Poole Methodist Church facts for kids
Poole Methodist Church is an old church located on Poole High Street in Dorset, England. It is also known as Poole High Street Methodist Church or "The Spire." This church was built in the 1800s. A new part added to the church was even nominated for an award in 2016 for being "the ugliest building" completed that year in the United Kingdom.
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Discovering Poole Methodist Church
A Methodist chapel existed in Poole starting in 1793. However, it closed when the current Poole Methodist Church was built. This church was designed by an architect named Charles Bell. It was built between 1878 and 1880. The church is made from special stones called Purbeck and Bath stone. It officially opened to the public in 1880.
Building Style and Use
The church has a gothic style, which means it has a grand, old-fashioned look. It has a very noticeable tall, pointed tower. A separate chapel building was added in 1893. For many years, from 1843 to 1985, this church was part of a group of Methodist churches in the Poole and East Dorset area. During the Second World War, the church building was used as a schoolroom for children.
In 2005, five different Methodist churches in Poole decided to join together. They all became one big group based at the Poole Methodist Church. Later, in 2011, the church was used as a place where people could go to vote in a special election called the United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum.
Modern Changes and Renovation
In the summer of 2009, the church had to close for safety reasons. Plaster from the walls inside the building started to fall off. That same year, a plan was made to fix and expand the building. The goal was to make it the main center for the Methodist community in Poole. This big project was expected to cost around £4 million. The plan was approved in 2010.
The first part of the renovation was finished in 2014. This included adding a new café to the church. The project received about £200,000 from a group called the Garfield Weston Foundation. Later, the church's windows were replaced with new double-glazed windows. The large new extension was completed in 2016. After this, the church started calling itself "The Spire." This new part replaced an older chapel that was built in a Georgian style.
The Carbuncle Cup Nomination
In 2016, the new extension of the church was nominated for the Carbuncle Cup. This is an annual award given to what is considered "the ugliest building in the United Kingdom" completed in the past year. A newspaper called The Guardian described the extension as looking like "a pile of site Portakabins they forgot to remove."
