UNIVERSITY Of ^ CAllfORNIA ^y^^ 7^f^^^ y^7;- -/? *-OAN STACK To the EDIT&l^^/fe BATH HERALD. Sir, — It is so pleasant to observe and to acknowlcdga any appearance of candour and good feeling in an opponent, tliat I can- not help begging you to give extended publicity to the fcillowing passige from " The Life of Oliver Hey wood, one of the founders of the Presbyterian Congregations in the county of York," by the Rev. Joseph Hunter, the disiint;uished antiquary, formerly I'nitn- rian minister in this city. Speaking of the original Puritans lie says : — " Surely the peace and unity of the newly formed Church needed not to hf.ve been disturbed about the shape and colour of a robe ; the ring in marriage, a custom which had descended tVom a very remote antiquity — the sponsors in bap'.ism, which are, at least, another link of piety, of which we have far too few in the frame of the social state — the cross in baptism — the turning to the east — ] the bowing at the name of Jesus — the kneeling at the Eucharist, which are innocent, r>.'spectful customs, and are, moreover, descended to us from primitive antiquity. The observance of ecclesiastical times and commemorations keeps alive attention to spiritual alfairs, and the memory of the just who are gone. The bestowing peculiar sanctity on places set apart for Christian worship seems favourable to Christian influences ; and little is gained by disconnecting the exercise of religion from all that is most pleasing to the eye, or most agreeable to the ear. It was at least a pity that the harmony of the Church sliould have ever been disturbed by scruples about such things as these." — p.p. 11 12. Such is the candid, reverential, and truly pliilosophic spirit engendered by the quiet coniemplation of antiquity in the mind of an adversary to the system of the Church of iCngland ! May not one venture to breathe an aspiration that similar studies miglu produce similar results on many, even members of our own Cliurch, who seem still disposed to cherish the old Puritan scruples, here so candidly given up ? 1 must add that the whole work is well worthy the study of the divine, the philosopher, the h istor ian, and the biographer. ^ ^'^^' .i^i^l^i obedient servant, P. X. THE RISE OF THE OLD DISSENT, EXEMPLIFIED IN THE LIFE OLIVER HEYWOOD, ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATIONS IN THE COUNTY OF YORK. 1630—1702. BY THE REV. JOSEPH HUNTER, F.S.A. LONDON: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. 1842. LOAN STACK PRINTED BV RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. PREFACE. Mr. HEYWOOD was one of those persons whose lives are the connecting links of early Puritanism and modern Dissent. He was born in the reign of King Charles the First ; studied at Cambridge when the University had been newly reformed by the parliamentary commission- ers ; was ordained a minister by a Presbyterian classis in the time of the Commonwealth ; became the pastor of a little rural flock ; was separated from them by the operation of the Act of Uniformity ; refused to desist from the exercise of his ministry when he was so re- moved, and suffered considerable inconvenience in con- sequence ; became pastor of a congregation of Non- Conforming persons when the Act of Toleration allowed of the formation of such societies ; and having lived in peace for thirteen years under the protection of that Act, died in 1702, having seen several congregations besides his own raised in a great measure by his efforts. Such is the outline of his life, and it will be found in the following pages to be filled up with a minuteness which will require, I fear, some indulgence on the part of the reader to be excused ; but having such authentic materials, I was unwilling to lose the opportunity of presenting in detail the facts which made up the expe- rience of one of those men who, by the course which they took at a very critical period in the history of the a 2 690 IV PREFACE. Reformed Church of England, were the instruments in the hands of Providence of introducing a new element into English society, and created influences that have had the most important effects on the characters and fortunes of a large portion of the population of England ; and this the rather as I am not acquainted with any work in which the life of one of these persons is so fully described, few^ of those ministers having left such ample materials for the purpose as were left by Mr. Heywood. I was desirous also of preserving the names of many persons who acted with him in the sev^ere course of self- appointed duty in which he trod, or were more espe- cially wrought upon by his ministry ; and also of pre- senting to the hand of any one who may hereafter undertake to write of the ecclesiastical history of the diocese of York, materials which he would in vain seek in any other quarter. The extracts from these remains, illustrative of the general manners and opinions of the time, are not so numerous as to require apology. Though this work is the life of Mr. Heywood, it will at once be perceived that it must be to a great extent a view of the public part of the lives of numerous mini- sters who took the same course which he did when the Act of Uniformity prescribed terms of ministerial com- munion with the Church which they thought unreason- able and unscriptural ; so that while relating only what was done by Mr. Heywood in the parts of the county of York in which he resided, we are in fact relating what was doing in many other parts of the kingdom ; I might rather say, in every diocese and every county of the realm. PREFACE. V I write in the character neither of the apologist and defender, nor of the impugner and opponent of men on whom it is impossible to look without a considerable degree of respect, but as the historian of the course they took, and aiming in an impartial spirit to give a just view of their determinations in the several critical periods of their lives. It remains that I describe the materials which have been used in the preparation of this work. The age of Mr. Heywood was peculiarly the age of diaries. There are many existing of his period ; there are few earlier, and there are few later. They were part of the religious exercise of the devout of those days. One head of the advice given to him by his father when he entered the University was to keep a written record of his private meditations. Mr. Ambrose, a Puritan minister of Lancashire, Mr. Heywood's native county, had earnestly recommended the keeping of diaries as eminently serviceable to those who made it a principal object of their lives to establish themselves in all the thoughts and ways of piety ; and in the book which he entitled Media, he gives a specimen of what, in his opinion, such diaries ought to be in extracts from his own. With such specimens before us we cannot but lament that the carelessness of later times should have suffered such a curious and valuable document to perish, for perished it is to be feared it is. There is a pathos and beauty in some of the passages which he has selected for publication, as when he speaks of his occasional retire- ments to his hut in " the sweet silent woods of Wid- dicre," which make one wish for more ; and there is good historical information in what he relates of events VI PREFACE. in the civil wars, or of occurrences in families, his con- temporaries, of which one of the most remarkahle is the account which he gives of the extinction of the ancient house of the Calveleys of Cheshire, which would supply a great defect in the published history of that remarkable family . Mr. Heywood appears to have entered fully into the spirit of Mr. Ambrose's suggestion. For thirty-six years of his life he kept a daily account of what he did ; he wrote also, on many occasions, the reflections w^hich arose in his mind on the more important events of his life ; and he shows that he was attentive to what passed around him, and that he sought to turn singular and striking events in the lives of others to his own spiritual benefit. He wrote in very diminutive volumes, in lines exceed- ingly close, and in penmanship small, but not indistinct. Many of these volumes are preserved. The Diary commences with the 24th of March, 1666 ; a memorable day, being that on which he was driven from his home by the operation of one of the severe laws by which it was vainly hoped that the spirits of the Non-Conformists might be subdued. He continued it with a fortitude which was greater than the care with which it has been preserved. The parts of the Diary which have been recovered, after diligent inquiry in the quarters in which the volumes might be supposed to have remained, are of the following periods : — March 24, 1666, to November 7, 1673. July 23, 1677, to May 7, 1680. May 15, 1682, to July 31, 1686. March 1, 1695, to April 29, 1702, five days before his decease. PREFACE. VU For the period of his hfe before 1666 we have what is more valuable than a Diary ; an account of his early years, written in 1661, entitled by himself, 'A Relation of the more considerable Passages of my Life from my Infancy hitherto ; ' and this is followed by Notes of the more remarkable events, written at intervals, between 1661 and 1666. It is on these that I have relied principally for the facts of his life ; but, beside these, there are other books of which some account must be given. (1.) A book in which he has entered ' Solemn Covenants' — ' Temptations' — ' Experiences' — ' Returns of Prayer' — ' Remarkable Providences.' — (2.) Another book of ' Solemn Covenants,' which also contains Re- views, year by year, of many of the later years of his life. (3.) Twenty ' Meditations upon the doleful Bartholomew Day Act, and the effects thereof in silencing so many thousand Ministers in these three Nations.' Belonging to this class is another book, which I have not had the good fortune to see, and know only by the extracts which are made from it by the Rev. Richard Slate, in the Life of Mr. Hey wood, which he prepared several years ago and prefixed to the uniform edition of his published writings. This is a volume of ' Soliloquies,' and has reference to various occurrences of his life, and the state of his mind in reference to them, between May 1653 and June 1682. Next to these in importance are to be placed several biographical accounts of different members of his own family, where we find, occasionally, notices of himself. The persons of whose lives he has left accounts, thrown into the form of regular treatises, are (1.) his father, Mr. Richard Heywood ; (2.) his mother, Mrs. Alice Hey- Vlll PREFACE. I wood ; (3.) his brother, Mr. Nathaniel Heywood ; (4.) his first wife, Mrs. EHzabeth Angier ; (5.) his father-in- law, Mr. John Angier ; (6.) his mother-in-law, Mrs. Ellen Angier. Of these, the lives of Mr. Angier and of Mr. Nathaniel Heywood, both eminent Puritan and Non-Conforming ministers, were printed during his life. Of the less remarkable members of his family he has left a beautiful and affecting memorial ; a sketch of all whom he remembered. The events of the lives and the peculiarities of the characters are but slightly touched upon, but there is sufficient to show at least that the spirit by which the more prominent members of this good and religious family were actuated was communi- cated to most of the other members of it. This ac- count was prepared at a dark period of his varied life ; and the Introduction is so pathetic and so beautiful, that I have omitted it in the place at which it should have occurred in the narrative of his life that it might appear more prominently in the Preface. It will be observed that they were the thoughts of a Sunday evening, after the labours of the day, for all the Sundays were with him laborious. The season, too, is remarkable, the close of the month of September, when the trees which over- shadowed his humble dwelling at Northowram must have been shedding their yellow leaves about him : — O'/jj Trep (j}vXXwf yevei), roirjce kuI avhpiij}'. " When I was sitting in mine own house, on Lord's day night, Sept. 22, 1678, musing upon mine own death, and thinking on those thousands of blessed souls that have broken the ice and gone before me into that ce- lestial city, many of my godly relations that died in the PREFACE. IX Lord came afresh into my thoughts, and I at last resolved to make a catalogue of them that are within my cogni- zance or rememhrance ; partly to maintain the memory of the just, partly to comfort mine own heart that any, yea so many, of my kindred in the flesh were gracious, are now glorified saints, whom I hope to meet in heaven ; partly to recommend them to the observation and imita- tion of my sons and their seed, that they may see what a religious stock they are branches of, that they or theirs may never degenerate, but walk in the same steps that their ancestors found peace in, and rest in the end of; nor shall I go further than well-grounded charity accord- ing to the Scriptures will admit of, some of them having been more than ordinarily eminent in their generations, others very hopeful plants of renown, and I more value my parentage for godliness than greatness, religion than riches." With these may be classed the following volumes, which are all of an historical character : — (1 .) A History of the Chapelry of Coley, in the parish of Halifax, the portion of the diocese of York which had the chief be- nefit of his labours for more than fifty years, namely, from the beginning to the close of his ministerial life ; (2.) A particular Account of his own Congregation at Northowram, the principal village in the Chapelry of Coley, when he had left the Church and appeared in the character of Dissenting minister; (3.) An Account of the Ordinations of Ministers by himself and others when they had resolved on doing what in them lay to keep up a succession of ministers Non-Conforming, like themselves ; (4.) An Account of the Meetings, techni- cally denominated Meetings of Ministers, in the West X PREFACE. Riding of Yorkshire, from their commencement in 1G91 to the time of his death; (5.) A very copious Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths in the Famihes with whom he was acquainted, and in many other Famihes living in the parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire best known to him, with occasional biographical notices — a volume extremely useful to persons engaged in genealogi- cal inquiries ; and lastly, a volume containing two distinct parts, the first entitled ' Experiments w4th Reflections,' the second, ' Objects and Observations.' In this volume are various incidents relating to himself and others. For the use of the greater part of these volumes I have been indebted to the late Miss Heywood of Mans- field, a descendant in the fourth degree, and to my early and much-valued friend the Rev. Richard Astley of Shrewsbury, into whose hands a portion of them came on his marriage with another Miss Heywood, a descendant in the fifth degree of him of whom they are so singular a memorial. One volume of the Diary is now in the curious collection of autographs formed by the Rev. Dr. Raffles of Liverpool, to whom I owe the opportunity of perusing it, as well as the account which Mr. Heywood left of his Northowram congregation . Various other remains of !Mr. Heywood have been entrusted to me by the family, which are not so much historical as to require to be noticed in this Preface. But little of his correspondence remains ; and of that little I printed the greater part several years ago, in the Correspondence of his friend Ralph Thoresby, the Leeds antiquary, to whom the letters w^ere addressed. Small portions of his correspondence are still in possession of his descendants, and Mr. Slate has discovered some other PREFACE. Xr portions of it and printed them in his valuable volume. I have also found something relating to him in Thoresby's collection of ' Letters of Divines,' which is now among the Birch manuscripts in the British Museum. Amongst these manuscripts is also a transcript of many singular stories, similar to others which are entered in various of the volumes, made by Thoresby from a manuscript of Mr. Heywood which is no longer known to exist. It remains to be added, that it was in the years 1819, 1820 and 1821 that my attention was particularly di- rected to the body of curious information which these little volumes contain, and that I made the transcript of the more remarkable portions with the design of using them in such a work as that which is now to appear before the public ; that I have since recurred at different times to the design, but have been drawn away from it by other duties ; and that possibly the design might never have been executed had not the course of events which make up the history of English Protestant Dissent led me to undertake researches into the state of opinion in that body at the time when Mr. Heywood and those who had been ejected with him were giving way to younger and bolder men, who soon changed the whole aspect of the Non-Conforming body, and to much re- flection on the results of those inquiries. It has been the fortune of the Presbyterian Dissenters to have wit- nessed during the last few years the attempt made to wrest out of their hands the places of public worship which they had built for themselves, and the funds which they had established for the support of their mi- nisters ; not by the Church, nor by the State, the ad- Xll PUKFACE. ministrators of the law designing in this, as in every- thing, only to do justice and maintain the right; it is done by persons whose duty and whose interest it was to cherish those whom they would destroy, and whose con- duct in this particular has opened to some minds views of Dissent which make it far less amiable than in the early and confiding periods of their lives they were led to consider it. 1 do not hesitate to profess my own conviction, that in this proceeding, so far from seeing Dissent aiding the progress of theological science, sound knowledge, and political or religious freedom, I see it directly opposed to all these ; thus cutting away the most solid ground on which it is rested. But though called upon to lend my assistance in the defence of the religious community in which I was born against their old ene- mies the Independents, or rather against the new body of people who call themselves by that name (for the old Independents, though they saw and lamented the de- parture of the Presbyterians from the Calvinian opinions of their founders, never thought of recalling them by a voice from the Court of Chancery), I should never have accomplished this work if I had not been excited to it by the encouragement of two distinguished members of this family, in whom is remarkably exemplified the saying of ancient wisdom, that the seed of the righteous shall he blessed after them ; nor would it without their encou- ragement be given to the world, when books of which the chief or only merit is that they add to the stock of original information made easily accessible by being widely dispersed, are the last which those who best under- stand the public taste will venture to usher to the world. CONTENTS. FIRST PERIOD OF MR. HEYWOOD S LIFE — FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS SETTLEMENT IN THE MINISTRY AT COLEY. 1630—1650. Page Chap. I. Descent of Mr. Hey wood. — Hey woods of Heywood. — Bolton an early seat of religion. — Labours of Bradford and Marsh. — Fathers of Protestantism and Puritanism in South Lancashire. — Efforts made in furtherance of Protestantism. — The Manchester Lecture or Exercise. — Effects. — John and the elder Oliver Hey wood. — Conversion of the latter. — Rise of disaffection to the Protestant Church of England. — Puri- tanism. — Points of objection ; ceremonies ; form ; doctrine. — Tiie Heywoods Puritans. — Conference at Hampton Court. — Determination to put down Puritanism. — Persecution of the Puritan ministers 1 Chap. II. Questionable policy of the Court in respect of the Puritans. — Exasperatory measures. — Violation done to the Sabbatical principle ; to the Calvinian predilections ; to the claim of simplicity of worship. — Severities. — Mr. Hey wood's father. — His mother. — Remarkable circumstance in her early religious history. — Prosperity of the family. — Character of the mother. — Iconoclasm. — Baptism of Mr. Heywood. — Cha- racter of himself when young. — His religious education under his mother. — Frequent religious exercises in his father's house. — Intensity of the devotions. — The Critchlaws. — Aurora bo- realis. — The Civil Wars. — Storming of Bolton. — Death of William Critchlaw. — The father visits Holland 17 Chap. III. Early religious impressions. — Puritans' attention to the education of those intended for the ministry. — Mr. Hey- wood's destination to that office. — His school education. — Method pursued in the Lancashire schools. — Removed to Cambridge. — Persons with whom more particularly connected there. Hill, Akehurst, Birchall. — Studies there. — His prefer- ence of four eminent practical writers, Perkins, Bolton, Pres- ton, and Sibbes. — Mr. Hammond, the celebrated Cambridge XIV CONTENTS. Page preacher. — JoUie, Bentley, Nathaniel Hey wood, contemporary with him at Cambridge. — Major James JoUie. — Leaves the University and returns into Lancashire 38 Chap. IV. The Puritans in the ascendant. — Destruction of the Episcopal Church. — Other measures of the Assembly of Di- vines. — Scheme of a Presbyterian Church of England. — Never executed. — Rise of Independency. — Its principle. — Rapid spread. — Sects arising out of it. — Lancashire made a province of a Presbyterian Church. — Independency there. — Contest between Richard Heywood and the Congregational Eldership at Bolton. — Reflections. — Mr. Heywood in the summer of 1650. — His settlement as a minister at Coley 52 SECOND PERIOD — TO HIS EJECTMENT BY THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 1650—1662. Chap. V. The parish of Halifax. — Coley Chapel. — Character of the parish by Dr. Favour, James Rither, and Dr. Whita- ker. — The Lecture there. — Vicars. — Ministers during the Commonwealth. — Ministers in the several chapels at the time of Mr. Heywood's settlement at Coley. — Mr. Heywood's pre- decessors at Coley.' — Families at Coley. — The Sunderlands. — Captain Hodgson. — Sir Thomas Browne, lately an inha- bitant of the parish. — The Bests. — Nathaniel Heywood set- tles at Illingworth. — He and his brother live together. — Man'iage with Elizabeth Angier. — Notice of her father. — Her death. — The death of Mr. Heywood's mother 71 Chap. VI. Mr. Heywood's ordination. — Remarks on ordina- tion of ministers. — His introduction of discipline in his con- gregation at Coley. — Opposition to it ; consequences. — Pro- posals of removing to York and Preston.. — The Hoghtons. — Complete political triumph of the Independents and other sectaries. — Attempt at friendly union between the Presbyte- rians and Independents. — Mr. Newcome, of Manchester. — Political movements of the Presbyterians. — Sir George Booth's rising. — Increased estrangement between the Presbyterians and Independents. — Mr. Heywood taken by a party of Col. Lilburn's troop. — His bitter reflections on the political and ecclesiastical state of the times. — Spirit in which he looked to the king's restoration. — Other ministers the same 93 Chap. VII. Disappointment of the Presbyterians. — Policy of the Court. — Return of the royalist clergy. — Many Puritan ministers allowed to retain their cures. — Proclamation against conventicles. — Affects Mr. Heywood. — Prohibited from baj)- tizing. — Refuses to use the Common Prayer. — His enemies in CONTENTS. XV Page his chapelry. — Citations to York. — Dr. Wittie. — Lady Wat- son. — His reflections on cathedral services. — Unsettled state of ecclesiastical affairs. — Settlement by the Act of Uniformity. — Chief provisions of the Act. — Difficulties of the Puritan ministr}^ in complying with the terms of ministerial con- formity. — The tvv^o thousand " Bartholomean worthies." — Private and family circumstances at the time. — The eldest brother. — Mr. Hey wood ceases to be the public minister at Coley 122 THIRD PERIOD — CONTINUING HIS MINISTRY IN OPPOSITION TO THE LAW, OR BY TEMPORARY INDULGENCES. 1662—1689. Chap. VIII. The Ejected Ministers resolve to continue in the exercise of their ministry. — Supported by many of the laity. — Mr. Heywood's successors at Coley. — He is excommuni- cated. — Effects. — Excommunicated in the diocese of Chester also. — Preaches in his own and other private houses. — Con- venticle at Captain Hodgson's broken uji. — His house search- ed. — Other alarms. — The Farnley-wood Plot. — Goes from home to preach in distant places. — Mr. Swift's case at Peni- ston. — Another excommunication. — The Parliament and the King concur in treating the Non-Conformists with severity. — Remarkable account of the singing of birds in the night while they are at worship. — Preaches at Peniston, Mottram, Denton. — Mr. Holland's purposed marriage sermon. — The Conventicle Act. — The twenty-fourth of August ob.served as a fast- day. — Question of Non- Conformists attending the churches. — Bramhope ; Mr. Dyneley. — Chapels founded in the Commonwealth times. — Visits London, Lancashire, Leeds. — Many arrests of Non-Conformists. — Case of possession. — Various fasts 143 Chap. IX. The Oxford or Five Mile Act.