St Andrew's Street Baptist Church - St Andrew's Street, Cambridge, UK
N 52° 12.162 E 000° 07.446
31U E 303481 N 5787482
St Andrew Street Baptist church is located on the south west side of St Andrew's Street in Cambridge. The church was built in 1903 and is the successor to earlier churches of 1689, 1721, 1761 and 1836. The "then" photo was taken c1903.
Waymark Code: WMQTN6
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/28/2016
Views: 2
The "then" photo was taken just after the church opened in 1903. The most noticeable difference is that the small spire on the roof of the bell tower has been removed. The building to the left of the church is the same but there has been redevelopment to the right of the church.
There are two stone plaques set into the face of the church. The first plaque is inscribed with historical information:
This church dates from 1689
Secular buildings on this site
1721 adapted for worship
first Chapel erected 1764
second Chapel erected 1836
The second stone is inscribed:
This stone was laid
on May 6th 1903
by
George Edward Foster Esq JP
Architects George Baines FRIB A & R Palmer Baines
The church's website gives a brief history of the church:
The History of Christian worship on the site of the present church building begins on 16 April 1721. On that day the newly formed group of Christians took over a former stable and granary for their meeting place.
Forty years later, when the Rev Robert Robinson was called to be minister he found the building 'a damp, dark, cold, ruinous, contemptible hovel’ with a congregation of 34 people. But Robinson was an inspiring preacher and leader (as well as a hymn-writer, some of whose hymns are still sung today), and in 1764 the old buildings were pulled down to be replaced with a chapel large enough to seat 600.
The Rev Robert Hall, a fine scholar and great preacher, came to st Andrew’s Street in 1791, and was soon attracting such crowds that the chapel had to be enlarged to take 800. In 1836 it was replaced by a new one, and the present building took it’s place in 1903.
The appearance of the building (with some minor alterations) dates from it’s erection in 1903, and was designed by the architects George and Reginald Palmer Baines, who were responsible for many other baptist churches at the beginning of the century. It cost £8000 to build.