 |
We provide a focus for liberal religious worship and reflection and a centre of fellowship for people of religious sentiment. |
||||||||||||||||||
Bury Unitarian Church |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Archive MaterialThe following list of church records have been assembled and made available by kind permission of Bury Archive Services from material supplied by Bury Unitarian Church and lodged with BAS.BRITTAIN HILL UNITARIAN CHURCH, HEYWOOD: records 1865-1969Brittain Hill church was established by the efforts of Rev J Wright and Rev B Glover and the Mission Committee of Bank Street Presbyterian Church in Bury. A Sunday school met from 1857, initially at Oak Street, and was replaced by the new church in 1860. The first minister, John Fox, was appointed in 1864. A fire in 1968 and other difficulties led to the congregation deciding to amalgamate with the Bank Street and Chesham congregations in a new church on the Bank Street site in 1970, as ‘Bury Unitarian Church’. All the records listed here were deposited with Bury Archive Service by Bury Unitarian Church in 2003. Agreement has been reached in principle to their transfer to Rochdale Local Studies Service and readers are advised to check their current location before visiting. For records of Bank Street Presbyterian Church/Bury Unitarian Church, see Bury Archive Service ref. CBS. [9 items/17 cu.dm.] /1 Congregational and Committee Meeting Minute Books 1865-1969 1. 19/2/1865 – 10/1873 [encl. Church rules 1867: damaged by damp] [minutes 1874 – 1920 missing, not deposited] 2. 22/1/1921 – 10/7/1928 [encl. list of caretaker’s duties 1926] 3. 10/7/1928 – 10/10/1933 4. 24/4/1939 – 13/2/1947 5. 28/5/1964 – 5/6/1969 /2 Annual Statements of Accounts & Balances Books 1878-1967 1. 1878 – 1954 2. 1954 – 1967 [encl. loose typescript balance sheets 1962-1967] Brittain Hill Unitarian Church, Heywood (continued) /3 Cash Analysis Journal 1964-1967 1. 1964 – 1967 /4 Church History Scrapbook 1882-1895 This ‘Record of the Progress of the Unitarian Church and Sunday School, Heywood’ was compiled from c.1882 to 1895. It includes a copy of the 1861 lease for the church site, a published history of the church by Charles Hardman and manuscript annual reports for church organisations including the Sunday school, clothing club and band. 1. c. 1882 – 1895 [compiled between these dates] K J Mulley 14/12/2003 CCU CHESHAM UNITARIAN CHURCH, BURY: records 1908 – 1969 The church was an offshoot of the congregation at Bank Street. Services began at Chesham in 1883, but a school/chapel was not established until 1898, with J Mason Bass as the first Minister. In 1968, the church closed for worship, and the congregation amalgamated with those of the Bank Street and Brittain Hill churches to form the new Bury Unitarian Church on the Bank Street site in 1970.
These records were deposited with Bury Archive Service by Bury Unitarian Church in 2003.
For records of Bank Street and the new Bury Unitarian Church, see CBS. [12 items/13 cu.dm.] /1 Congregation/Church Council Minutes 1908 - 1970 These include minutes for some church committees, notably the services committee. 1. 13/5/1908 – 1/10/1911 (incl. notes re applications for membership; pages missing; encl. financial estimates 1905, reports & donation lists 1907) 2. 14/5/1958 – 10/10/1962 (encl. order of service for recognition service at Stand 1962; pamphlet re training for ministry n.d.; incl. congregation address list) 3. 14/11/1962 – 25/1/1970 (encl. incomplete printed accounts 1951-1970; chapel warden’s final report 1970) /2 Account Ledgers 1917 - 1969 1. 1917 – 1948 2. 1949 – 1969
/3 Classified Analysis Books 1929 - 1966
1. 1929 – 1948
(encl. printed accounts and balance sheets 1944, 1947)
2. 1949 – 1960 3. 1961 – 1966
(encl. papers re Bury council mortgage investment & notes re balance sheet 1966)
/4 Cash Book 1935 - 1952
1. 5/1/1935 – 17/1/1952
(approx. 31 pages 1935-1938 removed from this volume)
/5 Receipts & Payments Journal 1960 - 1969
1. 3/1/1960 – 17/12/1969
/6 Sunday School Minute Book 1959-1967
Covers quarterly and annual meetings of teachers and older scholars.
1. 4/1/1959 – 1/10/1967
/7 Calendars (newsletters) 1945 - 1961
In addition to including calendars of church events, these also act as church newsletters, containing printed reports of church events, contact details etc. They were produced monthly (11 per annum), but only a small proportion have survived.
