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A church with two spires
Bloomsbury Chapel opened on 5 December 1848, the first Baptist chapel to stand proudly on a London street, visibly an 'ecclesiastical edifice'. Because of earlier restrictions on non-Anglican churches, and for reasons of economy, meeting-houses had formerly been hidden down back alleys and in upper rooms, but as their civil rights and social standing improved, Victorian Baptists, along with other Free Churches, wanted to be seen.
The chapel was built "on spec" by Sir Samuel Morton Peto MP, one of the great railway contractors. Wanting to see a new Baptist witness in central London, he chose his site with care, where Oxford Street was being extended eastwards, between the smart Bloomsbury squares and the appalling slums of St Giles.
The story goes that, when the Crown Commissioner was reluctant to lease the land to nonconformists with their dull, spire-less architecture, Peto exclaimed, "A spire, my Lord? We shall have two!" Twin spires graced the towers until 1951, when they were removed because no longer safe.
Peto invited the Revd William Brock from Norwich to initiate the cause. His preaching quickly drew a congregation and the church was formally constituted on 25 July 1849 with 62 founder members. Brock, a man "gifted with commonsense", served until 1872. In those days it was unusual to refer to current events from the pulpit but Brock insisted that "the Bible and The Times newspaper are the best materials for the preacher", for the God of the Bible was also the God of everyday life.
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Bloomsbury Chapel, with its original spires.
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