The Surrey Chapel (1783–1881) was an independent Methodist and Congregational church established in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London on 8 June 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill. His work was continued in 1833 by the Congregational pastor Rev. James Sherman, and in 1854 by Rev. Newman Hall. The chapel's design attracted great interest, being circular in plan with a domed roof. When built it was set in open fields, but within a few years it became a new industrial area with a vast population characterised by great poverty amidst pockets of wealth. Recently the site itself has been redeveloped as an office block (currently occupied by the London Development Agency), and Southwark Underground Station has been built opposite. History The first stone of the chapel was laid in 1782, and the building opened in June 1783. Sponsorship was raised from Dissenting philanthropists such as the Methodist, Selina, Countess of Huntingdon. A round building, Rowland Hill is said to have remarked, prevented the Devil from hiding in any corners. Its founding pastor, Rowland Hill, having a strong interest in inoculation, established one of the most effective vaccination boards in London at Surrey Chapel. He was buried, at his own request below the pulpit, but was later re-buried below the Lincoln Memorial Tower of the successor chapel, Christ Church, Kennington Road. Surrey Chapel, though owned and managed by independent trustees primarily as a Nonconformist chapel, was operated as a venue for music, singing, and for the meetings of charities, associations and societies, several of which became closely associated with it. For a time, the composer and arranger Benjamin Jacob was organist, attracting thousands; a practical response to Rowland Hill's well known concern about chapel music of the time: 'Why should the Devil have all the good tunes ?' . One of the chapel's principal associations was with the non-denominational London Missionary Society; for over sixty years the society held its principal annual sermon at Surrey Chapel and from here dispatched many of its best known missionaries including Robert Moffat and John Williams. The chapel made itself available to many religious figures of different denominations; those invited to preach within its walls included both Establishment and Nonconformist figures. Clergymen of the Establishment included Henry Venn) and Rev. Thomas Scott, whilst eminent Dissenting ministers included Dr Chalmers. Martha and James Sherman took over the pastorate in 1935 and their partnership contributed to the chapel's success.