Uckfield Baptist Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Uckfield Baptist Church |
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The former chapel in 2010, seen from the northwest
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 Location in East Sussex
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| 50°58′37″N 0°06′00″E / 50.9770°N 0.1000°E | |
| Location | London Road, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1HX |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Baptist |
| Churchmanship | Strict Baptist (to 1920); General Baptist (from 1920) |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 15 May 1785 |
| Events | 1789: chapel in London Road opened 1874: chapel rebuilt 2005: chapel closed; services moved to Manor Primary School |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Congregation active; chapel closed |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 31 December 1982 |
| Architectural type | Chapel |
| Style | Georgian/Vernacular |
| Years built | 1788–89 |
| Groundbreaking | 1788 |
| Completed | 22 February 1789 |
| Closed | 2005 |
Uckfield Baptist Church is a Baptist church located in Uckfield, a town in East Sussex, England. Even though the church services are now held in a school, the church itself has a long history. It was started in 1785 by people who left another church nearby.
From 1789 until 2005, the church had its own special building, called a chapel. In 2005, this building closed and was sold to become homes. The chapel was a "simple brick building" that was rebuilt in 1874. It is now a Grade II listed building, which means it is important for its history and design.
The church was formed because of different ideas about faith. These differences caused people to split from the original church at Five Ash Down.
Contents
History of Uckfield Baptist Church
How the Church Started
The story of Uckfield Baptist Church began with a split from another church. This happened at the Five Ash Down Independent Chapel, which opened in 1784. A man named Thomas Dicker junior had a special religious experience in 1772. He then started holding meetings at his house in 1773. So many people came that his father gave land to build a chapel.
The church at Five Ash Down followed a type of Christian belief called Independent Calvinistic ideas. Many churches in Sussex in the 1600s and 1700s shared these beliefs. These churches often started as small groups of people who thought alike. They believed in ideas like predestination. Traveling preachers were very important to these groups.
Different Beliefs and Church Splits
Another group, called the Strict and Particular Baptists, shared some of these ideas. However, they also believed that only people who had openly declared their faith and been fully baptized could become church members. This was called closed communion.
During the 1700s and 1800s, many churches changed to follow Strict Baptist ideas. But sometimes, disagreements caused churches to split. This often happened if a new pastor had different ideas about faith. Many Strict Baptist churches in Sussex started because groups of people left their old churches.
Just one year after the Five Ash Down Chapel opened, its members disagreed about baptism. Some members believed that only a full immersion baptism (being fully dipped in water) after saying you believe in God allowed you to be a member. These members left and started meeting at Lephams Bridge Farm in 1785.
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This new Strict Baptist church met at the farm for over three years. In 1788, they got land at the north end of Uckfield High Street. Uckfield was a large village that was growing into a market town. A permanent chapel, the Uckfield Baptist Church, was built there. It opened on February 22, 1789. Important religious leaders helped open the new church. The church had a pastor living nearby until 1800 and for much of the 1800s.
Rebuilding the Chapel
The church's future became more secure in 1871 when it gained the right to own the land. This happened in 1872. The land was then set aside "for the use of Particular Strict Communion Baptists." Because the original chapel was old and in poor condition, it was taken down. A large new brick building was built in its place. This new chapel opened on October 28, 1874.
Another Church Split
Just as disagreements caused churches to split in the past, it became common for Strict Baptist churches to split in the 1800s and early 1900s. This happened if pastors or members started to follow ideas of the General Baptists. General Baptists believed in unlimited atonement, which is a different idea about faith. In rural Sussex, strong beliefs could lead to splits even in old churches.
In 1908, a new pastor introduced General Baptist beliefs to Uckfield Baptist Church. This led to another split in 1920. Members who wanted to keep the Strict Baptist beliefs left the church. They started meeting at the Foresters Hall in the south of Uckfield. This building is still used as a Strict Baptist chapel today.
The 1789 chapel was officially registered for weddings on February 1, 1838. This registration was moved to the new chapel in 1876. It was canceled on June 15, 2005. Church services stopped in the building that year. The building was sold to be turned into homes. The church congregation then moved their services to Manor Primary School in Uckfield. The church is now part of Baptists Together (the Baptist Union of Great Britain) and the Evangelical Alliance.
Architecture of the Chapel
Uckfield Baptist Church was given a Grade II listing by English Heritage on December 31, 1982. This means it is a "nationally important" building with "special interest." In 2001, it was one of many listed buildings in the Wealden area.
It is a "simple brick chapel" with one floor. It is mostly made of red brick, with some darker bricks at the front. The side of the building facing the road has four evenly spaced windows with rounded tops. These windows still have their original glass divisions. The roof is tiled. The front of the building has a pointed roof with decorative wooden boards. Even though it was rebuilt in 1874, it still looks like a building from the Georgian period.
See also
