UNIQUE footage of a stone laying

ceremony at a Methodist Chapel hall in 1929 is circulating amongst the modern-day residents of a Wharfedale village.

A householder who had lived in Manor Gardens in Pool-in-Wharfedale for 65 years found nine minutes of black and white cine-film footage as she was moving out of her home.

The footage showed the stone laying ceremony of the chapel hall by local dignitaries 72 years ago.

The film has been transferred onto video, and Roger Bareham from Pool Methodist Church is very pleased with the unique piece of historical footage.

A blurb written by church members to accompany the video said: "Twenty years after the opening of the present chapel, the growth of the Methodist Sunday School, together with

increasing week-night activities both of the chapel and in the village itself, developed to such an extent as to make the provision of a new school hall essential.

"Inspiring leadership in this new adventure of extension was given by the Rev H Maurice Hart, then resident probationer minister in Pool, who won the support of not only the Methodists of Pool but the whole village and friends in the district."

The stone laying ceremony of the new Methodist Hall took place on October 19 1929 when stones were laid by Mrs William Whiteley, Miss Barbara Marshall and Master David Pickard for the Sunday School.

Other stones were laid by Mr A Stringer for the Circuit, Edwin Reed for the Trustees, Miss GM Beaumont for distant friends, James Proctor for the village, Mrs M Pinder for the sewing meeting and Mr JM Rodham for the Wesley guild.

The blurb goes on to add: "The address at this stone laying ceremony was given by the Rev Hedley Hodkin MA, then tutor at Didsbury College, who had been the first Methodist Minister in Pool.

"A feature of this ceremony was the taking of a cinematograph film of the occasion for later showing in the

village.

"Five months later, on Saturday, March 15, 1930, the new Methodist Hall was opened by Miss Jane Rhodes of Otley at a dedicatory service presided over by Henry Armitage of Harrogate and addressed by the Rev W Palmer Morris of Leeds.

"The cost of this hall was £1,800."

l The video copy of the original footage is in the hands of Mr Bareham and anyone interested in viewing it can ring him on (0113) 2842329.