Our History

The History of the Methodist Central Hall, Warwick Lane

The present Central Hall was erected in 1930-32 and was designed by C. Redgrave of Coventry. It is an impressive red-brick building in the Tudor style, having a stone entrance arch surmounted by an oriel window and a small turret. The original main entrance was abandoned, however, when the present glazed entrance atrium was added on the south-west side in 1991. The Central Hall represented a pinnacle of achievement in the growth of Methodism in Coventry, a short history of which is given below.

John Wesley was not impressed with the city authorities during his first visit to Coventry to preach in 1779, as he asked the mayor, Edward Harper, for the use of St Mary's Hall, but was refused; yet the mayor gave a dancing master the use of the hall later that same day! J. B. Shelton wrote that during John Wesley's second visit to Coventry in 1782 he preached in a building known as 'The Cross House', at the junction of New Street and Priory Street, adjacent to the Bishop's Garden that became a burial ground from 1793. In 1786, after his third and last visit, John Wesley reported that the "poor little flock at Coventry" had "procured a neat, convenient room (an auction room in the Women's Market)" for the Methodist meetings, "only it is far too small". At least the attitude of the authorities had improved, as Wesley wrote: "How is the scene changed here also! I know not but the Corporation, if it had been proposed, would have given the use of the Town Hall to me rather than to the Dancing Master." The Women's Market premises were occupied from 1782-93, when the Methodists took over a vacated Baptist Meeting House in Jordan Well. From 1798 they used a large room at New Court on the north side of Gosford Street (later taken over by the Primitive Methodists).

There followed a period of disputes and schisms, involving a popular preacher, Mr Eagleton, who had built up a sizeable congregation which found means to erect a simple chapel at the bottom end of Gosford Street in 1808. However, he held strongly Calvinistic views. Ownership of the chapel building had previously been transferred from trustees to another preacher, Mr Dawes, who liked Mr Eagleton personally but strongly opposed his Calvinism! He rather abruptly closed the chapel and the original congregation was scattered, but it reopened in 1810, clearly identified as a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, and remained in use as such till 1834, when the building was declared untenable and was demolished. The Chapel had been built very near the river and one of the walls had begun to subside and the roof had become unsafe. It had been described as a "comfortless-looking place, with only one small gallery opposite the pulpit" and, as it lasted only 26 years, it cannot have been very solidly built. The worshippers then used the Lancasterian School at the bottom of Cross Cheaping for several months until the Mayor George Eld offered St Mary's Hall for Sunday worship. During this time they found a site on the south side of Warwick Lane (purchased in 1835), in the orchard at the rear of the old Greyfriars church steeple, which had been left standing when the church was demolished by Henry VIII. The plot was part of what was known as 'The Grey Friars Church Yard'.

The foundation stone for the Warwick Lane Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was laid on 11th August, 1835 by the minister at that time, Revd. J. Stevenson. The Chapel, which was designed by John Toome of Leamington Spa, was opened on April 3d 1836. A description by Benjamin Poole called it "neat and well-arranged", with a simple cemented frontage to resemble stone in a restrained Classical idiom, including four plain pilasters and tall, round-arched windows at first floor level. This was surmounted by an entablature inscribed "Wesley Chapel", enclosed from the street by iron palisades and gates. The interior was 60 by 40 feet in the clear, fitted with pews and galleries to either side and at the end facing the pulpit. It was capable of holding around 900 people and the total cost of building and site was more than £2,000. William Dawson preached at the opening services of Warwick Lane Chapel and called the new building "elegant and commodious". It became the focus of the Coventry Methodist Circuit. (In that same year of 1836, the old Coventry Circuit of 1811 that included Warwick, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth and nearby villages was divided, with the other towns formed into a separate circuit. The new Coventry Circuit included Wyken, Foleshill, Bedworth, Barnacle, Corley, Meriden and Balsall, with their hamlets. Between 1811 and 1866, the Methodist Circuit had no fewer than 27 superintendent ministers, besides many assistant ministers.) A few years later an extension was added on the east side of the chapel, containing vestries and classrooms. A small organ was added in 1843. At the time of the 1851 census, morning congregations averaged 400, with another 40 attending the Sunday School.

