A tin tabernacle, also known as an iron church,[1] is a type of prefabricated ecclesiastical building made from corrugated galvanised iron. They were developed in the mid-19th century initially in the United Kingdom. Corrugated iron was first used for roofing in London in 1829 by civil engineer Henry Robinson Palmer, and the patent was later sold to Richard Walker who advertised "portable buildings for export" in 1832. The technology for producing the corrugated sheets improved, and to prevent corrosion, the sheets were galvanised with a coating of zinc, a process developed by Stanislas Sorel in Paris in the 1830s. After 1850, many types of prefabricated buildings were produced, including churches, chapels and mission halls.
The Industrial Revolution was a time of great population expansion and movement in Europe. Towns and cities expanded as the workforce moved into the new industrial areas resulting in the building of more than 4,000 churches during the mid 19th century and an upsurge of nonconformism led to a demand for even more buildings. The Church of England, influenced by Pugin, the Cambridge Camden Society and John Ruskin, was initially sceptical about corrugated iron buildings. However, manufacturers found other markets, notably in the colonies of the British Empire where 19 such churches were erected in Melbourne, Australia alone by 1851. A 65feetby40feetft (byft) church built entirely of cast and wrought iron clad in corrugated iron was built in Jamaica at a cost of £1,000. William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement, wrote a pamphlet in 1890 decrying the construction of corrugated iron buildings "that were spreading like a pestilence over the country."[2] Churches, chapels and mission halls were built in new industrial areas, pit villages, near railway works and in more isolated rural and coastal locations. Landowners or employers frequently donated plots of land and sometimes donated the cost of the building, although many were funded by public subscription. The 3rd Marquess of Bute provided the first Roman Catholic cathedral to be erected in Oban in 1886. It was lavishly decorated and furnished and lasted for 50 years until it was replaced.
Early tin churches were easily erected, but at an average cost of between £2 and £4 per sitting, were expensive. St Mark's Church in Birkenhead, built in 1867, cost more than £2,000 for 500 seats. Prices decreased to almost £1 per sitting towards the end of the century. David Rowell & Co's 1901 catalogue advertised a church to seat 400 persons, delivered to the nearest railway station and erected on the purchaser's foundation, at a cost of £360. Isaac Dixon's 1896 catalogue mentioned the company had supplied nearly 150 churches over the previous ten years and the price had dropped from 35 shillings to 20 shillings (£1.75 to £1) per sitting plus the cost of foundations, heating and lighting which could add another £70 for a church to seat 200.
Several tin tabernacles survive as places of worship; some have listed building status and some have been converted to other uses. Some redundant chapels have been moved to museums for preservation. St Chad's Mission Church was moved from near Telford to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust's Blists Hill Victorian Town in Shropshire, while St Saviour's Church from Westhouses in Derbyshire may be seen at the Midland Railway Centre's Swanwick Junction site. St Margaret's Church from South Wonston, near Winchester, Hampshire, is now located at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in West Sussex.[3]
Several firms, such as David Rowell & Co., Humphrey's and Frederick Braby in London, Isaac Dixon and Co and Francis Morton in Liverpool, E T Bellhouse in Manchester and A & J Main & Co of Glasgow manufactured a range of iron buildings that included houses, village halls, sports pavilions, warehouses, hospital wards, chapels and churches. Many of their products were exported to Canada, Africa, and to California and Australia during the gold rushes. Other manufacturers of corrugated iron churches in Glasgow included Braby & Company and R. R. Speirs who supplied 75 churches between 1908 and 1914. Corrugated iron buildings were exhibited at the Great Exhibition in 1851. Isaac Dixon's 1874 catalogue was aimed at the landed gentry, railway proprietors and shippers while Francis Morton's company had a dedicated church building department and its 1879 catalogue reported nearly 70 churches, chapels and school houses built in the United Kingdom.
