History of the Windsor Methodist Church
Adapted from “The Centenary Story”
by Jean Kirkwood, and updated by John Preston 2003.
The roots of Methodism in Windsor are very nearly as old as Methodism itself. It was only four months after John
Wesley had felt his “heart strangely warmed” during the famous events of 24th May 1738, that he first preached
in Windsor. His Journal records quite simply for Tuesday 26th September 1738, “I declared the Gospel of peace to a small
company in Windsor.” That was the first of 14 visits in as many years.
By 1748 John Wesley makes reference to “members of the society” in Windsor but sadly there
are no records tracing further developments until in 1800, a Mr. John Ould attended a prayer meeting in Windsor. Mr. Ould
became the mainstay of Methodism in Windsor, and it appears that his house was the society's meeting place. By 1815 membership
had reached 26, and in the following year a body of Trustees was formed to arrange for the erection of a Chapel with the Rev.
Thomas Robinson appointed to be the Minister. A small Chapel was duly built in Bier Lane (now River Street) which was a heavily
populated area in those days. It was in the Bier Lane Chapel that John Higgs, a native of Maidenhead, was converted in 1829
and he set to work to take Methodism to Maidenhead.
The
membership clearly grew well in the early 19th Century and a gallery had to be added to the Chapel. Even so, Beir Lane was
bursting at the seams and in 1837 larger new premises were opened just off Peascod Street (now part of King Edward Court).
Records do not show why the Peascod Street Chapel lasted only 40 years. There were certainly concerns that it was tucked away
down a passage off the street and presumably a more prominent edifice was considered desirable. And so, in 1874, the Quarterly
Meeting gave permission for the erection of a new Chapel at a cost of £6,000. How many millions is that at today's
prices? But the worshippers raised the money.
As
can be seen in the Alma Road Chapel, the foundation stone of the present Church was laid on 8th May 1876 and the new building
opened on the 21st February 1877. The members were justly proud of the marvellous new Church. It was heated by Grundy's
Hot Air Apparatus, with fresh air drawn in at vents on the windowsills. In good Methodist tradition the pulpit was placed
centrally, against the south wall, and the organ (installed in 1879) shared the north gallery with the choir for many years.
By 1960, the Church premises were showing signs of age and in
1961 a major renovation scheme was launched linked with the call to Revival. Thanks chiefly to the many regular weekly donations
over several years, more than £10,000 was raised making possible the extensive renovation and re-decoration needed to see
the building through the next 30 years.
In the late 1980's there was growing concern about the inadequacy
of the Church building, particularly the two-storey Schoolroom section at the rear. After much prayerful study, a large scale
Re-Development Scheme was agreed at the daunting cost of £800,000! Under the title “Forward in Faith” the venture
was launched on 3rd June 1990 at a Grand Rally addressed by Viscount Tonypandy. Thanks to the enthusiasm and bright ideas
of the Fund- raising Committee, and the dedication, generosity and hard work of very many people, the fund grew and the work
began. We were helped very considerably at this time by the kindness of St. Edwards Church, who gave us free use of their
Schoolroom suite throughout the building phase. And finally, with great rejoicing, the re-developed Church was officially
opened by Her Majesty the Queen (accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh) on 6th April 1993. It was not actually the final step,
because fund-raising had to continue for a further 3 years! But on 2nd June 1996 a joyful Thanksgiving Service completed the
mammoth task.
In 2007 we received a very generous donation covering the cost
of upgrading our existing audio system to include projection facilities both in the church and in the hall downstairs. For
major events the system is capable of projecting any activity in the church in the hall downstairs or vice versa.
History of the Eton Wick Methodist Church
Adapted from “Tough Assignment” by Judith Hunter.
Eton Wick in the 1870’s
was a very small country village, its houses – less than a hundred in number – mainly concentrated between Bell
Lane and Sheepcote Road and between the Common and Eton Wick Road. There were several farms and farm cottages, and Bell Farm
had been recently bought by the Eton Sanitary Authority for use as a sewage farm for Eton.
In 1877 Charles Tough who had recently been employed as Farm Manager married Frances Annie Moore from Rotherhithe.
Annie as she became known was a wholehearted Christian and on arrival in the village set about sharing her faith.