This chapel well outlived its predecessors and continued in use for almost a century until it was demolished in September 1930 to make way for the new Central Hall, which was opened on January 14th 1932. It occupied the same position as the old Chapel, but on a larger site (three old cottages and 'Court 3' in Warwick Lane, adjacent to the old chapel, were bought and demolished). At the time the new building opened, the old chapel had been drawing a regular congregation of around 300 people. It was felt, though, that a modern industrial city like Coventry could attract a larger congregation if the church created a 'bridge' by switching from high pews and set worship patterns to a building resembling a concert hall, with tip-up seats and where a person might find it easier to make the transition from a mid-week public meeting or Saturday night concert to a church worship service. While the Central Hall was being built the Methodists had the use of the old Baptist Cow Lane Chapel for services (March 1931 to January 1932), while the Sunday School continued in rooms of the basement of the YMCA.

Right of light agreements were made in 1931-32 with adjoining landowners. Annette Iliffe owned the property between Greyfriars Lane and the rear of the Central Hall. Curtis & Beamish had originally paid the Central Hall trustees 5s per annum for loss of light to cottages owned by the trustees. This was now reversed as they claimed for loss of light to their Hertford Street offices (the outcome of that is unknown!). John Astley & Sons also had adjoining premises but neither party claimed right of light. In 1933 it was agreed that the Central Hall would pay just 1 shilling per annum to Christ Church Parochial Council provided that windows overlooking the church site were obscure glazed and the walls faced with white tiled bricks. The Hall was registered as a place of worship on 12th January 1932 and solemnized for marriages on 14th, the first wedding taking place on 25th June. 1932 was also the year when the Wesleyan, Primitive and Independent Methodists united to create the Methodist Church Union. The Central Hall opened on January 14 with a dedicatory service opened by the Mayor, Alderman Vincent Wyles, a devout Roman Catholic who nevertheless welcomed the building of the new church and hoped to see a new spirit of co-operation develop between the city's various Christian denominations. The Hall had cost £38,000 to build and nearly £34,000 of this had already been raised. The minister at that time was T. Morcom Taylor. Between January 23rd and March 26th, ten celebrity concerts were held, including the Grand Opening concert on 16th January. In 1940 the main hall provided 1, 379 sittings (now 845), and there were four school halls and 19 other rooms.

Later ministers included Revd. J. Fisher Robson (September 1932-1936, who focused on changing the congregation from a circuit church mentality to a Mission outlook), Revd. James Bradburn (1936-39, whose ministry was chiefly taken up with "gently but firmly" leading the congregation to grasp the larger opportunities afforded by membership of an up-to-date mission, but who also established Saturday night concerts in the Hall) and Revd. William H. Cookson (1939-46, who sustained the congregation through the difficult days of the war and developed special Sunday evening outreach services). The church suffered very little during the November 1940 Coventry Blitz, but in the air raids of Holy Week, 1941, the Hall was heavily damaged, leaving several rooms in ruins, the floor tilted as though affected by an earthquake and a litter of masonry, glass and slate strewn all around. The tower was moved and twisted a few inches by bomb blast. Throughout the war, though, the church remained open for both Sunday services and mid-week activities. Within two years of the Blitz, some of Britain's best-known orchestras and artistes were drawing crowds to concerts at the Hall. A 'Religion and Life' campaign, sponsored by the Anglican and Free Churches, crowded the Hall night after night.