| Name | Location | Photograph | Denomination | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Addiscombe Baptist Church | Addiscombe, London 51.3839°N -0.0775°W | Baptist | A site for the church was bought for £550 and a 264-capacity tin tabernacle was erected in December 1901.[4] | ||
| Ashington Mission Church | Ashington, Wimborne | The Ashington Mission Church was built in 1900 on land leased from the Canford Estate.[5] Yet after years of disuse was converted into a 3 bedroom house. | |||
| St John's Church | Adlington, Cheshire 53.3195°N -2.1137°W | Anglican | St John's Church was built in 1892 and continues in active use as an Anglican mission church to St Peter's Church, Prestbury. | ||
| Mission Church | Alhampton, Somerset 51.1098°N -2.5327°W | Anglican | The church was built in 1892 at a cost of £250; it seats 55 people. It continues in active use as a mission church to St Mary Magdalene, Ditcheat. | ||
| Areley Kings Methodist Church | Areley Kings, Worcestershire 52.3251°N -2.2924°W | Methodist | Located at Astley Cross in the village of Areley Kings, and registered for worship in November 1905 with the name Wesleyan Mission Hall, this tin tabernacle was built in 1905 and remains in use as a Methodist church with one service each Sunday. It is in the Kidderminster and Stourport Circuit.[6] | ||
| Free Church Mission Hall | Ashtead, Surrey 51.3135°N -0.3102°W | None (formerly Baptist) | Ashtead's first Baptist church was opened in 1895[7] and appears in that year's Ordnance Survey map as a mission hall.[8] A new church superseded it in 1924, but the building survives and is used by the Epsom and Ewell Conservative Association.[9] | ||
| St Felix Chapel | Babingley, Norfolk 52.8089°N 0.4839°W | British Orthodox Church (formerly Anglican) | St Felix Chapel is a thatched, cruciform tin tabernacle. It was erected in 1880 and was at one time an Anglican parish church. It was made redundant by the Church of England and is used by the British Orthodox Church. | ||
| Catholic church of St Vincent de Paul | Barnwell, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire 52.215°N 0.168°W | Roman Catholic | Originally part of the First Eastern General Hospital, Cambridge. After World War I it was moved to the rectory garden of the church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs and named Houghton Hall. In 1939 it became St Laurence's Church, Chesterton. Following the opening of the new St Laurence's Church in 1958, the tin tabernacle was moved to its present site and became the Church of St Vincent de Paul.[10] | ||
| Bartley Tin Church | Bartley, Hampshire 50.9091°N -1.5544°W | None(formerly Anglican) | The church was built in 1900 and continued in use as an Anglican church until 1992. In 1998 it was sold by the Diocese of Winchester to the local community, who have developed it into a village hall. | ||
| Oldfield Park Methodist Church (*) | Bath, Somerset | (formerly Methodist) | Built in about 1892, Oldfield Park Methodist Church closed in 2009. | ||
| Church of the Ascension | Bedmond, Hertfordshire 51.723°N -0.4108°W | Anglican | The Church of the Ascension was built in 1880 at a cost of £80. A copper-coated steeple was added in 2005. It continues as an active church in the parish of St Lawrence, Abbots Langley, and has Grade II listed status. | ||
| St Peter's Church | Beech, Hampshire 51.1443°N -1.0119°W | Anglican | St Peter's is part of the four-church Anglican Parish of the Resurrection serving Alton, Beech and Holybourne. Cdr du Santoy Anstis donated the land and erected the tin tabernacle in 1902. Its bell came from a ship he commanded.[11] | ||
| Christ Church (Blackgang Mission) | Blackgang, Isle of Wight 50.5948°N -1.3168°W | None(formerly Baptist) | The chapel opened in 1895 in the hamlet of Blackgang within Chale parish and was registered for marriages in July 1900, replacing an earlier mission hall. In 1912 it was described as undenominational. It is now used as a holiday cottage.[12] | ||
| St Barnabas' Church | Blackwater, Isle of Wight 50.6751°N -1.2835°W | None(formerly Anglican) | St Barnabas' Church is now used by a retail business. It was erected in the late 19th century as a chapel of ease in the parish of St George's Church, Arreton, but became redundant in the late 20th century.[13] | ||
| Blennerhasset Evangelical Mission | Blennerhasset, Cumbria 54.7612°N -3.2799°W | Evangelical | In 2007 weekly services were held on Sundays and prayer meetings and bible study on Wednesdays.[14] Today the church has a weekly meeting at 6.15 every Sunday.[15] | ||
| St Matthew's Church (*) | Boultham, Lincoln 53.2206°N -0.5532°W | None(formerly Anglican) | St Matthew's was created as a chapel of ease to St Helen's, Boultham, in 1912, to serve workers in local factories. It was extended in 1924 but was later closed, damaged by fire and has since been demolished. | ||
| Shaftesbury Hall | Bowes Park, London 51.6071°N -0.121°W | None(formerly Baptist) | The hall was built in 1885 as a chapel for railway workers next to Bowes Park railway station. It also became the nucleus of Bounds Green Board School, with lessons held there in the 1880s. As of 2011 the hall, in Herbert Road, is owned by the Samaritans. Plans have been submitted for the development of the site, but are opposed by local residents.[16] | ||
| Church in the Woods | Bramdean Common, Hampshire 51.0589°N -1.0998°W | Anglican | This tin tabernacle was erected in the middle of a wood at Bramdean Common. It was built in 1883 at the expense of Rev. A.C. Bishop of Bramdean for "the commoners, charcoal burners and itinerant gypsies who seasonally occupied Bramdean Common". Services are held twice a month in the summer.[17] | ||
