A Thanksgiving Service
On Thursday 3 September 2024, I attended a thanksgiving service for the life of J Barrie Smith. It was held at St John’s Methodist Church in Sutton and celebrated his life following his death on 5 August 2024, aged 93.
Mentioned in Family Diaries
Barrie knew my parents, Roy(le) Drew and Sheila Drew née Parkin, through their involvement in the Methodist Church in the Kirkby area. As a result, he is mentioned a number of times in my family’s diaries although his name is always misspelled as Barry.
Bible Class
From August 1956, mum noted that she started attending a “bible class” on a Monday night. The first of these was held at Rev Howells’ but they were then held approximately monthly at houses of various people including K Marsh in Newton, Joan Storer, John Melanaphy, Miss E Denis (or Dennis) in Skegby, Barrie Smith and mum and dad’s. Dates they went to Barrie Smith’s included 3 September 1956 and 1 April 1957.
I confess that I did not know who many of these people were but Barrie’s book “A Brief Record of the Ashfield Circuit” (see below) provided me with information about the identity of some of these people…
I had worked out that K Marsh was probably a Methodist local preacher. Grandad had referred to hosting a local preacher by this name in June 1958. Based on a list in Barrie’s book, it turns out that this was Ken Marsh who became a local preacher in the Ashfield circuit in 1961 having previously been a local preacher in the Sutton and Kirkby circuit.
Initially I struggled to identify John Melanaphy, because in mum’s diary, the surname looks like Millanijig or something like that! I asked about this on the Kirkby Living Memory Facebook Group. John Green thought the name might be Millanify which he recognised as Melanaphy. I then found John Melanaphy in Barrie’s book. It turns out that he became a local preacher in the Ashfield Circuit in 1959 having previously been a local preacher in the Sutton and Kirkby Circuit. He left the district in 1964.
A Speaker and Local Preacher
In terms of Barrie himself, in addition to attending and hosting bible study classes, he spoke at the Sunday School Teachers’ weekend in February 1958. Also, according to “A Brief Record of the Ashfield Circuit (22/13) 1959-2010“, Barrie was a local preacher from 1959, initially in the Sutton and Kirkby circuit and later in the Ashfield circuit.
That book contains a circuit plan for July to October 1959. During that period, he was due to take a morning service in New Cross on 19 July, an evening service at Albert Street in Stanton Hill on 26 July, a morning service at Albert Street on 9 August, morning and evening services at Brook Street, Sutton on 16 August, morning and evening services at Forest Side, Sutton on 30 August, morning and evening services in Huthwaite on 6 September, evening service in Newstead on 13 September, evening service in Skegby on 27 September, morning service in Albert Street on 11 October and evening service at Bourne/Diamond Avenue that same day, 11 October.
Best Man to Graham and Joan Hardy
One of my mother’s greatest friends in the 1950s was Joan Storer. They were both involved in the Sunday School at Bourne chapel and they did many social things together including going to the cinema and going on holiday. In March 1957, Joan married Graham Hardy, who was a great friend of Barrie’s. As a result, Barrie was Graham’s best man and appears in a photo of the wedding that mum had in one of her albums.
Correspondence
I am not quite sure why I first contacted Barrie. It may have been because many people directed me to him. I am sure that many of my questions about Methodism in the Kirkby area elicited the same response “Ask Barrie Smith, he’ll know“. I may have been enquiring about one or other of his books. One thing I know is that I wanted to check that the J Barrie Smith who had written a number of books that I had come across and the “Barry Smith” in my family’s diaries was one and the same, given the different spelling and given the commonness of the Smith name.
Barrie kindly responded to me in January 2022 answering these questions. He confirmed that he had indeed known my parents and recalled the fellowship meetings which my mother had referred to as bible studies. He recalled that some of those meetings were hosted by my parents in the flat above my grandad’s shoe shop in Station street where they were living at that time. Also, he noted that he and my father had both attended the same school (Henry Mellish) although Barrie was a year older than my father so presumably in the year above him. He also confirmed that he had been Graham Hardy’s best man and that he took services at Bourne Capel and many others in the circuit. In addition, he gave me a copy of one of his books “A Brief Record of the Ashfield Circuit“.
