LANCASHIRE J\(ONCONFORMITY:
OF THE
n
BY THE REV. B. NIGHTINGALE,
Author of the "History of the Old Independent Chapelt
Tockholes."
THE CHURCHES OF MANCHESTER, OLDHAM,
ASHTON, Ac.
JOHN HEYWOOD,
DF.ANSGATE AND RIDGEFIELD, MANCHESTER
2, AMEN CORNER, LONDON, E.G.
33, BRIDGE STREET, BRISTOL.
5204
_36
/8
THIS VOLUME
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
TO THE
CONGREGATIONAL MINISTERS AND CHURCHES
WHOSE HISTORIES IT CONTAINS.
PREFACE.
EXACTLY four years have elapsed since the first prospectus of " Lancashire
Nonconformity " was sent out to the public, and in Volumes V. and VI., now
issued, the work receives its completion. Four years, however, do not by
any means represent the amount of time consumed in its production ; for
when that first prospectus was issued a not inconsiderable proportion of
the work was already written, and materials were in hand for much of the
unwritten portion, all of which had been a labour of many years. It
is, therefore, with no light sense of relief that I look upon the finished
thing. Amidst the claims of a busy pastorate, in a town where Noncon
formity, in all its forms, has no little difficulty in maintaining its ground,
together with the prospect of serious financial loss, it has required some
courage to "endure unto the end." The work has never lost interest for
me during its progress ; nor has the burden its weight. The possibility,
however, of providing our churches with lessons, salutary and admonitory
on the one hand, inspiring and encouraging on the other, and of contri
buting towards a quickened interest in their work, prevented me from
beating a retreat, though the temptation to do so has been often present.
" Lancashire Nonconformity " makes no great pretentions. It is a
modest attempt to write a very interesting story, and all that the author
can say for himself is that neither time, labour, nor expense has been
spared that the story might be told correctly. Of the imperfections of
the work no one is more conscious than myself. Early ideals have been
realised to a very limited extent, and from the beginning it became
evident that absolute accuracy was impossible. I cannot refrain from
repeating a regret, expressed in earlier volumes, that our demoninational
" organs " are so often and so seriously inaccurate. Our Year Books, Calen
dars, Magazines, &c., which in the case of many churches are the only
available sources of information about their early history, manifest a
supreme contempt for facts and figures ; and the obituary notices of
brethren departed are often written by those who evidently only "know
in part." It will considerably lighten the labours of any future historian,
and save him hours of anxiety and irritation, if our churches will see that,
viii. PREFA CE,
as far as possible, only reliable information about themselves is printed,
and especially that full and accurate records of their doings are kept. The
character of the documents used in the production of the present work will
in some measure explain any errors which it may be found to contain. In
connection with this matter it may be added, that generally when a minister's
name appears in successive volumes, and any difference in the accounts is
detected, the latest information is the most accurate.
The present volume covers only a part of the Manchester District of
the Lancashire Congregational Union, yet it has considerably outrun the
number of pages at first intended. Some churches may be disappointed
because their histories are not more full, but if they will note the number
whose histories had to be inserted they will see that greater fulness was
not possible. It has been stated repeatedly, in circulars and earlier prefaces,
that each volume is complete in itself ; but the pressure of space in the
present one has compelled me, wherever possible, to ask the reader to
consult other volumes for more details.
Congregationalism appears in its strength in the part of the county
with which this volume deals. The quick, vigorous, and courageous spirit
which centres in the great Cottonopolis of Lancashire, has shown itself in
continuous aggressive Congregational effort. Whereas at the commence
ment of the century, when the Lancashire Congregational Union was
born, there were barely half a dozen inconsiderable interests, now there
is a large Congregational network in Manchester and neighbourhood, and
many of the churches have both wealth, position, and numbers on their side.
The story is not without incidents of a humiliating character, but on the
whole it is full of encouragement, and it shows what great possibilities there
are in Congregationalism, when it commands the loyalty of its own friends.
The pleasing duty remains of acknowledging the kindness of innumerable
friends. Pastors and deacons of churches, almost without exception, have
promptly replied to my inquiries, and placed at my disposal all necessary
church documents. The Rev. R. M. Davies has continued the loan of the
County Union Reports, at much inconvenience to himself ; he has also given
generous help in the collection of information about the Oldham Churches,
and that in a year of unusual activity, and when the condition of his health
made the lightening of his labours imperative. Drs. Hodgson and Thomson,
of Manchester, also have supplied me with valuable information. The Rev.
J. W. Kiddle has been most kind, and to him I am indebted for the historic
outlines of three or four of the churches. G. H. Adshead, Esq., of Pendleton,
who has interested himself in the work from its commencement, has sent me
many documents from his valuable collection ; and Mrs. Macfadyen has per-
PREFACE. ix.
mitted me the use of several manuscripts which the late Dr. Macfadyen, an
enthusiast in Nonconformist history, had gathered together with pious care.
The Rev. Thomas Green, M.A., and D. F. Howorth, Esq., F.S.A., of Ashton-
under-Lyne, have been willing helpers ; and the Rev. Alexander Gordon, M.A.,
Principal of the Unitarian Home Missionary College, has revised the proofs
of several of the older foundations whose congregations are now Unitarian.
The Rev. D. John, the respected pastor of the Booth Street Welsh Congre
gational Church, has written for me the story of Congregationalism
amongst natives from the Principality, of whom Manchester contains not
a few. The Rev. J. Barton Bell, of Ulverston, has again read the proofs
of the whole volume ; and the index is mainly the work of the two lady
friends who assisted in a like capacity in a previous volume. To all these
friends, and many more whose names are unmentioned, my warmest thanks
are given.
I deem myself fortunate in being able to complete " Lancashire Noncon
formity" in the Tercentenary year of British Congregationalism, in the
Jubilee year of the Lancashire College, and in the Jubilee year of one of
our most honoured ministers ; and if, in conjunction with these events, the
production of this work shall help to a quickened interest in our Congrega
tional history, I shall not think the labour has been in vain.
BENJAMIN NIGHTINGALE.
Fishergate Hill, Preston,
September, 1893.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.— ROUND ABOUT MANCHESTER.
PAGES.
1. Monton Chapel I — 10
2. Congregationalism at Patricroft and Eccles n — 16
3. Congregationalism in Pendlebury and Neighbourhood 16 — 27
4. Blackley Unitarian Chapel 27—37
5. Dob Lane Chapel, Failsworth 38—5°
6. Gorton Protestant Dissenters' Chapel 5°— 62
7. Outside the City : The Circle Completed 62—80
CHAPTER II.— THE MANCHESTER CHURCHES.
1. Cross Street Chapel 81—107
2. Cannon Street Congregational Church : Now Chorlton
Road Church 107—132
3. Grosvenor Street Congregational Church 133 — 137
4. Mosley Street (now Cavendish Street) Congregational
Church I37—H7
5. Platt Chapel M7— J58
6. Longsight and Rusholme Congregational Churches 158—165
7. Rusholme Road, Tipping Street, and Stockport Road
Congregational Churches 166—174
8. Hulme (now Zion Chapel, Stretford Road), and Greenheys
Congregational Churches, with Vine Street Mission
Church 174-180
9 Ancoats, Oldham Road, and Ashley Lane Congregational
Churches l8o~l88
10. Harpurhey, Queen's Park, and Newton Heath Congre
gational Churches 188—192
n. Cheetham Hill, Broughton, Broughton Park, and High-
town Congregational Churches 192—196
12. A Chapter of Fragments 196—207
xii. CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.— SALFORD CONGREGATIONALISM.
PAGE
1 . New Windsor Congregational Church 208 — 213
2. Chapel Street Congregational Church 213 — 217
3. Hope and Richmond Chapels — Branches from Chapel
Street 217—224
4. Pendleton (Broad Street), Charlestown, Seedley, and
Regent (Trafford Road) Congregational Churches ... 224 — 229
CHAPTER IV.— OLDHAM AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.
1. Greenacres Congregational Church 230—245
2. Union Street Congregational Church 245 — 251
3. Hope Congregational Church 251 — 257
4. Regent Street, Townfield, and Derker Congregational
Churches 258 — 261
5. Werneth, Ashton Road, and Hollinwood Congregational
Churches 261 — 264
6. Royton, Shaw, and Heyside Congregational Churches... 264 — 268
7. Waterhead, Pastures, and Springhead Congregational
Churches 268 — 274
8. Congregationalism at Middleton 275 — 279
CHAPTER V.— NONCONFORMITY IN ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE
AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.
1. Early Nonconformity 280 — 287
2. Dukinfield Old Chapel 287 — 295
3. Albion Congregational Church 296 — 306
4. Ryecroft Congregational Church 306 — 308
5. Congregationalism in Dukinfield 308 — 313
6. Denton and Droylsden Congregational Churches 314 — 318
7 Stalybridge and Mossley Congregational Churches 318 — 323
NOTES 325 — 327
INDEX 329—345
I LLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
ECCLES PARISH CHURCH .............................. 2
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
MONTON OLD CHAPEL AND SCHOOL
WARDLEY HALL
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
WORSLEY OLD HALL ........................... ••
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
A BIT OF THE IRWELL, NEAR CLIFTON ...........
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
THE REV. JOHN BRADFORD ....................
(From an old Print.)
PYKE FOLD, THE REPUTED RESIDENCE OF THE REV. THOMAS PYKE . 31
(From a drawing in the possession of the Rev. John Ellis.)
BLACKLEY Old DISSENTING CHAPEL .........
, 49
DOB LANE OLD CHAPEL .........
GORTON OLD PROTESTANT DISSENTERS' CHAPEL, ... i
...... 76
MARPLE ................
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
. 83
THE CATHEDRAL, MANCHESTER ......
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
xiv. ILLUSTRATIONS.
POOL HOUSE, WITH ITS DUCKING STOOL .................. 88
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
HULME HALL, THE RESIDENCE OF THE MOSLEYS ............ 90
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
DEAN Row CHAPEL, ERECTED ABOUT 1688 .................. 95
(From an old Print.)
DR. JOHN BYROM .................................... no
(Lent by the Proprietors of the Manchester Weekly Times.)
BYROM'S HOUSE, HANGING DITCH ........................ m
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
KERSAL CELL: A SEAT OF THE BYROMS ..................... 112
(By permision of Mr. John Heywood.)
THE REV. TIMOTHY PRIESTLEY ........................... 118
(From an old Print.)
THE REV. J. A. MACFADYEN, M.A., D.D ..................... 128
(By permission of the Deacons of Chorlton Road Congregational Church.)
CHORLTON ROAD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH .................. 129
(By permission of the Deacons of Chorlton Road Congregational Church.)
CAVENDISH STREET CHAPEL .............................. 143
(Lent by the Rev. J. W. Holdsworth.)
ORDSALL HALL ......... . ............................. *49
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
BIRCH CHAPEL ....................................... i52
(From an old Print.)
IVY CHAPEL, LONGSIGHT .............................. 160
(Lent by the Rev. W. M. Westerby.)
ILL USTRA I IONS. xv.
PAGE
OCTAGON CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, STOCKPORT ROAD, MANCHESTER 173
(Lent by the Rev. J. R. Murray, M.A.)
MR. ROBERT SPEAR 201
(Lent by Mr. C. Goodyear, Librarian, Lancashire College.)
THE REV. WILLIAM ROBY 203
(Lent by Mr. C. Goodyear, Librarian, Lancashire College.)
LANCASHIRE INDEPENDENT COLLEGE, (FRONT VIEW) 205
(Lent by Mr. C. Goodyear, Librarian, Lancashire College.)
THE OLD BRIDGE, SALFORD 2I5
(By permission of Mr. John Hey wood.)
HOUSE WHERE THE REV. R. CONSTANTINE PREACHED 233
(From an old Print.)
" GREENACRES BARN," THIRD LICENSED PREACHING HOUSE AT
GREENACRES 235
(From an old Print.)
GREENACRES OLD CHAPEL, ERECTED IN 1784...
(From an Old Print.)
UNION STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 249
(Lent by the Deacons of the Church.)
HOPE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, OLDHAM
(Lent by the Rev. R. M. Davies.)
THE REV. R. M. DAVIES, WITH AUTOGRAPH...
.. 265
ROYTON OLD HALL
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
. 286
DENTON OLD CHAPEL IN 1793
(From an old Print.)
xvi. ILL USTRA TIQNS.
PAGE
THE OLD CHAPEL IN HARROP'S YARD ............... _ 298
(By permission of the Proprietors of the Ashton Reporter.)
THE NEW ALBION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH ......... 3o3
(Lent by D. F. Howorth, Esq., F.S.A.)
DUKINFIELD OLD HALL CHAPEL, AS RESTORED IN 1872 ... 312
(Lent by the Rev. J. M. Craven.)
STAYLEY HALL, STALYBRIDGE .........
(By permission of Mr. John Heywood.)
LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
CHAPTER I.
ROUND ABOUT MANCHESTER
I.— MONTON CHAPEL.
AMONGST the two thousand ministers who suffered ejectment by
the Act of Uniformity, in 1662, was the Rev. Edmund Jones,
B.A., vicar of Eccles Parish Church. His father was the Rev.
John Jones, who was instituted to the vicarage of Eccles, January
9th, 1610-11, and Edmund Jones was born here in 1624. He
was admitted into St. John's College, Cambridge, October, 1645,
and ordained as his father's successor at Eccles, January 25th,
1649-50. After his ejection, Calamy says, he "preached in
private, and when authority allowed it more publicly."1 The Rev.
John Angier, of Denton, in a diary now lost, says that Mr. Jones
was arrested for his Nonconformity, October 8th, 1663, and the
Rev. Henry Newcome, M.A., writes thus, under date August
i6th, 1668 :—
I was told by a dear friend that certificates from the Bishop were granted
against Mr. Jones and Mr. Martindale for preaching at Gorton, and that it
was given out that a third should come out against me for preaching in my
own house.2
It is clear from these statements that Mr. Jones, like most of
the Nonconformists of that period, passed through many hard-
1 " Nonconformist's Memorial " (1802), vol. ii., p. 362.
s " Autobiography of Henry Newcome " (Chetham Society Series, vol.
xxvii.), p. 171.
2 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
ships, which continued with little abatement until the date of his
death, May and, 1674. Calamy describes him as a man of
" excellent abilities, and an able scholar, naturally very rhetorical."1
To this may be added the testimony of Henry Newcome : —
May 3 [1674], The news came to me (Lord's day, at dinner) of the death
of my dear friend and brother in the work and patience of the Gospel, Mr.
Edmund Jones, who died last night of a short sickness. A great breach it
ECCLES PARISH CHURCH.
is upon us. He was a true-hearted, serious man, and a faithful minister.
The Lord awaken us. The next day, being May 4th, Mr. Tilsley preached
at his funeral at Eccles an excellent sermon on 2 Tim., iv., 7, 8.2
Probably the people to whom Mr. Jones extended his occasional
ministrations " in private," and " more publicly" when not prevented
1 "Nonconformist's Memorial " (1802), vol. ii., p. 362.
2 " Autobiography of Henry Newcome" (Chetham Society Series, vol.
xxvii.) p. 206. Much interesting information respecting the Rev. Edmund
Jones and his father, John Jones, will be found in the Minutes of the
Manchester Classis, recently published by the Chetham Society.
MONKS HALL. 3
by the civil authorities, were some of his old congregation who
had sympathy with his views ; at any rate about this time a Non
conformist congregation was accustomed to meet at Monks Hall,1
in the neighbourhood of Eccles, having as pastor the Rev. Roger
Baldwin, who had been ejected from Penrith in 1660, and Rain-
ford, near St. Helens, in 1662. He continued until his death, June
igth, 1695, when he was succeeded2 by the Rev. Thos. Crompton,
M.A. Mr. Crompton was a native of Great Lever, near Bolton,
being born there in 1634, and educated at Oxford University.
He was minister at Toxteth Chapel, Liverpool, in 1657, and "after
the Act of Uniformity took place he continued to enjoy the liberty
of the public chapel, being some way privileged."3 His colleague
at Liverpool for many years was the Rev. Michael Briscoe, formerly
of Walmsley, near Bolton, whose sturdy Independency brought
upon him many troubles. As already stated, Mr. Crompton
took charge of the Congregation at Monks Hall4 on the death of
Mr. Baldwin, but he was not permitted to hold it long. Death
terminated his life and labours on September 2nd, 1699. Previous
to this, however, Mr. Crompton and his people had built for
themselves a place of worship at Monton, which even now is quite
rural, and then must have been " an out-of-the-way and secluded "
spot.5 The site was purchased in 1697, and the chapel, which
cost ^150, was probably erected in that or the following year.
Mr. Crompton's successor was the Rev. Jeremiah Aldred, who
was educated at the Rathmell Academy by the Rev. Richard Frank-
1 The reader is referred to vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity" for
a view of Monks Hall and a full account of Mr. Baldwin.
2 Not immediately, for Oliver Heywood speaks of him as Thomas
Crompton of Liverpool, in June, 1696 (Turner's "Yorkshire County
Magazine" for January, 1893, p. 14).
3 Calamy's "Nonconformist's Memorial" (1802), vol. ii., p. 378.
4 It appears that Oliver Heywood, on what proved to be his last visit to
Lancashire, preached at Eccles on Wednesday, June 3, 1696. In a passage
from his diary, which Hunter gives (" Life of Oliver Heywood," p. 388), he
says that, accompanied by Dr. Neeld, " we preached in their meeting place,
a large barn, to a full assembly ; sat with my Lord Willoughby afterwards ;
then we went to Eccles Church ; dined and returned to Manchester." Was
this barn at Monks Hall ? I think so.
5 " History of Monton Chapel." by the Rev. T. E. Poynting, p. 16.
4 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
land, and ordained at Attercliffe, September nth, 1688. What
charge he had previous to his coming to Monton I have not
ascertained j1 but he continued here until his death in 1729. His
tombstone in the chapel yard is thus inscribed : —
Here Lyeth the Body of ye
Rev<i- IEREMIAH ALDRED late
Minister of this place, who
died August 26th 17292 in the 6gth 2
year of his age. Also the
Body of Mary his wife who
died Sep. 30 1729 2 in the 6gth "
year of her age. Also ye Body
of leremiah Aldred their son
who died Sep. 3rd 1727 in the
28th year of his age.3
It was during Mr. Aldred's ministry, in June, 1715, 4 that Monton
Chapel was wrecked by a Church and King mob, led by Tom
1 In the Minutes of the United Brethren (Cheetham Society Series,
vol. xxiv.) Mr. Aldred is mentioned as representing some place in the Bolton
District from April, 1695, to April 1699. After that he appears as a member
of the Manchester Classis.
'-' These are singular coincidences.
3 Miall, in his "Congregationalism in Yorkshire " (p. 375), gives the
Rev. John Aldred as another of the Rev. Jeremiah Aldred's sons, who was
in the ministry for some time at Wakefield, in Yorkshire. The Rev.
Ebenezer Aldred, who died at Sheffield, October 25, 1822, aged seventy-
seven years, was the son of the Rev. John Aldred and grandson of the Rev.
Jeremiah Aldred. He was for many years a Dissenting minister in
Derbyshire.
4 There is stillm existence an imperfect MS. containing the depositions
of several persons respecting the Monton riots, amongst them being that of
the minister of Monton Chapel. It reads as follows : —
Jeremy Aldred of Mounton in the County of Lane., clerke, aged 55 years,
being sworn and exa'i'ed, saith that since his Ma'tyes accession to throne and
before the first of Augt 1715 to witt, on the 13th and twenty first day of June
in that year this depont was p'sent and did see a number of people, being
forty or more in number the latter time, and a hundred or two the former
time who came in a riotous and tumultuous maner to the Chappell or meet
ing house in Mounton, used for divine worship by protestant dissenters, and
at those times .... the seats, pews, a great part of the walls, and the slate
THE CHORLEY FAMILY. 5
Syddall, who was subsequently hanged. The congregation says
Mr. Poynting received by way of compensation from the Govern
ment "^140, repaired their chapel, and placed the present oak
pews and pulpit in it. There is a tradition that the bell was
thrown by a member of the congregation into a neighbouring pit
or pool, whence it was afterwards fished up."1 Mr. Aldred was
the intimate friend of Matthew Henry, who joined with his con-
o-re^ation in requesting him to be his successor at Chester, but
after " much serious deliberation and prayer the application was
negatived."3 The congregation at this time was one of the largest
Nonconformist gatherings in the county, numbering 612 persons,
of whom twenty-nine were county voters.
Mr, Aldred was succeeded almost immediately by the Rev.
John Chorley, connected, I imagine, with the Chorley family, of
Preston, and so with the Rev. Josiah Chorley, M.A., for many
years minister of the Octagon Chapel, Norwich. For some time
he was tutor to the family of Sir Robert Dukinfield, and this led
to his marrying Jane Dukinfield, the daughter of Sir Robert. His
ordination took place in 173°, the ceremony being performed by
the Rev. Messrs. Knight, Jones, and Mottershead. It is supposed
that he inclined towards Arianism, and so led the way for the
greater theological changes which were eventually to appear in
and roofe of the said meeting house, and most of the other parts of the walls
which were left standing, were soe shaken that they were afterwards forced
be taken downe. This depon' saith he was not an Eye-witnesse or spectato
whilst all the said damages were done; but is well assured that thesame was
done by the said Rioters, for that he tnett them as they were going t
the former time, and would have p'vailed with them to returne back, but
could not ; and this Depont actually saw them com'tting part of the s
dam'ages the latter of the said times. He saith the Riotters at the former
time took away severall arms and goods, the value whereof (besides . . a.n
were by the best computac'on worth 7" I7S 4d, and that the ex . .or
get those goods again* came to 3" i5s 3* i the charges of guarding the ,
meeting house came to 7'i S* 4d ; and the charges of Pf^ecuteing se
Rioters (besides a bill of costs to Mr. John Richardson & Mr Parr)
5u I4s. . and the said Mr. Richardson and Mr. Parrs bill amount to
4" i5.._Signed JER : ALDRED.-(Copied from "The Palatine Note I
for Nov., 1882, p. 242).
1 " History of Monton Chapel," p. 20.
a " Manchester Socinian Controversy," p. 149-
6 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
the congregation. He, too, lies in the graveyard of the chapel, and
his tombstone contains the following inscription : —
Here
Lyeth the remains of ye
REVd JOHN CHORLEY Minister
of this Place Obiit May 13th
1764 Aetatis Suae 61. Also JANE
his wife Dautr of Sr Rob' Duck
enfield Bar' who died May nth
1781 Aged 91. Also JOHN CHORLEY
Junr their son who died Jany
4th 1826 in the 89th year of his age.
Also ELLEN the wife of John Chorley
Junr who died July ioth 1809 in
the 54th year of her age.
The Rev. Richard Hodgson was the next minister. He was
the son of the Rev. John Hodgson, of Lincoln, educated at
Daventry1 by Dr. Caleb Ashworth, being a student there in 1753,
and settled at Ossett, in Yorkshire, in 1759. His ordination took
place in 1762, and in 1765 he removed to Monton. He remained
until about 1771, when he left for Nantwich, where he continued
nearly thirty years, keeping a school in addition to his pastoral
duties. His next and last charge was Doncaster, from 1800 to 1815,
where he died, on Thursday, January i8th, 1816, in the 8ist
year of his age. The Rev. Richard Bolton is named by Mr.
Poynting as successor to Mr. Hodgson, and he says that he began
in June, 1771, and died in 1773. I am inclined to think that
there is some error about these dates, and especially about the
latter. Mr. Bolton held pastorates at Rochdale and Preston, and
the reader is asked to consult previous volumes of this work for
further information respecting him.2
In a paper which he wrote for the Royal Society during his resi
dence at Monton Mr. Bolton gives some interesting particulars about
his congregation, most of whom he describes as " farmers, remark-
1 A writer in the "Monthly Repository" for 1816 (p. 243) wrongly
places him amongst the Warrington students.
2 Vide vol. i., p. 16, and note i ; vol. iii., p. 242. There is evidence that
Mr. Bolton was at Preston after 1781.
THE REV. GEORGE WICHE. 7
able for their diligence, sobriety, and long life." The Rev. John
Ludd Fenner followed. He, also, was educated at Daventry, and
settled first at Eicester, removing thence to Monton in 1774. He
remained until 1779, when he became pastor of the Dissenting
congregation at Devizes. Subsequently he was at Taunton and
Kenilworth.1 He died at Taunton in 1833, aged eighty-two years.
The Rev. H. Smith comes next, removing in 1786 to North
Shields, and eventually seceding to the Church of England. The
Rev. Harry Toulmin held the pastorate from 1787 to 1788, when
he removed to Chowbent.2 The Rev. George Wiche followed Mr.
Toulmin. He was a native of Taunton, and nephew
of the Rev. John Wiche, "the correspondent and friend
of Lardner." He was educated partly at Hoxton and partly
at Daventry, settling at Monton in 1788. He remained until
the close of 1795, when, having scruples about preaching
for hire,3 he resigned, and " went to London to seek
employment, and, as he considered it, moral independence. After
many difficulties and privations, now seeking employment, now
employed in the warehouse of a silversmith, now in a cheese
warehouse, and now in a bottle warehouse, he emigrated to New
York as agent to a mercantile house in Manchester. Disappointed
in this situation he hastened to join his old friend Mr. Toulmin, in
Kentucky, but took the yellow fever in Philadelphia, and died."
This was on August 23rd, 1799, at the age of thirty-three years.
The Rev. Thomas Knowles was minister from 1796 to 1797,
dying in the latter year, and being succeeded by the Rev. Robert
Smethurst. He was born at Blackley, near Manchester, July 29th,
1777, "a year long remembered in that village as that in which an
1 Mr. Poynting says that he removed from Monton to Nantwich, but
that is an error.
2 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for additional informa
tion respecting Mr. Toulmin.
3 He published in 1796 : —
THE
DECLARATION
OF
GEORGE WICHE,
On resigning the office of an Hired Preacher.
8 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
alarming earthquake occurred, on Sunday, September I4."1 His
ministerial training was obtained at the Manchester Academy,
and his settlement at Monton took place in May, 1798. "In the
same year," says his biographer, " he received the appointment of
Stand School, an office which he filled during twenty-four years.
The appointment compelled him to reside at Stand, which is dis
tant six miles from Monton."2 For nearly fifty years he laboured
here, resigning his life and ministry together in October, i846.3 In
the chapel graveyard, near to the Rev. Jeremiah Aldred's grave,
is a tombstone thus inscribed : —
This vault contains the remains of the
REV". ROBERT SMETHURST,
Green Hill, Stand,
Who died October i5th, 1846,
in the yoth year of his age
and the 5oth of his ministerial labours at this place.
In the early part of his ministry — in 1802 — the chapel was
rebuilt, and it was in his day that Unitarianism came to be
" boldly preached." The Rev. Thomas Elford Poynting, who was
educated at the Manchester New College, was appointed assistant
to Mr. Smethurst a few months before his death, subsequently
taking sole charge of the congregation. In addition to his pastoral
duties, he held for three years the post of Theological Tutor of
the Unitarian Home Missionary Board, Manchester. In 1875*
the old chapel was replaced by the present handsome structure,
which cost some ^"20,000. In the vestry is a copy of the brass
plate laid over the cavity of the foundation stone, which reads thus :
This Church,
erected by the Congregation of
Christians worshipping in the
Ancient Chapel near this
spot, is dedicated to the worship
of God the Father Almighty.
August soth, 1873.
1 " Christian Reformer " for 1848, p. 57.
2 Ibid.
3 The Rev. John Smethurst, for some time minister at Knutsford, in
Cheshire, and who died in America in 1820, was the younger brother of the
Rev. Robert Smethurst.
4 The memorial stone was laid in 1873.
io LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Minister: THOMAS ELFORD POYNTING.
Building Committee:
SILAS LEIGH, President.
JOHN BROOK, J. P., Chairman.
HENRY LEIGH, Treasurer.
JOHN DENDY, B.A., Secretary.
JONATHAN LEIGH, THOMAS DIGGLES,
JOHN FLETCHER.
Mr. Poynting died shortly after the erection of the new-
building, in 1878, being laid in the graveyard where several of
his predecessors rest. His tombstone contains the following : —
In Memory of
THOMAS ELFORD POYNTING,
for 31 years Minister of this Place.
Died February 28th, 1878, aged 64 years.1
The Rev. James Harwood, B.A., educated at Manchester New
College and Leipzig, held the pastorate from November 3rd, 1878,
to October 26th, 1884, when he removed to Nottingham, and is
now at Brixton, London. He was followed on April 26th, 1885,
by the present minister, the Rev. Philip Martineau Higginson,
M.A. He is the grandson of the Rev. Edward Higginson, for
ten years a minister at Stockport, and twenty at Derby ; and he
is the nephew of Dr. James Martineau. His training was
received at Manchester New and University Colleges, and pre
vious to his settlement at Monton he had laboured for thirteen
years at Styal, in Cheshire.
On October i3th, 1888, Miss Lydia S. Leigh, daughter of Mr.
Henry Leigh, J.P., laid the memorial stone of the present
Monton Memorial Schools. It ought to be stated that the
congregation is deeply indebted for many generous gifts to mem
bers of the Leigh and Booth families. The church is beautifully
situated, being surrounded by a number of fine tall trees. It is
close to Monton Green station, and has accommodation for over
500 people.
1 It has already been indicated that Mr. Poynting wrote a " History of
Monton Chapel," which, though not free from errors, has been found to be
exceedingly useful.
MR. JOSEPH RA WSON. 1 1
II.— CONGREGATIONALISM AT PATRICROFT AND ECCLES.
IN the year 1796 Mr. Joseph Rawson,1 formerly of Keighley, then
of Manchester, " having many persons residing in the neighbour
hood in his employment," directed his attention " to their
spiritual wants,"2 and in that way originated Congregationalism at
Patricroft. The following passage informs us where the earliest
efforts were made : —
Preaching was commenced in the first instance in a barn in Liverpool
Road, which stood near to what is now called Bradshaw Street, but which is
better known as Neddy Lane. In this place divine service was held as
regularly as supplies could be obtained, the supplies having to come from
Manchester and the surrounding districts. After worshipping for some time
in the barn, the friends removed to a room on the west side of Patricroft
Bridge. In this room they continued to worship for about two years, when
they again removed to a house adjoining, occupied by Mr. John Bate. Here
the Sunday School was formed.
In 1800 a chapel was erected, and the following notice of the
opening service is extracted from the Evangelical Magazine for
September of that year : —
On Monday, April 14, 1800, a chapel was opened at Patricroft, near
Manchester, by the Rev. Messrs. Smith and Roby, for the encouragement of
village preaching. We remark that the congregation, for whose convenience
this chapel was erected, has been collected principally by the successful
labours of some worthy members of the church in Cannon-street, Man
chester, who have in other places likewise been very useful.-'
The church was formed not, as the "Lancashire Congrega
tional Calendar" states, in 1800, but in 1804, as the subjoined
passage from the Patricroft Church Book shows :—
The following members of Patricroft Church were members of the Inde
pendent Church, Cannon Street, Manchester, under the pastoral care of the
good man died June 1st, 1824, aged seventy years, and was
interred in the graveyard of Patricroft Chapel. His tombstone states^ that
the "cause of Christ in this place originated in his Christian exertions."
2 Sermon in Patricroft Chapel, by the Rev. William Place, September
7th, 1879, on the occasion of his twelfth anniversary as pastor of the church.
For many interesting particulars I am indebted to Mr. Place's sermon.
3 Page 395.
12 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Rev. William Roby, and were by desire dismissed from that church for the
express purpose of forming themselves into a separate Independent Church
at Patricroft. They received a regular dismission at a church meeting held
at Cannon Street on the 3rd of February, 1804, and immediately formed
themselves into a Church at Patricroft. Their names were Moses Eadon,
James Massey, George Partington,1 John Bate, Mary Bate, James Cook,
Mary Cook, and James Derbyshire.
The first minister of the church was the Rev. John Adamson, a
native of Scotland. He was born July i2th, 1774, left an orphan
early in life, and settled in Liverpool at the beginning of this
century, where he attended the ministry of the Rev. David Bruce,
of Newington Chapel. Thence he went to Mr. Roby's Academy,2
Manchester, to be educated for the ministry, settling at Patricroft
in 1807. His ordination took place on Tuesday, August 3oth,
1808, when "Messrs. Sowden, Evans, Bradley, Roby, Jack,
Coles engaged in the service ; and Mr. Fletcher preached in the
evening."3 Mr. Adamson, as was customary with the Congrega
tional ministers of that time, had preaching services in several of
the villages around, Eccles being amongst the number; and to
help him in this work a small grant was made from the funds of
the County Union in 1810. Shortly afterwards the chapel at
Patricroft was enlarged, towards meeting the expense of which he
collected in London about ^300. In November, 1821, Mr.
Adamson removed to Charlesworth, in Derbyshire, where he
laboured until May, 1847, when growing infirmities disabled him
for service.4 He died October 3151, 1848. His successor in the
pastorate at Patricroft was the Rev. D. H. Creighton, from
January, 1822, to January, 1828. He removed to Dublin, where
he resided several years without pastoral charge. The Rev.
John Bramall, a student from Highbury College, was the next
minister. He was born at Heaton Norris, near Stockport, and
1 Subsequently a Congregational minister in Lancashire and Derby
shire. Vide vols. ii. and iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Jn the list of students educated by Mr. Roby, printed in Slate's
"History of the Lancashire Congregational Union," Mr. Adamson's name is
not given.
3 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1809, p. 218.
4 "Congregational Year Book" for 1848.
NE W B UILDINGS. i *
\y
was brought up in the Established Church, the church of his
parents. Removing to Coventry, he came into contact with the
Rev. John Sibree, Congregational minister there, whose church
he eventually joined, and through whom he found his way into
college. He settled at Patricroft in 1830, removing to Stainland,
in Yorkshire, in March, 1841. His next charge was at Swanland,
near Hull, where his health broke down. He resigned in Sep
tember, 1850, and went to reside at Islington, attaching himself
to Union Chapel, of which the late Dr. Allon was pastor. He
died there on the igth of January, 1864, aged sixty years. The
Rev. T. H. Smith, who had been educated at Rotherham College,
and had laboured at Denton about four years, succeeded Mr.
Bramall in May, 1843. He resigned in August. 1848, and
resided some time in Manchester without charge. The Rev.
George Shaw, a student from Rotherham College is the next on,
the ministerial roll, beginning his labours on the 2oth of July,
1851. This ministry is noteworthy because of the enlargement
of the chapel and removal of a debt of ^400. He resigned on
the 3oth of September, 1866, and removed to Woodbridge, in
Suffolk. He is now living at Hyde, near Manchester, in retire
ment. The Rev. William Place, who was educated at Airedale
College, and who had previously laboured at Whitehaven, entered
upon duty as the sixth pastor on September 8th, 1867. In 1870,
the old chapel, which had sitting accommodation for about 300
people, was superseded by the present one, which contains 750
sittings. The cost, including land and fencing, was ,£4,373-
The foundation stone was laid by Mr. Robert Wilson, of Patricroft,
on July 3ist, 1869, and the building was opened for wor
ship on April isth, 1870. The Revs. Dr. Allon, of
London, and Hugh Stowell Brown, of Liverpool, being
the preachers. Failing health brought about Mr. Place's resig
nation and retirement from active duty in 1887. He is now
resident at Southport. The present pastor, the Rev. J. H.
Dingle, educated in the Free Methodist Institute, and who had
previously spent a few years at Horncastle, Lincolnshire, followed
Mr. Place in April, 1888. New school buildings have recently
been erected at a cost of about ^2,500, towards which the
Lancashire and Cheshire Chapel Building Society made a grant of
14 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
^£250. Mr. George Hadfield, J.P., who had promised to perform
the opening ceremony on January i8th, 1893, was prevented
through sickness, but he sent a cheque for^ioo, Dr. Mackennal, of
Bowdon, taking his place. There are one or two items of interest
which ought not to be absent from a sketch of Congregationalism
here. One is that the church, previous to Mr. Place's settlement,
had been for many years the recipient of a generous grant from
the funds of the County Union; and the otherthat several notabilities
were once connected with it, viz., George Hadfield, Esq., M.P.,
to whom Lancashire Congregationalism owes a deep debt of
gratitude; James H. Heron, Esq., one of the most devoted
friends of the County Union in its infancy, and father of Sir
Joseph Heron ; Edward Baines, Esq., author of the '• History of
Lancashire ; " and the Rev. Samuel McFarlane, now Dr.
McFarlane, resident at Bedford, long and honourably associated
with missionary effort in New Guinea.
Congregationalism at Eccles is, strictly speaking, only a little
over a quarter of a century old;1 but. fifty years earlier, attempts
had been made to establish an interest here. It has already been
noted2 that the Rev. John Adamson was in the habit of preaching
at Eccles in 1810, and for several years after this the sum of £$
appears in the Union Reports as rent for a preaching room here.
The Report ending April, 1823, contains the following, which
shows that the work had not quite died out at that date : —
Eccles has not yet claimed the conditional grant of pecuniary aid
from the funds of the County Union, the friends in that neighbourhood
having been disappointed in the hope of renting a suitable place to preach
in. Renewed encouragement will stimulate them to renewed efforts.
Neither the "encouragement" nor the "efforts" seem to have
1 In the new edition of the "History of Lancashire" (vol. iii.,
p. 264) appears the following: "The first chape for the use of the Inde
pendents or Congregationalists was erected at Eccles in 1759, at which
time Mr. Chorley had become an advocate of Unitarian principles, and
taught them unreservedly from his pulpit " On what authority this rests I
do not know. I can find no evidence either traditional or documentary of
any such early Independent church, and it is more than doubtful that Mr.
Chorley was a Unitarian.
2 Vide ante p. 12.
CONG REG A TIONALISM AT E CCLES. 1 5
been " renewed " during many years, for we have no further
indication of Congregational work at Eccles until 1857, when we
meet with the following : —
At the close of last year [1857] a chapel, several years ago occupied by
the Primitive Methodists in this village [Eccles], upon undergoing various
alterations and improvements, was re-opened for Divine worship in con
nection with the Independent denomination, when three sermons were
preached ; those in the morning and evening by the Rev. James Bruce, of
Manchester, and that in the afternoon by the Rev. G. Shaw, of Patricroft.
Appended to the building there is a large room, intended for Sabbath
schools, and also to be used as a Temperance Hall. At the opening services
and since, on the Sabbath, the attendance of hearers has been very en
couraging.1
The honour of planting Congregationalism here belongs to
Hope Chapel, Salford, during the pastorate of the Rev. G. B.
Bubier, as the following sentences show : —
Several members of that church having become resident at Eccles, after
a meeting for conference with their pastor, and with a few members of other
churches residing in the neighbourhood, brought the religious necessities of
the locality before the attention of their brethren, and requested the counsel
and assistance of the church. It was unanimously resolved by the church to
appoint a committee for the commencement of religious operations in the
village, for the immediate erection of a chapel, and for the conduct of public
services therein, until such time as a separate church might be formed.
Several members of neighbouring Independent churches were subsequently
added to that committee, and it was at once determined to secure a most
eligible plot of land, admirably situated near the railway station, at the
junction of the main street of the village with the principal road to Man
chester. The friends at Hope Chapel were most generous in the contribu
tion of funds, and were so powerfully assisted by those to whom the project
was made known that the sum of £3,500 was speedily raised.2
The corner stone of the new building was laid on Good Friday,
April 22nd, 1859, by Mr. George Wood, when Professor Newth, of
Lancashire College, offered the dedicatory prayer, and the Rev.
G. B. Bubier delivered an address. It was opened for public wor
ship on Good Friday, April 6th, 1860, when the Revs. Dr. Raffles,
1(1 Evangelical Magazine " for 1858, p. 96.
2 " Congregational Year Book " for 1860, p. 244.
1 6 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
of Liverpool ; Samuel Martin, of London ; G. B. Bubier, of Man
chester; and Dr. Halley, of London, were the preachers. Thechurch,
which is of the "early decorated style of Gothic architecture," is a
most handsome structure, with a tower and spire, and has accom
modation for 800 people. " Two features of this movement," says
the "Year Book," "are deserving of attention. First, a Christian
Church colonising, by the advice and with the active co-operation
of its pastor, and all the members ; and, secondly, a church and
schools to be built and opened free from debt." * The church was
formally constituted on June i2th, 1860, when the Rev. G. B.
Bubier preached, and Professor Newth, of Lancashire College,
delivered an address. A letter was read "of great spiritual beauty
and tenderness from the church at Hope, transferring fifteen of its
communicants to constitute the first members of the church at
Eccles. To this number fourteen others were added by letters of
transfer from other churches." The first pastor of the young
church was the Rev. G. H. Brown, a student from New College,
London, who began his labours July 2yth, 1862, being ordained
on September 4th of that year. In 1883 the church was enlarged
by east and west transepts, which, with organ improvements, cost
about ^"2,800.
Mr. Brown concluded a long and useful ministry here in March,
1884, removing to Christchurch, Bristol, where he still labours.
The Rev. H. H. Carlisle, LL.B., educated at Cheshunt, and who
had previously laboured at Southampton about twenty-six years,
succeeded Mr. Brown on April i2th, 1885. He resigned in
November, 1891, and is now at Scarborough. The present
minister is the Rev. J. R. Bailey. He was educated at Lancashire
College, and previous to his settlement at Eccles, in 1893, held im
portant pastorates at Carlisle and Halifax.
III.— CONGREGATIONALISM IN PENDLEBURY AND
NEIGHBOURHOOD.
IN the Report of the County Union for the year ending April,
1819, is the following interesting passage, which, besides supply
ing us with information respecting the origin of the Pendlebury
* " Congregational Year Book" for 1860, p. 244.
WORTHY LABOURERS. 17
Congregational Church, vividly describes the moral condition of
the people at the time : —
Among the new l spheres of labour which have been entered upon in this
•district since the last anniversary, Pendlebury and its neighbourhood are de
serving of special attention. Our brethren, ADAMSON, JACKSON, DYSON, and
SLATE, have preached here alternately on Sabbath evenings during the past
half-year, to congregations regularly amounting to three hundred, and
•occasionally to four hundred persons. The population is very considerable,
and so proverbially profligate that the place is commonly called by the most
awful and tremendous names. Several individuals begin to express a serious
concern for their souls. It behoves the Union to follow up the advantages
gained over the Prince of Darkness in so distinguished a part of his territories,
by the adoption of some vigorous measures.
The " brethren " whose names are given in the foregoing extract
lived considerable distances away : the Rev. John Adamson was at
Patricroft, the Rev. Thomas Jackson at Wharton, the Rev. Joseph
Dyson at Farnworth, and the Rev. Richard Slate at Stand. Nor
were distance and bad roads the only difficulties they had to face.
It is especially recorded of the Rev. Joseph Dyson that he " often
met with a warm reception in passing through Clifton by being
pelted with stones ; " but the Congregational ministers of a century
ago counted not their lives "dear" unto themselves in their
enthusiasm to evangelise the country.
The services at Pendlebury about this time were conducted in a
house in Union Street, the upper room being occupied by the
Congregationalists, and the lower one by a Church of England
Sunday School. In 1821 the first chapel was erected2 in Chapel
Street. It was opened on the uth of June, when sermons were
preached by the Revs. J. Dyson, of Farnworth, and J. A. Coombs,
of Manchester, the Revs. J. Adamson and Richard Slate taking
the devotional exercises. The congregation in the evening, it is
recorded, was " so large as to render it necessary to conduct the
i It should be pointed out that Pendlebury in 1818 was not an absolutely
« new " sphere of labour, for Mr. Adamson, of Patricroft, had been accustomed
to preach there and at Folly Lane, Roe Green, and Boothstown some
seven years previously. r ,
* The "Union Report" says "by one of the hearers for the use
congregation and Sunday School."
5—2
1 8 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
worship in an adjacent field." Towards the end of 1823, or
beginning of 1824, the Rev. John Penkethman, formerly of Whar-
ton, was called to the pastorate of the church, and the following
year (1825) it is reported that "Pendlebury cannot accommodate
a larger congregation or school without a larger place of worship,"'
and that a church had been formed, which then consisted of nine
members.1 In 1825 the second chapel,2 "36 feet by 45 feet," was
built, the opening sermons being preached by the Revs. Wm.
Roby and S. Bradley, of Manchester. It is said that the sum
expended on the building was raised at the time, except ^90. Mr.
Penkethman had preaching stations at Swinton, Clifton, Wardley
Lane, and Irlams o' th' Height. Trouble arising, he removed about
1828 to Ashton-in-Makerfield.3 After he removed4 the cause sank
rapidly, the membership of the church became reduced to three or
four in number, and a committee of the County Union appointed to
investigate matters advised dissolution with a view to a new
beginning.5 Eventually the advice was accepted, and a com
mittee was formed out of the congregation to carry on the
work. On the 28th of November, 1830, the Rev. John
1 The " Lancashire Congregational Calendar," on what authority I
know not, says the church was formed in 1820. It is just possible, but not
likely.
a The first chapel was subsequently converted into two cottages. This
second building was so beautifully situated that it was called the '' Chapel in
the Gardens." The gardens have all gone, and very different is the prospect
to-day.
3 Vide vols. ii. and iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for additional
information respecting him.
4 A Mr. Elliott is said to have succeeded Mr. Penkethman, but he
remained only a few months.
5 The gentlemen composing this committee were the Revs. William
Roby, R. S. McAll, J. A. Coombs, James Deakin, Joseph Dyson, and
Messrs. B. Joule, S. Fletcher, and Barnes. They met at the house of Mr.
Joule, then resident at Pendlebury, but a member of Mr. Roby's church ; and
the late Rev. S. T. Porter, who was present on the occasion, says that the
members refused to dissolve the church. "Once or twice," he says, "they
pleaded Divine right ; then civil law ; then the eternal sacredness of Inde
pendency ; and at last they shut themselves solidly up in the fastness — ' We
cannot, and we will not ;' and it was not until the committee intimated that
they could not give public money to such a church that dissolution followed."
20 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Anyon, of Inglewhite, near Preston, began his labours here,
and on the nth of September, 1832, a church was again
formed, consisting of eight members. The Report for April,
1834, speaks of the erection of a gallery and improvements
in the chapel accomplished during the year, and " paid for to the
amount of ^£300;" and that for 1840 of the prosperous condition
of the church, which enabled the " friends to declare themselves
independent of any pecuniary aid from the Union. The debt of
^190, which was due upon the chapel to two individuals, has been
liberally cancelled by them." In December, 1845, Mr. Anyon
removed to Park Chapel, Ramsbottom, where he laboured until
his death.1 The Rev. Mark Hardaker followed in March, 1849,
and at this time the church again became a recipient of help from
the Union Funds. Mr. Hardaker removed to Horwich, in
January. 1854," and was succeeded by the Rev. Alexander Bell in
January, 1857. He was educated at Dublin, entered the ministry
in 1843, labouring for some time in Ireland, and subsequently at
Mottram, in Cheshire, whence he removed to Pendlebury. He
preached farewell sermons "amid the good wishes of inany " on
May ist, 1864, and removed to Westerham, in Kent. He is now
resident in London without charge. The Rev. G. Rodgers, who
was educated for the Baptist ministry, took charge of the church
in August, 1864. He resigned in April, 1867, and subse
quently held a pastorate for a short time at Stalbridge, in Dorset
shire. The Rev. H. F. Walker, trained at Nottingham Institute,
and who had previously laboured about two years at Uppingham,
in Rutlandshire, entered upon his duties as successor to Mr.
Rodgers August 9th, 1868. His ordination took place on
November 22nd, 1869. In 1873 the church again became inde
pendent of pecuniary help, and two years later it celebrated its
jubilee at a meeting3 presided over by Henry Lee, Esq., J.P. In
1882 the old chapel, "which had long been felt to be unsuited to
1 Vide vols. i. and iii. [of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for additional
information.
2 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for more details.
3 Mr. Walker read at this meeting an interesting sketch of the church's
history, afterwards reprinted from the Swinton and Pendlebury Times, to
which I am indebted for several particulars.
WORSLEY ROAD CHURCH. 2I
the growing requirements of the district, was abandoned for a more
imposing structure in Swinton, on a site central to the two
villages."1 Trinity Congregational Church,2 as the new building
is called, was opened for worship on June i3th, 1882, when Dr.
Macfayden preached the sermon, the Revs. H. F. Walker (pastor)
and W. H. Fothergill, of Heywood, assisting in the service. The
cost of the sacred edifice was about ^"3,000, and it has sitting
accommodation for 430 people. Mr. Walker removed two years
later to Loughborough, in Leicestershire, where he still labours.
His successor, in July, 1885, was the Rev. R. H. Cotton, M.A.,
who entered the Congregational ministry from the Established
Church, He resigned in iSSg,3 and was succeeded on the first
Sunday in April. 1891, by the Rev. John Shuker,4 of Tottington,
who is the present minister. The old chapel at Pendlebury is still
in existence, and is used as a Day and Sunday School.
The Congregational Church at Worsley 'Road, Swinton, origi
nated with a few men employed in the mill of John Gibb and
Sons, Moorside, who, with the consent and co-operation of their
employers, in March, 1861, began to hold a Sunday School in a
large room belonging to the mill. About this time, also, the Rev.
G. B. Bubier, pastor of Hope Chapel, Sdford, commenced services
there, and a considerable congregation was speedily gathered. In
1862 a grant was obtained from the County Union Funds, and in
that year a church was formed, consisting of sixteen members,
the Rev. G. B. Bubier officiating on the occasion.
It is recorded, in 1863, of the "one hundred and ten scholars
now in the school, seventy never previously attended any Sabbath
School." 5
Students from Lancashire College supplied the pulpit until May,
1865, when the Rev. Peter Webster was appointed by the County
Union to labour here. Amidst many difficulties, but not without
success, Mr. Webster continued his ministry until April, 1879,
1 " Lancashire Congregational Calendar" for 1883, p. 102.
2 It is distant from the old chapel about half a mile.
3 Mr. Cotton is now in the Episcopalian Church, in America.
^Vide vols. i. and iii. of "Lancashire Nonconformity"
information.
5 « Lancashire County Union Report," for the year ending April, lE
22 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
when he resigned, subsequently removing to Preesall, near Fleet-
wood.1 Previous to this, however, he had seen the erection of
the chapel in Worsley Road, Swinton. The building, which
accommodates some 270 people, cost about ^1,450, and was
opened free from debt, the congregation taking possession of their
new home in November, 1870. The next minister was the Rev.
W. H. Chesson, a student from Lancashire College. He began his
labours in March, 1880, and succeeded in bringing the church to
dispense with Union help. He resigned in June, 1887, and is now
pastor of the Congregational Church at Alnwick, in Northumber
land. The Rev. J. C. McCappin2 had charge of the church from
November, 1888, to June, 1890. The present minister, the Rev.
P. Garrotte, who was educated at Rotherham, and had previously
held pastorates at Barton-on-Humber and Sleaford, entered
upon duty in August, 1890. At Moorside, which is about three-
quarters of a mile from the Worsley Road Church, the friends
conduct Pleasant Sunday Afternoon services in their British School.
A mission in Folly Lane has been established.
Before quitting this neighbourhood a few sentences must be
devoted to an older interest still, which had a promising existence
for a few years. About 1820, when the Rev. John Penkethman was
minister at Wharton, he preached, amongst other places, at Edge
Fold, where the room used for the purpose was usually crowded.
In 1824 a chapel was erected in Hilton Lane, Worsley, by which
name the interest here was henceforth called. It was capable of seat
ing over 500 people, and was opened on June qth of that year, the
preachers being the Revs. G. F. Ryan, of Stockport ; Wm. Roby,
of Manchester ; and J. A. Coombs, of Salford. The collections on
the occasion amounted to ^32, and it is said that a "considerable
debt had been unavoidably incurred in the erection of this chapel,
with the school under it, in which 300 poor children were
educated."3 There was at this time a church with a membership of
nineteen and a congregation of about 300. The pastor was the
Rev. William Oram, who was educated at Hackney. He resigned
shortly after the chapel was opened, and was for many years a Con-
1 Vide vol. i. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 " Evangelical Magazine " for 1824, p. 405.
1H111A&* ^ W;'I
'
24 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
gregational minister at Benson, in Oxfordshire. The " County Union
Report," for the year ending April, 1826, says that the people had
invited the Rev. William Gothard,1 whose stay also was short.
The chapel appears to have been closed for some time after Mr.
Gothard's removal, but it was re-opened in May, 1837, and in
June of the year following the Rev. R. J. Matthews, from Nassing-
ton, in Northamptonshire, took charge of the place. On August
6th, 1838, he was "solemnly ordained," when the ministers
assisting in the service were : Revs. J. Bramall, of Patricroft ;
R. Fletcher, of Manchester ; Wm. Jones, of Bolton ; J. Anyon, of
Pendlebury ; J. Dyson, of Farnworth ; and Dr. Clunie, of Man
chester.2 Mr. Matthews remained some considerable time after
this, but the church, which had for a year or two received grants
from the Union Funds, ceased to be in association with the Union,
and eventually became extinct. Mr. Matthews subsequently
laboured at Shipdham, in Norfolk. He died in London, January
23rd, 1868, aged eighty years.
Proceeding in a north-easterly direction we come to Prestwich
(Besses o'th' Barn) Congregational Church, on the other side of
the Irwell. This church originated with the junior students of
Lancashire College, who, assisted by one or two Manchester
friends, began to conduct services here in 1863. 3 The present
structure, capable of seating 800 people, was erected in 1865 at a
cost of about ^"4,000, including that of the school, towards
which the committee of the Bi-centenary Fund promised ^"1,000.
1 Vide vol. i. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 •' Evangelical Magazine" for 1839, p. 80.
3 Mr. Jonathan Lees, of Manchester, father of the Rev. Jonathan Lees,
ow an eminent missionary in China, pointed out the neighbourhood to a
number of junior students as a promising field for work. Two of their
number — Mr. J. S. Waide, now of Springhead, near Oldham, and Mr. J.
Stimpson, now of Thirsk — went to view the land and consult with the Rev.
Alexander Anderson, B.A., of Stand, who promised every assistance.
Professor Newth, of Lancashire College, offered to be responsible for the
expenses to the extent of £10. Two cottages were taken capable of
accommodating about 120 people, and the first sermon was preached by a
student, Mr. T. Cain, now pastor of the Stubbins Congregational Church,
near Ramsbottom. On the first Sunday morning there were five scholars, in
the afternoon sixty-seven, and in the evening 1 10 persons were present.
PRESTWICH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 25
The communicants were associated with Stand Independent
Church, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Alexander Anderson,
B.A., who from the first took a warm interest in the cause; but
in 1866 a separate church was formed. In this year also the Rev.
Osric Copland, a student from Cheshunt College, began his
labours as the first pastor, and in the course of two or three
years the church was able to dispense with assistance from the
A BIT OF THE IRWELL, NEAR CLIFTON.
Union. Mr. Copland resigned in 1869, and went to Australia
where, until recently, he was minister of the Congregational (
at Prahran, Melbourne, Victoria. The Rev. Llewellyn Porter,
educated at Lancashire College, and who had previously > spe,
few years at Heckmondwike, in Yorkshire, succeeded Mr. Copland
in 1871. He removed to Mossley in 1877, and« n<T H
Hasting He was followed in x878 by the Re, H. H ^hard-
son a student from Airedale College. He res,gned in 1880, a,
26 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
in that year the Rev. Stephen Hartley accepted the pastorate of
the church. His ministerial training was obtained at Lancashire
College, and previous to his settlement at Prestwich he had
laboured some years at Ripponden, in Yorkshire. Mr. Hartley
resigned in September, 1892, and is now without charge. As yet
no successor has been appointed.
Not far from Prestwich is the Rooden Lane or Heaton Park
Congregational Church, which was commenced in 1862. Through
the energy of a lady and gentleman a night school was opened in
the early part of that year, and before its close a mission was
started under the auspices of the church at Cheetham
Hill. In 1865 a chapel was built and opened, and in 1867
it is described as "an interesting movement, commenced
and largely sustained by the church at Cheetham Hill,
under the pastorate of the Rev. G. W. Conder. The place is
situated on the high road to Bury, between four and five miles
from the Manchester Exchange. A huge line of houses contain
about 1,500 working people. The building has been provided
almost wholly by the liberality of Mr. Conder's people."1 In the
following year a branch church, consisting of nine members, was
formed, and connected with Cheetham Hill. After Mr. Conder,
the Rev. Thomas Hamer, who succeeded him in the pastorate of
the Cheetham Hill Church, continued to exercise a wise and
helpful oversight of the cause at Rooden Lane, Sunday services
being mainly conducted by Lancashire College students. In
1875 the Cheetham Hill Church handed the management of the
station over to a committee of six gentlemen, mainly associated
with Broughton Park Congregational Church. A Bible woman
had for some time been engaged, whose services were well received
by the people. In 1881 a new building, within a few minutes'
walk of Heaton Park Station, was erected on land which had been
previously purchased by Henry Lee, Esq., of Sedgley Park, and
Thomas Rymer, Esq. It was opened in November of that year by
Dr. Dale, of Birmingham. It is in Gothic style, with a schoolroom
on the ground floor affording space for 400 scholars, and the chapel
itself has been arranged to accommodate the same number of
1 "Lancashire Congregational Calendar" for 1867-8, p. 36.
THE RE V. JOHN BRADFORD. 2 7
persons. The total cost was about ,£4,525, which was met by
subscriptions and a grant of ,£500 from the Chapel Building
Society. The Rev. G. D. Hughes, a Lancashire College student,
was appointed minister, beginning his duties as such with the
opening of the building. He remained until October, 1884, when he
removed to Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, where he now labours. The
Rev. Alfred Cooke followed in 1886. He was trained for the ministry
at Nottingham Institute, and had laboured for some years at Sedg-
ley, in Staffordshire. He resigned in the beginning of 1888, and
subsequently removed to Plymouth. The present minister, the Rev.
James Bainton, assumed the pastorate in 1890,' under whose
care the church is making steady progress. It ought to be
stated that the cause here is indebted for much generous help to
the Broughton Park Congregational Church, which undertook its
management in 1877, and in particular to Mr. Henry Lee, who has
befriended it from the beginning.
IV.— BLACKLEY UNITARIAN CHAPEL.
WRITING in 1854, the Rev. John Booker, B.A., says :—
The township of Blackley, wherein the chapel of which it is now proposed
to treat was located, is distant about four miles north north-east from Man
chester. It is situated on the river Irk, a stream so called from the liveliness
of its current, which has entitled it to the figurative appellation of Iwrck,
Irke, or Roebuck.2
Adjoining, and formerly belonging to the ancient chapelry of
Blackley, is the township of Crumpsall, which has the double
honour of being the reputed birthplace of Hugh Oldham, LL.B.,
Bishop of Exeter, and of Humphrey Chetham. Most reluctantly
am I compelled by the exigencies of space to pass by these two
Lancashire worthies, as also two others, with a very brief notice —
viz., Father Travis and John Bradford. Blackley claims both
1 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 " History of Blackley Chapel," p. 5.
28 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
these men, if not as natives, as warm friends, who were staunch
Protestants when Queen Mary set England ablaze in her zeal to
establish Romanism. Travis suffered punishment for his Pro
testantism, and John Bradford was burnt at Smithfield a few
months after Latimer and Ridley. " He endured the flame,"
writes his biographer, " in a fresh gale of wind in a hot summer's
day, without reluctancy, confirming by his death the truth of that
doctrine which he had so diligently and powerfully preached
THE REV. JOHN BRADFORD.
during his life, which ended July the first, 1556, in the prime,
though in what year of his age is not certainly known."1
The chapel referred to by Mr. Booker in the extract just given
was, of course, the Episcopal Chapel erected for the convenience of
those who found the mother church at Manchester too distant ;
111 Abel Redevivus," by Fuller (1867), vol. i., p. 223. In "Writings of
the Rev. John Bradford," by the Religious Tract Society, it is stated that
he was born about 1510, and so at the time of his martyrdom he would be
about forty-six years of age.
PURITAN WORTHIES. 29
but, as the early ministers were Nonconformist in their views, the
history of Nonconformity in this place would be incomplete if
some notice of them were not given.
Oliver Carter, B.D., one of the fellows of the Collegiate Church
in Manchester, had fixed his abode in Blackley in 1598, "dis
charging possibly the duties of resident incumbent." " His
contentions," says Dr. Halley, " with the most Puritan bishop on
the bench led him, in the latter part of his life, to speak with very
little respect of the bishops, who, as he thought, were becoming
'lords over God's heritage.'"1 Oliver Carter died in 1604-5, and
was interred in the Collegiate Chapel, Manchester, March 2ist.
The Rev. Thomas Paget was appointed minister of Blackley
Chapel about 1600. He belonged to the Pagets of Rothley, in
Leicestershire, and in 1617 he was cited to appear before Morton,
Bishop of Chester, for Nonconformity. In 1631 he was released,
and in order to escape a fine and imprisonment he fled into
Holland, accepting in November, 1639, the pastorate of the English
church in Amsterdam, where he remained until August, 1646.
" During his residence abroad," says Mr. Booker, " he edited the
works of his predecessor in the charge, the Rev. John Paget, first
minister of the English church in that capital. This was in the
year 1641. On returning to England, in 1646, he was nominated
to the rectory of St. Chad's, Shrewsbury, which he held until 1659.
He died in October, 1660, rector of Stockport." The Rev.
William P.athband was Mr. Paget's successor, being appointed to
Blackley about 1631. He had previously preached at Cockey
Moor2 nearly twenty years, and was intimate with the family of
Oliver Heywood. The length of his stay at Blackley is not clear,
but he was gone before 1648, in which year, on June i4th, the
Rev. James Walton " appeared before the Classis at Manchester,
exhibiting his dismission from the congregation of Horwich and
Bolton."3 In 1650 he was the minister of Blackley Chapel, when
the Parliamentary Commissioners reported thus concerning
him : —
1 "Lancashire Puritanism and Nonconformity," vol. i., p. 170.
2 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 Ibid.
3o LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
The said Mr. James Walton hath not any certen sallery but what the
Inhabitants of the said Chappelry are pleased voluntarily to give him in Hew
of theire tyths, wch formerly they payed to the warden and fellowes as
aforesaid . . . And that the said Mr. Walton hath manyfested disafeccon
to the p'sent governem' by neglectinge to observe days of thankes givinge
and humiliacon appointed by ordinance of pliam' and speakinge against the
Engagm' by reason whereof the same place thiese dayes were not supplyed. x
Mr. Walton continued to attend the meetings of the Manchester
Classis, as minister at Blackley, until July, 1652, when he appears
to have removed. Subsequently he was ejected from Shaw
Chapel, near Oldham. On the Hth of December of the same year
the Rev. Daniel Smith " presented himselfe " to the Manchester
Classis, "being desired by the elders at Blakeley, and was
approved to preach as an expectant, in order to ordination."2 His
name is associated with the chapel until April, 1654. In September
of the same year the Rev. Thomas Holland, M.A., from Ringley,3
is named as minister. He remained until 1662, when he suffered
ejectment through the Act of Uniformity. In the Burial Register
of the Collegiate Church, Manchester, appears the following : —
— Dec. 28. Thomas Holland of Newton, deceased in Oldham
parish.
1674-5 — Feb. 10. Hannah wife of Thomas Holland, late of Newton, clerk,
deceased at Oldham.
With Mr. Holland the line of Nonconformist ministers at
Blackley Chapel comes to an end,4 but their labours had not been
without effect upon the people. As early as 1668 a congregation ot
Dissenters existed, " worshipping with such secrecy as the stringent
laws enacted against Dissenters at that time rendered needful, a
Mrs. Travis5 receiving the ministers at her own house." To this
1 "Commonwealth Church Survey" (Record Society Series, vol. i.), p. 10.
3 " Manchester Classis," by Mr. Shaw, p. 186, being vol. xxii. of the
Chetham Society publications (New Series).
3 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
4 The Rev. Thomas Pyke was buried in Blackley Chapel, August 2ist,
1676, and whether that may be taken as an indication that the Noncon
formists had some sort of hold upon the building I do not know. If they had,
it was very temporary, much more so than was the case in some other parts
of the county.
5 No doubt a descendant of Father Travis, previously mentioned.
32 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
congregation the Rev. Thomas Pyke, who had been ejected from
Radcliffe, ministered more or less until his death in 1676. 1
Information respecting these early times is exceedingly scanty,
and the immediate successor of Mr. Pyke, and the place of
meeting for the Nonconformists, are uncertainties. Oliver Hey-
wood, however, in his diary, under date June 3oth, 1682, writes
about preaching to "a full company at Widow Travers's[Travis's]"2
house. So that it appears occasional Nonconformist worship, at
least, continued to be held there after Mr. Fyke's death. The
first chapel for Nonconformist worship was erected in i697,3 the
site for which was given by William Rowlinson, an inhabitant of
Blackley. Tradition has it that the foundation was laid by Mr.
Joshua Taylor, of Alkrington Green, when he was only sixteen
years of age ;4 and the first minister of the new meeting house was
1 Vide vol. iii. of "Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Turner's "Yorkshire Genealogist," &c., for January, 1889, p. 54.
3 The indenture bears date July igth, 1697, and is between William
Rowlinson, of Blackley, in the county of Lancaster, yeoman, on the one part,
and Thomas Travis, of Blackley, aforesaid, chapman, George Travis, of the
same place, chapman, Richard Ogden, of the same place, yeoman, and Ralph
Wardleworth, of the same place, yeoman, on the other part. In the
"Northowram Register" (p. 289) is the following notice of Mr. George
Travis's untimely end : " George Travis, of Blakeley, in Manchester Parish,
had bin at a Race at Ashton, fell of his Horse in a Small Brook near
Newton Heath, & was taken up dead, Oct. 31 [1723]."
4 In the chapel graveyard is a tombstone thus inscribed : —
Here resteth the body of
JOSHUA TAYLOR,
of Alkrington,
Who departed this life Sept. ijth, 1756,
in the 75th year of his age.
Also, MARY, his wife,
Who departed this life March 23rd, 1781,
in the 94th year of her age.
Also, JACOB, his son,
Physician and Surgeon, the Father and Friend of the needy,
Who departed this life June 2ist, A.D., 1778,
Aged 63 years.
Also, JOSEPH, their son,
Who departed this life April i7th, 1785.
Aged 63 years.
THE REV. THOMAS VALENTINE. 33
probably the Rev. John Brooks. He appeared at the meeting of
the United Brethren in Manchester, August 4th, 1696, as a candi
date for the ministry in connection with the Manchester District ;
and was ordained at Macclesfield, June lyth, 1700, when he is
described by Matthew Henry as "Mr. Brooks, of Blakely."1
Nothing is known of him beyond this.2 The Rev. John Heywood
became the minister in 1702. He was educated at the Rathmell
Academy by the Rev. Richard Frankland, and ordained at War-
rington, June i6th, 1702. Like Monton Chapel, the one at
Blackley suffered from the Sacheverel riots on June 2oth, 1715,
and this was during Mr. Heywood's ministry. His labours here
were terminated by his death in January, 1731, and his remains
were interred within the chapel where for nearly thirty years he
had ministered.3 In the "Northowram Register" the event is
thus referred to : —
Mr. John Heywood, minr. at Blakley New Chapel, near Manchester, bur.
there Jan. 28. A great loss to the congregation and his family.4
The Rev. Thomas Valentine, who also was educated at
Rathmell, was ordained at Knutsford, May 5th, 1719, and, after
labouring at Kingsley, in Cheshire, about fourteen years, removed
to Blackley in 1731. Mr. Booker says : —
The amount subscribed by the congregation for the support of Mr.
Valentine fell short of his moderate wants, being little more than ^25 per
annum, and the close of his life was marked by poverty.
His death took place on May toth, 1755, and, like his pre
decessor, he was buried within the chapel at Blackley.5
1 '' Memoirs of the Rev. M. Henry," by J. B. Williams, F.S.A.
" Probably the Rev. John Brook, or Brooks, who was at Yarmouth,
Norfolk, in 1711, afterwards at Norwich, whence he removed to York, where
he died in 1735.
3 In Mr. Heywood's time the Blackley congregation numbered 224
persons, of whom twelve were county voters.
4 Page 308. I imagine Mr. Heywood was a near relative of the Rev. Oliver
Heywood. His children, of whom there were several, were baptised at
Northowram Chapel, where Oliver Heywood had laboured.
5 Dr. Newth informs me that he has a MS., in which the name of the
Rev. Thomas Valentine appears, and against it are the words " Of the
5—3
34 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
The next minister was the Rev. John Helme, from 1755 to
X757- Concerning him nothing definite is known.1 He was
succeeded in 1757 by the Rev. James Benn, a native of Lanca
shire, related to Cuthbert Harrison, an ejected minister, who
laboured for many years at Els wick. Mr. Benn's first pastorate
was at Forton, near Garstang. He removed from Blackley to
Low Ro\v, in Swaledale, Yorkshire, in I766.2 In April of that
year the Rev. Philip Taylor, subsequently minister of Key Street,
Liverpool, preached his first sermon at Blackley ; but, if he was
ever appointed to the pastorate here, it could not have been for
more than a few months, for in 1766 the Rev. Thomas Gwatkin,
" a young Non-conforming clergyman, educated at Oxford,3 com
menced a short ministry. Afterwards he was led to conform. He
went to America, and on his return obtained a living in Hereford
shire." The Rev. John Pope, educated by the Rev. Micaiah
Towgood at Exeter, followed about 1767, being appointed at the
same time to the mastership of Stand School. In 1791 he succeeded
the Rev. Gilbert Wakefield, as Tutor in Classics and Belles Lettres,
at New College, Hackney, but two years afterwards returned to his
old charge at Blackley. He laboured here until his death, in October,
1802, and was buried in a vault within the chapel, where a marble
tablet thus describes his character : —
In memory of the
Rev. JOHN POPE,
Who died Oct. 28, 1802,
In the 58th year of his age.
Chowbent family." Several members of this family became Dissenting
ministers. Vide vols. ii. and iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity ; " also my
*' History of Independency in Tockholes."
1 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for information respecting
one or two ministers of this name. Some writers on Blackley Nonconformity
identify him with the Walmsley minister of that name, but without sufficient
evidence.
2 Vide vol. i. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 So says Mr. Booker; but the name of Mr. Gwatkin is given in the list
of students educated by Mr. Towgood, at Exeter. It is said that afterwards
he was " ordained by the Archbishop of Canterbury." (Vide " Monthly
Repository " for 1818, p. 90.)
THE REV. WM. HARRISON. 35
He was a man of considerable learning and ingenuity, and was minister of
this chapel during a period of 35 years. For his truly benevolent heart he
was greatly esteemed and beloved.
His affectionate flock, in gratitude for his services, have erected this stone
as an humble tribute to his memory.
He published several sermons and pamphlets, amongst them
being one preached at Blackley, September 2ist, 1777, " occasioned
by the shock of an earthquake the preceding Lord's day.''1 During
the two years of Mr. Pope's absence from Blackley his former
pupil, the Rev. Thomas Broadhurst, had charge of the congre
gation. He was a native of Blackley, and was trained at the
New College, Hackney, being its first student. On the com
pletion of his college course he went to Manchester, where
he had a good school of twenty-five pupils,2 serving the chapel
at Blackley at the same time. In 1793 he removed to Taunton,
thence to Halifax, m Yorkshire, and afterwards to Bath, resigning
after a ministry there of considerably over forty years, He died
at Bath, October gth, 1851, aged eighty-four years. The next
minister was the Rev. William Harrison. He was the son of the
Rev. Ralph Harrison, of Manchester, being born May 2ist, 1779,
and baptised " not long after in the same year " by the Rev. John
Pope, of Blackley. He succeeded Mr. Pope in January, 1802,
and continued there for about fifty years. He died at Higher
Broughton, Manchester, on November 3oth, 1859.
His tablet in the chapel is thus inscribed : —
The Revd. WILLIAM HARRISON
Died December 3ist, 1859,
Aged 80 years.
He was the Faithful Minister of this Chapel
for 50 years.
This Tablet is erected by the members of his congregation
and other friends
As a Memorial of their Respect and Esteem.
Some time after Mr. Harrison's retirement the pulpit was sup
plied by the Manchester District Unitarian Association, the name
1 Vide ante p. 8.
3 One of his Manchester pupils was the Rev. Jabez Bunting, D.D.,
who became President of the Wesleyan Conference.
3 6 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
of the Rev. J. C. Street being especially mentioned as an earnest
worker. Brief ministries were exercised afterwards by the Revs.
Abraham Lunn and J. Bishop, B.A., now resident in Dorsetshire
without charge ; and Adam Rushton, now living in retirement at
Upton, near Macclesfield. The Rev. Joseph Freeston, who had
previously laboured at Dob Lane, entered on duty at Blackley
the first Sunday in August, 1869, and remained until 1880,
removing in that year to Stalybridge. He is now at Macclesfield.
The Rev. J. Basford followed with a short ministry, being succeeded
by the Rev. J. McLaren Cobban. The present minister, the Rev.
John Ellis, educated at the Home Missionary College, Manchester,
took charge in July, 1885.
The old chapel, which stood until 1884, is thus described by
Mr. Booker : —
It is a building of no pretension, its limits not exceeding those of an
ordinary-sized schoolroom, which it much resembles. Its extreme length is
44 feet 6 inches, and its width 19 feet 9 inches The interior is filled up with
pews, seventeen in number, affording accommodation for about one hundred
and thirty persons ; but the congregation rarely exceeds thirty, of whom the
greater proportion is from a distance. The exterior, in itself unattractive,
is rendered picturesque by a thick covering of ivy, which conceals its stuccoed
walls. Attached to the south wall is a sun-dial with the following in
scription : —
My change is sure, it may be soon,
Each hastening minute leads me on ;
The awful summons draweth nigh,
And every day I live I die.1
The present chapel, which has accommodation for 300 people,
stands on the site of the old structure which it has superseded. The
memorial stone was laid, May lyth, 1884, by the late Alderman
Philip Goldschmidt, Mayor of Manchester, and it was opened for
public worship the following year.
1 " History of Blackley Chapel," p. 94. To this work I am indebted for
much of the foregoing information.
38 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
V.— DOB LANE CHAPEL, FAILSWORTH.
NONCONFORMITY at Failsworth — or Newton Heath1 — began in the
same way and about the same time as it did at Blackley, distant a few
miles. The Act of Uniformity led to the ejectment, in 1662, of the
Rev. John Walker, M.A.2 His father, the Rev. William Walker, was
minister at Newton Heath in 1642, whence, about 1649, he removed
to Brindle, near Preston. He died in 1651, and was buried at
Manchester, June loth. John \Valker had been associated with his
father in the ministry at Newton Heath previous to his removal to
Brindle, after which event he took sole charge. In the Rev.
Henry Newcome's diary there is an interesting passage under date
January 6th, 1662, relating to a meeting at Mr. Walker's house to
consider what should be done in view of the passage of the
Uniformity Bill in the House of Commons : —
1 got up, and about 10, after dutys, went to Newton to Mr. Walker's,
we I saw some of ye rnnrs and had profitable company together. It was pro
posed that each should consider seriously both wt grounds wee had of hopes
or fears in this gloomy day. And wt encouragemts to beare up ye heart
welle if ye worst should come. Wee supt at Sam: Booker's ys night, & it
was 12 before wee went to bed.3
After his ejection Mr. Walker is lost to sight for several years,
but in 1682 he succeeded the Rev. Samuel Newton at Rivington,
A The chapel stands on the Oldham Road, on the Failsworth side of the
boundary of the Townships of Failsworth and Newton Heath. It is distant
three miles from Manchester and three and a half from Oldham. Dob Lane
was the name formerly given to that part of Oldham Road, from the chapel
to Watchcote, Failsworth, and that is the name now used to describe the
district.
2 Curiously enough, Calamy, in his account of the ejected and silenced
ministers, published in 1713, gives the Rev. John Walker as the ejected
minister of Newton Heath, but in his "Continuation" he corrects this to
William Walker. The first account is the true one. In Palmer's edition of
the work published in 1802, the name is given as William Walker. The late
Mr. J. E, Bailey once told me that the earlier edition of Calamy is much to
be preferred to Palmer's, being often more reliable, a judgment which my
own researches lead me to think is correct. Palmer's, however, is handier
and often very useful, because of the additional information which it contains.
3 "Newcome's Diary" (Chetham Society Series, vol. xviii.), p. 41.
CONFUSIONS AND DIFFICULTIES. 39
near Chorley, where he laboured until his death.1 Oliver Hey-
wood, in his diary under date Thursday, April 4th, 1672, tells
about keeping "a fast at John Hulton's, Newton-heath,"'2 in con
junction with Mr. Newcome, of Manchester. It appears that Mr.
Heywood was a not infrequent visitor to these parts, and in his
"Northowram Register" are some entries of persons connected with
Newton Heath, which fact witnesses to his interest therein. Here
is one: —
Mr. Hulme, schoolmaster at Newton Heath, died suddenly September
4, 1679, aged 70. 3
It is not certain4 who immediately succeeded Mr. Walker, but
probably it was the Rev. Mr. Lawton, who preached the funeral
sermon of the Rev. Thomas Pyke, in August, 1676, being then
the minister of Newton Heath. Mr. Newcome refers to his death
thus :—" February 28th [1688]. Honest Mr. Lawton, minister of
Newton Heath Chapel, died this day/5 From this extract it
1 In volume iii. of this work I have stated my inability to identify the
ministerial Walkers, of whom there appear to be several in the i7th
century. Much earlier writers seem to have experienced the same difficulty
as myself. Calamy and the editor of the " Manchester Socinian Contro
versy " confuse William Walker with his son John Walker, and Dr. Halley
does the same. Booker, in his "History of Didsbury and Chorlton
Chapels " (Chetham Society Series, vol. xxii.), mentions the Rev. John
Walker, M.A., who was succeeded as curate of Didsbury Chapel, in 1685, by
the Rev. Peter Shaw ; and Mr. W. A. Shaw, in his notes on the ministers of
the Manchester Classis (Chetham Society Publications, New Series, vol.
xxiv., p. 448), leaves much in doubt.
2 "Heywood's Diaries," by J. H. Turner, vol. i., p. 288.
3 Page 74. Was this Mr. Hulme, or Holme, any relation of the Rev.
James Holme, born in the parish of Rochdale, assistant for some time to the
Rev. John Angier, of Denton, who died at Kendal, a Nonconformist minister,
in November, 1688, aged fifty-eight years?
4 1 have experienced more difficulty in collecting information about Dob
Lane Chapel than in any other case. All documents seem to have dis
appeared, and the sketch here presented is no doubt incomplete, and possibly
in some particulars inaccurate. I have had most generous help in making it
what it is from the Rev. Alexander Gordon, M.A., Principal of the Unitarian
Home Missionary College ; and from Messrs. R. P. Wright, Dob Lane, and
T. F. Robinson, Moston, one of the chapel trustees.
5 " Autobiography of Henry Newcome " (Chetham Society Series, vol.
xxvii), p. 307.
40 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
appears that the Nonconformists had regained possession of the
chapel from which Mr. Walker had been ejected, retaining it,1 I
imagine, until the erection of the building in Dob Lane, about
1 Probably not without break. Oliver Heywood, in his diary under date
August 5, 1683, says: — "Sunday, having refused many motions of preach
ing, and intending to go to Newton Heath and to preach at Mr. T. Leech's
after Mr. L. sent me word that Mr. Loten [Mr. Lawton, the Noncon
formist minister] was sent for into Staffordshire to his dying mother. Went
hat morning, so nobody was there. I and my wife heard Mr. Hide, at Sal-
ford, in forenoon. We went to church in the afternoon ; heard Mr. Gips, of
Bury. He preached well. After that we rode to Mr. T. Leech's, at Newton
Heath. There I preached to his family, and a few more. Lodged there."
(Turner's "Yorkshire Genealogist" for July, 1890, p. 255.) This was the
year when warrants were issued everywhere against the Nonconformist
preachers, and it would seem that Mr. Lawton. for the time being, was
silenced ; at any rate that the chapel at Newton Heath was not in his hands
to offer to his friend Oliver Heywood, and he must preach in the house of
Thomas Leech.
" This is the date usually given, but it is only approximate. Mr. T. F.
Robinson gives the following extracts from the trust deeds of the chapel,
which are held by Mr. R. D. Darbishire, of Manchester, solicitor, and a
trustee of the chapel. The first trust deed is dated 24th May, 1698, and is
the conveyance of the land (upon which the chapel was afterwards built) from
"James Heape, of Fails worth, blacksmith, and Sarah, widow of James, his
father, of the first part, to Nathaniel Scholes, of Salford, clerk ; Joseph Leech,
of Newton, chapman ; Joseph Clegge, of Newton, gentleman ; James Marlor,
of Newton, chapman ; Henry Hardman, of Droylsden, yeoman, of the second
part." The second trust deed is dated 3oth March, 1706, and recites : "James
Marlor and Ralph Smith, of the first part, Joseph Heywood, of Newton,
clerk ; Joseph Clegge, eldest son of Joseph Clegge, of Newton ; John Leech,
of Manchester, gentleman ; Samuel Leech, of Manchester, chapman ; Adam
Smith, of Failsworth ; James Hardman, of Droylsden ; John Clough, of Fails-
worth ; Samuel Taylor, jr., of Moston, yeoman ; John Robinson, of Moston,
yeoman ; and James Newton, of Woodhouses, Ashton, linen weaver." It further
states : "The conveyance of 1 698, and that since the conveyance so made through
the contributions and at the charge of several persons inhabiting the several
townships or hamlets of Failsworth, Newton, Droylsden, and Moston, and
several other persons, there hath heretofore been erected on the said land a
certain building containing three bays, wherein several pews and seats have
been made, and wherein several inhabitants of the townships have and do
usually assemble and meet together for the exercise of religious worship,
after the way of Protestant dissent. Trusts declared permit the edifice to be
used for a place of meeting of Protestant Dissenters for the public exercise of
THE SCHOLES FAMILY. 41
Previous to this, however, in 1694, the Rev. Nehemiah Scholes, or
Scoles, was labouring here.1 He was the son of the Rev. Jere
miah Scholes, and grandson of George Scholes, of Salford
Jeremiah Scholes was baptised at Manchester Parish Church, June
i4th, 1629, minister at Stretford, 1655-7, ejected from Norton, in
Derbyshire, in 1662, and buried at Manchester, April 27th, 1685.
His wife was Deborah, daughter of the Rev. Nathaniel Rathband,
M.A. Mr. Newcome had a great affection for Mr. Scholes, senior,
though as a preacher he was " tedious and oft unintelligible."2
He records his death thus: "April 27th, Monday [1685].
Precious, learned, modest, pious Mr. Scoles died."3
Nehemiah Scholes was a student in Mr. Frankland's Academy, at
Natland, in 1682, and settled at Newton Heath some time before
religious worship, according to the liberty of the Toleration Act." To this
may be added the following note, extracted by Mr. Robinson from a local
history, written by the late Mr. Joseph Barratt, a trustee of the chapel : —
"The Rev. Mr. Walker and his hearers assembled for many years in a barn
at Culcheth (Newton Heath). In 1698 land was obtained from James
Heape, blacksmith, of Failsworth, on which the chapel was built. The first
trust deed was dated 24th May, 1698. In the old register belonging to the
chapel there are registers of baptisms as early as 1690."
