WARE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

The United Reformed Church was founded in October 1972 by union of the Congregational Church in England and Wales and the Presbyterian Church of England. However not all the churches belonging to these two denominations agreed to accept the 1972 Scheme of Union. The records of those Hertfordshire churches which remained separate are catalogued under the reference NC.

CLASSIFICATION SCHEME

NR6/1 Church Books

NR6/2 Church Meeting

NR6/3 Deacons

NR6/4 Registers

NR6/5 Committees and church organizations

NR6/6 Church Finance

NR6/7 Church Property

NR6/8 Sunday School

NR6/10 Membership

NR6/13 Miscellaneous

UNITED REFORMED CHURCH RECORDS

NR1 Barnet, Wood Street United Reformed Church

NR2 Bushey United Reformed Church

NR3 Barley United Reformed Church

NR4 St Albans, Trinity United Reformed Church

NR5 Letchworth Free Church

NR6 Ware United Reformed Church

NR7 Royston United Reformed Church

NR8 Hitchin United Reformed Church

NR9 Radlett United Reformed Church

NR10 Wheathampstead United Reformed Church

NR11 Hemel Hempstead, Adeyfield Free Church (affiliated to the United Reformed Church

NR12 Bishops Stortford United Reformed Church

NR13 Harpenden United Reformed Church

NR14 Hertford United Reformed Church

NR15 New Barnet United Reformed Church

NR16 Knebworth United Reformed Church

<span class="wrapper"><p>Further Reading</p> <p>Urwick, Non-Conformity in Hertfordshire pp 719-720</p> <p>For Walkern United Reformed Church see D/EX838</p></span>

• <corpname>Ware United Reformed Church, Ware, Hertfordshire</corpname>
• <corpname>Ware Congregational Church, Ware, Hertfordshire</corpname>

The records were deposited in the Record Office by the Minister of Ware United Reformed Church on 18th March 1976.

Acc 1496

Introduction

The records in this deposit concern the Ware Congregational Church which was established on 1st July 1918 from two Independent Meetings, the first in Church Street and the second in High Street.

Church Street Meeting

There had been a meeting of Protestant Dissenters in Ware since the end of the seventeenth century, but the first church was not erected until 1778 in Church Street, when the first Church Book was begun (see NR6/1/1). The church seated about four hundred and fifty people.

High Street Meeting

This meeting had its origins in a Sunday evening lecture organised in the High Street, from about 1778, by Mr Richard Gridley. The congregation was formed in 1811 (see NR6/1/2) and a chapel built in the High Street in 1859.

When the two congregations amalgamated on 1 July 1918 (see NR6/2/3) to form Ware Congregational Church, they moved into the High Street Chapel. A new Sunday School building and hall were erected in 1933 (see NR6/7/4) and a manse in 1948-1949 (see NR6/7/3). The building in Church Street was sold, and the organ donated to the Methodist Church in 1919.

On 5 Oct 1972 Ware Congregational Church became Ware United Reformed Church. In 1978 they were joined by the Methodists and the church is now known as Leaside.