Our History

In 1888 in a thatched cottage in Wimborne Road, Winton, Winton Church was born. In the October of the following year the site opposite was bought for £139 and two years later there stood the school-chapel, completed for £185.

Faith grew and in 1896 came the first extensions. By 1905 a new church (pictured) was open.

At this time, just a mile away, another site was for sale for £250. This was purchased and open air meetings were held - weather permitting! This being England, albeit Bournemouth, a roof proved necessary and a small committee was appointed to draw up a 'plan of development.'

Thus it was in 1906, for £1,080, a corrugated iron chapel was erected at the corner of Alma Road and Heron Court Road. The Alma Road society were safe in their "Tin Tabernacle." However, in 1919 a leaders' meeting declared a double crisis - the need for a new building and a permanent Minister.

By 1920 the first plans for the new building had appeared. The stone laying ceremony was in May and in December 1927, after £7,390 had been spent, the new church was dedicated and complete. So by the end of the 1920s there were two Methodist Societies nearby each other creating life, faith and interest in their surrounding areas.

Growth continued and it wasn't long before the community set up a daughter society, with an open-air band, in Ensbury Park.

In 1930 the trustees of the Winton church decided to buy an organ which had been offered to them by Mr John Walton of Branksome Park, for £600. This decision meant a lot of heartsearching as this was a considerable sum, especially as they had to find another £300 to remove and rebuild it. However, the money was raised and they were in possession of a very fine 3 manual J.J. Binns organ. This courageous decision so many years ago enables us now in today's Winton Methodist Church to still possess a very fine organ. Parts of this original instrument remain today, renovated and installed in the Alma Road building.

The Avenue church extended its services to become more of a community centre to its area. Tennis and badminton clubs were organised and the "Avenue Belles" were formed. The "Belles" were to become the "Avenue Players," famous for their Easter plays and later began touring Bournemouth and Dorset with their productions.

After WW2 plans were made at the Avenue to replace the "Tin Tabernacle" and by 1958 the small hall section had given way to modern schoolrooms, a kitchen and an extended Vestry linking the buildings together.

In 1967, the Golden Jubilee of the Avenue church, the site was cleared after the demolition of the "Tin Tabernacle" and plans were made for further future development.

So in 1968 the two societies of Winton Church and the Avenue joined together and the new Winton Methodist Church was formed. With the proceeds from the sale of the site in Wimborne Road we were able to build the 3-storey community centre that stands on the corner of Alma Road and Heron Court Road today.