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Oakley Methodist Church
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Oakley Methodist Church as it is today
Mission Statement (Who are we? What are we here for?)
We are a community of people of all ages who have responded to God's love in Jesus. We believe that we are called
Prior to the 1960's, Oakley was a relatively sleepy country village in the midst of the Hampshire countryside with a population of about 500. It was about 4 miles from the centre of Basingstoke, which in the 1960's had a population in the region of 20,000. In the 1960's Basingstoke was expanded quite dramatically under the terms of a tripartite overspill agreement between the Basingstoke Borough Council, the Hampshire Council and the then London Council. In the space of about 10 years Basingstoke's town area grew from about 20,000 to about 80,000 and the villages around Basingstoke, including Oakley, also saw a tremendous increase in size and population - Oakley from the above 500 to about 7,000. As can be imagined, the impact on the village was considerable. Where there were previously fields etc there are now estates of houses. However, one can still walk from almost anywhere in the village for a quarter of an hour or so and be in open countryside with fields and woods all around. In springtime the woods are awash with bluebells and other flowers and access to the countryside is easy by way of the well-defined public footpath system. Communications are good, within easy reach of Basingstoke and its shops, Winchester, Southampton, Andover, Salisbury etc., and to go further afield there are 2 junctions with the M3 close at hand as well as well-maintained 'A' class roads - eg: the A303 to the west, the A33 and A339 to both north and south, and the A30 to east and west. There is also a fast train service to London from Basingstoke.
The Early Days - the 1860's
For some time prior to 1866 the Methodists of East Oakley had been holding meetings in one of the cottages on the south side of Hill Road, now known as Hunter's Moon.
A Mr Blackburn owned a pair of cottages called Railway Croft (now called "Allan's Folly") together with a small adjoining piece of land which was between the cottages and Hill Road.
In March 1866 Mr Blackburn agreed to sell this small plot of land to the East Oakley Primitive Methodists for the sum of £5.Work was commenced immediately on building a new chapel and the first service was held on 3rd June 1866; by the autumn of that year the Sunday School was started.
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Allan's Folly & the church in 1999
1944 Addition
In 1944, a room was added at the side of the chapel for the use of the Sunday School. It was built by Mr Wyeth and had a sloping tin roof. Although electricity had been installed by this time, there was no water supply and no connection to the sewerage system.
Membership Decline
By 1965 the membership had declined to five and the church faced closure. However, the membership refused to accept this possibility and shortly Oakley started to expand in parallel with the huge town expansion scheme in Basingstoke. As a consequence of this the membership started to grow and this trend has continued to the present day when the membership hovers between 40 and 50.
Modernisation 1968 - 1971
Work started in 1968 on a modernisation programme and this took 3 years to complete by voluntary labour. The room added in 1944 became a dual-purpose room, doubling up as a kitchen, and a cold water supply was installed together with main drainage. In addition, an overhead electric heating system was provided in the Chapel.
1972 - 1990
This was very largely a period of quiet consolidation. Membership was gradually increasing and the church was becoming better able to meet the financial burden of maintaining the building itself in good condition. In 1977 the building was re-roofed and new double-glazed windows were made and installed in the main part of the building. In 1981 the floor was replaced, and as a part of this operation a "time capsule" was buried containing a number of items, including a membership list, services plan, financial statements, coins and 'bus tokens, and a copy of a newspaper in which the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer was reported. In 1989 a suspended ceiling was fitted and 1990 saw the installation of storage heaters which removed the problem of damage to the fabric and decorations previously caused by condensation.
A Major Extension
Prior to 1990 there had been much discussion as to the adequacy of the accommodation - extra space was really required to cope with increasing numbers etc. Grandiose schemes such as constructing a basement and/or a balcony were talked about and then dismissed as being impracticable. What was really required was a completely new plot of land in the right place so that a new church could be built - and, of course, enough money with which to do it! However, there was virtually no land left in the centre of the village and in any case the cost of land acquisition and the subsequent building costs seemed to be prohibitive. It was then decided to extend the existing kitchen area so that virtually every square inch of the plot was built on. A separate store room was provided, the toilet accommodation was extended and improved, and a vast improvement was made to the kitchen facilities, including modern cupboards and work surfaces and a hot water supply both to the sink and the hand basin in the toilet area; a storage heater was also installed, making a total of five in the property as a whole. Outside, a ramp was constructed to facilitate wheelchair access and wrought iron fencing was erected around it. Also, the flat roof over the whole of the new extended kitchen etc area was renewed.
The Future
We are currently in a period of gradual growth in and there is no reason to suppose that this will not continue. If, indeed, this trend is maintained questions will undoubtedly be asked once again as to the adequacy of the premises. Who knows what the future may hold? All we can do is to lay the foundation now for what we hope are greater and better things to come.
(a) General Location -
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(b) Detailed Directions -
The church is situated in the village of East Oakley in Hill Road, adjacent to the village pond (A). Car parking is very limited and Hill Road is both narrow and busy at times, however there is space available outside Honeysuckle Interiors (Sundays only) in Rectory Road (B), or alternatively, in the lay-by area (C) in Oakley Lane next to the school.
What's On (see also the Circuit Plan)
Sunday (there are occasionally exceptions to the following)
1st & 2nd Sundays in the month -
9 - 10am Junior Church 10.30am Morning Worship, followed by tea/coffee 3rd Sunday in the month -
9am Communion 10.30am All Age Worship, followed by tea/coffee Other Sundays -
10.30am Morning Worship/Junior Church, followed by tea/coffee
Monday
Monday Night at Eight group
This is mainly a fellowship and social group and we meet at 8pm on Monday evenings; we have three programmes a year - Winter/Spring, Summer and Autumn with breaks for Christmas, Easter and August (in the summer session we have fewer meetings, averaging one or two per month and they are mainly "natter nights"). In the Winter/Spring and Autumn sessions we have quite a wide variety of items in our programme - eg: Holiday etc slides, "Give Us a Clue", Talks, Music Evenings, "Something Old, Something New", Games, Quizzes, Tapes and CDs, Carols etc., including Pot Luck Suppers!
Tuesday
10am Coffee Morning
This operates from 10am to 12 noon and is essentially a "pop in and chat" morning; proceeds go towards the church's chosen charity for the year. At the moment the charge is 50p for a "bottomless" cup of tea or coffee and biscuits
Wednesday
8pm Bible Study House Group (usually, but not always, fortnightly)
This is a bible study, prayer and fellowship group; we finish with tea/coffee and biscuits.
Thursday
10am Bible Study House Group (twice a month on the second and fourth Thursdays}
This is a bible study, prayer and fellowship group; we finish with tea/coffee and biscuits.
2.30pm Women's Fellowship
A meeting for any ladies who like to attend (ie: not just church members) with a widely varied, imaginative and interesting programme. There is a warm welcome here to all.
Please contact via the Circuit email address provided
