Providence Strict Baptist Chapel, Burgess Hill
Church in West Sussex , England
Providence Strict Baptist Chapel | |
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The chapel from the south
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50°57′32″N 0°08′08″W / 50.9590°N 0.1356°W / 50.9590; -0.1356 | |
Location | Park Road, Burgess Hill , West Sussex RH15 8EU |
Country | England |
Denomination | Baptist |
History | |
Status | Former chapel |
Founded | 1875 |
Founder(s) | Eli Ashdown, Frederick Hoadley |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Residential conversion |
Heritage designation | Grade II |
Designated | 27 November 1975 |
Architect(s) | Simeon Norman |
Style | Neoclassical |
Completed | 1875 |
Closed | 1999 |
Providence Strict Baptist Chapel is a former Strict Baptist place of worship in the town of Burgess Hill in Mid Sussex , one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex . Founded in 1875 by two prominent residents of the town at a time when Protestant Nonconformism was well established in Sussex, the chapel continued in religious use for over a century until it was sold for conversion to a family home in 1999. The Neoclassical building stands in a conservation area opposite Burgess Hill's main park. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
History
Burgess Hill—now a town of about 30,000 people—did not exist until the mid-19th century, when the London and Brighton Railway built a railway line across St John's Common, an area of common land divided between the parishes of Clayton and Keymer . [1] [2] The line and Burgess Hill railway station opened in 1841, and rapid population growth led to the building of an Anglican church, St John the Evangelist's , in the early 1860s and the creation of an ecclesiastical parish in 1863. [2] [3]
One of the most important early residents was Frederick Hoadley. In 1857 he founded a department store on a prominent site near the railway station; it was so successful that other branches were opened elsewhere in Sussex. [4] In 1875, together with fellow resident Eli Ashdown, he formed a trust to fund the establishment of a Strict Baptist place of worship in the town. [5] St John's Park, a 6.5-acre (2.6 ha) recreational area in the town centre, was presented to the town in 1871 as a memorial to a local philanthropist. [6] Hoadley and Ashdown bought a site on Park Road, with a southward view across the park, in 1875 and commissioned architect Simeon Norman to design a chapel. [5] [7] It was registered for marriages on 20 June 1876. [8] There were already other Nonconformist places of worship in the town: a Congregational church of 1829 predated the railway-influenced development, and congregations of both Plymouth Brethren and General Baptists were founded in 1870. [2] [7] [9] [10] Methodists, Congregationalists and the Salvation Army also had a presence by 1900. [11]
Simeon Norman's chapel continued to serve the Strict Baptist community throughout the 20th century, [7] but attendances gradually fell. It was therefore sold in 1999, and has been converted into a family home and renamed Providence House . [9] [11] [12]
The Providence Strict Baptist Chapel was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 27 November 1975; [13] this defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest". [14] As of February 2001, it was one of 958 Grade II listed buildings, and 1,028 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Mid Sussex. [15] It is within the St John's Common Conservation Area designated by Mid Sussex District Council. [5] [16]
Architecture
The chapel was built in a style described as either Classical [13] or Neoclassical . [11] [16] The two-storey structure has three equally spaced round-headed windows on the upper floor of the façade, and two square-headed windows flanking the entrance door below. Between these are four Doric pilasters which are topped with a pediment . [13] Originally faced with cement, [13] it is now stuccoed . [11]
See also
Notes
- ↑ Harris, Roland B. (November 2005). "Burgess Hill Historic Character Assessment Report" (PDF) . Sussex Extensive Urban Survey (EUS) . East Sussex County Council, West Sussex County Council, and Brighton and Hove City Council. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011 . Retrieved 2 April 2010 .
- 1 2 3 Salzman, L. F., ed. (1940). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7 – The Rape of Lewes. Parishes: Keymer" . Victoria County History of Sussex . British History Online. pp. 179–181 . Retrieved 2 April 2010 .
- ↑ Harris, Roland B. (November 2005). "Burgess Hill Historic Character Assessment Report" (PDF) . Sussex Extensive Urban Survey (EUS) . East Sussex County Council, West Sussex County Council, and Brighton and Hove City Council. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011 . Retrieved 2 April 2010 .
- ↑ Dudeney & Hallett 2006 , p. 4.
- 1 2 3 Avery 2001 , §49.
- ↑ Dudeney & Hallett 2006 , pp. 35, 38.
- 1 2 3 Matthews 2006 , p. 141.
- ↑ "No. 24342" . The London Gazette . 4 July 1876. p. 3827.
- 1 2 Matthews 2006 , p. 140.
- ↑ Avery 2001 , §56.
- 1 2 3 4 Elleray 2004 , p. 14.
- ↑ Harris, Roland B. (November 2005). "Burgess Hill Historic Character Assessment Report" (PDF) . Sussex Extensive Urban Survey (EUS) . East Sussex County Council, West Sussex County Council, and Brighton and Hove City Council. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011 . Retrieved 2 April 2010 .
- 1 2 3 4 Historic England (2007). "Providence Strict Baptist Chapel, Park Road, Burgess Hill, Mid Sussex, West Sussex (1354755)" . National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 20 April 2010 .
- ↑ "Listed Buildings" . English Heritage . 2010. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013 . Retrieved 23 August 2011 .
- ↑ "Images of England – Statistics by County (West Sussex)" . Images of England . English Heritage . 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012 . Retrieved 2 January 2013 .
- 1 2 Harris, Roland B. (November 2005). "Burgess Hill Historic Character Assessment Report" (PDF) . Sussex Extensive Urban Survey (EUS) . East Sussex County Council, West Sussex County Council, and Brighton and Hove City Council. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011 . Retrieved 2 April 2010 .
Bibliography
- Avery, Frederic M. (2001). Burgess Hill in Old Picture Postcards (Volume 2) . Zaltbommel: European Library. ISBN 90-288-3562-8 .
- Dudeney, Mark; Hallett, Eileen (2006). Bygone Days in Burgess Hill . Burgess Hill: Mid-Sussex Books. ISBN 0-9530625-2-X .
- Elleray, D. Robert (2004). Sussex Places of Worship . Worthing: Optimus Books. ISBN 0-9533132-7-1 .
- Matthews, Hugh (2006). Burgess Hill . Additional chapter by Mark Dudeney (2nd ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. ISBN 1-86077-437-7 .
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