Five Ash Down Independent Chapel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Five Ash Down Chapel |
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| Five Ash Down Independent Chapel | |
The chapel in 2010, seen from the west
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 Location in East Sussex
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| 50°59′45″N 0°10′54″E / 50.9958°N 0.1816°E | |
| Location | A26, Five Ash Down, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 3AL |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Evangelical |
| Previous denomination | Independent Calvinistic |
| Churchmanship | Independent Reformed Evangelical |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 1773 |
| Founder(s) | Thomas Dicker junior |
| Events | 1784: opened in present building 1852: extended 1896: refronted |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architectural type | Chapel |
| Style | Early English Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1784 |
| Completed | April 1784 |
Five Ash Down Independent Chapel is a special church in the small village of Five Ash Down, East Sussex, England. It's an Evangelical church, which means it focuses on the Bible and sharing its message.
It started in 1773 in the home of a local man, Thomas Dicker Sr. So many people joined that they built a proper church building just 11 years later. At first, the church followed ideas called 'Calvinism'. Some members later started a different church in nearby Uckfield that followed 'Baptist' ideas.
Five Ash Down Chapel has been called the "parent" church for many other churches in Sussex. It is still active today, using its original building. The building looks a bit different now because it was made bigger and updated during the Victorian era.
Contents
History of the Chapel
Early Beginnings (17th-18th Century)
In East Sussex, many people who were not part of the main Church of England, called Protestant Nonconformists, became important from the 1600s onwards. Groups following Calvinism grew in many places from the mid-1700s. Calvinism in Sussex was based on the ideas of 16th-century Puritans. Traveling preachers often visited, giving sermons outdoors.
Several chapels, like Zoar Strict Baptist Chapel, were started in the Dicker area. This was a rural area near Eastbourne and Hailsham. The Dicker family, who owned land in the area for a long time, might have given their name to the place, or vice versa.
How the Chapel Started
In 1772, a Church of England clergyman named Rev. Richard de Courcy visited Uckfield. He gave a powerful sermon to a large crowd. Thomas Dicker junior (born 1723) was there. He was part of the Dicker family and lived in nearby Buxted.
After hearing the sermon, Thomas Dicker junior became interested in Calvinist ideas. He started holding meetings at his house in Five Ash Down. This village is about 1.2 kilometers northwest of Buxted. Over the next 11 years, so many people came that his house was too small. Services were then held at a nearby inn for a while.
At this inn, William Huntington, a very important Calvinist preacher, met Jenkin Jenkins. They became close friends. Later, they helped start Jireh Chapel in Lewes, which became one of the biggest Calvinist churches in Sussex.
Building the First Chapel
In 1784, Thomas Dicker senior, Thomas Dicker junior's father, gave some land next to his house to the growing group. He had also become a Calvinist in 1773. They built a chapel on this land in early 1784, and it opened in April of that year.
Unlike the local Church of England churches, the Nonconformists had a simpler way of worship. However, the church officially agreed with the same beliefs as the Church of England.
A New Church Forms
In early 1785, the congregation had a disagreement about baptism. The main difference between Calvinist Independent churches and a type of Baptist church called Strict and Particular Baptists is about baptism. For Baptists, baptism is how you join the church, and only members can take part in communion.
Some members who preferred the stricter Baptist ideas left Five Ash Down Chapel. They started a new Strict Baptist church at a farm in Uckfield on May 15, 1785. They bought land for a bigger chapel in 1788, and Uckfield Baptist Church opened in February 1789.
The first pastor at Five Ash Down Chapel, A. Dixon, left soon after this. For many years, different visiting ministers led the services, including William Huntington several times.
Changes and Updates
More land was bought next to the chapel in 1840. This allowed a Sunday school to be built around 1852. In the same year, the chapel was made bigger and changed to honor Thomas Dicker senior. His grandson paid for these changes.
More updates happened in 1896. The chapel got a new roof and a new front in the Gothic Revival style it has today. By this time, the chapel had a full-time pastor again. A permanent Sunday school also started in 1880.
After more than 100 years with four different pastors, the chapel began to be served by visiting ministers again from 1962. This happened when Joseph Turner retired after being the pastor for 38 years.
Today, Five Ash Down Chapel is an Evangelical church. It is independent and follows Reformed Christian beliefs. They hold services and Sunday school on Sundays, and a prayer meeting on Thursday evenings. The church's old records are kept at the East Sussex Record Office.
Chapel Architecture
When it was first built, the chapel was a simple brick building. Part of the original north wall, about 6 meters long, is still there. After being rebuilt and having its front updated in the Victorian era, it now looks like an Early English Gothic Revival building.
It is built with blue bricks and has red-brick quoins (corner stones). The front of the chapel faces west and is symmetrical, with three sections. Each section has a pointed top called a gable and a tall, narrow window called a lancet window. The side sections that stick out were added in 1852, and the middle section was updated in 1896.
The original building faced a different way. What is now the side wall, facing north, was originally the back of the chapel. There is a graveyard in front of the chapel. Inside, there is a gallery, which might still have parts from the 18th-century building.
See also
