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1903 (MR) H.B. Goodwin (Minister)
1904-07 (MR) H.M. Hull (Minister)
1907 Methodist School built behind Chapel.
New granite frontage put on church.
1908 (MR) John Booth (Minister)
1909-11 (MR) T.K. Upright (Minister)
1912-14 (MR) P.T. Yarker (Minister)
1914 (CL) Harry Mosdell (Minister)
1915-19 (MR) R.J. Barrett (Minister)
1939 (Blacket's) "Bridge-street Methodist Church"
1984 Methodist Church, Hall, and land, offered for sale and redevelopment. Church was to join with URC in High Street.
- Wallace Edwards (Minister)
1988 The 1984 plans were not passed. The church continued to be used. In March 1988 the
two churches joined as
"Christchurch", and the Bridge Street property was again
offered for sale.
1992 Colin Scarrett (Minister)
1994-95 Extensive restoration and refurbishment to the church and church hall, paid for by
selling The Manse to Mr Gregory and
Rachel Furr (lived in Inkpen). Whilst landscaping
area behind church hall, gardener found a stone lying flat (under washing
line)
inscribed "Ebenezer. Samuel Chap 7 verse 12 - 1807". This was the foundation stone
from the
original Church Street Ebenezer Chapel, which was moved to the Wesleyan
Chapel in Charnham Street 1869, and came to Bridge Street in 1972 when
the
Wesleyan was demolished. "Ebenezer" means "stone of thanksgiving".
MR = Methodist Records
Notes by Michael Blakeway (1982)
A church programme states that 'the present site dates from 1866' and the school building at the back of the church does look about that date*. The
church itself however proclaims its date "unequivocally on the Bridge Street front as 1907 and on "the whole also looks it+. Too far away from the Victorian period to be downright Gothic,
it yet retains a Gothic feel about the window tracery while at the same time adopting Venetian shapes for the window openings. The west end of the church carries this classical touch further; it is shaped like a
triptych with semi-circularly-headed windows on each face. 'Edwardian Baroque' is perhaps the style the church is uneasily settling into, though more the whiff of it than the style.
The interior is wide and open and without mystery -- a church of the people in the nonconformist tradition. The roof is pleasantly panelled over and the
dangers of its thrust guarded against by tie-rods.
Perhaps the most unfortunate part of the building is its Bridge Street front where the facing of mock granite is repellent. Maybe the architect himself (who
was he?) flinched away from it, cutting it off below the apex of the roof (a 1912 photograph shows this to have been original). But this looks mere patchwork.
Behind the facade the main body of the church is warm brick. If only in this brick-built town the whole structure had been made this way it would have sat
more easily in the street. But church architects too often feel impelled to give their buildings airs.
* However another church paper gives 1907 as the date of the school out it certainly doesn't look it.
+ The above 'church paper' states that the 1907 Bridge Street front was the result of 'alterations', in which case the main body of the church presumably is 1866. This would explain the different building materials in front and rear but would raise problems of style at the west end.
List of Methodist Ministers
1866-68 (KD 1891) Primitive Methodist Chapel built with 250
seats.
1869 (PO) Aaron Smith (P.M. minister)
1869-70 (MR) Levi Norris (29 years),
1871 (MR) Levi Norris,
1872-76 (MR) S. Hooson,
1877 (MR) Nathanial Watts
1878-81 (MR) George Fowler
1881 (MR) Thomas Whitehead
1882-84 (MR) John Hancock
1885 (MR) A.W. Badminton
1886-88 (MR) T. Kench
1889-90 (MR) Joseph Peck
1891-92 (MR) J. Harrison
1893-96 (MR) George Hull
1897-99
(MR) P.T. Yarker
1900-02 (MR) Charles Portnall
1903 (KD) Charles Portnall (Minister) entered as 2 Bridge Street.
1903 (MR) H.B. Goodwin
1904-07 (MR) H.M. Hull
1907 Methodist School built
behind Chapel.
1908 (MR) John Booth
1909-11 (MR) T.K. Upright
1912-14 (MR) P.T. Yarker
1914 (CL) Harry Mosdell
1915-19 (MR) R.J. Barrett
1920-22 (MR) H.R. Didcock
1923-28 (MR) W.J.
