Church hosts bicentenary celebrations

If you are driving down the M6 at night and look towards the coast in the direction of Blackpool you will see four large masts that stand 600ft tall glowing with safety lights on the top as a warning to all low-flying aircraft.

These used to be part of HMS Inskip also known as HMN Nightjar. Nestling at the foot of these masts is the village of Inskip.

The next village along from Inskip, Elswick, was the home of William Bramwell (1759-1818), a Methodist preacher.

Sadly, he moved away from the area and spent most of his time travelling around Yorkshire.

There was a growing concern at the beginning of the 19th Century for a Baptist witness within the area, and so in 1815 a room was secured at Roebuck village, near to Myerscough on the A6, with the sole purpose of starting a Baptist work.

The work attracted attention and it wasn’t long before nine people were baptised in the River Brock.

When this growing company were told that they could no longer use the room at Roebuck, a frantic search was made for another location.

The newly erected school room in the village of Inskip was discovered and on the 27th August 1816 the fledgling Baptist congregation met there for the first time.

The Rev. Joseph Lakelin became their new pastor as well as being a teacher in the village school.

The Baptist cause continued to grow and soon the school room was no longer suitable for purpose and so it was agreed to build their own place worship. A suitable plot was purchased for the princely sum of £10 and work started right away.

The chapel was opened on October 17th 1817 and the rest is history.

The original chapel has stayed the same and is instantly recognisable from old photographs.

In the last 15 years a brand new church hall has been erected and to tie-in with the bicentenary a brand new extension has just been added to the chapel.

This makes 2017 quite a year for the chapel at Inskip.

The main celebration for the bi-centenary will take place over July 21 and 22.

The chapel and extension will be open from 1pm until 5pm on the Saturday. There will also be a bouncy castle and exhibition of chapel life over the last 200 years.

On the Sunday, there will be two services of thanksgiving at 10.30am and 6.30pm.

Minister David

Earnshaw

Inskip Baptist Church