Parliament Street Methodists FC


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We play the game hoping to Win,

trying to win, determined to Win,

but above all by our play, conduct and sportsmanship

deserving to win.

If we fail we shall not whimper or whine,

but with a cheery smile go forward to

the day when success shall crown our efforts.

When the Club started in 1895 the first secretary was the Rev. W.O. Smith. The club colours were Red and Blue half shirts. At the outbreak of the 1914-18 war it became defunct and it was restarted in 1926 by Harold T. Hooley and since then had made quite a name in local football circles. In the early 1930's the club were called Parliament Street Athletic but reverted back to Methodists after a couple of seasons. During the 1939-45 war, seventy-two of the players in the Football and Cricket Clubs saw service, but despite this the club carried on, mainly because of the great help given by the Royal Army Postal Regiment who were stationed in George Street.

There has always been a strong sporting interest in the church and the football teams won many trophies. Many happy Saturday afternoons were spent at Woodview Sports Ground, Colwick Crossings. It had originally been bought by Mr. H.T. Hooley in 1943 who subsequently leased it to the Parliament Street Methodist Church at a peppercorn rent. After Mr. Hooley died in 1952 the land (seven acres, two roods, seven perches) was conveyed in fee simple from Mr. Leslie Stuart Hooley (and others) to the Trustees of the Parliament Street Methodist Church on 22 February 1955. The price quoted was £1,700. In the late 80's the club folded when Woodview was sold to pay for the new Nottingham Central Methodist mission.

I was brought up a Methodist and attended Bridgway Hall in the Meadows until I was 14. My Grandfather lived in Snienton and was a regular at Parliament Street Methodist Mission. Sometimes I used to sleep over at his home and on Saturday afternoons my Grandfather would take me to Woodview to see 'Parlo' play football. I used to love going in the clubhouse and look at photographs of all the old teams and the trophies they won. In the 1972-73 season I watched the Red and Blue's become Division 2 Champions of the Notts Alliance, and the season following 1973-74 they were Champions of Division 1. Unfortunately my Grandfather died in the summer of 1974 and due to the re development of the Meadows my family were relocated to Bilborough. It was a long time until I saw the Meths play again.

In 1986 I was Secretary for my works Sunday football team and editing a match day programme. A workmate, Ray Cooper, asked if I was interested in doing a programme for his Saturday club. When I found out it was Parliament Street Methodists FC I jumped at the chance. The ground and Pavillion were as I remembered but the teams were not performing well. The first team were about to be relegated to the bottom Division of the Notts Alliance and the reserves were bottom of their Notts Spartan League Division. The next season 1987-88 was to be the last for the club that was formed in 1895. At the beginning of the season we were not to know the Church was planning to sell Woodview. Both sides were again close to or bottom of their respective Divisions when we heard the news. We were told there was money put aside by the Church to buy land outside of the City, Lambley playing fields was one place being mentioned. News of the loss of Woodview to players and the people involved within the club was devastating. In an end of season meeting in the Ginger Tom public house, where only four people attended, it was reluctantly decided that the club would fold. I still have a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think I was there at the end of this great football club.

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Welcome Falang007

I clicked on this post expecting a question about it.

Very good of you to lodge the information here.

Expect comments to be added eventually if not soon :)

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:)

Welcome Falang 007,

Regarding the Parliament Street Methodist Church: during the 1980's/1990's I worked both voluntary and paid for the Women's Royal Voluntary Service on Park Row. One of my jobs was in helping one of the Superintendents there, establish tea bar facilities at the front part of the building of the said church.

Today as I pass the Church I note that that very same tea / snack bar still flourishes - what a wonderful sense of achievement that it still survives. :)

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Around 1968-1970, I attended the youth club at the Albert Hall Institute.

It was a MAYC Methodist Youth Club in the basement. There was a great Coffee bar on the top

floor. Cheap food and hot drinks. Fantastic for cash strapped teenagers.

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Falang007

You should include your blog address in your signature.

This site is well Googled and every post you make will add to your Google rating.

We would also appreciate a link on your Blog. Google also likes cross linked sites.

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  • 2 years later...

Hi

I was wondering if you had the names of the players who went to fight in the war? My uncle, Clarence Hill used to play football for them before being enlisted as a dispatch rider with the military police and serving in North Africa. Sadly he died of TB in 1946. We have some of his papers including several newspaper articles referencing the football club dating from 1938 which I will upload when I work out how to resize them.

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I played for Parliament Street Meths from 1978 until they folded. We had a thriving club in the '70's but gradually players moved on and the supply of new onews dried up.Finally and sadly there were often too few to fulfill our fixtures and the news of the sale of the ground put the final nail in the coffin. Shame really as the groung had seen some great sides and good individuals who worked behind the scenes.

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3 hours ago, Jill Sparrow said:

Welcome to NS, Chris. Hope you'll enjoy the site. There are a number of football aficionados on here, including Benjamin1945, who seems to have played everyone!

 

Didn't play against them Chris..........but i had a couple of mates who played for them in the early 60s,,,,, they always had a good reputation from what i recall,,, pretty sure Alan Birchenall had some games with em...........plus a great goalkeeper that i played many years with Kenny Gray........a good Bestwood lad................

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I played for Parliament Street Meths Colts in the early 1960s .

 

Member here , Paradiddle posted a photo of the team in a Gedling School thread a while ago  . Half the team in the photo went to Gedling . Somehow though I must have been absent (or dropped ) when the photo was taken :(

 

Can't seem to embed the photo but scroll down to the foot of this page to view :

 

https://nottstalgia.com/forums/topic/4897-gedling-school-class-photo-623/?page=8

 

 

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