Our History

A potted history of Weymouth Baptist Church

Although there is mention of Baptists meeting in Weymouth it was only in 1813 that they felt able to call a pastor, Rev W.H. Rowe, and lease a building which was destined to become the present church. This was obtained in 1814.

Rev. Rowe and his successor Rev. Thomas Flint sadly died after short periods of service. They were followed by a long succession of pastors over the years. The most famous of these being Rev. John Trafford M.A. who after serving between 1844-1852 , joined William Carey’s Serampore College in India. He served as a tutor and then for twenty seven years became College Principal.

In 1859 the present Georgian facade was added to the building.

In 1864, to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, a mission chapel was built at Putton Lane, in Charlestown.

A further five pastors served after Rev. Trafford who returned from Serampore in 1879. He settled back in Weymouth and as the church was once again without a pastor he agreed to serve again. The church grew rapidly at this time. He served for a further six years until forced to retire due to ill health.

The church flourished into a new century with many of the influential townsfolk playing prominent roles in the church and vice versa.

In 1921 Rev. Gordon Hamlin B.A. took the pastorate and the work of the church grew steadily under his God led guidance. The two houses next door were purchased in 1928, demolished and the present rooms erected. He was sadly missed when he left in 1929.

Between the wars the work at both churches continued serving the local communities in many ways. During WW2 the church was used for storing the town’s archives. Many soldiers following the Dunkirk evacuation were billeted with us, also refugees from the Channel Islands.

In more recent times we have seen two pulpit exchanges with American pastors, the shock of guitars being played in church and many links formed with countries overseas. These include Africa, Nepal, Poland and Romania to name but a few.

With Pastor Peter Mockett as our present pastor, we are led by firm Bible teaching to reach out to others in the community, and are at present linked with many outreaches within the town e.g CAP, HOTS and the Food Bank.

The history of this church is still being written with our Lord’s Guidance.

Brenda Woodsford

Edit

Senior Minister Rev. Peter Mockett retired from WBC on 28th August 2022.

Pete Millner was inducted into the role of Senior Minister on 2nd March 2024.(Webmaster)

A full list of previous Pastors that have served Weymouth Baptist Church can be downloaded here.