Christchurch
and St John
With the exception of the parish church,
all churches and chapels within the parish of Christchurch are of
19th or 20th century foundation. The ancient chapelries of the parish
and the parish church itself are described earlier in the book and
no further relevant information concerning their founding and, in
the case of the chapelries, their closure, remains to be added in
this chapter. As has been mentioned, the parish church was never well-placed
for the largest groups of inhabitants and, by and large, even 19th
and 20th century development has taken place away from the village
of Christchurch. Thus, since the mid 1800s, there has been a steady
development of churches and chapels which has kept broadly in step
with residential development.
It is often said that "in the good old
days" the churches and chapels were always full, and, if one
wanted to be sure of a seat, it was necessary to arrive at least half
an hour before the service was due to start. Like all such sayings,
there is a grain of truth in this one; however, it must be said that,
in the main, the only occasions on which the situation described would
occur were such times as Christmas, Easter and Harvest Festivals.
On 30th March, 1851, a national census of church attendance was taken.
Though this does not produce a reliable result because it records
each individual attendance rather than the number of people attending
- and, as now, many people attended at least twice on any Sunday -
it is clear that, in Newport, rather less than 50% of the population
attended any place of worship on the given day. Given that there was,
at this time, only the parish church east of the river, it is highly
unlikely that anything approaching 50% of the parishioners were present
on that day.
By 1851, non-conformity had gained quite
a stronghold, particularly in heavily industrialised areas such as
South Wales and, although there were no non-conformist chapels in
the parish, it is highly likely that any non-conformists living in
the parish attended a place of worship in Newport itself. With the
development of Lliswerry and Maindee came the demand for local churches
and chapels, a demand that was fulfilled firstly by the sub-division
of the ancient parish into smaller units, each having its own anglican
church, and secondly by the creation of meetings of the various denominational
groups of non-conformists, a number of which received aid from the
Newport chapels, enabling them to build their own places of worship
in the locality. Since the separation of the Welsh Anglican Church
from the Church of England in 1920, at which time it ceased to be
the established church in Wales, parish boundaries have significance
only insofar as they apply to the administration of the Marriage Act
and the areas of jurisdiction of the parish clergy. Every individual
lives in a parish and therefore has available the services of a parish
priest. Though this system has its obvious advantages, it also has
its drawbacks, particularly where the parish church is inconveniently
situated for large numbers of parishioners. Non-conformists are not
hampered by lines of division; they do not have territorial zones,
and they are therefore able to establish a congregation in the precise
area of need.
It is not now generally appreciated just
how important the parish church was before the great social reforms
of the Victorian era. Virtually all of the services now provided via
central and local government were the responsibility of the parish,
and most parishioners were expected to play their respective parts
in ensuring that at least a minimum level of service was provided.
Of course, with the huge expansion of housing during the early 19th
century, it would have become an impossible task for the parish to
administer anything like an acceptable level of service and the take-over
of services by the various boards and, later, councils was an inevitable
step. However, the one area which was not taken over until well into
the 20th century was the care of the needy; churches and chapels were
left to provide much more than just religious guidance and moral teaching.
It is unusual to find that the first permanent
church to be opened in a new area is an Anglican church, but this
was the case in Maindee. The area was, by 1858, well populated but
without any place of worship apart from a tiny Independent Chapel
located on the northern side of Fair Oak Avenue, at its junction with
Albert Avenue. This was of no help to Anglican worshippers, however,
since the inhabitants were unlikely to walk up to Christchurch to
attend services there. Following a meeting held that year, donations
of £1200 were received from 28 people and a further £600
was subscribed by Church societies, and work on the building of St
John the Evangelist started just above Chepstow Road in Kensington
Place. The building was opened for worship in 1860. Subsequently a
north aisle and a tower were added. A parish hall, Men`s Institute
and Social Centre were built in Victoria Avenue, almost opposite the
Methodist Church, and were used by the various church groups, including
the cubs and scouts.