| All Saints' Church | Brokerswood, Wiltshire 51.2685°N -2.2348°W | Anglican | All Saints' Church was originally built in Southwick to replace an iron church that had been destroyed by fire in 1897. In 1905 it was moved to Brokerswood. It was restored in the 1990s and remains in active use. The church was listed at Grade II in January 2014. | ||
| St Mary's Church | Burgh Parva, Melton Constable, Norfolk 52.8607°N 1.034°W | Anglican | St Mary's was built in 1903 in the churchyard of an abandoned medieval church to serve as the parish church of Melton Constable. It continues in active use, its benefice being united with those of three other local churches. | ||
| Former Railway Mission | Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk 52.2539°N -0.7138°W | Seventh-Day Adventist (formerly Anglican) | A Railway Mission by Bury St Edmunds railway station was opened for railway workers who raised money to build it in 1900. The chapel was supplied by Boulton and Paul from Norwich and with furniture and fittings cost £317 7s 7d it is now used as a Seventh-day Adventist Church. | ||
| St Mary's Church | Cadgwith, Cornwall 49.9877°N -5.1806°W | Anglican | St Mary's Church is situated on a footpath in the valley between the car park and the village centre. It was built in 1898 as a mission church for the village fishermen. It is a chapel of ease to St Rumon, the parish church of Ruan Minor, and a service is held monthly.[18] [19] Largely unaltered, it was Grade II-listed in February 2024. | ||
| Old St Columba's Church (*) | Catisfield, Fareham, Hampshire 50.8532°N -1.224°W | (formerly Anglican) | The original St Columba's Church was built in 1891 as a mission church to Holy Trinity, Fareham. It continued in active use until 1993 when it became redundant. It was then used as a youth club before it was demolished in the 1990s. The photograph shows the building in 1991. | ||
| St Aidan's Church | Caythorpe, Nottinghamshire 53.004°N -0.9789°W | Anglican | St Aidan's Church opened in 1900 as a chapel of ease to St Mary's Church, Lowdham, four miles distant. It remains in active use as part of Lowdham parish. It may have been built by C. Kent, who was responsible for putting up several tin tabernacles in this part of Nottinghamshire. The church cost £250 (the land was given free by a local family) and was opened and dedicated on 8 March 1900 by George Ridding, Bishop of Southwell. Considerable structural work was undertaken in 1992.[20] It was Grade II-listed in July 2022. | ||
| Sealand Road URC | Chester, Cheshire 53.1944°N -2.9004°W | (formerly United Reformed Church) | The church was built in 1909 and closed for worship in May 2011. It has been converted for use as a holiday cottage. | ||
| St Saviour's Church | Chiddingstone Causeway, Kent 51.1986°N 0.1715°W | None(formerly Anglican) | This was built in about 1875 to serve the village. When a large stone-built church, St Luke's, was erected next to it, the building became surplus to requirements and was moved further along the road to serve as the village hall—a function it has had since about 1902. | ||
| Chilworth Mission Church | Chilworth, Surrey 51.2135°N -0.5374°W | None(formerly Anglican) | This tin tabernacle was erected in the centre of Chilworth in 1896. It was linked with the parish church of Shalford, although it was in the parish of St Martha's.[21] When St Thomas's Church opened the iron building became the village hall.[22] | ||
| Clara Vale Methodist Church | Clara Vale, Tyne and Wear 54.9782°N -1.7923°W | Methodist | An inscription dates the church to 1908. Tyne and Wear HER(12045): Clara Vale, Methodist Church. The hall, originally a Methodist Sunday School, is built in corrugated iron with a porch and is painted green[23] | ||
| St Hugh's | Cockernhoe, Hertfordshire 51.899°N -0.3644°W | Anglican | St Hugh's, in the parish of St Francis, Luton with St Hugh, Cockernhoe, was erected as a temporary structure in 1904. One side has been replaced and pews from St Francis installed. The church hosts a carol service, a service on Easter Sunday and the local primary school use it for a monthly service. | ||
| St Andrew's Mission Church | Crabtree, Burscough, Lancashire 53.6044°N -2.865°W | Anglican | St Andrew's Mission Church continues in active use as a mission church in the parish of Burscough. | ||
| St Barbara's Church | Deepcut Barracks, Surrey 51.3062°N -0.7048°W | Anglican | St Barbara's Church was built at the barracks in 1901 dedicated to St Michael and All Angels. It is now dedicated to St Barbara and remains in use by the barracks and local community. A Grade II listed building, it is "a good and relatively ambitious example" of a tin tabernacle, possibly a Humphrey's of Croydon design. There are several stained glass windows of various dates. The church exterior features in the 2015 film representing a church in Kentucky, USA.[24] | ||
| St Saviour's Church | Dottery, Dorset 50.7535°N -2.7693°W | Anglican | St Saviour's Church was built in 1881–82 and continues to serve the small hamlet of Dottery.[25] [26] | ||
| Edge End Methodist Church | Edge End, Gloucestershire 51.8168°N -2.5904°W | Methodist | Located in a hamlet in the Forest of Dean Edge End Methodist Church is a tin tabernacle in its natural habitat. | ||
