April 2024 – Our building works are complete, transforming the building into a fit for purpose space for community and use by individuals and businesses alike. A fully equipped modern kitchen, unisex toilets, solar PV, energy efficient air conditioning and modern condensing boiler, LED lighting throughout, double glazing and insulation.
Oct 2023 – Building work started on refurbishing all areas except the main Church, a 6 month program scheduled to finish April 2024
Feb 2019 – Planning Permission has now been granted for our redevelopment works.
Sept 2018 – Office and vestry/meeting room refurbishment now completed.
May 2018 – Asbestos removal from the cellar in preparation for the office refurbishment.
April 2018 – Electrical works undertaken and general repairs.
March 2018 – External painting complete.
January 2018 – New heating system installed and updated controllers to help reduce energy consumption.
Jan 2017 – Our community AED, defibrilator, is now installed and fully functioning, available if required and as directed by the 999 service if called.
Dec 2016 – Our lounge room has been converted to LED lamps, removing the old ones at 135W each fitting to 11W, a massive saving on energy use and startup time!
June 2016 – Rev Dr Helen Hooley and family joins us to be our minister.
Sept 2015 – Rev Eric Agyenim-Boateng and his family join us to be our minister.
August 2015 – The first meeting of the fund raising group meet to discuss ideas for fund raising towards the scheme.
July 2015 – Circuit meeting approves a grant towards the scheme of £30K
Sept 2014 – Circuit meeting approved scheme, we now can move forward with getting formal quotes and fundraising/grant applications.
Sept 2014 – Circuit meeting where we will be seeking approval to move onwards with the scheme.
August 2014 – Schedule of works and detailed works for quotes to be sought now in progress.
July 2014 – Church Council Approval for the builing scheme to move forward.
May 2014 – Full planning permission has now been granted for the building scheme along with building regs approval.
Sept 2013 – Revised sketch drawings submitted by architect and approved by property & finance.
July 2013 – Drawings approved by Church Council, quotes are now being sought to enable fundraising and grant applications to be undertaken.
April 2013 – Work started by the architect this month measuring up for drawings.
March 2013 – Our development plans are taking shape with an information board with a £££ temperature chart showing progress, and the areas that we are wanting to update. Our work starts with the architrect too to help get the plans correct for the works required.
Sept 2012 – Our monthly coffee morning started raising funds towards the redevelopment fund with great success so far.
2011 – Work will now start to look at several items of the Church property to include a complete refurbishment hall end of the builing, reshaping the layout of the to the kitchen and toilets, making the kitchen BIGGER! with a modern functional kitchen. New double glazing to the hall, insulation improvements along with central heating and a rewire. Going to be a big project but hopefully it will be done over the summer months, sometime, to minimise disruption to all the users, to make it better for the varied uses it gets throughout the week.
2010 – Oct 1st, the carpet is down and the Church refurbishment is complete!
2010 – Sept 1st, our New Minister starts, Rev mark Stennett
2010 – July/August sees the long awaited refurbishment of the Church take place,
All the old wiring from 2 previous sound systems are removed.
The heater are removed after providing 26 years of service.
The lighting pendants are removed after 38 years of service and 10 years after switching to low energy lamps.
Carpet removed along with the staging area and old projection screen bracket.
New thermostatically controlled radiators are installed giving a “silent” heating system.
New low energy dimmable downlighters are installed giving more control of the lighting.
Sound and video system sees an upgrade of cabling to provide greater flexibility and increasing the capacity of inputs.
2009 – November sees the removal of the Church Pipe Organ to enable the redevelopment of the Sanctuary area, upgrades to include, redecoration, new heating, new lighting, new chairs and carpets.
2004 – Phase 2 of the DDA works completed with the installation of induction loops into the main hall and the lounge area. Plans are underway for a year full of activities to celebrate our Centenary.
2003 – New windows were installed in the main Church building, with a replacement from wooden to uPVC, a much needed improvement to the visual impact of the building, but in keeping with the original traditional design. Works started for us to conply with the DDA which comes into full force in Oct 2004, the entrance dip of the church was filled in in order to make access to the building easier. An architect was employed and an acessibility audit commissioned, drawings formed and the design for works to improve physical access into and around the building with new ecteriot ramps, wall and railings, internal changes adn a new accessible toilet.
1984 – Further work was needed to create a Church Lounge, upgrade the heating system, rewire the electrics, re-voice the organ, carpet the Church and redecorate the property. The Community Enterprises Agency funded by the Manpower Services Commission undertook much of the work in 1983. The Church was rededicated on January 31st 1984 by the Superintenent Rev David Bannister with the Chairman of the District Rev Alan Davies the preacher. The Minister of the Church Rev Mark Wakelin and the previous Minister Rev Peter Robinson also took part.
1972 – The hall was a great improvement but the Church needed upgrading and a step was taken in 1972 when the congregation turned round to face the other way, installing new communion furniture, pulpit, reading desk and lighting. These were designed by one of the younger members of the Church.
