Ab initio
“At the time (1886) Queen’s Valley could be called a development area. From where the Church stands now to Humber Road and back towards The City it was fields and gardens. Across the road between Mona Street and Hawthorne Grove there was a smallholding of fields and an orchard which extended to the railway. Beyond it there were fields down to the canal and Trent side. Queen’s Road extended from Dallas York Road to Dovecote Lane and there was farmland beyond at either ends. Most of the land between King Street and Regent Street was not built upon and Nether Street Schools were not there. A booming cycle factory was on Humber Road.”
Jack Moodie (Extract from 1975 Newsletter article).
The Buildings and their Survival
“When we build, let us think we build for ever” – John Ruskin.
The collection of buildings known as Queen’s Road Methodist Church are a testimony to those people who grabbed “the hour of opportunity”. Those people who first recognised the need for a Mission building (the Old School Hall) in this part of Beeston and then fourteen years later accomplished the building of a Church. To meet the challenge of a Sunday School with its numbers bursting out of the limited premises, a new assembly hall (The Church Hall) was planned. That it should take nearly twenty years to realise is an indication of what prayer and perseverance will achieve. Over the years the names of the people who make up the Church change, but there has always been a nucleus of individuals and families who ensure the continued existence of a Church at Queen’s Road. It is not possible to mention all participants in the story of Queen’s Road, though we have all experienced and are aware of their influence and example that has created and continues to build on the legacy of 100 years.
The Queen’s Road “Wesleyan Mission” was built in an area of farmland and allotments which was already being changed by the arrival of new industries. The nearby Humber cycle works provided premises in its canteen for the beginnings of the Sunday School. The occupations of the first trustees reflect the activities of the area and include lace manufacturers, a silk mill manager, retailer, store-keeper at the cycle works, coachman and a gentleman. In 1901 two members of the choir left for Zion City, U.S.A. to set up lace manufacture, taking with them many lace workers from Beeston.
At a preliminary meeting on February 17th 1886 it had been resolved that a Mission Room should be built in the area known as the Queen’s Valley. Land was bought from Mr. W. E. Brown of Long Eaton at 3/6 (18p) per square yard. Accommodation was to be built for a maximum of 250 people and the cost was not to exceed £300. Plans had to be scaled down and costs were accepted at £440. On Tuesday 12th October the commemorative stone was laid and three months later the Chapel was opened by the Rev. O. Davies of Liverpool on January 6th 1887, one week ahead of schedule. An Infant School Room occupied the present (in 1987) kitchen and had a gallery at one end of it which existed until 1898 when it was removed as being considered unsafe.
In July 1896 the Trustees resolved that “the time had come for better accommodation to be provided for public worship and Sunday School work at Queen’s Road Mission.” Plans were proposed for a Chapel costing approximately £1580. In May 1900 the present Church was opened, built to a typical Methodist Church design, a point of debate having been the height of the tower. A seating capacity for a “mixed” congregation of 334. The label “free” may still be seen on some pews and others are numbered, a reminder of the days when families rented their own particular pew which must have led to the tradition in later days of strangers receiving a frosty look if a member found their usual seat occupied. On the end of the pews was an umbrella stand and the family pews had a bracket to hold an identification card. The Church was gas lit until 1928 when it was replaced by the introduction of electric lighting and power installation throughout the premises. The caretaker had used the gas lighting to theatrical effect when he dimmed the lights during the sermon.
The Jubilee of George V in 1935, revealed “that in Beeston (population between 16,000 and 17,000) there were upwards of 1,000 children not attending any Sunday School” and that during the previous five years 422 houses had been built within half a mile of the Church doors, with plans for 800 more and 60 shops. In addition to that fact our Sunday School was so crowded that “we dare not canvas for new scholars” and children’s names had to be put down on a waiting list for a vacancy. The pressing need for further accommodation was recognised and expressed at the Jubilee Concert when Scholars had sung:–
“But now there’s such a crush in here,
That slimming is the rule;
So we’re digging the foundations
Of a bigger Sunday School.”
