- Minister: Pastor Peter Price
- Barnstaple Baptist Church
- Boutport Street, Barnstaple
- Devon
- EX31 1TD
07957969001
Email Us
The Beginning of Barnstaple Baptist Church
Barnstaple Baptist Church had a small and simple start.
In 1814, a man named Mr Ferris came to look after the army barracks in Barnstaple. He and his wife wanted to start a Baptist church. By 1817, a small group of 12 people met in a Methodist chapel to worship together.
In 1823, the first chapel was built in Vicarage Lane. It was called Ebenezer Chapel, and it was for Particular Baptists. In 1830, a man named John Miller, who sold lace, moved to Barnstaple. He built a new Baptist chapel in Boutport Street. It opened in 1833 for General Baptists.
The first minister there, Rev E. H. Burton, left after just one year and services stopped soon after. At the same time, Mr Robert Chapman became the minister at Ebenezer Chapel. Some people didn’t agree with his teachings and left used the Boutport Street chapel. In 1834, Rev Thomas Pulsford became their minister, but he left after only 6 months.
Then, Rev Richard May, who was John Miller’s brother-in-law, took over. He became the full-time minister. The church became a Particular Baptist Church again and opened on Christmas Day 1835 after which things got better
.
By 1842, there were 95 members, but when Rev May retired, many people moved away, including to America, so numbers dropped.
In 1849, Rev Samuel Newnam became the new pastor and the church grew so much that they needed a bigger building.
In 1860, the old building was knocked down, and a new church was built and opened on 17th July 1861. The church was designed by Mr R. D. Gould, a local architect. Two weeks later, on 31st July, 30 people were baptised and joined the church.
Over the years, many ministers served at the church. Some helped the church grow a lot. One minister, Rev Jon P Carey, was the grandson of William Carey, who started the Baptist Missionary Society.
The church also had a Boys Brigade, started in 1891, and later a Girls Brigade with both groups running for many years. By 1894, over 200 children came to Sunday School.
Over the years the church helped the local community during World War I and supported big Christian events like the Billy Graham crusades. They ran Holiday Clubs and Youth Clubs and in 1972, one club had 100 children join Junior Church. There were also camping weekends in the 1980s.
Recently, the number of members has gone down because:
Some people moved away
Older members passed away
Young people went to university
Some joined other churches
But the church still meets for services and small groups. The people are kind and supportive and the church is still looking to God to guide them into the future.