Zoar Strict Baptist Chapel
Encyclopedia
Zoar Strict Baptist Chapel is a Strict Baptist
place of worship in the hamlet
of Lower Dicker
in the English county of East Sussex
. Founded in 1837 and originally known as The Dicker Chapel, the "large and impressive" Classical
/Georgian
-style buildings stands back from a main road in a rural part of East Sussex. The 800-capacity building included a schoolroom and stables when built, and various links exist between people and pastors associated with the chapel and other Strict Baptist and Calvinistic
causes in the county, which is "particularly well endowed with [such] chapels".
The chapel was built in 1837–38 and substantially extended in 1874. It has its own burial ground, extended in 1880. After a brief attempt by the first pastor to run the chapel along mixed denominational lines—serving Strict Baptist and Calvinistic
Independent
worshippers—it assumed a solely Strict Baptist identity, which it retains as of . Six permanent pastors have administered the chapel during its existence: one served for more than 50 years.
and South Downs
, several miles inland from the English Channel
. No reference to Dicker was made in the Domesday Book
of 1086, and much of the area was unenclosed
common land
. It was crossed by a highway (the present A22
), south of which was a major religious house, Michelham Priory
. This gradually declined and was abandoned at the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in 1536. The scattered settlements at Lower Dicker and Upper Dicker
developed slowly and only gained their present names in the 18th century.
Lower Dicker is now a linear settlement
along the A22, but in the early 19th century little existed at the "lower end of the Diccar ... in Hellingly
Parish" other than a brickworks
. There were a few farms on the common land, though, and many of their occupants were Nonconformists
rather than followers of the Church of England
. The latter was the Established Church
in England, and various Acts of Parliament
put restrictions on worship at places other than its own churches; but these were gradually relaxed, and by the 18th century many new Christian denomination
s had emerged, all categorised under the general name "Nonconformist". Such denominations were particularly strong in rural parts of East Sussex, and Calvinistic
beliefs were especially popular. Meetings were commonly held in houses, barns or similar buildings, and groups were generally aligned to either the Independent
movement or a Calvinistic interpretation of Baptist beliefs. (The term "Strict Baptist" to describe such views developed in the 19th century "with the purpose of organising a range of Calvinistic Baptist causes within a denominational identity".)
Several small-scale meetings of Calvinistic pastors and worshippers took place in the Dicker area from the late 18th century: in barns, houses and above an ironmonger's shop near the brickworks. In 1812, a permanent chapel was founded by James Dunk for the Vinalls, father-and-son preachers who were well-known at the time in East Sussex. Dunk's Chapel, later known as Little Dicker Chapel and now as Golden Cross Chapel, was completed and licensed in 1813. The red-brick was set back from the main road and was described from the start as a "Calvinistic Independent" chapel. The cause was popular, and the building was soon too small to accommodate worshippers who regularly travelled from a long distance; so in 1837 the trustees of Dunk's Chapel paid £20 for some land further along the main road next to the brickworks and spent £422 on a "large and comfortable" new building with a capacity of 400 worshippers. It was opened in 1838 by William Gadsby
, and local resident William Cowper (at whose house worship had taken place before Dunk's Chapel was built) was installed as the first pastor.
The chapel was initially constituted for a mixed congregation, serving both Calvinistic Baptists and Independents. This did not work, and it was reconstituted solely as a Strict Baptist church in 1839. Thereafter, the cause was successful: the religious census carried out across England in March 1851 found that 320 worshippers attended on census day. In 1864, during the pastorate of George Drake, the chapel became aligned to the Gospel Standard
tradition, which emerged in the late 1850s following a schism in Strict Baptist theology. The Gospel Standard movement was associated with the magazine of that name, first published in 1835. Zoar Chapel maintains this alignment as of .
The cause was prosperous and relatively wealthy compared to other Strict Baptist chapels, and to cater for the large number of worshippers the building was extended in 1874 at a cost of £600. Worshippers came from many miles around, as was common in rural areas, and the chapel was built with stabling for 40 horses and carts for the benefit of those who rode to Lower Dicker. These facilities were erected before 1875 and consisted of "a long brick-and-tile building". A terrace of houses called Chapel Cottages were erected on behalf of a member of the congregation in 1875, and the small burial ground next to the chapel was enlarged to the rear in 1880.
Although the building had been completed in 1838, it was opened on 22 September 1837, and Silver Jubilee events were held on 22 September 1887. By that time the building had a capacity of 800, and nearly 1,000 people attended the Jubilee afternoon service. Between 1837 and 1990, the chapel had six permanent pastors, some of whom served for many years: John W. Sperling-Tyler, a chiropodist
who was active in the Gospel Standard movement, was the incumbent for 51 years. Supply preachers served when permanent pastors were not resident.
