Page 6 - Moravian Messenger Oct 2020

50 Year Anniversary of the New Wellhouse Moravian Church Building
It was 50 years ago, on 19th September 1970, when we met for the opening service in this new building, not just as we see it today. However, before we got to the 19th September 1970, we had gone through some quite traumatic times during the late 1960s. It all started when Br David Hudston and I went up into the dormitories above the Church to see to the bell; was it the rope which had rotted and broken? Had the changer rusted and dropped off? We were soon to find out: as we went towards the outer wall where the Cupula stood we noticed that a number of the main beams which supported
the Church roof had rotted away and were in fact suspended in mid-air not touching the wall plate, and all that weight held up by nothing but the strength of the structure around these beams.
When we called in Rentokil for advice, they said, 'Close the building, it cannot be used until it is made safe'. After further discussion, it was agreed that they could put in supports from the offending beams, through the floor of the dormitory, through the Church floor and to the foundations. This enabled us to use the Church building until an alternative place of worship could be agreed upon.
Crosslands of Cleckheaton, were contacted, we had plans draw up, a quote of £9,000 was accepted, finances sorted, congregation trusts cashed in, a grant and a loan from the Board agreed, and we were on our way. I make it sound easy don't I, but I can certainly tell you it was not an easy time. I can remember one comment made at a meeting by one of our senior member, 'Where are all the young ones to carry on?', not wanting to leave a burden for future generations, and I can remember the response, 'we're all here, we're all young at
heart', and in faith we carried on. We elected a building committee to work with the Church Committee to help with the planning and the fundraising and together we set about the work
before us.
So, on 4th January 1970 Br David Hudston conducted our last service, Lovefeast and Holy Communion in the old Church. It was a sad but positive day as we started the work of re-building. In the meantime, we moved into the Sunday School for our place of worship.
We removed items from the building that we wanted to keep: the communion table and chairs, missal stand and vases, the cross, the bell, the hymn board, books, seat runners, pianos, and the First World War Memorial Plaque. We gave the pulpit to the Fulneck Museum, the organ was dismantled and the metal sold. Some of the smaller pews were sold for garden seats and much of the wood was torn up and made into firewood so
we could sell it for the building fund. We had always understood that a metal box was built into the foundations of the old Church in which the names of the original members or at least the elders of the Church were kept - we thought we knew the area, but having taken up the floor and searching in the dirt of the foundations, we found nothing, so it may still be there.
Over the summer of 1970 a lot of work was undertaken. Following the demolition of the old Church, the site was cleared and re- building commenced, including a wagon falling down an old well which had previously been under the organ loft. David being on site was acting as unpaid works manager, ensuring everything went to plan and convening meetings or contacting committee if things needed to be discussed. Once the building was complete, it was time for the internal fittings. Br Saville came with his Hilti gun to batten down the joists so that the
There followed much soul searching,
many meetings, and visits to view other
churches to gain ideas. We visited
Salem Moravian Church to see how
they had adapted their Sunday School
to make the sanctuary. We discussed
adapting the parlour at the rear of the
considered the balcony of the Sunday School to see if it could be converted into a Church sanctuary, but I think the thought of a coffin coming up in a lift seemed quite off-putting. It was after our visit to the Christadelphian Church in Leeds, a prefabricated building, that things started moving. We had written to the Board in London outlining our thoughts about what we had seen and how we thought something similar might suit our needs. Before we knew what was happening, David was told by the Board to call a Church Committee meeting to which all three Board members, Bishop Foy, Br Ted Wilson and Br Edward Barker came hot-footing up the M1 to tell us what they thought of our idea and to offer us a grant and a loan to cover whatever we needed, if we would build a 'proper building', and here we have it.
Sunday School. We even
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© Br K Evans