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South elevation and graveyard - 19th century
The place where the ‘dissenters’ met in Olney was a barn in the centre of the town, but when opposition became too great they would meet in Three Counties Wood, to the north of the town. As its name suggests, this was a place where the counties of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire met. Since the police were only allowed to operate in their own county, worshippers could see them coming and move quickly over the border into another county.
In 1689 the Act of Toleration was passed by Parliament, which relieved the situation and made it possible for dissenters to have their Chapels officially licensed. John Bunyan (the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, whose imprisonment for many years probably resulted in part from his preaching at Olney) applied for and obtained a preaching licence for “Joseph Kent, his barn at Olney”. It is not certain exactly when the original building for the local Baptist congregation was constructed, but the land was purchased in 1694 and there is a stone in our present building on the south elevation dated 1694 (which has probably have been moved from its original location). It seems that the barn had very little in the way of foundations, and for this reason later generations have been careful not to interfere too much with the basic structure of the main church building (often referred to as sanctuary).
Illustration taken from an original photograph - 1910
As It seems that, as is often the case, the Baptists cause in Olney flourished when up against opposition, but entered on a period of decline “taking things easy” once opposition was no longer there. In the early days the Olney congregation sometimes shared a Pastor with Newport Pagnell and at other times with various villages in the vicinity. In particular, John Gibbs covered Newport Pagnell and Olney until his death in 1699.
Our Church Archives make interesting reading and record changes over the years. In the early 1700s a Mr. Maurice led an exodus of members to join the local Congregational Church, and in 1738 a sizeable group of the members “were dismissed to become a separate Strict Baptist Church”, In 1763 twenty-six men and forty-eight women signed a very strict Church Covenant in which they are referred to as belonging to the Particular Baptist denomination. In 1766 Olney Baptist Church joined a new Association of Baptist Churches in the area set up to give mutual support. This Association has been “revamped” a number of times since, the latest only a few years ago. The Archives of these early years are fascinating, containing many detailed reports of Church meetings. On many occasions they prayed for rain and then gave thanks when it arrived. In February 1788 they sought God’s help when fever hit the town (apparently cholera was rife at the time), and in June they gave thanks that it had gone, but they again needed rain. Members were constantly being disciplined by the Church meetings for breach of the Church Covenant, mostly for ‘immoral behaviour’!
1775 was a very significant year for our Church, since it was the date on which John Sutcliff settled in Olney, subsequently to become Pastor for thirty-nine years. During this period he set up an academy or seminary in two adjacent houses close to the church, and under his tutelage a number of prominent Baptist preachers developed. Of these, the most well-known were William Robinson, who became the first “home grown” missionary to Serampore in 1806, and William Carey whose vision of a calling to evangelise unbelievers led to him becoming instrumental in the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792 and becoming its first missionary in 1793.
Interior of sanctuary with tired pulpit on north wall and balcony to west and west - 19th century
The financial accounts also make interesting to us today. For instance, in its first year of the Baptist Missionary Society donations from our Church were made. We learn that in 1858 gifts were made for those affected by the Indian Mutiny and for “the poor saints in Lancashire due to cotton failure”. We find, too, gifts for the families of reservists called up in the 1900 Boer War, and in 1915 gifts to causes connected with the war in France. All this among great concern on occasions about the cost of repairs and repainting and very special arrangements for an occasional social evening.
In the late Victorian period (1894) the church was extensively altered and then by the 20thcentury a new entrance to the sanctuary leading from the Market Place had been created, following the demolition of cottages. This area now forms the front garden. In 1986, after an arson attack by a young man, who also set fire to other buildings in the town, an extension was added at the rear, providing a new hall, kitchen and toilets. The hall is named in memory of Peter Gravett, who was Pastor for 25 years up to 1987.
In the 21st century the main sanctuary was remodelled in 2013 with the removal of Victorian the pews, a tiered pulpit and large organ and with a new more flexible layout created suitable for multipurpose uses. Then in 2017-18 the rear of the premises was remodelled again providing a larger entrance foyer, café area, modern kitchen and larger meeting rooms and associated facilities which have enabled a wider access and use by the local community.
In conclusion, it can be seen that the premises at Olney Baptist Church have adapted over the years to meet the needs of the people in their own time. However, it is good to remind ourselves that a church is not foremost a building but rather a community of Christian believers with a common faith in the one true living God who is the same ‘Yesterday, today and forever’.