A Strict Baptist chapel in the nearby hamlet of Ripe, which opened in 1830 and closed in 1948, was served from Zoar Chapel for many years. Services were held in a barn until the Hebron Calvinistic Chapel, a "quaint little" red-brick building, was completed. It was demolished soon after its closure. Stairs led from the adjacent road to the chapel, whose façade was windowless.
in style with some Georgian
elements. The front is rendered
and has a gable
d roof with an open pediment
in which a recessed circular plaque is inset. This gives the dates of construction (1837) and enlargement (1874). Also on the façade are pilaster
s and an entrance porch. All of this work dates from the 1874 enlargement. The side walls are of glazed brick laid in the Flemish bond pattern. The building incorporates a schoolroom.
, gives its name to the chapel and to others in neighbouring West Sussex
: at Handcross
(founded 1775; still Strict Baptist) and Wisborough Green
(founded 1753; now Evangelical
). Former chapels of that name, neither of which survived the 19th century, were at Brighton
(Windsor Street) and Hastings
in East Sussex. There are several others elsewhere in England.
and later donated land in that parish upon which Five Ash Down Independent Chapel was built in 1784. His son, also Thomas (b. 1753), joined the Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel
in Wivelsfield
and helped to found a Strict Baptist Chapel in Uckfield
in 1789. He then became the pastor at a chapel in Hailsham
. William Cowper, the first pastor of Zoar Chapel, lived at Providence Cottage in Upper Dicker; in the 1970s documents were found there which related to the ministry of James Reed of Chiddingly
, a prominent Baptist preacher of the late 18th century. William Vine, the third pastor at Zoar Chapel, was previously linked to the Strict Baptist chapel in Hailsham. Ebenezer Chapel at Bodle Street Green
changed from Independent to Strict Baptist in 1864 as a result of its new pastor's involvement with Zoar Chapel: originally an Independent, he was received into the Strict Baptist Church at Lower Dicker and asked for Ebenezer Chapel to realign in the same way before he accepted the pastorate.
Strict Baptists
Strict Baptists, also known as Particular Baptists, are Baptists who believe in a Calvinist or Reformed interpretation of Christian soteriology. The Particular Baptists arose in England in the 17th century and took their namesake from the doctrine of particular redemption.-Further reading:*History...
place of worship in the hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Lower Dicker
Hellingly
Hellingly is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located 1.5 miles north of Hailsham.The nearby village of Lower Dicker is located within the parish.-History:...
in the English county of East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. Founded in 1837 and originally known as The Dicker Chapel, the "large and impressive" Classical
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
/Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
-style buildings stands back from a main road in a rural part of East Sussex. The 800-capacity building included a schoolroom and stables when built, and various links exist between people and pastors associated with the chapel and other Strict Baptist and Calvinistic
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
causes in the county, which is "particularly well endowed with [such] chapels".
The chapel was built in 1837–38 and substantially extended in 1874. It has its own burial ground, extended in 1880. After a brief attempt by the first pastor to run the chapel along mixed denominational lines—serving Strict Baptist and Calvinistic
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
Independent
Independent (religion)
In English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political...
worshippers—it assumed a solely Strict Baptist identity, which it retains as of . Six permanent pastors have administered the chapel during its existence: one served for more than 50 years.
History
The name Dicker originally described a large area of land near the River CuckmereRiver Cuckmere
The River Cuckmere rises near Heathfield in East Sussex, England on the southern slopes of the Weald. The name of the river probably comes from an Old English word meaning fast-flowing, since it descends over 100 m in its initial four miles...
and South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
, several miles inland from the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. No reference to Dicker was made in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, and much of the area was unenclosed
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
. It was crossed by a highway (the present A22
A22 road
The A22 is one of the two-digit major roads in the south east of England. It carries traffic from London to Eastbourne on the East Sussex coast...
), south of which was a major religious house, Michelham Priory
Michelham Priory
Michelham Priory is the site of a former Augustine Priory near Upper Dicker, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It is owned and administered by the Sussex Archaeological Society.-History:...
. This gradually declined and was abandoned at the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1536. The scattered settlements at Lower Dicker and Upper Dicker
Arlington, East Sussex
Arlington is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex. The parish is on the River Cuckmere, and is the location for a medieval priory, a reservoir and car racetrack.-History:The area has been settled since Anglo-Saxon times...
developed slowly and only gained their present names in the 18th century.
