A History of WHBC
(The new Church Building 1908)
Winchmore Hill Baptist Church has a long and interesting history and is directly descended from one of the oldest Baptist Churches in England. Although the date of its foundation is not known, it must have been between 1654 and 1660, when it was meeting in leased premises in Glasshouse Yard, Goswell Street, just by the Charterhouse buildings. However, after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, nonconformist dissenters (Baptists among them) came under increasing repression and persecution. Following the visit of a spy, reporting on 400 - 500 people meeting in Glasshouse Yard in 1670, there is a note in the old church minutes that by 1682 there were only fifty in regular attendance. Also the young, successful minister, Francis Smith – also known as the chief Baptist printer in the country – was imprisoned about this time. The church however has proved to be a survivor!
It remained at Glasshouse Yard for almost a hundred years, but with some difficult doctrinal issues causing problems and divisions in the denomination, the numbers continued to shrink. After moving to one or two different premises, the small congregation joined with three others and were able to move, in 1779, into their own small church with a graveyard and baptistry, newly built in Worship Street, Finsbury. This had been donated in the will of a benefactor, with a mortgage of three hundred pounds – on condition that they each kept their separate identity and shared all costs. This they somehow managed to achieve and eventually paid off the mortgage. By 1802 Glasshouse were down to twenty five members, but then the other churches either moved away or closed, so the Glasshouse Yard church had final possession of the premises. In 1879 it had to be sold for street widening and railway development and they used the money to erect another new property in Bethnal Green in 1881 that seated five hundred.
Then early in the new century John Bradford (Secretary of the L.B.A.) became joint pastor. This was not for long however, as many Jews were moving into the area and the future of the church was uncertain, there being only about twenty attending. So the building was leased (and finally sold) to the Jews as a synagogue and John Bradford set about looking for new premises. The result of his search was the decision to build in Winchmore Hill. The foundation stone was laid in 1907 and the church opened in 1908, when the opening address was given by Dr John Clifford, a renowned preacher. John Bradford became the honorary pastor. The church, which was known as Winchmore Hill Baptist, was proud of its long history, so later had ‘Glasshouse Memorial Church’ added to its name, which it kept until relatively recently.
It remained at Glasshouse Yard for almost a hundred years, but with some difficult doctrinal issues causing problems and divisions in the denomination, the numbers continued to shrink. After moving to one or two different premises, the small congregation joined with three others and were able to move, in 1779, into their own small church with a graveyard and baptistry, newly built in Worship Street, Finsbury. This had been donated in the will of a benefactor, with a mortgage of three hundred pounds – on condition that they each kept their separate identity and shared all costs. This they somehow managed to achieve and eventually paid off the mortgage. By 1802 Glasshouse were down to twenty five members, but then the other churches either moved away or closed, so the Glasshouse Yard church had final possession of the premises. In 1879 it had to be sold for street widening and railway development and they used the money to erect another new property in Bethnal Green in 1881 that seated five hundred.
Then early in the new century John Bradford (Secretary of the L.B.A.) became joint pastor. This was not for long however, as many Jews were moving into the area and the future of the church was uncertain, there being only about twenty attending. So the building was leased (and finally sold) to the Jews as a synagogue and John Bradford set about looking for new premises. The result of his search was the decision to build in Winchmore Hill. The foundation stone was laid in 1907 and the church opened in 1908, when the opening address was given by Dr John Clifford, a renowned preacher. John Bradford became the honorary pastor. The church, which was known as Winchmore Hill Baptist, was proud of its long history, so later had ‘Glasshouse Memorial Church’ added to its name, which it kept until relatively recently.