Shaw & Heyside United Reformed Church
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Home» About us

About us

 

Church Secretary:

Mrs Hazel Price
e-mail: hazelurc@btinternet.com

 

A Brief History of Shaw United Reformed Church

The stone Church building on this site stood from 1893 until its’ demolition in 2013. It had been financed in the main by Miss Betty Hall, who left her job in the cotton mill following the cotton famine, and started a second hand clothes and bedding business. She bought discarded clothes and bedding in the Manchester suburbs, returning to Shaw with them, selling to the poorer people in the area. She wanted to build a Congregationalist Church in Shaw, and after renting the Co-operative Hall for Sunday services she had built a corrugated Church on the present site. This burnt down in 1897, but the adjacent stone Church had opened in 1894, and in 1898 the Sunday School building was opened. Miss Betty Hall died in 1913, after her tireless work for the church, though never holding any office save that of Sunday School teacher.

In 1931 the first female minister, Rev. Kathleen M. Hall, was appointed. She was to be closely connected to the Church for many years, though having to resign her post following her marriage to Dr. J. Hendry in 1938. She returned as Minister ten years later. In 1953 Rev. Hendry organised a meeting with other Ministers and Clergy of the town, and led to the united Whit Walks procession which still occurs today, and indeed there is a close Churches Together link in Shaw.

In 1972 after many years of discussion, union with the Presbytarian Church was eventually agreed, the new organisation becoming the United Reformed Church.

 In 1997 during a strong gale, the gable end of the Sunday School building collapsed, leading to its’ demolition in 1998. Within four years the newly built Church Hall was ready for use, the parishioners having raised £120,000.

By 2007 the original Church building was deemed to be unfit for use, so plans were put in place for an extension to the Church Hall. Many events were held to raise money for the Building Fund, but it was to be ten years before the extension was started. Attempts to sell the building came to nothing, so Building Fund money had to pay for demolition, which happened in 2013. More fund-raising events took place, and work on the new extension began in the autumn of 2017.

The Heyside URC, our sister Church, also had building issues and closed in April 2017, the congregation joining us in Shaw.

Handover of the new extension was in October 2018. Our Minister, Rev. John Piper, who had delayed his retirement for as long as he could, held his last service in July of this year. Following building concerns in their building, we were pleased to welcome members of St Paul’s Methodists to worship with us, several later deciding to take up membership of this Church. We now have a full house each Sunday, more activities are taking place, and the Guides and Brownies are now based here.

New on the site

  • No services until further notice

    We are very sorry, but due to current restrictions rising to Tier 4, your elders have made the decision not...

    January 1, 2021
  • Weekly News 20th December

    Welcome to Worship: Today: 10.45 am Led by Ian Royle Next Sunday: 10.45 am Led by Judith Haughton ________________________________________________________________________________ Dates...

    December 19, 2020
  • Weekly News 13th December

    Welcome to Worship: Today: 10.45 am Led by Norman Unsworth Next Sunday: 10.45 am Led by Ian Royle ________________________________________________________________________________ Dates...

    December 13, 2020
  • Weekly News 6th December

    Welcome to Worship: Today: 10.45 am Led by Rev Ruth Wollaston Next Sunday: 10.45 am Led by Norman Unsworth ________________________________________________________________________________...

    December 5, 2020
  • Welcome back!

    We are happy to say that we are once again able to have services at Church, but of course, subject...

    December 5, 2020
  • Services suspended

    Hello Very sorry to inform you all that due to the new restrictions all Church services are cancelled for the...

    November 6, 2020
  • Weekly News 1st November

    Welcome to Worship: Today: 10.45 am Led by Rev Ruth Wollaston Next Sunday: No Service Remembrance Sunday ________________________________________________________________________________ Dates and...

    October 31, 2020
  • Weekly News 25th October

    Welcome to Worship: Today: 10.45 am Led by Ian Royle Next Sunday: 10.45 am Led by Rev Ruth Wollaston ________________________________________________________________________________...

    October 24, 2020
  • Weekly News 18th October

    Welcome to Worship: Today: 10.45 am Led by Ken Greer Next Sunday: 10.45 am Led by Ian Royle ________________________________________________________________________________ Dates...

    October 17, 2020
  • Weekly News 11th October

    Welcome to Worship: Today: 10.45 am Led by Judith Haughton Next Sunday: 10.45 am Led by Ken Greer ________________________________________________________________________________ Dates...

    October 9, 2020
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