Baptist Churches Dover

[Top-of-the-hill]

     I am working on a family in Dover whose baptisms and burials are in the Baptist Church records. A few are in the Adrian Street Church, which I understand was only built in 1820, but most of the others are transcribed as "Dover, St Mary, (Baptist)". Can anyone tell me where this church was, as I can't seem to find it. (Unfortunately my internet connection is poor at the moment and I can't see the images.) I am looking at the first 30 years of the 19th century.

[chempat]

This has information about Dover baptists.

http://www.gowlland.net/Baptists.htm

Cannot see an address, yet.

[chempat]

Have you read this?

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=494780.18

[Chris Doran]

Kelly's 1855 Kent directory shows:-

Salem Chapel, aka Congregational Baptist Chapel, Particular Baptists, Biggin Street; built 1840; minister the Revd Frederick Russell.

Unitarian Baptist Chapel, Adrian St; built 1820 on a site dating from 1643; minister Revd Thomas Barker Wawne Briggs.

Baptist Chapel, Commercial Quay; minister Revd John P Edgecombe.

No mention of St Mary's, other than the Church of England in Cannon St. It is unusual, though not unknown, for nonconformist Churches to be named after saints. Could it be a misreading of "Salem"? Or maybe "St Mary, (Baptist)" is just a way of saying that these names were recorded in the CofE registers.

[Top-of-the-hill]

    Thanks for those links Chempat - I will have a read through them.
   Chris - I had wondered if there was some confusion/link with St Mary's Church. I haven't had many dealings with non-conformist records. I understood that Baptists did not carry out infant baptism, so did they have children baptised anyway by C of E ministers?

[Chris Doran]

As you say, Baptists did/do not carry out infant baptism, though there may be a "dedication" service for infants. Some Baptist parents may have been persuaded by a mistaken belief in hellfire for the unbaptised to have their children "done proper" by the parish church, but that would be contrary to Baptist teaching.

However, some nonconformists notified their BDMs to the parish church to save keeping their own registers, or as a backup. You sometimes come across them when browsing parish registers, either specifically stated or as a tranche of out-of-sequence entries (though that could also just be slothful record-keeping by the parish clerk!)

There ought to be some explanation of the "(Baptist)" in an introduction to your transcription, but perhaps it's got lost or is in that annoying class of things that "everybody knows" and which no one ever explains.

[Top-of-the-hill]

    Thanks Chris, for your thoughts. I have now been able to see the originals (internet now working) and it is a register of births, with date and place of birth, rather than baptism. I paged back to the beginning and it is "The Register Book belonging to the General Baptist Church meeting in Dover". Another document says it is situate in the parish of St Mary, which explains my confusion.