I am writing as archivist and conservator of the Poole and Swanage Methodist Church Circuit, in order to put right some of the details that were published in your newspaper last month under the heading “Touch of glass for Victorian church”.

It is clear that the dates given concerning the church were incorrect regarding our building in Poole High Street and its history over the years. The very first Methodist Church in Poole was erected and opened in 1798 on the same site but now forms the larger of the two halls at the rear of the existing church which fronts onto Poole High Street and which was opened for worship on August 18, 1880, following the laying of the foundation stones just two years earlier.

The first church building had to be enlarged in 1843 in an effort to accommodate all the many people who attended at that time and was restored in 1956 and is now used for all kinds of weekly events. However, the smaller hall is believed have originally been built as a ‘picture palace’ but the date of its construction is unknown. A kitchen extension was built onto it also in 1956 when the original church building was restored and now caters for coffee mornings and various church meetings.

Therefore I would much appreciate it if these corrections can now be published for the information of your readers.

JOHN RUSSELL, BA, M.Inst.BC, Russell Lane, Lytchett Matravers