{"id":5432,"date":"2018-08-24T15:40:29","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T14:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.twynhamchurch.org\/blog\/?page_id=5432"},"modified":"2026-04-21T10:47:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T09:47:05","slug":"church-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.twynhamchurch.org\/blog\/church-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Our History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Early Days<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twynham Church, as we know it today, began in a thatched cottage in Bargates during the 1860s. A Miss Lestrange, who had a heart for the children of the area, started a gospel outreach work there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bargates<\/figure>
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In the 1870s, Miss Susan Tighe joined what became known as Bargates Gospel Hall. She established a Band of Hope<\/em> for children and later had another hall built in Jumpers. Around the same time, an additional group also began meeting in Purewell. These early initiatives laid strong foundations for a church with a lasting commitment to children and young people.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Coming Together<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1948, following the closure of the Scripture Reading meeting opposite the Army Barracks in Barrack Road, the Gospel Halls agreed to purchase the current site so that young people could meet together in one place. Initially, an old metal building on the site was used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
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During the 1950s, a new purpose\u2011built hall was constructed to accommodate the expanding youth work, and the former soldiers\u2019 meeting room was demolished.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Soon after, Bargates Gospel Hall began using the site as a base for the wider church. In the early 1960s, the three Gospel Halls agreed to merge into one church. This led to the construction of a new church building at the front of the site and the founding of Twynham Chapel<\/strong>. The name Twynham<\/em> comes from the Saxon name for Christchurch, meaning \u201cthe town between the rivers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n