Hamilton Road Baptist Church

History

The congregation's own history records an emphasis on outreach through the 1930s, with visiting preachers brought to Bangor. A small group left during the same decade to hold separate meetings in the Good Templar Hall; the rift lasted some years and was healed before the pastorate ended in 1937.

The Second World War brought air raid precautions rather than damage. The baptistery was kept filled with water, a stirrup pump, buckets and sandbags were bought, and a panel of fire-fighters was provided with steel helmets, though the minutes record a poor response to appeals for fire watchers. Troops stationed in the town gave the congregation fresh opportunities for outreach. In 1944 the church took some tentative steps towards beginning a meeting in Bangor West, but this was subsequently discontinued.

Anticipating a post-war shortage of housing, the congregation bought a manse in 1945 for £1,800; it was sold in January 1967 for £3,750 and replaced with another bought for £8,000. A small hall was added to the north side of the church in 1953 and was known thereafter as the minor hall. As the membership grew the congregation planted a new church, Rosemary Park Baptist Church, which opened in September 1964.