Southover General Baptist Chapel
Southover General Baptist Chapel | ||
---|---|---|
Style Vernacular | | |
Completed | 1741 | |
Closed | 1972 |
Southover General Baptist Chapel is a former Baptist place of worship in the ancient village of Southover, now part of the town and district of Lewes, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex. Founded in 1741 as the first Baptist place of worship in the area, it attracted a congregation of General Baptists whose theological views gradually moved towards Unitarianism. This led to their union with the members of the nearby Westgate Chapel, after which the flint and brick building housed other congregations and secular groups before its conversion to a house. The building is protected as a Grade II by English Heritage.
History
In the 19th century, most General Baptist congregations in Sussex gradually adopted Unitarian views, following the lead of Matthew Caffyn who was influential at the General Baptist chapel (now Unitarian) in Horsham.[5][6] The members of the Southover chapel were no exception, and in 1825 they decided to unite with the congregation of Westgate Chapel, a Unitarian meeting house founded in Lewes town centre in 1695.[4][7] The chapel became a meeting house used by other religious groups, including for a time The Salvation Army. Secular groups also used it, but in 1972 it was sold and converted into a cottage. It was altered inside, and the burial ground at the rear was covered with concrete (although some headstones were dug up and preserved).[3][4]
Southover General Baptist Chapel—under its new name of The Old Meeting—was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 29 October 1985.[8]
Architecture
The single-storey chapel faces north and is built of
The chapel's interior dimensions were 27.25 by 17.75 feet (8.31 m × 5.41 m). All 18th-century features, including a gallery, have been stripped out, but two old (possibly early 19th-century) fireplaces remain. A series of bricks in the south wall, laid out in a square, are inscribed with various initials and the date 1741.[4]
See also
- Media related to Southover General Baptist Chapel at Wikimedia Commons
- List of places of worship in Lewes District
Notes
- ^ a b c Salzman, L. F., ed. (1940). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7. The borough of Lewes: Parliamentary, economic and religious history". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. pp. 31–43. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ^ Salzman, L. F., ed. (1940). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7. Parishes: Southover". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. pp. 45–50. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ^ a b c Elleray 2004, p. 39.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Stell 2002, p. 347.
- ^ Stell 2002, p. 329.
- ^ Stell 2002, p. 344.
- ^ Stell 2002, p. 351.
- ^ a b c Historic England (2011). "The Old Meeting, 19 Eastport Lane (north side), Lewes, Lewes, East Sussex (1293625)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
Bibliography
- Elleray, D. Robert (2004). Sussex Places of Worship. Worthing: Optimus Books. ISBN 0-9533132-7-1.
- Stell, Christopher (2002). Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting-houses in Eastern England. Swindon: ISBN 1-873592-50-7.