Event
Waddesdon Hill
On 3 September, Aylesbury witnessed the fifth annual service at the Strict and Particular Baptist Chapel at Waddesdon Hill.
It was attended by a good congregation from as far afield asCumbria, Tyne and Wear, Cheshire, Sussexand London, not to mention those from the local area who attend each year.
A number of descendants of those who originally founded the work were also present. This year we welcomed Pastor Simon Ward of Newcastle upon Tyne, who gave a powerful gospel message, based on Acts 4:11-12. He spoke on the rejected Christ, the exalted Christ and the saving Christ.
The chapel at Waddesdon Hill was originally built by Francis Cox, a local farmer, in 1792 and closed in 1976, after which it was sold.
It is now in the ownership of the Friends of Friendless Churches, a London-based charity that owns more than 50 redundant churches and chapels. The chapel is a listed building.
During its heyday, the chapel had 70 members. It had a number of pastors during the 1800s, including Alfred Coughtrey, who at one time was editor of the Gospel standard magazine.
There was even a branch chapel in the village of Waddesdon, two miles away, which was used for Sunday school and evening services, but this closed in 1952. The registers of this lonely chapel on the hill make interesting reading and have recently been transcribed by the Eureka Partnership.
Following the service, refreshments were served at Waddesdon Rectory by kind invitation of the local incumbent, who also attended the service.
