The History of EMC

Elburton Methodist Church is a little unusual in that it seems to have been the first Church building in the village and is certainly the oldest standing Church building. The Church of England place of worship was established later, in fact not until the 20th Century. A memorial stone at the front of the main Church building is dated 1869 and bares the title "Bible Christian Chapel". In other words this building did not start it's life as a Methodist Church.

It's modest architecture and design it however, in keeping with the traditions of the Methodist Church. This is no surprise the Bible Christians were formed by a Methodist preacher, and became a part of the greater Methodist Church again during the act of Union (That is the Uniting act forming the United Methodist Church, there used to be several flavours of Methodist!). That union by the way cam about in the early part of the 20th Century.

The buildings have seen some significant change over the years the most obvious of which are ....

  • The removal of the original street entrance (this would have been approximately where the bus stop is today).
  • The rotation of the Church, moving the pulpit from what is now the rear to where the aforementioned doors were located.
  • The construction of an Iron Hall (The first village hall in Elburton)
  • The demolition of this Hall and the construction of the present Hall(s).
  • The extension into the neighboring cottage.
  • The most recent works to unite the two buildings and create an atrium.

Despite all these changes the worshiping heart of the Church has changed little. The traditions have changed, the styles of worship relaxed. We no longer call each other Mr and Mrs, we have managed to master first names. However, fundamentally we are still a group of people trying to come to terms with our faith. Trying to understand what we believe and support each other in doing it. This is no different from the desires of the pilgrim Elburton Bible Christians (Methodists) who sought to learn more about God and explore their Faith.

There is so much more I can write on the History of this wonderful place, so will update this page again soon. In the meantime you can find out some more by looking at the Plymouth history website!

Find Us

Want to find us for real? Bored of just seeing our virtual selves on-line? Well you can. We have lots of events and activities for you to join in! Here's how ....

We are located in the former village of Elburton on the outskirts of Plymouth. We are right at the end of the row of village shops opposite the village hall.

From Plymouth, come out along Billacombe road (and Elburton road) until you get to the Elburton Public House at the roundabout just in front of this turn right (third exit) onto Springfield road. Continue along Springfield road, over the Zebra crossing (please stop to let folks cross). On the next right is a turning to the village car park you may like to turn in and park here. If you do so there are some steps at the top of the car park which come straight into the Church grounds.

Alternatively you may want to give the Village Car Park a miss and come straight to the Church. Keep going straight along Springfield road and you will find it inclines away from you. When you see a stone cross and a bus stop on your left, look right! That is the Church!

There is a Church car park, but spaces are limited, to find it turn right directly after the Church Hall (which is next to the Church on the right).

 Inside EMC

Once you are inside EMC it's easy to find your way around, in case you'd like to know more about the layout before you arrive please see our floor plan and photos below. Thank you