1 Mr. W. A. Shaw (" Manchester Classis," Chetham Society, New Series,
vol. xxiv., p. 423) mentions the Rev. Wm. Coleburne as one of the Newton
ministers, concerning whom he gives the following information : — " Son of
Henry Coleburne, Chandler, of Ratcliffe Bridge (and of Bury), Lancashire ;
school, private, at Bury, Lancashire ; admitted Sizar, St. John's, Cambridge,
8th May, 1652; presented himself for ordination, July, 1657, to the church
at Denton ^assistant to Angier), but immediately after moved for Ellen-
brook, and appears as representing it, March, 1657-8 ; conformed [i.e.,
was in possession] at the Restoration, but in Angier's Diary he appears
as under arrest in July, 1663. Occurs as minister of Newton, 1687 ;
and there end of 1692 ; buried there 1693." From the two following
extracts, from the " Northowram Register," I am inclined to think
that Mr. Shaw has made some mistake, or at any rate left matters
respecting William Coleburne less clear than they should be:— "Mr. Henry
Coulburn, of Radclife Bridge, in Lane., bur. Mar., 1690, aged 49." " Mr.
William Colburn, Parson, of Mottram, buryed there June 9, 97 ; aged 66."
How were these related to their namesakes in Mr. Shaw's extract ? He
does not state his authority for fixing William Coleburne at Newton Heath.
2 '' Autobiography/' p. 306.
3 Ibid, p. 259.
42 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
1694. His name ceases to appear in the Minutes of the United
Brethren after April, 1697, and about that time he removed to
Macclesfield,1 where he continued his ministrations until his death,
October, 1702, aged thirty-seven years.
Matthew Henry laments his death thus : —
Oct. 10. 1702. I hear that my worthy friend and dear brother Mr. Scoles,
of Macclesfield, died last Friday. He was almost three years younger than
; a very ingenious man, a plain preacher, and very serious and affectionate
in all his performances. He met with affliction in his marriage, which
occasioned some unevenness in his temper, but he was a man of true piety and
integrity ; he died of a palsy, in conjunction with other distempers ; his
affliction had broken his spirit very much. The Lord prepare me to go
after. His father was a learned Godly minister in Manchester.2
The name of the Rev. Joseph Heywood appears in the deed of
1706 as "clerk" of Newton, and probably he was the first minister
of Dob Lane Chapel. In the Minutes of the United Brethren,
under date August i3th, 1700, a Mr. Heywood appears amongst
the ministers of the Manchester District. Now, as the Rev. John
Heywood had not then settled at Blackley,3 and as all the
churches in the district were represented by other ministers, it is
more than likely that this was the Dob Lane minister. The date
of his settlement would be about 1699, or the beginning of 1700,
and I imagine he removed to Stand about i7io.4
The next minister5 concerning whom I have information is
1 His name appears in the deed of 1698, and he is described as of Salford,
clerk. If actually minister of Newton Heath then, his removal must have
been immediately after. In the Minutes of the United Brethren (Manchester
Classis, Chetham Society Series, vol. xxiv., p. 357), under date August 4,
1696, there is the following : "The case of a minister's removal from his people
when called to some other place was largely discussed, and the case of Mr.
Scholes in particular was referred to Mr. Angier and Mr. Jolley, of Attercliffe,
upon a hearing of the people of Newton." As stated in the text, his name
ceases to appear in the minutes after the following April.
2 " Memoirs of the Rev. M. Henry," by J. B. Williams, F.S.A., p. 260.
3 Vide ante p. 33.
4 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
5 Mr. Gordon, on the authority of Walter Wilson's MSS., gives the name
of a Mr. Swinton, who, it is said, died May i, 1709. Griffith Swinton was
minister at the Episcopal Chapel, signing a communication as such for
THE SACHEVEREL RIOTS. 43
the Rev. William Perkins, who, like Mr. Scholes, was educated by
Mr. Frankland. He was a student when the Academy was at
Rathmell in 1697. Where he settled on the completion of his
training, and the date of the commencement of his ministry at
Dob Lane Chapel, I have not ascertained. His labours here
terminated with his death, November, I724.1 It was during his
ministry, on July 25th, 1715, that Dob Lane Chapel was sacked by
the Sacheverel rioters. The following depositions relating to the
matter are of interest : —
James Marlor, of Failsworth, within the parish of Manchester, chapman,
aged 54 years, being sworn and exa'i'ed, saith that since his ma'tyes
[accession], to \vitt, on the 25th day of July in that yeare, about eleven of the
clock in the night, and before the first day of August in the yeare, 1715, of
that day, this depon' being then in bed in his dwelling house adjoining to the
yard of the Chappell or meeting house in Failsworth aforesaid used for divine
worship by Protestant dissenters did hear .... people come with
great shouts to the said meeting house ; and this Depon* riseing out of his
bed was attentive to heare what they did and accordingly heard them knocking
within the said Meeting house and shouting Down with the rump; and as
this Depon1 believes the said Mobb or Rabble continued in the same riotous
man'er about two hours, and then returned with a great noise and shouts.
And saith the next morning he went into the said meeting house to view what
dam'age had been done, and accordingly found the door hinges broken down
and the pulpit, seats, and windows broken or pulled down ; but did not take
any particular account of the dam'age. (Signed),
JAMES MARLOR.
Samuel Taylor, sen of Moston, in the County of Lane', yeoman, aged
about 62 years, being sworne and exa'i'ed saith he hath been employed to buy
materialls and employ workmen to repair the damages done to the meeting
house in Failsworth by the riotts in July, 1715, and saith he hath paid and
disburst upon that account the sum'e of iou 12 : ii; and believes that
Bishop Gastrell in 1717. In the " Northowram Register" fp. 247) is the
following entry respecting the burial of his wife: — " Mr. Swinton, minr,, at
Newton Chapel, near Manchester, buried his wife Apr. 29 [1709]." This
date almost exactly corresponds with the one given by Mr. Wilson, and has
probably led him to confuse the one with the other. I do not think there was
any minister at Dob Lane Chapel named Swinton.
1 Vide " Northowram Register," p. 292. Mr. Gordon, on the authority
of Dr. Evans's contemporary list, says that Mr. Perkins was minister from
1713 to 1719, when he removed; if so, he probably returned after Mr.
Knight, and ministered until his death in 1724.
44 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
although the said meeting house may in some particular be made better than
it was before the riotts, yet it is not so good in other particulars. And like
wise expended i7H g8 9d- in guarding the said meeting house and in treating
some Riotters by way of prevention to save the pulling down thereof.
(Signed) SAMLE TAYLOR.!
The successor to Mr. Perkins was the Rev. Henry Knight, who
had followed the Rev. Samuel Bourn at Crook, near Kendal,
about 1720. Thence he removed to Newton Heath, and subse
quently, I imagine, was at Cross Street (now Sale) in Cheshire.2
His successor was the Rev. Benjamin Sandford3 from 1740 to 1744.
He removed from Dob Lane to Ormskirk, where he laboured until
his death, June iSth, 1765^ The Rev. Titus Cordingley, born
October i8th, 1721, and who had previously laboured at Whit-
worth, near Rochdale, followed in 1745. He removed to Hull
about i756,5 where he remained until his death.
The Rev. R. Robinson, D.D., educated at the Plaisterers' Hall,
was immediately chosen as Mr. Cordingley's successor. He had
previously been at Congleton and Dukinfield. Whilst at the for
mer place he preached a sermon against " Popish Projectors," and
1 "Palatine Note Book" for November, 1882, p. 243.
2 Vide vol. i. of ''Lancashire Nonconformity." Mr. Gordon says that
Mr Knight was at Dob Lane in 1719. I doubt if that is correct, as it was
about that year that he entered upon duty at Crook. It is doubtful also if
Mr. Perkins ever removed from Newton Heath until taken away by death,
though Dr. Evans's list says he did.
3 Vide vol. iv. of "Lancashire Nonconformity." The reader will note a
discrepancy between this date and the one copied from the brass plate in the
Unitarian Chapel at Ormskirk, and given in volume iv. of this work. The
one in the text is from the Ormskirk Parish Church Register. The inscrip
tion on the brass plate was scarcely legible, and it is possible that in copying
an error has crept in. Since the copy was taken the chapel has been let
for dancing, and all the tablets inside have been covered over, so that a fresh
copy could not be taken. This had been written when the Rev. Alexander
Gordon in a letter said : " About Sandford you are right [i.e., as to 1770 being
the date of his death]. I have looked at a rubbing of his brass, and also at
a collection of his sermons, which includes one of 1766." What is the
meaning of the entry in the Register ?
4 Miall ("Congregationalism in Yorkshire") mentions a Mr. Sandford,
minister at Pontefract in 1715, who died in 1746.
•> Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
" CAUSELESS DISMISSIONS." 45
drew up a small Scripture Catechism, both of which were published.
From Congleton Dr. Robinson received what he called a " cause
less dismission," having forfeited the good opinion of the people
because "a beggar coming to his door one day was so importunate
as almost to refuse to depart without relief, in consequence of
which Mr. Robinson sent for a constable and had him whipped at
his own gate." From 1752 to 1755 he laboured at Dukinfield,
removing thence to Dob Lane in the latter year. Here he
preached, and afterwards printed, two sermons, " occasioned by the
then high price of corn," and this drew upon him the " animosity
of the interested and rich speculators in that commodity."
Another "causeless dismission " towards the close of 1774 led to
his publication of a tract: "The Doctrine of Absolute Submission
Discussed, or the natural right claimed by some Dissenters to
dismis-; their ministers at pleasure, Exposed as a practice produced
by principles of unrestrained liberty, though contrary to the
Dictates of Reason and Revelation." For some time previous to
this the chapel had been closed and he retained possession of the
key, but in that year he gave it up to the trustees, and went to
reside at Barrack Hill House, near Stockport, where he purchased
land and a farm house. His passion for publicity as an author
led him to enter "into an agreement with a Manchester printer,
of the name of Whitworth, to edit for him a copy of the Bible.
It was to appear in numbers, and he procured a diploma of D.D.,
that his name might come before the public with more advantage
in the title-page of the work." His biographer says : —
At his death he left directions that his body should be kept one month
before its interment, and that his coffin should be constructed with a movable
pane of glass over his face, which was to be carefully watched to see whether
it was breathed upon. These requisitions were literally complied with.
According to his express desire, he was buried in his orchard, a short dis
tance trom his residence, and a square brick building was raised over his
tomb, which is yet to be seen.1
The Rev. Pendlebury Houghton, who had for a short time
been Tutor at Warrington Academy, became the minister in 1779,
1 "Monthly Repository" for 1823, p. 682; also "Nonconformity in
Cheshire" (Urwick), p. 330.
46 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
and continued until 1781, when he removed to Shrewsbury.1
The Rev. William Hawkes, son of the Rev. William Hawkes, of
Birmingham, followed in 1781, and removed to Bolton in 1785. 2
The next minister was the Rev. Richard Aubrey, who was born at
Swansea, June iQth, 1760, and educated for the ministry at
Hoxton. In June, 1782, he was appointed librarian to Dr.
Williams's Library, retaining the position until October, 1786.
From 1786 to 1787 he laboured at Dob Lane, removing thence to
Stand, near Manchester, and subsequently to Gloucester and
Swansea. He died at the latter place, August i5th, 1836. In an
obituary notice of him by his son, Richard Aubrey, Esq., of
Swansea, no reference is made to his father's ministry at Dob
Lane.3 After the removal of Mr. Aubrey, Dob Lane was supplied
for several years, partly by tutors and partly by students from the
Manchester Academy. The first amongst these was the Rev.
Lewis Loyd. He was born January ist, 1767, at Cwm-y-to, near
Llandovery, and admitted a student into the Presbyterian College,
Carmarthen, in 1785. He had been led to expect the appoint
ment of Classical and Mathematical Tutor there in succession to
Mr. Thomas Lloyd, but disappointed in the matter he sought
admission to the Manchester Academy on the advice of the Rev.
Richard Aubrey. In his second year at the Academy, in 1790, he
became Assistant Tutor in Classics, having charge of the Dob
Lane congregation as well. In a brief sketch of the cause here,
by Mr. R. P. Wright, is the following passage : —
Long before the highway from Manchester to Oldham was made, Dob
Lane was only reached by a bridle path through the fields, the chapel itself
lying secluded among the trees, and the lane, a very narrow one between
hedges, continued up to Watchcote, Failsworth. Along this road, through
the fields from Manchester, was to be seen coming to chapel every Sunday,
on a white Welsh pony, the Rev. Lewis Lcyd, he being at that time Assistant
Classical Tutor at Manchester New College.
In 1792 Mr. Loyd withdrew from the ministry, became a rich
1 Vide vols iv. and vi. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity ; " also " Christian
Reformer" for 1836, p. 746.
MANCHESTER ACADEMY. 47
banker, and died in his gist year, at his residence, Overstone
Park, near Northampton, May i3th, 1858. His only son, Mr.
Samuel Jones1 Loyd, was elevated to the Peerage in 1850 as
Baron Overstone. Mr. Loyd was succeeded in the tutorship of
the Academy and ministry of Dob Lane by the Rev. William
Stevenson. He was educated at Daventry, and held his double
post at Manchester from 1792 to 1796. Subsequently he became
private secretary to Lord Lauderdale.2 The Rev. Titus Baron,
educated at Manchester Academy, whilst a student there, supplied
the pulpit at Dob Lane. He died at Blackpool in September,
1799, and is described as minister of Dob Lane, but probably he
was not more than a supply. The Rev. John Bull (afterwards
John Bull Bristowe), another Manchester Academy student,
supplied Dob Lane from 1799 to 1800. His subsequent pastorates
were at Mansfield, Hinckley, Ringwood, Sidmouth, Topsham, and
Shepton Mallet. He died at the latter place in the midst of his
pastoral duties, on the i6th of March, 1854, at the age of eighty
years. A third Manchester Academy student, the Rev. William
Marshall, took charge of the congregation from 1800 to 1801. He
was the minister of the Rochdale congregation from 1806 to 1810,
afterwards at St. Albans, and died on December 5th, 1849, aged
seventy-three years. The pulpit was next supplied, from 1801 to 1803,
by the Rev. George Walker, F.R.S., president of the Manchester
Academy.3 With Mr. Walker ends the list of Academy supplies,
and settled pastorates are renewed with the Rev. David L. Jones.
He was educated at the Manchester Academy4 during the years 1 800
to 1803, settling at Dob Lane on the completion of his college
1 Mr. Lewis Loyd's wife was Miss Jones, sister to Samuel and William
Jones, of Manchester, and granddaughter to the Rev. Joseph Mottershead.
It was his acquaintance with this family which opened up the way to wealth,
and to his renunciation of the ministry for a commercial life.
2 Mr. Stevenson was the father of Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, the
novelist, and wife of the Rev. William Gaskell, M.A., the eminent minister
for many years of Cross Street Chapel, Manchester.
3 The reader is referred to vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for
a full account of this excellent man. Vide also vol. i.
« In the Roll of Students educated at the Academy, which was
published in 1868, Mr. Jones's name is not given. The information has been,
supplied by Mr. Gordon.
48 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
course. He remained until 1825, when he died,1 being succeeded
in 1828 by the Rev. George Buckland. He retained the pastorate
only about a year, being followed in 1830 by the Rev. Joseph
Ashton, who removed to Preston after a few months.2 The Rev.
James Taylor, from Rivington, began his labours here about 1832,
and continued them until 1847. He was succeeded by the Rev.
James Hibbert in that year, who remained until 1851, when he
resigned, and Mr. Taylor resumed the charge in 1852. He with
drew from the ministry in 1854, and died on the 6th of April,
i862.3 The Rev. Abraham Lunn, educated at the Belfast
Academical Institution, and who has been previously mentioned in
connection with Blackley, was at Dob Lane from 1854 to 1858."
The Rev. Joseph Freeston, originally a schoolmaster, followed Mr.
Lunn in the year of his removal, and remained until 1864. Sub
sequently he was minister at Rochdale (Clover Street), Blackley,5
and Stalybridge. For three years after Mr. Freeston the pulpit
was occupied by "supplies and lay preachers.'1 In 1867 the
Rev. William George Cadman, who had been educated at the
Unitarian Home Missionary College, became the minister. He
left in 1872, and went to Oldham Road, Manchester, where he
remained until June, 1893, when he became the minister of
Mansford Street Mission, London. His successor, in 1873, was
the Rev. R. H. Cotton, B.A., educated at Rawdon College.
He remained but a short time, and was followed by the Rev.
R. H. Gibson, B.A., as a supply for six months. In 1875 the
Rev. Halliwell Thomas assumed the pastorate. He was educated
at the Unitarian Home Missionary College, and had previously
laboured at Bridport and Ballymena, Co. Antrim. He removed
from Dob Lane to Stockton in 1885, and is now labouring at
Doncaster. The present minister is the Rev. George Knight, whose
place of education was Rawdon College, and previous pastorates
were at the Baptist Chapel, Stourbridge, and the Unitarian
Chapels at Sheffield and Gloucester. He entered upon duty
1 His wife, Lydia Jones, died April aist, 1838, aged fifty-eight years.
2 Vide vol. i. of '' Lancashire Nonconformity."
8 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
4 Vide vol. ii. of '' Lancashire Nonconformity."
8 Vide ante p. 36, and vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
5—4
50 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
here in August, 1885. The old chapel was a neat and picturesque
structure with its ivy covered walls. The sacred edifice in which
the congregation now worships was erected upon the old founda
tions at the front to avoid disturbing the graves inside the old
chapel, the extension being secured by absorbing the site of the
old chapel house, and part of the school-yard at the back. The
foundation stone was laid in May, 1878, by Mr. Harry Rawson,.
one of the trustees, and the building was opened for worship in
March of the following year. It stands a little to the left of the
main road from Manchester to Oldham, and will seat about
300 people. Amongst the objects of interest within is a beautiful
stained glass window, at the foot of which runs the following
inscription : —
Dedicated to the memory of the Rev. James Taylor, pastor from 1832
to 1847, and from 1852 to 1854, by his daughters, Eleanor and Katherine
1879.
On the left of the chapel is the new school, the memorial stone
of which was laid by "Charles Ernest Schwann, M.P., 2nd April,
1887," and behind is the old one1 still standing, erected in 1846
and enlarged in 1860. The chapel and the old school behind it
are in Failsworth, whilst the new school is in Newton Heath, the
boundary of Failsworth and Newton Heath running between.
The chapel and school form two sides of a square fronting
Oldham Road, and with the trees in the old graveyard and in
front of the school present a very pleasing appearance. The con
gregation has been Unitarian for many years.
VI.— GORTON PROTESTANT DISSENTERS' CHAPEL.
THE old Nonconformist foundation at Gorton, some three miles
out of Manchester, on the way to Denton, originated, it is gene-
1 The Sunday School at Dob Lane, it is said, originated with the Rev.
Benjamin Goodier, who was born at Hollinwood, near Oldham, April 25,
1793. He attended the ministry of Mr. Jones, at Dob Lane, and "instituted
a meeting for the improvement of the youth of the congregation assembling
there" ("Monthly Repository" for 1819, p. 69.)
THE REV. JOHN WIG AN. 51
rally believed, with the Rev. William Leigh, the ejected minister
of Gorton Chapel. Previous to him, however, the chapelry had
been served by a succession of honourable men of Puritan and
Nonconformist spirit, brief notices of whom must be given if this
account is to have completeness. Gorton Chapel existed at least in
1570, when its registers commence; but the first minister with whom
we are concerned was the Rev. John VVigan, who removed from
Gorton to Birch in 1646. He was of the Independent persuasion,
and Adam Martindale speaks about the new opinions " tugging
hard at Gorton to get in there during the days of Mr. Wigan, my
predecessor, who spent his afternoone's sermons to promote it, and
meeting with remoras too weighty to be removed, he was then
using all his endeavours to get it up at Birch, which in time he
effected."1 His Presbyterian brethren had considerable difficulty
with him on account of his views, as appears from the following,
dated June 9th, 1647 : —
The members of ye last classis appointed to deal with Mr. Wigan returned
answer that the said Mr. Wigan was not desirous to meet them as members
of a class, but as fellow brethren ; promised to return his^scruples to you in
writing ; not yet done.
In 1650 he was the minister at Birch, and the Parliamentary
Commissioners described him as a " painfull, Godly, preachinge
Minister," who had had some " mainteynce out of the Sequestra-
cons ; but all orders expireinge at Mydsomer, one thousand six
hundred and fifty, there is noe meanes knowne for them but the
controbucon of the people."2 Mr. Wigan appears to have left
Birch shortly after this, and to have entered the army, where he
became a major. Adam Martindale has another interesting
passage respecting him, who, when describing the events which
succeeded the death of Charles I., says :—
Diverse of the ministers of the classis hurried about and imprisoned at
Liverpool and Ormeskirke, till it came even to peaceable Mr. Angier. Those
of Manchester, viz., Mr. Heyrick and Mr. Hollinworth, put to pensions (if
they got them), the college lands being sold, and the college itself to Mr.
1 " Life of Adam Martindale" (Chetham Society Series, vol. iv.), p. 61.
5 " Commonwealth Church Survey " (Record Society Series, vol. i.), p. 13.
52 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Wigan, who now being turned antipasdobaptist, and I know not what more,
made a barne there into a chappell, where he and many of his perswasion
preached doctrine diametrically opposite to the ministers' perswasion under
their very nose.1
As already intimated, Mr. Wigan was succeeded at Gorton by
the Rev. Adam Martindale. He was born in September, 1623,
near Prescot, and educated first at St. Helens School, then Rainford.
After holding the position of schoolmaster for some time he was
led, after much hesitation, into the ministry. Most ministers can
understand and sympathise with his condition of mind, who, when
he was told by a friend that he must take duty on the coming
Sabbath, with the choice of one of three places, said :—
I expostulated with him for his rashness ; but when nothing would excuse
me, I told him St. Helens was very inconvenient for me to begin at, being
amongst my old neighbours, where I was a school-boy not six years before ;
Hyton not much fitter, being a place where many knew me, and supplied by
Mr. Bell, one of the most famed preachers in the county. Middleton was
further off, where few knew me, and the parson there was an honest, humble
man (considering his high birth), but accounted an exceeding meane preacher,
and his assistant (my old third master), in whose stead I was to go, much
weaker than he. Here, if any where, I hoped my pains might find acceptance,
and there was hope I needed to preach but once.2
In the month of April, 1646, Mr. Martindale accepted the
invitation of the Gorton people to become their minister, and went
"to live amongst them in Openshaw, a little towne in that
chapellrie." On the 3ist of December, 1646, he married Elizabeth
Hall, second daughter of Mr. John Hall, of the Clock House, in
Droylsdenj whose wife subsequently married Major Jollie.
Martindale remained but a short time at Gorton, being perplexed
mainly by the divided character of the congregation respecting
matters of church government, and in 1648 he removed to
Rostherne, in Cheshire. At this place he laboured until his
ejection in 1662, after which he was a sufferer and wanderer for
many years like most of his Nonconformist brethren.3 He died
1 "Life of Adam Martindale," p. 75.
2 Ibid, p. 58.
3 Vide vol. i. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
THE REV. WILLIAM LEIGH. 53
at Leigh, and in the Parish Register of Rostherne Church is the
following entry : —
"Sepulturae anno Dom. 1686. Mr. Adam Martindale, of
Leigh, bur. Septem. 2 r."
The Rev. David Dury, a native of Scotland, followed Mr.
Martindale at Gorton in 1648. He was ordained here on
June 2yth, 1649, and appears as minister until August, 1650.
He was subsequently silenced at Honley, and after a time
returned to Scotland. His name occurs under date February
i6th, 1692, in the Burial Register of Greyfriars' Church,
Edinburgh. The Rev. Thomas Norman, whose father of the
same name had been minister at Gorton from 1617 to 1622,
had charge of the place from November, 1650, to June,
1651. In 1655 hg was at Newton-in-Makerfield. The Rev.
Zachariah Taylor laboured here from December, 1651, to April,
1653, being afterwards ejected from Rochdale, in 1662, where he
had acted as assistant to the Rev. Robert Bath.1 The Rev.
Robert Seddon, M.A., is mentioned as expectant at Gorton, in
July, 1653, and at this place he was ordained minister, June i4th,
1654. He remained until April, 1656, was ejected from Langley,
in Derbyshire, in 1662, and subsequently ministered at Bolton.2
We are now led up to the Rev. William Leigh, who was born
about 1614, minister of Blackrod 1641-2, and of Newchurch
(Culcheth) from 1649 to 1654. He first appears in connection
with Gorton in November, 1656, and, as previously stated, was
ejected from this place in 1662 by the Act of Uniformity.3 He
was buried at Denton Chapel on January nth, 1665-6; on
which occasion Mr. Angier preached. Calamy says that he was " a
serious, single-hearted man ; of good abilities, and very laborious
in the work of the ministry. For some years he was grievously
1 Vide vol. iii., of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Ibid.
3 The Rev. Alexander Gordon, M.A., to whom I am indebted for many
hints respecting these old foundations, thinks it is doubtful whether Mr.
Leigh was ever ejected. It is clear that Calamy has partly confused him
with the Rev. William Leigh, M.A., who died on or before August 5, 1662.
This, however, is not sufficient to set Calamy quite aside.
54 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
afflicted with stone, which at last cut him off."1 The Rev. John
Jollie appears to have taken charge of the congregation after Mr.
Leigh, and to have preached at least occasionally in the chapel.
He was the son of Major Jollie and brother of the Rev. Thomas
Jollie, of Altham and Wymondhouses, near Clitheroe. He was
educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and for a time assisted the
Rev. John Angier at Denton. Ejected from Norbury, in Cheshire,
by the Act of Uniformity, he appears at Gorton about 1669. The
following passage from Mr. Booker's pen makes this clear : —
From an unpublished memorandum of the celebrated Henry Newcome we
learn that one Mr. Ogden had, a few years previously, twice officiated at the
adjacent chapel of Gorton, being at the time on a visit in Manchester. " On
the Lord's Day, January 2nd, 1669 (1670)," says Newcome: "Mr. Ogden, a
stranger that has for several weeks been in Manchester in pretence to study
at the Library, came with John Broxup to Gorton, and said he was sent
there by the warden to preach." For one cause or other there was an
unwillingness on the part of the inhabitants to receive him, and a distrust in
the authenticity of his mission. Two or three of the congregation waited
upon the warden to ascertain whether he had sent Mr. Ogden. The warden
in reply said that he had not sent him, but had given his consent on hearing
that some of the people wished to have him. On the following Sunday Mr.
Ogden's visit was repeated, being accompanied on this occasion by Anson,
an attorney, and other persons from Manchester. Finding the pulpit already
occupied by Mr. Jolly, who refused to give way, he retired to an alehouse
hard by, where he stayed until the service was over. This occurrence was
much discussed, and led to Mr. Jolly being summoned -.to London. What
ever was the result of the enquiry we hear of no more visits to Gorton.2
Mr. Jollie continued to reside at Gorton until his death, serv
ing the congregation as opportunity permitted, preaching probably
in the chapel and in his own house.3 He died on the i6th of June,
1682, and was buried at Oldham. Henry Newcome says: —
1 "Nonconformist's Memorial" (1802), vol. ii., p. 262.
2 " History of the Ancient Chapel of Denton " (Chetham Society Series,
vol. xxxviii.), p. 85.
3 It ought to be said that it is open to question whether Mr. Jollie was
ever actual minister at Gorton Chapel, though I am inclined to think he was.
The period, however, covered by his residence ab Gorton was the period when
dissent was under a cloud and much uncertainty hangs over it.
THE RE V. JOHN JOLLIE. 5 5
June 28th. I preached a sermon on the account of the death of that
honest, laborious, and useful man, Mr. John Jollie, at his house in Gorton, on
Phil, ii., 20. *
The Rev. Thomas Jollie, in his Church Book, thus refers to
his brother's death : — " 1682. Mr. Jollie died this year. He was
an active servant of Christ. Taken ill one morning, he died the
next." His son, the Rev. John Jollie, succeeded his uncle,
Thomas Jollie, in the pastorate of Wymondhouses.2 The next
minister of whom I have information was the Rev. Thomas
Dickenson, who was educated by the Rev. Richard Frankland,
and ordained at Stand, May 24th, 1694, Messrs. Newcome,
Eaton, and Angier being the principal ordainers.3 He was at that
time minister at Gorton, where he remained until 1702, when he
removed to Northowram as Oliver Heywood's successor. At this
place he laboured until his death, and in the " Northowram Register,"
which he continued after Mr. Heywood's decease, is the following
notice of his own end : —
The Revd. Mr. Thomas Dickenson, minister at Northouram, Dyed 26th
December, 1743, aged 73, abt one in the morning. Nature being far spent,
a visible decay appeared abt July or August, wch increased gradually till
the time of his death. He preached at Gorton Chappel, in Lancashire ;
ordained, May 24th, 1694; removed to Northouram in the year 1702; about
42 years at Northouram. He was an Eminent, usefull, faithfull Minister 01
God's word, a meek & humble Xtian, an affectionate & tender Parent, a
loving husband, a sincere Friend & social neighbour, a cheerful companion,
very temperate, had an uncommon memory, lived well, and dyed looking for
the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto Eternity.4
He was buried at Northowram Chapel, and his wife Hannah
died in London, July 28th, 1765. Two sermons which he
preached on the death of the Rev. Thomas Whitaker, A.M., of
Leeds, were afterwards published, along with a memoir, by the
Rev. T. Jollie, and two other sermons by the Rev. T. Bradbury.
1 " Autobiography " (Chetham Society Series, vol. xxvii.), p. 242.
2 The reader is referred to vol. ii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for
a notice of the Jollie family of a somewhat extended character.
3 Hunter's " Life of Oliver Heywood," p. 379, note.
4 Page 335-
56 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
It is probable that the Nonconformists retained some sort of
hold upon the Episcopal Chapel until the days of Dickenson, but
after his time a change took place. There is no certain informa
tion as to the date of the erection of the chapel for Nonconformist
worship, but 1703 is generally taken. It would therefore be
immediately after Mr. Dickenson's removal, and possibly before a
successor was appointed. The sitting accommodation was for
about 200, though Dr. Evans gives the congregation as 250, of
whom twenty-three were county voters.
The next known minister was the Rev. Nehemiah Reyner, who
settled at Gorton sometime before 1712, in which year the
" Northowram Register " records his marriage : " Mr. Nehemiah
Reyner, Minr. at Gorton, and Mrs. Jane Eaton, mar. Nov. 20,
1712. 5)1 He removed about 1731 to Cross Street, Cheshire, for
in May of that year " it was agreed that, upon Mr. Nehemiah
Reyner's removal to Cross Street, the Rev. Mr. Gardiner, Mr.
Mottershead, and Mr. Jones shall join in a letter to ye London
ministers to procure the money formerly allowed to that place,
which for some time has been discontinued."2 In August, 1738,
Mr. Reyner appears to have been excluded from the Ministerial
Association, but at a meeting held May 6th, 1740, the censure
was revoked, and he was owned as a brother. His successor was
the Rev. Samuel Hanson, who entered upon duty in 1732. He
had previously been at Ossett, in Yorkshire, for several years,
where he married, February ist, 1727, at Wakefield, Mrs. Mary
Jepson, the sister-in-law of the Rev. Thomas Dickenson. In 1737
the Gorton congregation drew up a document, still in existence,
addressed — "To all our Christian Friends and Brethren." It
was an appeal for help to lessen the burden on a certain estate
belonging to the chapel, and one of the reasons given for the
appeal is thus stated : —
That we are some of us under particular obligations to Mr. Hanson, our
Pastor, who promised him at his coming to settle among us to do all we
cou'd ourselves, and use what Interest we had among our Christian Friends,
to bring the sd Estate into a Condition for his Encouragement : That, as he
1 Page 206.
2 Urwick's "Nonconformity in Cheshire," p. 366.
THE REV, SAMUEL HANSON. 57
has been the happy Instrument of gathering us when we were Scatter'd, and
of increasing our Numbers, we are the more concern'd that his stay with Us
may be easie and comfortable to him, that so he may be encouraged to con
tinue with Us.
The appeal eventually obtained a total of ,£220 53. Mr.
Hanson remained until his death, and in the old graveyard is his.
tombstone, thus inscribed : —
Here are deposited the remains of the
REVD. SAMUEL HANSON,
Born at Wyke, in the Parish of Birstall and County of York,
who departed this life Nov. 28th, 1763,
in the yist year of his age, after having been
Pastor of this Church upwards of
Thirty-one years.
Also, the remains of MARY, his wife,
Daughter of Mr. Richard Foster, of Ossett,
in the said County. She departed this
Life Aug1- 24th, 1760, in the 67th year of
her age.
The Rev. John Atchison followed in 1765. He was born at
Everdon, Northamptonshire, in March, 1743, and educated for
the ministry at Daventry. His first and only charge was Gorton,
which he held until 1778, when he resigned, owing to his
"extraordinary diffidence," which prevented him from making
" that public exhibition of himself which was required by the
duties of his office as a Christian minister."1 It was during his
ministry in 1774 that the parsonage was built, mainly at the
expense of members of the Grimshaw family. After his retirement
from Gorton Mr. Atchison went to reside at Leicester, where he
died February pth, 1813. The next in the ministerial list is the
Rev. William Dodge Cooper, who had previously laboured at
Stand,2 near Manchester, for about seven years.
The two following letters, intimating his acceptance of the
invitation of the Gorton congregation, from Mr. Cooper, are
interesting. They are addressed to " Mr. Robert Grimshaw,
1 " Monthly Repository" for 1813, p. 278.
2- Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
58 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Gorton," and have been kindly copied by the Rev. Dendy Agate,
from originals in his possession : —
Dear Sir,
After what is already known by the congregation at Gorton respecting
my intentions of coming to settle amongst them as their stated Minister, it
should seem as though a written declaration of my acceptance of their
Invitation were quite unnecessary. But lest such omission should be con
strued into an inattention to order, or a want of respect, I have sent with
this a written answer to their Invitation, which I should be much obliged to
you to communicate to them the first opportunity.
I am, dear Sir,
Your much obliged friend and serv'-
Hyde, WM. DODGE COOPER.
July i6th, 1788.
To the Congregation of Protestant Dissenters at Gorton.
My Christian Brethren,
The unanimous and hearty Invitation which you have been pleased to
give me to officiate amongst you as your stated Minister is a mark of respect
which calls for my sincere acknowledgments.
I am sensible it is a desirable circumstance to be connected with a people
so respectable and harmonious as you have long been, and therefore with
pleasure convey to you my acceptance of your kind proposal.
It is not in my power at present to fix with certainty when I shall take
upon me the charge of your place ; as, in consequence of my engagement
with the people at Walmsley, I am under obligation to supply for them till
Christmas next, unless they can meet with a person before that time agreeable
to their wishes. I flatter myself, however, you will be able to procure a
regular and constant supply ; and if, during your vacancy, I can be of any
assistance in this respect, my best endeavours shall not be wanting.
I trust that our connection, whenever it takes place, will be mutually
advantageous and happy ; that it will be our study and ambition to build
one another up in the holy faith whereof we make profession ; to walk in the
fear of the Lord and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, that so we may be
established in every thing good and exemplary, and numbers may be added
to the church daily of such as shall be saved, and the God of love and peace
be with us. — With sincere prayers for your future comfort,
I am, my Christian brethren,
Your affectionate servant in the Gospel,
Hyde, July i6th, 1788. WM. DODGE COOPER.
Mr. Cooper closed his ministry here with his death, and in the
old graveyard is a tombstone in memory of him somewhat oddly
inscribed : —
A QUEER EPITAPH. S9
This Tomb,
Sacred to the memory of the
REVD. WILLIAM DODGE COOPER,
Thirteen years Minister of the adjacent Chapel,
Who died June the gth, 1801,
In the forty-second year of his age,
Is erected by a few friends, who,
Although not allied to him in blood,
Revere his Virtues and Regret his Death.
The house of Prayer near which this tomb is rais'd,
Hath often witness'd with what zeal he TAUGHT !
How meek he PRAY D ! How gratefully he PRAIS'D !
Each word, each look, with mild instruction fraught.
A head, so cool as his ! a heart so warm !
Have seldom center'd in one human frame,
And, 'till both TRUTH and VIRTUE cease to Charm,
Shall many a SIGH be heav'd at COOPER'S name.
The Rev. Joseph Ramsbottom, educated at Rotherham1 and
minister at Fulwood from 1798 to 1802, held the pastorate at
Gorton from June, 1802, until March, 1806, when he died. From
his tombstone in the old graveyard the following inscription is
taken : —
Sacred
to the memory of
the REVD. JOSEPH RAMSBOTTOM,
several years minister of this
Congregation, who died March
i5th, 1806, aged 26 years.
And of
WM- BASNETT TOWNSEND his
brother-in-law, who died June
24th 1804. Aged 20 years.
In life they loved and in
death they are now for
ever united.
The Rev. Joseph Jefferies, who had previously ministered al
Topsham and Ringwood, in Hampshire, was recommended to the
Gorton congregation by the Rev. Edward Higginson, of Stockport.
He began his ministry on the first Sunday in April, 1807, and
1 On the authority of the Rev. A. Gordon, M.A., not, I think, Rotherham
College.
60 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
died in 1829, two years after he had resigned the pulpit.1 During
his closing years he suffered from mental trouble. The Rev.
Charles Danvers Hort succeeded him. He was born at Bristol in
1807, educated at Belfast and the Manchester New College, and
settled at Gorton in September, 1829. His personal friends bear
the highest testimony to his character and abilities, as also to his
modest and amiable temper. He left Gorton in 1836, and died at
St. Patrick's Hospital, Dublin, in 1867, after being an inmate there
for nearly twenty-seven years. The Rev. George Henry Wells,
M.A., who was born at Warrington in 1811, educated at
Glasgow, and who had previously laboured a few years at
Rivington,2 began his ministry at Gorton in February, 1837. He
continued his labours here until June, 1881, when he withdrew
from active work. This was the longest of all the Gorton
ministries, and it was as fruitful as it was long. In 1863 the
school was erected, and in 1871 the present handsome "Brookfield
Church," the gift of the late Richard Peacock, Esq., M.P., super
seded the old one. It stands fronting Hyde Road, has a tower
and spire rising to the height of 150 feet, and has easy sitting
accommodation for 450 people. Amongst the tablets within is
one in memory of Mr. Wells, erected by his widow, thus inscribed: —
In Memory of
The Rev. GEORGE HENRY WELLS, M.A.,
For forty-four years minister of the Gospel in this place ;
Born at Warrington, April igth> 1811;
Died at Bowdon, July 17"'- 1888;
" Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait on thee." — Ps. xxv., 12.
At the west end of the church the congregation has placed a
marble font in memory of Mr. Wells and Mr. Peacock.
Rev. Dendy Agate says that the Baptismal and Burial Registers,
from November, 1827, to September, 1829, contain various entries by Ben
jamin Naylor, who does not appear to have been the settled minister. Was
this the Rev. Benjamin Naylor, educated at Warrington, pastor of a congre
gation at Sheffield from 1780 to 1805, which he was obliged to relinquish
owing to the failing health of his brother-in-law, who was engaged in business
in Manchester, of which he came to take the oversight ? He died April i2th
1846, at the age of eighty-four year?.
2 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
62 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
The present minister is the Rev. Dendy Agate, B.A., educated
at the Manchester New College, and whose previous pastorates
were at Hunslet (Leeds) and Scarborough. He entered upon
duty at Gorton in January, 1882, and to him I am indebted for
much generous help in the preparation of this sketch. The old
chapel stood in a hollow a few yards behind the present one, and
on the other side of the brook. It has been taken down, but its
middle point is indicated by a tall monument in the centre of the
old graveyard. There is an interesting memorial of the past near
the entrance to the lodge, in the shape of an old stone, bearing
date 1703. This was the stepping stone for gentlemen who were
accustomed to come long distances on horseback to the chapel for
worship. The congregation is Unitarian, and has been so for
many years.
VII.— OUTSIDE THE CITY: THE CIRCLE COMPLETED.
IN this section it is proposed to deal briefly with the remaining
Congregational interests in the neighbourhood of Manchester,
starting from the point where the previous section left us, and
completing the circle from east to west, round by the south side.
Those interests are somewhat numerous, and are not without
attractive features, which, did space permit, might be set out in
considerable detail, but it does not; besides which they are, with
one or two exceptions, quite young, and have their histories still to
make. Beginning, then, with Openshaw, it appears that the Rev.
William Roby, pastor of Grosvenor Street Chapel, Manchester,
preached here some seventy years ago, and " wished to see
regular religious services established." The effort, however, was
abandoned, and no further attempt made until 1864, when,
guided by the Rev. R. M. Davies, of Oldham, and Mr. Alderman
Thompson, now of Wilmslow, a committee of Manchester gentle
men " purchased the old chapel in Lower Openshaw, which had
just been vacated by the Wesleyans on their removal to the new
premises in Grey Mare Lane."1 Beautified and repaired, it was
1 "Bazaar Handbook," by the Rev. Robert Sutton, published in 1890.
CONGREGA TIONALISM A T OPENSHA W. 63
handed over to trustees free from debt, being opened for
gational worship in October, 1864. Neighbouring ministers and
students from Lancashire College supplied the pulpit from that
time up to the following May, when the Rev. R. A. Bertram, from
Ancoats, was appointed minister by the Lancashire County Union.
Mr. Bertram almost immediately directed his attention to Higher
Openshaw, for in the autumn of 1865 the Co-operative Hall was
rented and opened as a branch school, and preaching services
were also conducted. The cause here was strengthened consider
ably by the accession on Easter Sunday, 1866, of a number of
friends who had been connected with the New Connexion Chapel
in Fairfield Road. On the 25th of November following Mr.
Bertram closed his ministry at Openshaw ; and settled at Bacup.
The Rev. J. Forsyth was appointed pastor of the Lower Openshaw
Church on January 2oth, 1867, preaching for a few months in the
morning at Higher Openshaw ; the evening supply being sent by
the Rev. Thomas Green, M.A., of Ashton-under-Lyne. Shortly
after this the Rev. Matthew Johnston was appointed Evangelist
at Higher Openshaw, but he remained only a few months, being
succeeded in the autumn of 1867 by the Rev. G. Harrison. In
1870 both Mr. Forsyth and Mr. Harrison resigned, and the
County Union decided to place the two stations under the care of
the Rev. James Duthie, from Beaconsfield. He began his ministry
in February, 1871, and immediately an effort was made in the
direction of more convenient premises for Higher Openshaw.
Accordingly, the memorial stone of a school chapel in Lees Street
was laid by Hugh Mason, Esq., of Ashton-under-Lyne, on Satur
day afternoon, April 22nd, 1871. The building, which had
accommodation for about 400 people, and which cost, including
land, &c., ,£1,397, was opened on the 8th of October following,
when sermons were preached by the Revs. T, Green, M A., and
T. C. Finlayson, of Rusholme. The services were continued on
subsequent dates, when the Revs. T. Willis, Grosvenor Street;
Dr. Macfadyen, Chorlton Road; R. M. Davies, Oldham; and
A. J, Bray, Cavendish Street, Manchester, were the preachers. On
Sunday afternoon, October 22nd, 1871, a separate church was
formed out of the communicants of the two stations, who had
mainly up to this time been in membership with Mr. Green's
64 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
•church. In 1873 it was found needful to separate the two places,
and Mr. Duthie continued his pastorate at Lees Street with much
success until October, 1878, when he resigned. Subsequently he
became pastor of the new interest at Gorton hard by. The Rev.
Robert Sutton, a student from Lancashire College, began his
labours as successor to Mr. Duthie on Sunday, July 2oth, 1879.
The need of an enlarged chapel had been felt for some years, and
a few days after Mr. Sutton's settlement a committee was formed
to take the matter into consideration. On the 2nd of October,
1880, Reuben Spencer, Esq., of Manchester, laid the foundation
stone, and on Thursday evening, July i4th, 1881, "amid much
rejoicing, the new chapel was opened by the Rev. J. Baldwin
Brown, B.A., of London." In connection with other opening
services the Revs. Dr. Scott, Lancashire College ; Dr. Macfadyen,
Chorlton Road; A. Cran, M.A., Droylsden ; Dr. Mackennal,
Bowdon ; J. Hutchison, Ashton-under-Lyne ; and W. Reid,
Levenshulme, conducted services. The total cost of the new
building, which seats 700 people, was ^4,066, of which the sum
of ^£2,000 remained to be raised at the opening. In 1886 all the
remaining debt was removed, and immediately afterwards an
enlargement of the Sunday School, &c., entailed a further outlay
of ;£i,ioo, to meet which a bazaar was held in March, 1890. In
1892 the church declared itself able to dispense with assistance
from the Union Funds. Mr. Sutton still pursues a ministry here,
which from the first has been attended with most gratifying
success.
After the separation in 1873 Lower Openshaw, for a con
siderable period, was worked by lay preachers, foremost amongst
them being Mr. R. P. Ellis, who successfully officiated as lay
pastor six years. After Mr. Ellis left, the church sank into a
state of great feebleness, and remained so for some time. In
January, 1887, Dr. Hodgson and a few students from Lancashire
College interested themselves in the place, and rendered efficient
service, which infused new life into the congregation. In 1890
the Manchester, Salford, and District Ministers and Deacons'
Association appointed a committee, consisting of the Revs. T.
Willis, J. W. Kiddle, and E. E. Stuttard, to confer with the
executive of the church and congregation for the purpose of
CONG RE GA TIONAL1SM AT G OR TON. 6 5
strengthening Congregationa^sm in the neighbourhood. The
result was the old building in Ashton Old Road was sold, and a
school chapel erected, at a cost of ^1,700, on a site within easy
reach of New Ardwick, Bradford, and Lower Openshaw. The
new building was opened in May, 1892, and since the opening
both congregation and school have largely increased. There is
land for a chapel in front of the present erection.
At the suggestion of the Manchester and Salford Ministers and
Deacons' Association, in 1889, the Lees Street Church commenced
Evangelistic work in Central Openshaw. A "suitable and con
venient building," which had been used by the Methodist Free
Church, was purchased for ^850, and a further outlay of ^150
became necessary to furnish and put it in good repair. A generous
grant has been made each year from the funds of the County
Union, and the work, which is said to be "in a hopeful condition,"
and to be " meeting a real want," is under the supervision of the
pastor of Lees Street Church.
In March, 1880, the Rev. T. Willis, of Grosvenor Street Chapel,
and other ministers, took part in the opening services of a Mission
Hall, Gore Street, Gorton, capable of seating about 300 people.
The Rev. James Duthie, formerly of Openshaw, was put in charge
of the station, and in February, 1881, a church was formed, con
sisting of forty-four members. In 1884 a new school chapel was
erected in Church Lane, Hyde Road, at a cost of over p£i,ooo,
with sitting accommodation for 300 persons. Mr. Duthie continued
to do a useful work here, amidst many difficulties, until 1892, when
he resigned. He is now resident in Manchester without charge.
The cause has obtained generous help from the Union Funds since
its commencement, and has found warm friends in the deacons
and pastor of Grosvenor Street Church.
Congregationalism at Levenshulme is mainly indebted for its
origin to a Mr. Holt, who, about 1864, was accustomed to
hold meetings for worship in private houses. A new building,
which served both for a Sunday School and a preaching place,
was opened on June 2yth of that year, J. Sidebottom, Esq.,
presiding. A church was formed in 1865, and in the early part of
1866 the Rev. J. Byles, a student from Lancashire College,
accepted a call to the pastorate. After a ministry of about three
5—5
66 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
years he removed to Blackburn,1 and was succeeded in 1870 by
the Rev. Henry Young, who had been educated at Nottingham,
and previously laboured at Painswick, in Gloucestershire. In
1872 he removed to Newport, Salop, being followed in December
of that year by the Rev. R. D. Hutchison. He was educated at
the Edinburgh Theological Hall, and previously had laboured at
Cambuslang. After a brief pastorate at Levenshulme he resigned,
and in 1874 served the St. Paul's Congregational Church at
Wigan for a few weeks.2 The present minister, the Rev. Wm.
Reid, from Nelson,3 who was educated at Glasgow University,
under Professors Ramsay, Buchanan, Taylor, and Fleming,
entered upon duty here in September, 1875. In October, 1881,
the present commodious house of worship was opened by Dr.
Hannay. It is capable of seating about 500 people, and cost over
^£4,000, towards which the Chapel Building Society voted ^500.
A considerable debt was left upon the building, which seriously
crippled the church for a few years ; but the " Lancashire Congre
gational Calendar" for 1887 says : —
This church is now not only out of debt, but independent of the monetary
aid of the Union, a result largely due to the labours of the pastor, the Rev.
William Reid, who has now brought two churches, those of Nelson and
Levenshulme, from infancy to maturity.
Heaton Moor, five miles from Manchester and one and a half
from Stockport, has had a Congregational interest about twenty
years. It originated in the desire of several Congregational ists
who had come to reside in the neighbourhood to have a church
after their own order. A school chapel, capable of holding 200
people, was erected, and the opening services were conducted by
Dr. Macfadyen. In the summer of 1873 a church was formed,
the number of members being about twenty. The first minister
was the Rev. F. Sidney Morris. He is the son of the Rev. A. J.
Morris, formerly Congregational minister at Warrington, was
educated at Cheshunt College, and settled at Heaton Moor in
January, 1876. The present iron chapel, with sitting accommo-
1 Vide " Lancashire Nonconformity," vol. ii.
2 Ibid, vol. iv.
3 Ibid, vol. ii.
If EATON MOOR AND BURN AGE. 67
dation for 500 people, was opened at this time, its cost being
about ^1,400. Mr. Morris resigned in June, 1879, and is now
the minister of a Unitarian congregation at York. His successor
at Heaton Moor was the Rev. Colin Brewster. Born at Norwich,
and brought up in the communion of the United Methodist Free
Church, he exercised his gifts for some time in the ministry of that
denomination. During his residence in Manchester as a circuit
minister he attended classes at Owens College, and, seeing in
Congregationalism greater attractions than he found in his own
form of church government, he accepted the invitation of the
Brownlow Hill Congregational Church, Liverpool. After labouring
there about eight years he removed, in 1880, to Heaton Moor.
After a long illness, during which his church showed him every
kindness, he died at Cairo, whither he had gone to regain strength,
on Good Friday, April 4th, 1890, aged fifty-four years. His
remains were laid in the American cemetery there. The present
minister is the Rev. P. K. Batchan, M.A. He was educated at
Airedale College, had previously laboured some five years at
Leyburn, in Yorkshire, and entered upon duty as successor to Mr.
Brewster, November ist, 1891. The chapel is within three
minutes' walk of Heaton Chapel station, and occupies a splendid
site fronting Heaton Moor R.oad. This year steps are being taken
towards the erection of a more substantial and commodious
structure. The church, "though Congregational in name and
foundation," is described as " practically a Union Church, Presby
terians (Scotch families) being especially represented."
About two miles west of Heaton Moor is Burnage, a long,
scattered village between Manchester and Stockport. It had no
place of worship until 1859, when Mr. Samuel Watts, sen., lent a
small house for a Sunday School, which was opened by members
of his family, assisted by Mr. Frank Atterbury. In a short time
the house became too small, and the back room was enlarged by
Mr. Watts. The first address was given by Mr. Newbery a friend
of the family, and for many years "buyer" in the firm of S. and J.
Watts and Company.
Week evening meetings were commenced in 1860, being con
ducted by Mr. Newbery and other gentlemen, and in 1862
he held the first Sunday service. From this time until his
68 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
death, a period of nearly 30 years, he generally preached twice on
the Sunday, superintended the school, taught a class, and conducted
a week evening service, all for the love of the work and the benefit
of the people. A church was formed in 1868, and in 1869 the
chapel was built, with sitting accommodation for 200. The
foundation stone was laid by Sir James Watts, and the funds were
mainly provided by Mr. Samuel Watts, jun., and members of the
family, who have continued their interest in the place to the third
generation. Mr. Newbery suggested that a paid minister should
be engaged, but his work was so successful, and he was so ready
to serve, that no change was then made. He was an earnest
preacher and a devoted minister. The congregation have placed
a tablet to his memory in the little chapel which was so much his
own. His loss has been deeply felt, and no one has yet been
found to fill his place.1
Heaton Mersey, some half a dozen miles south of Manchester,
and near the Cheshire border, has been the home, more or less, of
Congregational effort for o.ver eighty years. About the year c8io,
the Rev. William Evans, of Stockport, " first preached at Heaton
Mersey at the request of some members of his congregation who
resided here. These visits were only occasionally made."2 The
Rev. Solomon Ashton, also of Stockport, joined Mr. Evans in
this work about 1812, and a service was held once a month in the
village. In 1817 Heaton Mersey became an out-station of the
Cheshire County Union, and from that time until 1826 the Rev.
John Hart, the minister of Gatley, "assisted at times by laymen
from Stockport, conducted the services." Two other Stockport
ministers are also mentioned as rendering occasional help, viz., the
Revs. G. F. Ryan and N. K. Pugsley. " During the greater part
of this time," says Mr. Hooper, " the worshippers assembled in the
open air, or in a small cottage." The growth of the interest led the
1 Miss J. Watts, of Burnage, has kindly supplied me with particulars
about this interesting cause. She is the daughter of Mr. Samuel Watts,
senior, sister of Mr. Samuel Watts, junior, and niece of Sir James Watts.
3 " Manual of the Heaton Mersey Congregational Church," 1892. For the
historic account of the church which it contains, " being for the most part a
copy of documents collected by Lady Watts, Abney Hall, Cheadle," I am
indebted for much of the information here given.
BEATON MERSEY CONGREGATIONALISM. 69
friends to pass the following resolution on April iyth, 1825, at a
special meeting convened for the purpose : —
That it is expedient that a more convenient place for Divine worship be
provided ; that the Rev. John Hart and Mr. John Shawcross respectfully
solicit the aid of other ministers, and the opulent members of their churches
and congregations, and also that the following persons be appointed a com
mittee to receive contributions in the neighbourhood, from a halfpenny and
upwards : Rev. John Hart. Messrs. John Shawcross, Nimrod Holden, George
Smith, William Butler, Robert Ward, Seneca Wells, John Wells, Joseph
Wilbraham, Thomas Carr, George Riley.
Shortly after this a church was formed consisting of fifteen
members. The effort in the direction of a larger place of worship
resulted in the cottage of Rebecca Sykes, where services had
previously been held, being converted into a chapel. The three rooms,
which were on one floor, were thrown together, and in its enlarged
form it was opened for worship in 1827, the preachers being the
Revs. G. F. Ryan and N. K. Pugsley. Previous to this, the Rev.
John Hart, of Gatley, who had been greatly interested in the
movement, had resigned his charge, and the young church applied
to Mr. Jonathan Lees, of Manchester, to come over and preach,
and also assist in obtaining supplies. He and Mr. Day 1 " sent
supplies from time to time at their own risk." In 1827 Heaton
Mersey became associated with the Lancashire County Union, and
obtained a grant of ,£20 from its funds. The Union Report,
ending April, 1828, after stating that the building was sometimes
crowded to "excess, when probably as many as 180 might be
present," says : —
There is no Sunday School in connection with the Independent interest
there, in ccnsequence of a large school having been for some time established
on the spot, in which 500 children are taught, and in which several of the
members of the church at Heaton Mersey are teachers, and one a visitor.
In August, 1836, the church unanimously resolved : " That it
is desirable to erect a church for the worship of God, according to
the manner of the Independents." The committee of management
1 In 1833, "the acceptable services" of Mr. Mills are referred to, who,
for a time, preached there every Sabbath and once in the course of the week.
yo LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
included two persons — Mr. John Jackson and Mr. (afterwards Sir)
James Watts, who took the matter up in earnest. Accordingly,
the foundation stone was laid on August 28th, 1839, by Mr. J. S.
Jackson, of West Bank, and amongst those who assisted on the
occasion were the Revs. J. Waddington, W. McKerrow, E. H.
Nolan, M. Grindrod, and Mr. J. Hewitt. About 1,500 people
were present at the ceremony. The new building was opened for
worship on Wednesday evening, August 6th, 1840, by the Rev.
Robert Halley, D.D., of Manchester, and on the following Sunday
the preachers were the Revs. J. Hargreaves, Richard Fletcher, and
Wm. McKerrow. At the beginning of 1842 a Sunday School
was opened, " the children having been collected almost exclusively
from amongst those who were not connected with any other school,
and this principally by the personal exertions of a devoted member
of the church at Grosvenor Street, Manchester, who up to the
present time [written about April, 1842] comes regularly to teach
a class of young men."2 It is a singular fact that during all these
years the church had no stated minister, but on January ist,
1845, the Rev. Stephen Hooper began his labours as such. He
is one of very few survivors who were transferred from the Black
burn Academy, in 1843, to the Lancashire Independent College
at Manchester, and, like his fellow student, the Rev. R. M. Davies,
of Oldham. two years his senior in the ministry, has refused to
exchange his first pastorate for any other. Mr. Davies excepted,
Mr. Hooper is by many years the oldest Lancashire minister still
in charge, and the church at Heaton Mersey is largely his own
making. The following sentences indicate the improvements in the
building since its erection, which has now accommodation for about
400 people : —
Since 1845 the chapel has been enlarged on two occasions. In 1855 the
building was widened, the present pillars were introduced, and the north-east
window put in. In 1864 the building was extended, and the gallery over
the entrance erected. In 1870 the organ was presented by Sir James Watts,
of Abney Hall, and about the same time the screen and pulpit were presented
by Mr. Watts, of the Old Hall, Cheadle.2
1 "Lancashire County Union Report," ending April, 1842.
2 " Church Manual."
WITHINGTON CONGREGATIONALISM. 71
It ought to be mentioned that the name of Sir James Watts is
closely associated not merely with Heaton Mersey, but with many
of our Lancashire Churches, through his generous benefactions,
and that Lady Watts and several of the family are still members
of the Heaton Mersey Church, in whose welfare they are deeply
interested.
The Withington Congregational Church, some four miles south
of Manchester, though little more than a dozen years old, has
grown to considerable strength, and abundantly demonstrated the
wisdom of the movement. In February, 1880, a meeting was held
at the house of Mr. Melland, to consider how the religious needs
of the neighbourhood might be met, there being present the Revs.
Dr. Macfadyen, Dr. Hodgson, T. Willis, and Messrs. Melland,
Clowes, Dimelow, and Swarbrick. At a larger meeting, held on
November 5th of that year, in the Withington Primitive Methodist
Chapel, a building committee was formed. Services were com
menced in the Town Hall, on October 2nd, 1881, and on Febru
ary 1 3th, 1882, a church was formed in the Board Room of the
Town Hall, consisting of thirty-four members, the Revs. Dr.
Macfadyen, Dr. Finlayson, and Dr. Hodgson assisting in the
service. On the 8th of July following Mr. W. E. Melland laid the
foundation stone of the present handsome and commodious
structure, which will seat upwards of 800 people, and on June 7th,
1883, Dr. Macfadyen preached at its opening for public worship.
'\ he cost of the church was ^7,200, and the school ^2,800, to
wards which sums the Chapel Building Society voted ^1,000.
The Rev. James Williamson, M.A., became the first pastor of the
new church, entering upon duty December 2nd, 1883. He was
born in Banff, graduated in the Aberdeen University, and subse
quently entered Lancashire College for the theological course.
His first charge was Stalybridge, whence he removed to Gallowtree
Gate, Leicester, and thence to Withington. During the last two
years of his life he suffered much from a tumour, which eventually
proved fatal on Tuesday evening, August 23rd, 1887. "At
the age of forty-two he passed away in his easy chair, without a
moment's warning and without a sign."1 His successor was the
1 "Congregational Year Book," for iSSS, p. 213.
72 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Rev. T. K. Higgs, M.A. He had been trained at Lancashire
College, and for about ten years had laboured at Hanley, Stafford
shire. Mr. Higgs resigned on the 8th of June, 1890, and is now
pastor of the Greenacres Congregational Church, Oldham. The
present minister is the Rev. C. H. Hickling, who was trained at
Hackney, and whose previous spheres of labour were Hoddesdon,
Herts, and Eastbourne. He commenced his ministry at Withing-
ton, May 3isr, 1891. The school buildings were completed in
1891, the opening service being conducted by the Rev. James
McDougall, on Sunday, April 26th.
Chorlton-cum-Hardy is another of these flourishing suburban
churches in the south of Manchester which have grown up within
recent years. In May, 1879, the attention of the deacons of the
Stretford Congregational Church was called to the importance
of holding services here, and the large room of the Masonic Hall
was rented for ,£25 a year for Sunday evening services. Dr. Mac-
fadyen hearing of the movement asked that his church might have
a share in the work, and a joint committee was formed, with Mr. J.
C. Needham as treasurer, representing the Chorlton Road Church,
and Mr. P. C. Ford as secretary, representing the Stretford Church.
The opening services were held on September 28th, 1879, when
Dr. Macfadyen preached in the afternoon, and the Rev. G. C.
Empson, pastor of the Stretford Church, preached in the evening.
Morning services were commenced in the spring of i88r, and a
Sunday School was established about the same time. The Rev.
G. L. Turner, • M. A., one of the Lancashire College Professors,
gave very substantial help to the church by taking the services
himself, or exchanging with leading ministers in the district. On
June 25th, 1881, the Stretford Church suggested to the church at
Chorlton Road that it should assume the entire responsibility of
the Chorlton-cum-Hardy movement, which it did, Dr. Macfadyen
frequently presiding at the monthly meetings of the committee, and
at the communion services. On April i4th, 1883, Mr. Needham
laid the memorial stone of a school chapel, "of plain Gothic
character," capable of accommodating about 350 people. It was
opened for worship on the 2glh of September following, the
preachers being the Revs. J. G. Rogers, B.A., of London, and
Dr. Macfadyen. The cost of the building was about ,£2,000,
CHORL TON- C UM-HARD Y. 73
towards which the Chorlton Road Church contributed a generous
sum from the proceeds of its bazaar, held in 1888. A church
was formed on Monday, December 3rd, 1883, when forty-seven
members were enrolled, and on Sunday, June i4th, 1885, tne
Rev. Robert Mitchell, of St. John's Wood, London, and pre
viously of Queen's Park, Manchester, began his labours as the
first pastor. He was educated at Glasgow, and had formerly
exercised his ministry for many years in connection with the
Evangelical Union of Scotland. He closed his pastorate at
Chorlton-cum-Hardy, December 2nd, 1888, and removed to the
Eignbrook Congregational Church, Hereford. He is now the
minister of the E. U. Church at Greenock. The death of Dr. Mac-
fadyen, in 1889, led to the termination of the union with Chorlton
Road, and the church is now quite independent. The present
minister, the Rev. David Walters, trained at Brecon, and pre
viously stationed at Mold, succeeded Mr. Mitchell, on Sunday,
June ;:9th, 1890. In the following October a fund was inaugur
ated for the erection of a new place of worship to be called " The
Macfadyen Memorial Church," the building of which will be
shortly commenced.
Still south of Manchester, though considerably west of the two
places just named, is Strelford, where Congregationalism has had
a footing for over sixty years. The following interesting account
of the origin of the cause here is from the pen of a recent
writer : —
More than 65 years ago, or, to write with chronological precision, in 1825,
three good and earnest-minded men went out to Stretford from Manchester to
engage in mission work, and to endeavour to promote religious zeal and
activity amongst the villagers. Their names were J. Bromley, W. Howe,
and J. Walker. They were all members of the Established Church, and
came from the now no longer extant church of St. Clement, Lever Street,
Manchester. They sometimes preached in the open air, and it was a curious
but edifying spectacle to witness the crowds of bulky, uncouth rustics who,
attracted and impressed by the enthusiasm of the sp: akers, were wont to
gather silently and respectfully around their stands, all their uncultured
rudeness subdued by the solemnity cf the proceedings, and all their coarser
feelings merged into a broad sense of reverence. The missionaries, of
course, were also favoured by the support of the better class of residents,
some of whom were markedly diligent in their attendance, when a cottage
74 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
was taken in Moore Street for the purposes of public worship. This cottage
may be said to have been the first home of Congregationalism in Stretford,
although the movement was at that time entirely undenominational, the
services being conducted on such wide and general lines as to permit
conscientious participation of almost all sects. The mission prospered, and
before long the cottage was not able to contain the congregation. A Mr.
Pearson stepped in very opportunely at this juncture, and erected a larger
building in Chester Road, whose peculiarity of design was that upon its
vacation as a church it could almost immediately, and with scarcely any
expenditure of money or labour, be converted into habitable cottages.
That building still stands in all its primitive simplicity in close proximity to
the present church, though few are aware of the interesting historical asso
ciations that cluster round its faded walls. Before very long the continued
growth of the mission again began to make itself felt, but nearly seven years
elapsed ere the acquisition of a third and still larger place of worship
became of urgent and imperative necessity. It was now determined that
the new centre of the mission should be of a more appropriate style of con
struction and of more pretentious design, this commendably ambitious
resolve being induced by the great, uninterrupted, and still increasing success
of the movement. Accordingly, the first Congregational chapel and schools
were erected, the site employed being that now occupied by the present
edifice.
The Rev. Edward Morris was appointed the first pastor, concern
ing whom it is said that whilst he was "engaged in a course of private
study in Manchester, J. Guinness Rogers, Absalom Clark. John
Rawlinson, and other students of the Lancashire Independent
College were endeavouring to plant Congregational churches at
Stretford and Sale."1 On Wednesday, September Qth, 1840, he
was ordained to the pastorate here, the charge to the minister
being given by the Rev. J. Gwyther. In that year the Lancashire
County Union voted the sum of ^50 to aid the station, and the
first report which it presented to the Annual Meeting of the
Union, in April, 1841, stated that there was preaching three times
every Sabbath Day, with a " best attendance " of 120 people ; that
five persons had been added to the infant church, making the mem
bership into twenty-one; that there was a Sunday School, with the
names of 140 on the books; and that Mr. Morris had preaching
stations at Urmston, Lostock, and Lostock Lane. Shortly after
1 "Congregational Year Book" for 1890, p. 168.
THE REV. E. MORRIS. 75
this Mr. Morris undertook to revive the cause at Sale, concerning
which it was thus reported at the time : —
The place had been closed, the church dissolved, the chapel was filthy and
out of repair, the deeds unsatisfactory and even insecure ; and worse than
all, the interest had attached to it an ill odour in the neighbourhood.1
Generously assisted by students of Lancashire College, Mr.
Morris continued to work the two churches until 1849, when he
resigned his connection with Stretford, and gave his undivided
energies to Sale. Here he laboured until 1883, when advanced
age brought about his retirement from a church which had
giown under his care into one of the most vigorous in the county
of Cheshire. He died on the 4th of July, 1889. His successor in
the pastorate at Stretford was the Rev. John Simson. He was
educated at the Blackburn Academy, being sent thither by the
Great George Street Church, Liverpool, then under the pastoral
care of Dr. Raffles. His first church was at Nantwich, whence he
removed to Stretford in 1851. In 1858 "the friends of Christ
at this place having met together and devised liberal things for the
support of their minister," were able both to increase his stipend
and dispense with further aid from the funds of the Union. Three
years after this the present building, capable of seating about 550
people, replaced its "antiquated predecessor." The foundation
stone was laid by John Rylands, Esq., on April 4th, 1861, "in
the presence of a large assembly," and in addition to the pastor
the Revs. Ur. McKerrow and David Home assisted in the service.
The cost of the new building was about ^£2,200. During Mr.
Simson's ministry a secession took place, which resulted in the
formation of a Union Church in Edge Lane, of which the Rev.
Fitzherbert Bugby was the first minister. Mr. Simson resigned in
1865, and subsequently laboured at Marple and Baguley, in
Cheshire. He died October iQth, 1892, aged seventy-seven
years. His wife was Jane Thompson, daughter of James Thomp
son, '•' a linen merchant in Nantwich, one of whose ancestors
suffered death in the battle of Drumclog."2 The Rev. J.
1 " County Union Report," ending April, 1844.
- "Congregational Year Book" for 189 , p. 243.
MR. JOHN RYLANDS. 77
McAuslane, from Cumnock, who had studied at the Glasgow
Theological Academy under Drs. Wardlawand Thomson, followed
in 1866. In 1871 he removed to Garlieston, Wigtownshire, where
he laboured until his death, June nth, 1877. H£ was the author
of a little volume entitled "Prayer, Pardon, Peace," — a book for
inquirers. His brother was the late Dr. Alex. McAuslane, of
Finsbury Chapel, London The Rev. G. C. Empson, who had
received his ministerial training at Spring Hill College, and pre
viously laboured at Bilston, followed in 1872. It was during Mr.
Empson's pastorate that the Stretford Church first interested itself
in Congregational Church extension at Chorlton-cum-Hardy and
Urmston, he being ever anxious to enlist the sympathies of his
people in aggressive Christian work. He resigned the pastorate
in 1883, and is now labouring in Michigan, U.S.A. The Rev.
J. \V. Kiddle, who was also trained at Spring Hill College, and
whose previous pastorates were at Coventry and Charlestown,
Pendleton, succeeded Mr. Empson in 1884, and still pursues a
useful ministry here. A brass plate in the western porch contains
th* following inscription : —
The foundation stone
of this Church
was laid on Good Friday, A.D. 1861, by
JOHN RYLANDS. ESQ.,
of Longford Hall.
The Church was restored
and this porch added by
MRS. RYLANDS,
A.D. 1890.
The generous benefactions of Mr. Rylands, not alone to the
Stretford Church, but to our denominational institutions generally,
have won for him a high place in our history, and Mrs. Rylands has
already proved herself to be like-minded with her late husband,
not least by her handsome gift of the Al thorp Library to the city
of Manchester.
It has been previously stated that the Rev. E. Morris was in the
habit of preaching at Urmston, a few miles west of Stretford, in the
early part of his ministry ; but the present interest is a much later
formation. In the year 1879 a number of friends, chiefly members of
78 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Congregational churches in Manchester, who were living at Urmston,
decided to meet for worship, and engaged for that purpose a small
room called the High School, in Flixton Road. The 'committee
who undertook the responsibility of working this movement was
presided over by the Rev. G. C. Empson, the Stretford minister.
The room being very small and inconvenient it was resolved to
take steps towards the erection of a church, and a building com
mittee was appointed, consisting of the following persons : —
Messrs. Robert Dobson, R. B. Taylor, C. H. Wyatt, Ellis Pugh,
William Griffiths, C. Cutting, Richard Seel, John Thomson,
Edwin Porter, Josiah Rigby, W. Walker, and W. G. Porter.
On September 2oth, 1879, the foundation stone of the new
building was laid by Mr. Henry Lee, of Manchester, and in May,
1880, the High School was vacated, and services were held in the
schoolroom of the new building. The church was opened on
June loth following, when the Rev. J. A. Macfadyen, M.A.,
preached in the afternoon, and in the evening a meeting was held,
presided over by Mr. Wm. Armitage, J.P., of Altrincham. On
October 26th, 1880, the church was formed. The Rev. R. M.
Davies, of Oldham, presided on the occasion, and the Rev. T.
Willis, of Manchester, gave an address on Congregational Church
principles. Twenty-two friends, who were transferred from other
churches, entered into fellowship, and then received twenty-one
others who desired to be associated with them. The Lord's Supper
was afterwards celebrated, at which service the Rev. J. Rawlin-
son, of Manchester, and the Rev. F. Carter, of Northwich, assisted.
The Rev. A. O. Lochore, a student of Lancashire College,
on April 2oth, 1881, accepted the invitation of the church to
become its first pastor. He succeeded in reducing the heavy debt,
which had been a serious burden to the cause from its commence
ment, and in enabling it to dispense with the assistance of the
Union Funds. In April, 1888, he removed to Newport, Isle of
Wight, where he is still the minister. His successor, the Rev.
Henry Shaw, educated at Cheshunt, and who had previously
held charges at Hull and Gloucester, began his labours at Urmston
on December 2nd, 1888. He is still the minister here, and
amongst those who loyally support him in his work are Messrs.
Robert Tonge, J. D. Williams, J. R. Groundwater, George Duke,
CONGRE GA TIONALISM A T CADISHEAD. 7 9
and T. Hand, deacons of the church. Mr. Shaw is a frequent
contributor of historical articles to our denominational literature.
The church is situated in Flixton Road, Urmston, and will seat
some 250 people. It cost about ,£3.000.
At Cadishead, still farther west, and on the right bank of the
Mersey, is a small Congregational interest, which was originated
in March, 1875, by the Rev. H. Fielden, of Partington. Services
were held in a small shed, originally meant for fustian cutting,
and which was familiarly known as the Congregational "Cathe
dral." On Good Friday, 1883, a new school chapel, capable of
seating 200 people, was opened, the cost of which was ^641.
The Rev. G. Brimacombe supplied the pulpit for a short time
after this, and then the Rev. D. Clegg, formerly of Clitheroe,1 took
charge of the place along with Partington, on the Cheshire side of
the Mersey. The present minister is the Rev. J. Crewe. A grant
is annually made from the funds of the Union in support of the
cause, and the Rev. John Yonge, of Warrington, with several
members of the Warrington Church, has generously bestowed
upon it much labour and thought. The arrangement with
Partington has been discontinued, that church being under the
care of the Bowdon Rural Mission, and Cadishead is now super
intended by the Warrington Committee, and aided, as stated
above, by the Lancashire Union.
With Cadishead the circle of Congregational interests around
Manchester is completed. We have come again to the original
starting point. These interests, however, do not at all exhaust the
good work which has been done by the Lancashire Congregational
Union in this part of the county and in counties adjoining.
Early Reports tell of preaching stations at Lymm, Woodhouses,
Warburton, Carrington, Partington, and Mill Bank, in Cheshire ;
and Irlam, Flixton, Rixon, and Bury Lane, in Lancashire, all
under the care of the Rev. Benjamin Holmes, formerly of Park
Chapel, Ramsbottom.2
Cheshire has benefited considerably by the unselfishness of its
richer neighbour, for many of the churches which skirt it on the
1 Vide "Lancashire Nonconformity," vol. ii.
2 Ibid, vol. iii.
8o LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Lancashire side have been recipients of generous grants from its
Union Funds. It extended its operations even into Derbyshire at
one period of its history, the Congregational Church at Buxton being
for three or four years helped out of its funds to the extent of £20
a year. All along its history the Lancashire Congregational
Union has illustrated the broad, liberal, and aggressive spirit of its
founders, for of the thirty-two ministers who signified their appro
bation of the " plan of the Union " in the vestry of Mosley Street
Chapel, Manchester, September 23rd, 1806, six belonged to
Cheshire, one to Derbyshire, and one to Yorkshire.
CHAPTER II.
THE MANCHESTER CHURCHES.
I.— CROSS STREET CHAPEL.
MANCHESTER Nonconformity finds its true starting point in the
person of the Rev. Henry Newcome, M.A. Warden Heyrick,
Richard Hollinworth, William Bourne, and William Walker are
interesting names, and did space permit, much might be said
respecting them as auxiliary forces in the creation of this new
form of religious activity in the life of the town; but the centre
of interest lies with Henry Newcome. He was born on the 27th
of November, 1627, at Caldecot, in Huntingdonshire, the fourth
son of the Rev. Stephen and Rose Newcome, being connected
through his mother with a Salford family named Williamson ; and
while yet a youth was deprived by death of " father and mother
within so short an interval that both were buried in one coffin."
To the generosity of his elder brothers he was largely indebted for
his entrance into St. John's College, Cambridge, on May loth,
1644, "in the very heat of the wars." In September, 1647, he
settled at Congleton as schoolmaster, where his brother Robert
had before been, in reference to which event he afterwards writes :
" I have oft lamented my so early coming from the University."1
The Candlemas after he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts, and
about that time began to preach. Concerning his marriage on
July 6th, 1648, to Elizabeth Mainwaring, daughter of Peter Main-
waring, of Smallwood, Cheshire, he piously remarks :
I was rash and inconsiderate in this change of condition, and sinned in
that I took not that advice I should have took of my friends in it.2
1 " Autobiography" (Chetham Society Series, vol. xxvi.), p. 9.
2 Ibid., p. 10.
5-6
82 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
God, however, "very mercifully turned it into good," and the
alliance with this important Cheshire family was of great service to
him in after life. His ordination at Sandbach, on the 22nd of
August following, was brought about, he tells us, " casually,"
through his asking Mr. Ley whether there was to be such a
service. On being informed there would be, he says :
I thought of it, and so entered upon examination. God gave favour in
their eyes, and, though young, they passed me, and I was solemnly set apart
that day. Old Mr. Langley preached, and Mr. Ley managed the ordination.1
After a brief ministry at Goosetree, he became rector of Gaws-
worth, near Macclesfield, in April, 1650, when he took his M.A.
degree. The death of Mr. Hollinworth left a vacancy in the
supply of the Manchester Collegiate Church pulpit, which Mr.
Newcome was invited to occupy. After much hesitation, the
invitation was accepted, and the following passage from his
" Autobiography " will show how real his attachment was to his
people at Gawsworth, whilst it illustrates the character of the man
who was ever castigating himself for even his most minute failures :
On Thursday, April 16 [1657], the carts came and carried away all our
goods towards Manchester. I was sadly affected, and broken all to pieces in
leaving the house. I never was so broken in duty as I was in that which I
went unto just when we were ready to go out of the house. We prayed the
Lord that the sins of this seven years may be forgiven us, and that not one
of them might follow us from that place ; that we might take a pardon with
us, and leave the sins behind us ; and that God would bless us every child at
going out. I thought I went like Jacob, my children before-me, and I follow
ing after ; but I had no Esau to waylay me. I am afraid lest my way be per
verse before the Lord. I am full of shame, and sorrow, and dejection. I
could wish myself invisible till this transaction were overpast. But my
Father knows my sorrow and my fears, and will, out of pity, speak to my
comfort and be reconciled to me. I write this now, in April, 1666, when I
am driven out nine years after upon the act, not only from one people to
another, but from my people and family, and work, too, and must upon the
matter go whither I may ; yet it is no such trouble to me as that was. There
is a vast difference between going out on our own, and on God's account ;
and when God supports, it is easier to be driven out than to go out when he
1 " Autobiography" (Chetham Society Series, vol. xxvi.), p. n.
84 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
in the least withdraws. We went with our family to Marten, to my cousin
Davenport, who received us as if she had been my mother, and thence we
were fetched by the horses and friends that came from Manchester.1
Mr. Newcome's troubles in Manchester began early. On
the return of Charles II., in 1660, the Fellowships in the
Collegiate Church were restored, and Newcome was "left a
minister without a people." His popularity, however, with the
congregation, together with the fact that the Fellows had prefer
ments elsewhere, left him and Warden Heyrick to supply the
church much as before until August 3131, 1662, when he preached
his last sermon therein. Beautiful is the picture of him which the
following passage from his diary presents when coming the follow
ing Sunday and finding his place occupied by a surpliced preacher,
he sat in the church as a sympathetic hearer, finding the service
to be a " very sweet sacramV
Sabb : Sep. 7. I got up about 7. Read Mar. 5. Prepared as well as I
could for thepublicke. \Vn I came there I found Mr. Weston readinge in his
surplis and hood. He preached on Lu. xii. 47. Mr. Browne consecrated in
his surplis. I desired to apply myself to my God & I found it a very sweet
sacram4. Mr. Weston preached again in ye afternoon. I catechized
ye children & we had a very sweet time of repetition. I was much helped in
ye duty.2
" When he could preach no longer," says Calamy, " he wrote
many excellent papers upon practical subjects, and dispersed
them among his hearers, who contributed liberally towards his
support and showed great kindness to him and his family."3 The
Five Mile Act sent Mr. Newcome out of Manchester, but he found
an asylum in the house of Thomas Topping, at Ellenbrook,
Worsley, until 1670. In this year he returned to Manchester, and
two years later, taking advantage of the Indulgence Act, obtained
licenses for himself as a Presbyterian preacher in his own house,
and for his house as a Presbyterian meeting place. His license,
however, he says, " would attain no end for its capacity," so he took
a license on May i3th, 1672, for a barn " faire and spacious,"
1 Page 71.
2 " Diary" (Chetham Society Series, vol. xviii.), p. 120.
3 " Nonconformist's Memorial " (1802), vol. ii., p. 368.
PREACHING LICENSES. 85
and the Lord's Day after he preached therein. Subjoined is a list
of the other Manchester licenses taken out at this time : —
3Oth Apr., 1672, HENRY FINCH, of Manchester, a general Presbyterian Teacher.
„ „ A Private Oratory belonging toTHOMAS BIRCH, Esq., of Birch
Hall, in Lancashire. Congr. & Presby.
„ ,, The howse of ROBERT EATON, in Manchester, Presbyt.
,, ,, ROBERT EATON, Presbyt.
loth June, ,, The howse of HENRY FINCH, in Manchester. Presbyt.
The howse of WM. WILSON, in Manchester. Presbyt.
„ ,, WM. WILSON, Presbyt.
i5th June, ,, The howse of SAM. BURE, at Manchester. Presbyt.
,, ,, SAM. BURE, Presbyt.
25th July, „ The howse of JOHN LEEDS, at Manchester. Presbyt.
5th Sept. „ The howse of CALEB BROADHEAD, at Manchester. Presbyt.
The howse of NICH. DEARNELLYES, in Manchester. Presbyt.
„ „ The howse of RICH. HOLBROKE, in Manchester. Presbyt.
30th Sept. ,, JOHN ANGIER, at his owne house at Manchester. Presbyt.
„ „ SAMUL ANGIER, at the house of Jane Hide, of Hide nolle
[Hyde Hall] in Manchester. Presbyt.
i8th Nov., „ The howse of RICHARD HOLLAND, of Manchester. Presbyt.
3rd Feb., 1673. The howse of Mr. BUXTON, in Manchester. Presbyt.1
The relief granted to the Nonconformists by this Indulgence
Act was only very temporary, for in 1673 tne A-ct vvas revoked, and
all the licenses became void. Mr. Newcome writes under date
April 26th, 1673, Sunday : "The justices took cause to stop my
preaching in my own house." It is not clear to what extent he had
liberty to preach during the years immediately following, probably
it was very limited, and on April iyth, 1676, he says, "We were
now about removing the goods out of the chapel [barn] now our
liberty there was utterly extinct." The following passage epitomises
the next eleven years which were among " the most trying of his
ministry " : —
His friends had determined upon his staying in Manchester whether he
had liberty of service or not, and a stated income was raised for him. He
was ever among his people, advising, consoling, and preaching, and his house
was open to any who desired communion with him. He was of a sensitive
temperament. He was troubled, he tells us, at the scorn of the poor wife of
1 Copied from a paper by the late Mr. Bailey in " Local Gleanings,"
1879-1880, p. 448.
