Horsham Unitarian Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Horsham Unitarian Church |
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The chapel from the east
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 Location in West Sussex
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| 51°03′46″N 0°20′00″W / 51.0629°N 0.3334°W | |
| Location | Worthing Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1SL |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Unitarian |
| Previous denomination | General Baptist |
| Website | www.ukunitarians.org.uk/horsham/ |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Horsham General Baptist Chapel |
| Status | Chapel |
| Founded | 1719 |
| Founder(s) | Matthew Caffyn (congregation); John Dendy and John Greeve (present building) |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 20 May 1949 |
| Style | Vernacular |
| Groundbreaking | 1720 |
| Completed | 1721 |
The Horsham Unitarian Church is a special chapel in Horsham, a town in West Sussex, England. It used to be called the Horsham General Baptist Chapel. It was started in 1719 for the many Baptist people living in Horsham and nearby areas.
Over time, in the 1800s, the people who worshipped here began to follow Unitarian beliefs. This simple brick building has continued to be a place of worship for many years. It is one of the oldest religious buildings in Horsham, second only to St Mary's Church. This chapel is considered important for its history and design, and it is protected as a Grade II listed building.
Contents
A Look at the Chapel's History
Early Days of Nonconformists
In England, some Christians chose to worship differently from the main Church of England. They were called Protestant Dissenters or Nonconformists. This became more common after 1662. At that time, many Church of England ministers had to leave their jobs if they didn't agree with new rules.
Because of this, new Christian groups started. These groups often focused more on a personal connection with God. This trend happened all over Sussex. By the late 1600s, many different Christian groups existed alongside the older Church.
The Rise of Baptists in Horsham
One of these new groups was the General Baptists. They became quite popular in the area around Horsham. By 1676, about 100 Nonconformists lived in the town. A local preacher named Matthew Caffyn led the General Baptists.
Under Matthew Caffyn, Baptists had been meeting in small groups in homes since the mid-1600s. He had a big impact on Baptist groups across southeast England. His ideas started to change, which eventually helped lead to the development of Unitarianism.
Building the First Chapel
In 1689, a law called the Act of Toleration 1689 gave Nonconformists more freedom. They no longer had to meet in secret. They could build their own chapels. So, in 1719, a group bought land on the road to Worthing.
The chapel was built between 1720 and 1721. The agreement for the land said it was for Baptists who believed in certain ideas. Matthew Caffyn had passed away by this time, and his son, also named Matthew, became the preacher. John Dendy and John Greeve were the founders. They paid £36.15s for the land and built the chapel, which looked like a small house, and created a garden around it.
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In 1724, there were 18 Baptist families in Horsham. However, about 350 people usually came to the chapel in its early years. It was a main place of worship for people from a wide area, including many from Billingshurst. The Horsham church grew so much that it helped start a new chapel in Billingshurst in 1754. This chapel is still used today.
Soon after the Horsham chapel opened, Baptists became the largest Nonconformist group in the town. Other Nonconformist groups in Horsham over the years included Quakers, Methodists, and Congregationalists.
Changes and Community Work
The Horsham General Baptist Chapel was made bigger in 1727 with a new entrance porch. In 1752, the original speaker's platform was replaced with a pulpit. In 1772, the building was extended at the south end. This addition included a second room for ministers and an indoor baptistery (a place for baptisms). Before this, people were baptized in the mill pond at nearby Broadbridge Heath.
The garden around the chapel was used for burials and was made larger in 1816. Later in the 1800s, more changes were made inside. The porch was rebuilt, and pews (church benches) were added. The biggest changes happened between 1867 and 1872.
The 1800s were also a time of helping the community. A school was started in the chapel. In 1839, the minister started an educational academy. This academy even published its own newspaper for several years. The same minister also started Horsham's first library in the chapel. It offered about 4,000 books to the public. In 1893, Reverend John J. Marten started what became the Horsham Museum. It began in the chapel and is now in a different building.
Becoming a Unitarian Church
The shift from Baptist beliefs to Unitarianism began in the early 1800s. By 1820, it was well underway. Starting in 1878, the chapel's name changed several times. It went from Horsham General Baptist Chapel to Horsham Unitarian (Baptist) Chapel, then Horsham Free Christian Church, and finally Horsham Unitarian Church.
Some General Baptists remained in Horsham. In 1896, a new chapel was built for them on the Brighton Road. This church has been rebuilt several times and is still active today.
A Special Gift
In the late 1700s, a local woman named Elizabeth Gatford left money to the chapel. In her will, she said that five guineas (an old type of money) should be used each year to buy bread for poor people every Sunday. She left most of her money for her large collection of birds and animals. She also had some unusual requests for her own burial, including being buried a month after her death in four coffins, one inside the other.
This gift was still being used in 1964. A stone plaque inside the chapel remembers this kind act.
Protected Status
Horsham Unitarian Church was officially protected as a Grade II listed building on May 20, 1949. This means it is a "nationally important" building with "special interest." As of February 2001, there were many Grade II listed buildings in the Horsham area.
The chapel is part of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. This is the main group for Unitarians in Britain.
Design and Features of the Chapel
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Early Unitarian chapels were often simple, home-like buildings. This was partly because people didn't expect them to be permanent. They thought they might rejoin the Church of England later. But people got used to these simple places, and this style influenced how future chapels were built.
Outside the Chapel
The Horsham chapel is a "plain, cottage-like building." It is part of a group of old, local-style buildings on the west side of Worthing Road. This group also includes Horsham's Quaker Friends Meeting House.
The chapel is made of red and blue-grey bricks. It has two floors and a hipped roof (a roof that slopes on all sides) covered with special Horsham Stone tiles. The front of the building faces east. A stone band separates the lower and upper floors. The year it was built is carved into one of the windows. The central porch was added in the late 1800s.
The back wall is mostly hidden. It still has its original arched windows on the ground floor and windows for the gallery on the first floor. The north and south walls each have one window. The windows on the south side are hidden behind the baptistery and vestry built in 1772. These parts are like a lean-to with a sloping roof and an arched window. In 1914, an architect said the chapel "might very well be a detached private house."
Inside the Chapel
The chapel's inside measures about 8.2 meters by 11.3 meters. Two wooden columns with square bases support the plastered roof. A wooden gallery at the north end has its original box pews (enclosed seating areas). A similar gallery on the south side was removed during the 1800s changes. The original speaker's platform was between two arched windows on the back wall.
The southern extension has two small rooms for ministers. Between them is a brick-lined baptistery set into the floor with stone steps. It was filled with water from a well under the floor. The chapel also has memorials to important people like John Dendy (one of the founders) and the Rev. Robert Ashdowne, who was a minister there. In the graveyard, there is a fancy tomb for Richard Browne.
The chapel is set far back from the street within its graveyard. When it was built, people were still a bit suspicious of Christian groups outside the main Church. So, the building was designed not to stand out too much. The graveyard is still there on three sides, though many old gravestones were moved in 1976.
Images for kids
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The chapel from the east
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Many of the chapel's early worshippers lived in Billingshurst. A chapel was founded there in 1754, and survives.
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An extension was built under a sloping lean-to roof (pictured to the left) in 1772.
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The chapel moved towards Unitarianism in the 19th century, but a new General Baptist cause was founded on the Brighton Road in the 1890s (present Brighton Road Baptist Church pictured).
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The chapel is set back from the road in extensive grounds.
