Building record MLI87488 - General Baptist chapel and Sunday School, Swan Street, Spalding
Summary
General Baptist chapel and Sunday School, Swan Street, Spalding
Type and Period (4)
- GENERAL BAPTIST CHAPEL (Post Medieval to Modern - 1828 AD to 2050 AD)
- SUNDAY SCHOOL (Post Medieval to Modern - 1865 AD to 2050 AD)
- BAPTIST BURIAL GROUND (Post Medieval - 1690 AD? to 1865 AD)
- CEMETERY (Post Medieval - 1690 AD? to 1865 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
23956
The Baptists first appeared in Spalding in the mid seventeenth century. The first General Baptist meeting house on this site was built in 1689-91. It was destroyed in a town fire in 1715. A new chapel of that date was replaced in 1811 and superseded in 1828 by the present chapel, which was enlarged in 1842 and 1855. Further changes have been made in the mid twentieth century onwards. The adjacent school was built in 1865. {1}{2}{3}{4}
The chapel and Sunday School were visited in 2010. By 1688 the first church included members from Spalding, Haconby and Bourne. The present chapel incorporated the site of the earlier Sunday School and the new Sunday School of 1865 was built on the site of the original burial ground. Monuments from the burial ground, including five headstones, were set in the side wall.The present chapel is built of red brick with red brick dressings and has a hipped roof with a slate covering. The chapel originally faced on to Chapel Lane but the current entrance and main façade are on Swan Street. A raised gable of darker brick, and a modern porch have been added to the Swan Street façade. Above the porch are three bays of flat-headed plastic windows. The original façade is now rendered but the outline of a blocked Venetian window, between two blocked sash windows, can be discerned above the round-arched central doorway. The side elevations of the original chapel have four bays of segmental-headed plastic windows to which a further two bays and the present façade have been added to the rear. The adjacent Baptist School which faces onto Chapel Lane is constructed of red brick with red brick and stone dressings and has a gabled roof with a slate covering. The raised gables have stone copings and kneelers. The pedimental façade has three recessed bays and a stepped cornice with two tiers of openings. The central bay has a blocked round-arched opening which was originally a doorway with stone imposts. Above is a segmental-arched tablet with the description 'BAPTIST SCHOOL 1865'. In the pediment above is a semi-circular stepped opening with a window with radiating spokes. The rear elevation on Swan Street has a lean-to annexe partially covering an upper tier of four segmental-headed windows and a small lunette in the gable. The side elevations have round-arched windows with radiating spokes in the arches, some of which are blocked. The iron railings survive.{5}{6}{7}
Sources/Archives (7)
- <1> SLI10089 Verbal Communication: Bonnor, J.. 2004. Information regarding Baptist chapel, Swan Street, Spalding. -.
- <2> SLI10090 Unpublished Document: Hance, Sheila. 1996. List of important dates with regard to the construction and alterations to Swan Street Baptist chapel. -.
- <3> SLI7745 Bibliographic Reference: R.W. Ambler. 1979. Lincolnshire Returns of the Census of Religious Worship, 1851. 122.
- <4> SLI886 Bibliographic Reference: William White. 1856. History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire - Second Edition. page 846.
- <5> SLI9638 Digital Archive: Lincolnshire County Council. 2004-2009. GIS layer depicting locations and survival of nonconformist chapels. 23956.
- <6> SLI9202 Bibliographic Reference: Christopher Stell. 2002. Inventory of Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting Houses in Eastern England. p223.
- <7> SLI12989 Bibliographic Reference: Free Press Company Ltd Spalding. 1947. A Short History of the Spalding Baptists 1646 - 1946. Spalding Baptist Church.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred TF 24569 22732 (39m by 34m) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | SPALDING, SOUTH HOLLAND, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Mar 21 2021 8:35PM
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