It was built in 1868 in an "austere Neoclassical" style for members of a newly formed church who had been worshipping in a hired building nearby since seceding from another chapel elsewhere in Brighton in 1867 as a result of doctrinal differences.

In the Book of Genesis chapter 31, it is used to refer to a pile of stones built to commemorate a peace agreement between Jacob and his relative Laban.

[2] Protestant Nonconformism was a significant feature of the religious life of East Sussex from the 17th century—in particular a local form of Calvinist doctrine "explicitly rooted in 16th-century puritanism".

[3] Although employed in commerce, he had experience as a Baptist preacher: in Eastbourne he had held meetings at his house and then in a chapel built alongside a bakery he owned.

[10] He had been invited to preach at Providence Chapel for the first time on 7 February 1836, and soon became a regular preacher there, embarking upon "a ministry of increasing usefulness".

In 1867 the majority of chapel members voted for Harbour to take the pastorate; those who held Strict Baptist beliefs decided to secede and form a new church under White's leadership.

[12][14] Meetings were held in houses first, then the group obtained a room on Windsor Street in the North Laine district.

Henry White led the first service on 5 January 1868, and the building in which they met had to be extended as the church's popularity grew.

[14][15] Within a few months, the members decided to move out of the rented accommodation and build a permanent chapel nearby, for which White would be the first pastor.

[18] Henry White was then inducted as pastor on 4 January 1869,[2] but he died that August at the age of 36 and a six-year period of interregnum started.

James Dennett, originally from Birmingham, was appointed to the pastorate after a trial period early that year, but resigned in August 1876 and returned to his home region for health reasons.

This led to "another period under a varied ministry" with no settled leadership,[21][24] which came to an end when James Popham joined Galeed Chapel.

[25] He led the church for 55 years until his death in June 1937, and was an important figure for Strict Baptists nationally in several ways.

For 31 years from 1905 he edited the Gospel Standard magazine,[26] with which many Strict Baptist chapels including Galeed are affiliated.

[24] About 1,500 people attended in total,[32][33] split across two services, and the Brighton and Hove Herald reported that the church was so full that some attendees had to sit in the adjacent schoolroom to listen.

[34] John Gosden conducted his funeral: he had been a deacon at Galeed Chapel for five years[33] and had taken over from Popham as editor of the Gospel Standard magazine in 1935.

[28] A long interregnum followed; Gosden himself was invited to preach for three months, but he was already leading a Strict Baptist church in Maidstone and decided not to take up the offer of the pastorate at Galeed.

[43] The neighbourhood developed rapidly in the early to mid-19th century as Brighton expanded beyond its old boundaries, and is characterised by terraced houses, small industrial units and workshops, independent shops, pubs and theatres.

The original 19th-century interior is largely unchanged:[7] the only alterations were in 1875, when an additional vestry and connecting staircase were built, a new vestibule created in 1974 when some pews were removed, and redecoration and new toilets in the 21st century.