The First Half of the Twentieth Century

In 1915 an extended series of conferences took place between representatives of the Baptist Union and the British and Foreign Unitarian Association, with a view to determining once and for all the ownership of certain General Baptist chapels. Those who shared in negotiations on behalf of the Baptist Union were Dr. John Clifford, Councillor Gould, Dr. Shakespeare and Dr. Whitley, and they in turn consulted the Rev. John Bradford, the Rev. Thomas Greenwood and Mr. H. Ernest Wood, respected members of the denomination. Local baptists, where they existed, were also consulted. An Agreement was drafted on 16th March 1915 and was accepted by the Unitarian Association in April, approved by the General Baptist Assembly in June and by the Baptist Union in July.

At the meeting of the Council of the Baptist Union in March 1916, a further Resolution was proposed, which was submitted, together with the Agreement, to the Assembly in 1916 as part of the Annual Report of the Union. A list is given of the chapels which were deemed to belong to the Union. All other chapels, however described, whose names were published in the Essex Hall Year Book for 1915 were deemed to belong to the Unitarian denomination. The Chapel at Eastgate, Chichester, was apparently one of those about which special discussion took place (possibly because there were then no organised local baptists to consult), but the final decision was that it should go to the Unitarian Body.¹ The last sentence of the Resolution of 1916 passed by the Baptist Union Council in March 1916, read:

“...the three bodies ... hereby undertaking to use to the utmost their influence at all times to prevent anything from being done or any local action being taken which would in any way break in upon this Agreement and Settlement.”

Locally, effect to the Agreement was given by the passing of a Resolution, “freeing such Trusts from any restrictions which require the holding or profession of any particular theological belief ...” A copy of the full wording of the Resolution is in Appendix 2.

Thus, only in 1916 was the ownership of Eastgate Chapel finally regarded as Unitarian, though no alteration was made to the Indenture of 1849.

George Lansdown, (who worked as a masseur) was Pastor (though never a recognised minister) of both Eastgate and Baffin’s Lane Chapels from 1911, but by the time he arrived he found that the same congregation attended morning service at one chapel and evening at the other – a repetition of the early 19th century situation – so he was instrumental in the sale of Baffin’s Hall in 1923, remaining as Pastor of Eastgate Chapel until 1936 and Secretary until 1940. The last Minister in charge was the Rev. Mabel Beames, who officiated from 1936 to 1940, when regular services were discontinued.The negotiators of the 1916 Agreement could not have foreseen that not long afterwards the Unitarian cause in Chichester would cease and the Eastgate building again close so far as worship was concerned, and a new Baptist community formed in the City in 1951. For that is what happened.

¹Dr. Ernest Payne, M.A., D.D., Secretary of the Baptist Union.Letter dated 18th November, 1952