Church History

Stockport's first Baptist, Peter Longworth, was baptised in the canal near Lancashire bridge on Sunday morning, July 29th, 1838 in the presence of 1,000 people. Stockport Baptist Church was founded in 1838 with a minister and eight members. Zion Chapel was the first of the buildings to be used by the church until 1868.

Greek Street Baptist Chapel was built in a Romanesque style around 1869 with a capacity to seat 800 people. It was the largest Baptist church in Greater Manchester, and stood in the centre of a busy residential area.

Images of the past

1. Sketch of Old Greek Street Chapel by R.J.K.Cahill 1975. The current church building can be seen just behind the old chapel.
2. Cover of the Bible Lighthouse magazine April 17th 1921. Featured is one of the Emblematic Bible Lessons which the Reverend W.Henry Thomas composed each year for the church anniversary. These were performed by the Sunday school. Minister's photo gallery shows Rev Thomas and the other ministers from 1856.
3. Photo of the interior of the old chapel with the Sunday school performing the Emblematic Bible Lesson.

By the 1970s, however, Greek Street Chapel was no longer viable financially, requiring large amounts of maintenance, and was demolished in 1978. It is because of this building that the church is still known as Greek Street Baptist Church by many people in Stockport, even though the present church building is behind Greek Street on Thomson Street.

The present church building was originally the church hall or Sunday school. It was newly refurbished in 2003/4.

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