Horsham Unitarian Church
| Horsham Unitarian Church | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
The chapel from the east
|
|
 Location of the chapel within West Sussex
|
|
| 51°03′46″N 0°20′00″W / 51.0629°N 0.3334°WCoordinates: 51°03′46″N 0°20′00″W / 51.0629°N 0.3334°W | |
| Location | Worthing Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1SL |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Unitarian |
| Previous denomination | General Baptist |
| Website | www.ukunitarians.org.uk/horsham/ |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Horsham General Baptist Chapel |
| Founded | 1719 |
| Founder(s) |
Matthew Caffyn (congregation); John Dendy and John Greeve (present building) |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Chapel |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 20 May 1949 |
| Architect(s) | Unknown |
| Style | Vernacular |
| Groundbreaking | 1720 |
| Completed | 1721 |
Horsham Unitarian Church (formerly Horsham General Baptist Chapel) is a Unitarian chapel in Horsham in the English county of West Sussex. It was founded in 1719 to serve the large Baptist population of the ancient market town of Horsham—home of radical preacher Matthew Caffyn—and the surrounding area. The chapel's congregation moved towards Unitarian beliefs in the 19th century, but the simple brick building continued to serve worshippers drawn from a wide area of Sussex. It is one of several places of worship which continue to represent Horsham's centuries-old tradition of Protestant Nonconformism, and is the town's second oldest surviving religious building—only St Mary's, the parish church, predates it.English Heritage has listed the chapel at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
In England, people and ministers who worshipped outside the Church of England but were not part of the Roman Catholic Church were historically known as Dissenters or (Protestant) Nonconformists. Nonconformism became officially recognised after the Act of Uniformity 1662, which removed from their living those Church of England ministers who refused to recognise or abide by the Act's requirements. Many alternative denominations developed, all focused on a person's personal relationship with God rather than on the rites and ceremonies of religious worship as in the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. This trend was seen throughout Sussex, and by the late 17th century "the all-embracing medieval Church" existed alongside dozens of newly established groups and denominations.
One of these sects was the General Baptists. Along with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and the Presbyterians, they found significant early success in the area around the north Sussex market town of Horsham. By 1676 there were about 100 Nonconformists in the town, and the General Baptist cause was led by local radical and evangelist Matthew Caffyn. Under his guidance, Baptists had met in small house-groups in the area (in particular at Southwater and Broadbridge Heath) since 1669 or possibly as early as 1645. His influence on Baptist causes throughout southeast England was considerable: in 1696, his increasingly radical, unorthodox beliefs caused a schism in the General Baptist Assembly, and its response to his changing theology was significant in the development of Unitarianism.
...
Wikipedia