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"THE MOST MODERN BUILDING IN KNAPHILL"
In 1882 Hope Chapel, as the new building was
called, was something of a landmark in the small village of
Knaphill. The Methodists built their first 'flint chapel' in 1866;
the Church of England a corrugated iron building in 1886. The
solid brick construction of the church in the High Street was
described at the time as 'the most modern building in Knaphill'.
The opening took place on the Sunday and Monday of August 5 and 6.
It is described in the diaries which Robert Lloyd kept over many
years. The entry is in red ink, marking it as one of the
red-letter days of his life!
Sunday Opened our new Chapel (Hope Chapel)
with a prayer meeting at 9.30. Bros. Black, Richardson, Pittman,
Collyer etc with us. Bro. Pittman preached. Very good meeting.
Monday Tea Meeting at 5-oclock in the new Chapel which was filled
. . . a most excellent and inspiring meeting. All praise to our
Lord and God.
It is thought that the land was given by Mr.
John Potts, one of the founder members, who was Governor of the
womens' prison on the site of what later became the Inkerman
Barracks. It was one of the many plots being sold off by the
Necropolis Company who owned large tracts of land in Brookwood and
Knaphill.
The cost of the building, which included the
present sanctuary, the vestry, and a small lean-to at the back
with earth closets, a store and sink, was £370. The church
was helped by a loan from Mr. Robert Black, in whose Chelsea home
the first converts had been baptised. A successful business man,
he encouraged the founding of Churches of Christ congregations in
the London area, and had helped the Knaphill venture from the
start.
There are notes of an address given by Robert
Lloyd to the church soon after the erection of the building, in
which he calls upon all the members to take a share in repaying
the loan by means of annual pledges. It was hoped to raise £35
p.a. in this way, a sizeable sum as their annual offerings appear
to have been about £40 a year. They agreed to do the church
cleaning themselves and save £6 which could be added to the
building fund. Mr. Lloyd says:
Every member should have a part in this work.
There should be no drones in God's hive.
The loan was in fact paid off by 1897, when a
final payment was made of £18, Mr. Black remitting the
remaining £10 balance.
The baptistry was soon opened. Mr. Lloyd
writes, in early September:
Used the baptistry for the first time in the
new Chapel to immerse Mr. Blamfin . . . and again for Mrs. Fisher
and Anne Howard.
In 1892, the membership stood at 78. In the
January of the same year, the building was registered for
marriages, and the first wedding, that of Miss E. T. Lloyd and Mr.
F. W. Halsey, took place on the following June 30.
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