Lewes Free Presbyterian Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lewes Free Presbyterian Church |
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The chapel from the southeast
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| 50°52′32″N 0°01′07″E / 50.8755°N 0.0187°E | |
| Location | Malling Street, Cliffe, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2RD |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Presbyterian |
| Churchmanship | Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster |
| Website | www.freepres.org/church.asp?lewes |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Jireh Chapel, Jireh Calvinistic Independent Chapel |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 1805 |
| Founder(s) | Jenkin Jenkins |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Designated | 25 February 1952 |
| Style | Georgian |
| Completed | 1805 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | c. 1000 |
| Number of floors | 2 |
| Materials | Red brick, mathematical tile |
The Lewes Free Presbyterian Church, also known as the Jireh Chapel, is one of seven churches of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster in England. This historic building is located in the Cliffe area of Lewes, a town in East Sussex. The Jireh Chapel is over 200 years old. It is considered a very important historical building, known as a Grade I Listed building.
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History
The old market town of Lewes has a long history of Protestant Nonconformism. This means many Protestants in the town did not follow the main Church of England. In the 1700s and 1800s, many chapels were built in Lewes and its nearby areas. The Jireh Chapel was one of these places of worship.
Around 1805, a disagreement happened. Jenkin Jenkins was the minister at another chapel in Cliffe. He had a dispute with his congregation and was asked to leave. So, he decided to build a new chapel nearby for himself and his followers. This new chapel became the Jireh Chapel.
Jenkin Jenkins asked a famous preacher named William Huntington to help open the new church. Huntington was a very popular preacher in the early 1800s. He was known for his strong beliefs and sometimes unusual ways. He used nicknames for himself and others. For example, he called Jenkins "W.A." (which stood for "Welsh Ambassador"). He called himself "S.S." (meaning "Sinner Saved").
A stone tablet above the chapel's entrance remembers its opening. It says: "Jireh chapel erected by J. Jenkins W.A. with the voluntary Contributions of the Citizens of Zion; Anno Domini MDCCCV". This means the chapel was built in 1805 by J. Jenkins, with help from his followers. William Huntington died in 1813 and was buried in a tomb behind the chapel.
The chapel quickly became very popular. In 1826, it was made bigger to hold about 1,000 people. The inside was mostly made of wood, with special box-shaped pews and upper balconies called galleries. A Sunday school building was added in 1874.
Over time, fewer people used the chapel. In 1998, the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster bought the Jireh Chapel. This Christian group was started by Ian Paisley in 1951 in Northern Ireland. It grew quickly there and also in other parts of Great Britain. Today, the Lewes Free Presbyterian Church is one of seven such churches in England.
Architecture
The Jireh Chapel looks like it's made of red brick and tiles on the outside. But it is actually built with a timber frame inside. The main entrance is at the east end of the building. It has a porch with strong columns, which an expert named Nikolaus Pevsner described as "over-broad."
Above the entrance, there are three windows and a round window called an oculus. A stone tablet is also located here. The roof is covered with slate tiles. It has a small, box-like part in the middle with openings for air, topped with a pyramid shape. The north and south walls have four pairs of windows. The north wall is covered with special mathematical tiles.
Inside, wood is everywhere. The ceiling is shaped like a half-barrel, called a barrel-vaulted roof. It is held up by wooden columns. These columns also support the galleries, which go around all four sides of the inside. Wooden stairs in each corner lead up to these galleries. An eight-sided pulpit stands at the west end of the chapel. The original pine box-pews are still in place in the galleries and the main seating area.
The church today
Lewes Free Presbyterian Church is one of seven churches of its kind in England. The others are in Bridlington, Bristol, Liverpool, London, Oulton Broad, and Tavistock. The church holds two services on Sundays and a meeting on Mondays each week.
The Jireh Chapel was officially recognized as a Grade I Listed building on February 25, 1952. This means it is a very important historical building that needs to be protected. The church is also officially licensed for worship under a law called the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855.
See also
