Then and Now: The story of Grantham’s Spiritualist Church on Elmer Street

The Grantham Spiritualist Church moved to new premises on Elmer Street in April 1948, drawing visitors from across the region, writes Grantham Civic Society.

New premises for the Spiritualist movement opened on Elmer Street in April 1948. Visitors came from Newark, Mansfield, Nottingham, Chesterfield and Leicester to attend the dedication and opening.

There were between 60 and 70 members in Grantham, who for the previous six years had met in the Labour Hall on Westgate. Modern Spiritualism was celebrating its centenary at the time.

The centre was attended by the well-known spiritualist Doris Stokes, who regularly led sessions there.

She went on to conduct packed and popular shows around the world and wrote several books about her life and work, which began in 1910 in Grantham.

She attracted controversy because of the nature of her work and was condemned by the Church of England.

She died in 1987 in London.