Bearwood Chapel Archive

This collection consists of papers relating to Bearwood Chapel. It consists of accounts and record books, photographs, notes and correspondence.

Bearwood Chapel grew out of the activities of Mr and Mrs Swaine Bourne, who moved to the Bearwood area of Smethwick in 1879. The same year, they began Lord's Supper meetings with Edward Palser, his wife and sister at his nearby building on the corner of Rutland Road and Bearwood Road.

In 1880, Mr Swaine Bourne initiated construction of a new wing to existing shop buildings he owned around the Bear Hotel. This meeting room was reportedly the first purpose-built place of worship in Bearwood, and is generally referred to in histories as 'The Old Meeting Room'. The Old Meeting Room opened in 1881 with thirteen brethren and six sisters present, followed by tea at Mr Palser's house. A Sunday School commenced at The Old Meeting Room in 1893, superintended by Mr William Bennett, and within a year seventy children were recorded on the register. During this time, baptisms were carried out at Great Charles Street and Green Lane Gospel Hall.

The growing congregation met in February 1896 to discuss plans for new premises for worship. To give thanks to God for their 25th wedding anniversary, Mr and Mrs Swaine Bourne commissioned architect G. H. Hawkes to construct a dedicated chapel building on Bearwood Road. The 'New Meeting Room' opened on Saturday 20th June, 1896. In 1913, a licence was granted for the solemnisation of marriages at the New Meeting Room, and the first wedding ceremony at the chapel was performed by Swaine Bourne on 21st June 1913. On Swaine Bourne's death in 1923, the New Meeting Room was left in trust to his son Kendrick Bourne, Mr F. J. Bridgman and Miss M. A. Bridgman, with instructions that the chapel continue to be used for preaching the gospel according to Open Brethren doctrines.

Around 1940, the New Meeting Room began to be known as Bearwood Gospel Hall. A building fund was started in 1942 and, in 1952, extensions to the chapel building were made for new toilet facilities and a kitchen. Further preaching was undertaken at the Skin Hospital at Edgbaston as well as retirement residences at Hillcrest, Garden Lodge, Park Hill, Beech Croft and Oakdene. After Kendrick Bourne's death in 1960, the Old Meeting Room ceased to be considered part of the Bearwood Chapel Assembly.

A fire at the Hall on 6th June 1964 destroyed the classroom and caused damage to the organ in the main hall. The affected area was reconstructed with a rebuilt rear classroom and new kitchen. In 1968, the congregation launched the Assembly's News Letter to keep the assembly informed of developments and personal news. Further extensions to the Hall were added in 1974 to provide more accommodation for the Sunday School, and deteroriated stonework at the entrance was replaced with an enlarged entrance hall in 1977.

The chapel was originally organised through plural leadership and every member ministry, with no full-time leadership. From the 1990s onwards, however, the chapel began to employ full-time workers. The first full-time worker, Patrick Rush, served from 1994 to 2005 before taking up a post as principal of the Birmingham Bible Institute. Around 2012, the chapel added a second Sunday morning service and a cafe style evening gathering. In 2015, they began a Spanish speaking congregation meeting on Saturday evenings.

The collection has been arranged into the following series:

• Accounts
• Record Books
• Photographs
• Notes
• Correspondence

The collection is open to any accredited reader.

Unknown.

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.

No accruals are expected.

Barton, Leaonard G. Bearwood Chapel: One Hundred Years of Witness, 1879-1979 (Reliance Printing Works)

Bearwood Chapel: A Brief History, https://www.bearwoodchapel.org.uk/about-us/our-history/ [accessed 24/09/2021]