A History of the Congregational Church in Cranbrook
By Daphne Russell
FORWARD
"The following account is taken from a document written by Daphne Russell in 1990 after she carefully reviewed the church and community archives. It traces several hundred years of this particular church's history from the days when our predecessors known as 'Separatists', worshipped illegally in homes, to the latter part of the 20th Century where we worship in a dedicated sanctuary. Daphne was a long-standing member of the church; a precious sister, who is no longer with us, but whose memory we hold dear.
Wes Sargent
Pastor
(2014 - to date)
Pastor
(2014 - to date)
To write a history of the Congregational Church in Cranbrook, one has to delve back into Cranbrook history, to the time before Congregationalism came into being. Throughout the centuries Congregationalists have gathered together in fellowship to worship God in a way they thought was right, but in the early days this was against the law. They were known as Dissenters as they could not agree with or use the 1662 Prayer Book of the established church.
In the early 1600's people who worshipped apart from the Church of England, met in private houses. We have evidence that Thomas Boys, clothier; Thomas Crittenden and Ezekiel Chart, apothecaries and others were fined £2. 15s. 0d. in 1675 for attending a conventicle contrary to the law, at the house of Richard Read, yeoman, who lived at the Freight. He was fined £20. 0s. 0d. for allowing the meeting, a heavy fine for the seventeenth century.
In about 1672 under the Act of Indulgence, a licence was granted to William Love of Cranbrook, permitting the use of his house, near Baker's Cross, as a meeting house. The first minister or pastor was William or Robert Trail who was a well-known preacher of the time. He left Cranbrook for Edinburgh after a few years but returned in 1677 and again ministered in Cranbrook.
Obviously as numbers increased meeting in houses became inconvenient and therefore in 1710 Thomas Boys bought some property on the Hill. The description of the property reads “Three Messuages, one whereof is now used as a Meeting House for a congregation of Protestant Dissenters in Cranbrook upon a hill there between Cranbrook Town and Bakers Cross." The Chapel occupied the middle house, and of the other two one was sold to a widow, Mrs Wood and the other to George Thatcher, the clock maker.
The “Chapel on the Hill” as it came to be known was made into a proper place of worship, being furnished with pews, a gallery, pulpit etc. Pictures of the exterior and interior can be seen in the local museum. During that time the Presbyterian form of worship was strictly observed.
It is unclear from the available documents who was the first minister, but by 1715 a Mr Henry Dell was minister, followed by John Budley (1721 - 1726), and then after a 10 year interregnum, Nicholas Noyes (1736-1755), followed by Robert Noyes (1756-1781).
In 1785 the Revd. James Skinner became minister and from then on, the Presbyterian form of service ceased, and the denomination became "independent - the early name for congregationalism. Undoubtedly, the chapel prospered and it was said of the Revd James Skinner when he died at the age of 78 in the year 1827 that... “for forty-two years the esteemed and faithful Pastor of a Christian congregation in this town”. To date, the Revd James Skinner is the longest serving minister of the church and a small portrait of him can be seen in the Town Museum.
Although unclear what happens immediately afterwards, it appears that a Revd J. Acley resided from 1827, at least for a time, until a Revd J. Ellson became minister in 1835. A year later, in 1836, the Congregational Union was formed and the Chapel became affiliated to that body.
Again records are lost until 1840. where a small Minute book from that date reads "Minutes of a Church meeting of the Independent Church held on April 1st 1840. A unanimous invitation was sent to E. Hood Woodman of Highbury College, London to take office as Pastor”. It would appear that although affiliated to the Congregational Union, the church in Cranbrook still called itself “Independent”. Another entry in the Minute book reads, “The depressed state of the congregation requiring immediate efforts to be made in connexion with the cause”. It might well be they were without a regular minister for a time.
However, during the following year the membership increased, and a school opened in the Tanyard - Sarah Piper was appointed governess. A further development came in September 1841 when the church adopted the Congregational Hymn Book.
There is evidence that the church continued to grow during the next few years. A report in the church Minute book of June 12th 1846 reads "Report as supplied to the district secretary of the county for annual meeting at Woolwich – Chapel 1; Sunday schools 1; Scholars 50; Teachers 7; Average numbers of hearers about 200; church members 35”. This entry was made during the short Pastorate of the Revd A. Turner. After another interregnum, in March 1849 a Revd F. Perkins began his ministry at the church, then in 1850 a Revd Thomas Ludlam.