— The Non-Con- formist ministers supporters of the liberties of England. — Mr. Heywood leaves his home in consequence of it. — Travels in Cheshire and Lancashire. — Returns home, which is now Coley-hall. — The Act very negligently executed. — He preaches as usual, only more frequently from home. — His preaching tours in Yorkshire, Cheshire and Lancashire. — His introduc- tion to the Puritan gentry in South Yorkshire. — Dr. Hitch. — Conventicle at Birch-hall. — The bi'inging in May. — His second marriage with Mrs. Abigail Crompton 170 Chap. X. Reasons for the penal laws being not enforced with more severity. — Disposition towards Non-Conformists of three northern lieutenants, the Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of XVI CONTENTS. Page Derby, and the Earl of Devonshire. — Anecdotes. — Change of the ministry. — Attempt at a comprehension of the Presbyte- rians and a toleration of the Independents. — Fails. — Things remain as they were, and Mr. Hcywood pursues the same course. — State of society at Bingley. — Various journeys of Mr. Heywood. — Deaths of several Non-Conforming ministers. — Publishes his Heart-Treasure. — Appears again in his old chapel at Coley. — Lady Hoyle. — Other journeys. — Publishes his Closet-Prayer. — The tvv^o Roots. — Publishes his Sure Mer- cies of David. — Mr. Heyvi'ood imprisoned at Leeds. — Dis- traint upon his goods. — Purchases land. — The Huttons. — Gates'. — Death of Mrs. Horton. — Witchcraft. — Summary of Mr. Heywood's labours 19.5 Chap. XL Sudden change in the policj'^ of the country re- specting the Non-Conformists. — The King's Declaration for Indulgence. — Difficulties in accepting the liberty. — Mode of procedure. — Address from the Lancashire ministers. — Decla- ration of a portion of the Yorkshire ministers. — Form of ap- plication for licenses. — Mr. Heywood's license. — His removal to his own house at Northowram. — Fits up the largest room as a place for worship. — Forms his congregation in church order. — Mutual pledge and declaration. — Union with him of many Independents. — Foundation of the congregation at Warley. — His travels during this summer, and the rise of licensed meeting-houses in various places. — Foundation of an academy for the education of Non- Conforming ministers. — Revival of Presbyterian ordination 222 Chap. XII. Mr. Heywood interrupted at Lassel-hall. — Christ- mas festivities at Woodsome. — Proceedings in Parliament respecting the King's Declaration. — The Test Act. — Feeling of Non-Conformists towards the Roman Catholics. — Success of Mr. Heywood's labours. — The Bay leys. — Devotes his sons to the Non -Conforming ministry, and sends them to Mr. Hickman's. — Interesting domestic service before their de- parture. — Mr. Horton builds a chapel at Sowerby. — Opi3o- sition of Dr. Hooke. — Violent dissensions in the parish, — The Duke of Buckingham at Halifax. — Duel of Mr. Jennings and Mr. Aislabie. — Non-Conformity at York ; Leeds ; Wake- field. — Interruption. — Deaths of several ministers. — His sons go to Mr. Frankland's. — Marriage of his servant, Martha Bairstow 246 Chap. XIII. The licenses withdrawn. — Mr. Heywood con- tinues to preach as usual. — Succeeds to some family property. — Deaths of Mr. Cotton ; Mr. Bentley ; Mr. Bayley. — Burial ground at Morley. — Wish of the people for his retui'n to the public chajjcl at Coley. — Mr. Kirby. — His sons go to finish their studies at Edinburgh. — Deaths of his father, sister. CONTENTS. XVll Page father-in-law and brother, in one year. — Notice of Mr. Na- thaniel Hey wood. — Further itinerant labours. — Rise of the Baptist congregations around Mr. Heywood. — Death of Sir John Armitage. — Commencement of a regular system of or- dination in the West Riding of Yorkshire. — Minute account of the first of these services. — Further preaching tours. — Receives a visit from Lord Rutherford. — Connexion between the Scotch and English Presbyterians. — The Lamberts. — Death of Mr. Horton. — Mr. Heywood taken before Mr. En- twisle for preaching at Shaw-chapel. — Mr. Eliezer Heywood becomes chaplain to Mr. Taylor of Walling- wells. — Difference between Mr. Hancock and Mr. Bloom. — Differences in Mr. Whitehurst's congregation. — Publishes his Life in God's Favour. — Excommunicated again. — Various ordinations. — Mr. Timothy JoUie. — Mr. Noble.— Mr. John Heywood. — The drought of 1681.— Death of Mr. Marsden 266 Chap. XIV. Supposed effects of the King's Indulgence. — Efforts to prevent the establishment of the Dissenting inter- est. — Renewal of severities. — Directed against the younger ministers. — Dr. Hooke. — Visit to the academy. — Frequent alarms. — State of Non- Conformity in Yorkshire. — Visits London. — Publishes his Israel's Lamentation. — Extracts. — Settlement of Mr. Ellison as curate of Coley. — Visits York ; the Hewleys. — Reflections at the close of 1683. — Further alarms. — Visits Mansfield and Norton. — Funeral sermon for Mr. Cotes. — Apprehended. — Reflections at the close of 1684. — Convicted at the sessions at Wakefield. — In the castle at York from January to December 1685. — Death of the King. — Release. — Returns home. — Compounds for his fine. — Visits various friends 30S Chap. XV. The conduct of the Presbyterian ministers in the preceding struggle not so much one of principle as of feeling. — General view of the objects of the struggle. — Close of it. — King James' Declaration of Liberty of Conscience. — Another acknowledgment of the dispensing power. — Opposition of the Church. — Mr. Heywood's reflections at the close of the year 1687. — Measures pursued under the liberty granted by King James' Declaration ; three ordinations ; foundation of the chapel at Northowram ; of the school there. — Publishes his Baptistnal Bonds. — The Revolution. — The Toleration Act. — The Principle of Toleration. — Proceedings under it of the Non-Conformists. — Another ordination. — Mr. Carrington , . 338 XVin CONTENTS. FOURTH AND LAST PERIOD WHILE MINISTER AT NORTH- OWRAM UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE ACT OF TOLE- RATION, TO HIS DEATH. 1689—1702. Page Chap. XVI. Mr. Heywood's personal state at the time when the Act of Toleration gave relief. — The affair of the Surey Demoniac. — Ordination of Mr. Kirshaw and Indejiendent objections. — Attempt at a general union of the Presbyterians and Independents. — Heads of Agreement determined on by the ministers in London. — Meeting at Wakefield of the West Hiding ministers, at which they are assented to. — Meetings of ministers. Mr. Smith's proposition. — Ordination of Dr. Colton of York ; and of others. — Several publications of Mr. Heywood's. — Lord Wharton 366 Chap. XVII. Diary resumed. — Publishes The New Creature. — Symptoms of declining orthodoxy in the Non- Conformist body. — Thomas Bradbury. — Opening of the chapel at Lidget. — Private conference of ministers. — Chapels founded at Pon- tefract ; York ; Warley ; Bingley ; Rotherham ; Pudsey. — Writes notices of Non- Conforming ministers. — His last visit to Lancashire, and proceedings of the Non- Conformists there. — Invited to Manchester; Halifax. — Nathaniel Priestley. — Ordination of Mr. Cotton. — Invited to London. — His affairs in respect of income, etc. — Writes a preface to Mr. Frank- land's treatise against a Socinian. — Ralph Thoresbj' conforms to the Church. — Ordination of Mr. Blamire. — Opening of the chapel at Wakefield. — Death of Mr. Frankland. — Cor- respondence on the history and affairs of Non-Conformity. — Singular incident at Manchester. — Various publications. — Mr. Sharp. — Mr. Sylvester. — Another ordination. — Mr. Mat- thew Smith's heterodoxy. — Marriage of Eliezer Heywood. — Disputes in the Craven congregation. — Decline of Mr. Hey- wood's health. — Death. — Funeral. — Will. — Portrait. — House. — Chapel. — Ministers at Northowram after him. — Ejected ministers surviving him. — His sons and their descendants. — Descendants of his brother Nathaniel. — Testimonies to his character 383 SUBSEQUENT FORTUNES OF THE PRESBYTERIAN DISSENTERS. Chap. XVIII. Numbers of the Non-Conformists. — Yorkshire congregations. — Presbyterian Dissenters not a sect nor a church. — Erection of their chapels. — Trustees. — Mode of CONTENTS. XIX conducting service. — Want of recognized rules. — Election of ministers. — Means of support. — Eminent benefactors : Lady Hewley ; the Hollises ; Dr. Daniel Williams. — Academies. — Learning of the early ministers. — Ordinations. — Meetings of ministers. — The London ministers. — Absence of a creed. — Principle of free inquiry'. — State of the religious world at the beginning of Dissent. — Disregard of the requirement of subscription by the Act of Toleration. — Their want of union a main cause of their subsequent decline. — Other causes. — Changes consequent on the assertion of the right of private judgment. — Introduction of Arianism. — Socinianism. — Mr. Lindsey. — Dr. Priestley. — Returns to the Church. — Great effect of Methodism. — Extinction of many of the Yorkshire congregations. — The Presbyterians still an important element in English society 411 CORRIGENDA. 26, last line, i?i the quotation from Heylyn imert the wonl most before exquisite. 38, line \\,for then read thus. 40, Une 26, /or school read schools. 60, line 2%, for enlighted read enhghteiied. 86, line 3, /or Langley read Langdale. 91, line \,for Mr. read Mrs. 130, line &,for Sales read Sale. 190, note, line 12,/or 1837 read 1838. 223, line 17, insei-t the before persons. 225, line \\,for could read would. 297, line ^,for Dissenters read dissenters. 411, line \\,for Uniformity r^arf Toleration. THE LIFE OLIVER HEYWOOD. CHAPTER I. DESCENT OF MR. HEYWOOD. HEYWOODS OF HEYWOOD. BOLTON AN EARLY SEAT OF RELIGION. LABOURS OF BRADFORD AND MARSH. FATHERS OF PROTESTANTISM AND PURITANISM IN SOUTH LAN- CASHIRE. EFFORTS MADE IN FURTHERANCE OF PROTESTANTISM. THE MANCHESTER LECTURE OR EXERCISE. EFFECTS. JOHN AND THE ELDER OLIVER HEYWOOD. CONVERSION OF THE LATTER. RISE OF DISAFFECTION TO THE PROTESTANT CHURCH OF ENGLAND. PURITANISM. POINTS OF OBJECTION; CEREMONIES; FORM; DOCTRINE. THE HEYWOODS PURITANS. CONFERENCE AT HAMP- TON COURT. DETERMINATION TO PUT DOWN PURITANISM. PER- SECUTION OF THE PURITAN MINISTERS. X HE ancestors of Mr. Hey wood, in whatever line they can be traced, were inhabitants of the parish of Bolton - en-le-Moors in Lancashire. They were small free- holders, cultivating their own lands, and generally en- gaged in the manufactures for which those parts of the country were then in repute. His father, grandfather, and great grandfather, of all of whom he has left some account, were settled in that part of the parish of Bolton where it approaches the confines of the neighbouring B 2 THE LIFE OF parish of Manchester. Little Lever, the village in which his father resided, and w^here he himself was born, had easy communication with both Manchester and Bolton, as it lay upon the high road between those towns. There also lived his grandfather ; but the remoter an- cestor was an inhabitant of the neighbouring dell called the Water-side, which, although now full of mills and cottages, was in those days a secluded and romantic place. A small table will present more clearly to the mind of the reader the several ancestors of Mr. Heywood than any narrative : — John Heywood, of Heywood Mill, ^ — Seddon, Waterside. Born about 1530. of Prestolee. I \ Oliver Heywood, of Little Lever. =f: Alice Hulton, sister of Died in 1628, aged about 72. I Adam Hulton, of Brightmet. Alice Critchlaw, of Long- ^ Richard Heywood, =: Margaret Brereton, worth, first wife, sister of William, Francis, Hugh, and Ralph. of Little Lever. second wife. Died Died 1677, aged 81. in 1697. I 1 1 1 John, OLIVER, Nathaniel, Josiah. born 1630. Not many miles from Little Lever, to the east, is the township of Heywood, on which was seated a family who derived from it their surname, from the earliest times to which we can usually ascend in genealogical investiga- tions. The original charter still exists, by which Adam de Burgo, the chief lord of the fee in which Heywood was comprehended, gave the lands to one Peter, and is remarkable for the curious specification of the boun- daries. It has for witnesses the principal gentry in those parts of Lancashire : — Geifery de Cheteham, Alex- ander de Pilkington, Thomas de Prestwich, Geffery de Radcliffe, William de Radcliffe, and others, and cannot be referred to a period later than the first fifteen years of the reign of King Edward the First. This Peter is called de Heywood, and from him sprung a numerous family bearing that surname, who continued on the OLIVER HEYWOOD. O lands of Heywood, till, in the latter part of the seven- teenth century, they were induced by the Earls of Derby to remove to the Isle of Man. In that island they filled the highest offices of trust and importance belonging to that singular political community, being Deemsters, Speakers of the House of Keys, and one of them At- torney-General, when they sold their ancient inherit- ance in Lancashire. The Hey woods of Maristowe in Devonshire were a younger branch of this family ; and there is some reason to believe that the Heywoods of Little Lever descended from a younger son, though the particular point at which they were connected cannot now be determined. It happens, in this case, as in many others, that a very little inquiry at the proper time, and a very little pains in committing to writing the results of such an inquiry, would save a world of fruitless pains and expense, when once a curiosity arises respecting such trifles as these. The Heywoods of Heywood had never, in the best of times, either the talent, the influence, or the wealth which it has been the fortune of the descendants of John Heywood of the Waterside to possess ; but they had more of the grace of ancestry. Their pedigree is remarkably authentic, having been deduced in the first instance from the family evidences by Dodsworth, the Charter Antiquary of the seventeenth century*, and sub- sequently registered by the heralds on their visitation. Mr. Heyw^ood speaks on this point with equal mo- desty and piety : — " 'Tis possible we might spring from * His notes still remain among his manuscripts at the Bodleian, vol. Ixxix. f. 59, and vol. cx\-ii. f. 35. The arms borne by the Heywoods of He5^wood were three torteaux between two red bend- lets on a silver field, and were evidently formed, like those of Byron, on the figure borne by the early lords of Manchester. The old writer of epigrams, John Heywood, in the reign of Elizabeth, thus Latinizes the name — Fceni Sylva ; but this is inadmissible. Hey- wood is the wood abounding in streams of water, or bounded by them, as Heywood is on one side by the river Roch ; or the wood inclosed by a paling ; but probably the former, the earliest ortho- graphy of the word being Ey wood. b2 4 THE LIFE OF some younger brother of the house of Heywood of Heywoof], an ancient esquire's seat betwixt Rochdale and Bury ; for old Mr. Robert Heywood whom I knew, a pious reverend old gentleman and an excellent poet, was M^ont to call my father Cousin. But kinship grows out in process of time ; and 'tis not much ma- terial what family we are of, so that we be of the house- hold of faith, and have God for our Father, Christ for our elder Brother, and the Spirit of Grace running in our best veins, and acting us for God." It is said of the parish of Bolton by the writer of the ' Lives of the Ejected and Silenced Ministers in 1662,' that it was " an ancient and famous seat of re- ligion : " and Mr. Heywood speaks of it as having been " long famous for glorious professors of the Gospel, and powerful preachers." In the very dawn of the Reforma- tion, in the reign of King Edward the Sixth, these parts of the county were the principal field of the labours of the two eminent preachers, Bradford and Marsh, who, having distinguished themselves by their zeal in promoting the principles of the Reformation, were put to the cruel death of burning in the succeed- ing reign. Letters are extant which were written by them to members of their families or to their converts in these parts, full of affectionate entreaty to constancy in the profession which they had made, and breathing, on their own part, the spirit of the most heroic self- devotion*. These letters show us what their preaching * See Certain most godly, fruitful, and comfortable Letters of such true Saints and holy Martyrs of God as in the late bloody persecution here within this realm gave their lives for the Defence of Christ's Holy Gospel, 4to, 1564, probably collected and published by Cover- dale. It contains several letters of the two Lancashire martjTS, addressed to their relations and friends at Manchester and in the neighbourhood. Bradford's letters are now the more interesting on account of their greater particularity. He mentions Bolton and other towTis around Manchester as places at which he had preached ; and he even names particular persons in those parts who had been converted by his preaching, beside his mother, sisters, and brother- in-law, who resided at Manchester, which was his birth-place. The OLIVER HEYVVOOD. t> must have been ; and there can be no doubt that the effects of their labours would live long after them, that the places in which they had preached would long retain a tincture of the piety first infused by them, and that to them may be traced, as its origin, that devotional spirit which has always prevailed in the parts of the country of which we are speaking. The friends of the Reformation made use of every means to keep up in these places a spirit of earnest piety. The Reformation in South Lancashire was not, as in many other parts of the kingdom, a quiet acqui- escence in whatever form of religion the political au- thorities of the time enforced upon the people. There was an active opposition on the part of the superior gentry, many of whom remained, as their descendants names are these : — John Travis, Thomas Sorocold. Laurence and James Bradshaw, R. Shalcross and his wife, R. Bolton, and S. Wilde. I have taken some pains to identify these fathers of Protestantism and Puritanism, but with little success. R. Bolton is no doubt Robert Bolton of Little Bolton, an esquire and man of substance, who in his will, made in 1560, gives a copy of the Paraphrases of Erasmus upon the Gospels to his cousin, Roger Lever. We do not find in him, however, the austerities which frequently accompanied a strict religious profession in those times, as he speaks of much gay apparel belonging to him, and bequeaths to one of his neighbours his pack of hounds. About the same time, Wilham Bruck, of Little Bolton, who calls this Robert Bolton his master, leaves in his will twenty shillings to be expended in books for the church of Bolton. Thomas Sorocold lived in Salford, and in 1556 was executor to the will of his kinsman, Gilbert Sorocold, of the same place, who names for overseers Sir William Radcliffe, Knight, and Alexander Rad- cliffe. Esquire. The Sorocolds were of ancient descent and good alliance in these parts, having married with the families of Strange- ways, Molineux, and Prestwich. Richard Shalcross was living at Manchester in the fourth year of Edward the Sixth, when he was assessed to the subsidy granted in that year on goods of the annual value of 12Z. ; the highest assessment in that towni being on goods of 251. annual value. At this sum Edward Janney was assessed, who held jointly with Richard Shalcross a tavern at the Smithy Door in Manchester. Janney was a considerable merchant iu Man- chester, and it appears by his will that he founded a school at Bow- den, where he had the advovvson of the church. b THE LIFE OF now do, stedfast to the form in which Christianity had heen for so many centuries professed among us. The reformed party, on the other l:iand, were a zealous and earnest body of men, and resorted in crowds to the Rehgious Exercise as it was called, or Lecture, which, in the reign of Elizabeth, was set up in the great church at Manchester. This Lecture was held on the second Thursday in each succeeding month, and all the clergy, and all the readers and schoolmasters in the neighbour- ing churches and chapels, were required to attend, while eloquent preachers pointed out the errors of Popery, and exhorted the people to an earnest examination of Scripture, and a strict and holy life*. These lectures, which were set up in other places also, were among the most efficient means which were emjloyed to extend and strengthen the principles of the Reformation. The Lecture at Manchester was established by the Bishop of Chester, in whose diocese these parts of the kingdom are, at the particular suggestion of the Earl of Huntingdon, the zealous Lord President of the North. The bishop, a very earnest reformer, was at the same time Warden of Manchester, and an occasional resident in the town. But there was connected with them a novel system of clerical discipline, the effect of which would be to rouse to greater exertion the parochial *• The preaching of Bourn, one of the Fellows of the Church of Manchester, as described by Hollingworth, the old annalist of Man- chester, may probably be taken as a specimen of the topics of the discourses delivered on these occasions : — " He seldom varied the method of his preaching, which, after explication of his text, was doctrine-proof of it by Scripture ; by reason answering one or more objections : and then the uses ; first, of information ; secondly, of confutation of Popery in this or in that ; thirdly, of reprehension ; fourthly, of examination ; fifthly, of exhortation ; and lastly, of con- solation." See History of the Collegiate Church of Manchester, by Samuel Hibbert, M.D., 4to, 1828, p. 120.— Bruen of Bruen- Staple- ford, whose Life by Hinde is a curious picture of the manner of life of a religious person of the times immediately ensuing on the Reformation, was accustomed to resort to the Lecture at Man- chester. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 7 ministers who were settled in the churches and chapels around. A body of persons called Moderators was established, who, on the afternoon of the day on which the Lecture was preached, conferred with the country ministers, examined, instructed, directed, and, if need were, censured them*. Thus the system had a two- fold operation, first by the preaching itself, on the minds of the laity who flocked to the church from all parts ; and by the discipline, on the minds of the labouring clergy, each of whom was the centre of religious in- fluences in the places in which they were stationed. There was also, in the reign of Elizabeth, a body of itinerant lecturers established in Lancashire, consisting of four ministers, whose duty it was to travel about, and preach wherever opportunity was afl^orded them. By these means the tone of religious feeling and action was kept at a higher pitch in the country around Manchester than in most other parts of the kingdom. The first known ancestor of Mr. Heywood lived in the days of Bradford and Marsh, but his descendant has left us no account of what was his religious course. There is reason to think that his ancestors, the Critch- laws and Hultons, took impression from the labours of the preachers of the Reformation sooner than the Hey- woods. Of his grandfather, he had heard that for sixty years of his life he was of good reputation, but not religious. In the phrase of the time he was ' carnal,' a term which his own grandson applies to him, and he notices the following proof of it : — he did not scruple to spend the afternoon of the Sabbath-day in shooting at the butts on Lomas Moss, then a piece of uninclosed ground not far from Little Lever. His wife was of a more serious turnf ; she attended the zealous ministry * History of the Collegiate Church of Manchester, p. 100. t The Hultons were a family of great worth and piety. One of them, a nephew of Mrs, Heywood, acquired great wealth as a mer- chant in London, with part of which he endowed a Lecture at Bolton. He was the intimate friend of Ashhurst, another merchant 8 TIIK LIFE OF of Mr. Hubbert at the chapel in Ainsworth, about a mile from her residence. Mr. Hubbert, at her request, took some pains to persuade her husband to leave oif his Sunday practice, and to spend the afternoons with his family, in reading the Scriptures and praying with them. His efforts were, however, fruitless ; and it was at last by one of those fortuitous occurrences — which, to the religious mind, easily put on the appearance of being special interferences of the Power by which the circumstances of our probation are appointed — that a change was produced in him. He was attending the fair at Bury. Mr. Paget, then the minister of the chapel at Blackley, was preaching in the church. In an idle mood he entered the church. The word preached came home upon his heart. He was from that time, says his grandson, " an eminent Christian, full of prayer and holy meditation," and continued till his death an at- tendant on the ministry of Mr. Paget, who told Mr. Heywood many years afterwards, " how gracious, and zealous, and industrious his grandfather had been, after God set his face heavenward." Such was the first in- troduction into this family of that deep feeling of religion which soon became its marked and very striking cha- racteristic. Of the next generation, the parents of Mr. Heywood, we have much fuller information from his pen ; but as they belonged to the Puritan party in the English Church, and educated their son in all the prejudices and principles of that party, it is proper that, before we proceed, some account should be given of the rise of Puritanism, and of the principal characteristics by which it was distinguished. It was required for the purposes of the Reformers that they should endeavour to loosen men's minds from that respect for ecclesiastical authority which must have pre- in London, of a Lancashire family, distinguished by his success in commerce, and the pious and benevolent use which he made of his great wealth. OLIVER HKYWOOD. 