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St
Matthew and St Andrew
The continuing expansion of the Maindee district,
which opened up the area known as Barnardtown, around Church Road,
meant that yet again there was a large body of parishioners living
a good distance away from their parish church. A site was acquired
on the corner of Church Road and Bishop Street where a "neat
building, made to look like two cottages" was erected and opened
on 3rd December 1876. The curate of St John`s, Neville Young Birkmyre,
was in charge of services and pastoral work in Barnardtown, and indeed
the mission church became known as the "Birkmyre Mission".
Encouraged by the Vicar of St John`s, Birkmyre conducted services
in the High Church tradition, despite a certain amount of opposition.
However, the next vicar held completely opposite views and, in March
1882, he closed the Mission and dispensed with the assistance of his
curate. The need for a place of worship in Barnardtown was great,
though, and the vicar of St John`s, after only three months, obtained
from Dock Street, Newport, a tin chapel which had served as a chapel-of-ease
to St Paul`s. This was erected on the present church site and opened
for worship, which was Evangelical in tone! In September 1882 the
former premises were opened as St Matthew`s Mission Room.
In the meantime, the increasing population
in the area around Somerton Common, Lliswerry Common and Pontfaen
meant that provision had to be made for them to attend a local centre
of worship. A stone chapel was built at the end of Somerton Road in
1882 and dedicated to St Andrew. This too was served by a curate from
St John, until it received its own priest-in-charge in 1920, when
it became a Conventional District. On 16th September 1922 it received
full Parish status.
Undoubtedly the clergy at St John, Maindee,
took their duties seriously, for, despite the large size of their
parish, they strove to open up chapels or missions to serve every
growing area. In 1889 a mission was opened in Gordon Street, and in
1891 the tin church at St Matthew was dismantled and re-erected in
Durham Road; in December of that year it was opened as St Julian`s
Mission. The site in Church Road was prepared for the laying of the
foundation stone of St Matthew`s Church in October 1891, and the building
itself opened for worship in 1892. In 1911, the church became the
parish church of St Matthew. In 2004, the church became part of the
Parish of St John once more.
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Ss Julius and
Aaron and St Mary the Virgin
In 1897 the church dedicated to St Mary the
Virgin was built. This was also a tin church, sited at the junction
of Wharf Road and Corporation Road. Though it never became a parish
church, it nevertheless came into its own following the disastrous
fire of 1949 which destroyed St John`s. While the parish church was
being rebuilt, St Mary`s served as the parish church and marriages
were solemnised there. The tin chapel was itself rebuilt after reopening
of the parish church and is now a small, neat brick building. In the
20th century the needs of the extremes of this territorially large
parish were partially met by the parish hall built in Chestnut Avenue,
Somerton, and a Sunday School which met at Maindee School.
At St Julian`s, the tin chapel continued
its work and finally became a parish church on 4th October 1921. Though
it was in a convenient location for serving many of its parishioners,
there was no room for expansion on the Durham Road site. A new site
was found at the top of St Julian`s Avenue, in a part of the parish
which was just beginning to develop. In 1926 the parish church of
Ss Julius & Aaron was opened on this site.
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St Andrew and
St Teilo
In the western part of the parish of St Andrew
there was a clear need for a worship centre to serve the lower Corporation
Road and its side-streets. Indeed, the idea behind the formation of
the parish was to ensure proper coverage of the whole area, though
the Bishop`s original idea had been to build a new parish church,
capable of seating at least 1000 people, on a site central to the
needs of the parish. However, to satisfy immediate needs the vicar
organised an appeal for funds to build a Sunday School virtually next
door to Corporation Road school. The Lysaghts and other directors
of the firm took a keen interest in the project, which was of benefit
to the families of so many of their workmen, and, on 2nd July 1925
the new building was opened in Jenkins Street, serving as a parish
hall and Sunday School. After serving in this capacity for 25 years,
the building was, on 9th July 1950, elevated to the status of a church
(though still within the parish of St Andrew) and dedicated to St
Philip, Apostle and Martyr.
