Shover's Green Baptist Chapel

Shover’s Green Baptist Chapel stands in the quiet hamlet of Shover’s Green, midway between the market town of Wadhurst and the village of Ticehurst in East Sussex. Built in 1816 by Strict Baptists from nearby Burwash, the chapel served the area until the 1970s. Its design echoes that of Rehoboth Chapel at Pell Green, another Baptist place of worship in the region. The building is a single-storey structure with a slate-tiled hipped roof and brick walls replacing the original weatherboarding. It was granted Grade II listed status in 1978, recognising its historical importance. The chapel’s history reflects the growth of Protestant Nonconformity in Sussex during the early 19th century. In 1815, 24 members left Providence Chapel in Burwash to found a new congregation at Shover’s Green. By 1851, the chapel recorded attendances of 205 in the morning, 386 in the afternoon, and 87 in the evening, with Sunday school numbers adding to the gatherings. Minister James Jones noted in the religious census that the congregation had previously met in a smaller rented building before erecting the present chapel. Inside, the chapel retains a plain but well-kept interior, with a high pulpit positioned between two windows in the rear wall. The roof features a bracketed cornice, and the façade has three round-headed windows with wooden shutters. A double doorway with a flat canopy serves as the main entrance, while a later addition on the northwest side once housed a vestry. Though no longer used for worship, the building remains a quiet reminder of the area’s religious past.