Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel (also described as Bethel Calvinist Chapel)[1] is a former place of worship for Strict Baptists in Robertsbridge, a village in the district of Rother in the English county of East Sussex. Partly hidden behind ancient buildings on the village High Street, the simple brick chapel was erected in 1842 on the initiative of James Weller, a "somewhat remarkable man" whose preaching had attracted large audiences across Kent and East Sussex in the previous decade. The Strict Baptist cause was historically strong in East Sussex, and ProtestantNonconformism thrived in Robertsbridge, which was distant from the nearest Anglicanparish church. The chapel closed in about 1999, and permission was granted for its conversion into a house. English Heritage has designated it a Grade II Listed building.
The ancient village of Salehurst, mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086, had an extensive parish spanning the River Rother. There was no settlement at Robertsbridge, 1 mile (1.6km) southwest of Salehurst village,[2] until after 1210, when a Cistercianabbey founded in 1176 moved there from its site further up the valley.[3] By the 14th century, Robertsbridge was by far the larger village.[3] There was no place of worship serving the Established Church, though: a chapel associated with the abbey was last recorded in 1567 and was probably demolished soon afterwards,[4] and the parish church remained in Salehurst. In 1676, when a religious census was taken, Salehurst parish was found to have the second highest number of Nonconformists (28) of any parish in the area: it was behind only Rye, whose Nonconformist population was increased by refugees from continental Europe.[5] (In England, people and ministers who worshipped outside the Church of England but were not part of the Roman Catholic Church were historically known as Nonconformists or Dissenters. Nonconformism became officially recognised after the Act of Uniformity 1662.)[6]
Many Nonconformist denominations thrived in Sussex from the 17th century, some of which overlapped, merged, and changed their ecclesiology over time. Calvinistic causes were particularly popular, especially in East Sussex.[7] Belief in predestination and the salvation of a chosen group (the doctrine of limited atonement) were shared across all Calvinistic groups, but Strict Baptists also hold the view that communion is only to be taken by those who have become members of the Church through baptism.[7] In 1809, Jacob Martell—a member of the Independent Calvinistic Cade Street Chapel near Heathfield—adopted these views and was ejected from that church. He moved to Burwash and founded a Strict Baptist chapel in 1810.[8] Six years later, Shover's Green Baptist Chapel was established by former members of the Burwash congregation.[9]
Bethel Chapel's founder James Weller preached across Kent and Sussex, and converted the wife of the Mayor of Rye—who founded this Strict Baptist chapel there.The chapel stands behind a shop on Robertsbridge High Street.
James Weller came to Burwash in 1838 as a 31-year-old preacher[10] who had been a prominent figure in the Strict Baptist cause in Kent throughout the 1830s. Born in Headcorn, he became a poor farmer and was baptised into the Church of England.[1] In about 1828, during a serious illness, he experienced a spiritual conversion and adopted Calvinistic Baptist beliefs. He was re-baptised at King Street Chapel in Maidstone in 1831. Over the next few years, he preached regularly at chapels in Frittenden, Smarden, Headcorn and (from 1837) at the Shover's Green chapel.[1] The following year, he went to its parent church at Burwash; his growing reputation meant he continued to visit chapels across East Sussex and Kent, where he drew large crowds.[10][11]
In his "curious little autobiography"[1] called The Wonders of Free Grace, as Manifested in the Life of James Weller, Minister of the Gospel, Bethel Chapel, Robertsbridge (1844), Weller described his concerns at the running of the Burwash chapel, and in 1842 he had the opportunity to establish his own chapel when a friend, James Caffyn, offered him a house on the High Street in Robertsbridge which he could turn into a place of worship.[10][11] This included a lease for 50 years and an annual maintenance fund of £10.[10] The first stone of the chapel, "half hidden behind a shop and a cottage",[10] was laid on 1 November 1842. Weller officially left the chapel at Burwash in January 1843, and Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel opened on 17 January 1843.[10][11] Weller noted that he preached to a very large congregation, but that he "was sorely tried the whole of the day with [his] own debts and those of the chapel".[11] It was common in Sussex for chapels to be built for the benefit of particular preachers rather than because the local populace demanded one,[12] and in the chapel's early years many members of the congregation were drawn from the chapel at Burwash rather than from Robertsbridge village.[11]
Bethel Chapel was constituted (officially formed into a church)[13] in August 1844.[10][14] Weller's ill health and debt problems continued, and he died in 1847. In his History of Salehurst, Leonard Hodson notes that while he was a "somewhat remarkable man",[1] he was more of a "dreamer" than a practical man and his philosophy was that of a "mystical Micawber".[11] Nevertheless, his preaching was influential: its effect on the wife of the Mayor of Rye caused a spiritual conversion which led to her becoming a Baptist and founding the Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel at Rye,[15] which was in religious in use until 2018.[16]
George Stedman became the pastor at the Robertsbridge chapel in 1848 and continued until 1881;[17] in 1864, during his pastorate, the chapel became aligned to the Gospel Standard Baptist movement.[14] No other full-time pastor led the chapel after Stedman's death, and it declined in the early 20th century. There was a revival from 1940, when it was reconstituted and regular worship recommenced,[17] and the chapel was registered for marriages in August 1962.[18] The congregation still met as late as 1996,[14] but in October 1999 planning permission was granted to convert the chapel into a house.[19]
High on the front elevation is a carved date stone.
