Building the Church

It was in February 1899 that the members of Victoria Baptist Church in Deal resolved at their annual church meeting to start working to establish a church in the fast expanding adjacent residential district of Lower Walmer.

By April the following year £800 was raised at a magnificent supper and Mr W Parkinson announced that he had secured part of The Great Field and presented it to the church. In June 1901 an informal dedication service was held on the site of the new church building and the foundation stone was laid in August 1903. The contract for the building was awarded to Mr A.W. Thompson of Walmer and was constructed of locally manufactured red brick in the “Early English” style, with bath stone dressings to the design of Architects J Willis & Son of Derby at a cost of £3,500.

The church is cruciform in shape, with shallow transepts, chancel with choir stalls and a fine off-set tower on the front elevation. It seats 500 with a gallery to the rear of the nave and features an open baptistry. The Organ was built by a local firm of F.W.Browne although sadly it is no longer a working instrument. The Church building was opened on July 21st 1904.

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