RADCLIFFE CONGREGATIONAL (UNITED REFORMED 1975) CHURCH

CRU/1 Church Record Books (3 items) 1849-1910

CRU/2 Committee Minutes (22 items) 1894-1983

CRU/3 Baptism and Funeral Registers (see also CRU/1 above) (3 items) 1916-1959

CRU/4 Marriage Registers (see also CRU/1 above) (8 items) 1899-1965

CRU/5 Communion Attendance Registers (3 items) 1934-1969

FINANCIAL RECORDS

CRU/6 Receipts and Payments Journals (16 items) 1848-1989

CRU/7 Ledgers (3 items) 1893-1944

CRU/8 Communion Fund Journals (1 item) 1884-1943

CRU/9 Pew Rent Books (1 item) 1857/8

CRU/10 Free-Will Offering Accounts (2 items) 1931-1982

CRU/11 Annual statements of Accounts (3 items) 1915- 1989

CRU/12 Miscellaneous Accounts (6 items) 1866 - 1993

CRU/13 Treasurer's Papers re Church Building Works (21 items) 1866 - 1984

CRU/14 Treasurer's General Correspondence (2 items) 1976 - 1984

CRU/15 Miscellaneous Secretary's Correspondence (2 items) 1920 - 1974

CRU/16 Newsletters (6 items) 1925 - 1995

CRU/17 Service Sheets and Other Ephemera (4 items) 1880 - 1980

CRU/18 Photographs (4 items) 1922 - 1975

SUNDAY SCHOOL

CRU/19 School Comittee Minute Books (3 items) 1848 - 1965

CRU/20 Teachers' Meeting Minute Books (4 items) 1851 - 1956

OTHER CHURCH ORGANISATIONS

CRU/21 Radcliffe Bridge Congregational Mutual Improvement Society (1 item) 1857 - 1871

CRU/22 Band of Hope (2 items) 1907 - 1947

CRU/23 Choir (4 items) C19 - 1972

CRU/24 Radcliffe Congregational Mens' Billiards Institute (1 item) 1947 - 1963

CRU/25 Miscellaneous Records (6 items) 1865 - 1978

A few items are closed until 2012.

These records were deposited by the church in 1996.

In 1847, a sunday school was established in cottage premises in Thomas Street by members of the congregation at Stand Lane Independent Church. The following year, they also purchased the former Mechnics Institute (later Roman Catholic chapel) premises at Mow Brow (Church Street) as a place of worship, and a separate church was formally established on the 18th May 1849, with the Rev. John Hopkins as first minister. In 1866/7, a new combined church and school building was built on the current site at the junction of Water Street and Spring Lane; a new chapel and infant sunday school were added on the site in 1872 and 1876 respectively. The original building was greatly extended in 1882, using adjacent land formerly occupied by the old turnpike toll house, which had been purchased in 1877 by the church, and let to private tenants.

A day school (Radcliffe British School) in connection with the church was opened in 1874; no minutes of the day school committee/managers are among the church records, but some inspector's reports and annual statistics etc. are included in the sunday school committee minutes.