Early in 1849 it was becoming increasingly obvious to the Methodists in the centre of Warrington that the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Bank Street had become too small to serve the needs of the people. As alteration or expansion was impractical it was decided that a new Chapel should be built on a plot of land in Bold Street Spring Gardens.
On 9th July 1849 the Foundation Stone was laid by the Rev Dr Robert Newton (President of Conference) and just over a year later he was the preacher at the opening services on Thursday 5th September, 1850. The chapel was large and spacious, built of brick and local sandstone with a magnificent interior.
In 1884 two vestries were added and, two years after that, two Minister's houses were built. The only other recorded alteration in the early years was in 1898 when the old double-decker pulpit was removed and the rostrum many of us remember was erected.
The Sunday School, which since 1817 had met in premises in Buttermarket Street owing to lack of space at Bank Street, continued to meet there until 1884, when a Sunday School was built on land adjoining the Bold Street Church. Internal alterations to that building were carried out in the early 1920s and the completion celebrated in December 1926.
Shortly after this, in the spring of 1928 dry rot was found in a corner of the church building and closer inspection revealed that all four walls needed attention. It was decided to renovate the faulty choir arch at the same time and a lot of structural work had to be done.
The church was redecorated shortly before the Centenary celebrations in 1950 and the buildings remained the same until 1973 when the church was demolished and the current building erected. The old Sunday School was also demolished and the offices built. The new church was opened on 17th May, 1975 and apart from altering the roof from a flat one to a raked one it remains the same today.
Of course, all the work of erecting, altering, repairing and maintaining the buildings had to be paid for and there are many accounts of handsome donations being made and of Bazaars and other events being held involving much dedicated hard work by those entrusted with the planning and maintenance of the buildings. However, the buildings themselves are not 'the church' and it is the story of the people who through the years have worshipped here and worked to show the love of God to the people in Warrington town centre that is important.
Firstly, members of the Bold Street Society were instrumental in the decision to erect other churches. A group of young people eager to start a Mission used the premises in Buttermarket Street after the Sunday School moved to Bold Street in 1884. When they had to leave that building they moved to a new site in Ellesmere Street and the 'Tin Mission' was built - later replaced by a brick chapel known as Ellesmere Street Methodist Church. It is fitting that some members of Ellesmere Street chose to come to Bold Street when the church was closed in 1970.
Bewsey Road Chapel was built when there was no room at Bold Street for all those wanting to attend and Wesley Hall (Silver Street), which was a Mission and Sunday School under the pastoral oversight of the Minister of Bold Street (who was also the Circuit Superintendent), was needed for a day school. "Bold Street pews all let, Wesley Hall not conveniently situated and needed for School and Mission Work" - so wrote the Bold Street Trustees on the application for permission to build.
It is well known that the Bewsey Road congregation united with Bold Street in 1963 when their buildings, first the Church and then the Lecture Hall became unsafe following the discovery of dry rot and that when this union took place the agreement was to build a new chapel on the Bold Street site to house both congregations. This came to fruition when the new church was opened in 1975.
It should be mentioned here that the other two churches which contributed to the present Bold Street congregation were Legh Street which had joined Bewsey Road in 1954 when dry rot (again!) caused the closure of their building, and Winwick, many of whose members transferred to Bold Street when their chapel was closed in 1990.
The first and foremost
raison d 'etre of the Bold Street congregation is to worship God and the Sunday Services have always been the main occasions for this. The pattern of these has changed over the years - for example the main service used to be the Evening Service - in fact in a 1922 newsletter the then minister, the Rev John T Green appealed for more people to attend the Morning Service - while the Morning Service is now the main one. We are also more ready to change the format of some services but Christian Worship is always at the centre.
Music has always, been an important part of the worship at Bold Street and many have seen it as a way to serve their church and their God. Perhaps the first thing most people think of in connection with music is the organ. It appears that an orchestra played for worship when the church was first opened and the first organ was installed in 1856. This was used until the beginning of the century when a new, much better organ was installed and opened in 1907. When the new church was built in 1975 this organ was overhauled and reconstructed in its entirety in the new building. It has just recently been refurbished and our magnificent organ continues to play its part in our worship.
However the organ has by no means been the only source of music in the church. For a start, Bold Street had a very fine choir for many years. There is mention of a Choir Leader in the Trustees minute book of 1856 so the choir seems to have existed from the earliest times, but it was under the direction of Mr Frank Hickman who served as Organist and Choirmaster from 1900 to 1947 that the choir grew in strength. In 1913 the choir won first prize in a national contest and came first again in a contest at the Liverpool Exhibition. This, of course was in addition to leading the singing in services, singing anthems and taking part in concerts. The rules for membership were very strict and all new members had to be approved by the committee. Other Organists and Choirmasters who will be remembered include Mrs Dora Thwaites, Mr John Podmore and Mr Leslie Stoll. Under their direction the choir continued to perform oratorios as well as church music but numbers gradually dwindled over the years and when Leslie Ston resigned because of increased deafness in 1971 the choir was disbanded.
Since then we have been well served by our organists, Mr Gordon Fletcher and Mr Peter Healey. Although the choir no longer exists, Bold Street has a small Music Group, led by myself which tries to introduce some more modern music particularly as a contribution to special services. We have also tried to involve younger members who play instruments from time to time - however this may be nothing new as we know there was a Sunday School Orchestra in the 1920s!
Perhaps mention should also be made of the Junior Singers who prepared concerts and contributed to worship from time to time in the early 1970s.
Thus our roots... a good foundation for the Mission's way forward in the twenty first century.