His Books
In researching my family’s diaries, I have come across a number of Barrie’s books and have found them invaluable in explaining much about Methodism in the Kirkby area, including providing details of the (Primitive) Methodist chapel to which my family belonged, Bourne chapel, on the corner of Lowmoor Road and Prospect Street.
Noah’s Ark – A Century Before and After
In 1979, Barrie produced a history of 100 years of Methodism in Kirkby. It covered the period from 1879 when the chapel now occupied by Trinity first opened. The title refers to a wooden structure known as Noah’s Ark which had been there before that time.
The book takes the form of a typewritten privately-published document. As such, I think it would be considered out-of-print. As far as I can recall, I have never seen a copy offered for sale. Consequently, I am extremely grateful to Helen Jay née Wright for giving me a copy of this book.
The book is divided into four sections. The first three covered different strands of Methodism – Wesleyan, United Methodist and Primitive Methodist, with the fourth considering developments since Methodist Union in 1932.
Useful Background on Primitive Methodism
When I started researching my family’s diaries, I confess I knew very little about Primitive Methodism, in general, let alone Primitive Methodism in the Kirkby area. I found this book really helpful in giving me some of this background, for example, explaining that Primitive Methodists were also known as “Ranters“, see Chapter 2.
Information on Bourne and Other Chapels
The book also gives some interesting information about Bourne chapel including that it had been built by his great-grandfather John Brailsford who was a Methodist local preacher and master builder, see Chapter 17. The book also mentions a number of other Methodist churches and chapels which were referred to in my family diaries, e.g. when family members attended chapel and Sunday School anniversaries. Examples include Kirkby Park and The Hill. It gives some key dates for Kirkby Park and includes details of people who laid stones and bricks at The Hill.
Quoted Extensively
The book is quoted extensively in Bill Clay-Dove’s book “Kirkby-in-Ashfield: An Interesting Township” and this may be where I first encountered this book of Barrie’s. Bill Clay-Dove says “Methodism in Kirkby has a long and interesting history, researched extensively by J Barrie Smith and published in his Noah’s Ark – A Century Before and After – an account of the Methodist people of Kirkby. I am deeply indebted to Mr Smith for permission to quote at length from his excellent book.
Strangely Warmed in Ashfield
Barrie covered similar material in a later book entitled “Strangely Warmed in Ashfield“. This was printed in 2002. Although this book is probably out-of-print, secondhand copies do sometimes become available and I managed to buy one, a signed copy, in July 2022.
As with the “Noah’s Ark” book, it is structured around four main sections. The first three focus on each of the main historical strands of Methodism with the fourth focused on developments since Methodist Union in 1932.
Explaining a Photograph
After my mother had died, I found two similar photos among her papers. They are labelled as having been taken at the side/back of Bourne chapel. But, I was not sure when they were taken, why or who the people were. The surround of the photo below is labelled in pencil, “Mrs Smith“, so presumably this belonged to grandad’s sister, Olive, whose married name was Smith. I think I see her in the photos. The building at the back is the Sunday School extension of 1907 – the centenary of founding of Primitive Methodism in 1807, hence the plaque visible in the lower photo.
Thankfully, albeit much later, I found the first of the two photos in Barrie Smith’s book “Strangely Warmed in Ashfield” (p85). It is labelled as having been taken on 31 August 1932 at the last quarterly meeting of the Sutton and Kirkby Primitive Methodist Circuit before Methodist Union. I suspect both photos were taken on the same day. The card (below) relates to the above meeting and is reproduced with permission.
Methodist Union
Another event my grandfather noted was the ceremony, at the Royal Albert Hall, on 20 September 1932, to celebrate Methodist Union. He noted listening to the event on the radio in his shop on Station Street. In this book, Barrie notes that this union was celebrated in Sutton by a public meeting at the Outram Street Methodist Church, on Monday 3 October 1932. However, he also noted that it was another 27 years before the different circuits joined together as one Ashfield circuit, see Chapter 69.
