MEMBERS of a Malvern church have produced a booklet about its history from a fascinating archive of its past.

Somers Park Avenue Methodist Church celebrates its 98th anniversary next weekend and the material will be on display there before it goes to the county archives for storage.

Pictures, newspapers, reports and documents cover the history of the church's earliest years, right up to more recent times.

Parishioners Margaret Makin, Dennis Cottrell, Jennifer Briars and John Rogers have created the booklet and exhibition.

"It really is the only record we've got of anything that happened at the church," said Mrs Makin.

Percy and Addie Hancock gave the material to Mrs Briars when they retired to Devon. Mr Hancock was a choirmaster at the church and his wife was organist there for more than 50 years.

One memorable figure in several of the pictures is Harry Bond, who Mrs Makin described as "the grand old man of Somers Park."

Introduced to the church as a child during the 1880s, when his mother ran its Sunday school, he was still involved aged 100.

A key event in the church's history was when the Bishop of Worcester preached there in 1974. Mrs Makin said it was "quite something," in days when different denominations were only just starting to worship together.

The first Methodist meetings were at houses in Howsell Road and Quest Hills Road. In 1902 the church purchased land in Somers Park Avenue and what is now the church hall was built by 1907.

The current church building went up in 1936 and in 1960, the two buildings were joined and a kitchen, toilets and further room added.

The booklet is a history of the church up until the 1980s written by Mr Hancock. Mrs Makin has written about what goes on there today.

It will be on sale at the anniversary exhibition at the church on Saturday, April 16, from 3pm.

A slide show of a year in the church's life for 1986, produced by John Griffin, will also be shown.

On Sunday, April 17, at 10.30am there will be an anniversary service.