The Oxendon Presbyterian Church was founded in 1737 in Great Street. It moved to Oxendon Chapel, on Oxendon Street, Haymarket, in 1808. In 1878 it moved to Haverstock Hill, at the junction of Prince of Wales Road and Maitland Park, Belsize Park, taking the name Oxendon Presbyterian Church to commemorate its previous location. It was damaged during the Second World War and was not reopened until 1957.
Saint John's Presbyterian Church, High Road, north Tottenham, was registered in 1866, three years after services had started in a lecture hall. The building had seats for 450. By 1876 Saint John's had opened a mission hall in Coleraine Park, which remained in use until 1915 and, as a Sunday school, until 1917. After the First World War the removal of many members to the outer suburbs reduced the active congregation to about 40 by 1939, when the church was accordingly closed.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 356-364.
Saint Andrew's United Reformed Church, at the corner of Finchley Road and Frognal Lane, originated as a Presbyterian church. The site was bought in 1897 and a lecture hall built by 1902. Services were held in the hall until a church of Kentish ragstone, with an imposing tower and spire, was constructed by Pite and Balfour in 1904.
Source: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington (1989), pp. 153-158.
Saint Paul's Presbyterian Church was situated in West Ferry Road, Millwall. It was founded in 1859. Saint Paul's became Millwall United Reformed Church when the Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged in 1972, however, membership was low and the church subsequently closed.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Norwich, Norfolk, was founded in 1867. The church was first situated on Theatre Street, but was badly damaged during the Second World War. It was rebuilt in 1956 on Unthank Road. The church belonged to the Presbytery of London North. In 1972 the Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged to form the United Reformed Church. Trinity United Reformed Church is still situated on Unthank Road.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Notting Hill, was situated on Kensington Park Road between Blenheim and Elgin Crescents. The first chapel on this site was built in 1862 by the Reverend Henry Marchmont, a clergyman of the Church of England who conducted ritualistic services here. This chapel was destroyed in a fire in 1867. Marchmont began to build the present church, but in 1871 he was declared bankrupt and the uncompleted carcase was sold to the congregation of Presbyterians who had hitherto met at a chapel in The Mall, Notting Hill Gate. Under these new owners the church was completed, and until 1919 was known as Trinity Presbyterian Church. By 1973 it was in undenominational use and no longer appears in the Presbyterian Church official handbook.
Source: 'The Ladbroke estate: The 1860s onwards', Survey of London: volume 37: Northern Kensington (1973), pp. 235-251.
Victoria Docks Presbyterian Church, Hack Road, West Ham, was built in 1872 by James Duncan, the sugar-refiner, to meet the needs of his Scottish workers. It was bombed early in the Second World War, and not rebuilt.
Source: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 123-141.
Shakespeare Walk Scotch Church was situated in Stoke Newington.
Saint Columba's Presbyterian Church, Prospect Hill, Walthamstow, originated in 1898 when Presbyterians took over the former Wesleyan Methodist church there. A new church was built on the site in 1906. It was almost destroyed by bombing in 1941, but services continued in improvised premises until it was rebuilt in 1957. It was closed in 1968 and demolished by 1971.
From: 'Walthamstow: Roman Catholicism, Nonconformity and Judaism', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 294-304.
South Kensington Presbyterian Church was founded in 1872, while the Belgrave Presbyterian Church was founded in 1846. In 1922 they merged to form the Emperor's Gate Presbyterian Church. In 1930 the church united with Saint John's Presbyterian Church on Scarsdale Villas which had been founded in 1862.
Park Presbyterian Church, Grosvenor Road, Highbury, was built after the Scotch congregation at Myddelton Hall, Upper Street, increased. It was one of three United Presbyterian churches in London founded with the aid of John Henderson of Renfrewshire. Later the church was part of the Presbyterian Church of England which was formed in 1876. As the district had no poor, the church supported City missions in Hoxton. The church closed in around 1950.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 101-115.
