History

WATERLOO ROAD CHURCH

WATERLOO ROAD CHURCH HISTORY

The Waterloo Road Church originally started as a Victorian "Ragged School" in 1846. A lady living by the canal in Uxbridge taught poor children in her own home. This included "Sunday School". This transferred to a building of its own in 1864. (The building is still there, now a Japanese Car Parts Centre). About this time the local "parish" (Uxbridge Moor) started to take over responsibility for education but the "Sunday School" (which now included the teaching of adults) remained and became known as "Waterloo Road Mission". The work declined towards the end of the 19th Century but was given a boost in 1903 when St Margaret's Church took an interest in it and appointed a Superintendent to the "Mission". This was a local businessman called Milton Hutchings who led/ran the Church until his death in 1940. Milton Hutchings was the owner of Hutchings Nurseries, now the Garden Centre in Pield Heath Road near Hillingdon Hospital.

A new building was opened in 1932 (the central part of the present one). The building was extended in 1967 to include what we now call the rear hall and some changes at the front. A further small rear extension was built in 2001. The Church became affiliated to the FIEC in 1962 and changed its name from Waterloo Road Mission to Waterloo Road Free Church, and later just Waterloo Road Church. Until 1980, the Church was run by an "Executive Committee" when we changed to Elders and Deacons. The Church is a member of the Evangelical Alliance.

Although there had been part-time paid pastoral workers in the past, we called our first full-time Pastor, Colin Holmes, in 1996, the same year as the 150th anniversary celebrations.

Following Colin moving onto Epsom Baptist Church in December 2003, we called a new Pastor, Peter Lillystone in September 2004. Peter has come to us from Meadow Way Chapel in Norwich.