PERSONNEL
“For we are labourers together with God.”
I Corinthians 3 verse 9
I feel I have arrived at the most delicate, difficult and, possibly, dangerous part of my narrative. "Delicate" because I do not wish to intrude or offend; "difficult" because it is not easy to obtain all the information desirable concerning many personalities and "dangerous' because either the inclusion or unavoidable omission of certain names may meet with disapproval or disappointment. I pray I shall be forgiven if my endeavours should unwittingly intrude or offend.
There will be here those who are strangers to us, those whose contribution to the events of the past one hundred years - and more is either great or small, but nevertheless invaluable to the Lord's work in Wavertree. Sadly, there are those whose names will not appear for reasons related only to their anonymity, humility or relatively recent emergence as Christian workers for the Lord - whom, I pray, will, like Paul “run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12 v 1, 2), and maybe, will be enabled to write the account of a hundred and fifty years - and more.
HUNTERS LANE CHURCH MINISTERS' ROLL
|
Rev. THOMAS
SLEIGH |
1836 - 1848 |
|
Rev. JOHN EDWARDS |
1848 - 1851 |
|
Rev. NINIAN WRIGHT |
1852 - 1858 |
|
Rev. W. C.
STALLYBRASS |
1858 - 1861 |
|
Rev. EDWARD
HASSAN |
1862 - 1887 |
|
Rev. SAMUEL OWEN |
1888 - 1893 |
|
Rev. H. T. SPENCER |
1894 - 1900 |
|
Rev. CHARLES TINLING |
1900 - 1907 |
|
Rev. H. J. CUBITT |
1908 - 1917 |
|
Rev. LEWIS H. MILLS |
1917 - 1926 |
|
Rev. HENRY DONALD |
1927 - 1933 |
|
Rev. A. E.
McDOUGALL |
1933 - 1948 |
|
Rev. E. J. JENKINS |
1948 - 1954 |
|
Rev. F. O. BROWN |
1955 - |
Rev. F. O. Brown. MA.
Minister of Hunters Lane Congregational Church
TRUSTEES
The Trustees appointed by Hunters Lane Church in May 1877 to act on behalf of the Church and the Wellington Road Building committee, and whose signatures are appended to the Title Deeds of the Mission, were as follows:-
|
Jeffrey Blackler Blackaller of Liverpool |
- Ship Store Dealer |
|
Thomas Burley of Liverpool |
- Drysalter |
|
David Marples of Wavertree near Liverpool |
- Printer |
|
Richard Phillips of Wavertree |
- Gentleman |
|
Archibald Bathgate of Mossley Hill, near Liverpool |
- Coal Merchant |
|
John Blyth of Wavertree |
- Corn Merchant |
|
Edward William Bindless of Wavertree |
- Merchant |
|
John Bonnell of Wavertree |
- Gentleman |
|
Edward Bridson of Wavertree |
- Book-keeper |
|
Joseph Crowther of Wavertree |
- Plumber |
|
Joseph Elliott of Wavertree |
- Accountant |
|
James Fingland of Wavertree |
- Chemist |
|
John Hicks of Wavertree |
- Corn Merchant |
|
Thomas Howden of Wavertree |
- Ironmonger |
|
John Howell of Huyton |
- Cotton Broker |
|
Thomas Leach of West Derby in the County of Chester |
- Gentleman |
|
Samuel Marchant of Wavertree |
- Agent |
|
Alexander McCulloch, of Wavertree |
- Stockbroker |
|
Jonathan McKibbin of Wavertree |
- Merchant |
|
Alfred Morgan of Wavertree |
- Accountant |
|
Frederick Newcombe of Wavertree |
- Draper |
|
Joseph Parry of Wavertree |
- Civil Engineer |
|
James Smith of Wavertree |
- Manager of Gas Works |
|
John Stevenson of Wavertree |
- Printer |
|
James Tyson of Wavertree |
- Cotton Broker |
It is interesting to note the occupations of these gentlemen and to realise that they were all members of Hunters Lane Church. It is also worthy of note that the purchase price of the first piece of land, 1099 square yards, was £390, and, with the additional piece of about 80 square yards the total cost was £405.