Islington Presbyterian Church was situated on River Terrace (which was later renamed Colebrooke Row). It was also known as the Scotch church. It was built in 1834 to replace a chapel in Chadwell Street, Clerkenwell, and was a member of the Presbyterian Synod of England in connexion with the Church of Scotland. It later became identified with the Free Church of Scotland, formed in 1843; and then later was part of the Presbyterian Church of England, formed in 1876. By the 1920s services were held in Saint Peter's school owing to the dilapidated condition of the church, in 1923 the members disbanded and the buildings were sold.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 101-115.
Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church was founded in 1868. In 1963 it united with the Kings Farm Congregational Church and was renamed Saint Paul's United Reformed Church on Singlewell Road, Gravesend.
Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church was situated on Southwark Park Road, Bermondsey. It began in 1873 as a preaching station. A hall was built in 1888 and a church in 1900, but it was closed by 1971.
Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church was founded in 1894. The church was built in 1896, situated on Battersea Rise, Clapham. In 1976 the Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged and the church was renamed Saint Andrew's United Reformed Church.
Saint John's Presbyterian Church was founded in 1870. The church was built in 1884 on Devonshire Road, Forest Hill. It came under the Presbytery of London South. Following the merger of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches in 1972 it became Saint John's United Reformed Church and is still situated on Devonshire Road.
The first Presbyterian worship in Maidstone took place in 1672. The Christ's Church Presbyterian Church was situated on Brewer Street and flourished between 1873 and 1881. It is possible that it subsequently closed because in 1947 a meeting was held of people interested in founding a Presbyterian congregation in Maidstone which is described as lacking a church of this denomination. Meetings were held in classrooms at Elms School, London Road and the congregation was placed under the session of Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church, Chatham, as a preaching station. A Sunday School and other societies were founded. Attempts were made to purchase land on which to construct a church, however, it was decided that the congregation was too small to support a full time preacher and in 1951 the meetings were ended.
Alexander Fletcher was born in 1787 in Perthshire and became a minister in the United Presbyterian Church in 1806. He moved to London in 1811 and was soon established as a popular preacher at the Albion Chapel, London Wall. However, in 1824 he was prosecuted in the civil courts for breach of promise. Although no verdict was reached the United Associate Synod suspended Fletcher from office. He therefore established his own chapel on Grub Street, joined by the majority of his Albion Chapel congregation. The chapel susbequently moved to a large building in Finsbury Circus - at the time, the largest chapel in London. Fletcher remained at the Finsbury Chapel for 35 years. He was reconciled with the United Presbyterian Church in 1849. He died in 1860.
Saint Mark's Presbyterian Church was founded in 1834, although a permanent church was not built until 1850. This was destroyed by enemy action in 1944. A new church was built in 1953 on Ashburnham Place, off South Street, Greenwich. The church entered into a partnership with the West Greenwich Methodist Church in 1969 and later merged with the Methodist, Congregationalist and Church of Christ churches in Greenwich to form the Greenwich United Church.
In 1879, the Presbytery purchased and occupied church buildings (now called Saint Margaret) located in Putney Park Land, which had formed the private chapel of the Granard Estate. The Church was therefore initially known as the Granard Presbyterian Church. This remained the place of worship until 1897 when the church moved to buildings on the corner of Briar Walk and Upper Richmond Road.
In 1941 a bomb destroyed all the halls and a third of the church. Rebuilding of the church and new halls was completed in 1957. In 1946 the church amalgamated with Wandsworth Presbyterian Church, Merton Road and became known as Putney and Wandsworth Presbyterian Church. In 1968 the spire was removed and the tower was capped off. At the same time, the manse which had stood next to the church was sold and replaced by a house in Fairdale Gardens.
In 1972 the church became known as Putney United Reformed Church following the union of the Congregational and Presbyterian denominations. The last service to be held took place in February 1996.
A Presbyterian congregation was first established in Wandsworth in 1871, worshipping in hired assembly rooms until their church was constructed in 1872, at Merton Road.
In 1946 the church amalgamated with Putney Presbyterian Church, Briar Walk, and became known as Putney and Wandsworth Presbyterian Church. The joint congregations worshipped at Briar Walk. In 1968 the spire was removed and the tower was capped off. At the same time, the manse which had stood next to the church was sold and replaced by a house in Fairdale Gardens.
