Geoff Blake, whose great-grandfather was William Blake, brother of Thomas Blake, is a current member of Ross Baptist Church.

Geoff Blake has been helping the Ross Gazette unearth the history of the church, as a commemoration of Ross Baptist Church’s 200th anniversary.

The local Baptist movement began after Charles II’s Act of Uniformity in 1662. Reverend John Skinner, the clergyman at Weston under Penyard, refused to sign the new demands put upon the clergy, and was subsequently ejected from his church and home. Not long after, a Baptist gathering grew at Ryeford.

In 1731, the original Ryeford Chapel was built, and for many years, a few Baptist believers from Ross would make the journey to the village to join the congregation for Sunday worship.

But, by 1817, the Ross worshippers decided to separate from the Ryeford Chapel, as evidenced on a memorial plaque for the life of an early church deacon. From this, the current Baptist Church takes its 200th anniversary, and will be holding a celebration between October 13th and 15th this year.

In early 1818, 22 church members bought a piece of ground in Broad Street, on which to build a chapel with a graveyard behind it. The first chapel was opened on October 6th, 1818.

Gradually, more members joined the Baptist Church, but by 1879, the original Baptist Church had become increasingly dilapidated; the roof was leaking, the interior was damp and there was a constant smell of wet rot.

Meetings were held to discuss how best to remedy the situation. It was estimated that £400 would be required to restore the chapel, but this was a large sum of money, and it was understood that many of the problems with the building would not be fully repaired.

As a result, Thomas Blake, Geoff Blake’s ancestor, and a well-known Victorian philanthropist, who was also a committed Baptist, had the idea to tear down the building and construct a brand new one in its place.

The cost of this new building was £3,700. Various community events, including a bazaar, raised £537 towards the cost of the construction of the new church. The remaining £3163 was paid by Thomas Blake.

See the full story in last week’s edition of the Ross Gazette (13th), or subscribe to our online edition here