Charles Spurgeon was first called to preach at the New Park Street Chapel, Southwark, in 1853 at the age of nineteen. This was one of the oldest Baptist chapels in London. The young preacher’s remarkable gift soon drew overflowing crowds, and it was decided to enlarge the chapel to accommodate them. While preparations were under way, Spurgeon commenced his services in a large rented hall and then moved to the Royal Surrey Gardens, a music hall. Here the crowds grew to 10,000. He also preached at the Crystal Palace, where he was heard at one time by 23,654 people.
By this time the church decided to abandon plans to enlarge the New Park Street Chapel and build anew on a property at the Elephant & Castle. Spurgeon hastened the decision by a threat; as he says in his autobiography, ‘...either the Tabernacle must be erected, or I would become an evangelist, and turn rural dean of all the commons in England, and vicar of all the hedge-rows’. The building, with its broad portico of Corinthian columns, cost £31,000 and could seat 5,000. It was called the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the ‘tabernacle’ following a tradition established by Spurgeon’s hero, George Whitefield. Spurgeon himself said, ‘We believe this building to be temporary, meant for the time in the wilderness without the visible king’.
In 1898 the first Metropolitan Tabernacle burned to the ground. A fund-raising campaign was mounted, with money coming from all over the world to raise the £45,000 needed to rebuild. The pastor at that time was Thomas Spurgeon, one of Charles Spurgeon’s twin sons. The new Tabernacle opened debt free, with a seating capacity of 3,000. Disaster struck again with the bombing in World War II. The third Metropolitan Tabernacle, which exists today, was opened in 1959, again debt free. It has a rebuilt sanctuary seating 2,000 with space for another 500 in the basement. A restoration of the original facade faces the Elephant & Castle. A centenary celebration was held in March 1961, featuring Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones of Westminster Chapel as speaker.