Bishop Street Methodist Church
Leicester, Leicestershire
The Central Baptist Church, also known as the Charles Street Baptist Chapel, is a church on Charles Street in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK.
Leicester in the 19th century was known as the ‘Metropolis of Dissent’ with a large number of non-conformist chapels and churches. There have been numerous places of worship of various denominations, including the Baptists. Numerous chapels were built since the 17th century, many in the 19th century.
The Charles Street Baptist Chapel was designed by William Flynt, a leading local architect, and constructed in 1830. The congregation of the Belvoir Street Chapel united with that of Charles Street in the 1940s and became known as the United Baptist Church. It was designated a Grade II listed building in 1973. It was named the Central Baptist Church in 1983 and is the last surviving of several Baptist churches in Leicester City Centre.
The building also houses the William Carey Museum, dedicated to William Carey, who was instrumental in the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society. The museum visitor's book shows that people from all over the world visit to explore the story of William Carey.
This important Museum is an acknowledgement of the enormous importance of William Carey. He left Leicester to become a Missionary in India where he was an outstanding translator of the Bible and New Testament into many Indian languages. He pioneered printing in Indian languages in order to produce the Bibles and much other literature. He also found time to create the first Higher Education College in India at Serampore. This made a significant contribution to the development of the Indian Higher education system and is now a Major University for Theology and many other subjects. He was a notable social reformer. One of his achievements was to contribute to the preparation of a law to prohibit Sutti. (The burning of widows on the husband's funeral pyre.)
The Museum here at Central Baptist Church contains many artefacts and documents and an illuminated set of dioramas outlining the life of this remarkable man.