St Andrew`s was indeed a developing parish,
for, concurrent with the elevation of the Jenkins Street building
to church status, it was realised that the northern section of the
parish, covering Alway, was fast developing and in need of a church
presence. The original proposal was for a Sunday School, the estimated
cost of which was £2000. However, before this got off the ground
a further proposal was made, to build a church at an estimated cost
of £20,000. The second proposal gained favour, and on 9th February
1959 the building, a dual-purpose church and hall, was opened and
dedicated to St Teilo. The church was still a part of the parish of
St Andrew until 15th August 1966, when the parish of St Teilo was
created by combining all of the land north of the railway in the parish
of St Andrew with the land south of the centre line of Chepstow Road
between Aberthaw Road and what is now the Hilton Hotel at the Coldra,
then in the parish of Christchurch. Worship continued in the multi-purpose
building, though it was always the intention to provide a separate
church. Despite many setbacks this was opened for worship and consecrated
on 2nd February 1976. The original building, to which the new was
added, now serves as the church hall.
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Caerleon ultra
Pontern
Within Caerleon-ultra-Pontem two non-conformist
chapels had been established early in the 19th century. The Independent
Chapel, on the Bullmore Road, closed in the 1890s but was then taken
over as an Anglican chapel to Christchurch. It reopened for worship
in 1898 as the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, and continued until 2003.
Nothing has been found concerning Tabernacle Chapel on Isca Road.
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Summerhill and
Duckpool Road Baptist
When the development of Maindee started,
the many non-conformists living in the area generally had a rather
more difficult task than their Anglican brethren, in that the only
places of worship available to them, other than the Independent Chapel
already mentioned, were west of the river in Newport. However, in
1861 a Baptist minister, who had given up a previous pastorate because
of poor health, came to live in Maindee. He was persuaded to form
a church, which originally met in his house in the Woodland / Crescent
Road area. It soon outgrew this accommodation and was transferred
to a room behind premises in Albert Avenue, just below Crown Street.
In 1863 the site for the new chapel was obtained; formerly it had
been the orchard of Fair Oak Farm. The new Summerhill Baptist Chapel
was ready for opening in June 1866. Additions and improvements were
made in 1878, 1889, 1893 and 1907, the latter producing the exterior
which is familiar today.
Undoubtedly the last quarter of the 19th
century were years of religious expansion, the non-conformist denominations
being particularly astute in developing centres of worship to serve
new residential developments. However, some of these arose initially
as a result of disagreement rather than the pressing need to evangelise
a new area. Such a foundation was Duckpool Road Baptist Chapel, whose
origins were in a dispute between the minister of Summerhill Baptist
Church, Rev. George Hudgell, and a number of the congregation there.
In 1875, Hudgell and around 50 members left Summerhill and formed
a separate church. Initially they met in a room over a corner shop
in Maindee. Before this church had a real chance to establish itself,
the minister left them and they were on the point of returning to
Summerhill when they heard of Thomas Alfred Jones, an untrained 19
year old from Llandenny, near Raglan, who had acquired a reputation
for zeal and brilliance in preaching. He took over the congregation
in Maindee and, within a year, the premises were so overcrowded that
a move became imperative. At first they "made do" with a
tent pitched in Livingstone Street (now Livingstone Place), but were
soon negotiating the purchase and conversion of three houses in Duckpool
Road into a Gospel Hall. This happened in 1878; just eight years later
the congregation had grown to 215 members and the Sunday School to
470 members and a new building was necessary. Rev. Jones, incidentally,
was the father of a very well-known Newport character, Stanley Jones,
whose music and book shops at the end of Newport Arcade are legendary
amongst the musical fraternity of the town! Additions to the chapel
were made in 1924 and, in 1991, a new Christian Centre was opened
as an annexe to the building.