The Title Deeds also place prohibitions upon the usage to which the proposed building may be put. They make strange reading today, but may yet prove to be a farseeing provision.
The control is that the new building shall not be used or occupied as a beerhouse, public house, blubber house, resin works, chemical works, soapery, tan yard, colour works, herring house, slaughterhouse, or tallow candle manufactury , and that no trade or business shall be carried on in the premises, which can, or may be considered noisome or offensive.
These limitations were undoubtedly based upon national or local law intending to control the siting of offensive or other trades which could be a neighbourhood nuisance.
THE WELLINGTON ROAD MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
On the 29th January 1879, the Annual Church Meeting unanimously agreed that the small Building Committee, which had hitherto functioned so satisfactorily be the first Committee of Management for Wellington Road Hall.
They were: John Blyth, Thomas G. Best and John Stevenson.
On the 29th December 1887, the Management Committee was:-
John Blyth, Thomas G. Best, John Hicks, W. Evans, T. Jones, F. Newcombe, Henry Partington, Alex Thomson, James Tyson F. Vaughan. Mr. Thomas Howden was added to the Committee in May 1888.
Shortly before the Church Meeting of 29th December 1887, Mr. Blyth's wife died and the Chairman of the meeting, Mr. McCulloch, offered to Mr. Blyth and his family "tenderest and most heartfelt sympathy".
The Management Committee was elected each year by the Church members to whom the Committee were answerable for the whole conduct of the work at the Mission. The various organisations and their leaders could not undertake expenditure or organisational changes without the approval of the Committee. Social activities and concerts had to be approved and anything done without due consent brought some form of rebuke, the severity ~f which depended upon the degree of the omission or commission.
I am not inferring there was a harsh dictatorship, but there was wise, and, I am sure, fair control. The Committee were responsible for pulpit supplies during the times there was no pastor; for the employment and supervision of caretakers; for, dealing with building repairs and maintenance; for ensuring adequate lighting and heating and maintaining the function of an 'impressive' library for the benefit of the children. The purpose-built cupboards for the library were in a room known as "The Library’, but in more recent years called the Vestry, and now the Kitchen. The cupboards were removed sometime in the 1930's, I think it was, long after the library ceased to function. The cost of all the aforementioned responsibilities was borne by Hunters Lane Church whilst the contribution from Wellington Road for 1896 was £17 - 13s - 5d the total offerings for the year.
The Committee were also active in the organisation of relief work among the poor or distressed families of Wavertree and in March 1888 there is reference to "the soup kitchen" when Mr. Blyth thanked "all those who carried on the work so successfully and acceptably during the recent severe weather”.
Musical and Concert entertainments were almost weekly events in the earliest days of the new school building and whilst a measure of control was exercised by the Management Committee, it was not until a concert organised by a gentleman who is remembered today by the older members of the Mission, was found to be unsatisfactory, that the Management Committee ordered all programmes to be submitted to them before permission was given to hold a concert.
Arrangements were made for gymnastics to be taught during the winter, and this popular activity continued, perhaps intermittently, for a considerable number of years, up to about 1930 for men, and unti11938/1939 for the ladies. The last leader of the Men's gymnasium was Mr. Bill Gould, who was a fine gymnast and the champion of South Lancashire in 1929, when he received the Percy Hunt Cup from Lord Derby at the Y. M. C. A. Gymnasium, then in Myrtle Street.
Bill Gould
WELLINGTON ROAD MISSION PASTORS ROLL
Soon after the opening of the new mission building, consideration was given to the urgent need for a pastor to be responsible for all services and for visiting the families living in and moving into the growing district around Wellington Road. Liberty Street, Ono Street, and Oak Street were first recorded in the Gore's Directory of 1872. Rathbone Road, Ashfield, Ash Grove, Wavertree Vale, Bishopgate Street, and Wellington Grove, were first mentioned in 1871. Not that all these streets were fully built up, but it would seem the number of dwellings was increasing fairly rapidly. A new Wavertree railway station in Wellington Road appears in the Directory of 1876 and one can appreciate that improved passenger transport into the Township would attract 'immigrants' from the increasingly congested districts of Liverpool. The Census of 1871 established the population of Liverpool and the suburbs (Everton, Kirkdale, Toxteth Park, West Derby) to be 493,405.
