During the Commonwealth, Cheshire was almost entirely Presbyterian and firmly Parliamentarian in sympathy.

Following the death of Oliver Cromwell, Charles II was restored to the throne. Parliament and the House of Lords were re-established and moved swiftly to end religious dissent within the Church and the universities. The result was the Act of Uniformity (1662), intended to enforce religious conformity and leave England with one church and one political allegiance. Puritan clergy were required to renounce their beliefs in order to remain within the Church of England. Those who could not comply were expelled in what became known as the Great Ejection. Around 2,000 ministers were ejected nationwide, including all 62 ministers in Cheshire. This moment marked the rise of organised dissent.

What followed was a long period of hardship and persecution. Dissenters were forced to meet and worship in secret, under constant threat of fines, imprisonment, or transportation.

In 1672, the first Toleration Act allowed private houses to be licensed for worship. Hugh Henshaw (ejected from Chelford) and Peter Leigh (ejected from Chester) came to Knutsford, had their homes licensed, and became the first Nonconformist ministers in the area. However, political instability soon led to the withdrawal of these licences, driving worship underground once again and resulting in further prosecutions.

In 1687, James II issued the Declaration of Indulgence, making it legal for dissenters to appoint their own preachers. A young minister, William Tong, was appointed, and several homes were licensed as places of worship. The number of dissenters continued to grow. With the accession of the Protestant monarchs William and Mary, the Act of Toleration (1689) was passed. For the first time, dissenters were permitted to leave the Church of England and lawfully hold their own services—though they still required a dedicated building in which to worship.

A generous gift of land was given by Isaac Antrobus, a Knutsford tanner and lifelong dissenter, for the building of a chapel and a small burial ground. Other members of the congregation contributed funds for its construction and furnishings. With William Tong’s guidance, Isaac Antrobus organised the building of the New Chapel, deliberately designed to be inconspicuous and to resemble a private house or farm building. This reflected the very real fear that the right to public worship might once again be withdrawn; a protective clause was even included in the settlement to cover such an event. It is said that lookouts were posted by the outside steps to the galleries in case of attack.

William Tong and Isaac Antrobus are remembered with lasting gratitude by this congregation for founding a chapel where worship could take place freely, according to the dictates of conscience.

One important difference between dissenting and Anglican beliefs lay in their understanding of ministry. Despite breaking from the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicans had retained a priesthood and they emphasised the sacramental role of the priest in worship. Presbyterians, like other nonconformists, believed in the ‘priesthood of all believers’ and appointed ministers (meaning servant) instead. They replaced of altars with communion tables, and placed preaching at the centre of worship. These dissenters believed strongly in a highly educated and well-supported ministry but they had to establish their own Dissenting Acaedmies in which to train them, since they were barred from Oxford and Cambridge.

In countries where Presbyterianism became a national denomination, churches organised themselves within presbyteries, collections of local churches. English presbyterianism, however, did not achieve this level of national organisation, so relations between Brook Street and other local Presbyterian churches were organised locally within what was known as the Cheshire Classis. Candidates for the Nonconformist ministry were rigorously examined for their learning and competence by the Classis.

Succession of Ministers

William Tong	1687-1689
Thomas Kynaston	1689-1695
Samuel Lowe	1696-1709
Thomas Lea	1709-1733
John Turner	1735-1737
Thomas Colthurst	1737-1739
Robert Lord	1740-1790
Theophilus Harris	1790-1794
Philip George Davis	1795-1809
John Smethurst	1810-1819
Joseph Ashton	1820-1826
Henry Green	1827-1873
John Briggs Lloyd	1873-1885
James Black	1885-1889
George Andrew Payne	1890-1930
William Whitaker	1930-1939
Kenneth Twinn	1939-1946
Stanley Mossop	1946-1955
Albert Smith	1956-1963
Peter Jones	1963-1967
William R. Strachan	1967-1984
Peter Hughes	1984-1990
Interregnum	1990-1992
Charles P.Travis	1992-1998
Alexander D. Bradley	1998-2009
Jean Bradley	2010-2018
Alexander D. Bradley	2018-2022
Francis Elliot-Wright	2024-

As well as ministering to their congregation the ministers played an important role in town affairs eg banking, teaching, librarianship, literary, history,philanthropy, musical, science, natural history, social and educational
involvement.

“Brook Street Chapel has been served throughout its history by many men who are worthy of the greatest respect and honour.  Whilst this is perfectly true of the Ministers it must also be said of the laymen.  Beginning with Isaac Antrobus and coming right down to our own times, the chapel has been nobly served by a body of faithful and conscientious laymen(and women)”
George Payne

Some Milestones in Chapel Life

Rev. Robert Lord 1740-1790
The chapel changed from being Presbyterian to Unitarian

Rev. Henry Green 1827-1873
Published  Knutsford, Its Traditions and History and developed a Sunday School and wanted a hall to be added to enhance the teaching and social activities of the chapel.

Rev. J.B.Lloyd 1873-1885
During his ministry  the building and opening of the new school room took place. The land was generously donated by Mr. Long of Grove Park and Mrs Houghton raised the funds.

Rev. George Payne 1890-1930
He was an author and wrote “An  Ancient Chapel” about Brook Street Chapel with Allostock Chapel “ Mrs Gaskell and Knutsford”, “Knutsford”, “Mrs Gaskell-a brief Biography” “ Edna Lyall-an Appreciation”

In 1907 an extension to the school room was opened again on land given by the Long family.  This provided a Committee Room and kitchen and other facilities to accommodate the increasing activities of the chapel including the recently founded Womens League.

Rev. William Whitaker 1930-1939
In 1932 the Chapel Garden was opened. The land was given by Mrs Poynter Adams & her daughters who were the Misses Holt. The land was laid out by the Chairman, Mr. Cowburn of Booths Hall.

Rev. Stanley Mossop   1946-1955
He organised many youth activities including the Rose Queen Festival and annual visits to Great Hucklow.

Rev William Strachan 1967-1984 
He wrote a book called “ Brook Street Unitarian Chapel-Then and Now”. He also made a plan of all the graves both under the chapel and in the graveyard and recorded all the inscriptions, translating some from Latin.

Rev. Paul Travis
Made alterations to the gardens at the front of the chapel and had floodlights installed so that the Chapel was more visible. He also drew attention to the chapel via his musical prowess.

Rev. Alex Bradley 1998-2009
During his ministry an Access Improvement Group (AIG) was formed to improve access to the chapel. The AIG consisted of the minister and 6 members of the committee who were responsible for organising the building, including a lift, and raising funds. Mr. Jimmie Glass a retired chairman donated £120,000 which together with grants and fund raising events raised
the £300,000 needed to begin building.  By the time the Rev Bradley left to become Principal of the Unitarian College Manchester it was almost complete.

Rev. Jean Bradley  2010-2018
The new building was officially opened in 2010 by the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire.  Since then the Exhibition Rooms have been developed.  Jean has introduced a number of new initiatives for the benefit of the people in the congregation and the town thus making the chapel even more visible.

Rev. Alex Bradley  2018-2022
Alex returned to Brook Street Chapel following the closure of the Unitarian College in Manchester. He continued to build on the initiatives established by his wife Jean, and both played an important role in chapel life as well as leading worship services. The arrival of covid 19 brought difficult times for the chapel, causing  closure for a number of weeks, followed by restrictions to normal services and chapel life. Alex maintained contact with the congregation throughout this challenging period with phone calls, emails and texts, and on-line worship services. It is to his enormous credit that the congregation remained intact, and returned to the chapel at the earliest opportunity.

Brook Street Chapel Heritage Site>