Ravenscourt Baptist Church

Ravenscourt Baptist Church is a church in Ravenscourt Road, Hammersmith, London. It was established in 1793 as the West End Baptist Church.^[1] The current building opposite the Ravenscourt Park tube station opened in 1971.^[2][3]

Ravenscourt Baptist Church
Denomination	Baptist
Website	ravenscourtbaptist.com
History
Former name(s)	West End Baptist Church
Founded	1793
Architecture
Groundbreaking	1971
Completed	1972
Construction cost	£78,000

History

A society of Baptists first started meeting on Hampshire Hog Lane in Hammersmith as early as 1768.^[1][4] The exact location of the meeting house is unknown.^[4] In 1788, a new meeting house built by Samuel Naylor was opened on King Street.^[4] For two years, it was occupied by Baptists, after which it was let to another religious society, possibly Methodists, who called the building Trinity Chapel.^[4]

By November 1793, the building was again taken over by Baptists, forming what became known for over 200 years as the West End Baptist Church.^[4] In 1808, the church started a Sunday school for boys, which was opened to girls in 1839.^[1]

A larger church building was built in 1851.^[1] The West End Baptist Church on King Street was famously depicted in a painting by A. J. Messenger at the Royal Academy of Arts, described as "indicative of the heaviness of the Victorian style of buildings".^[2]

Further modifications were made to the building in 1902.^[1] By 1909, it had 630 members.^[1]

By the 1960s, the church found it difficult to maintain the premises.^[1] On 12 June 1971, four foundation stones, including three taken from the old premises, were laid for a new church building on Ravenscourt Road.^[5] Church documents dating back to the 19th century, sealed in glass jars, became part of the new structure.^[5] The minister at the time was the Reverend Frederick Hemmens.^[6][5]

Later that year, excavators were tasked with digging up graves dating back to 1793 in the old church cemetery, after a special bill was passed in Parliament authorising development of the land, and Royal assent was granted in December 1970.^[7][2] The cemetery had been used to bury dissenters who were not allowed to be buried on the "consecrated ground" of the Anglican Church.^[7] As of 18 November 1971, eight skeletons had been unearthed; they were thought to be approximately 150 years old.^[7]

The current church and hall block opened in 1972, with a new entrance on Ravenscourt Road.^[1] The new church, which cost £78,000 to build, had a chapel seating 240 people, a large hall, two small halls, and a caretaker's two-bedroomed flat.^[2][6] The front hall block on King Street became part of the Polish Social and Cultural Centre.^[1]

In subsequent decades, church membership declined.^[1] By 1993, it had only 40 members.^[1]