St John the Baptist
Hythe, Hampshire
The Southampton ‘Above Bar’ Congregational Church planted churches along Southampton Water in the late 1700s sending visiting preachers by open boat to lead worship and Sunday School week by week. On one occasion the boat was swamped and two people sadly lost their lives in this mission to spread God’s word.
The first recorded meeting in Hythe was in 1797 in a cottage in the village; subsequently as the congregation grew in numbers a larger building, now demolished, was made available. Later a piece of ground was generously donated and in 1845 a small purpose built building was erected, named the Ebenezer Chapel. This building still exists and is currently a wine bar and small restaurant with the link to the past being retained in its name The Ebenezer.
An Anglican church was already established in the parish serving the several large houses in and around Hythe but the nonconformist congregation continued to grow and soon another piece of ground was purchased and in 1914 the Congregational church was built where Cornerstone now stands, a little way out of the village as it was then. The pastorate continued to thrive under the leadership of a number of Evangelists, Missioners and Pastors, and the buildings were extended in 1964 and 1967.
However the population of Hythe continued to expand and the work of the church grew such that in 1997 the decision was taken to expand once again as the current building was frustrating the ongoing Outreach with the Gospel into the community.
In 2006/7 the previous two extensions were demolished and the original sanctuary reordered with an extensive rebuild now on two floors. The church is led by full time ordained ministry and is involved with local outreach through its members and its work as ‘Families Matter’. The Ministry Team structure enables everyone to contribute to the life and witness of the church as their God given gifts and passions are encouraged, be it prayer, mission overseas, local evangelism, youth work and more. The full early history of this church can be read on our documents webpage ‘In the Beginning’.