Horwich Moor Methodist Church - A History
The second church, Horwich Moor, situated in Old Lane, is an ex-Primitive Methodist Church built in the shadow of the West Pennine moors. The original, dates back to the time when a Sunday School was opened in 1834 at the edge of the moor in an upper room at the end of a row of weaver's cottages which still overlook the present building.
The comer stone of the present Church was laid on April 17th 1869, and the premises have been in constant use since those days.
From old records we know that by 1892 Horwich Moor Church was part of the "Horwich Mission Station" which was in turn part of the Manchester District Mission Committee of the Primitive Methodist Connexion.
The Union of Methodism in 1932 caused it to change it's name to Horwich Moor Methodist Church. At that time it belonged to the Park Street Circuit, as did Victoria and Fall Birch. In the late 1960’s the three Bolton Circuits came together. These were originally named Park Street, Bridge Street and Wesley.
The church consists of a worship area containing tiered wood pews, and before them, a flexible space which is used in all kinds of ways. Under it is a cistern or 'well' of water. There is a 'Schoolroom' which has a children's mural of Noah's Ark. Outside is a beautifully kept award winning garden.
The church and its setting provides a quiet oasis away from the busy Middlebrook complex and the town of Horwich.