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Lliswerry and
East Usk Baptist
Those Baptists who lived in the Somerton
Common, Pontfaen and Lliswerry areas had to travel to the chapel
at Nash, which had been opened in 1821, for services for many
years. In 1888 fifteen members made such a journey, but because these
areas were expanding it was decided to provide a chapel on Somerton
Common, at a cost of £450. This was during the pastorate of
Thomas Delahaye, who had taken charge at Nash in 1872 and built up
numbers there considerably. There was an effective separation from
Nash in June 1897, when Mr Delahaye took charge of the Lliswerry Chapel
and a new minister was found for Nash. The formal Deed of Separation
was signed on 7th October 1899 and the Lliswerry Baptist Chapel, now
in Camperdown Road, has flourished ever since, having been extended
and modernised on a few occasions.
It was in 1889 that provision was first made
for worship in the riverside area between the railway line and the
river bank. The streets here form quite a distinct community, with
access to the rest of the area by only two routes - Turner Street
and East Usk Road. In that year the East Usk Baptist Chapel was opened
by the Reverend Augustus Purnell. Under his guidance, and subsequently
that of his brother William, the chapel membership grew and members
were well catered for. Within two years of opening, it was necessary
to extend the chapel, and, just ten years later, a new chapel was
built. During the 1970s, however, membership declined and, inevitably,
the few who were left found it increasingly difficult to shoulder
the financial burden which operating even a small church entails.
After closure the building was taken over by another Christian (but
non-denominational) group, who continue to worship there.
Corporation
Road, Penylan and St Julian's Baptist
The development of the Corporation Road area
has already been mentioned. With the opening of the Orb Steel Works
there were large numbers of people living in the area with no immediate
access to any place of worship. Summerhill Baptist Chapel saw the
need and moved quickly to fulfil the religious requirements of this
community. In 1898 they opened Corporation Road Baptist Chapel in
a very central position within the area. A church (rebuilt some forty
years ago) and schoolroom served the local needs well and thrived
for many years. As is so often the case, there has been a sharp decline
in membership in recent years, though the church is happily still
functioning.
With the growth of a small community along
the Christchurch Road in the area of Gibbs Road, Summerhill Baptist
Chapel took the opportunity of establishing the Penylan Mission, in
1903, to replace house meetings in the area. In a small rectangular
building which doubles as a worship centre and hall for such activities
as Brownies, this mission is still continuing to serve the now much
enlarged residential district of Penylan Park.
The newcomer amongst the Baptist chapels
east of the river is, by a twist of irony, that with the second most
ancient foundation, the most ancient being Lliswerry whose roots extend
back to Nash, formed in 1821. St Julian`s Baptist Chapel was opened
in Beaufort Road in 1957, to serve the needs of the expanding St Julian`s
Estate. However, this was strictly not a new foundation, for the church
had previously functioned as Commercial Street Baptist Church on the
site now occupied by the Primark store. The Commercial Street Chapel
had been founded in 1828, but, in common with many town centre churches,
found its congregations dwindling as more families moved out to the
suburbs. The decision was therefore taken to relocate in an area of
greater need, a decision which has undoubtedly proved correct.
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Methodists
The Methodists first appeared east of the
river in Lliswerry, where Lliswerry Wesleyan Methodist Church was
opened on the site of the present St Andrew`s Church Hall by 1861.
The Census for that year shows that the "preacher" there
at that time was John Fulford, who was a draper by trade, and who
lived in Eschol Villa on Lliswerry Common. No other details of this
church have yet come to light, but presumably it was closed by 1881,
since no mention of it is made in the Census for that year and John
Fulford gives his occupation as "Retired Draper" only. St
Andrew`s Church opened in the following year, and it is unlikely,
even in the spirit of religious competition which existed at that
time, that the Anglicans would set up shop immediately next door to
their Methodist brethren!
