History
Prior to 1808 for almost a century groups of non conformist worshipers held meetings in various houses within the village. In 1808 a property was purchased for £100 and fitted out for worship. In 1820 this small group decided that they needed a minister rather than rely solely on ministers from local towns and villages and on 20th June a Mr Miller, formerly of Oakham preached his first sermon A special meeting was held on 29th April 1822 and those present agreed to form a church under the name of Particular Baptists. On the evening of Wednesday 22nd May 1822 the church was officially formed, with the first service to the church being preached the next day. Little is recorded in the Church minute books how the present building came into being yet the books record that the new meeting house was opened on 16th October 1823.
In 1855 the galleries were added and the building was extended to include upper and lower school rooms in 1880’s. The chapel was officially registered in 1866 as a place of worship with the Registrar and a year later registered for Solemnisation of Marriages.
The chapel was originally heated by four large paraffin heaters and lit by oil lamps. The heating was later “modernised” in the form of piped hot water provided by a coal fired boiler which was located under the floor of the schoolroom. This was later replaced by an all electric system in the 1960’s.
In 1933/4 an organ had been purchased from Desborough Baptist Church to replace the harmonium previously used. As a result the large pulpit was reduced in size to form the present small model. The organ was replaced in 1988 by the present instrument which was moved from Roade Baptist Church. During its installation the old baptistery was found to be in a poor state of repair. Consequently a new baptistery was constructed in 1990.
A new vestry, entrance area and toilets were added in 1992. In 1995 the side pews were removed during damp proofing work and found to be unsuitable for replacement so were replaced by chairs.
Burials took place in the churchyard until the late 1800’s by which time the burial ground was full. Memorial tablets in the church commemorate founder members of the church or members of their immediate family. The pulpit bible, communion chairs and the table were provided in memory of former members, as were the new windows in the schoolroom.
Over the life of the Church numbers attending the church have fluctuated but the chapel has remained open each Sunday, in fact records do not indicate that it has ever had closed doors on the Lord's Day (with the exception of the Covid Lockdowns).
