This is the original Chapel, with the Mission Hall behind and to the left, opened in 1836. The precise date of establishing the “Headington Station” of New Road Baptist Church is unclear, but it was probably around 1819. This drew together the ‘dissenters' in the parish who had been attending New Road already. The establishment of ‘dissent’ in Headington almost certainly dates from the 1640s and the English Civil War, when General Fairfax and many of his troops were billeted in Headington whilst laying siege to Oxford.

Although the present chapel was opened in 1901, the building in the Croft was kept by the church until the mid-1970’s. At first it was used as a Sunday School Hall, but fell into such disrepair that it had to be closed in 1924. In 1937 the Freemasons offered to refurbish the building as part of a leasing arrangement. They occupied the premises until 1944 when they left in a dispute over rent. The Exclusive Brethren then worshipped there for seven years – they now meet in their own building in Lime Walk. The building subsequently became a carpet warehouse and was finally sold for £4900 in 1976. It was then converted into a house.

In 1884 three cottages were purchased in High Street, Headington, almost certainly with the express purpose of erecting a new Baptist Chapel at some future date. In fact nothing happened for over 16 years, but then things moved very quickly indeed! On 13 May 1901 a meeting of the Executive of New Road Baptist Church and key men (no women’s involvement in those days!) from the Headington Station met to discuss the building of larger premises in Headington. By 31 May they had agreed plans, appointed a builder and a ‘clerk of the works’ (at a wage of £2 per week) and raised sufficient funds to commence building! The first services in the new chapel were probably held on Sunday 20th October 1901. The total cost was just over £547 and the loan debt of £250 was paid off by 1906.

This picture dates from no later than 1907. The door of the chapel was at the North end of the building and the pulpit was at the South end – the opposite of what became the later practice. What is now known as The Priory was then still a private house – The Lindens. The houses to the north of that building – Linden Cottages – were replaced in 1908 with the houses that occupy the site today. Note the original ‘Black Boy’ public house, which occupied a site in front of the present building.

This photo was taken in 1918 shortly after the church had bought the plot adjacent to its South wall for £90 in order to build ‘a much-needed extension’. The cottage had already been demolished as being uninhabitable and unsafe. (The church had been offered the cottage and land for £85 in 1913, but rejected the offer because of the 'exorbitant price'.) The cottage had been demolished in November 1916 - exposing the church's south wall to the ingress of water and the attentions of rats. This combined onslaught caused the foundations partly to collapse and emergency repairs by Vallis the builder of Headington Quarry were required.

The church congregation was asked to volunteer to help clear the site and this is what the photograph shows. The man at the back of the group almost against the wall of the church and with folded arms is Mr H J C Alden who was Superintendent of the church from 1909 until 1930. It was in this year that the church became independent of New Road and appointed its first minister.

Notice the preponderance of women and children. A church report from 1917 states that of the eligible and fit men in the church, all had been called to the colours.

Once cleared, the plot was used to grow vegetables for several years, which were distributed to those in need in Headington.

This interior view dates from 1927. It was taken by Mr Raymond Alden of Oxford and was made into postcards for sale. Overall, this enterprise made a very modest profit!

The organ was installed in 1920 at a cost of £200 (second-hand) and was intended as a war memorial and thank-offering. You can just see the commemorative plaque at the centre foot of the pipes. The pulpit (which was still in use until the middle 1980’s) was still at the South end of the building and the organ is located approximately where the sound desk is now positioned.

One of the regular church appointments each year up until 1946 was that of 'Organ Blower'. This was usually a boy aged between 12 and 14 who was paid for his endeavours - the first recorded amount being sixpence a week. However, these office holders were not always as reliable as they should have been and there are several recorded instances of them being interviewed by the Superintendent or (later) the Minister to explain their absences!

The choir stalls seen in the picture were a gift from Magdalen College in 1924. They remained a feature of the church until the 1980’s. The gas lighting was installed in 1910 at a cost of £14-16-0. The text behind the pulpit was painted especially in 1920.

The church was extended in 1934 at a cost of £500. This was onto part of the plot purchased in 1918. The remainder of the area was no longer used for vegetable growing, but was transformed into a church garden.

As part of the extension three arched windows were placed into the Southern gable-end of the original structure. Note that the entrance has moved to the South end of the building.

Just inside the door was a small vestibule area, divided from the main church by a wooden screen. The doors into the church were at the extremities of this area. This was fine until the first funeral was held in the extended premises when it was discovered that the pallbearers couldn’t negotiate the tight corners with their solemn cargo! History does not record how this particularly problem was overcome, but subsequent funerals caused no difficulties as a pivoting and swivelling arrangement introduced into the vestibule screen allowed for direct access from the front door into the church proper.

The photo above was taken in 1948.

The church was extended to the external appearance it has today in 1971. After much discussion of using a prefabricated structure it was eventually decided to adopt a conventional building approach at a cost of £5500.

The next ten years saw significant building and refurbishment work going on throughout the premises. In 1972, the rear schoolroom was altered to the appearance it retained until the building was closed. In 1973, the whole of the original wooden floor of the chapel had to be replaced at a cost of £8800 because of dry rot. This seems to have been an expensive temporary solution, as by 1976 a solid floor and carpet tiles had to be installed. 1980 saw the total refurbishment of the ‘Coffee Room’.

In 2005 construction began to completely rebuild the building. See the New Building section for the next chapter of the story.