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Richard Moody is stopping his slideshows after 30 years due to no longer being able to get spare parts for his projector. (Moody 01 MF) Picture: Michael Ford
A NEW booklet has been launched to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Selby Town Hall.
The anniversary takes place next Wednesday, which marks 150 years since the Gowthorpe building hosted its first service in its former guise as the home of the Selby Primitive Methodist Church.
To mark the 150th anniversary, Richard Moody, a former Selby Times Bygone Days contributor and local historian, who is also the local Methodist archivist, has written a book called The Selby Primitive Methodist Circuit, 1863 to 1932, which covers the activities of the Primitive Methodist chapels in Selby and some of the surrounding villages. Several local photographs are included in the volume.
Richard (below) is well-placed for local knowledge of his subject, as all his immediate family members were involved in the life of the chapel, and he was christened there, and attended the Sunday School.
The book is currently being printed at present,and the price has not yet been finalised, but is expected to be about £2.50.
It will be available for the first time on next Wednesday afternoon at the town hall, and after that from the venue, author and Selby Times office.
Richard said: “Next Wednesday the building which is now the town hall will celebrate 150 years.
“It was opened on October 10, 1862, as a place of worship for the Selby Primitive Methodists, and it continued as a chapel for more than 90 years. In 1932, various branches of the Methodist Church came together as the Methodist Church of Great Britain, and the Wesleyan chapel in James Street and the Primitive Chapel in Gowthorpe then belonged to the same religious denomination.
“As often happens in other areas when there are mergers at the top – for example banks, supermarkets, clothes shops – local rationalisation follows. Thus in 1956, the two Methodist Churches in Selby came together in James Street, and for the next 40 years, the one in Gowthorpe was a tyre centre until it was bought by the Selby Town Council in 1992.”
The building’s birthday will be celebrated between noon and 4pm on Wednesday. Entry to the event will be free.
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Weather for Selby
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 8 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
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Sunny spells
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