BRIGG BUILT TWO CHURCHES IN THE SAME DECADE

 

Many people in Brigg today know that the town acquired two new churches - built almost side by side - during the 1960s. But which of them came first?
The answer is the Methodist Church, located on a site today bordered by the A18 (Barnard Avenue) and the aptly-named Wesley Road.
A commemorative stone we photographed recently on the side of the church carries the date 1963 (see above).
St Mary's Roman Catholic Church opened three years later - considerable fundraising having been co-ordinated by Father O'Hanlon, the parish priest, after whom a new residential street in Brigg was named in the 1960s. Fr O'Hanlon wanted a spire to be added on top but it never materialised. The new RC Church took over from one on Bigby Street.
This was also a period of change for other denominations.
The Congregational Church, on Wrawby Street, ceased to host services in 1973 - a year that also witnessed the demolition of the Primitive Methodist Chapel on Bridge Street which had been empty for a considerable time.
Thankfully, the former Congregational Church building is still with us today; it's used by the Lovelle Estate Agency.
However, the old United Methodist Chapel, on Bigby Street, was knocked down in the 1960s; it occupied land near to today's Diya Spice takeaway.

Brigg Methodist Church as it is today - viewed across the A18.

A recent view of St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Brigg (without spire).

The Congregational Chapel (centre) in the early 1970s.

The Primitive Methodist Chapel (left of centre), on Bridge Street, awaiting demolition circa 1971.