Homerton Baptist Church

Homerton Baptist Church
51°32′45.048″N 0°2′31.154″W / 51.54584667°N 0.04198722°W / 51.54584667; -0.04198722Coordinates: 51°32′45.048″N 0°2′31.154″W / 51.54584667°N 0.04198722°W / 51.54584667; -0.04198722
Location Barnabas Road, Homerton, London, E9 5SD
Country United Kingdom
Denomination Baptist
Website www.homerton.church
History
Founded 1817
Clergy
Senior pastor(s) Pastor Steven Richards
Pastor(s) Pastor Stephen Challen

Homerton Baptist Church is an independent evangelical fellowship affiliated with the Association of Grace Baptist Churches (South East). Its pastors are Steven Richards and Stephen Challen.[1]

The church belief is in keeping with the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. As an independent church it is not a member of a specific Christian Denomination, and would describe its Christian belief as Grace Baptist.

History

Prior to 1817 the believers had been meeting in homes of Anglican dissenters. It is believed like other non-conformist churches in Hackney that they were small break away groups from Ram's Chapel.[2][3]

The church was founded in 1817, in the homes of Thomas Frankland (Marsh Gate, Lower Homerton) and David Ramsey (No. 6 Homerton Row, Homerton, Hackney) having registered them on 5 August 1817, through a special meeting marking the declaration of faith on 18 December 1817.[4] The Pastor was then Thomas Eason.[5] On 11 August 1819 the church registered the use of a school room for worship, owned by Robert Fletcher who was a church member, in Bridge Street (now Ponsford Street).[6] The citation also lists the use of John Lee's house in Hackney Wick.

In 1820 the church secured a site in Homerton Row, which they duly registered and a new purpose build premises was errected.[5] The new premises was called Homerton Row Baptist Chapel. In 1851 the church premises in Homerton Row was upgraded to include a Sunday School hall and provided total seating for 350 people.[5] In 1871 the church joined the Metropolitan Association of Strict Baptist Churches and renamed as Homerton Row Baptist Chapel.

In 1962 the land was subject to local authority compulsory purchase order.[7] The site was redeveloped by the local authority, expanding Homerton Row School situated next door itself having being established by Ram's Chapel.[3] The school was later known as Homerton House School, later Upton House Comprehensive School and then replaced by a new school City Academy, Hackney, build in 2009.

New land sourced in Barnabas Road[8] where Homerton Methodist Church Mission (name according to HM Land Registry [9]) also called Homerton Wesleyan Chapel,[10] had previously stood, itself established in 1817 but having subsequently closed or relocated. Barnabas Road had previously been called Church Road. On its new site the church was first called Barnabas Road Baptist Church, and listed as a Strict Baptist Church.[8] This new site accommodated for a much smaller church providing seating for up to 90 people and also had a small Sunday School hall.

During the late 1980s the church had a small congregation. During the late 1990s the name was changed to Homerton Baptist Church to reflect its local heritage. Over the coming years the congregation grew in numbers and reflected the new cultural mix of the East End. By 2015 the congregation had risen to an average of 85 in the main morning services, with key events during the year attracting up to 160 people. The building constructed during the 1960s had begun to have significant issues resulting in the need for significant repairs and redevelopment to keep it in working order. In June 2016 the local authority provided planning permission for the redevelopment of the premises.[11] The redevelopment is currently taking place and the new church premises is planned for reopening in spring 2018.

List of past ministers

Name Dates
Thomas Eason 1817-1835
Daniel Curtis 1837-1853
William Palmer 1854-1873
William Lodge 1874-1876
John Inward 1877-1881
John Bennett 1882-1887
Pastor S T Belcher 1891-1904
Edgar William Flegg 1906-1914
John Norris Throssell 1918-1922
William Beecher 1923-1927
George Smith 1935-1939
Sydney G Barrett 1963-1985
Steven Richards 1986–
Stephen Challen 2014–

Notes & References

  1. ↑ "Affinity". Affinity. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "History of The Round Chapel". Hackney Historic Buildings Trust. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Hackney: Homerton and Hackney Wick". British History Online. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Hackney: Protestant Nonconformity". Baptist Missions Anchor 256 - Ibid. 9580/4, 27 Feb., 5 Aug. 1817. British History Online. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Hackney: Protestant Nonconformity". Anchor 209, Para. based on Ibid. 150, 279. British History Online. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "Hackney: Protestant Nonconformity". Baptist Missions Anchor 257 - Para. based on Ibid. 150, 279. British History Online. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Hackney: Protestant Nonconformity". Anchor 212, P.O. Dir. Lond. (1959, 1964). British History Online. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Hackney: Protestant Nonconformity". Anchor 254, G.R.O. Worship Reg. no. 69122. British History Online. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Filed Plan of Title No. LN215878". HM Land Registry. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  10. ↑ "Hackney: Protestant Nonconformity". Anchor 301, bid.; G.R.O. Worship Reg. no. 57812. British History Online. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Planning Application Search". Planning Application - 2016/3152. Hackney Planning. Retrieved 5 October 2016.

Sources

Books

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