| Edithmead church | Edithmead, Somerset 51.239°N -2.9637°W | Anglican | The church was constructed in East Brent as an adult school at the end of the First World War in 1918, and moved to Edithmead in Burnham Without in 1919.[27] [28] | ||
| Glyn Hall | Ewell, Surrey 51.3491°N -0.2485°W | None (formerly Open Brethren) | This was originally registered for use by Open Brethren until their permanent building, Staneway Chapel, was opened in 1955.[29] Today it is a community venue used by a variety of groups and individuals without any religious connection. | ||
| St Saviour's Church | Faversham, Kent 51.3143°N 0.8973°W | None(formerly Anglican) | St Saviour's Church was built in 1885 as a mission church for the parish church. It has a cruciform plan, bellcote and spire and was elaborately decorated. It is a Grade II listed building. It is now in use as a private dwelling.[30] | ||
| Main Street Community Church | Frodsham, Cheshire 53.2947°N -2.7291°W | Evangelical (formerly Anglican) | St Dunstan's Church cost £600 and opened with 230 seats in 1872 as a chapel of ease to the parish church. It was licensed as the parish church for two years from 1880 while St Laurence's Church was refurbished and retained as a mission church after that. After some years of disuse the building was taken over by the present evangelical congregation in the 1980s. The structure was moved on rollers ten feet to the left and refurbished in 1995 and acquired its current name in 2007. | ||
| Golden Green Mission Church | Golden Green, Kent 51.21°N 0.3431°W | Anglican | This green-painted building has a chancel and nave under a single-pitched roof. It was erected in about 1914 to serve a tiny hamlet near Hadlow in the Kentish Weald. An extension was added later in complementary style. The chapel was listed at Grade II in 1990. | ||
| St Francis's Church | Gosport, Hampshire 50.7826°N -1.1339°W | Anglican | St Francis's Church is one of three within the parish of St Mary, Alverstoke. It serves the Clayhall area in the south-east of Gosport. Erected in 1905 to house the church institute, it was converted into a church in 1960–61.[31] | ||
| Urswick United Reformed Church | Great Urswick, Cumbria 54.1625°N -3.1193°W | United Reformed Church (formerly Church of Christ) | The plot of land was purchased in 1914 and the church was built on 22 April 1915. The total cost was £13.19s.4d. A full body immersion font remains under the Communion table platform; it was still used regularly until about 1970.[32] | ||
| Seventh Day Baptist Church | Greet, Birmingham 52.4548°N -1.8573°W | Baptist | The Seventh Day Baptist Church is in active use. | ||
| Gate House Baptist Chapel | Hadlow Down, East Sussex 51.0013°N 0.1747°W | Baptist | Henry Donkin moved to the village in 1885 and founded this mission room ("the Tin Heaven") on his land soon afterwards. It was moved nearer the village centre in 1907 and was registered for marriages in 1918. It became a full-time chapel in 1922 but closed after incumbent pastor's death in 1940, after which the building became a canteen then commercial premises. | ||
| Evangelical Church | Haggerston, Hackney, London 51.5389°N -0.065°W | Evangelical (formerly Presbyterian) | Haggerston's iron church was built in 1868. Originally clad in corrugated iron, it has been re-clad in asbestos sheeting. It is described as "An early, rare and complete example of a temporary iron Mission Church", and is listed at Grade II. The | ||
| Halse Mission Church | Halse, Northamptonshire 52.0586°N -1.1751°W | Anglican | Built in the late 19th century as a community room for railway workers, Halse Mission Church was bought by the Earl of Ellesmere and moved to its present site. It opened for worship in 1900 and continues in use as a mission church in the parish of St Peter with St James, Brackley. | ||
| St Philip's Church | Hassall Green, Cheshire 53.1208°N -2.3336°W | Anglican | St Philip's Church originated in 1883 as St Mary's Church, Alsager, and was moved to its present site at Hassall Green in 1895. It continues in use as an Anglican church in the benefice of Sandbach Heath with Wheelock. | ||
| Hazeleigh Church (*) | Hazeleigh, Essex | (formerly Anglican) | The iron church was erected in the late 19th century by the rector, the Rev William Stuart, M.A., because the original parish church had become dilapidated and was far from the centre of the village. Both churches were demolished in the 20th century and Hazeleigh now forms part of the parish of Woodham Mortimer.[33] [34] | ||
| Heathrow Chapel (*) | Heathrow, Middlesex | (formerly Baptist) | A tin mission hall was built by Sipson Baptist Church on the east side of Cain's Lane in 1901to serve hamlet's rural population. The chapel was demolished in 1944 when Heathrow Airport was constructed.[35] | ||
| Pentecostal Mission Hall | Hermitage, Southbourne, West Sussex 50.8436°N -0.9275°W | Pentecostal | This abandoned tin tabernacle is on the road leading to Thorney Island. It was used by a group of Pentecostal worshippers who originally met at a house on the same road. The building was acquired second-hand from Selsey, where it was in secular use, taken apart and transported to Hermitage, where it was rebuilt on a site where a footpath leaves Thorney Road. | ||
| St Peter's Church | High Salvington, West Sussex 50.8485°N -0.4081°W | Anglican | The vicar of St Symphorian's Church at Durrington paid for this tin tabernacle to be erected in High Salvington in 1928. It was part of that church's parish between 1951 and 2010—since when it has been linked to All Saints Church at Findon Valley—and is Worthing's only iron church.[36] [37] | ||
