Plymouth, George Street Baptist Church

Plymouth, George Street Baptist Church. The following account taken from Henry M. Nicholson, Authentic Records relating to the Christian Church now meeting in George Street and Mutley Chapels, Plymouth. 1640 to 1870 (London: Elliot Stock; Plymouth: Thomas Doidge, [1870]). 

Philip Gibbs (1729-1800) was from Kingsbridge, converted under the preaching of Whitefield, who came there in July 1744.  Cennick also preached in the area about that time, and Gibbs often attended. By 1749 Gibbs was attending the Baptist chapel in Kingsbridge, under Crispin Curtis, pastor, who baptized Gibbs in 1745 (69). Gibbs began preaching not long thereafter. Gibbs began supplying at Plymouth in April 1748, and would remain until his death.  A new chapel was built in 1751 (71).  A new congregation was organized in Plymouth Dock (now Devonport) in 1781 (74-75), with Isaiah Birt serving as co-pastor with Gibbs, both handling the two congregations. Samuel Pearce was converted at this time (75). The  church tried to get Pearce to take over the Plymouth Dock church in 1789, but he went to Birmingham; they tried to a Mr Broady then, but Birt took over the ministry there, then meeting in Pembroke Street but later moved to Morice Square, keeping both chapes. In 1798 William Steadman joined Birt as his assistant pastor, but soon became primary minister at Pembroke Street, now meeting as two distinct congregations. Birt remained at Morice Square until 1813, when he removed to Cannon Street, Birmingham, then to Hackney, from 1827 to his death in 1837 (82). William Winterbotham became Gibbs’s assistant at How’s Lane, Plymouth, in January 1790 (84). Winterbotham returned in 1797 and became Gibb’s assistant in 1799. Gibbs died in November 1800.  Winterbotham resigned late in 1803 and removed to Shortwood, where he remained until his death in 1829. A Mr Ragsdale became minister in March 1808. The chapel in How Street underwent repairs and was reopened in December 1810 by F. A. Cox (97).  The church began looking at John Dyer, then a deacon at Pembroke Street, Dock, but who resided in Plymouth and was now about to enter the ministry (98). He became minister at How’s Lane that year. A Sunday School was started in 1813. Thomas Trowt was also a member of the Plymouth church at this time, prior to becoming a missionary, and would soon leave for Bristol College that year (99). Dyer resigned on 22 February 1814, and removed to Reading. In 1815, George Gibbs of Pershore replaced Dyer, and he remained until 1819 (100-01). Samuel Nicholson came from Pembroke Street, Devonport, under the ministry of Mr Willcocks, the son of a deacon in that church (101). He was only 20 when he commenced his ministry at How’s Lane, becoming pastor in 1823. The church moved to George Street in 1844, and Nicholson died in 1856 (111).