Canvey Island Methodist Church
Canvey Island Methodist Church
Canvey Island Methodist Church on Waarden Road is a mid-twentieth-century circuit church, built after the Second World War on land given for a new society on the island.
- Location
- Canvey Island, Essex
- Country
- England
- County
- Essex
- City / town
- Canvey Island
- Address
- Waarden Road, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 9AB
- Postcode
- SS8 9AB
- Built
- First building opened 21 November 1953; larger sanctuary opened 11 June 1960; extended 1976 and refurbished 1996
- Architect
- Cyril Downer (surveyor for the original scheme)
- Denomination
- Methodist Church
- Parish
- Southend and Leigh Methodist Circuit
- Style
- Mid-20th-century dual-purpose Methodist church
- Opening hours
- There are twice weekly coffee mornings held on Wednesday mornings at 10.30am to 12noon and Saturday mornings, also between 10.30am and 12noon. Coffee and biscuits, (and occasionally home made cakes) are served in the church foyer. Everyone is welcome to these events so come along and enjoy a conversation or two.
- Access
- Accessible toilets in church. Level access throughout. Level access to the main areas. Ramp or level access available on request
Overview
The church's own history records that after the war a group began Sunday worship in a local cafe. George Brittain, who also gave a site at New Thundersley, donated land in Waarden Road. Plans were prepared by Cyril Downer. Building-licence restrictions delayed the scheme; a post-setting ceremony for the fence was held on 1 July 1951. National Churches Trust notes that the first small church opened on 21 November 1953, after the 1953 North Sea flood. As the congregation grew, a larger sanctuary opened on 11 June 1960 beside the original building, which became the hall. The 1960s church was a dual-purpose room with a sanctuary at one end and a stage at the other.
A rear extension was added in 1976. A full refurbishment in 1996 extended the front and back of the sanctuary, adding a foyer, an upper meeting room, stores and a kitchen serving both halls. The building is not on the National Heritage List for England. Coffee mornings are held on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.