Our History
West Croydon Baptist Church began on October 19th, 1869. It consisted of 28 members, who held and maintained evangelical truth and doctrine in accordance with the views held in the Baptist Denomination. They believed that membership should be restricted to those who held Believers’ Baptism as the Scriptural mode, but that communion be open to all accredited believers. They originally met in the Iron Chapel in Wellesley Road. Soon this was packed out as so many people attended. At the church meeting on February 14th 1870 the first deacons were elected.
On 14th September 1870 the Foundation Stone of what is now called Hall 1 was laid. Older members will remember it as Spurgeon Hall in memory of C. H. Spurgeon who laid the stone.
Incredibly the building was completed in 3 months, though not in its present form. On 6th December the first meeting was held there and the Chapel was opened the following day. It was built to seat about 500. At once it became so crowded with worshippers that the church had to think immediately of a larger building. By 1871 membership had grown from 28 to 163.
With remarkable faith the members decided to erect what is now the present Church building. It was planned to seat 1000 people: 700 on the ground floor and 300 in the gallery. It’s foundation stone was laid on May 28th 1872 and was opened on February 28th with a United and Devotional service.
The speed at which the church buildings went up and the membership grew is a testimony to courageous faith and perseverance of the founder members who trusted solely on Jesus Christ for their salvation and followed Him unreservedly.
From its inception until the outbreak for the First World War there was huge church growth, reaching a peak of one thousand. In July 1914 it was resolved that the name of the building should be West Croydon Baptist Church and not West Croydon Tabernacle.
We all remember the department store Allder’s in North End. It was opened in 1862 by Mr. Joshua
Allder ( 1838 – 1904) as a linen draper and silk mercer. Throughout the last quarter of the nineteenth
century he did much to increase the prosperity and amenities of Croydon. He actively supported
greater rights for his workers and was instrumental in getting local stores closed for a half day on
Wednesdays.
What is not so well known is that he was one of the original 28 members of the church and a vital
contributor to it. The wealth he made from the shop enabled him to help West Croydon Baptist
Church. It was he who had a conversation with Rev. James A. Spurgeon to preach at the church for 3
months with a view to becoming their pastor. At the time he was co-pastor assisting his brother
Charles Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. On 4th January 1870 Rev. Spurgeon was
invited to become the first pastor of this church which he accepted thus confirming the ministry
which had begun 3 months earlier.
Mr. Allder became one of the first deacons along with 6 others in the Church in 1870. He died in
1904 age 66 having been a pillar of strength from the beginning.
Another particularly loyal supporter and benefactor was Sir Reuben. V. Barrow . He joined the
Church in 1874. In 1885 he became third mayor of Croydon, and he was liberal MP for Bermondsey
from 1892 to 1895 when he lost his seat to a conservative
candidate. While in Parliament he introduced the London Equalisation of Rates Bill which was
enacted in 1894. In its first 10 years it caused £6,000,000 to be distributed from rich parishes to poor
parishes. He was knighted in 1912. In 1917 he resigned from the post of Church treasurer which he
had held for 35 years. The following year he died age 79.
Another loyal benefactor during the early years was Mr. Jeremiah Colman of Carshalton and a
member of the Colman’s mustard family. Year after year he paid off any deficit in the church
accounts.