 Beeston Rylands
St Mary
History
St Mary’s, church, also known as St Mary’s Church Hall as it was a dual purpose building, was planned in response to a rise in population in the Rylands. In the 1930s 1,000 new houses were built in the area, mainly due to the nearby new Boots factory.
Beeston Parish Church PCC noted a need for a new church in the area in 1937. In 1939 the St Mary’s Church Building Fund Committee was formed. Plans for the church were suspended during the war.
In 1949 the proposed new church committee was re-elected. Designs for a new church were produced by F. A. Broadhead. However, a design by the architect Mr Woollatt of Evans, Clark and Woollatt was chosen.
The overall cost of building the church was £11,766. Funds were raised from a bequest by Miss Ada Percy, an anonymous donation of £2000, a mile of pennies and the sale of securities.
In 1951 building commenced and on 19 July 1952 the new church was opened. The Rt Rev F. Russell-Barry, Bishop of Southwell, dedicated the church on 29 October 1952.
The Beeston Gazette and Echo reported on the opening of St Mary’s:
After a series of delays occasioned by the war and its aftermath and a reduction in size from a full church to its present size, St Mary’s Church Hall, Beeston Rylands was opened by the vicar of Beeston Rev Canon J P Halet last Saturday. He said the building would be used for the Sunday school and for other Christian purposes, both social and religious.
A booklet on Beeston Parish in 1956 recorded that a 9 am service of Holy Communion was held in the church the first Sunday of every month. It also recorded the groups held in the church, which included a Women’s Fellowship, Kindergarden, Sunday School, a Parent Teacher’s Association and Brownies.
The 1963 Beeston Parish Magazine recorded that services had increased to 9 am communion and 6.30 Evensong every Sunday.
However, in the 1970s and 80s St Mary’s experienced a decline in congregation numbers. The Sunday School closed in 1971.
In 1989 the vicar of Beeston Parish produced a report on the future of St Mary’s Church Hall, Beeston Rylands. It argued that the decline of the congregation and deteriorated state of the building meant that a large investment in the church or the sale of the church building was necessary. The report noted that the average attendance at the 9 am Sunday Service was 15 people.
The last Church of England service was held in St Mary’s in 1991. It was then sold to the Elim Pentecostal Church.
It has subsequently been sold and is now in use as a Hindu Temple.
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