THE HISTORY OF
SKEGNESS METHODISTS
A full and fascinating history of the early years of the Methodist Church in Skegness, compiled as part of the Centenary celebrations for Algitha Road Methodist Church in 1982.
There is no record of the founder of the Methodist Movement, John Wesley, ever visiting the seaside village of Skegness in the eighteenth century. In June 1780, however, according to his journal, he preached in Wainfleet Market Place in the course of his travels in Lincolnshire. The Methodist Chapel later built in Wainfleet was to become the head of a Wesleyan circuit which included Skegness.
In the early nineteenth century, Skegness, with a population of about 150, consisted of just four roads - High Street, Drummond Road, Roman Bank and Old Wainfleet Road. On the north side of the narrow High Street there stood a very small Wesleyan Methodist chapel, built in 1837 by a group of Wesleyans who had first appeared in Skegness about 1820. The progress of Methodist witness, thereafter, is fascinatingly linked with the development of Skegness as a holiday resort.
In 1848 a new Wesleyan chapel was built on the opposite side of High Street, at a cost of £105. It was about 100 yards from the Western end of the street. A Circuit plan of 1855 reveals that each Sunday, one service only was held in Skegness Chapel, at 6.00 p.m. Neither of the Circuit ministers, residing respectively at Wainfleet and Wrangle, was planned to come to Skegness on Sundays, even in the Summer season, though they would visit and hold a service on a weekday.
By 1861 the population of Skegness had reached 322. The following year the resort's first policeman was appointed, P.C. Thomas Greenwood, who was moved from Hagworthingham to Winthorpe, his beat here extending from Gibraltar Point to Ingoldmells. Mr. Greenwood later became a pillar of Roman Bank Methodist Church.
Primitive Methodism had established itself in the area with the erection of the old Bank Chapel at Seathorne in 1836. The first Primitive Methodist Service to be held in Skegness proper was in 1879 in what was then called Ward's Tea Rooms in High Street. Two years later the first Skegness Primitive Methodist Church was built in Roman Bank at a cost of £327, seating 60 and situated on the opposite side of the road to the later church (west).
An important step for Skegness was taken in 1875 when a group of enterprising Wainfleet business and professional men formed a company to extend, five miles north east to Skegness, the existing Firsby to Wainfleet single-line railway. Richard George, ninth Earl of Scarbrough, Lord of the Manor, at once sensed future possibilities and appointed Mr. H.V. Tippet as his local steward to lay out the Skegness estate with tree-lined roads and avenues, thus initiating some very early town planning. The plan comprised the North (now Grand) Parade and the South Parade and roads between Scarbrough Avenue and High Street, all bearing names of members of the Scarbrough family.
This activity led directly to a leap forward for Methodism in Skegness. High Street Wesleyan Chapel's membership rose from 15 in 1871 to 40 in 1878. Plans were therefore made in 1875 to erect a larger chapel, on the same site as that of 1848. Work was quickly started and by the summer of 1876, at a cost of about £430, the new chapel was completed. Two years later the need was felt for still more seating accommodation and before long the trustees accepted a tender for an enlargement. Little more than a year later, however, the trustees set in motion another scheme which in its vision and courage can only be described as inspired, for they now wished to build a new Gothic-style church on the developing estate, to seat 6oo and at a cost of £1,800. Lord Scarbrough had just presented a site to the Church of' England for the construction of St. Matthews Church. His Lordship readily responded to the appeal by the Wesleyan Methodists that they also might have a site in the newly laid-out area. In April 1880 the Wesleyan trustees agreed to accept the Earl of Scarbrough's offer of land in Algitha Road.
One clause of the Deed of Conveyance read:
"The Rt. Hon. Richard George, Earl of Scarbrough, doth freely and voluntarily, without any valuable consideration, give, grant and convey to the Trustees of the Skegness Wesleyan Chapel and their heirs and assigns for ever, 1350 square yards on Algitha Road to be used for the purposes of a Chapel or place of religious worship for the people called Methodists in the connexion established by the Rev. John Wesley."
The Trustees named in the Deed were R. Guttridge, Butcher; M. Scupholm, Merchant; Andrew Bamber, Baker; J. Richardson Bootmaker (all of Wainfleet) ; T. and J.T. Cowham, Bootmakers (Friskney); T.A. Bellamy, Bank Manager (Spilsby); J.H. Leachman, Farmer (Thorpe) the following Skegness Methodists : John Borman, Coal Agent; W. Chapman, Grocer; S. Clarke, Builder; and the Superintendent
Minister, Rev. C.L. Wood (Wainfleet).