86 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
the Warden ; he was troubled also at a flower that was gone from his garden;
but he tells us also that he was humbled at himself for being troubled at so
little a thing. He and his friends were singled out for persecution ; their
meetings were broken up by the civil officers, and heavy fines were imposed ;
he was belied, and lived under daily apprehension of new difficulties.-1
The Declaration of Indulgence in 1687 once more brought
liberty to the suffering Nonconformists. It was issued on April
4th, the news reached Manchester on the yth, and on the 2oth
Mr. Newcome says : —
It being Wednesday, I began to preach in Mr. Barlow's house that is
empty, with great satisfaction and' rejoicing. I continued to preach on
Wednesdays, and after evening sermons on the Lord's Day, a good while ;
till the churchmen wearied the hearers by their unwearied reflections, and so
I was forced into the public time.2
On the 1 2th of June he removed with his people to a larger
building, concerning which under that date he writes : —
After much difficulty, having obtained Thomas Stockton's barn, I began
to preach there to a great congregation, with much freedom and ease to
myself. The enlarging of the place we had great trouble about, but came
to some result about it July i5th, after much struggling and several sentences
of death on the thing. A good work, we wrestle, as it were, with an unseen
spirit to get it forward.3
Hitherto Mr. Newcome had preached at times so as not to
interfere with the services in the Collegiate Church, which he him
self continued to attend, but on July 3131, 1687, he says: "I
began to preach in the public time." On the 7th of August
following, the Rev. John Chorlton (of whom more subsequently)
"came in, and began to preach in the forenoon, and performed
well, and hath continued in the work to great satisfaction."1 The
more peaceful times which followed the accession of William of
Orange made the increasing, influential, and wealthy congregation
which had hitherto worshipped in Stockton's barn think of a larger
and more convenient building. Mr. Newcome was not enthusiastic
"Memorials of a Dissenting Chapel," by Sir Thomas Baker, p. u.
8 " Autobiography," p. 264.
3 1 bid, p. 265.
4 Ibid.
PL UNGEONS ME ADO W. 87
about the matter as he states in 'the following lengthy but deeply
interesting passage : —
April 12th [1693]. About this time some were hot about a new meeting
place. I did not well understand the likelihood of the thing, but prayed
that God would by his good providence so order it that I may not bear the
burden of hindering the whole work, nor yet be found to consent to what is
inconvenient.
I3th. The matter seemed to fall, and that upon other reasons, and not
at all upon my dissatisfaction, which is a great mercy to me. But it revived
again, and through many ups and downs it was at length concluded on.
Yet just when it should have been set upon (July 6th), it was quite dashed,
to my thinking, and yet within a day or two it strangely revived again.
These uncertainties drive it far in the year. It was not begun till fully i8th,
and many curses and reproaches the foundation was laid in. I did, I
confess, not set my heart much upon it, but was rather passive a great
while, upon thoughts (among other things) that I might not live to serve in
it. But I confess I was more willing after, and did use my interests, while I
had any, to promote it (wherein I had some success), (i) P'or that other
place is too little— not room for the poor, who have souls ; and some of
better rank would come if they could have seats. Some this summer over
set with heat by the greatness of the crowd. I could wish (2) that the
neglect at the great church, in the scandalous provision there, did not help
the endeavour for more room. (3) The foolish scandal at the barn will
hereby be removed. (4) It will, however, be more honourable for the worship
of God. (5) Most places have led us the way in new decent erections of
this kind. It hath gone on since it begun considerably, and hath prospered
thus far, and the roof firmly laid on and covered by this time, and to the
shame of all ill-willers and ill-wishers, no dangers of shrinking or falling.
But that which I was greatly concerned for was the massiness of the roof,
and unordinary danger, and I prayed earnestly that no one might receive
bodily harm by the work ; and that the Lord hath showed us mercy herein I
desire to acknowledge with all thankfulness. August 2yth: There was
occasion in this business for this reflection ; great oppositions, weak dissatis
factions, and malicious reflections against a public good work and them that
engage in it.1
"The agreement," says Sir Thomas Baker, "for the purchase
of the land on which the chapel was built bears date June soth,
1693. The land itself is described as 'part of a parcel of land
commonly called Plungen's Meadow.'"2 This district was then
1 " Autobiography," p. 278.
2 " Memorials of a Dissenting Chapel," p. 14.
THE MOSLE Y FAMIL K 89
quite rural. Adjoining Piungeon's Meadow l was Pool Fold, with its
ducking stool and the ancient Hall of the Radcliffe family. The
lease and re-lease by which the land was conveyed bear date
August i6th and igth, 1693; and the building was opened for
worship on June 24th, 1694, when Mr. Newcome preached from
Ex. xxviii., 36. " The erection of a gallery," says Sir Thomas Baker,
" was a private speculation of two members of the congregation
(John Evans and Thomas Siddall). The agreement into which
they entered for this purpose with the trustees of the chapel is
dated i2th February, 1694. By it they were to repay themselves
out of the money received for the seats in the intended gallery,
which was to be erected at the north end of the chapel, and to be
finished by the following October. They were to have a pew
each at a rental of twenty-four shillings per annum, and to give to
the trustees a full account of their expenditure and receipts.'''2 The
chapel was the largest Nonconformist place of worship in the
county, having a congregation of 1,515, of whom seventy-four
were county voters. Amongst generous contributors to the under
taking were Sir Edward Mosley, of Hulme Hall, with Dame Jane
Meriel, his wife.3 Mr. Newcome did not survive the erection of
the new building long. He preached his last sermon in it on
June 1 3th, 1695, a year within a week after its opening, and died
1 " Plungeon " (not Plungen), or "Plunging Field,'' was the site of the
tumbrel, or cuckstool, and in the iyth century the designation " gave rise to
the vulgar name of St. Piungeon's Chapel" for the "Presbyterian meeting
house north of Tib Lane." (Reilly's "Early History of Manchester," p. 52.)
2 " Memorials of a Dissenting Chapel," p. 15.
3 Mr. Newcome was on terms of close intimacy with the Mosley family,
and his autobiography contains notices of frequent visits to Hulme Hall. Sir
Edward Mosley at his death in 1695 left him a legacy of £20, and his wife,
Dame Jane Meriel Mosley, gave ^50 for the poor of the Cross Street congre
gation. Their daughter, Lady Ann, married Sir John Bland, who belonged
to the "Church and King" party, and who broke the windows of the barn
where Newcome was preaching. Shortly afterwards, however, Mr. Newcome
was summoned to her residence at Ancoats to " a day of prayer " on " Lady
Eland's account," who was lying sick. She continued for some time to attend
the Nonconformist meeting-house, but later in life she went to St. Ann's
Church, in St. Ann's Square, whose foundation stone she laid, and which was
so called in honour of her and of Queen Anne, during whose reign it was
erected.
NEWCOMERS TOMBSTONE. 91
September iyth following, aged sixty-eight years. At his own
request he was buried within the chapel to the right of the pulpit,
where his tombstone may yet be seen, thus inscribed : —
Here Resteth the Body of
HENRY NEWCOME, A.M.,
Minister of the Gospel in Manchester 38 years,
Buried September 2oth, 1695,
Aged 68 years.
JAMES NEWCOME,
Died 25th January, 1695, in the gth (?) year of his age.
ELIZABETH,
Relict of Henry Newcome, &c.,
Died, aged 84,
And was buried February 8th, A.D. 1700.
ROSE
(their daughter),
Buried May 4th, 1719, in her 7oth year.
His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. John Chorlton,
from Daniel xii., 3. Concerning Mr. Newcome much has been
written, the most, and the most important, by himself.1 He had
a wide circle of eminent friends to whom his death came as a
heavy blow. Mr. Chorlton, his assistant, in the sermon previously
named, which was eventually published, says : —
If I reckon our deceased reverend brother among the chiefest of those
modern worthies that have turned many unto righteousness, and do now
shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever,
I doubt not to have the suffrage of all who hear me and of all that new him.2
The learned John Howe says : —
There was in him a large stock of solid learning and knowledge always
ready for use; for ostentation, never. Conscience, the most strict and
steady to itself, and the remotest from censoriousness of other men.
Eloquence, without any labour of his* own, not imitable by the greatest
labour of another.3
1 His " Autobiography and Diary," forming vols. xviii., xxvi., xxvii. of
the Chetham Society's publications, are invaluable to all writers on Noncon
formity ; whilst they are a revelation of the man himself. From them I have
drawn largely in the preparation of this sketch.
2 ''Autobiography," p. 287.
3 Ibid., p. 292.
92 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
William Bagshaw, " the Apostle of the Peak," says :—
Very pleasant hast them been to me. Thy love was wonderful, passing the
love of women.1
Similar high testimony to his character will be found in the
writings of Oliver Heywood, Matthew Henry, and other equally
noted men. To this brief outline of this good man's life, who was
the father of Manchester Nonconformity, it only remains to be
added that he left at death a few productions from his pen of a
sermonic character, and that subsequent members of the Newcome
family have risen to prominence in the ecclesiastical world.2
The death of Mr. Newcome left the Rev. John Chorlton in sole
charge of the congregation. He was a native of Salford, being
born there about 1666, and had been educated by the Rev.
Richard Frankland, entering his academy at Rathmell, April 4th,
1682. As previously noted, he came to assist Mr. Newcome in
August, 1687, by whom he was regarded with the deepest affection
from the very first. On the 8th of March, 1689, he married
Hannah, the daughter of Joseph Leeche, who died November 3rd,
1704. Mr. Chorlton himself died a few months after this, on
May i6th, 1705, being buried on the igth, in the Collegiate
Church, Manchester. The " Northowram Register " thus remarks
upon the fact : " An unspeakable loss to that Town, & to the
Church of God."3 Like his predecessor, he was an intimate friend
of Matthew Henry, who was deeply grieved by his death, and who,
in the following passage, gives his affections full play : —
MY. Chorlton, of Manchester, my dear and worthy brother, after about a
fortnight's illness of a diabetes, died on Wednesday, the i6th May, 1705. He
was eminent for solid judgment, great thought, and an extraordinary quick
ness and readiness of expression ; he was a casuist, one of a thousand ; he
had a wonderfully clear head, and was one who did dominari in concionibus;
he was of great sincerity and serious piety ; has been very useful in educating
youth; he was in the 4oth year of his age; survived his wife about half a
1 " Autobiography," p. 293.
2 In the Lancashire Independent College, Whalley Range, Manchester,
is an excellent painting of the Rev. Henry Newcome, from which the engrav
ing has been made which appears in vol. ii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 Page 237.
THE REV. JOHN CHORLTON. 93
year ; and was my beloved friend and correspondent about sixteen years.
Oh, Lord God, wilt thou make a full end ? His funeral sermon was
preached and published by Mr. James Coningham, his friend and fellow-
labourer; and he has given him his just character. Mr. Chorlton and Mr.
Scoles1 were born in the same town ; were bred up together from their child
hood ; were educated together, both in language and sciences ; were very
justly accounted two of the most considerable men for good sense and learn
ing that the town of Manchester, or the parts adjacent, have produced.8
Two points in that passage need to be noticed. Mr. Chorlton,
in addition to pastoral duties, conducted an academy in Man
chester. This virtually took the place of the Rev. Richard Frank-
land's Academy, which, after his death, October i, 1698, was
broken up, and "the schollers dispersed." "Not long after," says
Oliver Heywood, " Mr. John Chorlton set up a teaching University,
learning in a great house in Manchester, Lane." 3 Hunter says
that " the academy acquired what may be called a public character,
by a resolution of the Lancashire ministers at one of their meetings,
that they gave it their countenance, and meant to support it."4 It
was continued some six or seven years after Mr. Chorlton's death.
From Matthew Henry's statement, also, it appears that the Rev.
James Coningham, M.A., was Mr. Chorlton's assistant.5 He was
educated at Edinburgh University, and settled first at Penrith,
about 1694. He removed to Manchester in 1700, to be the
colleague of Mr. Chorlton, whose death left him in sole charge in
1705. " He deeply felt the loss he had sustained," says Sir Thomas
Baker, " and difficulties arose with which his sensitive nature did
not enable him sufficiently to contend. There were divisions
among his people, great hostility to the Dissenters, and a prosecu-
1 The Rev. Nathaniel Scholes, of Newton Heath, vide ante p. 41.
2 " Memoirs of the Rev. M. Henry" (Williams), p. 261.
3 "Diaries," vol. ii., p. 16.
4 '' Life of Oliver Heywood," p. 426.
5 Sir Thomas Baker ("Memorials," p. 18), says that Mr. Chorlton had
an assistant named Gaskeld during the years 1697 and 1698. He remained
in Manchester only about a year, then suddenly disappeared, but was heard
of afterwards in Hull, whence he passed over to Holland. Oliver Heywood
(Yorkshire County Magazine for January, 1893, p. 21, by J. Horsfall Turner)
says in his diary : " Nov. 29, 1698. Tuesday — Letter from Manchester.
Strange news of Mr. Chorlton's assistant running away."
94 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
tion was commenced against him for keeping an academy." 1 In
1712 he removed to Haberdashers' Hall, London, when, after a
four years' ministry, "attended with great success," he was "seized
with a mortal distemper, which carried him off on the ist of
September, 1716." His funeral sermon was preached by Dr.
Samuel Wright, from Rev. xiv., 13, and he was interred in Bunhill
Fields, the following inscription being placed upon his tombstone :—
Here resteth
The Body of the late Rev.
MR. JAMES CONINGHAM, M.A.,
Minister of the Gospel,
Who died September i, 1716,
In the 47th year of his age.
And Three Children,
Anne, died May 5, 1713, aged 15 years.
Sophia, died Aug. 23, 1713, aged 23 days.
Mary, died Jan. 7, 1713-4, aged 4 years.2
The Rev. Eliezer Birch was appointed to succeed Mr. Coning-
ham. He was a native of Manchester, and related probably to
the Birches of Birch Hall,3 and was educated by Mr. Frankland,
whose academy he entered February 9th, 1675-6. He appears as
the minister of Dean Row, in Cheshire, on September 15111, 1687,
when he preached at Congleton the funeral sermon of the Rev.
George Moxon, an ejected minister; but whether that was his
first charge is not clear. After nearly twenty years' service there he
was invited to Yarmouth, in Norfolk.4 The following passage
1 " Memorials," p. 19.
2 "Dissenting Churches," by Walter Wilson, vol. iii, p. 137.
3 In the " History of Birch Chapel " (Chetham Society Series, vol. xlvii.)
are two or three references to a Mr. Eliezer Birch. He was one of the wit
nesses to the will dated June 24th, 1692, of the Rev. Robert Birch, of Birch
Chapel, ejected in 1662 ; and to him, along with others, Ralph Worsley, in
1706, converged the Dissenting Chapel there. A "Mr. Birch, minister,"
probably the same person, appears amongst the list of contributors towards
the erection of that chapel in 1700.
4 Previous to his removal to Yarmouth Mr. Birch, who had only been
ordained by his people, sought ministerial ordination, as appears from the
following passage in Matthew Henry's Diary :—" Mr. Birch, who was
ordained by the people, and had been their pastor about twenty years, at his
96 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
testifies to the fine spirit in which ministerial changes were made
two centuries ago, and is a witness to the high regard in which Mr.
Birch was held by his people at Dean Row.
On the 24th June, 1706, they [the people of Yarmouth] sent a letter to
him, inviting him "for the sole pastoral office if he thought good to come
to us." Mr. Birch's church sent " a pure denial to us about their reverend
pastor ; they, finding what we had done to be to their great sorrow, did most
Christian like desire us to forbear any further procedure in this matter."
This church replied to the letter " with all tenderness, love, and charity,
endeavouring by all possible arguments to prevail with them to give up their
reverend pastor to us here." Private information was given to the church at
Yarmouth that Mr. Birch was willing to give them a meeting; he came and
preached, and as the result, on September iath the church "renewed the
call to Mr. Birch to the pastoral office." They handsomely defrayed the ex
penses of himself and a companion who came with him, and gave them a
present besides. After he had left the town " to our great joy he resolved
to come ; and a house was provided for him near the chapel." They waited
for him six months, and on the 3Oth April, 1707, they " sent from Yarmouth
a coach and six horses for Nottingham, to meet Mr. Birch and family, who
arrived here May 8th, in good health. Thanks be to God.1
About two years after this the Rev. Daniel Smith was appointed
assistant to Mr. Birch. The two ministers did not get on together,
and, in the end, both resigned,2 Mr. Birch returning to Lancashire
removal, being not satisfied with the want of ministerial ordination,
procured three or four ministers privately to ordain him, with the imposition
of hands. The moderate of that congregation [Dean Row] are contriving
to gain that point from the other party." (" Memoirs of the Rev. M. Henry,"
Williams, p. 148.) Early ordination services were very different from those
of to-day. In some churches the people were the ordainers, neighbouring
ministers being only spectators; in others several candidates were ordained
together by some of the eminent ministers of the county in some particular
place. " It was only by degrees," says Mr. Williams, "that ordinations
among Nonconformists came to be performed, as now they almost invariably
are in the presence of the congregation for whom the oversight is taken."
(Ibid, p. 149).
1 "History of Congregationalism in Norfolk and Suffolk" (Browne),
p. 242.
2 A writer in the Christian Reformer for 1845 (p. 378), says that the
cause of the quarrel between the two ministers was probably " a difference
in religious opinions, which at that time began to be much agitated in
Presbyterian congregations." There is no authority for this. It is much
THE CHAPEL WRECKED. 97
in August, 1710, and Mr. Smith in September following dying of
"a broken heart in his homeward journey." In 1712 Mr. Birch
became the pastor of the Cross Street congregation in succession
to Mr. Coningham. It was in his day that Cross Street Chapel
was wrecked by the Sacheverel mobs, every seat being pulled out,
and the internal fittings destroyed. The captain of the Manchester
rioters was Tom Syddall, a blacksmith (by some called a barber),
who, along with several of his followers, was sentenced to imprison
ment and the pillory at Lancaster, and subsequently executed for
participation in the Rebellion of 1745. Parliament awarded
,£1,500 as compensation for the damage done to Cross Street
Chapel. Mr. Birch survived these events only a short time, dying
May 1 2th, 1717. He was buried under the chapel vestry. The
" Northowram Register " contains the following : —
O o
Mr. Eliezir Birch, minr. at Manchester New Chappel, died May 12, bur. May
15. A man of Eminent Ministerial Abilities : The loss is very great. Cease
Lord ! Help Lord ! " 1
The Rev. Joseph Mottershead followed. He was born on
August 17, 1688, in the neighbourhood of Stockport, his father
having a small estate there, which he inherited. He was educated
for the ministry by the Rev. Timothy Jollie, of Attercliffe, Sheffield,
and afterwards spent a year with the Rev. Matthew Henry, of
Chester, forming a friendship then which was only interrupted by
death. Whilst a candidate for the ministry he preached at Kings-
ley, in Cheshire, from 1710 to 1712. He was ordained at Knuts-
ford on August 5th of that year, when the Rev. Gamaliel Jones, of
Hatherlow, was the principal person engaged, " who gave ye exhor
tation from Hebrews xiii., 20." - Mr. Mottershead was " well
more likely that it is simply an illustration of the difficulty of the co-
pastorate. Nor do I think the writer is correct in saying that both ministers
were " dismissed." Mr. Birch intimated that either Mr. Smith or himself
must go, and, though it is true that the church was " forced to deny his
request, endeavouring to make him sensible of our danger of separation,"
yet it endeavoured " to persuade him to stay with us in love.'1 And when
his decision to remove was made known, the church resolved that Mr. Smith
also must go.
1 Page 271.
2 Urwick's " Nonconformity in Cheshire," p. 321.
5—7
98 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
settled" at Nantwich on August loth, 1713, when Matthew Henry
preached there on Josh, i., 5, 6. It is an interesting fact that the
noted commentator died the following year, Tuesday, June 22nd,
at Mr. Mottershead's house, where he had called whilst on his way
from Chester to London. In 1718 Mr. Mottershead succeeded
Mr. Birch at Manchester, having sole charge1 of the congregation
until 1739, when he received the Rev. John Seddon, M.A, as
colleague. He was the son of the Rev. Peter Seddon, of Cockey
Moor,2 born at Lomax Fold, near Bolton, and educated by Dr.
Rotheram at Kendal, subsequently taking his M.A. degree at
Glasgow University. At the time of his appointment as Mr.
Mottershead's colleague he was not more than twenty-three years
of age, and his ordination was delayed until October 22nd, 1742.
The ordaining ministers were the Revs. John Chorley, Monton ;
John Whitaker, Platt Chapel ; Joshua Dobson, Cockey Moor ;
Henry (?) Knight, Cross Street, in Cheshire ; and Joseph Motters
head. Mr. Seddon married the eldest daughter of Mr. Motters
head, and so became joined to him by family as well as ministerial
ties. He held views far in advance of the time on the question of
the Trinity. Dr. Joseph Priestley, when tutor of the VVarrington
Academy, says : " The only Socinian in the neighbourhood was
Mr. Seddon, of Manchester; and we all wondered at him."3 These
views "he boldly advanced and defended" in his "public services
at a time when they were very obnoxious to his hearers." His
biographer says : —
From this practice he was requested in vain to desist, and, at length, a
deputation from the society desired Mr. Mottershead to remonstrate with his
son-in-law upon his conduct. Mr. Mottershead undertook the commission,
1 I have in this followed the histories of Sir Thomas Baker and Mr.
Wade, but Dr. Halley mentions the Rev. Joshua Jones, who preached a
sermon at Cross Street in 1719, on the anniversary of the defeat of the rebels
at Preston, as sometime assistant to Mr. Mottershead. Dr. Evans, in his list
of Presbyterian Chapels and Charities, also fixes him here in 1725. This was
the person of that name, I imagine, who had been previously at Oswestry.
The " Northowram Register" (p. 329) contains the following: — "Mr. Joshua
Jones, Minr. in Manchester, died at Chester, Aug. 25 [1740]."
2 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 " Memoirs of Dr. Priestley," by his son, Joseph Priestley, p. 48.
THE REV. JOHN SEDDON, M.A. 99
and opened the business to Mr. Seddon, when the latter replied that he would
enter with him upon the discussion of the subjects in question most
willingly, and when convinced of his error he would be forward to acknow
ledge it, and read his recantation. A day was fixed for the discussion, and
they met and entered upon it in the sp;.rit of perfect peace and cordiality
with each other, and the whole day was consumed in debate. At the close of
it Mr. Mottershead withdrew and reported to the society that he had not
succeeded in convincing his son-in-law of his error, but that his son-in-law
had almost convinced him that he was right ; an instance of great candour
and liberality at a very advanced age.1
This passage is given in full to show that there is more justifica
tion than Sir Thomas Baker seems willing to admit for the con
tention of both Dr. Halley and the editors of " The Socinian
Controversy" that Mr. Seddon's views led to an important
secession from the Cross Street congregation. Sir Thomas Baker says
that " the opinions of the congregation generally were in unison
with those of the ministers, for Unitarianism was general in the
society." The testimony of Dr. Toulmin, however, who wrote the
above passage in 1808, is that Mr. Seddon's views were "very
obnoxious to his hearers," and it is clear that these " hearers "
were an important body. So much so that Mr. Mottershead
undertook to remonstrate with his son-in-law at their request. Nor
do I think there was the sympathy with Mr. Seddon's views on the
part of Mr. Mottershead, which Sir Thomas Baker suggests. The
statement that his son-in-law had " almost convinced him that he
was right" is not so much a declaration of his theological position as
an effort on the part of a '•' quiet and peaceable man," seventy
years old or more, to prevent dissension in his congregation. Job
Orton, who was always lamenting the Socinian tendencies of his
day, says : —
I wish they [the Manchester congregation] may find a successor to good
Mr. Mottershead equal to him, and who will support his character and
reputation, and that of the ministry so well as he hath done. He hath been
honoured with an uncommon length of life, vigour, and usefulness.2
Mr. Seddon died on November 22nd, 1769, and was buried in
the chapel near to Mr. Birch ; Mr. Mottershead followed Novem-
1 " Memoirs of the Rev. S. Bourn," by Toulmin, p. 253.
a '• Practical Works," vol. ii., p. 553.
zoo LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
her 4th, 1771, "having been minister of the congregation at
Manchester nearly fifty-four years, and was interred in the chapel
in a spot adjoining that occupied by the ashes of Mr. Newcome."
The inscription upon his tombstone has become undecipherable in
one or two places. The following is a copy : —
Hie Sepultae Su . .
quiae MARGRET Uxons
Secundae JOSEPHI MOTTER
SHEAD, V.D.M. : ob* Jan? 31 1739
nee non ABIGAIL Uxoris
tertiae ob* Decemr 28 1753
Utraeq fuerunt gratiosae (?)
The Revd- Mr- JOSEPH MOTTERS
HEAD dy'd Novr- 4 1771
Aged 83
SARAH BLACKMORE
died October 27th 1792
Aged 81 years
The Revd- GABRL- NICHOLS
died March 23rd 1778
Aged . . . years
Mr. Mottershead was married three times. First to Miss Bennett,
of Hapsford, near Chester, by whom he had several children, one
of whom, intended for the medical profession, whilst pursuing his
studies at Edinburgh for that purpose, changed his mind and took
orders in the Church of England. Subsequently he was appointed
chaplain on board a man-of-war, "which is supposed to have been
lost, for neither the vessel nor the crew were ever heard of." One
daughter married Mr. Seddon, and another John Jones, the
founder of the well-known banking firm of Jones and Loyd. Mr.
Mottershead's second wife was the widow of Nathaniel Gaskell,1 one
of whose daughters by a former wife became the mother of the
celebrated Lord Give, founder of the British Empire in India.
"The future hero," says Sir Thomas Baker, "spent his childhood
and youth in Manchester," and his early education was received at
1 In the " Northowram Register " (p. 215) is the following : — " Mr. John
Mottershead and Mrs. Margaret Gaskell, of Manchester, mar This is her
3d husband and his 2d wife [about Dec. 27, 1720]." This, I imagine, was
the Rev. Joseph Mottershead, his name being wrongly given as John.
THE REBELLION OF 1745. 101
Stand Grammar School. In June, 1742, Mr. Mottershead married
as his third wife the daughter of the Rev. Chewning Blackmore,
dissenting minister at Worcester. As an instance of the respect
in which he was held by the congregation and the Manchester
people generally, it is recorded that at the time of the 1745 rebellion
" a committee, which consisted of many very respectable inhabi
tants, was formed in the town of Manchester to favour the Pre
tender, and they resolved to levy a large sum of money for him,
and Mr. Mottershead was selected by them as a hostage, under the
persuasion that his congregation would pay a great price for his
ransom."1 Information of the plot was, however, given to Mr.
Mottershead, who consequently managed to escape, but Mr. James
Bayley was seized and had to pay ^2,500. Job Orton also tells
the following story about him : —
I remember Mr. Mottershead once said to a pert young divine, who
smiled at his putting on a band to preach a country lecture : " Any little thing
which will set off a sermon and recommend it to the regard of the hearers,
becomes a very important thing." 2
Both Mr. Seddon and Mr. Mottershead left one or two volumes
of sermons.
The Rev. Robert Gore succeeded Mr. Seddon in 1770, and the
Rev. Ralph Harrison took the place of Mr. Mottershead in 1771.
Mr. Gore was a native of Liverpool, and educated at the Warring-
ton Academy. His ordination took place on August 23rd, 1779,
when the Revs. Dr. Wm. Enfield, Richard Godwin, and Philip
Holland conducted the service. He survived this service only one
month dying on September 23rd, at the early age of thirty-one
years, and was buried in the vestibule of the Cross Street Chapel.
His biographer relates the following incident in connection with
him : —
Once when he ascended to the upper desk of the pulpit he was observed
to search his coat pocket uneasily. Not finding there what he wanted, he
gave out a long hymn, came down from the pulpit, and quietly left the
chapel. Manchester was but small then, and his home was not far off; he
1 " Memoirs of the Rev. S. Bourn," by Toulmin, p. 255.
a " Practical Works," vol. ii., p. 565.
102 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
found his sermon, and managed to gain the pulpit as the congregation was
singing the last of the many verses. He took as a text the words : " Be
careful for nothing." a
His colleague, the Rev. Ralph Harrison, was the son of the
Rev. Wm. Harrison, minister of Stand Chapel in 1730, and great
grandson of the Rev. Cuthbert Harrison, an ejected minister, who
was for many years at Elswick, near Kirkham. His grandmother
was Ann Angier, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Angier, of Dukin-
field, whose husband was the Rev. John Cooper, dissenting
minister for some years at Hyde. Mr. Ralph Harrison has left in
MS. some interesting particulars of his life up to the time of his
settlement in Manchester, from which the following is extracted : —
Born Aug. 30, 1748 O.S. or Sep. 10 N.S. Went to school for a little while
when merely an infant to Catherine Garlick, a schoolmistress, then to Mr.
Moorwood, both of Buxton, Dec. 19, 1755. I came with my father's family
to live at Stoddard, near Chapel-le-frith. Went to a school kept by Mr.
Henry Marchington, in Chinley, in 1757. Afterwards was under the care of
the Rev. Mr. Gee, at Chapel-le-frith, June 15, 1758. Went to Mr. Moore's
dancing school, and again July 31, 1760. In 1763, Oct. 6, I went to War-
rington Academy. I preached for the first time at Hollostock [Allostock],
Sept. 27, 1767. I supplied the congregation at Hale soon after. I preached
there the first time Oct. n, 1767. At Manchester the first time Feb. 12,
1769. I had the care of Hale from the latter end of 1767 to the middle of 1769.
I went to reside at Salop [Shrewsbury] Aug., 1769, and arrived there on
the 22 do. Nov. 17, 1771, the Society of Dissenters, at Manchester, made
choice of me as successor to Mr. Mottershead. I preached my conclud
ing sermon at Salop, Dec. 22, 1771, and my first sermon on settling at Man
chester Dec. 29, 1771. I first boarded at Mr. John Hatfield's, then at Mrs.
Manchester's, both in Princess Strest. Began my school in 1774, which
ended in 1787. I was married2 March 6, 1775, by the Rev. Humphrey
Owen, at the Old Church, Manchester. I became one of the tutors of the
Manchester Academy in 1786, and resigned my connection with it in Sept.,
1789.
Mr. Harrison continued his ministrations at Manchester unti
October, 1810, when failing health led to his resignation. He
1 " History of Cross Street Chapel," by Richard Wade, p. 42.
2 Mr. Harrison married Ann, daughter of John Touchet, by whom he
became connected with one of the old Manchester families, which wor
shipped with Mr. Newcome in his temporary chapels.
THE TUNE " WARRING? ON." 103
died on 24th of November following, and was interred in the
graveyard of the chapel. Upon his tombstone the following
inscription has been placed : —
Here was interred the
Revd- RALPH HARRISON,
Of Manchester,
Died Novr- 24 1810,
Aged 62 years;
He was minister of this chapel 38 years.
REBECCA,
Wife of the Rev1'- Ralph Harrison,
Died Novr- 3rJ- 1835,
Aged 78 years.
RALPH COOPER HARRISON, his son, died May i8th, 1804; aged 19
years. ANNE, his daugr-- died Decr- 14th- 1811; aged 7 years. RALPH
COOPER HARRISON, son of John & Sarah Harrison & grandson of the
Revd- R. Harrison, died June 2jlh- 1817; aged 5 years and 3 months. Also
SARAH ANN, their daughter, died Sepr- i2th> 1817 ; aged 6 years &
10 months.
" Restrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears. They
shall come again from the land of the enemy."
Also of MARIA, wife of the Rev1- William Harrison, died January 30*"'
1830; aged 46 years.
His son was the Rev. William Harrison, of Blackley, and
descendants of his for several generations have exercised
the ministry amongst the dissenters. Mr. Harrison, amongst
other things, was a competent musician and the author of several
popular hymn tunes — one in particular named " Warrington," in
honour of the academy where he received his ministerial training,
being long a favourite. The following anecdote respecting it is
told :—
" A member of a country choir walked many miles to see the
composer of a tune he so greatly admired. Arriving at the house,
he asked if Mr. Harrison was in. The minister came, and the
man eagerly inquired, 'Are yo' Mester Harrison?' Receiving an
affirmative answer, he exclaimed ' Hey ! I am glad to see the man
that wrote " Warri'ton ; " ' and then he told how far he had
journeyed to have that delight."1
1 " History of Cross Street Chapel," by R. Wade, p. 43.
io4 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Previous to his death Mr. Harrison had had asssociated with
him in the pastorate the Rev. Thomas Barnes, D.D. He was
born at Warrington, February i3th, 1747, and a fellow student with
the Rev. Ralph Harrison, at the academy there. His first settle
ment was Cockey Moor, whence he removed to Manchester in
1780, and became, in addition, Principal and Divinity Tutor of the
Manchester Academy in 1786. Mr. Harrison, it is said, was
Unitarian, but Dr. Barnes was an Arian, and a secession from
Cross Street took place in 1789 of a considerable number of
persons who did not find his views sufficiently pronounced.
These first erected a chapel in Mosley Street, on the spot
now occupied by Nicoll and Company, tailors, and subsequently
the congregation removed to Upper Brook Street. Dr.
Barnes was one of the most popular preachers of his day,
and in 1788 it was found necessary to enlarge the
chapel. He died June 27th, 1810, a little over four
months before his colleague, and was interred in the
graveyard of the chapel. His tombstone reads thus : —
Here was interred the Body
of the
REV. THOMAS BARNES, D.D.,
Who departed this life on the 27th day of June, 1810,
In the 64th year of his age.
He was minister of this chapel 30 years.
ELIZABETH BARNES,
his wife,
Departed this life on the 6th day of January, 1814,
In the 6gth year of her age.
He published several tractates of a theological and philoso
phical character.1 The Rev. John Grundy, born at Hinckley,
Leicestershire, in 1781, educated mainly by his maternal uncle,
Dr. Estlin, of Bristol, spent one session at the Manchester
Academy, being admitted September, 1797. He settled
first at Bury St. Edmunds, then was at Nottingham from 1806
to 1810, becoming the successor to Dr. Barnes on September
i4th of the latter year.2 A zealous Unitarian, he began a series
1 Vide " Lancashire Nonconformity," vol iii.
2 So says Sir Thomas Baker; but the Christian Reformer for 1851,
(p. 532) says he removed to Manchester in the spring of 1811.
THE PRESTON FIGHT OF 1715. 105
of lectures on doctrinal subjects the year after his election, " which
created in the town such a religious ferment as it had never before
witnessed." Mr. Grundy removed to Liverpool in August, 1824,
having accepted an invitation to become the pastor of Paradise
Street Chapel (now Hope Street). His removal was made the
occasion of a public dinner, when his congregation presented him
with a silver tea service. Amongst the speakers was the Rev.
George Harris, of Bolton, whose remarks gave rise to a lengthened
discussion in a local paper, which was afterwards published in a
volume, under the title of the " Manchester Socinian Controversy."1
Mr. Grundy died at Bridport, May gth, 1843. His colleague at
Cross Street was the Rev. John Gooch Robberds, who was
appointed in place of Mr. Harrison, December igth, 1810. He
was born at Norwich, May i8th, 1789, and educated at the Man
chester College when it was at York, settling at Manchester on
the completion of his college course.2 Shortly after settlement he
married Mary, the eldest daughter of the Rev. Wm. Turner, of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and great grand-daughter of the Rev. John
Turner, famed in connection with the Preston fight of lyiS-3 Mr.
Robberds continued his Manchester pastorate until his death,
which took place on April 2ist, 1854; and in the Cross Street
Chapel is a marble tablet "raised by those whose homes were
made bright by his earthly presence, and to whom his memory
is an abiding sunshine." For many years he was also one
of the Professors of the Manchester College. The Rev.
John Hugh Worthington was chosen to succeed Mr. Grundy as
co-pastor with Mr. Robberds in July, 1825. He was born at
Leicester, November nth, 1804, related to the Rev. Hugh Worth-
1 This book is one of the most useful I have met with for historical
purposes. The Rev. Richard Slate, Congregational minister of Stand, and
afterwards of Preston, was one of the editors, and Mr. G. Hadfield, M.P.,
had a large interest in its publication.
2 In the list of students educated at Manchester College, published in
1868, Mr. Robberds is put down as minister at Norwich from 1810 to 1811.
This is probably due to the fact that he received an invitation to that place,
but he chose Manchester.
* Vide " Lancashire Nonconformity," vols. i. and iii. In vol. i., p. 12,
correct the Rev. John Gooch Robberds as here.
io6 LANCASHIRE NONCONPORM1TY.
ington, minister of Dean Row in the early part of last century, and
educated at Manchester College. " He was but a passing guest
among his people," says SirThomas Baker, "scarce eighteen months
had elapsed, before declining health warned him of a coming
change." He died July 4th, 1827. He was engaged to Miss
Harriet Martineau, the accomplished sister of Dr. James
Martineau. The Rev. William Gaskell, M.A., born in 1805,
another Manchester College student, was chosen to succeed him in
1828. His wife was Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson,1 the gifted
authoress of " Mary Barton " and other works of fiction. Mr.
GaskelPs ministry is the longest of any which the Cross Street
congregation has had, being three years longer than that of Mr.
Mottershead. It was closed with his death June nth, 1884. He
was interred in the graveyard of Knutsford Chapel, where lies his
wife also, but in the Cross Street Chapel are handsome marble
tablets reciting the virtues of both. Like several of his pre
decessors, he held an appointment for many years as Professor
in Manchester College. The death of Mr. Robberds left a
vacancy which was filled up by the election of the Rev. James
Panton Ham, who had been educated at Cheshunt College,
and held for a short time Congregational pastorates in Maiden
head and Bristol. Subsequently becoming a Unitarian, he
entered upon duty at Cross Street, October 8th, 1855, ar)d removed
to Essex Street, London, in March, 1859. He is now resident
without charge at Southsea. He was followed January, 1860, by
the Rev. James Drummond, M.A., now Dr. Drummond, educated
at Trinity College, Dublin, and Manchester New College. In 1869
he resigned, to become Theological Professor of Manchester New
College, of which institution he is still the honoured Principal.
The Rev. S. A. Steinthal, educated at Manchester New College,
and who had previously laboured at Bridgewater, Liverpool, and
Platt, entered upon duty as successor to Mr. Drummond in 1870.
The Rev. W. H. Drummond, B.A., whose ministerial train
ing was received at Manchester New College and Jena, was
appointed his colleague in 1887. Both ministers have recently
resigned their charges, Mr. Drummond having accepted an invita-
1 Vide ante p. 47, note 2.
COLDHOUSE. 107
tion to Cairo Street, Warrington. " Since the restoration of the
chapel after it was gutted in 1715, with the exception of an enlarge
ment of the pulpit end," says Sir Thomas Baker, "it now remains
as it was then reinstated. The original outer wall to the stone
facings at the corner may be readily distinguished, being slightly
in advance of the front line of the more recent part." Subsequently
the old pews were removed from the body of the chapel and
modern benches substituted. Much might be written about
the changes which have taken place in the surroundings of
the chapel during the two centuries of its existence, being once in
the midst of "cornfields and gardens, cottages and farmhouses,"
now of shops, warehouses, and crowded thoroughfares. Much
also might be said about the celebrities who at different periods of
its history have been associated with it, but the exigencies of space
forbid. The reader, however, will find much interesting informa
tion on these matters in the histories of Sir Thomas Baker and Mr.
Richard Wade, of which I have made large use in the foregoing
account. The congregation is Unitarian, and has been so for
many years.
II.— CANNON STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH :
NOW CHORLTON ROAD CHURCH.
COLDHOUSE, in the neighbourhood of Shudehill, according to Dr.
Halley, " has been successively the first religious home of Presby
terians, Independents, Scotch Baptists, and some minor sects of
Methodists."1 Not that each sect has " successively " met for worship
in " the small and inconvenient meeting house," there, as his state
ment seems to implv, bat that somewhere in the district it
found its first home. Coldhouse is not very prepossessing in
appearance to-day, but in the middle of last century, when the
different denominations sprang into being, it was quite rural and
charming. Mr. R. W. Procter, in his vivid style, gives the follow
ing interesting picture of this district before it became the heart
of Manchester traffic : —
1 "Lancashire Puritanism and Nonconformity," vol. ii., p. 447.
io8 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
While quietly pursuing our way along Hyde's Cross, Withy Grove, and the
lower end of Shudehill, we skirted the "Old Gardens," and the "Old
Infirmary Yard "—suggestive names no longer known to the directory. May
not " Huntsman's Court," here still existing, denote that this district was once
hunting ground ? The neighbouring signboards seem appropriate — the
Hare and Hounds, the Roebuck, and the Dog and Partridge, to wit.
Perchance the White Horse would carry the huntsman proudly to the
meet, while the Spread Eagle from its eyrie would watch the spirited chase
over the Coldhouse meadows, and the Seven Stars would light the jovial
scarlet coats to the squire's convivial board at Withingreave Hall.1
An additional interest for Nonconformists gathers round this
locality, because it was here that Mr. Newcome licensed a barn in
1672 for public worship.2 This, then, was the " first religious home "
of the Congregationalists, though the precise date of its becoming
such has been lost, and the reason, too, is involved in some
obscurity. Dr. Halley, who generally keeps clear of dates, gives
the following account of the origin of Manchester Congrega
tionalism : —
Modern Congregationalism in Manchester originated in the middle of the
last century with a few good people who cared much more for Evangelical
doctrine than for ecclesiastical polity. Some of them had seceded from Cross
Street meeting-house on account of the new doctrine which had been intro
duced into that venerable sanctuary of nonconformity ;3 some had immigrated
from Scotland ; and some had been religiously excited by the earnest preach
ing of the Methodists or Calvinistic itinerants from Yorkshire. They met
for worship in a small and inconvenient meeting-house in Cold House Lane.
. . . Their first pastor, the Rev. Caleb Warhurst, a man of fervent piety,
exemplary character, loving spirit, and incessant labour, was ordained in 1756.*
1 '' Memorials of Bygone Manchester," p. 42.
2 Some writers on Manchester Congregationalism, amongst them the late
Dr. Macfadyen, and Dr. Mackennal, say that this was the building after
wards used by the Congregationalists. There is no solid proof of this. Sir
Thomas Baker states that it was in " an unfrequented part of the town called
Cold House," and in a note adds, " supposed to have been near Garden
Street, Shudehill." — ("Memorials," page n).
8 In the account of Cross Street Chapel (vide ante p. 99) I have stated
that there is much to favour Dr. Halley's contention here. Further evidence
will be found in the fact that this happened in nearly every other Lancashire
town. Modern Congregationalism almost invariably originated in the theo
logical changes of a century and a half ago.
4 " Lancashire Puritanism and Nonconformity," vol. ii., p. 447.
THE REV. CALEB WARHURST. 109
This is the earliest ascertainable date, but the congregation had
probably been in existence a year or two already. Prominent
amongst the originators of the movement was a Mr. Winterbottom,
concerning whom Mr. Warhurst, in his diary, thus writes under
date May i8th, 1759 : —
It is now three years since I made a conclusion with old Mr. Winter-
bottom to preach at Manchester. It was for this time. It is now expired.
He is gone, and I am spared.1
Mr. Warhurst, the first minister, was the son of Caleb War
hurst, a carpenter, of Bredbury, near Stockport. He was born
February 2Oth, 1723, and does not appear to have had any
collegiate training. His ordination took place November loth,
1756, of which service he gives the following account : —
This day, in the most solemn manner, was I devoted to the service of God
by ordination. The order of the work was thus. Mr. Scott, of Heckmond-
wike, in Yorkshire, began the service with prayer ; sung the 48th Psalm ;
read the 3rd and 4th Chapters of i Tim.; prayed again more largely and
more particularly for all the Church in general, and for me in particular;
then preached from 2 Cor. 4-5, " For we preach not ourselves," &c. Then
Mr. Walkden, of Stockport, proposed some questions to me and demanded
my confession of Faith, which I delivered (but in great weakness). Then
he prayed over me with laying on of hands. Then Mr. Pye, from Sheffield,
proceeded to give me the charge from Acts, 20, 28; then he sung the 132
Psalm, and concluded with a fervent prayer for a blessing on the whole of
the work. We dined together this day at Jer. Royle's. My honoured
brethren, my father, Mr. Jesse (Mr. Clegg, John Greenlees, deacons),
and Brother Harrison, &c.
Mr. Warhurst had his troubles like most ministers. Under date
February 7th, 1757, he writes : —
Paid a visit this day to Mr. Winterbottom, and found there are some pre
tended friends have been misrepresenting my behaviour, even as I expected ;
but as I have often found it good to cast my care upon the Lord, so in this I
see his hand, and they that digged the pit are fallen into it. I dined with
Mr. Winterbottom, along with some friends. Preached this evening, and
was much troubled with my cough.
1 Fragment of a MS. diary of the Rev. Caleb Warhurst. The original
is in the possession of the family of the late Mr. William Armitage,
Altrincham, a transcript of which was made by the late Dr. Macfadyen,
which, by the kindness of Mrs. Macfadyen, I have been permitted to use.
no LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
On the 22nd of the same month he makes this entry : —
I find that I am offending some by my gestures in my work. Lord, thou
knows my heart. If I am accounted besides myself it is to thee ; but let me
still approve myself to my God, and mind not what man says of me.
In 1762! the congregation found a home in a new building
erected for the purpose in Hunter's Croft. This was the lower
end of Cannon Street, and joined Hanging Ditch, where Dr. John
Byrom lived. It is to this interesting man, the author of the
popular Christmas hymn " Christians, awake, salute the happy
morn," that we are indebted for the exact date of the opening of
this new meeting-house. In his diary, under date Tuesday, April
2oth, 1762, he records a visit from the Rev John Newton : —
j^_ 1 The Trust Deed bears date Nov. 25th, 1761, and the building is said to
have been erected under the superintendence of Messrs. Arthur Clegg, John
Spear, Henry Hope, and others.
BYROM'S HOUSE, HANGING DITCH.
WAS IT CONGREGATIONAL ? 113
This afternoon Mr. Newton, from Liverpool, called upon me. ... he
came here upon account of the opening of the new meeting at the upper end
of this croft to-morrow, and to see some ministers and friends with whom he
was acquainted.1
That the church was Congregational or Independent from the
first is made clear by the following extract from the Rev. John
Newton's letter to Mr. Hough ton, dated November i8th, 1762 : —
When the Doctor [John Byrom] has done with the book I would be
obliged to him, if he pleases, to let a servant leave it for Mr. Warhurst, at
Mr. Clegg's, in Turner Street. This gentleman is minister of the Indepen
dent Chapel, and a truly humble, pious man.2
Further evidence appears in the "lengthy document" prefixed to
their Church Book, dated 1762, from which the following
sentences are taken : —
With respect to their Church Order and Discipline, that which is practised
in Independent Churches was looked upon to be most agreeable to Scripture,
and therefore attempted. But it is now acknowledged both by Pastor and
People that they have not kept so close to this Faith and Order of the Gospel
.as they ought to have done ; Therefore, for the better establishment, well-
being, and prosperity of this church (now removing to a new meeting house,
'Built for that purpose in Hunter's Croft, Manchester), it is judged expedient
that they should be more explicite3 both with respect to their Faith and
Order than heretofore. And, therefore, the said Confession of Faith, and
1 "Remains of John Byrom" (Chetham Society Series, vol. xliv.), p.
636.
2 Ibid, p. 639. Dr. Halley, in the passage previously cited, says that the
church originated with persons who " cared much more for Evangelical doc
trine than for ecclesiastical polity." So surely should it be with all
churches; but they "cared" enough for "ecclesiastical polity" to be even
then differentiated from any other sect by a name which the church has
handed on unchanged. Dr. Waddington, too, like Dr. Halley, unduly depre
ciates the Congregational character of the church in its earliest years. He
says — " Congregational principles were imperfectly understood in Man
chester, and only partially applied. The original church, from its formation,
was enveloped in a 'Scotch mist.'" Some of the members had a slight
craze on the question of "ruling elders." ("Congregational History," vol.
iv., p. 51.) In Caleb Warhurst's days the "mist" was not so thick, and Dr.
Waddington is more accurate when he calls the "craze" after "ruling
• elders" a "slight" one.
This does not sound like indifference towards " ecclesiastical polity."
5-8
n4 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
the Discipline, Order, and Practise of Independent Churches is here wrote
down. In order, To be afresh assented to, and faithfully followed, by all
those that are already in the Church, or may hereafter be Receiv'd into it.
Nor was this all. In 1764'' a carefully drawn up "Confession
of Faith, with a Form of Church Government" was issued by
them, whose Congregational character is beyond all question. It
begins :
"The CHURCH OF CHRIST meeting together for Publick
Worship, in a meeting house in Hunter's-Croft, Manchester ;
Unto all Christians, into whose hands these lines may fall ; wisheth
all Grace and Peace." The reason of its publication is given in
the following passage : —
We find there are some around us who are speaking Evil of the things
they know not ; and others who are more candid, desiring to know what our
Faith and Order is. For the Conviction of the former and information of
the latter, we have thought proper to make these more public, hoping they
will be found, upon impartial examination, to be agreeable to the Faith and
Order that was once delivered to the saints.
Prominence is given in Dr. Mackennal's charming " Life of
Dr. Macfadyen " to the story of " the ruling eldership in Cannon
Street Church," previously referred to, and the document just
named is adduced as evidence. He says : —
Presumably, the church document of 1762 was drawn up by Caleb
Warhurst, and in it especial care is taken to identify the elder with the
bishop, or pastor, or teacher, and to specify as the work of the deacon the
assistance of the pastor "in the more external concerns of the church."
In 1764, however, Mr. Warhurst published "A Form of Church Govern-
mentj deduced from the Holy Scripture, drawn up for the use of the Church
of Christ, worshipping in the Meeting-house, Hunter's Croft, Manchester," in
which distinct mention is made of the " Ruling Elder, who assists the Pastor
1 A copy of this interesting document, printed by R. Whitworth, Man
chester, in 1764, is in my possession. Many of our churches to-day would
be none the worse for having it circulated in their midst. Dr. Halley,
referring to the secessionists from Cannon Street who erected the chapel in
Mosley Street, says that they " composed the largest and most minute
declaration of faith and order" he had ever seen. If larger than that of
the Hunter's Croft Church then it was large, for this occupies over eighty
printed pages, octavo size, and is quite a little compendium of theology.
" THE R ULING ELDERSHIP." T r 5
in ruling and government." Mr. Warhurst died in 1765, and the Church
Book does not contain any record of elders during his pastorate. There
may, however, have been elders at this time, for on October 3Oth, 1778,
when Timothy Priestley had been two years minister of the church, one
Andrew Patten writes a letter complaining that " a few men have taken
upon them to overturn the government of this church, and to set up one of
their own invention." He declares that ruling elders are essential to the
church as Christ intended it.1
I am persuaded, after a careful review of the whole case, that
whatever significance " the ruling eldership " came to have for the
church in subsequent years, it had little for it during Caleb War-
hurst's days, and that the document of 1764 is no serious modifi
cation of the earlier "Confession of Faith." Respecting the
church officers, for instance, it thus reads : —
The officers which CHRIST hath appointed ordinarily to wait upon Him
in every church are Bishops and Deacons. A Bishop is a church overseer, a
Presbyter a teaching or ruling Elder immediately under CHRIST, the Head
of the Church, and constituted by Him, in an ordinary way, to preach the
Word, administer the Sacraments, and maintain due Order and Discipline in
his House, according to his Word.
He describes the "teaching Elder" as either a pastor, who
" goes before the church in the administration of the Word, Prayer,
Seals, and the Keys, according to gospel constitution ; " or, a
Teacher, who, " though he may dispense other ordinances, yet is
especially to give diligence to, and wait on teaching." "A ruling
Elder" is one who "assists the pastor in ruling and government;
or in maintaining a diligent watch over the congregation (or, in
case of the want of the pastor or teacher), to go before the church
in receiving in, admonishing, or casting out ; or in other matters of
order, as the case may require. All these over-seeing officers are
riot absolutely necessary to the due organisation of the church ; but
where there is a Pastor and Deacon, that church is fully organised
for its full edification; the pastoral office containing in it all
teaching and ruling Charge; and if the Pastor is able to discharge
the whole, he undoubtedly may ; but if through his weakness, or
the increase of the church, there is need of further help, it's the
1 Page 103.
ti6 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
duty of the church to call in and ordain such assisting officers"
The one clear point in all this is that Caleb Warhurst considered a
church to be " fully organised for its full edification " with its two
officers, pastor and deacon ; and that the ruling elder might be
called into being according to the convenience of the church.
Probably, Caleb Warhurst himself found that he was " able to dis
charge the whole," and the ruling elder was more an idea than a
fact in his day. The statement of Brother Patten, in the days of
Timothy Priestley, that "ruling elders are essential to a church, as
Christ intended it," shows a considerable remove from the position
of the church in its earliest days. Caleb Warhurst lived only a
short time after the publication of his " Confession of Faith."
He died of consumption, November 5th, 1765, in the 43rd year
of his age, and according to the custom of the time was interred
beneath the pulpit of the chapel in which he had laboured.
Upon his tombstone, which was removed to the church at
Chorlton Road, and which unfortunately was lost during one of
the building enlargements, the following inscription was placed : —
Here resteth the remains
of the
REVD. CALEB WARHURST, a servant of Jesus
Christ, by whose labours under God,
this place of worship, together with the first
Church assembling in it, had their rise,
Who departed this life
Novr. 5th, 1765,
In the 43rd year of his age.
Dr. Mackennal says that in some respects he was like Henry
Newcome, "a grave man," his diary being "full of self upbraid
ing and foreboding," and that "the sensitiveness of habit, which
lent a charm to his preaching, made him a constant sufferer."
His successor was the Rev. Timothy Priestley, younger brother
of Dr. Joseph Priestley. He was educated by the Rev. James
Scott, at Heckmondwike Academy, entering about 1756, and
being the second on the roll of students. He settled first at
Kipping, near Bradford, whence he removed to Manchester about
1766. Dr. Halley says: —
1 " Life of Dr. Macfadyen," p. 101.
THE RE V. TIMOTHY PRIESTLE Y. 1 1 7
Mr. Priestley, although a preacher of considerable ability, was not very
successful nor very happy in Manchester. He was troubled either with a
quarrelsome temper or with quarrelsome deacons, for the church book
contains abundant evidence of discord in the vestry. The deacons lectured
him about his irreverence and irregularities, while he paid very little respect
to their lectures. He was charged with irreverently ascending the pulpit with
his hat on his head, and with making packing cases on Sunday nights. As
to his wearing his hat on the pulpit stairs, he seems to have treated the charge
as an impertinence unworthy of notice ; and as to the packing cases, while
the deacons kept him miserably poor he thought it was his duty to " provide
things honest in the sight of all men," as well as to "remember the Sabbath
day," when the demand for these cases was urgent, as it often was previously
to the sailing of an American vessel from Liverpool, he and his family
worked in the night intervening between Sunday and Monday, but he never
acknowledged that he began before the clock struck twelve.1
The reader is asked to supplement this view of Mr. Priestley
by Dr. Mackennal's, who says that he "lived in a bluff, objective
fashion, troubled with no self-introspection and few doubts. He
was a strong preacher, careless of personal dignity, and of abound
ing audacity, both in his pulpit utterances and in private speech."
The church officers remonstrated with him for engaging in "secret
trade," and especially for being associated with the " liquor busi
ness." Eventually, he was "formally dismissed fiom his office on
April i4th, 1784, only two hands being held up in his favour. In
all this unpleasant matter there is the amplest acknowledgment of
of Mr. Priestley's eminent preaching powers, and very reluctantly
is his eighteen years' pastorate brought to an end."2
During his ministry the chapel was enlarged by the removal of
two cottages which stood in front.
From Manchester he removed to Dublin, and some two years
afterwards became pastor of the Jewin Street Congregational
Church, London, where he laboured until his death. He "de
parted this life at Islington in great peace and tranquillity a few
weeks before completing his Both year," on Saturday night, April
23rd, i8i4-3 He was interred in Bunhill Fields on the 2Qth,
1 " Lancashire Puritanism and Nonconformity," vol. ii., p. 448.
- " Life of Dr. Macfadyen," p. 101.
3 " Bunhill Memorials," by J. A. Jones, p. 223.
THE REV. TIMOTHY PRIESTLEY.
THE RE V. DA VI D BRADBERR Y. 119
when the Rev. Joseph Cockin, of Halifax, delivered the funeral
address, and on the following Sabbath the Rev. G. Burder preached
his funeral sermon at Jewin Street, "to a very crowded congre
gation, from John xvii., 24."1
The following inscription was placed upon his tombstone : —
Sacred to the Memory of the late
REV. TIMOTHY PRIESTLEY,
who for more than half a century preached with fidelity and success
the unsearchable riches of Christ ;
twenty-five years of which period he was
Pastor of the Independent Church
in Jewin Street, London.
Born June 19, 1734; died April 23, 1814.
With the theological views of his brother, Dr. Joseph Priestley,
he had no sympathy, and it is recorded that " when the dissenting
ministers applied to Parliament for a repeal of the penal laws, Mr.
Priestley was applied to for his signature, but refused to give it,
from an apprehension that it would be lending his assistance in
advancing the cause of heterodoxy."2 In addition to a few
sermons which he published he was the author of " The Chris
tian's Looking-glass," "Family Exercises," a large " Family Bible,"
with notes, in two volumes, and " The Christian's Magazine or
Gospel Repository."3 The next minister was the Rev. David
Bradberry,4 a convert of the Rev. George Whitefield. He was
educated for the ministry by the Revs. John Conder, D.D., and
John Walker, at their academy, when it was held at Mile End —
one of the predecessors of New College. Mr. Bradberry
preached his first sermon at Ramsgate, in Kent, on October loth,
1767, and in the December following he was called to the
1 " Evangelical Magazine," for 1814, p. 278.
2 Wilson's " Dissenting Meeting Houses," vol. iii., p. 352.
3 The first volume of this magazine, published in 1790, edited by Mr.
Priestley, and dedicated to Lady Huntingdon, whose intimate friendship he
enjoyed, is in my possession. It is an exceedingly interesting publication,
issued evidently with a view to counteract the influence of Unitarian doc
trines, which had then become common, and of which his brother was so
earnest and able an advocate. How long it lived I do not know.
4 This, and not " Bradbury," I believe to be the correct spelling.
120 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
pastorate of the church there. He continued to serve them in
the pulpit, but did not return an answer to the invitation until
April, 1769. His ordination took place on Wednesday, October
24th, 1770, when the "Rev. Messrs. Brewer, of Stepney; Rogers,
of Southwark; Shepherd, of Tunbridge Wells; Jenkings, of
Maidstone ; and Purchase, of Margate,"1 assisted in the service.
It is interesting to note that Mr. Whitefield concluded his labours
in England by preaching his last two sermons at Ramsgate at
Mr. Bradberry's request. Detained by adverse winds in the
Downs, he was prevailed upon to preach an ordination sermon
at Deal, and thence to go to Ramsgate. In one of his letters,
dated Deal, September i5th, 1769, he thus writes: —
Mr. Bradberry came, and put me under an arrest, and is carrying me
away to Ramsgate. I hope to arrest some poor runaway bankrupts for the
Captain of our Salvation.
His journal further says : —
We reached Ramsgate about two, took some refreshment, and there I
preached about four, not to a very large, but an attentive and affected,
auditory. This I did also the morning following. The people's behaviour
here was so unmistakably generous, frank, genteel, and Christian that I know
not where I have been more pleased and delighted.2
Mr. Whitefield immediately afterwards crossed the Atlantic,
and died September 3oth, 1770. Eighteen years Mr. Bradberry
laboured with considerable success at Ramsgate, removing thence
to Manchester, having accepted the invitation of the church,
August i4th, 1785. Dr. Halley gives the following account of his
Manchester ministry : —
He betook himself not to the making of packing-cases, but of epic poems.
Mr. Bradbury's employment, although more respectable, was, I fear, less
lucrative than that of his worthy predecessor. In addition to the perplexity
of a limited income, he was troubled by the disputes of his people, and
especially by the pertinacious attempts of some Scotch members to appoint
1 "Church History of Kent," by the Rev. T. Timpson, p. 425.
2 Ibid, p. 426.
THE REV. WILLIAM ROBY. i2X
ruling elders, and to introduce1 some other Presbyterian ways into the
church. Mr. Bradbury was not the man to be ruled by either Scotchmen or
Englishmen, elders or deacons, and therefore, after much unhappy con
troversy, and a large secession of members, he resigned his charge and left
the neighbourhood.2
The year of his removal from Manchester has not been ascer
tained, but about 1793 he was minister at Glovers' Hall, London.
He died January i3th, 1803, and was interred at Bunhill Fields,
on which occasion " the Rev. Mr. Humphries, of Southwark,
spoke over his grave ; and on the following Sabbath Mr. Simpson,
of Hoxton, preached his funeral sermon."3 The following inscrip
tion was placed upon his tombstone : —
The Rev. DAVID BRADBERRY,
Died January 13, 1833,
Aged 67 years ;
Having been a preacher of the Gospel for 42 years.
The Rev. William Roby took charge of the " diminished and
unpromising congregation, which remained in Cannon Street
meeting-house."4 In previous volumes of this work will be found
lengthy notices of this good man, whose name is so deeply interwoven
with the story of Lancashire Congregationalism during the present
century. Born at Haigh, near Wigan, " like his father, an ortho
dox Churchman," he was converted and led into Nonconformity
by the preaching of the Rev. John Johnson,5 one of Lady
1 Dr. Mackennal, quoting from " a more accurate account," says that
one of the things alleged against Mr. Bradberry was his " endeavour to
remove the elders from their office, and to break up that form of govern
ment under which they had been admitted as members." (" Life of Dr.
Macfadyen," p. 103.) The Presbyterian usages had already been introduced,
and Mr. Bradberry said that " he and the church had only exercised the
power with which Christ had invested them, and which all Independent
churches claim by His authority, of removing as well as choosing their own
officers."
2 "Lancashire Puritanism and Nonconformity," vol. ii., p. 449.
3 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1803, p. 211.
4 Halley's "Lancashire Puritanism and Nonconformity," vol. ii., p. 450.
5 Mr. Johnson followed Mr. Roby to Manchester as minister of St.
George's Church, originally intended for Episcopalian consecration, He died
there September 22nd, 1804, and Mr. Roby preached his funeral sermon
from the appropriate words, " My Father, my Father."
122 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Huntingdon's ministers at Wigan. After a brief training at
Trevecca he was sent to preach amongst other places at Worcester,
Reading, and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, eventually becoming associated
in the ministry with Mr. Johnson, at Wigan. On Mr. Johnson's
removal to Tyldesley, in 1789, Mr. Roby was left in sole charge of
the congregation at Wigan, and on September 2oth of that year he
was ordained as such, having to go up to London for the purpose.
From Wigan he removed to Manchester about 1795. At the
commencement of his ministry here it is recorded that his congre
gation "seldom exceeded 150 persons," but his earnest and mani
fold labours soon began to be felt. It is a singular defect in Dr.
Halley's interesting notices of Mr. Roby that he makes no refer
ence to his connection with the planting of Congregationalism in
Scotland. Two years after his settlement at Cannon Street, on
June 27th, 1797, with the consent of his church, Mr. Roby went
for a month's absence and hard work in Scotland. His friend,
whom he had especially gone to assist, was the Rev. James
Haldane, minister of a Congregational Church at Edinburgh. The
clergy were all in arms against the new preachers, whom they
called "vagrants." Mr. Roby's experiences during his journey
from Edinburgh to Perth in pursuit of his mission are thus related
by himself : —
Both the kirks and meeting-houses are shut against us by the solemn
orders of the general Assembly and Synods of the secession, so that we are
obliged to preach in the open air, except the weather force us to take shelter
in a tent or barn. When the course of my itineracy for this week is com
pleted, I shall have preached ten times in five days, riding on an average
about twenty miles each day.1
Scottish Congregationalism has had a hard struggle to obtain
its present respectable position, and it is no little honour for Lan
cashire to have sent one of its best and most saintly men to help to
start it on its way. Mr. Roby returned to Manchester on the 3Oth of
July, and whilst continuing to serve his own church loyally,2 the needs
1 Waddington's " Congregational History," vol. iv., p. 103.
- On the Sunday he usually preached three times in his own chapel and
once at the New Cross, in the open air, having prayer meetings during the
week in different parts of the town.
REMOVAL TO GROSVENOR STREET. 123
of the county began to lie upon his heart with greater weight than
ever. Mainly with him, therefore, originated the scheme for
evangelising Lancashire, which subsequently developed into the
present County Union. The success of his ministry made necessary
a larger place of worship, and according to a resolution of the
church, it was agreed in 1807 to erect a new chapel in Grosvenor
Street, but to continue Cannon Street Chapel for a time as a branch
station. In the account of that church, further information respect
ing Mr. Roby must be sought.1 The removal was not effected
without friction. Five members, "with the connivance of the
trustees," taking advantage of a clause in the trust deed, " which
gives to three members power to prevent the settling of the
property, agreed to constitute themselves into a church, and to
continue Cannon Street Chapel as a Nonconformist place of
worship."2
Mr. Roby writes respecting this : —
The members who withdrew in the course of the year took possession of
the old chapel in Cannon Street contrary to a mutual agreement formed at
a church meeting, held according to public notice.
The Rev. William Marsh was called in the midsummer of 1808 to
the pastorate of the congregation which remained in Cannon Street.
He had previously laboured for a short time at Dukinfield, and is
described as coming thence from London. At Dukinfield he was
ordained May 2ist, 1807, when the Rev. Messrs. Blackburn, of
Delph ; Hudson, of Tintwistle ; Meldrum, of Hatherlow ; White-
head, of Charlesworth ; Mather, of New Windsor ; Ashton, of
1 Vide p. 133.
2 The Chorlton Road Congregational Church claims to be the Cannon
Street Church in continuity, and so the oldest Congregational Church in
Manchester. My opinion is not of much value, but it has always seemed to me
that such a contention can hardly be sustained, though for the sake of con
venience I have made the history continuous. Unless the resolution of the
church in a matter of this kind is decisive, no resolution can be. St. George's
Road Congregational Church, Bolton, is a similar case, and its claim to be
the old Duke's Alley Church in continuity has been allowed. (Vide " Lan
cashire Nonconformity," vol. iii., p. 21.) Happily, however, this has long
ceased to be a bone of contention amongst the Manchester churches, and is
only a point of interest.
i24 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Stockport ; Hampshire, of Henley, conducted the service.1 In
September, 1812, Mr. Marsh removed from Manchester to
Charlesworth, where he laboured until his death in 1821. His
successor was the Rev. William Evans, from Aylesbury, who
undertook the charge April 25th, 1813, and removed in September,
1817. The Rev. Robert Allott, who had been educated at Rother-
ham College, and had exercised a brief ministry at Eastwood, in
Yorkshire, accepted the invitation of the Cannon Street Church, July
25th, 1819, and was publicly set apart as pastor on November i2th
following, when the Revs. J. A. Coombs, S. Bradley, W. Roby, and
James Bennett, D.D., from Rotherham College, took part in the
service. He resigned on August 2nd, 1822, and subsequently
laboured at Walsall, in Staffordshire, where he died suddenly in
1834. In September, 1824, the Rev. John Whitridge became the
minister. He was born near Bootle, in Cumberland, on May
23rd, 1790, his father being "lineally descended from the family
of Anne Askew, who, under the reign of Mary, boldly endured
martyrdom for the sake of the truth." He was educated for the
ministry by Dr. Williams, at Rotherham College, and ordained
on July 7th, 1814, over the church at Carlisle, when a goodly
number of ministers assisted in the service. In June, 1819, he
resigned to become Principal of the academy for training ministers
at Oswestry and assist his uncle, the Rev. John Whitridge, in the
pastorate there. From this place he removed to Manchester,
where he exerted himself "much on behalf of the young, estab
lishing week-night lectures and Bible classes in various parts of
the town for their benefit." Failing health compelled him to
resign his charge on September 23rd, 1827, and after a few
years' residence at Harrogate, where he preached at what was
called Cross Chapel, he retired into his native county of Cumber
land. He took occasional duty whilst health permitted, and died
at Carlisle, July 28th, 1854. On the 7th of October, 1827, the
Rev. Samuel Bradley entered upon duty as successor to Mr.
Whitridge. He was educated at Rotherham College, and ordained
as pastor of Doncaster Congregational Church, September i7th,
1800. He left shortly afterwards for Mosley Street, Manchester,
1 "Evangelical Magazine," for 1807, p. 532.
THE REV. S. BRADLEY. 125
relinquishing this charge for Cannon Street. Soon after his
settlement the Cannon Street Chapel was rebuilt and enlarged, as
the subjoined passage shows : —
Since the settlement of the Rev. Samuel Bradley at this place of worship,
the congregation having very greatly increased, together with the unsafe
state of part of the building, it was deemed necessary, last summer, almost
to rebuild as well as to enlarge the chapel, which was reopened on the 3rd
of August, 1828, when Mr. Bradley preached in the morning from Haggai ii.,
9, "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former," &c.
The expense incurred has amounted to upwards of ;£i,6oo, towards which
the friends have subscribed about one thousand, and the remainder they
hope, ere long, to pay off. From the venerable church assembling in this
place nearly all the Independent congregations in Lancashire x have arisen.2
Mr. Bradley resigned in April, 1844, and was followed by the Rev.
James Dean. He was a native of Manchester, and a member of the
church at Mosley Street, during the pastorate of Mr. Bradley, by
whom he was introduced into the Blackburn Academy. Previous
to his coming to Manchester he had laboured several years at
Aldermanbury Postern, London, and Topsham, in Devonshire.
The Evangelical Magazine for August, 1844, has the following
respecting his acceptance of the Manchester pastorate : —
The Rev. J. Dean has accepted the unanimous invitation of the church at
Cannon Street, Manchester, vacant by the resignation of the Rev. S. Bradley,
the former pastor of Mr. Dean, and who for forty-three years laboured with
untiring assiduity in the good cause. On his retirement, he had the pleasure
of welcoming his successor, and of approving the choice of the church.
Mr. Dean resigned owing to ill health, October ist, 1847, and
died at Clapton, September i8th, 1857, in his 56th year.
The next minister was the Rev. William Parkes, a student
from Lancashire College. He began his labours July gth, 1848,
and resigned September 23rd, 1855, removing to Monkwearmouth.
Subsequently he was at Sunderland, and Park Road, Blackburn.3
The Rev. James Bruce, from Bamford, was minister from June,
1 This is a very big thing to say, though the church has a most honour
able record from that point of view.
2 "Evangelical Magazine," for 1829, p. 198.
3 Vide "Lancashire Nonconformity," vol. ii.
i26 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
1856, to September, I859-1 In December of the latter year, the
Rev. Professor Newth, of Lancashire College, elder brother of the
Rev. Dr. Newth, late honoured Principal of New College, London,
" consented to accept the office of preacher." In the Chorlton
Road Congregational Church a tablet has been erected in memory
of Professor Newth, upon which the following inscription has been
placed : —
To the Memory of
The Rev*. ALFRED NEWTH,
for nearly nineteen years Professor of
Philosophy and Old Testament Criticism
in Lancashire Independent College,
and for the last six years
Professor also of Ecclesiastical History.
THIS TABLET IS ERECTED BY
Members of Chorlton Road Congregational Church
to commemorate
their high appreciation of the wisdom with
which, as president of the Church, he managed
its affairs during the early years of its
existence in this neighbourhood, and of the
admiration inspired in all who knew him
by the simplicity of purpose with which,
as a man, a scholar, and a preacher,
he devoted himself to the work
of his Master.
He was born Dec. 23, 1811,
and died Oct. 23, 1875.
The following passage tells how the removal of the church from
Cannon Street to Chorlton Road, right away on the southern side
of the city, was brought about : —
In consequence of the prevailing tendency of the worshippers to reside in
the suburbs, the congregation has been growing less for some years. The
office-bearers have made attempts to devise some plan by which to meet
the difficulty caused by this condition of matters, and eventually it was
resolved to seek the benefit of the Charitable Trusts Acts, the Commissioners
under which, on the nth October, 1856, gave power to sell the property. A
sale was effected on the 2nd March, iS6o, when the property was disposed
of for the sum of ^2,8oo.2
1 Vide " Lancashire Nonconformity," vol. iii.
- Brief history of Chorlton Road Church, deposited in cavity of founda
tion stone of the present building, July ijth, 1860, and copied in the "Chorlton
Road Church Manual" for 1886.
CHORLTON ROAD CHURCH. 127
The purchaser was Mr. J. H. Boardman, and its subsequent
history is given in the following passage from The Manchester City
News for August 24th, 1889 : —
We took it, in 1862, on a lease of twenty-one years. At that time there
was no organ in the chapel, but the pews and interior fittings were much as
they had ever been. It was converted into a yarn warehouse for us by
Messrs. Southern, of Salford, and the pews and pulpit were sold by them
to a broker of old material. When the pulpit was removed a gravestone
was found underneath, upon which was the name of the first minister, who
was and is now interred there. The stone was sold by the broker either
to Sir James Watts, the trustee, or to someone connected with the Chorlton
Road Independent Chapel, where, I suppose, it can be seen. The ground
floor was never disturbed. There are three or four interments, but no stone
to indicate where any have taken place. The area, 460 square yards, was
flagged over, and no disturbance took place during our tenancy. The chapel
keeper's house — two storeys next Print Street, and three next Back Cannon
Street — was formerly used as a vestry and school, and a part was then open
(without roof) for interments. Mr. Boardman converted this into a ware
house for us in 1864, retaining the old buildings. About this time the names
on a few old gravestones were removed, part covered with asphalt, and part
flagged. There was, I believe, no disturbance of the graves.
WILLIAM LEE,
of W. and R. K. Lee.
The removed church met at first in a handsome iron building
sixty-five feet by thirty-two, erected in Sloane Street, which
was opened on Sunday, December 2Oth, 1857, when ser
mons were preached by the Revs. A. Thomson, M.A.,
Dr. McKerrow, and James Gwyther. The schools in Chorlton
Road were completed first, being opened on November 25th, 1860,
and here the congregation worshipped until the new church in
course of erection was finished. With sitting accommodation
for about 800 worshippers the sacred edifice was opened on
September i2th, 1861, when the Rev. S. Martin, of London, was
the preacher. On the following Sunday morning, Dr. Raffles, of
Liverpool, preached, and in the evening Dr. Binney, of London.
From an interesting statement read at the opening service it
appears that : —
The builder's work, &c., had amounted to ^5,217, and the total expenses,
with the building, were ^7,906. The receipts, including ^2,800, the pro-
i28 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
ceeds of the sale of the Cannon Street Chapel, which the present edifice
supersedes, amounted to .£6,243, leaving a deficiency of .£1,600 to be cleared
off. This sum was raised by the opening services ; and the Sanctuary is a
free will offering to the service of Almighty God.1
THE REV. J. A. MACFADYEN, M.A., U.D.
It has already been stated that after the resignation of Mr.
Bruce the charge of the church was entrusted to Professor
Newth until the Rev. J. A. Macfadyen, M.A., began his
ministry on May lyth, 1863. In the necessarily limited space
1 " Congregational Year Book" for 1862, p. 296.
5—9
1 3o LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
at my disposal it is impossible to do anything like justice
to such a ministry as this. Happily a worthy memorial of
him from the pen of his near neighbour and friend, Dr.
Mackennal, has recently been published, which tells at length
the beautiful story of his life and work. Born at Greenock, on
January 22nd, 1837, educated at Glasgow University, and after
wards at Lancashire College, he settled in 1860 at St. Helens.1
The church at Chorlton Road had already made his acquaintance
during his student days, and seen in him a possible future pastor.
Consequently an earnest invitation was sent to him at St. Helens,
which, after much hesitation, he accepted. The growing congre
gations at Chorlton Road necessitated several enlargements, until
now there is accommodation for 1,300 people. " New schools
were built," says Dr. Mackennal, " containing a large room for 800
children, together with sixteen class-rooms, superintendents' and
secretaries' roo-xis, and a library having over 2,000 volumes. . . .
The church membership grew from 70 in 1863, to 837 in 1889;
the number of scholars from 350, under the care of 30 teachers,
to 1,040 under 86 teachers."2 Mission work engaged a large share of
Dr. Macfadyen's attention, as also did the planting of new churches
in the neighbourhood; and the claims of Congregationalism in
general were felt by him as by few men. In 1884 the church, at his
suggestion, agreed to inaugurate a fund, which in the end amounted
to ^12,650, for some needful improvements in the buildings
at Chorlton Road, and at the various mission stations. A
bazaar held in the Free Trade Hall, in March, 1888, realised more
than ^3,140, the sum still needed, and set the church free from
pecuniary burdens. His "labours more abundant" brought to a
close, all too soon, a valuable life on November 2ist, 1889. A deeply
impressive memorial service, on Monday morning, November 25th,
was conducted in the Chorlton Road Church, by Drs. Hannay
(himself to hear the home call shortly), Falding (since deceased),
Maclaren, and the Revs. Thomas Green, M.A., and R. M. Davies,
" white-headed men, the muscular tension of whose faces was visible
in the sombre light." The body was afterwards laid in the
1 Vide " Lancashire Nonconformity," vol. iv.
2 " Life of Dr. Macfadyen," p. no.
"MACFADYEN MEMORIAL WINDOW." 131
Southern Cemetery, Withington, where the late Rev. T. C.
Finlayson offered a brief prayer, and pronounced the benediction.
A granite lona cross has since been placed over his grave, the cost of
which has been met by a fund " quietly opened immediately" after his
death. The amount subscribed was ^6,749 153. 6d., of which sum
members of the Chorlton Road Church contributed nearly ^"3,000.
The purpose of the fund was to make more adequate provision for
his family than Dr. Macfadyen had been able to do. In 1892,
also, the Chorlton Road Church placed in the east end of the
building a large stained glass " Macfadyen Memorial Window."
" The theme illustrated," says the " Congregational Year Book " for
1893, "is the continuity of the love of God through the ages.
This theme was suggested as being in full consonance with
the life, teachings, and work of Dr. Macfadyen ; and the
direction given to it was to witness from the writings of priest,
prophet, evangelist, and apostle, and from the Saviour Himselfs to
the truth of the story. The holy men chosen to bear this testi
mony are Moses and David, as representing the Old, and John and
Paul, as representing the New, dispensation, united and harmonised
in the person of our Lord, the central figure. The figures are
placed in the order named." It ought to be stated that in Mrs
Macfadyen the Doctor found a valuable helper in all his work, and
that one of his sons, the Rev. D. Macfadyen, B.A., is the pastor of
the Congregational Church at St. Ives, Hunts. For a few years Dr.
Macfadyen had as helpers the Revs. A. N. Johnson, M.A., now the
Home Secretary of the London Missionary Society, and A. H.
Smith, M.A. The present pastor is the Rev. Albert Goodrich,
D.D., who was educated at Hackney, and began his ministerial life
at Braintree, Essex, in 1865. Thence he removed, in 1876, to
Elgin Place, Glasgow, and commenced his duties at Chorlton Road
on November and, 1890. Dr. Goodrich has already won a large
place in the confidence of the Congregational Churches of this
county, and is proving himself to be a worthy successor to Dr.
Macfadyen. He received his degree of Doctor of Divinity from
the University of Glasgow, in April, 1889.
The following succinct account of the various mission stations,
which form so important a feature in the work of the Chorlton
Road Church, is copied from a " Bazaar Handbook," issued in
1 32 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
1888. A few sentences have been added for the sake of complete
ness : —
MELBOURNE STREET MISSION. — This originated in a ragged school which
met for many years in one of the railway arches in Hewitt Street, off Deans-
gate, in the midst of a dense population, only a fraction of which attended
places of worship. The increasing attendance compelled the removal of the
ragged school in 1874 to larger premises in Pryme Street, where it continued
to be managed with much success by an undenominational committee.
Twelve years ago it passed under the oversight of Chorlton Road Church,
and in due time commodious premises were erected in Melbourne Street.
The hall was opened 13th July, 1884. At this mission a branch church has
been established, having a membership of ninety-nine persons.
TATTON STREET MISSION is an old-established mission which was
originated by friends principally from Cavendish Street. In the year 1873 the
workers there formally connected their mission with Chorlton Road Church,
but, as the premises were merely altered cottage property, it was a necessity
that a new building should be erected. The site originally selected for the
new hall was in Barrack Street, but before operations were commenced an
undenominational effort which had been successfully carried on in Lower
Moss Lane joined its forces to those of Tatton Street, and the friends of the
united missions resolved to erect larger premises than were at first contem
plated. The hall of the united mission was opened 4th October, 1885. There
is also a branch church here with sixty-one members.
RUSSELL STREET MISSION. — This mission originated in an Adult Bible
Class, which met in a cottage at Ann Street, Hulme. The success attending
its operations obliged the Ann Street friends, at the close of 1875, to make
arrangements for renting a large building in Lower Moss Lane, to carry on the
work for which the mission had been established. About this time it became
known that the premises called " The City Road Congregational Church "
were on sale, and they were ultimately bought for £2,100. Necessary
repairs, and the addition of new galleries, brought up the total cost to £3,500.
Twelve years ago the mission was formed into a branch of Chorlton Road
Church. Number of members eighty-two.
All these branches have their members in communion with the
Chorlton Road Church. At the beginning of 1893 the total
membership of the church was 1,104, °f whom 242 belonged to
the mission stations.
MR. ROBERT SPEAR. 133
III.— GROSVENOR STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
THE removal of the Rev. William Roby and his congregation
from Cannon Street to larger and more convenient premises in
Grosvenor Street has been referred to in the previous section.1 The
decision of the church at a legally called meeting was taken in
1807, and in accordance therewith "226 members with their
pastor, the Rev. William Roby, and their deacons — Hiram Holden,
Thomas Livesey, and Jonathan Lees — removed to their new
sanctuary, taking with them the church book which had been in
use since the year 1805, and which commences with a continued
list of 137 members, and remained in use until the year 1821."
From the Evangelical Magazine, for 1808, the following account
of the opening services is extracted : —
On Thursday, December 3, 1807, a new chapel, situated in Grosvenor
Street, looking up Gore Street into Piccadilly, Manchester, was opened for
the accommodation of Mr. Roby and his congregation. Between 40 and 50
ministers assembled on the occasion. Mr. Bowden, of Darwen ; Mr. Black
burn, of Delph ; Messrs. S. Bradley, R. Bradley, and Jack, of Manchester,
engaged in the service. Mr. Charrier, of Lancaster, preached in the
morning from Ps. cxxxii., 13-16, and Mr. Evans, of Stockport, in the
evening, from Isa. Ivi., j.-
For more than twenty years Mr. Roby continued to exercise his
ministry here with all the marks of success which had attended
his earlier efforts. Encouraged by Mr. Robert Spear, in addition
to his pastoral duties he conducted an academy for ministerial
students, several of whom, animated by the missionary enthusiasm
of their tutor, exercised most valuable ministries in different parts
of Lancashire. His life and labours were terminated by his death,
January nth, 1830, and his remains were laid in a vault in the
chapel yard. His biographer says : —
Before the ceremony of interment the body was borne into the chapel by
eight members of his congregation, and was laid on a bier in front of the
pulpit and communion table. The chapel was crowded to excess, upwards
of 2,000 persons being present, including the whole of his congregation.3
1 Vide ante p. 123.
2 Page 140.
3 " Evangelical Magazine," for 1830, p. 140.
i34 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
The funeral oration was delivered by Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool ;
the sermon on the Sunday, January 24th, by Dr. McAll, of
Mosley Street, and Dr. Jabez Bunting, President of the
Wesleyan Methodist Conference, conducted the other part of the
service. The following, from the Manchester Times, for January
1 6th, will appropriately conclude the notice of this great and gifted
man : —
Last Sunday evening he was not considered in immediate danger, nor
were there, up to the last moment, those acute sufferings, or those altera
tions of countenance and posture, which are the usual precursors of death.
