Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The Charles Haddon Plaque was erected on the small church in Artillery Street to mark the site of his conversion. Spurgeon lived on Hythe Hill. One morning in 1850, when he was about 15 years old, he was walking to church when a heavy snowstorm impeded his journey. He decided to turn into Artillery Street and attend the service at a small Primitive Methodist Church instead. The rostered preacher had been beaten by the snow and a member of the congregation was persuaded to ‘say something’. It was enough to convert young Charles. Later, aged 20, he was called to be the pastor of a well known London Baptist Church. Within a few years, the building was demolished to make way for Spurgeon’s Tabernacle, which could seat 5000 people. Spurgeon was, by the age of 25, one of the most famous Christians in Britain.