A Brief Record of the Ashfield Circuit (22/13) 1959-2010
Barrie kindly gave me a signed copy of this book which was printed by Teamprint in Loughborough in 2010. Again, I think this book is formally out-of-print and I do not recall having seen a copy for sale anywhere. So, I am particularly grateful for having been given this copy.
This book first explains the origins of the Ashfield circuit and then describes changes since 1959. It includes preaching plans from 1959 and 2010. There are then photos and brief descriptions of chapels in the circuit. There are then lists of circuit staff from 1959 to 2010, details of retired ministers residing in the circuit in 2010 and local preachers from the formation of the circuit to 2010. The final page looked forward as, in 2010, the Ashfield circuit amalgamated with three other circuits lay Cross, Ripley and South Normanton to form the Borders Mission Circuit.
Photos and Descriptions of Chapels
I found this book of Barrie’s particularly useful because of its descriptions and photos of Methodist chapels in the Kirkby area which Barrie kindly let me include on this website. These include include Outram Street, St John’s (Brook Street). New Cross, Forest Side and Priestsic Road in Sutton; Sutton Road in Huthwaite; Albert Street, Stanton Hill; Skegby; The Hill, The Park, Bourne, and Diamond Avenue in Kirkby; Forest Road and Sherwood Street in Annesley Woodhouse; Newstead; Pilsley; and Tibshelf.
Sutton
Albert Street, Stanton Hill
Kirkby Park
Sherwood Street, Annesley Woodhouse
Pilsley
These Photos and Descriptions Were Useful
I found these photos and descriptions particularly useful. My mother, in particular, mentions going to a lot of these chapels for various reasons. However, because these were well-known to her, she does not describe them in the systematic manner that Barrie uses. For example, she noted attending a Sunday School Youth Council in New Cross in February 1950. Also, she noted going to “Sunday School Union” in Brook Street in May 1952 and, in May 1953, she went with Joan Storer to a Sunday School demonstration at Brook Street, which was jointly between their circuit and Mansfield (Bridge Street) circuit. Mum noted that she and Joan did the Easter story in flannelgraph, see Chapter 54.
Understanding the Issues Behind the Formation of the Ashfield Circuit
Another thing I found extremely helpful was the way that Barrie explains that, although the three branches of the Methodist church unified in 1932, it took much longer to unify the structures, particularly the circuits. This issue surfaces in my family’s diaries as, in November 1958, mum, grandma, grandad and Tricia went to Outram Street Methodist in Sutton to hear Rev Donald Soper speak. Grandad noted that, although it was held at Outram Street, the meeting was a Sutton and Kirkby circuit engagement.
He did not however explain the significance of this comment and I confess, for a long time, I was not sure of the point grandad was making. I am grateful to Barrie for clarifying in his writings that at the time of Methodist Union, there were four Methodist circuits in the area. This meant that circuits overlapped and that they were organised, not on a geographical basis but, on former denominational affiliation. So, the Mansfield Bridge Street circuit was formerly Wesleyan, both the Mansfield West and Ripley circuits were formerly United Methodist and Sutton and Kirkby circuit was the former Primitive Methodist circuit. As Barrie explains in this book, making changes was difficult and a number of schemes were put forward, discussed and rejected. It was only in 1959, 27 years after Methodist Union, that a new Ashfield circuit was finally formed.
So, the point grandad was making, I think, was that this event was a Sutton and Kirkby (i.e. former Primitive Methodist) circuit event even though it was held in a church not in that circuit. Outram Street, a former Wesleyan chapel, was in the Mansfield Bridge Street circuit.