To one who watched by his bedside the precise moment was unknown.
Not only is an irreparable loss sustained by his afflicted widow and now
destitute church, but by all the religious interests of the town ; indeed, so
extensive and salutary was the influence of this revered and excellent
minister that his death is regarded rather as a general than as a private or
individual loss. Endued with a singularly masculine understanding, and
with a disposition not less mild and charitable, Mr. Roby assiduously dis
charged the duties of his sacred office, and prosecuted, with pre-eminent
success, a career of usefulness, limited only by the necessary conditions of
our being. Few that occupy stations so active and public incur so little
censure as fell to his lot ; and, perhaps, no one. of the present day, has
furnished a more worthy example of every thing that gives energy to
religious character, and secures respect for the ministers of Christ. Mr.
Roby was in the 64th year of his age. His ministry, which was commenced
in the county of Worcester, and was then, for seven years, continued at
Wigan (his birthplace), was unusually honoured and successful. It was in
the year 1795 that he became pastor of the congregation with which he was
ever since connected. It is a pleasing circumstance that he was able to
preach a sermon to the young on the evening of the first Sabbath in this
year, being the 35th anniversary of that interesting service.
His widow, Sarah Roby, followed him to the grave five years after
wards, and in her will left ,£50, " the interest of which was to be
handed over to the deacons of the church for the purpose of keeping
in repair the monument and mural tablet of her late husband."
The Rev. Richard Fletcher, from Darwen, began his pastorate as
successor to Mr. Roby, on June igth, 1831. J The foundation-
stone of the Roby Schools was laid on July 6th, 1844, by Samuel
Fletcher, Esq., and on the 25th of January following they were
1 Vide "Lancashire Nonconformity," vol. ii.
FLETCHER AND POORE. 135
formally opened by a tea meeting. After a ministry of twenty-two
years, which is still gratefully remembered by the elder people, Mr.
Fletcher resigned on August icth, 1853, and along with the Rev.
J. L. Poore, went to Australia in connection with the Colonial
Missionary Society.
The story of his unexpected death on the eve of a projected
visit to England is thus related : —
All the necessary arrangements were made for Mr. Fletcher's departure ;
the passage was taken, the sermon to his flock preached, when he was over
taken by an illness which baffled the skill of his medical friends, and instead
of taking the journey to England he "fell asleep in Jesus," and went to the
" Father's house." The event took place on the evening of Sunday,
December I5th, the very day which spread the shadow of death over
England by the removal of the Prince Consort from our midst.1
The Congregational College at Melbourne, of which the Rev.
A. Gosman is the honoured principal, is a memorial of him; for
to his "untiring exertions " it mainly owes its existence. The Rev.
Patrick Thomson, M.A., from Chatham, and who had formerly
been a few years at Liverpool, followed Mr. Fletcher, commencing
his labours July gih, 1854. An interesting event, the jubilee of
the opening of Grosvenor Street Chapel, was celebrated in
December, 1856. On Wednesday evening, December 3rd, there
was a large meeting of ministers of the district, and members of the
church and congregation, over which the pastor presided. Mr.
Samuel Fletcher had generously promised ^"1,000, "on condition
that a sufficient sum was raised to purchase the chief or ground
rent." This was done during the course of the year. On the
following Friday evening, December 5th, there was a tea meeting
of old scholars and teachers, when some 450 persons were present.
Mr. Thomson resigned June ipth, 1865, 2 and was followed in the
ensuing February by the Rev. R. \V. Me All. He was educated at
Lancashire College, and had previously laboured at Sunderland
and Leicester. His Manchester charge he resigned September
i3th, 1867, and after brief ministries at Birmingham, and HaJleigh,
in Suffolk, he went to Paris, and originated what is known as " The
McAll Mission in France." Dr. Me All (for such he now is) is still
1 " Memoir of the Rev. John Legg Poore," by John Corbin, p. 304.
2 Vide " Lancashire Nonconformity," vol. vi.
136 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
the director and president of this work, which ranks amongst the
most important religious movements of this century. The present
minister, the Rev. Thomas Willis, educated at Airedale, and
whose previous sphere of labour was Pontefract, succeeded Mr.
McAll on January 3rd, 1869, and consequently has entered upon
the 25th year of his pastorate here. Situated as the church is in
the heart of the city, and hemmed in by warehouses, it has felt in a
pre-eminent degree the driftings of the population towards the
suburbs, though it may still be found among the first dozen
Congregational churches of the county for the largeness of
its contributions to the cause of Home and Foreign Missions;
and its present state of vigour and health is valuable testimony
to the success of Mr. Willis's ministry. Like his predecessor,
Mr. Roby, he has also devoted himself to the larger interests
of Congregationalism, having for many years discharged the
duties along with the Rev. R. M. Davies, of Oldham, of
General Secretary of the Lancashire Congregational Union. In
1883 he filled the Presidential Chair of the Union, and his address
as such to the delegates and ministers assembled at Southport will
long be remembered. Worthy names — and not a few — are asso
ciated with this church, concerning which a book of no mean
size might be written. James Pridie was admitted a member in
1811, with whom we shall meet later as minister of the New Windsor
Congregational Church ; Thomas Steele, the first superintendent of
the school, admitted to fellowship in September, 1807 ; Robert
Moffat, a member in 1816, who, as Dr. Moffat, the great African
missionary, will be remembered with grateful love so long as
Christian missions exist; Robert Hampson, John Ince, and
Samuel Wilson, who gave themselves to missionary work in 1816 ;
Samuel Fletcher, chosen to the office of deacon in 1818, whose
munificence has been referred to in the foregoing sketch ; Thomas
Hughes, sent a student to Hoxton in 1821; Elijah Armitage,
who, with his wife and family, went in the same year to the South
Seas " to evangelise the natives and instruct them in certain
branches of the cotton manufacture ; " John Cummins1 and James
1 Vide vols. i. and iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity." Mr. Cummins,
after returning from Madagascar, exercised his ministry for some time at
Smallbridge, and Blackpool.
SECESSION. 137
Cameron, sent out in 1826, as missionary artisans to Madagascar;
William Armitage, elected a deacon in November, 1851, the
genial Treasurer for many years of the Lancashire Congregational
Union, and whose death on January nth, 1893, was a severe loss
to all our denominational institutions; Joseph Shillito, dismissed
in 1856 as pastor of Ebenezer Chapel, Dewsbury; R. G. Hartley,
M.A., dismissed in March, 1859, to the Greenfield Congregational
Church, Bradford, of which he had become pastor ; Jonathan
Lees, whose work in China is everywhere spoken of, ordained and
designated as a missionary, September loth, 1861 ; and Thomas
Sheldon, ordained pastor of Westhoughton Congregational Church,
April i gth, 1867. These names are by no means exhaustive,
but they are sufficient to show how lich the church is in this
direction; whilst we shall see, as we come to sketch the history of
the other Congregational Churches in Manchester and Salford,
that it has repeatedly sent large contingents of members to help in
their origination.
IV.— MOSLEY STREET (NOW CAVENDISH STREET) CON
GREGATIONAL CHURCH.
DISAGREEMENT with their minister, the Rev. David Bradberry, led
to a considerable secession of members from Cannon Street
Church in 1788, and the formation of the second Congregational
church in Manchester. The Ruling Eldership question, which, as
previously indicated,1 had assumed larger and more definite mean
ings in the days of Priestley than those of Warhurst, appears to
have been mainly responsible for this secession. Amongst other
things, it was charged against Mr. Bradberry that his endeavour was
to " remove the elders from their office, and break up that form of
government under which they had been admitted as members;"
and it was quite clear that the charge was not groundless. Mr.
Bradberry seems to have had little sympathy with the semi-
Presbyterianism of some members of his congregation, and did not
1 Vide ante p. 116.
138 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
hesitate to hint that the church had been "misguided" in the
creation of the office of elder. After much " unhappy con
troversy," therefore, a division took place, " accompanied by no
small degree of acrimonious feeling." The dissentient church
officers were : — John Spear, John Hope,1 A. Houghton, Arthur
Clegg, John Steward, James Fisher, elders ; and Henry Hope,
James Dinwiddie, and John Mitchell, deacons. The deacons who
remained loyal to the minister were John Joule, John Leigh, and
Thomas Livesey. The seceding persons held worship for a short
time in a warehouse in St. Andrew's Lane, near Church Street,
where they obtained the " assistance of several popular ministers."2
In 1788 they built the chapel in Mosley Street, "certainly a noble
undertaking for the time, so far as respected the building itself,
although constructed without any regard to the science of
acoustics." "Oddly enough," says Dr. Mackennal, "the seceders,
in founding Mosley Street Church, although they called a Scotch
Presbyterian minister to the pastorate, left the appointment of
ruling elders optional in the written constitution of their church,
and, in fact, did not introduce into the church the officer for whose
sake they had seceded."3 The minister in question was the Rev.
Thomas Kennedy, M.A., who had been educated at Edinburgh,
and had served for some time as a minister of the Church of
Scotland. He is described as " a solid and able preacher, but not
popular in his manner."4 Receiving a presentation to a church in
his native country he returned thither, after having laboured in
Manchester about six years. His successor was the Rev.
Joseph Smith, who had received no collegiate training, but who
came to Manchester from Coventry, where he had been engaged
in business. His ordination over the church at Mosley Street took
place in September, 1798, of which the following account has been
preserved : —
1 In the Mosley Street Church Book is the following : — " August 29th,
1822, died John Hope, Deacon, aged 78, he had held that office more than 50
years."
- MS. account of Mosley Street Independent Chapel, kindly lent by
Mrs. Macfadyen.
3 "Life of Dr. Macfadyen," p. 105.
4 MS. history of Mosley Street Independent Chapel.
THE REV, JOSEPH SMITH. 139
Wednesday, September 12, 1798, the Rev. Joseph Smith was ordained (by
imposition of hands) to the pastoral charge of the Independent Church,
Mosley-street, Manchester. Mr. Sowden, of Sowerby, gave out the hymns ;
Mr. Roby, of Manchester, began with prayer and reading suitable scriptures ;
the Rev. Mr. Edwards, of Wem, explained the nature of a gospel church, and
received the confession of faith ; Mr. Medley, of Liverpool, prayed the ordi
nation prayer ; Mr. Evans, of Coventry, gave the charge from 2 Tim. iv., i, 2 ;
Mr. Burder, of Coventry, preached to the people from Eph. iii., 21 ; and Mr.
Anglezark, of Stockport, concluded with prayer."1
Mr. Smith was exceedingly popular as a preacher, and drew
together large congregations, but "the rupture of several blood
vessels, which repeatedly threatened his dissolution," led to his
resignation in January, i8oi.2 Mention has already been made of
the bitter feeling existing between the two churches for some time
after the secession, which Mr. Roby, on his settlement in Man
chester, set himself earnestly to remove ; and the affliction of Mr.
Smith gave him the opportunity of brotherly help, of which he
gladly availed himself. Dr. Waddington says : —
When the new minister of Mosley Street was seized with hemorrhage from
the lungs, and was unable to go through with the service, the intelligence
was conveyed to Cannon Street before the communicants had sat down at
the Lord's Table. Mr. Roby took his people with him to Mosley Street
Chapel, and administered the ordinance of the Lord's Supper at the same
time. Both the churches, as well as the ministers, were deeply affected by
the incident.3
Mr. Smith remained in Manchester for some time after his
retirement from the ministry, and having married a lady with
property he engaged in business as a cotton merchant with con
siderable success. Subsequently he removed to Leamington. The
Rev. Samuel Bradley was his successor, being recognised as such
on November nth, 1801. The Rev. John Johnson, of Man
chester, read the Scriptures and offered the introductory prayer
on the occasion ; the Rev. Wm. Roby preached on " the invaluable
worth of the gospel, concluding with an address to the newly-
elected pastor;" the Rev. E. Parsons, of Leeds, "exhibited the
1 ''Evangelical Magazine" for 1798, p. 478.
2 Ibid for 1802, p. 38.
3 "Congregational History," vol. iv., p. 56.
140 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
superior excellence of the gospel dispensation;" and the Rev.
Joseph Smith, " late pastor, concluded with a very affecting prayer,
in which he was frequently interrupted by tears."1 In 1819 an
enlargement of the chapel became necessary, owing to the success
of Mr. Bradley's ministry, which was continued until June,
1826, when he resigned. He then went to reside for a
short time in Paris, but afterwards returned to Manchester,
"joined himself to a small church in Hulme," and sub
sequently became pastor of the Cannon Street Church, in
succession to the Rev. John Whitridge.2 Mr. Bradley was one
of the founders of the Lancashire County Union, which
took definite shape at a meeting held in the vestry of his chapel,
September 23rd, 1806. The church was fortunate in securing as
successor to Mr. Bradley the Rev. R. S. Me All, LL.D., who was
the son of the Rev. Robert McAll, an eminent minister in the
Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, and was born at Plymouth,
August 4th, 1792. At the early age of fourteen he was placed
under the care of the Rev. Mr. Small, "the respected tutor of the
Academy at Axminster," and subsequently entered Hoxton
Academy. His residence here was brief, " owing to circumstances
not in the least degree discreditable to himself,"3 and subsequently
he repaired to Edinburgh University, where he " devoted himself
chiefly to the study of medicine." It was whilst he was there
that he formed the acquaintance of the Rev. Peter Brotherton, of
Dysart, through whom mainly he became fixed in his original
purpose of giving himself to the Christian ministry. On the com
pletion of his University career he settled at Macclesfield, where for
about twelve years he laboured with marked success, and on the
first Sunday in January, 1827, he entered upon his duties as pastor
of the Mosley Street Church. In 1835, the school-room being
found inconvenient, and being needed for other purposes, "serious
thoughts were entertained as to the propriety of selling the chapel
and building a more convenient place of worship." Meetings
were held, and committees formed, but friction arose, and diffi-
1 "Evangelical Magazine " for 1802, p. 38.
- Vide ante p. 124.
3 " Evangelical Magazine " for 1839, p. 2.
DR. McALL. 141
culties of all kinds were raised by opponents of the scheme. A
period of trade depression also set in, so that there was no pros
pect of "selling the chapel but to a great disadvantage." Some of
the trustees, too, objected ; and " the Doctor's health, which for
some time had been declining, now assumed a still more alarming
aspect." His biographer says : —
His daughter appeared far gone in a state of debility. They removed to
Southport, but no advantage was secured by this expedient. They were
really worse, and lest Miss MrAll should die from home, they returned to
their residence in Lime Grove, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, where she expired
on the 6th of July [1838"]. Hoping that he might yet recover, immediately
upon this bereavement he was taken to the house of Mr. J. K. Heron, Swin-
ton Park, where he died on the 2yth of the same month.1
He was interred in the Rusholme Road Cemetery, and the
"funeral procession, containing persons of various denominations,"
is said to have been " perhaps the largest that had ever been seen
in the town of Manchester " The " funeral services " occasioned
by his death, and afterwards published, consisted of an address by
the Rev. J. Ely, of Leeds; an oration by the Rev. J. A. James, of
Birmingham ; and a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool.
Dr. McAll was one of those great pulpit orators of whom Man
chester has happily had not a few, and by his " extraordinary
eloquence " he succeeded in holding together a large congregation.
Some volumes of his sermons have been published, but beautiful
as they appear on paper, they give no idea of the powers of the
man, who is still a hallowed memory to many Manchester people.
In the Cavendish Street Chapel is a marble tablet thus inscribed : —
Sacred to the Memory of
The Rev. ROBERT STEVENS McALL, LL.D.,
who for the period of twelve years sustained the Pastoral office
in this Place, consecrating talents of the highest order, with rich
and varied stores of Erudition to the Glory of God, and the
Service of the Church. He lived in the affection of his people,
and the admiration of the Public, and died in the midst of his
Usefulness July 27, 1838,
In the 46th year of his age.
1 MS. history of Mosley Street Independent Chapel
1 42 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
The choice of a successor was therefore no easy matter, and the
following passage, showing how Dr. Halley's appearance upon the
scene at the Christmas of 1838 was received, will interest the
reader : —
Although very different in all respects from Dr. McAll as a preacher, he
seemed to attract the particular attention of a considerable number of the
members, especially of the deacons. Hence he was requested to repeat his
visit, which, having done, a Church meeting was announced for the purpose,
in accordance with the trust deed, of choosing a pastor. The meeting was
held on the 28th day of February. Dr. Halley was proposed with no small
quantity of panegyric. It had been understood that the number of members
was from 400 to 500. On this occasion, however, 2 were neuter, 12 voted
against him, and 130 for him. Besides this, it was certainly the case that
many who voted for him had doubts upon their minds as to his keeping
together a congregation, which Dr. McAll, by his extraordinary eloquence,
had collected from all parts of the town and neighbourhood.1
Dr. Halley was born at Blackheath, August i3th, 1796, his
father being a nurseryman in that village. He received his
ministerial training at Homerton College, and had for his first
pastorate St. Neots, in Huntingdonshire, where he was ordained in
1822. In 1826, on the opening of Highbury College, he was
chosen as resident Classical Tutor, a post which he filled with
credit until his removal to Manchester. It was during this period
that he first appeared as an author, and obtained his degree of
D. D. from Princetown College, New Jersey, in recognition of his
services in the world of literature. The call to succeed Dr.
McAll at Mosley Street was, "after much anxious considera
tion," accepted, and he entered upon his labours in July, 1839.
The choice of the church so hesitatingly made proved to be a wise
one, and Dr. Halley soon showed himself equal to sustaining the
best traditions of the Mosley Street pulpit. The agitation for a
more convenient house of worship was recommenced, and " the
22nd of June, 1848, saw the new chapel opened, and the occasion
was a memorable one in the annals of Manchester Nonconformity,
both from the fact that the buildings were far superior to any pre
viously erected by the Dissenting congregation of Manchester (if
1 MS. history of Mosley Street Independent Chapel.
CAVENDISH STREET CHAPEL.
i44 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
not in England), and from the brilliant assemblage who took part
in the opening services. Among the best known of these were Dr.
Harris, Samuel Martin, of Westminster, Dr. Vaughan, Dr. Leif-
child, Dr. Raffles, James Parsons, and the pastor, Dr. Halley."1
The buildings, which included school and chapel, together with a
chapel-keeper's house, cost about ^25,000, and the sitting accom
modation of the chapel is for 1,700 persons, being the largest
Congregational Chapel in the county with the exception of Great
George Street, Liverpool. The style of architecture is " Early
English, verging into the decorated," and the tower and spire at
the South West corner are 170 feet high.2
In 1855 Dr. Halley rilled the chair of the Congregational Union
of England and Wales, and two years after that accepted an
invitation to the Principalship of New College, London, rendered
vacant by the death of Dr. Harris. At this post he remained
until 1872, when he retired. He preached his last sermon from
the pulpit of his son's church at Arundel, June 25th, 1876, and on
Friday midnight, August i8th, he "passed away without disease
and without pain," being then a little over eighty years of age.
His remains were laid in the Abney Cemetery by his beloved
friends, the Revs. Dr. Newth, J. Godwin, and Dr. Aveling. On
Sunday, August 27th, funeral sermons were preached at Clapton
Park Chapel, by Dr. Aveling, and at New College Chapel by the
Rev. (now Dr.) LI. D. Be van. The preachers had been selected
by Dr. Halley himself to represent the one, his old Highbury
students, the other his New College students. Dr. Halley was a
public man, and during his residence in Manchester his voice was
often heard in support of every form of "civil and religious
liberty." He was also a very considerable writer, his best known
works being "The Sacraments," which forms part of the " Con
gregational Lecture" series, and his "Lancashire Puritanism and
Nonconformity," by far the most interesting of the county Con
gregational histories yet published. His son, the Rev. Robert
Halley, M.A., died at Arundel in 1886, aged fifty-eight years, and
another son, the Rev. J. J. Halley, is the Secretary of the Congre-
1 " Bazaar Handbook," published in 1890.
2 " Congregational Year Book" for 1849, p. 211.
DR. JOSEPH PARKER. 145
gational Union and Mission of Victoria. An attempt was made
to secure the Rev. R. W. Dale, M.A., as Dr. Halley's successor
at Manchester, but he decided to remain at Birmingham, and an
invitation was next presented to the Rev. Joseph Parker, of
Banbury. At first the call was declined, he having " resolved to
stay in Banbury till the church there had paid off its debt of ^650.
At the same time there was a debt of ^234 at Cavendish Street.
The reply received from Banbury supplied all the stimulus needed
to rouse the Manchester men to make an effort. The effort was
swift and vigorous, and so successful that in a week or two both
debts had ceased to be, and in exactly one month after the issue
of the first invitation, Rev. Joseph Parker accepted the call to the
pulpit of Cavendish Chapel."1
This was in June, 1858, and after an eleven years' ministry of
unbroken success he removed to the old Poultry Chapel, London,
since superseded by the renowned City Temple. For a quarter
of a century and more Dr. Parker has been one of the most
prominent figures, not merely in the Congregational, but in the
whole religious, world, " It would require," says one, " an able
writer and a large space to do the barest possible justice to Dr.
Parker ; to his eloquence as a minister of the Gospel and an
advocate of our Nonconformist principles ; to the charm of his
manner with the timid and the young ; to his championship of all
good causes that are in peril or need ; to his sarcastic or indignant
declamation against every form of iniquity. His pen has been
as busy as his tongue, and has poured forth a constant succession
of sermons, novels, prayers, expositions, and personal reminis
cences."2 Sunday and week-day multitudes still crowd into the
City Temple to hear his fresh and vivid expositions of Bible
truth, whilst his contributions to literature have won for him hosts
of admirers. His " People's Bible," the great literary work of his
life, which is rapidly nearing completion, has proved an unspeak
able boon to many preachers and Bible students in general. It
is no small honour for Manchester that such names as McAll,
Halley, and Parker have been so closely associated with the
history of its religious life.
1 " Bazaar Handbook."
2 Ibid.
S—io
146 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
The Rev. A. J. Bray, a student from Cheshunt College,
began his labours at Cavendish in 1871, and in September,
1876, he resigned, having accepted the charge of Zion Church,
Montreal. His successor was the Rev. Edwin Paxton Hood,
who, though having had no collegiate training, was an
accomplished scholar. His first pastorate was in the little
village of North Nibley, whence he removed to Offord Road,
London, and subsequently to Brighton. After a brief ministry
at this place he returned to his old charge at Offord Road,
whence he was invited to Manchester in June, 1877. Friction
arose between himself and some members of his congregation,
which led to his resignation in 1880, but for twelve months longer
he continued to preach in Manchester to large congregations,
which assembled in Hulme Town Hall. His last pastorate was
Falcon Square, London, where he died June i2th, 1885, aged
sixty-four years. Mr. Hood was a very voluminous writer, and
his death meant the removal of a singularly rich and beautiful life
from the world. In July, 1881, the Rev. W. J. Woods, B.A.,
who had been educated at New College, and had laboured some
seven years at Leamington, accepted the unanimous call of the
church. Much to the regret of his people he resigned in 1887,
and removed to Clapton Park, London. He is now the Secretary
of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, being
appointed successor to Dr. Hannay a little over twelve months
ago. The Rev. G. S. Reaney, from Stepney, London, and
formerly of Warrington, followed in January, 1888. He resigned
in April, 1892, and entered the Established Church.1 The
present minister is the Rev. J. W. Holdsworth, a student from
the Yorkshire United Independent College, who entered upon
duty June 26th, 1892. Amongst the numerous institutions of the
church is a Ragged School, founded in October, 1865, "for the
purpose of imparting religious instruction to those children in the
neighbourhood, who through poverty or other causes held
themselves aloof from the afternoon school." There is an average
attendance on Sunday evenings in the large schoolroom of about
250. There is also the "Cavendish Mission," the first service in
1 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
COLONEL BIRCH. 147
connection with which was held October 7th, 1886, in a cottage
in a court off Jenkinson Street. The house soon proved too small,
and larger premises were opened on May isth, 1887, in Higher
Ormond Street, where the work is still carried on. Mr.
Holdsworth is worthily and courageously seeking to restore to
Cavendish Street Chapel some of its ancient glory. The
same influences, which led to the removal of the church from
Mosley Street to Cavendish Street over forty years ago, are still
operating vigorously, and all loyal friends of Manchester Congre
gationalism will wish for the pastor and his people every success in
their uphill work.
V.— PLATT CHAPEL.
THE township of Rusholme is now a densely populated ward on the
south-east side of the great city from which it was formerly distant
some two or three miles. Its name is significant, and gives some
idea of the original character of the country, being derived from
the " well-known aquatic plant the Rush, the latter syllable holme
signifying, in the Anglo-Saxon, a flat area of damp ground by a
river side."1 The township formerly consisted of several hamlets,
in two of which we have a special interest, viz., Birch and Platt.
Birch Chapel was erected by members of the Birch family2
1 Booker's " History of Birch Chapel " (Chetham Society Series, vol.
xlvii.), p. i. To this work I am indebted for much of what follows.
2 The Birch family, resident in the hamlet of Birch from at least the
beginning of the I4th century, figured very prominently in the Great Civil
War of the ryth century. Its most noteworthy representative was Colonel
Thomas Birch, a fiery Independent, and an ardent supporter of Cromwell.
He was the leader of the Parliamentarian forces in the sieges of Preston,
Liverpool, and Lancaster, and subsequently became the governor of Liver
pool. A branch of this family settled at Ardwick, one of whom, Samuel Birch,
purchased Ordsall Hall and estate on its being sold by the Radcliffe family,
about the time of the Restoration. The Rev. Henry Newcome was an
intimate friend of Mr. Samuel Birch, and in his diary, under date April
3rd, 1663, he tells about paying a visit to the Hall in company with " Old
Captain Birch," and seeing the house and library (" Newcome's Diary,"
P- 174)-
THE REV, ROBERT BIRCH. i49
during the reign of Elizabeth, some time before 1573; and, like
Gorton, Newton, and Blackley, was one of the chapels-of-ease to
the Manchester Collegiate Church. The first minister, whose name
has been preserved, was the Rev. Richard Lingard, curate in 1622,
and in 1623 the Rev. Thomas Norman, who had previously
officiated at Gorton, was labouring here.1
Passing over one or two other names of little interest we come
to that of the Rev. John Wigan, who also had been at Gorton,
leaving in 1646 for Birch. He was of the Independent way of
thinking, and in his efforts to "set up Congregationalism" at
Birch met with considerably more success than he did in his pre
vious sphere. He resigned soon after the visit of the Parliamentary
Commissioners in 1650.- Of his children, Elizabeth married Mr.
Daniel Dunbaven, of Warrington, February igth, 1656, and Lydia
the Rev. William Morris, of Manchester, June roth, 1658. The
Rev. Robert Birch was minister here in July, 1659. He was doubt
less a member of the family who had built the chapel, and, refusing
to conform, was silenced in 1662 by the Act of Uniformity,
after which he " commenced physician and surgeon."3 He died
in 1693, and in his will is described as of " Grindlowe, within
the township of Chorlton, alias Chorlton roe, in the county of
Lancaster." He bequeathed his property to his "loving wife"
Mary, and to his "three daughters, Margaret, Mary, and Martha."
The years which followed the silencing of Mr. Birch constitute the
period during which Nonconformity was assailed by all the forces
which the law could command, and the most retired places did not
escape the keen eye of the persecutor. Of this period but little
is known, and so the name of the immediate successor of Mr.
Birch is doubtful. Adam Martindale says that after his ejection
from Rostherne, in 1662, he "preached publicly in two neigh
bour Chapells, Gorton and Birch,"4 but with what measure of
regularity he does not state. Hunter gives an interesting account
of a Conventicle held at Birch Hall in 1666 : —
Colonel Birch, a Parliamentary Officer, permitted two wandering ministers
1 Vide ante p. 53.
'2 Vide ante p. 51.
3 Calamy's " Nonconformist's Memorial " (1802), vol. ii., p. 353.
4 " Life of Adam Martindale " (Chetham Society Series, Vol. iv., p. 193).
150 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
from Germany to preach at Birch-hall, on Sunday, the i8th of November,
1666. They were engaged from nine to three, speaking very fluently,
denouncing all manner of love to England, and exhorting people to fly and
take refuge in Germany. They sang two German hymns with well-tuned
voices, the purport of one of which, when sung at the house of an old
Commonwealth officer, beginning —
" Hark, how the trumpet sounds,"
might well excite some alarm in the minds of the neighbouring Royalists.
The magistrates took the opportunity of putting the Conventicle Act in force
against Colonel Birch and several persons who were present at this meeting,
amongst whom was the wife of Ralph Worsley, a gentleman of Rusholm,
ancestor of the Worsleys of Platt, friends of the Nonconformists.1
In 1672, the year of the Indulgence Act, the Rev. Henry Finch
was minister here. He was born in the parish of Standish, and,
after acquiring " considerable exactness " in Latin and Greek at
Wigan and Standish Schools, proceeded to the University, "where
he made good use of his time, and by diligent study improv'd his
fine natural parts so, that he return'd to his native Countrey, well
furnished with substantial learning, for the work of the ministry. "-
For some time he preached in the Fylde; and in July, 1654, was
called to be vicar of Walton-on-the-Hill, near Liverpool,3 having
associated with him in the work the Rev. Robert Eaton. Ejected
in 1662, he retired to Warrington, where some of his wife's relations
lived, and "kept many private Fasts in the neighbourhood, praying
and waiting for an opportunity to fulfil his ministry, in a more
publick and extensive way.5'4 Driven from Warrington by
•
"Life of Oliver Heywood," p, 188.
2 Calamy's "Account of the Ejected or Silenced Ministers" (1713
Edition), vol. ii., p. 404.
3 In previous volumes of this work I have gone upon the assumption
that Mr. Finch was the minister of Walton, near Preston. Both Calamy
and Dr. Halley leave the point undetermined, but from the Parish Register of
Walton-on-the-Hill it appears that Mr. Finch succeeded the Rev. Neville
Kaye as vicar there on July 3oth, 1654. — (Vide vol. vi. of " Lancashire
Nonconformity.")
4 Calamy's "Account," &c., vol. ii., p. 405. Roger Lowe, in his diary under
date June i4th, 1664, tells about going to Warrington to " Mr. Finches to
gett them come to a funerall." "I called at Winwicke," says he, "and
bespoke bread and drinke ; and when I came to the farmost Mrs. Finch
would not let me goe till the next morninge for it was late, so I stayd,
and att day I arose and went to sadle horse, and so came home." — ("The
Diary of Roger Lowe, of Ashton-in-Makerfield." Chronicle Office, Leigh.)
THE WORSLEY FAMILY. 151
the Corporation Act of 1665 he was led to Manchester, where
he " ordinarily joyn'd in publick worship with the Established
Church till the liberty in 1672, when he renew'd his beloved
work of preaching publickly at .Z?mr/;-Chapel with great diligence
and cheerfullness.' 1 He continued to serve the chapel until 1697,
when it was taken from him by George Birch, Esq., who had suc
ceeded to the Birch estate, and who had no sympathy with the
Nonconformity of his fathers. In 1699 Mr. Birch nominated the
Rev. Samuel Taylor, M.A., of Emmanuel College, Cambridge,
"to serve at my domestick chappell of Birch,"2 and at this point
we must leave the history of Birch Chapel, because here the history
of its Nonconformity ends.
The second of those hamlets which formerly made up the
township of Rusholme, and in which we are especially interested,
is Platt, " a word which, in the Anglo-Saxon language, denotes a
place or station, or more precisely a sheepfold.":i Here, during
the 1 7th century, resided the Worsley family, equal in importance
to the Birch family, and as decidedly Nonconformist. If the one
gave Colonel Thomas Birch to Cromwell, the other gave him
Major-General Worsley, a man of devout religious feeling, of
earnest prayer, and deep trust in God. His death on June
i2th, 1656, at the early age of thirty-five, was felt by no one more
keenly than by the Protector himself, whose " great and rising
favourite " he was said to be. His son, Ralph Worsley, inherited
the religious principles of his father and grandfather, and "after
the Restoration he continued the faithful friend and protector
of the Nonconformist interest at Rusholme through all the
vicissitudes of fortune to which it was subjected."4 When, there
fore, Mr. Finch was made to retire from Birch Chapel, Ralph
Worsley, amongst others, licensed his house for worship, and pro
vision was made for Mr. Finch to the extent of £ib per year,
towards which fifty individuals contributed. On the 3oth of May,
1699, a meeting of those inhabitants who wished a continuance of
1 Vide ante p. 85, for Mr. Finch's license to preach.
'•* Booker's " History of Birch Chapel," p. 151.
3 Ibid, p. 12.
4 Halley's " Lancashire Puritanism and Nonconformity," vol. ii., p. 37.
THE REV. HENRY FINCH. 153
Mr. Finch's services was convened, when the following resolutions
were adopted : —
1. Wee, whose names are hereunto subscribed, doe declare our earnest and
hearty desire that there may be a Building erected for the Worship of God
ffor the benefitt and convenience of that congregation wch now attends upon
the ministry of Mr. ffinche.
2. Wee doe promise and declare that wee will duely attend the worshipp
of God in such place when erected.
3. ffurther, wee doe promise to contribute to the maintenance of such
Dissenting minister or ministers as shall be unanimously elected to officiate
in the said place.1
Mr. Ralph Worsley, amongst others, signed the document con
taining these resolutions, and gave for the proposed chapel " a site,
the south-east corner of a close called the Blake Flatt, in extent
about twenty roods."
The following is a list of contributions to the building fund : —
£ s. d.
Mr. Finch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 O o
Mr. Raphe Worsley... ... ... ... ... ... 10 o o
Mr. Edge, of Warrington ... ... ... ... ... 600
Richard Whittaker ... ... ... ... ... .. 500
Mr. Thomas Butterworth ... ... ... ... ... i 10 o
Mr. Alexander Boardman ... ... ... ... ... i 10 o
Mr. Birche, Minister2 ... ... ... ... ... i o o
Adam Barlow... ... ... ... ... ... ... i o o
Obadiah Hulme ... .. ... ... ... ... i o o
Mr. Charles Worsley ... ... ... ... ... 100
Mrs. Okell i o o
Francis Wood ... ... .. ... ... ... 100
Mr. Siddall i o o
Mad. Gill i o o
Mrs. Loyd ... ... ... ... ... ... ... o 10 o
It is recorded that 39,008 bricks were used in its erection, and
the chief items of disbursement were as follows : —
1 Booker's " History of Birch Chapel," p. 161.
" Dr. Halley (" Lancashire Puritanism," vol. ii., p. 305) says this was Mr.
Robert Birch, the ejected minister. But he had been dead several years
before a new chapel was thought about. I imagine this was the Rev. Eliezer
Birch, afterwards minister at Cross Street (vide ante p. 94).
154 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
£ s. d.
ffor Brickes ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 19 10 o
ffor 56 Loads of Lime at i8d. per load ... ... ... 440
Peter Ry land, Bricksetter ... ... ... ... ... 426
Randle Thorneley, &c., ffor Slate ... ... ... ... 4 15 6
ffor Timber ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 10 o o
Jeremiah Kirsley for Slateinge and Morse ... ... 2 13 8
ffor Boordes for Doores and Weatheringe and for 50
yards of sparrs at 3d. per yard ... ... ... 282
Three Loades of fflaggs and carriage ... ... ... i 7 6
ffor meate, drink, ale, pipes and tobaccer att y"
Rearinge, being ye sixth day of October ... ... o 19 o
ffor Glass six score and foure foote at 4^d. ye foot ... 2 6 6
The Smith for Bandes for Doores wth Barres and Bolts
and window rods ... ... ... ... ... i 12 10
ffor Recordinge our Chappell ... ... ... ... o i 6
ffor the Pulpitt Quishion ... ... ... i 3 3
John Odcroft's Bill for ye Pulpitt, Sounder, seates,
wainscott, &c. ... ... ... ... ... ... 18 7 II
The total amount expended was ,£95, and the building was
opened for worship towards the end of 1700, the Rev. James
Grimshaw officiating on the occasion and receiving five shillings
for his service. Mr. Finch did not long survive the erection of the
chapel, for he died in 1704, aged seventy-one years, and was buried
on the 1 6th of November in that year.1 Calamy says : —
He was a great Blessing and Help to the Younger Ministers, who lov'd
and honour'd him as a Father ; and his Behaviour to them was full of
Condescension and Tenderness. His Preaching was clear and methodical,
and was adapted to convince the mind and to move the Passions. He liv'd
according to his Profession, a peaceable Life, in all Godliness and Honesty.2
The Rev. Robert Hesketh was the next minister. He was
educated at Rathmell Academy by the Rev. Richard Frankland,
entering as a student there in 1692, and appeared before the Lan
cashire ministers at Bolton as a candidate for the ministry on
April 1 4th, 1696. His first charge was probably Bispham, near
1 The reader is referred to vol. vi. of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for
information about members of the Finch family.
2 "Account of the Silenced and Ejected Ministers " (1713), vol. ii., pp.
406-407.
THE REV. ROBERT ANDREWS. 155
Blackpool.1 He settled at Platt Chapel about 1704, and remained
until 1712. The Rev. John Whitaker was his successor.
He was ordained at Knutsford, August 3rd, 1714, and for his
thesis advocated the affirmative of the question, " An infantes
fidelium sint baptizandi?" He was connected, I imagine,
with the Rev. Thomas Whitaker, M.A., of Leeds. His father,
Richard Whitaker, was buried at Platt Chapel, October 22nd,
1723, and his mother at the same place, March ist, 1726. Mr.
Whitaker's labours here terminated with his death in 1752. The
Rev. Robert Andrews followed. He belonged to the Andrews family
of Rivington and Little Lever, being born at the latter place June
29th, 1723. He was educated for the ministry by Dr. Rotheram,
at Kendal, and took as his first charge Platt Chapel, shortly after
the death of Mr. Whitaker. His stay was brief, not exceeding
more than three years, when he removed to Bridgnorth, Salop,
where he died about 1766. He is described as "a man of con
siderable talents and learning." In 1757 he published " Eidyllia,"
a set of poems in blank verse, to which he prefixed a violent
attack upon rhyme. He wrote also " Animadversions on Dr.
Brown's Essays on the Characteristics," and a criticism on the ser
mons of his friend, the Rev. John Holland. Just previous to his
death he published from Baskerville's Press an English blank verse
translation of the works of Virgil on the strange plan of confining
the sense of every line of the original to a line of English verse.
His writings, especially his attack on rhyme, are said to betray
" marks of a very unsettled imagination, which afterwards increased
so much as to render occasional confinement necessary. In this
state it is believed he died."2 The Rev. John Houghton followed.
He was a native of Liverpool, was born in 1730, and entered Dr.
Doddridge's Academy, at Northampton, in 1747. Not having
completed his education at the time of Doddridge's death, he pro
ceeded to Glasgow University. His first settlement was at Platt
Chapel, but the date is uncertain. In 1755 he married Mary
1 Booker (" History of Birch Chapel," p. 168) confuses him with his son,
the Rev. Robert Hesketh, M.A., who was minister of a congregation at
Carnforth, near Lancaster. Vide vols. i. and iii. of " Lancashire Noncon
formity" for full information about the Hesketh family.
2 "Monthly Repository " for 1810, p. 426.
156 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Pendlebury, the granddaughter of the Rev. Henry Pendlebury,
M.A., whose mother was Mary, second daughter of Ralph Wors-
ley, of Platt. Mr. Houghton removed to Hyde, in Cheshire,
about 1758, and subsequently to Nantwich, Elland, and Wem.
Previous to leaving Hyde it is said : —
He had much mental anxiety, owing to his unwillingness to distress the
feelings of the good people by mentioning it to them. At last he summoned
courage and said to one of his hearers, " Jonathan, I am sorry to tell you
that I am leaving you." The reply was, "Well, sir, then I reckon we must
get another." Calling afterwards on another of his hearers, he said, " If I
thought all the congregation were as indifferent about me as Jonathan
Butterworth, I would not preach at Hyde another Sunday."1
On leaving Wem he withdrew from the ministry, and went to
reside with his son, the Rev. Pendlebury Houghton, who was
minister of the Octagon Chapel, Norwich, where he opened a
school. He died there in April, 1800.-
The Rev. Richard Meanley succeeded Mr. Houghton at Platt
Chapel in 1758. He was educated by Dr. Rotheram at Kendal,
and first settled at Nantwich. He laboured at Platt Chapel until
his death in 1794. His son was the Rev. Astley Meanley, some
time minister at Prescot.3 In the graveyard of the chapel is Mr.
Meanley's tombstone, thus inscribed : —
Interred Here
The RevJ- RICHARD MEANLEY,
Of Platt, who died Septr- 22d> 1794,
Aged 77 years.
Also MARY, his Wife, who died
March 5, 1772, aged 52 years.
Also MARY, their Daughter,
Who died January 28th, 1813,
Aged 66 years.
Also ELLEN, their Daughter,
Who died February 3rd, 1813,
Aged 62 years.
1 " Christian Reformer" for 1848, p. 476, note.
2 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for information about
the Pendlebury family.
3 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
A SUCCESSION OF MINISTERS. 157
During the next three years the chapel was supplied by students,
and in 1797 the Rev. George Checkley became the minister. He
had already spent some thirty years in the ministry, having had
charges at Hyde and Ormskirk.1 He died on February 2nd,
i8o7,2 and was interred in the chapel graveyard. Upon his
tombstone is the following inscription : —
Interred the Remains of the
Reverend GEORGE CHECKLEY,
Minister of Piatt Chapel,
Who died the second day of February, 1807,
Aged 62 years.
Also ESTHER, his wife,
Who died May I5th, 1822, aged 75 years.
Mr. Checkley was succeeded temporarily by the Rev. Joseph
Lawton Siddall, who had been educated at Warrington Academy,
and had previously been for many years at Chorley.3 In 1810
the Rev. William Whitelegge, from Fulvvood, near Bristol, who had
been educated at the Manchester Academy, entered upon his
duties as minister, and continued here until his death in 1865.
He, too, lies in Platt Chapel graveyard, and from his tombstone
the following has been copied : —
In Memory of
The Rev. WILLIAM WHITELEGGE,
For upwards of 50 years minister of this chapel,
Who died February 8th, 1865,
Aged 83 years.
His successor was the Rev. S. A. Steinthal, who accepted the
charge in 1864, and retained it until the end of 1870, when
he removed to Cross Street Chapel.4 The present minister is
the Rev. C. T. Poynting, B.A. He is the son of the late
Rev. T. E. Poynting, of Monton, was educated at Manchester
New College and Heidelberg, and entered upon his ministry
1 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Correct by the above, the date of death in vol. iv. of " Lancashire
Nonconformity," which is the one given by Booker.
* Vide vol. ii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
4 Vide ante p. 106.
158 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
at Platt Chapel in January, 1871. The present building, which
has sitting accommodation for about 240 persons, superseded
the chapel built for Henry Finch in lygt, being opened for
public worship on May nth of that year. In 1874 extensive
alterations were effected, especially internally. The congregation
has been Unitarian in its belief for upwards probably of a century,
although, as no doctrinal test is applied to either minister or con
gregation, no official record has been kept of any changes of
belief through which it has passed.
VI.— LONGSIGHT AND RUSHOLME CONGREGATIONAL
CHURCHES.
"!N the year 1830," writes one, "a man, named William Holt,
a member of the church at Mosley Street, under the pastoral
care of Dr. McAll, came to reside in the village of Longsight for
the purpose of carrying on business, being also recommended to
go out of the town of Manchester, as he was at that time in very
delicate health. He was a good man, and very soon became
distressed at the evidently low moral condition of the locality.
At that time the village was without either school or place of
worship of any description, and notorious for ignorance and
immorality, the latter considerably affected by the numbers who
each Sabbath came from the town. The first effort was made by
Mr. Holt in his own kitchen, assisted by a few friends from
Mosley Street, but for want of better accommodation, and
because of annoyances whilst engaged in worship, the experiment
had to be discontinued."1 In 1834 another and more successful
attempt was made. A cottage was taken and opened as a Sunday
School and preaching room, and amongst the early workers here
from Mosley Street was the Rev. R. M. Davies, then a young man
in a Manchester warehouse. He tells about services being held in
the constable's house, in which he preached one of the first sermons
and that whilst doing so " some men threw a brick, intending
1 "MS. History of Longsight Independent Chapel," read at the Jubilee
in 1802.
THE BELL AND THE WHEELBARROW. 159
to smash his head, which went instead into the constable's clock
face." Another of his stories is that, " having need of a bell with
which to ring the congregation in, and having heard of one which
could be had at a bargain somewhere in Salford, he forthwith
chartered a wheelbarrow, and himself trundled the bell through the
streets all the way to Longsight."
In those days the anniversary services, of which much
was made, were held in different buildings, on one occasion
in a tent procured from Manchester, which was placed in
a field, now covered with houses, and opposite the
school. At a Congregational Tea Meeting held in
December, 1838, the first steps were taken towards the
erection of a suitable building. Out of a population in the
village of 500 over sixty promised subscriptions, but Dr. McAll's
death suspended proceedings until the Christmas following, when
a building committee was appointed. Difficulty was experienced
in obtaining a site, as the land was principally owned by Church
men, who objected to let it for such a purpose; but, eventually,
Lord Ducie offered to sell a small portion of his estate, provided
a respectable building was erected thereon. The offer was
accepted, the building commenced in 1841, and on Good Friday,
March 25th, 1842, it was opened for public worship, Dr. Halley,
of Mosley Street, being the preacher. The total cost, including
conveyance of land, was about ,£595. About the same time a
church was formed by Dr. Halley and the Rev. R. Fletcher, the
number of members being twelve, of whom only Mrs. Kelly
remains at Longsight. Junior students from Lancashire College
for a time supplied the pulpit, and in 1843 the Rev. Mr. Jones, a
Congregational minister resident in Manchester without charge,
assumed the pastorate for six months. At the end of that time
Mr. Jones retired, and in 1844 a deputation waited upon Dr.
Davidson, of Lancashire College, to ask his acceptance of the
pulpit ; but the doctor, whilst expressing his warm interest in the
cause, stated that his other duties prevented. " In May, the
following year," says the MS. history, " Mr. J. G. Rogers, a
student of the college, was invited to take the pastorate. On
the wishes of the church and congregation being conveyed to
Mr. Rogers, he at once complied with the invitation, but as
i6o
LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
the college curriculum was not completed, the committee and
tutors interposed and prevented the settlement." The Rev. W.
Stowell, B.A , a student from Lancashire College, and son of
Dr. Stowell, became the minister in the spring of 1847, con
tinuing to be such until 1851. His subsequent pastorates were
at Boston Spa, Ware, Camden Town (London), and Ryton, near
Newcastle. He died February ist, 1878, aged fifty-two. In 1851
the sum of ^1,700 was expended in the erection of a new
school upon the site of the old brick chapel. It was meant
IVY CHAPEL, LONGSIGHT.
to serve for the present as both school and chapel ; and the
congregation was indebted mainly to Messrs. G. and R.
Holt, Pickles, Rumney, Sidebottom, and a few others for that
sum. The Rev. Jonathan Sutcliffe, F.A.S., who had recently
resigned his charge at Ashton-under-Lyne, in the history of
which the story of Mr. Sutcliffe's life is fully given, accepted
the call of the Longsight Church, and began his labours
in January, 1852. At a church meeting, held on Wednesday
evening, May igth of the same year, it was resolved "to erect a
THE REV. WATSON SMITH. 161
new chapel as early as possible." " Ivy Chapel," as the new
building is called, because of the ivy which clings to its
walls and towers, was opened for public worship on Wednesday,
October igth, 1853. The preacher in the morning was Dr.
Raffles, of Liverpool ; evening, the Rev. J. A. James, of Birming
ham ; and on the following Sunday the pulpit was occupied by
the Rev. J. B. Brown, B.A., of London. The building provides
sitting accommodation for 800 people, and is described as
" probably unique among Congregational Churches in the style ot
\{$ facade"1 being taken from the "famous West Front of Peter
borough Cathedral." The cost, "including commodious Sunday,
Day, Infant school-rooms, &c.," amounted to ,£6,000. Towards
this amount the Chapel Building Society granted ^£1,500, which,
with subscriptions previously raised representing ,£3,650, left
.£850 to be obtained at the time of the opening. "The collections
on the Wednesday," writes one, "were ^"385 23. 3d.; and on
the following Lord's Day ,£335 195. 6d. The further sum of
,£139 us. was raised at the tea party, making a total of ,£860
i2s. gd." Mr. Sutcliffe and his friends had, therefore, the joy of
entering their new house unencumbered by debt, and it is
said that the minister's face beamed like the face of an
angel on the opening day. Failing health led to Mr.
Sutcliffe's retirement from duty at the end of March, 1855 ;
and four years afterwards he died. The Rev. Watson Smith
followed. He was the son of a Lancashire manufacturer, was
born at Colne, in November, 1817, and educated at Blackburn
Academy. Previous to his settlement at Longsight he had held
pastorates at Stroud, Wolverhampton (Queen Street), and St.
John's Wood, London. He entered upon his labours at Longsight
in October, 1856, removing at the end of 1864 to Wilmslow, in
Cheshire. Here he continued his ministry until he was summoned
away by death on May 6th, 1878. In July, 1865, the Rev- George
Nicholson, B.A., who had been educated at Highbury, and had
laboured at Northampton nearly twenty years, became the successor
of Mr. Smith at Longsight. About two years afterwards he
1 The "Congregational Monthly" for January, 1893.
2 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1854, p. 38.
5— ii
1 62 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
resigned, subsequently became minister of the church at Putney,
London, and is now living at Northampton without charge. The
Rev. \V. Kirkus, LL.B., began his ministry at Longsight in January,
1869. He was trained at Lancashire College, and had previously
laboured at Hackney. Towards the end of 1870, Mr. Kirkus
informed his deacons that he had accepted the Principalship of a
large school in Higher Broughton, which would not interfere
with his duties as minister. In the following July he resigned, and
entered the Established Church. The Rev. H. C. Long, from Haver-
fordwest, whose ministerial training was received at Western College,
succeeded Mr. Kirkus in July, 1872, and remained until 1880. The
Rev. J. C. McCappin, formerly of Radcliffe, and subsequently of
Worsley Road, Swinton,1 held the pastorate from April, 1882, to the
end of 1884. In September, 1886, the Rev. Thomas Evans, from
Cardiff, whose collegiate training was obtained at Brecon, succeeded
Mr. McCappin at Longsight. He resigned in December, 1888,
having received an invitation from the Edmonton Congregational
Church, London. He is now labouring at Swansea. The Rev.
W. M. Westerby, from Allerton, Bradford, and who had previously
had charge of Salem Chapel, Burnley,2 commenced his ministry at
Longsight in September, 1889, which he continues amidst many
signs of encouragement. The following' passage from the Church
Book of Mosley Street Church gives additional information as to
the indebtedness of the cause at Longsight to that church : —
In 1837 the friends of Mosley Street took great interest in a Sunday
School meeting in Longsight, rendering financial help, and in May, 1839, it
was incorporated with the Mosley Street Sunday School and remained so
until April, 1843, when the school was taken over by the newly constructed
Congregational Church at Longsight.
Rusholme Congregational Church is the outcome of a Sunday
School effort, which began over fifty years ago. On Sunday
afternoon, May 26th, 1839, a ^ew friends met together in the
upper room of a private house in Nelson Street, Rusholme, to seek
for Divine guidance in the establishment of a Sunday School ; and
on Sunday, July i4th, about forty children were gathered
1 Vide ante p. 22 ; also vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Vide vol. ii. of '' Lancashire Nonconformity."
EMINENT NAMES. 163
together and taught in a cottage in John Street. In 1853 a small
chapel, which had been erected by Baptists, was handed over to
the Congregationalists by the trustees, and a committee was
formed of friends living in the neighbourhood to carry on the
Sunday School in the building, and establish a Sunday Evening ser
vice. The first of these services was held February 2oth, 1853,
the Rev. James Griffin, of Rusholme Road Congregational
Church, being the preacher ; and a few months later a morning
service was commenced. In the month of November, 1853, a
church was formed, the Revs. Dr. Halley, Dr. Davidson, and
James Gwyther taking part in the service, the pulpit at this time
being mainly supplied by students from Lancashire College. On
January 4th, 1854, an arrangement was made with the Rev. George
Macdonald (now Dr. George Macdonald, the eminent novelist),
" to supply the pulpit for four Sundays, beginning on the 8th, and
a guinea to be paid him each Sunday." His " views " not being
deemed satisfactory, he was not invited " to continue preaching"
at the expiration of that period, and in May, 1854, the Rev. J.
Hardwick Smith, B. A., became the first pastor. He had been edu
cated at New College, London, and laboured a short time at Stokes-
ley. in Yorkshire. He resigned in April, 1856, and subsequently held
pastorates at Maiden Newton, in Dorset, and Kenilworth. He
died on November 25th, 1886. His son, Mr. N. H. Smith, M.A.,
is the Secretary and Bursar of Mansfield College, Oxford. The
Rev. D. \V. Simon, M.A., educated at Lancashire College, and
who had previously laboured a few months at Royston, Herts,
became the second minister of Rusholme Congregational Church
in January, 1858. He resigned at the end of that year. Dr.
Simon, as Principal of the Spring Hill College, and afterwards of the
Edinburgh Theological Hall, has rendered valuable service to the
denomination. His recent invitation to succeed the late Dr.
Falding in the Principalship of the Yorkshire United College, Brad
ford, and acceptance thereof, has given great satisfaction to his
old Lancashire friends, who wish for him there an honourable
and useful career. The resignation of Mr. Simon was followed
by a period of great difficulty for the young church. It
seemed impossible to win any considerable success in a
building so unsuitable and unattractive as the one in which
1 64 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
worship was then held. In the year 1862 the bicentenary
movement for the erection of memorial chapels was inaugurated ;
and, stimulated by the offer of ,£1,000 towards the erection of a
new chapel in Rusholme, the Congregationalists in the neighbour
hood held a meeting, accepted the offer, and formed a committee
to carry out the project. Here, as at Longsight, great difficulties
were at first experienced, owing to the refusal of the chief
landowner in the district to sanction the sale of any land
for the building of a Nonconformist church; and the only
available site was the somewhat restricted one on which
the church and schools now stand. The plans submitted
by Mr. Alfred Waterhouse were selected, and the founda
tion stone was laid by Mr. George Hadfield, M.P., on
Saturday afternoon, June 6th, 1863. The buildings were com
pleted and opened on Thursday, October i3th, 1864, by Dr.
Henry Allon, Chairman of the Congregational Union of England
and Wales. The cost of the church and schools, including
furnishing expenses and interest of money, amounted to ,£6,010;
the cost of the site was ,£1,250, and a subsequent enlargement of
school premises was ,£1,136, making a total expenditure of
,£9,031. The buildings are entirely free from debt. The sitting
accommodation is for 550, but provision is made for the erection of
a south gallery when such is required.
In September, 1865, a cordial and unanimous invitation was
sent to the Rev. T. Campbell Finlayson, of Cambridge, which
was accepted by him, and he entered upon his duties as pastor in
October following. Dr. Finlayson, for such he subsequently
became, was born February 5th, 1836, and received his ministerial
training at Glasgow University, where he first made the acquain
tance of the late Dr. Macfadyen, which ripened into a life
long friendship. His first charge was at Cambridge, where
he settled in 1859, whence he removed to Manchester in
1865, being introduced by Dr. Macfadyen to the Rusholme
Church, which had then only a membership of about
thirty. Frequent breakdowns in health retarded very greatly
the success of a minister whose praise was in all the churches ;
but his own people, who knew him best, loved him deeply. For
twenty- seven years Dr. Finlayson exercised in Manchester a
DR. FINLAYSON. 165
ministry which, if quiet and retiring, was most rich and beautiful.
In 1889 he was elected to the Presidency of the Lancashire Con
gregational Union, but his natural shrinking from public positions
prevented him from reading the address which he had prepared
for the occasion.1 After a long and painful illness, he died on
February yth, 1893, in Glasgow, at the residence of his brother,
an eminent physician in that city, and was interred in the
Necropolis there. A memorial service was held in Rusholme
Church at the time of the interment, when Dr. Wilkins, a
deacon and deeply attached friend, delivered an appropriate
address to a sorrowing congregation. Mr. J. C. Norbury, another
deacon, in a contribution to The Congregational Monthly, says : —
His ministry was marked throughout by an unbroken spirit of harmony,
and his attached people now look back over the interval with feelings of
devout gratitude to God that it was their privilege to have, as their minister
and teacher, one whose beautiful life was a joy and an inspiration to them
and the remembrance of which will ever be fragrant as the days and years
go by. As a true and sincere man, they honoured him ; as a wise and faithful
teacher, they loved him ; and as a consistent and devout Christian, they
revered him. Of him it may indeed be said, " The memory of the just is
blessed."
Dr. Finlayson was the author of numerous theological works, and
the degree of Doctor of Divinity he received from his own alma
mater'm. June, 1891. The Rev. J. Kirk Maconachie, educated at
Western College, and for a short time assistant to Dr. Mackennal,
of Bowdon, assumed the pastorate of the vacant church in 1893,
beginning his labours on September xoth.
1 This duty was discharged by Dr. Wilkins, one of his deacons, and a distin
guished Professor of Owens College. Dr. Wilkins was himself the President
of the Union in 1892.
166 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
VII.— RUSHOLME ROAD, TIPPING STREET, AND STOCKPORT
ROAD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
" A NUMBER of pious individuals, solicitous for the extension of
the Redeemer's kingdom in their own vicinity, issued a circular in
1825 'To the Inhabitants of the Townships of Chorlton Row
and Ardwick.' It was an appeal for subscriptions that a place of
worship might be erected and church formed ' after the Indepen
dent model.'" The pastors of the other Congregational churches
in the town sympathised with the movement, and the circular
stated that land had been " purchased as the site of a chapel,
most advantageously situated near to the new burial-ground in
Rusholme Road, about equally distant from Oxford Street and
Ardwick Green."1 Accordingly the "present spacious and con
venient edifice" was built and opened for worship on Thursday,
August 3ist, 1826, when the morning preacher was the Rev.
James Parsons, of York ; evening, the Rev. William Thorp, of
Bristol ; the Revs. William Roby, James Pridie, and J. A. Coombs
assisting. On the following Sunday Mr. Thorp preached both
morning and evening. "The entire cost of the chapel erection,"
writes one, "amounted to ^6,014 175. 8d., of which ,£2,500 was
borrowed on mortgage, ,£3,352 193. 2|d. was subscribed, and the
balance of ;£i6i 35. 2^d. was lent by Mr. George Hadfield, the
secretary."2 On Friday, June 22nd, 1827, "in the vestry of the
new chapel, Chorlton Road," twenty-eight persons agreed to form
themselves into a Congregational Church, " with a view to the
Redeemer's glory and the extension of His kingdom, and for
their own mutual comfort and edification." Amongst them
appear the names of the Rev. James Kenworthy, who, two years
previously, had resigned his charge at Horwich, being at the time
nearly eighty years of age f' the Rev. William Manning Walker,
who had seceded with part of his congregation from the Unitarian
Chapel in Preston, and founded the second Congregational
1 Jubilee Manual of Rusholme Road Chapel for 1877; also "Congre
gational Magazine" for 1827, p. 511, and for 1829, p. 623.
8 Jubilee Manual.
3 Vide vols. i. and iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
THE REV. JAMES GRIFFIN. 167
church in that town, the pastorate of which he had held about
fourteen years ;l and Mr. George Hadfield, whose name is so
worthily associated not alone with Manchester Congregationalism,
but with the interests of the denomination at large. The Church
was publicly recognised on Friday evening, August loth, of the
same year, when the following ministers took part in
the service :— Revs. S. McAll, W. Roby, W. M. Walker,
and Dr. McAll. The Rev. James Griffin, a student from High
bury College, and son of the Rev. John Griffin, of Portsea, began
his duties as the first minister of the church on Sunday, May
loth, 1829, preaching in the morning from Psalm cxviii., 25,
and in the evening from Isaiah xxviii., 16. Mr. Griffin was
ordained on September i6th following, when Dr. Raffles, of
Liverpool, "expounded the views of the nature and discipline of a
Christian Church as commonly held by Independents;" the Rev.
Win. Roby offered the ordination prayer ; the Rev. John Griffin
addressed his son in a solemn charge — £i Be thou faithful unto
death;" and Dr. McAll preached in the evening. It is stated
that more than forty ministers were present at the services.
" Eighteen years of unremitting labour," says the Church Manual,
"told on the health of the pastor, and from June to December,
1843, ne was obliged to spend in rest and change of scene. His
absence brought out the self-reliance of the church and congrega
tion, who determined to signalise his return by an arrangement to
pay off the debt on the chapel, ,£1,500, which was shortly
accomplished." In 1852 the state of the minister's health pointed
to the need of assistance, and an attempt was made to secure the
services of Rev. Joseph Stuchbery, B.A., then a student of New
College, London, but the effort failed. " To the great grief of
the church," Mr. Griffin resigned at the end of September, 1854,
and removed to Hastings. He retired from active work a few
years ago, and is still resident at Hastings, being the oldest Lanca
shire Congregational minister living, and one of the oldest in Eng
land. His "Memories of the Past," published in 1883, gives a
vivid and interesting picture of Manchester religious life during
the period of his ministry here. The Rev. Alexander Thomson,
1 Vide vol. i. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
1 68 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
M.A., was appointed his successor. Educated at Spring Hill
College, he was ordained in 1842, and was Professor of Biblical
Literature in Glasgow Theological Academy from 1846 to 1855.
On May 2yth of the latter year he entered upon the
pastorate of the church at Rusholme Road. " Shortly after Mr.
Thomson's settlement," reads the Manual for 1877, " the congrega
tion began to feel the effects of the habit, which has now become
so general on the part of the wealthier classes of the community,
and of others also, of removing from town to reside some miles
away in the country, which has naturally led many families to
sever their connection with the places of worship they once
regularly attended. This habit has been gradually modifying the
social elements of the congregation to a considerable extent during
the last twenty years ; but we have much reason to be thankful
that the zeal, the active labours, and the liberality of the church
have not declined in consequence." During the sixteen years
that have since elapsed, deaths and removals have wrought not
a few changes as might be expected, but the spirit of hopeful
ness and activity have not decayed. On Saturday, April 25th,
1863, Mr. John Hopkinson laid the foundation stone of new
schools, which were opened on April iQth of the following year.
The cost was about £3,500, to which should be added £300, the
cost of an infant school subsequently erected. That work done,
the church immediately undertook to renovate the interior of the
chapel at a cost of .£2,493. The re-opening services were held
on June 25th, 1865, when the Rev. James Griffin, the former
pastor, was the preacher. Interesting services in celebration of
the Jubilee of the church were held on Sunday, September 24th,
1876, and Monday and Tuesday following. The Rev. W. L.
Alexander, D.D., of • Edinburgh, was the preacher on Sunday
morning, his text being i Tim. i., 15. At the close of the sermon
Dr. Alexander remarked : —
That he had selected his present text because he had ascertained from his
notes that nearly forty-six years ago he had preached in that chapel from the
same passage of Scripture. He was then a young man, at the commence
ment of his career, and he felt very grateful to God that now, coming
among the Rusholme Road congregation on the verge of old age, he had the
same doctrine to preach and the same good tidings to proclaim that he
endeavoured to preach and to proclaim half a century ago.1
1 " Jubilee Manual."
DR. THOMSON. 169
The preacher in the evening was the Rev. James Parsons, of
York, whose text was ir Peter i., 13, 14. On Monday evening a
united communion service was held, and on Tuesday evening the
pastor presided over a soiree and public meeting, and amongst
the speakers were the Revs. James Cunningham (Presbyterian),
Watson Smith, James Parsons, and Dr. McKerrow. It was a
source of regret that Mr. Griffin, though present, owing to the
condition of his health was unable to take any part in the services.
Dr. Thomson — for such he became a few years ago, obtaining his
degree of D.D. from his alma mafer, the University of Aberdeen —
is still the honoured pastor of Rusholme Road Church. In 1875
he was elected to the Chairmanship of the Congregational Union
of England and Wales, having three years previously filled the
same responsible position in the Lancashire Congregational Union.
In addition to his pastorate, since 1876 he has been on the pro
fessorial staff of the Lancashire College, holding the Chair of Hebrew
and Old Testament Exegesis, and by his students is not less beloved
than by his church. Dr. Thomson completed the Jubilee of his
ministry last year, nearly forty years of which have been spent in
his present church. He is the oldest Congregational minister in
charge resident in Manchester, and he has seen all the churches
around him change their pastors ; some of them many times. It
is an interesting coincidence that the Jubilee of the College with
which he has been so long and happily associated is nearly
identified with the Jubilee of his own ministry ; a circumstance
which was very pleasingly commemorated at the close of the meet
ings held in connection with that event in the end of June, 1893,
when a handsome testimonial and gift were presented to him from
his old students of Glasgow Academy and Lancashire College, and
from friends and supporters of the latter institution. The Sunday
School in Rusholme Road, along with the branch school in Saville
Street, has long held an honourable and influential position, and is
remembered by many in different parts of the world with grateful
affection and esteem. A large proportion of adults may be found
in both schools, which include together about a thousand scholars,
forming an admirable nursery for the church. Mr. Griffin's
interesting book, previously mentioned, contains sketches of some
of the superintendents, especially Mr. D. Jackson and Mr. George
Darling, which will repay perusal.
iyo LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Tipping Street Congregational Church originated with Mr. John
Smith, a Manchester merchant. Mr. Smith, in some autobia-
graphical notices, says that his parents were "temporally poor,"
and that in early life he attended a Sunday School in Copperas
Street, Shudehill, connected with Mr. Roby's church at Cannon
Street. In 1826 he joined Mr. Roby's church, then in Grosvenor
Street, but in 1828, removing to Nelson Street, Plymouth Grove,
he became one of the first members of the new Congregational
Church at Rusriolme Road. As superintendent also of the school,
he served that church until August, 1835, when a small preaching-
room in Lower Temple Street becoming vacant was offered to him.
" On the thirtieth of August the same year," says he (" fully
believing that I was scripturally warranted, enjoyned, and
encouraged), I, in this upper room, preachingly addressed a few
plain, poor neighbours and children." These are said to be
amongst the " events and circumstances which led to the purchase
of land and the building " of Tipping Street Chapel. At his own
cost the chapel was erected by him shortly after, the church being
formed at the same time. For some years Mr. Smith kept the building
in his own hands, but subsequently it was put in trust ; he also occu
pied the pulpit until 1851, when he resigned.1 In 1853 the Rev.
Joseph Spencer, who had been educated at Rotherham College, and
had laboured previously about eleven years at Bakewell, in Derby
shire, became the pastor. Considerations of health led him to return
to the country after a three years' residence in Manchester, and he
became the minister of the Congregational Church at Chinley.
There he laboured until his death, on Sunday morning, June loth,
1860, at the age of forty-five years. The Rev. Samuel Lewin,
educated at Rotherham College, and who had previously held
1 Mr. Smith held views adverse to a paid ministry, calling it "that
existing, insidious, professional, monopolising, ministerial, pecuniary policy."
In the conveyance of the chapel to trustees, dated March, 1853, occurs the
following : " Whereas the said John Smith has ever since the erection of the
chapel been the recognized and sole minister and pastor thereof, to which
solemn office he was more especially set apart by an ordination service in the
month of September, 1841, and has performed all the duties pertaining to the
office of minister and pastor, and the said church and congregation are
desirous that the services of the said John should be continued as such
minister and pastor, &c."
THE NEW OCTAGON CHURCH. 171
pastorates at Hartlepool and Chorley, followed in 1856. He
remained until about 1868, when he removed to Ilfracombe,
where he died December 29th, 1875. * -For several months
the Tipping Street Chapel pulpit was supplied by a Mr.
Davis, who in 1872 was followed by the Rev. T. E, Sweeting,
from Ilminster, in Somersetshire. In September, 1874, he
resigned and removed to Churchtown, where, after holding
the pastorate of that church for several years, he still resides
without charge. It was during his time that the Tipping Street
Church first sought and obtained assistance from the County Union
Funds. In April, 1876, the Rev. C. T. Plank, educated at Bristol,
and who had previously laboured at Shaftesbury, succeeded Mr.
Sweeting. In October, iSSi, overtures were made by the church
to the Stockport Road Congregational Church with a view to
amalgamation, and after several meetings of representatives of the
two churches a decision to that effect was arrived at. Ninety
members were transferred from Tipping Street to Stockport Road,
and Mr. Plank became the minister of the united churches.
Tipping Street Chapel, which had accommodation for 500 people,
was continued for some time as a mission station and Sunday
School, and in 1889 it was sold for ^800 to the City Mission,
the proceeds being devoted to the fund for the erection of the
" New Octagon Church."
The following circular, issued in January, 1868, tells about the
first efforts towards the formation of the Stockport Road Con
gregational Church : —
Congregational Preaching Room. — It is respectfully announced to the
heads of families and others, in this neighbourhood, that the large room
over the Co-operative Stores, at the corner of Lister Street, has just been
opened for the purposes of religious worship and a Sunday School. All who
are not already connected with and attached to any other places as wor
shippers or scholars will be cordially welcomed.
Hours of Service — 10-30 a.m., 6-30 p.m.
„ School — -g a.m., 2 p.m.
A church was formed in the same year, and " first-class students "
from Lancashire College were promised as supplies. On Satur
day, October 1510, 1870, the foundation stone of a new school-
1 Vide vol. ii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
172 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
chapel was laid by Mr. John Lamb, one of the originators1 of the
church, and Dr. Thomson gave an address on Congregational
principles. The building was completed and opened on April
nth, 1871, the Rev. Watson Smith, of Wilmslow, being the
preacher. In September following, the Rev. W. H. Urewett,
who had been trained at Didsbury Wesleyan College, and had
previously been the minister of the Congregational Church
at Bognor, in Sussex, entered upon his duties at Stockport Road.
In January, 1876, the church, which had received aid from the
funds of the County Union for five and a half years, resolved to
dispense with further assistance. Mr. Drewett held the pastorate
until September, 1881, when he resigned, owing to differences
of opinion respecting the erection of a new chapel. As previously
stated, the amalgamation with Tipping Street Church took place
m December, i88r, and the Rev. C. T. Plank became the minister
of Stockport Road Church under the new conditions. He remained
until 1885, when he removed to Halesowen, in Worcestershire,
where he is still labouring. The Rev. J. R. Murray, M.A., a
student from Lancashire College, entered upon the pastorate on the
first Sunday in February, 1887. The need of a new and more con
venient building for worship had been long felt, and the offer of
the Tipping Street Chapel trustees to hand over the money realised
by the sale of their building to the Stockport Road Church, on
condition that an effort was made " to raise the rest of the money
requisite for building an appropriate church," gave definiteness to
the movement. The New Octagon Church, the plan of which is "a
combination of the Greek cross and the octagon — a novelty in
Manchester" — is in course of erection.2 It will have sitting capacity
1 Mr. John Haughton is the only one of the original promoters of the
movement still remaining in the neighbourhood.
2 Since the above was written the New Octagon Church has been opened
for public worship. The following are the dates, with preachers : —
Monday, June 5th, 1893 Rev. C. S. Home. M.A., London.
Tuesday, ,, 6th, ,, Public meeting, Dr. Thomson presiding.
Wednesday, ,, 7th, ,, . ...Rev. C. F. Aked (Baptist), Liverpool.
Thursday, „ 8th, „ Rev. J. McDougall, Manchester.
Friday, ,, Qth, ,, Rev. W. J. Dawson, London.
Sunday, ., nth, „ Rev. Dr. Simon, Principal of Yorkshire
United College.
Sunday, „ i8th, „ Rev. A. N. Johnson, M.A., London.
Sunday, ,, 25th, „ Rev. Prof. Bennett, M.A., Hackney and
New Colleges, London.
OCTAGON CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, STOCKPORT ROAD, MANCHESTER.
i74 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
for 600 people, being 160 more than the building could accom
modate which it is about to supersede, and the estimated cost is
about .£4,500. Mr. Murray, who is the son of the late Rev.
Alexander Murray, for many years Congregational minister at
Peterborough, still exercises his ministry amongst an attached
people. Nor is he unknown in the literary world ; his " Hindu
Pastors" (being the Sir Peregrine Maitland's prize essay, Univer
sity of Cambridge, 1891) has met with a hearty welcome from all
interested in missionary work in India ; and under his editorship
The Congregational Monthly has widened its reputation and
power.
VIII.— HULME (NOW ZION CHAPEL, STRETFORD ROAD),
GREENHEYS, CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES, WITH VINE
STREET MISSION CHURCH.
IN a MS. account of Congregationalism in Hulme, in the
possession of Mr. G. H. Adshead, of Pendleton, appears the
following : —
JACKSON'S LANE CHAPEL, HULME. — At the commencement of the year
1812, an effort was made, by the establishment of a weekly cottage preaching,
to introduce the gospel amongst the growing population of Hulme. Mr.
Roby, Mr. Bradley, and Dr. Jack, assisted by several lay preachers, regu
larly conducted the worship of God in a small house in Moss Lane. On the
23rd of October, 1814, a Sunday School was commenced in the dwelling-house
of a Mr. Hackett, in Princess Street, in which, by the diligence of the
teachers, and by the assistance of several kind friends who came from
Grosvenor Street to address the children, much good appears to have been
done. This place being insufficient to accommodate the children, the
attendance of which had greatly increased, several gentlemen connected
with the Temperance Unions in Manchester interested themselves in order
to an erection of a more commodious schoolroom, capable at the same time
of being occupied as a place of worship, and admitting of enlargement.
This place was opened on the iyth August, 1817, on which occasion Mr.
Roby, Mr. Bradley, and the late Mr. Hampson, the missionary, preached.
From that time divine worship was held every Sabbath evening. Mr.
Jonathan Lees, one of the deacons of Grosvenor Street, was most frequently
engaged on these occasions. Shortly after this Mr. Smedley took charge of
AN AGED MINISTER. 175
the congregation. He continued about nine months, and then removed to
Milnthorpe.1 Supplies were then chiefly obtained from Blackburn Academy,
till the trustees and other friends of the place invited Mr. George Rogers, a
student of Rotherham, to supply as a candidate. Having been amongst the
people from December 2, 1820, to February n, 1821, he was invited to
become their minister, and having accepted their invitation, he continued
his studies till midsummer, during which interval- the building was enlarged
and a gallery erected. He commenced his stated labours on the 8th June,
1821. Discord, however, was SOOH introduced amongst the people, and
blasted for a time those hopes of prosperity which his friends of the interest
had justly entertained. Under this state of things Mr. Rogers thought it
most prudent to withdraw. He left about July, the following year, and the
church, at the recommendation of the trustees, and in accordance with a
resolution passed by itself, was dissolved. The congregation was now
much decreased.
The enlarged chapel was opened on September 2oth, 1821,
when the preachers were the Revs. Wm. Roby and R. S. McAll,
then of Macclesfield. The Rev. George Rogers referred to in
the foregoing extract was, I imagine, the venerable minister of that
name who died at South Norwood, September isth, 1891, at the
age of ninety-three years, being at the time probably the oldest
Congregational minister in the world. He was for a few years
minister of Albany Road Chapel, Camberwell. In 1856 he
resigned to become the first Principal and Theological Tutor of
Spurgeon's College, a position which he held until 1867, when he
retired. Between Mr. Spurgeon and himself, though of different
denominations, the warmest friendship existed until they were
divided by death. After the dissolution of the Church the pulpit
was supplied for a short time by " Messrs. Penkethman,3 Hart,
and a few others." The Rev. John Smith, a student from Black
burn Academy, after spending his midsummer vacation amongst
the people in 1823, was invited to take charge of the congregation
for two years. The invitation was accepted, and the following
1 Vide vols. i. and iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Not quite accurate. The enlarged chapel was opened in September,
1821.
3 Doubtless the Rev. John Penkethman, formerly of Wharton and after
wards of Pendlebury. Vide ante p. 18 ; also vols. ii., iii., and iv. of " Lanca
shire Nonconformity."
176 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Christmas he began his labours as minister. Before the end of
the two years Mr. Smith acceded to the request of the people to
become their stated pastor. On June loth, 1825, the church was
re-formed, the Revs. Wm. Roby, S. Bradley, and W. M. Walker
assisting in the service. On September 8th following Mr. Smith
was ordained, when the Rev. J. Sutcliffe, of Ashton-under-Lyne,
opened the services with reading and prayer ; Dr. Payne, of
Blackburn Academy, delivered the introductory sermon; Dr.
Fletcher, then of London, gave the charge to the minister; the
Rev. S. Bradley presented the ordination prayer; and the Rev.
Wm. Roby preached to the people. The MS. account proceeds : —
Although for a time Mr. Smith was encouraged in his expectations of
raising a congregation, the attendance, notwithstanding his strenuous exer
tions, afterwards declined. Thus disappointed, and having become a
widower, he began to cherish the wish for missionary services. At length he
offered himself, was accepted, and appointed by the directors of the London
Missionary Society to labour in Madras. He resigned his charge at Hulme
on the 24th August, 1827, but continued to preach there till he left England
in the spring of the following year.
Mr. Smith had been a member of the Congregational Church,
at Ashton-under-Lyne, and his sister, Mary Smith, was afterwards
the wife of the celebrated missionary Dr. Robert Moffat. Failing
health led Mr. Smith to return to England, but in 1842 he had so far
recovered that he went back to his work in Madras. The year follow
ing, on returning to Madras by sea from a distant station where he
had been assisting in an ordination service, a storm arose, the vessel
was lost, and Mr. Smith was drowned. The congregation at Hulme
had become very much reduced about the time of Mr. Smith's
retirement, and the trustees had almost come to the conclusion to sell
the building with the view of liquidating thedebt, amounting to ^500.
The Rev. James Gwyther, however, another Blackburn student,
having occasionally supplied the pulpit with great acceptance, was
requested to preach for a month during the midsummer vacation
of 1828. This led to his being invited to the pastorate, and on
January 4th, 1829, he began his labours as minister of the church.
His ordination took place on April yth following, when Dr. Payne
gave the charge to the minister, and Dr. Raffles preached to the
people. In 1836 the church ceased to be a recipient from the
THE REV. JAMES GWYTHER. I?7
County Union Funds, and the Report for that year states that a
" benevolent individual, a deacon of Mr. Gvvyther's church, has
undertaken, at his own expense, to support a home missionary,
whose time is to be entirely devoted to domestic visitation and
the holding of religious meetings for the instruction of the people."
In 1842 the congregation removed from Jackson's Lane1 to the
new building, called « Zion Chapel," in Stretford Road. It
was opened for worship on Thursday morning, May 5th,
1842, when, after introductory services by the Rev. J. L.
Poore, Dr. Raffles "delivered a powerful and deeply im
pressive sermon from Psalm xi., 4 -'The Lord is in His
Holy Temple.'" The evening preacher was Dr. Harris,
President of Cheshunt College. On the following Sunday Dr.
Andrew Reed, of London, conducted two services, and on Mon
day the Rev. James Parsons. The cost of the structure was about
^4,000, and the style of architecture is said to be Roman, and
"of the Corinthian order, the example of Jupiter Stator being
adopted." "The case," says the Evangelical Magazine for 1842,
"is one of deep interest. The congregation has been raised under
Mr. Gwyther's labours from a state of the deepest depression,
there having been only seventeen persons present when he first
preached in the old chapel; whilst the district' in which his chapel
stands, comprising nearly thirty thousand persons, for whom one
church and a small Methodist Chapel are the only places of public
worship provided, calls loudly for Christian sympathy and
Christian help." In 1870 Mr. Gwyther resigned, and retired from
active labour after a ministry of over forty years. For a con
siderable portion of that time he held the position of Secretary to
Lancashire College, and was co-secretary with Dr. Raffles to
the Lancashire County Union. He died at Mary Church, Tor
quay, on Sunday, March 24th, 1878, aged seventy-two years. Mr.
Gwyther had associated with him in the pastorate of Zion Chapel,
for a few years previous to his retirement, the Rev. S. B. Driver, a
student from Lancashire College, and now the pastor of
the Congregational Church at Lowestoft, Suffolk. His son
1 The old chapel was subsequently let on " easy terms " to the Welsh
Congregationalists (vide p. 206.)
2 " Evangelical Magazine " for 1842, p. 397.
5—12
178 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
is the Rev. J. H. Gwyther, B.A., of Liscard, Birkenhead. In
the volume of Lancashire County Union Reports, from 1808
to 1863, kindly lent me for this work by the present Secretary,
the Rev. R. M. Davies, of Oldham, is the following note in Mr.
Gwyther's handwriting : —
My dear and honoured friend, Dr. Raffles, with whom it was my privilege
to work as co-secretary for ten years, collected and preserved a complete set
of our Union Reports from the commencement of the Association to the year
1862. Not long before his death he gave these Reports to myself, with the
request that I should leave them at my decease to be the property of the
Union. I have added to those collected by the dear Doctor, the one read at
the last meeting before his death, and now present them to the Union as an
interesting memorial of Doctor Raffles, and of his love to the Union.
Manchester, Sept. ist, 1863.
JAMES GWYTHER.
The Rev. Edwin Simon, a student from Spring Hill College,
became Mr. Gwyther's successor in 1870. He remained until 1883,
when he removed to Bath, where he still labours. He is brother
to the late Rev. Henry Simon, of Westminster Chapel, London,
and the Rev. Thomas Simon, of Balham. The present minister,
the Rev. H. H. Brayshaw, a student from Airedale College,
entered upon his labours in 1885. The chapel has sitting accom
modation for 900 persons, and amongst the many forms of
Christian activity associated with the church is a P.S.A. Society,
which has won very considerable success.
During some part of Mr. Gwyther's pastorate the " Lancashire
Congregational Calendar" gives as mission stations of the church,
Mulberry Street and Chestnut Street, concerning which the Rev.
S. B. Driver says : —
Mulberry Street runs at the back of Zion Chapel. There was no separate
building there, simply a back entrance to Zion Chapel premises, and from it
large numbers of the scholars, &c., would come, and district visiting and
tract distribution were carried on. A Cottage Meeting used to be held in
Chestnut Street, Hulme, but that was during years preceding my association
with Mr. Gwyther. There was no Mission Room — such rooms were not in
vogue in those days as they happily are now-a-days.