The foundation stone-laying ceremony was held on December 15th 1881. A special train was run from Wainfleet and it was recorded that the sum of ten shillings, for the hire of the engine, had been received by the Station-master from the Rev. C.L. Wood.
The Wesleyan Methodist Church and St. Matthew's Church were the first buildings constructed north of Lumley Road. By 1881 Skegness' resident population had reached 1,558. In that same year the pier was opened and later the first house to be built in Algitha Road was Pier Cottage, because the pier was then visible from the front door, several steps above the road level.
The great opening day of the new Wesleyan Church was Thursday July 13th 1882. Such was the importance of the event that special trains with cheap fares were run from Lincoln, Horncastle, Spilsby, Boston, Spalding and Peterborough. The Rev. Peter Mackenzie preached the first sermon at the dedicatory service in the afternoon and lectured in the evening on Queen Esther, an admission fee of one shilling being charged for this lecture. One shilling per person was also the cost of a ticket for the Public Tea provided in the School Room at 4.30 p.m. Special Opening services continued on the three following Sundays. Some voluntary work had been done by members to reduce building costs, but there was still a debt on the church when it opened and for a number of years afterwards.
The membership of Algitha Road Church had increased to 91 by 1887 and it reached 130 in 1891. The first minister to be stationed at Skegness was the Rev. D Williams from 1892 to 1895, but there was no manse in the town and the two succeeding ministers were stationed at Wainfleet again.
Sunday Worship at Algitha Road at this time, and in fact for many years, always began with a 7.00 a.m. Prayer Meeting, followed at 9.50 a.m. by Mr. J. Borman's Society Class, then the Sunday morning and afternoon School, Morning and Evening Public Worship, concluding with a Prayer Meeting after the Evening Service. Love Feasts (Biscuits and Water) and Sacrament Services were also held quarterly on Sundays.
In 1882 the harmonium and the choir had been situated over the clock in the rear gallery, but ten years later, although the debt on the church had still not been discharged, the Algitha Road Methodists decided to have a 'grand organ' at the North end, with the choir nearby. The organ was duly installed at a cost of £350.
Meanwhile, the Primitive Methodists at Roman Bank were also increasing in numbers and so, on the opposite side of Roman Bank, a new church and schoolroom were built, at a cost of £2,070. The opening service was on April 13th 1899. (One of the special events of that period was the crowning of the May Queen. It was conducted by G.H.J. Dutton and an Algitha Road Sunday School Scholar, Dora Hiley, was honoured as the central figure, her page being Reggie Dutton, with members of the chorus from the Sunday School. Thirteen years later the May Queen and her page were married at Algitha Road.
The Algitha Road Wesleyans wished to have a resident minister in Skegness and made plans accordingly. Before the end of 1899, therefore, a handsome double-fronted manse was built on Lumley Avenue at a cost of £1,127 (It is now number 14, occupied by F.E. Hodgkinson, Solicitor). To reduce the debt on the manse, an ambitious two-day Poppyopolis Bazaar was held in Easter Week 1900, in the Pleasure Gardens Pavilion. A very decorative circular announced the opening by Lord Willoughby de Eresby, M.P. for the Horncastle Division. Patrons included Alderman Wyatt, Mayor of Lincoln.
The schoolroom, as originally built in 1882, was directly behind the church. Early in the twentieth century, however, this was proving too small and so an eastward extension was built on to the Sunday School. At the stone-laying ceremony, in May 1902, bibles were presented to the stone-layers
whose names can still be seen inscribed on the wall of this extension.
whose names can still be seen inscribed on the wall of this extension.Arising out of the provisions of the Education Act, 1902, a strong Passive Resistance movement arose among Nonconformists. In Skegness and elsewhere they refused to pay the Education Rate. As a consequence, their goods and chattels were distrained upon and there was trouble when the distrained effects of Skegness Nonconformists were sold by auction at the King's Hall. One leading Algitha Road Methodist, Mr. W.P. Hiley, was very much embarrassed. As a rate collector, it was his duty to serve the distress warrants upon his fellow Nonconformists and to organise the public auction.
In 1906 the Algitha Road Trustees decided to buy 1,000 square yards of land, at six shillings per square yard, on Drummond Road, to build an additional chapel at some future date. This would be for the rapidly increasing number of residents in that area and to relieve the congestion in Algitha Road Church which occurred especially in the Summer season. The new building, however, did not materialise.