In 1972 the church became known as Putney United Reformed Church following the union of the Congregational and Presbyterian denominations. The last service to be held took place in February 1996.
Saint Peter's Presbyterian Church, Upper Tooting, was founded in 1685. In 1972 it joined the United Reformed Church.
Cricklewood Presbyterian Church on Rondu Road was registered in 1900. It appears to have closed by 1954.
John Knox Presbyterian Church, on Stepney Way, Stepney, was founded in 1844. When the Congregational Church and the Presbyterian Church decided to amalgamate to form the new United Reformed Church in 1972, the John Knox Presbyterian Church merged with Stepney Meeting House which was also situated on Stepney Way. For a short while both buildings continued to be used for worship, but in 1976 the Stepney Meeting House building on the corner with Copley Street was sold to the John Cass Foundation for use as a school chapel.
Saint Peter's Presbyterian Church, Upper Tooting, was founded in 1685. In 1972 it joined the United Reformed Church. It is now closed.
Westbourne Grove Presbyterian Church was situated at the north end of Westbourne Grove Terrace. It was registered by the United Presbyterian Church in 1863 and, as Saint Paul's Church by the Presbyterian Church of England, 1877. In 1919 the church united with Trinity Church, Kensington Park Road, Kensington, and registered as "Bayswater Presbyterian Church (Trinity and St. Paul's)" . The Church was called Bayswater United Reformed Church from 1972.
Source: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington (1989), pp. 260-264.
Cricklewood Presbyterian Church on Rondu Road was registered in 1900. It appears to have closed by the 1970s as there is no listing for a Presbyterian church in Cricklewood in the 'Official Handbook of the Presbyterian Church of England 1971-1972'. From 1973 a Cricklewood United Reformed Church is listed in the Congregational Church Year Book.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Leytonstone Road, Maryland Point, was founded in 1863 by Andrew Black, of the United Presbyterian Church, who became the first minister (1863-1875). A hall was built in 1864 and the church itself in 1870. It was a brick and stone building in the Gothic style, with a spired angle tower. After early difficulties Trinity flourished under Alexander Jeffrey (1888-1906), the building debt being cleared and communicants numbering over 400, including many seamen. The leading layman at this period was an engine-driver, Alexander Keir. From 1906 the church was declining, and in 1941 it was closed, the members joining East Avenue church, Manor Park, which then took the name Trinity. The Leytonstone Road building, later used as a factory, was destroyed by fire in 1953. The church hall still survived, as a factory, in 1966.
From: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 123-141.
East Ham Presbyterian Church, later Trinity Presbyterian Church, East Avenue, Manor Park, originated in the 1890s, when Alexander Thompson, a Scotsman who had previously worshipped at Plashet Park Congregational church, began to hold Presbyterian meetings at his house in Victoria Avenue. With help from the Presbytery of London North a site was bought in East Avenue, and in 1900 an iron church, given by Dr. J. A. Voelker, was erected there. There were early disagreements between the local congregation, which favoured a conventional organization, and the Presbytery, which advocated mission work of the 'central hall' type. These were settled by a compromise; in 1902 Thomas G. Murray became the first minister, in 1903 a permanent church was built, and in 1905 halls were added. By 1909 the membership was 424, and during the brilliant ministry of I. Gwessin Jenkins (1910-1928) it rose to 600. Under Jenkins's successor there was a sharp decline, but the church revived after the coming in 1935 of W. Harding Jones. In 1941 the church was joined by the congregation of Trinity Presbyterian church, Maryland Point (West Ham), from which it took over the name Trinity. From 1941 to 1945 it also accommodated the members of Wakefield Street Congregational church, whose own building had been bombed.
Source: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 31-38.