9 vailed to a great extent, when there had been so many centuries of unquestioning submission ; and perhaps they did not perceive, that while they sought to dimi- nish the respect for the authority of the Church, they were at the same time enfeebling respect for spiritual authority in general. It was difficult for them to teach that their disciples should repudiate the authority of the General Church, in which at least most of the Christian nations were still comprehended, and at the same time teach that obedience was due to the authorities in the English Reformed Church, Again, they taught the people to look to the Scriptures, and to receive nothing but what was taught therein, as in their opinion one of the best means of removing those corruptions of the pure Chris- tian doctrine which it had suffered in the times when the supremacy of the Church of Rome was advancing to its completion : but they did not perceive, that by thus ap- pealing to the Scriptures, they were opening the door to endless diversity of opinion ; it being now established by the experience of centuries, that men will be led to very different conclusions, who, relying on their own powers, in faithfulness and sincerity endeavour to collect for themselves from that book what is the pure and sim- ple and permanent truth which our Saviour and his Apostles intended to communicate, and in what way a visible profession of it shall be made. I do not speak of the uncultivated or the less cultivated mind ; but those persons who appear in every respect to be the best fitted for the work must necessarily find diffi- culties which they cannot overcome, and will be led to desire aid ab extra in these investigations, if it can be obtained. While, therefore, the fathers of the Reformation were using every means to detach the people from reverence for the Church to which their ancestors had belonged, and inviting them to " search the Scriptures." and to bring every doctrine and religious practice to the test of 10 THE LIFE OF its conformity with Scripture, they were preparing the way for diflPerences and dissensions in their own body, for strife and the perpetual struggle of party. In point of fact, these differences did speedily mani- fest themselves ; and before the close of the reign of Elizabeth there had grown up in the Reformed Church a very numerous and powerful party, who were greatly dissatisfied with the constitution of the Church as it was settled in the reign of King Edward the Sixth, and restored by Queen Elizabeth. They were powerful from their numbers, but still more from their zeal, their sin- cerity of purpose, their holy and virtuous lives ; they were in fact, for the most part, the persons who had been wrought upon by such preachers as Bradford, and the children of those persons ; sincere, zealous believers in the importance and value of that spiritual freedom which they believed themselves to have attained, and that purer system of faith and worship which had taken place of the superstition that had passed away, in con- tradistinction to those who at heart were indifferent to the subject, or willing to follow wherever the temporal authorities of the time directed. I would not say that all the virtue, or that all the re- ligion of that period was with the Puritans ; but it can hardly be doubted that both religion and virtue were of a higher tone with them than with the acquiescent party. I speak now of the Original Puritans, and not of those of a later period, when they became corrupted by enter- ing into the contentions of political life, and becoming candidates for political power. Neither do I mean to say that there may not be genuine piety and high-minded conduct without that severity of life which they deemed it their duty to practise, without those endless religious exercises in which they were engaged, without that con- tempt of the elegant ornaments and the healthful re- freshments of life, and without those judaical notions which led them to deem gathering a flower on the Sab- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 11 bath a serious moral offence*; or that men may not live more usefully and more acceptably in a milder system of practice. Nor can it perhaps be denied that they " walked not charitably," in laying so great a stress on points in which they differed from their neighbours. Where men must act in concert, it is manifest that something of individual opinion must be given up, out of regard to the feelings and wishes of others ; and there may be quite as much intolerance in a singularity of practice as in the attempts to enforce uniformity, and quite as much superstition in rejecting as in adopting a ceremony. It is, however, one of the most difficult problems in morals to draw the line which shall separate things which may be lawfully given up out of deference to others or of re- gard to the maintenance of religious union and order, and those which a conscientious man must retain at all events, and embody in his practice ; nor is it less dif- ficult to ascertain the amount of knowledge and strength of conviction required to make a peculiarity in religious practice a duty. But surely the peace and unity of the newly-formed Church needed not to have been disturbed about the shape or colour of a robe ; the ring in mar- riage, a custom which had descended from a very re- mote antiquity ; the sponsors in baptism, which are at least another link of piety, of which we have far too few, in the frame of the social state ; the cross in bap- tism, the turning to the east, the bowing at the name of Jesus, the kneeling at the Eucharist, which are innocent, respectful, and picturesque customs, and are moreover descended to us from primitive antiquity. The obser- vance of ecclesiastical times and commemorations keeps alive attention to spiritual affairs, and the memory of the just who are gone. The bestowing peculiar sanctity * It is related of Wilson, the Puritan Reformer of Maidstone, a member of the Assembly of Divines, that he brought the parish to that state, that " not a rose or a flower was suffered to be gathered on the Lord's Day." — See his Life, 12mo, 1672, p. 41. 12 THE LIFE OF on places set apart for Christian worship seems favour- able to Christian influences ; and little is gained by dis- connecting the exercises of religion from all that is most pleasing to the eye or most agreeable to the ear. It was at least a pity that the harmony of the Church should have ever been disturbed by scruples about things such as these. The defence of the Puritans in their conduct with respect of these, the chief ceremonies to which they ob- jected, is founded in the duty of resisting that which is imposed because it is imposed, and the want of Scrip- ture authority for such practices. But there must surely be a power of regulation somewhere ; if that is not the case, all must soon be confusion and disorder. Place the authority wherever it may — in the common consent and practice of the Church from the beginning, in the councils, in the bishops and clergy of the English Church, or in them, jointly with King, Lords, and Commons, by which the will of the English nation is gathered, the same objection would apply, so that there could be no union, no order whatever, in a case in which union and order are pre-eminently desirable, and no authority to which to appeal when contests arose. That they w^ere deficient of Scripture authority, and as the Puritan phrase was, and continued long after the word Puritan ceased to designate any particular body of persons, but ' relics of Popery,' may be true, but it does not follow that everything in Popery is evil ; and there are many things in every mode of Christian profession, even that which is most simple, for which express Scripture war- rant cannot be produced. The objection to particular officers who are found iu the constitution of the Church, as it was settled at the Reformation, such as deans and archdeacons, chancel- lors and treasurers, that neither the words nor the offices are found in the New Testament, seems founded in the same mistake of expecting to find everything in Scripture. Common sense must show to every one, OLIVER HEYWOOD. 13 that if there are buildings appropriated to the purposes of religion, there must be persons who have the charge of them ; if a watchful eye is to be kept on the conduct of the inferior clergy, if any ecclesiastical discipline is to be maintained, this must be done by some person ; and if there are revenues, there must be those to collect and distribute them. There were, however, two objections taken by the Puritans to the frame and order of the Church of a far weightier character. The one was the establishment of a Liturgy. A settled form of prayer, however excellent it may be, can never fully satisfy minds under the influence of very strong religious feeling ; and by the Puritans it was regarded as a " quenching of the Spirit" in ministers when engaged in their public duty, with whose outpourings in private they were so often edified and delighted. The other was the constitution of the English Church, as being in the episcopal order. Other Reformed Churches were without the order of bishop, and placed the su- preme authority in the Church, and the right of ordina- tion to the office of minister in assemblies of presbyters. This was the case at Geneva and in Scotland. The Puritans in general would have had it so here ; and they were the more eager in the assertion of this prin- ciple, when they found the bishops the active agents in the persecution to which they were exposed, their mini- sters silenced, suspended, and degraded by episcopal authority, and many of them driven into exile. This hardened the hearts of the Puritans against the order and office of bishop. One of the terms by which they were designated arose out of this leading principle and object, the term Presbyterian. Another term by which the party of whom I am speaking were often called was Precisians : this was nearly allied to the term Puritan. It arose out of a certain preciseness of conduct, the result of their high conscientiousness and their solemn fears. 14 THE LIFE OF It does not appear that the Puritans differed widely from the other memhers of the Church in respect of points of doctrine. As a hrief description of the differ- ence that might exist, it may be said that the leaning of the Puritans was to the Calvinian system, the leaning of the other party to what are called Arminian and Arian opinions. The Articles seem to have been framed to comprehend men whose opinions greatly differed in re- spect of Christian truth. Anything like the free-thinking and scepticism of Christianity, which in later times have more or less prevailed in England, can hardly be traced to a period before the time of Falkland and Chilling- worth. The free-thinking before that time was for the most part mere profanity. Less than this could not be said on the two great parties into which the Church of England became di- vided before the close of the reign of Elizabeth. During that reign, and in the reigns of James the First and Charles the First, the whole weight of temporal power was given to those, who, satisfied with the Church as it was established in the reign of Edward the Sixth, sought no further reforms, but in quietness and peace to grow in holiness and meetness for heaven under its sacred in- fluences ; the more enlightened members of it regarding it a part of the Primitive or Catholic Church, which had recovered its pristine simplicity by the removal of the accretions of later centuries : the tendency there was to indifference and formality. The Puritan or move- ment party was strong in zeal, sincerity, earnestness, virtue, and piety ; like the martyrs of the Reformation, they would have given their bodies to be burned : the tendency there was to fanaticism and uncharitableness. The family of Mr. Heywood, including all his con- nexions both on his father's and his mother's side, be- longed to the Puritan section of the English Church, and few persons drank more deeply of the spirit of Puritanism than did Richard and Alice Heywood, his ffither and mother. It prevailed, indeed, all over these OLIVER HEYWOOD. 15 parts of Lancashire, so that there was scarcely a middle party between the Puritans or extreme Protestants and the Papists, of whom there were great numbers. At Man- chester, in particular, there were some of the most vio- lent and prejudiced Puritans ; and while Papists were being imprisoned in that town for their adherence to the old profession, a Puritan printing-press was at work, from which issvied some of those bitter, slanderous, and outrageous writings which form the body of tracts known by the name of the Marprelate Tracts*. On the accession of James the First the Puritans ex- pected that some concessions would be made to them, and that a rigid conformity to all the ceremonies would no longer be required from the ministers. The king showed a disposition to attend to their desires ; he sat in person while the heads of the two parties debated before him : this was done at Hampton Court. Ac- cording to the report which is given of this contro- versy, the advantage was not on the side of the Puri- tans. They disputed, however, at a disadvantage, for the king appears not to have been a perfectly impartial umpire, but to have interfered occasionally in a manner to awe and confound the Puritans' advocates. In the issue the king declared his opinion, that the Puritan ob- jections were merely frivolous, and that he was deter- mined to maintain the Church as he found it, and to enforce conformity. The case of one of the Lancashire ministers, a very zealous Puritan, was in this conference brought especially before the king. It was that of Mr. Midgely, the vicar of Rochdale, a man of unquestionable piety and great usefulness in that large parish. He objected to some of the ceremonies, particularly to the mode of administer- ing the Lord's Supper, and was accustomed to carry the bread about the church in a basket. The king was be- sought to allow this to be passed over, and to grant the * Fuller's Church History, book ix. p. 195 ; but a larger account is given by Strype. 16 THE LIFE OF same indulgence to some other Lancashire ministers. But he was inexorable ; and the Bishop of Chester was directed to proceed against Mr. Midgely and other ministers who were not conformable. Mr. Midgely, who was one of the moderators, was deprived, and, according to Mr. Hey wood, degraded from the ministry*. The persecution, so it may be called, of the Puritans was henceforth not less severe than it had been in the reign of Elizabeth, and in particular the Bishops of Chester were thenceforth engaged in a perpetual struggle with the refractory ministers. Paget was silenced at Blackley, Broxholme at Denton, and Rathband at the chapel in Ainsworth. Other zealous ministers were silenced in other places around. Some were fined, others imprisoned. Paget fled to Holland. Several Lancashire ministers sought peace and freedom in New England. It was while this contest was at its height that Mr. Hey wood was born. * There were two Midgelys at Rochdale, father and son, and it is not easy to say what belongs to each of them. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 17 CHAPTER II. QUESTIONABLE POLICY OF THE COURT IN RESPECT OF THE PURITANS. EXASPERATORY MEASURES. VIOLATION DONE TO THE SABBATI- CAL PRINCIPLE ; TO THE CALVINIAN PREDILECTIONS ; TO THE CLAIM OF SIMPLICITY OF WORSHIP. SEVERITIES. MR. HEYVi^OOD's FATHER. HIS MOTHER. REMARKABLE CIRCUMSTANCE IN HER EARLY RELIGIOUS HISTORY. PROSPERITY OF THE FAMILY. — CHA- RACTER OF THE MOTHER. ICONOCLASM. BAPTISM OF MR. HEY- WOOD. CHARACTER OF HIMSELF WHEN YOUNG. HIS RELIGIOUS EDUCATION UNDER HIS MOTHER. FREQUENT RELIGIOUS EXERCISES IN HIS father's house. INTENSITY OF THE DEVOTIONS. THE CRITCHLAWS. AURORA BOREALIS. THE CIVIL WARS. STORMING OF BOLTON. DEATH OF WILLIAM CRITCHLAW. THE FATHER VI- SITS HOLLAND. The account which Fuller has given of the conference at Hampton Court is in the hest manner of that very- sensible and agreeable writer, and has every appearance of authenticity and truth. The king, whenever he in- terposes, makes very shrewd and pertinent remarks ; and in those days, when men had not learned the slow- coming truth, that there is a toleration and a variety in christian practice quite consistent with the existence of as much ecclesiastical order as is absolutely neces- sary, it would have been no easy matter to reply to the answer which he gave to the application for indul- gence to the Puritan ministers, on the ground that if then compelled to conformity they would lose their credit in the country: — "You show yourself an un- charitable man : we have here taken pains, and m the c 18 THE LIFE OF end have concluded on unity and uniformity ; and you, forsooth, must prefer the credits of a few private men before the peace of the church. This is just the Scotch argument when anything was concluded which disliked some humours. Let them either conform themselves shortly or they shall hear of it*." But with all his sense and shrewdness he wanted the higher reach which could comprehend the depth of religious feeling in the minds of so many of his subjects, the height of the excitement which the Reformation had produced, the effect of the example of the martyrs of the Reformation ; or see in the determination thus expressed, the source of infinite misery to his family, and a principal cause of the final ruin of his royal house. No doubt concessions were required of antient rights of the crown which it could hardly be expected would be surrendered without an appeal to the sword ; but it was mainly the religious feeling which gave bitterness to the contest, and enabled the popular party to achieve the victory. The wisdom would have been to overlook the little peculiarities of particular ministers, not interfering with them if they did not conform to the order of the church in every minute circumstance, as long as their irregular- ities were innocuous and they acquitted themselves well in the higher duties of their office. If their peculiarities gave oifence to any of their parishioners who loved the ceremonies as ardently perhaps as the pastor disliked them, and an arbitrement was necessarily required from some authority which by law could decide between them, it would have been the wiser part to deal with the of- fending party as easily as possible, to act rather as the mediator than the judge. The probability is, that while the church held on as a body a steady and uniform course, the controversy about trifles such as these would have passed away, and in fifty years they would have been as little thought of as they are thought of now. * The Church History of Britain, Book ix. p. 7-21. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 19 And even the higher matters, the Sabbatical question, the Liturgical question, the Episcopal question, and the Calvinian question, — if where the authority lay there had been moderation and forbearance without any compro- mise of important principle, though in a community like that of Englishmen, who were well described by Poly- dore a century before as the most religious nation upon earth, and who possessed the freedom which the Re- formation rightly or wrongly understood was supposed to give to private opinion in matters of religion, there could never have been an entire agreement, — the aggra- vation which religious difference gave to the political struggle might have been avoided. It is, indeed, always the wisdom of the party in whom the power is vested to use it with extreme moderation, and to leave to the weaker party to vent itself in intem- perate language and ineffectual efforts. There certainly was no provocation wanting on the part of the Puritans. In fact, there was action and reaction, irritation and counter-irritation, in the whole contest of the reigns of James and Charles. But it seems to have been a great mistake in the policy of those who undertook the ad- ministration of ecclesiastical affairs, to introduce new and vexatious provisions, things directly opposed to the prejudices of the Puritans, and which could be regarded by them in no other light than as so much insult added to the injury they were receiving. King James, in the fifteenth year of his reign, passed through Lancashire, and having " observed that the precise ministers and magistrates there hindered the people from their Sun- day sports, by which occasion was given to the Papists to represent the reformed religion as opposed to all honest mirth and recreation," put forth a declaration that " his good people should no longer be disturbed in their amusements after divine service, such as dancing, archery, leaping, vaulting; nor from having may-games, Whitsun-ales, or morris-dances, and setting up of may- poles, so as the same be had in due and convenient c 2 20 THE LIFE OF time, without impediment or let of divine service ; and that women should have leave to carry rushes to the church for the decoring of it according to their old cus- tom*." This was revived by King Charles the First in the ninth year of his reign. Few now would defend the principle of this declaration ; but it was an unneces- sary irritation of the other party, while it gave no real strength to the church or state. It was, moreover, in the eyes of the deeply religious, at variance with a direct divine command ; for, taught to look to the Scriptures for the rule of their religious practice, they had not any well-considered principles on which to determine what divine injunctions are limited and temporary, and what universal and permanent. As to the question, what constitutes a day ; whether it is from midnight to mid- night, or from the beginning of evening to the beginning of the next, — the most active of the Puritans would probably leave such nice distinctions to the judgment of the antiquaries of the timef . The Arminian question, and the countenance given to the Arminian side in the controversy concerning the doctrine of the Church of England, were also very dis- tasteful to the Puritans ; who, though thinking much more of strictness and holiness of life than of any par- ticular interpretation of the doctrinal portions of the scriptures, were yet inclined to what is called Calvinism : and Laud, the great patron of the moderate view of the * Fuller, Church History, Book x. p. 24, where also are the re- marks upon it of that good, sensible and kind-hearted man. t The Puritans considered things lau'ful on other days not lawful on the afternoon of Saturday. Rothwell, a Bolton man, was re- proved by Midgley, the vicar of Rochdale, for playing at bowls on a Saturday afternoon, and the reproof was so mixed with exhorta- tion and warning that he became from that time a deeply religious person, and soon a most zealous minister. There is an account of his life by Stanley Gower, full of remarkable particulars. Within my own remem])rance, in the families who descended from the old Puritans, there was a kind of sanctit} thrown over the evening of Saturday. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 21 doctrine of the articles, owed his death as much to this as to his strong assertion of episcopal authority and the support he gave to the royal prerogative. Here was a substantial subject of controversy ; but Laud irri- tated the Puritans by an uncalled-for multiplication of ceremonies, by wishing to make the services of the En- glish church more ornate than they had been left by the Reformers, and by introducing practices which were deemed by the religious party superstitious, and, in the loose way in which they applied the word, idolatrous. To suppose that such men as the Puritans could be won over by what they deemed irreligious vanities, or that a powerful religious party could be raised on such a basis, was to show but little knowledge of the Puritan character, or of the common principles of human na- ture. There were also acts in the case of particular persons of a severity which the public feeling did not sanction. There is indeed a natural and honest indignation which rises in every mind not greatly prejudiced, at every act of heavy punishment, where the offence has arisen but out of a regard to the full discharge of every duty towards God, whether it approve the judgment of what is so required, or deem it but the erroneous conclu- sion of a well-intentioned but ill-instructed mind. Such acts may be but the result of Catholic or Protestant zeal against what is deemed dangerous error, but they are felt by most persons now to be opposed to the dictates of humanity, and to be unbefitting the weak and fallible nature of man. Richard Heywood, the father of Mr. Heywood, was brought up to the business of the country, and became in the course of his life a considerable merchant, as mer- chants then were, and entered into various speculations, in which for a time he was very successful. He was a man of talent and enterprise, decided in his purposes, and through the whole period of his varied life emi- nently a religious man. The seed was first sown by 22 THE LIFE OF his mother, who, while his father was inattentive and reluctant, was accustomed to take him with her to at- tend the preaching of Mr. Hubhert. At the age of nineteen he entered a society of young men who "main- tained days and duties of fasting and prayer, conference and other Christian exercises," In 1615 he married Alice Critchlaw of Longworth, near Walmesley Chapel. Mr. Heywood says nothing of his mother's father, but speaks of the eminent piety of his grandmother Critchlaw. There were also two brothers of Mrs. Hey- wood, older than herself, who were remarkable for their religious zeal. As to herself, she was nineteen before she had received any strong religious impression. When it began to be felt, it produced very unfortunate effects : I give the very words in which Mr. Heywood describes them, that there maybe no misapprehension: — ''She lived two full years in self-lamenting plight, at the next door to despair, still suffering God's terrors and refu- sing to be comforted. She thought her condition with- out parallel, and far worse than ever any body's else was, and that there was no hope of mercy for so vile a sin- ner." What covdd she have done to afford a reasonable ground for apprehensions such as these ? What is there in the teaching of Jesus, to lead a young and innocent girl, whose utmost fault was perhaps some little excess of gaiety of heart, to entertain thoughts such as these ? It was the preaching of Mr. Hill*, the minister on whose services the family were accustomed to attend, which * This Mr. Hill, the minister at Walmesley Chapel, is the same, I believe, with Mr. Joshua Hill, minister afterwards of Bramley Chapel, near Leeds, where he died only a few hours before a sum- mons reached his house to appear in the Archbishop's Court to an- swer a charge for not wearing the surplice, and other acts of Puri- tan nonconformity. Calamy, Account, p. 81 ; and Due. Leod., Whitaker's Edition, p. 209. He died in 1636, leaving a son, Joseph Hill, some time Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, a non- conformist under the Uniformity Act, who spent the greater part of his subsequent life in Holland, author of the well-known edition of Schrevelius. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 23 brought her into this state. But he who had wounded w\anted the power to heal, and her friends called in the assistance of Mr. Horrocks, a neighbouring minister, " whose voice in those days," says Mr, Hey wood, " was an oracle." Yet what a spiritual adviser must he have been, if what Mr, Hey wood further says is literally true, that he taught this timid and innocent creature to compare herself with David when overwhelmed with a sense of the guilt he had contracted*! The cloud, however, at length passed away. As it had gathered under preaching, so by preaching it was dispersed. She heard a sermon from the text in the Canticles, " My beloved is mine and I am his." From that day she be- came composed and cheerful ; and mindful of the happy change which it had produced in her, when near her end, she directed that the minister who preached at her funeral should be requested to take those words as the text of his discourse. Mr, Horrocks preached the nuptial sermon, for no * It was no singular case. If the reader wish to see a parallel instance, in which there are numerous afflictive details, let him read the printed Life of Mrs. Drake, the lady by whom Shardeloes came to that family. In Barksdale's ' Memorials ' is also an account of a case precisely similar. In fact, it grew out of the theory of Christ- ianity which the Puritans countenanced. I transcribe from Barks- dale the manner in which the notion was encountered by a sensible man of the time : — " He called her into his private chamber, and with a stern countenance said thus ; ' Thou thinkest God has no mercy for thee, but will surely damn thee : come on, then ; blas- pheme thou God.' The daughter was amazed at this command of her father ; and when he still pressed her to try her, fell down at his feet, and cried out, ' Though you be my father, yet I dare not, at your command, sin against my God : I dare not blaspheme his holy name.' ' Thou fool,' said the father, with tears in his eyes, 'and canst thou think that that God whom thou fearest to displease, whom thou darest not sin against, can be so cruel as to damn thee ? Avoid Satan.' The poor daughter received comfort presently, and the good father was overjoyed." — p. 142. It appears again in the religious biography of the Methodists of the last century. The re- semblance of the case of Sir Richard Hill, as described by himself, to this of Mrs. Heywood, is most striking. See the 'Life' of him by the Rev. Edwin Sydney. 24 TflE LIFK OK opportunity of preaching was in those days neglected. It was an early marriage, particularly on the part of the husband. They had many discouragements and diffi- culties in the first years of their married life. He had incautiously become responsible for the engagements of persons not named : this exposed him to great danger, and he was sometimes obliged to fly. The family at this period appear to have suffered great hardships. They retired for a year to the Water-side, as to a place in which they might live in secresy and security. Mr. Heywood marks the year of his own birth, 1630, as the time when brighter prospects began to dawn in his father's house. He was then relieved from his difficul- ties ; he opened correspondences with London ; he was successful in his connections there, and might be said to be growing wealthy ; he bought land and built houses out of the profits of his business ; he sunk coal-pits at Little Lever , established a fulling-mill and a paper-mill, which latter cost him £200. There were more than twenty-five years of commercial prosperity ; in the course of which he brought up two sons at the Univer- sity, gave fortunes with his four daughters, and bore with little injury the extravagance of his eldest and youngest sons. This prosperity lasted till all the child- ren of his first marriage were grown up, and the two scholars of the family were settled in the ministry. As life declined, misfortune again pressed upon him. " I must confess," says his son, " it is matter of great ad- miration to me to consider what an estate God gave my father that he might accomplish those works for the education of his children and for training up my good brother and me at the University, and for doing God service in his church ; and when he had done that work which he gave it him for, took it quite from him again." I shall have occasion to recur to this change hereafter. At present it is sufficient to observe concerning the tem- poral fortunes of the father of Mr. Heywood, that he lived to the year 1671, and that when he died there was OLIVER HEYWOOD. 25 inscribed on his grave-stone in the church-yard of Bol- ton, " There the iveary be at rest !" In either fortune, rehgion was a predominant princi- ple or sentiment in his mind. We have at present to speak of the family in the days of its prosperity, and now more particularly of the mother. She enjoyed the full tide of the family's prosperity, dying before the evil days returned ; and she seems to have been deserving of the favours which were so copiously shed upon their dwelling by the kind and religious use which she made of them. I give her character in the very words of her son : — " She was very kind to her poor neighbours ; paid for the schooling of many poor children ; a great lover of peace ; when people quarreled, she used to fall upon them with plain downright homely rhetoric and scripture grounds, that few had power to deny her re- quest. She was a great lover of ministers ; rejoiced ex- ceedingly that she had two sons brought up to that ho- nourable office : a reverend divine used to call her the Mother of the Clergy. She was the centre of news for knowing the time and place of week-day sermons; kept conferences and private fasts ; an irreconcilable enemy to the bishops' government, she did confidently believe that she must see their downfall many years before they came down. She was much rejoiced at the calling, confirming and success of the parliament in 1641 ; at the taking of the Covenant, and any beginning of re- formation. Having obtained leave of officers, she showed her forwardness in demolishing relics of super- stition." What can this mean, but, that like the French wife of Whitlingham, the Dean of Durham, who burnt in her fire the beautiful and venerable banner of Saint Cuthbert, under whose shade the English army had so often driven back an invading enemy, she destroyed what still remained of the works of ancient art in the church of Bolton and the chapels around ? Yet Mrs. Heywood had some reverence for history and antiquity ; for " she did recount, and cause to be written fair over, 26 THE LIFE OF a great number of the national mercies and admirable deliverances, to excite a present thankfulness and to be a memorial to succeeding ages. When the chapels in the neighbourhood were vacant, she used every means in her power to procure the settlement of pious minis- ters in them. The very last day she spent at Bolton, and the very last work she did in Lancashire, was to exert herself to bring such a minister to the chapel in Ainsworth, having succeeded in getting together a meet- ing of ministers and of some of the people to consult about it, which was the only means to accomplish the end." We have few sketches of the character of the private puritan woman so distinct and minute as this. She had the principal share in the religious education of her children. With such a mother, v/hen the cares of the world or the vanities of life did not greatly inter- pose to turn the current of their thoughts, what could be the result, but that the religious sentiment would be deeply engrafted and would appear in actions, its natural fruits ? But we see that she had entered fully into the opinions and prejudices of the party. What could ensue, but that these also woiild be communicated to her chil- dren, and would greatly influence the form and colour of their religious practice ? The fact which her son re- lates, that she destroyed the works of superstition in the ecclesiastical edifices of the neighbourhood, shows that she must have gone to the full extent both of the opi- nions and feelings of her party. I cannot forbear making a few remarks on this sub- ject. The old ecclesiastical edifices of England are still beyond all comparison the most beautiful and interesting objects in our beautiful island ; yet we see them, even those which we think the least injured, but in their ruins, despoiled of their choicest ornaments of painting and sculpture, those which made them worthy w4iat Hey- lyn says of them, that they were " before the Reforma- tion exquisite*." It is a popular notion, that this w^ork * Microcosmus, 4to, 1625, p. 463. OLIVER HFYWOOD. 27 of destruction is to be attributed to the Puritans. In an extended sense of the word Puritan, it is so ; but if by Puritan is meant that section of the Enghsh church which acquired the name towards the close of the reign of Ehzabeth, it seems that the popular opinion is in error. Some attention to this question, and a close examination of many of these edifices, has convinced me that the great work of destruction must have been com- mitted in the very early periods of the Reformation, and that it was but little that was left for the Dowsings and others of the age of triumphant Puritanism to do*. The most exquisitely beautiful portions of the churches were the chantries, which usually contained the effigies of the founders, and a richly ornamented altar ; and the win- dows were usually composed of ' storied glass.' These became useless, and were judged to be haunts of super- stition, as soon as the act of the First of Edward the Sixth gave all the revenues by which they were supported to the king, when they would fall into neglect. If the destruction of these works lies less at the door of the Puritans, usually so called, than of their fathers, the zealots of the Reformation, still it is evident they came in the rear of the work, and the principle was in both cases the same. And I cannot forbear from add- ing, that in a step such as this, Mrs. Heywood was pro- ceeding beyond what either her station or her intelligence could justify. She was not only depriving many of her neighbours of what were agreeable and edifying objects of contemplation, and posterity of valuable memorials of past ages, but she was also doing great violence to the feelings of many around her f . * Weever's work, the Antient Funeral Monuments, which was pub- lished as early as 1631, shows distinctly that the chief spoliation had been committed in the early years of the Reformation. t She was not without examples of the same feeling and mode of action. Mr. Bruen, who came from Stapleford in Cheshire to attend the Lecture at Manchester, a gentleman of ancient family, actually destroyed the painted glass in the windows of his own chapel in the church of Tarvin. His biographer, a Lancashire minister, thus speaks 28 THE LIFE OF We turn to a more agreeable subject, the care which she took in the education of her son. of the act : — " Finding in the church of Tarvin, in his own chapel, which of ancient right did appertain unto him and his family, many superstitious images and idolatrous pictures in the painted windows, and they so thick and dark, that there was, as he himself saith, scarce the breadth of a groat of white glass amongst them ; he, knowing by the truth of God, that though the Papists will have images to be lay- men's books, yet they teach no other lessons but of lies, nor any doctrine but that of vanities to them that profess to learn by them ; and considering that these dumb and dark images by their painted coats and colours did both darken the light of the Church and ob- scure the brightness of the Gospel, he presently took order to pull down all these painted puppets and popish idols, in a warrantable and peaceable manner ; and of his own cost and charge, repaired the breaches and beautified the windows with white and bright glass again." We are not told what the subjects of these paintings were ; pos- sibly figures of his own ancestry, or of good men in times long past. But we may extract from Prynne's burlesque account, what the paintings were in the church of Saint Edmund at Salisbury, which the recorder of the time, an over zealous man, broke to pieces, for which act he was very justly punished by the Star- Chamber. It is clear that there the several compartments presented the six days' work of creation, and the rest of the sabbath ; to which no more rational objection could be made, than to the reading in the church the vivid delineations of the same work by the hand of Moses . I find a reason for destroying the painted glass, which few would have suspected, in a story related by Mr. Heywood : — " Dr. Uly was preacher in Essex, and in the beginning of the Long Parliament was accused before a committee of much superstition. They produced and laid u})on the table before them a curious surplice with a cross and glorious workmanship in the breast. It was inquired of the churchwardens, who put them on to make it } They said, Dr. Uly, who at last confessed that lie made it a/cer a pattern in the church 2vim/ow, and wept much, saying, 'Tis true indeed I have been too zealous for the ceremonies." How really hai'mless everything of the kind is, and how exquisitely l)eautiful, is felt in the IVIinster at York, where the rich painted glass was saved in the civil wars by the care of a Puritan, of better taste than the rest, one of the Lords Fairfax, either Ferdinando or Thomas. It feeds no superstition. But little has been spared in comparison with what was destroyed : sculptures, paintings, embroidery, goldsmiths' work, illuminated ma- nuscripts ; not to mention the edifices themselves in which these tilings were preserved, splendid monuments of the architectural taste and skill of ages ignorantly called dark. Can mischief of any kind OLIVER HEYWOOD. 29 Mr. Heywood was her third son and fifth child : one son died in his infancy. He was a nonconformist from his cradle ; for at his haptism in the church of Bolton on the 15th of March, 1630*, which he kept as his birthday, the day of his birth having been forgotten, he was not signed as usual with the sign of the cross. Old Adam Hulton, a brother of his grandmother, was one of his godfathers. Mrs. Andrews, of Little Lever Hall, the principal per- son of the village f, was his godmother. She held him at the font ; and as soon as Mr. Gregg, the vicar, had pronounced the words, " I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost," she stepped back with the express purpose of preventing the minister from making the sign over him, which Mr. Gregg himself was not over-forward to do J. Mr. Hey- really have lurked in things which " strike at the seat of beauty in the mind" as these do .'' * There is a sUght difficulty in determining whether this is to be understood of March 1629 or March 1630. The current of his life would rather lead us to consider it as meaning March 1629, but 1630 was really the year. In the parish register of Halifax, in the entry of his marriage in April 1655, he is said to be aged twenty-five. In the epistle to his relations in Lancashire, prefixed to his treatise en- titled 'The Two Worlds,' which is dated December 30, 1699, he says that he is within a few days of the age of man — seventy years ; and in his diarj', under March 15, 1666-7, he says, " this day thirty- seven years ago was I baptized;" and under March 15, 1701-2, " the day of my baptism at Bolton seventy-two years ago." A year it will be perceived is of some importance in the history of his outset in life. He began his ministrj^ while exceedingly young. t She was the heiress of the Levers of Little Lever ; Hethe, the daughter of Thomas Lever, and the wife of Nicholas Andrews, a son of William Andrews of Twywell in Northamptonshire. They had a son named John, who was living at Little Lever in 1664, when the Heralds held their visitation, and was then married to Jane, daughter of Robert Lever of Darcy Lever. To one of these families of Lever, probably the Levers of Little Lever, belonged Thomas Lever, one of the Protestant exiles in the reign of Queen Mary, who in the reign of Ehzabeth was Master of Sherburn Hospital in Durham. t Mr. Gregg married one of the numerous family of Crompton of Brightmet, between whom and the Heywoods there was a double connexion ; one of Mr. Heywood's sisters having married Thomas 30 THE LIFE OF wood records his approval of what she did ; looking, he says, upon the ceremony as not grounded upon the word of God. He regarded the act also as " posrsibly a pro- vidential presage of his becoming a nonconformist mi- nister." He speaks also with satisfaction of " the great number of faithful witnesses who were present at his admission into infant church-membership, who prayed for him, and into whose number he was immediately entertained." The name of Oliver was first given him by the women who stood by at his birth, out of respect to the memory of his grandfather*, then lately deceased ; and it was confirmed to him by Mr. Gregg at his bap- tism. The description which Mr. Heywood has left of his natural disposition and his childish practices is conceived in a spirit of self-abasement, in which he, in common with the religious party to whom he belonged, was fond of indulging. What could there have been in him so different from what is seen in children in general to jus- tify such an expression as this ? — " When I was a child I spake as a child, yea, rather like a devil incarnate. Oh, the desperate wickedness of my deceitful heart ! " It may be concluded, however, that he had been sub- jected to the influence of evil example, and that all that Crompton of that place, and Mr. Heywood himself having married to his second wife Abigail Crompton, a younger sister of Mrs. Gregg. The vicar of Bolton was of the Puritan family of Gregg of Chester and afterwards of Hopwood Hall in Lancashire, who are now repre- sented by the family of Gregg-Hopwood. * There had been an Oliver Heywood before the time of his grandfather ; and what is remarkable, he was a person zealous in his way of religion, as his namesakes were in theirs. He was a Catho- lic priest, and his name is ])reserved in consequence of his apprehen- sion in the year 1574, at the house of Lady Guldeford in London, when present at the celebration of mass. I do not know that he was a Lancashire man, but there is a slight probability that he might be so, arising out of the circumstance that there was arrested at the same time a gentlewoman of the Countess of DerbJ^ See an ac- count of the affair in Strype, Annals, 8vo, 1824, vol. ii. part i. p. 497. OLIVER riEYWOOU. 31 had been done for their moral and rehgious improvement had not banished profaneness of speech from amongst the children of Little Lever. That he was " backward to good exercises" is an- other confession in his catalogue of infantine delinquen- cies. In this he may be believed and excused. The wonder rather is, that any children could have been brought to fall in with the strictness of the Puritan discipline, or to endure the tedious, and, as it now ap- pears, uninteresting discourses and the longsome prayers at which day by day they were required to be present. That many young children were brought to conform to such a mode of life, and even to enter with interested minds into the domestic services of the Puritan families of those times, is one of the most striking instances of what may be done with the human mind when it is taken early, vv^ith the intention of bending it in a parti- cular direction. Mr. Heywood cannot have remembered a time when the exercises to which he was backward were not spoken of in his father's house as the appointed and essential means of obtaining the divine favour and final salvation. At a very early age his mother was ac- customed to instruct him " in the deep points of divinity, the fall in Adam, the corruption of our nature, subjec- tion to the curse, redemption by Christ, the necessity of regeneration, the immortality and worth of the soul, the weight and concernment of eternity." The book which she chiefly used in the religious instruction of her children was Mr. Ball's Catechism*, which he learned by heart. This was before the Assembly of Divines had * This was a book in great repute in the Puritan families, super- seded by the Assembly's Catechism. Of John Ball, the author of it, there is some account in the ' Athenae,' a little tinged with the prejudices of the author of that work. He was a minister at Whit- more, near Newcastle-under-line, of great note in his day, now for- gotten. Mr. Newcome, of Manchester, in his Life of Mr. John Machin, who was a pupil of Mr. Ball's, calls him " that famous Mr. John Ball of Whitmore, who brought up several youth in school-learning, together with his own son." 12mo, 1671, p. 2. 