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Lye town began
in the 17th Century owning it’s origins to Romany
Squatters who settled in Lye Waste, Waste Bank, Gin Cridden,
The Dock and Careless Green. As the subsoil of the area was natural clay, the
houses were made of mud mixed with straw and stubble. An inhospitable place,
it was not unknown for strangers to be stoned! The daughter of Rev. James
Bromley, Vicar to the Parish (1845-1865) described the 5,000 inhabitants as
almost savages!
Whilst
spiritual provision was made for the inhabitants of Lye as early as 1790,
when the Unitarian
Church, led by the Rev
Scott, tried to make an impact on the inhabitants, they remained hostile
despite his best efforts. One of the disruptive tactics the locals employed
was to block the chimney of his church with grass turves, thus filling the
church with smoke and disrupting the worshippers.
The first
spiritual stirrings of the people of Lye was
probably about 1880, when Captain Wood established the Salvation Army. Wesley
Perrins suggests it was the sight of the Army
marching with flags unfurled to the martial strains of the band, which caught
the imagination of the people. Among the many converted were Charles Dickens,
Amos Perrins and Harry Dickens.
As was
customary, Captain Wood moved on after six months. His successor and
son-in-law did not meet with everyone’s approval, thus the seeds of disquiet
were sown in the hearts of some.
At about the
same time, a National Newspaper carried an advert from a Colonel Spratt, a
retired wealthy Army Captain, anxious to undertake religious work among the
poor. A Mr. Joseph Heathcock of what is now Perrins Lane,
replied and following some correspondence met Colonel Spratt at Stourbridge
Junction Station.
Colonel Spratt
opened a newly acquired and cleaned warehouse in Talbot Street for services. It was a
success and the congregation was soon joined by the discontents from the
Salvation Army including Amos Perrins, Charles
Dickens and Harry Hill. Soon new premises had to be found in Hill Street to
accommodate the growing congregation. In the winter, Colonel Spratt would
loan out blankets for the poor on the undertaking they would be returned in
the spring. He assisted young couples with articles of furniture and gave
food to the sick. In addition, he opened a Library, held mid-week services
and began a Bible Class.
This community
was divided when Colonel Spratt came increasingly under the influence of the
Plymouth Brethren from Stourbridge, who began to attend the services. Some of
the congregation could not accept the doctrines of what was
increasingly being propounded and the installation of a baptistry!
The final split came one Sunday evening in 1888 when some of the congregation
felt they detected Calvinism in Colonel Spratt’s preaching (Calvinism being
the doctrine that some people were elect and destined for heaven regardless
of how they behave) when he implied that only certain persons in the
congregation were qualified to offer views.
It must have
been a very moving scene when the dissenters got up and sang a hymn together
at the vestry door before leaving. Thus Bethel Society began. As Alfred
Wooldridge, later to become their leader, said "We are sheep without a
shepherd". They were, however, a flock who believed that salvation was
open to all, Jew, Gentile, Man, Woman, Rich, Poor.
A new meeting
place was established in Crosswalks
Road in the kitchen of the home of Mr & Mrs
Dickens, Wesley suggests.
"The
odour of the joint for Sunday dinner spinning on the jack rose like a
sacrifice of biblical times and produced a sweet savour before the
Lord".
Bethel Society
had membership cards for its members and continued to flourish. Colonel
Spratt’s church began to fail. Contact of some sort was maintained between Bethel and Colonel
Spratt because the minutes of 1895 show he was invited to address an
Anniversary Service.
The initial
organisation of the Society was to form sub-committees to deal with different
things, eventually they amalgamated into the elected committee.
In 1890 two
houses on the corner of Pump
Street and Talbot Street were purchased from a Mrs
Phillips, daughter of Thomas Perrins, for the sum
of £74. Mrs Phillips agreed to wait for her money - if the venture failed,
she would release the trustees from their obligations. The loan was repaid in
1896.
In order to
appreciate the achievement of these people, it must be remembered people
often worked from 6am to 9pm, there was no welfare state and the average wage
was 15 shillings or 75p per week. These men and women built the new premises
with their own hands as they could afford the materials aided, they said, by
prayer. No stone was left unturned, and no person uncanvassed for "money
to build the Kingdom".
7am, Sunday
18th May saw the first service in the new building.
