Ministry History

1750s - Land given by John Attlee to some dissenters to build a chapel  

1775 - The chapel (now the hall) has an inscription over a door with this date.

1798 - Harlington Baptist Church was officially formed.  

1799 - Mr. Torlin became the first minister with a salary of £32 per annum and remained until his death in 1825.

1820 - The Sunday School began.

1835 - Mr. Jonathan George was asked to become minister and his ministry lasted up to 1847.

1836 - A new school room was built

1837 - The first stirrings of women in leadership and ministry

1848 - Mr. W. Perratt became minister and remained so until he resigned due to ill health in 1860.  His ordination was combined with a Jubilee Meeting, to help raise a fund for a Minister's House - £150 being the target figure.

1861-1863 - Mr. J. W. Groucher

1865-1866 - Mr. T. Atkinson

1866-1873 - Thomas Henson

1873-1875 - James Manning

1876-1882 - William Crick

1883-1886 - John Stevens Wyard

1888-1889 - F. T. Smythe

1879 - The 'new' church building went up, built as a direct result of the 'evangelical revival'.

1895 - Mr. William Frew Edgerton was minister until 1900

1898 - Centenary Services - The 'new' building was already in need of renovation.

1900 - In September 'incandescent lights' came to Harlington, a great saving in gas.

1902 - Revd. William Henry Collins became minister until his resignation due to ill health in 1907

1908 - Revd. Frederick George Smith became minister, beginning in a time of peace, and ending in 1917, the year before of the First World War came to an end.

1918 - Revd. Frederick Wise Gusterson began his time as minister and his ministry ran almost the entire length of the inter-war years, until 1936

1937 - Revd. Frank Alfred Taylor came straight from Spurgeons' College to become minister

1942 - Revd. James Albert Ashby became minister until 1947, and along with his wife, he formed the Campaigners, a uniformed organisation that served the youth of the church for many years

1947 - Revd. Robert William Browell was ordained and inducted as minister and remained until 1956 when he went to work for Dr. Barnados Childrens Homes.  During his ministry the Church opened its membership to non-baptised believers.

1948 - The 150th Anniversary celebrations

1953 - After long delays electric lighting was installed in the Chapel

1955 - Dr. Billy Graham's Glasgow Crusade was relayed in the Chapel

1956 - Extensive repairs and alterations were made to the Chapel

1958 - Revd. Ronald Ernest Fennell was minister until 1961 during which time a new organ was installed

1962 - Revd. Frank Peace was minister until 1968 when he became a chaplain to the airport

1965 - Restoration work on the Chapel uncovered a souvenir of the building's foundation-stone laying ceremony - way back in 1879.

1967 - Hayes and Harlington Council of Churches was formed

1968 - Revd. Peace became Free Church Chaplain to Heathrow's St. George's Chapel, and the Church donated an inscribed Bible for use at the St George's communion table

1969 - Revd. Brian Challis was minister until his resignation in 1971 to take up a post with a Christian Housing Association

1972 - Revd. Walter Hargreaves Wragg became minister until his retirement in 1981

1979 - The centenary of the 'new' Chapel building was celebrated

1982 - Revd. Robert Michael Scott (Bob) was inducted as minister serving for 26 years until his death in 2008.

1983 - The 1st Sipson Girls' Brigade Company was transferred to Harlington

1996 - The Girls' Brigade company was re-dedicated as the 1st Harlington Company

1998 - 200th Anniversary celebrations saw a week of events for the community

2002 - Alison Roberts became our Family and Community worker

2009 - Revd. Graham Criddle was minister-in-training until 2012 whilst simultaneously studying at Spurgeons College.

2010 - Revd. Neemias Antonio and Hounslow Community Church began to hire the Chapel

2011 - Harlington Baptist Church and Hounslow Community Church merged under the leadership of Revd. Antonio

2016 - Revd. Antonio returned with his family to his native Brazil.

2017 - Revd. Triumph Ayo-Isegun was minister until 2019.

2019 - The COVID pandemic starts in China in November, spreading rapidly to the rest of the world

2020 - Martin Taylor acted as moderator until 2022.

2020 - COVID leads to crisis in the UK health system.  National lockdowns commence to restrict the spread of the virus.  Churches close their doors.  HBC moves to online meetings using Zoom technology.

2021 - HBC begins in-person services again in October.

2022 - Martin Taylor ends his post as moderator and Rev. Warren McNeil of Greenford Baptist Church becomes the new moderator.