The Greenheys Congregational Church is an off-shoot from the
church at Chorlton Road. A building in Wood Street, erected for
GREENHEYS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 179
the services of the Church of England, was purchased by the late
Mr. Woodward, and used for several years as a school and preach
ing room, under the oversight of Chorlton Road Church. The
work prospering, Mr. Woodward presented the Wood Street
School to trustees, together with additional lanj, upon which a
new church was built by subscription, the foundation stone being
laid by Sir James Watts, on the 26th of February, 1870. The
cost of the structure was ^4,000, towards which the Chapel
Building Society promised ^£1,000, and the accommodation is
for 800 people. It was opened for public worship on December
7th, 1870, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Wm. Scott, formerly
•of Hindley, near Wigan.1 A separate church was formed June
28th, 1871, when ninety-one members were dismissed from the
Chorlton Road Church for the purpose. Mr. Scott removed to
Tottenham, London, in 1874, and is now the minister of Pitt
.Street Church, Sydney, New South Wales.2 He was succeeded the
same year by the Rev. W. J. Hall, who had been educated at the
Pastor's College, and had laboured for several years at Stroud. He
resigned in 1879, an^ the year following the present minister, the
Rev. James Clough, from Grimshaw Street Congregational Church,
Preston,3 assumed the pastorate.
The Vine Street Congregational Mission, Hulme, is located in
a densely populated neighbourhood. The work was commenced
in 1878 in the form of cottage meetings, the outcome of a
Young Men's Bible Class, conducted by Mr. J. S. Naphtali, in con
nection with the Greenheys Congregational Church. A room was
taken for a few shillings per week, and eventually the present
premises were secured, which have since been enlarged, but still
prove inadequate for the work, though accommodation is provided
for about 200 persons. In its early history the mission was under
the management of a joint committee of friends from the Green
heys Church and the workers at Vine Street, but after a time it
was decided that it be managed by its own workers. In 1885 a Mis
sion Church was formed with seventeen members, and an executive
1 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
- Mr. Scott has recently returned to this country with the intention of
taking up ministerial work here.
3 Vide vol. i. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
i So LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
committee was appointed, with president, treasurer, and secretary.
The work is conducted on purely mission lines, the object being to
win those who attend no place of worship, The membership of
the church now stands at eighty-five; in the Sunday School there
is an average attendance of 150 in the afternoon ; and the Sunday
morning and evening services secure good congregations. A bazaar
is shortly to be held to raise funds for the purchase of larger and
more convenient premises for its many forms of Christian activity.
Mr. J. S. Naphtali, the founder of the Mission, is still its president.
IX.— ANCOATS, OLDHAM ROAD, AND ASHLEY LANE
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
CONGREGATIONALISM in Ancoats is very much older than the dates
in the " Lancashire Congregational Calendar " suggest. The
Union Report ending April, 1820, says : —
Desirous of sparing the funds as much as possible, the Manchester
friends are endeavouring to establish two distinct interests, one in Hulme,
the other in Ancoats, at their own private expense.
Though not precisely in the way indicated in the preceding
passage, an "interest" was established at Ancoats almost im
mediately, and although not distinctly Congregational at first, it
eventually gave birth to the Ancoats Congregational Church. In
December, 1821, "a plain but substantial chapel" was opened,
the purpose of which is stated in the subjoined account of the
services on the occasion.
On Sunday, Dec. 23rd [1821], and the following Christmas Day, public
services were held, with crowded and deeply attentive congregations, at the
opening for Divine worship of a new chapel in Canal Street, Ancoats Lane,
Manchester, the erection of which in this important district (previously-
destitute of any place of worship, although containing 20,000 souls) is owing,
we understand, to a Christian union of their efforts and liberality in further
ance of the gospel of our common salvation between a number of respectable
individuals here of the Independent and Baptist persuasions, and that portion
of the Tent Methodists, whose disinterested and evangelical labours
THE TENT METHODISTS. 181
(recently undertaken in Manchester, and divinely blessed) have already
made a powerful impression upon, and it is now hoped will become per
manently and more extensively useful to the uninstructed and perishing poor
of our teeming population. The Sunday morning and evening sermons were
preached by Messrs. Pocock and Pyer, from Bristol; Mr. Birt, of York
Street Chapel, Manchester, preached in the evening. On Christmas Day
Mr. Pyer preached in the morning, and Dr. Raffles in the evening. The
devotional parts of the services were conducted by the ministers usually em
ployed in Tent preaching."1
The cost of the building, it is said, " scarcely equalled ,£1,200,"
and without a gallery there was accommodation for " upwards of
1,200 persons, chiefly on forms conveniently and closely disposed ;"
whilst for ^700 more a gallery might be erected to accommodate
" in the same way 800 additional hearers."
The Rev. John Pyer, referred to in the foregoing passage, was
born at Bristol, December 3rd, 1790, and brought up a Methodist.
By occupation he was a chemist, but eventually he sold his
business, and " for nine years continued to preach, with others, in
tents and the open air in the city.'-' With them originated about
1820 the Tent Methodist movement, which reached both Man
chester and Liverpool.2 The chapel in Ancoats, whose opening
services are above recorded, was called the "Tent Methodists'
Chapel," and Mr. Pyer appears to have discharged the duties of
minister. Mr. Pyer eventually became a Congregational minister,
"chiefly through the preaching of the late Dr. McAll, which he
attended as often as his own multifarious labours allowed," and
his people " rather than lose their beloved minister consented to
remain with him, and the church was recognised by the Man
chester Independents as belonging to the Denomination."3 Mr.
Pyer left Manchester about 1830, being called to London, where
he laboured about four years as the " devoted agent of the
Christian Instruction Society." Subsequently he held Congrega
tional pastorates at South Molton and Devonport, dying at the
latter place April 7th, 1859. After Mr. Pyer's removal the chapel
*" and its promoters were consigned to the tender mercies of the
1 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1822, p. 114.
"' Vide vol. vi. of " Lancashire Nonconformity.'1
s '' Congregational Year Book" for 1860. p. 205.
1 82 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Court of Chancery, and ultimately it fell into the hands of some
zealous members of the Established Church." l
On Sunday, November 2yth, 1836, a new Congregational
chapel was opened in Every Street, Ancoats, the preachers being:
the Rev. S. Gibbons, of Cross Street, Cheshire, in the morning,
and in the evening the Rev. S. S. Wilson, of London, "late
missionary to Malta and Greece." The chapel, which was erected
by "the members of the Christian Church formerly connected
with Canal Street Chapel, Ancoats, kindly aided by some of their
friends in Manchester," measured " 16 yards by 13 yards," and
had sitting accommodation for about 400 persons. A commodious
schoolroom, under the chapel, for 400 scholars was let as a day
school at a rental of -£ib per annum, and the Rev. John
Wheeldon is mentioned as having "for more than three years
laboured among them in word and doctrine " with much en
couragement.- Mr. Wheeldcn subsequently ministered for several
1 "Life of Dr. Bunting,'' p. 531. The above sentence is part of a not very
sympathetic passage in Dr. Bunting's life in relation to the Tent Methodist
movement and its experiences in Manchester. As so little is known about that
movement the reader will \velcome the passage : " Certain zealous but heady
Methodists in Bristol, laudably anxious to evangelise the dark villages in its-
neighbourhood, adopted what is not an uncommon practice in these times, and
taking a tent with them pitched it where they chose, preached the Gospel,
and, doubtless, did a great deal of good. B ut there is much danger of irregular
agencies interfering with the ordained and systematic work of Christian
churches, and the experience of a century and a half has taught our
Connexion that, on the whole, and in the long run, we succeed best, both in
winning and keeping souls, when we proceed on our own old lines. The
Bristol ministers required that the new undertaking should be identified
with and brought under the control of the Methodist Society there. This
was absolutely refused ; and so a new sect was founded, and two brethren
of the names of Pocock and Pyer became its apostles. For a very few years
it was known as " The Tent Methodists." Pyer ultimately became a Con
gregational minister. Some malcontents at Manchester displayed their
sympathy with the movement after a curious fashion, and built a large,
square brick building in a neighbourhood greatly demanding Christian
labour. After some years the place and its promoters were consigned to
the tender mercies of the Court of Chancery, and ultimately it fell into the
hands of some zealous members of the Established Church, and is, at last,
doing good service to the cause t>f God.
~ " Evangelical Magazine." for 1837, p. 31.
THE RE}'. GILES HOYLE. 183
years to a congregation in Bridge Street, unconnected with the
County Union, and in 1870 entered the Established Church.
On Tuesday evening, September 2oth, 1842, the Rev. Giles
Hoyle, from Stalybridge, was publicly recognised as minister,
the Revs. Dr. Clunie, James Griffin, Dr. Halley, Richard
Fletcher, James Gwyther, Jonathan \Yood, and Joseph Hague
taking part in the service. Mr. Hoyle removed to North-
owram in 1849,* and the church appears to have collapsed
shortly afterwards. In the Evangelical Magazine for 1857 is an
account of the recognition service, on Wednesday, October 7th,
of the Rev. Thomas Adams as pastor, from which the following
passage is extracted : —
The commencement of this interest is a genuine effort at church extension,
the movement having originated at a general deacons' meeting in the city,
at which a committee was appointed to make the necessary arrangements,
who now have the satisfaction of seeing the first pastor settled among an
increasing people, surrounded by a dense population, and with a Sunday
school already numbering four hundred on the books, and which owes much
to the zealous students of Lancashire College.2
Mr. Adams had been trained for the ministry at Newport
Pagnel, and previous to his settlement at Manchester had held
pastorates at Gornal and Stone, in Staffordshire. For about three
years he ministered to the congregation at Ancoats,3 the County
Union giving generous assistance. He removed from Manchester
to Newton, in Montgomeryshire, and subsequently to Daventry,
where he died in May, 1879, aged fifty-seven years. The experi
ment at Ancoats had been disappointing, and with the removal of
Mr. Adams the County Union ceased its grant; but in 1861 a
successor to the pastorate was found in the person of the Rev.
E. K. Evans, a student from Lancashire College. He removed to
Woolton,4 near Liverpool, in 1863, and is now resident, without
charge, at Chiswick. The Rev. R. A. Bertram, from Lymm, Cheshire,
followed with a brief pastorate, removing to Openshaw in May,
1 Vide p. 318.
* Page 737.
3 There was no church at the time.
4 Vide vol. vi., of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
1 84 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
1865. 1 In the County Union Report, ending April, 1865, Ancoats
re-appears, and the success which had followed the efforts put
forth is described as "encouraging." On October 4th of that year
"the rented chapel in Every Street" was vacated by the congrega
tion for a new and handsome building, with accommodation for
over 1,000 persons. At the opening services the Revs. E. Mellor,
M.A., and Dr. Parker were the preachers, and on the following
Sunday services were conducted by the Revs. H. Griffiths and
H. W. Parkinson. The cost was about ;£6,ooo.2 In the following
September the Rev. J. Christien, from Moreton-in-Marsh, Glouces
tershire, accepted an invitation to the pastorate. Shortly afterwards
work " in this crowded district " was " suspended " by the sale of
the newly-opened building to the Midland Railway Company, and
Mr. Christien removed to North Shields in 1868. In December,
1869 the present Ancoats Congregational Chapel was opened, with
sitting accommodation for about 600 persons. The Rev. W. B.
Macwilliam, whose ministerial training was received at Glasgow,
and who had previously laboured several years at Middlewich, in
Cheshire, became the minister in 1870, and in 1872 a church was
formed with greater prospects of success than had yet appeared.
Failing health .led to the minister's resignation in 1872. Subse
quently Mr. Macwilliam became the pastor of Albion Chapel,
Nottingham, and is now resident at Hornsey without charge. The
Rev. Richard Solomon, educated at Glasgow, and minister for a
short time at Collyhurst Street, Manchester, succeeded to the
pastorate at Ancoats in 1872. He continued until 1878, and
eventually settled at Carmarthen, subsequently entering the
Established Church. The Rev. J. Sinclair, from Bermondsey,
had charge of the place a few months, and in 1882 the Rev.
William Davies, a student from Lancashire College, became the
pastor. He resigned after "a patient, laborious, and faithful
ministry " of nearly ten vears, and is now at Burnley. Mr. Charles
Garnett is the Evangelist now ministering unto the congregation.
The effort to plant Congregationalism in this part of Manchester
1 Vide ante p. 63; also vol. iii. of "Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 An engraving of this really splendid building, forming an acute angle
between Great Ancoats Street and Palmerston Street, and whose tower was
85 feet high, is given in the "Congregational Year Book" for 1866.
OLDHAM ROAD CHURCH. 185
has lacked neither persistency nor courage, but misfortune1' have
been plentiful, and the success, so far, has been inconsiderable.
The Evangelical Magazine for 1851 gives the following account
of the origin of the Oldham Road Congregational Church : —
A Sunday School for children and adults was opened some years ago in
the neighbourhood, and Mr. Bedell, assisted by some of his fellow students
at the college, undertook the management of it, and conducted a public
service on the Sunday evening. The school rapidly increased, and the large
room was soon crowded at evening service. The number of services was
then increased, and increased success followed. The entire management of
the whole affair now rested with Mr, Bedell, and on leaving college he
devoted himsely entirely to the work of nurturing and establishing the infant
cause. After he had laboured for some time with increasing acceptance and
success, the propriety of erecting a chapel suited to the wants of the neigh
bourhood became evident. Oldham Road Chapel was consequently built and
opened last October [Should be September, 1850.]. The congregation
continuing to increase, and Mr. Bedell's ministry proving highly useful,
it appeared to the friends and ministers, at Manchester especially, in
terested in the undertaking to be expedient that a church should be formed,
and that the whole "management of the interest should be confided to its
trust. Accordingly a church was formed on the 20th March [1851], con
sisting of from seventy to eighty members, who unanimously agreed to
invite Mr. Bedell to become their pastor. A considerable increase to
the number of the communicants is expected shortly. The schools are
flourishing, and the teachers active, intelligent, and united.1
1 Page 281. To the above account one or two items of interest may
be added. In the obituary of the Rev. John Jones ("Congregational Year
Book" for 1851), formerly of Hindley and Horwich, it is recorded that he
removed to Manchester from the latter place " determining to break up fresh
ground," and that he opened a large room in Poland Street, out of which the
•Oldham Road Church grew. This does not appear to be strictly accurate,
for the room in Poland Street had been vacated by Mr. Jones before the
commencement of services therein by students, in which the Oldham Road
Church had its proper origin. Then in the memoir of the Rev. J. L. Poore,
of Hope Chapel, Salford (p. 265), the Oldham Road Church is named as one
•of his "pets,"' which he was "active in originating." Further, the Church
Book of Grosvenor Street Chapel, under date February, 1851, says that
" twelve members wero dismissed in order that they might, in conjunction
with others, form a Congregational Church in the new chapel in Oldham
Road." Until the formation of the church any friends wishing to unite in
fellowship were temporarily admitted members of the Grosvenor Street
Church.
1 86 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
The Rev. James Bedell, the first minister, in some interesting
reminiscences supplies more accurate data respecting the church's
origin than is contained in the foregoing extract. " In Mr.
Abraham Ward's office in Deansgate," says Mr. Bedell, " he and
three of us from the college met for consultation and earnest
prayer concerning the beginning of a school and preaching room
in Oldham Road. Then on a dark winter's morning, January
1 8th, 1846, three students, Messrs. Day, Clapham, and myself,
walked from the college to Poland Street, and in the upper room,
quietly, unostentatiously, began a Sunday School." Service was
held in the evening, and in September of the same year Sunday
morning preaching was commenced. In the summer of 1848 Mr.
Bedell, who had been connected with the interest from the
beginning, with the sanction of the College Professors, undertook
to supply the pulpit regularly for twelve months. " During the
autumn," says the Church Book, " the little chapel became quite
full. The congregation in the evenings numbered 200. At the
Thursday evening prayer meeting there were 80 present. The
scholars in attendance numbered from 360 to 400. On the
school register there were 530 names. There were about 50
Church members, of whom 25 had professed their faith in Christ
since they worshipped in the place." The foundation stone of the
present chapel, towards which the trustees of Mosley Street Chapel
gave ;£iooo, was laid in November, 1849, by James Carlton, Esq.,
and on the 4th of September in the following year it was opened
with sermons by the Revs. Dr. Raffles and James Parsons. On
March i5th, 1851, the church was formed, seventy persons
entering into fellowship, and Mr. Bedell was at once invited to the
pastorate. The invitation was accepted, and on Tuesday, March
25th following, he was ordained, Dr. Vaughan, President of
the college, giving him the charge. Mr. Bedell continued a
ministry of much efficiency until September, 1876, when
he resigned. Subsequently he became pastor of the Con
gregational Church at Lymm, in Cheshire, where he is now
resident without charge. The Rev. Wm. Hubbard, a Methodist
Free Church minister, from Blackburn, was appointed Mr. Bedell's
successor early in 1877. He laboured with much acceptance until
1885, when he removed to Ipswich, where he is still the minister.
A SHL EY LANE. 187
The present pastor is the Rev. W. H. Towers, from Carnforth,
who entered upon his duties here, September i2th, 1886.' The
chapel has sitting accommodation for over 1,000 persons.
In 1824 a few members of the Grosvenor Street Congrega
tional Church, prominent amongst them being Mr. Jonathan
Lees, opened a Sunday School in Blakeley Street, now Charter
Street. In the space of two years the place was quite inadequate
to accommodate the numbers attending, and efforts were made to
secure funds towards the erection of more suitable premises. The
following is a copy of the appeal in support of the movement issued
by Mr. Roby, the minister of Grosvenor Street Church : —
The teachers of the Sunday School connected with Grosvenor Street
Chapel, Manchester, compassionating the deplorable and neglected state of the
population between the lower part of Miller's Lane and the Town have for
several years past conducted a Sunday School there. The encouraging
prospect, in most inconvenient premises, has long urged the necessity of
erecting a building for the more commodious prosecution of the design. A
piece of ground has been purchased on which a school is intended to be built as
soon as funds for the purpose can be collected. The estimate of expense is
from ^500 to /6oo. The premises are already vested in trust for the purpose
specified, and liberal contributions are recommended by
\V. ROBY.
On November 4th, 1827, this building, one storey high, was
opened as a Sunday School and preaching room, on which occasion
" 150 scholars with their superintendent, secretary, and teachers
formed the procession from the old to the new premises." In the
evening Mr. Roby preached from Deut. xxxi. 12, 13, and it is
recorded that at the conclusion of the " impressive and memorable "
service, the children in the gallery were so delighted with the
opening of their new house that they involuntarily broke out with
" Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
The work continued to grow until greater accommodation again
became necessary, and in March, 1846, the present structure was
erected at a cost of about ^£1,850. The Rev. Wm. Palmer,
who had previously laboured at Hawes, Northallerton, and Peter
borough, was the first pastor, commencing his duties as such in
1 Vide vol. i. of "Lancashire Nonconformity."
iSS LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
1852. At the close of 1855 he removed to Woodbridge, in
Suffolk, where he died July 8th, 1858, aged fifty-eight years-
In September, 1856, the church, which hitherto had been a branch
of Grosvenor Street Church, became independent, though the
somewhat curious fact is that the school continued to retain its
connection with the parent church until 1879. The Rev- T. Lawson,
born at Preston and educated at Lancashire College, settled at
Ashley Lane on the completion of his college course, beginning
his duties on the first Sunday in January, 1858. In November,
1859, he removed to Bacup, "where he became distinguished for
his skill in public debates, meeting amongst others the late Mr
Charles Bradlaugh." Mr. Lawson died suddenly, August 24th,
1892, being at the time the respected minister of the Congre
gational Church at West Hartlepool where he had laboured for
more than a quarter of a century. Towards the end of 1863 the
Rev. T. Chambers, a student from Cavendish College, Man
chester, accepted an invitation to the pastorate. He resigned in
April, 1866, and subsequently held a brief pastorate at Thorne, in
Yorkshire. No successor was appointed until 1879, when the
Rev. Thomas Wigley, formerly a Primitive Methodist minister,
took charge of the church, and is still the pastor. The chapel
has sitting accommodation for 350 persons. Connected with the
church are at least two honourable names which ought to be
mentioned— the late Alderman George Booth, J.P., and his brother,
the late Mr. Hugh Booth. For half a century both of them filled
its leading offices, and, setting aside the charms of suburban
residence, deliberately chose to live in the city that they might
render more effective service to the cause at Ashley Lane.
X— HARPURHEY, QUEEN'S PARK, AND NEWTON HEATH
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
HARPURHEV, formerly a separate township some two miles north
east of Manchester, but now a part of the great city, has been the
home of Congregational effort for considerably over half a
century. It grew out of the "pioneer work" of some of the
friends associated with Ashley Lane Sunday School, who were
THE REV. E. H. WEEKS. 189
wishful to extend their usefulness. Some seventeen were told off
for the purpose, amongst them being the late Mr. Abraham Ward,
and a cottage in Drinkwater Street was the place where public
worship was held, and a Sunday School was conducted. At the
annual meeting of the Lancashire Congregational Union in April,
1839, a grant was made towards the preaching of the gospel here,
where a church already existed, having been formed about 1833,
consisting of eighteen members. The Rev. James Dunkley is
mentioned as the first minister, about whom I have no information.1
In 1849 tns Rev- Mr. Joseph is named as minister,
but he remained only a short time. The Rev. Edward Henry
Weeks, who had been educated at Cheshunt College, and who had
previously laboured about twelve years at Dews bury, became the
pastor in 1855. In 1864 he accepted an invitation to form a
fourth Congregational church at Dewsbury and become its
minister. Failing health compelled him to resign in the spring of
1871, and he retired to Scarborough, where he died January igth,
1872, aged fifty-six years. The Rev. J. Earnshaw was the next
minister. He had been educated at Homerton College, and had
held pastorates at Bowdon, Attercliffe, and Pickering. He removed
in [863 from the latter place to Harpiirhey, "where he had
resident pupils," and in the following year he took charge of the
church. In 1869 he resigned, and spent the remainder of his
life "in teaching and preaching whenever opportunity offered.""
He died at Cheetham Hill, July jyth, 1876, aged sixty-nine years.
The Rev. W. S. Davies followed in 1870, and resigned in 1878,
being succeeded by the Rev. J. W. Thomason, from the Pastors'
College, in 1879, who is still the minister of the church. The
present chapel, erected in 1854, has accommodation for 700
persons, and there is a large Sunday School associated with it
where 600 can be taught. The church is a " Union Church,"
and may be served either by a Baptist or Congregational minister,
both forms of baptism being recognised.
The Rev. Robert Mitchell, at the time associated with Dr.
1 I regret that the account of Harpurhey is not so complete as could be
desired, but considerable difficulty has been experienced in obtaining even the
information here given.
2 " Congregational Year Book" for 1877, p. 356.
1 9o LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Morrison in the pastorate of the E. U. Church at Dundas Street,
•Glasgow, accepted an invitation to become the minister of the
newly formed church at Queen's Park. The church originated in
a secession of a number of persons from the Union Church, Har-
purhey, who established the new cause upon the principles of the
Evangelical Union of Scotland. Contrary to usual custom the com
mencement of Mr. Mitchell's ministry in Manchester was made the
occasion of a presentation to him. On August toth, 1868, at a soiree,
held to welcome him, P. Spence, Esq., in the chair, he received " an
address and a purse of sovereigns." The congregation, which
worshipped in the iron building formerly in use at Patricroft,
rapidly grew, and in 1869 commodious school premises were
erected at a cost of about ^1,200. In 1875 a more permanent
sanctuary became necessary, and on Saturday, November 25th of
that year, Richard Johnson, Esq., J. P., laid the foundation stone of
the present handsome structure. "On the previous Saturday," it
is recorded, " the pastor, the Rev. Robert Mitchell, had met
the children of the congregation, when each in turn took
the trowel and laid a brick in the building, for which privilege
they each paid half a crown to the building fund.''1 The cost
of the church was about ^7,000. The opening services took
place on Thursday, November 2nd, 1876, when Dr. Thomson,
preached in the afternoon, and the Rev. William Hubbard in the
evening. On the following Sunday, November 5th, the preacher
was the Rev. Fergus Ferguson, D.D., of Glasgow. Soon after the
erection of the church trade depression set in, " which was
felt perhaps in few churches more acutely than in that at
Queen's Park." The debt, therefore, became " a most serious
burden," and at the close of iSSi Mr. Mitchell's health
being " seriously impaired," he felt compelled to resign his
charge. Subsequently he became pastor of the Chorlton-cum-
Hardy Congregational Church, and died at the Hydropathic
Establishment, East Kilbride, May 5th, 1893, aged sixty-six
years." In 1882 the Rev. E. E. Stuttard, educated at Ches-
hunt College, and who had formerly laboured twelve years at St.
Neots, Hunts, received and accepted an invitation to become their
1 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1876, p. 40.
2 Vide ante p. 73.
NE WTON HE A TH. i g i
minister, his recognition service being held on Friday, November
loth, of that year. In the spring of the following year a bazaar was
held to support Mr. James Bryson, the church secretary, who had
courageously undertaken the liquidation of the heavy debt of
^3,300 which still rested upon the building. The bazaar realised
the sum of ^1.078 153. 8d., and Mr. Eryson's efforts in collecting
subscriptions ^£2,287 IDS., thus setting the friends free. The
church has accommodation for about 1,100. and Mr. Stuttard
pursues his ministry here with much acceptance. During the
pastorate of Mr. Mitchell the church was associated with the
Evangelical Union of Scotland ; but the trust deed gives power
to a majority of the church to make the property Congregational,
and since the commencement of Mr. Stuttard's ministry the church
has been connected with the Congregational Union.
At Newton Heath, just within the borough boundary, a Con
gregational interest was begun in October, 1882, by the Ministers
and Deacons' Association of Salford. Services were held in a
small room over the local Co-operative Stores, and for a time the
pulpit was supplied mainly by members of the Lay Preachers'
Association, the Sunday School being superintended, first by the
Rev. W. H. Drewett, and subsequently by Mr. G. Lowe.
In June, 1885, the Queen's Park Church was invited by the County
Union to take charge of the station, and, encouraged by the promise
of pecuniary assistance, consented to do so. Success continued to
attend the movement, and in 1893 a new school chapel was
erected in Thorp Road, the foundation stone of which had been
laid on October 8th of the previous year by Samuel Lamb, Esq., of
Heaton Mersey, formerly a resident of North Manchester. The
opening services began on Thursday evening, April 2oth, when
the Rev. Samuel Pearson, M.A., was the preacher, the Rev. J. R.
Murray, M.A., taking the first part of the service. The services
were continued on the three following Sundays, the Rev?. T.
Willis, James McDougall, D. \V. Vaughan, M.A., W. H. Towers,
Dr. Hodgson, E. E. Stuttard, and Mr. George Lowe preaching on
different occasions. The cost of the building, which offers
accommodation for about 300 worshippers, including the site, is
about ^"2,000, towards which the Lancashire and Cheshire
Chapel Building Society promised ^£"400. In addition to this the
192 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
English Chapel Building Society has promised the sum of ^150,
being the proceeds of the sale of the hall in Collyhurst Street,
formerly in use for Congregational purposes. A branch church
has been formed, and the Queen's Park Church still exercises a
helpful supervision over the interest.
XL— CHEETHAM HILL, BROUGHTOX, BROUGHTON PARK,
AND HIGHTOWN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
IN 1851 the Rev. John Lockwood, B.A., whose ministerial train
ing was received at Rotherham College, removed from Tavistock,
where he had for several years been co-pastor with the Rev. S.
Rooker, to Manchester, " to endeavour to raise a new church at
Cheetham Hill." Services were held for a few years in a room in
Tyson Street, and next in Humphrey Street, the first generous sup
porters and workers being Mr. William Johnson and Mr. Goodwin.
A church was formed in 1853, and in the same year the
present commodious building was opened for public worship by
Dr. Raffles. The cost of the building, including the land, was
considerably over "^4,000, and the sitting capacity is for about
660 persons. When the chapel was built, Cheetham Hill is
described as a " pleasant and rapidly rising suburb, which hitherto
has had no Dissenting chapel;" and the ground in front of the
chapel, it is said, " will be planted with evergreens, and arranged
with a carriage drive on each side." : " The health of his wife
having failed, and his home being darkened by her removal," Mr.
Lockwood resigned in 1856. Subsequently he held pastorates at
Oswestry and Parkstone, near Poole. His death at Bideford took
place September 25th, 1888, at the age of seventy-four years.
His successor was the Rev. J. A. Picton, M.A., a student from
Lancashire College, who settled in 1856. After a useful ministry
of seven years he removed to Leicester. Mr. Picton retired from
the ministry some years ago, and is now M.P. for Leicester. The
late Sir J. A. Picton, of Liverpool, was his father, whose literary
works are well known to students of local history and archaeology.
1 " Congregational Year Book," for 1854, p. 278.
THE REV. P. T. FORSYTH, M.A. 193
The Rev. G. W. Conder was the next to accept the pastorate of
the church. He was born at Hitchin, November 3oth, 1821, and
studied for the ministry under Prof. Godwin, at Highbury College.
Previous to his settlement at Manchester he held a co-pastorate at
High Wycombe, and pastorates at Ryde and Leeds. Along with
the Revs. Dr. Reynolds and William Guest, he compiled the Leeds
Hymn Book, which is still in use at Cheetham Hill and in some
other of our churches. His "multiplied labours" at Leeds proved too
heavy a tax upon his strength, and in 1864 he accepted the charge
of the Cheetham Hill Church. In 1869 he was called to the
Chair of the Lancashire Congregational Union, and in November,
1870, the condition of his health led him to accept the invitation
of the Queen's Road Church, Forest Hill, London, where he might
breathe " a more genial air." Here he died, November 8th, 1874.
The Rev. Thomas Hamer, educated at Lancashire College, and
fora short time assistant minister at Dundee, followed in 1871,
and continued his acceptable labours until 1884, when he resigned.
He is now the pastor of the Congregational Church at Little
Lever, near Bolton.1 The Rev. P. T. Forsyth, M.A., educated at
New College, after a brief settlement at Hackney, succeeded Mr.
Hamer in 1885. To the regret of his congregation he removed
to Clarendon Park, Leicester, in 1888, where he still ministers.
Mr. Forsyth's recent contributions to theological discussion have
excited considerable interest, and marked him out for a promi
nent position in the theological world of the future. The Rev.
D. W. Vaughan, M.A., a student from the Yorkshire United
College, followed Mr. Forsyth in 1889, and is still the pastor of the
church. "During my ministry," says he, "the most important
event has been the closing of Park Chapel, and the transfer of
about forty members to our church at Cheetham Hill."
The Congregational Church at Higher Broughton arose much in
the same way and at the same time as the one at Cheetham Hill.
In 1852 the Rev. Joseph Muncaster, who had been educated at
Rotherham College, and had previously laboured a few years at
Gainsborough, was invited to take charge of a small church here.
The congregation and school first met in a room over Valentine
Ashton's stables, in Hilton Street, Higher Broughton, Then a school
1 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity.
5—1.3
i94 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
was built on the present site of the church. In 1857 "ahandsome
structure, in the Middle Pointed style of English architecture
usually called Decorated Gothic," was erected for the congregation.
The accommodation was for 900 persons, and the cost was about
,£3.000. A serious accident occurred during its erection, on
September 24th, 1856, the spire falling and doing damage to the
extent of ,£1,000. Mr. Muncaster's ministry extended over
twenty years, and the cause of its termination is given in the
following passage : —
He was visiting in London. Driving out one day with his host he was
thrown from the carriage on to his head. For fifteen days consciousness did
not return. His life hung on a thread. On his recovery it became clear to
himself that the vigorous and happy work of the Broughton Church could
not be resumed by him with satisfaction to himself.1
He resigned therefore in the early part of 1874, and at a meeting,
over which Dr. McKerrow, " the oldest Nonconformist minister
of Manchester," presided, he received amongst other gifts a purse
of gold containing .£300. Subsequently the Dowager Lady
Crossley, of Somerleyton Hall, Lowestoft, offered him, "with the
concurrence of the congregation, the pulpit of the chapel in the
grounds of Somerleyton Hall." He accepted the position, and
held it until his death, which occurred on October 28th, 1888,
aged sixty-six years. The Rev. Stuart J. Reid, a student from
Cheshunt College, followed in 1875, and after five years removed
to Wilmslow in Cheshire. After a brief pastorate there, he with
drew from the ministry, and engaged in literary work. The present
pastor is the Rev. James McDougall, who had previously exercised
a vigorous and useful ministry at Darwen. He began his labours
at Broughton in 1880. The character of the neighbourhood has
changed very considerably since the erection of the chapel thirty-
six years ago. The population, always migratory, is becoming
increasingly Jewish, and so the difficulty to maintain the church
in its vigour grows. Mr. McDougall's courageous efforts, however,
have not been in vain.2 During his pastorate the tower has
1 " Congregational Year Book" for 1889, p. 203.
2 Vide vol. ii of "Lancashire Nonconformity" for additional particulars
respecting Mr. McDougall.
THE REV. S. PEARSON, M.A. 195
been rebuilt, the whole structure renovated, and in 1889 new
Sunday School buildings were erected, the memorial stone being
laid on the 6th of July of that year by Mr. William Mather, M.P.,
whose brother, Mr. John Mather, is a deacon of the church.
Broughton Park Congregational Church "is situated on a
naturally commanding position in the Park, bounded on three
sides by the Park drives, from each of which the building is
approached, and on the fourth by houses and land," contiguous
to Bury Old Road. At the west end of the south aisle
the tower and spire rise to the height of nearly two hundred
feet. The sitting accommodation is for 650 persons; the cost
was over ^20,000, towards which the Chapel Building Society
granted the sum of ^1,000. The building was opened for public
worship in 1874. The church was formed in 1875, a considerable
number of members being dismissed from the Richmond Congre
gational Church for the purpose, amongst whom were some of
that church's "wealthiest supporters." The first 'pastor was the
Rev. C. S. Slater, M.A. Educated at Spring Hill College,
minister of Addison Street Church, Nottingham, from 1868 to
1876, in the latter year he settled at Broughton Park. In 1883
he accepted an invitation to the Sherwell Congregational Church,
Plymouth, where he still labours. The Rev. H. E. Radbourne, of
Newcastle-on-Tyne, was invited to succeed Mr. Slater in 1885.
The invitation was accepted, and he held the pastorate until 1891.
when he became the minister of the Pendleton Congregational
Church, where he still labours.1 The present minister is the Rev,
Samuel Pearson, M.A, formerly of Birmingham, then of Great
George Street, Liverpool, and next of Highbury Quadrant, London.
He began his duties in his present sphere in January, 1892, which
he continues amidst many signs of encouragement.2 In connection
with the church there is a Sunday School, meeting in a separate
Gothic building at the Cheetham Hill gate of the park. Rooden
Lane is a branch church, and derives much of its support from
Broughton Park.3
1 Vide p. 227.
2 Vide vol. vi. of "Lancashire Nonconformity" for further particulars
respecting Mr. Pearson.
3 Vide ante p. 27.
196 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Hightown Congregational Church was formerly the Hewitt
Street Mission, commenced by the Park Church, Cheetham, in
1876, during the pastorate of the Rev. F. Carter. In 1885 the
friends of Park Church, the " weakest " in the neighbourhood, felt
themselves "unable to bear any longer the responsibility of carrying
on this mission," and the Higher Broughton Church was induced
to undertake its management. " Formerly," says the " Lancashire
Congregational Calendar" for 1888, "two cottages were used, the
larger for worship and a senior school, the smaller for infants.
The arrangement was costly and inconvenient. The owner of the
property having acceded to a proposal to rebuild the larger house,
extending and elevating it, there is now an excellent, well-lighted,
well-heated meeting place and schoolroom, and a lower room suitable
for classes. On the first Sunday in January [1888] services were
conducted in what will be known as the New Congregational Hall,
Hightown, and there is every prospect of greatly increased
numbers and usefulness." A church was formed in the same
year. The pulpit is supplied mainly by lay preachers and students
from the Lancashire College, the Rev. James McDougall acting as
superintendent. The sitting accommodation is for 170 persons.
XII.— A CHAPTER OF FRAGMENTS.
BEFORE leaving the story of Manchester Congregationalism, it is
proposed in this chapter to gather up and present unto the reader
a number of particulars whose omission would he a serious defect. I
regret that space will not permit more than a few sentences to
what would make, and deserves, a goodly volume. First in order
may be taken those Congregational interests either now extinct, or
which have been so modified in their character as to cease to be
called churches.
In 1838 a room in Cable Street, which had formerly been a
cholera hospital, was opened for public worship by the Revs.
Dr. McAll and R. Fletcher. "The gracious scheme originated
amongst a few Christians, who met in the counting-house of the
late devoted servant of God, Mr. Stephen Sheldon," and the Rev.
E. H. Nolan was appointed minister. Dr. Nolan — as subsequently
DUG IE CHAPEL. 197
he became — had been trained at Dublin, and was for some years
Secretary of the Irish Evangelical Society, a position Avhich failing
health compelled him to relinquish, Shortly after his settlement
in Manchester, in 1838, a church was formed, consisting of nine
members from Grosvenor Street and Mosley Street Congregational
Churches, and the congregation increased so rapidly that enlarged
premises became necessary. The handsome structure in York
Street, called Ducie Chapel, was therefore erected at a cost of
about ^"4,000, with accommodation for 1,000 persons, and
"containing 300 sittings for the poor." The opening services
took place on Wednesday, May 6th, and Sunday, May joth, 1840,
when the preacher on the first day was the Rev. William Jay, of
Bath ; and on the second day the preachers were Dr. Reed, of
London, in the morning, and the Rev. J. Campbell, also of London,
afternoon and evening. It is recorded that the " glorious voluntary
principle" had a "signal triumph" on the occasion, for "the
unprecedented and enormous sum of nearly ^"600" was raised
after the sermons. At the time of its erection the chapel
was quite suburban, green fields behind it extending to Strange-
ways Hall, whose proprietor, the Earl of Ducie, was Mr. Jay's
personal friend. Dr. Nolan attracted large congregations for many
years, but a deep cloud rests upon the close of his ministry. He
resigned in 1853, and for twelve months the chapel was closed.
In the following year a new beginning was made, the building was
re-opened under the name of Park Chapel, and in July, 1855, the
Rev. John Brown, B.A., a student from Lancashire College,
became the minister. After nine years of useful labour, Dr.
Brown (for such he has since become) removed to Bunyan Chapel,
Bedford, where he still lives in the affections of his people. His
work on John Bunyan, whose pulpit he occupies, is a noble monu
ment of patient and earnest research, and his two addresses from
the chair of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, in
1891, are an able defence of the Congregational position;
whilst in all matters pertaining to Congregational history he is
recognised as a very high authority. The Rev. J. Emmett Jones, a
student from New College, followed in 1864. During his pastorate
a lecture-room was built on ground adjacent to the chapel. In
1871 he removed to Huddersfield, and subsequently to St. Paul's
198 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Chapel, Wigan,1 where he died January 3ist, 1876. The Rev. F.
Carter, from Tottington,- near Bury, and now of Northwich, held
the pastorate from 1871 'to 1880. With him originated the branch
school in Hewitt Street, in 1876, now the Hightown Congregational
Church. The last minister was the Rev. F. Moore, a student
from Lancashire College, who bravely struggled amidst discouraging
circumstances to bring back to the church its former prosperity. He
had charge of the place from 1881 to 1886, resigning in the latter
year on his acceptance of an invitation to Aston Park, Birmingham,
where he still labours. Mr. Moore conducted closing services on
Sunday, March i6th, 1890, and on the evening of the following
day a farewell meeting of old friends and members was held. Most
of the families associated themselves with the Congregational
Church at Cheetham Hill, and Park Church became extinct, the
building being subsequently sold to Messrs. Edmondson and
Young for ^r,5oo.3
Knott Mill Congregational Chapel was erected in 1853, with
accommodation for 1,000 people. The church was formed the
following year, and the Rev. J. L. Poore, on revisiting Hope
Chapel, Salford, in 1858, called Knott Mill one of his "pets,"
which was prospering, the school having 700 scholars in atten
dance. The first and only pastor was the Rev. John Rawlinson.
He was sent to the Blackburn Academy to be educated for the
ministry from the Cannon Street Church, Preston, being trans
ferred to the Lancashire College on the removal of the Academy
to Manchester. His first settlement was at Stainland, in
Yorkshire, whence he removed to Cheltenham. In 1854 he
accepted the charge of the infant church at Knott Mill. After a
long and faithful ministry, Mr. Rawlinson resigned in 1887, retiring
also from active service. He is still resident in Manchester. As
in many other cases, the character of the neighbourhood had so
changed during the forty years of the church's existence, that it
became evident it would be impossible to continue it on the old
lines after Mr. Rawlinson's retirement. As the Knott Mill Hall,
1 Vide vol. iv. of "Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Vide vol. iii. of '' Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 The information above given is largely taken from a pamphlet by Mr.
A. Porter, published in connection with the closing services of Park Church.
EXTINCT CONGREGATIONAL INTERESTS. 199
the place is now worked by the Manchester and Salford Congre
gational Mission Board,
Higher Ardwick Congregational Church. — Of this nothing is
known beyond the fact that in 1813 twenty-three of its inembers
were received into the fellowship of the Gros'venor Street Church.
The Rev. Wm. Marsh, formerly of Cannon Street,1 had been
minister, and on his removal to Charlesworth the church was
scattered and broken. Probably it was only a very temporary
secession from Cannon Street.
Collyhurst Street Congregational Church existed from about
1862 to 1885, and at certain points in its history presented con
siderable promise. The pastors have been : — 1862-1867, R-evr-
John Morgan.2 removed to Pentonville ; 1868-1870, Rev. W.
Axford, removed to Peasley Cross;3 1871-1872, Rev. R. Solomon,
removed to Ancoats;4 1872-1878, members of the Lay Preachers'
Association; 1878-1880, Mr. Whaley (Evangelist); 1880-1881.
Rev M. Duffill, removed to Hindley.5 Shortly afterwards, Colly-
hurst Street Church, which had received considerable financial
assistance from the County Union, ceased to exist, and the building
was sold, the proceeds being afterwards given by the English
Chapel Building Society towards the new chapel at Newton Heath.
For a few years there was a Congregational interest at Gorton
Brook, of which the Rev. Wm. Haigh was minister in 1856.
The "Tabernacle," in City Road, another of these small
interests, had as minister, in 1851, the Rev. Edwin Robinson,
probably the person of that name formerly at Lydiate, and sub^
sequently at Ramsbottom.6 He was followed by the Rev. John
George. Students from Cavendish College had the Tabernacle as a
preaching station in 1862, and one of them, the Rev. A. Hall, settled
there when the college was closed, and established the church on
a Congregational basis. " City Road Congregational Church "
was built for Mr. Hall in 1869, the opening services taking
1 Vide ante p. 123.
2 The congregation was gathered by Mr. Morgan.
3 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
4 Vide ante p. 184.
5 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
fi Vide vols. iii. and iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
200 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
place on July i8th. Here he laboured for several years. "City
Road Congregational Church " is now the Russell Street Mission
Chapel, in connection with Chorlton Road Church. The Taber
nacle is a mission station belonging to the Presbyterians.
Manchester has produced a long and honourable roll of Con
gregational laymen, who demand a much more lengthy notice than
is here possible. Robert Spear, born at Hyde Cross, near Man
chester, November 27th, 1762, whose father was a deacon of
Cannon Street Chapel, "at a very considerable expenditure"
educated a number of excellent Congregational ministers; John
Hope, more than fifty years a deacon, and an early Secretary of the
County Union (vide ante p. 138, note i) ; Samuel Fletcher, whose
name has frequently appeared in these pages, "the well known
excellent deacon of the Grosvenor Street Church, and an eminent
county magistrate;" George Hadfield, M.P. for Sheffield for
many years, who " risked a large fortune and spent a small one" in
defending Nonconformist interests ; Sir James Watts, memorials
of whose munificence may be seen in many of the most handsome
of our Congregational churches; William Armitage, lately deceased,
the worthy representative of a family prominent in the annals of
local Congregationalism ; John Rylands, the millionaire, whose
munificent bequests at his death testified how near to him lay, not
Congregationalism alone, but religious and philanthropic move
ments of all kinds ; the Haworth brothers, happily still with us,
ever in the forefront of generous donors to our denominational
institutions; and a great number more, equally generous and
good.
Manchester may claim to be the birthplace of the Lancashire
Congregational Union, for it was in the vestry of Mosley Street
Chapel, September 23rd, 1806, that it was formed. The story of
this Union, which is thus rapidly approaching its centenary, would
make one of the most thrilling productions of the time, and bring
encouragement to many weary workers, because it would show
how mighty a force in the religious life of our county Con
gregationalism has been.1
1 In 1840 the Rev. Richard Slate, of Preston, at the request of the
Union, published a "Brief History," which is not without value; but more
than half a century has gone since then, and these are amongst the most
vigorous years of the Union's existence.
MR. ROBERT SPEAR.
202 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Manchester has been, and still is, the home of academical
institutions where great numbers of men have been equipped for
ministerial service. From 1803 to 1809 the Rev. William Roby
presided over an academy which was pecuniarily supported by
Mr. Robert Spear. The place of meeting was the vestry of
Mosley Street Chapel. The Leaf Square Academy took its rise
in 1 8 10, and remained in existence about forty years, having as
Presidents the Revs. George Phillips, M.A., John Reynolds, Jenkin
Lewis, and Dr. Clunie. Though not a distinctly theological
institution, the design of the promoters was to educate "young
men for the ministry ; " and it was " established for the benefit
of the Independent churches in the counties of Lancashire
Cheshire, and Derbyshire." With Dr. Clunie it became a private
venture school. Lancashire Independent College, at Whalley
Range, the alma mater of so many whose names appear in this
work (the old Blackburn Academy in continuity, where it origi
nated in 1816), was opened in I843-1 The present is therefore its
Jubilee year, and the event was celebrated by special meetings,
June 21-23, when amongst old students taking part in the
proceedings were the Revs. Dr. Bruce, Huddersfield ; Dr.
Brown, Bedford ; Dr. Simon, Yorkshire United College ;
J. G. Rogers, B.A., London; G. S. Barrett, B.A., Norwich;
Professor Armitage, M.A., Yorkshire United College; and
Professor W. H. Bennett, M.A., Hackney. Its present re
spected Principal is Dr. Scott, whose father, the Rev. Walter
Scott, for many years presided over the Airedale College ; and
on the professorial staff are Drs. Thomson and Hodgson.
Cavendish College was in existence from 1860 to 1863. The
idea originated with Dr. Parker then minister • of Cavendish
Church, and classes were held in the splendid suite of buildings
belonging to the chapel. The Rev. J. B. Paton, M.A., of
Sheffield, and the Rev. J. R. Thomson, M.A , were associated with
the doctor in the professorial arrangements. In 1863 the college
was transferred to Nottingham, and the present Congregational
Institute there, of which Dr. Paton has been the respected
1 The foundation stone was laid by Mr. George Hadfield, in September,
1840, whose interest in the college remained unabated until the time of his
death.
THE REV. WILLIAM ROBV.
204 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Principal since its commencement, is its representative.1 The
dissolution of the Warrington Academy, in 1786, left the Noncon
formists of the North, whose drift was towards Unitarianism, with
out any training institution for their ministers. To meet this want
the Manchester Academy was instituted. It has moved often, and
assumed different names, as the following will show : —
Manchester Academy, 1786-1803.
Manchester College, York, 1803-1840.
Manchester New College, Manchester, 1840-1853.
Manchester New College, London, 1853-1889.
Manchester College, Oxford, 1889, to the present time.
This institution, along with the present " Unitarian Home
Missionary College," in Manchester, has supplied with ministers
many of those old churches (now Unitarian) whose histories are
given in this work.
The Congregational Mission Board for Manchester, Salford,
and District was formed in the summer of 1891. Its objects are
stated in the following paragraph : —
(a) The undertaking of mission work in such churches, halls, and mission-
rooms, in Manchester, Salford, and district, as may be placed under the
entire control of the Board ; and (b) the aiding of Evangelistic work in such
other ways as may, from time to time, seem expedient to the Board.
The Board has charge of Knott Mill, Chapel Street, Upper
Moss Lane Mission (formerly undenominational, room seats about
150 people), and Beaufort Street (a sort of branch to Knott Mill,
which consists of two cottages thrown into one.) Mr. Whitehead is
engaged as Evangelist, and the work has grown so considerably
that a second agent is about to be appointed. Dr. Hodgson, of
Lancashire College, has interested himself deeply in the work of
the Board, and has discharged the duties of Secretary since its
commencement, Mr. A. A. Haworth acting as Treasurer.
The following account of Welsh Congregationalism in Man
chester and Salford, with very slight alterations, has been kindly
1 Owens College is not a denominational institution, and so does not
come within the scope of this work, but students from Lancashire College
have for many years obtained a large share of their literary training there.
206 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
supplied by the Rev. D. John, the esteemed pastor of Booth Street
East (Welsh) Congregational Church : —
CHORLTON ROAD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. — In the year 1816 the
Rev. John Breese, of Liverpool, preached for the first time to a few Congre-
gationalists just arrived from Wales. On October i8th, 1818, a small
church of six members was formed by the Rev. William Williams, of Wern,
one of the most celebrated preachers of Wales, in a private house in Old
Carter Lane ^now Portland Street). On this spot now stands Sir James
Watts's warehouse. In 1822 they removed from Old Carter Lane to a
schoolroom in connection with St. James' Church, which was kindly lent by
the clergyman of that church. About two years afterwards another move
was made to Old Cloth Hall, Salford, opposite the Cathedral, on the other
side of the Irwell. By this time the church had increased to such an extent
that they felt they could maintain a pastor, so they invited the Rev. John
Griffiths, brother to the late Rev. William Griffiths, of Holyhead. Mr.
Griffiths commenced his ministerial duties in October, 1824, on which occasion
the Rev. W.Williams, of Wern, officiated. In February, 1826, a site for a chapel
was obtained in Gartside Street, in the city. The foundation stone was laid
by the Rev. John Breese, of Liverpool, and the Rev. J. A. Coombs, of Chapel
Street, Salford, assisted on the occasion. The chapel was opened for public
worship Sept. iyth, 1826. Mr. Griffiths remained as pastor of the church until
1831, when he removed to Buckley, Flintshire. In 1836 the Rev. David
Morgan, Machynlleth (afterwards Dr. Morgan), became their pastor, and
remained so until his removal to Llanfyllin in 1839. In November, 1842,
the Rev. David Roberts, of Anglesey (now Dr. Roberts, Wrexham), under
took the pastorate, and continued to work in the place until his removal in
1845. In May, 1846, the Rev. Richard Jones, Sirhowy, followed, and
remained until 1865, when he removed to Llanidloes. The next pastor was
the Rev. D. Lloyd Jones, now of Patagonia. He commenced his ministry
here in May, 1867, and in 1869 removed to Ruthin. In 1870 the present
minister, the Rev. Richard Roberts, who was educated at Bala College (now
called Bala-Bangor College), commenced his ministry. In 1877 the church
felt that Gartside Street was getting unsuitable for them, and they secured
a plot of land in Chorlton Road. The new chapel was opened on October
2ist, 1877, the Rev. Professor Morgan, of Carmarthen, and Professor
Thomas, Bala, being the preachers. The cost was about ^3,500, and chief
rent ,£40 per annum. The church is working hard and struggling bravely
under a heavy debt, the old chapel being unfortunately still on their hands,
waiting for sale.
BOOTH STREET EAST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. — In February, 1842,
a few friends left the mother church at Gartside Street and met together for
worship in a room at Bethel Place, out of Stretford Road, Hulme. The
same year they removed from Bethel Place to Great Jackson Street, to the
Rev. J. Gwyther's old chapel, which they secured on easy terms. Welsh
services were commenced here on June i2th, 1842, when a Mr. E. Roberts
(student) preached. On August jth the church was formed by the Rev
WELSH CONGREGATIONALISM. 207
Owen Owens, of Rhesycae, the number of members being eleven. In the
year 1845 they invited the Rev. D. Hughes, B.A., of St. Asaph, to become
their pastor, and he commenced his duties July igth, 1846, but he remained
only until May, 1847. After him came the Rev. Hugh Hughes (Tegai), of
Rhoslan, followed by the Rev. Robert Evans (Trogwy), now of America.
During this period the church saw little success, and no doubt this was to be
accounted for by the fact that Great Jackson Street was too near the mother
church and not central enough for Welsh residents. In view of this it was
thought wise to move their tent elsewhere, and the year 1859 saw their
removal to the Temperance Hall, Chorlton-on-Medlock, which proved to be
a very wise step. In March, 1862, they invited the Rev. T. E. Evans, of
Rhosllanerchrugog, to become their minister. In a short time after his
settlement his ministry was so blessed that they saw it was their
duty to look out for a suitable site for a new chapel which would meet their
requirements. In this they were successful, a convenient site being found in
Booth Street East. On July iath, 1862, the foundation stone was laid by
Sir James Watts, Manchester, and the chapel was opened in March, 1863,
when Dr. Parker and others preached. The pastor's health broke down,
however, and he resigned his charge in September, 1865, much to the
regret of the church. In 1867 they invited the present minister, the
Rev. D. John, of Llanddeusant, Anglesey, who had been educated at
Brecon College. He took up his duties on January 3'rd, 1868. The chapel
and schoolroom were erected at a cost of ^3,000, which has been cleared off.
Pastor and people are working well together.
QUEEN'S ROAD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. — Preaching was commenced
in a schoolroom off Rochdale Road, in the year 1867, through the efforts
of Lewis Jones, now of Pwllheli. He obtained every assistance from
the Welsh ministers and students of Manchester. In November, 1868,
the church was formed by the Revs. D. Lloyd Jones, D. Davies, D. John,
assisted by Messrs. P. Mostyn Williams, Ellis Pugh, John Jones, and others.
A few years afterwards they removed to a room in Needwood Street, off
Rochdale Road. Finally, they secured a site in Queen's Road, and built a
chapel, which was opened on January I3th, 1878. The Rev. Dr. Rees, of
Liverpool, and the Rev. D. M. Jenkins, of the same town, preached on the
occasion. The chapel cost ^,1,100. The present debt is ^400. Its mem
bership is about fifty, and all of the working class.
LORD DUNCAN STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, SALFORD. — On the
first Sunday in January, 1876, a mission in connection with Chorlton Road
Welsh Church was started in an upper room in West Craven Street, Salford.
On April 24th, 1887, the mission was formed into a church, on which occasion
the Revs. Richard Roberts and David John took part in the proceedings,
sixteen persons entering into fellowship. Owing to the activity of this small
band of workers, the upper room soon became inadequate, and they resolved
to build a chapel. Their ambition has just been realised in the opening, a
few weeks ago (1893), of a small chapel in Lord Duncan Street. Their members
now total forty-two. On January 4th, 1891, the Rev. Richard Roberts, of
the Chorlton Road Church, undertook extra duties by becoming their pastor.
CHAPTER III.
SALFORD CONGREGATIONALISM.
I.— NEW WINDSOR CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
IT was near the end of last century that Congregationalism
appeared at New Windsor, then a populous village near Man
chester, now a part of the sister borough of Salford. Its origin
is attributed to Mr. John Joule, resident in the village, " a man
distinguished by ardent piety and active benevolence," who, " feeling
compassion for his neighbours," erected at his own expense a
small place of worship in 1797. J The opening service took place
on August 23rd, when the Rev. Charles Ely, of Bury, began
" with prayer and reading the scriptures ; " the Rev. Noah Black
burn, of Delph, " preached the first sermon " from-Ps. xciii., 5 ; the
Rev. J. Cockin, of Halifax, preached the " second sermon from
Ps. xxvii., 4, and again in the evening from i Pet. i., 3, 4, 5 ;"
and the Rev. Wm. Roby gave out the hymns. It is recorded
that " the place was quite crowded both morning and evening ;
and a peculiar unction rested on both preachers and hearers."'"'
The account of these opening services further states : —
With peculiar pleasure we remark that several chmrches, without any
knowledge of each other's design, have been influenced by one spirit, and
almost at the same time, to adopt one of the most likely means for accom
plishing this benevolent purpose ; we mean that of encouraging some of their
most steady and promising members to go out on the Lord's Day, and
endeavour to instruct the poor and ignorant, wherever they have an oppor
tunity, either by reading sermons or by preaching to them. The meeting
house alluded to above will be supplied, generally, on the Sabbath by per
sons of this description ; by some of the members of Cannon Street Chapel,
1 This Mr. John Joule was, I imagine, the deacon who remained loyal to
the minister of Cannon Street Church when the secession took place which
led to the formation of Mosley Street Church (vide ante, p. 138.)
2 " Evangelical Magazine" for 1797, p. 475.
THE REV. JAMES MATHER. 2c9
Manchester, who have been requested by the Church to exercise their
abilities on the Lord's Day in preaching to their fellow sinners; and by
whose means three or four of the neighbouring villages have been regularly
supplied, for nearly a year past, with no small acceptance and success.1
No minister was appointed until about 1802, when the Rev. T.
Theodosius, who, in the baptismal register, adds the letters V.D.M.
to his name, assumed that position. His ordination took place on
July i3th, 1803, when his tutor, the Rev. Jenkin Lewis,2 of
Wrexham, gave the charge to the pastor from i Tim., iv., 16.
" The church and congregation were exhorted to prayer for their
minister" by the Rev. William Roby. In the evening the Rev.
Joseph Sowden, of Bolton, preached ; and other parts of the
service were taken by the Revs. E. White, of Chester ; S. Bradley,
of Manchester; and John Ralph, of Liverpool.
Mr. Theodosius did not remain beyond 1804, and he appears as
minister at Gornal, in Staffordshire, in 1810. His successor was
the Rev. James Mather. Born at Leigh, in 1773, early in life
"put to the loom and trained to the occupation of a muslin
weaver," removing to Warrington at the age of sixteen, he is
described as the life of his companions and the " ring leader and
champion in all games of pleasure, sources of amusement, and
feats of emulation in the neighbourhood." His conversion was
brought about through a sermon which he heard at Duke's Alley,
Bolton, from the Rev. Leonard Redmayne. He was educated for
the ministry by the Rev. Wm. Roby, and settled at New Windsor
in the early part of 1805. After three years he removed to
Howard Street, Sheffield ; subsequently to Birmingham ; and next
to Upper Clapton, London, where he laboured for many years.
He died in London on the 2gth of May, 1840, and was interred
in Abney Park Cemetery, the funeral services being conducted by
the Revs. J. Blackburn and Dr. Leifchild. The Rev. George
Phillips, M.A., was the next minister. He was born at Haverford-
west, November i5th, 1784, and was descended from the Rev.
1 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1797, p. 475.
2 It is interesting to note that Mr. Lewis subsequently became the tutor of
the Leaf Square Academy in Manchester (vide ante p. 202), and about 1814
was invited to take charge of the New Windsor Church, but the invitation
was declined.
5—14
210 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Peregrine Phillips, an eminent Nonconformist divine who suffered
ejection in 1662. In 1801 he entered the Wymondley Academy,
and subsequently graduated at Glasgow University. On the com
pletion of his college course he supplied for a time at Liverpool,
Haverfordwest, Kidderminster, and Southampton, and in June, 1810,
was invited to the position of Classical Tutor in the "Lancashire
Independent Academy," recently established at Leaf Square,
Manchester. The invitation was accepted, and Mr. Phillips took
up his residence at the academy, whilst the celebrated Mr. J.
Dalton superintended the Mathematical and Philosophical depart
ment. Shortly afterwards the New Windsor Church presented a
unanimous call to Mr. Phillips to undertake the pastorate, and this
additional responsibility he assumed towards the close of 1810.
" Before he had preached six months," says his biographer, " the
seats were all taken ; several respectable families residing there, who
had been in the habit of attending places of worship in Manchester,
chose to sit under his ministry ; others, who had not regularly
attended anywhere, became constant hearers ; and the congrega
tion was so much increased as to render an enlargement of the
building necessary."1 His ordination took place on May 2gth,
1811, when the Revs. Joseph Fletcher, M.A., of Blackburn; W.
Evans, of Stockport ; W. Roby, of Manchester ; and S. Bradley,
of Manchester, conducted the service. A few weeks after his
health appeared " to undergo a serious alteration. The united
labours of the academy and the pastoral office were more than his
constitution was able to support; and he rapidly sank into such a
state of debility as to require an entire suspension of his usual
employments." On the i;th of October, 1811, in company with
Mrs. Phillips, he left Manchester, intending to travel by easy
stages to Sidmouth. He died at Glastonbury on the 24th of that
month, " the same year in which he was ordained, leaving a widow,
to whom he had been united about four months, in a situation not
easy to be conceived or described." His funeralj sermon was
preached at New Windsor Chapel, November icth, 1811, by his
intimate friend, Mr. Fletcher, of Blackburn, from i Cor. xv., 26,
and was afterwards published under the title of "The]Xast Enemy
1 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1819, p. 180.
DR. CLUNIE. 211
Destroyed." The next minister was the Rev. John Reynolds, who
was born at Hampstead, June nth, 1782, and was the third son
of Dr. Henry Revell Reynolds, " a distinguished physician in the
court of George III., and who for many years filled the office of
physician in ordinary to his Majesty." On completing his educa
tion at Oxford he accepted a Government appointment, and for
some years was occupied both in the War Office and in the office
of Secretary of State for the Home Department, and as Private
Secretary to the Duke of Portland. His conversion was brought
about through the preaching of Dr. Mason, of New York, where
Mr. Reynolds resided for some time, and he resolved to devote
himself to the Christian ministry, attending for a considerable
period Dr. Mason's theological lectures. On his return to England
in 1811 he put aside " temptations of the strongest kind" to enter
the Established Church, and elected to serve amongst the
Congregationalists. In the early part of 1812 he accepted the
position of Principal to the Leaf Square Academy in succession to
Mr. Phillips, and on July 2gth of the same year was ordained
pastor over the New Windsor Church, His success as a preacher
led to his removal to Chester in October, 1813. Subsequently he
held pastorates at Romsey, in Hampshire, and Halstead, in Essex.
He died February i5th, 1862, at the house of his second son,
Dr. Reynolds, of Grosvenor Street, London. His second wife
was the only sister of Dr. Fletcher, of Stepney, and formerly of
Blackburn. She was the "sharer of his every thought and sorrow,
his help-meet in the church, the mother of all his children, and
the object to the last of his tenderest affection."1 In 1843 Mr.
Reynolds was elected to the Presidency of the Congregational
Union of England and Wales. His biographer says : —
He was at home in the English Court and familiar with the American
Camp Meeting ; he once assisted to quell a riot in London streets at the
head of a brigade of volunteers ; but put forth all the strength of his best
years as the village evangelist and dissenting pastor.
The Rev. John Clunie, M.A., LL.D., conducted the Leaf Square
and Seedley Grove Academies for nearly a quarter of a century.
He followed the Rev. Jenkin Lewis (vide ante p. 202), and for a
1 "Congregational Year Book" for 1863, p. 258.
212 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
short time, like his predecessors, appears to have discharged the
duties of minister to the New Windsor Congregation. As Dr.
Clunie was a prominent figure in Manchester Congregational life
for nearly half a century, a few further notes about him will be
acceptable. He was born in London, April gth, 1784, educated
at Hoxton Academy, graduated in Glasgow University, ordained
at Guildford in September, 1809, and for about two years was
private tutor to a gentleman's family at Kensington. Thence he
removed to Manchester, and in 1837, having acquired a compe
tency, "relinquished the scholastic profession." A bank failure
in 1842 involved him with many others in serious difficulty, but
his friends rallied round him and placed him in circumstances of
comfort. Removing to Ardwick, he associates himself with Gros-
venor Street Chapel, serving the churches and the denomination
as opportunity offered until his death on June 23rd, 1858.
He was the author of " A Scripture Diary," " The Path of
Life," " The Storm Improved," and various other sermons. The
next in the ministerial roll is the Rev. James Pridie, a native
of Oxford, and brought up in the principles of the Established
Church, but, removing to Manchester, he came under the influence
of the Rev. William Roby, and eventually joined his church.
Encouraged by his pastor to seek the Christian ministry, to pre
pare himself in some measure for its duties, he accepted the
position of junior master in the Leaf Square Academy. After
spending three years there he placed himself under Mr. Roby for
his theological course, and in 1814 settled at Malpas, in Cheshire,
preaching also at Boughton. In 1816 he removed to New
Windsor, where he was ordained on September 25th, when Mr.
Roby gave him the charge from Titus ii., 15. In June, 1829, Mr.
Pridie became the minister of Sion Chapel, Halifax, where he
laboured many years. He died at Halifax, January 25th, 1873,.
aged eighty-seven years. The Rev. George Taylor was Mr.
Pridie's successor. He was born in Birmingham, February ioth,.
1804, educated at Highbury College, and began his labours at
New Windsor on the second Sunday in December, 1829. His
ordination took place on March 3ist, 1830, when his pastor, the
Rev. Timothy East, of Birmingham, gave him the charge, the Rev.
J. Ely, of Rochdale, preaching in the evening to the people. His-
THE CLOTH HALL. 213
pastorate, which had been attended with many difficulties, was
brought to a conclusion in 1837, and eventually he settled at
Wellingborough. He died at Birmingham in 1846. In June,
1839, the Rev. Alfred John Morris, from Warrington, undertook
the pastoral charge in succession to Mr. Taylor. He remained
until 1842, and afterwards laboured at Holloway and Bowdon.1
His successor was the Rev. T. G. Lee, who had been a Wesleyan
minister, but who, during his residence in Manchester as such,
" became favourably impressed with the Congregational system of
church government, and shortly afterwards established a church on
that basis in Chorlton-upon-Medlock Town Hall."2 Thence he
removed to New Windsor, being recognised as pastor on Wednes
day evening, January i8th, 1843. Here he continued until 1877,
when he resigned, dying on the 25th of September, 1881, aged
eighty years. The Rev. P. R. Berry, from Fleetwood,3 held the
pastorate from 1877 to JUV» 1884, and was followed in 1886 by
the Rev. Wm. Briddon, a student from Lancashire College. He
left in March, 1890, and is now resident in Salford without charge.
The present minister is the Rev. T. C. London, of the Liverpool
College and a pupil of the late Dr. George Butler, Canon of
Winchester. He has been in charge of the church since April,
1890.
II.— CHAPEL STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
IN the Evangelical Magazine for 1817 appears the following
account of the origin of the second Congregational Church in
Salford : —
May 30, 1817. A large and commodious room (formerly the Cloth Hall)
in Greengate, Salford, was opened for divine worship by three sermons, by
Messrs. Roby, Smith, and Bradley. Seats to accommodate 230 persons are
provided almost gratuitously, for the convenience of a poor neighbourhood.
On the following Sabbath a Sunday School was opened in connection with
1 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 "Congregational Year Book" for 1882, p. 313.
3 Vide vol. i. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
214 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
the above place ; and we have the pleasure to hear that from 350 to 400
children statedly attend, on which account the committee have been obliged
to engage another room for them. We understand also that the Public wor
ship continues to be well attended, Mr. Coombs, from Hoxton Academy,
being at present the supply.1
The Cloth Hall in which worship was held was just across the
Irwell, near the Old Bridge, now Victoria Bridge. On the 22nd
of September, 1818, the Rev. J. A. Coombs, mentioned in the
preceding passage as a supply, but who was now pastor of the
church, laid the foundation stone of Chapel Street Chapel. The
building was opened for public worship on the 28th of July follow
ing, when the preachers were the Revs. Dr. Harris, of Hoxton,
and Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool, their texts being Ps. Ixxxiv., i, and
i Cor., xiii., 9, respectively. Mr. Coombs was ordained January
26th, 1820, when the Rev. Joseph Fletcher, M. A.., of Blackburn,
"in a luminous and convincing discourse, stated and defended the
reasons of dissent and the principles of Independency." Dr.
Winter, of London, "delivered an affectionate and impressive
charge founded on Luke xix., 13;" the Rev. William Roby
"offered solemn and fervent prayer for a blessing on the
relation • " and Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool, " eloquently addressed
the church and congregation from i Thess. v., 12 and 13.""
Mr. Coombs remained " the zealous, the indefatigable, and
beloved pastor of the increasing church" until August, 1838,
when he resigned under " circumstances of a very painful nature."
He retired to Ambleside, where he founded a Congregational
church unto which he ministered several years.1
In the early part of 1839 the Rev. James Hill became his
successor. He was born at Stafford, May ijth, 1795, educated
at Gosport, and on the completion of his college course proceeded
to India as a Missionary. Compelled, on account of ill health, to
return to England in 1834, he settled at Oxford, whence he
removed to Salford. After a ministry of two years he re
moved to Clapham, and subsequently to Brighton. He died
January i2th, 1870. In 1860 he officiated as Chairman of the
1 Page 324.
2 " Evangelical Magazine'' for 1820, p. 162.
:t Vide vol. i. of "Lancashire Nonconformity."
216 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Congregational Union of England and Wales. The Rev. J. W.
Massie, D.D., LL.D., was Mr. Hill's successor. Born in Glasgow,
November nth, 1798, and educated for the ministry at the Theo
logical Academy, presided over by the Revs. Greville Ewing and Dr.
Wardlaw, he proceeded thence, after three years' study to Gosport
Academy, to prepare for Missionary service. In July, 1822, he
sailed for Calcutta, and during five years "traversed Hindostan,
planting missions at the most eligible points." His health, how
ever, failing, "his wife and child dying, and other circumstances
arising, he returned home, and prepared and published his work on
British and Continental India."1 Shortly afterwards Dr. Massie
settled at Dunfermline, then at Dublin, and next at Perth, whence
in 1841 he removed to Salford. Being an ardent politician, he
threw himself energetically into the Anti-Corn Law movement,
which was then moving the heart of England. Friction arose
between himself and his people, and in 1848 he left Salford for
London, having been appointed Secretary of the Home Missionary
Society. He died May 8th, 1869. His brother was the Rev.
Robert Massie, of Newton-le- Willows, and his nephew is Professor
Massie, of Mansfield College. The Rev. John Raven,2 educated
at Highbury, and who had previously laboured at Hadleigh,
Birmingham, and Dudley, followed Dr. Massie in 1848. He
removed to Ipswich at the end of 1853, and afterwards to
Felstead, in Essex. His death took place on Sunday,
March yth, 1875, aged seventy years. The next minister
was the Rev. S. Clarkson,3 subsequently of Lytham. He had
charge of the church from 1854 to 1861, being succeeded the
following year by the Rev. S. Chisholm, who had been educated
at Edinburgh, and previously laboured at Huddersfield. Mr. Chis
holm resignedin 1867, and subsequently laboured at Ongar, in Essex.
He is now resident at South Woodford, in the same county, with
out charge. The Rev. W. B. Camm, a student from Lancashire
College, followed in 1868, remaining until 1871. Subsequently
he became a Unitarian minister. The Rev. T. Stimpson, educated
at Lancashire College, and who had previously laboured a short
1 " Congregational Year Book," for 1870, p. 310.
2 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 Vide vol. i. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
AGGRESSIVE WORK. 217
time at Middleton, was minister from 1872 to 1875. He is now
at Thirsk, in Yorkshire. His successor was the Rev. W. McLellan
from 1875 to 1879. He removed in the latter year to Stirling,
being followed in 1879 by the Rev. Wm. Knox, who held
the pastorate until his death, November iQth, I883.1 The
pulpit remained vacant until 1888, when the Rev. George
Street, formerly of St. Helens,2 accepted the charge. He
resigned in 1891, and has since become a Unitarian minister.
Chapel Street Chapel has suffered, like many other places, from
the driftings of the population, and after Mr. Street's removal it
was found desirable to hand over the premises to the Manchester
and Salford Congregational Mission Board for mission purposes.
The building, which has accommodation for over 1,000 people,
is now called the Congregational Hall.3
III.— HOPE AND RICHMOND CHAPELS— BRANCHES FROM
CHAPEL STREET.
IN the early part of 1837 the Congregational Association of Man
chester and Salford addressed a letter "to the members of churches
and congregations of the Independent denomination in Manchester
and its vicinity," urging united effort in the direction of Congre
gational extension. The following passage will serve to illustrate
the spirit of the promoters : — •
If, by combined efforts of our churches, chapels be erected in well-chosen
situations, and measures judiciously adopted to give them sanction and
support, we believe it will not be found difficult to gather members under
the sound of the Gospel. But we must be allowed to remind you that,
having taken this first step, which only necessity requires, additional obliga
tions will be thereby involved, obligations which, in regard for consistency,
and in order to the success of the attempt, must not be overlooked.
When chapels are reared and opened, those Christians, now connected with
our churches, on whom, by reason of proximity of residence, or otherwise, the
1 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Vide vol. iv. of "Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 Vide ante p. 204.
218 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
duty may be deemed especially to devolve, will, we trust, consent to sacri
fice their present associations and attachments, and be willing, by personal
attendance and persevering effort, to encourage and aid the new interests.
The Congregations should comprise, from the onset, some persons of well-
tried piety, and established Christian reputation ; they should be assisted
to procure the services of holy and devoted ministers, adapted, in character
and talent, to the duties of such stations ; and they should, in every practic
able way, be countenanced and sustained by the older churches.1
This letter was signed by the Revs. R. S. McAll, Mosley Street ; John
A. Coombs, Chapel Street, Salford ; Richard Fletcher, Grosvenor
Street; James Gwyther, Hulme; James Griffin, Rusholme Road ;
George Taylor, New Windsor, Salford.
The Association so far succeeded in its efforts that it was pro
posed to erect six new chapels in Manchester and Salford, and the
first of these was Hope Chapel. The corner stone of the building
was laid on Friday, September 29th, 1837, by the Rev. J. A.
Coombs, in presence of " a very numerous assemblage of friends."
Its site is described as " on the north side of a street or intended
street called Liverpool Street, which is a spacious avenue of great
width, and about a thousand yards in length, extending in a line
from Oldfield Road to Cross Lane." Mr. J. H. Hulme read the
following from the inscription plate : —
The foundation stone of this building, situate in Liverpool Street, Oldfield
Road, Salford, in the county of Lancaster, intended for the worship of
Almighty God, was laid on Friday, the 2gth day of September, in the first
year of the reign of Victoria, Queen of England, and in the year of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, 1837, by the Rev. J. Addison Coombs, minister of
the church and congregation assembling in the Independent Chapel, Chapel
Street, Salford. The first of six new chapels intended to be built by the
Manchester and Salford Congregational Association.
" Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious
corner stone, a sure foundation." — Isaiah xxviii., 16.
Architects : Hayley and Brown, Manchester. Builders : W. and H.
Southern, Salford.
Mr. Coombs gave a " short history of the circumstances which
led to the commencement of a building in that place," from which
the following passage is extracted : —
1 " Congregational Magazine" for 1837, p. 815.
A SPIRITED MEMORIAL. 219
Some time ago a number of his congregation, who distributed tracts in
that district, were induced by the condition and population of the neighbour
hood to establish the Hope Street Sunday School, where, in addition to
reading, Divine service had been conducted on Sunday evenings l and one
other evening in the week, and the schoolroom had been so much crowded
both by adults at the religious services and by about 300 scholars for
instruction that repeated calls had been made for the erection of a place of
worship, and it was determined to erect one previously to the formation of
the Congregational Association in March last. Subsequently it was agreed
to unite with that association, and this was the first of six chapels which it
was in the contemplation of the Association to erect in different parts of
Manchester and Salford, and their immediate neighbourhood.2
The chapel was completed and opened for public worship on
Wednesday, December 5th, 1838, when Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool,
preached in the morning from 2 Cor., iv., 5 ; and in the evening
the Rev. James Parsons, of York, from Psalm Ixxxvii., 3. The
1 The Rev. John Anyon, of Pendlebury, assisted by Messrs. Robert
Dracup, William Dracup, Thomas Harrison, and Joseph Gill conducted these
services.
* This account, taken from the Congregational Magazine for 1837, ends
by saying : '• We understand that land has already been purchased for
another chapel to be erected by the Congregational Association in Quay
Street, Manchester, and another plot at the top of Northumberland Street,
Higher Broughton, near the Zoological Gardens. The other sites at present
proposed or contemplated are the neighbourhood of Swan Street, Ancoats,
or St. George's Road, the vicinity of Red Bank, or at Miles Platting." It is
interesting to note that in connection with this effort a memorial was sent to
the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking for the remission of the " duties on
the excisable articles to be used in their erection, as brick, timber, and glass,
&c.," which would probably amount to .£2,000, and " which duties are
remitted on the building materials employed in the erection of new
"Episcopal1 churches." The reply of the Chancellor, through his son, Mr.
Rice, was that, as he was not " prepared to recommend to Parliament a
measure for the building of Dissenting places of worship at the public
expense, he could not consent to a vote accomplishing that object through
the means of *;he remission of rates " This led the memorialists to write :
" The distinction between remitting a tax and voting a grant must be obvious
to a child ; but as Mr. Rice will not see it, we hope that some of his able
Dissenting supporters at Cambridge will, on his n^xt visit to his constituents,
take him to the elegant new chapel they have recently built, and there make
the Right Hon. Gentleman understand that they do not see the equity of a
Liberal Government affording a bounty on church building while they impose
a drawback upon the erection of Dissenting chapels."
220 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
collections amounted to ^122 153. ; and in the afternoon, when
" about eighty gentlemen, ministers, and influential members from
neighbouring churches sat down to an excellent dinner in the
schoolroom under the chapel," the sum of ,£95 was subscribed. The
cost of the building, including an enlargement in 1843, was ^3,610.
Almost immediately1 after " upwards of forty members, including
two of the deacons " belonging to the Chapel Street Church, " in
the best spirit," retired "from their present fellowship " to form
the new church at Hope Chapel. On the first Sunday in July,
1839, the Rev. John Legg Poore, a student from Highbury
College, who had been introduced to the notice of the church
by Mr. Thomas Wilson, began his labours as the first minister of
Hope Chapel. His ordination took place on the 3oth of October
following, when Dr. Halley gave the charge to the minister. A
rich ministry, in which Mr. Poore served the wider interests of his
denomination not less faithfully than his own church, was brought
to a termination in August, 1853, by his decision, in conjunction
with the Rev. Richard Fletcher, of Grosvenor Street, to go to
Australia in connection with the Colonial Missionary Society.
Every part of the wide field over which that Society's operations
extend was visited by Mr. Poore with beneficial results, and fly
ing visits were paid to the old country to keep alive and deepen
the Missionary spirit in the churches. He died at Mornington,
Victoria, March 27th, 1867, aged fifty-one years. The Rev. George
Burder Bubier was appointed Mr. Poore's successor at Hope
Chapel. He was the son of the Rev. William Bubier, was born at
Reading, February 2nd, 1823, and educated for the ministry at
Homerton College. Previous to his settlement at Hope Chapel
he held pastorates at Ossett, Essex, Brixton, and Cambridge, re
moving from the latter place to Salford in March, 1853. His ministry
here of over ten years is described as the period when
" his most characteristic and permanent work was done." In
1864 he accepted the position of Professor of Theology
and Philosophy in Spring Hill College, in conjunction with
the pastorate of Acock's Green Congregational Church. In
the midst of these labours he died on Friday, March igth, 1869,
1 The church was formed on January 8th, 1839, when thirty-six
members were transferred from Chapel Street Church for that purpose.
RICHMOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 221
and was interred the following Wednesday in Salford Cemetery
by the side of "his beloved boy." The Rev. .R. W. Selbie, B.A.,
educated at Lancashire College, and ordained at Chesterfield,
March i6th, 1853, removed from this place to become Mr.
Bubier's successor at Hope Chapel, in July, 1866. In 1867 the
new school buildings were opened, the cost of which was ^7,000.
Mr. Selbie concluded a useful ministry in 1883, and is now resident
without charge in Salford.1 His son is the Rev. W. B. Selbie,
M.A., pastor of the Highgate Congregational Church, London.
The Rev. R. G. Leigh, from Mossley, formerly of Farnworth and
Egerton," and at one time a scholar in Hope Chapel Sunday
School,5 became Mr. Selbie's successor in November, 1885, and
still continues a ministry full of promise. Hope Chapel has sitting
accommodation for about 1,100 people, and the share which the
church took in establishing the Congregational Churches at
Eccles and Swinton has already been noticed. It deserves to be
recorded that the church has been fruitful in supplying men for
the ministry. The following persons have been associated with
it: — Revs. G. S. Barrett, B.A., Norwich, Chairman of the Con
gregational Union of England and Wales for 1894; F. Carter,
Northwich; J. A. Meeson, M.A., LL.B., Harrogate; A. C. Smith,
Welford ; and R. G. Leigh, the present minister.
Richmond Congregational Church is a second off-shoot from
Chapel Street, but it originated in a less happy way than the one
whose history precedes. Dr. Massie's strained relations with his
people, which eventually resulted in the secession of ninety-seven
members from his church, have been already named. Theseceders
"entered into an agreement to take an old disused Unitarian
Chapel in Dawson's Croft, Greengate," a building " almost hidden
in a narrow passage,"4 and here worship was commenced in March,
1843. The church was formally recognised on the 25th of May
following by the other Congregational Churches of the neighbour
hood, and in October of the same year the Rev. David Everard
1 Mr. Selbie died on August ist of this year, in his 6pth year.
s Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 His father, Mr. Charles Leigh, was one of the first Secretaries of the
Sunday School.
4 '' The Congregational Monthly " for 1892, p. 324.
222 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Ford was invited to become pastor. Mr. Ford was the son of the
Rev. David Ford, of Long Melford, in Suffolk, where he was bora
September 1 3th, 1797. He was educated at Wymondley College,
having as a fellow-student " his life-long friend," Dr. Binney ; and
during his student days he " took charge of the neglected village
of Wood End, some nine miles distant from the college, where he
not only gathered a congregation, but was the means of building a
chapel." On the completion of his college course lie settled at
Lymmgton, in Hampshire, where he remained until the end of
1853, when he accepted the invitation of the new church at
Salford, then worshipping in the temporary building in Greengate.
He did so on the understanding that a new chapel should be
erected at once, and it was decided to secure a site in Brotighton,
near Broughton Bridge, which was owned by the Rev. John
Clowes. Mr. Clowes was inclined to sell, but "the proposal to
erect a Nonconformist chapel in the select district of Broughton
was scouted by the Church of .England party as an outrage, and
Mr. Clowes was entreated to withhold his sanction to the proposal
to desecrate this Episcopalian preserve." Mr. Clowes yielded to
the pressure of his friends, and the Congregationalists " chose the
most eligible site they could obtain in Salford, the garden of Mr.
