Our History

A Brief History

Just over 160 years ago the people who lived in this area were called foresters. They lived in rough cabins and worked at charcoal burning and digging iron ore for smelting in. the daytime but at night it was a different story. Many made their way down to places like Newhaven where they received smuggled goods which were brought back to areas like the Warren and Mardens Hill to be hidden in the dense undergrowth of the forest. Just up the road from the chapel is Smugglers Lane which reminds us of the time when this was a rough and lawless place.

In those dark days a Mr Doggett lived at Old Buckhurst, just a few miles from here. He was a Christian of Baptist convictions who took his family regularly to worship in Tunbridge Wells but he had long hoped for a place of worship much nearer to his home. One night he had an unusually vivid dream. He saw this part of Ashdown Forest as a very stormy sea with boats being tossed about on the waves and in great danger. In a certain spot was a lighthouse which was directing the distressed sailors to safety. Later he told his dream to a friend who said immediately that he thought the dream was an indication that he should try to establish the preaching of the gospel of salvation in this area. So he came to the exact spot on which the lighthouse had stood in his dream.

He found an old barn, a cowshed, and a few cottages alongside. He contacted the owner and at once took out a 21 year lease on the old barn and had it licensed as a place of worship, having it fitted out with seats. Visiting ministers came to conduct services and this was the beginning of the first nonconformist place of worship in the Crowborough district. The date was 1832 and ever since then many who have been in great spiritual danger have come here and been directed to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour through all the storms of life.

So rough looking were the original worshippers that when a Mr Sedgwick came from Brighton one Sunday to preach he commented afterwards, “Well, Doggett, I never preached to such a congregation as that before. I did not know how the time went, as I was afraid to let them see I had a watch”. In fact in a local Charity, called the Fermor Charity, a bequest was made for the ‘very ignorant and heathenish people’ of Crowborough.

The old barn, leased by Mr Doggett, was built of wood and thatch but soon the wooden walls were replaced by local stone, much of which has been re-used in the walls of our new enlargement The cowshed was soon in use as a Sunday school, the forerunner of our present active Sunday school.

In 1843 this piece of land with all the buildings was to be sold. Certain people were determined to buy it and have the preaching stopped but they were a day too late. Mr Doggett had notified his friend Mr Betts in London who had already paid £260 for the whole site. This would be roughly the equivalent of £63,000 in today's terms, and was a sum far beyond the reach of Mr Doggett and the poor folk who first met here.

In 1844 a Baptist Church was formally constituted with principles and beliefs which are the same as ours today. The original church record book is still in use with all the members' names in it from 1844 through to today.

Chapel House, where the pastor and his wife live, has been the minister’s house for many years and is built from the original stone of the old cottages which stood in much the same position.

There have been five ministers in the church here. We call them Pastors. And in that list there is a remarkable record. From 1868 to 1920, a period of 52 years, a Mr Ebenezer Littleton was Pastor. He was followed in 1924 by the late Mr Stanley Delves, who many of us remember with great affection. He ministered here for the next 54 years. An amazing record for any church to have two such very long pastorates.

In 1897 the chapel was rebuilt and it is interesting to note that the first estimate of the cost was £68; the final bill was £400, almost a sixfold increase.

So much more could be said and many tales told about the old days at Forest Fold but we must leave that for interested friends to read about for themselves in histories written by Mr Littleton, Mr Delves, and more recently by Mr Rowell in the biography of Mr Delves, called. ‘Preaching Peace’.

The latest enlargement was forced upon us by the increase in numbers attending here in recent years. In October 1994 the church resolved to invite our brother Malcolm Cassam to draw up plans for the enlargement of the building, together with other necessary improvements to the ancillary facilities. The contract for the building went to Stevens Brothers of Crowborough and in May 1995 the work commenced. After seven months of meetings being held in the Sunday School hall the 1st service was held in the new building on Christmas Eve 1995. There also followed thanksgiving services on Saturday 27th January 1996.

In this new millennium, the worship of God and teaching from the Bible still continues at Forest Fold. People of all ages still attend its services and activities. September 2003 marked the 20th anniversary of Mr Rowell as Pastor. In a spirit of thanksgiving to God, the church had special meetings to recognise God’s goodness to them over this period.

We trust, that though God’s grace, many will continue to receive spiritual help through this church both now and for many years to come.