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A New Life for ‘The Old Church’, Almond Brook
‘The Old Methodist Church’ has been part of village life in Shevington Moor for nearly 100 years. Prior to The Old Church being built, a Chapel served the Methodist community for nearly 40 years. From as early as 1830 the Methodist cause in and around the Shevington area was served by visiting preachers. This led to centres being formed at Shevington Vale (1859), Crooke (1867) and Almond Brook (1869).

From 1859 through to 1869 various building were used for meetings, an old dilapidated cottage in Shevington Lane, owned by Mr. J. Taylor, an upper room in Almond Brook and Tom Smith’s Cottage, in Pepper Lane. In 1866 an application for land to build a Chapel was made to Sir Thomas Hesketh of Rufford Hall and with the land secured the foundation stone was laid on Good Friday, 2nd April 1869. The first Primitive Chapel in Almond Brook opened in October 1869 having cost the princely sum of £500.00.

By 1904 it was decided to build a new Church so that the ‘old Chapel’ could be better used to the advantage of the Sunday School. Land was leased to the west side of the existing Chapel and on Easter Monday, 31st March, 1910, which the local press described as “a red letter day for the Primitive Methodist Church of Almond Brook”, the memorial stones for the new Church were laid by a Mr. James Rigby (in memory of the parents of the Fairhurst  family). The cost of the new Church was double that of the Chapel but lighting would be by oil lamps and there would even be central heating. On Wednesday, 31st August, 1910 Miss Norris of Eccleston opened the new Church for public worship. Records show that the Church and Sunday School Chapel were both well attended  and celebrated it’s centenary in 1969 with both the Church and the Chapel being redecorated.

However, in the 1980’s, the Methodist Church finally closed its doors as a place of worship and the buildings were to stay empty for 10 years. Eventually the Chapel was knocked down, and the new Church became known as ‘The Old Church’  and converted for residential use.

In 2006 ‘The Old Church’ was identified as being the possible site for a complete new venture. Liesbet Lester, a veterinary surgeon who has worked in the Wigan area for over 17 years, had been thinking about starting her own practice. As well as being experienced in conventional treatments, Liesbet has also studied acupuncture, homeopathy and Reiki and ‘The Old Church’ seemed an ideal site to put these into practice. The building was also large enough to still retain living accommodation for Liesbet and her family, an important consideration allowing Liesbet to be on hand for any overnight hospitalisations.

The plans were drawn and wheels set into motion to turn Liesbet’s dream into reality. It was important to keep the integrity of the building and only change internal walls and doors as required. This was ultimately achieved, and the only outside change was the addition of a ramp for disabled access. Finally after months of planning and negotiations the building work started mid February 2007 with a completion date by end of March. With only a few minor unforeseen complications the completion date was met.

On 3rd April the family took up residence and on 16th April Lester Pet Care Clinic opened its doors. A new future for ‘The Old Church’ had begun.