Joyford Baptist Church, Coleford

Accounts

Note: As of November 2000 it is unclear if there were separate minute books for Joyford; if so, their location is unknown.

THESE RECORDS ARE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR RESEARCH EXCEPT FILE D8629/2 WHICH CLOSED UNTIL REPAIRED

Accession 8629 was deposited by West Midlands Baptist Association, 3 July 2000

Joyford Baptist Church was built in 1886. One of the founder members was the father of Mr W T Cullis, a life deacon of the Church who was involved in its sale in 1965. In 1902 Joyford Baptist Church came under the pastorate of Coleford Baptist Church (see D2722/2 for minutes of Coleford Church Deacons).

Joyford Baptist Church was known as 'Bethel' Chapel. It was a small building seating about 50 people in a remote village that suffered from depopulation. The church faced dwindling support over a period of years, which led to its closure in 1960 (see D2722/17 for correspondence relating to the sale of Joyford Baptist Church).

In the mid 1950s the attendance at Joyford Baptist Church was almost nil and the Coleford Church Deacons transferred the deeds to the Baptist Union. The church was allowed to deteriorate into a state of disrepair, and Coleford Church Deacons decided to close Joyford Church in April 1957 (see D2722/15 for minutes). They held a public meeting in July 1957 which, however, agreed to keep the Chapel open. However, support faded and Joyford Church was forced to end its public worship in January 1959 (see D2722/16/1 for correspondence about its closure).

In 1962 Mr Cullis and a few others used their own money to make small repairs and decided to sell the property. They sold the Church in its original state but with planning permission to convert it into a residential dwelling and adjacent land available at a reasonable price. The sale was completed in December 1965 with 40% of the sale proceeds going to Coleford Church and 60% to the Baptist Union Corporation.