| Good Shepherd Mission | Hurlston Green, Scarisbrick, Lancashire 53.5968°N -2.909°W | Anglican | The Good Shepherd Mission was built in 1907, having been delivered via the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It continues to be an active mission church in the parish of St Mark, Scarisbrick. | ||
| St Michael and All Angels' Church | Hythe, Kent 51.0698°N 1.0822°W | Anglican | St Michael and All Angels' Church is a Grade II listed building built in 1893. It is a pre-fabricated structure supplied by Humphrey's of Croydon. Its exterior walls and roof are made of corrugated iron on a steel frame. The interior is boarded throughout and the church has wooden window frames. | ||
| Kilburn tin tabernacle | Kilburn, London 51.5362°N -0.1923°W | None(formerly Congregational) | This was built by James Bailey in 1863, and used for worship until the 1920s, when it was used by sea cadets. In 2010 there was a campaign to repair and restore it. It is a Grade II listed building.[38] | ||
| Knowle Mission Room | Knowle, Shropshire 52.3632°N -2.5925°W | Anglican | This is an Anglican mission hall within the Tenbury Team Ministry. | ||
| St Stephen-on-the-Downs Church (*) | Langley Vale, Epsom, Surrey | (formerly Anglican) | This outlying part of the parish of St Martin's Church, Epsom was provided with a tin tabernacle dedicated to St Stephen in 1919. A new church with the same dedication was built next to in the early 1960s and was consecrated on 17 December 1961, and the tin tabernacle was demolished.[39] | ||
| Community of Christ (known locally as the "Little Blue Church" and sometimes as the "Iron Church"), Leicester | Leicester 52.6596°N -1.1333°W | Originally Anglican. Now Community of Christ (formerly called Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, (RLDS)) | Originally a Mission Church associated with St Peter's Parish Church, Belgrave.[40] Following a period of secular use, the building has been used since 1977 by the RLDS (now called Community of Christ), a community that has had a Leicester congregation since 1891.[41] Location: 330 Abbey Lane, Leicester LE4 2AB | ||
| Linwood Methodist Chapel | Linwood, Lincolnshire 53.3641°N -0.3342°W | None(formerly Methodist) | Linwood Methodist Chapel may have been moved from Holton cum Beckering or it may have been the temporary church erected in Walesby in 1881 and moved in 1914 after St Mary's Church was built. It is currently disused.[42] | ||
| Mission Hall | Liss, Hampshire 51.0431°N -0.8902°W | Plymouth Brethren | This was briefly in religious use for a Brethren assembly: the planning application raised in 2011 for its conversion into a house stated that it dated from 1922, and A List of Some Assemblies of the British Isles (1933), a directory of Brethren assemblies, identifies a "Central Gospel Hall" in Liss.[43] | ||
| St Saviour's Church (*) | Liss Forest, Hampshire 51.0542°N -0.8852°W | (formerly Anglican) | This Anglican church was in the joint parish of Liss and Liss Forest. It closed in 2012, and planning permission was granted for its demolition and replacement with houses.[44] [45] [46] | ||
| St Peter's Church | Lower Withington, Cheshire 53.2285°N -2.2915°W | Anglican | St Peter's Church was built in 1891 as a chapel of ease to St John, Chelford. The benefice of the churches has been united. It is still in active use. | ||
| Ludgershall Mission Hall | Ludgershall, Wiltshire51.2546°N -1.6156°W | Evangelical | This tin tabernacle was registered for worship by the Ludgershall Evangelical Mission in 1921,[47] then for marriages the following July. | ||
| St John the Baptist Church | Maesbury, Shropshire 52.8236°N -3.025°W | Anglican | St John the Baptist Church is an active church in the village of Maesbury. | ||
| St Mary's Church | Newton-by-the-Sea, Northumberland 55.5172°N -1.6225°W | Anglican | St Mary's Church was built as a mission room in the later part of the 19th century, and continues in active use as a church and a meeting room in the parish of Embleton. | ||
| Newton Heath Evangelical Church | Newton Heath, Manchester 53.4991°N -2.1769°W | Evangelical | A member of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches. The church was established in 1901.[48] | ||
| Congregational Chapel | Old Heath, Colchester, Essex 51.8684°N 0.9282°W | Congregational | The Congregational Chapel was built in 1869 as an outreach mission for Lion Walk Congregational Church. It was enlarged in 1888, and 1898. It continues in use as a Congregational chapel. | ||
| Sandown Mission Hall | Ore, Hastings, East Sussex 50.8707°N 0.6038°W | Anglican | The mission, now in secular use, stood at the corner of School Road and Sandown Road in Ore. It was built in late 1894 and formally opened on 5 December 1894 by Sir James Colquhoun, 5th Baronet. Initially run by a Mrs Holt,[49] from 27 September 1902 it was taken over and run by nearby Christ Church.[50] By 1952 part of the building was in use as an overflow classroom for a nearby primary school.[51] | ||
| St Michael's Church | Peasmarsh, Surrey 51.2087°N -0.5815°W | Anglican | Occasional services are held in this tin tabernacle in the hamlet of Peasmarsh, part of Shalford parish.[52] | ||
| Christchurch | Pointon, Bourne, Lincolnshire 52.8728°N -0.3462°W | Anglican | Christchurch in Pinfold Lane is an Anglican mission church, erected in 1893 to support the work of St Andrew's Parish Church at Sempringham. It continues in use as an active church and, as the parish church lacks electricity, Christchurch is the focus during the darker days of the year. | ||