Church Hall Stone Laying Ceremony in 1953
Fund raising began slowly and then the war interrupted any plans. Eventually the new Church Hall opened on 3rd April 1954 providing more accommodation for a large Sunday School. The stone laying ceremony had been performed in October 1953 by Sir Martin Redmayne, the local M.P., who had returned early from the Conservative Party Conference for the event. It is interesting to note that it was requested of the Commanding Officer at Chilwell Ordnance Depot, that no noisy tanks should travel down Queen’s Road between 3 p.m. and 4.30 p.m. during the ceremony. The request was readily complied with. Other groups and individuals were privileged to take part in the Stone Laying Ceremony and having collected sufficient money, at least 5/- (25p), one was able to participate with trowel and mortar to set a numbered brick firmly in place. That the commemorative stones should form part of the outside wall of the men’s toilets is unfortunate, though perhaps in keeping with a building which is functional if nothing else. Constructed in the post war period, the shortage of building materials, the Church Hall is an achievement in many ways, not least the slow but persistent fund raising such as the weekly donations to the Building Fund, which made it possible.
Apart from the major building projects the work on the premises has been entrusted to the care and skills of the stewards who struggle with the problems of heating, flooded boiler house, leaking roof etc. Heating the premises seems to be a constant problem. In 1945 the Sisterhood had to hold house meetings because of a shortage of fuel. The flat Church Hall roof presented difficulties from the very beginning. It is hoped the Centenary Year project for a new roof will have solved that problem. Working parties have tackled structural alterations – the Church lobby, kitchen and lounge – and the painting and decorating of various parts of the premises. New lighting in the Church marked the Church’s Diamond Jubilee in 1960 and the new decorations included the controversial painting of the timbered ceiling rafters – “the new colours had been a shock after years of varnished wood and plain colours.”
The old outhouses and outside toilets fell under the demolition hammer and the enlarged open space made it possible at a later date to provide a concreted area which was a project partnered with the Playgroup. The car space was extended with work carried out on the pathways and walls surrounding the Church in a scheme undertaken over a long, anguished period by a Youth Training Scheme. The weather has also contributed to alterations, when one January Sunday morning an iron cross on the apex of the front Church gable was blown off in a gale and smashed.
In 1957 there was the unsettling possibility that Queen’s Road was to be widened which would involve the demolition of the Church. Nothing did happen but to allow for that contingency a piece of land at the rear of the Church was bought from the Council for £100. In 1974 there were further threats to the presence of a Church on Queen’s Road with the proposal to amalgamate the three Beeston Churches; an emotive issue which was rejected by the majority of members. The introduction of Christian Stewardship in 1967 was an effort to make most effective use of resources, both financial and individual talents. A regular review of the scheme has become combined with the Church Anniversary.
Financial matters are always of concern at the various Church meetings, since sufficient income is necessary to meet all the running costs and other demands. From time to time special fund raising events have been necessary to meet needs. The idea of a “foot of pennies” proved a popular form of collection as in 1933 when the Sunday School scholars raised £4.8.11½ (£4.44); oh for another half-penny! In 1939 the Church was described as “a prosperous little Church, the envelope scheme was the backbone of the collections.” During the war years that followed the finances were severely tested when the annual assessment was increased to pay the minister a war bonus of £50 per annum for acting as padre to Chilwell Depot. In June 1941 it was reported that the Church was £20 in debt.
The war years produce other interesting details of Church life existing under uncertain and difficult conditions. All the Church groups were approached to contribute towards the cost of blackout curtains for the Old School Hall. Although bombs fell in the Queen’s Road area there is a defiant note of bravado in the acceptance of danger as a way of life with an instruction (May 1940) “that in the event of an air raid the service would halt for seven minutes during which period anyone wishing to do so could leave, then the service would resume”. For the Sunday School permission was received from Sir Louis Pearson for the children to be marched across to the Beeston Boiler Company air raid shelter, the key to the wicket gate to be kept in the school room. In the winter months the evening service was brought forward to 3 p.m. but attendances at services were a cause for concern. The Sunday School struggled on, though in February 1942 it was reported that seven teachers were now in the forces and four others were working Sundays with only one in three weekends free. However prospects were brighter by 1949 when it could be recorded that Church attendances averaged 20 at morning service, 70 in the evenings, Sunday School had 120 morning scholars and 140 afternoon scholars, Sisterhood numbered 35 members and the Young People’s Fellowship for 9 year olds and upwards had 25 members.
Activities During the Week
“Sing Queen’s Road Forever” – rallying call of the Cycling Club.
