The Rev William Rickard was the first pastor of Childs Hill Baptist Church. In the minute books we find some details about his life and work. In 1865 he came to Hampstead to work as an assistant with Heath Street Chapel. He had spent the previous three years as a pastor in Hunton Bridge (near Abbotts Langley, Hertfordshire).
At Heath Street he was particularly concerned with outreach.
The minutes state that
Once started, the work evidently grew quite rapidly. A room was hired for Sunday services in October 1865. In 1866 Sunday School work began and soon there was a mission hall. In 1870 the present chapel building was erected, the church being constituted seven years later. Mr Rickard appears to have been a tireless worker, not only as a pastor and Sunday School teacher but also with overseas mission, temperance work and in the day school that was established early in the church’s history. He was also active in the community with provident clubs, and in the formation of the local fire brigade. The minutes give us a picture of a godly pastor any minister would do well to emulate, and who any church should be grateful to God to have amongst them:“whilst so engaged he visited this neighbourhood and was greatly impressed with
the neglected condition of the village (as Childs Hill then was). This ultimately led to his withdrawal from the work at Hampstead and to his devoting his whole time to Childs Hill, the work being supported by the late Mr James Harvey of Hampstead.”
“He was a man who felt very deeply his responsibility and for many years it was his custom to schedule himself for an hour every day, in his vestry, to plead with God specially on behalf of the neighbourhood. He was a powerful evangelistic preacher and hundreds were converted under his ministry. His one great object in life was to preach Christ and he lost no opportunity of doing so. In season and. out of season he was ever pleading with sinners to trust their Saviour.”
