3-057-061 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Reverand Charles Haddon Spurgeon, pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, 1880. Spurgeon preached his first sermon at the age of sixteen, and quickly became known for his oratory skills. People from all walks of life would flock to hear him preach. In 1861 the Metropolitan Tabernacle in Newington opened. This had been specifically built for him, as the halls he preached in could not hold the numbers of people that came to listen. He was minister there until his death. He instigated the establishment of many institutions, such as a pastors' college founded at Camberwell in 1856, which transferred to the Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1861; and an orphanage founded in 1867 at Stockwell.