New Road Congregational (United Reformed) Church

The roots of this church came from a man called Joseph Evans, who broke away from the main non-conformist group in Brentwood in about 1753. The new congregation built a meeting house on King's Road in about 1755, of which Joseph Barber was the first minister, and ultimately the congregation grew large enough that in 1847 they built this church on New Road.

It is a large yellow brick building with a tall pediment over the facade, originally containing seating for 450.

The church was built in 1847, which took five months, and opened on 7th October 1847 on the same day that its new minister was ordained - a man called John Sydney Hall. The new chapel had cost about £1,600, which was paid off quickly by the congregation - unfortunately a fault with the deeds meant that they had to re-buy the lease for the land - adding new debt to the church. There was a further problem when a new minister came to the church in 1856, William Dorling, and the congregation split into two over their different ideas - the 'Lambkins' and 'Muffkins'. One group met at the church led by Dorling, and another group met at a lecture hall owned by the church led by George Gogerty. This remained the case for two years, until April 1858, when the two congregations reunited. A year later they invited a new minister to lead the reunited church - Henry Perrotte Bowen.

In 1873, under Bowen's minestry, the rear of the church was extended and a school hall was built behind it. The school was destroyed by bombing on 12th Jan 1941, rebuilt in 1955, and finally demolished completely in 1975 as the shopping centre and car park were built. At some point in the 20th century the church itself was also modified, it was extended southwards and the gable end brought to more of a clasical point.