Bethel Chapel is "an excellent example of the unobtrusive good taste of the Strict Baptists' chapel style",[21] and its "quaint" appearance[10] contrasts with the "very Victorian", "rich and fruity" neighbouring Congregational Church of 1881.[22][23] Weller's chapel was built in 1842,[24] as indicated on the carved stone tablet placed high on the west-facing gable.[25] This elevation is of red brick and has two wooden-framed windows with pointed arches containing y-tracery.[20][24][25] The sides of the building are hung with red tiles,[25] and the roof has slate tiles. The entrance is set below a gabled hood mould.[20]
Inside, a memorial tablet set into one of the walls commemorated James Weller, who died on 12 September 1847. A Biblical quote, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord",[26] concluded the epitaph. George Stedman, the second preacher (d. 2 January 1881), and Christopher Sharp (d. 25 January 1890), another man associated with the chapel's early history, were commemorated together on another stone. James Caffyn (d. 23 October 1894), who gave the site for the chapel, and his two daughters also had a monumental inscription; the children, who died in infancy, were buried in a grave nearby.[11]
Robertsbridge is a village in the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge, and the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Hastings and 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells. The River Rother passes through the village.
Shover's Green Baptist Chapel is a former Strict Baptist place of worship in the hamlet of Shover's Green in East Sussex, England. Shover's Green is in Wealden, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex, and stands on the road between the market town of Wadhurst and the village of Ticehurst in the neighbouring district of Rother. Founded by Strict Baptists from nearby Burwash in 1816, the chapel—one of three Baptist places of worship in Wadhurst parish—continued to serve the community until the 1970s, when it was sold for conversion to a house. Its design is similar to that of the nearby Rehoboth Chapel at Pell Green. The chapel is protected as a Grade II Listed building.
Rye Particular Baptist Chapel is a former Strict Baptist place of worship in Rye, an ancient hilltop town in Rother, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex. Built in the 18th century on the site of a decaying Quaker meeting house, it served Baptists in the town for many years until a new chapel was constructed nearby. The chapel is a Grade II Listed building.
Madina Mosque is a mosque in the centre of Horsham, an ancient market town in the English county of West Sussex. It has served the Muslim community of the town and the surrounding district of Horsham since 2008. The plain stuccoed building in which it is housed was originally a Baptist chapel—one of several in the town, which has a long history of Nonconformist Christian worship. The former Jireh Independent Chapel was in commercial use until Muslims acquired it after a lengthy search for a permanent space. The organization, 'Muslims in Britain' classify the Madina Mosque as, "Deobandi".
Robertsbridge United Reformed Church is a former United Reformed Church place of worship in Robertsbridge, a village in the district of Rother in the English county of East Sussex. Built for Congregational worshippers in 1881 following their secession from a long-established Wesleyan Methodist chapel, it was the third Nonconformist place of worship in the village, whose nearest parish church was in the neighbouring settlement of Salehurst. Like the former Strict Baptist and Methodist chapels in the village, which have both closed, it no longer serves Robertsbridge as a place of worship. Local architect Thomas Elworthy's distinctive design—a "rich" and highly decorated blend of several styles—has divided opinion amongst architectural historians. English Heritage has listed the church at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
Bethel Baptist Chapel is a Strict Baptist place of worship in the village of Wivelsfield in East Sussex, England. The cause was founded in 1763 by members of a chapel at nearby Ditchling; Henry Booker and other worshippers seceded and began to meet at Wivelsfield after hearing a sermon by George Whitefield. Although some members of the new church soon returned to the Ditchling congregation, the cause thrived under Booker's leadership, and the present chapel—a building of "quiet and unassuming elegance" set in its own graveyard—was erected in 1780. It has served the Strict Baptist community continuously since then, and members founded other chapels elsewhere in Sussex during the 18th and 19th centuries. The chapel is a Grade II Listed building.
