Bunyan is famous as the author of Pilgrim’s Progress. He was imprisoned several times in the late 17th century for illegal preaching in Bedford and the surrounding area.

Charles Spurgeon was the most famous preacher in the 19th century, a Baptist pastor in Cambridgeshire and then London, building the Metropolitan Tabernacle and founding what would become known as Spurgeon’s College.

There are other significant British Baptists who have made important contributions in different areas.
 

John Smyth (1554-1612) — was the first pastor of the first Baptist church of English exiles in Amsterdam
Thomas Helwys (1550-c.1616) — planted first Baptist church in England and author of A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Inquity which was one of the first arguments for religious freedom
Thomas Grantham (1634-1692) — General Baptist pastor in Lincolnshire and Norwich, petitioned Charles II several times.
Benjamin Keach (1640-1704) — Particular Baptist pastor in London, encouraged hymn-singing, wrote a widely used catechism and other works
Dan Taylor (1738-1816) — General Baptist pastor who founded the New Connexion of General Baptists
George Cousens (1805-1881) — the first Jamaican to hold a pastorate in a Baptist church in Britain
Hugh Stowell Brown (1823-1886) — Baptist preacher, pastor and social reformer in Liverpool
Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) — a renowned Baptist preacher, and the first President of the Baptist World Alliance in 1905
Edith Gates (1883-1962) — first woman in pastoral charge of a Baptist church
Violet Hedger (1900-1992) — first woman to train for Baptist ministry
Margaret Jarman (1932-2018) — first woman minister to be appointed President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain
 

John Gill (1697-1771) — Baptist pastor and theologian who was awarded a Doctor of Divinity from the University of Aberdeen. Author of A Body of Doctrinal Divinity amongst other works.
Anne Dutton (1692-1765) — a poet and author
Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) — Baptist pastor and author of The Gospel Worthy of all Acceptation
Henry Wheeler Robinson (1872-1945) — Principal of Regent’s Park College, Oxford and well-known scholar of the Old Testament. Grandfather of the novelist William Horwood
George Beasley-Murray (1916-2000) — Principal of Spurgeon’s College and well-known scholar of the New Testament

William Carey (1761-1834) — Co-founder of the Baptist Missionary Society and missionary in India
Hannah Marshman (1767-1847)— Baptist missionary in India
William Knibb (1803-1845) — Baptist missionary in Jamaica and anti-slavery campaigner
Timothy Richard (1845-1919) — Welsh Baptist missionary in China
Ellen Farrer (1865-1959) — medical doctor in India
George Grenfell (1849-1906) — Baptist missionary in the Congo. Awarded a gold medal by the Royal Geographical Society
Lily De Hailes — First ever single female Baptist missionary in Congo
 

Martha Trinder (1736-1790) — ran a boarding school for girls in Northampton
Caleb Evans (1737-1791) — a Baptist pastor who founded the Bristol Education Society
F A Cox (1783-1853) — a Baptist pastor who actively supported the formation of the University of London
Andrew Gifford (1700-1784) — a Baptist pastor who was assistant librarian at the British Museum
Marianne Farningham (1834-1909) — writer, teacher and hymn-writer
T R Glover (1869-1943) — Lecturer in Classical Literature, University of Cambridge
 

Martha Gurney (1713-1816) — bookseller and printer of radical pamphlets, including a bestselling work advocating the boycott of goods produced on Caribbean plantations
Eleanor Coade (1753-1821) — businesswoman manufacturing neoclassical statues and architectural decorations  
William Burls (1763-1837) — wealthy London merchant, one of the chief financial officers for BMS
Thomas Cook (1808-1892) — businessman and founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son
Samuel Morton Peto (1809-1889) — Entrepreneur, civil engineer and railway developer and Member of Parliament
E. S. Robinson (1817-1885) — businessman in paper, printing and packaging.
George Baines (1851-1934) — architect of non-conformist chapels and churches
 

William Kiffin (1616-1701) — Member of Parliament in the 17th Century, a Baptist pastor and merchant
John Clifford (1836-1923) — a Baptist pastor, politically engaged, especially around issues of social justice and education. He was an inspiration to Gandhi
Sarah Bonwick (1849-1924) — suffragist and key member of the Baptist Women's League
A. V. Alexander — Labour Member of Parliament, Minister of Defence, 1946-50
David Lloyd George (1863-1945) — British Prime Minister with some early Baptist links
William Adamson (1863-1936) — Labour Member of Parliament, leader of the Labour Party, 1917-21
Ernest Brown (1881-1962) — a Liberal Member of Parliament, between 1940-45 he held positions in government as Secretary of State for Scotland, Minister of Health, and lastly as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Sir Cyril Black (1901-1992) — a Conservative Member of Parliament
Sir Godfrey Le Quesne (1924-2013) — Barrister and member of the Queen's Counsel from 1962
 

Anne Steele (1717-1778) — a hymn-writer
John Fawcett (1739-1813) — a Baptist pastor in Yorkshire who wrote the hymn ‘Blest be the tie that binds'
John Rippon (1751-1836) — a Baptist pastor who published the important hymnal A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, Intended to Be an Appendix to Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns
 

Hugh Martin (1890-1964) — a Baptist minister, founder of SCM Press, and involved in British Council of Churches and member of the Order of the Companions of Honour
Ernest Payne (1902-1980) — a Baptist minister, scholar, and General Secretary of the Baptist Union and Vice President of World Council of Churches. He was made a Companion of Honour