Nostalgia with Margaret Watson: Christian churches reached out to help the ‘down and outs’ living on the streets

Our priest used to say all Protestants would go to hell, and I’m sure Protestants felt the same about us, but we still managed to live peacefully side by side.

The rich lived in big houses and the poor in small ones, and I always wanted to be rich because I thought they were so much happier than us.

I thought money brought happiness because I’d seen first-hand the joy it brought to my family when some of it unexpectedly came winging our way.

Usually it was after the gas man had called to empty the meter and left neat piles of pennies on the kitchen table, each pile containing 12 pennies – a shilling in those days.

Mother would count them and then dispatch me to the fish shop with enough money for a fish for every grown-up, a bag of chips with bits on for the little ones, and a packet of Woodbines for dad.

I still remember the happiness and contentment which spread through the house on these occasions and no wonder I grew up thinking the rich felt like this all the time.

How wrong I was. Money can never bring happiness. Poor people like us had happiness in abundance. Trouble was we didn’t know it. We do now.

But, long before I was born there were many in Dewsbury who had been much poorer than us and literally living on the streets.

They were what we called ‘down and outs’ and they lived wretched lives with nowhere to live and having to sleep rough.

But there were some Christian churches which reached out to help them, especially the evangelical churches like the Out and Out Mission, pictured.

It was situated in Crackenedge Lane, and although it closed down many years ago, the building is still there.

The members of this little church gave practical and spiritual help to those whose lives had been ruined by drink and gambling, and they were able to bring many of them back into the fold.

People like these were committed to saving souls and to reach them they held open air meetings and gave powerful sermons which helped reclaim many who had lost their way.

Its members visited the poor in the many lodging houses which once existed in Dewsbury, and prayed with people, holding services while they cooked, ate and smoked.

One church member wrote at the time. “Notwithstanding this, the services went on and proved to be a great spiritual blessing. We saw strong, powerful men in tears, and large numbers signed the pledge.

“And, some of those who were separated from wives and relative have been reunited, and those reclaimed have become bright and useful citizens.”

In 1904, shortly after they opened, large numbers were converted and more than 50 of them who were from local lodging houses started attending services.

Among the souls’ reclaimed’ were prostitutes, criminals, drunkards and gamblers, who went on to mend their ways and lead productive lives.

The church had been founded in 1904 by a group of young men from various churches and chapels in Dewsbury who wanted to better social conditions for the poor and destitute.

They organised outdoor services and visited lodging houses in Bradford Road, Daisy Hill, Leeds Road, Watergate, Westtown and Boothroyd Lane.

Their motto was “Saved to Serve” and one of their founders, Mr Douglas Walker, who lived in Birkdale Road, was a leading light.

In the early days, meetings were held in the old Albert Hall, Bradford Road, and at some meetings there were as many as 1,000 present.

They later moved to Crackenedge Lane where they shared premises with the old Gospel Hall and soon the two churches had merged.

One of the greatest supporters was Dewsbury mill owner, Sir Mark Oldroyd who wrote to them praising their work.

He wrote: “What you are doing is nearer God’s own handiwork thins anything I have known. I trust you may have Heaven’s smile for your work in quickening the spiritual life.”

Not content with saving souls, members of the Out and Out Mission set about trying to change social conditions in the town.

Concerned about increasing vice in Dewsbury and the fact that neighbouring Leeds had no fewer than 2,000 women ‘on the streets’, they started a petition.

They called for certain bye-laws to be amended so that insidious and corrupting vices like street betting and gambling could be curbed.

The mission claimed an average of 18 people were being “reclaimed at every meeting and that they were now visiting every single person convicted of drunkenness in the Dewsbury police courts to persuade them to change their ways.

In one letter to the council, they wrote: “We do not presume to trespass beyond our own domain, which is that of moral persuasion, but we do earnestly desire that you will support us in our efforts.”

These Christians prayed more on their feet in the open air than we ever did on our knees in the comfort of our churches.

Whenever I hear of church “missions”, I think of the so-called missions which were often held in our Catholic churches.

So-called ‘missionary’ priests, who were recognised as powerful preachers, were often invited to hold weekly “missions” in our church in Batley Carr.

Usually our parish priest would invite them to stir the congregation and bring back those who had stopped going to church.

It worked very well because when the “missionary” priests, held confessions, those “lapsed” Catholics, would attend because they knew the visiting priest wouldn’t recognise their voice in the confessional box.

But that was in the days when there were churches on every street corner and people on the whole went to church regularly.

Sadly, most of them are now closed.​​​​​​​