Hidden Horsham - Unitarian Church

The Horsham Unitarian Church is located in Worthing Road, opposite the Library and Sainsbury's car park

The site was registered by the General Baptists for worship in 1719 and the church built in 1721 making it Horsham's second oldest surviving* place of worship. Prior to that, from 1648, worship took place in houses and barns. The General Baptists evolved into the Unitarians towards the end of the 19^th century. The building is set back from the road to avoid attention being drawn to it since the Baptists' faith was somewhat controversial in those times. This is apparent from the aerial photograph below

In 1877 the 1/500 scale map of Horsham records that the church could seat 220. In 1878 the church was described as Unitarian (Baptist), and later as Free Christian, Free Christian (Unitarian), then Unitarian. The current signage, evident in the above photo, describes it as the Unitarian Free Christian Church

The building was the home to Horsham's first library so it is fitting that the current library is just over the road having moved from a site near the Black Jug in more recent years. Church members also started the Horsham Museum Society

In his 1911 book 'Reminiscences of Horsham' Henry Burstow (see external links below) recalled that the Baptist Church hosted an unusual burial:

^"Another remarkable night funeral I have heard my father say was that of Miss Elizabeth Gatford, a most eccentric lady, who died the 8th July, 1799. She willed, in 1790, that her corpse was not to be buried for one month, and that spirits of wine was to be used for its preservation. Accordingly between £30 and £40 [2006: £1,945.95 - £2,594.60] was spent in this manner; she also willed that she was to be buried in four coffins — a shell, and one each of lead, oak, and stone, and that the ceremony should not take place until after 10 o'clock at night. She was buried in a vault at the Old Baptist Chapel, in Worthing Road, at 12 o'clock mid-night, the Rev. Evans, of Worship Street, London, preaching the burial sermon. The chapel and burial ground were crowded with church folk and dissenters of all sects. In her will she left £15 [2006: £972.97] per annum to support, till they died, certain animals, cats, dogs, parrots, guinea pigs, &c., whom she had lived with; and also £5 5s. [2006: £340.54] per annum to be given in bread to the poor, a charitable bequest that is still regularly discharged. ^"

* In 1665 the Quakers erected a meeting house just a short distance away in 1693 but this has been replaced by a newer building

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