PROTESTANT NONCONFORMITY
On 20 October 1819 a small place of worship,
originally a cottage, was
opened for the use of dissenters. Sermons were preached
at the opening service by the
Revd. James Stratten of Paddington and the Revd.
Edward Andrews of Walworth. A Sunday school was
attached to the chapel. Arrangements had been made
for the supply of preachers from Hoxton Academy. (fn. 65)
On 27 June 1820 a new chapel, specially built and
seating 300, was opened in place of the converted
cottage. Stratten and Andrews were again the preachers
at the opening. Two local residents had each contributed £100 towards the cost of the chapel. Supplies
were still being sent by Hoxton. (fn. 66)
In 1827 the site, chapel, and vestry, with a stable
and outhouses, were conveyed to trustees, among
whom were Stratten, then of Maida Vale, and Thomas
Kingsbury of Stanford Rivers. The trust deed stipulated that the buildings should be used for 'a congregation of Protestant Dissenters usually denominated
Calvinists of the Independent Denomination'. (fn. 67)
In 1829 the congregation numbered 150 and there
was a minister, William Temple. (fn. 68) There was a
minister in 1846-7 and another in 1850-3. (fn. 69) About
1839 David Livingstone preached in this chapel while
a student at Chipping Ongar. He is said to have
suffered from stage-fright and to have been unable to
complete his sermon. (fn. 70) From about 1854 the chapel
was served mainly by the ministers of the Congregational church at Chipping Ongar. (fn. 71) Isaac Jennings,
formerly the minister at Ongar, had charge at Stanford
Rivers during his retirement in 1863. (fn. 72)
A new trust was appointed in 1877. (fn. 73) In 1904 there
were 34 Sunday-school children and 2 teachers. (fn. 74) The
chapel was burnt down in 1927. To supplement the
insurance money of £700 a fund was raised to rebuild
the chapel as a memorial to David Livingstone. The
response to the appeal was disappointing, less than £400
being received, and the scheme was not carried through. (fn. 75)
The chapel was a rectangular stucco building with
a pedimented front. (fn. 76) It stood opposite the former
Ongar Union workhouse at Little End. The site is
still walled and has the original cast iron early-19thcentury gate piers.
The present rectory, formerly the Chapel House,
adjoins the chapel site and may have been built in connexion with it. It was originally a small house of gault
brick, probably built in the first quarter of the 19th century. Additions in the same style were made about 1948.