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Offshoot to church

An important chapter in Newark's history comes to a close this Sunday with the final service at St. Augustine's church on Newton Street.

Plans to close the 112-year-old church were first put forward in 1993 when it was stated that the numbers attending services had fallen below a viable level.

Many people expressed their regret and sadness at the decision but it is heartening to report that in its new role the building - saved from the threat of demolition - will still be fulfilling a valuable role in the community when it is converted into six new homes.

It is perhaps appropriate that the building should find a new lease of life in this way for it was through a need to serve the rapidly expanding population of the town that the church first came into existence in 1886.

At that time Newark was reaping the benefits of about three decades of sustained economic growth with the town's population expanding rapidly from about 11 500 in 1861 to more than 14 0 in 1881.

A rash of new housing spread across the town particularly eastwards along Barnbygate London Road and the streets in between. At the eastern end of Barnbygate the area known as Newtown was erected providing about 80 new houses along Wright Street Private Street and Long Row.

It was to serve communities such as these that in 1886 the parish church of Newark set up its mission room (as St. Augustine's was first known) on Newton Street virtually adjacent to the Methodists' Charles Street chapel which had been established just a year before. (The present Charles Street chapel is a 1905 rebuild on the original site).

The corner-stone of St. Augustine's was laid on March 16 1886 with the opening ceremony being performed four months later on July 22.

On that occasion after a special service of thanksgiving a celebratory tea was held at the Town Hall at which 400 people sat down to eat.

Regular morning and evening services were established immediately at St. Augustine's throughout the week while children were catered for by a most successful Sunday School which by the Thirties (under the superintendance of Miss Temporal) had become so well attended that only one class - the seniors - could be accommodated within the church itself.

The infants class was located in the church hut (erected 1920) and the juniors used a room at Barnby Road School a short distance away.

In the latter years of the 19th Century before Barnby Road School was built St. Augustine's had itself fulfilled the role of day school when local three to seven year olds attended class in the church on weekdays.

This arrangement continued until October 1908 when Barnby Road Infants School was opened and the class was transferred there.

Over the years generations of Newark families have become intimately connected with St. Augustine's ensuring it continued to fulfill an important role within the community.

One of the names which may perhaps be most widely remembered in connection with the church is that of William Becher Tidd Pratt (1875-1956) who was choirmaster from 1906 to 1956.

The choir at St. Augustine's - or Tidd Pratts' Angels as they were sometimes known - was for many years the church's pride and joy.

Entrance was strictly on the basis of merit with Mr Pratt conducting auditions among the boys at local schools.

He considered it most important that the choir was always well turned out and he personally made sure that no one appeared with even a hair out of place.

While he may have been a strict disciplinarian inside the church Mr Pratt was also known for his extreme generosity on the outside.

After service on Sunday evenings it was his custom to invite the boys back to his house on London Road (now Newark and District Hospice) where they could play the gramophone talk or browse among his extensive library.

After two years perfect attendance in the choir Mr Pratt would treat a boy to a trip to London: after six years he presented choristers with a solid silver watch and chain.

Each year he would organise an outing for the whole choir to such places as Tattershall Castle or Haddon Hall. The two head choristers would accompany Mr Pratt on a holiday to Blackpool and others would be taken to football matches around the country and even the Cup Final at Wembley.

Football was a great passion of Mr Pratt's and he is also remembered as the man who gave the stadium playing field on Elm Avenue to the town in 1933.

Mr Pratt was undoubtedly a true philanthropist channelling his considerable wealth into projects which would directly benefit the young people of the town. He also contributed much to the life of St. Augustine's right up to the time of his death aged 81 in 1956.

Over the years many others have given their time and energy to the smooth running of the church. Miss Gwen White for instance who was a Sunday school teacher and churchwarden from 1976-85 recalls that: "St. Augustine's church has meant everything to me and my family throughout our lives.

It has been the rock on which our strong faith has been built." Two members of particularly longstanding are Miss Rhona Parsons and Miss Gladys Shaw.

Miss Parsons recalls: "I started at the Sunday school when I was five years old. I am now 85. St. Augustine's became my whole life... I have loved St. Augustine's and am very sad to see it close."

The final service at St. Augustine's church on Newton Street will be held this Sunday at 6pm and will be conducted by the Provost of Southwell the Very Rev David Leaning.

ABOVE: The interior of St. Augustine's Church in Newton Street Newark as it looked in the early years of this century.

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