More information on the history of
the Theatre on the Steps and other areas of Bridgnorth
can be found in pamphlets by local historian Clive
Gwilt.
In about 1960 the Congregational Church situated
on Stoneway Steps and known for generations as
the Stoneway Chapel came onto the market as a
result of the merger of its members and those
of the Methodist Church which is on Cartway. They
became known as the United Reformed Church.
 After
two years a company of enthusiastic amateur actors
and interested townspeople, under the leadership
of Mr Peter Taylor, began negotiating with the
church authorities for the purchase of the building.
By the end of 1962 the deal was arranged and work
began both on the raising of the capital needed
with stage productions and coffee mornings, jumble
sales, etc., going on in parallel with the work
needed to convert the building into the small
but intimate theatre it has become. This last
effort involved stripping the interior of pews,
pulpit and organ, these items finding new homes
in other churches both near and far. Apart from
taking all these items up the stairs, the conversion
also required that a lot of material had to come
down as well. The earliest requirements of course
were for sand, cement, bricks, plaster and plasterboard,
and even a thirty foot rolled steel joist had
to be carried slowly down and manoeuvred carefully
through the front doors and then lifted into position
in the foyer until it supported the floor of the
'Green Room' above.
A complete iron fire escape was manhandled down
and into position for use as an emergency exit
below the theatre. The internal staircase was
also rebuilt using some of the redundant timber
from unwanted pews. The early switchboard and
stage lighting equipment was purchased from the
Midland Institute, which was part of the old centre
of Birmingham, which became redundant as bulldozers
moved in. The theatre curtains also came from
the same source.
The first set of seats came from the Odeon Cinema
at Coseley, situated on the Wolverhampton-Birmingham
'New Road'. Volunteers arrived early on a Sunday
morning to start stripping the complete circle
of about 200 seats, the only lights being the
emergency lights set high overhe ad.
With split nails and sore knees and bumped heads
from unscrewing hundreds of woodscrews, the seats
were loaded and transported back to Bridgnorth
where they were unloaded, taken down the steps,
and stacked in the theatre ready for installation.
All these tasks were performed mainly by the
members, but other work parties joined in at times.
A voluntary team of prisoners were Shrewsbury
Gaol did yeoman service doing a lot of the foyer
conversion, staircase rebuild and the toilet block,
before the scheme unfortunately had to be stopped
by the Governor when one of the inmates absconded
one sunny Sunday afternoon, being pursued by the
police through the riverside fields, finally being
caught somewhere on the Stourbridge Road, having
swum across the River Severn to avoid capture.
The Congregational Church
On 24th August 1662, 1,909 Commonwealth Church
of England ministers were ejected from their churches
and their homes. Andrew Tristram was the rector
of St. Leonard's, Bridgnorth until he was ejected.
He then began preaching privately in the town,
and ministered spiritual matters to those, like
himself, who had become Non-Conformists. They
formed a congregation of independents and Presbyterian
and met weekly. There was already a separate Baptists
Society at this time. In 163 Andrew Tristram was
asked to desist from preaching in Bridgnorth during
St. Luke's Fair.
In 1672 Tristram was given a licence to be a
teacher at a house in the High Street where he
practised as a doctor, but he was not allowed
to preach. Two years later, Charles Owen was ordained
to the ministry at Bridgnorth and became pastor
of a church which probably met in a private house.
At every meeting there was the chance of arrest
since it was an offence to attend a Non-Conformist
meeting when more than five people were present.
The penalty was imprisonment or even transportation.
The danger was very real and some 68000 arrests
were made and between 5000 and 8000 free churchmen
died in prison in England, some of whom had been
there for more than twenty years.
In 1689 a licence was issued for Andrew Tristram's
house to be used for meetings ;
it was renewed in 1694 and again in 1695. In 1709
a licence was issued for the building of a Presbyterian
Chapel. When freedom of worship was granted the
members built a chapel on Stoneway Steps. Andrew
Tristram never did see this chapel for he died
in 1706, three years before it was built.
This deed is dated 2nd August 1709, and described
the purchase as:
'All that messuage cottage or tennements, with
all the gardens there unto adjoining and belonging,
on the North side of Stoneway the which John Wilson
hath lately purchased from Mr.Thomas Woolastone,
and Annie, his wife together with the new building
there upon erected'
In 1722 the chapel was licensed as a Presbyterian
Chapel and later during the 18th century became
a Congregational Church. The old chapel was small
and square and inside two large pillars rose to
support the roof. The pulpit had a large canopy
of 'sounding board' to aid the preachers voice.
There was also a gallery to house the 120 members
of the congregation, the maximum congregation
in 1711. A few years later the side of the chapel
collapsed and narrowly missed two passers by on
Stoneway Steps. Many people were prejudiced against
free churchmen which prevented any chance of a
better site. The members of Stoneway Chapel had
always received a certain amount of ill treatment
at the hands of the local people. One minister,
so discouraged, left in despair feeling there
was no hope of progress. In 1769 there were 71
members and by 1784 this number had decreased
to a mere 29.
In 1809 Samuel Barber became minister and attracted
more congregation and the chapel was no longer
adequate, so a new chapel was planned. In 1829
the old chapel was demolished and a larger one
built at a cost of £1000. This new chapel
was opened for service on 25th October 1829, when
the Reverend George Redford preached the service.
Until 1841 Samuel Barber (the minister, and teacher
by this time), lived in the manse next to the
chapel. However during 1841 the manse was taken
down and replaced with school rooms the following
year. Samuel Barber remained for 36 years in which
time the congregation increased four fold, and
he became an outstanding school master.
In 1837 the church was registered for solemnisation
of matrimony. On February 8th 1894 the Reverend
Ernest Elliot came to Stoneway Church and even
stayed eleven years and was described as a fine
preacher with Stoneway being his first church.
The difference between Congregational and Methodist
churches is quite small, and as early as 1859
United Prayer Meetings were held each evening
at the three chapels in turn, Congregational,
Methodist and Primitive Methodists.
In 1962 the chapel closed and resulted in the
union of the three chapels in Bridgnorth - the
Methodists, Primitive Methodists and Congregational
who then merged as the United Reformed Church
and began worshipping in Cartway. |