Thomas Agnew, called Richmond Hill, which was purchased in
December, 1844, on chief rent at the price of one shilling per
yard." The foundation stone of the new building was laid in
May, 1845, by Mr. James Carlton, and the opening services were
held on the 22nd and 23rd of April of the following year, the
preachers being the Revs. Dr. Raffles, Dr. George Smith, of London ;
Dr. Halley, Dr. Dobbin (Wesleyan), J. A. James, of Birmingham;
and \V. L. Thornton, of Didsbury College. The collections
reached the handsome sum of ^88 1, and the total expense of the
undertaking was .£5,136. Mr. Ford laboured with great success
until May, 1858, when he resigned. He continued, however, for
some time to reside in Manchester, and served the churches by
preaching the gospel, which was " still the joy of his life." He
died at Bedford, October 23rd, 1875, his remains being
laid in the Harpurhey Cemetery, Manchester. He was
the author of "Decapolis," "Chorazin," "Damascus," "Lao-
dicea," "Pastoral Addresses," and "Alarm in Zion," works
THE REV. D. J. HAMER. 223
"widely known and influential;" and as a musician and
composer of hymn tunes he was not unknown. His two sons
Mr. G. N. Ford and Mr. P. N. Ford, resident in Manchester,
are prominent figures in the Congregational world, and worthily
uphold an honoured name. The Rev. David Home, B.A., whose
ministerial training was obtained at Airedale College, and who
had previously laboured at Sunderland, held the pastorate from
February, 1861, to 1862, when he resigned. In 1865 he became
the minister of Hope Chapel, Hanley, and is now resident at
Ahrincham without charge. His nephew is the cultured and
eloquent young minister of Kensington, the Rev. C. Sylvester
Home, M.A. The vacancy at Richmond Chapel was occupied
from 1863 to 1867 by the Rev. J. Dickerson Davies, M.A.,
educated at New College, and previously of Guernsey. An
affliction of the throat and failing health compelled him to
relinquish the pastorate, but the church " generously continued his
salary for a year." Mr. Davies is now at Burgess Hill. The Rev.
D. Jones Hamer, a student from Lancashire College, was appointed
in May, 1867, and three years afterwards school buildings
were erected at a cost of ,£3,500. In 1875 a considerable
number of the wealthiest supporters of the church left to
form the new church at Broughton Park, previous to which the
carriages waiting on a Sunday for the conclusion of the service at
Richmond Chapel caused it to be called " the carriage way to
heaven." Two years later, the sum of ,£2,200 was raised, the
interest of which was to meet the " chief rent " charge, and in the
same year Mr. Hamer resigned "amid unanimous testimonies
of the high level and fine influence of his ministrations." From
Salford he removed to Wolverhampton, and subsequently to Mel
bourne, where he died suddenly, March 7th, 1886, aged forty years.
The Rev. Robert Craig, M.A., educated at Glasgow University,
ordained in 1866, minister of the E. U. Church, Blackfriars Street,
Glasgow, and subsequently Professor in the Evangelical Union
Theological Hall, succeeded Mr. Hamer in September, 1878. He
successfully held the pastorate until August, 1885, when he removed
to Brighton Street E. U. Church, Edinburgh, where he still labours.
In the January following the Rev. B. J. Snell, M.A., B.Sc.,
educated at New Co^ege, and who had previously ministered at
224 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Newcastle-on-Tyne, received an invitation to the pastorate, which
he accepted. It was during his ministry that new and more com
modious premises were erected in 1890 for the Adelphi Ragged
School,1 costing over ^1,900. In 1891, to the regret of his
congregation, Mr. Snell removed to Brixton, having accepted an
invitation to succeed the late Dr. Stevenson in the pulpit so long
associated with the fervid eloquence of ^the Rev. J. Baldwin
Brown, BA. The Rev. H. H. Snell, B.A., succeeded his brother,
March i3th, 1892. He also was educated at New College, settled first
at Wednesbury, Staffs., then at Wickliffe Congregational Church,
Leicester, becoming afterwards the minister of the Octagon Chapel
(Unitarian), Norwich. Finding himself, however, out of sym
pathy with Unitarianism he publicly announced his inability
to continue his ministry in that denomination, and after a
brief period was called to the pastorate of Richmond Chapel,
where he still labours amidst encouraging signs of success.
Connected with the church is an important branch of the
P. S. A. Society ; and it may be interesting to note that the
amount of money raised by the church since its commencement
to the end of last year is ^54,876 195. 5d.
IV.— PENDLETON (BROAD STREET), CHARLESTOWN, SEEDLEY
AND REGENT (TRAFFORD ROAD) CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
THE Congregational Church at Pendleton owes its origin to the
New Windsor Congregational Church. One of its deacons
" most laudably exerted himself, not only to raise a good Sunday
School here, but to gather a congregation of devout worshippers."
This deacon was Mr. John Hewitt, who found valuable helpers in
Messrs. Isaac Cleasby and P. Dickens. Mr. Hewitt commenced
work at Charlestown, then in a sadly neglected condition, on
September 27th, 1829. About 100 children were present when
the school was opened, and Sunday evening services were soon
1 The Ragged School was carried on for many years in a private house,
but 'in May, 1888, a Building Committee for the present new school was
formed.
THE REV. GEORGE TAYLOR. 225
started. A large schoolroom was built and opened for public
worship, June 27th, 1830, when the Rev. George Taylor, of New
Windsor, was the preacher. For five years after the opening of
the school the scholars, who were known as Mr. Hewitt's "ragged
regiment," were regularly marched to New Windsor Chapel.
Finding, however, the distance to be inconvenient, " the
establishment of a branch church was, after much deliberation and
many prayers, determined."1 Accordingly, on New Year's Day,
1836, the Rev. George Taylor, "with much feeling and many
fears," dismissed from his church at New Windsor nine
members. Mr. Hewitt being one of the number, to become
the nucleus of the church whose place of meeting was then
at Charlestown. Until the time of his retirement from the
New Windsor Church Mr. Taylor presided at all the meetings of
the young church, and "administered Christ's ordinances either
personally or by means of his friend, Dr. Clunie." In February,
1838, the Rev. John Anyon was asked to work the church along
with his own at Pendlebury, which he did until July 3ist,
1843, when he resigned the charge of Charlestown, and
the connection between the two places ended. In the
following August a call was presented to the Rev. A. E. Pearce,
which he accepted. Born at Barrington, Cambridgeshire,
March i4th, 1811, and designed for the medical profession,
he was placed under a doctor at Cambridge to pursue
his studies. Advised, however, by the Rev. J. A. James
and others to enter the ministry, he went to Birmingham
and attended lectures at Spring Hill College, preaching at the
same time at Lozells Chapel. From this place he removed to
Charlestown, and the congregation growing under his preaching a
new chapel became necessary. In a description of the structure
written at the time of its erection, in 1847, it is said to be "most
eligibly situated in the centre of the populous township of
Pendleton," to be " a handsome stone building of Gothic outline,
after the example of Whitby Abbey," having accommodation for
about 600 persons. Spacious and convenient schoolrooms were
constructed under the chapel, the cost of the whole being about
^4,500, towards which Sir E. Armitage and Mr. Hewittgave ^"1,000
1 " Evangelical Magazine " for 1846, p. 563.
5—15
226 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
each. A " beautiful and effective organ," which cost originally
400 guineas, was presented to the church by Mr. Samuel Fletcher.
The opening service took place on July i4th, 1847, when the
Revs. Dr. Raffles and James Parsons were the preachers. In the
two schools there were said to be 800 scholars. In the new
home the church assumed the new name of the Pendleton
Congregational Church. The condition of Mr. Pearce's health
led to his resignation and removal to St. Heliers, Jersey, in
November, 1857, where he laboured till his death, January
i6th, 1867. He published a course of lectures on "Inspiration "
and a little volume entitled " A Voice in Rama Hushed,"
which is described as "a gem of its kind," "written in a
chaste and elegant style."1 In May, 1858, the Rev. S. St. Neots
Dobson, B.A., educated at Airedale College, and formerly of York,
then co-pastor at Yarmouth, succeeded Mr. Pearce at Pendleton.
He resigned in January, 1867, and subsequently laboured at Dover
and Bungay, in Suffolk. It was during Mr. Dobson's ministry
that a new school was erected at a cost of ^2,400, the
foundation stone of which was laid on October 8th, 1864,.
by James Sidebottom, Esq. The opening service took place on
July 1 2th, 1867, and it deserves to be noted that the building
contains a seven-light stained glass window, the gift of Mr,
Lightbown, one of the deacons. In July of the same year the Rev.
Edwin Walker assumed the pastorate. He also was educated
at Airedale College, and previous to his coming to Pendleton
was co-pastor to the Rev. J. E. Millson, of Southport,
for about two years. Mr. Walker's career in Pendleton was " one
of peaceful, quiet, steady prosperity." His sudden death on
February i7th, 1891, came as a shock to his brethren in the
district, by whom he was greatly beloved. The Rev. J. W. Kiddler
" one of his oldest friends/' conducted a short service in his house
previous to removing the body for interment in Salford Cemetery,,
on February 2oth. In the church in which he preached so long
is a memorial tablet thus inscribed : —
In loving memory of the Rev. Edwin Walker, who died February lyth,
1891, in the forty-nineth year of his age, and who was for twenty-three years-
the faithful and devoted pastor of this church. " Blessed are the peace
makers, for they shall be called the children of God."
1 " Evangelical Magazine" for 1848, p. 583.
SIR ELK AN AH ARMITA GE. 227
The Rev. H. E. Radbourne, educated at Nottingham and
Cheshunt, and whose previous pastorates have been at Newcastle-
on-Tyne and Broughton Park, Manchester,1 began his ministry at
Pendleton, July, 1891, which he successfully continues.
In 1855 many of those who went from Charlestown to Pend^ton
resolved to return and form another church. This was done on
February 25th, in that year, the Rev. G. Palmer, of Ashley Lane,
presiding on the occasion. The Rev. John Spencer Hill, educated
at Bedford, and formerly of Cheltenham, became the minister,
November i6th, 1856. He remained until 1860, when he resigned,
and was subsequently for a short time minister at Middleton.'2
The Rev. £. G. Barnes, a student from Cavendish College, Man
chester, followed in 1863. It was during his ministry that the
present chapel was erected, the foundation stone of which was laid
on October ist, 1864. It was opened by Dr. Allon the following
year, and its cost, including extras, is given as .£3,768. The sitting
accommodation provided is for 550 persons. Amongst the liberal
friends of the movement were Sir Elkanah Armitage and Sons.
Indeed it is recorded that the erection was the result of their
"promise of generous assistance, personal and pecuniary." Mr.
Barnes remained until 1867, when he resigned and entered the
ministry of the Established Church. His successor was the Rev.
D. N. Jordan, B.A., a student from Spring Hill College, who
accepted the church's invitation October 6th, 1867. He did a
useful work until February, 1875, when he removed to Cheadle
Hulme. It was during his ministry that new schools were erected
at the cost of Sir E. Armitage. In May, 1875, the Rev. J. W.
Kiddle, from Coventry, became the pastor, removing in October,
1884, to Stretford, where he still labours.3 The Rev. D. W.
Jordan, B. A, returned to his old charge in 1885, and remained
until his death, March 28th, 1888. The present pastor is the Rev.
J. M. Carrack, B.A, a student from Airedale College, who suc
ceeded Mr. Jordan in the year of his decease.
Seedley Congregational Church is the outcome of a secession
from the New Windsor Church in 1868. Meetings were first held
1 Vide ante p. 195.
2 Vide p. 277.
* Vide ante p. 77.
228 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
in a Ragged School, Ellor Street, where a church was formed con
sisting of twenty-nine persons, the Rev. H. W. Walker, Chaplain of
Salford Cemetery, presiding on the occasion. Shortly afterwards
services were transferred to Blair's Cottage, Cross Lane, then to
Wilton House, where the congregation remained about six years.
Mr. Wyatt became the lay pastor during this period, and remained
such about sixteen months, the Rev. H. W. Walker also giving
valuable assistance. On September i3th, 1873, the foundation
stone of the present School Chapel, in West Liverpool Street, was
laid by Henry Lee, Esq. The new erection was opened in 1874,
by the Rev. D. Jones Hamer, of Richmond Chapel. It cost
;£ 1,156, and the sitting accommodation provided for 350 persons.
In 1874 the Rev. William Knox, formerly of Farnworth and
Kirkham,1 became the minister. He resigned in 1877, and sub
sequently became pastor of the Chapel Street Church, Salford. -
After his removal the church was without a minister for several
years, during which period the Rev. J. W. Kiddle met the deacons
at stated intervals, and presided over church and other meetings.
In March, 1882, Mr. R. P. Ellis was chosen lay pastor. He
resigned through ill health in 1886, and in June of the following
year, Mr. B. Wyld accepted the lay pastorate. The schools were
enlarged during his ministry. He left in 1890, and in January,
1892, the present lay pastor, Mr. Bescoby, took charge of the con
gregation. The premises are free from debt, and there is land for
a chapel when required.
Regent Congregational Church originated in 1870 with a
number of persons, who seceded from Hope Chapel. The first
place of meeting was a small room in Regent Street, Salford,
which, becoming too small for the congregation, a removal was
effected in 1877, to Shaftesbury Hall, Robert Hall Street, and
thence, after a short time, to the Liberal Club in Trafford Road.
Valuable assistance was rendered the church at this time by the
Revs. D. J. Hamer and J. W. Kiddle. The district was felt to be
so important, that the Chapel Building Society purchased a large
plot of land at a cost of nearly ^£2,000, for the prospected new
chapel. The next remove was to the Conservative Club, but
1 Vide vols. i. and iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Vide ante p. 217.
REGENT CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 229
these premises also soon ceased to be equal to the requirements
of the work. About three years ago, the church was on the eve of
disbanding, when the Revs. B. J. Snell, M.A., and J. W. Kiddle, as
the representatives of the Ministers and Deacons' Association, met
the members, and advised them to keep together. This they did,
and since then the state of things has greatly improved. In 1891,
Regent Church, after an absence of a few years, re-appeared on
the list of County Union stations, and in September, 1892, a new
iron chapel was opened in Elizabeth Street, Trafford Road. The
cost was about ,£500, and the sitting accommodation is for 400
persons. There is no minister : students from the college give
valuable assistance.
CHAPTER IV.
OLDHAM AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.
I.— GREENACRES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
THE Uniformity Act of 1662 found a victim in Oldham as it did
in so many other Lancashire towns. The Rev. Robert Constan-
tine was in that year ejected from its Parish Church, and thus
became the father of Oldham Nonconformity. He was the
third son of the Rev. Thomas Constantine, the rector of Taxall,
in Cheshire, was baptised March i4th, 1618-9, educated under Mr.
Greenby at Glossop, where his widowed mother lived, and matricu
lated in the third class at Glasgow, in May, 1638. He was pre
sented by the people of Oldham to a meeting of the Manchester
Classis, on November 3rd, 1647, "f°r allowance to be their
minister," having previously been for a few years at Fairfield and
Buxton, in Derbyshire. In 1650 the Parliamentary Commissioners
reported thus concerning him and his charge : —
Wee alsoe psent that in the pishe of Ouldam there is one pish Church,
and that Mr. Robte Constantine supplyes the Cure, And that hee is an Ortho
dox Minister, and well qualliffyed in lyffe and conversacon, And put to
officiate at Ouldam by Order from the Comittie of plundered Ministers,
as wee belive, and that he should have for his sallery one hundred pounds p.
ann out of the tyths in the same pish, but it is not all payed him as yett ;
.And wee psent the tyths of the said pish to bee worth one hundred and forty
pounds p. ann.1
Up to October, 1650, Mr. Constantine's name appears as
Minister of Oldham, when, refusing the Engagement, "Justice
Ashton, of Chatterton, vigorously prosecuted him so as to force
him to remove."2 Invited to Birstall, in Yorkshire, he remained
1 " Commonwealth Church Survey " (Record Society Series, vol. i.),
. 22.
2 Calamy's '' Nonconformist's Memorial " (1802), vol. ii., p. 371.
DR. JOHN LAKE. 2 3 1
there until March, 1654-5, when he was reinstated in his former
charge at Oldham. During the intervening period the pulpit was
occupied by the Rev. John Lake, who first got in as a " supplyer."
The Constantine party, however, never allowed matters to rest
until they had brought about the restoration of their old minister.
The following were the articles which they exhibited against Mr.
Lake : —
Imp. That the said Mr. John Lake hath been a grand cavaleire in former
tymes, and is yett a frequent companion of malignant and disafected people.
2. That in all congregacons where the said Mr. John Lake hath officiated as
minister [he] hath by the godly been reputed to be an enemy to reformacon
and the power of godlyness.
3. That whereas one, Mr. Robert Constantyne, a Godly minister, who was
settled at Ouldham by order from the hon'rble parlamt was, by reason of the
informacon of some disafected p'sons, detained and kept from the congrega-
con, and the said Mr. John Lake, in his absence, in a subtle way gott in as a
supplyer of the congregacon ; upon his admittance made sollome promises
and protestacons not to settle himselfe as minister ther.
4. That the said Mr. John Lake, shortly after hee was gott in, gave notice
hee would administer the sacramt to the congregacon, who then did, and still
doth, administer the same in a general and promiscuous way, contrarie to the
rule injoyned by the hon'r'))e parlam*-, or practised by any reformed congre
gacon, admitting thereunto many cavaliers of remote parte ; and invaies in
his sermons against the Godly, because they doe not, nor in conscience can
they, come in and joyne with such to abuse the ordinance of Christ.
5. That the said Mr. John Lake, not regarding his promise nor protestacon,
with the ade and assistance of some whom he had honoured with his
promiscuous administracon of the sacram1, gott hands to a writting or peti
tion, many of which said hands were persons of another parish, which was
sent, as wee alsoe are given to understand, to the honrble Committee of
Plundered Ministers, and thereupon an order granted for his settlement, in
which order is expressed that the sd Mr. Constantyne was sequestered from
his place, whereas hee was never proceeded against in poynt of sequestracon,
nor called to any tryal.
6. That the said Mr. John Lake, since hee obtained the said order, doth
much countenance loose persons, indevoringe with all his power to settle such
in offices to serve his and their one designes for the discorishment of such as
desire reformation.
7. That the said Mr. John Lake doth baptyse basthardes, not onely of his
own congrecon but of other parishps, the parents not giveing satisfaccon to
congrecon, we>> thinges doth very much discorish the harts of the godly.1
1 " Manchester Classis " (Chetham Society, New Series, vol. xxiv.),
P. 386.
23 2 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Dr. John Lake (for such he afterwards became) was subse
quently rector of Prestwich, and Bishop of Chichester, being one
of the " Seven Bishops " committed to the Tower by James II. in
1688. Mr. Constantine remained at Oldham until 1662, when
he was ejected. In 1671 he was living at Salford, but the Indul
gence Act of the following year saw him with a license for preach
ing in a thatched house at Greenacres. The liberty which the
Nonconformists had enjoyed under this Act was withdrawn after a
few months, and if Mr. Constantine and his friends had worship
at all during the years of persecution which immediately followed
it would be in secret, and at irregular times. Previous to 1695,
though how long is not clear, he was living in a house at Green-
acres, which did duty also as a place of worship. Writing in
1854 the Rev. G. G. Waddington thus describes this building: —
It has no pretensions to architectural beauty. It simply consists of two
cottage-dwellings ; one now in the occupation of Robert Lees, and another
recently occupied by John Kinder ; a farmhouse occupied by Mr. James
Mills and a barn and cowhouse also in the tenancy of Mr. Mills. The
cottages, farmhouse, barn, and shippon constitute one long and rather
irregular building, having a somewhat antiquated appearance, and suggest
ing the idea that it was formerly a residence of considerable respectability,
fitted for the occupation of a thoroughly wealthy farmer, or yeoman.1
The death of his wife, on March 29th, 1695, and Mr. Constan-
tine's own infirmities, led to his retirement from ministerial duty
and to his removal to Manchester, where he died some four years
after. In the " Northowram Register " appears the following : —
Mr. Robt. Constantine, formerly parson of Oldham, lived and dyed in
Manchester, bur. at Oldham, Dec. 16, '99, aged 8o.a
Upon his tombstone, in the Oldham Parish Church graveyard,
is the following inscription : —
Here lyeth the bodye of
ROBERT CONSTANTINE, CLERK,
Who was buried December I4th, 1699 ;
and FRANCIS, his Wife,
who was buried March the 29th, 1695 ;
and SARAH, his Daughter, wife of Ellis Rainshaw,
of Manchester, Apothecary,
Who was buried May 22nd, 1695.
1 " History of Greenacres Chapel," p. 7.
2 Page 99. — The reader will note a discrepancy in the date here given
with the one on Mr. Constantine's tombstone.
234 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Calamy says that in the "prime of life he was a man of a clear
head, fruitful abilities, solid learning, and a pleasant conversation.
He was also a well-accomplished preacher, having a good method,
an audible voice, and an agreeable delivery. But, living to be
very old, his faculties decayed, and he was superannuated with
respect to his work. He died, however, as he had lived, in good
credit both with ministers and private Christians.1'1 His only son,
Samuel, baptised at Oldham, November 25th, 1660, died of con
sumption, and was buried there on the 6th of August, 1683. The
immediate successors of Mr. Constantine are not known ; but a
Mr. Lawton, afterwards of Liverpool,2 and the Rev. James Hardy,
of Stockport, are named in this connection, though whether they
were more than occasional supplies has not been ascertained.
Nor is it known when the Rev. Benjamin Denton, M. A., the
next minister, took charge of the congregation. He came from
Halifax, and appears to have been intimate with Oliver Heywood,
being several times mentioned in his diaries. His place of residence
was at Birrowshaw Hill, and, in addition to his pastoral duties, he
taught a school. The building in which he preached was the
third which the Nonconformists of Oldham had licensed for
worship, and the first chapel proper. Mr. Waddington describes
it thus in 1854 : —
A stranger, looking at the building from the South East point of view,
would not readily suppose that it had been formerly used as a place of
worship. The lapse of seventy years since it was last used for that purpose
may easily be supposed to have altered its outward appearance, as well as its
internal arrangement. From its rectangular shape, however, and the position
in which it stands, it is not difficult to imagine that in its best days it was a
tolerably neat and commodious place of worship. . . The building was
not erected, nor originally intended, for divine worship, and appears to have
been selected as the most suitable in the neighbourhood for that purpose, and
capable of being easily altered and adapted tor the convenient accommoda
tion of a congregation. Prior to the year 1699, the building consisted of a
barn and a low house attached to it. From this circumstance it was called
the " Greenacres Barn " for many years after it was converted into a chapel.
The land in front of this building was originally used as a farm yard in con-
1 "Nonconformist's Memorial" (1802), vol. ii., p. 371.
2 Vide vol. vi. of " Lancashire Nonconformity," for information about
the family, who appear to have had an estate at Counthill.
236 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
nection with the shippon. It afterwards served the purpose of a chapel-yard.
The building is now converted into cottages, and the ground connected with
it is added to the grave yard, or used for the accommodation of the cottage
dwellings now occupied by William Hanson and Cyrus Rhodes.1
It was this building which the Sacheverel rioters partially de
stroyed on June 2ist, 1715. Unless Mr. Denton had as assistant
the Rev. James Burgess, who follows him in the ministerial roll,
his ministry terminated some years before his death,2 but he
continued to reside in his house at Barrowshaw Hill. In the
Oldham Parish Church Registers is the following, under date
1743: — "January iSth, Mr. Benjamin Denton (late Dissenting
teacher at Greenacres) Buried from Counthill." His successor
was the Rev. James Burgess, already named. He had previously
laboured at Darwen, and came to Oldham about 1733, residing at
Hey. In 1745 he purchased some houses at Barrowshaw Hill
from Lydia Denton, sister to the Rev. Benjamin Denton. About
1746 Mr. Burgess left his church at Greenacres to take charge of
the new interest at Delph, across the Yorkshire border, which had
originated with the church at Greenacres. He died at Hey some
time before 1775. '' The Rev. Edward Harrison, a farmer and
village preacher, of Swindon in Craven, was the next minister. He
was introduced to the Greenacres congregation by Mr. John
Winterbottom, of Green Lane, a woollen manufacturer, who
frequently went to Craven on business matters. Invited to preach a
few sabbaths, Mr. Harrison did so, and with such acceptance that the
church presented to him an invitation to the pastorate, to which he
acceded. The journey on horseback from Swindon to Greenacres
was attended with a serious accident, which eventually resulted in
Mrs. Harrison's death.4 Thus the new minister entered upon his
duties amidst the gloom of family affliction, the discouragements of
"a weak and declining" church, and with the prospect of an
1 " History of Greenacres Chapel," pp. 33, 34.
2 Mr. Waddington says "it appears highly probable that Mr. Denton
closed his life and ministry together in January, A.D. 1743." ("History of
Greenacres Chapel," p. 51). For ten years, however, his successor had been
labouring here at that time.
3Videvo!s. ii. and iii of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for full informa
tion about the Revs. James Burgess, father and son ; also p. 293 of this volume.
4 Vide vol iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
238 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
income " small and insufficient for the support of a minister in any
tolerable degree of respectability and comfort." Amongst those of
his people who showed great kindness is named Jeremiah Fielding,
of Hartshead, whose sister attended Mrs. Harrison until her death,
and afterwards married the bereaved husband. Mr. Harrison lived
in a house situated in a field called the Hare Hill, at the top of
Strines Fold, and after remaining about three years at Greenacres
he returned to Swindon. His son, the Rev. Joseph Harrison, was
for some years minister of Bethel Chapel, Bury.1 The Rev. Mr.
Gladstone is mentioned as the next minister, but concerning him
all information is wanting.2 His successor was the Rev. Robert
Harrop, who was admitted a student in Daventry Academy in 1761.
In 1765 he became minister of Millbrow, in Derbyshire, and
Greenacres, continuing this double pastorate until 1769, when he
removed to Hale, in Cheshire. Here he remained until 1816,
having charge for about six years of the congregation at Cross Street
(Cheshire), afterwards of the Altrincham congregation for about
two years, in addition to his pastorate at Hale. In 1816 he retired
from ministerial duty, being <hen seventy years old, but he lived
some twenty-one years longer, having attained to the patriarchal
age of ninety-one at the time of his death. The Rev. William
James followed. He is described as rustic in appearance, of plain
and simple manners, hyper-Calvinistic in doctrine, lively and
earnest in his preaching, and fond of anecdotes, which he often
repeated in his sermons. He lodged with one William Wrigley, at
the top of the meadows, in the neighbourhood of Strines, whose
wife, Mary Wrigley, used to lead the little black pony upon which
the minister rode to chapel when the infirmities of age rendered
his walking thither impossible. "On these occasions," says Mr.
Waddington, "it was not unusual for Mary Wrigley to allow the
pony to stand grazing by the road side with the old minister on its
back, whilst she stayed to converse with any acquaintance or friend
who happened to meet them. The old gentleman does not appear
to have considered this treatment as in any way disrespectful, but
waited patiently until the pony and its conductor were ready to
1 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Vide p. 293.
DISSENSION AND LITIGATION. 239
pursue their journey."1 Increased accommodation became
necessary a few years before Mr. James died, and how the erection
of a chapel to supersede the modest structure which had done
duty probably since the days of Robert Constantine was brought
about, Mr. Waddington tells us in the following passage : —
One Sabbath day, about the year 1783, Mr. James was preaching with
somewhat more than his accustomed energy of manner In the delivery of
the sermon he happened to strike the pulpit rather heavily. The pulpit not
being in a condition to bear such treatment, a portion of it was broken off,
and fell on one of the hearers who was sitting near it. Mr. James then
remarked that it was high time to build another chapel, for if they did not,
some of the congregation might sustain serious injury. As the pulpit was
in such a dilapidated and infirm condition, it may be inferred that the con
dition of the pews was not very greatly superior. However this may have
been, I am credibly informed that on the following week some of the leading
members of the church and congregation met together, and consulted about
the propriety of erecting a larger and better chapel. The result of their
deliberations was a determination to erect a sanctuary at Greenacres suited
to the requirements of the congregation and the surrounding neighbour
hood.2
The building was commenced in 1784, and on May 4th, 1785,
it was completed and opened for worship, the ministers assisting in
the service being the Revs. David Bruce, of Liverpool ; R. Simpson,
of Bolton ; and Noah Blackburn, of Tockholes ; the pastor, Mr.
James, continuing the opening services on the following Sabbath.
Shortly after this the infirmities of the minister made it necessary
that he should have assistance in his duties, and John Handforth,
probably a native of Oldham, was invited to the position. The
appointment appears to have been of an " indefinite and irregular "
character, and "led to serious misunderstandings and painful pro
ceedings." Mr. James died May i2th, 1788, and shortly afterwards
" those persons who thought that John Handforth was imposing
himself on the people without having received a proper invitation,
and that he was not eligible to be a minister, proceeded to give an
invitation to the Rev. William Howell, of Knaresborough. ""
1 "History of Greenacres Chapel," p. 61.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid, p. 68.
24o LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Much bitterness arose, litigation ensued ; but the matter was
settled on October 3151, 1789, both Mr. Handforth and
Mr. Howell withdrawing from the field.1 The Rev. Thomas
Hale was chosen to the pastorate a few months after the settle
ment of the dispute. He was born in July, 1762, at Ross,
in Herefordshire, and educated at Oswestry by the Rev.
Edward Williams, subsequently Dr Williams, of Rotherham
College. His first charge was Holywell, in Flintshire, whence,
in 1790, he removed to Greenacres. His ministry of four years
is said " to have improved the spirit of the church," against
which the unhappy dispute previously mentioned had brought
"a degree of odium" which "greatly injured its prosperity."
His removal to the Old Chapel, Heckmondwike, in August, 1794,
was occasioned by the " intense suffering and impoverishment of
the people " at Greenacres, which made it impossible for them
adequately to support him. At Heckmondwike, in addition to
his pastorate, Mr. Hale kept a boarding school, and in this
double sphere he continued to labour until death came to his
1 Mr. Handforth afterwards settled at Congleton, in Cheshire, and
subsequently at Gatley, where he was ordained July I5th, 1801. In Miall's
" Congregationalism in Yorkshire " (p. 362) is the following, which may refer
to the same person : " 1794 Rev. — Handforth from Lancashire. He had been
originally a soldier in the Spanish wars. He was not a man of education,
but of great earnestness, and he left Skipton, 1797, much regretted." Mr.
Howell had been educated by the Rev. Robert Gentleman, at Shrewsbury,
and was ordained over the little church at Knaresborough in 1782. From
the pen of his son, Mr. William Howell, the following appears in Miall's
" Congregationalism in Yorkshire " (p. 299) : " My father was chosen by the
London Missionary Society as the Superintendent of the Mission to the
South Seas in the second voyage of the ' Duff.' They sailed at the close of
1799. The 'Duff' was captured by a French privateer, and all the mission
aries were carried to Monte Video. After a delay of some months they
bought a brig, and set sail for England. They were next captured by a
Portuguese flat, and taken to Lisbon. From thence they sailed for England,
and arrived at Falmouth about the end of the year. My father at once
resumed his charge of the church at Windsor Lane, after an absence of nearly
a year. He continued to hold the pastorate till 1833, when he publicly
resigned his charge, but preached once every Sunday until 1835, when he
resigned entirely." He died on Monday, June 2Oth, 1842, in his 8gth year.
(Evangelical Magazine, 1842, p. 573.)
THE REV. WM. COLES. 241
relief in 1821. In the graveyard of the chapel at Heckmondwike
is a tombstone thus inscribed : —
Beneath this tombstone are deposited the remains of the
REV. THOS. HALE,
who departed this life on the i7th day of May, 1821,
in the 5Qth year of his age,
and the 2yth of his ministry at this place.
MARGARET, his wife,
died at Dewsbury, February aand, 1835,
in the yand year of her age.
MARY HALE, only daughter of the above,
died May 4th, 1836, aged 46 years.
During the whole of Mr. Hale's ministry at Heckmondwike the
pressure of the times was exceedingly great, and the congregation
suffered seriously. He took their misfortunes and trade losses so
grievously to heart that he became prematurely old. "During the
last two years of his life," says his biographer, " he suffered so
much from weakness that he was unable to stand through a service,
and was obliged to preach sitting upon a high stool." 1 Brief as
Mr. Hale's ministry at Greenacres was, and hard as were the times,
he succeeded in getting the "Old Parsonage" erected in 1791,
"a neat and respectable country house." The Rev. Wm. Coles
was appointed his successor, August 27th, 1794.
The following interesting account of his ordination is worth
preserving because of the information it gives of the man as well as
of the service itself : —
On Wednesday, the 2and of April [1795], was ordained at Greenacres,
nine miles east of Manchester, the Rev. Mr. Coles. This gentleman was
nourished up in the words of truth and sound doctrine, under the pastoral
care of the Rev. Mr. Moody, of Warwick. Being devoted to the Christian
ministry, he was sent for education to a minister who kept a small academy
at Newcastle-under-Lyme. His first labours were at Uttoxeter, in Stafford
shire ; but the heat of opposition was so great in that place that the people
were deterred from attending his ministry, and he thought it his duty to
remove. He then put himself under the direction of Mr. [Captain Jonathan]
Scott, and was employed at Market Drayton, in Shropshire, and several
other adjacent places. Greenacres being destitute of a stated pastor by the
removal of Mr. Hale to Heckmondwike, a place celebrated in Yorkshire as
a fountain which has enriched the garden of the Lord, Mr. Coles received a
1 Peel's "Nonconformity in Spen Valley," p. 179.
242 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
unanimous invitation, and thought it his duty there to settle. The ordina-
nation was attended with great solemnity. The spirit of religion was kept
up to the end, though the service was long ; as this service must be in the
nature of things, as it obtains among the Dissenters. The introductory
duties of the day were performed by the Rev. Mr. Blackburn, of Saddle-
worth, Delph, who received a confession of faith from the minister strictly
orthodox and well expressed. Mr. Handlezark, of Stockport, in Cheshire,
prayed the ordination prayer with great fervency of mind. Paul's ministry,
as related by himself to the elders of Ephesus, was urged by the Rev. Mr.
Cockin as a pattern to the succeeding servants of God. And the Rev. Mr.
Hale enforced the great duties of a congregation in a pathetic address from
Phil, ii., 16. We were honoured at dinner with the company of two very
sensible and serious Moravian ministers, and the conversation very agree
ably turned upon the best methods of promoting religion in our own con
gregations and in the distant parts of the wcrld. 1
Mr. Coles is described as —
An intelligent man, of good abilities, active habits, and very respectable
qualifications as a preacher. As to his personal appearance, rather little,
slender, and dark complexioned.2
In the early part of 1801 he removed to Stand Chapel, and
subsequently to Bakewell, in Derbyshire.3 The Rev. Robert
Jenkinson was the next minister. He had previously laboured a
few years at Haslingden, where he was ordained, October 3oth,
1797. He became successor to Mr. Coles, August i6th, 1801 ;
but his death, on May 23rd, 1803, in his 2pth year, terminated a
ministry which was full of promise.4 The Rev. Joseph Galland
followed. His father was the Rev. Robert Galland, minister of
the Independent Church at Ilkeston, in Derbyshire, and subse
quently at Holmfirth. Joseph Galland was born at Ilkeston, June
29th, 1778, and was sent to a school at Tintwistle, kept by the
Rev. Mr. Hudson, Congregational minister. Amongst his school
fellows were Wm. Moorhouse and John Cockin, afterwards
eminent Congregational ministers in Yorkshire. Sent to Batley to
learn the woollen business, he attended the ministry of Mr. Hale,
at Heckmondwike, formerly of Greenacres, and joined his church
January ist, 1801. In September of that year, he was admitted
1 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1795, p. 290.
• " History of Greenacres Chapel," p. 82.
3 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity,"
4 Vide vol. ii, of " Lancashire Nonconformity," for a copy of the inscrip
tion on his tablet in the Greenacres Chapel.
THE REV. JOSEPH GALLAAD. 243
a student in Rotherham College, then under the presidency of Dr.
Williams. On the completion of his college course he settled at
Greenacres, commencing his duties as minister on the second
Sunday in December, 1805. His ordination took place the
succeeding year, an account of which is here subjoined : —
August 2oth. — Mr. Galland, late student at the Rotherham Academy, was
ordained pastor of the Independent Church at Green-Acres, Lancashire.
Mr. Coles, of Stand, introduced the service by reading the Scriptures and by
prayer ; Mr. Meldrum, of Hatherlow, discoursed on the nature of a Gospel
Church ; Mr. Blackburn, of Delph, engaged in the ordination prayer ; Mr.
Cockin, of Halifax, gave the charge from Acts xxvii., 23, 24 ; Mr. Roby, of
Manchester, exhorted the church and congregation to be zealous ; and Mr.
Evans, of Stockport, concluded with prayer.1
A ministry as honourable as it was lengthy was brought to a
sudden termination by Mr. Galland's death, on September 24th,
1843. In the chapel is a handsome marble monument thus
inscribed : —
Sacred to the memory
of the
REVEREND JOSEPH GALLAND,
who,
for the period of Thirty Eight Years,
sustained the Pastoral Office in this House.
Faithful and devoted
he lived in the affections of his people,
and the esteem of the public,
and died, deeply lamented,
Sept. 24th, 1843,
in the 66th year of his age.
The other Congregational interests in Oldham and neighbour
hood are in great measure memorials of the earnest, self-denying
labours of Mr. Galland, and it was in his time — in 1822 — that
Greenacres Chapel was enlarged and considerably improved. On
the 1 8th of February, 1844, the Rev. Benjamin Longley entered
upon his labours as Mr. Galland's successor. He was a native of
Sheffield, and was educated at Rotherham College. His first
pastorate was at Southwold, in Suffolk, where he was ordained
1 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1806, p. 525.
244 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
October 27th, 1824. Subsequently he laboured at Middles-
borough, in Yorkshire, and Armitage, in Staffordshire, his next
and last charge being Greenacres. He died January 6th, 1851,
in the 54th year of his age. Some time previous to this he had
retired from the ministry, being incapacitated by the " mental
disorder" which had several times made its appearance in the
course of his life. The Rev. G. G. Waddington, a student from
Airedale College, followed in August, 1850, being ordained on
the ist and 2nd of October following. The advent of the new
minister was followed by two undertakings of considerable magni
tude. First, new Sunday Schools, opened in January, 1851,
superseded the two small schoolrooms which had been erected in
1812; and on March 4th, 1854, Mr. John Lees laid the corner
stone of the present commodious chapel, which took the place
of the one erected in 1784. This building, capable of accom
modating 800 people, was opened for public worship on
Wednesday, August r6th, 1854, when Dr. Raffles, of Liver
pool, preached in the morning from Matt, v., 47, and Dr. W.
Lindsay Alexander, of Edinburgh, in the evening, from Luke
xvii., 20; i Cor. iv., 20. The opening services were continued
on the following Sunday, when the preacher was the Rev.
John Waddington, afterwards Dr. Waddington, the historian of
Congregationalism, and brother of the pastor. The total cost
was ,£2,323 i6s. 5d., towards which the Chapel Building
Society granted the sum of ^500. This work was barely
finished when Mr. Waddington undertook the erection of
" Greenacres Grammar School," which has played an important
part in the history of educational effort in Oldham. The founda
tion stone was laid on December 2nd, 1854, by Mr. John Booth,
of Lees, and the school was opened by a public soiree on
November 29th, 1855, at which John Platt, Esq., of Werneth
Park, presided. Mr. Waddington concluded a ministry of much
usefulness on August i2th, 1865, and accepted no other pastorate.
He is now clerk to the Dewsbury School Board, a position which
he has held for over twenty years. His "History of Greenacres
Chapel," first published in 1854 and reprinted in 1886, is an
excellent work of its kind, and has been found exceedingly helpful
in writing this sketch. The Rev. J. J. Williams, from Nayland, in.
LOYALTY TO E VANGEL1CALISM. 2 45
Suffolk, commenced his ministry in succession to Mr. Waddington,
February 3rd, 1867. He resigned November i7th, 1878, having
accepted an invitation to the Lowther Street Congregational
Church, Carlisle. He was subsequently at Horwich, and is now
at Garstang, near Preston.1
The Rev. Christopher Thompson, educated at Rotherham
College, and who had previously had charge for a few years of the
Congregational Church at Honley, near Huddersfield, entered
upon his labours at Greenacres, July 6th, 1879. He resigned
November 2oth, 1890, and was followed on April i3th, 1891, by
the present minister, the Rev. T. K. Higgs, M. A., from Withington,
Manchester.- It was during the pastorate of Mr. Thompson that
a new parsonage was erected; and also, in 1890, new Sunday
Schools, to accommodate 600 scholars, were put up, at a cost of
^2,500.
Greenacres Congregational Church is one of the few Noncon
formist churches in Lancashire which was proof against the
Arianism of last century, which eventually landed so many of
these old Nonconformist foundations in Unitarianism. It is
supposed that Mr. Harrop's teachings ran in that direction, but
he did not remain sufficiently long to leave any impression, and
the church has the satisfaction of being able to look back upon an
unbroken record of loyalty to evangelical truth.
II.— UNION STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
UNTIL the beginning of the present century the Congregational
church at Greenacres was left alone to grapple with the ignorance
and irreligion of Oldham and neighbourhood. In the early part of
1807, however, the committee of the newly-formed County Union
fixed upon Oldham as one of those places in Lancashire where
Evangelistic work should be commenced, and the Rev. J. Galland,
of Greenacres, was authorised " to take a room " for the preaching
of the gospel. The Rev. George Partington, who had been edu-
1 Vide vol. iii of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
4 Vide ante p. 72.
246 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
cated by Mr. Roby, and who subsequently became a minister of
some eminence both in Lancashire and Derbyshire, was engaged
as agent, but after a short time he was removed to Burnley.1 There
is no record of any further effort here until 1815, when the Union
committee "applied to the trustees of a chapel then to be disposed
of in that town, but the conditions of the sale not corresponding
with the terms by which they were limited, they declined the pur
chase." Disappointed there, a room was rented in Yorkshire
Street, over a public house known as the " Sportsman's Arms."
" Moss Garret " the place was called, access to which was gained
by an outside ladder or uncovered staircase. As an illustration of
the rude character of the times, and the perils to which our Con
gregational forefathers were often exposed in the pursuit of their
mission, the following incident is related : —
Whilst one of the preachers who had come from Manchester, and who
rode a horse which his brother had ridden at Waterloo, was returning home
after Sunday evening service, his horse took fright and galloped off at a high
speed. At the end of two miles he saw -a man crouching in the road,
evidently prepared to grasp the reins and rob the rider, whilst two other
men stood at a distance ready to give help, to whom the first one was
heard to say: "I can't; he gallops like the devil ! " Shortly afterwards the
horse broke into a trot, and the rider arrived at home in safety.
The good work grew, and in 1816 a church was formed
consisting of eighteen members, and about 1820 the old theatre
in Eagle Street was taken as " a more commodious place of
worship." At this time the Rev. N. Scholefield had charge of
Oldham and district, but "the toils of travelling to exchange with
ministers in the district on every alternate Sabbath " led to his
retirement after a few months- from a congregation which had
1 Vide vols. ii. and iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 From Urwick's "Nonconformity in Cheshire" (p. 181) the following
respecting Mr. Scholefield is extracted -. " In 1819, however, the Rev. Nathanael
Scholefield, who had been pastor of the church at Henley-on-Thames for up
wards of twenty-five years, became their [churches at Over and MinshullJ stated
minister and pastor. He had been induced to come into Lancashire by Mr.
Roby, of Manchester, principally because of the extensive field of labour
offered him there, and he was for a short time engaged with much acceptance
and success in Oldham, but his zeal and devotion becoming known to the
PEWS FOR THE GRANDEES. 247
"acquired a greater degree of consistency and stability." From
the theatre the people removed to a large room in Queen Street,
but the "access was bad, the room was uncomfortable, and so they
were fain to resort again to the old theatre." Stated ministers
and students from the Blackburn Academy supplied the pulpit
until 1821, when it is said that a Mr. Harris1 laboured acceptably
during the greater part of the year, preaching "in four surrounding
populous villages to attentive congregations." Hopes of a new
chapel often raised since the commencement of the cause were
as often disappointed until 1823, when the foundation stone was
laid. A strong wind, however, blew down the east gable
before the building was completed, and at the same time " the
cause was deserted by several from whom the greatest pecuniary
aid was expected." On the loth of October, 1823, however, the
chapel was opened for public worship, of which event we have the
following record : —
Oct. 10 [1823]. A new Independent Chapel was opened at Oldham, in
Lancashire. Dr. Raffles and Mr. Roby preached in the afternoon and
evening ; the other parts of the services were conducted by Messrs. Ramsey,
Sutcliffe, Senior, Galland, and Fielding; the collections amounted to ^33. "l
The chapel had sitting accommodation for about 470 people, and
cost ;£i,2oo. The gallery was pewed, " but not the area. That —
with the exception of four pews for grandees, should they take
people of Over, they induced him to supply their pulpit for a season, and a
mutual respect arising out of his visit, they invited him to become their
pastor. The settlement of Mr. Scholefield was the beginning of good days
for the church here. His zeal and earnestness soon drew together a large
congregation, and the most lively satisfaction was experienced. But a year
had barely run its round when it pleased God to transfer this faithful servant
to the ranks of the church triumphant, after a short but severe illness. He
had ccnducted three deeply interesting services on the Sabbath, and on the
ensuing Wednesday, after having followed his pastoral duties, although
ailing, he held a service in his own house, which was crowded to excess; but
in the night he was taken suddenly ill, and in a few days — on the loth July,
1820 — he entered upon his reward."
1 Who was this? The Rev. George Harris subsequently settled here
Was this the same person ?
' "Evangelical Magazine" for 1824, p. 2.4.
248 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
courage and return under brighter circumstances — was left open
for Sabbath School instruction."1
Early in 1824 the Rev. George Harris, from Bury, accepted an
invitation for twelve months. He was a man of "considerable
learning, kind and gentle in his deportment, and very assiduous in
his ministerial engagements ;" but at the end of the time for which
he engaged with the Committee he left.2 The Rev. Henry Birch
followed in 1827. He was born at Sheffield, educated at Black
burn Academy, and, previous to his coming to Oldham, had
laboured a few years at Keighley, in Yorkshire. Like Mr. Harris,
he remained only about twelve months, the difficulties which
"pressed around the infant cause" preventing " suitable provision"
being made for retaining his "acceptable services." "The attend
ance at the chapel was now diminished to 100," writes the Rev.
John Hodgson; "the Sunday School was given up, and everything
looked gloomy and hopeless." Mr. Birch subsequently held
pastorates at Malpas, Fordingbridge, Paisley, and Ledbury, and
died at Sheffield, in 1874, aged seventy-four. He published, amongst
other works, a volume entitled " Positive Theology." At the
earnest request of Mr. Roby, the Rev. H. H. Leigh, of Manchester,
became the minister in the spring of 1829. Mr. Hodgson writes : —
There was nothing inviting, certainly, in his new sphere of labour.3 The
congregation numbered nine persons ; and the following Sunday, a new family
of six having settled in the town, the congregation amounted to fifteen.
These unfavourable circumstances delayed Mr. Leigh's ordina
tion until Thursday, May 26th, 1836, on which occasion the Revs.
1 Historic account by the Rev. John Hodgson, in the "Queen Street
Manual " for 1866. For much of the information in this article I am indebted
to Mr. Hodgson's painstaking efforts.
* Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 The first Sunday on which Mr. Leigh preached at Oldham it is said his
chapel was greatly encumbered with debt, the people were few in number
and very poor, there was much prejudice against them, partly because they
had not been able to meet their liabilities in the erection of the chapel, and
partly because of their discountenancing the impartation of secular instruction
on the Lord's Day. Mr. Hodgson adds to this the following note: "For
in 1833 school rooms were built at the cost of ^640, and a Sunday School
opened for the religious instruction of the young."
THE RESULT OF A LATE COACH. 249
Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool, gave the charge to the minister from
2 Tim. iv., 5; Joseph Galland offered the ordination prayer;
John Ely, of Leeds, "delivered the introductory discourse and
received the confession of faith " ; John Holroyd, of Delph, " intro
duced the services ; " and J. Sutcliffe, of Ashton-under-Lyne,
preached to the people in the evening from Rev. ii., 29. Other
ministers assisting were the Revs. G. Hoyle, Stalybridge ; R.
Calvert, Upper Mill ; G. Partington, Glossop ; R. Ivy, Dukin-
UNION STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
field ; and R. Jessop, Hope Chapel, Oldham. Previous to this
the church had been dissolved and reorganised on " Scriptural
principles;" and in 1836 "through the slow progress of the coach
bearing the deputation to the County Union Meeting, and
their consequent non-appearance when the case of Oldham came
up, the church lost the usual grant." " This deprivation," says Mr.
Hodgson, "roused them, invigorated their willinghood, called
forth their prayers, and liberality, and effort, and was emphatically
250 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
to them a crowning blessing. For, to their honour be it known,
their pastor suffered no loss; they promptly, and with much self-
denial, met the deficiency from their own resources." On the 2ist
of April, 1841, Mr. Leigh died in the midst of his useful labours.
At the commencement of 1843 the Rev. Thomas Brierley, a student
from Rotherham College, was appointed to the pastorate. He
resigned in October, 1844, and, after labouring a little over twelve
months at Warrington, went into the Established Church.1 From
1844 to 1848 " the church was without pastor, the pulpit being
supplied by students, and for a year by the Rev. James Munroe,
one of the unattached in Manchester, an arrangement which
proved very disastrous to the church, only increasing the dissension
which had so long obtained." A new period of prosperity came
to the church when the Rev. John Hodgson — a student from
Lancashire College — became the minister in July, 1848. On
Wednesday, January 3rd, 1849, he was ordained, the charge to
the minister being given by Dr. Davidson, of Lancashire College;
Dr. Halley, of Manchester, discoursing on the constitution of a
Christian church ; and the Rev. James Pridie, of Halifax, Mr.
Hodgson's former pastor, offering the "designation prayer." In
the evening the Rev. James Parsons, of York, delivered to the
people " an eloquent and powerful discourse."2 On Good Friday,
April 6th, 1855, Sir James Watts laid the foundation stone
of the present place of worship, which was completed and
opened on October iyth of the same year, the preachers being the
Revs. James Sherman, of London, and Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool.
It provides accommodation for 850 persons, and cost, with
organ, &c., ^2,810, towards which the Chapel Building Society
gave ,£700. On the 2oth of October, 1877, Sir James Watts laid
the foundation stone of the admirable new school buildings, which
were opened on October i3th, 1878, when the Rev. Professor
Scott, LL.B., of Lancashire College, preached morning and
evening, the pastor conducting a children's service in the after
noon. The cost was about ^6,000, and at the time of opening
about half the amount had to be raised. On the 2ist of
1 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity.'1
4 " Evangelical Magazine" for 1849. p. 257.
MR. SAMUEL LEES. 251
November, 1883, Mr. Hodgson resigned his charge, and on the
i6th of January following the deacons handed to him the sum of
;£8o in addition to his salary, as a mark of esteem " previous to his
leaving Oldham." During the long period of thirty-five years
Mr. Hodgson laboured in Oldham with a patient courage and
unvarying fidelity rarely equalled, leaving as memorials of a rich
ministry a strong and healthy church, handsome and commodious
schools and chapel, and numerous Congregational interests in and
out of the town, which he either originated or to which he had
given substantial help. He has sought no other charge, and is
now living in retirement at Fenay Bridge, near Huddersrield. The
Rev. Wm. Evans, a student from Lancashire College, was called to
succeed Mr. Hodgson in 1 885. To the great regret of his people, Mr.
Evans in 1892 accepted an invitation from the Victoria Street
Church, Blackpool, as successor to the Rev. James Wayman, who
had removed to London. The Union Street pulpit is still vacant.
III.— HOPE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
"!N 1823, at the east end of the town, then called Green-
acres Moor, there was a growing population without the
means of grace. A Congregationalist in the neighbourhood — Mr.
Samuel Lees, of Soho Ironworks — seeing the people pass along
unpaved and undrained roads in order to reach Greenacres Chapel,
resolved that this kind of thing should no longer continue. t; Thus,"
says the Rev. R. M. Davies, " Hope Chapel originated." It was
built in 1823, Mr. Lees undertaking the entire responsibility, and
was opened on June 24th of the next year, the preachers being
the Revs. James Pridie, then of Manchester, and William Vint, of
Idle. The sitting accommodation was for about 600. The first
minister was the Rev. John Fox, a teacher in Siockport, who
remained but a short time. On his retirement a number of his
admirers seceded, and erected for him Providence Chapel, Regent
Street, in 1829. The Rev. Joseph Glendenning, a student from
Idle Academy, was called to the vacant church in the midsummer of
1828. He is described as a refined, thoughtful, and sensitive man,
during whose ministry a church was formed, the Revs. John Ely, then
at Rochdale, and John Holroyd, of Delph, giving the necessary
assistance. After about six years Mr. Glendenning removed to
252 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Knaresborough, where he was ordained August zyth, 1835, and
where he died in 1839. The Rev. Richard Jessop, from Pock-
lington, followed in 1836. " For a few years," says Mr. Davies,
"his ministry drew considerable congregations, when he came into
collision with some of his principal supporters, which induced him
to accept an invitation to a church at Rothwell (or Rowell), in 1842."
Subsequently he laboured for several years at Warrington, and
died March ist, I869-1 In June, 1843, the Rev. R. M. Davies
began his labours in succession to Mr. Jessop. As the history of
Hope Chapel from this period is mainly the story of Mr. Davies's life,
and as he occupies a unique position in the Congregational ministry
of Lancashire, the reader will doubtless welcome whatever informa
tion can be given about him. When a young man he held a situation
full of promise in a commercial house in Manchester, and was
a member of Dr. McAlFs church, Mosley Street. It was a letter
written by the Doctor from his sick room, one of the last he ever
penned, urging him to enter the ministry, which led Mr. Davies
to renounce a commercial life, and seek admission into the Black
burn Academy, in June, 1839. On the completion of his college
course he refused the tempting offers of several churches, and, as
already intimated, settled at Oldham in 1843. He found the
people depressed, the congregations seldom exceeding fifty or sixty
persons, school nearly empty, and a church with thirteen members.
Earnest work, however, speedily told in every direction, and the
chapel, which was proved to be unsafe, owing to dry rot, was
repaired and considerably enlarged, at a cost of ^900, the year
after his settlement. On Monday, September 2nd, 1844, Mr.
Davies was ordained, when the Rev. John Birt (Baptist), Oldham,
took the introductory services ; the Rev. Richard Fletcher, Man
chester, delivered the introductory discourse; the Rev. Dr. Nolan,
Manchester, asked the usual questions; the Rev. J. Sutcliffe,
Ashton-under-Lyne, offered the ordination prayer ; and " a solemn
and impressive charge to the minister " was given by the Rev. Dr.
Raffles/ of Liverpool. In the evening the sermon to the people
1 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 It is related that Mr. Davies was at that time a delicate looking young
man, and so fragile in appearance that Dr. Raffles said to the people, " You
have got a very nice promising young man, but I fear you'll not keep him
long." A prophesy which all Lancashire Congregationalists will rejoice to
know has not been fulfilled.
HOPE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, OLDHAM.
254
LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
was preached by the Rev. D. E. Ford, of Salford, other ministers
assisting being the Revs. T. Brierley, Oldham ; R. Wolstenholme,
Springhead ; J. Harrison, Heywood ; J. Hughes, Huddersfield ;
and R. Stephens, Todmorden. In 1852 new schoolrooms
were built, and on July 22nd, 1865, the foundation stone of
the present Hope Chapel was laid. At the opening services,
held in July, r866, the preachers were the Revs. E. Mellor,
M.A., J. G. Rogers, B.A., Dr. McKerrow, of Manchester, and
the pastor. The cost was about ^5,000, and the number of
sittings provided was 1,100, nearly all of which were taken up within
twelve months after the opening services. In June of this year
Mr. Davies will complete his fifty years' pastorate at Oldham,1 and
it is intended to celebrate the Jubilee by important alterations and
improvements in both chapel and school, at a cost of ^4,000,
that his successor may find everything in the best possible con
dition. Hope Chapel, like many other town and city places of
worship, has changed its surroundings very considerably since its
erection nearly thirty years ago. The removal of dwellings for
the erection of offices and warehouses has scattered the people, yet
many of them come from afar, influenced not less by their attach
ment to the minister than the place. During his long and
honourable career his people have given to him many substantial
tokens of their affection. After a ministry of fourteen years they pre
sented him with ;£ioo ; at the end of twenty-one years with a mag
nificent solid silver tea and coffee service, thus inscribed : —
Presented to
The Revd. R. M. DAVIES,
by the Ladies of his Congregation,
at the close of the
Twenty-first Year of his
happy and successful ministry
in Hope Chapel, Oldham,
2yth June, 1864.
1 Since the above was written the church has celebrated the Jubilee of its
pastor. The Rev. J. G. Rogers, B.A., of London, an old personal friend,
preached on Sunday, June 25th ; and on the Monday evening following
testimony was borne to the value of Mr. Davies's work by the chairman
(Alderman Noton, Mayor of Oldham), the Revs. T. K. Higgs, M.A., Wm.
Evans (Blackpool), T. Green, M.A. (Ashton-under-Lyne), James McDougall
(Manchester^, J. G. Rogers, B.A., Wm. Hewgill, M.A. (Farnworth), and T.
Willis (Manchester).
256 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
At the end of thirty years he received an address with a purse
containing £400 ; and at the end of forty years another gift of
,£400. During his residence in Oldham he has been to the fore
in all the public life of the town, filling many positions of
trust and responsibility. The Cotton Famine, which brought
such distress to Lancashire, was nowhere more severely felt than
in Oldham, and a special Congregational Relief Fund was estab
lished to meet the needs of Congregationalists throughout the cotton
district. The amount of labour which this brought to Mr. Davies,
who acted as Secretary, will be evident from the fact that there passed
through his hands more than ^30,000 in money, and in one day
garments and materials for garments exceeding half a ton in
weight. Mr. Davies also got up a special fund at the same time,
which exceeded .£3,000, to help Congregational ministers in
country districts, whose incomes had suffered serious diminution
owing to the pressure of the times. When the Education Act
was passed in 1870, Oldham was one of the first towns to apply its
provisions. Mr. Davies was elected a member of the Board, a
position which he retained for twenty-one years, during eighteen of
which he occupied, with credit 10 himself and advantage to the
institution, the office of chairman. At the last election, prompted
by the felt infirmities incident to advanced years, he reluctantly
declined to continue his connection with the work, a determination
which called forth many expressions of grateful appreciation and
sincere regret. Twenty-five years ago Oldham had no Infirmary ;
the establishment of one was projected, but the project was met
by formidable opposition, and amongst those who sought to
allay adverse feeling Mr. Davies was prominent. Suitable buildings
were eventually erected and work was begun ; and from the first
Mr. Davies has been, and still is, one of its most interested and
self-denying governors. In other local movements for the pro
motion of educational and benevolent objects he has ever been
ready to take his full share of toil and responsibility. In addition
to all this, from the commencement of his ministerial life he has
taken a deep and living interest in all denominational movements.
The County Union showed its appreciation of his long and faithful
services by calling him to the President's chair1 in 1880, and again
i It is a matter of regret to many of his friends that Mr. Davies has
twice refused to be put in nomination for the chair of the Congregational Union
of England and Wales, an honour to which no one is more justly entitled.
A UNIQUE MINISTRY. 257
more signally on March 6th, 1889, when he was presented with a
handsomely bound album address, together with ^550. A
sentence or two from this address deserve insertion : —
Your membership began as far back as eighteen hundred and forty-four,
and two years afterwards you were chosen to serve on the Executive Com
mittee. During the forty-five years which have elapsed you have, through
the grace of God, revealed sterling qualities of heart and mind; exhibited a
most exemplary character, and pursued a remarkably useful life, thus
endearing yourself to those with whom you have been associated, and
gaining for yourself an honoured place in the Church of Christ. . . .
Your deep interest in Congregational ministers and churches has also been
made clearly manifest by your disinterested and generous action as Secretary
of the Chapel Building Society and the Woodward Trusts. By the latter
the heart and home of many a minister have been cheered, and by the former
means have been provided whereby many new churches and schools have
been erected, thus giving a stimulus to the further extension of the kingdom
of Christ.
It has already been stated that Mr. Davies occupies a unique
position in the Lancashire Congregational ministry past and
present. A fifty-years' pastorate is not common ; indeed, I do not
remember to have met with any other in my researches. It was
the deep desire of Dr. Raffles to complete his jubilee year at
Liverpool, but failing health compelled him to resign as he entered
upon it. Mr. Davies, however, has been permitted to complete
half a century of service in his first and only church, and he has
the satisfaction of knowing that when he shall withdraw, and enter
upon the rest he has so well earned, he will leave a large
and vigorous church to his successor. Not himself only, but the
church and county, are to be congratulated upon the rich lessons
which such a life and ministry offer.
5—
258 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
IV.— REGENT STREET, TOWNFIELD, AND DERKER
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
IN 1829 the Rev. John Fox, between whom and some of his
people friction had arisen, seceded from Hope Chapel, and
a small place of worship was built for him in Regent Street. Provi
dence Chapel, as it was called, was opened March i4th, 1830,
with sitting accommodation for over 500 persons. In 1847 Mr.
Fox removed to Eccleshill, near Bradford, but after three years
he returned to Oldham, and retained his pastorate with success
until his death. In 1864 the Rev. J. T. Carrodus became
the minister, and continued to be such until 1870. His
successor in 1873 was the Rev. W. H. Mclvenny, who remained
until 1878, when he resigned and entered the Free Church of
England. For some time the pulpit was supplied by Messrs. South
ward, Risque, and Thompson, of Manchester, and in 1885 the Rev.
B. P. Senior, a student from Airedale College, became the minister.
In 1888 he accepted the invitation from the Congregational
Church at Howdon, Northumberland, and is now at Heyside,
near Oldham. The present minister is the Rev. H. T. Mark,
B.A., a student from Lancashire College, who began his labours
here in 1889.
In 1850 James Platt, Esq., laid the foundation stone of a new
school at Townfield, which was opened on December ist of that
year, when the Rev. R. M. Davies was the afternoon preacher,
and the Rev. John Birt, Baptist minister, preached in the evening.
The building was erected as a school of all denominations, and
was part of a Sunday School movement which appeared in Oldham
as early as 1783, three years after the first Sunday School was
established by Robert Raikes in Gloucester. The new building
had become necessary because its predecessor at Ferney Bank
was inconvenient and unhealthy, being simply a rude garret, access
to which was by means of a rickety pair of stairs. Towards this
new effort each teacher promised a guinea, to be paid by instal
ments, and it deserves to be recorded that one of the most ardent
supporters of the movement was Mr. Archibald Booth, father of
the late Mr. Archibald Booth, who raised a considerable sum of
money by subscriptions. The building at this time was only one
ADVERTISING fOR A MINISTER. 259
storey high, and the workers were associated with different places of
worship in the town. The desire for service, however, in their
own school appeared and deepened with the years, and
eventually short Sunday afternoon addresses and " Exhortations "
every alternate Sunday evening were adopted. In July, 1863,
the school was let at the rate of £4 per annum to
the Methodist New Connexion, Union Street, for Sunday
evening services, which resulted in several of the workers
joining the church there. A church of the Methodist New Con
nexion order was formed in May, 1866, when sixty-five persons
entered into fellowship, and on the i;th of May in the following
year the church severed itself from that body, and assumed the
name of " Townfield Christian Society." The pulpit at this time
was supplied by lay preachers, one of whom, Mr. T. Hannam, is
especially held in loving memory by the people. In 1868 the
need of better accommodation for public worship was felt, and it
was resolved to add a second storey to the building which should
serve the purpose of a chapel. The work was taken in hand, and
completed in that year, being opened on October 4th, the preachers
being the Revs. J. J. Williams, of Greenacres, and Wm. Stokes, of
Manchester. The cost was ^1,400, and accommodation was
provided for over 400 persons. On March i2th, 1872, the follow
ing advertisement appeared in several public papers : —
WANTED, a Minister, in connection with a Methodist Church, salary
about £So per annum ; all applications, with testimonials, references,
&c., to be sent in on or before Monday, April 8th, 1872, to Archibald Booth,
Stationer, &c., 24, Huddersfield Road, Oldham. The appointment will be
made on Monday, May isth, 1872.
Out of the many applicants the Rev. Thomas Colclough, from
Newcastle-under-Lyme, who had previously held no pastorate,
was unanimously chosen, and on the first Sabbath of the
following June he entered upon his labours as pastor. The isolated
position of both church and minister, being outside all religious
denominations, led them shortly afterwards to look in the direction
of Congregationalism. Accordingly, on Sunday, September i3th,
1874, the members of the " Townfield Christian Society" were
formed into a Congregational church, on which occasion the Rev.
260 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
R. M. Davies presided, and addresses were given by the Revs. J.
Hodgson and E. Armitage, M.A. After the administration of the
Lord's Supper the newly-formed church called Mr. Colclough to
the pastorate, and he was ordained on Easter Monday in the year
following. Shortly afterwards both minister and church were
welcomed into the Lancashire Congregational Union. Mr.
Colclough resigned in October, 1878, having accepted an invitation
from the church at Hollinwood. The Rev. B. Nightingale, a
student from Lancashire College, and author of this work, entered
upon the pastorate of the church on the second Sunday of July,
1879. He was ordained on Monday, October 27th, following, on
which occasion the Revs. J. Hodgson presided ; Dr. Thomson, of
Manchester, expounded Congregational principles ; Professor Scott,
B.A., LL.B., Principal of Lancashire College, delivered the charge
to the minister ; J. Robinson, Ramsbottom, put the usual ques
tions ; R. M. Davies offered the ordination prayer ; and E.
Armitage, M.A., concluded the service with prayer. On the
Wednesday following the Rev. J. McDougall, of Darwen (Mr.
Nightingale's former pastor), preached the sermon to the people. In
April, 1883, Mr. Nightingale removed to Farnworth, and subse
quently to Preston, where he still labours.1 In the following year
the Rev. T. Colclough returned to his old charge at Townfield,
which he held until May, 1893, when he resigned. The church is
now without a pastor.
Derker Congregational Church is the result of a secession from
Townfield, which took place in 1883. The secession was caused
by differences of opinion respecting a site for a new chapel, which
for some time had been felt needful, and partly through the action
of the trustees, who claimed the right to complete financial control.
The secessionists met for worship in the Co-operative Hall,
Greenacres, the first services there being held on August 5th,
1883. The formal opening of the Hall for public worship in
connection with the movement took place on Sunday, Sep
tember 1 6th following, when the preachers were the Revs.
B. Nightingale and E. Armitage, M.A. The first church meeting
was held on August igth, 1883, and on Saturday, July 25th,
1885, the foundation stone of the present Derker Sunday School
1 Vide vols. i. and iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
THE REV. WILLIAM DUTHIE. 261
was laid by Joshua W. Radcliffe, Esq., Mayor of the town. The
building was completed and opened for worship on Tuesday
evening, April 6th, 1886, by Dr. Macfadyen, and on the two
following Sundays the preachers were the Revs. Dr. Hodgson, C.
Thompson, S. Firth, and W. Thomas. It is a handsome structure,
and contains accommodation for 450 persons. The cost was
about ^£2,000. No pastor was appointed until 1890, when the
Rev. T. O Williams, a student from Lancashire College, began his
ministry. He resigned in May, 1893, and the pulpit is still vacant.
Mr. Williams has recently accepted an invitation to the pastorate
of the Brookfield Congregational Church, Glossop.
V.— WERNETH, ASHTON ROAD, AND HOLLINWOOD
CONGREGATIONAL CHLRCHES.
WERNETH Congregational Church owes its existence to the Union
Street Congregational Church, during the pastorate of the Rev.
John Hodgson. The need of another chapel in that part of Oldham
had long been felt, and eventually the Lecture Hall of the
Mechanics' Institution was rented, and a committee of management
appointed by the Union Street Church. The room was opened
for worship in August, 1868, and in the following November a
Sunday School was begun. In 1870 a separate church was
formed, and the Union Street Church ceased to exercise any
supervision over the cause. The Rev. William Duthie, a student
from New College, London, and who had spent two years at
Nottingham Institute, was elected the first pastor, beginning his
duties as such on May 21 st, 1871. Three years afterwards the present
school chapel, with sitting accommodation for 400 persons, was
erected. Its cost was about ^£2,600, and towards this sum the
Chapel Building Society promised ,£300. Mr. Duthie died July
27th, 1875, aged twenty-seven years. His successor was the Rev.
D. Inglis, B.A., who had been educated at Nottingham Institute
and Lancashire College, and who began his duties as second
minister of the church in 1876. In 1879 he removed to Douglas,
Isle of Man, where he is still the pastor. The present minister is
262 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
the Rev. J. R. Phillips, who removed from Littleborough in
1879 to succeed Mr. Inglis here.1
The interest at Ashton Road was commenced in 1878, the place of
meeting being the upper room of a cottage in Boston Street, and
after a short time the Rev. John Hodgson undertook the superinten
dence of the work, preaching on the third Sunday in every month
and conducting the week night service on the previous Wednesday.
A grant was made from the funds of the County Union, and help
was rendered by the Congregational ministers of the town. In
1880 the present school chapel, giving accommodation for 300
worshippers, was erected on a site which had been secured by the
Rev. R. M. Davies, and was opened in October of that year.
The cost was about ^1,100, towards which the Chapel Building
Society granted the sum of ^200. In October, i88r, a branch
church was formed, consisting of twenty-five members, and in
1888 the present minister — the Rev. Wilson Murray, a student
from Nottingham Institute — began his labours. The church is
still in association with Union Street, and has been so from the
beginning, with the exception of a short period after the removal
of Mr. Hodgson, when the Rev. J. R. Phillips, of Werneth,
undertook its superintendence. The church is a recipient
from the Union Funds. Ground has been enclosed, upon which
it is proposed to erect a new chapel, when the present building will
be used for school purposes.
About 1850 the Rev. R. M. Davies took an upper room at
Hollinwood, then a "much neglected village," and began to hold
services there, the County Union supporting the effort by a
generous grant. Some two years after " a good room, suitable for
preaching and Sunday School teaching," was erected, with accom
modation for 200 persons, and a " resident supply " was engaged
to "occupy the pulpit, and labour among the large surrounding
population." This "supply" was the Rev. George Dunn, from
Ellenthorp and Boroughbridge, who discharged the duties of
minister from 1851 to 1855, removing in the latter year to
Edgworth.2 The County Union Report, ending April, 1855, tells
of a "deplorable" state of things, of a "fearful decline," and the
1 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Ibid.
CONGREGATIONALISM AT HOLLINWOOD. 263
arrival of a " crisis "; and states that the station had been placed
under the superintendence of the Rev. John Hodgson. By the
"kind efforts and liberality" of Mr. Jon. Lees, of Manchester, an
embarrassing debt was removed in 1856, and in the following year
the Rev. Richard Williams became the minister. He was a native
of Oldham. brought up as a Primitive Methodist, labouring with
much acceptance in that communion as a local preacher for several
years, but becoming dissatisfied with its polity and doctrine, joined
Mr. Hodgson's church at Union Street. At his request and that
of Mr. Davies he undertook to labour at Hollinwood, and, feeling
his need of training, in 1861 obtained admission into Lancashire
College for a "limited course of study." Here he continued
for three years, carrying on his work at the same time at
Hollinwood. His ministry was followed with so much success
that a larger building became necessary, and on Good Friday,
1866, the present chapel was opened for public worship. It is
described as occupying " one of the best situations on the high
way between Manchester and Oldham," having a tower at the west
angle " 66 feet high," sitting accommodation for about 800 persons,
its cost being ^"1,800, towards which the Chapel Building Society
voted ^500. In 1871 Hollinwood " no longer asks a grant
from the Union " runs the Report, and shortly after the devoted
pastor's labours were terminated by death. At the age of forty-
one years Mr. Williams passed away to his reward, May yth, 1872.
In the same year the Rev. H. Hustwick, from Market Drayton,
followed, and remained until 1877, when he removed to Ash-
bourne, in Derbyshire, where he still resides without charge. His
successor, in 1879, was the Rev. T. Colclough, from Townfield.
The church had now become mucli reduced, necessitating a
renewal of assistance from the Union Funds. Mr. Colclough
returned to Townfield in 1884, being succeeded in the following
year by the Rev. A. Hall, who is still the minister.1 During the
ministry of Mr. Williams the church had two out stations. At
Lane Ends, about a mile and a half from the chapel, he opened a
place in 1866, preaching every Sunday afternoon and on alternate
Thursday evenings. A Sunday School was established, which
1 Vide vol i. of " Lancashire Nonconformity ; " also ante p. 199.
264 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
flourished considerably. Two years afterwards he commenced to
labour at Macedonia, Failsworth, where a school chapel was
opened in 1868. The cost was about ^700, towards which the
Chapel Building Society voted ^200; and provision was made for
seating 350 persons. Lane Ends has disappeared from the list of
Congregational preaching places, but Macedonia is still worked
with considerable vigour, though no longer in association with
Hollinwood.
VI.-ROYTON, SHAW, AND HEYSIDE CONGREGATIONAL
CHURCHES.
ROYTON, with which for many generations were connected the
ancient families of Radcliffe and Byron, lies a mile to the north of
Oldham. The County Union Report, ending April, 1847, says
that in accordance with a resolution passed at the last annual
meeting, a beginning had been made both at Royton and Shaw.
A preacher was sent for a month on trial " to officiate in a
schoolroom already erected there;" but, differences arising, the
work had to be suspended. On Sunday, February i8th, 1855,
work was recommenced, services being held in the Temperance
Seminary. The promoters were the Rev. John Harrison, of Hey-
wood, representing the County Union, and Robert Barker, over
looker, Royton, by "whose efforts for the first twelve months the
interest was sustained." At Shaw, which was joined with Royton,
a small chapel was purchased from the VVesleyans, and on the first
Sunday in August, 1856, the Rev. Mark Dixon, a student from
Rotherham College, entered upon his duties as pastor of the two
places. A church was formed of friends from Royton and Shaw in
March, 1857, when the Revs. John Hodgson, of Oldham, and Wm.
Spencer, of Rochdale, officiated. In the following August Mr.
Dixon accepted an appointment in connection with the Colonial
Missionary Society, and went out to South Adelaide. For the next
nine or ten months the Rev. R. M. Davies provided pulpit sup
plies, and gave the church the benefit of his counsel, and in June,
1858, the Rev. William Anderson became the minister. He was
educated at Glasgow, and had previously laboured a few years at
DR. ANDERSON.
265
Chesterfield. He resigned his double charge at Royton and
Shaw in March, 1861, and removed to Tooting, Surrey, where he
became a Presbyterian. Readers of recent religious literature will
be familiar with the name of Dr. Anderson, his attempt to
carry Defoe's Memorial Chapel over to the Presbyterian body,
and the injunction of Mr. Justice Kekewich, by which he ceased
to be the minister there, but they may not know that he was
formerly the pastor of Royton Congregational Church. After his
removal Shaw and Royton ceased to be connected, and the Royton
Church placed itself under the care of the Rev. John Hodgson.
On the 3rd of December, 1864, Mr. Henry Lee laid the corner
stone of the new church in Pickford Street (now Middleton Road),
i .' ~r :,- , -£-__ -_ ~
T
ROYTON OLD HALL.
which was opened in May, 1866, when the Revs. J. A. Macfadyen,
M.A., and Prof. Scott were the preachers. The cost was about
^"1,800, towards which the Bicentenary Committee promised ,£500,
and the accommodation is for 600 persons. The Rev. Joshua
Sidebottom, educated at Rotherham, and for a few years minister
at Bucklow Hill, commenced his labours at Royton on December
1 4th, 1866, and at the same time the Union Street Church ceased
its superintendence of the church. In 1872 the school buildings
were erected, and in October of the same year, Mr. Sidebottom
removed to Stockton-on-Tees. Subsequently, he entered the
Presbyterian denomination, but is now pastor of the Congrega-
266 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
tional Church at Brightside, near Sheffield. The Rev. S. R.
Noble, a student from Lancashire College, followed in January,
1873. In 1876 the church ceased to be a recipient from the
funds of the County Union, and in the same year, failing health
compelled the pastor to seek a warmer climate. He accepted the
invitation of the Howe Memorial Church, Torrington, Devon, and
died suddenly on August i6th, 1877, at the age of thirty- five years.
The Rev. Philip Barnes, educated at Nottingham, and for a few
years at Ashton-on-Mersey, in Cheshire, succeeded Mr. Noble
in May, 1877. He remained until Christmas, 1888, when he
removed to Plashet Park, London, where he still labours The
present minister, the Rev. A. J. Bamford, B.A., assumed the
pastorate here in October, 1889. He was educated at New
College, and had previously laboured in Calcutta, India, and
Shanghai, China. Mr. Bamford is the author of " Turbans and
Tails," and during his residence in India, was one of the defen
dants in the " Calcutta Preaching Case," which for sometime
occupied a foremost place in all the Indian papers, and was not
unnoticed at home.
After the separation from Royton, the Rev. Reuben Seddon
was appointed minister at Shaw in 1861. He remained only
about twelve months, removing to Smallbridge.1 In 1866 Shaw
and Milnrow were placed under the supervision of the Rev.
G. Snashall, B.A., of Rochdale, and shortly afterwards Shaw
disappears from the list of Union stations. In 1885, on the
recommendation of the Executive Committee of the County
Union and the Oldham Ministers and Deacons' Association, a
second attempt was made to plant Congregationalism at Shaw.
Opening services were held in the Co-operative Hall on July iQth,
by the Revs. C. Thompson, of Greenacres, and Wm. Thomas, of
Waterhead. On the following Sunday a Sunday School was
opened, Miss Hall generously providing books and other necessary
things, and the Greenacres Church undertook the supervision of
the cause for twelve months. The Rev. Wm. Woodburn was
appointed resident Evangelist, and in 1886, an iron chapel, capable
of accommodating about 200 persons, was erected at a cost of
^290. Mr. Woodburn removed in 1889, and was followed by
1 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
SHAW AND HEY SIDE. 267
the Rev. J. S. Miller, educated at the Edinburgh Theological
Hall, and formerly of Coleraine. He held the pastorate until
1892, when he resigned; and the present minister, the Rev.
James Bridie, a student from Nottingham Institute, entered upon
his duties on the first Sunday in July, I893-1 A new chapel is
shortly to be erected, and it deserves to be mentioned that Miss
Hall is a generous friend to the cause. The church is a recipient
from the Union Funds.
Heyside Congregational Church is largely the result of the long
and self-denying labours of Mr. John Dunkerley. In 1842 a
person named Wild, who owned property in the village, which was
then "notorious for wickedness of the vilest description," and
who was a Wesleyan local preacher, seceded from that body and
commenced preaching in a room of which he was owner. Neigh
bouring ministers were invited to give their help, and amongst
those who did so was the Rev. Joseph Galland, of Greenacres.
Subsequently Mr. Wild became a sort of infidel lecturer, and the
preaching room was closed. Before his death, however, he per
mitted it to be reopened, and several denominations attempted to
gain a footing in the village, but failed. In the latter part of 1842
Mr. John Dunkerley was visiting one Sunday afternoon at the
house of a family named Bradbury, formerly connected with the
Waterhead Sunday School, and in the evening he was requested
to conduct services. This led to fortnightly visits for religious
worship, and the house becoming too small application was made
for the use of a room which had formerly been occupied as a Day
and Sunday School, but for some time had been closed. The
application, at first refused, was afterwards granted, and a congre
gation was formed and a school organised. In 1851 new school
rooms were erected, and the Rev. R. M. Davies, who had been
interested in the movement almost from the commencement, took
part in the opening services. In 1865 a branch church was
formed in connection with Hope Chapel, the Rev. R. M. Davies
agreeing to administer the Lord's Supper once a month. Corner
stones of the present chapel were laid on May ist, 1880, by Mrs.
1 Mr. Bridie's labours have been cut short by death since the above was
written. The sad event took place on Thursday, August 3rd, when he was
in his 36th year.
268 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Abraham Buckley, who gave ^50 in addition to a legacy of ,£50
by her late husband ; and by Mr. Alderman William Bodden, who
gave ,£25. Mr. Davies and his son, Mr. C. S. Davies, held
themselves responsible for ^100. Mr. Davies undertook to obtain
^150 from the Chapel Building Society, and Mrs. Buckley gave
an additional ^25, the last required, so that the chapel was
opened free from debt. The services in connection with that
event took place on the i4th of November, 1880, when two
sermons were preached by the Rev. R. M. Davies. The accom
modation provided is for 450 persons. Mr. Dunkerley continued
to serve the church until 1889, when he resigned. For thirty-four
years his services were " purely gratuitous," during the greater part
of which he worked at the Iron Foundry of Mr. Eli Lees, and in
all the future years of this church Mr. Dunkerley's name will be
gratefully remembered because of his long and useful labours.
The present minister is the Rev. B. P. Senior, formerly of Regent
Street, Oldham. He entered upon his duties as such in 1891,
since which time the church has received a grant from the Union
Funds.
VII.— WATERHEAD, PASTURES, AND SPRINGHEAD
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
IN 1837 Mr. James Dunkerley, senior, hired two small upper
rooms of two cottages belonging to Mr. James Winter-
bottom, as a Sunday School and preaching station in connection
with the Greenacres Church. Here the Rev. Joseph Galland
conducted service on Sunday evenings until his death. The
following are the names of members of the Greenacres Church
and congregation who came to teach in the school and interest
themselves in the new undertaking : Charles Beswick, James
Taylor, Samuel Kershaw, Daniel Taylor, John Beaumont, George
Beaumont, Timothy Buckley, Sarah Beaumont, Ann Beaumont,
Mary Buckley, Rachael Wilde, and Eliza Beswick. To this list
of workers must be added the name of Mr. John Dunkerley,
whose labours at Heyside have been previously referred to. Mr.
Galland died in 1843, and during the ministry of his successor
THE REV. E. ARMITAGE, M.A. 269
the Waterhead School ceased its connection with Greenacres, the
teachers and others who were in fellowship there being transferred
to Hope Chapel, under the pastoral care of the Rev. R. M.
Davies. In 1844 an unused School Chapel in Hey wood Street,
built by the New Connexion Methodists, was secured as a meeting
place, and held for about three years. At the end of that period,
the chapel having been purchased by the Primitive Methodists,
the little congregation was served with notice to quit. This led
to the erection of a school in Providence Street, at a cost of ^250,
with accommodation for 300 persons. The opening services were
held on August 8th, 1847, when Dr. Nolan, of Manchester,
preached in the morning, and the Rev. R. M. Davies in the
evening. The Sunday evening services at this time were con
ducted principally by laymen, prominent amongst these being
Mr. Kershaw, Mr. Daniel Taylor, and Mr. John Dunkerley.
In May, 1864, a branch church was formed in connection with the
Union Street Church, Mr. Hodgson taking the pastoral oversight,
and in the same year a grant of ^15 was made from the funds of
the County Union. On Saturday, July iyth, 1869, James Newton,
Esq., laid the foundation stone of a new chapel, and it deserves to
be recorded in connection with this that the "great expense of
levelling was saved by the voluntary labour of the young men of
the school. They worked with untiring vigour with pick and spade
and barrow after their work in the mills was over, and even after
daylight was gone."1 The building was opened in June, 1870,
when Dr. Halley preached in the afternoon, and Dr. Mellor at
night. Its cost was about ^£2,500, towards which the Chapel
Building Society gave ,£400, and the sitting accommodation is for
about 600 persons. In the following year the church ceased to be
a recipient from the Union Funds. The Rev. E. Armitage, M.A.,
a student from Lancashire College, accepted the invitation of the
church to become its first pastor in May, 1872, and at the same
time a letter was received from the Union Street Church declaring
the Waterhead Church to be "completely independent, and com
mitting them, with their new pastor, to the grace of God." On
May 8th, 1875, the foundation stone of new school buildings, to
hold 400 scholars and cost about ,£1,600, was laid by Wm.
