PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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CHRISTIAN MISSION HALL The Christian Mission Hall was a private venture in Notte Street, next door to the Yarmouth Inn. It was erected entirely at the expense of Mr Isaac Foot, himself the builder, and was opened with a prayer meeting at 7am on Saturday September 30th 1883. It stood on the site of the former Mayoralty House and before that the residence of Mr William Cookworthy, the potter. Another meeting was held at 11am and was followed in the afternoon by a public tea. A further meeting in the evening was well attended and the hymns were accompanied by Miss Haydon on the harmonium. Although the building still exists its use for religious purposes ceased many years ago. DERRIFORD CHURCH The Derriford Church was in Tavistock Road, Derriford, on the northern extremity of Plymouth. Although it started out as undenominational, in 1955 it became a part of the Congregationalist community. It's history will be found under Derriford Congregational Chapel. ESTOVER MISSION CHAPEL Estover Mission Chapel was opened on Wednesday September 20th 1882 as an undenominational chapel. It is not know at what point it became a Baptist Chapel but it was listed as such in 1955. More detailed information is under Estover Baptist Chapel. BETHEL CHAPEL, MOON STREET, DEVONPORT There was a Bethel Chapel in Moon Street, Morice Town, Devonport. It was abandoned during the 1850s (it was still listed in 1852) and was subsequently taken over by the Church of St James the Great as a school and mission chapel. BETHEL CHAPEL, MUTTON COVE, DEVONPORT Worth in his "History of Devonport" states that a Bethel Society was established at Plymouth Dock in 1820. It is listed in 1852 as being in James Street. It is claimed that its Chapel at Mutton Cove was not erected until 1866. SEAMEN'S BETHEL CHAPEL, PLYMOUTH Plymouth Seamen's Bethel Chapel was opened in Castle Street, near the Barbican, in 1833. At one time it was so influential that it managed to stop fishing vessels from working on a Sunday. It is listed in 1852 as being a Wesleyan Chapel. Its work had grown so much over the years that in 1884 new class-rooms had to be added. At the same time additional land to the rear of the existing premises was acquired. The memorial stones of the extension were laid at the new Lambhay Street entrance by the Mayor of Plymouth, Mr W H Alger, and Mr R R Fox, president of the Bethel, on Wednesday January 27th 1886. Mr H J Snell was the architect and Messrs Palk and Partridge the contractors. The building was already completed up to roof level. Beneath the first stone the Mayor placed a bottle containing copies of local newspapers, a copy of the hymns used at the ceremony, and a copy of the Bethel's annual report. In his speech he said that there were about 40,000 merchant vessels and some 360,000 merchant seamen in the country, along with 250,000 fishermen and other men of the sea, and 57,000 Royal Navy sailors, all of whom were potential users of the Bethel Chapel. Among the supporters present were Mr R C Serpell, Mr J N Bennett and the Misses Spooner, who ran classes for young men. The new Chapel was 50 feet long by 33 feet wide and was extendible by a further 12 feet if required at a later date. The windows of the old chapel had been enlarged and that area was to be used for reading and recreational purposes. It was to be kept open all day for the benefit of the seamen when they were unable to go to sea. The cost of the work was expected to be around £1,300, of which £875 had already been subscribed. It closed in the 1970s and the Cattewater Commissioners moved in to the part of the premises on the Barbican, while the Sunday school was taken over by the Tamaritans, a local theatre group. It is now the Barbican Theatre. ZION MISSION CHAPEL, DEVONPORT In 1908 a 23-years-old young lady by the name of Miss May Uglow gave up the comparative wealth and security of school teaching and defied her family, friends and church ministers to become a City Missioner at Devonport. Her first mission hall was a stable in Holman's Buildings but she had to find her own congregation. With the assistance of an elderly cornet player, she started to tour the streets of Devonport in her cloak and bonnet to find those in need of her help. At first she was greeted with oranges and tomatoes being thrown at her and on one occasion in Cornwall Street her friend started playing his cornet to attract attention when the landlord of a nearby public house brought out his gramophone in opposition. She later gleefully recalled that he gave up first, however, as while he was trying to drown them out he