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2018 marked the 200th anniversary of Sileby Baptist Church being planted in

the village, With help from others we have attempted to patch together

a brief look at the Church's history.

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Great-full thanks to https://www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk, 

Rothley Baptist Church for the use of their history books and

http://www.rothleyparishcouncil.org.uk/rothley-baptist-church-extracts.html

for the historical information.

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Also special thanks to Eric Garner, for his hard work and

dedication of putting the churches history together.

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General Baptists and the New Connexion

Baptist preaching activity gained momentum in the village from the 1780s, Edward Pyke conducted General Baptist meetings from about 1788, He was still operating in 1800 when he styled himself ‘minister of the Gospel.’

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Ministers from the Baptist New Connexion chapel in Rothley were preaching at Sileby By 1817.

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In 1818 a General Baptist chapel, with contributions from local Baptist churches, Rothley, Cossington, Birstall and Thurcaston, was Built on Cossington Road grounds belonging to and at the expense of Mr William Palmer of Loughborough under the following conditions that Rothley Chapel pay 5% of his money by way of rent and could purchase it in the future at cost. Cost £60 to put pews in.

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In 1825 Rothley agreed to purchase the Chapel when they learned from the unpleasant experience not to place any confidence in man. In 1827 affair was settled with Mr Palmer. Found £314.0.3d purchase money for the chapel and burial ground. With legal fees total was £395.0.3d. £200 taken up as a mortgage to Mr Palmer, £50 borrowed from Brother George Freeman on a note signed by John Boulter, Thomas Draycott and Joseph Helmsley. Another £20 borrowed from Helmsley himself.

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The membership numbered 140 in 1829

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On 30th March 1851 the afternoon service attracted 40 people with 54 Sunday scholars. The average congregation was 60 in a building that could accommodate 168 sittings.

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Toward the end of the century membership declined dramatically.  By 1898 15 members were recorded which dropped to 13 in 1903 but had increased to 23 by 1913.

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In the 1980’s the Church had an extension built on the front of the chapel for a baptism pool.

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In 2003 the Church looked at altering and extending the original building to meet the demands of a growing church, however, after investigation the foundations were found to be inadequate for any alterations or extension to the original build.

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It was then decided to demolish the original church building and rebuild a new church building in 2007, while the church rebuild was going on the church congregation met every Sunday at the local school, Sileby Redlands Primary School.

The new building was re-opened in April 2008.

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2018, 200 years on the church continues to have a strong fellowship and is looking to further extend the building to meet the needs of the people who attend and for future generations.

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March 2020 to June 2021 - Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was decided to close the church building to help stop the spread of the virus.

During this time the congregation met online and Sunday services and daily messages were put online to encourage people.

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June 2021, The Church opened its doors again

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We hope to update this page soon with some more information.