Smart
1929-34 (MR) William Turner
1935 (MR) Edgar J. Hull
1936-43 (MR) H.J. Sad
1944-45 (MR) Thomas Marlowe
1946-58 (MR) D. Collier,BA
1959-65 (MR) C.E. Garritt
1966-71 (MR) Stanley W.
Smith
1972-77 (MR) F.Warren Davies
1977-80 (MR) C.T.Gill
1981 (MR) J. Morgan
Wallace Edwards (Minister)
1992-c.2002 Colin Scarrett (Minister)
c.2002-03 Gloria Passmore
c.2003 Rev'd Irena
Byron
Notes by Sylvia Evans, 6.2.1985:
METHODISM IN HUNGERFORD -
WESLEYAN METHODISTS.
1807 Conveyance of land in Great Church Street. The existing chapel was enlarged at this time so there were Wesleyan Methodists in Hungerford prior to 1807. (Ref: Copy of
document kept at Lucas & Marshall - High Street). Hogsflesh family were at Eddington Mill at this time. John Hogsflesh and others were buried in the little grave-yard in Church Street. The name Hogsflesh was
changed to Hofland in the 1860's. It is given as Hofland in Kelly's Directory of 1869.
1868/9 Building of the new chapel on the site of the White Hart in Charnham Street. This was known later as
Bath Road Wesleyan Church. The construction was done by a firm called Wilson & Wilcox of Bath.
Ref: Reading Mercury seen at Reading Ref. Library for Jan. & Feb. 1868.
The Church Street
buildings continued to be used for Day School and Sunday Schools. The Notice of Closure was in 1908.
1923 The property was sold ( or maybe leased ) to the Berks. Territorials in 1923/4.
1924 The burial ground
was enclosed in 1924. Subsequently the buildings were sold to Neates and at a later date Neates also bought the burial ground.
B.R.O. Methodist Church references are in the Miscellaneous Index. Circuit Schedule
Book D/N 3/1/10 gives numbers of members etc.
1837 68
1838 86
1839 70
1848 78
1849 82. R. Killick - Circuit Steward & W. Hogsflesh - Church Steward.
1850 80
1851 90. Also a note
that William Hogsflesh died in Feb 1842 and William Purdue on June ?4th 1843. Both are buried in the Church Street grave-yard.
1851 CS. Richard Killick (34) Grocer, druggist & draper. His father in law
was Wesleyan Minister named William Homer, aged 67 was living with them.
[Copy from Rev. Colin Scarrett, May 1994]
DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO THE SITE ON
WHICH BRIDGE STREET CHURCH STANDS.
The earliest of these documents is the right-hand indenture of a 'Fine' dated for the Hilary Term in the second year of the reign of George 2nd. That is
1729. This document was kindly deciphered for me by a member of the staff at the Berks. Record Office.
The property being sold was:- 1 messuage and garden, and 1 orchard. The vendor was William Atkins
and Anne and Edward, and the buyer was William Allen. The quit claim was £60 sterling.
In the second document we are told that William Atkins was the son of Edward, and that both were fishmongers (or
?fellmongers), while William Allen and his son Joseph were both glovers.
The second document is a lease of a newly erected messuage, bank-side garden and plot of land on the West side of 'shoot', by William
Allen to his son Joseph at a peppercorn rent to be paid on the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, i.e. Sept.29th.
It also says that this messuage is now in the tenure of Thomas Mundy and James Murray. The
newly erected messuage of Edward Lucas being on the North side and a tenement of Walter Tuttle on the South side.
This document is dated 23rd August,1748.
William Allen senior, died and was buried in
Hungerford in 1751.
The date 1791 is on the chimney of the present building to the South so it is possible that the present building replaced Mr. Tuttle's tenement.
At a later date this 1791 building was
used as the Manse and the Phelps family had a Bakers Business next door.
Then there is a considerable gap. The third document tells how Thomas Atherton acquired the buildings and site for the sum of £60, from
four sisters, Barbara Ann Elizabeth; Arabella; Mary; and Dorothea Justin. The property at this point was described as 1 messuage, 1 stable, and 1 acre of land. The document was drawn up on the morrow of All Souls in
the 43rd year of the reign of Georgelll. This I take to be Nov.2nd 1803.
