Rushden Echo, Friday, March 25, 1904, transcribed by Greville Watson

Park-road Wesleyan Church

Article taken from Rushden Echo, Friday, 8 April 1904. Transcribed by Greville Watson.

Laying the Foundation Stones of the New Church

Nearly £1,300 raised

The utmost enthusiasm prevailed at the various gatherings on Easter Tuesday in connection with the laying of the memorial stones of the new church which is being erected in Rushden by the Wesleyan Methodists.  The site of the new church is the plot of land adjacent to the present school-chapel, and has frontages to Park Road and Griffith Street.  A description of the proposed new edifice has already appeared in the “Rushden Echo”, but we might mention that in addition to the spacious and ornate church, there will be a ladies’ parlour, an Adult Bible Class room, and various other rooms for social and religious work.  Mr.R. Marriott, of Rushden, is the contractor, and the architect is Mr.J.Jameson Green, of Liverpool.  The weather on Tuesday was delightful, and added greatly to the comfort and enjoyment of the proceedings.

Mr.Thomas Watson and Mr.Isaac Cunnington are the secretaries of the building scheme, and Mr.Thomas Cunnington is the treasurer.  These gentlemen, together with the trustees, the various committees of ladies and gentlemen, and in fact the whole of the members of the church and congregation had worked heroically to make the day a success, but the success actually attained before the close of the day exceeded the hopes of the most hopeful, over half the estimated cost of the edifice having now been secured.  At Tuesday’s gatherings the circuit ministers – the Revs.J.W.Eacott, R.B.Woodward, and D.Pughe – received the ready assistance of the ministers of the other denominations in Rushden – the Revs.M.E.Parkin, W.F.Harris, and R.Shorten.

Historical

Wesleyan Methodism was represented in Rushden early in the forties, services being held at that time in the house at the bottom of Griffith Street, afterwards occupied as a grocer’s shop by Mr.Butcher.  A little later on, preaching services were held in a room on the Green – now demolished – the cause being then, as now, part of the Higham Ferrers circuit.  The late Mr.Sykes, of Raunds, a prominent local preacher, in later days often referred to services he remembered conducting in 1847–9, prior to and at the time of the great Methodist secession of 1849.  At that secession, almost the whole of the members of the society allied themselves with the Reform party, and have since grown into the two strong Independent Wesleyan Churches.  The two or three members who remained attached to the Conference party associated themselves with the Wesleyan Church at Higham Ferrers.

For the next forty years Wesleyan Methodists had no home in Rushden, the Methodists who came to live in the town joining other churches or identifying themselves with the cause at Higham Ferrers.  In 1887–9, however, when the Rev.A.J.Pickworth was superintendent of the Higham circuit, it was felt that the time had come when Wesleyan Methodism should again be represented in Rushden, and services were held each Sunday in the Public Hall.  The first sermon was preached by the Rev.Charles H.Kelly in the afternoon when he was planned at Higham Ferrers in the morning.  A number of Higham Ferrers members came over every Sunday to assist in the services, and soon Rushden was duly placed upon the circuit plan in the usual way.  At first, week-night services were held in the Alfred Street Board Schools.  When the Sunday school was started, about 50 children were present on the first Sunday, but the number rapidly increased until now there are about 500 scholars.

When the old Temperance Hall at the junction of Newton Road and Park Road was evacuated by the Salvation Army who had built barracks in Queen Street, the hall was taken over by the Wesleyans, who had felt the disadvantage of holding the Sunday services in one place and the week-night services in another.  The occupancy of the Temperance Hall was not of long duration, as the premises were sold and the tenants received notice to quit, so they went back to the Public Hall for the Sunday services, and meantime proceeded as rapidly as possible with the erection of the present school-chapel in Park Road.  This edifice was opened in the Autumn of 1890.  The pastoral work was at first carried out by lay agents.  Then the Conference appointed the Rev.William Newby as the first minister stationed at Rushden.  He was succeeded by the Rev.A.L.Fillingham, after whom in turn came the Rev.C.F.Groom, the Rev.T.Edwards Thompson, and the present pastor, the Rev.R.B.Woodward.  It is interesting to note that Mr.Isaac Cunnington, one of the secretaries of the new building scheme, acted in a similar capacity at the erection of the school-chapel.  When the new church is completed, the present buildings will be utilised for Sunday school purposes.  The history of the cause, ever since its re‑introduction into Rushden, has been one of substantial progress, until the membership now is larger than at any other place in the circuit.