Zoar Strict Baptist Chapel is a Strict Baptist place of worship in the hamlet of Lower Dicker in the English county of East Sussex. Founded in 1837 and originally known as The Dicker Chapel, the "large and impressive" Classical/Georgian-style building stands back from a main road in a rural part of East Sussex. The 800-capacity building included a schoolroom and stables when built, and various links exist between people and pastors associated with the chapel and other Strict Baptist and Calvinistic causes in the county, which is "particularly well endowed with [such] chapels".
John Wills was an architect based in Derby.
Five Ash Down Independent Chapel is an independent Evangelical church in the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition in the hamlet of Five Ash Down, East Sussex, England. Founded in 1773 in the house of a local man, Thomas Dicker senior, the cause developed so rapidly that a church was founded and a permanent building erected for the congregation 11 years later. The church was run along Calvinistic lines at first, in common with many new chapels in late 18th-century Sussex, and an early group of seceders from the congregation founded a chapel in nearby Uckfield which was run in accordance with Baptist theology. The Five Ash Down chapel has been described as "the parent of many other places [of worship] both Baptist and Independent" across Sussex, and it has continued into the 21st century—now as a small Evangelical fellowship but still worshipping in the original chapel, whose present appearance is a result of expansion and refronting during the Victorian era.
Uckfield Baptist Church is a Baptist congregation based in the town of Uckfield in East Sussex, England. Although services now take place in a school, the cause—founded in 1785 by seceders from the nearby Five Ash Down Independent Chapel—had its own chapel from 1789 until 2005, when the building closed and was sold for residential conversion. The "simple brick chapel" was rebuilt in 1874 and has been listed at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
Montpelier Place Baptist Church, originally known as the Baptist Tabernacle, is a former Baptist church in the Montpelier area of Brighton, part of the English seaside city of Brighton and Hove. It opened in 1967 to replace a 140-year predecessor on West Street in central Brighton, but was closed in 2012 and demolished over the 2017–2018 Christmas and New Year period. Houses and flats now occupy the site; the development was completed in December 2019.
Galeed Strict Baptist Chapel is a Strict Baptist place of worship in the North Laine area of Brighton, part of the English seaside city of Brighton and Hove. It was built in 1868 in an "austere Neoclassical" style for members of a newly formed church who had been worshipping in a hired building nearby since seceding from another chapel elsewhere in Brighton in 1867 as a result of doctrinal differences. The chapel, which has changed little since it opened, remains in use by Gospel Standard Strict Baptists and is the only such place of worship remaining in the city. It is situated in a conservation area and is a locally listed building. People associated with Galeed Chapel include the founders of the Evangelical Library and the Gospel Standard Baptist Library, several editors of the Gospel Standard magazine, and the author of a definitive history of the Strict Baptist movement. Regular services are held on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Mayfield Baptist Chapel, also known as Mayfield Strict Baptist Chapel, is a place of worship for Gospel Standard Strict Baptists in the village of Mayfield, part of the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The present chapel was built in 1873 on the site of a predecessor which had opened some years before—possibly as early as the late 18th century. A Strict Baptist church was formally constituted in 1871 when the minister at the time, Eli Page, adopted these views; previously it had simply been a "preaching place" serving Christians with various Protestant Nonconformist views. The simple Vernacular-style building remains in use as a Strict Baptist chapel.
Northiam Unitarian Chapel is a former place of worship for Unitarians in Northiam, a village in the district of Rother in the English county of East Sussex. Originally General Baptist in character when opened in a wooden building in 1795, its congregation came under the influence of William Vidler from nearby Battle—a former Baptist who had moved towards Universalism and Unitarianism—and adopted his views. The present building, which was converted into a house in the early 21st century, was erected in 1810 and was at various times served by ministers from both Battle and Hastings Unitarian Churches. Historic England has designated it a Grade II listed building for its architectural and historical importance.
↑ Martin, Dorothy I. (1999). "Life in the Village of Robertsbridge"(PDF). Robertsbridge: Robertsbridge and District Archaeological Society. p.3. Archived(PDF) from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
↑ "Application No. RR/1999/1951/L"(PDF). Rother District Council planning application RR/1999/1951/L. Rother District Council. 12 October 1999. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
Beevers, David; Marks, Richard; Roles, John (1989). Sussex Churches and Chapels. Brighton: The Royal Pavilion, Art Gallery and Museums. ISBN0-948723-11-4.
Chambers, Ralph (1953). The Strict Baptist Chapels of England: Sussex. Vol.2. Thornton Heath: Ralph Chambers.
Elleray, D. Robert (1981). The Victorian Churches of Sussex. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. ISBN0-85033-378-4.
Hodson, Leonard J. (1914). A History of Salehurst. Robertsbridge: Leonard Hodson.
Martin, David; Mastin, Barbara (1974). An Architectural History of Robertsbridge. Hastings Area Archaeological Papers. Hastings: Hastings Area Archaeological Papers. ISBN0-904124-04-5.
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