Freewill House, Cotherstone Moor

Early Worship on the Moor

The interpretation board beside the building suggests that Freewill House may once have been associated with one of the earliest nonconformist chapel communities in this part of the North Pennines.

While this claim cannot yet be fully confirmed through independent archival sources, it is consistent with the wider history of Methodism and nonconformist worship across Teesdale during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

In many remote upland areas, early religious gatherings often took place in houses, barns or simple meeting rooms before purpose built chapels were constructed.

Freewill House appears to have been one such meeting place, serving the scattered farms of Briscoe and the surrounding moorland.

According to the interpretation board, the building originally had a heather thatched roof, taken from the surrounding moorland, and may have contained rooms used for meetings and communal gatherings.

Although the exact internal layout is uncertain, the surviving structure suggests that the building may once have served several purposes as both a home and a meeting place.

The Chapel Keeper and Life on the Moor

One of the most interesting traditions associated with Freewill House concerns the role of the chapel keeper.

Information on the interpretation board explains that the chapel keeper's role was combined with that of a shepherd working on the surrounding moorland. The position provided accommodation within the building as well as access to small surrounding fields and garden space.

According to local interpretation recorded at the site, sheep were sometimes housed beneath the meeting room on Saturday nights in order to help warm the building before Sunday services.

While this detail cannot currently be verified through written archival records, it reflects the practical realities of life in isolated upland communities where buildings often served several purposes and resources were used creatively.

Early Residents of Freewill House

The interpretation board records that John Killen and Ann Addison, who married in 1746, lived at Freewill House and raised their family there.

If correct, this would place the building in use by the mid eighteenth century.

The Killen family are said to have kept sheep and hens and owned at least one horse used when shepherding across the surrounding moorland.

Life here would have been physically demanding. Water would have been drawn from the nearby beck and electricity did not reach many remote parts of Teesdale until the twentieth century.

Although further archival research would be needed to confirm the details of the Killen family connection, the broader picture of small upland families combining farming, shepherding and chapel life fits well with what is known about the history of Teesdale.

The New Briscoe Chapel

By the late nineteenth century the small meeting place at Freewill House may have become too small for the growing chapel community.

According to the interpretation board, a meeting held at Freewill House on 20 January 1897 reportedly attracted more than seventy people who agreed that a new chapel was needed.

A community fundraising effort followed which eventually led to the construction of Briscoe Free Mission Gospel Chapel, opened in 1905.

Reports from the Teesdale Mercury confirm that the chapel was active in the early twentieth century and hosted gatherings including anniversary services and community events.

Local interpretation suggests the chapel was built by Nicholas Wearmouth and Frederick Wearmouth, stonemasons from West Briscoe, although further documentary confirmation would be needed to verify this fully.

Chapel Life in the Teesdale Hills

Newspaper reports from the early twentieth century help bring the chapel community to life.

One report in the Teesdale Mercury from 1906 describes anniversary celebrations at Briscoe Chapel which included a picnic tea, public meeting and evening gathering attended by people from Cotherstone and neighbouring dales.

Visitors arrived on foot, by horse and trap or by bicycle.

In remote rural communities such as this, chapels were often far more than places of worship. They acted as social meeting places where people shared news, celebrated harvests and strengthened community ties.

Even a small chapel on a remote moor could play an important role in the life of the surrounding district.

Later Years and Decline

Evidence suggests the chapel continued to function into the early twentieth century.

A 1910 newspaper report records a court case involving damage to the chapel door, providing a small glimpse of everyday life connected with the building.

Another Teesdale Mercury article from 1930 describes the reopening of the chapel following renovation and harvest thanksgiving services.

However, like many small rural chapels, changing patterns of worship and population shifts appear to have led to its decline.

A later report from 1961 states that the once well attended chapel, built in 1905, was to be sold.

Freewill House Today

Today Freewill House stands quietly above the beck on Cotherstone Moor.

Parts of the building appear to have collapsed or fallen into ruin, while other sections look to have been carefully stabilised or restored, with newer stonework, doors and windows visible on the front of the structure.

Without access to building records it is difficult to say exactly when this work took place, but the contrast between the restored frontage and the older ruined sections suggests that the building has undergone changes over time.

The building itself appears to be in private hands, so it is best viewed respectfully from outside the surrounding boundary walls rather than entering the property.

Freewill House can be seen from the nearby moor and footpaths, and there is also an interpretation board located outside the property which explains some of the site's history.

This page therefore shares the story of the building and the chapel community that once gathered here, rather than acting as a guide to entering the site itself.

About This Page

This page has been created using a combination of sources including the Durham Record photographic archive, historic newspaper references from the Teesdale Mercury, the interpretation board at the site and observations made from public viewpoints.

Some details about Freewill House are well supported by historical records, while others rely on local interpretation and cannot yet be confirmed with complete certainty. If additional archival evidence emerges in the future, this page will be updated to reflect the most accurate understanding of the site.