DEVONSHIRE Street Congregational Chapel, opened in 1856 with seating for 1,036, was considered a "smart" place of worship, attended as it was by Keighley mill-owning families like the Claphams, the Cravens and most notably the Briggs.

During Sunday-morning services their coachmen would sit on the back row in order to slip out during the last hymn, to bring their carriages round to the front door.

This fashionable turn-of-the-century gathering may not be entirely typical, as it has attracted some curious onlookers, including several working-class women in shawls and a milkman standing in his cart.

The chapel seemed built to last for centuries, but by 1955 the upper part of its frontage was found to be leaning.

"The building is about a hundred years old," reported an examining architect, "and age and altered traffic conditions have caused some movement."

Although the chapel was not considered dangerous at that time, it was nevertheless demolished in1964.