We have 3 Images Above Photograph(s)
Copyright of John Williams

Southgate Congregational Church (Demolished),
Southgate Street,
Gloucester, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

We believe the Church did NOT have a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded in 1732, but we understand it was closed in 1974.

Southgate Congregational Church was built on the site of St Owen's church, which was destroyed during the Civil War. It was just outside the South Gate on what is now (2010) car parking for the Docks redevelopment which is taking place.

It was known originally as Southgate Independent Chapel, founded by seceders from the jointly Presbyterian and Independent Barton Street Chapel about 1715. Their first permanent meeting house was built in 1730. This was enlarged in 1830, then rebuilt/replaced in 1849-1851. The building was of stone, with a slate roof "in the Decorated style with a gabled front having a tall five-light traceried window above the entrance; the sides are of five bays with aisles and cusped clerestory windows".

By the early 20th century, the church was having financial problems, and four tankards which had been settled on the Barton Street Chapel by James Forbes in 1702 were sold to release funds; and in 1966, James Forbes's Library was sold to Toronto University. Both of these had been brought to Southgate by the seceders from Barton Street Chapel.

In 1969, it became Southgate Congregational Church; but following the union of the Congregational, Presbyterian, and Churches of Christ to form the United Reformed Church in 1972, its congregation joined with that of the Whitefield Memorial Church in Park Road, which then became the James Forbes United Reformed Church. Two years later, in 1974, the Southgate building was closed, and in 1981, it was demolished.

Fortunately, following its closure, some of its treasures were given to the Church in Park Road, now Gloucester URC, for preservation. There is a Roll of Honour for 1914-19 War, and a Brass War Memorial to those who died, and - best of all - there is a painting of Southgate Congregational's interior, which we were fortunate enough to be able to photograph when they were on display, on one of Gloucester's heritage days.

Note: though the above history suggests the chapel would never have been Presbyterian, it seems to have been the only building which could qualify as the Presbyterian Chapel mentioned by Revd. Thomas Dudley Fosbrooke in An Original History of the City of Gloucester (1819). He says it was "in the Lower South-gate Street - the Rev. Mr. Bishop, Minister: with all the leading Charities of the city this gentleman's name is connected", citing the premises as one of eight non-conformist chapels in Gloucester at that time. [Sources: John Williams, City of Gloucester Places of Worship on Stuart Flight's "Glosgen" website, and Non-Conformist Chapels and Meeting Houses, Gloucestershire (1986)]

The inscriptions on the Roll of Honour read:

Roll of Honour The following Members of Southgate Church & Congregation Served in His Majesty's Forces During the GREAT WAR, 1914-1919
ALLEN, E.	ELLIOTT, W.E.	* MARTIN, L.
ALLEN, F.P.W.	FOSTER, E.J.	MASTERS, B.
ALLEN, S.R.	GILLETT, R.	MILES, F.
APPLEBY, D.	* GOFFIN, H.C.	MILLER, H.
BEDDOES, E.R.	GOUGH, C.H.	MILTON, J.
* BELCHER, G.	GRIFFITHS, J.	NICKALLS, N.R.
BELCHER, J.	HALFORD, F.	PAYNE, W.J.
BEYNON, J.	HAMPTON, S.	PEARSON, C.K.
BISHOP, C.W.	HAMS, F.W.	PINNELL, W.
* BISHOP, F.E.	HAYWARD, F.R.	REA, E.J.
BISHOP, W.	* HIGGS, W.F.S.	REES, A.D.
BLAND, A.A.	HOLDER, E.J.	ROBERTS, F.J.
BRETHERTON, A.A.	HOLLOWAY, A.G.	SHEARER, J.
* BRETHERTON, A.S.	* HOPKINS, J.W.	SHORROCK, E.W.
BRETHERTON, P.J.	JAMES, C.H.	STERRY, L.
BROWN, L.	* JAMES, S.F.	SURMAN, L.P.
BROWN, N.	JAMES, W.E.	* THOMAS, H.J.
BROWNING, C.	JEVITT, R.S.	TIBBITTS, J.E.
* CASWELL, C.W.	JEYNES, W.E.	WATTS, C.
* CASWELL, W.D.	JOHNS, W.	WEBLEY, T.J.
CLIFFORD, H.	JONES, R.A.	WEST, H.A.
CORNOCK, H.	KNOWLES, D.	WHITE, H.
* CULLIS, E.H.	LANDER, S.A.	WILLS, Wm.
CULLIS, R.G.	LARNER, H.	Wills, W.W.R.
CULLIS, W.H.	LENNARD, E.	WRIGHT, J.W.
* DAVIES, J.H.	* LEWIS, S.
EGERTON, H.	MANN, W.A.
St. Mary's Hall
HOOK, E.	MILLER, W.	THOMAS, F.
JENKINS, H.D.	PAYNE, W.J.	THOMAS, W.W.

An asterisk beside a name indicates "Those who made the Supreme Sacrifice". The same names appear on the Brass War Memorial, with the addition of H. LARNER, who does not have an asterisk against his name on the above list.

Denomination

Now or formerly Independent/Congregational.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church was located at OS grid reference SO8294318303. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Gloucester, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• Stuart Flight's webpages of City of Gloucester Places of Worship - part of his “Glosgen” collection which includes parish records, War Memorials, the FLIGHT database, and much more… (verified 2018-11-08)

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.