Winchester United Church
Winchester United Church | |
---|---|
Years built | 1852–1853 |
Groundbreaking | 1852 |
Administration | |
Synod | Wessex Synod (United Reformed Church) |
Circuit | Winchester, Eastleigh and Romsey (Methodist Church) |
Clergy | |
Minister(s) | Tim Searle |
Winchester United Church (originally Winchester Congregational Church and later Winchester United Reformed Church) is a joint United Reformed and Methodist church in the centre of the city of Winchester in the English county of Hampshire. Built between 1852 and 1853 to the Gothic Revival design of architects Poulton and Woodman for a congregation which had its origins nearly 200 years earlier, it is "incongruously set within the northern part of the former county jail",[1] which had recently moved to a new site. Since 1974 the congregation has been a joint United Reformed and Methodist one, as the city's two Methodist chapels closed, the congregations merged and worship was concentrated on the one site. Historic England has designated the church a Grade II listed building for its architectural and historical importance.
History
A congregation of
The
Under the name Congregational Chapel, Winchester United Church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage, the predecessor of Historic England, on 24 March 1950.[13] This defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest".[14] As of February 2001 it was one of 2,037 Grade II listed buildings, and 2,219 listed buildings of all grades, in the City of Winchester District.[15]
Architecture
The church was designed by the Reading-based architectural firm Poulton and Woodman (William Ford Poulton and William Henry Woodman)[2] between 1852 and 1853.[1] Their 10-year partnership only started in 1853,[16] and the Pevsner Architectural Guides give only Poulton as the architect.[1] The building's listing particulars give its completion date as 1855.[13] Other local works by the firm included the now demolished cemetery chapels at Basingstoke.[17]
The design Poulton and Woodman adopted at Winchester United Church was very similar to their earlier Congregational chapel at St Helier, Jersey[1] and has been described as "striking in its originality".[18] It is Early English Gothic Revival in style, built of yellow stock brick and with pale stone quoins and dressings. The entrance consists of three pointed archways with triangular gables above them.[2][13] Above are three tall, "prominent" lancet windows,[1] then a trefoil window and a tall pointed gable.[2] To the sides are single bays set at an angle and with single lancet windows. Secondary entrances are set below these. The façade was originally flanked by tall pinnacles, but these have been removed.[2] The roof is laid with slates.[13]
The interior is shaped like a stretched octagon. There is an arcade of "lanky" pointed arches around all sides of the church, reaching to just below the timber hammerbeam roof.[1][2] As originally designed, there were low galleries on each side giving access to subsidiary rooms at the rear, and wooden pews with low doors at the ends;[2] these have been replaced by moveable seating.[19] The work undertaken in 1989–91 subdivided the interior horizontally at the level of the gallery.[1] The lancet windows at the front and an octagonal rooflight provide the only natural light to the interior. There is a Victorian clock in a Gothic-style surround[2] and an organ case of the same era.[1] There is also a single grisaille Early English-style stained glass window. The Pevsner Architectural Guides series attributes this to "J. Bell of Bristol".[1] Joseph Bell & Son was a Bristol-based stained glass firm which operated from 1840 until 1996;[20] it was not related to the prolific London firm of Clayton and Bell which operated in the same era.[21]
Administration
Winchester United Church is part of both the Wessex Synod of the United Reformed Church[8] and the Winchester, Eastleigh & Romsey Methodist Circuit.[22]
The church is registered for worship in accordance with the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855; its number on the register is 1288.[23] Under the name Congregational Church it was registered for the solemnisation of marriages in accordance with the Marriage Act 1836 on 9 December 1853.[24]
One service is held at the church every Sunday morning. Other facilities include a community café, food bank and social groups for elderly people.[8]
See also
- Media related to Winchester United Church at Wikimedia Commons
- List of places of worship in the City of Winchester District
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bullen et al. 2010, p. 638.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Stell 1991, p. 152.
- ^ a b Bullen et al. 2010, p. 681.
- ^ "Independent Church chapel, Parchment Street". Sense of Place South East. 2019. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ Facey 1981, pp. 226–227.
- ^ United Reformed Church 1972, p. 40.
- ^ United Reformed Church 1972, p. 11.
- ^ a b c "Wessex Synod: The United Church". United Reformed Church. 2023. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ a b c "About Us: History". Winchester United Church. 2023. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ a b Bullen et al. 2010, p. 639.
- ^ "No. 47335". The London Gazette. 27 September 1977. p. 12242.
- ^ Hill, Christopher (22 July 2015). "Winchester Parchment Street Primitive Methodist Chapel 1903". My Primitive Methodists. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d Historic England. "Congregational Church, Jewry Street, Winchester (Grade II) (1387465)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ "Listed Buildings". English Heritage. 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
- ^ "Images of England — Statistics by County (Hampshire)". Images of England. English Heritage. 2007. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ "William Ford Poulton". The Manchester Group of The Victorian Society. 2023. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Bullen et al. 2010, p. 160.
- ^ Stell 1991, p. 135.
- ^ "United Church in Winchester seeks to relaunch". Hampshire Chronicle. Newsquest. 2 December 2018. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ "Joseph Bell & Son (1840–1996)". Imaging the Bible in Wales Database. University of Wales Trinity Saint David. 2008–2023. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Allen, John (2023). "Architects & Artists C". Sussex Parish Churches website. Sussex Parish Churches (www.sussexparishchurches.org). Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ "Circuit Churches". Winchester, Eastleigh & Romsey Methodist Circuit. 2015–2019. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ Registered in accordance with the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 (Number in Worship Register: 1288; Name: United Church; Address: Jewry Street, Winchester; Denomination: United Reformed Church and Methodist Church). Retrieved 21 March 2023. (Archived version of list from April 2010; subsequent updates; original certificate held at The National Archives in folio RG70/3)
- ^ "No. 21513". The London Gazette. 9 October 1853. p. 175.
Bibliography
- Bullen, Michael; Crook, John; Hubbuck, Rodney; ISBN 978-0-300-12084-4.
- Facey, Roy A., ed. (1981). International Church Index (Doctrinal). Index Publications. ISBN 0-907578-00-4. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- Stell, Christopher (1991). Inventory of Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting-Houses in South-West England. London: ISBN 0-11-300036-7.
- United Reformed Church (1972). The United Reformed Church First General Assembly: Agenda and Reports (PDF). London: United Reformed Church. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.