History
A history of Denmead Baptist Church
18th Century
Although it is believed that there were dissenting Christians in the Denmead area before the Act of Toleration of
1689 it was not until 1717 that William Luff applied for the first ‘licence’. Even so it was not until 1829 that “a
certain chapel, Anmore. Humphrey Crossman, minister” was registered. This ‘certain chapel’ was the beginning
of what was to become
Alley, Miall has been recognised as the most prolific sponsor of new churches and trainer of pastors in the history of
the Southern Baptist Association.
19th Century
The church building at Denmead was acquired through the purchase of ‘a dwelling, stable and buildings’ from Simon
Hatch on
celebrations, and Firgrove Cottages as its Manse. By May 1841 the fellowship had reduced in number and was
unable to finance the upkeep of the chapel. The chapel was gifted to Hambledon parish and employed as a ‘chapel-
of-ease’ for Anglicans in the Denmead Area. The manse and field were bought by Humphrey Crossman before
being sold on to William Walker.
The fellowship did not disappear entirely, however, and continued to meet in various homes around the village. By
1881 the congregation had grown to the extent that a meeting hall was needed. The
located at the village end of
on Sundays. An application to move back into the chapel was met with opposition from Hambledon parish –
until an Anglican church, All Saints, was being built in Denmead in 1892. In 1894 the Baptist congregation moved
back onto the site in
used for worship today.
20th Century
Not much remains of the detailed life of the church between 1894 and 1930. As some point in the 1920s a lay
pastor, Mr Mansbridge, arrived. He died in 1930 and was replaced in the early 1930s by Mr Gould, whose family
kept a Drapers shop in the end-of-terrace house across the road from the church.
The work of the Pastor was picked up in 1934 by Mr Nutkins, whose wife was President of the “Women’s Bright
Hour” meeting. They continued in ministry until 1944 when Mr Nutkins was asked to leave on account of his lack
of training in ‘Baptist work’ – a move seen as instigated by Rev. Tooke from Waterlooville Baptist Church. Mr
Nutkins went to a
The impact on the church in Denmead was to split, with some (including the Women’s Bright Hour) starting a new
church based at Greylands in Mill Road, whilst Waterlooville Baptist Church took ‘oversight’ of those who remained
at the chapel.
A new phase of the church was instigated by the arrival of (
Carnell, as ‘Deaconess in Charge’, in 1947. With a difficult task in front of her she healed many broken
relationships. It may have been this that contributed to her ill-health and early retirement, and eventually her
premature death. She was replaced by Sister Hazel Graham in about 1953 – who inherited a church with well
attended services and several baptisms. However, she too paid with her health – and after much illness died of
bronchitis at the age of 62.
Having had lay pastors and Deaconesses the church next tried student pastors. In 1960 Mr Bryan Oman arrived as a
student pastor – lodging with Mr and Mrs Pierson in
ministerial training before settling in
one year to go to college for ministerial training before settling at Hendley,
provided some stability and held the church together.
From 1962 the church relied on visiting preachers, however, the removal of the Pierson family to Hambledon, and
then Waterlooville, left a serious dent in church life. The Pierson family had been the backbone of the church for
some time – providing Church Secretaries, Treasurers, organist, Sunday School teachers, etc. As a result, help was
sought from
Rev. Murray Raw of Waterlooville became the Moderator, and three or four members took it upon themselves to
support this struggling fellowship. Most notable of these were Miss Bailey and Miss Beart (retired school teachers
from Marcham in Oxfordshire) who provided great help in many areas of church life. Another stalwart of support
was Gordon Norgate from
preacher the opportunity to grow – one such young man at the age of 18 remembers his first ever preaching
engagement at Denmead – this young man, Jonathon Booth, went on to become a Director of Care for the Family.
Some time later Sister Ethel Stephenson retired out from
generally ‘mothered’ the fellowship until she died. She was replaced as Church Secretary by Mr Frank Dellow, who
with Mrs Dellow worked hard in the church, travelling two or three times each day from Purbrook.
After another period without oversight, and with much prayer, a student pastor, Mr Ken Hyde arrived in 1988. At
the end of his studies he moved to Devon to take up full-time ministry. This saw Mrs Diane Cooper, a retired
school teacher, take over as Lay Pastor in 1990. During Diane’s ten year ministry she built a solid foundation in the
church.
Present Days
As a result of Diane’s ministry and Baptist Union Home Mission support the church was able to call its first full -
time stipendiary ordained minister in 2003, when Rev.
Denmead.
Danny has helped the church to move forward over the last five years and the church in Denmead is a thriving and
lively community. In 2006 a feasibility study into the building was carried out by BCH Architects, concluding that
the long-term development plans of the church were not possible on this site. A period of prayer and reflection is
currently being taken to see where we believe God is leading for the future ...
