bethel Chapel behind Boots was in 2021, that people begin to miss them and worry about what will replace them.

Peter will give a short talk about his project at 2pm in the local studies room in the library. The talk is free but places must be booked via eventbrite.co.uk. For further information, email local.studies@darlington.gov.uk or call 01325-349630. Peter will be selling books at the launch at a special price of £8. They are also available for £11 including postage from publications@broomlee.org

The Northern Echo: Greenbank chapel was a huge affair, dominating the top of Bondgate. It was the Primitive Methodists' flagship when it opened in 1879 and was able to seat 850 people. It held its last service in September 1965 and was demolished soon after. Now a

Greenbank chapel was a huge affair, dominating the top of Bondgate. It was the Primitive Methodists' flagship when it opened in 1879 and was able to seat 850 people. It held its last service in September 1965 and was demolished soon after. Now a black of flats occupies its site by the traffic lights on the corner of Woodland Road and Coniscliffe Road

The Northern Echo:

St George's Church in Northgate, Darlington, in 1869, when it opened. It is now a United Reform Church, and has several notable features. The tower has a large panel on which is inscribed: "Nec tamen consumebatur" - "and it was not consumed" - which comes from the parable of the Burning Bush, and there is a large dragon descending in the stonework between its front doors. It shares this feature with Cockerton Wesleyan chapel which was designed around the same time by the same architect

The Northern Echo:

The Northern Echo: The Baptist Chapel in Archer Street was built in 1847, and it now acts as the front of the Masonic Hall

The Baptist Chapel in Archer Street was built in 1847, and it now acts as the front of the Masonic Hall

The Northern Echo: The Paradise Chapel in Coniscliffe Road was built in 1840 by the noted Newcastle architect John Green to seat 800 people. It was a Wesleyan Reform Association building and was built because of a split in the congregation at the Bondgate Wesleyan Chapel.

The Paradise Chapel in Coniscliffe Road was built in 1840 by the noted Newcastle architect John Green to seat 800 people. It was a Wesleyan Reform Association building and was built because of a split in the congregation at the Bondgate Wesleyan Chapel. This chapel closed in 1971 and was demolished in 1973. Offices which are now on its site are opposite the popular watering hole of No 22

The Northern Echo: Rise Carr Methodist Church was built in Westmoreland Street in 1889 and became a carpet warehouse after it was destroyed by fire in 1999. Houses built on its site echo its roofline

Rise Carr Methodist Church was built in Westmoreland Street in 1889 and became a carpet warehouse after it was destroyed by fire in 1999. Houses built on its site echo its roofline

The Northern Echo: Anyone who has parked in the large Commercial Street car park must have been intrigued by the two large, empty theme pubs that stare down at them. These were originally on King Street, a road that was cut in half by the inner ring road. The Wesleyan

Anyone who has parked in the large Commercial Street car park must have been intrigued by the two large, empty theme pubs that stare down at them. These were originally on King Street, a road that was cut in half by the inner ring road. The Wesleyan Mission Hall came first, built in 1894, and to its left a little later came a schoolroom. The mission hall has recently been Route 66 while the schoolroom was Aruba until recently

The Northern Echo: The chapel in King Street in the centre as it looks today. So what was the building on its left hand side? Picture: Google StreetView

The chapel in King Street in the centre as it looks today. So what was the building on its left hand side? Picture: Google StreetView

The Northern Echo: Peter Ryder found this remarkable piece of Darlington's history in 2004. If you look through the tangle of ironwork, off Commercial Street, you see the brickwork which is the remains of the Methodists' first Darlington chapel, which was built in

Peter Ryder found this remarkable piece of Darlington's history in 2004. If you look through the tangle of ironwork, off Commercial Street, you see the brickwork which is the remains of the Methodists' first Darlington chapel, which was built in 1779. It is behind Poundstretcher on Bondgate

The Northern Echo: The Union Street Congregational Chapel, behind Boots in Darlington, which was demolished earlier this year. It was the last survivor of the street in which the Prime Minister's great-great-great-great-grandparents lived. Picture courtesy of Peter

There was much gnashing of teeth at the start of the pandemic when demolition of the Union Street Congregational Chapel, behind Boots on Northgate, began. It had been slowly falling down for the last 30 years of its life as a carpet warehouse, and Peter Giroux' photograph featuring a brooding sky captures its demise. Sadly, little, if any, of its features were salvaged during its demolition, and its site is now scrubland

The Northern Echo: Dissent in Darlington