Heritage Open Day 2023

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Saturday 9th September: 10am-4pm
Sunday 10th September: 10am-4pm

An oasis of calm, peace and beauty in the centre of Warrington. 300 years of the history of Warrington and how the Chapel was instrumental in the development of the town.

The earliest dissenting chapel in Warrington, part of the 1662 ejection. Monuments to pupils of Warrington Academy and prominent families of the chapel including the Gaskells, Aitkins and Monks. Displays featuring the lives of Joseph Priestley who was ordained a Minister in the chapel. Anna Letitia Barbauld, 18th century poet and novelist, Rev Pearsall Phillip Carpenter agitator for social reform and getting a clean water supply for the town. Lectern in memory of John Howard, Prison Reformer who attended Cairo Street on his many visits to Warrington. The burial grounds contain many graves including the grave of William and Elizabeth Gaskell's son.

Prominent in the history of our Grade 2 listed Chapel are the Gaskell and Monks families. One particular Gaskell family included William, who married Elizabeth, and he became a renown Minister at Cross Street, Manchester for over 50 years; William’s brother Samuel, who humanised the lunatic asylums in England and Wales; and Ann who, with her husband William Robson, founded and ran the Warrington Anti-Slavery Society which became one of the most influential and active Societies in the UK.

Also of particular note is Frederick Monks, a lifelong Unitarian, an entrepreneur and industrialist who created Monks Hall and Company, which became one of the country’s leading manufacturers of iron and steel. He donated Warrington’s famous Golden Gates to the town in 1893, and was a Liberal Borough Councillor and Alderman in his later years.