Of course, there was an omnibus service, which ran its horse drawn way from Castle Street, to, I believe, the top of High Street, Wavertree, and an advertisement in the 1868 Gore's Directory announced the fares to be three pence between Castle Street and Botanic Park and four pence for the, through journey to or from High Street.
The Management Committee assisted by the Rev. E. Hassan, made wide ranging enquiries regarding the appointment of a suitable man to meet the need at Wellington Road. An account of the first appointment, the Rev. W. Ellison, is in Chapter 6.
Here then, is the roll of pastors appointed to serve the Lord at Wellington Road Mission:-
1. Rev. William Ellison - 3rd May 1883 to 30th April 1885
He resigned, it would appear, because of illness.
In 1883 Messrs. D. L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey, the American Evangelists held a two week special Mission in Hengler's Circus - more recently known as The Hippodrome, West Derby Road - which was attended by great numbers of people.
2. Mr. J. W. Bowman, who became a student at the Lancashire Independent College, assisted part-time at Wellington Road from 1883 to 1887.
3. Mr. William Robertson - 1893 to 1898.
Mr. Robertson was the first Liverpool Town Missioner to be appointed to Wellington Road Mission, and his appointment was the result of a meeting held on 31st August 1893, between the Wellington Road Management Committee and the Rev. J. B. Bain, Superintendent of the Liverpool Town Mission. It was resolved on a motion by Mr. John Hicks - "That this Church approves of the proposal to appoint a Missionary for Wellington Road at the rate of £40 per annum, to be paid to the Liverpool Town Mission".
Mr. Robertson resigned to take up similar work in Southport.
4. Rev. S. J. Jones - 1st March 1901 to 25th January 1903,
Pastor Jones was engaged by Hunters Lane Church at a stipend of £150 per annum.
5. Mr. Henry Jacob - 29th January 1903 to 2nd April 1903
He was engaged by the Church in a temporary capacity. The Rev. C. P. Tinling, Minister of Hunters Lane, explained to the Church members "that the Deacons could not, for financial reasons, recommend the Church to appoint Mr. H. Jacob to carry on the Mission work full time at Wellington Road."
On the 28th May 1903 it was resolved by Hunters Lane Church "That the Liverpool City Mission (note the change of title from Town Mission'), be asked to provide a Missionary to carry on the work in Wellington Road at a cost to this Church of £50 per annum."
From this time all pastors at Wellington Road were supplied by the Liverpool City Mission.
6. Mr. George C. Finch - 2nd J July 1903 to 1909
During this time Mr. Finch was also a member and a Deacon of Hunters Lane Church.
7. Edward Arthur Lytle - 1909 to 1929
Mr. Lytle's twenty years at Wellington Road was the longest period of service of any Missioner there, and on his retirement he had completed fifty years valued and worthy service for the Lord with the Liverpool City Mission.
When a boy he lost both his parents and at the age of barely fifteen years and unknown to the relatives with whom he lived in Oakfield Road, he went to sea aboard a sailing vessel. Lured ashore in Savannah, U. S. A. by an old seafarer who wanted to 'jump' ship, Mr. Lytle was taken inland and there found work in lumber camps in the backwoods of Georgia and as a mail-carrier, riding the pony-mail through the pine woods of South Carolina, to scattered farms and turpentine camps. Mr. Lytle's jobs were as varied as the many locations in which he sojourned, from working on coastal ships in the Gulf of Mexico to being a supervisor or checker in the cottonfields, where he learned to love and sympathise with the negro plantation workers - a regard which remained with him and was given practical expression of during his Missioner's days in the seaport town of Liverpool.
From the southernmost states he worked walked, and sailed his way northwards. It is said that a tragic accident to a workmate brought Mr. Lytle to think once again upon the things of time and eternity, and memories of home caused him to turn his face towards Canada. Some time earlier a letter from his relatives in Liverpool told of a family friend who had not been heard of since leaving Merseyside for Canada. Mr. Lytle was asked to enquire about the friend as he travelled North, and upon his arrival on the quayside in Montreal, to board a cattleboat as a drover and to sail for home, he saw the family friend there, on the same quay.
