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An Historic Place for the new Church

A new site was found next to the existing Chapel where the historic first Luton Hospital known as The Cottage Hospital stood. Having outgrown the space in High Town the hospital was relocated to the Bute not far away. Some of the original site remains today in the grassed area at the back of the Church where patients would sit out or take exercise.

The foundation stones that run all along the right hand side of the church all refer to Sunday School classes. The size of the first stones reflect the size of the gift by the benefactors, some of the most famous people in the town's history.The builder was a modest local man living next to the post office a short distance away.

The church was built in a way that embodied many of the ideas learnt from the previous 45 years next door- high windows, vaulted roof, raked floor, an apsidal (curved) end behind the preacher. The giant gaseliers that hung from t he centre of the roof and the special draught free wall ventilators with a central heating boiler in a purpose made basement were all major advances.There is very little decoration of the architecture of the building which is common with many non-conformist buidlings. The woodwork is Pitch pine and the three seater pulpit is the focal point of the building. The pews have metal frames for name plates from the days when there was no offertory taken in the church but expenses were met by a pew rent collected by the Class Leaders.

The old building never had a Pipe Organ. Methodists did not approve because it drowned the voice. But energetic singing and good acoustics were never likely to be drowned and in 1899 an organ was bought. Harrison and Harrison of Durham had built the organ in 1845 it has some 1800 pipes. To provide the wind for the bellows there were originally hand levers. However the victorians soon used the development of water power and steam to help them. Intalling a pump room fed by 3 inch water pipe from a header tank in the building next door. Only the pipe and bellow remain of it today.

There have never been any bells in the cupola (dome of the tower) the ropes on the gallery were for opening ventilators on the one time gaseliers. This extracted the fumes and stuffy air from a packed interior.

The Building nowadays provides a safe haven for the Pulpit used by John Wesley during his visit to Luton on 16th January 1772.Without doubt one of the greatest preachers of all time.

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