32 THE LIFE OF published their Catechism. It was her practice also to set her children to pray in the family while they were very young. They were also present at all the religious conferences, and the days of fasting and prayer and thanksgiving, that were kept at his father's house. His mother frequently took him to hear the most famous preachers in the country around ; Mr. Horrocks of Dean, Mr. Harrison of Walmesley Chapel, and Mr. Johnson of EUenbrook. Sometimes she would take him a longer journey to hear Mr. Angier of Denton. But in those days listening to a sermon of three hours' continuance was not all with which the attention of youth was taxed. He was required to carry home ' the minister's method,' that is the heads and particulars of the discourse. He made notes of them as soon as he was able to write, at the time of delivery ; and he assures us, that when himself a preacher^ he found the use of the notes which he had made of the discourses of famous ministers whom he heard in his youth. His father had collected a valuable library of practical divinity and expository theology. He had the works of Luther and Calvin in English, and the writings of Per- kins, Preston, and Sibbes, the favourite English authors with the Puritans who lived before the wars. The books were bought by him on his visits to London when he went on his commercial affairs. As the times grew darker, the religious exercises at his father's house were more frequent, and the spirit in which they were conducted more fervid. These meet- ings exposed those who frequented them to suspicion in the minds of such persons as the Earl of Derby and his son, and exposed them also to ecclesiastical censures : so that they were held with a certain degree of caution ; and it was the custom to place a boy in the " entry" which led to the door of his father's house, whose busi- ness it was to sing and shout to deaden the sound of the praying within. Mr. Heywood tells us that he had himself been so employed: " I can well remember that. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 33 when at my father's house they had a private fast when I was a child, they set me a singing about the door, that when the apparitor came he might not hear them pray." This was just before the civil war began in earnest. " Many days of prayer have I known my father keep among God's people : yea, T remember a whole night wherein he. Dr. Bradshaw, Adam Fearni- side, Thomas Crompton, and several more excellent men, did pray all night in a parlour at Ralph Whittal's*", as I remember upon occasion of King Charles the First demanding the five members of the House of Commons, Such a night of prayers, tears and groans I was never present at in all my life : the case was extraordinary, and the work extraordinary." This is a valuable anecdote, and we have reason to regret that it did not enter more into Mr. Heywood's plan to record the impression made on a private family like his, living remote from London, by the more important events as they occurred in that eventful period. The noble historian of those times has described in his vivid and masterly manner the effect produced by this rash step within the walls of the city and in the counties near the metropolis, into which " seditious ministers," as he calls them, were imme- diately despatched ; but here we see that the alarm was felt at the extremity of the kingdom, and led to exercises which tended to gird up the minds of the disaffected for the conflict that was impending. The Critchlawsf were * Meetings for prayer which endured for the whole night were no very uncommon occurrence in the Puritan families of those times. " A most unwearied man he v/as in religious duties, and was never observed to give over, though sometimes on special occasions they continued all night therein. After one of these days of special com- muaion with God, he retired with two or three beloved friends in private, and there moved each of them to name some one thing they would chiefly desire of the Lord, and so each of them prayed over all those particulars that were cast in." — Newcome's LZ/e of Machin, p. 47. t There were four of them, William, Francis, Hugh, and llalj)h. William lived at Bolton, and died of wounds received in the civil wars. Francis also lived at Bolton. When very young, old Oliver D 34 THE LIFE OF among the most earnest at these priv^ate meetings. They practised, if they may not rather be said to have devised, a peculiar method of prayer. One spent a portion of time previously agreed vipon in confessing sin ; an- other, the like portion in entreating personal mercies ; another, public mercies ; another, in thanksgiving. Fran- cis, the favourite uncle, and he who next to his parents had the most to do in the religious education of Mr. Heywood, was supposed to be the most effectual in prayer. It is not surprising, considering how excited was the Puritan mind by the long series of oppressive acts to w^hich the party had been subjected, the appre- hensions which were entertained of still darker days, and the undefined and not very unreasonable alarm in which they were placed by the massacre in Ireland, that we trace in the record of these midnight devotions supposed answers to prayer, or manifestations which were con- strued into evidences of special attention being given to their devotions. " In the parlour of my father's house at a private fast, many Christians being present, when my uncle Francis was at prayer, wonderfully carried out in aflPection and strong wrestlings, all on a sudden a bright shining light, far brighter than the sun, shone in the room. It dazzled and astonished them. My uncle Heywood after his conversion is reported to have said of him to his sons, " That hid that comes out of the Moors has more zeal than you all." " He was my intimate dear friend : I scarce ever was in his company without sensible advantage. He was very useful in discourse, especially in asking pertinent and profitable questions with which he was furnished abundantly in his younger days in those frequent conferences they maintained. He was indeed a very judicious, solid, experienced Christian ; a Mnason, an old disciple long ti-ained in the school of Christ." Such is the character which his nephew gives of him. Hugh lived very much at Shrewsbury : he had not the same amount of zeal as his elder brothers. Raljih, the youngest, " was the most proper witty man of them all." He married a daughter of Mr. Cross, the minister at the church in Friday Street, London, and settled at Wrexham, where he got a great estate, and in the Oliverian times was a justice of the peace ; — " a godly man, though possibly not much better for his greatness, yet I believe a savour of godliness abode on his heart to his dying day." OLIVER HEYWOOD. 35 gave over. They rose off their knees ; were amazed ; said nothing, but looked one upon another : heard no voice. It continued about a quarter of an hour, as long as one might have gone to the further side of the Little Meadow and back again, as Luke Hoyle hath told me, who was then present. This was a little before the wars in the heat and height of the bishops' tyranny over godly ministers." The story is deficient in particularity. It does not even appear whether it were day or night. If at night it was doubtless the northern aurora, pecu- liarly vivid, then rarely seen in England *. Mr. Heywood was from twelve to sixteen when the civil wars were at their height. Again I say with re- gret that his notices of the occurrences of the time are few. Of the resistance which the inhabitants of Man- chester made to the entrance of the Earl of Derby into their town, he takes no notice, nor of the assistance which the people of Bolton sent them at that time of danger. No where did the people enter into the spirit of the conflict with more earnestness than at those two places. The Cavaliers called Bolton the Geneva of Lan- cashire. Even of the attack which Prince Rupert and the Earl of Derby made upon that town, when many of his friends and acquaintance must have fallen, I find no * That the aurora borealis did appear about the beginning of the civil wars to heighten the excitement of the time, we have direct evidence from Mr. Heywood. — " On Thursday night, March 2, 1664-5, some company came to my house, and as they came they saw a strange flaming northward. One said it was just like that streaming that she saw above twenty years ago, immediately before the Scotch wars, and she never saw any except that. We all went out to look at it. It was dark night, something stormy, and in the north we saw a bright place which was constantly light, but sometimes far brighter, and looked always far and wide in the air. It was so bright sometimes that we might have seen anything very clearly on the ground. It shone in at the windows, and was in my apprehension very formidable to behold." An appearance of these lights about fifty years after is sometimes spoken of as the first ap- pearance of them in England. D 2 3C THE LIFE OF memorials in any of his writings which remain. Yet his testimony would have had an historical value in the balance of probabilities in the discordant accounts. When the most favourable construction is put upon the conduct of the prince and the earl, it must be allowed that severities were used to a prostrate foe at which both English and Christian feeling revolts. It is said that 1800 persons were put to the sword*. The ■28th of May was long remembered by the people of Bolton, and is probably not yet forgotten. The Earl of Derby was the first person who entered the town. It w^as as an atonement for the blood needlessly shed on this occa- sion, that when the earl fell into the hands of his ene- mies after the battle of Worcester, and was sentenced to death, execution was done upon him in the market-place at Bolton. The death of his uncle, William Critchlaw, is almost the only civil war anecdote which Mr. Heywood relates. " Though he was not a soldier, yet when he heard of a fight nigh at hand, or a town to be taken by the parlia- ment army, he used to take his musket and run to the army, and be present in any hazardous expedition. This cost him his life : for when Colonel Holland and Colonel Ashton with their regiments went to take W^igan, though the town was taken, yet this zealous champion got shot into the shoulder, and another bullet was in the thigh. He was brought to his daughter's at Bolton, and there about a fortnight after died of those wounds, but with invincible courage, uttering many gracious expressions near his end. Indeed he was of an undaunted spirit ; * This appears to be an exaggerated statement. According to a l")amphlet of the time, " penned by an Eye-witness," and in which, to judge from the terms of the title there would probably be no softening of the harshness of the treatment which the town received, ' An Exact Relation of the bloody and barbarous massacre at Bolton in the Moors in Lancashire* (published August 22, 1644), it is said that the number of the slain on both sides was " about 1200 or 1500 in all." The pamphlet contains no particulars of interest. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 37 having made his peace with God, and Hving in assured hope of heaven, he feared not death." Mr. Heywood's father was absent from England at the time of the attack on Bolton ; and the business on which he was gone shows the esteem in which he was held by his neighbours, and the influence he possessed in the religious concerns of the parish. Mr. Gregg, the vicar, died early in that year. Mr. Robert Pike, who had been an officiating minister in the town, had left Bolton and gone to reside in Holland, where he was minister of the English congregation at Rotterdam. It was the wish of the parish that Mr, Pike might be pre- vailed upon to return, and Mr. Heywood was selected " as a man of judgment, capacity, and interest," to pro- ceed to Holland and negociate with him. He went ac- cordingly, and succeeded. He took the opportunity of visiting several other towns in Holland, and on landing at Hull he " w^as surprised with the astonishing tidings of Prince Rupert's taking Bolton, killing man, woman, and child, as the affair was represented to him." On his way home he passed through York, when he visited the field near the village of Marston where the great battle had been fought, and from which the bodies of the slain were not removed. On his return home he found that his own house at Little Lever had been full of alarm, and that his books were lost. His daughters had removed them out of the house, and placed them for security under a pile of wood. It was supposed that they were discovered by the soldiers and burnt. 38 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER HI. EARLY RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS. PURITANS' ATTENTION TO THE EDU- CATION OF THOSE INTENDED FOR THE MINISTRY. MR. HEYWOOD's DESTINATION TO THAT OFFICE. HIS SCHOOL EDUCATION. METHOD PURSUED IN THE LANCASHIRE SCHOOLS. REMOVED TO CAMBRIDGE. PERSONS WITH WHOM MORE PARTICULARLY CONNECTED THERE, HILL, AKEHURST, BIRCHALL. STUDIES THERE. HIS PREFERENCE OF FOUR EMINENT PRACTICAL WRITERS, PERKINS, BOLTON, PRES- TON, AND SIBBES. MR. HAMMOND, THE CELEBRATED CAMBRIDGE PREACHER. JOLLIE, BENTLEY, NATHANIEL HEYWOOD, CONTEMPO- RARY WITH HIM AT CAMBRIDGE. MAJOR JAMES JOLLIE. LEAVES THE UNIVERSITY AND RETURNS INTO LANCASHIRE. The effects of such an education as Mr. Heywood re- ceived were very early manifest in anxious solicitude respecting his own state of acceptance with God. Speaking of the period of his life before he went to Cambridge, and apparently before he had reached his fifteenth year, he says, " How often did I think my state in some respects to be worse than that of birds and beasts, trees or stones ; because by sin I am subject to eternal misery, of which they are incapable ! Some- times I durst not pray, lest I should take God's name in vain ; and then by fits I had my inward troubles, fears, and doubts." He expatiates on this his state of mind in a somewhat oratorical manner, and it is needless to transcribe the whole ; but the conclusion at which he arrives is of some importance to the right understanding his character and history, namely, that there was no period of his life on which he was able to fix and to say " That then, in that very week or month, the work of conversion was completed in him." And when in after life he reflected on this period of his religious history, OLIVER IIEYWOOD, 39 he says that he came to the same conclusion at which Baxter also arrived, " that God doth often make use of a religious education by natural parents as a means of first begetting converting grace ; and that if parents were faithful and skilful in those relative duties, God would own that work to so great an end ; and that public preaching of the word should be the more usual means oi confirmation than conversion.^' At the age of fourteen he began to receive the Lord's Supper in his parish church ; and about the same time he entered a small society of young men who were ac- customed to meet together once a fortnight for religious conversation and prayer. It w^ould seem from the account which has now been given as if nothing were attended to in the education bestow^ed on Mr. Heywood except the cultivation of the religious principle : but this was far from being the case. No doubt in the families of the Puritans the first and principal object of the parent was to create in the minds of children a deep and awful sense of the relation in which we stand to our Creator, and the responsibilities under w^hich we receive the gift of life ; and this was much more an object and a business with them than in families less in earnest about these affairs, or more so- licitous about the things of time. But wherever the means were afforded of receiving the benefits of a good education of another kind, they were not backward to avail themselves of them ; so that some of the best scholars of the time came from the Puritan families, especially those learned in the writings of ancient and modern Christian divines. But where the destination was to the ministry, great pains were always bestowed on the cultivation of the intellectual powers, and on giving that instruction which should enable the future minister to read the sacred writings pure as they are delivered down to us, as well as the writings of the early fathers of the church. No mis- take is greater than to suppose that when we speak of 40 THE LIFE OF the Puritan minister we mean one who had zeal and piety without any tincture of learning. Their writings sufficiently prove the contrary. Only their learning was less prominent than their devotion and zeal. Mr. Heywood manifested at a very early period of his life what his parents interpreted into an inclination for the office of minister, and a presage of his success in that honourahle character. I pass over a childish story or two in which this inclination was supposed to be in- dicated ; but what he relates of himself may be worthy ])reservation, that from the very earliest period to which his memory could ascend he had had a very reverent esteem of the ministry and those in it. As these indi- cations coincided with the secret wishes of his parents, and especially of his mother, it was very early deter- mined to prepare him for the ministry, and they sought out for him the best instruction which those parts of the country at that time aiforded. But this, according to Mr. Heywood's own account, was not of the best quality. He was for a time at the public school at Bolton ; he was also a pupil of Mr. Rathband, who had undertaken to instruct youth when he was suspended from the mi- nistry by his diocesan. He was under the care of other tutors, for he tells us that he was " very much retarded in his learning by change of school and variety of masters, and the negli- gence of some of them ;" nor was it till his family had found out a certain Mr. Rudal, who lived somewhere in the wild country about Horwich, that he found himself in a position in which his own application and diligence were wisely seconded and directed. He profited more, he says, under this master in one year than he had done in four elsewhere. His brother Nathaniel, three years and a half younger than himself, wdio w^as also destined for the university and the ministry, was under the same schoolmaster. I wish we could recover something more respecting him. It is evident that he was a useful and valuable man. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 41 It was here that Mr. Heywood must have laid that excellent foundation of grammar-learning which enabled him to speak and write the Latin language with fluency, if not with elegance, and that he must have read several of those ancient authors with whom we find him after- wards familiar. Mr. Heywood has given no account of the method pursued by his schoolmaster, or of the particular books which were placed in his hands. The curriculum was probably in no respect different from that of other schools of the time in which grammar-learning was taught ; but as this is a subject which seems now but imperfectly understood, I shall transcribe the account which another Lancashire minister, a friend of Mr. Hey- wood, has given of his own school-education in that county, at St. Helen's and Rainsford. " He received me when I was learning In As inproe- senti and Cato ; and instructed me, in prose, in Corderius, ^sop's Fables, Tully's Ofiices, Epistles and Orations, together with Aphthonius for Latin in prose ; and the Greek Grammar of Camden first, and Clenard after- wards, together wdth a Greek Catechism ; and lastly, the Greek Testament, for I proceeded no further with him : and for poetry, in Mantuan, Terence, Ovid's Epistles and Metamorphoses, Virgil and Horace. The Rhetorics he read to us were Susenbrotus first, and Talseus after- wards. My exercises were usually a piece of Latin, of which he himself dictated the English every day of the week save Thursdays and Saturdays ; and besides, some- what weekly, as I rose in ability, — first, dialogues in imi- tation of Corderius or Pueriles Confahulatiunculce ; then an epistle, in w^iich I was to follow Cicero, though (alas!) at a great distance; then themes (as we called them), in the way of Aphthonius, consisting of many parts, and taking up one side of half a sheet pretty thickly WTitten ; and, towards the latter end, good store of verses, most hexameters and pentameters, but some sapphics and alcaics. All that were presumedby their standing able 42 THE LIFE OF to discourse in Latin were under a penalty if they either spoke Enghsh or broke Priscian's head ; but barbarous language, if not incongruous for grammar, had no pu- nishment but derision. These were the orders we were subject to at teaching hours." I am not acquainted with any account equally parti- cular with this of the mode pursued in schools in the reign of Charles the First, and am tempted to extend the notice which we have of the same person's studies when transferred to another master. "A new schoolmaster came to Rainsford that had the name of a very civil man and good teacher, and that not without cause. I confess as to great eminence of natural parts, and diligence in looking to our souls, I thought him inferior to his predecessor, and it was no small prejudice to me that the Popish gentry in the neighbourhood were so fond of him ; yet I believe he was a Protestant, and it was only his being a great Anti- Puritan (which that place never had before) that pro- bably was the reason they so highly valued him. What- ever was his opinion, he was an eminently able and di- ligent master. He had been brought up not only in a good school in Bolton, but after at the University a good season (I have heard five years), where, having a great affection to the Greek tongue and opportunity to hear the public professor, and to converse v/ith other men, he had attained to a marvellous exactness in pro- nouncing it in the University manner, which till then I had not heard of. He was also skilful in the derivations of words, teaching us many that we could not find in any lexicon. Nor was he slight in examining us about the dialects not only in poets, but even in the Greek Testa- ment, wherein he made us observe the Hebraisms, Latin- isms, and idioms. He taught us also to make Greek exercises in prose and verse, and both in them and w-hat we made in Latin he expected not only congruity, but elegancy. He spoke very good Latin to us in a constant way, put us to take out our lessons ourselves, and in OLIVER HEYWOOD. 43 examining them he stood not so much upon parsing (as they called it) or scanning of verses and proving them, to which he found us well enured, as upon rhetorical tropes and figures ; to fit us whereunto he removed us out of Tal?eus into Farnaby, laughing at Susenbrotus as an old dull piece which called the tropes as well as the scheme by the name of figures. He was also very nota- ble at teaching us to observe all allusions in prophane authors to the sacred Scriptures, insomuch that any thing leaning that way should hardly pass his observa- tion. I remember very well, when we were upon the story of Deucalion's flood in Ovid's Metamorphoses, he took notice of these words, * ubi nuper ardrat,' as think- ing it a strange allusion (whether intended or accidental) to the mountain of Ararat upon which Noah's ark rested. He took a great deal of pains with me, especially in Homer's Odyssey*." Through such a course as this Mr. Hey wood passed, and it is evident that thus an excellent foundation would be laid for the studies of the University! . On the 9th of July, 1647, he was admitted of Trinity College, Cambridge, and immediately went to reside. When his father took leave of him, he left with him six special admonitions : (1.) to humble himself fre- * This long quotation is from a valuable piece of self-biography, the Life of Adam Martindale, which remains in manuscript of his own hand, in the Library of the British Museum. It is one of the Birch Manuscripts, No. 4239. Adam Martindale was a Puritan divine, six years older than Mr. Heywood, born at Prescot. Like Mr. Hey- wood, he refused to comply with the terms of the Act of Uniformity. t He mentions incidentally two persons who were his school- fellows, Mr. Thomas Isherwood, who was afterwards Vicar of Eccles, and whose death was supposed to be occasioned by intemperance. He fell from liis horse into a shallow brook and was suffocated. Mr. William Hulme was another. He was afterwards a justice of the peace, and a great enemy of the Non- Conformists. His only son, Banaster Hulme, died when at school at Manchester, in conse- quence of a blow on the head in a quarrel with a schoolfellow. He was buried September 11, 1674, "the day," says Mr. Heywood, " of that unparalleled flood." 44 THE LIFE OF quently before God, and to do so at least every morn- ing and evening ; (2.) to read the Scriptures diligently ; (3.) to keep a written record of his private meditations ; (4.) to take notes of the sermons which he heard ; (5.) to keep steadily in view the thought how short is life; and (6.) to maintain the just medium between too much solitariness and too much company. The University was at that time exactly what the Puri- tans wished it to be ; for the success of the Parliament had enabled the Puritan party to effect great changes both in the Church and the Universities. The Masters and Professors, who, however learned and qualified for the offices which they held, did not reach the Puritan standard in point of religion, had been removed from their places, and other persons had succeeded them who were distinguished as much by piety and religious zeal as by learning and skill in government. Dr. Thomas Hill, the Master of Trinity, had been recently appointed under the authority of Parliament. I find little respecting him in Mr. Heywood's papers ; but from other sources we derive the information that he was a person in very high esteem among the most zealous Puritans, a strenuous advocate of Calvinian views of the Christian doctrine, a diligent preacher in the chapel of his college, and who expounded the Scriptures there almost daily. One who studied in the college at the same time with Mr. Heywood says, " he learned more of Christ in one year from Mr. Hill's plain and precious Christ-advancing preaching than he had all his time be- fore in the country." Dr. Hill would sometimes lay his hand upon his breast and say with emphasis, "Every Christian hath something here that will frame an argu- ment against Arminianism." He recommended Mr. Akehurst to Mr. Heywood for his tutor. Of this Mr. Akehurst Mr. Heywood says, that " he was then a flourishing instrument, and was looked upon as the most pious and laborious In all the college." He marks the time, because afterwards Mr. