Burnham on Crouch URC Church history
In 1861 a group of independent Christians
started to meet together in Burnham and planned the building of a
chapel at the junction of Chapel Road with High Street. (The
entrance to the Council Chamber runs thro' the old school room)
The members agreed to
affiliate with other independent churches stemming from the 1662 Act
of Uniformity that later became known as the Congregational Church.
This was also at the same
time that the Methodist Cause was opened in Albert Road.
The work of the local church
developed with the forming of a Sunday school and extensive
renovation, allowing seating for 300 people, at the turn of the
century.
In the depression a club was
started for the unemployed and during the last War a club for
Servicemen and Women stationed at Burnham was organised.
In February 1946 the church
premises were completely destroyed by fire and the congregation were
grateful top the Parish Church who made the St Mary's Hall available
for Sunday Work and worship until the new premises were built on the
Hill House Estate in 1950.
While post war building
restrictions and the cash available meant that they were utility in
style they served as a centre for work with all age groups with an
emphasis on children and youth work.
In 1972 following discussions
at local and national level the Congregational Church in England and
Wales joined with the Presbyterian Church in England to form the
United Reform Church - hence our name today.
At the time of the union one
of the stated aims of the new church was to continue to seek and
work for the unity of the church in the UK.
More room was needed for the
various groups and hence the Marsh Mission was added in 1955 (until
200) having served on Burnham Marshes since 1904 and later rooms
were constructed from post war 'prefabs'.
The small local Methodist
Church joined with us in 1984 and therefore we represent Methodist
interests in the town..
Since the 'eighties' the
pastorate has been shared with our sister URC church at
Southminster.
The year 1994 saw a major
refurbishment being undertaken by the local church to prepare for
its continued work by offering a facility that was much more
flexible in the ways that the halls and the worship area could be
used.
In 2008/9 the old 'prefabs'
were removed and a new hall was built through the generosity of Mr
Bill Clark-Lewis.
In 2013 another benefactor,
Mrs Ann Monks allowed us to continue with the refurbishment of the
worship area and remodel the front aspect of the Church building
giving a better shop window aspect.
The oldest part of the
building is the foundation stone taken from the old church building
in Chapel Road and can be found near to the South Side entrance.
