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This is a modern building
with a long history, stretching back to
the middle of the 19th Century when it
was formed as an offshoot of the St
Nicholas Congregational Chapel in the
town centre. The St Nicholas chapel,
pictured on the left, is most famous
today for its minister in the 1860s,
William Tozer, who was one of the main
protagonists in what became known as the Akenham
Burial Case.
The congregation opened a mission church
on the corner of Cowper Street and Spring
Road, in the California area of the town,
so-named because the rapid expansion of
Ipswich to the east coincided with the
Californian gold rush. California Chapel
went from strength to strength,
eventually becoming established as a
congregation in its own right. It was
renamed St John's Congregational Chapel
after the name of the local civil parish
and council ward. In
the 1970s, the community here joined the
United Reformed Church, as most of the
more liberal Congregational churches did
at that time. The town centre chapel
closed, and was demolished, in the 1980s.
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The
site was sold off, and enabled the rebuilding of
the California chapel. The happy result is a fine
multi-purpose building, perhaps without the
character of its predecessor, but in busy use by
both the congregation and local organisations.
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