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 45 Akehurst degenerated, or, as Mr. Hey wood says, " grie- vously apostatized, becoming a common Quaker." But he retraced his steps, and became at last " a sober phy- sician in Surrey." On the whole the pupil was satisfied. " I must confess he was careful of me, enquired of me what company I was acquainted with, sometimes read lectures to us, prayed with us in his chamber every night, and had sometimes about thirty pupils, and, as I thought, was a gracious savoury Christian ; though I have often taken notice of his inconstancy, and being singular in differing from grave and sober divines, and pride, which was too visible in his apparel, gesture, and other outward tokens thereof," Mr. William Birchall, at that time sizer to the Master, was the person who led Mr. Heywood to the selection of this college. He was afterwards a non-conforming minister. Mr. Heywood gives no particular account of the course of study pursued in his time at the University. It is natural in a writer of self-biography to pass over that which is common to many and familiarly known to his contemporaries ; but by this means we, in a remote generation, lose what would be valuable information, when the change of manners or the advancement of knowledge has brought about many alterations, so that the old modes, so far from being familiarly known, it is impossible perfectly to recover. Only two books have descended among Mr. Hey- wood 's manuscript remains which can be regarded as books of college exercises or college amusements. One is a large abstract of that really good and useful book, the Itinerarium Totius Sacra ScripturcB of that almost- forgotten writer, Henry Bunting. This manuscript is of more than 250 pages of close writing in his minute penmanship. The exercise was good, as giving a di- stinctness and exactness to his knowledge of sacred his- tory. The other is of a lighter character. It consists of (1.) a kind of theological common-place book ; (2.) a 46 THE LIFE OF complete transcript of the Horce Vaciva of John Hall, the youthful poet of St. John's, first published the year before Mr. Hey wood went to the University ; (3.) the Antient History of the Septuagint, by J. Done ; (4.) Selected and Choice Observ^ations concerning the Twelve First Caesars, by Edward Leigh; (5.) Some few Choice Observations collected out of " The Mirror that Flatters Not," by Le Sieur de la Serre ; and (6.) Some Observa- tions gathered out of Howell's Epistles. But we have no notes of lectures, nor any information of the nature of the theological lectures or of those in philosophy, which, however, Mr. Hey wood attended, perhaps too indifferently. The principal studies of Cambridge in these times seem to have had no place there in the time of the Commonwealth. We have no traces at least of any thing like science in any thing that remains of Mr. Hey wood. He pronounces a censure on himself for not applying more closely to the lectures in philosophy, in which natural philosophy may be included, prizing, as he says, learning above all sublunary exercises, and thinking that he might afterwards have been more useful had he improved his time better therein. He stood for a scholarship and failed. The failure was however partly, perhaps principally, ow^ng to a severe illness of two months' continuance. What he further relates of himself may, however, have had something to do with his dis- appointment : " My time and thoughts were more em- ployed in practical divinity ; and experimental truths were more vital and vivifical to my soul. I preferred Perkins, Bolton, Preston, Sibbes, far above Aristotle, Plato, Ma- girus, and Wendeton, though I despise no laborious authors in these subservient studies." This is a remark- able and highly characteristic acknowledgment, indicative of his future eminence as a preacher to the many. The time has been when the four names whom Mr. Heywood thus honourably mentions would at once call up distinct ideas of certain writings left by the men who bore them with their peculiar characteristics and pur- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 47 poses. At present it may, perhaps without offence, be presumed that they will call up only certain vague no- tions of treatises in practical divinity which were once read and esteemed. So that it may not be improper to add, that they were the men who had succeeded to the practical writers of the unreformed Church, and to those who adapted the works of those writers to the use of the reformed ; men who lived when the Reformation controversy was in some measure over, and when there w^as a call for works in which the duties of men were explained and enforced on protestant principles, and the Christian consolations exhibited as the protestant can exhibit them. Their sera is from the middle of the reign of Elizabeth to almost the beginning of the civil wars, so that some of these writings were new books, when they were so eagerly read by Mr. Heywood. His own writings show how great an influence they had upon his mind. Perkins had been a famous preacher at Cambridge in the reign of Elizabeth. His works, partly controversial and partly experimental, make three folio volumes, though his life was short. Bolton was a Lancashire man, a soil fruitful in men of a devotional spirit. He studied at Oxford, wliere he was renowned for his great learning, but his attention was not particularly turned to divinity till he was thirty-four. His most celebrated writings are entitled, " Directions for Walking with God ;" " Instructions for the right comforting Afflicted Consciences ;" " The Four Last Things." Preston was a celebrated tutor and preacher at Cambridge, who seems to have worn himself out in the work, dying in 1628, at the age of 4 1 . Richard Sibbes was also a Cambridge divine, Fellow and Master of a college and preacher in one of the churches. Six-and-twenty tracts are attri- buted to him, of which " The Bruised Reed" and " The Soul's Conflict" are remarkable for having the especial commendations of Richard Baxter and Isaac Walton, two different men, but both admirable in their way ; 48 THE LIFE OF Walton leaving copies of them in his will to his son and daughter. They are still highly valued by religious minds. But there was at that time at Cambridge, a per- son who had probably a greater influence over Mr. Heywood than any other person living or dead. This was Mr. Samuel Hammond, the preacher at St. Giles'. His name occurs in the histories, where we have them, of almost every other divine who studied at Cambridge at the same time with Mr. Heywood. Dr. Calamy says of him, that he preached "with that pious zeal, pun- gency, and Christian experience, that from all parts of the town and from the most distant villages his useful ministry was attended on, and it was crowned with the conversion of some scores, I might have said hundreds, of scholars. It was the general opinion, that there was not a more convincing and successful minister at Cam- brido;e from the time of Mr. Perkins than he*." And * Account of the Ejected and Silenced Ministers in 1662. p. 499. — Mr. Hammond was a native of York, Fellow of Magdalene Col- lege at the time of which we speak. When he left Cambridge, he became Lecturer at St. Nicholas', in Newcastle-upon-Tj-ne, where he was when silenced by the Act of Uniformity. But so eloquent a preacher did not long remain silent. The merchants of Hamburgh invited him thither to be their chaplain. He went. Dr. Calamy states that the company requiring a renewal of their charter. Lord Clarendon refused to pass it, unless they would consent to dismiss Mr. Hammond. This is an act which requires explanation : but Lord Clarendon, great man as he was, and yet tlie unrivalled master of the historic pen, was not superior to personal dislikes. There are some gross instances in his work of that basest species of defamation, the suppressio veri. As to Mr. Hammond, he was forced to leave Hamburgh. He wandered for a while in the North of Europe, going to Stockholm and Dantzick ; but in a short time he returned to England, and died at Hackney in 1666. Mr. Hey- wood saw him there a fortnight before his death. Such was the fate of one who had doubtless lighted a pure flame in many a youthful bosom. He married one of the Ogles of Northumberland, a Puritan family of eminence. The executor to his will was Ambrose Barnes, a mer- chant at Newcastle, an eminent Puritan of that town and a very re- markable man, who has left a large manuscript account of his own life OLIVER HEYWOOD. 49 with this agrees the testimony of Mr. Heywood : — " I must confess my heart was many times very much affected under the ordinances at St. Giles's ; and I cannot but v/ith thankfulness acknowledge Mr. Hammond a profitable instrument for much good to my soul. Though the work might be wrought before, yet I am sure that it was much revived, cleared, and many mistakes removed. Oh ! with what a frame of spirit have I come from that place ! I usually met with a suitable, searching vv-ord, and one that warmed my heart." Mr. Heywood speaks also of " the ingenious and gra- cious scholars with whom he had intimate familiarity, and was much furthered by them in the ways of the Lord." With two of them he lived in intimate com- munication and friendship for the remainder of their lives, notwithstanding differences of judgment with them, agreeing, however, in refusing to comply with the terms of conformity proposed after the Restoration. These were Eli Bently and Thomas Jollie. The latter of them was at Trinity College some time before Mr. Heywood. He was from the same neighbourhood, being the son of Major James Jollie, of Droilsden, in the parish of Man- chester, who held the obnoxious office of Provost-Marshal in the Parliament army in the county of Lancaster*. and opinions, full of valuable notices of men and events, and of a curious literature, such as would not be expected from a Newcastle merchant of those times. He gives an account of Mr. Hammond, who was his intimate friend. This manuscript, which is a large and thick folio, was lent to me many years ago by my venerable friend the Rev. William Turner, of Newcastle. It is now in the library of one of the literary societies of that town. Sir Cuthbert Sharp, among his many valuable contributions to the history of families and ])er- sons in Northumberland and Durham, has printed much of the bio- graphical information contained in this singularly curious volume. * Dr. Calamy gives a large account of Thomas Jollie, but does not name his father, who was a remarkable man, and the coinmon ancestor of a large family in which there were many ministers, some of them of great eminence and usefulness, particularly his gi-andson, Timothy Jollie, who was the minister of the Non- Conformists at Sheffield, and the tutor in an academy in which many of the ministers of the early part of the last century were educated. It may not, E 50 THE LIFE OF He soon admitted Mr. Hey wood into his confidence and friendship. Mr. Heywood remembered this, and alluded to it in a letter written when they were both near the end of their labours. They were born and died nearly at the same time ; they were ministers and Non-Con- formists, neighbours and friends, had the same trials and the same encouragements. In the second year of his residence at Cambridge Mr. Heywood was joined by his younger brother, Nathaniel, who being a riper scholar, as having enjoyed at an earlier period the benefit of the instruction of Mr. Rudal, the good schoolmaster, was thought ready for the University more than two years earlier in life than Oliver. He was therefore, be improper to give the following short account of him : — - He was the son of Thomas Jollie, of Abram, by Jane, daughter of John Aldred, of the same place ; born about 1610, married Elizabeth HaU, of Droilsden, widow, who had a daughter that afterwards married Adam Martindale, the minister mentioned in a former note. He became a soldier as soon as the war commenced, and, by com- mission dated January 21, 1642, was made Provost Marshal General of all the Forces in Lancashire. By another commission, under the hand of Sir Thomas Fairfax, dated January 27, 1643, he was made Quarter- Master General of the Army ; and by a third, under the hand of the same, Provost Marshal General in Lancashire, with power as Captain to choose his Lieutenant and subordinate officers. On Fe- bruary 3, 1647, he was commissioned in the same office to the gar- rison of Chester and the regiment under the command of Colonel Duckinfield, whose regiment had the command of the garrisons of Shrewsbury, Lancaster, Liverpool, and Ludlow ; and again, on Fe- bruary 13 following, he was commissioned Quarter-Master of Colonel Duckinfield's regiment. In that year he raised a company for that regiment, of which he was appointed Captain, and served with it in Ireland. He was also Muster-Master for the County of Lancaster, by commission dated April 4, 1644. All these commissions were shown to Randal Holme, of Chester, who was acting as deputy to Riley, then Norroy King-at-Arms, in October 1648, and are recited in the grant of an augmentation to the arms borne by his family, which were, on a chief vert three right hands couped on a silver shield, namely, a bloody sword between two keys azure. The grant is stiU in possession of his descendants, and a copy of it may be seen in Harl. MS. 2161. f. 293. The arms are cut in stone on the tomb of Timothy Jollie, near the vestiy-door of the chapel at Sheffield. Major Jollie died in 1666, having brought up three sons at the University. He was an original member of the Manchester Presbyterian Classis. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 61 entered of Trinity College on May 4, 1 648. "At that time," says his brother, " his heart was not seasoned with a principle of saving grace ; though he was religiously educated, united in holy exercises, loved God's people, and was not tainted with gross immorality, yet he had not discerned the evil of sin, the malignity of his nature, or the necessity of Christ, till he was brought under the ministry of Mr. Hammond, through whose plain and powerful preaching his mind became the subject of strong convictions which cost him many sad thoughts of heart, as well as tears, but ended at last in a genuine conversion, in sincere covenanting with God, and in cen- tering his soul by faith on Jesus Christ." Between these two brothers there was the most complete community of sentiment and action, and the most perfect fraternal union. We shall hear more of him as we proceed. After studying the usual number of terms, Mr. Hey- wood took the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and departed from the University in the spring or early in the summer of 1650- He rejoined his family in Lancashire. 52 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER IV. THE PURITANS IN THE ASCENDANT. DESTRUCTION OF THE EPISCO- PAL CHURCH. OTHER MEASURES OF THE ASSEMBLY OF DIVINES. SCHEME OF A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ENGLAND. NEVER EXE- CUTED. RISE OF INDEPENDENCY. ITS PRINCIPLE. RAPID SPREAD. SECTS ARISING OUT OF IT. LANCASHIRE MADE A PROVINCE OF A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. INDEPENDENCY THERE. CONTEST BE- TWEEN RICHARD HEYWOOD AND THE CONGREGATIONAL ELDERSHIP AT BOLTON. REFLECTIONS. MR. HEYWOOD IN THE SUMMER OF 1650. HIS SETTLEMENT AS A MINISTER AT COLEY. We left the Puritans depressed, dispirited, and suifering under the policy which the princes of the house of Stuart adopted in respect of them ; and with their hearts becoming every day more and more alienated from episcopacy, and hardening against the prelates, who were the instruments of the severe policy of the court. It was however apparent that things were ad- vancing to a crisis ; that these oppressive measures would soon have to encounter an active resistance ; and that in fact a great political contest was near at hand. When it came, the issue was not long doubtful, as far as the subjection of the king and the overthrow of the Church were the things aimed at. What else was to come no one could possibly have foreseen. One of the earliest measures of the reforming parlia- ment was highly gratifying to the Puritans, as it was humiliating to the bishops. They were removed from their seats in parliament. But this was nothing to what soon followed ; their revenues were confiscated, and the name, style, and office of bishop was declared by an ordinance of parliament to be for ever abolished in England. Laud, the archbishop of Canterbury, a man to be respected for his learning and the encouragement OLIVER HEYWOOD. 53 he gave to learning, and admired for the stand he ven- tured to make against the Calvinian dogmas, as he is to be condemned for ostentation of power and the support he gave to prerogatives which it was time should be re- signed, an old man of seventy years of age, was cruelly put to death. Other ecclesiastical dignities, such as dean, archdeacon, chancellor, and canon, were abolish- ed, and the lands connected with them sequestered. The parochial clergy and lecturers alone remained, and they soon felt the effect of the spirit of change which was abroad. Commissioners were appointed to in- quire into their lives and doctrine, with power to remove from their cures those who were found "ignorant or scandalous," and to put other ministers in their places ; and this power was rigidly and severely exercised. A Declaration of the Faith of the English Church was pub- lished by authority of parliament more precise in its statements than the Articles to which the clergy had heretofore been accustomed to subscribe, and which left no kind of ambiguity under which persons of Arminian sentiments might shelter themselves. Two correspond- ing Catechisms, the greater and the less, were published, in which was embodied the religious instruction to be given to the young. The public use of the Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments was prohibited, and a Directory for public Religious Ser- vice and for the Sacraments was issued, which allowed all the latitude in respect of ceremonies, gesture and vestments which the Puritans had so long and earnestly coveted. It gave them liberty also in the more import- ant point of free prayer in the public assembly. Finally, there was a new national pledge or oath prepared, which, under the name of the Solemn League and Covenant, all persons who held any oiUce, civil or ecclesiastical, were required to take, by which they bound themselves to the most zealous prosecution of all measures for political and religious reformation. All the points for which the Puritan party had been for so many years contending, 54 THE LIFE OF as far as they were destructive, were thus fully at- tained. In these measures parliament moved with the concur- rence and at the perpetual suggestion of a body of per- sons whom they had convoked, called the Assembly of Divines. This assembly consisted of three distinct classes of men. First, there were the divines, who formed by far the great majority, men summoned from every part of the kingdom who were supposed to excel their bre- thren in Christian knowledge and experience. Of these Lancashire sent two, namely, Richard Heyrick, the warden of Manchester, and Charles Herle, the rector of Winwick. There were next a few laymen, of whom the celebrated Selden was one, a man of whom it is no praise to say that he surpassed all the other members of the Assembly in learning, for in curious and profound scholarship he had not his superior among the most eminent scholars of Europe*. And, lastly, there were deputies from Scotland. Such was the composition of the Assembly by which the Church of England was to be remodelled. The divines were by so much the more numerous that they out-voted and over-rode the rest. But there was no perfect agreement among them even on principal points. There were some who held that the episcopal order existed jure divino, and that there * We have few instances of men appearing out of place so striking as Selden in tiie Assembly of Divines at Westminster. It is " Saul among the Prophets ; " and what execution we may conceive the sword of Saul might have done among the long-stoled prophets, that the wit and learning of Selden did among the gowned Puritans with whom he was associated. He delighted to tease and perplex, but he attempted to carry nothing ; and it seems as if his end were not anything more than to dazzle and confound. How unlike he must have been to all his associates appears plainly in his Table Talk, a work the genuineness of which cannot be doubted. It is plain that he thought it the part of true wisdom to keep down as much as possible the excitement which so often arises from diversity of opinion in respect of religious ministrations ; — a good principle, though it may be carried too far. See particularly what he says ou " Scrutamini Scripturas," and the whole article entitled 'ReUgion.' OLIVER HEYWOOD. 55 could be no true Christian and Apostolic Church with- out it ; but these soon ceased to attend. There were a few who opposed themselves to any national union in a church. But the larger portion of the English divines and the deputies from Scotland were Presbyterian, still contending for a National Church, but that the Church should be constituted in the Presbyterian form, without bishops, having no order superior to presbyters. The establishment of such a National Church as this was the main object of those persons who looked beyond the mere destructive. Indeed the persons in the Assem- bly were very few who did not look to some national union and general consent, though they might differ re- specting the foundation of it, and the principles on which it should be constructed. In one thing the majority agreed, that greater liberty should be allowed to the ministers, and greater power of interference in affairs ecclesiastical be given to the laity. In general terms, as the political state, so the ecclesiastical state was to become more republican. They did not therefore stop at the abolition of the Church as constituted with the episcopal order, but they set themselves to raise, if pos- sible, a Presbyterian Church in its place. The frame of the proposed church was this : — Where- ever there was an established congregation with a pastor, whether in a church to which tithe of common riffht belonged, or one in which a vicar was established, or a mere chapel to which no tithe belonged, persons called Ruling Elders were to be chosen by the votes of the congregation, whose duty it was to assist the pastor or minister by their information, advice, and service, and to exercise a superintendence over all the other persons composing the congregation. These formed the Con- gregational Eldership. The minister and some of the more discreet of the ruling elders in districts containing about twenty or thirty congregations were to meet once a month as a Classical Presbytery ; the number of elders sent by each congregation not to be more than four, nor 56 THE LIFE OF less than two. One of the ministers was to act as mo- derator or chairman. Great power was to be given to these presbyteries. They might redress any abuse of any kind that could be construed into an offence against ecclesiastical discipline. They were the examiners of persons who were candidates for the ministry, and with them it lay to give or refuse ordination. An appeal, however, lay from them to the Provincial Assembly, which was to meet twice a-year, and to consist of two ministers and four ruling elders sent from each Classical Presbytery in the province. Above all was to be a National Assembly, composed of two ministers and four ruling elders sent from each Provincial Assembly, toge- ther with five learned and godly persons from each of the Universities. This was to be the court of final appeal, but it could meet only when summoned by parliament. Such was the frame of the Presbyterian Church of England which the Puritans would have established. It was a part of the duty of the Congregational Elder- ships to inquire into the religious knowledge and spi- ritual estate of any member of the congregation, and to admonish, suspend from the Lord's table, and even to excommunicate those whom they deemed ignorant or scandalous. The Classical Presbyteries were to deter- mine cases of conscience, and to remove difficulties in respect of doctrine ; to endeavour the conversion of schismatics and popish recusants ; to take cognizance of cases of simony or irregular entrance on the ministe- rial office, of affected lightness and vanity in preaching, of non-residence, of non-compliance with the Directory, and other ministerial irregularities. They interposed in the affairs of particular congregations if the eldership appeared to neglect its duty, and they censured ministers who were scandalous in life or doctrine. In respect of the exercise of their duty of ordination, they were to examine the qualifications of candidates, to see that they brought proper Certificates of unblameable life, diligence OLIVER HEYWOOD. 