It would appear from the archives that apart from the Revd Skinner, ministers were only serving a few years with various periods of interregnum. The building was also a concern as indicated in the old Minute book - the last important item reads “At a meeting of the church held on 22nd. November 1855 due notice thereof having been given, the following resolution was passed, and the names of the members attached to it in the church book. Resolved; that from the peculiar circumstances in which the church has been placed for several years, and in deference to the advice of the County Association of Independent churches and the Home Missionary Society, this Church do now dissolve. Moreover, as Cranbrook has been adopted as a station by the Home Missionary Society and one of their agents, the Revd George Amos, is come to reside in the town., we, the members of this church, do earnestly recommend the Trustees to allow Mr. Amos the free use of the Chapel till such time as a new one shall be erected and ready for use. And we do further express our desire that the Trustees should sell the present old Chapel and Ground and give the proceeds towards the erection of a new Chapel, as soon as a Building Committee is formed, and a site purchased for the erection of a Chapel.” A list of the church members was attached to the Resolution.
There is little to indicate what the “peculiar circumstances” were. As the Revd Ludlam ended his notes in the Church Book in August 1851 it may be that the congregation were again seeking a minister. Although the church had only about twenty members at the time, there was likely to have been a fair numbers of “hearers”, people who regularly worshipped at the church but did not become full members. It is also evident that a new building was needed.
This was the very beginning of the present building in the High Street. Every effort must have been made by all concerned, because the new Congregational Church was opened in December 1857. It was quite an occasion because the church accounts record two items of great interest – “Railway and Omnibus at opening £3. 2s. 6d. and Postage stamps £2. 10s. 2d. Did the church pay for all the visitors' bus and rail tickets? They certainly wrote a good number of letters advertising the event! The entire bill for the building, including architects and legal expenses amounted to £1,399. 6s. 0d. Some of this expense was covered by grants, and a loan from a Congregational Chapel Building Society; the proceeds from the sale of the old Chapel on The Hill; and various gifts.
Again, apart from the accounts of the building of the new Chapel, there is no written evidence of the Revd Amos’s ministry, or indeed who had the honour of being the first minister in the new building. Research into the records at Iden Green reveals that a Revd Keightly resigned from the Cranbrook church in 1860; and also that a Revd Onions had the ministry prior to the Revd John Spurgeon in April 1863. The next minute book begins with the account of the ordination of the Revd John Spurgeon in April 1863. In the service the church was again formed and those who wished were given the right hand of fellowship and taken into membership.
The Revd John Spurgeon was the father of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great Preacher who built the Metropolitan Tabernacle and founded Spurgeon College. It is said that C. H. Spurgeon came to Cranbrook to preach on occasions and the Vestry Hall was hired to contain the crowds. This is likely to be true, but no mention of the occasions are made in the Minute book.
In 1863 the Pastorate was combined with Iden Green Congregational Church. From that date until the Revd H. Wood (1904), all the ministers were appointed jointly with Iden Green. One of the aspects of congregationalism is that each church is self governing by the congregation, as it is today. Little finance is received from a central committee and I suspect therefore that the work was hard going and perhaps poorly paid. The minister was expected to oversee two churches, so not many remained for more than two or three years, the longest occupation during this period was six years.
The church however, thrived during this period of history. A Sunday School Minute book recording teachers’ meetings, school number and accounts reveals the following information: The first entry in the book is dated 21st April 1878 and records a total of 143 children attending, 65 boys and 78 girls – “which is 5 less than in our last return, but 21 more than in 1876”. The Sunday School teaching staff numbered 11; 103 of the children had bibles; 88 had hymn books; and 85 periodicals were taken by 57 scholars. These periodicals were purchased from the Beult Sunday School Union and according to the accounts were all bought by the scholars as were their Bibles and hymn books.
The Sunday School continued in like manner and ran smoothly for several years. However, at a teachers' meeting on the 16th April 1882, nine of the staff resigned at the same time, their last teaching Sunday being 7th May. It is not recorded how the Sunday School continued over the next few weeks. But at a teachers' meeting on 15th June no less than 11 new teachers were recruited, including a new superintendent and Secretary, which speaks well of the dedication of the church membership. The remainder of this book contains records of teachers' meetings and the biannual “treats” for the children.
