On May 20th, 1896, the Stone Laying ceremony took place, and friends and supporters came from miles around to join in the celebrations. Although the weather was threatening, a large number of people gathered around the partly erected building to watch and join in as a hymn was sung, a psalm said and a prayer offered. One can imagine the scene as the ladies and gentlemen dressed in their finest clothes and the children in their ‘Sunday best’ gathered around the front of the building. Six stones were laid during the ceremony, two of which are still in place in the front wall of the building. Six "Guinea Stones" were then laid by local children, who were each presented with a Chapel and School Hymn Book as a memento of the occasion.

When the occasion ended, the visitors from areas such as Tunbridge Wells Southborough and Groombridge left to join the train at Grange Road Station. In those days it was possible to travel by train from Crawley Down to Tunbridge Wells and a special fare had been arranged for visitors attending the Stone Laying Ceremony. A return ticket for a single fare was one shilling and four pence half penny.