Lower Dicker is now a linear settlement
Linear village
In geography, a linear village, or linear settlement, is a small to medium-sized settlement that is formed around a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Wraysbury, a village in Berkshire, is one of the longest villages in England....
along the A22, but in the early 19th century little existed at the "lower end of the Diccar ... in Hellingly
Hellingly
Hellingly is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located 1.5 miles north of Hailsham.The nearby village of Lower Dicker is located within the parish.-History:...
Parish" other than a brickworks
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....
. There were a few farms on the common land, though, and many of their occupants were Nonconformists
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
rather than followers of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. The latter was the Established Church
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
in England, and various Acts of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
put restrictions on worship at places other than its own churches; but these were gradually relaxed, and by the 18th century many new Christian denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
s had emerged, all categorised under the general name "Nonconformist". Such denominations were particularly strong in rural parts of East Sussex, and Calvinistic
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
beliefs were especially popular. Meetings were commonly held in houses, barns or similar buildings, and groups were generally aligned to either the Independent
Independent (religion)
In English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political...
movement or a Calvinistic interpretation of Baptist beliefs. (The term "Strict Baptist" to describe such views developed in the 19th century "with the purpose of organising a range of Calvinistic Baptist causes within a denominational identity".)
Several small-scale meetings of Calvinistic pastors and worshippers took place in the Dicker area from the late 18th century: in barns, houses and above an ironmonger's shop near the brickworks. In 1812, a permanent chapel was founded by James Dunk for the Vinalls, father-and-son preachers who were well-known at the time in East Sussex. Dunk's Chapel, later known as Little Dicker Chapel and now as Golden Cross Chapel, was completed and licensed in 1813. The red-brick was set back from the main road and was described from the start as a "Calvinistic Independent" chapel. The cause was popular, and the building was soon too small to accommodate worshippers who regularly travelled from a long distance; so in 1837 the trustees of Dunk's Chapel paid £20 for some land further along the main road next to the brickworks and spent £422 on a "large and comfortable" new building with a capacity of 400 worshippers. It was opened in 1838 by William Gadsby
William Gadsby
William Gadsby was a hymnwriter and Baptist pastor.For 38 years Gadsby was pastor of the Strict Baptist church at Manchester and a well-known minister in his day. He travelled over 60,000 miles, many of them on foot and preached nearly 12,000 sermons...
, and local resident William Cowper (at whose house worship had taken place before Dunk's Chapel was built) was installed as the first pastor.
The chapel was initially constituted for a mixed congregation, serving both Calvinistic Baptists and Independents. This did not work, and it was reconstituted solely as a Strict Baptist church in 1839. Thereafter, the cause was successful: the religious census carried out across England in March 1851 found that 320 worshippers attended on census day. In 1864, during the pastorate of George Drake, the chapel became aligned to the Gospel Standard
Gospel Standard
The Gospel Standard is a Strict Baptist magazine first published in 1835 by John Gadsby. The current editor is Benjamin Ashworth Ramsbottom....
tradition, which emerged in the late 1850s following a schism in Strict Baptist theology. The Gospel Standard movement was associated with the magazine of that name, first published in 1835. Zoar Chapel maintains this alignment as of .
The cause was prosperous and relatively wealthy compared to other Strict Baptist chapels, and to cater for the large number of worshippers the building was extended in 1874 at a cost of £600. Worshippers came from many miles around, as was common in rural areas, and the chapel was built with stabling for 40 horses and carts for the benefit of those who rode to Lower Dicker. These facilities were erected before 1875 and consisted of "a long brick-and-tile building". A terrace of houses called Chapel Cottages were erected on behalf of a member of the congregation in 1875, and the small burial ground next to the chapel was enlarged to the rear in 1880.
Although the building had been completed in 1838, it was opened on 22 September 1837, and Silver Jubilee events were held on 22 September 1887. By that time the building had a capacity of 800, and nearly 1,000 people attended the Jubilee afternoon service. Between 1837 and 1990, the chapel had six permanent pastors, some of whom served for many years: John W. Sperling-Tyler, a chiropodist
Podiatry
Podiatry is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and lower leg. The term podiatry came into use first in the early 20th century United States, where it now denotes a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine , a specialist who is qualified by their...
who was active in the Gospel Standard movement, was the incumbent for 51 years. Supply preachers served when permanent pastors were not resident.
A Strict Baptist chapel in the nearby hamlet of Ripe, which opened in 1830 and closed in 1948, was served from Zoar Chapel for many years. Services were held in a barn until the Hebron Calvinistic Chapel, a "quaint little" red-brick building, was completed. It was demolished soon after its closure. Stairs led from the adjacent road to the chapel, whose façade was windowless.