Back in Liverpool at the age of twenty years he was brought to the realisation of his need of the Saviour and there soon followed active participation in Christian work. In 1897 he joined the City Mission, labouring off Scotland Road, then in Everton; followed by duty in Ebenezer Hall, near Walton Breck Road before being appointed to Wellington Road Mission in 1909, where he endeared himself as a spiritually strong, compassionate, gentle man, solely concerned with leading precious souls to his Saviour. Mr. and Mrs. Lytle were made members of Hunters Lane Church and Mr. Lytle was elected a Deacon of the Church. He retired in 194 7 after service in other Liverpool City Mission halls and as Missioner to the City Police and the Work shops for the Blind, He was called to be with his Master in 1952.
8. Robert Thompson - 1929 to 1931
CITY
MISSION STAFF CIRCA 1932
Back Row: A. D.
Lennett, H. Hughes (Sen. ), *W. I. Jenkins, E. S. Jackson, *W. J. Hill, A.
Murphy,
*H. Hughes (Jun. ), F. W. Bartholemew, J. Jones, *Wm. Blundell, R. Russell, *A.
E. Lytle, C. McMurrav, J. Kirkpatrick
2nd Row (standing: F.
N. Beardsworth, G. H. Warr, Miss Dransfield, D. Pringle, Miss McDonald J.
Green,
*Miss M. Corkey, W. Buttrey, Nurse E. J. Graham, R. Buckingham, J. W. Arnold,
H. Livesey, R. Lloyd
Middle Row (seated): J.
Gunn, Robt. Graham (Superintendent), J. H. Bourne (Vice-President)
T. Belcher (President), *Edward Lewis
Front Row (seated):
*Robert Thompson, J. W. Thomas, W. Hudson, J. McKirgan
* indicates those who have served at Wellington Road Mission Church
9. Edward Lewis - 1931 to 1933
Mr. Lewis joined the Liverpool Town Mission in 1883 after previous experience as a Wesleyan local preacher in Wales. He was responsible for the work at Beacon Hall, near Edge Hill Church, until his semi-retirement in 1931 when he was sent to Wellington Road in a part-time capacity to conduct services and visit the sick and distressed folk in the district. On 3rd December 1933, a special Service in celebration of Mr. Lewis's fifty years' service as a Missionary in Liverpool was held at Wellington Road Mission Church, when the preacher was T. Belcher, Esq. , President of the Liverpool City Mission.
10. William Jenkins - April 1934 to 1937
11. John William Hill - July 1937 to 1941
Mr. Hill served 38 years on the City Mission Staff and retired in 1964. He was converted in the Railway Mission and after joining the Liverpool City Mission he served in eight missions. Mr. Hill was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the 1914-18 war. He was called to higher service in February 1976.
12. John Stevens - May 1941 to 1942
May 1941 , was probably the most tragic period in the history of Liverpool. German bombers poured down terror and destruction upon the City for seven terrible nights, and we in Wellington Road did not escape. On the night of Mr. Stevens' induction service, sometime after we had left the Church, bombs tore open the front of the main hall, causing great interior as well as external damage. The Lord mercifully over-ruled concerning those of us who had attended that service, but the houses opposite the Hall were demolished, causing the death of a Mrs. Downey, and her son. She was an aged lady, who was a member and one time caretaker of the Mission.
A small rear room known as the "double-class" room, was cleared and sufficiently and hastily prepared for services on the following Sunday. It was a long time before we were able to use the large Hall but in the meantime the dividing wall between the two middle rooms behind the Main Hall, was pulled down and the rooms made into a fairly large and useful meeting room, and because of the new, bright paintwork, it became known as the "Sunshine room".
Temporary repairs made the Large Hall usable later, but it was not until 1948 that new structural work restored the Mission to its former condition. The old fashioned green walls and dark brown woodwork were changed to light colours and made our treasured place of worship cheery and attractive.