1 Waddington's "Historical and Biographical Notices," p. 418.
270 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Armitage, Esq., the pastor's father ; and in November, 1880, Mr
Armitage entered the minister's house, which had cost ^r,ioo.
In February, 1883, he removed to Rotherham, having accepted
the pastorate of the Congregational Church there, and is now one
of the Professors of the Yorkshire United College, Bradford. It
ought to be stated that Professor Armitage and his gifted wife are
largely responsible for the new spirit of Missionary enthusiasm which
has visited many of our churches, and led to the " Forward Move
ment" of the London Missionary Society. The Rev. Wm.
Thomas, a student from Lancashire College, succeeded Mr.
Armitage in June, 1884. His useful ministry was concluded in
1892, having offered himself to the London Missionary Society for
service in Central Africa. Mr. Thomas sailed for Lake Tanganyika
in May, 1893, carrying with him the prayers and sympathies
of many friends to the difficult post of duty which he has
courageously chosen. The present minister is the Rev. L.
Hartley. He was educated at Airedale, had previously laboured
at Malton, in Yorkshire, and assumed the present pastorate in
February, 1893.
The Congregational Church at Pastures, a little farther north
than Waterhead, originated some forty years ago. It grew out of
a secession from Doctor Lane School ; which, originally a school
of all denominations, some who attended endeavoured to make
sectarian. Those who disapproved of this step eventually left,
and began to hold meetings in the reeling room of Pastures Mill,
about 150 yards from the place where the present chapel stands.
This was in 1854, and in 1856 a chapel was erected, with sitting
accommodation for 350 persons. At first it was used only as a
Sunday School, the friends going for worship to Springhead
Congregational Church ; but eventually it was thought desirable
to separate from Springhead, and have preaching services in their
own building. This led to a little friction between the two
places, which happily with the march of years has passed com
pletely away. The church was formed about 1856, some twelve
persons entering into fellowship, and the pulpit was supplied by
"various," until July, 1890, when the Rev. A. H. Whiteley,
a student from Nottingham Institute, became the first minister.
The Waterhead Congregational Church promised to exercise some
SPRINGHEAD CONGREGATIONALISM. 271
supervision over the cause, and a grant was obtained from the
funds of the County Union. Mr. Whiteley left in September, 1892,
having accepted an invitation from the Congregational Church at
Westley Place, Great Horton, Bradford, where he still labours.
The present minister, the Rev. John Walker, also a student from
Nottingham Institute, succeeded in January, 1893. It may be
added that Doctor Lane School eventually became a Church
School. It has since been rebuilt, and the inscription which
declared its unsectarian character, and which formerly stood in
the front of the building, has been put behind.
Springhead Congregational Church, on the Yorkshire border,
took its rise, though not in its present form, at the beginning of
the century. It originated in a house called ''Stopes"; afterwards a
chapel, three windows long and two storeys high, was built and
opened for worship in 1807. Two good men,1 John Buckley and
Joseph Winterbottom, who had left the New Connexion Methodists
" in consequence of having adopted the views of the Independents
with regard to the doctrine of imputed righteousness," were the
first preachers. They conducted services alternatively at Spring
head and Upper Mill, which is a few miles in the sister county of
York. "Morning service," writes Mr. J. E. Thornton, "did
not commence till about a quarter to eleven o'clock, and was
protracted sometimes till a quarter to one, and brought to an
abrupt termination by the singing of the Doxology. Then, in the
vernacular of an old man, ' were'n use't to ceawer reawnd stove till
abeaut two o'clock, an' then begin agen.'" In 1818 the old
Springhead Sunday School was erected, previous to which time
the scholars had been taught in the upper room of a house.
Depression in trade in Saddleworth and district added considerably
to the difficulties of the little band of workers, and led to the
issuing of the following appeal for help : —
1 These two men, locally called " John and Joseph," differed greatly in
their gifts. John's sermons were interspersed with rough but vigorous
sentences, of which the following is a sample : " God can strike a straight
blow with a croot stick."
2 MS account of Springhead Congregational Church, to which I am
indebted for several particulars.
272 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
December 2Oth, 1827.
To all who love our Lord Jesus Christ and wish well to His cause, the
poor members of the "Independent Evangelical Methodists' Church" at
Uppermill, in Saddleworth, send greeting. As a Christian society we have
experienced a long season of adversity. The debt of ^270, which, notwith
standing the utmost exertion of our own ability to clear it, we were obliged
to leave upon our meeting house, has latterly pressed heavily upon us. Our
difficulties have been greatly increased by the disastrous events of the last
two years, by which our pecuniary resources have in a great measure been
dried up, and poverty has apparently settled on our parish. Our two ministers,
who alternately supply us and our sister church at Spring Head, are obliged
to serve us gratuitously ; though, as they are poor and deserving men, we
are sorry that they should have to labour without hire. But, alas ! all the
money that we can raise among ourselves is insufficient to pay the interest
of the debt ; consequently, while we have that heavy burden upon us, and
the present unhappy state of things in our parish remains, we are hopeless of
being able to do justice to our ministers, whom we are bound to love and
reverence as being our spiritual fathers, by whose instrumentality we were
called " out of darkness into light." In our distress we naturally look for
relief to our more fortunate brethren in Christ. By the liberality of those of
you whom God has prospered we wish, if possible, to pay off a third or a half
of our debts, and thereby we trust being delivered from our present gloomy
apprehensions. And may the Giver of all good reward a hundred-fold every
brother, sister, or friend whose heart should pity us, and whose hands shall
administer to our relief.
Signed on behalf of us all,
JOHN SCHOFIELD, JAMES BUCKLEY, THOMAS SHAW.
Whatever was the result of this appeal, it was not such as to per
manently put off the evil day. Upper Mill Chapel was sold to
the Congregationalists of Delph, and reopened as a Congregational
place of worship; and about 1835 a similar change took place
at Springhead. On Sunday, July i9th, 1835, tne chapel was
re-opened as a Congregational place of worship. The preachers on
the occasion were : morning and afternoon, the Rev. John Cockin,
of Holmfirth ; evening, the Rev. J. Sutcliffe, of Ashton-under-Lyne ;
and on Monday evening, the Rev. John Thorp, of Huddersfield.
The collections amounted to £41 6s. In the following November
a church was formed by the Rev. Reuben Calvert, of Upper Mill,
when twenty-nine persons agreed to enter into fellowship. The
Rev. John Morris, a student from Blackburn Academy, became
the first minister, entering upon duty as such in the midsummer of
1837. A few months previous to this Springhead had sought and
DR. JOHN MORRIS. 273
received assistance from the County Union Funds. During the
first year of Mr. Morris's pastorate seventeen persons were added
to the fellowship of the church, bringing the number of members
up to fifty-two. The congregation is given as about 300 ; Lees,
Waterhead Mill, and Austerlands were preaching stations at which
services were held fortnightly ; and in the Sunday School were
320 children and forty teachers. Stonebreaks, Den Lane, and Scout-
head were subsequently added to the list of preaching places, and
the County Union Report, ending April, 1840, states that at Lees
a large schoolroom had been taken, capable of holding 250 people,
where Mr. Morris purposed preaching on Sabbath day evenings.
After about five years of useful service Mr. Morris removed to
Morley, in Yorkshire, and has since become Dr. Morris, Principal
of Brecon College, a position which he still worthily holds, though
over eighty years of age. The Rev. R. Wolstenholme accepted
the church's invitation in December, 1842. He was born at
Nuttall Lane, near Bury, November i6th, 1813, educated at
Blackburn Academy, being a fellow student with Dr. Morris, and
settled at Carlisle in 1837, whence he removed to Springhead.
The Report ending April, 1844, states that in addition to his work
at Springhead, he preached at Mossley Bottoms, Scouthead, and
Woodbrook, and that there was a " flourishing branch at Lees,"
having a Sunday School and preaching on Wednesday evenings.
It was during his ministry in 1846 that the church dispensed with
further assistance from the County Union. In the same year Mr.
Wolstenholme removed to Belper, where he died September 6th,
1852. The Rev. J. R. Wolstenholme, M.A., who recently left
Bolton1 for Brisbane, is the son of the Springhead minister, being
born there. No successor was appointed until May, 1850, when
the Rev. Wm. Dixon, a student from Airedale College, became the
pastor. During the interregnum the church had considerably
declined, and the congregation was small when Mr. Dixon's
ministry began. Prosperity, however, returned with him, and in
1855 the present chapel superseded the old building, which had
done duty for half a century. The opening services took place on
Good Friday, April 6th, 1855, when the Revs. Dr. Raffles and
1 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
274 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
H. Allon were the preachers. On the following Sunday sermons
were preached by the Revs. J. Sutcliffe, J. G. Rogers, B.A., and J.
Morris, a former pastor. The collections amounted to £ 1 70. The
cost of the undertaking was ,£2,050, and towards this sum the people
raised ^700 among themselves, the Chapel Building Society
granted another ^£700, and the "Christian public generously contri
buted, inclusive of the opening collections, ^£590," leaving only ^,60
as deficiency. The accommodation provided is for 750 persons.
Impaired health led to Mr. Dixon's resignation in November, 1857,
and he accepted the charge of the church at Boston Spa, removing
ihence to Gawthorpe, near Dewsbury. He died April 6th, 1867,
aged fifty-one years. The Rev. J. G. Short was recognised as
pastor, April 6th, 1860. He was a native of Ireland, was educated
at the Dublin Institute under the Revs. Dr. Wm. Urwick and W.
H. Cooper, and previous to his settlement at Springhead held
pastorates at New Ross (Wexford), Plunket Street (Dublin), and
Wrexham. It was during his ministry that the present school
buildings were erected at a cost of ,£1,300, the foundation stone
being laid May 24th, 1861, by Mr. A. Haworth, of Manchester.
In 1862 Mr. Short returned to his native country, having accepted a
charge at Belfast. He died July 27th, 1866, aged forty-two years.
His successor at Springhead was the Rev. F. Smith, a student
from New College, who began his labours in the year of Mr.
Short's removal. He remained until 1868, when he removed to
Liverpool, and is now resident, without charge, at Birkdale.1 The
Rev. A. Phillips, a student from Airedale College, followed in 1868,
and removed to Wicker Chapel, Sheffield, in 1878. He is now
the minister of the Hillhouse Congregational Church, Hudders-
field. The present pastor is the Rev. J. S. Waide, educated at
Lancashire College, and who had previously laboured at Bollington,
near Macclesfield. Mr. Waide began his Springhead ministry in
1878; he has therefore faithfully served the church for fifteen
years, being a considerably longer pastorate than that of any
predecessor.
1 Vide vol. vi. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
SAMUEL BAMFORD. 275
VIII.— CONGREGATIONALISM AT MIDDLETON.
THE town of Middleton, some five miles north of Manchester,
three south of Heyvvood, and three west of Oldham, is rich in
objects of historic interest. Middleton Hall, demolished in
1845, was for many generations the residence of the Assheton
family, which has played an important part in English history,
Sir Richard Assheton being one of the heroes of Flodden Field,
and Colonel Assheton being the Commander-in-Chief of the Lanca
shire forces under the Commonwealth, whose " Middleton club
men" took part in the defence of Manchester, and fought the
Royalist army at Bolton in 1643. Its Parish Church is very
ancient and picturesque. The windows have been enriched
with some fine stained glass from Middleton Hall, one of which
represents "a chaplain and seventeen warriors with bows and
quivers of arrows."1 In the cemetery there is a statue of
Samuel Bamford, the Radical, one of the heroes of Peterloo,
and the leader of a vigorous local band of aggressive
reformers. Middleton Church did not add to the list of
ministers who went out for conscience' sake in 1662. It
has, therefore, no Nonconformist foundation reaching back
to those times, and Congregationalism here is not a century
old. Middleton is first mentioned in the County Union Reports
in 1823, when it is said that principally preachers from Manchester
supplied ; that the Sunday morning congregation was about
100, afternoon 150 ; on week-day evenings, when stated
ministers preached, the assembly was equally numerous ; there
were 120 children in the Sunday School; and that on
" Monday and Saturday evenings the elder scholars were taught
writing and accounts, and the girls were taught to sew." In 1823
a church was formed, and the following year Middleton and Hey-
wood were united under the pastoral care of the Rev. John
Crossley. In 1825 Mr. Crossley removed to Horwich,2 and a
separation between the two stations took place, the population
being such as to require " two preachers." In the summer of
1 Rimmer's '; Summer Rambles Around Manchester," p. 64.
a Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
276 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
1828 the congregation removed from the room in which they had
previously worshipped to a chapel formerly occupied by the
Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion; but for a time little
progress was made — indeed, both church and congregation
seemed to be "on the decline." The Rev. John Hart
became the minister towards the end of 1832, but he
remained only about twelve months. A chapel was erected in
1836, and in July, 1839, the Rev. William Atherton became the
minister. He removed to Bingley at the Christmas of the follow
ing year, and subsequently to Idle, where he laboured until his
death, which occurred July i6th, 1850, at the age of thirty-four
years. The Rev. Edward Leighton, educated at Nottingham, and
previously settled at Loughborough, succeeded Mr. Atherton in
1843, and the report concerning the church about this time reads
thus : —
Though the progress of the cause here in past years has not been equal
to the hopes of sanguine friends, yet its importance, placed in the midst of a
dense population, has been apparent to all. The hope is now confidently
indulged that the crisis of weakness and deficiency is in great measure
passed, and that a more cheering prospect of prosperity and usefulness is
opening up to view; such at least is the feeling of the members of the
church there.1
In the midsummer of 1845 ^r- Leighton removed to Moor Green,
Nottinghamshire. He died November 23rd, 1874, aged seventy-
three years, and was succeeded at Middleton by the Rev. Thomas
Hamer in 1848. He was educated at Rotherham College, and
had previously laboured a few years at Barnard Castle. Mr.
Hamer left Middleton in 1851 for Auckland, New Zealand, where
he laboured for many years, and where he still resides without
charge. The Report for the year ending April, 1851, says that a
great effort had been made to " enlarge the school accommodation
and to improve the chapel, and ^460 had been expended for that
purpose ;" that " a day school had been, opened in the course of
the year in the new schoolroom, to which Mr. Peto, M.P., had
sent a handsome contribution." The Rev. W. Winlaw, educated
at Blackburn Academy, and previously at Wellington, in
Somerset, became Mr. Hamer's successor in 1852. He resigned
1 County Union Report for year ending April, 1844.
THE REV. SAMUEL SHAW. 277
after about twelve months' ministry, and entered the Estab
lished Church. In 1853 the Rev. A. Bateson, from Egerton,
became the pastor, and with his advent the church ceased
to be dependent upon the County Union Funds. Mr. Bateson's
ministry was terminated by his death, September 30th, I854.1 His
successor was the Rev. Samuel Shaw. Born on January 3151, 1821,
"in a small village in the parish of Saddleworth," he attended the
Springhead Congregational Church during the pastorate of the Rev.
John Morris, by whom he was advised to enter the ministry. " After
pursuing certain preparatory studies under the direction of Mr.
Morris," he went to Blackburn Academy, and was transferred to
Lancashire College on its removal to Manchester. His first settle
ment was Ovenden, near Halifax, whence he removed in August,
1855, to Middleton. In April, 1859, James Sidebottom, Esq.
laid the foundation stone of the present chapel, which contains
sitting accommodation for 900 persons. The total cost of the
undertaking was about ,£2,530, towards which the Chapel Build
ing Society granted ^250. The building was opened for public
worship on June 13111, 1860, and the Congregational Year Book
for 1 86 1 says : —
The Old Chapel has been altered and appropriated to the uses of the
Sunday Schools, week evening services, and lectures, and the former school
rooms, which are under the same roof, divided into various classrooms for
infants and elder scholars.''2
In the month of November, 1866, Mr. Shaw removed to
Clevedon, in Somerset. He died at Penzance, February 28th,
1874. The Rev. T. Stimpson held the pastorate from 1868 to
1871, becoming subsequently the minister of Chapel Street Chapel,
Salford.3 The next minister was the Rev. J. S. Hill, from Exeter.
He had charge of the church from 1872 to 1877, when he entered
the Established Church. The Rev. J. Colclough, educated at
Nottingham Institute, and whose previous charge was Moy, in
Ireland, succeeded Mr. Hill in 1879. He remained until 1886,
when he resigned and went to Canada, where he still labours.
1 Vide vol. iii.of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
5 Page 268.
3 Vide ante p. 216.
278 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
During Mr. Colclough's pastorate in 1880, new schools were
erected, costing ^2,500. The present respected pastor is the
Rev. \V. H. Fothergill, formerly of Barrow-in-Furness, and
Heywood.1 He succeeded Mr. Colclough in 1887. The church
moves steadily ahead ; the Sunday School contains over 400
scholars, and the Day School, which was re-opened two years ago,
has about 200 pupils under tuition and Government inspection.
Salem Church originated in a dispute amongst the people of
Providence Chapel, respecting their minister, the Rev. Samuel
Shaw. Some forty or fifty of his friends, thinking he had not been
justly treated, without any concerted action, resolved to withdraw.
For several Sundays they worshipped at the various Nonconformist
places of worship in the town. Some of them having been
teachers at a branch school in Tonge Lane, and this school in
its entirety having resolved upon severing its connection with
Providence Chapel, fearing that the majority of the children might
be lost to all Christian influences, they determined, if possible, to
keep them together. They, therefore, rented Salem Chapel, which
had been built by a number ot secessionists from the Countess of
Huntingdon's Connexion, and which was then unoccupied. The
chapel was opened first as a Sunday School, some sixty or seventy
children assembling the first Sunday, and shortly after preaching
services were commenced. Its formal opening in this connection
took place on October 2ist, 1866, when the Rev. Samuel Shaw
conducted the services. A church, consisting of forty-four
members, was formed on January 6th, 1867, the Rev John
Hodgson, of Oldham, being present for the purpose. The pulpit
was supplied largely by students and laymen until the beginning
of 1869, when the Rev. S. Firth was invited to assume the
pastorate. The invitation was not then accepted, but it was so on
its being renewed in 1870, and Mr. Firth began his labours as the first
minister on the first Sunday in February of that year. He
completed a useful ministry in September, 1886, his resignation
being necessitated by failing health, and is now pastor of the
Congregational Church at Churchtown, near Southport.2 His
1 Vide vols. i. and iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 Vide vol. vi. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
MEMORIAL STONES. 279
successor wa> the Rev. John Fielden from Plymouth, who held the
pastorate from May, 1888, to September, 1890. It was during
his ministry that Salem Congregational Schools were erected with
accommodation for 560 scholars, and costing about ^1,200. The
memorial stones were laid on Saturday, June 8th, 1889, by Mr. R.
Hankinson, J.P., and others, and the building was completed and
opened in October of the same year, when amongst the preachers
were the Revs. T. Green, M.A., of Ashton-under-Lyne, and Dr.
Macfadyen. Mr. Fielden, after leaving Middleton, settled at
Tyldesley, where he still labours. No successor has yet been
appointed, students from Lancashire College supplying the pulpi'.
There are about 260 scholars in regular attendance, and 122
names on the roll of church members.
CHAPTER V.
NONCONFORMITY IN ASHTON-UNDER-
LYNE AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.
I.— EARLY NONCONFORMITY.
NONCONFORMITY in this neighbourhood first appears in Dukinfield,
then a mere village, now a considerable town. As a matter of
geography its history belongs rather to Cheshire than Lancashire,
because Dukinfield is on the Cheshire side of the river Tame,
which a little above Stockport becomes the Mersey. Noncon
formity here, however, is so closely associated with that of Ashton-
under-Lyne immediately across the river, whilst its two Congrega
tional churches have so long been connected with the Lancashire
Congregational Union, that geographical limitations must be set
aside.1 It is claimed, and not without some reason, that Dukin
field became the home of one of the earliest Congregational
churches in England. Edwards, who was the opponent of Con
gregationalism, says : —
Considering this church of Dukinfield is the first Independent Church
visible and framed that was set up in England, being before the Apologists
came from Holland, and so before their setting up churches here in London.8
1 Dr. Aikin (" Forty Miles Round Manchester," p. 451), writing in 1795,
says : " The village is pleasantly situated upon an eminence commanding an
extensive prospect over a populous, varied, and picturesque country. Its
name in the Anglo-Saxon dialect was Dokenveldt. The river Tame
separates it from the parish of Ashton-under-Lyne, in Lancashire, on the
north and west sides. This river, in the time of the heptarchy, was
the boundary of two kingdoms, which will account for the strong out
works of the castle or old hall of Ashton, opposed by equally strong fortifi
cations on this side. These were situated somewhere on the grounds now
occupied by the lodge ; and the mansion, formerly the seat of the Duken-
field family, thus defended, stood on a place called the Hall-green. No trace
of it remains but the name. The hall now bearing the family name was
erected in its stead."
2 Urwick's '' Nonconformity in Cheshire," p. 341.
THE REV. SAMUEL EATON. 281
If, however, such a high antiquity cannot be upheld, it is certain
that a Congregational church existed here during the early years
of the Commonwealth. The place of meeting was " a small
Gothic chapel, originally the private oratory and domestic chapel
of the Dukinfield family," adjoining the Old Hall ; and the first
known preacher was the Rev. Samuel Eaton. Dr. Halley has the
following interesting passage : —
Amidst the ruined walls of the old family chapel is the tomb of a Ducken-
field who gained his honours in the wars of the crusaders. That dilapidated
tomb of the crusader, and the ivy-covered walls of the venerable chapel
are the oldest architectural memorials which can be identified of English
Congregationalism. In that chapel, encouraged by Colonel Robert Ducken-
field, * a distinguished officer of Cromwell's army, the Rev. Samuel Eaton
gathered the first Congregational Church in the north of England, and often
preached standing, as the traditions of the place say, on the crusader's tomb.2
The Rev. Samuel P^aton mentioned in the foregoing extract
was the son of the Rev. Richard Eaton, Vicar of Great Bud worth. :!
He was born in 1597, educated at Oxford, and beneficedfor a time as
rector of West Kirby, in Cheshire, where, about 1634, he was
1 The Dukinfield family, to whom Nonconformity in this district owes
so much, deserve a much more lengthy notice than is possible here. Colonel
Robert Dukinfield is described as " a Congregationalist and a zealous
republican." He was born August 18, 1619, and was "nominated one of the
high court for the trial of King Charles, but, being that year Sheriff of
Cheshire, he did not occupy the place assigned to him, and so escaped the
peril of the regicides." (Halley's " Lancashire Puritanism and Noncon
formity," vol. i., p. 294.) In May, 1644, in conjunction with Colonel Main-
waring, he kept, with a few forces, Stockport Bridge against Prince Rupert.
On the restoration of the Stuarts, he Buffered imprisonment, but he " lived to
rejoice in the accession of King William, died the year after the Revolution,
and was buried, where many good Puritans of the old times lie around him,
in the chapel of Denton." (Halley's " Lancashire Puritanism and Noncon
formity" — Ibid.) His death took place September i8th, 1689.
2 "Lancashire Puritanism and Nonconformity," vol. i., p. 294.
3 So says Calamy (" Nonconformist's Memorial," vol. ii., p. 361); but the
Rev. R. T. Herford, B.A. ("Memorials 'of Stand Chapel," p. 20), who has
obtained his information from a representative of the family, says that Samuel
Eaton was the son of George Eaton " the friend and correspondent of John
Bradford, the martyr," and grandson of Richard Eaton, of Great Budworth.
Mr. Herford does not say whether Richard Eaton was Vicar of Great Bud-
worth.
282 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
fined " in sums mounting to from ^"50 to ,£500 " for his
"contumacy," and eventually suspended by the Bishop of
Chester. Like his brother, therefore, Theophilus Eaton, who
became the eminent governor of New Haven, he sought an asylum
in New England from the storms of persecution which were
gathering round the Nonconformists in the Mother Country.
After a few years, however, he returned, and in 1645 he is men
tioned as colleague with the Rev. Timothy Taylor in the pastorate
o£ the Dukinfield Congregaiional Church.1 In addition to his
duties at Dukinfield he held the post of chaplain to the forces
at Chester, which necessitated his residence in that city. Mr.
Eaton's frequent absences from his church led to divisions fostered
by " gifted persons," and he " removed to Stock port, where he
preached in the free school." It is not clear whether after
wards he returned to Dukinfield. Calamy says : —
After he was ejected in 1662 he attended on the ministry of Mr. Angier
at Denton, as did many of his old hearers, who, by afflictions and sufferings,
were wrought into a better temper. Mr. Eaton died January gth, 1664, aged
68. He left no children, but left a good name among persons of all persua
sions.2
Henry Newcome tells us that he was buried at Denton Chapel.
Writing under date January nth, 1666 (Thursday), he says : —
We buried poor Mr. Leigh, of Gorton, at Denton Chapel, by the day of
the week the same day twelve months that we had before buried Mr.
Eaton, in the same place.3
1 The Rev. Timothy Taylor, B.A., was the son of the Rev. Thomas
Taylor, Vicar of Hemel Hemstrad, Hertfordshire. He was baptised in 1613,
entered Queen's College, Oxford, in 1626, took holy orders in 1634, an(^
became vicar of Almesley, in Herefordshire. Seeing the ''evils of Episcopacy
and ceremonies imposed," he repented, and publicly preached against them.
After serving the Congregationalists of Dukinfield for several years he
removed to Ireland in 1650, becoming minister of Carrickfergus, " then
resorted to by Presbyterians and Independents." In 1688 he was living at
Dublin, where he became the colleague of the Rev. Samuel Mather, remain
ing there until his death. (Vide Urwick's " Nonconformity in Cheshire,"
p. 343 ; also his " Nonconformity in Herts," p. 428.)
2 "Nonconformist's Memorial" (1802), vol. ii., p. 361.
3 " Autobiography," p. 155 (Chetham Society Series, vol. xxvii.). Mr.
W. A. Shaw, however, in his " Manchester Classis " (Chetham Society, New
Series, vol. xxiv., p. 426), gives the following' from the Stockport
Registers : " 1664, January I2th, Saml. Eaton, of Bredburie, minister, buried."
THE RE V. JOHN ANGIER. 283
Mr. Eaton was called the " great apostle, " for promoting Inde
pendency in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Cheshire, and was the
author of several important pamphlets in its support. His book,
the " Quakers Confuted," is described as " Christian and tem
perate," whilst that of his opponents abounds in abuse and coarse
ness.1
With the Restoration, in 1660, the fortunes of the Dukinfield
family changed. Colonel Dukinfield was summoned before the
House of Commons because of the part he had taken in the Civil
War ; the chapel at the Hall was confiscated, and the Episcopa
lians appropriated to their own use " both it and an adjoining
Nonconformist seminary."-
The township of Denton, in whose chapel Calamy says Samuel
Eaton and his friends worshipped after the ejection, enjoying the
ministry of the Rev. John Angier, is a few miles south-west of Dukin
field. He was born at Dedham, in Essex, October 8th, 1605, and con
nected by marriage with Dr. John Cotton, of Boston, in Lincolnshire,
subsequently of New England fame, in 1629 John Angier, like many
of the Puritans of that time, began to think of going to America, and
actually journeyed into Lancashire, to the home of his wife's rela
tions, with that in view. This led to his settlement at Ringley,
near Bolton, whence, owing to his Nonconformity, he was obliged
to remove, in 1632, when he became the minister of Denton
Chapel. Supported by the Holland and Hyde families he was
able to continue his ministrations at Denton during all those years
of persecution which brought to so many Nonconformists
ejectment, imprisonment, and exile. " In Mr. Angier's days," says
Booker, " Denton was the favourite resort of the Nonconforming
and ejected ministers," their " little Goshen in life," with whose
" peaceful associations " many of them sought a continuance in
1 The following is a specimen :— " O Eaton, thou lyar ! O thou lyar !
Doth Satan transform himself into ministers of righteousness? Here I
charge thee, in the presence of Christ, to be a lyar. O, thou dark sot." It
is much to be regretted that the history of George Fox and his early
followers is marked by such bitter and un-Christian abuse of all who were not
of their way of thinking.
2 " Half a Century of Independency in Ashton-under-Lyne" (published
in 1867), p. 3.
284 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
the "slumbers of the tomb."1 Until his death, September ist,
1677, Mr. Angier served the congregation at Denton, "refusing
all offers of more substantial preferment." " He died," says his
biographer, " amongst his own people, over whom he had been
pastor forty-five years, with whom he had been travailing, weeping,
fasting, praying ; amongst whom he has left remarkable seals of
his ministry." He was interred in the chapel facing the pulpit,
near the body of his second wife, the daughter of Oswald Mosley,
Esq., of Ancoats. He was the ancestor of an eminent race of
Dissenting ministers.- An effort was made to secure as his suc
cessor his nephew, the Rev. Samuel Angier, who had assisted him
in the pastorate several years before his death, but though he was
able to command " a powerful interest " the effort did not succeed,
and Mr. Samuel Angier retired to the " adjacent village of Dukin-
field."3 The Conformist minister, the Rev. John Ogden, B.A.,
was appointed, and Denton Chapel has ever since been served by
Episcopalians. " The building," says Baines, " is still the same as
when first built three centuries ago, being the only one of the more
ancient chapels in the parish [of Manchester], retaining those
original architectural fixtures which probably all once had in
common."4
The accompanying view of Denton Chapel is as it appeared at
the close of last century. In the foreground is the old Yew Tree,
in a very decayed condition, respecting which the Rev. VV. P.
Greswell, Incumbent of the chapel from 1791 to 1853, composed
the following stanzas : —
While silent ages glide away,
And turrets tremble with decay,
Let not the pensive Muse disdain
The tribute of one humble strain
To mourn in plaints of pity due
The fate of yonder blasted yew.
1 " History of the Ancient Chapel of Denton," p. 114 (Chetham Society
Series, vol. xxxvii.).
2 Vide vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity " for a full account of the
Angier family.
3 Vide p. 287.
4 " History of Lancashire " (Croston's Edition), vol. ii., p. 24:.
THE OLD YE IV TREE. 285
Long blotted from the rolls of time
The day that mark'd thy early prime,
No hoary sage remains to say,
Who kindly rear'd thy tender spray ;
Who taught its slow maturing form
From age to age to brave the storm.
Beneath thy widely branching shade
Perchance his weary limbs were laid ;
Content, without a stone, to share
The umbrage of thy grateful care ;
His utmost wish for thee to shed
Oblivion's dews around thy head.
And long thy darkling foliage gave
A hallowed stillness to his grave ;
For there, if legends rightly tell,
No vagrant reptile dared to dwell :
E'en sprites, by moonlight wont to stray,
Scar'd at thy presence, fled away.
As thus, in contemplative mood,
The venerable trunk I view'd,
Forth issuing from the sapless rind
A hoarse voice trembled on the wind.
Amaz'd I stood, and wing'd with fear,
These accents caught my wondering ear —
" Me, to the precincts of the place
That antique hallowed Pile to grace,
From native woods, in days of yore,
The fathers of the hamlet bore. — •
Foster'd by Superstition's hand,
A late memorial now I stand.
" My spreading shade, extending wide,
The village wonder — and its pride —
I mark'd, as years revolved, the blow
That laid each hardiest grandsire low —
Now worn with all consuming age,
I yield to Time's relentless rage.
'• Nor fondly blame, with strain severe,
The simple zeal that placed me here.
Nor dare thy fathers to despise,
And deem thy upstart sons more wise.
Let self conviction check thy pride,
To error both too near allied.
286 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
'' Of Zeal's unletter'd warmth possest,
Yet still Religion fir'd their breast ;
Frequent the hallowed court to tread
Where Mercy hears Repentance plead,
Constant the grateful hymn to raise ;
Our Zion echoed with their praise.
'• Their sons superior knowledge boast ;
Knowledge how vain ! since Zeal is lost.
Now, gradual as my branches pine,
I see Devotion's flame decline.
And while, like me, Religion wanes,
Alas ! her vestige scarce remains."1
DENTON OLD CHAPEL IN
1 In the Denton Chapel Parish Register, under date February i, 1714-15,
Tuesday, is the following : " Abt noon there happened a violent and terrible
storm of wind, wch shatter'd and blew down ye highest and greatest part of
ye Yew Tree in ye Chap11 yard, wch before was suppos'd to be one of ye noblest
and largest in ye Kingdom, being a very great ornament as well as shelter to
ye Chappell." Booker ("History of Denton Chapel," p. 119, note, being
vol. xxxvii. of the Chetham Society's Old Series) says : *' The yew tree at
Denton occupied a position at the south side of the chapel. It never
recovered from the effects of this memorable storm, and was eventually cut
down in the year 1800, and superseded in the following year by a small tree
of the same species."
THE REV. SAMUEL ANGIER. 287
The story of early Nonconformity in this district may be com
pleted by a few sentences respecting the Rev. John Harrison, "an
orthodox, painfull, able minister," ejected from the Parish Church
of Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1662. He had held the cure from
1643, had previously been the minister of Walmsley Chapel, near
Bolton, and was an intimate friend of the family of Oliver Hey-
wood. After his ejection he removed to Salford, " where he was
soon afterwards deprived of the use of his limbs, which was
thought to be the consequence of his indefatigable labours, fast
ings, and night studies."1 He died at Ashton "on the last day of
December [1670], about foure clocke afternoon," and was buried
in the chancel of the church, his successor, the Rev. Thomas
Ellison, preaching his funeral sermon, and giving him a great
character, but not beyond his desert."- No Nonconformist
interest in Ashton-under-Lyne is traceable to the labours of Mr.
Harrison, at Denton, or to those of Mr. Angier, doubtless
because the one at Dukinfield, only a few miles away, was found
to be sufficient for the needs of the whole neighbourhood.
II.— DUKINFIELD OLD CHAPEL.
IN the previous section it is stated that the Rev. Samuel Angier,
on being prevented from succeeding his uncle in the pastorate of
Denton Chapel, retired to the "adjacent village of Dukinfield."
The times were heavy against Nonconformists, and Mr. Angier's
opportunities for serving those of his former charge who were of
his way of thinking would be limited. The following picture is
worth preservation : —
Tradition can yet point out the place in a neighbouring wood, where on
days set apart, under the watch of sentinels, and at nightfall, when they
were less likely to be observed, the proscribed ministers were met by their
faithful adherents, when the pious service of prayer, praise, and exhortation
had no other walls to surround it but the naked thicket, and no other roof
for its protection but the canopy of heaven.3
1 Calamy's " Nonconformist's Memorial " (1802), vol. ii., p. 352.
2 Ibid; vide also vol. iii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3" Monthly Repository " for 1823, p. 682.
288 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
At Stockport, in 1680, it is said he was excommunicated,
after which time he preached as opportunity permitted in
a barn in Henshaw Lane, between Newton and Dukinfield.
The Toleration Act of 1689 brought relief, and Mr. Angier lost no
time in licensing " his out-housing,1 and there he resumed his long-
interrupted ministerial functions." The hayloft was fitted up as a
temporary gallery, and the family of the " Hall were not ashamed,
surrounded by their tenantry, to attend upon his ministry."2 Here
worship was held until 1708, when by the munificence of Sir
Robert Dukinfield and " other and humbler well wishers to the
cause a commodious chapel was erected."3 The following passage
from an address by the Rev. R. Brook Aspland, M.A., at the
stone laying of the new chapel in June, 1839, is interesting : —
The chapel was completed in the summer of 1708, and was first used for
public worship on a thanksgiving day for the victory of Oudenarde. The
Dissenters of that day would naturally feel that the continuance of their
religious privileges somewhat depended on the continued success of the
British arms, the war having broken out between this country and France in
consequence of the latter having recognised the title of the Stuart family to
the throne of England. The "Old Chapel" was not, however, opened for
regular public worship until the aoth of August.4
Over the southern entrance of the chapel, which stood upon " a
most beautiful and commanding eminence," was the date iTo-j/'
Close by and about the same time a school was erected, which
was taken down over a century ago " to give the former building
all the advantage of its peculiarly fine situation." A writer of
1 He lived on a small estate in Dukinfield, till lately known as " Angier's
Tenement."
2 " Monthly Repository" for 1823, p. 682.
3 " Christian Reformer" for 1839, p. 668.
4 Ibid. p. 669.
5 Dr. Aikin, writing in 1795, says: — "On the summit above Dukinfield-
lodge stands a very ancient dissenters' chapel, built of stone, and surrounded
with a burying ground planted with firs. It has a large congregation, noted
for fine singers, and was long under the care of the Rev. Mr. Buckley.
Here lie buried some of the Dukinfield family. The chapel itself is a fine
station for an extensive prospect, and is itself a striking object from the
vicinity." — (" Forty Miles around Manchester," p. 453).
DOMINI GEE. 289
seventy years ago gives the following information respecting
this institution : —
This school is said to have flourished very much, particularly under the
mastership of Domini Gee, specimens of whose superior penmanship in
the Italian court hand of that period are yet in preservation. It is not
unworthy of remark that the widow of Domini Gee's son is yet a resident in
the village, and possesses comparatively strong mental and'corporeal energy,
now in her loist year. Not long ago, she was invited to the house of one of
her descendants, when a meeting took place at a tea party of five generations'
in the same family. One of her grandsons is now the stone-cutter and
officiating sexton belonging to the chapel yard. Previous to this school, a
seminary for the education of young gentlemen had been conducted with
great reputation in this place by a Mr. Barlow, whose classic attainments
•were held in very great esteem. Indeed, such was his widely extended
reputation, that several London merchants, as well as the neighbouring
gentlemen, sent their sons to be educated by him. Amongst his pupils
from London, a son of the celebrated critic, John Dennis, was of the
number. This boy is reported to have been a great oddity, whose
peculiarities contributed in no small degree to the mirth of his associates.1
Mr. Angier continued to serve the congregation until his death,
November 8th, 1713, and, as he holds so prominent a place
in the history of Nonconformity here, the reader will welcome
a few more particulars about him. He was the son of
Bezaleel Angier, of Dedham, in Essex, where he was born August
28th, 1639. His early education he received at Westminster
School, under the celebrated Dr. Busby, whence he removed to
Christ Church, Oxford. The Uniformity Act of 1662 led to
his ejection from the University, after which he lived for several
years with Dr. Owen, " for whom he always retain'd a most pro
found Respect." His ordination took place on October 29th, 1672,
at the house of the Rev. Robert Eaton, in Deansgate, Manchester,2
he being at the time his uncle's assistant at Denton. Like his uncle,
1 "Monthly Repository" for 1823, p. 681.
2 Hunter says this was the "first Presbyterian ordination among the
Nonconformists in the north of England, and perhaps tha first in any part of
the kingdom." (" Life of Oliver Heywood," p. 244). In addition to Mr. Angier,
Mr. Joseph Dawson, a neighbour and friend of Oliver Heywood, and Mr.
John Jollie, brother of the Rev. Thomas Jollie, of Altham, were candidates,
the ordainers being the Revs. Oliver Heywood, John Angier, Henry Newcome,
Henry Finch, and Robert Eaton.
5—19
29o LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
he married into the Mosley family, his wife being Ann, daughter
of Oswald Mosley, Esq. She died in 1690, and was interred in
the graveyard of the Collegiate Church, Manchester. In the
" Northowram Register" is the following reference to the event : —
" Mr. Saml. Angier's wife, of Dukinfield, died of a Tympany,
buried at Manchester, July 26. Mr. ffr. Mosley, her uncle,
preacht ffuneral."1
For many years previous to his death Mr. Angier was almost
blind, but he "frequently entertained himself with repeating the
greatest part of David's Psalms and Paul's Epistles." His re
mains were laid in the graveyard of the chapel which was built for
him, and upon his tombstone the following Latin inscription was
placed :
Hie requiescit in Domino
SAMUEL ANGIER,
Jesu Christ! Minister,
Vir primaevae Pietatis et omni virtute praeclarus,
Dedhamiae in Comitatu Essexiae
Piis et honestis Parentibus,
Natus Octobris 28, 1639.
Westmonasteriensis Scholae deinde ^dis Christi Oxon,
Alumnus Regius,
Concionator Egregius et Assiduus,
Continuis Evangelii Laboribus et Morbis,
Fere Obrutus,
Lumine etiam, ingravescente ^Ltate, orbatus
Tandem Animam placide,
Deo reddaidit,
8vo Novembris Anno Salutis
MDCCXIII.
Ai.ta.tis Lxxv.
In perpetuam Pietatis Memoriam,
Bezaleel et Johannis Filii Sui,
H. M. P. C.
Calamy says that all his days he was " a close studenr, a great
valuer of Bible knowledge, an exact preacher, and one that liv'd as
he spoke, and spoke as he liv'd."' An interesting little diary kept
* Page 78.
a " Account of the Ejected and Silenced Ministers," vol. iii., p. in
(Edition 1727).
EXTRACTS FROM AN OLD DIARY. 291
by him is still in existence, from which the following local and
family items have been extracted : —
My Bror. John Angier came to his father's house from Verginia, Tuesday,
July 26th, 1664.
Janet, d. of Tho : Hooly, of Due "kinfield], baptis'd Aprill 22, 1603. Mary
baptised Jan. 6, 1606.
Martha, June 29th, 1609. The sisters were all born at the house in
Duckenfield wherin I dwell.
January 24th, 1682, my wife and self fall dangerously of a horse by Law :
Wright's, but wh. little damage, " blessed be the Lord."
February 4th, 1682.— Dyed landlord, Benjamin Walker, bur. yth, sad all
over. His widow dyed June lyth following.
yth. — I went to Mr. Hirst's, being sent for w'th Sr Robt. [Duckinfield].
i3th. — Bro. Nat's 2d Son was born : ye 13 named Matthew.
i5th. — It's this day 15 yeares since I came to Denton.
i yth. — This day it's fifteen yeares since I first preached y're.
2ist. — My dear and precious mother departed this life ye 2ist about ten
before noon. 12 Febr. last year dyed Bror. Matthew Angier: this is the
third dt:ath since October 29, 1678 — my dear father, bro'r, and mother,
March 2, 1682. — Son Bezaleel went to Manchester.
June 4th. — At night, about 12, Bro'r Bezaleel taken ill w'h a palsye on one
side, and became very weak.
I5th. — Bro'r Bezaleel departed this life.
i6th. — Frydaie night, about 12 o'clock, Mr. Jo. Jolly departed this life, to
ye great losse of the Church of God. [This was the Rev. John Jollie, who
was ejected from Norbury, in Cheshire, in 1662, and was brother to the
Rev. Thomas Jollie, of Wymond-houses, near Clitheroe, who says that he
died in one night's sickness.]
i yth. — Dyed my Landlady, Walker, of Asheton ; bur. 2oth.
25th. — Dyed Cousin Anne Langton, of Preston, at Kersall, buried at
Manchester, tuesday, 2y.
1682. — Cousin John Angier was w'h us about 14 days, and 3 weeks in May
and June.
Sept. 2. — Sister Mary Barker delivered of a daughter.
24th. — Cousin John Angier came to my house.
October I2th. — Sam. Eaton married. [Minister of the Nonconformist
Chapel at Stand. Oliver Heywood, in his diary, says that Mr. Eaton was
married Sept. 22, and so there is a discrepancy.]
i6th. — I went to Manch. w'h my wife and stayed 3 nights at Mr. .
21. — Cousin Sam. Angier came to my house.
26 of Nov. — Cousin Sam. went from my house.
Nov. yth. — I went to Manch. and stayed 2 nights at O. Butterworth's.
25th. — Dyed Martha, Bro. Matth's wid.
2gth of Nov., i6yo. — Mr. Charles Duckinfield was baptised, soe that he is
now twelve yeares old.
292 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Like many other Nonconformist ministers of the time, Mr. Angier
appears to have been a small farmer as well as a pastor, and his
diary contains entries to the effect that his field was " plowed and
harrowed in a good time ; " that his " old horse dyed ; " and that
he brewed his own beer about every month, when " 2 hoopes were
used." 1
The Rev. Wm. Buckley succeeded Mr. Angier in 1714, in which
year he was ordained at Knutsford. His biographer says : —
He happened to possess a patrimonial estate in the township, and when
young became enamoured of a daughter of the Baronet whose demesne land
lay contiguous to his own. The parties were prevented ratifying that union
so much coveted by both, and the lady died soon after (in lover's language)
of a broken heart. He afterwards married a half-sister of the Baronet's, a
daughter of Colonel Dukinfield in his old age, by a third wife, whose
maiden name was Bottomley.2
Mr. Buckley's ministrations at Dukinfield terminated only with
his death in 1752. In a paper written by him he gives the
following particulars respecting his congregation, which show how
large and influential it was : —
Baronet i
Esquire i
Gentlemen 12
Tradesmen 16
Yeomen 76
Late comers, labourers, servants, &c 687
793
Votes for knights of the county 96
As illustrative of his influence over the people in the village it
is said that "if he shook his stick at the Hall Green (the place of
1 This interesting little volume, formerly in the possession of the Rev.
Richard Slate, at Preston, is now the property of Mr. John Hargreaves, of
Rock Ferry. It was given to Mr. Slate by the late Mr. Edward Harrison,
of Preston, a descendant of Mr. Angier. (Vide vol. vi. of " Lancashire
Nonconformity.")
2 " Monthly Repository " for 1823, p. 682.
THE REV. WM. BUCKLEY. • 293
his residence) the boys trembled as far as the town lane end
(distant half a mile)." During the few years immediately
succeeding Mr. Buckley's death " a lamentable series of con
gregational divisions occur, and a manifest want of suitability in
the ministers that were chosen to succeed him." The following five
names of persons who held the pastorate for a few months each
are mentioned, concerning whom little is known : — Revs. J.
Burgess,1 S. Stopford,2 R. Robinson,' Gladstone,4 and J. Helme.6
" Conformably to the wishes of the congregation," it is said that
the last named person was induced to resign in favour of the Rev.
William Buckley, the only son of their former so much esteemed
pastor. Mr. Buckley quitted trade and " at a mature age devoted
himself to an academical education for the purpose of healing the
divisions of the congregation as their minister." Such is the record ;
but another writer states that the troubles which came upon the
church in years subsequent to the ministry of Mr. Buckley,
senior, came through the son, " who, although he bore
the father's name, did not inherit his father's intellect and
connections."6 Educated by Dr. Caleb Ashworth in the Daventry
Academy, of which he became a student in 1756, he appears to
have settled for a short time at Atherstone, in Warwickshire,7
whence he removed to Dukinfield in 1762. It is recorded that
he came to Dukinfield "not only an Arian, but also a clerical
dandy," and that an attempt was made to eject him from the
1 Probably the Rev. James Burgess, of Greenacres Chapel, Oldham.
Vide ante p. 236; also vol. ii. of "Lancashire Nonconformity."
2 The congregation is said to have been divided between Mr. Burgess
and Mr. Stopford.
3 Subsequently at Dob Lane, in the history of which a full account of this
singular man is given (vide ante p. 44).
4 A Scotchman whose immoral conduct " soon drove him away " from
Dukinfield. Possibly the person of that name mentioned in the history of
Greenacres Chapel (vide ante p. 238).
5 It is recorded that he came to Dukinfield from St. Helens. I have not
met with his name in the Nonconformity of that district. The Rev. J.
Helme appears at Blackley, Walmsley, etc. (vide ante p. 34 ; also vol. iii. of
"Lancashire Nonconformity.")
6 " Half a Century of Independency in Ashton-under-Lyne," p. 7.
7 " Monthly Repository" for 1822, p. 164.
294 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
pulpit, which failed. " A conspicuous opponent of his view?,'
says one, "was an Ashtonian of the name of Walker," who, "on
one occasion, when the clerical coxcomb was about to ascend the
pulpit in the full flown ecclesiastical millinery of the period, con
fronted him in the passage, and, pointing with his walking stick
to the minister's dress, exclaimed aloud, ' Where silk gowns and
powdered wigs come, there cometh no gospel.'" A secession
of those who were dissatisfied with Mr. Buckley's ministry
eventually took place, with which is associated the origin of Con
gregationalism in Dukinfield and Ashton-under-Lyne. Infirmities
led to his resignation in 1791, in which year he was succeeded by
the Rev. David Davies, a student from Carmarthen. " Unfortu
nately," says his biographer, " habits of inebriety, early imbibed,
blasted the promise of much utility. He became unfitted for his
situation, and, quitting the country, it is said he died abroad."
Mr. Davies resigned in 1794, and is called the first "Unitarian"
minister of the chapel. The Rev. Thomas Smith followed from
1794 to 1796, and his other pastorates were at Stand,
Risley, and Park Lane.1 A brief ministry, extending only over
a few months, by the Rev. William Tate, subsequently of
Chorley,2 was succeeded by that of the Rev. James Hawkes. Born
at Buckingham in September, 1771, educated at the Northampton
Academy under the Rev. John Horsey, and minister at Congleton
in 1797, he removed to Dukinfield in 1800. He established a
Sunday School, "the first institution of the kind in the village.''
In 1813 he removed to Lincoln, and subsequently to Nantwich,
where he died May i9th, 1846. The Rev. Joseph Ash ton, for
some time minister at Dob Lane and then Preston," was here from
1814 to 1817. In 1819 the Rev. John Gaskell, M.A., became
the minister. He belonged to the family of that name at
Warrington, was educated at Glasgow University, and settled first
for a short time at Thome, in Yorkshire, whence he removed to
Dukinfield. Death carried him away in the midst of his labours
at the early age of forty-one years, on May i5th, 1836. His
1 Vide vols. iii. and iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity." Mr. Smith was
the author of an Essay on " Avarice," and two volumes of poetry.
2 Vide vol. ii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
3 Vide ante p. 48 ; and vol. i. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
DAMAGED BY STORM. 295
successor was the Rev. R. B. Aspland, M.A. He was educated at
Glasgow University, and Manchester New College, York ; was
minister at Chester from 1826 to 1832; one of the ministers at
Le win's Mead, Bristol, from 1833 to 1837 ; removing in the latter
year to Dukinfield. It was during his ministry that the old chapel,
which had become quite dilapidated1 and unequal to the wants of
the congregation, was superseded by the present handsome
structure, which contains about 1,000 sittings, and cost ^"5,000.
The foundation stone was laid by Samuel Ashton, Esq., on
June 26th, 1839, on which occasion Mr. Aspland delivered an
interesting address upon early Nonconformity in the district. On
Wednesday, August 26th, of the following year, the opening
sermon, from Mark xi., 17, was preached by the Rev. Robert
Aspland, of Hackney ; the other ministers assisting being the
Revs. J. E. Robberds, of Manchester, and James Hawkes. a
former pastor. Mr. Aspland continued his labours until 1858,
when he removed to Hackney. He died in 1869. He was for
several years the editor of the Christian Reformer, and the
author of a brief history of " Old Nonconformity at Dukinfield."
The Rev. John Gordon, who had previously laboured at Coseley,
Coventry, and Edinburgh, succeeded Mr. Aspland at Dukinfield
in 1858, and resigned in 1862. He was followed in 1863 by the
Rev. J. P. Hopps, educated at the Baptist College, Leicester, and
previously of Sheffield. He remained until 1869, and is now at
Leicester. The Rev. P. H. Wicksteed, M. A., educated at Man
chester New College, London, and minister at Taunton for a few
years, held the pastorate from 1870 to 1874. In the latter year
he removed to London, where he still labours, From 1875 to
1884 the Rev. G. H. Vance, B.D., whose education was received
at Harvard, U.S.A., was minister. He is now at Dublin. The
present minister is the Rev. Hugon S. Tayler, M.A., who was
educated at London and Cambridge. He begin his labours here
in 1885.
The terrible storm of January yth, 1839, destroyed the windows, and
damaged its roof, so that except for the purpose of funerals and marriages
it was not again used by the congregation.
296 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
III.— ALBION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
ABOUT the year 1780 a Mr. Walker, who lived near the Ashton
Churchyard, dissatisfied with the teaching of the Rev. William
Buckley, of Dukinfield, left the old chapel, taking with him a
number of friends, and began to hold services in his own house.
" This, as far as can be gleaned," writes one, " was the first society
of Independents in the borough."1 The history of this effort is
given in the following passage : —
For about ten years this little company held together, meeting on Sunday
mornings for fellowship and mutual exhortation, and at the evening services
enjoyed the preaching of ministers from Manchester, Delph, Greenacres, and
other places. But, as the neighbouring pastors were unable to continue this
help, and at the same time do justice to their own places, the failure of
regular preaching had an injurious effect upon the church, and about 1790
it ceased to exist. The few who had stood firm to the last did not abandon
their principles, but walked distances of five or six miles in order to benefit
by the communion and instruction of Independent Churches in the district.2
About three years afterwards a second attempt was made, and
we have the following interesting account of the opening of a large
room for worship/' The room was in connection with Mr.
Oldham's mill, Peaceable Street (now Fleet Street), and had
accommodation for about 400 persons : —
The town of Ashton, in Lancashire, had long been destitute of gospel light,
eminently the seat of prejudice and enmity; it pleased the All-wise and
gracious Head of the Church to dispose the minds of some neighbouring
ministers to seek a place where they might preach alternately for a time, by
way of proving the spirits of the people and the designs of Providence.
After several fruitless attempts, a commodious room was provided ; and on
the ist of August, 1793, the Rev. N. Blackburn, of Delph, and the Rev. T.
Kennedy, M.A., of Manchester, preached to a numerous and attentive
congregation from the words of Christ, Take heed WHAT ye hear, and Take
heed HOW ye hear. Since this period the place has been attended beyond
expectation, a proper meeting is established, and it is hoped that some are
1 "Half a Century of Independency in Ashton-under-Lyne," p. 8.
2 Ibid.
3 Urwick, and other writers on Congregationalism in this district,
wrongly give 1795 as the date of the commencement of this second effort.
The building was opened in 1793.
MR. NATHANIEL BUCKLEY. 297
already asking their way to Zion. We trust that the gentlemen engaged in
this good work will persevere through every discouragement, that the blessing
of many perishing souls will come upon them, and that their generous example
will be zealously imitated. 1
Failure of supply, "combined with strife within their own
borders," shattered this second effort in the direction of church
formation, and after " a precarious existence of five or six years it
came to an untimely end."2 The erection of Providence Chapel,
Dukinfield, for the Rev. Wm. Marsh, of which an account will be
given subsequently, resulted in "most of the Independents, who
still continued to meet in private houses in Ashton," joining this
" young and flourishing church on the other side of the river."
A few, however, are said to have held together, and to
have kept up regular preaching with "great credit to them
selves," the principal share of this work "falling to the late Mr.
James Lord, long a devoted and valued friend of Independency
in Ashton." During the ministry of the Rev. T. Bennett, who
succeeded Mr. Marsh at Uukinfield, a difference between him and
his people arose upon a question of church discipline, and fourteen
members left, "crossed the river, and united themselves to the
small band of resolute Independents in Ashton," amongst them
being Mr. Nathaniel Buckley. This "increase of numbers and
accession of strength " soon made itself felt, and the true history
of Congregationalism in Ashton may be said to begin at this point.
In 1815 the Rev. Richard Slate says: —
" A few persons of piety and influence, attached to the doctrines
and principles of evangelical Congregationalism, fitted up a room
for public worship, which for some time was supplied by lay
preachers from Manchester and the neighbourhood. The attend
ance for the first six months was small, frequently not amounting
to twenty persons in the morning."3 Respecting this early home
of the Albion Church — which was all that could be obtained at
1 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1794, p. 118.
2 ''Half a Century of Independency in Ashton-under-Lyne," p. 10. The
author, however, adds that it is not clear that the church thus formed was
" ever entirely disbanded." One who was well informed, says the friends
never ceased to assemble, meeting occasionally in Ashton and Dukinfield.
3 " History of the Lancashire Congregational Union," p. 39.
THE REV. J. SUTCLIFFE. 299
the time — we have the following interesting passage, written in
1867:—
The Earl of Stamford and Warrington, and lord of the manor of Ashton,
on being applied to for land, declared that no Dissenting Chapel should ever
be erected on his estates, and, it is said, caused a clause to be inserted in all
his leases to that effect. Baffled in their endeavours to obtain an eligible
situation for their religious home, the church had recourse to an obscure and
unsightly building, turning out to the left off Crickets' Lane. There the
old building stands to this hour, with its quaint inscription : " Can there any
good thing come out of Nazareth ? Come and see." Infinite good has come
to the world from Nazareth, and it is not too much to say that much light
and blessing has come to many souls from that dull and dingy room in
Crickets' Lane.1 Within it, what is called the Albion Independent Church
held in 1816 its first communion in memory of Him of Nazareth, and of
Calvary, too. Twenty-seven joined in that sacred celebration. All of them,
except one, have passed away from the waiting and wrestling Church below
to the triumphant Church above. She who remains is Mary Smith, then
living in Dukinfield nursery, but since that, long and honourably known as
the wife of the Rev. Robert Moffat, the intrepid and devoted Missionary to
Southern Africa.2
In the early part of 1816, Ashton, with Oldham, is mentioned
as " a very promising sphere of itinerant labours ; " and a " neat
and commodious " building, called " Refuge Chapel," capable of
"seating 500 persons, was opened April gth, 1817, by Messrs.
Bradley and Ely.'1- The chapel stood in an alley (now Albion
Street) off Crickets' Lane; its cost is given as about ^1,000, and
the "principal instrument" in its erection is said to be Mr.
Nathaniel Buckley.3 On the first Sunday in January, 1818, the
Rev. Jonathan Sutcliffe, a student from Idle Academy, became
the minister. His ordination took place on the J4th of May
following, when his pastor, the Rev. James Scott, of Cleckheaton,
gave him the charge from Prov. xi. 30 ; the Rev. William Vint,
Tutor of Idle Academy, "delivered the introductory discourse and
1 The old chapel in " Harrop's Yard," off Crickets' Lane, was built a little
before the end of last century by the New Connexion Methodists, who had
just seceded from the old Wesleyan body. It was abandoned by them for
larger premises in Stamford Street. After the Congregationalists left it, the
Roman Catholics worshipped in it for a time.
2 " Half a Century of Independency in Ashton-under-Lyne," pp. 12, 13.
3 " Evangelical Magazine" for 1818, p. 355.
300 LANCASHIRE NONCONfORMITY.
received the confession ; " and amongst others who assisted was
the Rev. Mr. La Trobe (Moravian minister). The growing congre
gations who waited on Mr. Sutcliffe's ministry rendered an enlarge
ment necessary, which eventually was made, giving sitting accom
modation in all to about 620 persons.1 " At a church meeting held
in July, 1833," writes the Rev. Richard Slate, "it was concluded,
as the chapel was insufficient to accommodate the increasing con
gregation, to erect a new place of worship on a large scale
on an adjoining plot of ground, then occupied by cottages. The
foundation stone was laid2 amidst a large concourse of people, on
the 23rd of May, 1834., and the present elegant and spacious
chapel, capable of seating twelve hundred persons, was opened for
divine worship on the xoth of May, 1835. "3 The preachers on
the occasion were morning and evening Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool,
and afternoon the Rev. J. Sutcliffe, pastor. On the following
Wednesday, May i3th, Dr. McAll, of Manchester, preached, and
the collections of the united services amounted to ^367 43. gd.
The cost of the chapel, including the "purchase of premises," is
given as ^3,427 is. 3d.4 On Tuesday evening, January 8th,
1850, Mr. Sutcliffe received from his people " a purse of gold
containing ^1,000, and a fine copy of the Oxford demy folio
Bible, value thirty guineas, bound in the most handsome style."5
More than thirty years of unremitting toils had left their mark
upon the pastor, and he began to " feel the necessity of abridging
bis labours" ; but " some alterations he suggested for this end not
meeting with perfect concurrence, he resigned his charge in May,
1 85 1."6 In January of the following year he became pastor of the
1 The re-opening services took place on August aoth, 1827. Theenlarge-
ment was made by adding the original schoolroom to the chapel.
2 By Mr. Nathaniel Buckley, the senior deacon of the church.
3 " History of the Lancashire Congregational Union," p. 40.
4 " Evangelical Magazine " for 1835, p. 291. These were the formal re
opening services, but the church took leave of Refuge Chapel on March
29th, when Mr. Sutcliffe preached to his people on " Arise, let us go hence,"
entering into possession of the new structure, which was by no means
finished, on the following Sunday, April 5th, when Mr. Sutcliffe was again
the preacher, his texls being — morning, Haggai ii., 9 ; afternoon, i Cor. ii.,
2; evening, 2 Tim. i., 8.
5 " Christian Witness " for 1850, p. 90.
6 " Congregational Year Book" for 1860, p. 208.
THE REV. J. G. ROGERS, B.A. 301
Congregational Church at Longsight, where he was instrumental in
building "Ivy Chapel," in 1853; but softening of the brain led
to his retirement in 1856. 1 He died at Ashton, April 2oth, 1859,
aged sixty-four years, and was interred in the Harpurhey Cemetery.
Mr. Sutcliffe was antiquarian in his tastes, and in 1841
was elected a Fellow of the Antiquarian Society. He was the
author of a " Memoir of Emily Rowland," the copyright of which
he presented to the Religious Tract Society. Near the pulpit of
Albion Chapel is a handsome memorial tablet, thus inscribed : —
Sacred to the Memory of the
REV. JONATHAN SUTCLIFFE, F.A.S.,
For more than thirty-nine years the faithful and beloved pastor of the
Church assembling in this place of worship.
His fervour in the closet, his earnestness in the pulpit, his greatness of
attachment to Christian principle, his holy life, and unwearied labours were
crowned by the Divine blessing with extensive usefulness.
His flock have erected this tablet in gratitude for his services, and in affec
tion for his memory.
He was born on the 3Oth December, 1794, ordained 25th May, 1818, and
died 20th April, 1859.
" He was a good man, and full of faith and of the Holy Ghost."
The Rev. J. G. Rogers, B.A., educated at Lancashire College,
and ordained pastor of St. James's Chapel, Newcastle-on-Tyne,
April 1 5th, 1846, succeeded Mr. Sutcliffe in 1851. An energetic
and useful ministry was brought to a conclusion in 1865, when
Mr. Rogers removed to Clapham, London, where he still
labours. In that year he occupied the chair of the Lancashire
Congregational Union, and in 1874 that of the Congregational
Union of England and Wales. There are few ministers
so well known and deservedly respected as Mr. Rogers, and
none who have more vigorously defended the interests of
Congregationalism both on the platform and in the press. The
son of a Lancashire Congregational minister, the Rev. Thomas
Rogers, of Prescot and Warrington,'J he is connected with the
county by the most sacred ties, and has always recognised the
fact by placing at its disposal the most generous service. The
1 Vide ante p. 161.
2 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity.'
3o2 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
Rev. J. Hutchison followed Mr. Rogers in 1865. He was
educated at the Glasgow Theological Hall, and ordained to the
pastorate of the Congregational Church at Elie, Fifeshire, on
Wednesday, August 26th, 1852, whence he removed to Dun-
fermline, and thence to Ashton-under-Lyne. For nearly thirty
years Mr. Hutchison has upheld the best traditions of the
Albion Church, and his ministry has been exceedingly fruitful.
More than once have important churches invited him to transfer
his services elsewhere, but he has remained loyal to his people at
Ashton. Respected and beloved by his brethren in the ministry
he was invited by them to occupy the position of President of the
Lancashire Congregational Union in 1882 ; and on the completion of
21 years of ministerial service at Albion, his people recognised the
event in a very substantial way. The crown of a long and honourable
ministry will be the New Albion Church, now in course of building.
This large and magnificent structure is being erected on the Stam
ford Terrace plot, formerly occupied by the late Mr. William
Sunderland's Academy. It is intended to accommodate 1,100
persons, and its cost, including ^2,000 for the site, will be about
^£40,000. There are not many churches in the county or out of
it that could face half that amount with any degree of equanimity ;
but Albion Church, from the days of Mr. Nathaniel Buckley, the
"principal instrument" in the erection of the old "Refuge
Chapel" in 1817, to the present time, has been favoured with a
considerable number of wealthy and generous supporters. The
subscription list, too lengthy to be inserted here, is a fine testimony
to the power of voluntaryism. The following are a few of the
larger amounts in the first list, many of which have since been
doubled. After the pastor and people have raised some ^11,000,
the remainder has been generously promised by Mr. Abel Buckley,
whatever it may be, that the church may be opened free from debt :
Mr. Rupert Mason ;£i,5oo
Mr. Nathaniel Buckley .£1,000
Mr. S. Mason .£500
Mr. Herbert Knott .£500
Mr. G. H. Kenworthy ^250
Mrs. John Knott ^250
Messrs. Abel and Jesse Haworth .£250
Mr. C. T. Bradbury ^250
Mrs. Hugh Mason .£250
Miss Mason £25°
ALBION NEW CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
304 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
The foundation stone of the New Albion Church was laid on
Saturday, September i3th, 1890, by Mr. Abel Buckley, J.P., grand
son of Mr. Nathaniel Buckley, previously named, and the generous
donor of the tower and spire; and the mallet and trowel were
presented to him by Miss Muriel Mason, daughter of Mr. Rupert
Mason, and the fifth in descent from Mr. Nathaniel Buckley.
Amongst the ministers who took part in the ceremony, in addition
to the pastor, were the Revs. J. G. Rogers, B.A., "the grand old
man of English Congregational Nonconformity " ; Dr. Alexander
Thomson, Mr. Hutchison's personal friend for many years ; and
the Rev. Thomas Green, M.A., Chairman for the year of the Con
gregational Union of England and Wales. Mr. N. B. Sutcliffe, also,
son of the Rev. Jonathan Sutcliffe, representing the "connecting
link between the old church and congregation, and the movement
which they that day inaugurated," delivered an interesting
address. The building is nearing completion, and it is expected
that the congregation will be able to take possession of their new
home in 1894.
Three important Mission stations are sustained by the
church, to which a few sentences must be devoted. The
work at Charlestown was commenced in 1862, meetings being
first held in a room made out of two cottages, " so dark," writes
one, "we were obliged to keep the gas burning in an afternoon,
no ventilation at all, a very damp flag floor, a miserable and
unhealthy place." An old mill was next taken in Wellington Road,
but the increase in the scholars made still larger premises impera
tive. It was felt that a new building was the only way in which
the necessities of the case could be met, but the committee
appointed to consider the matter experienced difficulty in obtaining
a site. Mr. Hugh Mason, however, purchased a group of cottages,
and generously handed them over to the Committee for the use of
the Mission. The cottages were accordingly taken down, and in
August, 1866, Mr. Hugh Mason laid the foundation stone of Charles-
town Chapel and Schools. The new premises cost about ^£1,500,
towards which the Bi-centenary Committee gave ^200. The
accommodation provided was for about 300 persons, and the
opening services took place in March, 1867. In 1885, an
important enlargement took place in the shape of new classrooms
A MISSIONARY CHURCH. 305
at a cost of over ,£850. The Mission is very vigorous, and the
work done by it most praiseworthy. The Hurst Nook Mission
was commenced on August 2oth, 18.71, in an old room, formerly
a pigeon cote, where sixteen children assembled. On Good
Friday, March 26th, 1875, the present building was opened by a
public tea meeting, over which the Rev. John Hutchison, pastor
of the parent church, presided. This place also was enlarged at
a cost of about ^200 in 1886. At Taunton, a little village a
short distance north-west of Ashton, is a third Mission station,
where services have been conducted for many years. For several
years, Mr. William Wood was employed as Town Missionary by the
Albion Church, and much of his time was given to these Mission
stations. In this connection it may be mentioned that the
vigorous churches, now self-supporting, at Ryecroft, Hyde, Staly-
bridge, Denton, Mossley, Droylsden, and Dukinfield, owe their
existence largely to the self-sacrificing efforts of the Albion
Church.
Amongst the manifold forms of Christian activity, to which the
church has given itself, is the large Albion Sunday School, through
which hundreds of young people have passed into useful positions
in society. The foundation stone of this building was laid by Mr.
Hugh Mason, on Friday, 1861, and on Good Friday of the
following year, it was opened by a sermon from the Rev. A.
McLaren, B.A., of Manchester, delivered to an audience of about
2,000 people. The cost of the building was about ^"14,000.
Albion Day School also has obtained a wide celebrity, of which
A. Park, Esq., J.P., has been Head Master since 1867. The
church has a strong P.S.A. Society, of which Mr. Park is
President.
Much might be written, and appropriately written, about many
worthy men whose names are so deeply interwoven into the
church's history, but space forbids. A brief passage must suffice,
and it is from the lips of the Rev. J. G. Rogers, B.A. (than whom
no one can speak more competently upon the subject) on the
occasion of the stone laying of the New Albion Church : —
Who can ever forget some of those men ? I cannot. Who can ever
forget that truly saintly man, Samuel B. Tomlins ? With a remarkable
unworldliness, he nevertheless was most free and generous and admirable
5—20
306 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
in his judgment of others. I cannot refer to many to-day. I could mention
Mr. Haughton, Mr. Sunderland, and a number of others, but I want simply
to mention one or two typical men. Who does not remember, especially
amongst the working men of this congregation, that singularly fine specimen
of the British workman in his highest development Joseph Garlick, a man
who in brain and experience was considerably above his position, and a man
on whom I used to look with undoubting confidence. Yes, but in these
schools, with the recollection of the great ceremonial which we had at the
laying of their foundation and at their opening; with the recollection of all
that he did to make Ashton what it is, who in this assembly can ever forget
the name of my beloved friend and tried and trusted comrade, Hugh Mason?
Don't you think it must be a joy to me, who knew him when we were young
men together, when we struggled and fought together — yes, for we had many
a hard fight in those times — do you think it can be anything but a joy to
me to see his children and his children's children here to-day, adding grace
and interest and earnestness to these spirited proceedings?
Albion Church is one of those which does honour to Lanca
shire Congregationalism. Its history from the beginning is an
inspiration. It has only had three pastors in the course of
seventy five years, a fact as much to the credit of the church as to
the three worthy brethren who have laboured there. It has
founded many other churches, but been happily spared dissensions ;
and though rapidly nearing its centenary, it has all the vigour of
youth. 1 1 only remains to be said that a year ago, the Rev. N.
de G Davies, M.A., B.D., a student from New College, accepted an
invitation to become Mr. Hutchison's assistant in his important
work.
IV.— RYECROFT CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
THE origin of the second Congregational church in Ashton-under-
Lyne was from the old Independent Church at Albion Street, in the
east end of the town. The object was to disseminate the principles
of Independency at the west end of the town, and at the same time
to set free greater accommodation at the parent place for many
who had long been waiting. Accordingly, on the 7th of May,
1848, an amicable separation took place, and eighty-six church
members, with many others of the congregation, entered upon the
work of beginning the new interest. On the evening of that day
THE REV. THOMAS GREEN, M.A. 307
the Rev. Jonathan Sutcliffe, the pastor of the parent church, con
ducted service in the upper room of the Ryecroft British School,
and regular Sunday services then began. The school had been
built by the Albion Church in 1847. It was designed for a
religious and Congregational preaching place from the first, while
the trust deed required that ic should be used also as a Day School.
The Rev. R. W. Hamilton, D.D., of Leeds, had preached at its
opening, April 28th, 1847. The church was formed on January
i4th, 1849, under the guidance of the Rev. J. Sutcliffe, and it
consisted of the number of members already named. For a time
students from Rotherham or from Manchester, with the occasional
assistance of neighbouring ministers, supplied the pulpit, till on
Good Friday, April i8ih, 1851, the Rev. Wm. Thomas, a student
from Rotherham College, was ordained to the pastorate. " For
more commodious accommodation," the services were con
ducted in Albion Street Chapel, which was " kindly lent for
the occasion by the minister and deacons." The Rev. David
Jones, of Booth, near Halifax — Mr. Thomas's late pastor — gave
the introductory discourse, and Dr. Stowell, the President of Ches-
hunt College, but formerly at Rotherham, gave the charge to the
minister. " Two hundred ministers and friends " dined together
between the morning and evening services in the Ryecroft
preaching room. In 1853 the present chapel, with accom
modation for 900 persons, was erected at a cost of about ^4,000,
both the church and the Sunday School having largely increased.
Towards the end of 1855 Mr. Thomas removed to College Chapel,
Bradford, and subsequently to Leeds. A few years ago he retired
from the ministry, and is now resident in Leeds. The Rev.
Thomas Green, M.A., a student from Spring Hill College, became
the new pastor in succession to Mr. Thomas in 1856, being ordained
as such on Good Friday of that year. Mr. Green has remained
with his first and only charge in spite of tempting offers to other
spheres. In 1876 he was Chairman of the Lancashire Congre
gational Union ; in 1890 of the Congregational Union of
England and Wales ; and he has been both Chairman and Secre
tary of the Lancashire Independent College. His loyalty to Con
gregationalism, and his able and persistent defence thereof, have
won for him an honourable place in the denomination, whilst
308 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
his quiet and sparkling humour has brought sunshine to many a
dull and un-interesting debate in its assemblies. Mr. Green
is the author, amongst other works, of " Porches of the Temple ; "
and "John Woolman, a Study for Young Men."
The energy and the zeal of the continually growing church took
the form of establishing, after a great deal of consideration, an out
post about a mile from the chapel. The neighbourhood chosen
was Audenshaw, and the district round the Guide Bridge Station,
on the Manchester and Sheffield Railway. In November, 1874,
the project was determined on. In the following year a room was
rented, and was occupied as a Sunday School in circumstances of
great encouragement. It soon became necessary to erect a
building, and a very suitable site having been secured, the foundation
stone was laid on June 24th, 1876, by Miss Fanny Buckley, of
Ryecroft Hall. The building was opened in April, 1877, and not
only has all debt been cleared off, but the land has been purchased,
so that there is no encumbrance of any kind. The school is
known as the Hooley Hill School ; and as a Day School, a Sunday-
School, a preaching station for regular Sunday evening services,
and a centre of many forms of Christian enterprise, it has so far
been signally blessed.
V.— CONGREGATIONALISM IN DUKINFIELD.
REFERENCE has already been made to the secession from the old
Nonconformist interest in Dukinfield during the pastorate of the
Rev. Wm. Buckley, the secessionists holding their meetings
mainly in Ashton. " Towards the close of 1805," says the Rev.
Wm. Urwick, M.A., "Mr. William Marsh, from London, came to
reside at Dukinfield and consented to preach every Sabbath even
ing in a dwelling-house. An out-building was afterwards obtained,
and fitted up sufficient to accommodate one hundred persons.
Here a Congregational Church was formed."1 On January ist,
1807, "a neat and commodious chapel (42 feet by 36 feet)" was
1 " Nonconformity in Cheshire," p. 349 ; vide also " Congregational
Magazine" for 1820, p. 455.
THE REV. ROBERT IVY. 309
opened, when the Rev. Wm. Evans, of Stockport, preached from
Hag. ii., 9 ; the Rev. Wm. Roby from Psalm xcv. 6 ; and the Rev.
N. Blackburn from Psalm cxviii. 25. 1 In the following May Mr.
Marsh was ordained,- and, after a brief but successful ministry
" among the congregation which he had been the instrument of
collecting and establishing," he removed to Cannon Street, Man
chester, in the midsummer of i8o8.3 In the same year the Rev.
T. Bennett, of Congleton, followed. It was during his ministry
that an important secession took place which led to the immediate
formation of the Albion Church in Ashton.4 In 1818 Mr. Bennett
removed to Hatherlow where he continued to minister until his
death, which took place suddenly on Sunday evening, October
i6th, 1842. He had been "a faithful minister of Christ for half
a century.5 In 1819 a Mr. Dunkerley, an occasional preacher
from Manchester, followed, and to him succeeded a Mr. Ramsey.6
The Rev. Robert Ivy followed in September 1827. He was educated
at Hackney and ordained pastor of the church at Brampton, in
Cumberland, on September 2nd, 1819. His ministry at Dukinfield
continued until 1841, and was so successful that the chapel had to
be enlarged, and a schoolroom and parsonage were erected. Mr.
Ivy was killed whilst going to Southport on his annual holidays.
The following account of the tragic event is from the Crescent
Road Bazaar Handbook : —
1 The foundation stone of this building, which had accommodation for
about 400 persons, was laid on July 3ist, 1806, by F. D. Astley, Esq.
2 Mr. Marsh presented the first Communion Service to the young church,
upon which is the following not very accurate inscription : — " The gift of the
Rev. Wm. Marsh to the church of Christ, meeting at Dukinfield, by whom
they were united in church fellowship, and ordained their pastor, May 2ist,
1807."
3 Vide ante page 123. Since the account of Cannon Street Church was
written it has been ascertained that Mr. Marsh did not immediately go
thence to Charlesworth, as there stated, but ministered for a short time to a
congregation at Ardwick (vide ante page 199.)
4 Vide ante page 297.
5 "Evangelical Magazine" for 1843, p. 133.
8 Ramsden is the name given in the Crescent Road Congregational
Church Bazaar Handbook (1892). It is there said that he was a Scotchman)
who came ostensibly as an independent, but who was really a Presbyterian.
He "soon made his doctrines known, and unpleasantness arising he resigned
and left the district."
3 io LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
They proceeded on the yth September, 1841, from Manchester by coach
(Mrs. Ivy having an objection to travelling on the railway), and at Euxton
near Preston, owing to rain, Mr. Ivy took an outside seat next to the driver
to allow a lady to go inside ; his fellow passenger outside was a Mr. Kershaw,
who was afterwards a member of Parliament for Stockport. At Euxton
there was a level crossing on the then newly made North Union Railway, and
in going over it a train of empty waggons ran into and killed two of the
horses and overturned the coach. Mr. Ivy was thrown from the coach
underneath the train and instantly killed. He was the only passenger who
lost his life, and his death caused a profound sensation in Dukinfield, anjd
universal regret. He was interred at the chapel, but we are unable to state
who preached the funeral sermon. A tablet was erected to his memory and
is at the present time placed at the foot of the pulpit stairs in the Crescent
Road Chapel. The following is a copy of the inscription : —
"To the memory of the Rev. ROBERT IVY, who, after being pastor of the
church assembling in this place fourteen years, was suddenly removed from
his family and his labours whilst on a journey to Southport, in consequence
of a collision between the coach on which he was riding and a waggon train
on the North Union Railway, near the Euxton Station, on the yth September,
1841, in the 55th year of his age. ' His was the blessedness of the servant
of Christ, whom his Lord, having come at an hour he looked not for, was
found of Him in peace.' "
In 1843 the Rev. Charles Farnsworth, a blind gentleman, who had
formerly laboured at Sutton, near Chester, and Hanover Chapel,
Liverpool,1 was chosen pastor, and he remained such until 1861,
when he resigned. He died December gth, 1865, aged sixty-four
years, and was interred in the graveyard of Providence Chapel,
Dukinfield. Mr. Farnsworth may be considered the last minister,
for about the time of his departure the church had declined con
siderably. Shortly afterwards the chapel was closed, many of the
members joining the new interest at Furnace Hill, of which an
account must now be given.
Furnace Hill, now Dukinfield Crescent Congregational Church, is
the outcome of a branch school commenced about 1825 by the
Albion Church, Ashton. The district was greatly in need of such an
agency, and from the first Furnace Hill School met with considerable
success. On Sunday, February i2th, 1860, preaching services
were commenced, and on the 2ist of March following a church
was formed, sixty-two members being transferred from Albion
Church for the purpose. On August 2ist, 1861, the Rev.
1 Vide vol. vi. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
A GENEROUS GIFT. 311
J. T. Barker, B.A, a student from Lancashire College, was
ordained as the first minister. A larger place of worship
soon became necessary, and "in the meantime Provi
dence Chapel, which stood not far from Furnace Hill
School, was offered for sale. It was bought by Mr. John Knott
and Mr. N. B. Sutcliffe, and handsomely offered to the church in
Dukinfield." The offer was accepted ; but, as the chapel had
stood from the beginning of the century, it had fallen greatly into
decay. Encouraged, therefore, by liberal proposals from the
Bicentenary Committee and from "generous friends in Ashton and
other places," it was resolved to erect a new building upon the
spot where Providence Chapel had so long stood. Accordingly,
the foundation stone of the present structure, with sitting accom
modation for 900 persons, was laid on July ist, 1865, by Mr.
Thomas Collier, a deacon of the church. It was opened on Sept.
2oth, 1866, and cost about ^6,000, towards which the Bicentenary
Committee voted ^1,000. Mr. Barker remained the minister
until August, 1878, when he resigned, and subsequently took charge of
the church at Whaley Bridge for a short time. He is now resident
at Leeds without a pastorate. His successor was the Rev.
William Glover, a student from Lancashire College, who began his
labours in July, 1879. He resigned in May, 1884, and for a short
time devoted himself to journalism, being editor of the Northern
Advance during the brief period of its existence. Subsequently
he became the pastor of the Brookfield Congregational Church,
near Glossop, and is now at Heaton Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
The present minister, the Rev. D. R. James, a student from
Nottingham Institute, succeeded Mr. Glover in May, 1885. The
church has been in receipt of help from the funds of the Lanca
shire County Union since 1879.
In 1857 schoolrooms were erected at Dukinfield Hall at a cost
°f ^7°°> where, in addition to Sunday School work, services were
conducted on Sunday evenings by lay preachers from Albion
Church. Towards the close of 1867 the Rev. J. B. Walton, B.A.,
LL.B., a student from Lancashire College, accepted an invitation
to become the first minister, and the County Union voted the
sum of ^"50 towards the support of the cause. A church was
formed on Sunday, March 24th, 1872, seventy-two members being
ANOTHER' NOBLE GIFT. 3r3
dismissed from Albion Church, Ashton, for the purpose, on which
occasion the Revs. J. Hutchison and T. Green, M.A., conducted
the service. In 1873 the present chapel, with sitting accommo
dation for 550 persons, became its home. Around this building
— the original of which is thus described, "nave, 32 feet by 24
feet; chancel, 18 feet by five feet," — gather the most hallowed
memories, and very appropriately is it now employed for Congre
gational purposes, for it is the original chapel, enlarged and
restored, of the old Dukinfield Hall, where Samuel Eaton formerly
ministered. It was purchased by Mr. Hugh Mason and Mr.
Nathaniel Buckley, and generously offered to the congregation for
its use. The sum of ^4,000 was expended in adapting it to its
new purpose, towards which the Chapel Building Society provided
^700. The foundation stone was laid on Whit-Friday, May 24th,
1872, by Mr. Nathaniel Buckley. The opening services took
place on Sunday, July i3th, 1873, and the day is "rendered
memorable" as one of the last occasions on which the Rev.
Thomas Binney, D.D., preached. In 1873 Mr. Walton re
moved to Wem, in Shropshire, where he still ministers, and in
the following year the Rev. J. Peill, from Kendal, succeeded him.