| Heath Church | Reigate, Surrey 51.238°N -0.2242°W | Anglican | The first service at Heath Church was held in 1907, and the church continues in use in the parish of St Mary Magdalene, Reigate. | ||
| St John's Church | Rookley, Isle of Wight 50.6562°N -1.2841°W | None(formerly Anglican) | Like St Barnabas' Church in nearby Blackwater, this tin tabernacle dates from the late 19th century and was a chapel of ease to St George's Church, Arreton. After closing it became a builder's yard. | ||
| St Gabriel's Church | Rough Common, Kent 51.293°N 1.0486°W | Anglican | This was built in 1890 as an Anglican mission room in the parish of Harbledown. It was renamed in the 1940s and gained the status of a full church. The wood-panelled interior features a stained glass window retrieved from a former church in Ramsgate which was damaged by World War II bombing. Two services are held monthly.[53] | ||
| Cuxton Chapel, Kent Life | Sandling, Kent 51.2976°N 0.5049°W | None(formerly Anglican) | Originally a chapel in the village of Cuxton, Kent, Cuxton Chapel was moved to the museum Kent Life in 2000. | ||
| St Mary the Virgin's Church | Shepperdine, South Gloucestershire 51.6637°N -2.5548°W | Anglican | This tin tabernacle was listed at Grade II in July 2016. It was erected on land near a farm in the Severnside hamlet of Shepperdine in spring 1914, but originally stood elsewhere (possibly in Wales). The timber interior retains its original features. The church has been part of the parish of Oldbury-on-Severn since 1956, and has services at least once per month. | ||
| St Mary's Church Room | Sole Street, Cobham, Kent 51.3836°N 0.3794°W | Anglican | St Mary's Church Room continues in use as part of the parish of St Mary Magdalene, Cobham. | ||
| Great Moulton Chapel, Museum of East Anglian Life | Stowmarket, Suffolk 52.1829°N 0.9928°W | None(formerly Non-denominational) | Great Moulton Chapel was a non-denominational chapel with ties with other chapels, including Surrey Chapel. It was built in the 1890s by the Norwich firm of Boulton and Paul at a cost of £105 18s 0d. The chapel closed in 1990 and was moved the 30miles from Great Moulton to the Museum of East Anglian Life. | ||
| St Paul's Church | Strines, Marple, Greater Manchester 53.3747°N -2.0432°W | Anglican | St Paul's is located 1.5miles south-east of Marple, Greater Manchester in the parish of All Saints, Marple. It was built in 1880 by the owners of Strines (Calico) Print Works. The church continues in active use, and in November 2011 was designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. | ||
| St Saviour's Church, Midland Railway Centre | Swanwick Junction, Derbyshire 53.0617°N -1.3829°W | None(formerly Anglican) | St Saviour's Church, originally located at Westhouses, Nottinghamshire, was dismantled and rebuilt at Swanwick Junction by the Midland Railway Trust. The church was consecrated in 1898, became redundant in the 1990s and was acquired for the museum site. | ||
| Thorlby Chapel | Thorlby, North Yorkshire 53.9716°N -2.0527°W | None(formerly Methodist) | Original built as a Wesleyan Methodist chapel, now abandoned.[54] [55] | ||
| All Saints' Church (*) | Thrupp, Gloucestershire 51.7267°N -2.2015°W | (formerly Anglican) | The church was established in 1889, dedicated to All Saints and part of the parish of Holy Trinity, Stroud. It closed in 1968, some of its fittings were moved to Holy Trinity, and there were plans for it to be dismantled and stored. The photograph shows the building in 2002. | ||
| St Andrew's Church | Tonbridge, Kent 51.2086°N 0.3049°W | Anglican | Previously known as Hadlow Stair Mission, Fish Hall Mission and Fish Hall Church, this grew out of an Anglican mission held at Fish Hall, a mansion in north Tonbridge. A disused tin tabernacle was purchased in Brighton, transported to Tonbridge and re-erected on a plot of land gifted by A.E. Peters of Fish Hall.[56] | ||
| St Antony of Padua Roman Catholic Church | Trafford Park Village, Greater Manchester 53.4665°N -2.311°W | None(formerly Roman Catholic) | Three tin tabernacles were built in Trafford Park Village: a Methodist chapel in 1901, the Anglican St Cuthbert's Church in 1902, and the Roman Catholic St Antony of Padua in 1904. Much of the village was demolished by the early 1980s leaving the church with no resident population. Its parish of St Antony of Padua became an industrial chaplaincy. The church closed in 2009 but the building was retained for use by the Centre for Church and Industry. | ||
| Twitton Mission Church | Twitton, Otford, Kent 51.3135°N 0.1678°W | Anglican | This village west of Otford was served by an iron mission room from 1900 until 1982. It was extended in 1950 and rededicated as the Church of the Good Shepherd. | ||
| St James's Church (*) | Vines Cross, East Sussex 50.9378°N 0.2665°W | (formerly Anglican) | Originally used for storage, this building was converted into an Anglican chapel of ease in 1911 and was served from the church at Horam. A freestanding timber bell-tower supported a single bell. The church closed in 2004 when it became uneconomic to repair and was demolished in favour of housing.[57] [58] [59] [60] | ||
| St Paul's Mission Church | Warren Row, Berkshire 51.5194°N -0.8309°W | Anglican | St Paul's Mission Church was bought as a kit in 1894 for just over £100. It continues in active use as a mission church in the parish of Wargrave. | ||