For calendars pre 1941, see the records of Bank St Presbyterian Church (CBS).
1. 1945 – 1961 (bn./14 pamphlets) [none 1951-1959]
KJM 11/12/2003
CBS BANK STREET PRESBYTERIAN (BURY UNITARIAN1970) CHURCH, BURY: records 1835-1971
The Presbyterian church at Bank Street, Bury was founded in 1719.Thomas Braddock was the first Minister, and served until 1770. Although known as a ‘Presbyterian’ Church, it was, in effect, independent or congregational in terms of church government, and by the 1770’s was broadly Unitarian in terms of doctrine.
The Chapel Trustees controlled a number of estates including Holebottom off Rochdale Old Road (partly used as a cemetery from 1855, when the existing churchyard was closed), at Dundee/Holcombe, and at St Mary’s Place.
The first chapel was replaced by a new building on an adjacent site in 1837, but this proved to have serious defects in construction, and was replaced in turn by a third chapel built in the gothic style, which opened in 1852, and was registered for marriages.
The activities of the Mission Committee, established in 1856, led to the establishment of a number of daughter churches and Sunday schools,
including those at Chesham and at Brittain Hill, Heywood. In the late 1960’s,
From 1966, the church also shared a joint ministry with Ainsworth Unitarian Church.
A sunday school was established in 1805 at a house in Silver Street: later this met at the church, until a purpose-built sunday and day school was erected in 1866. Adult Sunday classes were held from 1849, and weekday evening classes from 1844. A day school was established in 1845/6, but lapsed owing to poor conditions in 1853, subsequently being revived in the new school building in 1866: this included both mixed and infants departments.
Originally, church administration was undertaken by the trustees, the congregational meeting and the chapel clerk (and later the Chapel Keeper). After the building of the third church a number of committees were formed, including the Choir and Services committee (1852) the Mission Committee (1856) and the Finance and Estates Committees (1883). A General Management Committee was established in 1904 (replaced by the Church
Council in
1968). The Ladies’ committee, established in 1881, was responsible
There were a large number of other organisations associated with the church, records of some of which are included here. The Dorcas Society was established in 1885, initially to distribute clothing among poor children attending the school, but later extended to other charitable activities. The Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society was formed from two separate societies 1947, and met jointly with the corresponding society at Ainsworth Unitarian Church from 1967. The Bank Street branch of the British League of Unitarian Women was formed in 1912 to promote the religious life of members, and maintain contacts on moving between churches. It also became involved in various charitable and social matters, as well as fund- raising events. A girls’ club was in existence from 1887, but was reconstituted in 1907 as the Sunday School Guild Girls’ Social Club (later Ladies’ Club). Despite its name, membership was for women over 16 years of age among the congregation as well as the Sunday school, although most members seem to have been younger adults. The club had its own room at the school, stocked with magazines, and ran various social and fund-raising events, plus regular whist or bridge evenings.
For records of the former Chesham Unitarian Church, see CCU. For records of the former Brittain Hill Unitarian Church, Heywood, contact the Archivist. Additional logbooks for the former day school 1866-1909 have been deposited by the Education Department: see SBS.
The choir
register, burial register, and miscellaneous school papers (items , ,
[ 70 items/173 cu.dm./11 boxes]
Contents:
Chapel Trust and Congregation Records
/1 Trustees’ Minute Books 1850-1970 /2 Trustees’ General (impersonal) Ledgers 1928-1976 /3 Trustees’ Cash Books 1956-1976 /4 Trustees’ Annual Balance Sheets Book 1947-1976 /5 Annual Congregational Meeting Minute Book 1943-1969 /6 Transcripts of older Church Records [1735-1895] c.1900
CBS Bank Street Presbyterian (Bury Unitarian) Church Contents continued
Committee records
/7 General Management Committee & Church 1946-1970 Council Minutes /8 General Management Committee Ledgers 1960-1971 /9 General Management Committee Cash Books 1944-1971 /10 Ladies’ Committee Minute Books 1957-1970
Other Church Records
/11 Choir Attendance Registers 1936-1952 /12 Burial Registers 1839-1893 /13 Membership Lists 1936 /14 Church Calendars, Newsletters and Annual Reports 1889-1989 /15 Miscellaneous papers 1835-1932 /16 Miscellaneous Records re Church History 1873-1969
Sunday School Records
/17 Sunday School Teacher’s Meeting Minute Books 1844-1854 /18 Sunday School Council Minute Books 1962-1967 /19 Sunday School Admission Books 1874-1931
Day School Records
/20 Day School Committee Minute Books 1886-1894 /21 Day School Log Book 1897-1909
Associated Organisations’ Records
/22 Dorcas Society Accounts 1957-1979 /23 Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society Minute Books 1947-1968 /24 British League of Unitarian Women (Bank St branch) 1912-1958 Minute Books /25 Sunday School Guild Girls’ Social Club 1908-1977 (later Ladies’ Club) Minute Books
K J Mulley 17/12/2003
/1 Trustees’ Minute Books 1850-1970
These include minutes of the annual congregational meetings and of the Finance committee of the Trustees, formed in 1906.
