http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Church-furniture-pews-lights-organ-sale-/110811514904
The listing states "United Reformed Church, based in Shipley." The NPOR does not specify a URC, but does list a couple of possibilities:
Bethel Primitive Methodist Church , Windhill (Primitive Methodist Church) and
Hall Royd Methodist Church , Bingley Road, (formerly Wesleyan) (Methodist Church).
Perhaps I have missed an important clue somewhere, but I can't see anything more specific. Can anyone narrow it down please? Is the organ on the NPOR?
A search on Google reveals that Shipley United Reformed Church has recently been sold and the small photograph looks the same as that on eBay. I cannot find this lisetd on NPOR.
Hi
The Shipley URC organ is not recorded on NPOR, so if you can come up with a survey and send it in to the office, we'd be grateful - there just isn't enough time to visit even such local churches! (Shipley is about 2 miles away). N.B. URC Churches sometimes appear on NPOR as Congregational, Presbyterian or possible Independent Chapels - the United Reformed Church came into being in 1972 through a merger of English Presbyterian churches with the majority of Congregational churches (although some of the latter refrained from joining in, and still exist as Congregational churches today - a good friend of mine is a senior figure in one of the Congregational groupings).
Hall Royd Methodist is a few years away from the URC, and the two churches merged a couple of years ago. The URC building looks to be a 1960's build (but I might be wrong as I've only seen it from outside whilst driving past - on a busy road), whilst Hall Royd is Victorian in style. A few years ago I was given a packet of old papers - and in it was the programme for the opening recital on the organ at Hall Royd. Windhill is another district of Shipley - around a mile away from the URC/Hall Royd churches.
Looking at the pictures, this looks more like the Hall Royd building - I'll try and take a look next time we go that way, but I thought I'd seen "for sale" signs on the former URC building.
OTOH, there could well be/have been another URC church in Shipley!
Every Blessing
Tony
Hi
The United Reformed Church in Bradford is listed on Rightmove.co.uk as being in Saltaire, Shipley. It is listed as having just been sold, so would fit with the fittings being on ebay. However, having looked up the church on NPOR I get DO0343, and the photo's look nothing like the ones on ebay! Back to the drawing board!
Regards,
Matt.
Hi
Saltaire URC is definitely not up for sale! Apart from anything else, it's a listed building (Grade 1 IIRC), with a 3 manual organ last rebuilt by Michael Fletcher, who is also organist there. There's usually somone playing the organ on Sunday afternoons - and the church hosts a couple of organ recitals during the annual Saltaire Festival (I played one a few years back). It also has a ring of bells. It is definitely NOT the church in the eBay ads.
I'm not aware of any other URC in Saltaire (which is a world heritage site next to Shipley, built by Titus Salt for the workers in his textile mill. Well worth a visit.
I can't find this on rightmove.com - if you can send me a link to the page, I may be able to identify exactly where it is.
Every Blessing
Tony
Hi Tony
The link is http://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-34284179.html
When I saw the pictures on NPOR I realised I had the wrong end of the stick!
Regards,
Matt.
Hi
I can confirm that this is the URC Church I first mentioned. It's the more modern building - it's set back a little way from the main road on the borders of Shipley & Saltaire. The church has merged with the former Hall Royd Methodists (almost opposite) and is now known, IIRC, as Northcliffe Church.
Hope that clears up the confusion. Area boundaries and suburbs are a pain to work with - it's a constant problem on NPOR updates - especially for London area buildings - and sometimes the submitted information doesn't give a clear address - our local Parish church is sometimes referred to as "St Barnabas Bradford" when correctly it's Heaton - the district of Bradford.
Given the ethnic mix of the population in Shipley, and the number of other churches around, it's not too surprising to see yet another Local Ecumenical Partnership emerging, and yet another building closed.
Every Blessing
Tony
Hi Tony
Just as a matter of coincidence, if you're in Heaton you're only a few miles from my school, Woodhouse Grove!
Regards,
Matt.
Hi
Yes - I've driven past it a few times when we've gone that way to Harrogate.
Every Blessing
Tony