History of Fleckney Baptist Church
Fleckney Baptist Church has now been in existence for over 200 years since the first baptisms took place in the village brook in 1811. Things have changed since those days and we now have a covered baptismal pool in the centre of the building that can be warmed to a more comfortable temperature.
The first Church building was opened on 29th September 1813 and services were conducted by various local preachers, including Thomas Cook who went on to found the world famous holiday touring company which still bears his name.
In 1897, the Church was rebuilt to accommodate a growing congregation, but over the past 50 years, the whole site has been redeveloped to meet the needs of the 21st century. 1963 saw the opening of the Church Hall which has been used since then mainly for children’s activities and has recently been refurbished. This building allowed a summer holiday club to start in 1965 and this continues to run for a week every year during the school holidays. A play group for children aged 3-5 years started in 1967 and this has developed into Fleckney Baptist Pre-School, an Ofted approved facility for children aged 2-5 which is held during term time from 9am to 3pm every week day.
As the Church continued to grow, there was need for more accommodation and a large, three storey extension was opened in September 1990. At about the same time, the 1897 Church building was declared unfit for use because of dry rot and subsequently had to be demolished in 2000, so services were held in the new extension between 1990 and 2002. This part of the building continues to be used throughout the week. The upper floor houses the Pre-School and the rest of the extension is used in the mornings for mums and tots meetings and Friday coffee mornings, on Monday afternoons for Bible Study and on most evenings for meetings for children and young people and for prayer meetings.
A brand new Church building, designed by a Church member, has now been built on the footprint of the old building. This was opened in 2002 and the name stones from the old building have been incorporated into the brickwork of the new building. The main wall inside the worship room of the new building was painted by another Church member – it is a very visual reminder of all the names of our Lord.
On 28th and 29th September 2013, the Church celebrated its Bi-centenary and, to mark this historic occasion, a souvenir booklet with lots of pictures, both old and new, has been produced.
Copies are available, price £3 from helenb48@btinternet.com