Tag Archives: Chapel

Arthur Linfoot was a member of the South Durham Street United Methodist Free Church in Sunderland, and a regular church-goer elsewhere when not in Sunderland. He records his attendance at chapel and church services of many kinds throughout his diaries.

1 February 1914; Sunday

February 1914, , , , ,

Got up about 9 o’clock. At chapel and School. Mr Chadwick off and Mr Mullens preached in the morning and Mr Lawson at night. I had Esther Mullens’s class as well as my own and managed all right. Didn’t stay to the sacrament at night. Had usual walks. Willie stayed off at night on account of Lawson preaching. Father about the same. Dr Blair had talk with Mother with regard to compensation1. Commenced to write to New Zealand.

  1. “Compensation” refers to ALL’s father’s loss of the first two fingers of his right hand in a workplace accident on an unrecorded date, probably in late 1913. ↩

28 January 1914; Wednesday

January 1914, ,

Got up about 7.45. Drilled a bit. Fine morning. Busy all day. Finished in good time. Called for Willie and went to Bethany1. Only a few there. German funny man. Natty played as usual. Beresford, Reg Davis and Miss Brown sang, not so badly. Father in low spirits all day. Sat up until after 12 talking. Labour Leaders of South African Strike2 deported about this time.

  1. Bethany: presumably an evangelical chapel. ↩

  2. Mahatma Gandhi returned (or was returned) from South Africa to India in 1914. ↩

27 January 1914; Tuesday

January 1914, , ,

Got up about 8 o’clock. Rather dull. Fine cold day. Had a bit toothache. Finished in good time at night. Went down to class meeting at night1. Received club money and banked £1. Talked to Charlie, Willie, Jim Wilkinson2 and Blaikie after the choir practice. Went to bed about 11.30.

  1. The “class meeting”: the regular congregation at Chapel were allocated to ‘classes’ which met at intervals, generally mid-­week, for prayer and discussion. Each class had a respected ‘leader’ who was expected to exercise some level of general pastoral care. ↩

  2. Jim Wilkinson: not identified, but possibly a relative of Mother (née Wilkinson.)  ↩

25 January 1914; Sunday

January 1914, , ,

Got up about 9.50. Too late for chapel. Looked up lesson. Went to Sunday School as usual. Got on pretty well. Chapel at night. Mr Chadwick preached. Very good sermon. The 5 towns1. Cornet solo “Lost Chord”2. Sang the anthem and a man sang a solo. Very windy. Joe’s hat and mine blew off in Amberley Street3. Hilda 4 to tea. Mr & Mrs Carney here. Joe got reply to an application.

  1. The Cities of the Plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela or Zoar), or the Five Towns of the English Potteries? ↩

  2. “[The] Lost Chord”: very popular song by Sir Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame. ↩

  3. Amberley Street: between White House Road and Mowbray Road, parallel with Salem Street. ↩

  4. See Hilda disambiguation page. ↩

24 January 1914; Saturday

January 1914, , , , ,

Got up about 8 o’clock. Finished work about 2 o’clock. Hurried up with Father to see Dr Robinson and he was pretty reasonable1. Went to the Picture House [Picture House written beneath] and saw some decent pictures. We were in the 3d2. seats. Hurried up to Trinity3 and heard a good lecture on Zoroastrianism. Went to Roker with Willie. Finished off with a midnight meeting at the chapel and I played. Midnight Meeting. Joe Speed led and Blaikie and Dick sang. Nearly all the people drunk.

  1. Dr Robinson was presumably advising (but which side?) about the workplace accident. Other names not identified. ↩

  2. “3d.” is three old pence = 1¼p. For the post-­decimalisation generations: there were 12d. to the shilling (s.), and 20s. to the £; thus 6d. = 2½p., 1s. = 5p., 2s. 6d. (written 2/6) = 12½p., 10/-­‐ = 50p., 15/6 = 77½p., 30/-­‐ = £1.50 etc. Decimal equivalents are not generally given hereinafter. ↩

  3. Trinity: see note on 10 January. ↩

18 January 1914; Sunday

January 1914,

Got up rather late. At chapel and School as usual. Got new scholar in my class. Storey back and in Arthur Collinson’s class. Mr Chadwick’s sermon was good but the service and the hymns very poor. Rained heavily at night. Uncle George and Aunt Mary1 to tea.

  1. Uncle George and Aunt Mary do not appear to have been siblings of Christopher Linfoot (ALL’s father), so were presumably on ALL’s mother’s side. ↩

11 January 1914; Sunday

January 1914,

Got up about 9.30. At chapel and School as usual. Our turn for children’s service and had rather a rough time. Mr Hardy preaching in the morning and Mr Lawson at night1. I managed pretty well in Sunday School and had a big class. Mr Blaikie in trying the boys for the choir and we were in late. Had shorter walks than usual.

  1. Messrs Hardy and Lawson: not identified, probably local (ie un-ordained amateur) preachers. ↩

4 January 1914; Sunday

January 1914, , , , , , , ,

At chapel1 as usual. Mr Chadwick preached. Charlie and Joe commenced in the School. The classes were merged. I managed pretty well. Had shorter walks than usual and were at Grandmother’s to tea and supper. Had a bit music and a pleasant time. Charlie and I saw a woman fall down in Christopher Street, and she broke a jug she was carrying. Got to bed about midnight after talking about Father and a shop2. Ernie and Hilda went to Boldon3 for the night. I said goodbye to Ernie and talked a bit about the prospects before them.

  1. “Chapel” would have been the South Durham Street Methodist church, which closed at some date between the Wars; Mr Chadwick was of course the Minister. “School” was Sunday School. ↩

  2. ALL’s father had lost two fingers in a work-place accident; many diary entries refer to his compensation claim and his re-employment, and to renting a shop to supplement income. ↩

  3. Boldon, which may have meant East B. (A), West B. (B) or B. Colliery (C), would have been where Hilda’s parents lived. ↩