The Baptist cause in Wrexham was established in 1708, and in the early days worshipped in the stables of the Talbot Inn with open communion to those of all dissenting denominations. (1 & 2) It is the oldest Nonconfomist cause in Wrexham, with the Chester Street Presbyterians and Penybryn Independents being off-shoots of the cause.
The Old Meeting Baptist Chapel was built in 1762, rebuilt in 1780 and again in 1875. A schoolroom was added on the north side in the first half of the 20th century and is now used as the chapel.
The first chapel was opened in 1762 and "was set up at the south end of the croft in Chester Street belonging to the poor of the Old Meeting. It was very small, 40 feet long by 20 feet broad … Soon after Mr Jenkins' appointment [in 1773] to the pastorate, the Chapel-house was enlarged by the addition of another story, and a loft, intended for Mr Jenkins' study, was at the same time built above the vestry, which ran along the north side of the chapel. This loft was ultimately made to open into the chapel, forming a kind of gallery" (3)
In 1871 the 1762 chapel was described 'if ugliness and discomfort were then considered tests of devotion, the architect excelled in suiting the means to the end. The present members of the congregation are fully alive to the disadvantage the labour under in competing with places of worship built in harmony with modern ideas and tests of devotion, and are making efforts to meet the requirements by rebuilding … the congregation is small, the musical part of the service not very lively, and a little stimulant is oevidently needed to place the church in the position which its history and character entitle it to hold, and which the growing character of the town necessitates.' (4)
In 1875 rebuilding was put in motion. The last service in the Old Chapel was held on 30th May 1875, when Rev S D Thomas delivered a sermon on 'Baptists and their Faith'. The contract for the new chapel was for £1,700, designed by architect John Morison of King Street, Wrexham, and built by Benjamin Owen, Ruabon Road. The chapel was to be in the Gothic style, measuring 34ft by 44ft and seating 350, and was expected to be completed by February 1876. in the meantime, services were held in the Town Hall. (5)
The foundation stones for the new chapel were laid in early September 1875.
Building work carried on well into 1876, with a Grand Bazaar held over three days on 31st May, and 1st & 2nd June, to raise money for the steadily increasing costs. 'For some months past, the erection of a handsome and convenient building, to replace the former inadequate but historic structure, for the accommodation of the members of the Baptist Connexion worshipping in the town, has been making rapid and satisfactory progress, and the new chapel, when completed will be a decided ornament to Chester-street.' (6) By this time costs had risen to £2,000, £1,400 of which had been raised.
The Memorial Stones were laid on 31st August 1876.
In 1888 fund-raising started for the purchase of a new organ, which was installed in April 1890. The order was made from Messrs P Conacher & Company of Huddersfield, for £160, to buy an instrument consisting of two manuals and a pedal organ of one stop. The compass of the manuals is from CC to G. The organ was of a mellow tone, powerful enough for the chapel, and the case neatly decorated. (7)
The 4th Edition OS mapping shows the addition of the schoolroom on the north side of the chapel. This is all that now survives. It is a single storey, brown brick, gable-entry building. The façade is in the Gothic style: either side of the central doorway is a tall lancet window with diamond leaded glazing, while pver is a large stone-traceried Perpendicular window. The side elevations are very simple, with square-headed timber windows.
The chapel was sold c.1975, and subsequently demolished. Modern ofices now stand on the sites. The chapel congregation continued in the c.1920s schoolroom on the north side, in which the pulpit and a stained glass window was placed (site visit 1998). Two Memorial stones has been replaced in the modern walling of the structure to the south.
RCAHMW, June 2024
(2) Wrexham and it's Neighbourhood, John Jones (Wrexham, 1868)
(3) A N Palmer, A history of the older nonconformity of Wrexham and its neighbourhood (Wrexham, 1888), pp. 102-13
(4) Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register, 3rd June 1871
(5) Wrexham Guardian, 29th May 1875
(6) Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register, 3rd June 1876