Seer Green Parish Hall
Location/Address
School Lane, Seer Green
Type
Description
BHP Building record 0980600000
Former Baptist Chapel*, now parish church hall; brick and slate with gabled E front. Built c.1829, but has since been altered and enlarged. It is purported to have been in use as a Lace School at some time in it's history; known to be in use as a Baptist Chapel since at least 1843; it passed to Sunday-school use after a new Baptist Chapel was built opposite in 1899, and was purchased by Holy Trinity Church c. 1982. A low annexe was built against N side in 1933 and the building was probably substantially remodelled at the same time.
*replace by new chapel across the road in 1899
Statement of Significance
Asset type
Historic building of local valueAge
1829Rarity
Unique within the parish; dates from a period of extensive rural non-conformist expansion; its use as a Lace School is of particular noteArchitectural and Artistic Interest
Brick built, in a typical local non-conformist vernacular style, with significant later inter-war redevelopment and extension. Some external engraved graffiti is of note.Group Value
Linked to chapel across the road. Original baptist chapel that then became a sunday school and lacemaking school for the new chapel.Historic Interest
The current Parish Church Hall was built in 1829 as a lace making school for women and girls in the village. Seer Green was renowned for its lace and the Seer Green pattern was the motif for many beautiful pieces of work. The hall was purchased in 1857 by the Baptist Congregation which had been meeting there since 1843. The congregation steadily outgrew this building so built a new Chapel across the road which opened in 1900. They still used the lace making school for their Sunday School. Eventually, in 1979, work began on a completely new building, where the congregation still meets, and the lace making school was handed over to Holy Trinity to be their Parish Church Hall. Of significant local social and communal interest, being in the historic heart of the village and marking the formal beginning of the non-conformist church within Seer Green. Foundation tablet stones on the 1933 extension indicate links with significant local Baptist worthies Charles Barnes and Alfred Ellis JP. Some of the first Christians to establish themselves in Seer Green were a group of Baptists who held their meetings in private homes. They called these gatherings “Cottage Meetings”. Then in 1843 they formed a Church which met in the present Parish Church Hall, which had been constructed in 1829 alongside “The Wide Place” to house a lace-making school. The founder members consisted of 10 people who had already been baptised and 10 from other churches. In 1857 the Baptists purchased the building for £100. A gallery was created for the musicians and the choir. At that time people sat down to sing, and stood up to pray. Frederick Saunders, the owner of the potkiln in Potkiln Lane, was very active in the Baptist Church. He founded “The Band of Hope” in 1888 for the young people of the church. This group sent gifts to Dr Barnardo’s and other homes for the elderly and the disabled. They also organised musical evenings, country rambles, and trips to the seaside. (https://www.lifeinseergreen.org/village-history/)Landmark Status
Prominent visual position with the village setting, long established as a place of religious, communal and social focus.Images and Documents
Date Listed
11 Jan 2023
Last Updated
14 Dec 2021