Christchurch was built as a Chapel of Ease to St Mary’s in 1879 to provide a place of worship for the workers who came to build the railway and the increasing population in the west of the town as it grew because of better transport links. Having a church in this part of town meant parishioners no longer had to struggle through muddy unpaved roads to the parish church of St Mary’s.
It is a Grade 2 listed building made of tin which was, sometime later, then cedarwood clad both inside and out. We also have a hall, formerly a schoolroom, used by both church and community.
Ten years after its opening, in 1890, there was talk of closing the church because of the cost of running it and paying the stipend of the Curate-in-Charge. At the Easter Vestry meeting, it was proposed that Christchurch should be shut but after a long discussion it was agreed to keep it open – one reported comment was that ‘it was too far for the elderly to walk to St Mary’s in the rain and the mud, and often to find the pew doors shut against you when you got there’. But if it stayed open, the Vicar said it had to be painted and obtain an organ to replace the harmonium. The painting duly took place and, in 1902, the pipe organ from Nevill Hall was donated by the Marquess of Abergavenny.
The pipe organ is still going, although perhaps not as strongly as previously. In 1956, it was decided to clad the roof, and both the school and hall, with cedarwood, so saving the constant expense of painting. Work began in 1958 – the end of an era as no more would the sermons be drowned out by heavy rain falling on the corrugated iron roof!
Services are held every Sunday and the hall is used by community groups, including charities raising funds for Target Ovarian Cancer, a weekly art group for vulnerable adults, a yoga group, and a barbecue takeaway service. The community also use it for birthday parties, baptism celebrations and funeral teas.
The hall was first used as a polling station in 1905, at a rent of one guinea. It’s still used as a polling station for both local and national elections.
The church looks outwards to the community, holding regular coffee mornings and other events, encouraging fun and fellowship. The small but dedicated congregation sees this as a vital part of its mission.
The style of our services is ‘middle-of-the-road’, without the incense of high church services or the exuberance of more evangelical offerings – which is not to say that we aren’t challenged in our Christian worship. Apart from the first week of the month, services are either Eucharist or Morning Prayer.
The church has held Civic Services, baptisms, weddings and funerals plus Nine Lessons & Carols with the lessons read by local schoolchildren, who also use the church for their Harvest Thanksgiving.
Our welcome is warm and inclusive and we always enjoy tea/coffee, biscuits and chat after each service.
Sunday services
- First Sunday of the month: 11am Bilingual Welsh/English language Holy Eucharist
- First Sunday of the month: 5pm Congregational Evensong
- Third Sunday of the month: 9.30am Holy Eucharist