13. Harry M. Hughes - 1942
14. William Blundell - March 1943 to 1953
Mr. Blundell joined the Liverpool City Mission in 1920 and succeeded Mr. Bamfather at Cambridge Street Hall. He also was responsible for Dawber Street Mission and Dovecot Church before his appointment to Wellington Road Mission in 1943, being transferred to Admiral Street Hall in 1953. Mr. Blundell was called to his eternal rest in 1955. Before joining the Liverpool City Mission, Mr. Blundell was
Sunday School Superintendent at St. Chrysostom's Church, Everton.
15. Thomas Shaw - December 1953 to 1955
Mr. Shaw was accepted as a Missionary on the Liverpool City Mission Staff in 1934, but first spoke at an evening service in Wellington Road in 1931, on the invitation of Mr. Edward Lewis. He was then on furlough from Missionary work in Morocco, North Africa. Mr. Shaw left the City Mission in 1955 to become the Secretary of the North African Missionary Society, at their Glasgow Headquarters.
After retiring from this position he served for several years as a Free Church of Scotland Minister in a lovely Lochside village in Argyllshire. Mr. Shaw is now enjoying full retirement.
16. William Angel - December 1955 to September 1962
17. Alan White - November 1962. Resigned November 1963
18. Thomas Kemp
Mr. Kemp, during the period prior to the appointment of a successor to Mr. A. White, conducted the Sunday services and dealt with any special cases among the families in the district.
19. T. D. Geldard - February 1964 to 1967
After service with H. M. Forces during the last war, Mr. Geldard joined the staff of the London City Mission, and worked with that Society for 11 years until he was appointed by the Liverpool City Mission in 1958.
Mr. Geldard was first responsible for Admiral Street Hall, and after three years with us at Wellington Road he was transferred to Mitchell Memorial Church. He is now Missionary to Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive and British Rail.
20. Keith Dimmock - June 1967
Mr. Dimmock accepted Jesus as his Saviour when he was sixteen years old and joined the Kensit Memorial Bible College of the Protestant Truth Society two years later, following which he toured the country for the Society, and later became their area representative in the North West. In 1959 he was accepted on to the staff of the Liverpool City Mission, serving as Pastor at Jubilee Chapel and Murray Hall, Everton, before his present appointment at Wellington Road Mission Church in 1967.
THE WELLINGTON ROAD COMMITTEE
I have already pointed out the great financial responsibility of Hunters Lane Church in maintaining the work in the Wellington Road District, part of which was the payment the Church made to the Liverpool Town Mission, (or the City Mission, as the case may be), for supplying a missioner to work in and from Wellington Road Hall. For one period the Church paid £50 a year, but for all other missioners the annual payment was £40. In 1931 the situation for Hunters Lane worsened and became one requiring immediate review and remedy. Consultations, therefore, took place between the Deacons of Hunters Lane and the representatives of the Liverpool City Mission, which resulted in the Rev. Robert Graham, Superintendent of the City Mission, calling the workers and members of Wellington Road to a special meeting at the end of that year.
Mr. Graham first outlined the financial issues, among which was an agreement for the Liverpool City Mission to pay £40 per annum to Hunters Lane - a reversal of the earlier practice of payment by Hunters Lane. He also appealed for greater financial support for Liverpool City Mission Headquarters.
Mr. Graham then dealt with the administrative responsibilities arising from the transfer of the present pastor, Mr. Thompson, to . another Hall. The members were told of the appointment to Wellington Road, of Mr. Edward Lewis (then in semi-retirement), in a part-time capacity who would be responsible for services and sick visiting. Mr. Graham invited Mr. Charles Beatson, an earnest Christian worker, Sunday School Teacher and Group Scout Master, to take charge of the supervision of the work and premises in so far as this latter oversight did not include the matters which were still the concern of Hunters Lane Church, and instructed Mr. Beatson to form a workers' committee to co-ordinate and control all activities in consultation with the Superintendent, during the time of Mr. Lewis's stay at Wellington Road.
The Committee was formed in February 1932 and comprised:-
Mr. Charles Beatson - Chairman of the Committee and Mission Secretary and Treasurer on the instructions of Mr. Graham. Mrs. Gladys Beatson, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Gooch, Mr. James Tighe, Miss Flora Warne, Miss Olive Boyd. Mr. J. Connor joined the Committee a month later.
OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Mr. Wood, Choirmaster for that period 1932 - 1934
Mr. Mitchell 1932 - 1939
Mr. Quiggin 1932 - 1936
Mr. S. Calvert 1933 - 1936
Mr. E. Hopkins, Choirmaster 1935 - 1950
Mrs. J. Tighe (née Miss L. Lytle) 1936 -
Mrs. J. Hill 1937 - 1941
Mr. Les Crane, Mission Secretary for eighteen months 1938 – 1948, broken by war service
Mr. George Duffy 1938 - 1940
Mrs. J. Stevens 1941
Mr. Lloyd 1942 - 1953
Mr. J. Martindale 1942 - 1966
Mr. Eric Beaumont 1948 -
Mrs. A. Lytle 1955 - 1966
Mr. Fred Rooke 1963 - 1968
Mrs. Valerie Rooke 1963 - 1966
Mr. Len Wilkinson 1963 - 1967
Mr. Fred Crane 1963 - 1972
Mr. Bob Beesley, Chapel Steward 1963 - 1975
Miss Norman, Mission Treasurer 1963 - 1971
Mr. Ron Mackintosh 1963 - 1975
Mr. Reason 1966 - 1968
Mr. C. Powell 1968
Mr. John Leadbetter 1969 - 1977
Mr. Richard Norman, Mission Treasurer unti1 1974 1971 - 1976
Mr. Phil Staley, Mission Secretary 1972
Mr. David Trousdale 1976
Mr. Ray Paton 1977
The present committee members are under the Chairmanship of Pastor Keith Dimmock:-
Phil Staley – Secretary; James W. Tighe - Treasurer and formerly Mission Secretary for some 34 years; Mrs. L. Tighe; Mr. John Connor - formerly Mission Treasurer from 1938 until ill health necessitated him to relinquish the duty in 1963, twenty five years of faithful and pain-staking devotion to this responsible service for his Master; Eric Beaumont; David Trousdale; Ray Paton.
ORGAN AND ORGANISTS
" praise Him with stringed instruments and organs."
Psalm 150 verse 4
The earliest minutes of Hunters Lane Church record that Mr. John Hicks was the first organist at Wellington Road, but there is no reference to the type of instrument in use.
At a Church Meeting on 1st November 1894, the. following letter was read to the members:-
Gentlemen:
We have pleasure in asking you to accept the organ which we have this day (31st October 1894) placed in your Wellington Road Sunday School and Mission Room. In making you this gift we wish to commemorate the 16th Anniversary of the opening of your Sunday School and also the devoted service rendered by Mr. John Blyth as Superintendent during the last 25 years.
Signed George Blyth and F. L. Best
Mr. John Blyth and Mr. T. G. Best expressed “their heartfelt pleasure and the thankfulness felt by them at the spontaneous act of generosity manifested by their sons.” “The Church with ‘acclamation’ accepted the gift ‘in the spirit which prompted it.’”
Unfortunately, there is no description of the type of organ referred to in the letter, but there is good reason to believe that it was a small pipe organ. Firstly, I have heard it spoken of, when I was a young fellow, by older members of the congregation, and secondly, as recorded in the Minutes, when the above letter was read at the Church Meeting in Hunters Lane, the Secretary asked “to be allowed to decorate, at his expense, the arch in which the organ is placed.”
The arch referred to is the one behind the platform in the large hall, and the 'decoration' must have been a painted simulated scroll which stretched over the arch and extended beyond it on either side, bearing the text “Praise ye the Lord, for it is good to sing praises unto our God.” (Psalm 147 v 1). The scroll and text were preserved for a great many years and I remember an occasion when the large hall was repainted that the painters had to decorate around the scroll and leave it intact.
When the building was refurbished in 1948, following the extensive war damage, the original scroll and text, then sadly aged and dirty, was painted out and a new text in gilt letters adorned the arch "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised." ( I Chron. 16 v 25), but this time there was no scroll.
There is no record of what happened to the original organ) but in 1922 there was what appeared to me then, to be a 'new' American organ which stood, at least for a time, on the floor of the hall immediately in front of the platform and the organist sat with her back to the platform.
This American organ was seriously damaged during the 1941 bombings and was not used again.
