Although
now a suburb of Cheltenham, Prestbury is still an attractive village with
many thatched cottages and old honey-coloured cotswold stone houses. Its most
famous landmark is the racecourse at Prestbury Park but the village also has
the more dubious fame of being the most haunted in England!
Prestbury URC is situated on Deep Street which is the main road through the village and it was opened as a Chapel in 1866 by Highbury Congregational Church to provide a non-conformist centre of worship for the village. It is a traditional red-brick building but over the years many changes have been made to both the inside and outside of the building.
The congregation in this church reflects its village setting. There are members of the congregation with a deep personal faith whose families have worshipped in this church for generations. There are also a number of young families who are just starting their journey of faith and a great emphasis has always been placed on working with children.. The congregation has worked alongside the ministers to adjust and adapt worship to meet the needs of young families and a spiritually growing congregation.
We have good links and relationships with our near neighbour, the Anglican Parish Church of St Mary and we are an active member of Churches Together in North Cheltenham which, in addition to the URC and St Mary's, comprises Holy Name Hall(R.C), St Michael's (joint Methodist & C of E) and five other Anglican churches (St Nicolas', All Saints, Elmstone Hardwicke and Swindon Village).
The Church has good links with the local Anglican Infant and Junior Schools, with one of our members regularly taking services and another on the Infant School's Board of Governors.
In 1972 Prestbury Congregational Church joined the new United Reformed Church and in 1991 Prestbury URC joined with Warden Hill URC and St Andrew's URC to form the United Reformed Church in Cheltenham.(URCiC)
More information on Prestbury URC
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