Merging Chapels to Form Trinity
While this issue of forming a merged circuit might seem somewhat esoteric, it was of considerable importance to my family because, as identified by Bill Clay-Dove in his book “Kirkby-in-Ashfield: An Interesting Township”, this was the first step needed to allow the planned merger of Bourne and Diamond Avenue chapels to go ahead to form Trinity. This issue was of importance to my family because they were longstanding members of Bourne. So, this matter features relatively prominently in family diaries.
In September 1957, a group from Bourne went to look round Diamond Avenue church. I am not entirely sure of the reason. Whatever the reason, those who went were mum, dad, grandma, Ron Rowe, John Overfield, Joan Hardy (nee Storer) and Rev Howells. It seems likely that the visit was part of the preparation for a possible merger. Less than two weeks later, a meeting was held to discuss amalgamating. According to grandad, grandma went to a meeting to discuss forming a Methodist circuit for Kirkby, Sutton etc. But, mum noted that she attended the meeting and that it was a Society meeting to discuss (chapel) amalgamation. She noted that they decided to amalgamate with Diamond Avenue and, if necessary, close Bourne. Mum does not explain why this decision was taken. For more details of how the merger of the chapels proceeded to form Trinity see , see Chapter 69.
Light on the Hill
In 2010, Barrie wrote a book celebrating 100 years of The Hill Methodist Church in Kirkby. This book, in common with “Strangely Warmed in Ashfield” was printed by Teamprint of Loughborough. This book is also formally out-of-print although I found it a bit easier to access than some of the other books. I bought a copy online in December 2021. At the time of writing, there are two copies for sale on Ebay.
As might be expected, this book focuses on the history of The Hill. It does this in a relatively sequential manner. The Hill was originally a Wesleyan chapel. It was opened in 1910 and took over from a chapel, built in 1834, that is now a snooker hall.
This book did help me understand one entry in my grandfather’s diary. In October 1923, grandad noted going to the opening of the organ at Kirkby Wesleyan chapel. Initially, I thought this related to the chapel in Diamond Avenue but it does not. I am grateful that this book of Barrie’s explains that The Hill had a new organ in 1923 and gives some detail of it (pp22-24).
Other Books
In 2020, Stephen Hatcher produced a book entitled “Primitive Methodist Bibliography” which included four of Barrie’s books. Of these, two are described above. The other two, which I have not yet identified, are “History of the Brailsford Family of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Kirkby-in-Ashfield” and “The Rock from Which: A History of Methodism in Sutton in Ashfield“. In addition, Barrie also wrote at least two books about the history of Sutton, in general.
Listing Ministers
One thing I found challenging in my early studies of the diaries was that they often mentioned Methodist Ministers but again not in a particularly systematic manner. so, I struggled to remember who was who and who was where when! For this reason, at a relatively early stage, I tried to create a list of Ministers at Bourne chapel from around 1914 to the mid-1960s, see List of Ministers at Bourne Chapel. I obtained information from various sources including the diaries.
Later, I discovered that Barrie had published similar lists in some of his books. For example, there is a list of Ministers in pastoral charge at The Hill from 1910 to 2008 in “Light on the Hill” (pp52-53) but there is little, if any, overlap between that list and Ministers at Bourne.
Also, there is a list of Ministers in the Ashfield Circuit in “A Brief Record of the Ashfield Circuit (22/13) 1959-2010”. However, as the list only starts in 1959, there is only overlap at the very beginning of that list. In “Noah’s Ark – A Century Before and After”, there is a list of Ministers who travelled in the Mansfield Wesleyan circuit from 1807 to 1899. However, this pre-dates the period in which I am primarily interested. However, that book also contains lists of Primitive Methodist Ministers in the Mansfield Circuit from 1826 to 1901 and, in the Sutton and Kirkby Circuit, from 1904 to 1959. The latter list overlaps with the period covered by the diaries and I have cross-checked the details there with those I have from elsewhere.
Conclusion
While I never met Barrie, his books have proved a great help to me in trying to understand the Methodist churches in the Kirkby area which were so much part of my family’s life until the early to mid-sixties. I am so grateful to Barrie for corresponding with me and for giving me a copy of one of his books that I had otherwise failed to get.