Baptist Lyme Regis

Short summary:

1. It appears that the current listed building was built in the 1700s and most likely during the Ministry of Benjamin Messer (1753 - 63) and “partially endowed” by Thomas Hollis (1720-1774). It is shown on the John Drayton survey of 1824 and on the Tithe Map of 1841. The Baptistry was first used in 1767.

2. The original layout as shown in the artist’s impression, is thought to be reliable and the evidence of the original windows on either side of the plaque are clearly visible when viewed from the Driftwood Room.

3. We have copy of “a cabinet photograph” dated 1885, looking towards the platform, which is much the same as it is at the present time.

4. When the Chapel was re-designed in 1881-5, the original entrance to the Church from Silver Street was closed and a new entrance made giving direct access to both church and schoolroom. Because a child was killed coming out of that entrance, the entrance was closed and the current entrance was built. Chris Woodman, the present Minister, conducted the funeral of the mother of the child concerned.

Historic England state that the building dates from 1850. However, the Museum experts suggest that it was mid- 1700s and the date given on the Church Web-site is shown as 1750. One of the few things that we have found is that the Church received “generous donations” and was “partially endowed” by gifts from Thomas Hollis (1720-1774) and he was very involved in Lyme Regis during the latter part of his life. He did 2 “grand Tours” from 1748 onwards, was the son of a Baptist and restocked the library at Harvard College with books costing the equivalent of over £1 Million in today’s money. He also supplied libraries on the continent with books. He revitalised Lyme Regis, building the fore-runner of the esplanade, The Assembly Rooms and made the roads out of the town passable for wheeled vehicles for the first time. It is assumed that the major works in the town by Thomas Hollis would have been after his “Grand Tours” and Peter Lacey states that “ in the late 1760s became a regular visitor to Lyme”.

The Baptist Quarterly (1936) in the article by W. T. Whitely “The Baptist Church at Lyme Regis” states that during the ministry of Benjamin Messer (1753 – 63) “the old dwelling house was reconditioned”. Since the first record of a baptism inside the Church is given as 1767, it seems likely that the “reconditioned” Church was completed towards the end of Messer’s ministry, largely paid for by Thomas Hollis and a date of around 1760-65 seems possible (Messer probably left In 1762 and although James Pyne was appointed in 1764, he did not take up the ministry at Lyme for a further 2 years, with the first baptisms taking place some 7 months after he took up his responsibilities). George Roberts in History and antiquities of the Borough of Lyme Regis and Charmouth (1834) says “The dwelling-house, where the meetings were held, in Broad Street, was purchased in 1699, and converted into a chapel about the middle of the last century”. This again supports a mid-1700’s rather than a date of 1850. The Baptist Reporter of May 1847 confirms this stating that “The dwelling House in Silon (sic) Street, where the meetings for public worship were held, was purchased in 1699. and was converted into a chapel about the middle of the last century. It has been twice enlarged during the last 25 years, and a considerable debt has been owing the greater part of this period. In January, 1846, the debt then remaining was £ 71. …….. Before the present chapel was built, the ordinance of baptism was administered in the river near the town, that part being called Jordan and the vicinity Jericho”.

[Note: The Church has no record of any Minister appointed from the time of John Torr’s death in 1734 to the commencement of Benjamin Mercer’s ministry in 1753. However, other records show that Samuel Burford (1726-1768) was baptised at Lyme in about 1746. The Church appears to have been run by a group of leaders at that time and Burford soon became one. In 1749 he became the Pastor, but received no stipend and later moved on to the Church at Little Prescot Street and was appointed Pastor in 1755. He died at the age of 42 leaving a widow and 11 children].

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