Surrey Chapel
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| Surrey Chapel | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Denomination | Methodist, Congregationalist |
| Founded | 1783 |
| Founder(s) | Rowland Hill |
| Dedicated | 1783 |
| Contact particulars | |
| Address | Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
The Surrey Chapel was an independent Methodist and Congregational church established in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London in 1783 by its first pastor the Rev. Rowland Hill who was succeeded in 1833 by Rev. James Sherman, and in 1854 by Rev. Newman Hall. Its design attracted great interest, being circular in plan with a domed roof. When built it was set in open fields, but within a few years it became part of Central London. Recently the site itself has been redeveloped as an office block (currently occupied by the London Development Agency), and Southwark Underground Station has been built opposite.
The first stone of the chapel was laid in 1782, and the building opened in June 1783. Sponsorship was raised from Dissenting philanthropists such as the Methodist, Selina, Countess of Huntingdon. A round building, Rowland Hill is said to have remarked, prevented the Devil from hiding in any corners. Though owned and managed by independent trustees primarily as a Nonconformist chapel, it was operated as a venue for music, singing, and for the meetings of charities, associations and societies, several of which became closely associated with it. The chapel also made itself available to many religious figures of different denominations who were able to preach within its walls; the trustees and pastors pursuing a relatively non-denominational approach. As a result the building became a well-used London venue for many different purposes and meetings, including some of an avowedly political nature, as well as the site of the first Sunday School in London. In addition, is first pastor, Rowland Hill, having a strong interest in inoculation, established one of the most effective vaccination boards in London at the chapel. He was buried, at his own request below the pulpit, and was succeeded by the Congregational minister Rev. James Sherman.
In 1859 the trustees and congregation, being unable to afford a new lease, purchased land at Westminster Bridge Road and Kennington Road where (led by the pastor, Robert Govett) they built an architecturally more conventional church structure, the Rev. Newman Hall church and Lincoln Memorial Tower - the latter reflecting Newman Hall's campaigning role in the American Civil War and its abolition movement. The congregation migrated there in 1876, as did many of the societies associated with Surrey Chapel, for whom a lecture hall was built adjacent to the church. Govett remained at the head of the congregation until his death in 1901, when he was replaced by Rev. David Panton