In the 1934/35 Year Book there is quite a list of weekly activities taking place at Church. Sisterhood on Tuesday, Junior Guild in winter, Badminton on winter evenings, Wesley Guild on Thursdays – October to March, Bible Class Sunday at 2.15 p.m., Classes Monday and Tuesday evenings, Cycle Club in summer, Groups on Sunday evenings after service, Sunday School at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Church Services at 10.45 a.m. and 6 p.m.. Of the present (in 1987) Church groups the Sisterhood (Women’s Fellowship) began in 1933, (Young) Wives started in 1961 followed two years later by the Men’s Fellowship, and the Young Adults are a more recent group. Prayer meetings and Bible Study Groups occurred over the years as do various Clubs and Groups catering for different age groups and activities. During weekdays a pre-school Playgroup occupied the premises. Initiated by Reverend Handscomb and his wife the Playgroup continued until 1985 when a change in demand caused its demise.
Youth Clubs tend to come and go with some regularity due to the needs at the time but more importantly to the presence of committed leadership. The Youth Club of the late 1950’s continued into an era which saw a Queen’s Road Football Team. A compulsory monthly attendance at Church service swelled the congregation and may have saved a few souls if not goals. There were further sporting activities with the Games Club which brought a revival of the game of badminton. From the 1930’s couples attending the Badminton Club competed at the end of the season for the Robinson Cup. Also there was the Guild which included the Cycle Club, reported by its General Secretary Fred Collins to be “an outstanding success”. The Easter Monday outing had a traditional breakfast cooked at Church before setting out. The Club travelled far afield and had between 30 and 40 members. Later there was a parting of the ways with its Sunday riders who formed the Beeston Cycle Club and the Guild members took up the 30’s craze for rambling.
In 1939 the Guild was described as “mostly young people, really enthusiastic workers, there was a greater fellowship”. There was also a Regnal set up for boys with the aim of leading “a spiritual and more Christlike life”, it continued through the war years and in 1945 had 64 members and by then included girls. For all the Youth groups the records witness from time to time the note of caution to youthful exuberance including trouble with the young people of the Bible Class of such severity that the caretaker threatened to resign in September 1942. Unfortunately there was another outlet for such high spiritedness as later in that year the Young People’s Service had to be cancelled because those due to take part had been called “to the colours”.
A calmer group sounds like the Ladies Sewing Meeting formed in January 1887. An industrious gathering working away with needles and pins. At one time a lady read aloud while the others worked. Their objectives were the refurbishment of the Church fabric and fundraising activities setting themselves a target of £500 for the 1950 Jubilee year. An outlet for such work were the bazaars, sale of work, Spring Markets that took place. They created an interest with the hall lined with white clothed and canopied stalls. Individual skills and efforts filled the stalls with aprons, sewn linen, toys, cakes, groceries, sweets etc. When the old school hall had been used teas were served in the present Church lounge which must have been quite a crush and hazardous as it was heated by two small open fires. With the new Church Hall there were teas in the old hall and a grotto for Santa on the stage. But first there had to be the formalities undertaken by a Chairman and invited guest who declared that the bazaar, and hopefully purses, were now open.
Special occasions
“Be Happy All – The Feast Is Spread Before Ye” – W. S. Gilbert.
As the pioneers recalled memories of tea urns and tea cans laid out on tables in the room they first used in the Humber Road canteen, there is no apology that food should feature predominantly in this section.
An important Sunday School event was the Whit Monday Procession when all the Churches paraded through Beeston. In 1933 it was the turn of Queen’s Road to lead the procession and there was a new banner for the occasion. Obviously honoured roles must have been to hold the banner pole or strings and walk at the head of the parade. The Sunday School had a decorated dray to carry the younger children. In the 1930’s there seems to have been a mixture of motorised vehicles and horse drawn drays. A plywood structure decorated with crepe paper and tissue paper flowers could transform an everyday vehicle into something splendid. The afternoon’s events culminated with the traditional tea of ham and iced buns.
A procession of children through the streets of Beeston could have unforeseen problems as in the one for the 1919 Peace Celebrations. A special tea had been arranged and costed to cater for 187 scholars, 23 teachers and 59 additional children who were attached to the Church party just for the tea. Bert Elliott recorded a note on an invoice “Considerably more than 59 children attached themselves to us for teas as in the procession were counted primary on drays 82, girls 130 and boys 100, total 312 children only and there was upwards of 30 teachers and helpers to take tea afterwards. Consequently our supplies were hardly sufficient to meet requirements. I have advised the Council Committee of the matter”.
Now if you were good and had put in the required number of attendances at Sunday School, you would be eligible for the Annual Treat. It is difficult with the accustomed mobility of the present day to comprehend the excitement of an outing to Wollaton Park or Bramcote recreation ground. But there was a ride in a Barton’s bus and, of course, tea provided. At the tea, apart from bread and butter, there were jam rolls, currant bread, plain cake, seed cake, plum cake and lots of buns. The Christmas Party had the additional attractions of apples, oranges and chocolate cigars. Ice cream appeared on the items of fare in the late 1940’s and outings began to go further afield to Matlock and Wickstead Park.
