Bethesda Methodist Chapel is a disused Methodist chapel, in Hanley, Staffordshire, England. One of the largest Nonconformist chapels outside London, the building has been known as the "Cathedral of the Potteries", being "one of the largest and most ornate Methodist town chapels surviving in the UK".

The first Methodist chapel on the site was built by the Methodist New Connexion in the late 18th century. Finding the building too small for their growing membership, the congregation replaced it with the current building in 1819, to the designs of a local amateur architect. The chapel is built over two stories and is in the Italianate style, with further work to expand the building completed in 1859 and 1887.

It became a Grade II* listed building in 1972, but this did not prevent it deteriorating. The chapel was closed for active worship in 1985, the size of the congregation having diminished. After passing through a number of owners, it was acquired by the Historic Chapels Trust in 2002 and is undergoing an extensive restoration scheme.

In 1779, the congregation of Hanley Wesleyan Chapel were expelled from the chapel for supporting Alexander Kilham. Kilham denounced the Methodist conference for giving too much power to church ministers, at the expensive of the laity; his disagreements led to a schism in the Methodist church and his founding of the Methodist New Connexion. In Hanley, the New Connexion congregation, foremost led by William Smith, Job Meigh and George and John Ridgway, initially met in the house of one of its prominent members, and then acquired a coach-house at the corner of Albion Street that was converted into a meeting house. During the following year the first chapel was built on the site with seating for 600 people. It was formally opened by Wiliam Thom, the first president of the New Connexion, and Alexander Kilham, its secretary. This chapel was the head of the Hanley Circuit, and by 1812 this Circuit was the strongest in the New Connexion. During the previous year the chapel had been expanded to seat 1,000. It was still too small for the size of the congregation and was demolished and replaced by the present chapel in 1819.

Plans for the new chapel were drawn up by J. H. Perkins, a local school master, with seating for 2,500. In 1859 a colonnade was added to the front of the chapel, with a window and cornice above. This was designed by Staffordshire architect Robert Scrivener. Further alterations were made in 1887, including the extension of the minister's vestry, replacement of the windows and renewal and restoration of the pews.

The building is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* listed building, having been designated in 1972. However, it has been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register.

Prior to the closure of the chapel in the 1980s, the size of the congregation had declined and the fabric of the building was deteriorating. In 1978 the decorative plaster ceiling was replaced with a suspended ceiling of acoustic tiles, with further repairs carried out under the Manpower Services Commission. During the course of these repairs, discussions took place about the future of the building and its dwindling congregation. None of the ideas for developing the building came to fruition, and worship in the chapel ended in December 1985. Permission to demolish the building was refused because of its listed status. It was bought by a private individual in 1987, but the plan to convert it into a nightclub was declined. The building was acquired by the Bethesda Heritage Trust in 2000. After the Bethesda Heritage Trust failed to raise sufficient finance to continue worship, in 2002 it passed into the ownership of the Historic Chapels Trust, an organisation which aims to find community uses for the buildings in its care. In 2003 the chapel was a finalist in the BBC's first Restoration series, where viewers decided on which listed building, that was in immediate need of remedial works, was to win a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund; it failed to win the prize.

The Historic Chapels Trust obtained an estimate for the restoration, which amounted to £2.5m. Unable to meet the full amount, the Trust decided to undertake the restoration in phases. The first phase was completed in September 2007 at a cost of nearly £900,000, which included weatherproofing and major works to the roof. Of the money raised for this, £262,500 came from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £200,000 from English Heritage, £250,000 from Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and a further £20,000 was raised locally. The second phase of restoration commenced in August 2010 and was completed a year later. The Trust spent £600,000 restoring the galleries, staircases and pulpits, replacing the organ and renovating the exterior ironwork. Funds are currently being raised for the final phase of restoration, which will include installation of a new heating and lighting system.