For the opening of the new foyer and vestry at Girton Baptist Church in September 2000, it seemed sensible to research something of the history of our church. We knew a few things, the foundation stone was dated 1860, Girton had once belonged to a group of churches who shared a minister and the pews had originally come from the old chapel at Histon. But what were the origins of the church, who had planted it and where had they originally met, why was the first minute book dated 1913 and who were the group of men on a large photograph at the bottom of an old cupboard? Others had looked at the history in the past, but without writing a detailed account their comments simply aroused more curiosity; what were the difficulties in the 1890’s and why was the chapel clerk remembered with such affection.
When we started to delve into the history we were amazed at how much we discovered. An abundance of material is itself a problem, and faced with a deadline for the opening of the building at the end of September, we had a choice of two routes to take. Either I could write a brief account of the whole history of the church, or I could write a detailed account of part of it. Many brief church histories leave one wanting to know something about the people who belonged to the fellowship and as we had unearthed a lot about the people it seemed right to go for the second option. Therefore this is a history of Girton Baptist Church from it’s beginning in 1859 until 1934.
Why 1934?