Brook Street Chapel, Knutsford facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brook Street Chapel, Knutsford
Brook Street Chapel, Knutsford
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OS grid reference	SJ 754 783
Location	Knutsford, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Unitarian
Website	Brook Street Chapel
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	18 January 1949
Architectural type	Chapel
Specifications
Materials	Red brick, stone-flagged roof

Brook Street Chapel is a historic building in Knutsford, Cheshire, England. It is a special kind of building called a Grade I listed building. This means it is very important and protected. The chapel was built a long time ago, soon after the Toleration Act 1688 was passed. This law allowed people who were not part of the main church to worship freely.

The chapel is made of red bricks and has a roof covered with stone slabs. It has two floors and two staircases on the outside. Inside, there is a balcony, called a gallery, on three sides. There is also a pulpit, which is a raised stand where the speaker gives a sermon. This pulpit is very old, from the late 1600s or early 1700s. The wooden benches, called pews, were added later in 1859.

A Special Burial Place

Brook Street Chapel is famous because it is the burial place of the well-known novelist Mrs Gaskell. She wrote many popular books in the 1800s. Mrs Gaskell passed away in 1865. Her husband, William Gaskell, who died in 1884, is also buried there. Their two daughters, who never married, were also laid to rest at the chapel in 1908 and 1913.

Still in Use Today

Even after all these years, Brook Street Chapel is still an active place of worship. It is used by the Unitarian community. Unitarianism is a type of Christian faith that believes in one God and emphasizes reason and individual freedom in belief.

See also

• Grade I listed churches in Cheshire
• Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire East
• Listed buildings in Knutsford