Salem Chapel, Leeds

Last updated

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]

Contents

Salem Chapel, Leeds Salem Chapel (14237008321).jpg
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]

Also associated with Salem, the ministers of the South Leeds Team:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knaresborough</span> Market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Knaresborough is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is three miles east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunslet</span> Suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Hunslet is an inner-city suburb in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Square, Leeds</span> Square in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

City Square is a paved area north of Leeds railway station at the junction of Park Row to the east and Wellington Street to the south. It is a triangular area where six roads meet: Infirmary Street and Park Row to the north, Boar Lane and Bishopsgate Street to the south-east, and Quebec Street and Wellington Street to the south-west. The only building with a direct frontage is the former General Post Office, on the north-west side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudswell Clarke</span> Rolling stock manufacturer

Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds City Council</span> Local government body in England

Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the majority local government services in the city. It is the second most populous local government district in the United Kingdom with approximately 800,000 inhabitants living within its area; only Birmingham City Council has more. Since 1 April 2014, it has been a constituent council of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quarry Hill, Leeds</span> Area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Quarry Hill is an area of central Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road in the east and north and the Leeds – York / Hull railway in the south. The area falls within the City and Hunslet ward of Leeds City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downholme</span> Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Downholme is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 4 miles (6 km) west from the market town of Richmond and 16 miles (26 km) west from the county town of Northallerton. The village lies close to the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. The population as taken in the ONS Census of 2011 was less than 100, so details are included in the parish of Hudswell. In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated the population of the village to be 50.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Leeds</span>

Leeds in West Yorkshire, England is a tourist destination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds City Region</span> City region and Local enterprise partnership in England

The Leeds City Region, or informally Greater Leeds, is a local enterprise partnership city region located in West Yorkshire, England. Prior to the West Yorkshire devolution deal, the partnership covered parts of South and North Yorkshire. According to the Office for National Statistics, as of 2017 the city region ranked 2nd behind Greater London for both population and GVA in the United Kingdom. It has a population of 2,320,214 million and a GVA of £69.62 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds Pride</span> Annual LGBT event in Leeds, England

Leeds Pride is an annual LGBT Pride celebration held in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Leeds Pride is one of the biggest free pride events in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapel Allerton</span> Suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England

Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) from the city centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill Hill Chapel</span> Church in West Yorkshire, England

Mill Hill Chapel is a Unitarian church in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians. The building, which stands in the centre of the city on City Square, was granted Grade II* listed status in 1963.

The Northern Powerhouse was a proposal to boost economic growth in the North of England by the 2010–2015 coalition government and 2015–2016 Conservative government in the United Kingdom, particularly in the "Core Cities" of Hull, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. The proposal was based on the benefits of agglomeration and aimed to reposition the British economy away from London and the South East, where most of the UK's wealth was historically concentrated. The spatial footprint of the Northern Powerhouse was defined as the 11 local enterprise partnership areas of the North of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Scales</span> Leading British abolitionist (1786–1860)

Thomas Scales (1786–1860) was a leading British abolitionist. He was the first minister of Queen Street Chapel in Leeds and he founded the Silcoates School.

LGBT culture in Leeds, England, involves an active community of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender/transsexual. A BBC News Online article published in 2012 stated that, while Leeds City Council has not published statistics relating to the number of LGBT residents, the figure can be estimated at 10% of the overall population, which currently suggests a total of at least 77,000. The tenth year of the Leeds Pride march and celebration, held in 2016, was attended by over 40,000 people.

aql (company)

aql is a telecommunications company based in Leeds, UK. It is principally known for operating carrier neutral data centres, and for providing services relating to colocation, mobile messaging, IP telephony, and secure mobile connectivity for the internet of things (IoT).

Professor Adam Beaumont DL is a businessman, angel investor, trustee and digital entrepreneur. He is the CEO of telecommunications provider aql, a visiting professor of cyber security at the University of Leeds and the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia to the Northern Powerhouse and the Isle of Man.

IXLeeds is a Leeds-based internet exchange point (IXP) founded in 2008. It is the UK's only fully independent exchange outside London, and has 20 members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Peele Clapham</span> Justice of the peace for the West Riding of Yorkshire

John Peele Clapham, from Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, was a justice of the peace for the West Riding of Yorkshire, and treasurer for the county courts of Yorkshire.

References

  1. "Salem Chapel events space" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 3 "Heritage honour for birthplace of Leeds United". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Salem Chapel events space" (PDF).
  4. Historic England. "Salem United Reform Church (Grade II) (1255568)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  5. "Salem Chapel, Leeds, Parsons, W. Hudswell, Smith, and 3 others". openplaques.org. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  6. Tebbutt, Chris. "Hunslet remembered – Schools and religion". www.hunslet.org. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  7. "Where did it all start for Leeds United?". Time Out Leeds. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  8. "aql: The History of Salem Chapel, aql Head Office and data centre – Data Centre Alliance". www.data-central.org. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  9. "Profile: Adam Beaumont". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  10. "Leeds Civic Trust Blue Plaques" (PDF).
  11. "Estonian Honorary Consuls in the United Kingdom – Embassy of Estonia London". london.mfa.ee. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  12. 1 2 ERR (19 April 2018). "Estonia opens honorary consul office in Leeds". ERR. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  13. "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.
  14. "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.
  15. "Adam Beaumont: How high-speed data has a key role to play in improving Yorkshire's transport infrastructure" . Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  16. "Leeds International Festival reveals Helen Sharman OBE, June Sarpong, Viv Albertine and more!". www.visitleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  17. "Telecoms operator aql brings gigabit broadband to West Yorkshire businesses". Bdaily Business News. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  18. "Ahead Partnership – New book highlights the global impact of Leeds innovators and pioneers – include Ahead Partnership!". www.aheadpartnership.org.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  19. "2016 Leeds Digital Festival: Step back to the 90s" . Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  20. "FinTech North Does it Again: A Showcase for Northern Business and Talent – Fintech North". Fintech North. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  21. Griffin, Frank (1984). Salem: A Short History.

53°47′32.4″N1°32′27.6″W / 53.792333°N 1.541000°W / 53.792333; -1.541000