Aldershot

Until the 1850s Aldershot was a quiet village, but then began to develop as the centre of military training, reaching its peak in the first World War.

The Wesleyans built their Grosvenor Road Church, opened on 24 October 1877, and followed it with a Soldiers' Home and Hall, which served Methodist servicemen for over a century before being replaced by the Smith Dorrien Home in 1925. They also had Lynchford Road at North Camp, opened in 1880.

The Primitive Methodists opened a chapel, 'Ebeneser', at the junction of Ash Road and Herrett Street in1885. With Methodist Union in 1932 the two Methodist churches continued to serve in conjunction. In 1958 the opportunity arose to replace Ebenezer with a new 'Stone Street' church at the junction of Stone Street and Herrett Street.

By the 1990s the possibility of a single United church was considered, but Grosvenor Road, as a listed building proved too expensive to maintain. It was sold and Stone Street became the home of the united congregations, with the name of 'Aldershot Methodist Church'. With the help of a grant from the Aldershot Methodist Military Trust the premises were transformed to meet the needs of the future.

Sources
  • Rule, W.H., 'An Account of the Establishment of Wesleyan Methodism in the British Army (1883).
  • Wakins, Owen Spencer, Soldiers and Preachers Too (1906)
  • Sherwood, R.M. and Collier,M.A., Prim Aldershot (2010)

Category: Place
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