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Copyright of Alf Beard

Lydbrook Baptist Church,
B4234 (Main Road),
Lydbrook, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

This Church has (or had) a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded in 1812, and we understand it is still open.

It would be difficult to improve upon the account of the foundation of the Baptist Church in Lydbrook provided by the Victoria County History series: A History of the County of Gloucester, Volume 5: Bledisloe Hundred, St Briavels Hundred, The Forest of Dean (1996), pp.396-404 (Forest of Dean - Nonconformity). In summary, their account explains that it probably began with a mission from the Ryeford church in Weston under Penyard (Herefordshire), for which a house in English Bicknor was licensed in 1823. The same year, Lydbrook's first chapel was built at Lower Lydbrook by Thomas Wright, a minister, with the help of Edward Goff's charity, founded to provide free schools, and to establish Baptist missions in Herefordshire and adjoining counties.

Average attendance, according to the Religious Census of 1851 (HO 129/344/2/7/14) was 30 to morning and 100 to evening services; with 24 Sunday scholars in the morning, and 30 in the afternoon. The "Licensed Scool Room & Preaching House" was first consecrated in 1812, and erected by "Subscription by Mr Boyce". The return was completed by William Cole, Clerk to the Chapel, whose address was "Lydbrook Near Ross, Gloster shire". Thus meetings began at an earlier location than that established by Thomas Wright.

The chapel was for a time dependent on the Baptist Church at Leys Hill, in Walford, Herefordshire, until 1857, when it became a separate church. It had its own minister from 1863, and moved to a new chapel further up the valley in 1864 - presumably the present building. By 1881, its membership was 102 - the church's fortunes mirroring those of the nearby Lydbrook tinplate works.

The old chapel was sold, and fitted out as public reading room, which opened in 1868.

There may be more information available by by selecting one or more of the accompanying images on the right.

Denomination

Now or formerly General Baptist.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church is located at OS grid reference SO5963316371. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Lydbrook Baptist Church, Lydbrook shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Lydbrook shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Lydbrook, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• The Victoria County History series: A History of the County of Gloucester, Volume 5: Bledisloe Hundred, St Briavels Hundred, The Forest of Dean (null) (verified 2018-11-06)

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.