History of the building
At the end of May 2023, the congregation of Rose Hill United Reformed Church celebrated the 200th anniversary of the opening of the building on the corner of Rose Hill and Soresby Street. It was on 29 May 1823 that the Independent (Non-Conformist) congregation held the first service in their new chapel on Soresby Street.
They moved from the small Blue Meeting House chapel in Frogatt's Yard off Low Pavements (now demolished) where they had worshiped since 1788. As their numbers had increased, a plot of land had been purchased from Joshua Jebb of Walton and the first stone was laid on 6 September 1822. The total cost of the land and building was £1403 (around £228,066 today) and included two school rooms, a vestry and a small burial ground.
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It is now a landmark, Grade II listed building on Rose Hill which has been extended and developed over the years. While the outside of the main building remains almost unchanged the changes inside have reflected it’s 200 year history. As numbers expanded in the 19th century, a balcony was added in 1834 and by 1851 there was seating for 560 people and it was enlarged again in 1860, with separate Sunday School premises opened in Marsden Street. In 1872 the chapel was renamed Soresby Street Congregational Church.
In 1956 a major extension saw the addition of the Eastwood Memorial Hall on the west side of the chapel which provided a large hall, kitchen and several meeting rooms used for the Sunday School as the premises in Marsden Street were sold. This part of the site is now leased to Chesterfield Studios and houses the Rose Theatre and a flourishing dance and drama centre.
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As the size of the congregation fell in the 20th century, part of the balcony was removed and major internal changes were made after Soresby Street merged with Brampton Congregational and Avenue Road chapels in 1967. In 1972 the merged churches became part of the United Reformed Church known as Rose Hill URC. In more recent years many changes were made to adapt the church building to give easier access and use for community as well as worship purposes.
Chesterfield Civic Society arranged a blue plaque to commemorate the church’s history and a special celebration service was held on Sunday 28 May 2023.
On Sunday 3 September 2023 the Final Service was held at Rose Hill URC, and the church closed as it required more extensive, expensive repairs to its roof than could be afforded. The future of the building was uncertain until Rose Hill Arts Centre was formed to preserve it for the benefit of the Chesterfield community.
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Words by Liz Frear