The next minister, Rev. George Pollard (1946-52), was also the Superintendent of the newly formed Coventry Mission Circuit, which he was instrumental in setting up. He spent much of his time negotiating with the War Damage Commission and raising funds for the church restoration. War Damage repairs were carried out between April and August 1949.He saw the redecoration of the Main Hall (services were held at the Coventry Hippodrome meanwhile), work begun on the restoration of the Lower Hall (costing over £4,000) and the raising of over £3,000 to install an organ in March 1950. He was succeeded by the Revd. E. Lincoln Minshull, who oversaw the completion of the Lower Hall restoration, the complete replacement of windows shattered in the War, the renovation of the Hall-keeper's flat and the redecoration of the Eadon Hall, Lounge and Social Room. He also saw an increase in attendance at the Sunday morning service, whilst the Sunday night congregation was one of the largest in the Midlands, over half from the working classes and including an unusually high proportion of men. He was present for the church's Silver Jubilee in 1957. On one occasion in 1957 it was reported that nearly 1000 people were attending the Central Hall on a Sunday evening. In 1958, a longstanding servant of the church since 1920 and a Sunday School teacher, John Bailey Shelton, the pioneer city archwologist, died. Today a plaque to his memory may be seen at the top of the main stairs.

The Revd. Minshull left in 1961 and was replaced by James Grottick. A 'Songs of Praise' TV programme was broadcast from the Central Hall on 26/11/63, including the United Methodist Church choirs and that of Binley Park Comprehensive School. Redevelopment of Union Street began in June 1965, including the removal of shops in Warwick Lane, which opened up the present entrance front and made the main staircase much lighter. In 1966 the Revd. David G. Driver took over. The church was the focus for another 'Songs of Praise' on 29/6/69. The next minister was R. John Tudor, who arrived in September 1971. He left for Brighton in October 1975 and later became Superintendent of the Westminster Central Hall in London (from 1981). He was succeeded by Ronald Crewel, who saw the church interior and exterior renovated during 1976-77. In May 1979 the church hosted a John Wesley Bi-centennial Service, with an exhibition and booklet on "200 Years of Methodism in Coventry" by Albert E. Peck and others. For the 50th Anniversary Celebrations in 1982 four former ministers were invited back to preach: George Pollard, E. L. Minshull, David Driver and James Grottick. No special history publication seems to have been made for this event, but this was rectified for the 60th anniversary.

Donald A. Parsons, formerly at Edinburgh, arrived in 1984. The church signed a Pledge of Unity with 7 other city centre churches on January 24th, 1988, which later became known as the City Centre Covenanting Churches. Also, that May, the church celebrated the 250th Anniversary of John Wesley's conversion, including a singing and drama festival in the city centre. The Wesley Coffee Lounge first opened on 1st October 1988 and has been a popular venue ever since. The old main entrance became a bay window in February 1991, to which stained glass panels were later added to mark the church's 60th anniversary. The new main entrance on the south-west elevation, with glazed atrium, was constructed by builders J. G. Molloy in 1991-92, forming part of a £200,000 modernization scheme. All noisy work had to be done before 10 a.m. or after 3:30 p.m. to avoid disturbing Juvenile Court sittings which then took place daily at the Hall! Albert Peck produced several historical booklets for the 60th Anniversary in 1992, followed by a major historical exhibition in February 1993, with the interesting title "A Backward-Looking Facing Forward Signpost".

The Revd. Peter B. Mortlock took over in 1994, followed in 2001 by the Revd. Viv Gasteen, who became the first female member of the Coventry Rotary Club in February 2002. Some highlights of her period at the church were the use of the church by the Coventry Chinese Christian Church (led by Pastor Edward Soo), an Olympics-Chemed Flower Festival in February 2004 and a 'Reunion Service' in June 2004, where former worshippers from all over the world who met at the Central Hall in the 1950s to early 1970s reunited there. On the occasion of the 75h Anniversary in 2007, the Salvation Army, which shared the premises for two years whilst its own Citadel was being rebuilt, brought its band to the celebratory service. It was noted that in 1932 the whole building cost under f40,000, a similar amount to that spent on putting in new seats and a carpet in 2005! The Revd. Gasteen left for Chelmsford in July 2008 and so the Central Hall now has a new minister, the Revd. Paul Wood, who has moved from Durham.

Researched & written by Mark Singlehurst, with acknowledgements to the church archives held at the Central Hall and at the Coventry Local History Centre at The Herbert © October 2008