Baptists in Stotfold

Old Baptist Chapel in Stotfold, now a private residence, 2024

There are currently two Baptist churches in Stotfold: Hope Chapel on Queen Street and Kings Street Baptist Church on The Green. 

The first mention of Baptists in Stotfold is in 1814 when Baptists woshipped in a couple of cottages in Stotfold. By 1832 they were worshipping in a barn when seven men and women from the Old Meetings at Biggleswade were transferred to organise a Baptist congregation at Stotfold. In 1834 Samuel Stanbridge was chosen as their lay pastor. In 1857 the barn was pulled down and the older portion of the present Old Baptist Chapel was built. Galleries and an extension were added later. 

In the 1830s there was a secession from the Old Baptist Chapel congregation and they began worshipping in a cottage. In 1841 they adapted a barn for the purposes of a chapel and this became the Rehoboth Chapel. Two houses now stand there with a plaque that commemorates the chapel. A secession from the Rehoboth took place and a a called James Mahew built a Strict Baptist Chapel called Hope Chapel. Mehew came to Stotfold from St Neots in the 1830s. The deeds of the chapel incorporate the Articles of Faith of the Gospel Standard Strict Baptists. Mehew’s will includes references to Hope Chapel. 

Kings Street Baptist Church was built in the 1960s and this church, as well as Hope Chapel, continue to hold services in Stotfold. 

Ecclesiastical Census

On Sunday 30th March 1851 a census of all churches, chapels and preaching-houses of every denomination was undertaken in England and Wales. The local results were published by Bedfordshire Historical Records Society in 1975 as Volume 54, edited by D. W. Bushby. The return for Stotfold Rehoboth Calvinistic Baptist church noted the following pieces of information:

• The church had 186 sittings (74 free, 112 other) including vestry and space for 20 persons.
• The general congregation had been 86 in the morning, 110 in the afternoon and 216 in the evening.