Our History

John Wesley preached to a great crowd on Kennington Common – now Kennington Park

The first Methodist chapel in Lambeth was opened in Lower Marsh

A Methodist ‘class’ was established in a house in Vauxhall Row, the first floor of which had been fitted out for public worship

The foundation stone was laid for a chapel on Lambeth Road, where the present church  stands 

The whole of South London was comprised of a single Methodist Circuit.

The ‘upstairs’ chapel at Vauxhall was replaced by a chapel on Worgan Street 

The Methodist charity, The National Children’s Homes was founded “to provide shelter for  young mudlarks seeking a living along the river”. The charity was renamed Action for Children and annually funds were raised from amongst church members

During the first years of the 20th century membership rose but declined through the First World War, by which time the circuit was reduced to two centre – Vauxhall and Lambeth

The Reverend Thomas Tiplady, known as TT, remodelled the old chapel and created ‘The  Ideal Cinema’. TT’s cinema services became very popular and were well attended by people who didn’t normally go to church! Similar services were held in the hall next door that was called ‘The Little Ideal’

The chapel/The Ideal – The Lambeth Mission, as the church became to be called, was completely destroyed by an enemy bomb. The Lambeth Street Preacher’, the work of Edward Bainbridge-Copsall was recovered from a bombed building in Birmingham and erected at the Lambeth Mission

TT oversaw the building of a new set of premises on Worgan Street, Vauxhall. Thomas Tiplady oversaw the building of a new hall ‘Tiplady Hall’ 

Frederick Poad, TT’s successor, built a new church, where The Ideal had stood. An organ was obtained from Ealing Methodist Church, on its closure

A new eleven storey student hostel was opened next door to the church, for students from overseas. A Warden was appointed whose responsibility extended to care-taking the Church and a sequence of wardens and their wives provided invaluable service to both the students and to the church

A Local Ecumenical Partnership was set up with the Anglican congregation of St Mary at  Lambeth church, beside Lambeth Palace, that had been declared pastorally redundant. The old church was taken over and became ‘The Garden Museum’. The Church was now called  Lambeth Mission and St Mary’s (LMSM).

From 1972 onwards, The combined churches ran a multitude of activities for every age group, from cubs and brownies, holiday courses for children during the August holidays, through youth groups to The Charioteers (a club that included many wheelchair users) and a mainly women’s group, the  Sisterhood.

Lynda Brown and Ursula Ovenden founded, directed and performed in the first Inner City  Players’ production, an annual event that continued for the next forty-eight years, bringing church and non-church actors, singers and dancers together, along with children from Archbishop Sumner’s, the local church school, in pantomime, musicals, Gilbert and Sullivan, Mystery Plays and concert parties for the entertainment of many local people. 

LMSM participated in the Parish Fete, held in the gardens of Lambeth Palace, the privilege of running a Garden Party, as it was known then, having been given to St Mary’s congregation by the Archbishop in 1946 ‘ to cheer people up after the war’! 

For forty-five years, the Ecumenical Partnership continued at LMSM – more  commonly referred to as ‘The Mission’, until the PCC of the Parish of North Lambeth who had  oversight of the Anglican/St Mary’s membership of LMSM, withdrew from the LEP

In response to the annual appeal sent out by the Methodist church as a ‘Mission’ church £14,000 was donated to the church. Then considered to be an established church, appeals were no longer made

The faithful, old minibus was pensioned off after many years of taking people on outings and holidays

Groups went to Iona

SM joined Robes, an organisation providing cold weather shelter for homeless people from November to February

A church group went to the Olympic Park site

The Mission reverted to being a Methodist Church, although most of the Anglicans remained within the congregation

The old church was demolished 

Lambeth Walk Methodist Church was opened