It must have been quite an outing that went to Donnington Hall on June 22nd 1935. There was a conveyance by Bartons, entrance fee paid to the park and tea for 37 scholars (“who had attended service in Chapel since last year”) and 7 adults for a total cost of £5.10.6 (£5.53). The meal for the adults was tea, ham and eggs (hot) for only 1/6 (7p) each.
Combined with the Annual Treat were the Annual Sports, various races graded according to age and sex, and including the egg and spoon race. But the Church was not always sufficiently equipped to provide for physical exercise and refreshments. It cost 3/- (15p) for the hire and carriage of cricket bag and implements in July 1906. It was also necessary to hire the tea urn. On that occasion there were the additional expenses of 2/- (10p) to the gatekeeper, 4/- (20p) to the caretaker for washing up and the purchase of 5 lbs of gums for 1/8 (8p). What marvellous days when you could make your Saturday penny last with sweets at those prices. And the sun always shone except in August 1943 “only the weather spoiled the event”; as it did for the Whit Monday parade in 1931 when motors were required “to save scholars walking through the rain”.
Outings more recently established take a chance on the weather. The Annual Church hike takes place in the spring when usually a mixed party is taken out trusting in the skills of its leader on the use of map and compass to rediscover the pleasures of the Derbyshire Dales and the vagaries of the weather. The Church Picnic makes a visit to another Methodist Church to share their evening service one Sunday in August. Small country congregations are generally outnumbered by our party and the picnic takes place in the shelter of the Church.
With the end of summer comes the Harvest Festival weekend. On the Saturday evening the Harvest Supper occurs, traditionally a ham salad followed by fruit pie or cake. But more recently there have been occasions when the meal has consisted of bread and cheese as an attempt to focus on the plight of the starving in the world. The Supper was also an occasion for role reversal when the men of the Church would prepare and serve the meal. Some would wear an apron and they moved between the tables with the most prestigious symbol in the Church hierarchy – the tea pot. To be asked to take round a tea pot had the same honour as being given a collection plate on Sunday! Tradition fiercely guarded who did what and newcomers needed to observe strict caution on venturing into such territory or else steam would appear not only from the tea pot spout!
Three Harvest Services follow on the Sunday, the afternoon being a children’s gift service when baskets of fruit and vegetables augment the seasonal display. For many years the centre piece of the altar display was the bread loaf in the shape of a wheatsheaf, complete with harvest mouse. On the following Monday all the produce has to be sorted out and distributed in the community. It is surprising to find that in 1942, when one would expect there to be shortages, there was sufficient produce to be distributed to the “poor and sick” and the remainder to be sold.
Entertainments
“Don’t clap too hard – it’s a very old building” – John Osborne.
Apart from the Sunday services, Sunday School, Band of Hope, Temperance Society and other weekday meetings, the Chapel from its earliest days provided a venue for entertainments in the locality. Concerts and socials were popular activities to fill the long winter evenings and were useful for fund raising, though the Trustees put out a reminder in 1943 that the premises were not to be used for whist drives.
The old School Hall had a permanent stage with a curtain across the front. At concerts the hall would be packed to the walls with small children sat perched up on the window sills. There was the Sunday School concert in December with specially written sketches and songs suitable for young performers e.g. The Jolly Newsboys, The Mock Auction. No doubt anyone with a particular talent to play a musical instrument or give a recitation could be fitted into the programme. The autumn Choir Concert also favoured a mixture of songs and sketches and in 1972 it begat the Old Time Music Hall. Performed by the Men’s Fellowship, ably assisted by the Ladies of the choir. The Music Hall added to the previous formula a seemingly inexhaustible series of doctor and waiter jokes all punctuated by “I say, I say” routines. The Music Hall relies on audience participation and the agility of the performers to keep up with the fast pace. It has also included some Victorian tear-jerkers which were perhaps popular when the old School Hall was built.
In 1962 the Youth Club asked for permission of the Trustees to put on a pantomime, Mother Goose, for three nights in February. Since then the pantomime has become an annual event and an important one in the Church calendar. From early rather basic productions the pantomime has built up a well deserved reputation for being a first rate, reliable entertainment. The pantomimes were directed by Clifford Wilson until 1973 when Jessie Liquorish took over as producer with a production of Humpty Dumpty.