During the nineteenth century, life at the church continued as usual. Not many ministers stayed long. some of their names were colourful, for example – Jonathan Birdseye, the Revd John F French, the Revd W. Vincent Cooke. There do not appear to have been any alterations made to the church building. There were box pews for which the congregation paid rent; a pulpit of some sort; a harmonium which supplied the music; and a communion table and chairs. I imagine the front door entered a vestibule with two doors, one at each side leading to a narrow aisle between the box pews. The gallery was reached by an outside stone stairway on the left of the building. The door still remains, although not now in use, and inside stairway was a later addition. A new vestry was built in 1929.
During the Great War a Revd A. Royal was minister. He would have liked leave of absence to join up to be Chaplin, but the church was loath to let him go, so that he was forced to resign in 1916. The next minister to hold the Pastorate was the Revd. C. Powell (1917-21) who was the father of two sisters who still worship regularly at the church - at the time of writing this document (1990).
The church history is well documented with Minute books from the time of Revd John Spurgeon in 1863 until the present day. Some contain newspaper cuttings, letters of importance etc which are stuck in the back of the books. During the Second World War one minister, the Revd. F.J. Paul was pastor no less than three times. He became minister in 1936 until 1939 when he left to join the RAF. He was followed by the Revd T.J. Davis for three years between 1940-1942. In 1946 the Revd F.J. Paul returned for just one year, when he again joined the RAF, and then returning to the church again for the period 1952-1958.
Iden Green and Cranbrook were again twinned during the time of the Revd. Peebles Fleming (1947-1950), the Revd S. Phillips (1958 - 1959), the Revd E. Harland (1959-60). These years were very hard for the congregation and if it hadn’t been for the dedication and hard work of the Deacons the church might not have survived.
When Revd H.W Gurney took the pastorate of Cranbrook Congregational Church (and Iden Green) in 1962, there came a much needed stability and after a slow start the church began to thrive. Several mature Christians who moved to Cranbrook became members of the church and in 1968 there was once again a thriving Sunday School. Covenanters and Junior Covenanters classes were formed and often on a Sunday there were 150 children and young people attending classes. I am sure many people in Cranbrook remember the ‘floats’ in the local carnivals in which the Congregational Church was represented. The adult membership was also high and one of the first improvements the Revd Gurney made was to remove the box pews, tile the floor and generally bring the building up to date. The Revd and Mrs Gurney became popular figures in Cranbrook and Iden Green and were much loved by the congregation. When they finally retired from Cranbrook Church in 1978 they continued to live in Cranbrook and remaind in the Pastorate at Iden Green. The Revd Gurney died in 1983, Mrs Gurney continued to work for Iden Green and latterly for the Cranbrook church until her death in 1990.
A young new pastor, the Revd David Norton arrived in 1978. He worked very hard and kept the church together until he finally had to move away owing to ill health in 1981. The next minister, the Revd Alan Taylor took over and during this time owing to the unfortunate moving away of some of the ‘main stays’ of the congregation, the church decreased in membership and consequently revenue. When the Revd Taylor resigned in 1986, the church was lead by the Deacons until 1987 when for a few weeks no services were held.
With the support of the Congregational Federation and South East Area minister, Revd Peter Larcombe the church was ‘reformed’ with a new membership of 12. The number has since doubled and the church once again sought to serve the community of Cranbrook. Taking 1710 as the start of a continuous congregation worshiping together, we are able to celebrate 280 years on June 1st 1990 as our Anniversary.
In the early 1600's people who worshipped apart from the Church of England, met in private houses. We have evidence that Thomas Boys, clothier; Thomas Crittenden and Ezekiel Chart, apothecaries and others were fined £2. 15s. 0d. in 1675 for attending a conventicle contrary to the law, at the house of Richard Read, yeoman, who lived at the Freight. He was fined £20. 0s. 0d. for allowing the meeting, a heavy fine for the seventeenth century.
In about 1672 under the Act of Indulgence, a licence was granted to William Love of Cranbrook, permitting the use of his house, near Baker's Cross, as a meeting house. The first minister or pastor was William or Robert Trail who was a well-known preacher of the time. He left Cranbrook for Edinburgh after a few years but returned in 1677 and again ministered in Cranbrook.
Obviously as numbers increased meeting in houses became inconvenient and therefore in 1710 Thomas Boys bought some property on the Hill. The description of the property reads “Three Messuages, one whereof is now used as a Meeting House for a congregation of Protestant Dissenters in Cranbrook upon a hill there between Cranbrook Town and Bakers Cross." The Chapel occupied the middle house, and of the other two one was sold to a widow, Mrs Wood and the other to George Thatcher, the clock maker.