57 and proficiency in their studies, of the time spent in the Universities, the degrees taken there, that they were of the age of four-and-twenty, and that they had taken the solemn league and covenant. The Preshyterian Church of England existed however only as a parliamentary project. The national assembly was never convoked ; nor could it be, for there was hardly a provincial assembly in the country from whom deputies were to come to form it, and in few places had the people proceeded even so far as to establish Congre- gational Elderships or Classical Presbyteries. The cause of this backwardness in conforming to the ordinance of parliament by which this frame of a Na- tional Church was sanctioned may be seen in part in the unpreparedness of many portions of the kingdom for so great a change, where very zealous ministers had not been stationed; and in part in obvious inconveniences of the system itself in some of its most important points. Persons, not irreligious, may naturally have been reluc- tant to raise to the authority of a ruling elder some of their honest neighbours, who having never before aspired to anything higher than a constable, might reasonably be supposed not to know very well how to use the power with which an elder was to be invested ; and it must have been perceived from the beginning by any reflecting person that there could be no uniformity in the judg- ments of such bodies as the Classical Presbyteries or Provincial Assemblies, who were without law or prece- dent to guide them, and that therefore the rule of go- vernment must have been uncertain and often vexatious. It must also have been perceived that the harmony of the parishes would be in great danger of frequent inter- ruption, for it could not be supposed that a suspended or excommunicated member would always be satisfied with the sentence pronounced upon him, or that the lives of ruling elders could always bear the strict scru- tiny of jealous and offended neighbours. Besides this, there was a large body of persons devoted in heart to 68 THE LIFE OF the old system who greatly preferred the public service in the manner of the English Liturgy to the prayers of the Puritan ministers by whom the pulpits were filled, and who, though depressed as they then were, would lend no hand in the parishes to the establishment of the Presbyterian discipline. But the main cause of the immediate failure of the project was the rise of a principle, w^hich if it must not be called neiv, at this period first became prominent in England. The principle T mean is Independency. The fundamental principle of Independency is this : — That it was not the intention of the founders of Christ- ianity that all who should take upon themselves the Christian name should form one vast society, the Church, united together under one Head; — a majestic and splendid idea : or that each nation or political com- munity should form themselves into such a society un- der a particular Head, so as to form a National Church: — but that wherever there was a congregation of persons, be it large or be it small, who had united themselves together for Christian purposes and had a regularly-appointed pas- tor and deacons, there w^as a true Christian Church, with- out any union, connection, or dependency on or with any other similar community, except such as might be agreed upon for purposes of friendly communication or spiritual assistance and advice. The call of such a congregation of any person to the office of pastor was regarded by them as to all intents and purposes the investing of such person with the sacred character of minister, without any ordination by bishop or any body of presbyters ; though other ministers might be called in to witness the choice which they had made, and to beg the Divine blessing on the connexion into which they were about to enter. It was also a part of the system to allow of the preaching of " gifted brethren." This was one of the various opinions which appeared in England as soon as men were invited to " Search the Scriptures" rather than to "Hear the Church." One OLIVER HEYWOOD. 59 Robert Brown, a minister in Northamptonshire, of a good and ancient family in the midland parts of England, was a zealous assertor of the principle in the reign of EHzabeth, and suffered much on that account ; whence it was that persons of this opinion were sometimes called Brownists. The opinion was not without its supporters in the reigns of the two first Stuarts. The holders of this opinion were a species under the genus Puritan, for they had all the scruples and the strictness of that body. They were considered extreme by both parties in the Church. They were disliked both by the Episcopalians and Presbyterians as holding principles which tended to religious and political disintegration. A considerable portion of the harsh treatment to which the Puritans were subject fell upon them ; but they had not suffered so much as a body distinct from the Puritans at large to raise them into any particular notice. Many of them removed to New England, in which country the opinion prevailed to a greater extent than at home. Five ministers, all University-men, of these opinions, or opinions near-allied to them, left England in or about 1632, and settled themselves in Holland, where was a universal toleration even at that early period. Their names were Goodwin, Nye, Bridge, Simpson, and Bur- roughs. Other persons accompanied them, and they had English congregations formed on their principles at Rot- terdam and Arnheim. When the Parliament had resolved on granting liberty to the ministers and altering the con- stitution of the Church, these men returned to England and became members of the Assembly. They formed there a compact and steady minority ; agreeing with the rest in every thing that tended to destruction, but divi- ding against them when the object was to raise another National Church in place of the Episcopal Church which was destroyed. The word Dissenter, in its tech- nical sense, was first applied to these men. They were so constantly opposed to the will of the majority, that they were known in the Assembly by the name of The Dissenting Brethren. This was about 1643. 60 THE LIFE OF In the Assembly they could carry nothing. There the whole power was with the Presbyterians. But they set themselves to work upon the people at large ; and, by means of zealous preaching and of the circulation of pamphlets, they soon brought over many to their opi- nions, and in London and in country parishes congre- gations began to be formed of persons who left their parish-churches, forming themselves into independent societies, with deacons and a pastor of their own choo- sing. These societies were called by the name of Gathered Churches. A few of the old dissenting congregations still existing originated at this period, and in this manner. There are few instances of success rapidly followung on the promulgation of a new opinion so remarkable as this. But its success was favoured by the then state of the nation, where was a powerful party contending for greater freedom, both political and ecclesiastical ; and this system seemed to promise the highest conceivable ecclesiastical freedom consistent with the maintenance of any degree of Christian union. In particular, it made its way in the army. At the first the great captains were Presbyterians ; but in a little while they were superseded by officers who were zealous Inde- pendents, and it went on strengthening itself there till the whole power of the army was bent in that direction. Thus before seven years had passed from the time when Episcopacy was abolished, the sounder and more en- lighted part of the Puritan body found itself reduced to political insignificancy : the King was put to death before their eyes, some of the most eminent persons be- longing to them were forcibly driven from their places in parliament, and the whole power of the state had passed into the possession of a party whose leading principle in ecclesiastics was as opposite to theirs, as was the principle of Episcopacy itself. Thus it seems ever to be in political movements. They are begun by men well-intentioned, earnest, and honest ; an established order of things which they meant to improve is overturned and destroyed ; and there arises OLIVER HEYWOOD. 61 not that beautiful fabric which they in their imagina- tions had contemplated, but some unsightly building, full of strange and unclean beasts who find warmth and shelter in its precincts, and who not unfrequently sally forth to tread down and rend to pieces those well-mean- ing men who gave them their power to do so. And this it is which makes wise and good men pause before they engage in efforts to amend an existing system, while they wish to see it improved ; through a fear which con- stant experience shows to be most reasonable, that they will but open the way for something in which there is far more of evil, and be themselves the first to be destroyed. We shall soon see what Mr. Heywood himself thought of the consequences which ensued on the success of his own party. When the principle of Independency extensively pre- vailed and was supported by the power of the sword, it is manifest that nothing could be done effectually towards executing the project of a Presbyterian Church. The principle itself was obnoxious to the Presbyte- rians ; but it became much more so when it was per- ceived how it made way for the prevalence of all kinds of wild opinions and eccentric practices in religion. This necessarily followed on the encouragement which they gave to lay-preaching. It was out of Independency that there sprang the numerous sects which are the reproach of that period and of Puritanism itself, — the Sabbatarians, Millenarians, Grindletonians, Muggle- tonians, Fifth Monarchists, Ranters, Seekers, Quakers, Anabaptists, with many others more short-lived than these, and yet of these only the Anabaptists and the Quakers have had any continued existence. That they did not continue longer was owing to the subsidence of the religious excitement, and the recovery of the good sense of the English people : but they existed long enough to be a dreadful annoyance to the sober Puritan, and to involve him at last in a common calamity with them. Most of the sects had made their appearance and the 62 THE LIFE OF ministers were making their way into the national edifices appropriated for the meeting of Christians for worship, and the religious anarchy of the next ten years was he- ginning, when Mr. Heywood left Cambridge, in 1650. In no part of the kingdom w-as equal progress made in establishing Presbyterianism as in Lancashire. There the system was actually carried out to its fullest extent, except that there was no opportunity of sending deputies to a national assembly. Congregational Elder- ships were appointed. Classical Presbyteries also, and the Provincial Assembly was constituted, which met at Preston. There were among the ministers of the time in Lancashire many able and zealous men who exerted themselves to bring this about, the principal of whom were Mr. Heyrick and Mr. Hollingworth, of Manchester, Mr. Angier, of Denton, Mr. Tildesley, of Dean, Mr. Har- rison, of Ashton,Mr. Ambrose, of Preston, and who sup- ported the dignity of the system by their own gravity, ability, and general personal character. The ordinance of Parliament by which the county of Lancaster was thrown into the form of a province of a Presbyterian Church bears date October 2, 1646. The Presbyteries were nine ; and they were denominated from the prin- cipal towns in the district ; — Manchester, Bolton, Black- burn, Warrington, Walton, Croston, Preston, Lancaster, and Aldingham. In the Manchester Presbytery, the parishes of Manchester, Prestwich, Oldham, Flixton, Eccles, and Ashton were included: in that of Bolton, Bolton, Middleton, Bury, Rochdale, Dean, and Radcliffe. It will be remembered that some of these were large parishes, having many chapels*. The ordinance was passed in accordance with a peti- tion from the county, which was subscribed by 12,578 persons, no inconsiderable proportion of the whole Pro- testant population. The Presbyterians were the more desirous of the establishment of the system in conse- * I subjoin a list of the persons who formed the first Classical Presbyteries of Manchester and Bolton, taken from the Ordinance OLIVER IIEYWOOD. 63 quence of the appearance in Lancashire of the Inde- pendent principle, and the controversy which arose upon of Parliament. They show who were the more zealous Presbyterians of the time in Mr. Heywood's own county. MANCHESTER CLASSIS. Ministers. Mr. Richard Heyrick, and Mr. Richard Hollingworth, of Manchester. Mr. John Angier, of Denton. Mr. William Walker, of Newton. Mr. TobyFurnes, of Prestwich. Mr. Humph. Barnet, of Oldham. Mr. John Jones, of Eccles. Mr. John Harrison, of Ashton. Laymen. Robert Hyde, of Denton, esq. Rich.Howarth,ofManchester,esq. Robert Ashton, of Shipley, esq. Thos.Strangways, of Gorton, esq. William Booth, of Reddish, gent. John Gaskel, of Manchester, gent. Edw. Sandiforth, of Oldham, gent. John Birch, of Openshaw, gent. Thos. Smith,of Manchester, gent. Peter Serjeant, of Pilkington, gent. Rob.Leech, of Ashton parish, gent. JohnWright,ofBradford,yeoman. Wm. Peak, of Worsley, yeoman. Thomas Taylor, of Flixton pa- rish, yeoman. Thomas Barlow, of Eccles parish, yeoman. Peter Seddon, of Pilkington, yeoman. James Jollie, of Droilsden, gent. BOLTON CLASSIS. Ministers. Mr. John Harpur of Bolton, Mr.WilHamAshton,ofMiddleton. Mr. William Alte. Mr. Andrew Latham. Mr. Jonathan Scolfield, of Bury. Mr. Robert Bathe, of Rochdale. Mr. Alexander Horrocks, Mr. John Tildesley. Mr, James Walton, of Dean. Mr. Thomas Pyke, of RadclifFe. Laymen. Ralph Ashton, of Middleton, esq. John Bradshaw, of Bradshaw, esq. Edm. Hopwood, of Hopwood, esq. Robert Lever, of Darcy Lever, esq . John Andrews, of Little Lever, gent. Rob. Hey wood, of Hey wood, gent. Peter Holt, of Heap, gent. Arthur Smethurst, of Heap, gent. Thomas Eccarsal, of Bury, gent. Edward Butterworth, of Belfield, esq. John Scolfield, of Castleton, yeo- man. Emanuel Thompson, of Rochdale, clothier. Sam. Wylde, of Rochdale,mercer. James Stot, of Healey, gent. Robert Pares, of Rochdale, gent. Rob.Worthington,ofSmithel,esq. Giles Green, of West Houghton, yeoman. Henry Molyneux, of West Houghton, gent. Hen. Seddon, of Heaton, yeoman. Robert Hardman of RadclifFe, yeoman. John Bradshaw, of Darcy Lever, gent. RichardDickenson,ofAynsworth, yeoman. 64 THE LIFE OF it. The controversy originated with Mr. Samuel Eaton, who returned to England at the beginning of the war from New England, whither he had gone and where he had imbibed or become strengthened in the principle of Independency. On his return he settled at Duckinfield, in the Cheshire parish of Stockport, but near the con- fines of the parish of Manchester. There he had a ga- thered church. He was very zealous for his Independent principles, and was supported by a few of the neighbour- ing ministers, particularly Mr. Root and Mr. Timothy Taylor. There were persons favouring these opinions in Manchester even as early as 1649. Hollingworth tells us that a small Independent Church was founded which met in a room at the College*. In 1651 there were two regularly formed Independent congregations in Lan- cashire ; that at Walmesley, of which Mr. Michael Bris- coe was the pastor ; and that at Altham, of which the pastor was Thomas Jollie, Mr. Heywood's friend at Cambridge, who had fallen very early into these opinions. The chief administration of religious affairs in this county was, however, during the whole succeeding period till the return of the king, in the hands of the Presby- terians, a completely organized body. There was no- thing approaching to it in completeness in any other part of the kingdom ; and it is perhaps to these twelve years in which the party acted on the basis of an Ordi- nance of Parliament which gave a legalized sanction to their proceedings, and in fact incorporated them with the general polity of the Commonwealth, that we are to attribute the bolder front which Presbyterianism has ever put on in Lancashire than in any other part of the kingdom, and the preservation to our own times of so much greater a proportion of the Presbyterian congre- gations formed when Presbyterianism had become non- conformity. The book of the Proceedings of the Manchester * Mancuniensis, a MS. in the Cheetham Library, printed in 12mo. 1839. p. 122. OLIVER HIiYWOOD. 65 Classis has been preserved, a public, authentic, and im- portant record, in one sense a national record, the Classis having been a body which arose in the public polity of the times, and which rested on the sound basis of the law of the land. Much use is made of it, and much in- formation from other sources, on these matters, is to be found, in 'The History of the Collegiate Church of Man- chester,' by Dr. Hibbert, an excellent work, to which we have already had occasion to refer. Of the working of the system in the parishes, the fol- lowing narrative by Mr. Heywood of what happened be- tween his father and the Congregational Eldership at Bolton affords an instructive exposition : — " In the year 1647, or thereabouts, the Presbyterian government being settled at Bolton, the ministers, Mr. John Harpur and Mr. Richard Goodwin, together with the Eldership, made an order, after an examination and approbation of the communicants, that every time they were to come to the Lord's Supper, every particular communicant should, upon the Friday before, fetch a little ticket, as they called it, of lead, of the elders, and show it to the elders again in the church before they w^re to receive the Sacrament, that they might know that none but such as were admitted did intrude themselves. The elders also took them of them at that time, and they were to fetch them against the next. Now my father together with several other able Christians in the congregation were unwilling to submit to this practice, partly because they looked upon it as an innovation and a snare, partly because it was cumbersome to the com- municants, partly because it was an uncertain means to attain the end, as experience testified ; partly, also, be- cause no other churches in the country had any such practice. These and such like reasons he exhibited to the Eldership in writing, and in his own practice re- fused to fetch or show any such ticket when he came to the Sacrament. Whereupon they sent for him, sum- moned him to appear before them. He came, and many F 66 THE LIFE OF disputes they had. They admonished him, and when he was still resolute, persisting still in his schism, as they pleased to call it, they suspended him from the Lord's Supper. But that was not sufficient, for, as I remem- ber, they did also excommunicate him for contempt, be- cause, as they said, he laughed them to scorn ; for ha- ving naturally a smiling countenance it may be he might sometimes smile in his discourse with them. However, he would not submit himself upon their admonition, nor acknowledge that he had done wrong ; therefore they proceeded. My dear mother would have had him to have yielded for peace sake : the rest, old Robert Cromp- ton, Roger Roscow, and others, though approving what he did and encouraging him, yet held off, and would not appear, so that he was alone in the controversy. Being in this strait, shut out from communion with them, he appealed to the Classical Meeting of Ministers and Elders. There it was debated a considerable time, and though the Classis were unsatisfied in the proceedings of the Eldership of Bolton against my father, yet they were loth to censure them, only desired them to pass it by and admit him to the Supper. But when they trifled about it, and did nothing, my father made an appeal from the Classical Presbytery at Bury to the Provincial Assembly at Preston, and after the business had been debated there, they made an order that the Congregational Eldership at Bolton should revoke their sentence of suspension of my father from the Lord's Supper, admit him again into fellowship with them ; exhorting both sides to a mutual accommodation ; and, as I remember, the tickets, the occasion of this contention, were by this time laid aside. When this came to the ministers and elders of Bolton church, they something stickled at his restoration with- out his submission. However they were bound to obey the order of the Provincial Assembly, and at last framed a paper which was read in the church, wherein they freed Richard Heywood from his suspension ; but withall made some hints therein as though he had submitted him- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 67 self, which he did not, and so it was not at all satisfactory to him, and I think he never joined with them in the Lord's Supper afterwards, but was entertained at Cockey and all places about. This is, in short, an account of that troublesome business, which was afoot just at that time when I was at Cambridge ; and T remember, when I came into the country in the latter end of 1648, I writ much for him, which was in way of reply to the Eldership of Bolton, and some appeals which I have now forgot : but the controversy was hot, begot much bad blood, many animosities amongst good people in the society, some taking one side, others another, so that it became a very heavy burthen to the spirit of my dear mother, who was all for love and peace, and was willing to have yielded to any thing rather than to have contended : but he stood upon his own integrity, which he often said he would not remove as long as he lived, quoting that of Job xxvii. 2 — 6. But however it was a great affliction to him, which yet he bore with invincible courage and magnanimity, and was not daunted with anything." This is a very extraordinary narrative, and the reflec- tions which it suggests are not of a nature very favourable to the system which was to supersede the ancient arrange- ments of the Anglican Church. Vehement had been the outcry when spiritual authority had interposed to remove a person guilty of irregularities from Christian com- munion ; but when done it had not been done without inquiry by persons wholly devoid of personal interest in the question, and when the most cultivated and intelli- gent minds were brought to the investigation of the facts and the application of the principles of law and ancient precedent. But here the step was ventured upon by a little knot of a man's familiar acquaintance, men with whom the ordinary businesses of life had brought him into fre- quent communication, and who must in some cases have been either personal friends or rivals, or perhaps enemies. And this strange and novel tribunal proceeds to pass the severe sentence of excommunication, and on an occasion F 2 68 THE LIFE OF SO trivial and so foolish, that it is difficult not to look upon the whole affair with a feeling approaching to con- tempt for the people who could waste time and patience on any thing so exceedingly worthless. At the same time it must be allowed that the Eldership had an im- practicable person to deal with : but then impracticable persons it ought to have been expected would be found, and they are not the least frequently found in combina- tions for purposes of religion : and a system must be defective which allows one such person to outbrave the authorities, and embroil a whole parish in heart-burnings and disputes about a subject in itself so trivial. On the whole, it appears that no arrangement could be framed for the government of a church to which such a person as Mr. Richard Hey wood would not have been a dissatis- fied opponent ; and we may see in this narrative that the more sober and quiet part of the parishioners of Bolton would begin to think that little was gained by the change from Episcopacy to Presbyterianism, which they had so earnestly solicited. Mr. Hey wood's entrance on the ministry illustrates the state of anarchy to which ecclesiastical affairs in England were at that time reduced. When he returned from Cambridge to Lancashire he had more than completed his twentieth year. But he wanted eight or nine months of being twenty-one, while twenty-four was the age at which, according to the Presbyterian project, a person might enter the ministry to undertake the office of pastor. It was his own inten- tion and desire to join the family of some older minister, that he might become better acquainted with the duties of the pastoral office ; and the family entered into nego- tiation with Mr. Angier of Denton to receive him for that purpose into his house. These negotiations were not con- ducted to any successful issue ; and the summer of 1650 was spent by Mr. Heywood with his father at Little Lever, or in visits to distant friends. On one of those visits he first began to preach. He OLIVER HEYWOOD. 