Staple Hill Salvation Army to celebrate 140th anniversary

Celebrations will take place in Staple Hill this weekend as The Salvation Army marks 140 years of serving people in the area.

The anniversary also marks another significant milestone for the church and charity as a major refurbishment of its building on Broad Street is now complete and will be unveiled as part of the celebrations. 

Majors Colin and Nicola Hylton-Jones lead The Salvation Army in Staple Hill. Nicola said the couple are grateful to all who have participated in or supported the church and hoped as many as possible would join events on Saturday, February 10 and Sunday, February 11.

She added: “I believe the enduring presence of The Salvation Army in Staple Hill is a result of our close connection with the community. We are looking forward to a wonderful weekend, a chance to spend time with people, to reflect on the history of our church and our hopes and plans to continue our service.

“Everyone is welcome to join in the celebrations which start on Saturday at 10am with a fun-packed day including a café, table top sale, live music, children’s activities, exhibitions, interactive activities, guided tours of our refurbished building and much more.”

Events continue on Saturday evening with a concert at the church which gets underway at 7pm. 

Celebrations continue on Sunday morning when Colin and Nicola lead a special worship meeting at 10am before The Salvation Army band leads a march through Staple Hill starting in Page Park at 11.45am.

Nicola said the refurbishment work, made possible through a grant from the Harry Crook Foundation, will help The Salvation Army serve the community more effectively.

She added: “The work has made the building more flexible and we have increased the capacity in our worship hall by 60 by adding a gallery as there wasn’t enough room previously. The toilets have also been updated. What we have done is futureproof our building so that we can serve our local community well into the future.”