A KEY chapter in South Yorkshire history
has been lost forever following a devastating fire.
The Masbrough Chapel, built in 1793, was
a Grade II listed structure built by the powerful Walker family, which founded
the town’s iron and steel industry.
The chapel was irreparably damaged by
the blaze which broke out in a nearby disused furniture store on College Road,
on the outskirts of Rotherham town centre.
Members of the Walker family, whose
company forged the cannons used on HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar and
made artillery used in the American War of Independence, are buried on the site
of the chapel.
There were also memorials to many of the
chapel’s ministers on the walls.
During the fire on Thursday, flames
spread from the store and warehouse to the chapel, which caused its floor to
collapse and roof fall in.
Eileen Hyland, secretary of the Friends
of Masbrough Chapel, said the destruction was a huge loss for the town.
“It is such a great shame as we were unable to buy the site when it last
came up for auction – the asking price was only £25,000,” she said.
“Renovating the chapel would have
been a huge job but it could have been moth-balled and preserved for better
times to come.”
The furniture store on College Road,
close to Centenary Way, closed three years ago but its new owners failed to
find a new role for the building.
Eileen said the Friends had lobbied the
town council to take responsibility for the site but without success.
“The chapel and graveyard were
both sold back in the 1960s, it was in regular use until then,” she said.
The graveyard also contains the 18th
century Walker family mausoleum, but that had in recent years been disfigured
by fly-tipping.
“It is true the site was neglected
and it was never going to be a big tourist attraction, but it was part of the
story of how Rotherham changed from being a small market town to being an
important industrial centre.
“Clearly it will never be rebuilt
now and so more than 200 years of history has gone. But now we must make sure
that we concentrate our efforts on the graveyard and mausoleum.”
An investigation into the cause of the
blaze is expected to begin soon.
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