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; incorporated in 1786; in 2014 to present affiliated with the Central Union Association which is an association within the region of American Baptist Churches of Pennsylvania and Delaware – ABCOPAD.
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!