I'm always intrigued by old Places of Worship and their new uses..... or not.
Some are quite beautiful architectural buildings and this has been recognised and enhanced; similar buildings may have been redeveloped but historical significance ignored or hidden; others may have been left abandoned or stripped bare. Some old Places of Worship have had many new lives.
Oakfield Road (Clifton) was originally one of the old country lanes, and not developed until the 1870's. It has no existing Places of Worship today; however there is evidence of two church buildings on the road; now with new uses.
The Unitarian Church.
Oakfield Road Unitarian Church was built in 1864 for the wealthy Clifton Unitarians to save them the walk down to the Unitarian church in Lewins Mead. The church was designed in a cusp decorated style by Bristol architects, Pope and Bindon, and cost £6000 to build. It is a mid-Victorian church built of Clifton ragstone that was quarried from Durdham Downs. Unusually it has a large saddleback tower.
The church has a lucky escape during the Second World War. After an air raid during the Blitz a hole was discovered in the louvres of the tower, and also in the floor down to the crypt. No bomb was found, until several years later, when it was discovered that the bomb must have hit the floor of the crypt and then shot to the far end, hidden amongst rubble. It was safely defused.
The church closed in the late 1980's and although the congregation wanted to demolish the church, the building was thankfully saved. It was initially used for offices, but in 2016 there was a change to residential use and the building was converted into 16 apartments.
Congregational Church - Pembroke Road Chapel, Clifton.
This building was initially a corrugated metal "tin tabernacle" which opened on 1st October 1866. It was painted to look like stone and had a 55ft spire. The current cruciform church building was designed by WH Hawtin and built in 1877.
The church closed in 1929. The building was used as a warehouse, then a garage. Later it was converted into offices known as Colkin House, various companies have used the office space including Whyatt Pakeman Partners Chartered Accountants. It is now a co-working space run by Future Leap. It is one of the few older buildings in the area without listed status.
At the Congregational Church below the large East Window is a small barred opening:
How many bars are there? A
How many steps? B
At the Unitarian church count the number of spikes on the two sets of gates.
CD = total number of spikes on smaller gates
EF = total number of spikes on larger gates
Coordinates for the final are:
N51 27. (d-c) (e+f) (b-f) W002 36. (a-e) (b-c) (b-f)
Just a short stroll away. Please be stealthy and aware of passing muggles.
****** CONGRATULATIONS to Lillylulabell and Cabbage187 for FTF ******