Above Bar Church, Southampton

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Above Bar Church is an evangelical church in Southampton. The church's building is situated above the shops in Above Bar Street in Southampton City Centre. Founded in 1662,[1] the church was the oldest church in the Congregational Union,[1] until it became independent from all national denominations.

[edit] History

The church was founded in 1662 under the ministry of Rev Nathaniel Robinson.[1]. The hymn writer Isaac Watts was a deacon of the church.[2]

Having outgrown the original chapel, the a new building was erected on the site in 1727.[2] This was later demolished in 1819 and replaced by an even larger building, the first stone of which was laid on 1 April, 1819, and the building was completed on 20 April, 1820, having cost nearly £6,000.[2] A re-opening service was held on 6 November, 1889.[2]

The Church was the main Non-Conformist church in the city in the nineteenth century, when it was known as Above Bar Independent Chapel (later on becoming Above Bar Congregational Chapel). The pastor from 1810 to 1868 was Rev. Thomas Adkins. [3]

On 30th November 1940, during the second world war, the church building was destroyed by Luftwaffe bombs.[1] The absence of a church building during that time led many of the congregation to attend the nearby St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, later to become Avenue St Andrew's United Reformed Church. The minister of Above Bar, Rev Maxwell Jones, also moved to St Andrew's and was formally recognised as the minister of the latter.[1] The two churches officially united on 1st January 1948,[1] although Above Bar Church was later re-established as a separate entity when the bomb-damaged city centre was rebuilt.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f The History of Avenue St Andrew's URC Accessed 20th September 2007
  2. ^ a b c d 'Southampton: Churches, public buildings and charities', A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3 (1908), pp. 524-37. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42037. Date accessed: 20 September 2007.
  3. ^ A History of Southampton, Vol 3, A.Temple Patterson