The Easter Tuesday of 1904 is not likely to be forgotten by local Methodists for a very long time, and the friends were fortunate in having secured the services of Mr.Kelly, who, as we have stated, preached the first sermon in the Public Hall and also preached at the opening of the chapel which is now to give place to the larger edifice.

Sermon by Mr.Kelly

The day’s proceedings opened with a public service in the chapel, at which the preacher was the Rev.Charles H.Kelly, an ex‑President of the Conference and ex‑President of the National Free Church Council.  There was a large congregation, most of the towns and villages in the neighbourhood being represented.  The choir, under the leadership of Mr.F.Betts, gave a spirited rendering of the chorus, “And the glory,” from Handel’s “Messiah.”  Mr.Kelly’s text was “God Himself is with us for our Captain” (2 Chron. xiii. 12).  In the course of an able sermon he said that Methodists owed a great debt of gratitude to God for the wealth He had enabled many of their business men to amass and for the liberality He had given to many of those who were wealthy, but the greatest gift God had given to any church was not gold or a grand structure, but men and women.  The hope of a church was the consecration of her people.  The fact that God was with them implied ultimate victory to the cause of Christianity.  It was very hard to realise this sometimes.  The path to victory was a very long one.  They were puzzled sometimes because God never seemed to be in a hurry.  They thought, for instance, they could relieve the Macedonians and avenge the Armenians and the Bulgarians.  They thought it would be so easy for God to give a shake to the throne of the Sultan and send him to that place where he would be welcome.  But, then, if God was never in a hurry, He was never idle, and never indifferent.  He was working out His purpose somewhere.  God was alive, and He was with His people.  They were not deserted.  “God Himself is with us for our Captain,” and that meant that the right and the true should be victorious and the vile and untrue should be destroyed.  Here was comfort for the churches.  How is it, they sometimes asked, that the Unspeakable Turk can live in luxury when by one breath of the Lord he could be displaced, and that the Macedonians should suffer when by one move of the Almighty it could be dispelled?  They knew that in God’s purpose all must come right, that the wicked should not flourish, that the sufferers should be avenged, and that the right should be advanced.  The hope of the church was in the presence and lead of God their Captain.  To the Methodist Church he would say that the Million Guineas they had just raised would be a great curse to them if that was all they had.  Good buildings would not be sufficient.  As a church they had magnificent machinery, but without the power of the Holy Spirit that machinery would be useless.

The Luncheon

Mr.John Claridge, JP, CC, chairman of the Rushden Urban Council, gave a luncheon in the Public Hall, at which about 170 guests were present.  Mr.Claridge presided, and he was supported by the Revs.M.E.Parkin (Congregationalist), W.F.Harris (Baptist), R.Shorten (Independent Wesleyan), C.H.Kelly, T.Wynne Jones, J.W.Eacott (superintendent of the circuit), R.B.Woodward, D.Pughe, and others.  The catering was done very efficiently by the Coffee Tavern Co, under the direction of Miss Wyldes, the manageress.

At the close of the luncheon, the Rev.C.H.Kelly moved a vote of thanks to Mr.Claridge for his hospitality, and said they very highly appreciated Mr.Claridge’s kindness.  He congratulated Rushden on having as chairman of the Council a gentleman who not only performed his duties so well but who set so good an example to the future mayors of Rushden when they became incorporated.  (Laughter and cheers.)

