The story of HBC began around 1819 (precise date unknown), when New Road Baptist Church in the city centre set up its Headington "station" – what we'd call a church plant. We don't know where the fledgling congregation met in the early days – the first building for which we have records was a Mission Hall in the Croft, built in 1836. It was kept by the church and used in various ways until the mid-1970s. It was then sold and converted into a house – you can still see it in the Croft which runs between Old High Street and Osler Road.
In 1884 the church bought three cottages in Old High Street, almost certainly with the intention of building a new Baptist Chapel at some future date. Nothing happened for over 16 years, but then things moved very fast. On 13th May 1901 some leaders of New Road Baptist Church and key men from the Headington chapel met to discuss the building of larger premises in Headington. By 31st May they had agreed plans, appointed a builder and a 'clerk of the works' 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, half of which was borrowed from central Baptist Funds. This was a very large sum of money for those days, and demanded a real step of faith from the small congregation.
The church was extended at various times over the next 70 years. By the 1990s the building was in a poor state structurally, there were problems with damp, it was not accessible for people with disabilities, and it was not meeting the needs of a growing congregation and the local community.
Discover how the present building came into being...
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