In 1891 the Presbyterian Church of England acquired land at the corner of Ballards Lane and Redbourne Avenue, where a hall was opened in 1893 and registered in 1894. The church was registered in 1895. Called Saint Margaret's from 1932, the church joined with Church End Congregational Church, Victoria Avenue, in 1969 to form Union Church, Finchley Central; after the formation of the United Reformed church in 1972, it was known as Saint Margaret's United Reformed Church. The old Presbyterian church hall was still used by the united congregation in 1976 but was demolished in 1977.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate (1980), pp. 87-91.
Saint George's Presbyterian Church, Hainault Road, Leytonstone, originated in 1888, when the Reverend G. Drysdale, a retired minister living in the district, built an iron church in Wallwood Road. In 1891 the Presbytery of North London recognized this as a sanctioned charge and in 1893 a permanent building designed by William Wallace was opened in Hainault Road. It is a red-brick building with stone dressings, in the Gothic style, consisting of nave and transepts. Under William Kidd (1895-1919) a debt of £6,000 was paid off, a hall built, and membership raised from 36 to nearly 200. During the 1920s, however, the church began to decline rapidly, and in 1939 it was closed and sold to the Essex county council, which used it as a civil defence depot.
From: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 223-233.
Saint Stephen's Presbyterian Church was founded in 1896 by the Church of Scotland. It was transferred to the Presbyterian Church of England in 1921. It is possible that it merged with the local Congregational Church to form the Saint Thomas' United Reform Church, Watford.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Canonbury was situated on Church Road (later North Church Road), off Southgate Road. It originated as the Old Scots Church Meeting at Founders' Hall from 1672 and London Wall from 1764. The church moved to Islington in 1857 on the expiry of the London Wall lease. The Church and manse opened in 1858; a lecture hall was added in the 1880s. Numbers declined in the 1890s to almost nothing; although John Kerr Craig's ministry in 1899 to 1910 increased membership again. The church was closed between 1934 and 1942.
From: 'Islington: Protestant nonconformity', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 101-115.
Christ Church Presbyterian Church, Dulwich is now part of the Christ Church United Reformed Church and Methodist Church, Barry Road, Dulwich.
Saint Paul's Presbyterian Church was founded in 1900. The church was built in 1902 on Shaw's Corner, Redhill. In 1972 when the Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged Saint Paul's became a United Reformed Church.
Trinity Presbyterian Church was founded in 1875. The church was built in 1877 situated on Pendennis Road, Streatham. In 1972, when the Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged, it became the Trinity United Reformed Church.
Guildford Presbyterian Church was closed on 7 October 1956. It is possible that it is now part of the Guildford United Reformed Church.
Richmond Presbyterian Church was founded in 1876 as a preaching station. The church was built in 1885, situated on Little Green, Richmond. In 1972, when the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches merged, it became Richmond Green United Reformed Church, now situated on Quadrant Road.
Christ Church Presbyterian Church, Wallington, was founded in 1880. The church was constructed in 1887 on Woodcote Road. Following the merger of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches in 1972 it became Christ Church United Reformed Church and is now situated on Stanley Park Road.
Saint George's Presbyterian Church, Croydon, began as a temporary iron church situated on Oakfield Road. By 1865 a permanent church had been constructed. However, membership numbers dropped and the church was closed by 1940. It was used as a food store by the Oxo company during the war and was subsequently converted into a Masonic Lodge.
In 1805 part of Ranelagh House, Chelsea, was hired out by a group of Christians concerned about the 'godlessness' of the local area. They began teaching a Sunday School and, after this proved a success, began adult services with visiting preachers of various denominations. In 1814 the congregation gained a permanent minister who was a Calvinistic Methodist.
In 1818 expanding membership made it necessary to move and a chapel was built on Lower George Street, called the Ranelagh Chapel. In 1845, on the death of the Methodist minister, the church joined the English Presbyterian Church and was renamed Ranelagh Presbyterian Church. The lease on the Lower George Street chapel expired in 1866 and the church merged with a Presbyterian Mission in West Halkin Street, Belgrave Square. The name Belgrave Presbyterian Church was adopted. The church was rebuilt in 1881. In 1923 the church moved to premises in Emperor's Gate, Kensington.