The “Chapel on the Hill” as it came to be known was made into a proper place of worship, being furnished with pews, a gallery, pulpit etc. Pictures of the exterior and interior can be seen in the local museum. During that time the Presbyterian form of worship was strictly observed.
It is unclear from the available documents who was the first minister, but by 1715 a Mr Henry Dell was minister, followed by John Budley (1721 - 1726), and then after a 10 year interregnum, Nicholas Noyes (1736-1755), followed by Robert Noyes (1756-1781).
In 1785 the Revd. James Skinner became minister and from then on, the Presbyterian form of service ceased, and the denomination became "independent - the early name for congregationalism. Undoubtedly, the chapel prospered and it was said of the Revd James Skinner when he died at the age of 78 in the year 1827 that... “for forty-two years the esteemed and faithful Pastor of a Christian congregation in this town”. To date, the Revd James Skinner is the longest serving minister of the church and a small portrait of him can be seen in the Town Museum.
Although unclear what happens immediately afterwards, it appears that a Revd J. Acley resided from 1827, at least for a time, until a Revd J. Ellson became minister in 1835. A year later, in 1836, the Congregational Union was formed and the Chapel became affiliated to that body.
Again records are lost until 1840. where a small Minute book from that date reads "Minutes of a Church meeting of the Independent Church held on April 1st 1840. A unanimous invitation was sent to E. Hood Woodman of Highbury College, London to take office as Pastor”. It would appear that although affiliated to the Congregational Union, the church in Cranbrook still called itself “Independent”. Another entry in the Minute book reads, “The depressed state of the congregation requiring immediate efforts to be made in connexion with the cause”. It might well be they were without a regular minister for a time.
However, during the following year the membership increased, and a school opened in the Tanyard - Sarah Piper was appointed governess. A further development came in September 1841 when the church adopted the Congregational Hymn Book.
There is evidence that the church continued to grow during the next few years. A report in the church Minute book of June 12th 1846 reads "Report as supplied to the district secretary of the county for annual meeting at Woolwich – Chapel 1; Sunday schools 1; Scholars 50; Teachers 7; Average numbers of hearers about 200; church members 35”. This entry was made during the short Pastorate of the Revd A. Turner. After another interregnum, in March 1849 a Revd F. Perkins began his ministry at the church, then in 1850 a Revd Thomas Ludlam.
It would appear from the archives that apart from the Revd Skinner, ministers were only serving a few years with various periods of interregnum. The building was also a concern as indicated in the old Minute book - the last important item reads “At a meeting of the church held on 22nd. November 1855 due notice thereof having been given, the following resolution was passed, and the names of the members attached to it in the church book. Resolved; that from the peculiar circumstances in which the church has been placed for several years, and in deference to the advice of the County Association of Independent churches and the Home Missionary Society, this Church do now dissolve. Moreover, as Cranbrook has been adopted as a station by the Home Missionary Society and one of their agents, the Revd George Amos, is come to reside in the town., we, the members of this church, do earnestly recommend the Trustees to allow Mr. Amos the free use of the Chapel till such time as a new one shall be erected and ready for use. And we do further express our desire that the Trustees should sell the present old Chapel and Ground and give the proceeds towards the erection of a new Chapel, as soon as a Building Committee is formed, and a site purchased for the erection of a Chapel.” A list of the church members was attached to the Resolution.
There is little to indicate what the “peculiar circumstances” were. As the Revd Ludlam ended his notes in the Church Book in August 1851 it may be that the congregation were again seeking a minister. Although the church had only about twenty members at the time, there was likely to have been a fair numbers of “hearers”, people who regularly worshipped at the church but did not become full members. It is also evident that a new building was needed.
This was the very beginning of the present building in the High Street. Every effort must have been made by all concerned, because the new Congregational Church was opened in December 1857. It was quite an occasion because the church accounts record two items of great interest – “Railway and Omnibus at opening £3. 2s. 6d. and Postage stamps £2. 10s. 2d. Did the church pay for all the visitors' bus and rail tickets? They certainly wrote a good number of letters advertising the event! The entire bill for the building, including architects and legal expenses amounted to £1,399. 6s. 0d. Some of this expense was covered by grants, and a loan from a Congregational Chapel Building Society; the proceeds from the sale of the old Chapel on The Hill; and various gifts.
