St Mary's Methodist Church, Isles of Scilly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary’s Methodist Church, Hugh Town, Isles of Scilly |
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St Mary’s Methodist Church, Hugh Town, Isles of Scilly
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| 49°54′53.9″N 6°18′44″W / 49.914972°N 6.31222°W | |
| OS grid reference | SV 90547 10560 |
| Location | Hugh Town, Isles of Scilly |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Methodist |
| Previous denomination | Bible Christian |
| Architecture | |
| Designated | 14 December 1992 |
| Architect(s) | A.J. Trenear |
| Groundbreaking | 1899 |
| Administration | |
| Circuit | Isles of Scilly Methodist Circuit |
St Mary's Methodist Church, Hugh Town is a special church located in Hugh Town, on the beautiful Isles of Scilly. It's a place where people gather for worship and community events. This church is officially recognized as a Grade II listed building, which means it's an important historical site that needs to be protected.
Contents
The Church's Story
How It All Began
Long ago, a group called the Bible Christians came to the islands. They started holding their meetings in a place called the Bishop and Wolf Inn. Their very first church building, or chapel, was built on Church Street in Hugh Town around 1836. Today, that old chapel is used as the Masonic Hall.
Building the Current Church
The church building you see today was constructed between 1899 and 1900. It cost about £1,300, which was a lot of money back then! The church was designed by an architect named A. J. Trenear.
The first stone, called the foundation stone, was laid on Thursday, April 20, 1899. Many important people were there, including Rev. W. B. Lark, who was the President of the Bible Christian Conference. The Governor of the Islands at the time, T. A. Dorrien-Smith, helped out too. He agreed to take over the old chapel building and build a new Sunday school right next to the new church.
Who Helped Build It?
Many people worked together to build the church. Alfred Trenear was in charge of the carpentry, painting, and glazing. John Ellis and Son handled the stone work and plastering. Local farmers were very kind and helped by moving stones from the quarry for free!
The new church was designed to hold many people. It could seat 350 people in total: 198 on the ground floor and 152 in the upper section, called the gallery.
Several people had the honor of laying special stones during the construction:
- George Woodcock from Church Street, St Mary's, laid the main foundation stone.
- Jabez Gibson from St Martin's laid the Visitors stone.
- Miss Ada Jenkins from St Mary's laid a stone for the Christian Endeavour group.
- Norman and George Roberts laid the Sunday-school stone.
Joining Together
In the 1930s, St Mary's Methodist Church joined with another church called the Wesleyan Methodist Church. After they merged, some parts of the Wesleyan Chapel, like the rostrum (a platform for speakers) and the communion rail, were moved and placed in the Church Street chapel.
The Organ
Music in the Church
The church has a beautiful pipe organ. This organ was made by a company called Hele and Company from Plymouth and was put into the church in 1910. It helps to make wonderful music during services.
See also
