Orpington Methodist Church

Bringing Christ and community together

OMC History

BRIEF HISTORY

This building - affectionately known as the "Tin Tabernacle" - was the first Methodist Church in Orpington.  It was at the corner of Chislehurst Road and Goodmead Road (in the one-way system at the north end of Orpington High Street), and the site was later occupied by a furniture warehouse.  The second-hand corrugated iron building, purchased for £30, was formally opened on 23rd March 1909 and remained in use until the need for a larger building emerged.  This need was met by a new church building (now, the "old" hall) built on the present site (purchased for £900) and opened on 16th November 1933.  The stone-laying ceremony for the present church (see "The New Church" - below) took place on Saturday 25th October 1952, and the first service in the new building took place on Sunday 17th October 1953. 

The site of the "Tin Tabernacle" is now occupied by Hope Church (formerly known as Orpington Town Church). 

THE NEW CHURCH

Reproduced below is a leaflet about the new church building
dating from shortly after its opening in 1953.

(Thanks to Elizabeth Hulbert for the loan of this leaflet.)

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