Preston Central Methodist Church is in Lune Street, Preston, Lancashire, England. It is an active Methodist church in the Preston Ribble Methodist Circuit, and the Lancashire district.[4] The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[5]
| Preston Central Methodist Church | |
|---|---|
 Lune Street entrance | |
  Preston Central Methodist Church Location in Preston | |
| 53°45′31″N 2°42′12″W / 53.7585°N 2.7032°W | |
| OS grid reference | SD 537 294 |
| Location | Lune Street, Preston, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Methodist Church of Great Britain |
| Membership | 69[1] |
| Weekly attendance | 96[2] |
| Website | Preston Central Methodist Church |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Preston Central Wesleyan Methodist Church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 27 September 1979 |
| Architect(s) | Poulton and Woodman (remodelling) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Groundbreaking | 1817 |
| Completed | 1818 with further alterations in 1863 |
| Construction cost | £6,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Brick, sandstone façade, slate roof |
| Administration | |
| District | Lancashire |
| Circuit | Preston Ribble Methodist |
| Clergy | |
| Minister(s) | Revd Sue Griffiths[3] |
History
editThe church was built in 1817 as a Wesleyan Methodist chapel.[5] It cost £6,000, and was one of the first public buildings in the country to be lit by gas.[6] It was remodelled in 1862–63 by Poulton and Woodman.[7] In the 1990s a hall in the church was converted into sleeping accommodation for the poor and homeless, and the entrance area was enlarged, allowing for the creation of a coffee shop, kitchen, crèche, and toilets. Improvements were made in the access to the front of the church in 2006.[6]
Architecture
editExterior
editThe church is built in brick, with a front of sandstone ashlar and a slate roof. It has a rectangular plan, is in two storeys, and is sited at right angles to the street. The symmetrical entrance front faces east and contains a giant round-headed arch carried on two pairs of Corinthian columns. The surround of the arch is moulded, and above it is a moulded dentilled gable. At the top of the columns are moulded cornices, which are carried out over the lateral bays. These bays contain two round-headed windows with imposts and keystones, one in each storey. The lower windows are partly blocked with notice boards, and the upper windows contain circular geometric glazing.[5] Under the arch, steps lead up to a recessed porch with doorways and a Venetian window.[7] Along the sides of the church are two tiers of round-headed windows. At the rear of the church is a two-storey extension with gabled porches and round-headed doorways with fanlights.[5]
Interior
editInside the church is a horseshoe-shaped gallery carried on thin cast iron columns with Ionic caps,[7] and with a foliated balustrade.[5] The ceiling is coffered with glazed panels in the centre.[7] The original pipe organ was built by Gray and Davison and had two manuals.[8] This was replaced in 1881 by a three-manual organ built by W. E. Richardson.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Circuit Membership Statistics Summary October 2015 - District: 21 Lancashire District" (PDF), methodist.org.uk, Methodist Church in Britain, retrieved 25 October 2016
- ^ "Circuit Attendance Statistics Summary October 2015" (PDF), methodist.org.uk, Methodist Church in Britain, retrieved 25 October 2016
- ^ Blackett, Paul, "About us", www.centralmethodist.org.uk, Preston Central Methodist Church, retrieved 25 October 2016
- ^ Home, Preston Central Methodist Church, retrieved 1 May 2014
- ^ a b c d e Historic England, "Central Methodist Church (1291958)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 May 2014
- ^ a b History, Preston Central Methodist Church, retrieved 1 May 2014
- ^ a b c d Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 514, ISBN 978-0-300-12667-9
- ^ "NPOR [N10720]", National Pipe Organ Register, British Institute of Organ Studies, retrieved 2 July 2020
- ^ "NPOR [N10717]", National Pipe Organ Register, British Institute of Organ Studies, retrieved 2 July 2020