The society
continued to grow, more space was needed yet again and Society members looked
for help which came from an unexpected quarter. Halesowen District Council
had it drawn to their attention by
the representation of Lye
that the land in front of the Chapel on the corner of Pump Street jutted out and was
dangerous. Consequently the land was sold for £150 on condition that the
Society was not disturbed until new premises were found. It was decided that
the trustees elected to manage the Pump
Street purchase would negotiate for any new land
purchased.
Eventually land
in Hill Street
was purchased. At that time Lye was being re-developed with factories being
built all around Fletcher Street
and Hill Street
the members had the foresight to buy more land than was strictly needed to
build the Chapel so that the noise of the factories would not encroach on the
members weekday worship. By persuading the public to donate, members to loan
mortgages and other members giving all they could, including one William
Westward who gave £5 he raised against the deeds of his cottage, the members
set about raising the money needed. In March 1899 Mr Owen Treeman
was invited to draw plans for the new Chapel and on 24 May 1899 accepted a
tender from Mr Thomas Green of £380 to build the new Chapel. Much of the
work, again, being done by the members own hands.
On
2 April 1900 the new Chapel opened.
The lesson was Acts 4:19-21.
The County
Express records the
event. The final cost was £600. Mr Alfred Wooldridge, addressing the
congregation, admitted that they had encountered many difficulties but they
had surmounted them, having raised £350 they were still £250 in debt. It must have been a burden to these men “who
had received the truth and felt constrained to give utterance to the faith
that was in them”. (County Express 7 April 1900)
A
tea for 200 followed, provided by the ladies of the congregation. The evening service was led by Rev. G E
Rodman, who prayed that the Holy Spirit present at Bethel’s “housewarming” would add a glow to
the many meetings to follow. God’s
blessing was asked for, to an accompaniment of cheers.
A
fact the County
Express omitted to
mention was that the varnish on the benches was still wet at the afternoon
service and as the congregation rose, many found they were adhered to the
bench! Rumour has it compensation was
paid!
In
1919, plans were drawn for a brick Founders Hall but were abandoned due to
cost. Instead, members accepted the offer
of an army hut kindly transported to Bethel
by Evesons Works.
This is still fondly known as “The Hut”. 1926 saw fund-raising to provide heaters
for the tin hut, which accommodated up to 180 young scholars every Sunday. 1933 heralded the installation of electric
lights. In 1937 the committee decided
to install Choir Stalls and Pulpit in front of the organ to compliment the
new arch and give “a pleasing effect”.
Committee notes of 1939 show members approved the purchase of 50 yards
of black material to make blackout curtains.
Both wars saw many of Bethel’s
young men called to service. Old
newsletters and local people show Bethel was a
very lively place, the Tennis Cup bears witness and people still speak of the
Bethel
dances! After the War, when young
people got married there were no new homes in Lye and many were forced to
move out of the area, thus a slow decline in membership ensued.
During the 1980’s, membership began to grow to
the church we know today. In 1989 the
Committee appointed Bethel’s
first ever Pastor, Jill Berry. 1991
saw the opening of the new extension including a new kitchen and toilets
after several years of fund-raising.
2002 saw the opening of the purpose-built brick building with four
rooms and storage space which replaced the hut that had been home to so many
outreach activities for so many years.
The new facilities helped provide a much better and welcoming
environment for the ever-growing number of community activities offered by Bethel. Currently on offer is the Little Acorns
parent & toddler group, Little Lambs Pre-School Centre, One Way
children’s club, Waterhole youth club, Cornerstone senior citizens luncheon
and Feeling Good diet, exercise and well-being club. In addition the facilities are used by
other community groups whom Bethel
is delighted to welcome.
The word Bethel
is Hebrew for House of God, and the Christians who call themselves ‘the
church that meets at Bethel’
continue to worship, work and witness so that the Good News of Jesus can be
constantly on offer to the community it serves.
Perhaps the thing that stands out most about the
founders of Bethel
is that they were men and women of God who practised as well as professed
their Christian faith. They were not
professional people but as the trust deeds show, they were nail makers, a rag
and bone man, a brickyard labourer. These ordinary, humble people shared a
vision. They did not turn back when
they met an obstacle on their path, but with prayer and united in their
purpose to share the hope the Christian offers with the people of Lye, they
surmounted it. They continued their
walk with God all the days of their life, inspiring and impressing all those
they met on their way.
Report
compiled by Val Woodhouse
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