serving God and the community of Radford Semele in the 21st Century

The pictures below were taken during the work to refurbish our clock tower.

Built in the 19th Century, it is hardly surprising that the church is now facing some much needed refurbishment and restoration. The most urgent repairs are to the clock tower and the clock face itself.

With 3 faces to be renovated this is very labour intensive work, involving the removal of the clock faces and the repair and restoration of the surrounding woodwork and masonry.

Each clockface will be re-painted and fitted with new numbering.  The original clock mechanism (almost 150 years old!) will be retained and the original hands will be re-painted and re-installed.

The work has been carried out by church members. However, this is still costly work as many of the original timbers have had to be replaced and the clock face has been carefully and professionally restored - after all, it has to last another 150 years! The single biggest expense has been the hiring of the scaffolding which is essential to allow for safe access to the tower itself. 

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting our website.  Here you can learn about 
Radford Semele Baptist Church - its origins, its history and the changing
times that it has gone through over the last 140 years of serving the
village of Radford Semele and the surrounding area.

The church is situated in Lewis Road, in the very centre of the village.  

The picture above was probably taken around the latter part of the 19th century or the early 1900's. There is now a wall to the left of the church behind which stands our church room. The cottage to the right of the church is still standing but the buildings further to the right of the picture were replaced in the 1960's with  modern houses.

The church as it appears today is not so different to how it looked all those years ago - however, the interior has a modern look and feel to it and offers a warm and welcoming environment.   As well as being used on a Sunday and during the week for various church activities, the church is also used by the Trinity School of Music for music exams.  The church room (not visible in the photo) is available for hire by church members or local residents for children's partys or meetings etc.        

THE ORIGINS OF RADFORD SEMELE BAPTIST CHURCH

The picture below shows the church pictured probably around the 1960's. You can see the electric heaters hanging from the ceiling and the PA speakers. Just visible in the centre of the picture is the baptistry, which is still used today but nowadays it is covered by a removeable stage area.

The next picture was taken from the front of the church showing the rear wall and the stained glass window. The interior of the church today looks quite different although the structure of the building remains unchanged.

The church was built in 1874 and is situated in the centre of the village of Radford Semele. From around 1850, services were held in a tiny thatched cottage adjacent to the Crown Inn, which stood where our church is today. It was after the Crown Inn closed down that Thomas Thorne, who was then the manager of the Leamington Priors Bank, purchased the land and demolished the pub to make way for the new church building. A devoted Christian, Mr Thorne laid the foundation stone himself in 1874. The stone is still visible today on the front wall of the church.

Built by ‘Gascoyne of Leamington’, the church was erected for the princely sum of £1,500! This included the very best craftsmanship and woodwork.

1866 - 1882  -  Thomas Thorne, who had the vision for a Baptist Church in Radford Semele, acted as Pastor.  A succession of ministers served the church right up to the 1980's.

From around the mid 1980's the church was led by a 'Leadership Team'. At around the same time, the church saw some radical changes to the inside of the building.  The floor was replaced (the original having started to rot away) and the old pews, (beautifully made but a bit uncormfortable!) were replaced by modern comfortable seating.

Thanks to support from the Baptist Union, 2001 saw the appointment of our first (student) minister. Thanks to support by the Baptist Union's Home Mission fund, October 1st 2009 saw the appointment of our first full-time minister for over a quarter of a century. 

Today, the church provides a welcoming and comfortable environment.

An emphasis on children's work, started back in the late 1800's, continues to this day.  During the early part of the last century, the Sunday School attracted up to 70 children on a Sunday and a young peoples group (Christian Endeavour) catered for the teenagers and young adults. (Many of those who attended the Sunday School and Christian Endeavour groups many years ago, now attend the church with their own children!)   We continue to offer a safe and secure environment for children from 1 to 11.  We have a parent organised creche facility for the very young children and Sunday Club(Sonbeams) for children aged 3 -11. We are currently upgrading our Child Protection Policy in line with Baptist Union guidelines. Our present Sonbeams leaders have been CRB checked. (Parents are always welcome to accompany their children if they wish.) 

Radford Semele Baptist Church in the 21st Century!

Today, the church continues to serve the village and the surrounding area. We have a membership of around 22, but with between 35-40 joining us for our main service at 10.30am on a Sunday morning. We have strong links with the village primary school and other organisations within the village as well as the Parish Church of St Nicholas. Our congregation ranges in age from 3 to 83!

As part of our commitment to comply with legislation governing wheelchair access, we now have a ramp which can be fitted to the front of the main entrance.

Why not explore the rest of our web-site and discover that there is more to Radford Semele Baptist Church than meets the eye!

MUSIC MINISTRY TEAM                                         

As music plays such an important part of our regular worship services, we are always pleased when we are joined by visiting musicians to augment our resident worship band.  If you are a musician familiar with modern Christian worship music, we would love to meet you.  Please e-mail the church if you would like to come and play at RSBC.  (We would particularly welcome a bass guitarist.) We are not looking for virtuossos, just people who enjoy playing and who enjoy worshipping through the gift of music.

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THE MEMBERS OF RADFORD SEMELE BAPTIST CHURCH CONTINUE TO PRAY AND SUPPORT THE MEMBERS OF ST NICHOLAS CHURCH FOLLOWING THE DISASTROUS FIRE ON SUNDAY 16TH MARCH 2008.  THE WHOLE VILLAGE WAS SHOCKED AND SADDENED BY THE LOSS OF SUCH A BEAUTIFUL CHURCH BUILDING WHICH HAS BEEN A FOCAL POINT OF THE VILLAGE FOR MANY HUNDREDS OF YEARS. 

You can learn more about the restoration of St Nicholas Church, and keep up to date with the latest progress, by logging onto: www.stnicholasrestoration.com