Music
“0 Sing unto The Lord, a New Song” – Psalm 96 v.1.
When the new Church opened in 1900 it had a choir of about 20 members with Mr. J. J. Johnson as Choir Master and Miss E. B. Boot as organist. At various times in the records the work of the choir is acknowledged and complimented for its valued contribution to the acts of worship. The high point of the musical year was the Choir Festival and the Choir Sunday was a three service event. For all the sterling work done throughout the year the choir could look forward to an outing. Such as in 1911 when 22 members were taken out in a horse drawn brake. The total cost of the outing was £2.19.0 (£2.95p) and that included tea and stabling for the horses. Other outings were to concerts and musical events such as in the 1950’s local Eisteddfods. Early choir accounts reveal various fund raising efforts including concerts and socials. Carol singing on Christmas Day 1899 raised £2 whereas carol singing in 1949 raised only £1.19.6 (£1.98p). Amongst the accounts for sheet music, copies of the Messiah etc. is a sum of 1/7 (8p) raised in fines. In 1925 choir members were fined for non-attendance, late for choir practice or hitting a flat note?
During the Second World War years when the choir was below its usual strength, occasions such as the Harvest Festival had to be handed over to the Sisterhood to provide a Service of Song. It was, however, during the war years that the greatest musical innovation was made with the building of the Church organ. This major task was carried out by members of the Liquorish family, assisted by Messrs. E. Mellors, A. Williams, and F. Mellors under the supervision of Mr. C. Trapp. The new organ cost £250 and had “electric action, detached console, 30 stock keys, numerous double touch pistons, full organ pedal and two swell pedals to control the volume of sound from the organ which is totally enclosed”. It was dedicated on the 29th October 1944 at a service attended by a Civic Party and followed by an afternoon concert. The previous Church organ came from Chapel Street and needed the attention of someone to pump the bellows. Apparently a skilled operative was needed or the result would be far from melodious. Earlier music in the old School Hall had been provided by an American organ installed in May 1891, and for Sunday School Anniversaries there was the addition of a band.
Accounts of Anniversaries record that the “Queen’s Road Wesleyans led the way” with the start of the Anniversary season on April 1st, 1916. On that occasion an orchestral band consisting of four violins, clarinet, oboe, cornet, double bass and organ provided the music. Amongst the individual items were a recitation by Jack Moodie and a solo from Dorothy Elliott. In April 1944 a press report noted that the Sunday School still maintained their reputation for good singing and recitations and an encore of the 23rd Psalm was given. More recent years have seen the performance of new musicals telling the stories of Joseph, Jonah and Noah. Some of them have even been performed to electric guitar and drum accompaniments.
Sunday School Anniversary in the 1950s
The Sunday School Anniversary was an occasion for new clothes and the awesome task of climbing the wooden structure of the platform. The platform rises above the pulpit area and affords a closer inspection of the rose window. It is necessary to follow a particular order as the timbers appear out of storage and are slotted and bolted together. There is mystery and ritual surrounding its assembly. The age of the platform is unknown but is estimated to be over 80 years old and was bought from money raised by the collection of pennies and so was known as the “penny platform”. Inevitably there would always be one popular hymn to set the feet bouncing on the foot board, until one imagined the whole marvellous structure swayed and an errant hymn sheet floated freely down to the dark depths below. There were three services on the Sunday and if that was not enough a further service on the Monday evening.
Sunday School Anniversary in the 1960s
It was a matter for the Trustees to decide that the “new” 1934 hymn book should be given out to adults only. A further decision was that “Amen” should be sung when printed and left to the discretion of the organist if it was to be sung after the last hymn. AMEN.
Footnote
In this brief history I have attempted to evoke something of the days when local shops promised “deliveries at shortest notice” and a letter could begin “In reply to your letter of yesterday”. I am grateful for the assistance of Alison Jones for introducing me to the City Archives, Betty Price for typing endless draft copies and Pat Jones for producing the finished work.
Robert Dawson
April 1987.
2014 & 2016: Beeston Methodist Church became one church from 1st September 2014, bringing together the people, commitment, energies and resources of Chilwell Road, Clarke’s Lane, Inham Nook, Queen’s Road and Wollaton Road Methodist Churches. The church started worshipping together for all services from Easter Sunday 27th March 2016.
2019: A final thanksgiving service was held at Queen’s Road on Sunday 28th April 2019 and the buildings were sold to another church. Beeston Methodist Church united at the Chilwell Road building for all services from Aldersgate Sunday 26th May 2019.