|
 When
Hacconby Chapel was erected in 1867, it was intended that
the building should hold a congregation of 100 people,
however the builder mistook his instructions and the chapel
was too small!
The
question now was what could be done to rectify this rather
large mistake? There appeared to be only one solution and
that was to add a three-sided balcony. It was this solution
which has made this building rather unique and it is now
believed to be the smallest chapel in England to have this
kind of balcony and the two sides are so close that it is
possible for two people to shake hands across the gap from
one side to the other.
 Mr. W.
Brown had this small chapel built on his own land for the
‘dissenters’, the name given to those who refused to worship
in the established church of England who were meeting at
that time on the village green with no building. It was
originally shared between the Baptists and the Primitive
Methodists for 30 years before becoming a Baptist chapel in
1899.
Unsettling
Times
In 1932
the Brown estate was put up for sale and although the chapel
had been intended as a gift to the people of Hacconby, there
was a real risk that it would have to be closed. The
minister at that time was the Rev. Letts who was able to
negotiate for the chapel to be withdrawn from the sale on
condition that £50 was raised within two years to buy the
property. Although the purchase price seems extremely small
to us in these days, it was a substantial sum of money for a
small village at that time but thanks to peoples generosity
the money was raised, the Chapel was safe and placed under
the care of the deacons, members and trustees of Morton
Baptist Church to ensure that it would remain as a place of
worship in Hacconby.
On the
Telly!
 In 1967
the chapel celebrated its centenary and Anglia Television
filmed the story of the chapel, with people taking the part
of Mr. Brown riding past the green on horseback with a crowd
playing ‘the dissenters’ holding their open air service.
Again in 2005, Central Television included the chapel in
their programme ‘heart of the country’ with Tony Francis
which included a look at the chapel, especially the
balconies where Tony Francis was seen shaking hands across
the gap between, an impromptu ‘service’ with a congregation
made up of a few unsuspecting neighbours and an interview
with the minister on the village green.
The Future?
Many
village churches have found the last number of years very
difficult and Hacconby chapel is no exception and by the
start of the new millennium the chapel was closed for
services, however these were started again in 2004 and
occasional
services continue with
a small congregation on the 2nd Sunday at 3pm (6.30pm during
July, August and September) with the services lasting 45
minutes. Regular weekly services are held at New Day Baptist
church in High Street, Morton (opposite the post office) and
for details of service times etc please use the telephone
number below.
The
chapel is now grade two listed and as with any old building,
there is much to be done to keep on top of maintenance
issues including woodworm, damp and cracking and we can only
wait to see what the future holds.
We are
grateful to God for his provision throughout the chapel’s
history and now as always our aim is to declare his love and
desire that all would come to him and know Jesus and their
personal Lord and saviour.
HACCONBY
No
services until further notice
Please join our services at
Morton or Dyke
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, HELP OR A VISIT, PLEASE CONTACT
Rev. David Hughes
Tel: 01778-570656,
Email:
davidandrosie@btinternet.com |
The
present chapel dates from1878 when Benoni Gilbert purchased
the piece of land from John Wilcox for the princely sum of
£17 and the building was erected and completed in 1879 by
Wilcox and Son. 