The Believers

An insignificant building of red brick and blue slate in Burghley Street has for 60 years been one of the town's smallest churches, originally the meeting place of the Plymouth Brethren and later The Believers, a non-conformist breakaway sect. 

The building was originally used as a storehouse and dates back to the early part of the 19th century. It was previously used as a garage for lorries owned by the local nursery firm of E N Moody and Sons Ltd, which later became Nursery Supplies, until bought in 1945 by the Plymouth Brethren, the fundamentalist Christian Protestant sect founded in Dublin in 1827. The name comes from the first assembly that was held in Plymouth in 1831 to celebrate its arrival in England. 

It is not known exactly when the Brethren arrived in Bourne but there is evidence that they were here in 1930 and active in the streets, handing out tracts to passengers at the railway station. Meetings were probably held in rented halls or even the homes of members. The congregation in the town was always a small one but in later years, members voted to leave the Plymouth Brethren and operate independently as they do now from their present premises.