History of Union Church, Hunstanton

As the town of Hunstanton grew during the 19^th century so did the number of nonconformists. The Le Strange family who were Anglicans owned all the land. Property agreements prohibited the holding of nonconformist services on any ground above the high water mark so they worshipped God on the beach when the tide was out. In 1869 the Le Strange family relented and a piece of land was leased. A year later Union Chapel was built. It was stated then that " .. it shall always be available for the services of all evangelical nonconformists." Our constitution stipulates that Union will be at least two denominational and will support the work of two free church denominations. Historically these have been the Baptist Union and the Congregational Church which is now the United Reformed Church. Ministers of Union Church have been from these denominations.

www.unionchurchhunstanton.org

The tile and brick details on this pretty little church right in the centre of the town add something extra, and make this building wholly delightful. It was built as a congregational church, and opened in 1870. The memorial stone was laid by one of those ubiquitous Norfolk congregationalists, the Colmans of Norwich. The forty year old Jeremiah James Colman was reaching the height of his power and influence by 1870. The following year he became MP for Norwich, and was able to champion non-conformism not only here in Norfolk but in the corridors of power at Westminster. This is, I think, an important building in the history of Norfolk non-conformism. In layout, the church is like a smaller version of the nearby Methodist church, but that did not go up until a quarter of a century later. The architect here was probably the builder, a Mr Beeton. Given the early date, the exquisite tiling on the walls is surprisingly Art Nouveau in style, and the glass also appears to be so,  unlike Anglican and Catholic churches, non-conformist churches have no liturgical reason to be open outside of service times. But this must surely be one of the earliest examples of the Art Nouveau style in Norfolk. There is a curiously ecclesiological apse at one end. This arrangement is common in non-conformist churches of a couple of decades later, but it would be an early example here.The Hunstanton Congregationalists joined the new United Reformed Church when it was formed in the early 1970s, and then some time later a group of local Baptists moved in with them, a not unusual occurence. Today, they worship as the Union Church, and I'm sure they're proud of their lovely little building.

Simon Knott, February 2010