Building record MDR12681 - Swanwick Baptist Chapel, Chapel Street, Swanwick

The Particular Baptist chapel, Sleet Moor, Swanwick, was built in 1796, and enlarged in 1828, at a cost of £650. It is a large brick edifice, with accommodation for 600 persons. It has a small burial ground attached [see SMR 31803]. (1) There is a Particular Baptist Chapel and burial ground situated here on the 1st edition OS map. (2) The Baptist Chapel is a plain building of brick, erected in 1796, and enlarged in 1828. It was reseated in 1890, and with the gallery will accommodate 600. On the inner wall is a slab inscribed: 'In memory of the Rev. Wm. Fletcher, who, in the year 1794, introduced the Gospel into this his native village and afterwards at Riddings, and by whose zealous, disinterested, and self-denying labour the two places of worship have been erected: and who, after presiding over the church for 37 years, entered his rest, January 14th, 1831, in his 84th year. This tablet is erected by his friends as a memorial of his worth. Also of Susannah, his wife, who died January 27th, 1836, in her 95th year'. There is also on the wall an oil painting of the reverend gentleman. Adjoining the chapel is a small burial ground [see SMR 31803]. (3) The Baptist Chapel at Swanwick was built and registered as a meeting-house in 1796 and enlarged to the front in 1828. The walls are of brickwork and the roof is slate-covered and gabled to the north and south. The west front is of three bays and has two tiers of plain windows with splayed lintels. It also has a wide central doorway with a semi-circular arch, a keystone inscribed with the dates of erection and enlargement, and a blind tympanum above the double doors. There are two round-arched windows in the east wall that flank the pulpit. The interior (originally 23 1/2 feet by 42 feet) is now square and has an early 19th century west gallery. The pulpit incorporates early 19th century work. There are a number of 19th century monuments outside the chapel. (4) The chapel is still in use as a place of worship [2011]. (5)