The 75th Anniversary services were held in the the autumn of 1955, the morning service being attended by the Chairman and councillors of the Rural District Council.  A booklet ‘Thoughts on Church Membership’ was presented to each member to mark this occasion.  In 1956 Mrs. Taylor died following many years of illness. Mr.Taylor’s own health suffered and he was required to spend some time in convalescence away, during which time he visited his nephew in the U.S.A.

It had been the practice in many non-conformist churches over the years to set up Trusts covering the legal and doctrinal responsibility for the church and the property.  These were administered by Trustees appointed normally from within the church and who were therefore responsible in law for the premises and its use. This often put them in the position of guarantor for overdrafts and loans which were a common feature of the church’s financial situation in early days.  As trustees died or moved away so others had to be found to take this responsibility. In 1957 Mr. W.T.Hayden, former Treasurer to Tabernacle, moved away to Spurgeons Tabernacle where his son had just been called as minister.  This left only one Trustee Mr R.J. Buttle, who in fact no longer lived in the area, so it was decided to follow the general trend in the Baptist denomination and to transfer the deeds to the care of the Baptist Union Corporation Ltd.  A new trust was then declared on 26th March 1958.

After nearly eighty years it was decided to renew the schoolroom floor and, probably more important, to provide a proper staircase down to the lower schoolroom.  This replaced what was little better than a ladder up until this time. The numbers attending weekday meetings at the church were now much smaller and this lower room became a popular meeting place, cosy in the winter and cool in summer.

The following year the Baptist churches in St. Albans combined to present the B.M.S. Exhibition "None Other Name" which was held over three days at Dagnall St.  This again helped to draw the churches closer together.  Members from both churches also shared in producing a scene in the Pageant at the Watford Town Hall put on as a joint effort of the Herts. Baptist Association churches.

1960 was the year in which Mr. Taylor remarried and Mrs Taylor soon became a well-loved member of the church. Her father was Rev. J.Duff a recently retired minister of a Baptist church in Edinburgh and who moved into St. Albans to be near her.  He provided considerable support to Mr. Taylor during his time with them.  That year saw the celebration of the Church’s eighty years anniversary and following the service of Thanksgiving a special ‘thank you’ was made to Mr W.E.Jervis who had just completed 60 years as a member.  This took the form of a "This is your Life" presentation with greetings and memories from many friends from near and far.  Mr Jervis had for many years been assistant organist as well as deacon and Secretary so it was fitting that the evening concluded with a concert.

It was about this time that a number of meetings were held among the deacons of the Baptist churches in the area of St. Albans and Boreham Wood to seek to make closer links as part of a restructuring of the Herts Baptist Association.  These were to be small beginnings of the development that led to the Marshalswick church.  In the meantime however the Tabernacle members were questioning the role they should play in the changing City around them.  This was a time of further large scale housing development on the outskirts and a further decreasing of the local population in the centre of the City.  Part of this questioning took practical form in that some of the members were active in the newly structured commissions of the St.Albans Council of Churches.  One of these commissions, considering Witness, launched a visitation of the whole area, commencing with the Marshalswick estate, in which a number of Tabernacle members took part in 1964.

In 1962 a form of evangelistic outreach had been tried by the church, on its own, by a sustained distribution of letters in selected central areas of the City.  This produced little result and it was discontinued after approximately six months.

The questioning of the role of the church continued and it was felt that in view of the proposed redeveloping City Centre that there could be a day-time community to serve.  This might be an opportunity to provide a place for refreshment and rest in lunch times when the Gospel message could be given.  Since 1963 a major redecoration scheme of the interior of the chapel had been undertaken which had included the installing of a false ceiling, a new lobby area at the back of the church, and re-siting of the original pews to provide a more suitable family atmosphere for the services.  It was then considered that the Victorian front of the building might be given a face-lift to fit in with new buildings that were growing up around.

Tabernacle Re-Decoration áBefore                       After â

However it seemed that it was not God’s direction for the Tabernacle at this time, for within days the City council’s redevelopment was published and the Tabernacle site was shown to be covered by a large multi-storey car park.

In the summer of 1965 Mr. Taylor announced his intention to retire at the end of the following November and in an article in the ‘Messenger’ he called on all Baptists in the area to come together to rationalise the work they were trying to do. This article had a dramatic effect.  Joint deacons meetings of all the churches in the St. Albans area were held under the chairmanship of the Area Suprintendent Rev. Douglas Hicks during October and November.  Out of these came the suggestion that Tabernacle might consider joining in with the work that was going on in Marshalswick eventually leaving the Victoria St. site and moving to the site in Marshalswick.

One can imagine the heart-searching that the members had in considering the move away from a building that held so many memories to a situation some distance away from their homes.  Nevertheless the decision was made, members from both communities met together, and together, a call was made to a new minister who would serve them both until such time as a new building was available.

The minister who answered this call was Rev. F.T.Keightley D.F.C. B.A. who had had previous experience in the negotiation of the building of a new church just as Henry Taylor had when he came to the Tabernacle church. Frank Keightley also had the task of welding the two communities together to form one body of the Church in Marshalswick.

Mr. Keightley was inducted to the pastorate of Tabernacle and Marshalswick on September 8th 1966 at Dagnall St. at which service Rev. Michael Newell was also inducted to the joint oversight of the Cottonmill and Park Street Baptist Churches. This service proved to be the start of a close liaison between all the St. Albans churches which lasted over several succeeding years.

As a first step towards emphasising the change of community the Manse in Beaconsfield Road was sold and a new one was bought on the Marshalswick Estate which was suitably extended to provide a study, garage and extra bedroom for the new minister and his family.

Then followed a repeat of history when a transfer of members from Dagnall St. to Tabernacle took place as the members of the Marshalswick congregation made their formal link with the new joint church, this time with the full support and blessing of the Dagnall St. friends.