The history of the church and its buildings

Beginnings

Stanley Road Baptist Church has a history going back to the mid-19th century, tracing its roots back to Christian believers who worshipped at Lancaster Baptist Church.
Members at Lancaster decided it was right to start a Baptist church in Morecambe and Sion Baptist Church was opened in 1875 in the centre of town on Victoria Street. 
In 1912, some members of Sion felt it was right to develop a new Baptist fellowship in the West End of Morecambe. A new church, named Olivet, was formed in 1913 with initial meetings at The Devonshire Hall (now More Music). Dr J Wolfenden was the first minister of the church.

Settling down

When the hall was no longer available, a new, temporary structure was built on land in Stanley Road, opening in 1915. There were still building issues, however, and in 1925, discussions about building a new building began. These came to fruition when the new building (the current church space) was opened in June 1935. The building had two floors, with the church on the ground floor and various Sunday School rooms upstairs.
The old church became the school hall and was the focus of much activity. One example was how it was used significantly during the Second World War to house and feed evacuees when they initially arrived in Morecambe.
The hall had been built as a temporary structure, and lasted until the early 1980s when it was replaced by the current hall, which was opened in 1983. At a similar time, roof problems led to significant water ingress in the church and so a new, pitched roof was put on the building.

Coming together

Into the 1990s, and it became clear that Sion Baptist Church were facing problems with their building. It was found to be unsafe for use and had to be demolished. The majority of the members decided to join Olivet and the two churches amalgamated to form Stanley Road Baptist Church.

Into the future

Ongoing work has taken place to continue to make the premises suitable for a modern church and also community use. A host of issues were addressed in a major re-development project in 2019. This creating an inviting foyer space, with one entrance for the whole building. While the Covid pandemic proved disruptive, the church continues to be a place of worship and community activities, as it has been for more than a century.

Sion ministers
Rev J Baxendall (Minister of Nelson St, Lancaster)    Assisted 1875-1878 & 1890-1896
Rev W G Myles 1878-1890
Rev A Carey Nuttall 1896-1896(illness)
Rev E Smith 1897-1905
Rev J H Brunton 1906-1907
Rev J Wolfenden 1908-1911 (went to Olivet)
Rev A H Lewis 1913-1917
Rev J Brown 1919-1927
Rev J Smith 1928-1947
Rev A Bonser 1947-1956
Rev A Else 1956-1967
Rev I Colman 1967-1981
Rev J Hamilton 1982-1988
Rev Crichton-Smith 1989-1992

Olivet ministers
Rev J Wolfenden 1914-1916
Rev Colin Davies 1920-1922
Rev Glan Morgan 1924-1926
Mr Astin 1927-1932
Rev T J Hooper 1934-1944
Rev Brearley 1944-1958
Rev Glover 1959-1962
Rev D S Norgate 1965-1979
Rev J Greenwood 1980-1987
Rev T M Wild 1989-1991
Mr B Burrows 1992-2003 (Stanley Road Baptist Church from 1994)

Stanley Road ministers
Rev Graham Doel 2003-2010
Rev Steven Hewitt 2011-
Rev Mark Young 2019-2022 (assistant minister)