"In the winter of the year 1877–1878 there were encamped on the borders of Epping Forest, in the neighbourhood of Woodford, a band of some 200 or more gipsies."
Thus begins a short history, published 9 years later, of what was then the Grove Road Mission.
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A local man called Hobbs began visiting the camp, which was struggling through a particularly cold winter. After asking the leaders, Hobbs helped provide straw, food and clothing to help the camp. Hobbs soon became a trusted and frequent visitor.
He gradually sought opportunities to speak of “the Homeless Saviour, the wandering prodigal, and such open-air scenes and teaching as are recorded in the gospels”, and before too long a regular Bible study began, moving from tent to tent.
Fast-forward to 1879, and the Bible studies had outgrown the tents, and local rooms were hired for 4s. a week, with services on Thursdays and Sundays. But by 1880 these rooms too were outgrown…
A perfect room above a carpenter’s workshop on Grove Road was found, but the owner flat-out refused to rent it to a religious gathering of gypsies. The people prayed; the workshop changed hands; the new owner agreed to the rent (4s. 6d.), and even to putting in a staircase.
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By 1882 the room was regularly hosting 150 people. The combination of the people, the 12 paraffin lamps, and scanty ventilation, led to a situation described as “not always the most desirable as regards atmosphere” and “better imagined than described”.
A nearby plot of land was purchased, but money for a building was hard to come by, until a letter came out of the blue: apparently a wealthy local had overheard Hobbs explaining his grief at the lack of funds to a friend, and decided to see if he could help.
The building was completed in 1883, and in time became known as Grove Road Evangelical Church.
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The church grew and remained in this building for almost a hundred years, but in the 1970s most of Grove Road was due to be demolished due to the construction of the North Circular Road. The former Grove Road Mission had to move!
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The London Authority helped construct a new building just across what was now the North Circular, on Grove Hill – top right of the picture (look for the spire!).
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The church has changed a lot since those early days. When the church began, it was working class Essex; now it’s suburban London. No more carpenters’ workshops or dangerously packed meeting rooms.
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But something has stayed constant throughout: the gospel message preached each week is the same, and the desire to reach out with that good news beyond the walls of the building has remained.