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Victoria Avenue and St Julian's Methodist
It was not long after the provision of churches
for the Anglicans and Baptists that the Methodists turned their attentions
to Maindee. At first, they met in the room off Albert Avenue which
had, until the opening of their chapel in 1866, been used by the congregation
of Summerhill Baptist Church. However, on 24th October 1867 the foundation
stone of Victoria Avenue Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was laid. It was
reported at that time that the cost of the proposed building would
be £1247. The schoolroom was ready first, opening on 4th April
1868. Clearly fund raising was an important issue and, on 3rd, 4th
and 5th June 1868 a grand Bazaar was organised at the Newport Town
Hall. It is perhaps remarkable that the chapel itself was opened on
30th June 1868. The building seated 300, but by 1876 this accommodation
was proving insufficient and plans to increase seating were drawn
up. A gallery, seating around 100, was added in 1878. By 1878, the
number of full members, rather than worshippers, had risen to 100.
Membership and total attendance increased steadily over the years
and by 1892 it was necessary to undertake some rather more extensive enlargement. The building was both lengthened and widened and a completely new gallery was provided. The building was now able to accommodate 925 people. Along with the extensions, the church also purchased three adjoining cottages, 14, 15 and 16 Victoria Avenue. These were always something of an eyesore and a liability; eventually the iron hut which latterly served as the Toc H meeting room was erected in front of them and they were eventually demolished in 1935.
Though the church in Victoria Avenue was well placed to serve the needs of the Maindee area, it was felt that the streets to the south of Chepstow Road in the area of Eveswell needed a more immediate place of worship. Accordingly, in 1891, a lease was taken out on a plot of land in Archibald Street, between Eveswell Street and Oxford Street, and Archibald Street Mission Room was built. Services and a Sunday School continued here until that fateful night, 1st July 1941, when the land mine fell in Eveswell Street and destroyed the building.
The Wesleyan Methodists set up a mission in Barnardtown in 1871, at which services were held on Sunday evenings. The small chapel at which they continued their work in this part of the town still exists in the western arm of Whitby Place, though it is now rather heavily disguised as a motor repair shop! This building accommodated the congregations which had started as house groups, led by Mr and Mrs William Graham. During the 1890s it became obvious that this small building was inadequate for the number of organisations which the church wanted to provide. The opportunity was taken, at the turn of the century, to establish a completely new church building on Caerleon Road, at the foot of St Julian`s Avenue. Known as St Julian`s Methodist Church, this was opened for worship on 20th February 1902. Such was its success that a large extension to the Sunday School was necessary, which opened nearly 23 years later, on 12th February 1925. In 1992 the interior was extensively refurbished.
The Bible Christians, or United Methodists, opened a mission chapel in Hereford Street in 1893, served from the mother church in Station Street, Newport. At around the turn of the century it became known as Hereford Street Methodist Church. From the absence of material concerning this church it might be inferred that it was not one of the larger centres of worship in Maindee. However, it survived until the early 1960s when it was sold to become a tyre sales depot. This use has recently ceased and the building is again up for sale.
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Bishpool and Cromwell Road Methodist
The Primitive Methodists developed a congregation at the hamlet of Bishpool in the 1860s and, in 1866, the Bishpool Ebenezer Primitive Methodist Chapel was opened in Bishpool Lane. This small building had no facilities whatever, not even a water supply. For any party or social event, water had to be carried down the lane in buckets! However, the church survived many problems and, in the late 1940s, with the development of the Treberth and Bishpool prefab estates and the Alway housing estate, it actually found itself inundated with children attending its Sunday School. The space problem became so acute that, in January 1950, a new schoolroom, with running water and toilets, was built alongside the old chapel. This proved to be but a temporary measure, however, for the subsequent growth of Ringland meant that additional and more modern facilities were soon necessary. A completely new dual purpose building was therefore opened in Ringland Circle in 1961, the old chapel and schoolroom being subsequently demolished.
