Glebe Christian Fellowship

This collection contains material relating to or about Glebe Hall from 1934 to 2009. It includes paperwork concerning the day to day running of the hall, promotional material about events and services and correspondence from missionaries working overseas. There is also a series which contains documents and correspondence concerning the establishment and extension of Glebe Hall.

The collection would be of interest to anyone studying the history of the Brethren movement, those tracing the development of Glebe Hall and to anyone interested in researching Brethren carrying out missionary work overseas.

The Christian Fellowship at Glebe Hall, Loretto Gardens, Kenton was founded in 1935. Mission Services had been held locally since 1929, usually taking place in a large hut on the main Kenton Road. The services which were led by Dr. Ernest White and Mr. Bert Carter from Harrow, came about because there was no Protestant church on the Glebe Estate. In the early years, it was known as the Glebe Farm Estate Mission, often shortened to the "Mission." In 1935 a suitable site was identified and a corrugated iron and wood building was erected. It was opened for worship and witness from September 1935 and known officially as Glebe Hall, though colloquially as the "Tin Tabernacle". By January 1936 activities in the Hall were increasing and a church was formed on New Testament lines with members and elders but with no paid minister. It was similar to others which had been in existence for many years in the Greater Harrow area which were known as Brethren Assemblies. Prior to the outbreak of war in 1939 several attempts were made to acquire a better site for a permanent building in order to accommodate the increasing number of services and members. Unfortunately, the cost of land, the lack of a suitable site nearby and the war meant that this project had to be put on hold.

It was decided in the early 1950s to redevelop on the present site rather than to seek a location elsewhere. Plans were drawn up and initially rejected by the local authority, but after a successful appeal against the decision, the new building was completed and a Service of Thanksgiving was held on the 14th of April 1956.

After the move to the new building, various initiatives were launched in order to consolidate the Bible ministry and teaching: these included a series of monthly Saturday rallies (Vital Vision Rallies) which were launched in 1956 and continued each year until 1966, Covenanter camps and Young People's Fellowship holiday parties both in Britain and abroad and a student mission led by Roger Forster in 1966 which was aimed at reaching unchurched young people in the local area. These initiatives ran alongside already established programmes such as The Ladies Wednesday Club and Sunday School.

Glebe Hall Christian Fellowship has continued to build on its outreach work and celebrated 70 years of witness and worship in 2005.

• GCF/1 Minutes
• GCF/2 Registers
• GCF/3 Accounts
• GCF/4 Official documents
• GCF/5 Papers relating to the establishment and extension of Glebe Hall
• GCF/6 Correspondence
• GCF/7 Records of day to day activities
• GCF/8 Printed booklets, pamphlets and promotional material
• GCF/9 Photographs
• GCF/10 Electronic media

The collection is open to any accredited reader.

The collection includes material which is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998. Under Section 33 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), The University of Manchester Library (UML) holds the right to process personal data for research purposes. The Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) Order 2000 enables the UML to process sensitive personal data for research purposes. In accordance with the DPA, UML has made every attempt to ensure that all personal and sensitive personal data has been processed fairly, lawfully and accurately. Users of the archive are expected to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, and will be required to sign a form acknowledging that they will abide by the requirements of the Act in any further processing of the material by themselves.

Open parts of this collection, and the catalogue descriptions, may contain personal data about living individuals. Some items in this collection may be closed to public inspection in line with the requirements of the DPA. Restrictions/closures of specific items will be indicated in the catalogue.

Mr. A. Chisholm.

An extensive boxlist of the collection was produced by Cathy Priest.

Photocopies and photographic copies of material in the archive can be supplied for private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents.

A number of items within the archive remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; it is the responsibility of users to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study.

Prior written permission must be obtained from the Library for publication or reproduction of any material within the archive. Please contact the Head of Special Collections, John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH.

This material was accumulated in the ordinary day to day work of the Assembly. The papers were donated to the University of Manchester by Mr. A. Chisholm in January 2011.

No further accruals are expected.

50 Years of Glebe 1935/1985 [See below GCF/8/1]