Saint Mary's Presbyterian Church, Woolston, Southampton, was founded in 1874. The church was built in 1876 on Portsmouth Road. It belonged to the Presbytery of the South Coast. In 1971 the church was sharing worship with the local Congregational church although it does not seem to have joined the United Reformed Church.
Hamilton Presbyterian Church, Lewes, Sussex, began as a preaching station in around 1860. A permanent minister was found in 1864 and the church was formally constituted. It was situated on Prince Edward Road.
St Aidan's Presbyterian Church, Ealing, was built in 1922 to replace Elthorne Park Presbyterian Church, Hanwell, which had formed in 1906. The church was situated at the corner of Leybourne Avenue and St Aidan's Road and had 200 seats. Following the formation of the United Reformed Church in 1972 by the union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church of England and Wales, St Aidan's became part of the United Reformed Church. The church closed in about 1991.
Harrow Presbyterian Church was founded in Station Road, Greenhill, in 1902; services were held in a hall until Trinity Presbyterian Church, built by W. Gilbert Scott in the Gothic style, was opened in 1906.
Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church was situated on Weston Street, Norwood.
Park Presbyterian Church, Grosvenor Road, Highbury, was built after the Scotch congregation at Myddelton Hall, Upper Street, increased. It was one of three United Presbyterian churches in London founded with the aid of John Henderson of Renfrewshire. Later the church was part of the Presbyterian Church of England which was formed in 1876. As the district had no poor, the church supported City missions in Hoxton. The church closed in around 1950.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 101-115.
Crouch Hill Presbyterian Church, Holly Park, originated in an iron chapel built in the Finsbury Park area in 1873. The Holly Park site was bought with the help of Sir George Bunce. A lecture hall and vestries were built in 1876; services were held in this hall until a permanent chapel opened in 1878. A new hall seating over 500 and other rooms behind the church were begun in 1889. The church closed in 1975 and the buildings were demolished.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 101-115.
Trinity Church [East Ham Presbyterian Church], East Avenue, Manor Park, originated in the 1890s, when Alexander Thompson, a Scotsman who had previously worshipped at Plashet Park Congregational church, began to hold Presbyterian meetings at his house in Victoria Avenue. With help from the Presbytery of London North a site was bought in East Avenue, and in 1900 an iron church, given by Dr. J. A. Voelker, was erected there. There were early disagreements between the local congregation, which favoured a conventional organization, and the Presbytery, which advocated mission work of the 'central hall' type. These were settled by a compromise; in 1902 Thomas G. Murray became the first minister, in 1903 a permanent church was built, and in 1905 halls were added. By 1909 the membership was 424, and during the brilliant ministry of I. Gwessin Jenkins (1910-1928) it rose to 600. Under Jenkins's successor there was a sharp decline, but the church revived after the coming in 1935 of W. Harding Jones. In 1941 the church was joined by the congregation of Trinity Presbyterian church, Maryland Point (West Ham), from which it took over the name Trinity. From 1941 to 1945 it also accommodated the members of Wakefield Street Congregational church, whose own building had been bombed.
Source: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 31-38.
Saint James's Church, Wood Green, was formed in 1875, when the Presbyterian Church of England took over an iron chapel which had been used for four years by the Church of Scotland. There were about 100 members in 1877, when work started on a church in Green Lanes. The new building, of redbrick dressed with Bath stone, was noted for its grandeur. It seated 400 worshippers, apart from those in the galleries, but was soon extended to take 700; in 1902 it had the fourth largest congregation within the London Presbytery. In 1950 members united with Bowes Park Congregational church, whose premises they used as the United Church of Saint James-at-Bowes. The former Presbyterian church afterwards served as a warehouse and survived in 1974.
Bowes Park Congregational church began as a hall and schoolrooms, registered in 1902, at the corner of Arcadian Gardens and Wood Green High Road. A large red-brick church with stone dressings, adjoining the hall, was founded in 1909 and registered in 1912. After the congregation had united with that of Saint James's Presbyterian church in 1950, the premises became those of the United Church of Saint James-at-Bowes.
Source: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 356-364.