At this point, I hope readers will understand if I introduce some personal information into the story. My life changed in 1967 when I met Mavis Corrall, who lived with her family in Wilkinson Avenue – literally a stone’s throw from the church they loyally supported.
Mavis and I were married at Wollaton Road on June 14, 1969 – the last wedding in the old-style church before work began on the modernisation scheme in 1970.
Generations of members had long dreamed of enlarging the premises. Records show that on three separate occasions since the Second World War, modernisation plans were considered but each time they were eventually shelved.
But the topic rose again and during 1968 three trustees were each asked to come up with different ideas. After extensive consultation with the congregation, a visionary scheme was chosen with three main aims – to create a dual-purpose church for services and a range of other activities; reduce interference from growing traffic noise and install a better entrance to the church.
Work started in 1970 under the guidance of the architect Mr T H Bestwick and the Rev Stuart Burgess, a young minister who would go on to hold the highest office, serving as President of the Methodist Church in 1999/2000. The redevelopment was radical because it was largely carried out by voluntary labour after 30 people at the church formed a “do-it-yourself” work gang.
They gave up their spare time in the evenings and on Saturdays to tackle the job. The project cost £3,600 – with the volunteers’ sterling efforts saving the church thousands of pounds. The sale of property by the Nottingham West Circuit also realised £1,300 towards the cost of the scheme and Wollaton Road members raised more than £1,000 themselves.
Colin Sharpe, church treasurer and trustee, who acted as “foreman” on the scheme, told the Beeston Gazette in 1970: “The response from church members has been terrific. We are blessed with a lot of first class ‘do-it-yourself’ men, who are willing and able to tackle almost any job.”
The Rev Stuart Burgess thanked everyone for all their hard work and added: “I was amazed at the number of people, who volunteered for the working party, and they have since shown great enthusiasm for the work.”
At that time Wollaton Road had a membership of 108 – higher than at any time in its long history.
Before construction work could begin, the pulpit, platform, the old pipe organ, pews and vestibule all had to be dismantled. Youth Club members helped with the demolition and construction work.
In just four weeks the ceiling was lowered by installing interlocking panels, suspended from the main roof trusses on steel frames.
A new wooden screen became the focal point for worship, fronted by a raised platform and a removable steel communion rail. Other furniture was made by a church member.
The scheme achieved the aim of a “dual purpose” building with removable stacking chairs in the church, enabling it to be used as a worship area and also for concerts, church productions and other activities. The newly constructed stage was flanked on one side by a new ministers’ vestry and a Sunday school room and changing room on the other.
The main entrance to the church transferred from the front of the building to the side with a paved pathway leading to double doors, covered by a canopy, and opening into a spacious lobby.
The heating system was also upgraded. The forward-thinking, ambitious project was completed in just 12 months. But getting everything ready in time for the official opening went down to the wire.
The Rev Burgess told Nottingham Evening Post reporter David Lowe on August 21, 1970: “Our deadline looks like being three hours before the re-opening. “
But as the final coat of paint went on, the volunteer squad could pride themselves on a wonderfully professional job. The workers had shifted 72 loads of rubble, used 7, 500 bricks, mixed many bags of cement, laid 120 slabs and put in more than 1,000 yards of cabling.
Improvising with their varied talents they had done all the work except plastering, sewer work, putting in the main doors and doing the framework for the porch.
Mr Burgess said: “The transformation to the interior of the church is unbelievable. The many, many hours that have been put in cannot be fully seen from the roadway.
“There have been some humorous moments and a few heartaches. One of the most difficult jobs was the ceiling. This has been done magnificently.”
He added: “We now have a modern, adaptable church that can really put Wollaton Road on the map.”
The new-look building was opened and rededicated on Saturday, September 26 by Rev Christopher D Bacon, Chairman of the District, and the opening ceremony was performed by 84-year-old Ernest Bettle, a lifelong member of the church. In past years he had been a society steward, Sunday School secretary and superintendent and in 1970 was still a member of the church choir.
Mr Bettle, the oldest member, who was born in 1886 – four years after Wollaton Road was built – had the honour of turning the key to open the doors of the new-look building.
Wollaton Road was packed to capacity for the occasion and even though extra seating was placed on the stage, many people stood at the back of the church and in the entrance lobby to observe the historic service.
In his address, the District Chairman Rev Christopher Bacon described the re-opening as a new chapter in the story of Wollaton Road Church and “a triumph of hope based upon experience” – experience which brought proof that the church had stood the test of time.
He said the building had undergone a great change and he urged all members of the church not to be afraid of changing their methods of worship and using the building in new ways. He told them to be ready to “explore and experiment” in order to achieve this aim.
During the service the lesson was read by Mrs L Starling. The choir, under the leadership of Mr Cyril Spensley, sang an anthem and Miss Pamela Key sang a folk song. Her father, Mr Cyril Key, was the pianist for the service.
John Sutton told the congregation that the building held many personal memories. He had been christened at the church, attended Sunday School and recalled sitting in the pews with his father, who used to tell him about Jabez Wright, one of the founder members.
On Friday, October 2, 1970, the Beeston Gazette and Echo devoted two pages to the rededication event, headlining one story: Church Transformation ‘A Dream Come True.’
In an interview, Colin Sharpe said: “Almost a year ago when the modernisation scheme was being discussed, I was advised that the work involved made it quite impossible for all the jobs to be carried out by volunteer labour in their spare time.
“In fact, at that stage certain jobs, including the erection of the new suspended ceiling, were to be carried out by contractors.
“Subsequent investigation, however, revealed that the high cost of certain items would lift the cost of the scheme above our financial capabilities. The only alternative appeared to be that the vast majority of the work would have to be done by church members themselves, as formidable as this seemed to be at the time.
“The age range of band of volunteers was from the mid-teens to the mid-70s. There were, of course, times when more than a fair share of problems arose at one time. Despair could easily have overtaken us, but often a good night’s sleep would be sufficient to enable us to cool off and patiently find a solution.
“It has been a privilege to work with such a dedicated band of people, striving to follow the tradition and foresight of those, who have gone before, to bring the church building up to date in order to serve future generations.”
It was a massive effort by the 30-strong team. Colin’s role as “foreman” was to co-ordinate all the work. His chief assistants were Len Dobson, Arthur Hickingbotham and Cyril Baumber. John Davie, Tony Beardsall and Arthur Allen re-wired the whole building and Mr Dobson was in charge of the heating and plumbing installations. Colin’s father, a retired builder, helped with the brickwork.
John Corrall and Peter Barker helped Cyril Baumber and Arthur Hickingbotham install the suspended ceiling. Members of the Youth Club were also involved in some of the early demolition work and tidying up the site when the whole project reached the final stages. Mary Barker helped make ceiling panels and mashed gallons of tea for the thirsty workers.
Meanwhile as the modernisation took shape, engineer David Wright, assisted by Cyril Baumber and Chris Partridge, began building a new electronic organ based on a design by organ expert Alan Douglas, of Radcliffe-on-Trent.
The key boards, swell pedal and bench were salvaged from the old organ. This resulted in a considerable saving and some of the organ pipes and blower were sold to raise money towards the estimated £250 cost of the new organ.
A similar factory-built model would have cost well over £2,500.
Completed a few weeks after the re-opening of the church, it was dedicated by Rev Stuart Burgess during a Sunday evening service and the eminent Nottingham organist Norman Silcock played at a special organ dedication concert.