By
1884 land just across the boundary had been bought and laid out into building plots and new houses were under construction.
Annie, supported by the Primitive Methodists in Queen Street Maidenhead, found a site for a church and with much persistence
Annie wore down the resistance of the developer until he gave her a plot “as a reward for her perseverance”. The cost of building the church was £300. A large amount for such a small community
to find.
The
Chapel was finished in 1886 and for the first 50 years, Methodist church life in the village was fairly constant but effective,
attracting morning and evening congregations of 30 – 40 and an afternoon Sunday School of around 60 – 70 children
of all ages. There was also a Sisterhood meeting for the ladies of the Chapel and a Men’s Fireside which attracted members
from the nearby Ledgers Road Church.
When
on 9th June 1930 our founder Mrs Frances Annie Tough died, members decided to build the Tough Memorial Hall, together
with toilets and kitchen in her honour. This was duly opened on 28th
September 1935.
During
the ensuing years the village expanded and the chapel catered for numerous activities
such as:
o The Ladies Club formed in 1961 as a social group
o Carol & Mince Pie evenings – started Christmas 1965
o Sunday evening Prayer Meeting – formed in 1968 by Harry Cook
o Bible Study Group – started in 1982 by the Chew family
o Parents and Tots venture – launched in 1985 by Laura Clack
In
1986 the members re-decorated the whole building and erected the folding partition and curtaining to allow best use of the
hall and sanctuary facilities for large meetings.
Death
of several of our stalwart members failed to dishearten us and by 1994 the second part of our Tough Assignment was launched
with the momentous decision to completely refurbish the whole Chapel with up-to-date toilets and kitchen to meet the exacting
state-of-the-art Government Health and Safety regulations. This became known as the 2094 project because we were reaching
out to the next hundred years. At this time “Seeking To Serve” became the driving principle of our membership.
The
chapel was closed for about six months due to the refurbishment and during this time services were held at St.Gilbert’s
Catholic Church while much of our furniture was kept in storage by the Anglicans . The three village churches grew much closer
together at this time and when the renovated chapel was re-opened a Service of Thanksgiving was shared with the Anglican and
Catholic communities.
New
individual seating was introduced to replace the old pews and a new pulpit was donated in memory of the Hogg family.
Recent ventures have included:
o Community Care (mobile assistance for hospital and surgery visits)
o The Thursday Fellowship replacing the Sisterhood
o Wednesday Luncheon Club – started in February 1994
o Winter Pie and Praise evenings – started on Nov. 4th 1997
o Village Singers – started in 2006 for people to express musical talents
Over
the years the Chapel has had a reputation for being warm and welcoming and preachers and visitors alike have enjoyed the friendly
welcome they receive. As with many Methodist Societies food plays an important part in the life of the church.
The third stage of the Tough Assignment is currently being formulated as we seek to continue to provide a centre for
Village Community. With the accent upon our “Faith being put into action” we continue to “Seek to Serve”
our friends and neighbours by our Christian witness in Sunday Worship and the week-day events.
History of the Old Windsor Methodist Church
In The Beginning
Prior to the 1890s, Old Windsor had no place of worship
for Non-Conformists. A small group (under the auspices of the Baptist Church)
started house meetings in a cottage in Albany Road. As numbers grew, the group
moved, first to the hall of the Boys’ School, sited at what is now Croft Corner, and later to the Iron Chapel, believed
to be on our present site.
A permanent House of Worship - the Old Windsor Gospel
Hall - was built and dedicated in 1897, under the auspices of the London Evangelical Society.
The Church’s first minister, Rev Mr Bellchamber, was succeeded by Pastor Brown.
A Rota of Preachers
When Pastor Brown retired in 1928, financial
constraints resulted in the link with the London Evangelical Society being severed.
The members of the Gospel Hall approached Messrs King and Elisha, who both transferred from their Churches in Windsor
and, with others, took over the running of the Old Windsor Gospel Hall. Selected
preachers from various Non-Conformist Churches - Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, the Assembly of Open Brethren -
agreed to come and preach at their own expense. One preacher, refusing public
transport on a Sunday, rode over on his horse from Chertsey.
