HERITAGE WEEKEND 18th - 20th September 2026

Whitechapel will be open for visitors on Friday 18th September 10am - 4pm, Saturday 19th September 10am - 4 pm and Sunday 20th September after our morning service 11am to 3pm. Please come and have a look around. Church members will be hosting so you can ask questions about the building. 

The Church that you see today is quite young. It was built in 1820 on the site of an earlier church of 1706. This followed a succession of buildings dating back to the early 12th Century. The oldest artifact we have is our Norman font which has been dated as no later than 1120 and it is still in use today.Thanks to the use of the "Ellacombe" system our peal of 8 bells can be rung by one person, thus allowing tunes to be played.

We have strong Bronte connections with a Bronte family member buried in the churchyard and evidence that that Patrick Bronte carried out services while he was curate at Hartshead Church. We have about 1200 graves in the churchyard dating back to the early 1700's and we have a record of most of the grave inscriptions for anyone who is researching their family history.
The church recently under went a major re-roofing and re-building of the formally truncated tower this at a cost of £265K has now restored the building to its original design.

Entry is FREE but the upkeep of our beautiful church is considerable. Donations on the day most welcome. Thank You.