A further addition to the Algitha Road premises was becoming necessary and so in 1908-9 the Parlour was added at the western end of the School Hall. This time, at the stone-laying ceremony, in November 1908, a hymn book was presented to each stone-layer.
The expansion of the town, with its holiday industry, was reflected in the changing position of the Skegness Wesleyan Methodists in the circuit. In 1911, Skegness finally became the head church of the circuit, the Rev. J. Ranshall Rowe being the first Superintendent Minister to be stationed here.
Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, it was decided to insure the church premises against aerial bombardment and to hold Sunday Afternoon Services, instead of evening ones. In 1920 a War Memorial was dedicated and placed in the porch, where it remains. It is inscribed "To the Glory of God and in Memory of the men connected with this Church and Congregation who fell in the Great War 1914-1918", and the names of 26 men follow.
Inside the church there are several memorial tablets, reminding us of people who formerly served Algitha Road in various ways. On the west wall there can be seen a tablet in memory of Mr. John Borman who died in 1915 and who, as already stated, led a large Sunday Morning Society Class for many years. The name of his wife Rebecca is also inscribed.
During the 1920's tablets to the memory of Mr. C.S. Smyth and his daughter, Miss Winifred M. Smyth, were placed on either side of the organ. Miss Smyth, a gifted musician, was Organist from her early teens until her death at the age of 40 years in 1922, while her father who died in 1925 had been Choirmaster for 43 years.
In 1929 a bequest of £1,000 was received from the late Mr. J. Green, a trustee for 36 years. A tablet to the memory of Mr. & Mrs. J. Green was placed on the east wall of the church, behind the pew occupied by the Green family.
In 1921 it was decided that all seats in the church should be free. Before this, worshippers paying pew-rents could have reserved pews, while certain other pews in the outside blocks were marked "free".
Modernisation of the premises came with a central heating system for the church, school and parlour, submitted by Mr. Horace Wheatley, being approved at a cost of £275 in 1927 and also with the installation of electricity at a cost of £79 in 1932.
Methodist Union made 1932 an important year in Methodism throughout Britain. Circuit amalgamation followed in this area in 1933, when the Wesleyan Methodist Skegness and Wainfleet Circuit, the Primitive Methodist Skegness Circuit and the Primitive Methodist Leake Circuit joined to form the new Skegness and Wainfleet amalgamated Circuit. Algitha Road was the head church of this amalgamated Circuit, while Roman Bank occupied the second place on the Circuit Plan.
The Lumley Avenue manse was by now considered too large and so a smaller, pleasantly adequate manse was built in Ida Road in 1935 at a cost of £1,070. The old manse was sold for £1,500. The Rev. W. Reed was the first minister to live in the new manse, from1936.
In 1939, just before the war, Algitha Road membership figure reached its peak 273.
During the Second World War, both sides in the conflict left their mark on church history, one side's contribution being welcome, the other's far from it. Commencing in 1940, the Parlour was used for two hours after Sunday evening services, for the entertainment of sailors, soldiers and airmen who had attended worship. This was the work of the Wesley Guild members, as was the provision later on of further hospitality on church premises for the forces, on two weeknight evenings. Among the thousands of forces personnel who came to Algitha Road, during the war period, were many from H.M.S. Royal Arthur, the naval training establishment set up in the requisitioned Butlin's Holiday Camp.
Algitha Road Church was seriously damaged in an air raid, early on Sunday morning, 16th February 1941. The front and east walls of the church were the worst affected, as a bomb fell just east of the building. Windows were also blown out and, inside the church, the gallery and pews were damaged, especially on the east side. Offers of alternative accommodation were at once received. The Rector offered Ida Road Church Hall, the Baptist minister the Baptist Hall and the Scoutmaster St. George's Hall in Wainfleet Road. On the Sunday of the raid, however, the Algitha Road congregation joined in worship at Roman Bank Methodist Church. Afterwards services were held in Algitha Road Sunday School for a long period. Some temporary repairs later made it possible to use the body of the church, but it was found to be draughty, owing to the remaining damage. A Restoration Fund was opened, in aid of which the augmented Algitha Road Choir gave selections from Handel's Messiah in a crowded St. Matthew's Church. The trustees had lengthy dealings with Methodist Headquarters, the War Damage Commission and builders. War damage was officially assessed at £3,250, plus £212 for organ and other repairs. Damage was so severe to the church front that the complete rebuilding of this section was discussed, but eventually, in 1949, it was decided to restore the original front.