1. 17/6/1850 – 18/7/1853
(incl. minutes of building, finance, school & choir committees)
2. 22/12/1870 – 30/12/1884
(encl.
Correspondence re D Walmsley accepting ministry 1874; resignation
3. 13/8/1890 – 20/12/1895
(encl. papers re reception of Rev J C Odgers 1894-1895)
4. 20/1/1896 – 7/7/1902
(encl. Calendar 1898, programme for congregational meeting 7/3/1900)
5. 14/7/1902 - 9/3/1908 6. 16/3/1908 – 17/11/1918 7. 24/2/1919 – 29/10/1945
(encl. notice
re upkeep of graves at Holebottom; annotated copy of Defence
8. 11/2/1946 – 11/3/1970
(encl. correspondence & reports re redevelopment of the church site & property at 102 Manchester Road 1967-1969; flooding at Holebottom 1961 etc)
/2 Trustees’ General (impersonal) Ledgers 1928-1976
Indexed by account or fund.
1. 1928 – 1960
(encl.
Valuation of property in chapel 1888; Bury Presbyterian benevolent 2. 1956 – 1976
/3 Trustees’ Cash Books 1956-1976
1. 1956 – 1976
/4 Trustees’ Annual Balance Sheets Book 1947-1976
1. 1947 – 1976
/5 Annual Congregational Meeting Minute Book 1943-1969
These include
reports and accounts from the various sections within
1. 22/2/1943 – 3/12/1969
(encl.printed annual reports & centenary souvenir; some pages for Feb 1946 have been removed)
/6 Transcripts of older Church Records [1735-1895] c.1900
These transcripts are undated, but may have been made about 1900. The original documents from which they were taken have not been deposited, and their whereabouts are currently unknown.
1. Deeds for trust properties and bequests [1735-1895] [vol.] c.1900 2. Minutes and accounts [1775 – 1831] [vol.] c.1900
/7 General Management Committee & Church Council Minutes 1946-1970
The committee was formed in 1904, and consisted of representatives of the trustees, the Sunday school and the congregation.
1. 30/9/1946 – 22/1/1951 (vol.)
(incl. Finance Committee minutes 1949 encl. ‘plan for reorganisation of the GMC’ n.d.; printed cemetery fees & regulations 1946; printed Sunday school rules 1962 NB some pages have been removed from this volume) /7 General Management Committee & Church Council Minutes continued
2. 5/3/1951 – 21/11/1966 (vol.)
(incl. partial index & list of representatives 1949-1970; encl. various letters & reports.)
3. 20/2/1967 – 11/2/1970 (file)
(incl. minutes of Nine Churches Grouping 14/3/1967; encl. Sunday School rules 1962; proposals for establishment of church Council 1968; papers re role of chairman n.d.; schedule of chapel-keeper’s duties n.d.)
FINANCE
/8 General Management Committee Ledgers 1960-1971
1. 1960 – 1971
/9 General Management Committee Cash Books 1944-1971
1. 1944 – 1971
/10 Ladies’ Committee Minute Books 1957-1970
1. 9/12/1957 – 20/8/1970
/11 Choir Attendance Registers 1936-1952
Includes names of members, note of whether soprano, alto etc, and attendance details.
1. 1936 – 1952
CBS/12 Burial Registers 1839-1893
Information given generally includes name, date of death, date of burial, age at death, place of residence (eg ‘Heap’, ‘Pimhole’), and person performing the ceremony (usually the minister). From c.1857 to 1873, notes of grave numbers are also given. At least some post-1855 burials are listed as being in the chapel graveyard, but it is not clear whether the remainder were in the new Holebottom cemetery.
1. 1839 – 1893
/13 Membership Lists
Covers officers
and members of the church, school and allied institutions,
1. 1936 (vol.)
