Methodist Church House - Marylebone Road, London, UK
N 51° 31.363 W 000° 09.206
30U E 697471 N 5711797
This 1939 building, the home of the Methodist Missionary Society, is on the south side of Marylebone Road at the junction with Nottingham Place. This relief sculpture, one of several adorning the building, is over the main entrance.
Waymark Code: WMHW30
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/18/2013
Views: 1
The
Ornamental Passions website tells us:
The trees along Marylebone Road are very nice and all
that but they make photographing the sculpture jolly difficult. I think I
will have to come back in the winter to retake these excellent works by
David Evans on the Methodist Missionary Society building of 1939, designed
by Paul Manger, A.J. May and L. Sylvester Sullivan.
The low relief over the front door shows Christ signing up the fishermen
Simon, Andrew, James and John as disciples, telling them he will make them
'fishers of men'. Mind you, they seem to have had a very successful time as
fishers of fish, judging by the number of heads peeking out from the stern
of the boat. Perhaps it is a hint at the miraculous draft of fishes,
Christ's first miracle after the resurrection.
High up on the side of the building are three fine portraits, one of a nurse
cradling a baby, the others of African and Indian converts.
The cornerstone is inscribed:
The Methodist Church
The foundation stone of this
Mission House was laid by
the President of Conference
the Rev W L Wardle MA DD
28th June 1939
I look upon the whole world as my parish
John Wesley
The Methodist Heritage
website tells us:
The union of the three main branches of British
Methodism in 1932 brought together their missionary societies into the
Methodist Missionary Society, and 'Mission House' was begun as their
headquarters in 1939 as a symbol of this unity in action.
However, the BBC occupied the premises until 1946. Since 1996, the building
has been 'Methodist Church House' when it became the offices for the major
part of the British Connexional Team.