A Brief History of Didcot Methodist Church

The earliest Methodist church in the town was the Primitive Methodist chapel built in 1868. It was the first building to be erected in the newly established neighbourhood of Northbourne. The workers on the Great Western Railway were deeply religious and lived mainly in this new neighbourhood. St Peter’s Anglican Church was also built in 1891 to serve their needs.

Later, in 1901, the Wesleyan Methodists arranged for the purchase of the site on the corner of Mereland Road - a few yards along from the Primitive Methodist chapel. The foundation stone was laid in July 1903 and the brick built church officially opened the following year. The two churches continued their separate existence until the Methodist Act of Union in 1931 when they amalgamated and became Didcot Methodist Church in the present building.

Interestingly the old Primitive Methodist church hall continued in use during the war when it was requisitioned by the War Office and used as the headquarters of Didcot’s Home Guard. This hall was reclaimed for use by the Methodist church after the war until the present church hall was built in 1955. The cost of £8,500 was raised by the church members with a little help from the townsfolk who were challenged to give one shilling each towards the building! It is not known how well they responded but that the hall exists is a tribute to a strong community spirit in the town.

The next phase of development took place in 1999 when the church and hall were linked with a new porch. The resulting foyer area not only improved the appearance and usefulness of the front of the church but it had the added benefit of cutting out the cold north wind blowing directly into the church and hall. At the same time the church and hall were thoroughly refurbished and furnished with new seating. The suite of premises is in good shape with the exception of the rear of the church which no longer suits all the present and future activities of the church and community.

Our buildings are set on a slope which means that some of the internal floors are on different levels and accessed by awkward steps. The church and hall were refurbished and made accessible eight years ago. The current appeal deals with the rear of the premises. In order that we may continue and develop our community work in our present building we need to:

• Construct small meeting rooms which can be used by church and community groups. These are needed to provide extra accommodation for smaller groups to meet whilst the main hall is in use.
• Provide access ramps between the two buildings.
• Construct a toilet with disabled and baby changing facilities. This and the previous item are badly needed for an increasing number of infirm people using the premises.
• Install an effective heating system in keeping with the expectations of the users of the premises.

Over the last few years we have been heavily involved with Churches Together in Didcot and District to support a detached youth worker. This has resulted in a registered charity employing a full time youth worker in 2002. Volunteers from the town’s churches have supported this person in his work and it is acknowledged that this scheme has made a difference. Various events have been sponsored amongst the young people in the town and the Methodist Church is fully committed to this ongoing community project.

Our vision for the future is for a church that engages in and with the community in a variety of ways, building on the work we already carry out. Arising from this is a need to ensure that the church premises are available and fit for community groups to use.