In 1791 two registrations of nonconformist meetings were made with the Archdeaconry of Bedford, both involving men named Skilleter. William Skilleter was a strong supporter of the Baptist chapel in the town in the mid 19th century and it is possible, therefore, that these were Baptist meetings. Jeremy Skilleter registered his own house [ABN1/1] and John, Robert and Joseph Skilleter, together with Samuel Freeman and Turners Squire registered the house of John Purser [ABN1/1, ABN2/68]. In 1801 the house of John Horwood was registered [ABN1/1]. In 1801 the house of John Horwood was registered [ABN1/1]. In 1813 the house of William Christmas, cordwainer (shoemaker) was registered by Christmas himself, John and Jeremy Skilleter, Joseph Keep, William Whittlemore and John Harwood [ABN1/1, ABN2/153]. Jeremy Skilleter's house was registered in 1816 [ABN1/1]. The first certain registration of a Baptist meeting in Sandy came in February 1831 with a "Building in possession of John Foster to be used as a Baptist chapel". The building was registered by Thomas Middleditch, Blythe Foster and John Foster himself [ABN1/2, ABN2/254, ABN3/3]. The Bedfordshire Mercury of 8th October 1887 carries a piece which states that this building was erected in 1826 or 1827 by Calvinists who could not then pay for it and it was bought by John Foster and then registered for Baptist worship in 1831. The secular authorities wished to know how many people in the country attended worship and the rough proportions for each denomination. Thus a census of worshippers was held on Sunday 30th March 1851, known as the Ecclesiastical Census. It was not a particularly popular exercise and the day itself, cold, wet and unpleasant, did not exactly encourage people to go outdoors. Nevertheless, the elder of the meeting, William Skilleter, recorded that the congregation stood at forty in the morning, a hundred in the afternoon and a hundred and fifty in the evening. He noted that the meeting had eighty free seats and a hundred and twenty reserved. Skilleter, described as a gardener and trustee, registered a new chapel on 11th September 1854. It was built on the site of the old 1820s building in Pleasant Place at a cost of £773/9/7 [CRT170/3/30]. A front gallery was built in 1859 and the back gallery and vestry enlarged at a cost of £218/12/5 in 1861 [CRT170/3/30]. Skilleter is mentioned in a newspaper piece of 25th March 1865: "LIBERAL GIFT: Mr. William Skilleter has purchased the beautiful villa residence of Mr. Forshaw, at a cost of £380, as a residence for the minister of the Baptist Meeting House in perpetuity. Mr. Skilleter was the principal contributor towards the new chapel and has steadily supported the cause for many years". The Baptist meeting was again registered by Thomas Voysey, the Sandy Baptist minister in 1861 and was registered as a venue for marriages in 1863. Both the latter two registrations were substituted for new ones in 1888. This was because a third Baptist chapel had then been built, in London Road. The Bedfordshire Mercury of 27th August 1887 reported that a tender to build it had been accepted from Mr. Wade of Saint Neots [Huntingdonshire] at a cost of £1,798. The foundation stone was laid on 4th October and the new chapel opened on 5th June 1888, the architects having been Usher and Anthony of Bedford [CRT170/3/30]. The old chapel in Prospect Place was then used as a Sunday School. Thirty five title deeds relating to Baptist premises in Sandy are held by Baptist Church House in London and date from 1823 to 1935. Sadly, Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service does not have any records generated by any of the Baptist churches in Sandy. At the time of writing [2010] the chapel remains a place of worship for Baptists. The former chapel in Pleasant Place is now a private dwelling. (Bedfordshire Archives and Records Service)