This is the oldest surviving chapel in Brentford Records of
its community the Society of Protestant Dissenters have been
traced back to a least 1693 when a building was being leased
in Ferry Lane. In 1782 a freehold site was purchased in Boston
Manor Rd and subscriptions were raised from the congregation
to build a church Initially called the Butts Chapel it opened
in 1783. By the middle of the 19th century it was a Congregation
church known as Boston Rd Chapel. In 1841, with attendances
dwindling, the congregation of the nearby Albany Chapel (an
Independent chapel opened in 1829) was invited to share the
facilities but, finding that all the best seats were already
taken (pews were rented out in those days), many of them
declined and joined Park Baptist Chapel instead.
The church had its own burial ground but this went of use in
the middle of the 19th century and a church hall was built on
stilts over the graveyard in 1894(the floor was lowered to
cover the graves in 1906) In 1944a flying bomb demolished the
back of the church and it was not used again until 1955. In
1972 the Congregationalists joined forces with the Presbyterians
and became known as the United Reformed Church. When the
congregation of Park Baptists were thinking of rebuilding
their chapel it was suggested they should share the Boston
Manor Rd chapel instead. This they agreed to do but maintained
their independence as a separate congregation with its own
administration until 1994 when the two joined together formally.
The sale of the Park Baptist chapel enabled Brentford Fee Church
to undertake a major £1m rebuild that was completed in August
2000. The dilapidated Victorian church hall was demolished and
a new church built in its place. The Georgian chapel was converted
into meeting rooms and other facilities. The removal of the church
hall revealed the old burial ground and in September 1999
archaeologists discovered eight brick vaults and 23 coffins. The
burials dated between 1785 and 1850, after which burials in
private churchyards were stopped by Parliament. The total number
of burials is thought to be about 149. The archaeologists also
discovered a stone inscribed with the words A BURYING GROUND
FOR PROTESTANT DISSENTERS 1783. This is thought to have
been originally in the wall fronting Boston Manor Rd.
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