No one passes by now

Just a bit further up the road from the old cave doors in Appleby stands the Rock Chapel. In fact it was in the picture I posted as an extra on the previous blip. Rock Chapel was, as you can see, built into the sandstone rock face. What a job that must have been. It was built in 1872 for the Primitive Methodists and it is thought that it was sited so close to the road to ‘catch’ people passing by on their way in or out of town. They wouldn’t ‘catch’ many now as the pavement, such as it is, peters out at this point and the road is a very busy one. No one walks on this side of the road  - ever!

The Methodists used the chapel until 1936. Then it became a Lodge or meeting place for the Appleby branch of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows. In fact the plaque above the door says ODDFELLOWS M.U. HALL. After that it was a local government office and finally in 1979 it was acquired by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and became a Kingdom Hall, which it still is.
 
Before it was opened as a Kingdom Hall, it underwent some extensive refurbishment, including a second floor added and a new entrance from the top side (you can just see the fence at the top of the picture which is the path to the new entrance from the road that runs along the top). This is obviously a much safer way of getting into and out of the building!