Christ Church Adlington was build between in the 1830s for a cost of £1,560. It was one of the first major churches in the area.
In 1975 Christ Church held it’s last service and closed down. In 1981 the building was sold and became the Sharju Indian restaurant. I understand the food is good.
Christ Church Adlington is one of hundreds of Anglican churches that have been made “redundant†in England.
Here’s the list for 1970-2004. It’s frightening. Ninety-five pages of churches closed down. That’s 95 pages in case you missed it.
What do you do with a “redundant†church?
There’s a list for that too:
Demolition
Sale for residential use
Use as a monument
Community use
Village hall
Storage
Sale to the Greek Orthodox Church
or the Elim Pentecostals
or the Seventh Day Adventists
or the Assemblies of God
or to the United Pentecostal Church
or to or the Church of God of Prophecy
Museum
Violin workshop
Night shelter
Sports centre
Restaurant
Nursing home
I’m only up to page 9 of ninety-five pages (that’s 95 pages) of closed churches. . . but you get the idea.
What’s the point?
The point is, “Why?â€
2 Comments
HI Steve,
I found it hard to believe, so I downloaded the list for myself. By my calculations there have been around 2000 churches closed in the past 40 years. This is such a sad list. It’s a challenge to all who are part of the Christian movement, especially in the west. Your question is so pertinent. Why? At the same time I want to be motivated by the success of the gospel. I suppose, if you can take anything from this, you could say that at one time there were 2000 more Anglican churches, and that as a movement, it was once flourishing. What lessons can we learn from its history as a whole. Ray.
Ray, thanks for the calculation. I think the only way forward is to confront the brutal facts in the context of faith. Steve