I have not, so far, found any other reference to the Justin sisters.
It was Thomas George Atherton, son of Thomas Atherton who
sold the premises to the Primitive Methodist Trustees on April 16th 1866 for £548. 14s.
BRIDGE STREET CHURCH
Whereas we know that Bath Road (also called Charnham Street) Wesleyan Methodist
Church was built on the site of The White Hart in 1868/9 by a firm called Wilson and Wilcox of Bath, so far I have found no record of the actual building of Bridge Street Church. However there were Trustees
appointed on the 16th April.1866. These were:-
-George Thomas Phelps, Grocer and Baker.
-William Cruse, Butcher
-Edwin Wiggins, Blacksmith
-Joseph Rosier, Woodman
-William Champ,
Blacksmith
-George Martin, Cabinet maker
-Henry Taylor, Saddler
-John Silas Brown, Primitive Methodist Minister (probably of Newbury or Shefford?)
-Jesse Gooding, Carpenter
-William Bell,
Baker
-Joseph Fulbrook, Carpenter
-George Price, Primitive Methodist Minister,
All of Hungerford.
When the Trust was renewed on Dec. 4th 1893 G.T.Phelps, J. Rosier, & William Champ were
continuing as Trustees. The new Trustees were as follows:
-William Mapson, Watch maker
-George Phelps, Grocer
-Frederick Macklin, Grocer
-John Gooding, Carpenter
-Stephen Owen New,
Tailor
-William Lovelock, Moulder
-Mark Tidbury, Insurance Agent
-Jabey Fulbrook, Carpenter
-Stripling Thomas Mapson, Watch maker.
The deed was signed by George Hull as Chairman of the meeting. He
was also Primitive Methodist Minister in Hungerford. The witnesses were:- Samuel Southwood - Minister, and Joseph Mapson - Jeweller.
Of these Mr. S. 0. New used to come to church when I was a small child and a
Mr. Mapson used to visit occasionally.
BRIDGE STREET TRUSTEES. cont.
The.Samuel J. Southwood who witnessed the 1893 Deed was the Wesleyan Methodist Minister, while George Hull was
the Primitive Methodist Minister.
The next appointment of new Trustees was in 1907. Here the property is referred to as Church and Manse in Bridge Street.
The 'Old continuing Trustees'
were:-
-George Thomas Phelps, No occupation.
-William Mapson, Jeweller
-George Phelps, Grocer and Baker
-Frederick Macklin, Dairyman
-John Gooding, Carpenter
-Stephen Owen New, Tailor
-William
Lovelock, Moulder
-Jabez Fulbrook, Carpenter (Residence unknown)
The newly appointed Trustees were:-
-Alfred Mills, Horse Trainer
-William Jabez Rosier, Insurance Agent
-Walter William Hedges,
Gardiner
-William John Harris, Baker and Confectioner.
This document is dated 7th January 1907. George Hull is still chairman of the meeting and the witnesses were Harry Moore Hull. P.M. Minister and Fanny
Hoare Grocer and Dairy Keeper. The new signatures were witnessed by Harry Moore Hull and Ruth Hull, married woman.
Alfred Mills resigned his position as Trustee in a note dated 25th Jan.1938. Herbert J.
Sadd was the Minister at that time. The note does not give any reasons.
These were the Trustees who undertook to build the Schoolroom and to make alterations to the front of the church- hence the date 1907
over the front windows. They were all signatories to the loan document dated 3rd.Sept.1907 This was for £400 from the Primitive Methodist Chapel Aid Association. It was finally repaid in full by 20th Oct.
1947. The seal affixed Feb. 13th 1948. The Rev. Donald Collier was Minister in Hungerford at that time, living at 6 Charnham Street.
The new Primitive Methodist Schoolroom was registered as a place of worship
on Sept. 14th 1907. Recorded in the official Register on Sept 17th 1907. The No. 42645.
See also:
- Methodist Church (inc Methodism in Hungerford)
- Hungerford Methodist 125th Anniversary Celebration Weekend May 1993
- Letter from Colin Scarret 2001
Updated: 11.8.2011
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