A History of Clapton Methodist Church
In 1865 Clapton was a semi-rural area, with quiet streams and meadows, fine old trees and old cottages. Farmers would have brought their cattle to drink at Clapton Ponds (pictured left). It was part of rural England. A few miles down the road the city of London was expanding rapidly swallowing up the countryside around it. The mid-nineteenth century was a high-point in church attendance, and all the Methodist churches, including the one in Richmond Road were well attended. In those days all seats were ‘rented-out’ and members paid pew-rent for the right to sit in ‘their’ pew.
The area contained large Anglican, Congregational, and Salvation Army premises and the Methodist Church acquired a plot of land almost on the corner of Downs Road and Lower Clapton Road for its building. A fine new church with an imposing spire was built. The Church was opening in 1865, so this year (2006) is the 141st Anniversary. In those days Clapton was an up and coming prosperous and fashionable area in which to live. Originally the church was part of the Hackney Circuit, but in 1876 the Clapton Circuit was formed. Clapton re-joined the Hackney Circuit in the late 1950s.
In 1880 on a separate area of land in Downs Road a Sunday School building was also built. It is believed that the building 105 Downs Road, next to this church site, was the original manse, but if so it was sold off many years ago.
In 1891 the church was restored and re-decorated, but by the 1930s major changes were taking place. As a result the Sunday School premises in Downs Road were refashioned as a church, and on 28th June 1934 the congregation moved to the Downs Road site. The old church in Lower Clapton Road was sold off and flats and shops now cover the site (pictured above opposite the pond).
The Second World War began in 1939 and soon London was being bombed. In November 1940, in what was called ‘the Blitz’ when much of East London was devastated, the church was badly damaged. It seems that the rear of the church was the part most affected, although all the windows, including all the stained glass ones were blown out. It was not until 1949 that the church premises were fully restored and re-opened.
Unfortunately the building increasingly showed its age, and decay set in. After an inspection in 1988 it was decided that the congregation would have to move out of the church while necessary repairs were carried out. On 1st September 1991 (15 years ago this year) the congregation moved, as a temporary measure, to the hospitality of St James’s Church. What was temporary, with the passing of the years, has felt semi-permanent, as the congregation still uses the building for its worship. Over the last 15 years various attempts were made, first to rebuild the rear part of the premises, and then to see if a new church could be built. All such schemes came to nought, mainly on financial grounds.
In 2003 the Church Council was advised that it would be wise to demolish the old building before making a planning application (demolished site ready for rebuilding pictured on right). This proved extremely timely, although more months passed before the work could be done. Shortly after the demolition of the church in May 2004, the locality was made a Conservation Area and it would no longer have been possible to demolish the building, ruining all chances of building a new church.
It is only recently that a new scheme has started to come to fruition, working with a private developer. The scheme will include a ground-floor church and small hall, together with eleven flats built either on top of the church or on land alongside it. All parties have agreed to work towards 1st September 2006 as the start date for building work. This is a symbolic date, as it marks the fifteenth anniversary of the closure of the old Downs Road premises.
The cost of the new church will be about £700,000. Over the last 15 years church members, out of their own pockets, have raised over £100,000. When proceeds of sale and grants are included, the congregation now needs to raise about £50,000 more. Members are confident that this can be done over the next two years.
During the long history of the church the faithful witness of the church members has been more important than the buildings themselves. Looking back there have been three times when the future of the church has looked particularly troubled.
First, in the 1920-30, there was the aftermath of the First World War, and severe economic depression in England, with many millions of people out of work. Although the records do not say anything, this social and economic decline is likely to be the reason the original building in Lower Clapton Road was closed and sold off.
The second testing time followed the bomb damage in 1940. This meant that the ‘second’ church building, Downs Road, could not be fully used for several years, and the damage to the fabric may well have sown the seeds of decay which the church building suffered in the 1980s.
The period from 1991 to today has been the third testing time for the people of God here in Clapton. To be a congregation without a church building is always difficult. It is particularly difficult for a generation of West Indian members who look back to the Downs Road church as the place where they found a welcome in this country and which became a church home away from home. It is Clapton Methodist Church’s hope and prayer that this long period in the wilderness is now drawing to an end. The pray of all its members is that the building of the new church will reawaken the calling of the Holy Spirit of God, not only among the present members, and not only among those who have wandered from the pilgrim path over the years, but also among a new generation of people. Come Holy Spirit, come.
John Lampard - Pentecost Sunday 2006
John was formerly minister of Clapton and Dalston churches.
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