Berkshire Record Office Collections

DN14 - Records of Woodley Congregational Church (formerly Independent, later URC)

Catalogue Reference	D/N14
Title	Records of Woodley Congregational Church (formerly Independent, later URC)
Description	[For more information about the records in this collection please contact Berkshire Record Office.] Summary CHURCH ADMINISTRATION : church meeting minutes, 1874-1982 ; church diaries, 1975-1981. DEACONS : minutes, 1956-1961 (gaps), 1963-1972. ELDERS : minutes, 1972-1981. TREASURER : accounts, 1936-1976. CHURCH ORGANISATIONS : Sunday School teachers' meeting minutes, 1954-1975. REGISTRATION AND MEMBERSHIP : baptisms, 1875-1969 ; marriages, 1952-1962 ; burials, 1875-1905, 1953-1969 ; membership registers, c.1912-1935, 1963-1980 ; miscellaneous, 1874-1935.
Date	1874-1981
Repository	Berkshire Record Office (code: GB 005)
Level	Fonds
Extent	20 vols, 1 bdl
Admin History	Woodley Congregational Church was established in 1834 as an Independent congregation served by ministers from the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion. It was Congregational by 1874, when there was an administrative reorganisation, including the establishment of a committee of management. Earlier records do not appear to survive. A further reorganisation took place in 1887, including the [re-] establishment of a board of management and appointment of various officers. A day school was run in the schoolrooms adjoining the chapel. The church never had its own minister, being served by the ministers of nearby Congregational Churches. In the early twentieth century it is described as a daughter-church of Castle Street Congregational Church, Reading (see D/N 9). From 1963, it was joined with Twyford Congregational Church (see D/N 13) under a joint pastorate. Both churches joined the United Reformed Church in 1972. In 1982 Woodley URC united with Woodley Methodist Church (D/MS 84), moving to the Methodist church building. The old church building was sold.
Acquisition	Deposited in September 1987 (acc. 4095)
Arrangement	Classification scheme: Non-conformist churches [This scheme shows how the collection is arranged. This collection does not include every type of record in the scheme. See the summary for records included in this collection.] 1 Church administration 1/1 Church book 1/2 Church meeting minutes 1/3 General correspondence & administrative files 1/4 Papers presented to Church meeting 1/5 Miscellaneous 2 Deacons 2/1 Minutes 2/2 Miscellaneous 3 Elders 3/1 Minutes 3/2 Miscellaneous 4 Committees 4/1 Minutes 4/2 Miscellaneous 5 Treasurer 5/1 Accounts 5/2 Statements of accounts 5/3 Miscellaneous 6 Property records 6/1 Trustees minutes 6/2 Title deeds 6/3 Fabric papers 6/4 Accounts 6/5 Miscellaneous 7 Church Organisations 7/1 Sunday School 7/2 Others 8 Registration and membership 8/1 Registers 8/2 Membership registers and lists 8/3 Miscellaneous 9 Service of the Church 9/1 Service registers 9/2 Orders of service 9/3 Miscellaneous 10 Minister 11 Charities 11/1 General or united charities 11/2 Specific named charities 12 Publications 12/1 Magazines 12/2 Miscellaneous 13 Other bodies 14 Miscellaneous
Related Material	Records in other collections D/N25/1/2/3: Congregational Union correspondence, 1957-1982 D/N 53/12/1/14-26: Church magazines, 1969-1981. D/N 53/13/1/1: Park, Twyford and Woodley Group Council, Diaconate and Elders' minutes, 1963-1979. D/N 53/13/1/2: Order of service: ordination of minister, 1963.

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