| West End Free Church | West End, Hampshire 50.9238°N -1.3352°W | Baptist | West End Evangelical Mission Hall was erected in 1884 or 1885 in the garden of its founder, John St Barbe Baker. The church joined the Baptist Union in the 1960s and was registered as a Baptist church in August 1968. It is now owned by West End Christian Fellowship, who maintain worship of an Evangelical character in the building.[61] | ||
| St George's Church | West End, Surrey 51.3611°N -0.3819°W | Anglican | This chapel of ease to St George's Church in Esher existed by 1911.[62] It remains in active use as part of the parish of Esher; one service is held every Sunday.[63] | ||
| Westergate Mission Hall | Westergate, West Sussex 50.8425°N -0.6676°W | None(formerly Anglican) | Apparently built in about October 1905 as a mission room for the parish church at Aldingbourne,[64] this building later had various social functions (such as a Scout hut) until planning permission was granted in 2007 for its conversion into a house.[65] | ||
| Church of St Francis | Westhope, Canon Pyon, Herefordshire 52.1551°N -2.785°W | Anglican | Church of St Francis continues in use as an Anglican mission church in the parish of St Lawrence, Canon Pyon. | ||
| Winterslow Baptist Church | Winterslow, Wiltshire 51.0876°N -1.6661°W | Baptist | Winterslow Baptist Church remains in active use as a Baptist church. | ||
| Church Hall at Braemar Avenue Baptist Church | Wood Green, London 51.6005°N -0.1176°W | Baptist(church hall) | The church hall was built some time in the period 1904–1914. It is in need of repair and apparently disused. The church is in use, and a Grade II listed building, and the church hall is listed by virtue of being within the curtilage of the listed building. | ||
| St Mary's Church | Woodland, County Durham 54.6334°N -1.8878°W | Anglican | St Mary's Church has been in use as an Anglican church, latterly in the parish of Lynesack, since it was built at a cost of £150 in 1905.[66] | ||
| Woodmancote Mission Church | Woodmancote, West Sussex 50.8623°N -0.8999°W | Anglican | The hamlet of Woodmancote in Westbourne parish is served by this "modest chapelry"—a rare prefabricated green-painted tin tabernacle with an entrance porch. It was erected in 1892 and licensed in 1928.[67] [68] | ||
| Yeading Christian Fellowship | Yeading, London 53.7693°N -2.6983°W | Apostolic Church | This was registered by its present congregation, members of the Apostolic Church, in March 1954. |
| Name | Location | Photograph | Denomination | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalswinton Mission or Barony Church | Dalswinton, Dumfries and Galloway 55.148°N -3.6624°W | Church of Scotland | Dalswinton Mission was built in 1881 and stained glass windows were added in 1950 and 1975. The walls and roof are clad with red-painted corrugated iron sheets. It has Gothic windows, a bellcote and spire. The building remains in active use. | |
| Tin Church, Isle of Seil | Ellenabeich, Seil, Argyll and Bute 56.29°N -5.628°W | None(formerly Free Church of Scotland) | A tin church built in the early 1900s for the Free Church of Scotland on Seil was used until the 1950s. It fell into disrepair but was renovated for residential and business use. | |
| Hallmuir Ukrainian Chapel | Hallmuir Camp, Dumfries and Galloway 55.0995°N -3.367°W | Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church | This was converted from a temporary army building into a church to serve prisoners of war in 1942. The prisoners were Ukrainians belonging to the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician). | |
| St Fillan's Church | Killin, Stirling 56.4689°N -4.3168°W | Scottish Episcopal | Built in 1876 by the Marquess of Breadalbane for members of his shooting party, St Fillan's Church was extended in the early 20th century. It continues in active use in the Scottish Episcopal Church. It has been listed as Grade C(S). | |
| Kinlochewe Church of Scotland | Kinlochewe, Highland57.6039°N -5.2985°W | Church of Scotland | ||
| Italian Chapel | Lamb Holm, Orkney 58.8897°N -2.8901°W | Roman Catholic | The Italian Chapel on the uninhabited island of Lamb Holm is a tin chapel made from corrugated iron from two Nissen huts by Italian prisoners of war during World War II. | |
| Limerigg Church (*) | Limerigg, Falkirk55.9152°N -3.8309°W | Church of Scotland | Initially commissioned by Slamannan Parish Church in the early 1880s, this church finished construction in 1885. The church was wrecked by a gale in 1951 and then rebuilt (again out of corrugated iron) in 1953. The church was finally demolished in 2003 after it was discovered that the building was structurally unstable.[69] | |
| St James' Roman Catholic Church (*) | St. Andrews, Fife 56.3353°N -2.8007°W | (formerly Roman Catholic) | Consecrated in 1884, this building is notable for being moved (in three sections) across town from the Scores to James St., on wagons towed by traction engine, in 1909–10, by John D. Spence, who transformed it into a venue for roller-skating and to house the town's first fixed-site cinema, La Scala. It was extended, then used as a warehouse, and finally demolished in 2003. | |
| Syre Church | Syre, Strathnaver 58.3639°N -4.2375°W | Church of Scotland | The corrugated iron church at Syre was built by Frederick Braby & Company of Glasgow in 1891. | |
| Name | Location | Photograph | Denomination | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good Shepherd | Drury, Flintshire 53.1727°N -3.0602°W | Church in Wales | The Church of the Good Shepherd is a mission church for St Matthew's in Buckley. It is clad in steel sheets. | ||
