Datchet
Baptist Church
|
|
Datchet Baptist Church |
|
| HISTORY OF DATCHET BAPTIST CHURCH 1801-2001 |
| THE CHURCH : 1930 - 1955 By 1930 the church had just six members, however in this year two young people moved to Datchet. Dorothy and Clifford Howard were members of Slough Baptist Church, where Dorothy’s father was the minister. They became active members of Datchet Baptist Church and in 1936 Cliff was elected church secretary. Meanwhile two others from Slough had bought a house in Datchet in 1936 - Bob and Frances Anderson. Bob was a lay preacher and had already begun to preach at Datchet. They joined the church and in 1939 Bob became treasurer. The church began to grow again and the members started to look for a site for a new building to replace the chapel in the High Street. This was delayed by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, but in 1944 the church was able to purchase a plot of land in London Road. Although Bob Anderson preached frequently, the church had no pastor. However, in 1949 the church decided to call Bob Anderson as lay pastor. In 1954, after the sale of the old chapel, work began on constructing the present building in London Road. This was opened in January 1955. Eleven new members joined the church that year, so that by the end of the year membership had risen to 31. Once the church had moved to London Road the numbers in the Sunday School grew considerably - to about 100 by 1956! There were various weeknight activities for children and young people too, Christian Endeavour, and for a short period Girls Life Brigade and Girl Guides. In the 1960s many young people came to the youth club and as a result a
hall was built behind the church. For a while in the 1970s two clubs
flourished the ‘68 club and the ‘70 club, while between 1972 and 1981
summer holiday clubs were run for younger children.
|
|
| Next Back | ||
Baptist Church Home |
||
