The Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart is
on the eastern side of Richmond Hill, opposite the Norfolk Royale.
Bournemouth had by 1861 become well established, particularly as a
winter resort for invalids who were attracted by the mild climate
and the beauty of the surroundings. During 1870 a site on Richmond
Hill was obtained on which a temporary church was built. This was
later replaced by the Sacred Heart Church, opened by the bishop of
Southwark on 5 February 1875.
Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation meets at
the western end of Wootton Gardens. The congregation was founded in
1905 when meetings in temporary accommodation were held. In 1911,
the synagogue was founded in a barrel-vault design, with the Ladies
Gallery separated in the Ashkenazi tradition. In 1961, the synagogue
was completely rebuilt, with a foundation stone being laid on 5 January.
The new building accommodated 900 and reopened in 1964.
St Raphael Liberal Catholic Church is a
modest building on the eastern side of Wootton Gardens, near the
connection to Old Christchurch Road. Liberal Catholicism is a distinct
Christian movement, separate from both Roman Catholicism and
Protestantism. The Liberal Catholic Church came into being as a result
of the 1916 reorganisation of the Old Catholic Church in Britain, which
derived its orders from the Old Catholic archiepiscopal see of Utrecht
in Holland.
Mount Zion Baptist Chapel stood on the
northern side of Wotton Mount, immediately to the east of the Liberal
Catholic Church (which can be seen at the foot of the photo). Probably
Victorian or Edwardian in its construction, by 2007 the church had been
closed and the building was up for sale. It was demolished in 2009 for
private building construction. The work was completed in 2010, and the
only photographic evidence of the church's existence is this aerial shot.
Bournemouth Spiritualist Church (Healing
Sanctuary) stands on the northern side of Bath Road, near the
roundabout at the south-west end of the street. Its beginnings date
to Mr John Walker and three friends who, in 1905, began meetings in
a small studio now occupied by the Charminster Road Post Office. They
moved three times until they discovered the house known as Streate Place,
10 Bath Road, which had been a doctor's house, opening a church there in
1924.
Bournemouth Central Christadelphian Church
is on the north side of Bath Road, very close to the roundabout, with Old
Christchurch Road behind it. The Christadelphians (the name means
Brothers in Christ) moved here in the 1970s, by which time the
building was already designated a church (even though it was
originally a restaurant/dance hall). As it was marked on maps as
such, the name remained, despite other Christadelphian buildings
usually being termed halls.
Lansdowne Baptist Church sits on the eastern
side of Lansdowne Road, midway between Lansdowne Crescent and Oxford Road.
The church was designed by a Mr Creeke and opened for worship on 18 July
1876, the foundation stone having been laid in November of the previous
year by Sir Morton Peto. It was built with a stone facing, but this probably
covers a brick structure. Also termed an Evangelical church, its first
minister was the Reverend H C Leonard.
St Swithun's Church occupies the triangle formed
by Manor Road and the two sides of Gervis Road. The Grade B listed church
was apparently built in stages, to serve central Bournemouth's growing
population. The chancel was completed in 1876-1878, and the nave in 1891,
with the design being supplied by R Norman Shaw. The walls are coursed rubble
with stone dressings. The nave is a wide single span, on foundations intended
for aisles. The flanks have buttresses.
Falling congregations after the Second World War led to
St Swithun's being closed at the end of the twentieth century. The building
was taken over by Bournemouth Family Church, which itself temporarily
relocated to a former B&Q store nearby while building work was carried
out. By 2010 the church was serving as a centre for the Citygate Church,
a Newfrontiers evangelical body which had its main office on Palmerston Road
(the old B&Q was demolished).
East Cliff United Reformed Church occupies the
south-eastern corner of Holdenhurst Road and St Swithun's Road, opposite
the town's main bus station. The Grade II listed building was constructed
in 1878-1879 as a Congregational church with a Sunday School attached (now
closed). The design was by Kemp Welch and Pinder, with additions made in
1889-1891 by Lawson and Donkin. It is of grey-buff brick with stone dressings
and a concrete tile roof.
Six photos on this page kindly contributed by M Kessler, and
two photos licensed for re-use under a Creative Commons Licence by Chris
Downer at Geograph British Isles. Additional information provided
Richard Bayly.