Methodism and Growth
During the Second World War, the ranks of the Sunday
School were swelled by evacuees.
It became more and more difficult to find preachers
both during and after the war. Eventually, on 19th June 1952 the Gospel
Hall members decided to seek union with the Methodist Church. The congregation
was accepted unanimously by the Windsor and Maidenhead Circuit of the Methodist Church, at the next Circuit Meeting. Old Windsor held the inaugural meeting of its Methodist Trust on 28th October
1952. [Times were still hard … Members decided to purchase only a dozen
Methodist hymn-books and one music copy … Two members agreed to ask around the circuit to see whether any Churches had
unwanted copies!]
Throughout the 1950s the Church’s
youth work grew rapidly. An extra building was needed. A new hall was built and
dedicated on 15th June 1963 by Baroness Schröder. The Church switched
to electricity for heating; no longer must “a long shovel and a full coal
scuttle be always left in the vestry”.
Consolidation and Modernisation
- 1970s Style!
The work among young people continued to grow. Major work was carried out on the building in 1972 - the inside of the Church was
“turned round” and modernised, a vestry / meeting room was added, and the current side entrance incorporated. Unfortunately, planning regulations then meant that the front entrance porch, a feature
of the original building, had to be removed to provide space for car parking.
Later in the ’70s the old wooden pews (bring
your own cushion) were replaced by chairs, and a new organ replaced the original (organists - pump with your feet) one.
The 1970s and 1980s were vintage years for the Church. The membership reached its peak of 45, and its Youth Groups, Junior Church and Bible
Classes flourished.
This was followed by a period of decline. With, for example, the growth of alternative youth activities in Old Windsor on Sunday mornings, numbers
dropped and, for a time, we did not even have a Junior Church.
The Centenary Challenge
In the mid 1990s, under Rev James Booth, members developed
a “vision” of how we would like our Church to develop.
In 1995 a new beginning was made in our ministry with
the appointment of a lay worker. Our Church benefitted from increased outreach,
contact with the village’s children through our Junior Church and a Holiday Club, and additional pastoral support for
our members.
In May 1997 we launched our Centenary Challenge. Completed in May 2000, this gave us our current attractive exterior with its glass
cross visibly proclaiming to all passers-by that it is a CHURCH (good-bye, 1970s planning regulations). The hall and vestry / meeting room have been renovated.
We have an enlarged, welcoming entrance
area, gas-fired central heating, a larger modernised kitchen and revamped toilets, including facilities for the disabled.
A United,
Christian Front
The inaugural meeting of the Old Windsor United Churches’
Action Group was held on 17th March 1969. From that day to this the
Churches in the village have worked together in a spirit of unity.
Joint events take place regularly. Each year typically, we have a service during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a Procession of Witness
on Good Friday and a Remembrance Day Service. Special events also take place
at Christmas. The group is responsible for the house-to-house collection during
Christian Aid Week, and distributes Christmas and Easter cards to every house in the village, publicising events at each church. The churches have united for Bible Study, Lent Projects and the Alpha Course.
Further fund-raising activities have included hunger
lunches and bring-and-buys. There have been many “one-off” appeals
in response to emergencies and disasters, such as a street collection for the East Pakistan Flood Appeal, 220 blankets collected
for North Bengal and many retiring collections.
Have a Look!
If you are in the area, do take the opportunity to
look around the Church. Items of particular note include:
o
The “Turret”. It’s so unusual, perhaps unique for a
Church of our size! It’s a simple, effective advertisement. Look at it from both inside and - preferably in the dark - from outside.
o
The stained glass in the Church windows. Included when the Church was
built over 100 years ago, it was made in Old Windsor. Ours is one of the few
buildings in the village retaining this aspect of village history. Other examples
can be seen in Windsor’s
Guildhall and Brigidine School.
o
The carving of the head of Christ above the Sanctuary doorway was presented to us by Rev Janusz Oslzanski as a gift
from his Church in Bydgoszcz in Poland during
an exchange visit organised by Windsor’s Outreach committee.
What! No T-shirt?
No - we don’t offer you a T-shirt. We do offer friendship and Christ. Thank you for taking the
time to find out a little more of our history. If you are nearby, why not come
to our next service or coffee morning or other event?
