Baptist anniversary

THE BAPTIST CHURCH is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year, the first congregation having been founded in 1609 after the Reformation swept Europe causing upheaval throughout religious communities and since then has become the fifth largest Christian movement in the world with 40 million members

The origins of the Baptist Church in Bourne date back to the Civil War of 1642-49, the armed conflict between royalist and parliamentary forces arising from constitutional differences between Charles I and the Long Parliament.

The old castle site near St Peter's Pool is reputed to have been besieged by Cromwell's troops and a garrison established in the vicinity and the local belief is that many of these soldiers were Baptists and other non-conformists and attended meetings in the houses and barns of those with a similar faith living in the locality. There is also a story that Cromwell himself may have been among those who worshipped here. Bourne Baptists therefore accept the date of 1645 as their founding year and celebrate accordingly, particularly in November 1995 when this was their 350th anniversary.

Meetings were originally banned by law but continued in private places, including the woods and the fields, but by 1689, the legislation had been relaxed and Baptists were allowed to worship as they pleased and in 1717, meetings, prayers and bible study began at a house in West Street owned by Robert Ives senior, who eventually sold the property for the use of baptised believers in the town and district. The money was provided by four gentlemen, Robert Ives senior, Robert Ives junior, Robert Arnold and William Hussey, who each contributed £19, which together with a further £10 donated by John Richardson of Aslackby, enabled them to not only purchase the land and property but also to build a new meeting house. It was small and constructed of wood and mortar by the members themselves, some of them giving wood worked with their own hands, others providing stone and mortar, much of it carried to the site by friends from Haconby. The expenses for the building work were supplemented with another £5 each from eight other members.

By 1831, church membership had increased to 119 with 230 children attending Sunday School and it became apparent that a new building was needed. A church meeting was held in 1835 when 44 members pledged a total of £212 for the project to get underway. Voluntary labour was necessary because the church had no capital and the previous year, the treasurer presented the accounts showing a credit balance of only one shilling (5p in today's decimal currency). But this parlous state of their finances did not deter members from proceeding with the project and the first stone of the new chapel was laid on 6th May 1835 with the prayer: "May this home be a blessing to many generations".

The total cost of the church was eventually £1,700 and it was built with an attractive frontage and a low slate roof set behind a modish parapet and the foundation stone was laid by one of the deacons, Mr Edward Wherry, a grocer from Edenham who had established a new retail business in North Street. This was an appropriate choice because members of his family subsequently served in the Baptist congregation as deacons for over a hundred years.

Extra galleries were erected in 1868 and a new organ was added in February 1876, the gift of Mr George Bettinson, of Dyke, and the occasion was celebrated with a recital and public tea when a collection to help with the costs raised £18. The church was originally lit by gas lamps but electric lighting was installed in 1932 at a cost of £97 6s. 9d. which was paid by an anonymous benefactor, although the schoolroom was not wired until 1936.

The Baptists were also the first non-conformists to provide a Sunday School in Bourne. Classes began in 1803 and by 1924, some 5,000 children had attended. The former meeting house was converted for use as a school but was eventually pulled down in 1891 to make way for a new Sunday School which cost £1,100 and this included an early form of central heating which was referred to as "the warming apparatus".

There was a major set back in 1897 when fire broke out in an adjoining workshop and the chapel was badly damaged. The outbreak occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday 30th June on the premises of Alfred Stubley, a scenic artist, painter and plumber. The building was made of wood and so the flames spread rapidly to the chapel and it took several hours for the fire brigade to bring the flames under control but the damage was extensive, especially on the west side where the windows were completely destroyed, leaving the building looking like a dismal ruin.

Two cottages and an orchard nearby belonging to the Marquis of Exeter also caught fire and the doors, walls and beds were burned and vegetation in the gardens hopelessly charred while apples and plums on the orchard trees were roasted. An investigation later revealed that the fire had been started when a lighted match was thrown on some straw by a two-year-old child. Fortunately, the building was insured and refurbished within a few months.

During the Second World War of 1939-45, the schoolroom was taken over by Kesteven County Education Authority in 1940 in order to create additional classroom space for the town which was providing homes for dozens of evacuees, mainly from the Hull area of Yorkshire. The authority paid an annual rental of £10 plus rates, heating and lighting costs and the wages of a caretaker. The threat of aid raids meant that all windows were blacked out to prevent lights from showing after dark and a blast screen was erected in front of the two main windows.

But the life of the church has continued uninterrupted. There have been further improvements in recent years with a major refurbishment scheme that was undertaken towards the end of 2005 and completed in January the following year, the biggest project of its kind in over a century and costing £110,000, a fitting tribute to the endeavour of the Baptist congregation.