Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Confirmed users, Interface administrators, Rollbackers, Administrators
3,031
edits
Bishopsfield Lecture Hall and Reading Room: Difference between revisions
Bishopsfield Lecture Hall and Reading Room (view source)
Revision as of 12:04, 15 April 2022
, 2 years ago→Bishopsfield Lecture Hall and Reading RoomArticle researched and written by Ralph Earlam and Ruth Ludgate, March 2022
(Created page with "Category: SiteIndex Category: Education Category: Recreation Category: Religion Category: Social Welfare == Bishopsfield Lecture Hall and Reading Room<ref>''<small>Article researched and written by Ralph Earlam and Ruth Ludgate, March 2022</small>''</ref> == 50px|left|link=https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=20&lat=53.19838&lon=-2.87410&layers=BingSat&right=117746211 File:RR1 Hoole Baptist Church with original fro...") |
|||
Line 7:
[[Image:wander.gif|50px|left|link=https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=20&lat=53.19838&lon=-2.87410&layers=BingSat&right=117746211]]
[[File:RR1 Hoole Baptist Church with original front entrance.jpg|thumb|''<small>Hoole Baptist Church with original front entrance</small>'']]
Most of the building which is now Hoole Baptist Church (Hoole Lighthouse Centre) in Westminster Road was originally built as a Lecture Hall and Reading Room. It opened in 1863. Sited on Peploe Street (as [[Westminster Road]] was formerly known), in this original role it was described as being located in Bishopsfield, the early name for this part of Hoole derived, it is believed, from the land vesting in St. Werburgh’s Abbey during the medieval period. The name appears on some maps but only survives today in the modern social housing known as Bishopsfield Court on School/[[Walker
=== The Concept ===
The only public building in Bishopsfield at that time was [[Christchurch National School]], also on Peploe Street, which had opened in 1855. It was largely due to the efforts of three men, Rev. R.D. Thomas, the Minister of Christchurch, Rev. David Adams, a Chester City Mission worker and Frank Palin, a local resident and land surveyor who designed the building, that this “''general place of public resort''”<ref>''<small>Cheshire Observer, 28 November 1863</small>''</ref> was made available.
The Reading Room concept had evolved out of the national adult education development that accompanied the industrial revolution. Numerous mutual improvement societies and institutions aimed at offering instruction to the working man sprung up. In particular, the Mechanics Institute movement offered classes in scientific and technical principles to underpin processes workers were operating. They became famous for their libraries and newspaper reading rooms but, although filling a gap, they had mixed success. For example, although one had been proposed for Chester as early as 1810<ref>''<small>Kelly, Thomas, (1962), “A History of Adult Education in Great Britain”, Liverpool University Press, p.117</small>''</ref>, it was 1834 before it launched and then struggled financially<ref>''<small>Cheshire Observer, 14 April 1855</small>''</ref>. After 21 years it closed, re-opening briefly in 1856<ref>''<small>Cheshire Observer, 13 December 1856</small>''</ref>. The fees were pitched too high, and they failed to supply the less academic level of learning opportunity for the average worker.
Line 82:
More information on the Richards family can be found in the article '''[[The Baker and the Accountant]]'''.
[[File:RR13 1896 Lecture in support of the Temperance Movement.jpg|left|thumb|''<small>1896 Lecture in support of the Temperance Movement</small>'']]
The Lecture Hall continued to be used for meetings and concerts. On Tuesday 1st March 1881 it was used for a concert “''of a very successful character''” with “''full attendance''” to raise funds for [[All
In 1883, Ebenezer Baptist Church of Milton Street held a mission meeting there, which was so successful that weekly services were established, and a branch of the Baptist Church was formed. The Church eventually became the principal user and purchased the property in 1911 (see '''[[Hoole Baptist Church]]''').
| |||