Guess the Place

[MartinR]

Free church (aka Methodist, URC, Baptist etc)?

[John Walker]

Religious?

Yes, but appears to be multi-purpose now.  Part of a much bigger building.

[MartinR]

Religious?

[John Walker]

Next GTP

Where and what is this building?

[John Walker]

Thanks for all that info that you've researched MartinR.  Once again, I've learned from GTP.

My next GTP will be up this evening.

[MartinR]

I've just found out a little more:

"After serving Sheerness for 175 years it looked as if our United Reformed Church, with a dwindling congregation and crumbling foundations, would have to close. Yet a decade or more on and £1.5 million in fundraising later our beautiful little church has been restored to its former glory and in addition a purpose built community hub has been established."¹

I haven't got a precise date on that, but if it is based on the old schoolroom date of 1832, then 175 years takes us to 2007.

"While the building work was being carried out worshippers turned to the town’s Methodist church for a place to pray. The friendship grew so strong that the two groups have returned to the new church together. An ecumenical partnership formed and the two denominations continue to walk in faith and worship together."¹

So the Chapel is nor a "Local Ecumenical Project" (LEP) and is both Sheerness' Methodist and URC churches.

¹https://thechurchinhopestreet.wordpress.com/blog-2/

[MartinR]

An interesting site.  There are two Sunday Schools and a chapel there, all labelled "Bethel".  To "begin at the beginning"; Bethel was a place, later city mentioned several times in the Bible.  The name itself means "House of God".  For more details see Wikipedia.¹  As well as a few smaller sects incorporating the name Bethel, it was used simply as a name for various chapels, principally "dissenters" aka Free Church.  Just as you might have "St John's" CofE you could have "Bethel" Congregational.  Indeed this seems to be the case in Sheerness.  It appears from scanty information that William Shrubsole² was a preacher at Bethel Chapel, Sheerness.³  Historic England has a photo dating from 2003 which shows the Hope Street church as United Reformed Church.⁴  the URC was formed from the 1972 union of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches.

GSV today shows "The Church in Hope Street" as the name above the door.  The foundation stones date this building to 1882, so it is not the one that Shrubsole knew.  Next door is a Sunday School (see below) of 1832 and from the way the chapel overlaps the school and from the generally higher quality brickwork, this would indicate that the chapel is a rebuild.  The Sunday School in Hope Street is a listed building.⁵  Both the quick reference map and the full scale map do show Spring Garden Passage and Hare Street.  From GSV the stone above the doorway reads "Bethel Chapel Sunday School 1832".  Going around the back (courtesy of GSV) shows obviously modern extensions to the Sunday School and Chapel with the labels "The Church in Hope Street", "The Hope Street Centre" and "The Lighthouse Coffee Shop".

Turning 90° to the left right, brings up the building that Local Hiker found.  I can't find a date on this, but from the style and brickwork it is nearer in date to the Chapel than to the other Sunday School.  The map that historic England uses for the search facility shows the building as a "Factory".  If anyone is near there and can look at the foundation stones and inscription above the doorway, I'd be interested.

My understanding of this site:

1784: the first Chapel was built.
1787: the existing Chapel was extended.
1832: the Hope St Sunday School was built.  This might have replaced an earlier Sunday School.
1882: the existing chapel was demolished and the new chapel built.
c.1882: the new Schoolroom was built.
20C: the new Schoolroom was sold off or rented out for use as a factory.
late 20C/21C: the new Schoolroom is converted into flats and sold.
late 20C/21C: the old Schoolroom and Chapel have new extensions built at the rear, and the orientation changed to make this the front.


¹https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethel
²https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shrubsole_(minister)
³https://wellcomecollection.org/works/vvkg2fqc
⁴https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/bethel-chapel-sunday-school-hope-street-sheerness-5039
⁵https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1273419?section=official-list-entry

[John Walker]

Thanks LocalHiker. An interesting GTP.  I wasn't sure what the Bethel name was, I could only just make it out on Google.

Next one up soon.

[Local Hiker]

Spot on and good detectiving.
I did some browsing to give some history when it was guessed, but there is not much on the internet.
It is called Hare Street Hall, and is currently 4 leasehold flats internally. Hare Street ran in front of it where the car park now is, but is not annotated on modern maps.
The Bethel religion seems to have several different sects and groups with such a name, so I cannot reference anything too specific about that either. The various groups are globally located, not just in the UK.

[John Walker]

Found it after searching market locations - a very helpful clue.?

Rose Street, Sheerness?  I don't think the building is still a church.  Possibly a community centre?

[Local Hiker]

Thank you Beachbum. I am not familiar with it, but googling fox on a thatched roof soon drilled down onto the property.

I took the next one on the way to the optician 2 weeks ago. (not a clue, just a statement of fact.)
It caught my eye so I snapped it. I did not have GTP in mind at the time.
I have obscured the writing over the door for now, bit too much of a clue.

I am standing on the site of a Tuesday and Saturday weekly market, just to help get things going.

[Beachbum]

Well done Local Hiker, it is the right Building. The actual address is number 1 Bridge Road (hence the clue) on the corner of Canterbury Road.

Over to you..........

[Local Hiker]

190 Canterbury Road, Garlinge, Margate

[Beachbum]

If you drive into Margate via Birchington, you will see the Fox on the Roof 

[Beachbum]

Next to a main road