'This is the place God has called us to be': Preston church celebrates 300 year anniversary

A church in Preston is this year marking its 300th anniversary - and is set to hold a celebration event this week.

St. George the Martyr Church, on George’s Road, has been serving Preston’s Christian community since 1726.

In that time, the building has survived two World Wars, 12 monarchs, and England becoming a ‘minority Christian country’, but has nonetheless remained a staple of the city even to this day.

“The church has really lived through some huge changes,” said Fr Calum Mullett, who has worked as the assistant curate at St. George’s for the past two and a half years.

Previously living in Oxford, he moved to Preston to study under current vicar Fr David Craven, and will next year depart from Preston to become vicar of his very own church.

“Once upon a time, the church was built upon the canal, so there would have been fields and we would have been on the edge of town.

“Then the terraces have come, the mills have come, and by now, we’re right at the centre.

“Now the church sits by the ring road. It’s a very interesting example of how the church has remained through these changes to the urban area.

“Even the beautiful murals are very unusual in an English church. The person who painted them had links to the Romanian Orthodox Church, so they’ve got a slightly Eastern Orthodox style to them.

“They tell the story of Christian faith. We believe you enter the church through baptism, so above the font where children and adults get baptised is Jesus’ own baptism.”

Over the past three centuries, St. George the Martyr Church has seen a host of tweaks and alterations to its design, including a set of extensions made to the building during the Victorian era.

However, Calum is delighted to say that the church equally boasts a range of original features - most notably, the Father Willis pipe organ, which has remained functional since 1865 and is now one of only five in the world.

The church team are now planning to apply for National Lottery funding to see it fully restored, as well as to fund additional repairs to the exterior walls, which contain old cladding from the Victorian times.

Calum is hopeful the repairs will allow the church to support the community for many years to come.

“We have quite a large homeless population, so every Saturday night, we have a homeless kitchen where we feed them a sit down meal,” Calum said. “It’s just a space to sit, to eat, and in the winter, have some warm space.

“We also have quite a lot of links to civic stuff. We do a lot of stuff with Lancashire County Council and Preston City Council, like Remembrance Sunday, Lancashire Day, St. George’s Day...

“Sometimes churches can be some of the most diverse places in the country. On a Sunday morning, people are usually in their houses doing their own thing, but in churches, people from so many different backgrounds and ethnic groups are united in a common faith.

“I think there’s something really beautiful about that. I think it speaks to modern Britain, and the role of the church in that.”

This week, St. George the Martyr Church will be hosting a slew of events in celebration of the Preston Arts Festival.

A range of talks, performances, and workshops will be available to enjoy before the festival ends of October 4.

Among the events on offer will be a performance of Handel’s Messiah, which will celebrate the tri-centenary of the church through song.

It will held on Friday September 25 from 7pm - 10pm. Tickets £20.

“It’s an amazing place, a lovely community, and a beautiful church,” Calum said. “We love being here.

“Oxford is a very ‘unreal’ place, because it’s full of people constantly considering these greater things in life, but in Preston, people just get on with their lives. They don’t just sit around thinking all the time.

“I think this is the place God has called us to be, and so I love the people here and try to make a positive impact.”