The Free Church
December 31, 2021 | Time: | Location: | Category: Virtual Tour
It is difficult now to imagine the ructions caused by the construction of this modest single-storey building, still an active church serving a wide parish.
Originally known as the Mission Hall, it was founded in 1885 by the redoubtable Augusta Fairthorne, who came from a philanthropic village family. Concerned that the church was not reaching out to poorer people, she spread her evangelism across the village - much to the annoyance of the Rector.
In his diary entry for Easter Sunday 1885, the Rev Francis Cunningham recorded that: "Several of last year's communicants had lapsed, through the evil influence of the Mission Hall."
More details can be found in The Brightwell Parish Diaries.Edited by Mark Spurrell (The Oxfordshire Record Society 1998.)
From the Free Church, we can choose either the left-hand (Sotwell Street) or right-hand (Bakers Lane) fork, either of which will take us to...