The Old Baptist Chapel Baptistry

 By Angela Dunsby

 

 

Baptism, this is when an adult is fully immersed in water to receive a special blessing from God, with acceptance of a Christian life and avoidance of a baptism of fire upon ones ’own demise. At the Old Baptist Chapel, we offer a glimpse of a baptistry with insight into the early Baptist movement.

 

Around 1609, John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, from Amsterdam, founded the movement which saw them referred to as Baptists, a derogatory name at the time. They used the word dissenters to describe themselves as they did not believe that the church should be controlled by a hierarchy. They were against the tight grip the heads of the Church of England had, believing that God alone should guide and instruct those of faith. Referring to their church as The Church of Christ, the practice of full immersion adult baptism was performed to symbolise the death and resurrection of Christ.

 

 

 

The Old Baptist Chapel in Tewkesbury is part of the John Moore Museum and although the building itself has a medieval background, it was to become a key place of worship for early Tewkesbury Baptists, or dissenters. In 1623, a Thomas Harris purchased the building, which at that time was a residential dwelling. Although still used as a home, it was purchased with the intent of providing a safe place for the congregation to gather in a time when persecution and even death were possible for people considered to be heretics ( in 1612 Anabaptist minister, Edward Wightman, became the last person burnt alive for heresy, but still the fear lived on).

 

This new secret place raised the issue of baptisms and where they could be performed. Under the cover of darkness, a baptism would take place at the Mill Avon or the Avon itself. It must have been freezing, especially as records show that many baptisms took place during the winter months and getting warm and dry would not have been as simple as today (although I am sure that the spiritual benefits would outweigh the negatives). Baptism was only offered to adults, as it was considered wrong to baptise a child since they would not fully understand or have the knowledge to accept the faith. The minutes of one meeting record the expulsion of Thomas Finche, who had taken his child to the high church for a ‘sprinkling’ which went against everything the Baptists believed in. The baptisms also caused a problem with opponents of the practice and Baptists were often accused of sexual misbehaviour, as men and women were baptised together in their undergarments, accusations of murder also abounded, although none of these were proven to be true. Nevertheless, this was another hurdle for the congregation to overcome in its fight to practice its own beliefs.

 

In 1689, the Act of Toleration changed the outlook for the Baptist Church and gave the congregation its own ‘legal’ place of worship. This meant that the dwelling could now be openly used for services and baptisms. At some point after the Act of Toleration, a baptistry was built in the ‘new’ chapel and outdoor baptism ceased. The baptistry itself is brick lined and has four steps leading to its floor. Originally the baptistry would have been filled by hand, presumably with buckets, an arduous task, I am sure! But in time a channel was added which allowed water to be pumped in directly from a pipe outside, a small drainage area was also added to allow for drainage afterwards.

 

In 1805, the congregation found larger premises on Barton Street in Tewkesbury and the old chapel building was returned to residential status. The Baptists still owned the building and the two end bays were turned into cottages, while the central bay became a truncated chapel with the baptistry hidden beneath a wooden floor. It is during this time that the buildings started to deteriorate and by the 1960’s were at the point of collapse. In the 1970’s, Tewkesbury Borough Council began a restoration programme restoring the building in the style of about its 1720 appearance. During these major works, the baptistry was discovered beneath the wooden floor, it had been filled with rubble from previous work and contained the old mullion windows from the front of the building. Today the baptistry is resplendent in its restored condition and is covered with a glass floor allowing visitors to enjoy its history.

 

 

In 1985, Bill O’Leary, the Baptist pastor, and his son Wayne chose the Old Baptist Chapel with its brick baptistry for a nostalgic baptism, and Wayne, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, was to be the last person baptised in the old baptistry.