In 1 88 1 the pastor was able to write : —
During the past seven years the friends here have paid off over ^1,400 of
debt, and reduced their need of the generous aid given by H. Mason,
Esq., M.P., and N. Buckley, Esq., to the extent of £jo per annum, and now
they claim their freedom from the aid rendered by the Union.
The pressure of the times compelled the church to again seek
the help of the Union in 1887, and in the following year Mr. Peill
removed to Huddersfield, where he still labours. In 1889 the
present minister, the Rev. J. M. Craven, succeeded Mr. Peill.
The church is still in receipt of help from the funds of the Union.
Connected with the Dukinfieid Old Hall Church is a branch at
Newton Wood, where a school was commenced in 1876. In 1884
the church purchased the Victoria School from the Newton Moor
Spinning Company for the sum of ^560. There is accommo-
300 persons, and Sunday and week-day services are conducted
there, towards which the County Union gives substantial
assistance.
3i4 LANCASHJRE NONCONFORMITY.
VI.— DENTON AND DROYLSDEN CONGREGATIONAL
CHURCHES.
IN the spring of 1836 a committee of friends, connected with the
Albion Church at Ashton-under-Lyne, was formed " to consider
the propriety of commencing an interest at Denton ; " and a deci
sion was arrived at "to commence preaching immediately on
Sabbath evenings, and to proceed with the erection of a chapel
during the summer, provided the consent of the Lancashire County
Union could be obtained."1 The Rev. J. Sutcliffe, minister of
Aliion Church, secured the "sanction" of the County Union
together with a grant of £$o; and preaching was commenced in
a cottage, nearly opposite the old Post Office, on the second Sunday
in May, 1836. On the 2nd of July following Mr. S. B. Tomlins,
banker, of Ashton-under-Lyne, laid the foundation stone of a small
chapel, which had accommodation for about 200 persons. This
was opened for public worship on Wednesday, November i6th of
the same year, when Dr. McAll, of Manchester, preached, the
services being continued on the Sunday following by the Revs. R.
Fletcher, of Manchester, and J. Sutcliffe. The liberality of the
Ashton friends in connection with this event is especially em
phasised in contemporary records, and it is stated that the " first
instalment towards the building of a chapel was a bequest of ^"50,
left by the late Nathaniel Buckley, Esq., of Carr Hill, whose
descendants have been good friends to the interest at Denton, and
have contributed liberally to its support."- The services were
conducted, at this time, mainly by young men from Hyde and
Ashton, amongst whom may be named Messrs. James Lord,
J.P. ; S. B. Tomlins; Samuel Bostock, of Hyde; Abel Buckley,
W. Tweedale ; Wm. Sunderland, and the Rev. \Vm. Ashton, now
a missionary in Africa, then "one of the Albion young men
who preached his first sermon" in Denton Chapel."
1 Manual for 1887 of the Hope Congregational Church, Denton.
3 "Church Manual."
3 It deserves to be mentioned that amongst " the first and most interested
attendants '' at the services were Messrs. Samuel Taylor and John Rockliffe,
of Haughton. These had been connected with the Greenacres Congregational
Church, Oldham, but, "having removed to Denton and commenced business
there as cotton spinners, they interested themselves in the establishment of
the Independent Chapel at Denton." From this circumstance the Rev. G.
G. Waddington ("Historical and Biographical Notices," p. 409) improperly
claims Denton Chapel as an offshoot from Greenacres.
THE FIRST SEVEN. 315
The Rev. Thomas Horatio Smith, a student from Rotherham
College, became the first minister, entering upon his labours as
such on August 2oth, 1837. On the 2oth of November following
a church was formed, seven members entering into fellowship.1
The ministers who assisted in the service were the Revs. E.
Edwards, of Hyde ; G. Hoyle, of Stalybridge ; J. Sutcliffe, and the
pastor. An immediate'enlargement of the chapel "six yards, for
the accommodation of the people," having become necessary and
having obtained " the concurrence of the Ashton friends," the
undertaking was proceeded with; and on the i5th of July, 1838,
reopening services were held, when sermons were preached by the
pastor and the Revs. Dr. Clunie, of Manchester, and N. K.
Pugsley, of Stockport. Three days afterwards Mr. Smith was
ordained, the Rev. Richard Fletcher, of Manchester, giving the
pastoral charge from i Tim. iv., 1 1, and the Rev. Joseph Galland, of
Greenacres, exhorting the congregation from T Cor. xvi., 10. In
addition to his labours at Denton Mr. Smith conducted services
occasionally at Mossley and Droylsden, and with his name there
fore the origin of those two churches must be associated. At
the end of April, 1843, ne resigned and removed to Patricroft ;
but he " ultimately left the ministry and died in comparative
poverty."" The Rev. John Fogg from Cawick, in Yorkshire,
began his ministry in succession to Mr. Smith on the third Sunday
in July, 1843. In March, 1848, he resigned, and subsequently held
pastorates at Easington Lane, Durham, and Winslow, Bucks. The
Rev. John Holroyd was the next minister. He was born at
Mirfield, in January, 1795, educated at Airedale College, preached
for a short time at Woolton, near Liverpool, was ordained pastor
over the Congregational Church at Delph, August nth, 1824,
whence he removed to Denton in July, 1848. He died November
8th, 1849, and was succeeded in the pastorate in the early
part of 1851 by the Rev. John Waddington, who, also, had
been educated at Airedale College, and was ordained October gtii,
1839, "to the work of a missionary in Berbice," where he laboured
1 The names of the "seven" were John Rockliffe, Gabriel Lupton,
Samuel Bromley, James Potter, John Whitehead, Robert Tatton, and
Margaret Fidler, all of whom have long since died.
2 " Church Manual."
3i6 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
for several years. Mr. Waddington's ministry saw several improve
ments in the old chapel, and eventually the erection of a new one.
The foundation stone of this the present handsome building, called
" Hope Chapel," was laid on April i4th, 1876, by Miss Bradbury,
whose father, the late Mr. Bradbury, imparted a " great impetus "
to the movement by his gift of ^500. In September, 1877, the
building was opened for worship. The cost, including alteration
of the old chapel and other expenses, amounted to about ^"6,000,
and the sitting accommodation is for some 700 persons. It was
during Mr. Waddington's ministry in 1865 that the church ceased
to be a recipient from the Union Funds. He resigned in 1885, and
is now resident without charge at Higher Broughton. The Rev. J. A.
Meeson, M.A, LL.B., a student from Lancashire College, assumed
the pastorate in 1886, being ordained on the 22nd of November,
when Dr. Scott, Principal of Lancashire College, gave the charge
to the minister from 2 Cor. iv. 3. Mr. Meeson resigned in 1889,
and is now pastor of the Congregational Church at Harrogate.
The Rev. W. D. Dale, from the Yorkshire United College, was
minister from 1889 to 1892. He is now resident at Macclesfield
without charge, and the pulpit of Hope Chapel remains still
vacant.
The honour of introducing Congregationalism into Droylsden
belongs to the Rev. J. Sutcliffe, of Albion Church, who, shortly
after his settlement at Ashton, " was accustomed to preach in a
cottage house at Lumb, in the confines of Droylsden, and subse
quently in other houses in Droylsden."1 About the close of 1837
Lee Meaden, John Hartley, George Shaw, and a few other earnest
Christians commenced a Sunday School in what was afterwards
known as the Temperance Room, in Market Street. Four teachers
and twenty scholars met the first Sunday, and a few months after
wards a Sunday evening service was begun. In 1838 Mr. Sutcliffe
preached the sermon in connection with the opening of the British
School in Queen Street, kindly granted to the friends meeting in
the Temperance Room by the late Mr. Christy, by whom it had
been erected.
The County Union Report, ending April, 1839, states that the
Rev. T. H. Smith, of Denton, was in the habit of conducting
1 '• Independency in Droylsden," p. n, by the Rev. C. Bingley.
DRO YLSDEN CONGREGA TIONALISM. 3 1 7
services at Droylsden ; and the Report for the following year
says that a grant had been made at the last annual meeting "in
aid of the preaching of the gospel at this place," which had been
"continued on Sabbath evenings, and occasionally on week-day
evenings throughout the year," supplies coming chiefly from
Ashton. In February, 1845, the little flock was scattered in con
sequence of the managers of the Queen Street room transferring
" its use to the recently appointed incumbent of the Established
Church in Droylsden ; " but after the lapse of a few Sundays, the
old room in Market Street was again rented. On February 2oth,
1848, the new schoolroom in King Street was opened for public
worship by the Revs. Dr. Massie, of Salford, J. Sutcliffe, and W.
W. Essex (Moravian), the cost being about ,£250, towards which
Mr. Abel Buckley, was the largest contributor. Eor a short time the
pulpit was supplied mainly by students from Lancashire College, but
in 1852 the Rev. David Wilson, of Winlaton, in Durham, was
invited to fill the office of pastor for twelve months. At the end
of that term he removed to Ryton, and subsequently to Birstall,
near Leeds, where he died, May 23rd, 1864, aged forty-six years.
On October i6th, 1853, the Rev. Thomas Sturgess,1 from Prescot,
began his labours in succession to Mr. Wilson, and continued
until January, 1857, when he removed to Upper Mill, in Yorkshire.
The Rev. Charles Bingley, educated at Airedale, and who had
held pastorates at Middlesborough, Crewe, and Tockholes,2 near
Blackburn; followed, beginning his labours here on August gth,
1857. On the 2ist of October following, a church was duly formed,
thirty-nine members being dismissed from the Albion Church,
Ashton, for the purpose. The foundation stone of a new chapel,
which had long been greatly needed, was laid on Easter Monday,
April 25th, 1859, by Mr. Abel Buckley, and on the 23rd of
November following the opening services were commenced, when
the Revs. Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool, and J. G. Rogers, B.A., were
the preachers. On the following Sunday the Rev. R. M. Davies, of
Oldham, conducted service in the morning; the Rev. H. W. Parkin
son, of Rochdale, in the afternoon; and the Rev. A. Thomson, M.A.,
of Manchester, in the evening. On the succeeding Tuesday, the Rev.
1 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
a Vide vol. ii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
318 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
J. Parker (then of Manchester, now Dr. Parker, of London) preached
the "concluding sermon." The cost of the building was about
^2,000. It contained accommodation for about 500 people, and
the schoolroom underneath for about 400 children. Mr Bingley
did not live long to enjoy the fruits of his labours ; he died some
what suddenly on May 3oth, 1862, aged forty-nine years, and was
interred in the grave-yard of Hope Cnapel, Denton. The Rev. A.
Cran, M.A., a student from Lancashire College, became his suc
cessor in October of 1863. In 1867 the church was able to
dispense with financial help from the County Union ; and
in 1884, important enlargements in both school and chapel
were effected, at a cost of ^£1,750, towards clearing away the
debt arising from which, and other objects, a bazaar, held in 1889,
realised the handsome sum of ^800. The chapel now has
sitting accommodation for 700 persons ; the church membership
stands at 168 ; the number of scholars and teachers is 452 ; and
Mr. Cran is still the respected pastor.
VII.— STALYBRIDGE AND MOSSLEY CONGREGATIONAL
CHURCHES.
" As far back as 1818," says the Rev. Richard Slate, "when the
ministers of the Manchester District itinerated in the vicinity of Ash-
ton, there was occasional preaching in a cottage at this place."1 It
is, however, to the missionary labours of the Rev. Jonathan Sutcliffe,
of Ashton-under-Lyne, that Congregationalism in Stalybridge, as in
many other places, is indebted for its origin. In 1827 he began to
hold week-night services in private houses, which were continued
until 1830, when a chapel was erected in King Street, the pulpit
being chiefly supplied by students from Airedale College. The Rev.
Giles Hoyle, who had formerly been associated a short time with the
Rev. George Greatbatch in his work at Southport, and subse
quently had laboured a few years at Milnthorpe, at the request of
the Ashton friends took charge of the interest at Stalybridge, in
1 " History of the Lancashire Congregational Union," p. 70.
HJ! tti.t • .^.r. <i
H lr'M:J j
•;ff^ './.' :-» s
320 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
1831. In October of that year, shortly after Mr. Hoyle's settle
ment, a church was formed, eleven members being transferred
from Mr. Sutcliffe's church for the purpose. On Sunday, the 24th
of May, 1835, the new chapel in Melbourne Street was
opened " with a public prayer meeting at seven o'clock in
the morning." The Rev. Richard Fletcher preached in
the forenoon from i Cor. i., 23 ; in the afternoon the
Rev. J. Sutcliffe from Zech. iv., 6 ; and in the evening the Rev.
W. McKerrow, M.A., of Manchester, from Heb. x., 25. On the
following Monday evening Dr. McAll, of Manchester, was the
preacher, his text being Rev. xxii., 17. Collections at all the ser
vices resulted in the sum of ^122. The chapel is described
as "neat and commodious," "measuring 45 feet by 50," "built
in the Gothic style of architecture." Its cost was about ^"1,500,
"including the enclosing of a large plot of burial ground with
the school, which is underneath the chapel, and capable of accom
modating 600 children."1 Mr. Hoyle did not confine himself
to the needs of his own church, but found opportunity to conduct
periodical services at Blackrock, Pump Street, and Adshead
Buildings, Staly, and Mossley. At all these places it is reported
that the attendances were usually encouraging, considering
the late hour up to which the people had to work, it being
nine o'clock in the evening, for instance, before he could com
mence the service in some of them. In 1842 Mr. Hoyle resigned,
having accepted the charge of the Congregational Church at
Ancoats, Manchester.2 The Rev. F. C. Douthwaite, a student
from Airedale College, was Mr. Hoyle's successor, beginning
his labours about the end of 1844. His ordination took place on
Wednesday, February 5th, 1845, when the Rev. Walter Scott,
President of Airedale College, gave the charge to the minister, and
Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool, preached to the church and congrega
tion. Other ministers assisting were the Revs. R. Calvert, Hyde ;
J. Sutcliffe, Ashton-under-Lyne ; and John Holgate, Orrell.
Shortly after his advent the church was able to dispense with
pecuniary assistance from the County Union, and the Report
ending April, 1845, which records the fact, also says: —
1 " Evangelical Magazine" for 1835, p. 376.
- Vide ante page 183 ; also vols. i. and vi. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
THE REV, J. H. GWYTHER, B.A. 321
We have made an effort to remove the debt from the chapel, which was
upwards of ^1,000, and which we are happy to say, by the blessing of God,
and the kind aid of the Rev. J. Sutcliffe and his people, and other Christian
friends, we have been able to accomplish.
Mr. Douthwaite remained in Stalybridge about three years, and
subsequently became the minister of the Congregational Church
at Ashton-in-Makerfield.1 His successor was the Rev. Robert
Roberts, who had been educated at Blackburn Academy, and had
held pastorates at Bootle, in Cumberland, and Parkgate, Cheshire.
He was minister at Stalybridge from 1847 to *%53, and removed
to Chipping, near Blackburn, subsequently to East Bergholt, in
Suffolk, where he died, February 4th, iSyy.2 The Rev. J.
C. McMichael, educated at Rotherham College, and who had
previously been co-pastor to the Rev. Joseph Dyson, of Farn-
worth, for a few years, began his labours at Stalybridge in October,
1853. He continued until 1855, when he removed to Windsor,
and subsequently left England for South Australia, where he is
now resident without charge. The next minister was the Rev.
J. H. Gwyther, B.A., a student from Lancashire College, who
began his labours in 1857. It was during his pastorate that
the church took down the old chapel, and erected in its place
" the present chaste and much admired building, which contains
1,000 sittings." The cost was ^5,000, and it was opened for
public worship in 1861 Mr. Gwyther remained until 1869, when
he removed to Liscard, in Cheshire, where he still labours.3 In
1870 the Rev. James Williamson, M.A., another Lancashire
College student, accepted the call of the church, and remained
until 1879. He was subsequently at Withington, where he died in
1887." The Rev. H. W. Holder, M.A., a third Lancashire College
student, held the pastorate from 1880 to 1884. He is now the
Registrar of the Victoria University, Owens College, Manchester.
The present minister is the Rev. G. E. Cheeseman, educated at
Lancashire College, and for seven years pastor of the Congrega-
1 Vide vol. iv. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
1 Vide vol. ii. of " Lancashire Nonconformity," where 1887 is misprinted
for 1877.
3 Vide vol. vi. of " Lancashire Nonconformity."
* Vide ante page 71.
5—21
322 LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
tional Church at Hatherlow, Cheshire. He entered upon his
duties here in 1885, and still ministers to an attached people. It
deserves to be noted that one of the founders of the church was
Mr. John Cheetham, for some time M.P. for Salford, and also for
one of the divisions of Lancashire. His son, Mr. J. F. Cheetham,
was M.P. for one of the divisions of Derbyshire for several years.
Connected with the church also was the late Mr. William Summers,
for some time M.P. for Stalybridge, and subsequently for Hudders-
field, whose early death terminated a life of great promise.
The Congregational Church at Mossley is another monument
of the aggressive work of the church at Ashton-under-Lyne, but
with its origin must also be associated the names of the Revs.
Giles Hoyle, of Stalybridge, and T. H. Smith, of Denton, who
were accustomed to hold religious services at Mossley in 1838.
" From the origin of the church at Ashton," writes one, "several
members of the church came regularly from Mossley, and through
their efforts and those of their pastor, the Rev. J. G. Rogers,
evangelistic work and Sunday School teaching had not been
neglected in that village."1 For about two years worship was
conducted "in a commodious mill room, kindly lent for the pur
pose by John Mayall, Esq," and in the spring of 1854 Mr. John
Cheetham, M.P., laid the foundation stone of Abney Chapel.
The schoolroom in the rear of the chapel, capable of accommo
dating 900 children, was first ready, and the congregation removed
to it in April, 1855. On the nth of July following the opening
services of the chapel were held, when Dr. Raffles was the
morning preacher, and Dr. Allon, of London, the evening. On
the following Sunday, July i5th, the Rev. J. Sutcliffe conducted
the services, and on the 2pth a new organ was opened, the
preachers being the Revs. J. Thornton, of Stockport, and J. G.
Rogers, B.A. The chapel is seated for about 800 persons, and
the total expenditure incurred was upwards of ^5,000. The first
minister was the Rev. Edward Minton. He was born at Ludlow,
in.Shropshire, in 1818 ; privately educated; had a charge at Chelten
ham, then at Moreton-in-the-Marsh, whence he removed to Mossley
in December, 1854. For twenty-three years he laboured success
fully here, resigning in 1877 owing to impaired health. He died
1 " Half a Century of Independency in Ashton-under-Lyne," p. 60.
MOSSLEY CONGREGATIONALISM. 323
on Wednesday, January 23rd, 1887. His successor was the Rev.
Llewellyn Porter, from Prestwich. He was minister from
December, 1877, to June, iSSi,1 The Rev. R. G. Leigh, from
Farnworth, followed in May, 1882. He removed in October, 1885,
to Hope Chapel, Salford, where he still labours.2 In April of the
following year the Rev. W. W. Jubb was appointed to fill the
vacancy. He was educated at Cavendish College, Manchester ;
had held pastorates at Oldbury, in Staffordshire, and Bristol ;
and, previous to his settlement at Mossley, was for some
years Secretary of the Irish Evangelical Society. In February,
1891, Mr. Jubb resigned and went to the United States,
where he is the pastor of a Congregational church. The
present minister is the Rev. J. Campbell, who was educated at
Nottingham Institute, and who, previous to his removal to Mossley
in November, 1891, had worthily served the church at Delph as
minister for seven years. The manse belonging to the church was
erected in 1859 at a cost of ;£8oo ; in 1872, at a cost of ^1,326,
the school buildings were altered and enlarged, and in the same
year the sum of ^500 was paid Lord Stamford for the freehold
right of land ; and in 1885 Mr. George Andrew, J.P., Mayor,
opened the Abney New Lecture Room and Infant School, which
cost about ;£6oo. Connected with the church is a branch school
at Micklehurst, which was built in 1875 at a cost of ^1,326,
and which has accommodation for 200 persons.
1 Vide ante page 25.
2 Vide ante page 221 ; also vol. iii. of '' Lancashire Nonconformity."
NOTES.
PAGE 6.— " Richard Bolton came from Rochdale to Monton. Removed to Walton and
Preston in 1773. "--(Raffles MSS.)
PAGE 12. —In 1823 the Rev. John Adamson issued a little pamphlet against the use of
instrumental music in Dissenting places of worship. It will interest lovers of music to know,
that any Congregational minister within this century should have seriously undertaken to
prove the impropriety and harmfulness of its use, and especially should have assigned the
following reasons : —
1. Instruments of music were never used even among the Jews, in the ordinary worship
of the Sabbath Day.
2. When instruments were used by the Jews, in the worship of God, they were accom
panied with sacrifice and dancing. Hence "advocates for it in the New Testament
Churches," to be consistent, " ought to dance as well as play."
3. — Instrumental music was neither admitted into the Apostolic Churches, nor into
those that succeeded them, for more than seven hundred years.
4. — Instrumental music in the worship of God is a custom derived from the idolatrous
Church of Rome.
5. — The Churches which made the greatest progress in reformation, laid instruments
of music entirely aside.
6. — Instruments of music should never be admitted into a place of worship, because
wherever they are admitted they produce a train of the most lamentable evils.
PAGE 14 : NOTE i. — Last line but one, read — " More than doubtful if Mr. Chorley was
a Unitarian."
PAGE 36.— The Rev. John Ellis has recently left Blackley, for Upperthorpe, Sheffield.
PAGE 40 : NOTE i. — In vol. vi. of this work some account of the Lawton family is given.
James Lawton was a Dissenting Minister in Liverpool, and Joseph Lawton at Gateacre, near
Liverpool. The will of the latter gentleman refers to a sister living near Leek, in Stafford
shire, from which circumstance I conclude that Mr. Lawton, of Newton Heath, belonged to
the same family. (Vide also page 234 of this volume.)
PAGE 41. — " Nehemiah Scholes " should read " Nathaniel Scholes."
PAGE 59. — Dr. Raffles says, that the Rev. Joseph Ramsbottom was educated at
Northampton under the Rev. John Horsey.
PAGE 66. — The Rev. F. S. Morris died at York, on Friday, August 4th, 1893, aged
forty-seven years.
PAGE 100. — In the Manchtster Magazine for February i8th-25th, 1755, appears the
following which refers, I imagine, to the Rev. Gabriel Nichols. Dr. Raffles says he was
at Manchester in 1747, and was an assistant minister at Cross Street Chapel. I have no
information about him beyond this : —
" Manchester, February 26th. Last Thursday night about a quarter after eleven o'clock,
the Rev. Mr. Nichols, a Dissenting minister, was stopped in the Gate of St. Ann's Churchyard,
leading to King Street, by a person who presented a pistol to his breast, and robbed him of
five shillings and sixpence. He seemed to be dissatisfied with so small a sum, but Mr. Nichols
assuring him that he had no more about him, went off without offering any further violence."
NOTES.
PAGE 6. — " Richard Bolton came from Rochdale to Monton. Removed to Walton and
Preston in 1773."-- (Raffles MSS.)
PAGE 12. —In 1823 the Rev. John Adamson issued a little pamphlet against the use of
instrumental music in Dissenting places of worship. It will interest lovers of music to know,
that any Congregational minister within this century should have seriously undertaken to
prove the impropriety and harmfulness of its use, and especially should have assigned the
following reasons : — •
1. Instruments of music were never used even among the Jews, in the ordinary worship
of the Sabbath Day.
2. When instruments were used by the Jews, in the worship of God, they were, accom
panied with sacrifice and dancing. Hence "advocates for it in the New Testament
Churches," to be consistent, "ought to dance as well as play."
3. — Instrumental music was neither admitted into the Apostolic Churches, nor into
those that succeeded them, for more than seven hundred years.
4. — Instrumental music in the worship of God is a custom derived from the idolatrous
Church of Rome.
5. — The Churches which made the greatest progress in reformation, laid instruments
of music entirely aside.
6. — Instruments of music should never be admitted into a place of worship, because
wherever they are admitted they produce a train of the most lamentable evils.
PAGE 14 : NOTE i. — Last line but one, read—" More than doubtful zy~Mr. Chorley was
a Unitarian."
PAGE 36. — The Rev. John Ellis has recently left Blackley, for Upperthorpe, Sheffield.
PAGE 40 : NOTE i. — In vol. vi. of this work some account of the Lawton family is given.
James Lawton was a Dissenting Minister in Liverpool, and Joseph Lawton at Gateacre, near
Liverpool. The will of the latter gentleman refers to a sister living near Leek, in Stafford
shire, from which circumstance I conclude that Mr. Lawton, of Newton Heath, belonged to
the same family. (Vide ulso page 234 of this volume.)
PAGE 41. — " Nehemiah Scholes " should read " Nathaniel Scholes."
PAGE 59. — Dr. Raffles says, that the Rev. Joseph Ramsbottom was educated at
Northampton under the Rev. John Horsey.
PAGE 66. — The Rev. F. S. Morris died at York, on Friday, August 4th, 1893, aged
forty-seven years.
PAGE 100. — In the Manchester Magazine for February i8th-2sth, 1755, appears the
following which refers, I imagine, to the Rev. Gabriel Nichols. Dr. Raffles says he was
at Manchester in 1747, and was an assistant minister at Cross Street Chapel. I have no
information about him beyond this :—
" Manchester, February 26th. Last Thursday night about a quarter after eleven o'clock,
the Rev. Mr. Nichols, a Dissenting minister, was stopped in the Gate of St. Ann's Churchyard,
leading to King Street, by a person who presented a pistol to his breast, and robbed him of
five shillings and sixpence. He seemed to be dissatisfied with so small a sum, but Mr. Nichols
assuring him that he had no more about him, went off without offering any further violence."
326
PAGE 109.— The following is extracted from a letter of the Rev. John Pye, of Sheffield, to
the Rev. Caleb Warhurst, respecting the latter's Ordination Service :—
Sheffield, 1756.
I think I told you in my last that I had wrote to Mr. Scott, desiring a determinate
answer respecting your Ordination. He was upon a journey when my letter reached his
house, and after his return was more than usually hurried with an important affair which he
is just entering upon, and that is the teaching grammar learning to a few young men thPt are
designed for the ministry. But at length he wrote me, that upon my recommendation he was
very willing to assist in your ordination, and should choose for old Mr. w alkden to give the
charge, and me to preach, and in case we undertook these parts he would open the work,
ask the questions, and pray over you. But if Mr. W. rather choose it, he wouid preach. I
might give the charge, and Mr. W. pray over you. Now, as Mr. W is very far advanced in
years I apprehend this last scheme would be best, and most acceptable to the people.
PAGE 109: NOTE i.— It was my intention to print copious extracts from Caleb Warhurst 's
diary, but the exigencies of space have prevented. Though of less value for historic purposes
than the diaries of Nonconformist ministers belonging to the last century generally are, it
deserves publicity.
PAGE 125.— The Rev. William Parkes subsequently served the church at Newington
Chapel, Liverpool, for a brief period.— (Vide vol. vi., of " Lancashire Nonconformity").
PAGE 139.— The Rev. Samuel Bradley was greatly interested in instrumental music, and
in 1823 an organ was introduced into Mosley Street Chapel which gave great offence to
several of his people. He published an address to the Church and Congregation upon the
subject, and it was this which led to the strictures of the Rev. John Adamson above
referred to.
PAGE 135.— Dr. McAH died unexpectedly after a brief illness on Thursday evening, May
nth, 1893. He was born at Macclesfield, December I7th, 1821. and was, therefore, in his
72nd year. His wife was the daughter of the Rev. D. B. Hayward, one of the early pro
fessors of the old Blackburn Academy.
PAGE 183.— The Rev. E. K. Evans died at Chiswick, June 23rd, 1893, aged sixty-two
years.
PAGE 193.— The Rev. Thomas Hamer became assistant minister in September 1869, to
the Rev. Robert Spence, M.A., of Dundee, formerly of Newington Chapel, Liverpool.— (Vide
vol. vi. of " Lancashire Nonconformity "). Mr. Spence died in June of the following year, and
the sole responsibility of the church fell upon Mr. Hamer's shoulders. There was on the
part of a majority of the church a strong feeling that he should be the permanent pastor, but
a friendly minority thought a church of over 400 members, and a congregation of 1000 too
heavy a burden for so young a man. Mr. Hamer agreed with the opinion of the minority
and refused to allow his name to come before the church, settling subsequently at Cheetham
Hill.
PAGE 202.— The Rev. J. R. Thomson, M.A., is "starred" in the Congregational Year
Book as a minister resident in London without charge. This led to his being so described in
Vol. III. of this work, whereas he is, and has been for many years, one of the respected
tutors of New College, London. Surely some other description of him, and such as he,
ought to be given in the Year Book.
PAGE 223.— For " P. N Ford," read " P. C. Ford."
PAGE 227.— For "Rev. D. W. Jordan, B.A.," read "Rev. D. N. Jordan, B.A."
PAGE 236. — Dr. Raffles gives the following information respecting the Rev. James
Burgess, of Oldham : —
" He was a very evangelical and faithful preacher, and from his knowledge of medicine
was very useful in every way in the neighbourhood. He continued at Delph about 13 years
and died at a place called Medge Grove."
NOTES. 327
PAGE 236.— The Rev. James Burgess, son of the Rev. James Burgess, of Oldham, was
minister for many years at Whitworth, ntar Rochdale. Extracts from several of his letters
are to be found i» the MS. collection of the late Dr. Raffles, one of which is here given.
Unfortunately the exact date does not appear upon it, but it was written shortly before his
death, which took place in May, 1804. It gets additional interest from the fact that it was
sent to Mr. Arthur Clegs:, whose name is prominent in the early history of Manchester
Congregationalism. — (Vide ante page, no, note i, 138).
" Dear Sir, — Ever since you gave your friendly and beneficial assistance in the sale of
my timber at Millhouses, I have retained, a grateful sense of the greatness of the favour, and
the cheerful manner in which you confer'd it ; have also waited for an opportunity of making
something more than a mere verbal acknowledgment of it. Consequently I herewith send
you, gratuitously, some small fruit of my ministerial labours since declining nature and a
thorn in the flesh disabled me for stated pulpit work. As my life has been prolonged, and my
faculties continued in some degree far beyond what I or any of my acquaintances expected,
and finding that the spiritual life within has not, in this last period of my life, decay' d with the
decays of my outward man, but rather the contrary, I have been as diligent in my good
Master's work (according to my lesser abilities), as I was when I had a whole flock of Christ's
sheep to tend and feed. When my lips and lungs failed me, both head, heart, and hand
have been for the most part employed in the delightful work of the ministry. And tho' after
I retired into private life I have often been solicited to strike into trade, I could never
reconcile my unwilling mind to it, much less to resemble my successor at Hatherloe, who I
find has made shift to join the sacred calling of a minister, with the worldly calling of a cotton
tradesman, tho' he has no child. But indeed religion, I am informed, was very low at
Hatherloe. During my ministry there we had a very full congregation of hearers, besides
four prayer meetings of men, and one of women. But the introduction of instrumental
music, which had neither the New Testament precept nor precedent to recommend it, threw
the congregation into confusion, and drove away their minister, and, I believe, a general
deadness and diminution succeeded, &c. The Exposition and Silent Meditations which y_ou
were so good as to subscribe for, have all, excepting three or four, soon passed off. _The like
quick sale my next piece had. What will be the fate of this, my last publication, which I now
make a present of to you, time will discover, but not during my own lifetime. For, excepting
a few sent to the printer of the Er>angtlical Afagazinf, at London, and to two shops in your
town, the chief part are to be reserved to the time of my interment, when a smallish number are
to be given by way of Dole to the pious poor of those congregations where I oftenest offici
ated during my ministry. I shall only add that, this my last piece has now an addition which
is not in any of those few already sent to booksellers, indeed it was not added before last week.
It bears this title : " A prospect of near approaching death prompts the author to gird on his
Christian armour. That part I lately transcribed from my Diary of Experiences, which I
have kept above 50 years." As now I find both head and hand fail me in writing (which I
need not wonder at, because in my 8oth year), I must abruptly conclude, <fec.
February 19. J- BURGESS.
I NDEX.
Academies: Axminster, 140;
Blackburn, 70, 75, 125, 161,
175, 176, 198, 202, 247, 248,
252, 272, 273, 276, 277, 321 ;
Daventry, 6, 7, 47, 57, 238,
293 ; Gosport, 214, 216;
Heckmondwike, 116 ; Hoxton,
140, 212, 214; Idle, 251, 299;
Leaf Square, 202, 209, note 2 ;
212; Mile End, 119; Man
chester, 8, 46, 47, 102, 104, 157,
204; Natland, 41; North
ampton, 155, 294 ; Notting
ham, 202 ; Oswestry, 124, 240;
Roby's, 12, 202 ; Rathmell, 3
33; 92i J54 ; Seedley Grove,
211; Wymondley, 210;
Warrington, 45, 98, 101, 102,
104, 157, 204.
Act of Uniformity, The, i, 3, 38,
53, 54, 149, 230, 289.
Adams, Thomas, 183.
Adamson, John, 12, 14, 17.
Adelphi Ragged School, 224, and
note i.
Adshead, G. H., 174.
Agate, Dendy, B.A., 58, 60, note
i ; 61.
Agnew, Thomas, 222.
Aked, C. F., 172, note 2.
Albion Congregational Church,
296.
Aldred, Ebenezer, 4, note 3.
Aldred, Jeremiah, 3, 4, notes 3 and
4-
Aldred, John, 4, note 3.
Alexander, Dr. W. Lindsay, 168,
244.
Allon, Dr. H., 164, 227, 274,
Allott, Robert, 124.
Althorp Library, The, 77.
Ancoats Congregational Church,
1 80.
Anderson, A., B.A., 24, note 3 ; 25.
Anderson, Dr. William, 264.
Andrew, George, J.P., 323.
Andrews, Robert, 155.
Angier, Ann, 102.
Angier, Bezaleel, 289.
Angier, John, i, 39, note 3 ; 42,
note i ; 51, 53, 54, 85, 282.
Angier, John, 291,
Angier, Matthew, 291.
Angier, Samuel, 85, 102, 284, 291.
Angier, Samuel, 292.
Anglezark, Mr., 139, 242.
Anyon, John, 20, 219, note i ; 225.
Armitage, Elijah, 136.
Armitage, Sir Elkanah, 225, 227.
Armitage, Professor, M.A., 202,
260, 269.
Armitage, William, J.P., 78, 109,
note i ; 137, 200, 269.
Ashley Lane Congregational
Church, 187.
Ashton, Joseph, 48, 294.
Ashton Road Congregational
Church, 262.
Ashton, Samuel, 295.
Ashton, Solomon, 68, 123.
Ashton, William, 314.
Ashworth, Dr. Caleb, 6, 293.
Askew, Anne, 124.
Aspland, R. Brook, M.A., 288, 295.
Aspland, Robert, 295.
Assheton, Sir Richard, 275.
330
INDEX.
Astley, F. D., 309.
Atchison, John, 57.
Atherton, William, 276.
Atterbury, Frank, 67.
Aubrey, Richard, 46.
Austerlands, preaching at, 273.
Aveling, Dr., 144.
Axford, W., 199.
Bagshaw, William, 92.
Bayley, James, 101.
Bailey, J. E., 38, note 2.
Bailey, J. R., 16.
Baines, Edward, 14 ; His " History
of Lancashire," 14, note i; 284.
Bainton, James, 27.
Baker's "Memorials of a Dissenting
Chapel," 86-107, 108, note 2.
Baldwin, Roger, 3, and note i.
Bamford, A. J., B.A., 266.
Bamfbrd, Samuel, 275,
Barker, J. T., B.A., 311.
Barker, Robert, 264.
Barnes, E. G., 227.
Barnes, Elizabeth, 104.
Barnes, Philip, 266.
Barnes, Thomas Dr., 104.
Baron, Titus, 47.
Barratt, Joseph, 40, note 2.
Barrett, G. S., B.A., 202, 221.
Basford, J., 36.
Batchan, P. K., M.A., 67.
Bateson, A., 277.
Bath, Robert, 53.
Bedell, James, 185.
Bell, Alexander, 20.
Bell, Mr., 52.
Benn, James, 34.
Bennett, James, D.D., 124.
Bennett, Professor W. H., M.A.,
172, note 2 ; 202.
Bennett, T., 297, 309.
Berry, P. R., 213.
Bertram, R. A., 63, 183.
Bescoby, Mr., 228.
Bevan, Dr., 144.
Bingley, C., 317.
Binney, Dr., 127, 313.
Birch Chapel, 147, 151.
Birch, Eliezer, 94-99, 153, and
note 2.
Birch, George, 151.
Birch Hall, Conventicle at, 149.
Birch, Henry, 248.
Birch, Robert, 94 ; note 3, 149, 153.
Birch, Samuel, 147, note 2,
Birch, Thomas, 85.
Birch, Colonel Thomas, 147, note 2;
149, 151-
Birt, John, 181, 252, 258.
Bishop, J., B.A., 36.
Blackburn, J., 209.
Blackburn, Noah, 123, 133, 208,
239, 242, 243, 296, 309.
Blackley Chapel, 27.
Blackmore, Chewning, 101.
Bland, Lady, 89.
Bland, Sir John, 89.
Boardman, J. H., 127.
Bolton, Richard, 6 and note 2 ;
325.
Booker, John, 27-39, 54.
Booth, Archibald, 258.
Booth, George, J.P., 188.
Booth, Hugh, 1 88.
Booth, John, 244.
Booth Street East Welsh Congre
gational Church, 206.
Bostock, Samuel, 314.
Bourn, Samuel, 44.
Bourne, William, 81.
Bowden, Mr., 133.
Bradberry, David, 119-121, 137.
Bradbury, C. T., 302.
Bradbury, Miss, 316
Bradbury, T., 55.
Bradford, John, 27, 28, and note i;
281, note 3.
Bradlaugh, Charles, 188.
Bradley, R., 133.
INDEX.
Bradley, Samuel, 12, 18, 124, 125,
133, 139, 140, 174, i?6, 209,
2IO, 213, 299, 326.
Bramall, John, 12, 24.
Bray, A. J., 63, 146.
Brayshaw, H. H., 178.
Breese, John, 206.
Brewster, Colin, 67.
Briddon, William, 213.
Bridie, James, 267 and note I.
Brierley, Thomas, 250, 254.
Brimacombe, G., 79.
Briscoe, Michael, 3.
Broadhead, Caleb, 85.
Broadhurst, Thomas, 35.
Brooks, John, 33, and note 2.
Brotherton, Peter, 140.
Brown. Dr. John, 197, 202.
Brown, G. H., 16.
Brown, J. Baldwin, B. A. ,64,161, 224.
Broughton Congregational Church,
193.
Broughton Park Congregational
Church, 195.
Bruce, David, 12, 239.
Bruce, Dr., 202.
Bruce, James, 15, 125, 128.
Bryson, James, 191.
Bubier, G. B., 15, 16, 21, 220, 221.
Bubier, William, 220.
Buckland, George, 48.
Buckley, Abel, 302, 304, 314, 317.
Buckley, Mrs. Abraham, 268.
Buckley, Fanny, 308.
Buckley, John, 271.
Buckley, Nathaniel, 297, 299, 300,
note' 2 ; 304, 314.
Buckley, Nathaniel, 302, 313.
Buckley, William, 288, note 5; 293,
308.
Buckley, William, 292, 296.
Bugby, Fitzherbert, 75.
Bull, John Bristowe, 47.
Bunting, Dr., 35, note 2 ; 134, 182,
note i.
Bunyan, John, 197.
Burder, G., 119, 139.
Bure, Samuel, 85.
Burgess, James, 236 and note 3 ;
293 and note i ; 326, 327.
Burgess, James, 327.
Burnage, Congregationalism at, 67.
Bushby, Dr., 289.
Butler, Dr., 213.
Buxton, Mr., 85.
Byles, J., 65.
Byrom, Dr. John, 110-113.
Cadishead Congregational Church,
79-
Cadman, W. G., 48.
Cain, T., 24 note 3.
Calamy's " Nonconformist's Me
morial," i, 3, note 3; 38, note 2;
53, note 3; 84, 149, 150, 230,
234, 281, note 3 ; 282, 287, 290.
Calvert, R., 249, 272, 320.
Cameron, James, 137.
Camm, W. B., 216.
Campbell, ].. 197.
Campbell, J., 323.
Cannon Street Congregational
Church, 107.
Carlton, James, 186.
Carlisle, H. H., LL.B., 16.
Carrodus, J. T., 258.
Carrack, J. M., B.A., 227.
Garrotte, P., 22.
Carter, F., 78, 196, 198, 221.
Carter, Oliver, B.D., 29,
Cavendish Street Congregational
Church, 137.
Cavendish Mission, 146.
Chapel Street Congregational
Church, Salford, 213.
Chambers, T., 188.
Charlestown Congregational
Church, 224.
Charlestown Mission, Ashton-
under-Lyme, 304.
332
INDEX.
Charrier, Mr., 133.
Checkley, George, 157.
Cheeseman, G. E., 321.
Cheetham Hill Congregational
Church, 192.
Cheetham, J. F., 322.
Cheetham, John, 322.
Chesson, W. H., 22.
Chetham, Humphrey, 27.
Chetham Society Series, 2, note 2;
4, note i; 30, 38, 39, note I;
41, note I; 42, note i; 51, 54,
55, 81, 84, 91, note i; 94, note
3; 113, 284.
Chisholm, S., 216.
Chorley, Jane, 6.
Chorley, John, 5, 14, note i ; 98, 325.
Chorley, Josiah, M.A., 5.
Chorlton-cum-Hardy Congrega
tional Church, 72.
Chorlton, John, 86, 91, 93.
Chorlton Road Congregational
Church, 107.
Chorlton Road Welsh Congrega
tional Church, 206.
Christien, J., 184.
City Road Congregational Church,
132, 199.
Clapham, Mr., 186.
Clark, Absalom, 74.
Clarkson, S., 216.
Clegg, A., 109, no, note i; 113,
138, 327-
Clegg, David, 79.
Clive, Lord, 100.
Clough, James, 179.
Clowes, John, 222.
Clunie, Dr., 24, 183, 202, 211, 212,
225, 315.
Cobban, J. Me Claren, 36.
Cockin, John, 242, 272.
Cockin, Joseph, 119, 208, 243.
Colcough, J., 277.
Colcough, Thomas, 259, 263.
Coldhouse, 107.
Coles, William, 12, 241, 243.
Colleges: Airedale, 13, 25, 67, 136,
178, 202, 223, 226, 227, 244,
258, 270, 273, 274, 315, 317,
318, 320; Baptist, Leicester,
295 ; Bala, 206 ; Brecon, 162,
207, 273 ; Carmarthen Presby.
terian, 46 ; Cavendish, 188,
199, 202, 227, 323 ; Cheshunt,
16, 25, 66, 78, 106, 146, 177,
189, 190, 194, 227, 307;
Didsbury, 172, 222; Highbury,
12, 142, 144, 161, 167, 193,
212, 216, 220; Home Mission
ary (Unitarian), 36, 39, note 4,
48, 204; Homerton, 142, 189,
220; Lancashire, 15, i<S, 22,
24, and note 3 ; 25, 26, 27, 63,
64, 65, 7°, 71, 72, 75, 78, 92,
note 2; 125, 126, 130, 135,
159, 162, 163, 169, 172, 177,
183, 184, 188, 192, 193, 196,
197, 198, 202, 204, and note
i ; 213, 216, 221, 223, 250,
251, 258, 260, 261, 263, 266,
269, 270, 274, 277, 301, 309,
311,316,318, 321; Liverpool,
213; Mansfield, 163, 216;
Hackney, 22, 35, 72, 131, 309;
Hackney (Socmian), 34, 35 ;
New (London), 16, 119, 126,
144, 146, 163, 167, 172, note 2;
J93> I97. 223. 224, 261, 266,
274, 306 ; New (Manchester),
8, 10, 60, 62, 105, 106, 157,
204, 295 ; Owen's, 67, 165,
note i ; 204, note i ; 321 ;
Pastors', 179, 189; Rawdon,
48; Rotherham, 13, 59, note 1;
124, 170, 175, 192, 193, 240,
243, 245, 250, 264, 265, 276,
307, 315, 321 I Spring Hill, 77,
163, 1 68, 178, 195, 220, 225,
227,307; Western, 162, 165;
YorkshireUnited Independent,
INDEX.
333
146, 163, 172, note 2; 193,
2O2, 270, 316,
Collier, Thomas, 311.
Collyhurst Street Congregational
Church, 199.
Conder, Dr. John, 119.
Conder, G. W., 26, 193.
Coningham, James, M.A., 93, 97.
Constantine, Robert, 230-234, 239.
Constantine, Samuel, 234.
Constantine, Thomas, 230.
' Conventicle Act, The," 150.
Cooke, Alfred, 27.
Coombs, J. A., 17, 18, note 5; 22,
124, 166, 206, 214, 218.
Cooper, John, 102.
Cooper, W. Dodge, 57-59.
Cooper, W. H., 274.
Copland, Osric, 25.
Cordingley, Titus, 44.
"Corporation Act, The," 151.
Cotton, Dr. John, 283.
Cotton, R. H., M.A., 21, 48.
Coulburn, Henry, 41, note i.
Coulburn, William, 41, note i.
Craig, Professor Robert, M.A.,
223.
Cran, A., M.A., 64, 318.
Craven, J. M., 313.
Creighton, D. H., 12.
Crewe, J., 79.
Crompton, Thomas, M.A., 3.
Cromwell, Oliver, 147, note 2; 151.
Crossley, John, 275.
Crossley, Lady, 194.
Cross Street Chapel, 81.
Cummins, John, 136.
Cunningham, James, 169.
Dale, Dr., 26, 145.
Dale, W. D., 316.
Dalton, J., 210.
Darbishire, R. D., 40, note 2.
Davidson, Dr., 159, 163, 250.
Davies, David, 294.
Davies, C. S., 268.
Davies, J. Dickerson, M.A., 223.
Davies, N. de G., M.A., B.D., 306,
Davies, R. M., 62, 63, 70, 78, 130,
136, 158, 178, 251-257, 258,
260, 262, 263, 264, 267, 268,
269, 317.
Davies, William, 184.
Davies, W. S., 189.
Davies, Mr., 171.
Dawson, Joseph, 298, note 2.
Dawson, W. J., 172, note 2.
Day, Mr., 186.
Deakin, James, 18, note 5.
Dean, James, 125.
Dean Row Chapel, 94, 96.
Dearnellyes, Nicholas, 85.
Denton, Benjamin, M.A., 234, 236.
Denton Congregational Church,
3H-
Denton Old Chapel, 283-287.
Denton, Lydia, 236.
Derker Congregational Church,
260.
Dickenson, Thomas, 55, 56
Dingle, J. H, 13.
Dixon, Mark, 264.
Dixon, William, 273.
Dob Lane Chapel, 38.
Dobson, Joshua, 98.
Dobson, S., St. Neots, B.A., 226.
Doddridge, Dr., 155.
Douthwaite, F. C., 320.
Drevvett, W. H., 172, 191.
Driver, S. B., 177, 178.
Droylsden Congregational Church,
3i6.
Drummond, Dr., 106.
Drummond, W. H., B.A., 106.
Ducie Chapel, 197.
Ducie, Lord, 159, 197.
Duffill, M., 199.
Duke's Alley Congregational
Church (Bolton). 123, note 2.
Dukinfield, Charles, 291.
334
INDEX.
Dukinfield, Colonel Robert, 281,
283, 291, 292.
Dukinfield, Sir Robert, 5, 6.
Dukinfield Congregational Church,
280, 282, 313.
Dukinfield CrescentCongregational
Church, 310.
Dukinfield Old Chapel, 287.
Dukinfield Old Hall Chapel, 311.
Dukinfield, Jane, 5.
Dunkerley, James, 268.
Dunkerley, John, 267-269.
Dunkerley, Mr., 309.
Dunkley, James, 189.
Dunn, George, 262.
Dury, David, 53.
Duthie, James, 63-65.
Dyson, Joseph, 17, 18, note 5 ; 24,
321.
Earnshaw, J., 189.
East, Timothy, 212.
Eaton, George, 281, note 3.
Eaton, Jane, 56.
Eaton, Richard, 287, note 3.
Eaton, Robert, 55, 85, 150, 289.
Eaton, Samuel, 281-283, 313.
Eaton, Samuel, 291.
Eaton, Theophilus, 282.
Edwards, Mr., 139.
Edwards, E., 315.
Elliott, Mr., 1 8, note 4.
Ellis, John, 36, 325.
Ellis, R. P., 64, 228.
Ellison, Thomas, 287.
Ely, Charles, 208.
Ely, John, 212, 249, 251.
Empson, G. C., 72, 77, 78.
Enfield, Dr. William, 101.
Essex, W. W., 317.
Estlin, Dr., 104.
Evans's, Dr., List of Presby
terian Chapels and Charities,
43, note i ; 44, note 2; 56, 98,
note i.
Evans, E. K.,:i83, 326.
Evans, Mr., 139.
Evans, Robert, 207.
Evans, Thomas, 162.
Evans, T. E., 207.
Evans, W., 12, 68, 133, 210, 243,
309-
Evans, William, 251, 254, note i.
Evans, Williams, 124.
Ewing, Greville, 216.
Failsworth, Nonconformity at, 38.
Falding, Dr., 130, 163.
Farnsworth, Charles, 310,
enner, John Ludd 7.
Ferguson, Dr. Fergus, 190.
Fielden, H., 79.
Fielden, John, 279.
Finch, Henry, 85, 150, 151, 153,
I54. J58, 289, note 2.
Finlayson, Dr. T. C., 63, 71, 131,
164.
Firth, S., 261, 278.
" Five Mile Act, The," 84.
Fletcher, Joseph, Dr., 12, 176, 210,
211.
Fletcher, R., 24, 70, 134, 135, 159,
183, 196, 218.
Fletcher, S., 18, notes; J34, 135,
136, 200, 226.
F°gg. Jonn, 3I5-
Ford, David, 222.
Ford, David Everard, 221, 254.
Ford, G. N., 223.
Ford, P. C., 72, 223, 326.
Foster, Richard, 57.
Forsyth, J., 63.
Forsyth, P. T., M.A., 193.
Fothergill, W. H., 21, 278.
Fox, George, 283, note i.
Fox, John, 251, 258.
Frankland, Richard, 3, 33, 55, 92,
93, 94, 154-
Freeston, Joseph, 36, 48.
INDEX.
335
Galland, Joseph, 242-245, 247, 249,
267, 268, 315.
Galland, Robert, 242.
Gardiner, Mr., 56.
Garlick, Joseph, 306.
Garnett, Charles, 184.
Gaskell, John, M.A., 294.
Gaskell, Margaret, 100.
Gaskell, Mrs., 106.
Gaskell, Nathaniel, 100.
Gaskell, William, M.A., 47, note 2 ;
1 06.
Gastrell, Bishop, 42, note 5.
Gee, Domini, 289.
Gee, Mr., 102.
Gentleman, Robert, 240, note i.
George, John, 199.
Gibbons, S., 182.
Gibson, R. H , B.A., 48.
Gips, Mr., 40, note i.
Gladstone, Mr., 238, 293, and
note 4.
Glendenning, Joseph, 251.
Glover, William, 311.
Godwin, J., 144, 193.
Godwin, Richard, 101.
Goldschmidt, Philip, 36.
Goodier, Benjamin, 50, note i.
Goodrich, Dr. Albert, 131.
Goodwin, Mr., 192.
Gordon, Alexander, M.A., 39, note
4 ; 42, note 5 ; 43, note i ; 44,
note 2 ; 47, note 4 ; 53, note 3 ;
59, note i.
Gordon, John, 295.
Gore, Robert, 101.
Gorton Brook, Congregationalism
at, 199.
Gorton Protestant Dissenters'
Chapel, 50.
Gosman, A., 135.
Gothard, William, 24.
Greatbatch, George, 318.
Green, Thomas, M.A., 63, 130, 254,
note i ; 279, 304, 307, 308, 313,
Greenacres Congregational Church,
230.
Greenheys Congregational Church,
178.
Greswell, W. P., 284.
Griffin, James, 163, 167 168, 169,
183, 218.
Griffin, John, 167.
Griffiths, H., 184.
Griffiths, John, 206.
Griffiths, William. 206.
Grimshaw, James, 154.
Grimshaw, Robert, 57.
Grindrod, M., 70.
Grosvenor Street Congregational
Church, 123, 133.
Grundy, John, 104.
Guest, William, 193.
Gwatkin, Thomas, 34, and note 3.
Gwyther, James, 74, 127, 163, 176,
177, 183, 206. 218.
Gwyther, J. H., B.A., 178, 321.
Hadfield, George, M.P., 14, 105,
note i ; 164, 166, 167, 200, 202,
note i.
Hague, Joseph, 183.
Haigh, William, 199.
Haldane, James, 122.
Hale, Thomas, 240-242.
Hall, A., 199, 263.
Hall, John, 52.
Hall, Miss, 266.
Hall, W. J., 179.
Halley, Dr., and his " Lancashire
Puritanism and Nonconform
ity," 16, 29, 39, note i ; 70, 98,
note i ; 99, 107, 108, 113, note
2 ; 114, note I ; 116, I2O, 122,
142, 144, 145, 150, note 3 ; 153,
note 2 ; 159, 163, 183, 220, 222,
250, 269, 281, and note i.
Halley, J. J., 144.
Halley, Robert, M.A., 144.
Ham, James Panton, 106.
336
INDEX.
Hamer, D. Jones, 223, 228.
Hamer, Thomas, 26, 193, 326.
Hamilton, R. W., D.D., 307.
Hampshire, Mr., 124.
Hampson, Robert, 136, 174.
Handforth, John, 239, 240, and
note i.
Hannam, T., 259.
Hannay, Dr., 66, 130, 146.
Hanson, Samuel, 56.
Hardaker, Mark, 20.
Hardy, James, 234.
Hargreaves, J., 70.
Hargreaves, John, 292, note i.
Harpurhey Union Church, 188.
Harris, Dr., 144, 214.
Harris, George. 105.
Harris, George, 247, note i ;
248.
Harrison, Cuthbert, 34, 102.
Harrison, Edward, 292.
Harrison, Edward, 236.
Harrison, G., 63.
Harrison, fohn, 103.
Harrison, John, 254, 264.
Harrison, John, 287.
Harrison, Joseph, 238.
Harrison, Mrs., 236.
Harrison, Ralph, 35, 101-104.
Harrison, Ralph Cooper, 103.
Harrison, William, 102.
Harrison, William, 35, 103.
Harrop, Robert, 238, 245.
Hart, John, 68, 69, 175, 276.
Hartley, L., 270.
Hartley, R. G., M.A., 137.
Hartley, Stephen, 26.
Harwood, James, B.A., 10.
Haughton, John, 172, note i.
Hawkes, James, 294, 295.
Hawkes, William, 46.
Hawkes, William, 66.
Haworth, A. A. 204.
Hay ward, D. B., 326.
Haworth Bros., 200, 274, 203.
Heaton Mersey Congregational
Church, 68.
Heaton Moor Congregational
Church, 66.
Helme, John, 34, 293, and note 5.
Henry, Matthew, 5, 33, 42, 92, 93,
94, note 4 ; 97, 98.
Herford, R. T., B.A., 281, note 3.
Heron, James H., 14, 141.
Heron, Sir Joseph, 14.
Hesketh, Robert, 154.
Hesketh, Robert, M.A., 155, note i
Hewgill, W.f M.A., 254, note i.
Hewitt, John, 224, 225.
Heyrick, Warden, 51, 81, 84.
Heyside Congregational Church,
267.
Heywood, John, 33, and notes 3
and 4 ; 42.
Heywood, Joseph, 40, note 2 ; 42.
Heywood, Oliver, 3, notes 2 and 3 ;
29, 32, 33, note 4 ; 39, 40,
note i; 55, 92, 93, 234, 287,
289, note 2 ; 291.
Hibbert, James, 48.
Hickling, C. H., 72.
Hide, Jane, 85.
Hide, Mr., 40, note i.
Higgs, T. K., M.A., 72, 245, 254,
note i.
Higginson, Edward, 10, 59.
Higginson, Philip Martineau, M.A.,
10.
Higher Ardwick Congregational
Church, 199.
Hightown Congregational Church,
196.
Hill, John Spencer, 227, 277.
Hill, James, 214.
Hodgson, Dr., 64, 71, 191, 202,
204, 261.
Hodgson, John, 248, note i;
249, 250, 260-269, 278.
Hodgson, John, 6.
Hodgson, Richard, 6.
INDEX.
337
Holbroke, Richard, 85.
Holder, H. W., M.A., 321.
Holdsworth, J. W., 146.
Holgate, John, 320.
Holland, John, 155.
Holland, Philip, 101.
Holland, Richard, 85.
Holland, Thomas, M.A., 30.
Hollinwood Congregational
Church, 262.
Hollinworth, Richard, 51, 81, 82.
Holme, James, 39, note 3.
Holmes, Benjamin, 79.
Holroyd. John, 249, 251, 315.
Holt, Mr., 65.
Holt, William, 158.
Hood, E. Paxton, 146.
Hooley Hill Mission, 308.
Hooper, Stephen, 68, 70.
Hope, John, 138 and note i ; 20O.
Hope Congregational Church
(Salford), 217.
Hope Congregational Church
(Oldham), 251.
Hopkinson, John, 168.
Hopps, J. P., 295.
Home, C. S., M.A., 172, note 2 ;
223.
Home, David, B.A., 223.
Horsey, John, 294, 325.
Hort, Charles Danvers, 60.
Houghton, John, 155.
Houghton, Pendlebury, 45, 156.
Howe, John, 91.
Hoyle, Giles, 183, 249, 315, 318,
320, 322.
Howell, William, 239.
Hubbard, William, 186, 190.
Hudson, Mr.. 123, 242.
Hughes, D.. B.A., 207.
Hughes, G. D., 27.
Hughes, Hugh, 207.
Hughes, J., 254.
Hughes, Thomas, 136.
HulmeCongregational Church, 174.
5 — 22
Hulme Hall, 89, note 3.
Hunter's Croft Congregational
Church, 110-114.
Huntingdon, Lady, 119, note 3;
121, 140, 276, 278.
Hurst Nook Mission, 305.
Hustwick, H., 263.
Hutchison, J., 64, 302-306, 313.
Hutchison, R. D., 66.
Ince, John, 136.
" Independency at Tockholes," 33,
note 5.
" Indulgence Act, The," 84, 85, 86,
150.
Inglis, D., B.A., 261.
Ivy, Robert, 249, 300.
Jack, Dr., 12, 133, 174.
Jackson, J. T., 70.
Jackson, Thomas, 17.
James, D. R., 311.
James, J. A., 141, 161, 222, 225.
James, William, 238.
Jay, William, 197.
Jefferies, Joseph, 59.
Jenkins, D. M., 207.
Jenkinson, Robert, 242.
Jessop, R., 249, 252.
John, David, 206, 207.
Johnson, A. N., M.A., 131, 172,
note 2.
Johnson, John, 121, and note 5;
139-
Johnson, Richard, J.P., 190.
Johnson, William, 192.
Johnston, Matthew, 63.
Jollie, John, 54, and note 3; 55,
note 2 ; 289, 291.
Jollie, John, 55.
Jollie, Major, 52, 54.
Jollie, Thomas, 54, 55, 289, 291.
Jollie, Timothy, 42, note i ,-.97.
Jones, David, 307, and note 4.
Jones, David L., 47, and note 4;
50, and note i.
333
INDEX.
Jones, D. Lloyd, 206, 207.
Jones, Edmund, B.A,, i, 2, and
note 2.
Jones, Gamaliel, 97.
Jones, John, i, 2, and note 2.
Jones, John, 85.
Jones, J. Emmett, 197.
Jones, Joshua, 51, 56, 98, note i.
Jones, Lewis, 207.
Jones, Miss, 47, note i.
Jones, Mr., 159.
Jones, Richard, 206.
Jones, Samuel, 47, note i.
Jones, William, 24.
Jordan, D. N., B.A., 227, 326.
Joseph, Mr., 189.
Joule, John, 138, 208, and note i.
Kaye, Neville, 150, note 3.
Kelly, Mrs., 159.
Kennedy, Thomas, M.A., 138, 296.
Kenworthy, G. H., 302.
Kenworthy, James, 166.
Kiddle, J. W., 64, 77, 226-229.
Kirkus, W., LL.B., 162.
Knight, George, 48.
Knight, Henry, 5, 43, note i, 44,
98.
Knott, Herbert, 302.
Knott, John, 311.
Knott, Mrs., 302.
Knott Mill Congregational Church,
198.
Knowles, Thomas, 7.
Knox, William, 217, 228.
Lake, John, Dr., 231.
Lamb, John, 172.
Lamb, Samuel, 191.
Langley, Mr., 82.
La Trobe, Mr., 300.
Lawson, T., 188.
Lawton, Mr., 39, 40, note i ; 325.
Lawton, Mr., 234 and note 2 ; 325.
Lee, Henry, 20, 26, 27, 228. 265,
Lee, T. G., 213.
Leeds, John, 85.
Lees, Preaching at, 273.
Lees, John, 244.
Lees, Jonathan, 24, note 3 ; 69, 133,
174, 187, 263.
Lees, Jonathan, 24, note 3; 137.
Lees, Samuel, 251.
Leifchild, Dr., 144, 209.
Leigh, Charles, 221, note 3.
Leigh, H. H., 248.
Leigh, R. G., 221, 323.
Leigh, William, 51, 53, 282.
Leigh, William, M.A., 53, note 3.
Leighton, Edward, 276.
Lewin, Samuel, 170.
Lewis, Jenkin, 202, 211.
Ley, Mr., 82.
Lightbown, Mr., 226.
Lingard, Richard, 149.
Lloyd, Thomas, 46.
Lochore, A. O., 78.
Lockwood, John, B.A., 192.
London, T. C., 213.
Long, H. C., 162.
Longley, Benjamin, 243.
Longsight Congregational Church,
158.
Lord, James, 297, 314.
Lord Duncan Street Welsh Congre
gational Church, 207.
Lowe, Roger, 150, note 4.
Loyd, Lewis, 46, 47, note i.
Loyd, Sam Jones, 47.
Lunn, Abraham, 36, 48.
Macdonald, Dr. George, 163.
Macedonia Congregational Sunday
School (Failsworth), 264.
Macfadyen, D., B.A., 131.
Macfadyen, Dr., 21, 63, 64, 66, 71,
72, 73, 78, 108, note 2 ; 109,
note I ; 114, 116-121, note I ;
128, 130, 164, 261, 265, 279.
Macfadyen, Mrs., 109, note i ; 131,
138, note 2.
INDEX.
339
"Macfadyen Memorial Church," 73
Mackennal, Dr., 14, 64, 108, note
2; 114, 116, 117, 121, note I ;
130, 138, 165.
Maclaren, Dr., 130, 305.
Maconachie, J. Kirk, 165.
Manchester and District Congre
gational Mission Board, 198,
204, 217.
Macwilliam, W. B., 184.
McAll, Robert, 140.
McAll, Dr., 18, note 5 ; 134,
140, 145, 158, 159, 167, 175,
181, 196, 218, 252, 300,314, 320.
McAll, Dr., 135, 326.
McAll, S. 167.
McAuslane, Dr. A., 77.
McAuslane, John, 75.
McCappin, J. C., 22, 162.
McDougall, James, 72, 172, note 2 ;
191, 194, 196, 254. note i ; 260.
McFarlane, Dr.. 14.
McKenny, W. H. 258.
McKerrow, Dr. William, 70, 75,
127, 169, 194, 254, 320.
McLellan, W., 217.
McMichael, J. C., 321.
Mainwaring, Col., 281, note i.
Mainwaring, Peter, 81.
"Manchester Socinian Contro
versy," 39, note i ; 99, 105.
Mark, H. T., B.A., 258.
Marsh, William, 123, 124, 199, 297,
308, 309, and note 2.
Marshall, William, 47.
Martin, Samuel, 16, 127, 144,
Martindale, Adam, i, 51-53, 149.
Martineau, Harriet, 106.
Martineau, Dr. James, 10, 106.
Mary, Queen, persecutions of, 28,
124.
Mason, Dr., 211.
Mason, Hugh, 63, 304, 305, 306,
3*3-
Mason, Miss, 302.
Mason, Mrs., 302.
Mason, Muriel, 304.
Mason, Rupert, 302, 304,
Mason, S , 302.
Massie, Dr. J. W., 216, 221, 317.
Massie, Professor, 216.
Massie, Robert, 216.
Mather, James, 123, 209.
Mather, John, 195.
Mather, Samuel, 282, note i.
Mather, William, M.P., 195.
Mathews, R. J., 24.
Mayall, John, 322.
Meanley, Astley, 156.
Meanley, Richard, 156.
Medley, Mr., 139.
Meeson, J.A., M.A., LL.B., 221,
316.
Melbourne Street Mission, 132.
Meldrum, Mr., 123, 243.
Mellor, Dr. E., 184, 254, 269.
Middleton Hall, 275.
Middleton Congregational Church,
275.
Miller, J. S., 267.
Millson, J. E., 226.
Minton, Edward, 322.
Mitchell, Robert, 73, 189, 191.
Moffat, Dr., 136, 299.
Moffat, Mary, 299.
Monks Hall, 3, and note i.
Monton Chapel, i.
Moody, Mr., 241.
Moore, F., 198.
Moorhouse, William, 242.
Morgan, Dr. David, 206.
Morgan, John, 199.
Morris, A. J., 66, 213.
Morris, Dr. John, 273, 277.
Morris, Edward, 74-77.
Morris, F. Sidney, 66, 325.
Morris, William, 149.
Morrison, Dr., 190.
Morton, Bishop, 29.
Mosley, Ann, 290.
34°
INDEX.
Mosley, Dame Jane Meriel, 89, and
note 3.
Mosley, Sir Edward, 89.
Mosley Street Congregational
Church, 137.
Mosley, Oswald, 284, 290.
Mossley Bottoms, 273.
Mossley Congregational Church,
322.
Mottershead, Joseph, 5, 47, note i ;
56, 97-101, 102, 106.
Moxon, George, 94.
Muncaster, Joseph, 193.
Munroe, James, 250.
Murray, Alexander, 174.
Murray, J. R., M.A., 172-174, 191.
Murray, Wilson, 262.
Naphtali, J. S., 180.
Naylor, B., 60, note i.
Needham, J. C., 72.
Neeld, Dr., 3, note 4.
Newcome, Elizabeth, 91.
Newcome, Henry, M.A., i, 2, 38,
39, 41, 54, 81-92, 100, 102,
note 2; 108, 116, 147, note 2 ;
282, 289, note 2.
Newcome, Stephen, 81.
Newcome, Robert, 81.
Newcome, Rose, 81, 91.
Newbery, Mr. 67.
Newth, Dr., 33, note 5 ; 126, 144.
Newth, Professor, 15, 16, 24, note
3 ; 126, 128.
Newton Heath Congregational
Church, 191.
Newton, James, 269.
Newton, John, 110-113.
Newton, Samuel, 38.
New Windsor Congregational
Church, 208.
Nichols, Gabriel, 100., 325.
Nicholson, George, B.A., 161.
Nightingale, B., 260.
Noble, S. R., 266.
Norbury, J. C., 165.
Norman, Thomas, 53, 149.
''Northowram Register," 32, note
3; 33, 39. 41, note J ; 42, note 5 ;
43, note i; 55, 56, 92, 97, 98,
note i; 100, note I ; 232, 290.
Nolan, Dr. E. H., 70, 196, 197,
252, 269.
Ogden, John, B.A., 284.
Ogden, Mr., 54.
Oldham, Hugh, LL.B., 27.
Oldham Road Congregational
Church, 185.
Openshaw Congregationalism, 61.
Oram, W., 22.
Orton, Job, 99, 101.
Overstone, Baron, 47.
Owen, Dr., 289.
Owen, Humphrey, 102.
Owens, Owen, 207.
Paget, John, 29.
Paget, Thomas, 29.
Palmer, William, 187, 227.
Park, A., J.P., 305.
Parker, Dr. Joseph, 145, 184, 202,
207, 318.
Parkes, William, 125, 326.
Parkinson, H. W., 184, 317.
Parsons, E., 139.
Parsons, James, 144, 166, 169, 177,
186, 219, 226, 250.
Partington, George, 12, and note
i ; 245, 249.
Pastures Congregational Church,
270.
Paton, Dr., 202.
Patricroft Congregational Church
ii.
Patten, Andrew, 115, 116.
Payne, Dr., 176.
Peacock, Richard, M.P., 60.
Pearce, A. E., 225.
Pearson, Samuel, M.A., 191, 195.
INDEX.
Peill, J., 313-
Pendlebury Congregational
Church, 1 6.
Pendlebury, Henry, M.A., 156.
Pendlebury, Mary, 156.
Penkethman, John, 18, 22, 175, and
note 3.
Perkins, William, 43, and note i >
44, and note 2.
Phillips, A., 274.
Phillips, George, M.A., 202, 209.
211.
Phillips, J. R., 262.
Phillips, Peregrine, 210.
Picton, J. A., M.A., 192.
Picton, Sir J. A., 192.
Place, William, n, note 2; 13, 14.
Plank, C. T., 172.
Platt, James, 258.
Platt, John, 244.
Plungeon's Meadow, 87-89.
Pocock, Mr., 181, 182, note i.
Pool House, 89.
Poore, J. L., 135, 177, 198, 220.
Pope, John, 34.
Porter, A., 198, note 3.
Porter, Llewellyn, 25, 323.
Porter, S. T., 18, note 5.
Poynting, C. T., B.A., 157.
Poynting, T. E., 3-10, 157.
Pridie, James, 136, 166, 212, 250,
251-
Priestley, Dr. Joseph, 98, note 3 ;
116, 119.
Priestley, Timothy, 115-119, 137.
Procter, R. W., 107.
Pugsley, N. K, 68, 69, 315.
Pye, John, 109, 326.
Pyer, John, 181, 182, and note i.
Pyke, Thomas, 30, note 4 ; 32, 39.
Queen's Park Congregational
Church, 189.
Queen's Road Welsh Congrega
tional Church, 207.
Radbourne, H. E., 195, 227.
Radcliffe, Joshua W., 261.
Raikes, Robert, 258.
Raffles, Dr., 75, 127, 134, 141, 144,
161, 167, 176, 177, 178, 181,
186, 192, 214, 219, 222, 226,
244, 247, 249, 250, 252, and
note 2; 257, 273, 300, 317,
320, 322, 326, 327.
Ralph, John, 209.
Ramsbottom, Joseph, 59, 326.
Ramsey, Mr., 309, and note 6.
Rathband, Nathaniel, 41.
Rathband, William, 29.
Raven, John, 216.
Rawlinson, John, 74, 78, 198.
Rawson, Joseph, n.
Rawson, Harry, 50.
Reaney, G. S., 146.
Redmayne, Leonard, 209.
Reed, Dr. Andrew, 177, 197.
Rees, Dr., 207.
Reid, Stuart J., 194.
Reid, William, 64, 66.
Regent Congregational Church,
228.
Regent Street Congregational
Church (Oldham), 258.
Reyner, Nehemiah, 56.
Reynolds, Dr. 193.
Reynolds, John, 202, 211.
Reynolds, Dr. Henry Revell, 211.
Richardson, H. H., 25.
Risque, Mr., 258.
Robberds, J. E., .95.
Robberds, John Gooch, 105.
Roberts, Dr. David, 206.
Robarts, Richard, 206, 207.
Roberts, Robert, 321.
Robinson, Edwin, 199.
Robinson, J., 260.
Robinson, T. F., 39, note 4 ; 40,
note 2.
Robinson, Dr. R., 44, 45, 293, and
note 3.
INDEX.
Roby, Sarah, 134.
Roby, William, n, 12, 18, note 5 ;
22, 62, 121-123, 133, 134, 136,
139, 166, 167, 170, 174, 175,
176, 187, 2O2, 2O8, 2O9, 2IO,
212, 213, 214, 243, 246, 247,
248, 309,
Rodgers, G., 20.
Rogers, George, 175.
Rogers, J. G., B.A., 72, 74, 159,
254, 274, 301, 302, 304, 305,
317. 322.
Rogers, T., 301.
Rooden Lane Congregational
Church, 26.
Rooker, S., 192.
Rotheram, D., 98, 155, 156.
Royton Congregational Church,
264.
" Ruling Eldership, The," H4,-n6,
137-
Rusholme Congregational Church,
162.
Rusholme Road Congregational
Church, 166.
Rushton, Adam, 36.
Russell Street Mission, 132, 200.
Ryan, G. F., 22, 68, 69.
Ryecroft Congregational Church,
306.
Rylands, John, 75, 77, 200.
Rylands, Mrs., 77.
Rymer, Thomas, 26.
Sandfoid, Benjamin, 44 and note 3.
Scholefield, Nathanael, 246 and
note 3.
Scholes, George, 41.
Scholes, Jeremiah, 41.
Scholes, Nathaniel, 40, note 2 ; 41,
42, 93, note i ; 325.
Schwann, C. E., M.P., 50.
Scott, Captain Jonathan, 241.
Scott, Dr., 64, 202, 250, 260, 265,
316.
Scott, James, 299.
Scott, James, 109, 116, 326.
Scott, Walter, 202, 320.
Scott, William, 179, and note 2.
Scouthead, Preaching at, 273.
Seddon, John, M.A., 98, 99, 100,
101.
Seddon, Peter, 98.
Seddon, Reuben, 266.
Seddon, Robert, M.A., 53.
Seedley Congregational Church,
227.
Senior, B. P., 258, 268.
Selbie, R. W., B.A., 221.
Selbie, W. B., M.A., 221.
Shaw Congregational Church, 266.
Shaw, George, 13, 15.
Shaw, Henry, 78.
Shaw, Peter, 39, note i.
Shaw, Samuel, 277, 278.
Shaw, W. A., 30, note 2 ; 39, note i ;
41, note i ; 282, note 3.
Sheldon, Stephen, 196.
Sheldon, Thomas, 137.
Sherman, James, 250.
Shillito, Joseph, 137.
Short, J. G., 274.
Shuker, John, 21.
Sibree, John, 13. .
Sidebottom, J., 65, 160, 226, 277.
Sidebottom, Joshua, 265.
Simon, Dr., 163, 172, note 2 ; 202.
Simon, Edwin, 178.
Simon, Henry, 178.
Simon, Thomas, 178.
Simpson, R., 121, 239.
Simson, John, 75.
Sinclair, J., 184.
Slate, Richard, 17, 105, note i ; 200,
note i ; 292, note I ; 297, 300,
318.
Slater, C. S., M.A., 195.
Small, Mr., 140.
Smedley, Mr., 174.
Smethurst, John, 8, note 3.
INDEX.
343
Smethurst, Robert, 7, 8, and note 3.
Smith, A. C., 221.
Smith, A. H., M.A., 131.
Smith, Daniel, 30.
Smith, Daniel, 96, 97.
Smith, F., 274.
Smith, Dr. George, 222.
Smith, H., 7.
Smith, J. Hardwick, B.A., 163.
Smith, John, 170, and note I.
Smith, John, 175, 176.
Smith, Joseph, u, 138, 140, 213.
Smith, Mary, 176, 299.
Smith, N. H..M.A., 163.
Smith, Thomas, 294, and note i.
Smith, T. H., 13, 315, 316, 322.
Smith, Watson, 161, 169, 172.
Snashall, G., B.A , 266.
Snell, B. J., M.A., B.Sc., 223, 229.
Snell, H. H., B.A., 224.
Solomon, Richard, 184, 199.
Southward, Mr., 258.
Sowden, Joseph, 12, 139, 209.
Spear, Robert, 133, 200, 202.
Spence, P., 190.
Spence, Robert, M.A., 326.
Spencer, Joseph, 170.
Spencer, Reuben, 64.
Spencer, William, 264.
Springhead Congregational Church,
271.
Spurgeon, C., 175.
StalybridgeCongregationalChurch,
318.
Stamford, Earl, 299, 323.
Steele, Thomas, 136.
Steinthal, S. A., 106, 157.
Stephens, R., 25.4.
Stevenson, Dr., 224.
Stevenson, William, 47, and note 2.
Stimpson, T., 24, note 3 ; 216, 277.
Stockport Road Congregational
Church, 171.
Stockton, Thomas, 86.
Stokes, William, 259.
Stonebreaks, Preaching at, 273.
Stopford, S., 293, and note 2.
Stowell, Dr., 160, 307.
Stowell, William, B.A., 160.
Street, George, 217.
Street, J. C., 36.
Stretford Congregational Church.
73-
Stuckbery, Joseph, B.A., 167.
Sturgess, Thomas, 317.
Stuttard, E. E., 190, 191.
Sunderland, William, 302, 306, 314,
Sutcliffe, Jonathan, F.S.A., 160,
161, 176, 247, 249, 252, 272,
274, 299, 300, 301, 304, 307,
314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 320,
321, 322.
Sutcliffe, N. B., 304, 311.
Sutton, Robert, 64.
Sweeting, T. E., 171.
Swinton, Griffith, 42, note 5.
Tabernacle, City Road, 199.
Tate, William, 294.
Tatton Street Mission, 132.
Taunton Mission, 305.
Tayler, Hugon S., M.A., 295.
Taylor, George. 212, 213, 218, 225.
Taylor, James, 48, 50.
Taylor, Joshua, 32, and note 4.
Taylor, Philip, 34.
'Taylor, Samuel, M.A., 151.
Taylor, Thomas, 282, note i.
Taylor, Timothy, B.A., 282 and
note i.
Taylor, Zachariah, 53.
"Tent Methodists, The," 181, 182,
and note I.
Theodosius, T., 209.
Thomas, Haliwell, 48.
Thomas, William, 261, 266, 270.
Thomas, William, 307.
Thomason, J. W., 189.
Thompson, Christopher, 245, 261,
266.
344
INDEX.
Thompson, James, 75.
Thomson, Dr., 77, 127, 167, 168,
169, 172, note 2 ; 190,202, 260,
304, 3i7-
Thomson, J. R., M.A., 202, 326.
Thomson, Patrick, M.A., 135.
Thornton, J., 322.
Thornton, J. E., 271.
Thornton, W. L., 222.
Thorp, John, 272.
Thorp, William, 166.
Tilsley, Mr., 2.
Tipping Street Congregational
Church, 170.
Toleration Act, the, 40, note 2; 288.
Tomlins, Samuel B., 305, 314.
Topping, Thomas, 84.
Touchet, John, 102, note 2.
Toulmin, Dr., 99, 101.
Toulmin, H., 7.
Towers, W. H., 187, 191.
Towgood, Micaiah, 34, and note 3.
Townfield Congregational Church,
258.
Travis, Father, 27, 28, 30, note 5.
Travis, George, 32, note 3.
Travis, Mrs.. 32.
Turner, John, 105.
Turner, G. L., M.A., 72.
Turner, Mary, 105.
Turner, William, 105.
Union Street Congregational
Church, 245.
UrmstonCongregationalChurch, 77.
Urwick's " Nonconformity in
Cheshire," 45, 56, 97, 246, note
2 ; 280, 282, note i ; 380.
Urwick, Dr. William, 274.
Vance, G. H., B.D., 295.
Valentine, Thomas, 33, and note 5.
Vaughan, Dr., 144, 186.
Vaughan, D.W., M.A., 191, 193.
Vine Street Mission Church, 179.
Vint, William, 251, 299.
Waddington's " Congregational
History," 113, note 2; 122, note
1 : 139, 244-
Waddington, G. G., 232-245, 314.
Waddington, J., 315, 316.
Wade, Richard, 98, note i ; 102,
103, 107.
Waide, J. S., 24, note 3; 274.
Wakefield, Gilbert, 34.
Walkden, Mr., 109, 326.
Walker, Edwin, 226.
Walker, George, F.R.S., 47.
Walker, H. W., 228.
Walker, H. F., 20, 21.
Walker, John, M.A., 38, 40.
Walker, John, 119, 271.
Walker, John, 271.
Walker, Mr., 296.
Walker, William, 38, 39, note i;
8z.
Walker, William Manning, 166,
167.
Walters, David, 73.
Walton, J. B., B.A., LL.B., 311,
313.
Walton, James, 29, 30.
Ward, Abraham, 186, 189.
Wardlaw, Dr., 77, 216.
Warhurst, Caleb, 108-116, 137,326.
Waterhead CongregationalChurch,
268.
Waterhouse, Alfred, 164.
Watts, Miss J., 68, note i.
Watts, Lady, 68, note 2571.
Watts, Samuel, 67, 68, and note i.
Watts, Sir James, 68, 70, 71, 127,
179, 200, 206, 207, 250.
Wayman, James, 251.
Webster, Peter, 21.
Weeks, E. H , 189.
Wells, George Henry, M.A , 60.
Werneth Congregational Church.
261.
Westerby, W. M., 162.
Whaley, Mr., 199.
INDEX.
345
Whecldon, John, 182.
Whitaker, John, 98, 155.
Whitaker, Richard, 155.
Whitaker, Thomas, M.A., 155.
White, E , 209.
Whitefield, George, 119, 120.
Whitehead, Mr., 123.
Whitehead, Mr., 204.
Whitelegge, William, 157.
Whiteley, A. H., 270.
Whitndge, John, 124, 140.
Whitridge, John, 124.
Wiche, George, 7.
Wiche, John, 7.
Wicksteed, P. H., M.A., 295.
Wigan, John, 51, 52, 149.
Wigley, Thomas, 188.
Wilkins, Dr., 165, and note i.
Williams, Dr., E., 124, 240, 243.
Williams, J. J., 244.
Williams, Richard, 263.
Williams, T. O., 261.
Williams, William, 206.
Williamson, James, M.A., 71, 321.
Willis, T., 63, 64, 65, 71, 78, 136,
191, 254, note 2.
Willoughby, Lord, 3, note 4.
Wilson, David, 317.
Wilson, Samuel, 136.
Wilson, S. S., 182.
Wilson, Thomas, 220.
Wilson, Walter, 42, note 5 ; 94.
Wilson, William, 85.
Winlaw, W., 276.
Winter, Dr., 214.
Winterbottom, John, 236.
Winterbottom, Joseph, 271.
Winterbottom, Mr., 109.
Withington Congregational
Church, 71.
Wolstenholme, J. R., M.A., 273.
Wolstenholme, R., 254, 273.
Wood, George, 15.
Wood, Jonathan, 183.
Wood, William, 305.
Woodburn, William, 266.
Woods, W. J., B.A., 146.
Woodward, Mr., 179.
Worsley, Major-General, 151.
Worsley, Ralph, 94, note 3 ; 150,
!5i, 153, 156.
Worthington, Hugh, 105.
Worthington, John Hugh, 105.
Wright, Dr. Samuel, 94.
Wrigley, Mary, 238.
Wrigley, William, 238.
Wyld, B., 228.
Yonge, John, 79.
Young, Henry, 66.
Zion Congregational Church, 177.
LANCASHIRE NONCONFORMITY.
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HISTORY OF THE OLD INDEPENDENT CHAPEL,
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