Horsham Unitarian Church (formerly Horsham General Baptist Chapel) is a Unitarian chapel in Horsham in the English county of West Sussex. It was founded in 1719 to serve the large Baptist population of the ancient market town of Horsham—home of radical preacher Matthew Caffyn—and the surrounding area. The chapel's congregation moved towards Unitarian beliefs in the 19th century, but the simple brick building continued to serve worshippers drawn from a wide area of Sussex. It is one of several places of worship which continue to represent Horsham's centuries-old tradition of Protestant Nonconformism, and is the town's second oldest surviving religious building—only St Mary's, the parish church, predates it. English Heritage has listed the chapel at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
History
In England, people and ministers who worshipped outside the Church of England but were not part of the Roman Catholic Church were historically known as Dissenters or (Protestant) Nonconformists. Nonconformism became officially recognised after the Act of Uniformity 1662, which removed from their living those Church of England ministers who refused to recognise or abide by the Act's requirements. Many alternative denominations developed, all focused on a person's personal relationship with God rather than on the rites and ceremonies of religious worship as in the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. This trend was seen throughout Sussex, and by the late 17th century "the all-embracing medieval Church" existed alongside dozens of newly established groups and denominations.
One of these sects was the General Baptists. Along with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and the Presbyterians, they found significant early success in the area around the north Sussex market town of Horsham. By 1676 there were about 100 Nonconformists in the town, and the General Baptist cause was led by local radical and evangelist Matthew Caffyn. Under his guidance, Baptists had met in small house-groups in the area (in particular at Southwater and Broadbridge Heath) since 1669 or possibly as early as 1645. His influence on Baptist causes throughout southeast England was considerable: in 1696, his increasingly radical, unorthodox beliefs caused a schism in the General Baptist Assembly, and its response to his changing theology was significant in the development of Unitarianism.
The Act of Toleration 1689 gave greater freedom to Nonconformist groups: they no longer had to meet in secret in houses, and could build their own chapels. In 1719, a trust was formed to acquire land on the west side of the road to Worthing, and a chapel was built between 1720 and 1721. The trust document required the land to be used for "Anabaptists ... maintaining the faith of General Redemption and the faith and practice of Believers' Baptism, and for such only". By this time, Caffyn had died and his son, also named Matthew, had succeeded him as a preacher in Horsham. The founders, John Dendy and John Greeve, paid (£ as of ) for the land, and were responsible for building the cottage-like chapel and laying out the garden around it.
There were known to be 18 Baptist families in Horsham in 1724, but in the chapel's early years about 350 worshippers typically attended: the building served as a central meeting place for congregations and individual people across a large area. In particular, many travelled in from the village of Billingshurst. This group became large enough to split from the Horsham congregation and form a new church in Billingshurst in 1754. It was still linked to the Horsham cause until about 1818, when it declared its independence following a disagreement. As Billingshurst Unitarian Chapel, it remains in use as a place of worship. Soon after the chapel opened, General Baptists formed the largest group of Nonconformists in Horsham—overtaking the Quakers, who were in decline, and Presbyterians. Other Nonconformist groups in Horsham in the 18th and 19th centuries included Strict Baptists, Independent Baptists, Plymouth Brethren, Congregationalists, Methodists and Latter-day Saints.