1963 – An opportunity came in 1963 when a Methodist firm of builders, Grayson and Son were contracted to build a hall with kitchen and toilet facilities. It was opened on Saturday 2nd November 1963 by Mrs J W Lawson. Mrs Lawson’s late husband, a trustee, had persuasively encouraged the trustees and congregation to believe that a new hall was possible.
1954 – At the jubilee of the building in 1954 an appeal was launched to build a permanent school hall with modern kitchen and toilet facilities. The old hut was in a poor state with the roof leaking, the floor ‘like a trampoline’ and no proper kitchen facilities.
1921 – After the First World War the need for a hall had become urgent with the development of the youth work and in 1921 a redundant war hut was purchased and erected on the spare land. This was seen at the time as a temporary measure but the depression and the number of people out of work left no possibility of a permanent building.
1904 – Clearly something had to be done about the building and on Wednesday 13th July 1904 the foundation stones were laid for a dual purpose building which is the present Church. Land was also purchased for building a hall in the future. The sun Shone and the chief speaker was Bishop Hoss DD of the Episcopal Church in the Southern States of America. The Superintendant of the Circuit Rev E J Brailsford was there together with Circuit Ministers and friends from local Churches. The foundation stone was laid by Mr Collingham, the Church was then opened on December 4th 1904. The present organ was installed, on the site of the first pulpit, by Cousins of Lincoln and the choir stalls moved in 1908/9.
1880 – A few laymen in the Bailgate Church in the late 1880’s felt that a new soiety should be formed in the Burton Road area which was rapidly developing. A place where all are welcome even if they can’t afford a decent suit. A number of cottage and tent meetings were held. Regular meetings were established in 1891 in a publicans outbuildings. It is reported that they had no security of tenure, sat on benches without backs, there was a mud floor and when it rained you needed an unbrella! The building was said to be ‘hardly wholesome, certainly ugly and usually too full of people.
Initially the congregation was known as the Bailgate Mission becoming the Burton Road Mission in 1897. Society status was granted in 1901 and the present name adopted in 1941.
The 3 founding leaders were :
~ Mr James Johnson – Who held most of the local offices for many years.
~ Mr Benjamin Tuxford – A preacher for over 65 years and the leader of a very influential Young Men’s Class, out of that class came 17 local preachers, 2 Ministers and a number of prominent workers in the Church.
~ Mr Charles Brown – Sunday School Superintendant for 57 years.
The memebership has also varied over the years:
1911 1912 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1968 1978 1988 1995 1998 2000 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010
93 108 99 81 70 74 97 68 51 70 37 34 34 30 32 37 38 42 40 46
A young man recently candidated for the Presbyteral Ministry from the Church and he is now in his 2nd circuit. There are 3 fully accredited local preachers in current membership.
To date there have been 31 Ministers in pastoral charge:
- 1891 Rev Jonathan Chapple
- 1894 Rev Thomas Rae
- 1897 Rev Richard Middleton
- 1900 Rev G Heathcote Barker
- 1903 Rev Enoch Green
- 1906 Rev W R Griffin
- 1910 Rev H Graham Payn
- 1912 Rev H F Chaplin
- 1915 Rev A J Johnson
- 1921 Rev G W Appleby
- 1924 Rev J Henry Martin
- 1926 Rev Fred Clarke
- 1930 Rev Charles H Gee
- 1934 Rev T L Barlow Westerdale
- 1938 Rev W Edmund Thomas
- 1940 Rev Isaac Bond
- 1945 Rev T Bayles Naylor
- 1950 Rev J Stanley Garner
- 1956 Rev C Gordon Balhatchet
- 1960 Rev Alan H Grant
- 1961 Rev E Harry Palmer
- 1965 Rev Harold R Bowes
- 1972 Rev David Monkton
- 1977 Rev Peter W Robinson
- 1982 Rev Mark H Wakelin
- 1988 Rev Paul Shelton
- 1993 Rev Alan Barker
- 2001 Rev John Squares
- 2002 Rev Terry Nowell
- 2003 Rev Stephen Brown
- 2007 Rev Ian Brown
- 2009 Rev Stephen Brown
- 2010 Rev Mark Lawrence
- 2010 Rev Mark Stennett
- 2015 Rev Eric Agyenim-Boateng
- 2016 Rev Dr Helen Hooley
- 2019 Rev Gyula Fiak
- 2022 Rev Juliet Wriglesworth
This is the story of faithful people who for over 100 years have proclaimed the gospel to the people of the Burton Road area. May we continue to be faithful in the coming years.
SOURCES :
One Hundred Years 1836 – 1936. The Story of Wesley Chapel, Lincoln WILFRED E SELBY
Methodism in The City of Lincoln WILLIAM LEARY
Church Records CHRIS JOHNSON; LEWIS FOX; GEOFF DICKINSON & MEMBERS & FRIENDS
