The Surrey Chapel (1783–1881) was an independent

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

and

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

church established in Blackfriars Road,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 8 June 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill. His work was continued in 1833 by the

pastor Rev. James Sherman, and in 1854 by Rev. Newman Hall. The chapel's design attracted great interest, being circular in plan with a domed roof. When built it was set in open fields, but within a few years it became a new industrial area with a vast population characterised by great poverty amidst pockets of wealth. Recently the site itself has been redeveloped as an office block (currently occupied by the

London Development Agency The London Development Agency (LDA) was from July 2000 until 2012 the regional development agency for the London region in England. A functional body of the Greater London Authority, its purpose was to drive sustainable economic growth within ...

), and Southwark Underground Station has been built opposite.

History

The first stone of the chapel was laid in 1782, and the building opened in June 1783. Sponsorship was raised from Dissenting philanthropists such as the Methodist,

Selina, Countess of Huntingdon Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (24 August 1707 – 17 June 1791) was an English religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the 18th century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales. She founded an e ...

. A round building, Rowland Hill is said to have remarked, prevented the Devil from hiding in any corners. Its founding pastor,

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...

, having a strong interest in inoculation, established one of the most effective vaccination boards in London at Surrey Chapel. He was buried, at his own request below the pulpit, but was later re-buried below the

Lincoln Memorial Tower The Lincoln Memorial Tower or Lincoln Tower is a Gothic revival tower in Lambeth, London, housing small meeting rooms, that was opened in 1876 in memory of Abraham Lincoln, and paid for partly by Americans. Once part of a complex of nineteenth cen ...

of the successor chapel, Christ Church, Kennington Road. Surrey Chapel, though owned and managed by independent trustees primarily as a Nonconformist chapel, was operated as a venue for music, singing, and for the meetings of charities, associations and societies, several of which became closely associated with it. For a time, the composer and arranger Benjamin Jacob was organist, attracting thousands; a practical response to Rowland Hill's well known concern about chapel music of the time: '' 'Why should the Devil have all the good tunes ?' ''. One of the chapel's principal associations was with the non-denominational

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

; for over sixty years the society held its principal annual sermon at Surrey Chapel and from here dispatched many of its best known missionaries including Robert Moffat and

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

. The chapel made itself available to many religious figures of different denominations; those invited to preach within its walls included both Establishment and Nonconformist figures. Clergymen of the Establishment included Henry Venn) and Rev. Thomas Scott, whilst eminent Dissenting ministers included Dr Chalmers. Martha and James Sherman took over the pastorate in 1935 and their partnership contributed to the chapel's success. Sherman also took a nondenominational approach to burial reform was developed –

Abney Park Cemetery Abney Park cemetery is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries in London, England. Abney Park in Stoke Newington in the London Borough of Hackney is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney, D ...

. Surrey Chapel – as a result of this 'open door' policy – became a popular London venue for many different religious leaders, societies, and meetings, including some of an avowedly political nature, as well as the site of the first

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

in London. So much so, that new premises had to be found to accommodate the growth in services,

ragged school Ragged schools were charitable organisations dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century Britain. The schools were developed in working-class districts. Ragged schools were intended for society's most destitute children ...

s, Sunday schools and the ''Southwark Mission for the Elevation of the Working Classes'' – an auxiliary to Surrey Chapel managed by the plain speaking

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor, and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild fro ...

for the increasing numbers of industrial poor of the district. These additional premises included a nearby temperance hall (leased for about twenty years from 1844 using a centenary commemoration fund raised by James Sherman in honour of

, thus renamed ''Hawkstone Hall'' after his birthplace); and Lambeth Baths (whose use was paid for by

Samuel Morley (MP) Samuel Morley (15 October 1809 – 5 September 1886), was an English woollen manufacturer and political radical. He is known as a philanthropist, Congregationalist dissenter, abolitionist, and statesman. Background He was the youngest son o ...

for additional Sunday services, meetings, lectures, classes, newspaper readings and musical entertainments). This growth led to the educational institutions of Surrey Chapel becoming probably more extensive than those connected with any free Church in the south of England. It became the nucleus of thirteen Sunday schools, four of them evening

Ragged Schools Ragged schools were charitable organisations dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century Britain. The schools were developed in working-class districts. Ragged schools were intended for society's most destitute children ...

, as well as day schools at Mansfield Street, Harrow Street, Kent Street, and Castle Yard, where more than five thousand children were taught by over four hundred teachers. In 1859 the trustees and congregation, did not renew the lease and purchased land at Westminster Bridge Road and Kennington Road where (led by the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

Christopher Newman Hall Christopher Newman Hall (22 May 1816 – 18 February 1902), born at Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 ...

) where they built a larger complex of buildings, which included a large chapel (Christ Church), lecture halls and school rooms (Hawkstone Hall) and the

– the latter reflecting Newman Hall's campaigning role in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and on the side of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and the abolition movement. The congregation migrated there in 1876, as did many of the societies associated with Surrey Chapel. Rowland Hill's original chapel became used for various religious and social purposes, including by the

Primitive Methodists The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

for a time, before partial demolition, rebuilding and refitting works to suit it to commercial uses in 1881. The Illustrated London News reported its demise in May 1881 in these terms: ''The demolition of the well-known circular meeting-house, or Dissenting Chapel, in Blackfriar's-road, Southwark, removes another familiar landmark of London's social and religious history''.Illustrated London News (7 May 1881) ''Rowland Hill's Chapel'': London, p. 444

Later use

Despite the fatalistic tone of the contemporary news report, sufficient of the original building was retained that it remained recognisable in the streetscene until bombed during the Second World War. Though it had various commercial uses after 1881, most notably as ''the Ring'' – a boxing arena – which commenced in 1910. Dick Burge and his wife

Bella Burge Bella Burge (born Leah Belle Orchard; 29 September 1877 – 3 September 1962) was an American-born British music hall performer and actress and friend and colleague of Marie Lloyd and her sisters. Later in life she was the world's first fem ...

acquired the lease, and developed the venue so as to cater for a

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

audience. In 1914 Bella became the first woman to attend a boxing match and soon her friend

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as " T ...

and other actresses became regular attendees at bouts. Today, on the site of the Surrey Chapel is a modern office block named

Palestra The Palestra, often called the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the Penn Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 235 South ...

. The new building is used by Transport for London and the

. Situated opposite, across Union Street, is ''Rowland Hill House'': an interwar block of council flats named in honour of the chapel's founder. The Surrey Chapel that existed in south London should not be confused with Surrey Chapel in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, which was founded in 1844 and continues to the present day.

Background reading

* Rev. Newman Hall D.D. (1868). ''Sermons with A History of Surrey Chapel and Its Institutions''. New York: Sheldon

External links

History – church.co.uk

British History Online – Surrey Chapel

'The Ring' boxing venue

Surrey Chapel missionaries

References

{{coords, 51.503907, -0.104498, display=title Congregational churches in London Methodist churches in London Religious organizations established in 1783 Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark Former churches in the London Borough of Southwark Former Methodist churches in the United Kingdom 18th-century Methodist church buildings 1783 establishments in England