/14 Church Calendars, Newsletters and Annual Reports 1889-1989
In addition to
listing the times of services and meetings, these include
There were
generally 11 issues per year (June-July being a single issue)
1. 1889 – 1895 (vol.) 2. 1896 – 1900 (vol.) 3. 1901 – 1903 (vol.) 4. 1904 – 1906 (vol.) 5. 1907 – 1909 (vol.) 6. 1910 – 1913 (vol.) 7. 1914 – 1917 (vol.) /14 Church Calendars, Newsletters and Annual Reports continued
8. 1918 – 1921 (vol.) 9. 1922 – 1925 (vol.) 10. 1926 – 1929 (vol.) 11. 1930 – 1933 (vol.) 12. 1934 – 1937 (vol.) 13. 1938 – 1941 (vol.) 14. 1942 – 1944 (bn.) 15. 1945 – 1949 (bn.) 16. 1950 – 1954 (bn.) 17. 1955 – 1959 (bn.) 18. 1960 – 1963 (bn.) [calendars 1964 missing, not deposited] 19. 1965 – 1971 (bn.) [all except Jan, Nov missing for 1965]
[newsletters 1972 – 1985 missing, not deposited]
20. 1986 – 1989 (bn.)
/15 Miscellaneous papers 1835 –1932
1. Box of miscellaneous documents including: tradesmens’ accounts & financial notes 1835-1932 letter re use of day school 1872 letters re induction service 1874 complaint of William Lightbown re dismissal 1892 from choir application & references of Jane Thompson for post of day school teacher 1895 sunday school financial estimates 1910
2. Church seating plan c.1870
/16 Miscellaneous Records re Church History 1873-1969
1. newscuttings book 1873 – 1901 (mostly cuttings re general history of Bury)
2. newscuttings book 1886 – 1896 (re current church events and history, incl. annotations eg re salaries of ministers)
3. typescript ‘History of Bank Street Chapel’ (bn.) c.1915 /16 Miscellaneous Records re Church History continued
4. Church 250th Anniversary Souvenirs etc 1967 – 1969 (incl. Order of Service, dinner menus, historical souvenir pamphlet, anniversary programme, MS accounts and reports, newscuttings) (bn./6 items)
SUNDAY SCHOOL
/17 Sunday School Teacher’s Meeting Minute Books 1844-1854
1. 10/11/1844 – 13/8/1854
/18 Sunday School Council Minute Books 1962-1967
The council replaced the old structure of committee and teachers’ meetings in 1962.
1. 5/2/1962 – 17/1/1966
(incl. Reports, accounts, and correspondence)
2. 7/3/1966 - 6/2/1967
(encl. Chesham
Scholars’ festival rules 1949; Arts & Crafts Festival
/19 Sunday School Admission Books 1874-1931
include information on:
scholar’s name,
parent’s name (& sometimes occupation), address,
1. 1/4/1874 – 31/1/1899 [application forms: surname index, c.1300 entries] 2. 1889 – 1/1931 [class details: includes teachers: in surname order by date: covers girls only]
DAY SCHOOL
/20 Day School Committee Minute Books 1886-1894
Include staffing matters, building, head-teacher’s reports and exam results, Inspector’s reports, finance
1. 28/7/1886 – 18/6/1894
/21 Day School Log Book 1897-1909
Head teacher’s notes re school closures due to holidays and sickness; attendance levels; appointments of teachers, alterations in lessons taught; HM Inspector’s reports; disciplinary matters etc.
Note that other log books for the school covering the period 1866-1909 have been transferred to Bury Archive Service by the LEA: see ref SBS.
1. 1/11/1897 – 29/7/1909 [mixed department only]
OTHER CHURCH ORGANISATIONS
/22 Dorcas Society Accounts 1957-1979
1. cash book and accounts 1957 – 1979 (env.)
/23 Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society Minute Books 1947-1968
1. 27/5/1947 – 19/11/1968
/24 British League of Unitarian Women (Bank St branch) Minute Books 1912-1958
The minutes include annual reports, newscuttings and lists of officers.
1. 3/4/1912 – 3/12/1919 2. 28/1/1920 – 15/11/1933 3. 15/1/1934 – 15/1/1958 /25 Sunday School Guild Girls’ Social Club (later Ladies’ Club) Minute Books 1908-1977
General meeting
minutes include annual reports, and all minutes
1. 1/1908 – 8/1/1921 (committee) 2. 27/2/1921 - 3/2/1930 (committee) 3. 3/2/1930 – 13/11/1946 (committee) 4. 7/3/1947 – 19/1/1971 (committee) 5. 16/2/1913 – 9/1/1921 (general meetings) 6. 20/2/1921 – 23/9/1934 (general meetings) 7. 29/1/1935 – 30/1/1968 (general meetings) 8. 28/1/1969 – 11/1/1977 (general meetings)
K J Mulley 17/12/2003 |
INTRODUCTORY BOOKLET: |
||||||||||||||||
Bury Unitarian Church Tel: 0161 761 3785
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Back to top | |||||||||||||||||
