Urban Archaeology Session 3 Churches

Slide 2) Religious buildings within an urban context can take many forms and can occur in a range of contexts. The nature of a religious building can tell us a great deal about the communities which it served. Furthermore, in the fabric of religious buildings we are often able to identify and to track the changes and developments which characterise urban history. The following presentation will look at a range of religious buildings in Southampton. It will particularly focus on buildings in the northern suburbs of Bassett, Highfield, Portswood and St Denys. These buildings each highlight a different way in which the study of church buildings can reveal the history of the neighbourhoods within which they are situated. Slide 3) Our first example is All Saints Church on Winchester Road in Bassett. This church is an excellent example of a Tin Tabernacle church which could be ordered from a catalogue from the mid 19th Century onwards. This example is thought to date from the turn of the century. The materials used in the construction of this church (primarily galvanised corrugated iron) mean this style of church is quintessentially industrial in nature. They were relatively cheap to produce and as such regularly served the needs of rapidly the rapid expansions and shifts in population which characterised the industrial revolution and expansion of the British Empire. In this case the church is thought to have been built to cater to the spiritual needs of the workers from the nearby brickworks. For more information you might look at this very comprehensive page: http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/tin-tabernacles/tin-tabernacles.html Slide 4) The Building has changed but the institution remains. Since the 1970s All Saints Church has been in this building. It maintains many of the social characteristics of the original 19th Century institution and incorporates a dual function as a social space and a church. Slide 5) this Primitive Methodist Chapel in St. Denys tells us a great deal about the communities who lived in this area during the 19th century. Primitive Methodism was a religion with its origins in the potteries of the Midlands and found popularity within working class communities. Chapels were often built with donations and subscriptions from the congregation and can often be found within the communities they served. It is believed that the community which built this chapel existed for a considerable time prior to the construction of this chapel. Slide 6) St. Boniface Church Catholic in Shirley was built in 1927. It is remarkable for its ornate style (described in the Southampton HER as being neo-byzantine) and for the fact that it is built entirely from brick. This is an apt choice of material considering the predominance of brick production in Hampshire. The presence of a Catholic church of this magnitude is testament to the religious mix which has characterised Southampton during the 20th Century. Slide 7) Another view of St. Boniface Church Slide 8) St Denys Church is Anglican and was built in 1867 to cater to the growing suburban population of Southampton. The church accommodated 7-800 people and was built to alleviate overcrowding at Highfield church which to this point had served the entire area. The church is a good example of Victorian civic architecture and was designed by George Gilbert Scott, the architect

responsible for Kings Cross station in London. This church represents a striking contrast to the modest Methodist chapel nearby (slide 5) and demonstrates the profound differences in religious practice in this area in the late 19th Century Slide 9) Internal views of St Denys Chruch Slide 10) The Victory Centre Gospel church on Portswood High street is a recent addition to Southamptons religious landscape. It was once the Broadway theatre. Built in 1930 the theatre soon found a new use as an ABC Cinema before becoming a Bingo hall from the 1960s. the re-use of this building as a church is testament to the fact that changes in religious practice are still capable of impacting upon the urban landscape. This phase of the buildings use will inevitably impact upon the fabric of the building and will be a lasting reminder of this phase of Southamptons history. Slide 11) The ABC Cinema during the mid 1960s Slide 12) Internal view of the building today Slide 13) This building formerly known as Swaythling Methodist Church on Burgess Road is now a multi-church partnership known as 286. It was built in 1931 as part of the re-development (and expansion) of much of suburban Southampton led by architect Herbert Collins. The building was designed by Collins in the Methodist Central Hall style and was supposed to offer a range of social activities as well as religious services. The main hall was equipped to operate as a cinema! The church fulfils much the same function as it always has done. However, the church is no longer exclusively Methodist and is shared with other religious groups. Slide 14) An interior view of the main hall, note the vast scale of the space and also the range of international flags which reflect the cosmopolitan nature of the current congregation. Slide 15) The current Methodist congregation now meet in this smaller hall within the same complex. The use of these buildings remains essentially unchanged but the religious character of the community has altered. These subtle changes in use are evident at present but are the kind of details which are quickly lost, highlighting the need for on-going documentation. Slide 16) Re-use of St Lukes Church in Bevois Valley as a Gurdwara in 1983 reflected changes which had taken place in the balance of populations in nearby St. Marys and Newtown. These changes will leave their marks on the material of these buildings and may give archaeologists of the future clues as to how Southamptons population developed during this period. It is interesting to consider what the fate of this building might have been had it not been re-used as a communal and religious space. Slide 17) Gurdwara Nanaksar, also in Bevois Valley provides a striking reminder of the change in character which the religious architecture of Southampton underwent during the 20th century. Whilst these buildings are likely to leave a significant impression on the architectural record it is important to remember that the Sikh community for many years relied upon the use of less dramatic buildings such as the large townhouse which now houses the nearby University of the 3rd Age. Archaeologically speaking this is a story reminiscent of the development of Primitive Methodist chapel and provides a vivid reminder that we should look beyond the buildings themselves when we consider the religious history of a city.

Slide 18) A Mosque being built on Portswood Road represents the formation of a new phase in the development of religious architecture in Southampton.