Selsdon Baptist Church, Early Days, part 1, Humble Beginnings 

Original Article appears in June 2026 edition of Selsdon Gazette magazine produced by Selsdon Residents association.

We saw in the December 2025 Gazette that the Anglican Church was offered by Costains a site on the south side of Gee Bank but turned it down in favour of the flatter site at the top of Upper Selsdon Road. The Gee Bank site is now the location of our Selsdon Baptist Church. What of their beginnings?

We should remind ourselves of those early days: this extract from an Ordnance Survey map (OS) of 1915 shows Selsdon ‘pre Costains’. The Triangle is clearly visible and Addington Road, then a Lane, runs diagonally. Upper Selsdon Road is bottom left and Selsdon Farm plus associated workers cottages in the centre of frame. A small track leads from Gee Wood to Addington Road. The land between Addington Road and Gee Wood was, in 1800, named as Gee Bank.

Ted Frith records that on the 6th February 1926 a number of residents from nonconformist denominations met at ‘Newlands’ the home of Mr J W K Nichols in Byron Road (now number 8) where they held their first service. It seems that it was agreed that a Baptist Free Church would open in Selsdon and that other nonconformists would be welcome to worship there. The Wesleyans were to establish their church at Shirley. The Gee Bank site was intended by Costains to facilitate the extension of Littleheath Road down to Addington Road but the Council, Residents and the London Baptist Church wanted the Bridle Path to remain and the Costains application was rejected. They were willing to sell the half acre site for £200*.

A photo attributed to 1926 shows the Costain development. From left to right we see Upper Selsdon Road, Byron Road, the incomplete Farley Road, Rylandes Road, finally, the houses on the south side of the top part of Littleheath Road. The first block of shops on the Broadway can be seen on Addington Road. The small track from Gee Wood to Addington Road appears to be tree lined. That Farley Road is clearly incomplete confirms that this photo predates 24th July 1926 when Farley Road was opened. Indeed, with Planning Permission swiftly granted for a Church / Church Hall in Addington Road, on the 17th September 1927 the foundation stones were laid. 

The Hall was costed at £1,800 and the site was funded by the London Baptist Association. The building was opened on 5th November 1927 by Mrs Cecil Colman and Dr J W Ewing, Secretary of the London Baptist Association, led the dedication prayers. It is recorded that the service was well attended with standing room only. It would seat 200, had an organ and piano. £919 needed to be raised and Rev H F Cross, of the Brighton Road Baptist Church would supervise the new church. By January 1929 membership had increased such that a Sunday School was established as well as a Missionary Society Branch. Clothing was collected and sent to Wales to ‘Distressed Miners’. By the end of 1930 it is recorded that the congregation was 61 with 100 children attending Sunday School. Sunday collections would average £2 10s. Little is known about the building structure other than it comprised a Hall, Vestry, Kitchen (and one assumes Toilets) but we can view a grainy image of what it looked like.

The photo below is attributed to 1929 and shows an expanded Selsdon with two blocks of shops on The Broadway, a completed Farley Road top left, Selsdon Farm and the cottages on Addington Road at the bottom and the tree lined track from Addington Road up to Gee Wood. Close inspection will reveal the first Selsdon Baptist Church in the photo on the right.



Ian Leggatt.
Credits: Thanks once again to the journals of Ted Frith for much of the text above. I am also very grateful for the help of the Office Team at Selsdon Baptist Church for their kind assistance. Extract from the Ordnance Survey map from National Library of Scotland and aerial views of Selsdon from Britain From Above (Historic England) Both excellent sources of historic data.*Ted Frith records a price of £550 but this may have been the original Costains price, before their application to extend Littleheath Road was turned down.