Again, apart from the accounts of the building of the new Chapel, there is no written evidence of the Revd Amos’s ministry, or indeed who had the honour of being the first minister in the new building. Research into the records at Iden Green reveals that a Revd Keightly resigned from the Cranbrook church in 1860; and also that a Revd Onions had the ministry prior to the Revd John Spurgeon in April 1863. The next minute book begins with the account of the ordination of the Revd John Spurgeon in April 1863. In the service the church was again formed and those who wished were given the right hand of fellowship and taken into membership.
The Revd John Spurgeon was the father of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great Preacher who built the Metropolitan Tabernacle and founded Spurgeon College. It is said that C. H. Spurgeon came to Cranbrook to preach on occasions and the Vestry Hall was hired to contain the crowds. This is likely to be true, but no mention of the occasions are made in the Minute book.
In 1863 the Pastorate was combined with Iden Green Congregational Church. From that date until the Revd H. Wood (1904), all the ministers were appointed jointly with Iden Green. One of the aspects of congregationalism is that each church is self governing by the congregation, as it is today. Little finance is received from a central committee and I suspect therefore that the work was hard going and perhaps poorly paid. The minister was expected to oversee two churches, so not many remained for more than two or three years, the longest occupation during this period was six years.
The church however, thrived during this period of history. A Sunday School Minute book recording teachers’ meetings, school number and accounts reveals the following information: The first entry in the book is dated 21st April 1878 and records a total of 143 children attending, 65 boys and 78 girls – “which is 5 less than in our last return, but 21 more than in 1876”. The Sunday School teaching staff numbered 11; 103 of the children had bibles; 88 had hymn books; and 85 periodicals were taken by 57 scholars. These periodicals were purchased from the Beult Sunday School Union and according to the accounts were all bought by the scholars as were their Bibles and hymn books.
The Sunday School continued in like manner and ran smoothly for several years. However, at a teachers' meeting on the 16th April 1882, nine of the staff resigned at the same time, their last teaching Sunday being 7th May. It is not recorded how the Sunday School continued over the next few weeks. But at a teachers' meeting on 15th June no less than 11 new teachers were recruited, including a new superintendent and Secretary, which speaks well of the dedication of the church membership. The remainder of this book contains records of teachers' meetings and the biannual “treats” for the children.
During the nineteenth century, life at the church continued as usual. Not many ministers stayed long. some of their names were colourful, for example – Jonathan Birdseye, the Revd John F French, the Revd W. Vincent Cooke. There do not appear to have been any alterations made to the church building. There were box pews for which the congregation paid rent; a pulpit of some sort; a harmonium which supplied the music; and a communion table and chairs. I imagine the front door entered a vestibule with two doors, one at each side leading to a narrow aisle between the box pews. The gallery was reached by an outside stone stairway on the left of the building. The door still remains, although not now in use, and inside stairway was a later addition. A new vestry was built in 1929.
During the Great War a Revd A. Royal was minister. He would have liked leave of absence to join up to be Chaplin, but the church was loath to let him go, so that he was forced to resign in 1916. The next minister to hold the Pastorate was the Revd. C. Powell (1917-21) who was the father of two sisters who still worship regularly at the church - at the time of writing this document (1990).
The church history is well documented with Minute books from the time of Revd John Spurgeon in 1863 until the present day. Some contain newspaper cuttings, letters of importance etc which are stuck in the back of the books. During the Second World War one minister, the Revd. F.J. Paul was pastor no less than three times. He became minister in 1936 until 1939 when he left to join the RAF. He was followed by the Revd T.J. Davis for three years between 1940-1942. In 1946 the Revd F.J. Paul returned for just one year, when he again joined the RAF, and then returning to the church again for the period 1952-1958.
Iden Green and Cranbrook were again twinned during the time of the Revd. Peebles Fleming (1947-1950), the Revd S. Phillips (1958 - 1959), the Revd E. Harland (1959-60). These years were very hard for the congregation and if it hadn’t been for the dedication and hard work of the Deacons the church might not have survived.
