Brougham Road Bible Christian church in Southsea was opened on 8th June 1876, and could seat 750. Later that year Rev. W.B. Reed wrote about the building and opening. One particular feature of the design which still speaks to those of us currently worshipping as Methodists is that “Cathedral tinted glass in the front windows, a south aspect, has conduced to the comfort in the Summer days.”
This engraving of the church was published in the Bible Christian Magazine in 1878, when it accommodated the 60th Conference of the Bible Christian Church.
The 1940 accommodation returns include the information that the chapel could seat 600. It was damaged by bombing in 1941 (like many other buildings in Southern England) and the Methodist Church decided to sell the building to Portsmouth Corporation in 1954. It is still standing, and open to visitors, as Arts Space Portsmouth. Perhaps a Methodist art lover would like to send us a photograph?
The Arts Space Portsmouth website attributes the building to a local architect, George Edwin Smith.
A photograph of the building may also be found on the British Methodist Buildings site
References
Bible Christian Magazine, 55, 1876 pp513-514
Bible Christian Magazine, 57, 1878 p281
Methodist Church buildings: Statistical returns as at July 1st, 1940
“Our history” Artspace Portsmouth, accessed January 13, 2023 http://www.artspace.co.uk/history/
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