The Rev.J.W.Eacott seconded, and said they were all the more grateful to Mr.Claridge for the fact that he was not a member of their own church, and yet in a real sense was a member of their church for they all belonged to the Church of Christ.  (Hear, hear.)

The motion was carried amid applause.

Mr.Claridge, who was heartily cheered, acknowledged the vote, and said it had been a great pleasure to him to do what he had done in connection with that memorable day for the Wesleyan Church at Rushden.  As they knew, he was interested in the social, moral, and religious life of the town, and it was always a pleasure to him to do what he could to further that end.  He hoped that the Wesleyan Church at Rushden, which had made wonderful progress since it started, would, in the new building, enjoy even greater success.  They all recognised the good work that had been done by the Wesleyans in Rushden.  (Hear, hear.)

Mr.Eacott then paid a tribute to the caterers.

Procession

At 2pm a procession – comprising the scholars of the Sunday School and the members of the Adult Bible Class – started from the railway bridge, and, headed by the Wellingborough Road Mission Silver Band, marched along High Street and up Newton Road to the site of the new chapel.

The stone-laying ceremony commenced at 2.30, a large crowd of people having assembled.  The Mission Silver Band played the accompaniments to the hymns and gave several pleasing selections under the conductorship of Mr.Harry Sharpe.  The Rev.J.W.Eacott presided over the proceedings.  The Rev.W.F.Harris offered up prayer.

The Chairman of the Bedford and Northampton District (the Rev.W.H.Thompson), who was announced to give an address, was unable to attend through illness.

The Rev.T.Wynne Jones made a brief and appropriate speech.  He said that they were present that day as a section of the universal Church of Christ.  John Wesley said that the Methodists “were the friends of all and the enemies of none.”  They took their place with all the aggressive forces of Christ, and he hoped that Methodism would be true to its ancient history and would not lag behind in the great conflict in the future, but would ever be in the forefront on all great social and moral questions.  He was very glad to hear of the prosperity of Methodist work in Rushden and trusted that in the new building their prosperity would increase.  (Hear, hear.)

Stones were then laid and contributions placed thereon as under:–

	£	s	d
Mr.G.H.Groome	20	0	0
Miss Dunham	5	5	0
Miss Shelford (Wellingborough)	5	5	0
Mr.John Shortland (Irthlingborough)	20	0	0
Mr.C.W.Horrell	20	0	0
Miss Lillie Shortland (for Mr. William Shortland)	10	10	0
Mr.A.J.Potton	10	0	0
Sunday School stone, laid by Mr.A.Gadsby, superintendent, the little children marching past and placing on the stone their offerings which were received by Miss Scott and Mr.C.Wagstaff (of which the first class of girls raised £25).	60	9	7
Mr.A.O.Groome	10	0	0
Mrs.S.Michell	10	0	0
Mrs.Wallis (Long Eaton)	11	11	0
Mr.Isaac Cunnington	100	0	0
Mr.A.Porter	10	10	0
Mrs.A.Smith	10	0	0
Mr.C.Cross	5	10	0
Ladies' Sewing Meeting stone (laid by Mrs.T.Cunnington)	81	0	0
Mothers' Meeting stone (laid by Mrs.R.B.Woodward, supported by Mrs.Dawes)	5	5	0
The Choir stone (laid by Mr.F.Betts)	20	0	0
The Carol Singers' stone (laid by Mrs.Perkins)	9	0	0
Adult Bible Class stone (laid by Mr.S.Michell, supported by Miss Deighton and Mr.A.Short)	26	0	0
Mr.T.Cunnington	100	0	0
Mrs.W.G.Wilmott	10	0	0
Mrs.Wooding	5	5	0
Mr.Twigge	5	5	0
Mr.A.E.Bates	5	5	0
Mr.T.Watson	25	0	0
Miss S.Cunnington	20	0	0
Mr.W.J.Cure	5	5	0
Total	626	5	7