The school was established in 1786. Around 1817, after some years in temporary accommodation, the school moved to purpose-built premises in Chancery Lane. The ground floor of the building was occupied by the school, while the upper storey was used for the chapel. In 1835 Bank Meadow School was formed, initially as a break-away school, the result of a dispute at Chancery Lane. However the two schools became reconciled and were re-united in 1880 when they moved into a new, joint building again in Chancery Lane. The school-chapel spent most of its long history in Manchester 3rd Wesleyan (Grosvenor Street) Circuit. It closed in 1949 and the building was sold in 1956 (by which time the street had been re-named Chancellor Lane).