The Primitive Methodists also moved to serve the developing area around lower Corporation Road and Cromwell Road, opening a church and schoolroom known as Cromwell Road Methodist Church on the corner of Oakley Street in 1907. To provide much-needed additional accommodation, a new church building was erected adjacent to the old church, which continued in use as a schoolroom. The new building came into use on 23rd November 1933 and is unusual in that the floor gets progressively lower from back to front so that all of the congregation has a clear view of the communion table and pulpit area.
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Congregational
It is known from surviving membership lists of the three English-speaking Congregational chapels in Newport that a good number of their members lived east of the river, particularly in the Maindee area. It is perhaps surprising, therefore, that the presence of this denomination in Maindee was delayed until October 1888. Even then the initial presence was restricted to a Sunday School, which took place in a building known as the Kensington Hall, situated in Hereford Street. Initially set up by Rev. Branham of the Tabernacle Congregational Chapel in Commercial Street, it was soon run as a joint venture of the three Newport churches. Adult services were established early in 1889, run each Sunday evening by the Congregationalists from Rhiwderin. A rather more formal Committee of Representatives from the three Newport churches was established early in 1889 and, on 10th June 1890, the Maindee Congregational Church was formed. It was felt that a permanent building was required and the site at the corner of London Street and Exeter Street was obtained. The original building was not on the corner of the streets but rather nearer to Chepstow Road. Despite many initial problems, the church felt strong enough to build a much larger premises adjacent to the original church, which
then became the schoolroom. The new building was opened in 1908. Interestingly, official sources give the date of opening as June of that year, but the Local History Project has amongst its collection of documents an illustrated Order of Service for an event held in the new chapel on 26th April 1908.
It is from this time that the name Emmanuel Congregational Church
was first used, this name continuing until the church became a constituent of the Congregational Church of Newport on 7th March 1966. In turn, this organisation became a part of the United Reformed Church in October 1972. Worship at London Street ceased in June 1993 and both church and schoolroom were demolished in the summer of 1996.
Goldcliff Congregational (later United Reformed) Chapel was built 1840 and re-built 1900.. This now been converted to a private dwelling quite successfully.
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Presbyterian
The first Presbyterian presence east of the river was Caerleon Road Presbyterian Church, opened in 1895. Situated between Bath Street and Constance Street, its foundation came at the time when development of the area to the west side of Caerleon Road was taking place, and it was centrally situated to serve both the new development and Barnardtown. Despite its popularity and success, it became a post-war casualty of falling membership numbers and high maintenance costs and finally closed in the 1970s. After demolition, a prefabricated hall was erected on the site by the Christadelphians.
At the end of the 19th century a religious revival was sweeping through South Wales and the Presbyterian Church of Wales` contribution to this was to visit areas where it was felt that there was a need for evangelisation, hold a series of revivalist meetings and assess the potential for the establishment of a chapel in the area. The group was known as "The Forward Movement" and their first contribution to East Newport was the Corporation Road Presbyterian Church, opened in 1901. This church was always successful in attracting large numbers, due largely to the wide range of activities which it provided in addition to church services. It was, therefore, a matter of grave concern when, in the 1960s, the building was found to be unsafe because of sinking foundations. The minister at the time, the well-known Newport Councillor Cyril Summers, and the membership decided that demolition was unavoidable; however, they also took the momentous decision to rebuild on the site. The new building would be a multi-purpose building incorporating a worship centre and community centre. The result, Community House, has been a tremendous success since its opening in 1969. At the present time it is closed temporarily while refurbishment work is undertaken.
Shortly after the turn of the century, housing development was started in the Cross Hands and Beechwood area of Chepstow Road. With the help of the Presbyterians at Havelock Street Church in Newport, the Beechwood Park Presbyterian Church was opened in 1905, the original building being the hall in Kenilworth Road, behind the present church. The Forward Movement built the new chapel in 1923.