When Revd H.W Gurney took the pastorate of Cranbrook Congregational Church (and Iden Green) in 1962, there came a much needed stability and after a slow start the church began to thrive. Several mature Christians who moved to Cranbrook became members of the church and in 1968 there was once again a thriving Sunday School. Covenanters and Junior Covenanters classes were formed and often on a Sunday there were 150 children and young people attending classes. I am sure many people in Cranbrook remember the ‘floats’ in the local carnivals in which the Congregational Church was represented. The adult membership was also high and one of the first improvements the Revd Gurney made was to remove the box pews, tile the floor and generally bring the building up to date. The Revd and Mrs Gurney became popular figures in Cranbrook and Iden Green and were much loved by the congregation. When they finally retired from Cranbrook Church in 1978 they continued to live in Cranbrook and remaind in the Pastorate at Iden Green. The Revd Gurney died in 1983, Mrs Gurney continued to work for Iden Green and latterly for the Cranbrook church until her death in 1990.
A young new pastor, the Revd David Norton arrived in 1978. He worked very hard and kept the church together until he finally had to move away owing to ill health in 1981. The next minister, the Revd Alan Taylor took over and during this time owing to the unfortunate moving away of some of the ‘main stays’ of the congregation, the church decreased in membership and consequently revenue. When the Revd Taylor resigned in 1986, the church was lead by the Deacons until 1987 when for a few weeks no services were held.
With the support of the Congregational Federation and South East Area minister, Revd Peter Larcombe the church was ‘reformed’ with a new membership of 12. The number has since doubled and the church once again sought to serve the community of Cranbrook. Taking 1710 as the start of a continuous congregation worshiping together, we are able to celebrate 280 years on June 1st 1990 as our Anniversary.
Daphne Russell.
"Of course since the time of writing (1990) there are almost another 30 years to add! God has been faithful through the ages and indeed is faithful still. The Congregational Church Cranbrook continues on - through its appointed seasons; overcoming its various trials and all the while serving the Lord with gladness of heart. Other names too, yet to be written on the minister's record below - those of faithful men, called to serve Lord and His people who gather in this place. So may the light and glory of God continue to shine through this Church into the community of Cranbrook and beyond, until the Lord returns - AMEN!"
Wes Sargent
Pastor
Pastor
Ministers Of Congregational Church Cranbrook
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Unknown
W/R Trail Unknown G. Amos |
<1672
1672< 1710< 1857 |
Illegal meetings held from house to house.
House of William Love Chapel on The Hill Congregational Church, High Street |
|
MINISTER
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DATES
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COMMENTS
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|
W/R Trail
H. Dell J. Budley Interregnum N. Warren R. Noyes Interregnum J. Skinner J. Acley J. Ellison E.H. Woodman A. Turner Interregnum F. Perkins T. Ludlam Interregnum G. Amos J. Massie Keightly G. Onion J. Spurgeon J. Birdseye J. Yorke W. Vincette-Cook C. Chandler M.J. French W.J. Palmer H. Wood C.A. Eastwood A. Royle C. Powell C. Uewellyn-Roberts A. Hodgskins F.J. Paul T.J. Davies F.J. Paul Peebles-Fleming F.J. Paul S. Phillips E.W. Harland W.H. Gurney D. Norton A. Taylor P.E. Larcombe K. Chapman W. Sargent |
1672-?
1715-20 1721-26 10 yrs 1736-55 1756-81 4 yrs 1785-1827 1827-? 1835-40 1840-44 1845-46 3 yrs 1849-50 1850-52 3 yrs 1855-57 1858-? 185?-60 1860-63 1863-68 1868-75 1876-83 1884-90 1891-98 1899-1901 1902-04 1904-09 1910-13 1913-16 1917-21 1922-27 1928-36 1936-39 1940-43 1945-47 1947-50 1952-58 1958-59 1959-60 1962-78 1978-81 1982-86 1986-08 2010-12 2014-date |
W/R Trail, the 1st minister. Chapel on The Hill was purchased in 1710.
10 year interregnum, the largest in the church's history. J. Skinner, the longest serving minister, being in office 42 years. Church joined the Congregational Union. School started and the church adopted of the Congregational Hymn book.. Congregational Church built, replacing The Chapel on The Hill. Father of the great Charles Haddon Spurgeon who preached here on occasions. W.H. Gurney, a well respected minister still remembered by many today (2018) P.E. Larcombe, the second longest serving minister - 22 years. W. Sargent, the Current Pastor |
LocationCongregational Church Cranbrook
High Street Cranbrook Kent TN17 3DN |
ContactVoicemail: 01580 388070
email: [email protected]
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