Long Street Methodist, Middleton, Manchester
A Memorial Service was held in the Church today at 4.00pm. The service was for the bereaved relatives and friends of those who had died during and since the start of the pandemic. This is usually an annual service, but owing to covid it has not taken place since 2019. It was a quiet and reflective service and members of the congregation were invited to light candles in memory of their loved ones.
Thank you Sharon
The Harvest Service took place today, led by our minister, the Rev. Sharon Read. The Church supported two charities with their gifts, dried and canned food for the Food Bank in Middleton. 
The second cause was for money donations to the Methodist charity, All We Can. All We Can support a group of Tonga people who live in the Binga district in the Zambezi valley and were forcibly displaced by the creation of Lake Kariba by the colonial government. With the support of All We Can, a group of ladies have been helped to deveope weaving skills and access markets to sell their baskets. As a result children are able to go to school, and goats can be bought for additional family income.
The banner for this year’s Heritage Open Days was taken down at 4.00pm today after another successful year of opening to the public. The Church and School Rooms opened for five afternoon sessions during the designated period of HODs.
Thank you to the members of the Edgar Wood Society for organising and stewarding the open days, without whose help this event would not have take place.
If you were in the Scouts, Guides or Youth Club in the 70’s at Long Street Methodist Church you may well rememberJohn Chamberlain and Katherine ….?
They were down from Yorkshire attending a reunion of the above and joined the morning service,talked about the ‘old ‘times, friends and had a walk around the building, remembering as it was and surprised about the changes following the restoration.
Thank you for coming and sharing your memories of time at Long Street.
On Monday afternoon 4th July, twenty two members of the Victorian Society in American Summer School visited the Church and Schools Rooms. This was their third venue of the day, following a hard hat tour of the Manchester Town Hall and the Victoria Baths.
They were relieved to soak in the atmosphere of the church and enjoy refrehments before looking around the building and learning about importance of the architecture of Edgar Wood.
The email received following their visit is as follows:
Many thanks to you and your colleagues at Long Street for hosting today’s visit for the Victorian Society in America, and also for your warm hospitality. The visit was greatly appreciated, and it was an eye-opener for the whole group to see such a masterpiece. They had not heard of Edgar Wood before, but now they will be spreading his fame. While I have visited the building before it is always such a delight to experience . What a wonderful architect he was!
With thanks and best wishes,
Ken
It’s Spring and it is time to tidy up the garden. Not only are the weeds and grass growing, but the broken brick seems to multiply as well. In the 1970’s the ‘flower beds’ were covered with crushed brick, this was to make for easy maintanence. Twenty years on and the lawns and flower beds were reinstated. The brick was covered with several inches of soil, this would make for good drainage! However, the action of the weather and frosts bring a yearly crop of crushed brick back to the surface.
The Headteacher of the Edgar Wood Academy, Mr. Marcin Kojder, visited the home of the Edgar Wood Society at the Long Street Methodist Church and Edgar Wood Rooms today. The Society and school wish to forge closer links, which was obvious from the informative and pleasant chat throughout the visit. The school at the moment is in temporary classrooms on the Hopwood College Campus with a year 7 intake. The school, which is under construction in Bowlee, is to be fully opened in September 2022 and we look forward to the pupils being inspired by the achievements of Edgar Wood, Middleton’s ‘remarkable architect’.
The Society wish Mr. Kojder, his staff and pupils, a successful year ahead.
Two charities were supported at the Harvest Service on Sunday 3rd October.
A pew collection in aid of the Methodist supported charity, All We Can and for tinned and dried food for the local food bank at the Lighthouse Project based in Middleton.
The Church and School Rooms were open for five half days during this year’s HODs, attracting both local and visitors from the wider region. The walk around the Conservation Area and the Edgar Wood properties on Sunday 12th September was over subscribed. A pre booked group of 22 were divided into two groups and starting in opposite directions. The walk will be repeated in Spring 2022, so send an email if you wish to be informed of details nearer to the time (edgarwoodsociety@gmail.com).
Visit Long Street Methodist Church and the adjacent Edgar Wood Rooms to see the finest Arts & Crafts building in Greater Manchester. Guides will be on hand to answer any questions.
Friday 10 September 1 – 4pm Sunday 12 September 1 – 4pm
Sunday 12 September 2pm Leaving from the Church at 2pm a guided walk around the Conservation Area to view 9 listed buildings in the ‘Golden Cluster’. For full details: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/a-guided-walk-around-middleton-conservation-area
Wednesday 15 September 1 – 4pm
Friday 17 September 1 – 4pm Saturday 18 September 1 – 4pm
David from Conservation Services North West, is in charge of the chimney repointiong and was smiling yesterday morning from the top platform of the scaffold. Blue sky and sun is a bonus of late and the weather is going to be settled for the next few days. 
The first event in the Arts and Crafts Church hall (Edgar Wood Rooms) since the easing of the lockdown, organised by the Edgar Wood Society was a cream tea this afternoon. The hall was set up and awaiting the first guests at 2.00pm.
The gates were opened and It was good to be back for a service at Long Street although with a difference, for the first service in the building since 15th March, 2020.
To make easier to comply with covid protocols, the service was held in the hall of the Edgar Wood Rooms. The atmosphere was different, but a success all the same and will be repeated again next week. If you would like to book a seat phone 0161 6530512.
Laurie of RescueStationCIC had a 7.00am drone flight from the garden on Tuesday 23rd June. Conditions were ideal, the air was still and the sky was blue. The ground crew were briefed and had their instructions to inform passers by that they were within a 50 meter radius of the flight. The filming was on behalf of the Heritage Trust North West, a closely associated Trust who provide services for the GMBPT.
The filming of Long Street Methodist Church and the Edgar Wood Rooms will feature on the HTNW web site together with other heritage property in the HTNW’s portfolio.
The church gates were decorated yesterday for Pentecost and the first service since lockdown at Long Street planned for today, unfortunately had to be postponed, so it was back to Zoom.
We now look forward to the first service on the 13th June. Until then the Sunday morning and evening services will continue on Zoom. Details can be found on the Manchester Circuits web site. https://manchestermethodists.org.uk
The fourth and final talk by Dr. Alec Hamilton
The Title is: “Is it or isn’t it? A Field Guide to Arts & Crafts Churches.”
Alec says “It’s my attempt to answer the big question that constantly crops up: “What are the essential characteristics of an Arts & Crafts church?” Also expressed as, “How do I know it’s an Arts & Crafts church when I finally get into it?” (Another popular one is “There is a church near me. It has a Burne-Jones window. Why, oh why, is it not in your book?” And I have a soft spot for “Who was this William Morris bloke anyway
As this fourth talk is for VicSoc, I have to warn you it costs £5 to view. I know. A disgrace. But cheaper than Netflix and Curzon Home Cinema. And shorter. And VicSoc needs the money – rest assured, I do not get a bean. Meanwhile VicSoc has to carry on its work as statutory consultative body on planning matters, and keeping a sharp eye out for buildings under threat, despite the current unpleasantness. Whereas I am a diversion.
You can book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/141162186901 (And, yes, it was awfully jolly to be asked back. And, yes, this is an all-new talk – 22 churches I have never lectured on before.)
For those of you who find my stern academic rigour intimidating – and quite rightly so: it is – there will be a Quiz at the end. Fun – even for intellectuals.
Leave them wanting more, I say…”
If you missed Alec Hamilton’s talk yesterday lunchtime, it is available on the Churches Conservation Trust’s YouTube feed. Just enter Churches Conservation Trust into your browser and you will find all the information.
Weekly lectures are free and are live at 1.00pm but you do need to register or sign into Facebook.
