B a c k g r o u n d i n f o a b o u t B a p t i s t s & t h e L B A

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

See also the Indices to the LBA Website if you can't find what you want on this page.

How do I...?

What is/are...?

Where is/are...?

Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church
Central London Churches
Cheap Accommodation in London
LBA Offices
Metropolitan Tabernacle (Spurgeon's Church)
Spurgeon's College (the Pastor's College)

Who is/was...?

Jesus
Spurgeon

Where is Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church?
Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church is the biggest Baptist Church in the centre of London and Meetings of the LBA including the Annual Assembly are often held there. It is at the very northern end of Shaftesbury Avenue just south of the junction with New Oxford Street. The nearest Tube Station is Tottenham Court Road but it can also easily be reached from Leicester Square, Covent Garden and Holborn Tube Stations.

Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, 235 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8EP; tel: 020 7240 0544; fax: 020 7836 6843;

Central London Churches - where are they?
I am often asked by email about churches in Central London which Baptist visitors might attend for the Sunday they are in London - usually while staying in a hotel in the centre of London.

The question is a difficult one to answer because such visitors will have different experiences and expectations of worship. They may also come from different kinds of Baptist Church. I usually confine my recommendations to churches with websites as they should allow visitors to determine the times of services in advance and often have online maps showing how they can be found.

Te only LBA Church inside the Circle Line is Bloomsbury Baptist Church but Kings Cross Baptist Church is is close to King's Cross and St Pancras station (a joint station) on the Circle Line and so close to the Eurostar International Rail Terminal.

Some visitors appreciate knowing about the Metropolitan Tabernacle (see below) because it was Spurgeon's church even though it is not currently a member of the Baptist Union or the London Baptist Association.

Hillingdon Park Baptist Church is close to Hillingdon station - the next to last station at the western end of the Metropolitan Tube line. But it may be especially convenient for those staying in hotels near to Heathrow Airport - it is only 10 minutes by car or taxi from Heathrow.

And I have even known people travel all the way via Waterloo to the church I attend - Teddington Baptist Church - because they have found the website so attractive with train times and clear directions from Teddington station!

I will happily add other churches to this list but the criteria are (a) that they have websites; (b) are easy to get to; and (c) are prepared to be friendly to overseas visitors.

Where is the LBA Office?
The LBA Office is at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church. Contact details and map.

Early London Baptists?
According to the Baptist Union Directory, organised Baptist life in England had two distinct beginnings:-

General Baptists: In 1611, Thomas Helwys led a small group back from Holland - a few years earlier they had sought freedom there from religious persecution. The Helwys group initially established themselves in Spitalfields, London. But Thomas Helwys was soon arrested and put in Newgate Prison where he died before 1616. The successors of Thomas Helwys and friends became known as General Baptists. By 1618 the Spitalfields church had moved to Crosby House; in 1625 Elias Tookey led a small group away to meet in Southwark (on the south of the Thames). By 1639 there was one General Baptist church meeting in North Folgate, London led by Thomas Lambe, and another meeting in Bell Alley, London led by Edward Barber.
Particular Baptists: In 1633, a group split away from a Calvinist Separatist church in London on adopting believers' baptism and by 1638 were being led by Samuel Eaton. Another group split away from the same original Calvinist Separatist church in 1638, this time led by John Spilsbury. The successors of these two groups became known as Particular Baptists.

If you have a particular interest, try enquiring further through the Baptist Union or Regents Park College, Oxford. There is also Baptist Historical Society (c/o Treasurer, Baptist Historical Society (c/o Rev T H S Elwyn, Treasurer, Baptist Historical Society, 28 Dowthorpe Hill, Earls Barton, Northampton NN6 0PB, UK) which has published detailed books on Baptist history like "The English Baptists of the Seventeenth Century" by B R White (1983). A simpler summary is provided by "English Baptist History and Heritage" (published 1990 by the Baptist Union as part of their Christian Training Programme).

What is the London Baptist Confession?
The London Baptist Confession is a statement agreed by a Baptist "messengers" meeting in London in 1689. It sought to set out Baptist Principles. A copy can be found on a number of websites including GraceNet where the London Baptist Confession is listed among a number of reformed evangelical statements of faith.

Where is Spurgeon's Church? ... the Metropolitan Tabernacle?

Metropolitan Tabernacle Elephant and Castle London SE1 6SD tel: 020 7735 7076 Minister: Rev Peter Masters
Sunday Services at 11am and 6.30pm

Charles Haddon Spurgeon's London church built for him in 1856 is known as the Metropolitan Tabernacle. This new church was built (completed in 1861) to replace first London church (New Park Street Chapel) which proved to be too small for the congregations who wanted to hear him preach.

The Metropolitan Tabernacle still stands on the west side of the Elephant and Castle roundabout, and (as stated above) at the northern end of Newington Butts. The 1876 photograph above may help you recognise it when you get there! The nearest Tube Station is the Elephant and Castle on the Bakerloo and Northern lines.

The Metropolitan Tabernacle is still a Baptist Church and services are held there every Sunday. But it is not a member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain nor a member of the London Baptist Association.

Where is Spurgeon's College?
Spurgeon's College is at 189 South Norwood Hill, London SE25 6DJ; tel: 020 8653 0853; fax: 020 8771 0959. It has its own website at

Spurgeon's College.
The College can be seen on many maps of London - its site is just south of the junction of Grange Road and South Norwood Hill (the entrance is off South Norwood Hill).

Spurgeon's College was founded by Charles Haddon Spurgeon in 1856 and for its early years was known as the "Pastor's College". It met at the Metropolitan Tabernacle from the opening of the Tabernacle in 1861 until 1923 when it moved to its present site in South Norwood Hill in South East London.

Who was Spurgeon?

C H Spurgeon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was the most famous Baptist preacher of the nineteenth century. There are websites devoted specifically to him. For more information go to The Spurgeon Archive.
Apart from his famous Church (see above) and College (see above), Charles Haddon Spurgeon also established a ministry for the care of children which is today known as Spurgeon's Child Care.

Where is there Cheap Accommodation in London?
There is a YMCA in the middle of London near Oxford Street and you can make enquiries and bookings through the UK YMCA website.

The Youth Hostel Association has a number of youth hostels in London with typical Bed and Breakfast prices £17 to £21 a night. For reservations in London tel: +44 (0) 20-7248 6547 or fax +44 (0) 20-7236 7681. You can book online through their website.

The International Student House in the centre of London (near Regents Park) has 3-4 bedded rooms at £17-50 per person per night Bed and Breakfast. tel: +44 (0) 20-7631 8300; e-mail: accom@ish.org.uk. You can book online through their website.

Now that the Quaker Internatonal Centre has closed, you could try The Penn Club for reasonable accommodation at prices which are reasonable for London. Cost is Ł55 for bed and breakfast (August 2005). tel +44 (0) 20 7636 4718; e-mail: office@pennclub.co.uk. You can book online through their website.