As I have already mentioned, the first organist was Mr. John Hicks 1878 to 1889 followed by: -
Mr. T. H. Derbyshire 1889 to 1903
Mr. Richard Wright 1903
Mr. Wright was appointed by the Church at a salary of £10 per annum. He was organist and choirmaster for many years, later being assisted by his daughter, Miss Lily Wright.
When Miss Wright was not available, Lillian Lytle (now Mrs. Tighe) a schoolgirl and a daughter of Pastor and Mrs. Arthur Lytle played the organ for the services, and since that early beginning, about 1921, she has officiated as principal organist some fifty-seven years-a remarkable record of dedication and consistency. Mrs. Tighe has been the organist for many of the Liverpool City Mission Annual Meetings held at Jubilee Chapel and was organist for the broadcast by Radio Merseyside of hymn singing from Jubilee Chapel in April, 1975.
ASSISTANT ORGANISTS - PAST AND PRESENT
|
Miss Lily Wright |
|
|
Miss Flora Warne |
late 1920's and early 1930's |
|
Miss Evelyn Wood |
1933 to 1934 |
|
Miss Myfanwy Jones |
who has kindly assisted for over 30 years |
|
Mrs. E. Griffiths |
appointed in 1948 and gave invaluable service until her death in 1968 |
|
Miss B. Norman |
gave faithful and much needed help at various meetings during many years, up to her death in 1974 |
|
Miss Ruth Lytle |
gave many years faithful service as a pianist for the Children's Sunday Evening Services |
|
Mrs. Christine Paton |
who is now giving valued service at the Sunday morning services and in other activities |
THE CHOIRS
". . . declare His works with singing”
Psalm 107 v 22
Unfortunately, there is no written record of the history of the Choirs of Wellington Road. It can, however, be reliably stated that an Adult Choir existed in Pastor Finch's time, between 1897 to 1909, and there has not been a period from that time up to the present when a choir was not fully functional. Mr. Richard Wright, the Organist, was also Choirmaster from about 1903 until the mid 1910's, and was succeeded by Mr. Edward Hopkins who also, for several years conducted an excellent Junior Choir which competed in the Liverpool City Mission Eisteddfods in Byrom Hall, in the early 1920's. Miss Olive Boyd (now Mrs. John Dagnall) gave considerable assistance with the Junior Choir at that time and until it was discontinued.
The senior Choir comprised over thirty voices and this number fluctuated only slightly over a great many years and into the 1960's, and formed an appreciable part of the United Choirs (drawn from various Liverpool City Mission Churches who sang at the City Mission Annual Meetings). Mr. Hopkins conducted the United Choirs for several years.
During a period when Mr. Hopkins was at Admiral Street Hall leading the Choir and supporting Mr. Arthur Lytle's Ministry there, a Mr. Wood became Choirmaster at Wellington Road for two years 1932. . 1934. Upon his resignation the organist, Miss L. Lytle, acted as Choir leader until Mr. Hopkins returned to Wellington Road in 1935.
Upon Mr. Hopkins relinquishing his leadership of the Choir in 1950, and in the absence of any other successor to this popular, experienced and gifted leader, it fell to myself, who had been appointed deputy choirmaster in 1949, to take on the duties of conductor - albeit protem and whatever protem is intended to mean, that period has not expired - in 1978.
I was also privileged to conduct the United Choirs at Jubilee Chapel for some thirteen years, aided by my wife who, as already mentioned, played the organ, and very importantly, guided me when enthusiasm over-ran my musical ability. This God given partnership also pertains, of course, in connection with the Wellington Road Choir, and is a symbol of the fellowship and Christian companionship which exists between us all, as we endeavour to serve the Lord Sunday by Sunday. Throughout all the years, the occasions are rare indeed when the Choir has not sung an Anthem or a Gospel piece at the evening services, even though today the number of choristers is somewhat depleted and rehearsals are not always possible.
I would like to also mention that Mrs. Kathleen Dobson. a former Deaconess with the Liverpool City Mission and the wife of the late Mr. Noel Dobson, a former Missioner with the Society, gave greatly appreciated help by playing the organ at United Choir rehearsals and at the Annual Meeting at Jubilee Chapel, when Mrs. Tighe was ill for a time.