Architecture
Strict Baptist chapels are characteristically "modest in scale, neat in complexion and restrained" architecturally, but Zoar Chapel is unusually "large and impressive" for the denomination. Set back from the main road in a large graveyard, behind a low hedgerow and with some formally placed yew trees, it has "an atmosphere of grandeur". The building is ClassicalClassical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
in style with some Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
elements. The front is rendered
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
and has a gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof with an open pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
in which a recessed circular plaque is inset. This gives the dates of construction (1837) and enlargement (1874). Also on the façade are pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s and an entrance porch. All of this work dates from the 1874 enlargement. The side walls are of glazed brick laid in the Flemish bond pattern. The building incorporates a schoolroom.
The name
The Biblical city of Zoar, now rendered ZoaraZoara
Zoara, the biblical Zoar, previously called Bela, was one of the five cities of the plain of Jordan in Genesis in the Tanakh or Old Testament, which escaped the "brimstone and fire" which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, for having sheltered Lot and his daughters...
, gives its name to the chapel and to others in neighbouring West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
: at Handcross
Handcross
Handcross is a village in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the A23 road 4.2 miles south of Crawley.Nymans Garden, of parklands run by the National Trust, is near to Handcross, as are of woodland and water gardens at High Beeches Garden.Handcross has two public houses,...
(founded 1775; still Strict Baptist) and Wisborough Green
Wisborough Green
Wisborough Green is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England miles west of Billingshurst on the A272.Newbridge where the A272 crosses the River Arun mile east of the village was the highest point of the Arun navigation, and the southern end of the Wey and Arun...
(founded 1753; now Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
). Former chapels of that name, neither of which survived the 19th century, were at Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
(Windsor Street) and Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
in East Sussex. There are several others elsewhere in England.
Links to other chapels
Several people associated with Zoar Chapel and the Dicker area have been linked to other Baptist and Calvinistic congregations in Sussex, all of which are still in existence. Members of the Dicker family lived in the district from the 13th century until the early 20th century, and it is not known whether the area is named after them or vice versa. Thomas Dicker (b. 1723) adopted Calvinist beliefs in 1773, held services at his house in BuxtedBuxted
Buxted is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex in England. The parish is situated on the Weald, north of Uckfield; the settlements of Five Ash Down, Heron's Ghyll and High Hurstwood are included within its boundaries...
and later donated land in that parish upon which Five Ash Down Independent Chapel was built in 1784. His son, also Thomas (b. 1753), joined the Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel
Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel, Wivelsfield
Bethel Baptist Chapel is a Strict Baptist place of worship in the village of Wivelsfield in East Sussex, England. The cause was founded in 1763 by members of a chapel at nearby Ditchling; Henry Booker and other worshippers seceded and began to meet at Wivelsfield after hearing a sermon by George...
in Wivelsfield
Wivelsfield
Wivelsfield village, and larger adjacent village of Wivelsfield Green, are part of the civil parish of Wivelsfield in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The villages are located three miles south east of Haywards Heath...
and helped to found a Strict Baptist Chapel in Uckfield
Uckfield
-Development:The local Tesco has proposed the redevelopment of the central town area as has the town council. The Hub has recently been completed, having been acquired for an unknown figure, presumed to be about half a million pounds...
in 1789. He then became the pastor at a chapel in Hailsham
Hailsham
Hailsham is a civil parish and the largest of the five main towns in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the town of Hailsham has had a long history of industry and agriculture...
. William Cowper, the first pastor of Zoar Chapel, lived at Providence Cottage in Upper Dicker; in the 1970s documents were found there which related to the ministry of James Reed of Chiddingly
Chiddingly
Chiddingly is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, some five miles northwest of Hailsham. The parish is rural in character: it includes the village of Chiddingly and a collection of hamlets: the largest of these being Muddles Green and Thunder's Hill; others...
, a prominent Baptist preacher of the late 18th century. William Vine, the third pastor at Zoar Chapel, was previously linked to the Strict Baptist chapel in Hailsham. Ebenezer Chapel at Bodle Street Green
Bodle Street Green
Bodle Street Green is a small village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. Its nearest town is Hailsham, which lies approximately south-west from the village....
changed from Independent to Strict Baptist in 1864 as a result of its new pastor's involvement with Zoar Chapel: originally an Independent, he was received into the Strict Baptist Church at Lower Dicker and asked for Ebenezer Chapel to realign in the same way before he accepted the pastorate.