Dalehead Chapel or St James’ is a very picturesque and sylvanian-appearing church set in Gisburn forest on the road from Tosside to Keasden, its present construction dates from the 1930’s when it was moved and rebuilt from its original location serving the village of Stocks-in-bowland which was flooded to make Stocks reservoir.
It was originally consecrated in 1852 by the bishop of the diocese of Bradford and still remains under their care, although it has its own group of volunteers caring for its upkeep nowadays.
(Red Rose Collections)
The meadow immediately surrounding the church was set-aside land before the church was moved there and so was never improved with fertilisers or chemicals and since then has become a haven for over 130 species of wildflowers and orchids including Ragged Robin and Early-spotted Orchid, it is so diverse that it has been designated a Biological Heritage Site.
(John H Darch)
Slaidburn Silver Band occasionally tour and perform at Dalehead and it is well visited by the ancestors of families with connections to this area, some who still inter their relatives in its peaceful graveyard. The chapel currently sits in the parish of Tosside and the Anglican Church and they will often hold services here.
The visitors book therefore gives a very unique insight into the genealogical history of the area and makes for very interesting reading, it is well worth leafing through and you’ll be surprised how far some visitors have travelled!
(John S Turner)
You can find the site of the original church (mentioned in my article about the construction of Stocks reservoir) beside the School Lane carpark just up the road.
Although it was feared that the church would be flooded the waters never reached that high so it need never have been moved, but I think it sits quite snugly in its current corner of the forest and it certainly hasn’t been forgotten.
(John S Turner)
By the Birch trail at Stocks reservoir
A poem by Rosemary Moore about the old Beech tree in School Lane car park which stands in what used to be the churchyard of Dalehead chapel.
Why do you weep Beech tree?
Why are your branches twisted and curled?
Why do they reach down to the ground
instead of up to the sky?
Do you weep because your trunk was cut
so close to the earth?
Is it because you are scarred with human names
whose rough boots scraped along your branches,
as they climbed upon your almost horizontal limbs?
Or is that you weep because you yield no nuts,
when the wild trees are so fecund?
Your curtain of leaves shields human eyes
from the sight of the demolished church
and flooded valley now almost dry.
Poems for National tree week
From Poems for National Tree Week written by the Ribble Valley Stanza poets for Forest of Bowland National Landscape (formerly AONB)
A B-H
(Nov 2024)
Northwest Nature and History 
I’ve never been inside it so thanks for the photo. The weeping Beech at Stocks is beautiful.
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Thankyou Alexander. I visited last year and there was a very interesting exhibition at the back of the church covering the history of the church as well as the construction of the reservoir. It was put together by the chap who that day was re-pointing the wall outside. If the exhibition is still there it is well with the visit. The grounds are full of orchids in late spring – highly recommended.
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Thankyou Alexander. I visited last year and there was a very interesting exhibition at the back of the church covering the history of the church as well as the construction of the reservoir. It was put together by the chap who that day was re-pointing the wall outside. If the exhibition is still there it is well with the visit. The grounds are full of orchids in late spring – highly recommended.
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