LEVINGTON
BAPTIST
CHAPEL
Until the 21st September 1984 there was a small Baptist Chapel
in the village. Now named Chapel Cottage, the building is still
there today, albeit now renovated and extended. It can be seen just
opposite the Village Hall on Nacton Road, Levington. The Chapel was
first opened in 1839, its mother-church was Turret Green Baptist
Church in Silent Street, Ipswich. The Minister and Elders would
come out once a month to take services. Visiting preachers would
also come out from the Ipswich Baptist Churches to take the
services, both afternoon and evening.
In the 1940s/1950s a Mr. and Mrs. R. Sutton of Nacton Road,
Ipswich were in charge and could quite ably take the services, if
no one else was available. Mrs. Sutton also ran the Wednesday
afternoon Women’s meeting. Mrs. Louise Welham of Nacton was
organist for many years: in fact, it was her husband, Oscar, who
received the only funeral service to be held in the Chapel sometime
in the 1960s.
Sunday School thrived in the 1960s/1970s with 17 children
attending at one time. Sunday School Anniversaries and Prize Giving
were looked forward to, as was the Sunday School Treat and Chapel
outings. Harvest Festivals were really the old-fashioned type, with
Mrs. Molly Fisk decorating the old tortoise stove (only source of
heating) with ears of corn and flowers. In fact the small building
took on a very different appearance, when decked out with the array
of festive fruit, flowers and vegetables.
Children’s Christmas Party and teas for adults would be held in
the Village Hall. As the years went by, however, the congregation
dwindled and when the building was to be sold, Datchet took it over
led by Mr. Ross Leathem and his wife Ethel. They held services in
the Village Hall for a time but finally gave up when numbers
dwindled even more. The Chapel finally closed its doors in 1984
after 145 years service. The Chapel became a private house. Until
recently it was the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Macdonald - Mary Wake’s
mother and after extensive renovation is now owned by Mr Jamie
Gould. Artefacts from the Chapel are to be found in Tacket Street
URC Church in Ipswich, where a room has been dedicated to
Levington.