New Britain Baptist Church
New Britain, Pennsylvania
Our History
The history
of the New Britain Baptist Church spans many generations from the
time our forebears arrived from Wales, in 1700 and settled in Bucks
and Montgomery Counties.
Our
"mother church" was the Montgomery Baptist Church, which was founded
in 1719. As the years passed, and as the area became more settled,
the congregation became increasingly scattered. The New Britain
people found it difficult to make the arduous and lengthy journey to
Montgomery, so they began to hold services in their homes when the
roads were impassable.
In 1744
the people of New Britain resolved to build a new meeting house (the
Society Meeting House) for themselves, and in 1754 the New Britain
Baptist Church was officially chartered. Shortly thereafter, in
1754, they became the 9th Baptist Church in the Philadelphia Baptist
Association.
The
present sanctuary was built in 1815. Many improvements and
enlargements have been made over the years, including the addition
of a separate Fellowship Hall in 1884, and the addition of the
Education Wing in 1965. In 1975, a major renovation was completed on
the exteriors of the sanctuary and Fellowship Hall to remove the old
stucco, and to re-point the original stonework. In 1995, the inside
of Fellowship Hall was restored to its original style. The New
Britain Baptist Church was placed on the Bucks County Registry of
Historic Sites in 1980.
The
adjoining Cemetery is the resting place for soldiers of the Colonial
Wars, the Revolutionary Way, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and
World Wars I and II. Legend has it that there are Indian graves
scattered throughout the cemetery. The oldest readable marker in the
cemetery is dated August 14, 1748.
While
our past is rich, our future is exciting as well. Come join us and
make add your story as together we write a new chapter in our lives!
Did you know?
Colonel Joseph Barbiere is burried in the NBBC cemetery?
