The Church is very fortunate to still have the original Minute Books that cover the period from 1812 when it was founded through to the end of the nineteenth century. The present structure was built in 1840, which is evident from the stone above the middle window on the side facing the road, but it was back in 1812 that the first group started meeting in a home nearby.

This picture shows the first page of the earliest Minute Book. It starts with the heading: 'A Short History of the Church of Jesus Christ in Audlem Cheshire'. The writer tells how Pastor James Yeates from Whitchurch made several vists to Audlem during 1812 and 1813 and finally was able to baptise five individuals on November 1814 . This was the beginning of the Church.

The Minute Books contain records of

• Requests for Baptism
• Transfers to or from other Churches
• Business meetings and Church activities
• Relationships with the other Churches in the village
• The development of the buildings
• The Pastors and Ministers who led the Church
• Issues and difficulties that the Church faced

Several of the members from this time came from families whose descendents are still associated with the village today. We could mention the following names: Thursfield, Devenport, Kirkham, Cliff, Gresty, Fleet, Mishall, Hill, Bonell and Williams.

We tend to think today that social mobility is a modern phenomenon, especially in a sleepy village like Audlem. But the records show that members were transferred into or out of the Church to the following places: Whitchurch, Bolton, Tarporley, Liverpool, Leicester, Nuneaton, Hanley, Burslem, USA, Hinkley, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Castle Donnington, Crewe, Burton on Trent, Scotland, Bury and Pembroke. Visiting preachers came to Audlem from Woodstock in Oxfordshire, London, Manchester, Bury and Wellington. One of Audlem's Pastors went to a Church in Canada after his period of ministry here.

In the second half of the nineteenth century the Church played a valuable role in the social life of the village. There were 'Tea Meetings' on public holidays like Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Easter, Whitsun and a main summer holiday. These were attended by up to 400 people. On at least five occasions the summer events were held on the lawn of the Honourable Richard Bellyse esquire at Highfields. A group could have a table for ten shillings. Admission was strictly by ticket only. On some occasions there was a 'lecture' in the afternoon given by a well known speaker. The first of these Tea Meetings was held on Christmas Day 1852 at the Combermere Arms. It was attended by 170 villagers.

The history of the buildings in this period is:

• 1817 First building erected having initially met in a house
• 1840 Main building erected as a replacement for the earlier one
• 1868 Improvements
• 1870 New School and Lecture Room added on land given by Mr Kemp. Pulpit lowered by Mr Bonell. Baptistry added.
• 1871 Chapel and School Room to be lit with gas?
• 1876 Building ‘turned round’. Porches added and the ‘yard’ and retaining wall.
• 1885-1886 Final improvements, including gas chandeliers and ‘heating apparatus’. Rev Wm Lees, President of the Baptist Association preached at the re-opening service.
• 1892 Repainted inside and out. Re-roofed.
• 1902 Three manual pipe organ installed in place of harmonium.
• 1904 Mr Moseley engaged to paint the Church and School

We even know how much this work cost. The original chapel cost £328 10s 10½d. Adding the School and Lecture Room cost £122. The interesting thing is that a special tea was held to celebrate the laying of the foundation stone. This raised £28, which is a substantial proportion of the cost of the extension! Likewise the restoratiuon work in 1885 cost £138 (with the seven tenders ranging in cost from £138 to £176) - but a bazaar and sale of work raised £130 in just one day! One is forced to conclude that economics and market forces have shifted a lot over the last 100 years!

One of the memorial plaques on the inside north wall of the Church is shown here on the right. Eric Sutton Smith, who himself was a missionary to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), came to the Church in the 1960's and dedicated the memorial to his parents, Herbert and Ethel Sutton Smith. They went initially to Upper Congo and assisted in the foundation of the Stapleton Memorial Hospital in Yakusu. Herbert was the resident physician at the hospital, which was named after one of his close colleagues who, sadly, died during his time there. It is inspiring for us today to be reminded of the effect that these missionaries had around the world. As you can see from the inscription, Herbert and Ethel went on from Africa to China. And China is one of the most dynamically growing countries for the Christian Church today with who knows what prospects for the future.

A quick internet search for 'Herbert Sutton Smith Congo China' comes up with many results, but mainly about the fact that he had written a book on his experiences in the Upper Congo. You can download and read the complete book titled Yakusu, the very heart of Africa : being some account of the Protestant mission at Stanley Falls, Upper Congo .

We include a couple of pictures below from the digitised book. The first shows the hospital in its early days (the caption states 'The beginning of the hospital that shall be: Mr Millman (architect and builder) to the left; the author and Mrs Sutton Smith standing in the doorway.') while the second shows a group picture that include Herbert (back row second from left) and his wife Ethel (front row on the left). (With thanks to University of California and MSN for digitising the book.)

In the latter half of the twentieth century the Church was also involved in mission activities around the world. You can read more about that on our Mission page.