[ILN 16 May 1863]

The DALRYMPLE MEMORIAL CHAPEL,
Union Mills, Isle of Man.

This chapel, which was opened on the 29th ult. [29 April 1863], was erected as a memorial of the life and labours of a singularly good and useful man. A native of Scotland, possessing the strong religious feeling which marks the people of that country, and of cultivated intellect, James Dalrymple, among many other useful works, brought his zeal and knowledge to bear upon giving religious instruction in the thinly peopled district in which he found himself located. And, not satisfied with ministering to the spiritual need of those around him, Mr. Dalrymple self educated himself so as to be the doctor of the poor within his resolve. Being a man singularly practical in his nature, of large Grasp of mind, and quick in the appreciation of truth, he soon picked up enough of knowledge to make himself useful in a district where doctors were distant and patients poor.

He had one invariable rule of action-to charge nothing for his services to any individual, however wealthy, while to the poor he gave both advice and medicines gratuitously. Being a man of great vigour and endurance, he often walked many miles to visit a patient who was too ill to wait on him, so that in the course of time he became known in almost every nook of the island, and where ever he went he was sure to be met with the friendly recognition or blessing of some of the many hundreds whom he had benefited. He lived to the ripe age of eighty four.

The foundation stone of the memorial chapel was laid on the 25th of June, 1862, by Captain John Hamilton, of Villa Marina, Greenook, an old and intimate friend of the deceased. The building is 39 ft. long by 19 ft. broad, is calculated to hold about 130 persons, and is a great ornament to the village. The architect is Mr. John Robinson, of Douglas, and the contractor is Mr. Henry Robinson, of the same place

[For more information on Manx Congregationalists see page under Non-conformity]