was actually losing his own customers. Drunkenness and street-corner gambling were just two of the problems she encountered and she would also find herself quite often having to step in to stop a fight between two drunken women. She also worked with the court probation service. But her greatest triumph was with a man known as the roughest, toughest character in the Town, whom she sadly did not name. Despite his filthy language, she took the opportunity to visit him when he was sick and out of curiosity he later visited her Mission, where he was converted. It was not long before the stable was too small for her meetings so she took over an adjoining loft as well. Then in 1928 the Freemason's Hall in Granby Street became available and was purchased for her new Mission Hall. Alongside the Sunday service, she held Sunday Schools for both children and adults, Bible classes and even a sisterhood. Devonport was a Town of poverty and her Mission was constantly having to find clothing, shoes and socks for both children and adults. During the Devonport Blitz of April 1941, a huge part of the surrounding area was destroyed, including the Hippodrome Cinema just a few doors away but not the nearest public house, the Granby Cellars. The Mission Hall itself would also have disappeared had it not been for the efforts of a fire-watcher, who, as a young boy, had been converted as a boy. 'The Mission saved me, and now it's my turn to save the Mission', he reputedly said. Even then, only one Sunday service was missed when a bomb fell right outside the main door. After the Second World War there was not much left of Miss Uglow's congregation as there was nowhere for them to live in the area. And, even worse, it looked for a time like the Admiralty were going to take over the remainder of Devonport for the expansion of the Royal Dockyard. But those who were left prayed hard and the Mission was saved yet again. In the meantime, services continued to be held at the Seamen's Home. However, to reopen the Hall to a modern standard and repair the damage that the War had done would cost money: £4,000 in fact. The Mission had just £500 but in February 1958 the work was put in hand nonetheless, relying on Faith and prayer. When the Zion Mission Hall was reopened on Saturday October 11th 1958, the money had been found. 'We never had any special efforts to get the money.' said Miss Uglow, by now 74-years of age and having completed 51 years of service to the Mission, 'It was all done by prayer.' The architect was Mr Victor Saunders. NOTE: It looks like the press once again didn't let the facts get in the way of a good story. Miss May Uglow appears to have been born in the Honiton district in 1875, which would have made her 32-years old at the time she was appointed Missioner. Miss Uglow appears to have died in the Exeter area at the end of 1959 at the age of 84, which means she was in fact 83-years-old when the Zion Hall was reopened in 1958. This has not yet been proved. ZOAR CHAPEL, DEVONPORT The original Zoar Chapel was opened in Bragg's Alley, Devonport, in 1870. The building was expected to have lasted a long time but unfortunately the houses around it were very overcrowded and dilapidated and when it was decided they had to be demolished so that modern houses could be erected, the chapel had to go as well. The building had been purchased by Mr William Tonkin for £85 but it was now being sold for £150 so there was a nice profit on the transaction. Mr Tonkin was a businessman - he owned a draper's shop in Fore Street. The foundation stone of the Zoar New Chapel and Sunday School was laid in Dockwall Street on the afternoon of Wednesday December 20th 1882. The new site had previously been that of the Devonport Foundry. The architect was Mr Piers St Aubyn. The builder was Mr Edward A Thacker of 90 James Street. Mrs Tonkin laid the foundation stone, upon which she placed a cheque for £20, and then the Mayor of Devonport, Mr G T Rolston, also laid a stone. The Mayor then went on to comment: 'The town was changing very rapidly. They were losing sight day by day of what used to be called Plymouth Dock, and what was sometimes called Stoke Damerel, and they were settling down into a new sort of town, which they were trying to designate Devonport.' Being an undenominational chapel, the ceremony was attended by friends from the Church of England, the Wesleyans, the Bible Christians, the Independents and the Baptists. Zoar Chapel survived until it was destroyed during the Second World War and on July 11th 1949 it was purchased by the City Council under the Devonport No 1 Compulsory Purchase Order 1947 for £375.
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