User:Moswento/United Reformed Church, Tiverton

St Peter United Reformed Church Known as Tiverton Congregational Church

History
Tiverton United Reformed Church was established as a Congregationalist chapel in 1660. It was built on the site of an ancient chapel dedicated to St Peter. This chapel was constructed in brick with a capacity of around 500 people. The building was extended in 1699. It was known as Steps Meeting House, in reference to some nearby steps. The founding pastor was Theophilus Polwheile, a non-conformist minister. Polwheile faced opposition from various authorities, including the Mayor of Tiverton, who placed him under police supervision as well as sometimes interrupting his sermons.

For much of the 18th century, the church was under the leadership of Rev John Follett, who remained minister for 51 years. In 1774, the church started the first Sunday School in Devon.

The present building was constructed in 1831, following an appeal started by Rev William Harvey Hendebourck after his appointment in 1830. The new church opened on Hendebourck's birthday on 18 April 1832. Several other related buildings were constructed in the 19th century, including a Sunday School building (1838), a parsonage and Elmore Chapel. Hendebourck eventually left the church, moving to Canada.

With the national union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church in England and Wales in the 1970s, the church became a United Reformed Church. The church closed in April 2012, when the congregation merged with Tiverton Methodist Church to form Tiverton United Church. The building remains under the ownership of the South West Synod of the United Reformed Church, although its future use is uncertain.