Fairhaven Wesleyan Methodist Church Clifton Drive / Woodlands Road Ansdell

WESLEYAN ENTERPRISE AT FAIRHAVEN:   NEW CHURCH OPENED BY MRS HINCKSMAN - Wesleyans in the Lytham circuit will remember last Sunday as a special day of thanksgiving, for on that day the work for which the circuit extension -scheme was put forward was officially finished. The circuit extension scheme was initiated to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Methodism in the Lytham circuit, and aimed at raising £15,000 for aggressive work in the circuit.

A debt of £2,000 was wiped out at Church Road, St. Anne’s, and the Drive Church, at St. Annes, was extended at a cost of £3,500. A new mission hall and schools were erected at Lytham, costing £3,000, and the erection of the Fairhaven church at a cost of £6,500, was the conclusion of the scheme. The Fairhaven church was placed last, but an earlier start than was anticipated had to be made owing to the growing and urgent needs of the district. In the four years in which the scheme has been in operation a sum of about £12,000 has been raised, leaving about £3,000 still to provide, and the opening services at Fairhaven spread over several Sundays, are expected to produce £500.

The new church is erected from designs by Mr. Arthur Brocklehurst, of Manchester, in a commanding position at the corner of Clifton Drive and Woodlands Road. The design is in Gothic of the late decorated style, the main features being a large five-light traceried window over the front double entrance doors, and a flanking side turret and massive tower, from the corners of which spring carved pinnacles. The elevations are well broken-up, which enhance the effect. The building is of Rossendale stone with Stancliffe white dressings, and the roof is of Westmorland slates. The church is cruciform, with shallow transepts and chancel.  Internally the building is spacious with a total absence of pillars, and the acoustic properties are superb. The general woodwork, including the flat ceiling, is of pitch pine, but the seating, rostrum, choir and gallery fronts are in oak. The accommodation, including the Narthex gallery, is for 500. The choir is placed in a gallery behind the rostrum, and provision has been made for an organ at the back. The windows are glazed with leaded lights of cathedral tints; and the lighting is by electricity. Spacious entrances and vestibules are provided at the front and sides of the church, and at the rear is the choir and minister's vestries, a large lecture hall, infants' room, kitchen and cloakroom. The schools will be added later. The cost of the church was about £5,500, and the contractors were Messrs. Smith Bros., Ltd,, of Burnley.

Reference    Builder 8 May 1909 Page 563
Reference    amounderness.co.uk  - newspaper cutting