The Wild family have been Baptists for many generations. In 1708 my 7th great grandfather, William Wild, was recognised as a dissenting worshipper and was granted permission to use his house for meetings and in 1983 my father was ordained as a Baptist minister – he retired in 1999. The registration of William’s house is dated 18th April 1708. Four days previously and about 6 miles away, 13 people had been baptised in the Colne brook, Colnbrook, signed their freshly written articles of faith and formed themselves into a Particular Baptist Church. This gap of only four days is, almost certainly, no coincidence. One of the founders of this cause was Richard Weekly and the Weekly family along with the Rayners were to be foundational to the Colnbrook Chapel. The Weeklys, Rayners and Wilds were three large influential families in the area and there were many marriages between the various branches. It is therefore almost certain that William had been involved in the events in Colnbrook on that Saturday and it was for this reason he had registered his house for dissenting worship. The Particular Baptists flourished in Colnbrook and in 1754 a new building was required. Thomas Rayner made available a plot of land and James Wild was made one of the trustees. James is also on the list of contributors to the initial building fund. Many of the Wild family who lived in Colnbrook attended the chapel and some served as deacons as did members of the Weekly and Rayner families. There is no other record of a dissenting or Baptist congregation in Sipson until the late 1800’s and it is likely that Sipson, at the time, was too small to support its own congregation.

In Harlington, the neighbouring village to Sipson, the earliest record of Baptist influence is recorded in 1719. In 1770 there was a recognised dissenting congregation and they formed themselves into a Baptist congregation in 1797. My 5th great grandfather William and his wife Ann were founding members of this Church. It seems, though, that Ann was the first to be involved as she is present at their first recorded meeting in July 1797. Then in a meeting in December 1797 it was agreed to “…accept brother Wild into membership”. Their daughter Elizabeth was also amongst the first members. In fact Elizabeth was one of the first to actually be baptised in Harlington. The founding members had been baptised in a neighbouring place (possibly Colnbrook) and it wasn't until 1799 when they called their first minister, Mr Torlin, that they able to hold their own baptismal services. Elizabeth was baptised at the first baptismal service when she was 19. Elizabeth married her first cousin Thomas Wild II in 1808. It is likely that he was already a member as I understand that Strict Baptists were expected to marry another Strict Baptist. If he wasn't already he certainly became a member. We know this not only from the minutes of the chapel which record Thomas’ death in 1837 and the fact he was a deacon but also from the records of the Old Bailey which record a case when in May 1818 some hymn books belonging to him were stolen from his pew in the chapel. When a new, larger, building was erected in 1879 Thomas Wild III laid one of the foundation stones. Thomas III was 70 at this time and he had retired to Harlington from Sipson around 1872. His son, Thomas IV became a deacon of Harlington Baptist and his grandson Thomas V was baptised there in 1896. Harlington Baptist is still in existence although it is no longer affiliated to the Strict Baptists but with the Baptist Union.

In 1886 the YMCA started holding meetings in the village of Sipson and in 1890 the Salvation Army started holding open air services. In the same year my great great grandfather, Thomas IV, registered one of the packing sheds of Sipson Farm so both the YMCA and the Salvation Army could hold their meetings there. At that time Thomas had formed some connections with the Salvation Army and, apparently, was personally acquainted with General Booth. In the following year he instigated the building of a hall on the corner of Sipson Road and Sipson Lane which the Salvation Army had the use of. This continued until 1897 when the Salvation Army left and the hall became a Gospel Mission. Whether this Gospel Mission was affiliated to any outside group or was independent, I do not know. During the late 1800's and early 1900's the congregation of the mission increased and the building was enlarged in 1901. I believe it was at this time that Thomas had a stained glass window installed in memory of his parents, Thomas Wild III and Mary Ann, his mother having died only 2 years previous. In 1905 the then congregation formed themselves into a Baptist Church. Most of the other Baptist chapels with which the Wild family were associated, Colnbrook, Longford, Harlington and Richmond for example, were at the time Strict or Particular Baptist and it is interesting to note that Sipson was not. This may have been due to its origins. Thomas IV who instigated the building was, it seems, not happy in the Baptist denomination and his connections with the first users, the Salvation Army reflect this. It may be that the Gospel Mission from which the Baptist congregation arose may have been connected with his interests in what was called the holiness movement. This connection probably explains why he seems to have had little to do with the Baptist cause in Sipson, although he remained a deacon of Harlington Baptist until at least 1910. He left the Baptist denomination in 1914 to join the holiness movement. More about Thomas IV’s connections with the holiness movement can be read here.

In 1955 the Church celebrated its golden jubilee and my great grandfather, Thomas V, wrote a booklet outlining the history of the church. A PDF version of this can be read here.

During this time the Wild family were central to the life of Sipson village and in consequence the Baptist church was too. The market gardening firm of Wild & Robbins were by far the largest employers in the village and both Thomas Wild V and Roland Robbins, his partner, were committed members of the Baptist Church and strict teetotalers. They expected their employees to be the same. They built a coffee tavern as an alternative to the pubs and frowned upon any employee seen going into the pub – especially on a Sunday! It is said that Thomas would stand outside his house, which was opposite the local pub, on a Sunday evening to watch that none of his employees entered. They, of course, had an arrangement with the landlord to enter by the back door! The 1970’s and 80’s saw, as in many chapels, a declining congregation and by the mid to late 80’s the congregation in Sipson had dwindled to the point where the large building was no longer justifiable. It was sold to a development company who converted the main building into flats and the old Sunday school annexe into a meeting hall for the remaining congregation. This was done very tastefully, retaining much of the original character of the building. They even transferred the stain glass window from the main building into the new meeting hall!

Many of my immediate family were married in the chapel. My mother and father, one of my father’s brothers, my father’s sister, my older sister (the last Wild of Sipson to be married there) and two of my cousins.

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