Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel, Wivelsfield facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bethel Baptist Chapel |
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| Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel | |
The chapel from the north
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 Location in East Sussex
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| 50°57′46″N 0°05′43″W / 50.9627°N 0.0952°W | |
| Location | Ditchling Road, Wivelsfield, East Sussex RH15 0SJ |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Baptist |
| Churchmanship | Strict Baptist |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Wivelsfield Baptist Meeting House |
| Status | Chapel |
| Founded | 1763 |
| Founder(s) | Henry Booker |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 3 February 1977 |
| Style | Vernacular |
| Groundbreaking | 1780 |
| Completed | 1780 |
Bethel Baptist Chapel is a special church for Strict Baptists in Wivelsfield, a village in East Sussex, England. It was started in 1763 by Henry Booker and other people who left a church in nearby Ditchling. They began meeting in Wivelsfield after hearing a famous preacher named George Whitefield.
Even though some people went back to the Ditchling church, the group grew strong under Henry Booker's leadership. The beautiful chapel you see today was built in 1780. It has been used by the Strict Baptist community ever since. Members from this chapel even helped start other churches in Sussex during the 1700s and 1800s. Bethel Chapel is a Grade II Listed building, which means it is an important historical building.
Contents
Bethel Chapel's Story
Throughout Sussex, a county in southeast England, many different Christian denominations have been active since the 1600s. This was after the Act of Uniformity 1662 allowed more religious freedom. It meant people could worship outside the main Church of England. These groups were called Nonconformists or Dissenters. The area around Lewes was a very active place for Nonconformist worship, especially for Baptists.
Ditchling, a village near Lewes, also had several churches besides the main Anglican one. In 1780, the local vicar even said that Ditchling was "noted for Dissenters of almost all denominations." A General Baptist church was started there in the 1730s. It served people from many villages across central Sussex.
How the Chapel Began
Over time, many General Baptist churches in the area started to change their beliefs. Some began to follow Unitarian ideas. These changes were not always popular with everyone in the church. At the Ditchling church, these changes led to some members leaving to start a new church in Wivelsfield.
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In 1762, Henry Booker, a bricklayer from Ditchling, went to Brighton to hear George Whitefield preach. Whitefield's words deeply affected Booker, and he became a Calvinist. These beliefs were different from the Unitarian ideas growing at the Ditchling church. Because of his new beliefs, Henry Booker was asked to leave the Ditchling church on October 20, 1762.
Soon after, Booker moved to nearby Wivelsfield. Many people from the Ditchling church joined him. Together with some Baptist friends in the village, they registered a house called Fanners as a place to worship. In 1763, it officially became a Particular Baptist church. John Simmonds became its first pastor in 1764.
Challenges and Growth
Another disagreement happened in 1765. John Simmonds and Henry Booker had different ideas, and more than half the church members left with Simmonds. In 1768, Henry Booker became the full-time pastor. Meetings then moved to his house at Bankside Farm.
The Wivelsfield church joined the Kent and Sussex Baptist Association in 1779. The next year, in 1780, a chapel was built on land next to Bankside Farm. It was first called Wivelsfield Baptist Meeting House, but soon became known as Bethel Chapel.
Henry Booker passed away in 1799. For a while, the chapel had pastors on and off. The church grew at first, and an extension was even built. However, numbers dropped after a pastor named William Coppard died, and the chapel closed for several years.
Reopening and Lasting Impact
The chapel reopened in 1837. Thomas Baldock became pastor in 1840 and served for 33 years, bringing new life to the church. He moved to Wivelsfield from Wadhurst, another village with a strong Baptist history, and many of his family members followed him. The Baldock family has been important in Wivelsfield ever since.
Bethel Chapel has changed very little since it was built. The burial ground around it also opened in 1780. A house was built next to the chapel at the same time. It used to be for the pastor but is now used as a baptistery (a place for baptisms) and a hall. A small extension was added in 1977.
Bethel Baptist Chapel was officially made a Grade II Listed building on February 3, 1977. The attached baptistery also received Grade II listed status on the same day. Wivelsfield village has two other important churches: St Peter and St John's Church, which is much older, and Ote Hall Congregational Chapel, founded in 1778.
Bethel Chapel also had connections to other churches in Brighton. George Virgo, who was pastor at Wivelsfield from 1874 to 1903, helped start another Strict Baptist chapel in Brighton. This chapel was used for a while by a Greek Orthodox church and then by a Spiritualist group.
What the Chapel Looks Like
Bethel Chapel is a simple, plain building that has been extended a few times. People have described it as "a quaint and interesting place" with a "quiet and unassuming elegance." The building has different heights, mostly two stories, and is shaped like an "L." Part of the building is covered with weatherboarding (wooden planks). The roof slopes down on all sides and is covered with tiles.
The oldest part of the chapel is the northern section and the small house attached to the west end. These two parts originally formed a simple rectangular shape. An extension was added in the 1800s, making the chapel bigger inside.
The chapel has three entrances that are still used. The main doorway has a curved top and an original wooden door. The other two doors are simple and have straight tops. You can still see where another entrance used to be. Above the main door, there's a stone showing the year 1780. There are also four windows, each made of three parts.
Inside, there is a wooden gallery (a raised seating area) at the north end. A clock made in Lewes is on the front of the gallery. The gallery gets light from windows above the main entrance. The wooden benches in the gallery are original. However, the seats on the ground floor were replaced in the 1800s with benches from another chapel. You can also see decorative plasterwork on the ceiling. The pulpit, where the pastor preaches, was added in the early 1800s and also has pretty decorations.
In the graveyard, there are memorials for Henry Booker (who died in 1799) and his wife Sarah. Inside the chapel, there is an oil painting of Henry Booker. It says he was the "First preacher of the Gospel at Bethel Chapel, Wivelsfield, Sussex, 1780, died 22 May 1799 aged 69."
See also
- List of places of worship in Lewes (district)
- List of Strict Baptist churches