A pair of semi-detached houses east of the church received a direct hit by another bomb in the same raid that affected the church in 1941. They were so badly damaged that they had to be demolished. ( Until recently the new building was occupied as a doctors' surgery)
Following the Bombing of Coventry, a quantity of hymn books was sent from Algitha Road to a Methodist Church there, to replace books destroyed.
After the war ended, the name of Peter H. Dutton, R.A.F., who was posted missing after a raid over the Netherlands in 1942, was engraved below the 1914-1918 Memorial.
Between the church and the two bombed houses there was a piece of land which already belonged to the Methodists. Shortly after the war, this land was developed by the church authorities. A large portion of it in 1949 became a lawn which then, for over twenty years, was both decorative and useful for outdoor events. The land nearest to the road became a car park, with a tarmac surface, in the early nineteen-fifties.
In the same period work was also being carried on inside the church and school premises. This included cleaning and re-varnishing of the church woodwork, redecoration of the minister's vestry, the parlour and the schoolroom and the provision of new carpets for the church and the parlour. Much of this renovation was paid for or actually done by organisations such as the Wesley Guild and Women's Fellowship. So, after the ravages of war, Algitha Road now looked smart again. (The Wesley Guild started in the first decade of this century and flourished for many years, but declining numbers caused its demise in 1969.)
By 1953 there were 225 church members, a reduction on the immediate pre-war figure, but it was, nevertheless, a strong church with a number of flourishing organisations, including a newly-formed Youth Club. There was also a Young People's Mission Band, conducting services throughout the circuit.
In 1957 the 75th Anniversary of Algitha Road Methodist Church was celebrated with an extensive programme of events which included a Celebration Banquet on April 27th, a Dedication Sunday on July 14th and visits by eminent Methodist Ministers, such as the President of the Conference, the Rev. Dr. H. Crawford Walters on Easter Sunday. A Souvenir Brochure was also produced.
The ten years that followed saw a number of alterations to the church. In 1959 a Children's Chapel was created in the northeast corner, with specially donated furniture and pictures. In 1963 an oil-fired system for central-heating was installed and the church was re-roofed, the latter work costing £900, approximately. During 1967 and 1968 the communion area was improved and enlarged with the removal of the front pew, the rear centre pew was also removed, the church was decorated in attractive, light colours, there was new carpeting and improved lighting and a sound amplification system was installed.
In the late1960's there began, with the help of the Skegness Flower-lovers Club, a series of Flower Festivals which continued into the 1970's. The artistic skills of the Church Flower Committee members are still revealed in the flower arrangements which add beauty to the church each Sunday and on special occasions.
Work done within the School premises in the last twenty years included, in the early sixties, the decorating by the young people of the room formerly know as the large vestry which was afterwards called the Youth Club Room. In 1974, after long discussions, the old kitchen was remodelled.
The car park east of the church was extended in 1973, in an arrangement whereby the lawn area was leased to the County Council who then removed the lawn and laid down a properly surfaced car park. Five years later the County Council gave up the lease and about the same time carried out some very necessary drainage work on the car park which then reverted to the sole control of the church.
The year 1979 saw a far-reaching change for Methodism in Skegness. As a result of Roman Bank's financial difficulties, as well as the recommendations of the District Redevelopment Committee, it was decided that Roman Bank and Algitha Road Methodist Churches should amalgamate and should use the latter church's premises. On Sunday morning 23rd September 1979 the actual union of the two congregations and Sunday Schools took place. There was first a united service at Roman Bank, conducted by the Chairman of the District the Rev. W. Eric Jones and then all joined in a procession to Algitha Road where a Communion service was held. Since then, as Skegness Methodist Church, the one family has been steadily welding itself together and presenting a united witness in the town.
A few months after amalgamation had taken place a new gas-fired boiler was installed for the church heating system. Gas heaters were also fixed in the school hall and parlour.
During the winter of 1980-1981 it was realised that it would be advantageous to extend and improve the premises at the rear of the church, to meet the growing needs of the amalgamated family and the various organisations connected with it, both on weekdays and Sundays. Meetings of church members and officers were held and plans were discussed, resulting in the choice of a scheme which included a thirty-foot extension from the School Hall eastward, a new large kitchen at the other end of the hall, moveable partitions, a new entrance from the rear of the premises into the church, a new stair case to the organ and choir stalls and, at the church front, a ramp for wheelchairs. In the late Autumn of 1981 the building work commenced, with the help of the Community Action Project Scheme, and the work was completed in time for the Centenary Celebrations.
