The Cranbrook Strict Baptist Chapel, is a Strict Baptist place of worship in the town of Cranbrook in the English county of Kent. The chapel was built in 1787.[1]
The Cranbrook Strict Baptist Chapel came about following a split from the General Baptists in Bessels Green, Kent. The Cranbrook Strict Baptist Chapel was created in 1787 following the conversion of a pair of wood panelled cottages into a Strict Baptist chapel.[5] The chapel holds surviving baptismal records from 1682 for those in the Cranbrook area who had not baptised in the Church of England.[2] The chapel provided pastors to help found the local Providence Baptist Church in 1909.[6]
In 1967, the Cranbrook Strict Baptist Chapel was given grade II listed building status by English Heritage.[7] In 2002, the chapel made a submission to the House of Lords' Select Committee on Religious Offences, arguing for the blasphemy law in the United Kingdom to be retained.[8] The chapel was listed by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council among several notable local features, to be a contributory building to Cranbrook's status as a conservation area.[3] The pastor of the Cranbrook Strict Baptist Chapel also joins in the induction of new interdenominational Christian ministers in Cranbrook.[9]
