Harrowden Baptists

There is no record of a Baptist chapel in Harrowden but there was clearly an active community in the mid 19th century. On 30th March 1851 a religious census was undertaken. Every place of worship in the country had to record the numbers of people attending each service held that day.

There is a return for Harrowden, compiled by John Frost, the Pastor at the Baptist Meeting in Cotton End. He noted that the meetings were held in a dwelling house which could sit 62 people and that teh congregation in the evening of that day had been precisely that, 62. He explained: "Divine service has been regularly performed in this village for full 50 years - the service consisting of meetings for social prayer, reading of printed sermons and preaching the Gospel. Divine service consisting of reading the Scriptures, prayer, exposition and preaching is now conducted twice every week by the Rev. John Frost and his students".