Question: Who is the senior cleric in the denomination to which closed place of worship in Sevenoaks District Otford Lane Mission Church belongs ?

text: List of places of worship in Sevenoaks District
Closed or disused places of worship

The district of Sevenoaks, one of 13 local government districts in the English county of Kent, has nearly 120 current and former places of worship. The town of Sevenoaks, the administrative centre of the area, has many of these - from its ancient Anglican parish church to Victorian chapels and 20th-century meeting places for various Christian denominations. Smaller towns such as Edenbridge, Swanley and Westerham are also well provided with places of worship; and the mostly rural district's villages and hamlets have many of their own, covering a wide variety of ages, architectural styles and denominations. As of 2020, 89 places of worship are in use in the district and a further 28 former churches and chapels no longer hold religious services but survive in alternative uses. Census results show that Christianity is followed by a majority of the district's residents. Nearly 50 Anglican churches currently serve the Church of England, the country's Established Church. Roman Catholics and worshippers affiliated with various Protestant Nonconformist, Pentecostal and other Christian denominations are accommodated in a variety of mostly 19th- and 20th-century chapels and meeting rooms: Baptists, Methodists and the United Reformed Church each maintain several congregations, there are seven Roman Catholic churches, and smaller groups such as the Open Brethren, Christian Scientists and Jehovah's Witnesses can also be found in the district. English Heritage has awarded listed status to 48 places of worship in the district of Sevenoaks. A building is defined as listed when it is placed on a statutory register of buildings of special architectural or historic interest in accordance with the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, a Government department, is responsible for this; English Heritage, a non-departmental public body, acts as an agency of the department to administer the process and advise the department on relevant issues. There are three grades of listing status. Grade I, the highest, is defined as being of exceptional interest; Grade II* is used for particularly important buildings of more than special interest; and Grade II, the lowest, is used for buildings of special interest.
Name Location Denomination/ Affiliation Grade Notes
Brasted Baptist Chapel Brasted 51°16′31″N 0°06′16″E / 51.2754°N 0.1045°E / 51.2754 ; 0.1045 ( Brasted Baptist Chapel ( former ) , Brasted ) Baptist - John Wills designed this in 1886 , adopting the Gothic Revival style and using unusual fenestration . R. Durtnell & Sons was the builder of the red- and white-brick chapel , which cost £750 and superseded a Baptist school and lecture hall . It fell out of religious use by 2003
St Saviour 's Church Chiddingstone Causeway 51°11′55″N 0°10′17″E / 51.1986°N 0.1715°E / 51.1986 ; 0.1715 ( St Saviour 's Church ( former ) , Chiddingstone Causeway ) Anglican - This was built in about 1875 to serve the village . When St Luke 's Church was erected next to it , the building became surplus to requirements and was moved further along the road to serve as the village hall - a function it has had since about 1902
Chipstead Chapel Chipstead 51°17′04″N 0°09′08″E / 51.2845°N 0.1521°E / 51.2845 ; 0.1521 ( Chipstead Chapel ( former ) , Chipstead ) Methodist II Now a house , this was apparently used for storage at the time of its listing by English Heritage in 1994 . They describe it as a former Nonconformist chapel , and the 1895-96 Ordnance Survey map shows it as belonging to the Bible Christian Church . Most of the façade is stuccoed , but the rear is timber-framed -a feature which survives inside . The interior dates from no later than the early 17th century . The steep roof has bargeboards and tiles
Trinity Chapel Cowden 51°08′42″N 0°05′36″E / 51.1450°N 0.0934°E / 51.1450 ; 0.0934 ( Trinity Chapel ( former ) , Cowden ) Presbyterian - A simple brick-built Vernacular-style chapel of 1894 , this served its Presbyterian congregation until 1958 and has been a house , St Andrew 's Lodge , since then
St John the Evangelist 's Church Dunton Green 51°17′55″N 0°09′46″E / 51.2987°N 0.1628°E / 51.2987 ; 0.1628 ( St John the Evangelist 's Church ( former ) , Dunton Green ) Anglican - Local architect M.T . Potter designed this church for the village in 1889-90 . It was made redundant in 1987 and has been in commercial and industrial use since then , latterly as a veterinary surgery . Brick , Bath Stone and slate were used , and the style is Early English Gothic Revival
Bethel Free Church Dunton Green 51°17′48″N 0°09′53″E / 51.2968°N 0.1647°E / 51.2968 ; 0.1647 ( Bethel Free Church ( former ) , Dunton Green ) Assemblies of God - This was built as a Congregational chapel in 1873 by Swanley resident Mr Joynson , and was registered for marriages in October 1880 . After that community moved to the new Dunton Green Free Church nearby in 1937 , the yellow- and red-brick building passed to the Assemblies of God Pentecostal denomination . In January 2012 it was leased to an organisation called Faithworks
