For sale: hall of the fiery sermons

Published on Tuesday 31 August 2010 17:32

DWINDLING congregations have forced the Methodist Church in Scotland to put its most iconic building up for sale.

• The iconic Methodist Hall opened in Tollcross in 1901

The category B listed Central Hall in Edinburgh, which once attracted thousands of worshippers to hear fiery Wesleyan sermons, went on the market yesterday.

The sellers described it as "a rare opportunity to acquire a substantial auditorium which would suit various alternative uses, including a concert hall".

The church is seeking offers over 2.5 million for office and shop space in the bottom half of the building and the main hall itself, or separate bids of 950,000 for the main hall alone.

The landmark building, in Tollcross, has been the home of the Edinburgh Methodist Mission for over a century.

Its spacious auditorium -with large Art Nouveau stained-glass windows and a barrel-vaulted ceiling - originally seated two thousand people.

The building, occupying a prominent position on the corner of Earl Grey Street and West Tollcross, was opened in 1901 by the Methodist Synod in Scotland "to evangelise on the west side of the city".

The three-storey building, with a domed circular corner tower, has never been purely a venue for worship. The first movies in Edinburgh were shown in the Central Hall, before the first picture house in the city opened.

Musical concerts continue to this day, and in recent years it has been the home of the Festival of Youth Orchestras.

The City of Edinburgh Methodist Church said it put the building on the market as a result of reducing membership and higher maintenance costs.

The congregation will move to the Methodist Chapel in Nicolson Square, where United States president Ulysses S Grant worshipped during his visit to Scotland in in 1877.

The Rev Alan Whitson, speaking on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church Ministerial Team, said: "In May 2008, four of the Methodist Churches in Edinburgh came together as one worshipping congregation at Central Hall. This allowed us to pool our resources and begin refocusing our Mission in the centre of Edinburgh.

"With reducing membership and higher maintenance costs, it was decided that more bespoke premises were required.

"To this end, the new church will move, at the end of September 2010, to its Nicolson Square building, preserving a city centre presence.

"We will no longer require our premises at Central Hall once we move.

"We, therefore,, offer this significant city centre building for sale or lease. It has served us well for nearly 110 years, and our hope is that it will continue to serve others equally well."

Development for a tramway depot had made a site available in 1901, which, with smaller surrounding properties, cost the Church a total of 20,000.The building costs were 30,000. The original builder having gone bankrupt, the hall was completed by a second firm, and five shops were "prudently" included on the ground floor to supply the Mission with a regular income.

But by the 1930s the capacity of the main hall had to be reduced with the provision of side corridors for ease of access to other parts of the building and the creation of a small chapel.

It is now split into a main seating area at first-floor level with a substantial seating area above. The seating area extends to 750 seats. Fine staircases lead to halls with mosaic-tiled floors, which in turn lead to a lecture hall and many smaller rooms.

MAJOR REVIVAL

Methodism arose as a religious revival movement in the 18th century and became a major force, thanks to its evangelical preaching and rejection of established religions.

The largest branch of Methodism was organised by a Church of England clergyman, John Wesley.

As Wesley and his colleagues preached around the country, including several Scottish journeys, they formed local societies.

Methodism had a major impact in the making of the British working class, although its heartlands remained in Wales and northern England. Growth north of the Border was limited by the strength of the Church of Scotland.