Churchill Methodist Church facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Churchill Methodist Church
Wesleyan Methodist Memorial Church
Methodist church in Front Street, Churchill
Churchill Methodist Church Location in Somerset
51°20′04″N 2°48′01″W / 51.334339°N 2.800290°W / 51.334339; -2.800290
Location	Churchill, North Somerset
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Methodist
Membership	39 (2018)
History
Founder(s)	Sidney Hill
Dedicated	1 June 1879 (1879-June-01) (Whitsun): Schoolroom 2 May 1881 (1881-May-02): Church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Foster and Wood of Bristol
Architectural type	Methodist church
Style	Perpendicular Gothic
Administration
Circuit	Banwell Circuit (when first built) (current)

The Churchill Methodist Church is in the village of Churchill, North Somerset. It is a Grade II listed Methodist church. This means it's an important historical building. It's part of the Somerset Mendip Methodist Circuit.

The church was designed by Foster & Wood from Bristol. It was built in a style called Perpendicular Gothic. The church officially opened on May 2, 1881. Before the church, a schoolroom and a coach house were built. They opened on June 1, 1879.

Sidney Hill, a rich local businessman, paid for the church and schoolroom. He built them to remember his wife, Mary Ann. The current minister for Churchill Methodist Church is Reverend Meg Slingo. The Methodist church works closely with the nearby Anglican church. They often do activities together, especially for children and in local schools. The old schoolroom is now a community hall. It has a new kitchen and smaller rooms for different activities.

History of the Church

Methodists in Churchill first met in private homes. This was until their first chapel opened in the autumn of 1835. This old chapel was taken down in 1880. Sidney Hill then built the new Wesleyan church. He built it on land given by his friend, William Bobbett.

Sidney Hill's wife, Mary Ann Bobbett, had passed away in 1874. He built the new church to honor her memory. The new church was designed by Foster and Wood. William Veals, a master builder from Bristol, built it. The cost was about £3,300. The church officially opened on May 2, 1881. There was a special dedication service that afternoon.

The schoolroom and coach house were built before the church. They opened on Whitsun, June 1, 1879. These buildings cost about £1,300. The schoolroom was later connected to the new church by a covered walkway called a cloister. Sidney Hill also set aside money to help maintain the church and schoolroom. In 1898, he paid for a new porch to be added. Foster and Wood designed this porch too.

In 1906, Sidney Hill gave more land behind the church. This land was used to make the burial ground bigger. It was made sacred in June of that year. In August 1924, the church closed for a short time. This was so the organ could be fixed and improved. The choir also got a better space. Church services were held in the schoolroom during this time. The church reopened on November 27, 1924.

Church Design and Features

Church Building

The church has a main area called a nave and a special area for the altar called a chancel. It also has two side sections called transepts. There is a balcony, or gallery, at one end. A small tower with a pointed roof, called a staircase turret, helps people reach the gallery. An organ is in the eastern transept.

Above the communion table, there is a special window. It's a memorial window made by Clayton and Bell. It shows Dorcas helping people. Below this window, there is a brass plate. It says that Sidney Hill built the church in 1880. It was built to honor God and his wife, Mary Ann. She was born in Bristol in 1839 and passed away in 1874.

In April 1894, Sidney Hill gave four stained glass windows to the church. These windows were made by Joseph Bell and Sons. They show important Bible stories:

• Jesus being presented in the temple
• Christ healing the sick
• Jesus giving His last instructions to His Apostles
• Jesus blessing little children

The first three windows are on one side of the church. The "Lord blessing little children" window is in the transept. Each window has a Bible verse at the bottom.

Church Porch

The porch was built in the same Perpendicular Gothic style as the church. It uses local stone. The side doors are made of strong wood called teak. The floor has colorful encaustic tiles. The stained glass windows in the porch were made by James Bell and Son. They show:

• The Four Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)
• The Minor Prophets (from the Old Testament)

At the entrance to the church, there are two special stands. They came from Bethlehem and Jerusalem. A man named William Sidney Adams gave them as a gift. When the porch first opened in 1898, these stands held lamps. Many Methodists from the area came to the opening ceremony.

Schoolroom

More stained glass windows were added to the schoolroom starting in 1902. Sidney Hill paid for the first window. It shows "Suffer little children to come unto me" and has the Bible verse at the bottom. These windows were designed by James Paxton Brown Young. He was a very famous stained glass artist.

Young also designed other windows for the schoolroom. They show more Bible stories, like:

• Christ blessing the children
• Sermon on the Mount
• The birth of Jesus
• The wise men visiting Jesus
• Jesus with the teachers in the Temple
• Christ entering Jerusalem
• Feeding of the Five Thousand
• The Woman of Samaria
• Jesus on the way to Emmaus
• Good Shepherd
• Light of the World

Current Minister

The Reverend Meg Slingo is the minister for Churchill Methodist Church. She started her role in the Somerset Mendip Methodist circuit on August 30, 2019. There was a special ceremony at Wells Methodist church.

See also

Images for kids

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  Porch linking the church with the schoolroom

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  Gable end of schoolroom (dated 1879) and porte-cochère to car park

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  The Narthex at the front of the church

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  The cloister from the porte-cochère to the schoolroom