Baptist Chapel

click Baptist Sunday School for this Amenity

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Land Given. A piece of land was given by Henry Janes (Henry & Mary Janes) to build a Baptist Chapel in Lower Road, Loosley Row, adjacent to his bakery and grocery shop. The land was part of a new allotment give to Peter Tyler in the Enclosures of Princes Risborough in 1823. It had been bought from Peter Tyler about 1863/4.

In 1905 a new chapel was built on Loosley Hill Road

Connie Baker reported that Colonel Tighe (Colonel & Mrs Tighe, of Loosley House, used to arrange the Memorial Service at the Baptist Cemetery Gates, then walk up to Lacey Green to a memorial service at Lacey Green Village Hall

A Plaque in the Chapel Read :- “Ernest Isaac Lacey, teacher, superintendent and choir master at Loosley Row Baptist Chapel 1895 – 1930. When Isaac resigned from his position at the chapel, his wife Lily had the plaque made and it was put up on the wall in the chapel. click Ernest Isaac & Lily Lacey for more about Ernest Isaac.

Research note. It was many years later that the chapel closed and was made into flats.  Learning of this, Isaac’s great grandson Trevor Stevens, went there and rescued the plaque for the family.

The 2nd Baptist Chapel, Loosley Row

Connie Baker, nee Gomme (click Fred & Connie Baker) told Dennis Claydon about going to the Baptist Sunday School in an interview in 2000 as follows -

"I am going to tell you about the Loosley Row Baptist Sunday School which was very enjoyable. At half past ten we had to be at our class dressed up in our best, after on a Saturday just wearing any old rubbish, so Sunday was the day for dressing up. Off we went to Sunday School and had our names called and put down in the register.

You were given a little ticket with a text on it; you collected all these tickets and when you had so many you had a morning hymn book. Then we had a prayer and a hymn, which was nearly always "God sees the little sparrow fall, it meets his tender view". We had that with Mr Lacey playing the violin and another gentleman playing the organ. Mr Albert Rixon would take the class of girls and have a reading from the bible and perhaps another prayer. By that time it got around to 12 o'clock, so off we went back home again.

We went home for Sunday dinner, which was quite an event: Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with horseradish sauce, which my dad made. It was so hot it made tears come in my eyes - after that apple pie. Then back to Sunday School for quarter to two. Name-call again then a prayer or hymn. Then the congregation started coming in and we had to sit on the platform and the parson would come. My goodness the sermon went on for hours and hours. But it was only half past three and as a special treat we were allowed out before the parson. Then home for tea and then a walk with mum and dad, sometimes to Speen Farm where my aunt lived and sometimes to Downley Common, where another aunt lived - which was quite a walk."

Baptist Chapel Float

In 2005 Connie added to her Sunday School memories -

"Back to my Sunday School days. I did not like it that much, but if you went twice on Sunday you had a little ticket which you saved and when you had enough you had a morning hymn book. Red it was, and we used to write our name and sometimes wrote it backwards. What a laugh. You had a reading book for attendance.

Sunday School anniversaries were great. The highlight of the year, we had a treat. Whit Sunday and Monday. Monday was the day sitting on the grass having our tea. Grown ups were inside. We had bread and butter, plain and fruit cake, which all tasted so good. Bread and butter never tasted so good. Then into Mr Tyler's field for games, twos & threes and kissing the ring. Oh what fun. Teachers came round with a clothes basket with food left over from tea. One of the preachers from Wycombe came and threw sweets for us to pick up. Don't think they were wrapped - how they did not fall in a cow pat."

Amenity Name	Baptist Chapel
Current Status (Active/Inactive)	Inactive
Founded Date
Closure Date