Cradley Heath Baptist Church facts for kids
Cradley Heath Baptist Church, also known as Four-ways Baptist Church, was the first church of any kind to build a chapel in Cradley Heath, West Midlands. The first meeting happened in December 1833, in Grainger's Lane. Later, land was bought near the Four-Ways end of the High Street, and a meeting place was built. The church grew, and two more buildings were added, the last one in 1904.
The church building is a Grade 2 Listed building, which means it is an important historical place.
The church is famous for having Britain's first recorded black West Indian pastor, Rev. George Cosens, who started in 1837.
Contents
How the Church Started
Cradley Heath Baptist Church began in 1833. It started when some members left the nearby Cradley Baptist Church. Their minister, Rev. Jabez Tunnicliff, had new ideas about what the Bible taught. He felt he could no longer lead the old church with his new beliefs.
About 34 people left with him in 1833. In December of that year, they started meeting and formed a new church. So many new people joined them from Cradley Heath that by 1834, they had to build a large chapel. This first building was made bigger in 1850 by adding a gallery inside. This is the side entrance seen on the right side of the main photograph.
Church Leaders (Deacons)
The church had four original deacons, who were church officers in charge of practical things. Two of them are worth mentioning. Benjamin Fellows was also a lay preacher, meaning he preached without being a minister. He even performed baptisms, which ministers usually do. This might have been because baptisms were often done in a local canal branch called "the cut" before the church had its own baptistry.
Samuel Hallam and his wife Ann were not from Cradley Heath. They owned shops that sold hats in different towns before moving to Canada. Samuel had been a deacon in another Baptist church before joining the new Cradley Heath church. He helped run the Sunday School until 1841.
Different Baptist Beliefs
Rev. Tunnicliff left his old church because of different ideas about Christian beliefs. In Britain, Baptists generally have two main groups based on one specific point of belief.
One group, called the Particular Baptists, believed that Jesus's work was only for a special few people, chosen by God. They also believed that God makes these chosen people believe in Him.
The other group, called the General Baptists, believed that Jesus's work was for everyone. However, not everyone chooses to believe and benefit from it. They believed that God calls people to faith, but people still have the freedom to say no.
Rev. Tunnicliff studied the Bible and felt that the General Baptist beliefs were correct. Because of this, he felt he could no longer be paid by a Particular Baptist church. This led to the friendly split and the start of Cradley Heath Baptist Church.
Church History
Even though Baptists were the first to build a chapel in Cradley Heath, other groups like the Primitive Methodists met in homes from about 1820. They built their own church later in 1841. The history of Cradley Heath Baptist Church includes important stories about its ministers and members.
Rev. George Cosens: Britain's First Black Pastor
Cradley Heath Baptist Church is special because it had the first Afro-Caribbean minister in the area called the Black Country. He is also thought to be the first known in Britain. In 1837, Rev. George Cosens became the minister. He was very popular and served in other churches too.
He was at Cradley Heath Baptist Church from 1837 to 1839. He then returned later, serving from 1869 to 1879. His second time was very successful at first. However, as he got older, his health made it hard for him to continue. He resigned in 1879 and moved to a less demanding role at a church in Brierley Hill.
George Cosens was born in 1805. He was said to have come from Jamaica to study in London. In 1823, he became a Christian. His family did not approve, but he stayed strong in his faith. He never went back to Jamaica. He served many churches as their pastor. He started his church work with the Primitive Methodists in 1824. In 1830, he married Mary Burnett, who sadly died in 1831.
He traveled to places like Jersey and Guernsey for mission work. Later, he joined the Baptists after a disagreement with the Primitive Methodists. His first job with the Baptists was as an assistant pastor in Aylesbury in 1837. He started as the main pastor at Cradley Heath in November 1837.
Rev. Cosens died in 1881 and was buried in the cemetery of Brierley Hill Baptist Church, where he was serving as minister. George Cosens's life is now being celebrated in Britain's black community.
You might see his name spelled "Cousens" in some old books, but "Cosens" is found in church records and on his photograph.
Church Buildings
The very first meeting place, after Rev. Tunnicliff's own home, was on December 23, 1833. It was in a "wheelwright's smithy" (a blacksmith's workshop) near Five-Ways, in the yard of Heath Cottage on Grainger's Lane.
In September 1834, the church bought land in an area called "Quarry Piece" in Cradley Heath. The first church building was put up in December 1834. It was described as "a fine new chapel seated for about 300 people." This building is now mostly the church's schoolroom. A gallery was added later to make it bigger. This older part is on the right side of the main photograph. The nearby St Luke's Church was built in 1847.
The main church building you see today opened in December 1904. It is a large brick building with a tall spire and beautiful decorations inside and out. It also has a large pipe organ with two keyboards and pedals.
The original 1834 chapel is now used as a schoolroom and hall. Sometimes, in very cold winters, the church services are held in this older, smaller building.
In 1987, Sandwell Council made the church a Grade II Listed Building. This means it is recognized as an important historical landmark.
The Church Today
Even though the number of people attending has become smaller, the church still meets regularly. In 2007, they discussed whether to continue using the current building. After much thought, they decided to keep it. The church celebrated its 175th Anniversary in December 2008.
Besides the Sunday morning service, Cradley Heath Baptist Church helps people in local nursing homes who cannot go to a place of worship. They also have short outdoor meetings for hymn singing on some Saturdays, sometimes in the market or other open spaces before Christmas.
Community activities include a "Toddlers Group" on Friday mornings for young children and their parents. There is also a gardening club that meets once a month. The Cradley Heath Flower & Gardening Club started in 2009 and became so popular that it continues to meet even in winter. In November 2009, a famous florist named Andrew Lloyd gave a special demonstration there. He is a chairman for a flower arranging group and has been a florist for 27 years. His event was very popular, with almost 90 people attending.
Christmas activities in December 2009 included a "Christmas Spectacular" concert. Children from nearby Springfield Primary School performed, and a rising star named Charlie Green made a special appearance. Charlie was a semi-finalist on "Britain's Got Talent" in 2008. The concert sold 250 tickets, raising money for important repairs to the historic church building.
The church also collects toys every Christmas. In 2010, these toys were given to a local charity called Loaves 'N' Fishes. This charity provides toys to children in need. The collection received a big boost from the people of Cradley Heath, especially through the local Tesco supermarket, which helped collect donations.
During the winter of 2009-2010, thieves stole lead from the church roof. This caused a lot of water to leak inside the building. The church's pipe organ alone needed about £4,000 worth of repairs.
In early 2011, a special toilet for disabled people was built in the Choir Vestry. This was part of updating the building for modern times. Because it is a listed building, the construction had to be done carefully to protect the original features. In March 2011, the church received a large grant of £106,000 from English Heritage. This money helped with major repairs, including damage from dry rot and replacing the roof on the original 19th-century building for the first time. The church still needed to find about £60,000 more for all the repairs.
The first part of the general renovation happened in the first half of 2013. This fixed the front (west end) and north side of the 1904 building. It included replacing decorative parts made of terra-cotta and repairing the floor on the north side.
Images for kids
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How the buildings looked in the 19th century, showing the original 1834 building and the 1850 extension.
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How the buildings looked with the 1904 extension, which is the main building today.
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More detail of the buildings after the 1904 building was constructed.
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The pipe organ inside Cradley Heath Baptist Church.
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Inside the organ, showing part of how it works.
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Another view of the organ's inner workings.
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A memorial to John and Ann Fellows, who were important members of Cradley Heath Baptist Church in the 1800s.
Links
- Cradley Heath Baptist Church blogspot site with messages from preachers.
- Baptist Union of Great Britain
