Volunteer Research Visit to the Special Collections Archive at The Hartley Library, University of Southampton

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On 18th November, 8 members of the Avenue 2020 project team visited the Special Collections Archive at The Hartley Library. We spent the afternoon looking at items from the MS52 and Cope

Collections, relating to Isaac Watts. The archive items included an original bible owned by the Watts family, books written by Watts, and information on the inauguration of the commemorative statue, which is now in Watts Park, Southampton. This visit was important to the project as it contributed to our research on the life and works of Watts, the so-called ‘Father of English hymnody’ and whose father was minister in one of Avenue St Andrew’s URC’s parent congregations.

Archivists from the Special Collections have written a very interesting blog post about Isaac Watts, which also refers to some of the material they have on him, to take a look go to: https://specialcollectionsuniversityofsouthampton.wordpress.com/2018/07/17/isaac-watts-1674- 1748-son-of-southampton-father-of-english

Avenue 2020 Fundraising Event Ealing Symphony Orchestra Concert

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On Saturday 19th October 2019, Avenue St Andrew’s URC welcomed the Ealing Symphony Orchestra for an evening of entertainment.

The concert was organised by Martyn Humphries and his wife, Heather, who both play in the orchestra.  An impressive 113 tickets were sold, raising over £2000! The funds raised were shared between the orchestra and the Avenue 2020 project, which meant £1,042 for the Avenue2020 appeal and the same for the orchestra’s funds. This was an amazing total as expenses also had to be paid for music hire, a van to transport percussion instruments, as well as the soloist’s and conductor’s fees and expenses. Fortunately all these costs were offset by a generous grant from the William Alwyn fund – given because the concert featured one of his pieces.

The concert was performed in memory of Martyn’s father and seems to have been much enjoyed by everyone who attended.

Photograph credit: Paul Robinson. To see more photographs from the album, visit Mr Robinson’s Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulrobinsonuk/albums/72157711420030952

Avenue 2020 Update: First School Visit is a Great Success!

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 The building work has started on the turret at Avenue St Andrew’s URC (ASA) and the rest of the Avenue 2020 project is well underway! The project research team are busy exploring the history of ASA, looking at the music of Isaac Watts, the architecture of James Cubitt, and the story of the church in World War One [WWI].

The WWI strand began with the discovery of some fascinating archive material at ASA. This part of the project tells the story of how volunteers from ASA were involved in supporting thousands of soldiers from the Rest Camp on Southampton Common and those passing through The Avenue, before embarking for France.

As a way of sharing the WWI story, the Church Archive Group have designed a school visit programme called ‘Avenue St Andrew’s URC and WWI’. On 8th October 2019, over 60 pupils and staff from Bevois Town Primary School arrived for a successful morning of activities at ASA. The children were welcomed with refreshments outside the Concourse, as a way of reflecting the story of the ASA members who did the same for WWI soldiers as they marched by. Other activities included ‘writing letters home’, ‘getting hands-on with primary sources’, and exploring ‘trams and drill’, to name a few! The morning’s activities were very well received and Assistant Headteacher Dan Steel, told us that after returning to school, the children were ‘buzzing’ and that it was ‘clear that immersion in the life of a soldier travelling through Southampton has really resonated with our children and staff!!’.

Following on from the success of the school visit, we are planning to launch a ‘School Visit Pack’. This will be sent out to prospective schools and will also be put up on the ASA website. WATCH THIS SPACE!

Avenue 2020 Heritage Project

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17/10/2019

Avenue 2020 is a project based at Avenue St Andrew’s United Reformed Church on the Avenue in Southampton exploring the congregation’s story as a church which helps others. In parallel with high-level refurbishment of the building, the project has three main strands. One will explore the music of Isaac Watts, the so-called ‘Father of English hymnody’ whose father was minister in one of our parent congregations and will offer workshops with a local musician encouraging people to write their own songs or poems inspired by Watts’ work. In the second strand, volunteer researchers will explore the design principles of James Cubitt, Victorian Nonconformist architect of the church, and discover how these principles work out in Avenue St Andrew’s compared with Cubitt’s most famous church, Union Chapel, Islington. The third strand will develop resources for primary school education based on the story told in our archives of the church supporting WW1 soldiers, quartered on Southampton Common awaiting embarkation. A permanent record of the project will be created through the development of a heritage trail through the church sanctuary, using information banners whose script derives from Avenue 2020 project activities. All three will be coordinated by the new heritage project manager, Dr Toni Griffiths, working with church members and community volunteers, and culminating in an Open Day to celebrate the work. The project has been made possible thanks to financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and other funders.