| St Thomas's Church | Birchgrove, Cardiff 51.5146°N -3.2054°W | Church in Wales | This was built in 1913 as a mission church within the parish of Whitchurch. The seating capacity as originally designed was 200.[70] | ||
| St Peter's Church (*) | Goytre, Neath Port Talbot 51.5924°N -3.7549°W | Church in Wales | Opened in 1915,[71] closed in or before 2020.[72] | ||
| St Andrew's Mission Church | Minera, Wrexham 53.0442°N -3.0769°W | Church in Wales | The corrugated iron church with a timber frame was built near Wern Farm for the Esclusham district in 1892. It had four windows with pointed Y-tracery, a small spire and a gabled porch at its west end and small vestry at its south-east corner. It was given Grade II listed status in 1998 because of its unaltered state. | ||
| St Anne's Church | New Hedges, Tenby, Pembrokeshire 51.6892°N -4.7087°W | Church in Wales | St Anne's Church was built in 1928, and continues in active use in the Tenby Benefice. | ||
| Mission Hall | Pembroke 51.6735°N -4.9057°W | Apostolic | Erected in 1913,[73] in use in 2018 | ||
| St Telio's Church | Pembroke Dock 51.6936°N -4.9281°W | Church in Wales | Used as the church hall | ||
| St David's Church (*) | Pensarn, Abergele, Conwy 53.2938°N -3.5797°W | (formerly Church in Wales) | St David's Church was built in 1880, its replacement opened in 2011. The church was built to meet the needs of English residents who had moved to the area. It was intended as a temporary building but was used for 130 years. | ||
| Methodist Chapel | Rhosnesni, Wrexham 53.056°N -2.9746°W | Methodist | The Methodist Chapel at Rhosnesni remains in active use. | ||
| Calvary Evangelical Church | Rhymney, Caerphilly 51.7596°N -3.2828°W | Evangelical | Calvary Evangelical Church continues in use as an evangelical church. | ||
| Treorchy Gospel Hall | Treorchy, Rhondda Cynon Taf 51.6574°N -3.5076°W | Gospel Hall | In the later vernacular style, with the entry in a long wall. |
| Name | Location | Photograph | Denomination | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Matthias' Church | Andersonstown, Belfast, Northern Ireland 54.5837°N -5.9823°W | None(formerly Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic) | Dating from 1892, St Matthias was built for the local British military garrison and originally belonged to the Church of Ireland. It was manufactured by Harland & Wolff, and became a Roman Catholic church in 1970.[74] It is now somewhat derelict.[75] | ||
| St Peter's Church | Laragh, Castleblayney, County Monaghan 54.8833°N -6.7668°W | None(formerly Church of Ireland) | St Peter's Church was built in 1890 by mill operator James McKean and consecrated on 13 August 1891. It was deconsecrated in 1962.[76] Built in a wooded glen for the Church of Ireland in the Swiss Gothic style, it has a three-stage spire.The church was restored by Laragh Heritage Group in 2014, the spire, main structure and the stained glass windows were repaired. The building is now in regular use for small local events.[77] | ||
| Lurganboy Chapel of Ease | Lurganboy, County Leitrim54.3132°N -8.2148°W | Church of Ireland | Built for the Church of Ireland as a chapel of ease for Manorhamilton Parish in 1862, it is still in use as a church, and also functions as a community space.[78] [79] | ||
| Rearcross Church | Rearcross, County Tipperary 52.6866°N -8.2367°W | Roman Catholic(formerly Wesleyan) | Originally built in Northumbria for a Wesleyan congregation and moved to Rearcross in 1887. It is in use as a Catholic church and was renovated around the year 2000. | ||
| Rossnowlagh Church | Rossnowlagh, County Donegal 54.5479°N -8.2037°W | Presbyterian | Built in 1906[80] and renovated in 1990. It remains in use, with a weekly service during July and August.[81] |
| Name | Location | Photograph | Denomination | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naseby Athenæum | Naseby, Otago -45.0242°N 170.146°W | None(formerly Union Church) | A corrugated iron church erected in 1865. It now houses the township's public library.[82] | ||
| Church of St Alban the Martyr | St Bathans, Otago -44.8725°N 169.8113°W | Anglican(formerly non-denominational) | The prefabricated corrugated iron Church was sent to New Zealand in 1883 by absentee runholder, Frederick Dalgety. It was initially an interdenominational church and was known as the 'Mission House' or the 'Dalgety Church'.[83] | ||
| St Mary's Church | Tokomaru Bay, Gisborne District -38.1312°N 178.3149°W | Anglican | St Mary's Church is the third Anglican church to stand at Tuatini marae, and was probably built by Duncan Stirling between 1883 and 1886. It is thought to be the earliest of a group of corrugated iron churches built and used by Maori communities on the East Coast region of New Zealand.[84] |
| Name | Location | Photograph | Denomination | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesleyan Church | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia -12.4462°N 130.836°W | None(formerly Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia) | Originally built in Adelaide, South Australia. It was shipped to Darwin in 1897. It was restored and moved to the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens in 2001, where it is used as a café.[85] | ||
| St Barnabas' Church | Oxley, New South Wales, Australia -34.1931°N 144.1023°W | Anglican | Along with Booligal, part of the Hay Parish in the Diocese of Riverina[86] | ||
| St Alban's Church | Booligal, New South Wales, Australia -33.8676°N 144.886°W | Anglican | Along with Oxley, part of the Hay Parish in the Diocese of Riverina |
CitationsBibliography