Ebenezer Chapel Edenbridge 51°11′51″N 0°03′52″E / 51.1974°N 0.0645°E / 51.1974 ; 0.0645 ( Ebenezer Chapel ( former ) , Edenbridge ) Independent II John Tyler founded this weatherboarded chapel in central Edenbridge in 1808 as a meeting place for Independent Calvinists . Various pastors served it , and it later became a Strict Baptist chapel aligned to the Gospel Standard movement . It is now a community centre and café
Four Elms Congregational Church Four Elms 51°12′59″N 0°06′00″E / 51.2164°N 0.0999°E / 51.2164 ; 0.0999 ( Four Elms Congregational Church ( former ) , Four Elms ) Congregational II
Goathurst Mission Chapel Goathurst Common , Ide Hill 51°15′00″N 0°08′33″E / 51.2500°N 0.1426°E / 51.2500 ; 0.1426 ( Goathurst Mission Chapel ( former ) , Goathurst Common , Ide Hill ) Anglican - This was served from the parish church at Ide Hill and was entirely supported by Mrs Ryecroft , a local resident . It was in religious use from about 1895 until 1939 ; after World War II it was sold for residential conversion
Baptist Mission Chapel Goathurst Common , Ide Hill 51°15′01″N 0°08′33″E / 51.2504°N 0.1424°E / 51.2504 ; 0.1424 ( Baptist Mission Chapel ( former ) , Goathurst Common , Ide Hill ) Baptist -
Hartley United Reformed Church Hartley 51°23′00″N 0°18′22″E / 51.3833°N 0.3060°E / 51.3833 ; 0.3060 ( Hartley United Reformed Church ( former ) , Hartley ) United Reformed Church - This single-storey church building with an attached hall held its first service on 15 September 1934 , but it was advertised for sale and potential redevelopment in 2011 . Its marriage registration ( as a Congregational church ) dated from June 1936
Hextable Bethel Hextable 51°24′48″N 0°10′44″E / 51.4132°N 0.1789°E / 51.4132 ; 0.1789 ( Hextable Bethel , Hextable ) Assemblies of God - This building on Claremont Road was registered for marriages in July 1941 . It later became the Bethel Centre , home of PCCA Christian Childcare ; in a planning application submitted in 2011 requesting permission to demolish the building ( which was refused ) , it was stated that the premises had been used as offices for the last 10 years
Leigh Evangelical Free Church Leigh 51°11′43″N 0°12′45″E / 51.1954°N 0.2125°E / 51.1954 ; 0.2125 ( Leigh Evangelical Free Church ( former ) , Leigh ) Evangelical II George Devey 's Perpendicular Gothic Revival building of 1871 was also used as a school and has housed three different congregations . By 1975 it had become a Royal British Legion hall , a function it still fulfils . Originally a non-denominational mission hall supported by Samuel Morley , it passed to the Church of England after his death and was later an Evangelical church . The red- and blue-brick and stone building is supported by buttresses , including to its side porch . The roof is of slate
St Paulinus ' Church Centre Marlpit Hill , Edenbridge 51°12′46″N 0°03′37″E / 51.2127°N 0.0603°E / 51.2127 ; 0.0603 ( St Paulinus ' Church Centre ( former ) , Marlpit Hill , Edenbridge ) Anglican -
Marsh Green Mission Church Marsh Green 51°10′47″N 0°03′28″E / 51.1797°N 0.0577°E / 51.1797 ; 0.0577 ( Marsh Green Mission Church ( former ) , Marsh Green ) Anglican - This dates from around 1929 and was within the parish of Edenbridge when it was in religious use . It is now a house
Otford Wesleyan Chapel Otford 51°18′46″N 0°11′09″E / 51.3128°N 0.1857°E / 51.3128 ; 0.1857 ( Otford Wesleyan Chapel ( former ) , Otford ) Methodist -
Seal Bible Christian Church Seal 51°17′19″N 0°13′20″E / 51.2887°N 0.2221°E / 51.2887 ; 0.2221 ( Seal Bible Christian Church ( former ) , Seal ) Methodist - Designed in the Renaissance Revival style in 1881 and provided for the Bible Christian Church , this was in use by a group called the Seal Baptist Mission by 1984 but is now a house . The walls are predominantly yellow-brick with some red brickwork
Otford Lane Mission Church Sepham Heath 51°19′28″N 0°08′48″E / 51.3245°N 0.1466°E / 51.3245 ; 0.1466 ( Otford Lane Mission Church ( former ) , Sepham Heath ) Anglican - The church was in Shoreham parish and was provided for worshippers based at the many smallholdings in the area . It was in use until 1985 . Some fittings were moved to St Margaret 's Church at Halstead thereafter
Sevenoaks Bible Christian Chapel Sevenoaks 51°17′15″N 0°11′41″E / 51.2874°N 0.1947°E / 51.2874 ; 0.1947 ( Sevenoaks Bible Christian Chapel ( former ) , Sevenoaks ) Methodist - This red-brick and terracotta chapel , with pinnacles and lancet windows , was provided for the Bible Christian Church in 1882 . Reregistered for Methodists in 1942 after the Methodist Union , it then closed in 1961 and became a Masonic lodge
Sevenoaks Wesleyan Methodist Chapel Sevenoaks 51°16′16″N 0°11′32″E / 51.2710°N 0.1922°E / 51.2710 ; 0.1922 ( Sevenoaks Wesleyan Methodist Chapel ( former ) , Sevenoaks ) Methodist - The Drive Methodist Church replaced this centrally located building in the Market Square . Designed by W.W. Pocock in 1852 , it was an Early English Gothic Revival chapel of Kentish Ragstone . A restaurant and shops now occupy the premises