The last Presbyterian church to be built east of the river was established in 1961. This was Ringland Presbyterian Church in Beatty Road, built to serve the eastern end of the Ringland Estate.
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Roman Catholic - St Patrick - St Gabriel - Ss Julius and Aaron
Unlike the other denominations, the Roman Catholic church was relatively slow in establishing itself east of the river. One might have expected a presence in the developing Maindee, but this was never to be and their first appearance in the area came with the development of the lower Corporation Road area after the opening of Orb works. Their St Patrick`s Mission Hall was opened at 442 Corporation Road, on the corner of Gaskell Street, and was served by the clergy from St Mary`s church on Stow Hill. Because this was the only R.C. place of worship in east Newport, it was inevitably crowded and a move was made after the first world war to open a parish church. A vacant site was obtained in Cromwell Road, near to Somerton Park, and a "temporary" building erected. This was opened for worship in June 1925. As with many temporary buildings, the original church served for rather longer than might have been planned; it was 1963 when the present building was opened! The original mission in Corporation Road also continued to function for the period before the opening of the rebuilt church in Cromwell Road, since when it has been used as the Columba Club.
Post-war development at St Julian`s and Ringland have received their own R.C. churches - Ss Julius & Aaron at St Julians (served by clergy from Caerleon) and St Gabriel`s at Ringland (serving the parish of St Gabriel).
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Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren established a relatively early presence in Maindee. In January 1871 they obtained a mortgage on land and premises in Duckpool Road, near to Fair Oak Terrace. Here they established a Christian Meeting Room in part of the terrace known as Vine Place. Known as the Vine Place Gospel Hall the premises were demolished and rebuilt as a brick chapel some time early in the 20th century.
Salvation Army
Another relatively early comer to Maindee was the Salvation Army. The growing district of Maindee was typical of the sort of area where the Army was most active, alleviating poverty and suffering wherever possible. The Maindee Corps was established in 1879 and originally met in a room over a set of stables. Later they acquired the whole property, a new hall being built on the site in 1955. The Corps was disbanded in 1995 and the premises closed.
Seventh Day Adventist
The Seventh Day Adventist Church started its work in Newport in the 1880s, though for many years their meetings were conducted at houses, firstly in Prince Street and later in Constance Street. After the first world war they acquired their permanent church building at Eveswell. The original building was considerably extended after the second world war and still remains the only building serving this denomination in the whole of Newport.
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Other Churches and Chapels
Other churches and chapels in the area include the Christadelphian Meeting Room, formerley in Rodney Road but now in Caerleon Road; the Apostolic Church in Rockfield Street; Elim Church in Harrow Road; the Maindee Cottage Gospel Mission in Probert Place; and the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah`s Witnesses in Penkin Hill. At various times, day schools have been used by churches to increase Sunday School accommodation, but within the last few years Alway Junior School has been used as a place of worship by the Mormons (the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints).
This denominational coverage in just one part of the town is extremely impressive. Indeed, no major Christian denomination has not been represented at some time during the past 150 years. Although present-day coverage is still virtually complete, we have, of course, lost some buildings over the years. However, it would probably be fair to state that, in terms of variety of styles of worship, the surprisingly large number of churches and chapels which are still open provide an excellence which is second to none. No longer do we live in an age of religious competition and tolerance and co-operation between denominations is at an all-time high. Many older readers will recall with pleasure the impact that their church or chapel made on their young lives - one of the highlights of the year was the Whit March, which took place on Whit Monday, and was followed by games, competitions and a superb tea! Though these large-scale events are rarely seen nowadays, the school holiday Bible Clubs are always well attended and greatly enjoyed. Churches which are able to provide events for their youth undoubtedly provide an extra, if simple, dimension to lives which are largely highly sophisticated.