69 was at an obscure place, the name of which he has not mentioned, beyond Preston ; and having there made a beginning, he was easily prevailed upon to undertake the same work in the churches of Carlton and Skip- ton, when visiting his sister, Mrs. Whitehead, who re- sided at Bent-hall, in Lothersdale in Craven. Very soon after this he became settled as the minister and pastor of a rural flock. The place was Coley, one of the chapels of the parish of Halifax, in Yorkshire, a parish of great extent lying on the Lancashire border, Coley being thirty or forty wearisome miles from Bolton. This was the most important step in the life of Mr. Hey- wood, for Coley continued from that time to be the place of his abode and the principal scene of his labours for the remainder of his life. His settlement there may be said to have been quite accidental. His uncle, Francis Critchlaw, was acquainted with a family at Coley, and paying them a visit found the peo- ple without a minister, Mr. Cudworth having lately left them. He told them of Mr. Heywood, who was not entirely unknown to one or two persons among them. Instead of the appointment to these chapels being vested as it now is in the vicar of Halifax, who resides amidst his clergy and people more like the bishop of a little diocese than the vicar of a country parish, the inhabit- ants of the chapelry chose the minister. Indeed there was then no vicar of Halifax, the church of Halifax being reduced to the same rank with the chapels that had been dependent upon it, and having its particular minister, as the several chapels had theirs. The people of Coley sent " two ancient godly men" to Little Lever to invite Mr. Heywood to Coley. One of them was Luke Hoyle, whose name has occurred before. Mr. Heywood returned with them, and conducted the service at the chapel on the succeeding Sunday. So great was the satisfaction which the young preacher gave, that the people flocked about him when the service was over, 70 THE LIFE OF earnestly entreating that he would remain with them. All they could obtain was a promise that he would re- turn to them on another Sunday : but he thought at that time so little of any settlement at Coley that he took a journey to Wrexham to visit his relative who resided there. Another minister appeared in the mean- time at Coley, a Mr. Hargreaves, whose stay among them was desired by some of the parishioners. Others however looked impatiently for Mr. Hey wood's return. On his second visit they were more importunate, and the desire of his settling with them appearing to be ge- neral, he consented to accept their call. Such were the circumstances under which he came to Coley. The date of his first visit is Michaelmas, 1650. On the 26th of November following, the terms of his engagement were settled at Halifax. The income was to be 10/. from the lands belonging to the chapel, and 20/. from the contributions of the people. He reserved to himself the right of retiring at the expiration of six months. Thus unordained, and not yet twenty-one, he became a pastor of one of the old national congregations. It does not appear that any other minister was concerned in the arrangement ; it was an affair between himself and the people of Coley. Yet his beginning to preach at that early age, and even to take the charge of a congregation, was not without the sanction of his friends in the minis- try, for Mr. Tildesley would gladly have retained him in Lancashire and placed him in the chapel of Haughton, then vacant by the death of Mr. Horrocks. In some private memoranda written many years after, he declares that he had never seen reason to repent of the step which he took at this most critical period of a minister's life. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 71 CHAPTER V. THE PARISH OF HALIFAX. COLEY CHAPEL. CHARACTER OF THE PA- RISH BY DR. FAVOUR, JAMES RITHER, AND DR. WHITAKER. THE LECTURE THERE. VICARS. MINISTERS DURING THE COMMON- WEALTH. MINISTERS IN THE SEVERAL CHAPELS AT THE TIME OF MR. HEYWOOd's SETTLEMENT AT COLEY. MR. HEYWOOd's PREDE- CESSORS AT COLEY. FAMILIES AT COLEY. THE SUNDERLANDS. CAPTAIN HODGSON. SIR THOMAS BROWNE, LATELY AN INHABITANT OF THE PARISH. THE BESTS. NATHANIEL HEYWOOD SETTLES AT ILLINGWORTH. HE AND HIS BROTHER LIVE TOGETHER. MARRIAGE WITH ELIZABETH ANGIER. NOTICE OF HER FATHER. HER DEATH. THE DEATH OF MR. HEYWOOd's MOTHER. Rightly to understand Mr. Heywood's position, it must be remembered that many of the parishes in the north are of great extent, very different in this respect from the parishes in the south of England, and are con- sequently broken up into parochial chapelries. It has been ascertained that the area of the parish of Halifax is not less than one hundred and twenty-four miles. The mother-church is in the town of Halifax, and there are two chapels situated at EUand and Heptonstall which were probably founded about the same time with the parish church, and when this large district of mountain and forest land was first separated from some still more extensive parish and given a spiritual superintendent of its own. This may be referred to the reign of king Henry the First. From that time to the Reformation eight other edifices had arisen in various parts of the parish, works of ancient piety, in which religious ser- vices were performed. Two others arose in the interval between the Reformation and the triumph of Puritanism. These works brought the offices of religion home to those inhabitants of this wide parish, who living far 72 THE LIFE OF remote from their parish church, and where the natural features of the country rendered access difficult, and in some seasons impossible, could without them have had but few opportunities of joining in the offices of re- ligion. These twelve chapels had such endowment as the zeal or ability of their founders could aiford them. With the great ecclesiastical revenue arising in the parish they had nothing to do. The whole of this had been assigned over at the time of the foundation of the parish to the monastery of Lewes in Sussex, who took the revenues for the support of their house, making, however, out of them a liberal allowance to the vicar, who had to per- form the duties for which this revenue was the proper but far more than sufficient compensation. Coley chapel was one of the twelve chapels of which I have spoken. It stands, or rather the new building which has superseded the old chapel in which Mr. Hey- wood officiated and is on the same site, in the township of Hipperholm. It is on high ground, and its white walls are conspicuous to the traveller for many miles of his journey between the two neighbouring towns of Halifax and Bradford. In the same township, and at a little distance from Coley chapel, is the chapel of Light- cliffe. Both these chapels were erected at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and Mr. Heywood has preserved a tradition, current in his time, that the foundation of them was an act of piety of two maidens, sisters, who liv^ed at Priestley Green in the neighbourhood. Mr. Hey- wood, full of Puritan prejudice, says it was a good work, "though it might be done in superstition." No doubt it was a good and pious work, highly beneficial to a countrv, the inhabitants of which had to ascend one precipice and to descend two others whenever they had occasion to resort to their parish church. Coley chapel was erected for the benefit of the people inhabiting in Shelf, Northouram, and part of Hipper- holm. There is a village of Northouram, but the rural OLIVER HEYWOOD. 73 population of the parish of Halifax live for the most part dispersed in single houses, or in very small collec- tions of houses, so small as not to attain even to the character of hamlet. There is no village of Coley ; but near the chapel w^as a house called Coley Hall, which had been the residence of the chief family of the chapelry. The whole parish, lying on the eastern declivity of the English Apennines, and extending westward to the highest point where the waters spring which flow to the great estuaries on the east and west sides of the island, has all the characteristics of mountainous regions : " Terra mala et sterilis, dumetis obsita, saxis Horrida, quse nullis inventa est frugibus apta ; Sed bona gens, populus sanctus, pietatis et ardens." Such is the description of the parish by, it is believed, Dr. Favour, one of its early Protestant vicars, carved in stone on the free-school. Yet there appears to have been more than the usual amount of ferocity in the inhabitants of these mountainous and forest regions. One of the chapels, before the Reformation, was pol- luted by the shedding of human blood ; and one of the vicars, Dr. Holdsworth, who built that part of the church called Holdsworth's works, a very unpopular man, was murdered in the vicarage-house in the reign of Queen Mary. The savage custom of the forest, which allowed execution by beheading to be done in a summary way on offenders convicted of crimes of no particular enor- mity, must have tended to brutalize the population. Seventeen persons, of whom four were women, were thus savagely butchered in the twenty-seven years be- fore Mr. Heywood became a resident of the parish. Two persons had been beheaded in the spring of the year in which he settled at Coley. They were, however, the last. A country like this, abounding in coal and mountain streams, is favourable to manufactures ; and the inha- bitants have been, from a remote period, engaged in the making of cloth as much as in tilling the ground. 74 THE LIFE OF The following description of the place and its inha- bitants, from the pen of a Yorkshire esquire of the reign of Elizabeth, has never been quoted, and is curious, if for nothing else, for the singular remark with which it concludes : — " These inhabitants of Halifax are planted among our most strong and barren mountains west from York, somewhat upon the south in the edge of Lancashire. These excel the rest in policy and industry for the use of their trade and grounds ; and after the rude and arro- gant manner of their w^ild country they surpass the rest in wisdom and wealth. They despise their old fashions if they can hear of a new more commodious ; rather affecting novelties than afRed to old ceremonies ; only the ancient custom of beheading such as are apprehended for theft, without trial after the course of law, they are driven by the same need and necessity to continue, that enforced them to take it up at the first ; otherwise their trade in that wild place could not have been. It should seem that desire of praise and sweetness of their due commendation hath begun and maintained among these people a natural ardency of new inventions annexed to an unyielding industry in their faculty of cloth, and by enforcing grounds, beyond all hope, to fertility ; so that if the rest of the county would in this follow them but afar off, the force and wealth of Yorkshire would be soon doubled. In one instance, see but the very sham- bles of their town ; it is incredible how far the town of Halifax excels York in uttering much and good meat. These people were with the first well affected to religion, so that in the beginning of Her Majesty's most happy reign, if not since, it was hard for a minister, elsewhere in the county, of honest life and parentage, to fetch a wife." This may be compared with what an acute but too severe observer says of the same people at the beginning of the present century : — " A tincture of early Puritanism yet continues to appear in the manners and the Christian OLIVER HEYWOOD. 75 names of the people ; and perhaps there is not a parish in the kingdom where Old Testament names have so nearly superseded those of the New*. In the remoter parts of the parish, and particularly on the confines of Lancashire, where old families, the great correctors of barbarism, either have never existed or have been long extinct, the state of manners and morals is perhaps more degraded than in any part of the island. Ignorant and savage, yet cunning and attentive to their own interests, under few restraints from law, and still fewer from con- science, it is a singular phsenomenon that almost all the people are, under one denomination or other, religion- ists ; a striking instance, I will not say of the tendency of separation to produce immorality, but of the inefficacy of multiplied and discordant modes of worship to cor- rect it. In fact, as far as evidence can be collected on the subject, they were neither better nor worse before the Reformation ; they were no better when all were nominally members of the Church of Englandf." The picture is overcharged, and I shall quote no more, except a very short passage, on account of its exact ac- cordance with what James Rither, whose curious memo- rial was unknown to Dr. Whitaker, had observed long before : — " They have no superior to court, no civilities to practise ; a sour and sturdy humour is the conse- quence ; so that a stranger is shocked by a tone of de- fiance in every voice, and an air of fierceness in every countenance." As at Manchester, so at Halifax, a lecture had been established in the church in the early part of the reign of Elizabeth, to the good effects of which archbishop Grindall thus appeals when objections began to be taken * Old Testament names are rarely found at Halifax before the Reformation. Of eighty-six names of persons of this parish which were affixed to a memorial in the reign of Henry the Eighth, there is not one derived from the Jewish Scriptures. t Loidis (Old Elmete, by the Rev. T; D. Wliitaker, LL.D., folio, 1816, pp. 371. 372. 76 THE LIFE OF at court against this mode of working upon the people by persons who foresaw the certain consequence of doing so in the rise of Protestant disaffection : — " What bred the rebelhon in the north? Was it not papistry and the ignorance of God's holy word, and through want of preaching? And in the times of that rebellion, were not all men of all estates that made pro- fession of the Gospel most ready to offer their lives for your defence ? Insomuch that one poor parish in York- shire, which by continual preaching had been better instructed than the rest, Halifax I mean, was ready to bring three or four thousand men into the field to serve against the said rebels. How can Your Majesty have a more lively trial and experience of the contrary effects of much preaching and little or no preaching, the one working most unnatural disobedience and rebellion, the other most faithful obedience?" This passage Mr. Heywood found in the epistle dedi- catory before Mr. Greenhill's second part of his ' Expo- sition on Ezekiel*',' and treasured it up in his papers. These lectures appear to have been discontinued and to have had a new beginning about 1620. We find the following in Mr. Hey wood's notes : — " All those times, for thirty years together and upwards, there was a famous exercise maintained every month at Halifax, whereat not only neighbour ministers preached in their turns, but strangers far and near were sent for to preach it ; two sermons a- day, being the last Wednesday in the month; multitudes of hearers. It's said this exercise was maintained in Dr. Favour's days, who was a great friend to Non-Conformists, maintained two famous men as lecturers at Halifax, whom he shrouded under his au- thority and interest with the bishop, namely, Mr. Boys, banished out of Kent for his Non-Conformity, a choice man, very laborious in the work of the Lord, catechized * The passage has been often quoted. See Strype, Life of Grin- dall, 8vo, 1821, p. 439 ; and Watson, History of Halifax, 4to, 1775, p. 366. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 77 all the poor, expounded to them in the church one day in the week, gave them money ; I have his catechism which he taught them : and Mr. Barlow, that writ upon Timothy, a choice man, who had been shrouded under Dr. Favour." When Dr. Favour died and Dr. Clay came in, he removed, Mr Heywood thought, to Ply- mouth. Mr. Ault afterwards was lecturer, who re- moved to Bury, in Lancashire. Dr. Richard Holds worth, who held the living at the Reformation, adhered to it in all the changes of the times ; and his successors, the early Protestant vicars of Halifax, had short incumbencies, and were in no respect distinguished men, till we come to Dr. Favour, who was instituted to the vicarage in 1598, and held the living till his death in 1623. He was a very active and influ- ential churchman both in and out of his parish. There is a quarto work of his of six hundred pages, printed in 1619, which he entitled ' Antiquity triumphing over Novelty.' The design of this work is to refute the pre- tensions of the Romanists to the prescriptive claim from antiquity, by showing that the points against which the Protestants chiefly objected were of late introduction into the church. His successor, Dr. Clay, was a man of a diff"erent character. Then came the two Ramsdens, brothers, both of them apparently valuable men ; and after them Dr. Richard Marsh, who was Dean of York and had other preferment, one of the incumbents in York- shire who were removed from their cures as soon as the Parliament entered on the work of Church-Reformation, under the notion of being " ignorant and scandalous," or non-resident. Dr. Marsh lived to return and claim possession of his church. In the interval there were five ministers in succession at Halifax put in by the Puritan authorities ; namely, Mr. Waite, who removed to Gar- grave ; Mr. Root, the Independent, who removed to the chapel in Sowerby, and was a Non-Conformist under the Act of Uniformity ; Mr. Lake, who conformed under the Act and became at length Bishop of Chichester, and one 78 THE LIFE OF of the Seven Bishops in the reign of James the Second ; finally, he refused to take the oaths to king William*. After them came Mr. Robert Booth, who was the mi- nister at Halifax when Mr. Heywood settled at Coley, *' an excellent scholar, good preacher, a man of unbla- mable life." This is the character given of him by Mr. Heywood, and it agrees with the more florid encomium bestowed upon him by Dr. Midgelyf . Eli Bentley, Mr. Heywood's friend at Cambridge, whom he left there, and who became a fellow of Trinity College, came to assist Mr. Booth in 1652, and succeeded him on his death in 1657. He was the minister at Halifax when the return of the king brought back also Dr. Marsh to claim the church from which he had been removed. The ministers whom Mr. Heywood found in the cha- pels of the parish were Mr. Root, the Independent, at Sowerby ; Mr. Milner, at Sowerby -bridge, who long after succeeded Dr. Lake in the vicarage of Leeds, and, like him, refused to take the oaths to king William ; at Rip- ponden was " old Mr. Allen, who had been parson of Prestwich, a solid substantial preacher, who had been turned out in the war-time for not taking the Covenant ; he found shelter there ; they loved him well ; allowed him a competent maintenance ; frequently preached to them at Halifax Exercise : when the king came in in 1660, he was restored to Prestwich ; lived and died there." So far we have one Independent and two sound Episco- palians. At Elland were ministers of a still difl'erent cha- racter : " old Mr. Robert Town, the famous Antinomian, who writ some books ; he was the best scholar and * Bishop Lake was a native of the parish of Halifax, one of the many persons born in that parish in the first half of the seventeenth century who were sent to the Universities and became ministers. He preached his first sermon in his office at Halifax, July 26, 1647. He removed in 1649 to Oldham, in Lancashire, where he proved a very troublesome person to the Presbyterian Classis at Manchester. In 1660 he became vicar of Leeds. t HalUfax and its Gibbet Law placed in a true light. 12mo. 1708. p. 81. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 79 soberest man of that judgment In the country, but some- thing unsound in principles." At Illingworth Mr. Clark- son, " a good substantial preacher," who removed into Durham, At Luddenden Mr. Fairbank, "a solid preacher, but too much given to his cups." Of the ministers at Heptonstall and Croston, the places being remote from Coley, Mr. Heywood knew less ; but Antinomian principles were there in the ascendant, one of the Towns being at Heptonstall, and Richard Coore at Croston, the author of an octavo of eight hundred pages, entitled ' A Practical Exposition of the Holy Bible,' framed in consistency with Antinomian views. These were the principles also of Mr. Taylor, the minister at Chapel-en- le-Brears, who became at length a professed Quaker. At Rastrick was Mr. Kay, " a good preacher," who removed to Dewsbury, and from thence to Leeds, where he was the lecturer; he was a "moderate Conformist" under the Act of 1662, His successor at Rastrick was Mr. Robinson, " an old man something inclined to the Anti- nomians," who was a Non-Conformist under the Act; and lastly, at Lightcliffe, in Mr. Hey wood's immediate neighbourhood, he found Mr. Ainsworth, of whom he says, that he was " a scholar, little good beside." He became preacher at the great church in Hull. We have, therefore, in this one parish persons of verv different sentiments, — Presbyterians, Independents, and those who were secretly looking for the re-establishment of the Episcopal Church ; and in point of doctrine, all the gradations from Rational Orthodoxy to the extreme of Antinomianism. It is quite evident that such a parish was not prepared to carry out the scheme of a Presbyterian church, nor did it make any movement in that direction. Mr. Heywood has left similar notices of the ministers who succeeded to those whom he found here before him, useful in completing the lists which are left incomplete by Mr. Watson, who is, however, to be praised for the industry with which he prosecuted his researches into 80 THE LIFE OF the history of Halifax. I omit them in this work, not without some reluctance ; but T must quote at large from Mr. Heywood's manuscripts the account which he gives of his own predecessors in the chapel of Coley ; " those famous men," as he calls them, " into whose labours he had entered." We have few such accounts of the series of ministers in the lower ecclesiastical foundations. Of the early names in this list Mr. Heywood writes from the oral information of a person who was eighty-six when he conversed with Mr. Heywood in 1664. " The first preaching minister after one Sir Adam, that was a reader at Coley, was one Mr. Nicholls, who was a good scholar, an able expositor, and did good by catechizing and expounding. His successor acknow^- ledged that he followed him in two places and that he had laid a good foundation of knowledge in the people where he came. Yet he was addicted to drinking and company-keeping. He would have said to his compa- nions, ' You must not heed me but when T am got three foot above the earth,' that was, into the pulpit. He re- moved from Coley to Thornton chapel, in Bradford pa- rish, where he lived very many years, got a great estate, had many sons. They all proved very bad ; have spent all. He died within this thirty years ; was very ancient. (2.) The next that succeeded was one Mr. Gibson, a godly man and an able minister, who was tabled at the Upper Briar, and afterwards did marry his landlady, old Robert Hemingway's wife, but lived not long after that. How long he was minister here, I cannot tell. He left some plate to the chapel that hath his name upon it, yet forthcoming, with a great silver cup gilt with gold, in the hands of Mr. Joseph Furnesse, living in Ovenden, (3.) Mr. Ralph Marsden was the next minister, a godly, orthodox and zealous minister, yet much 0])posed by se- veral professors in this place, as John Lumme, Henry Northend, Michael Hesleden, &c., who never rested till they got him out. What the first occasion of the con- troversy was, I cannot distinctly learn, but it was pro- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 81 moted by some sharp expressions delivered by Mr. Mars- den in public, which could not be borne. One thing I have often heard, that Mr. Marsden living where widow Thorp now lives in Shelf, which then belonged to old Rhodes of Hipperholm, a prophane man, his tenant de- nied him the sacrament. He stormed, and gave him no- tice to remove ; having no whither to go, cheered him- self, saying ' God will provide an habitation ; it may be they are now living whom God will remove to provide me an habitation.' It was so ; for some persons died out of a house upon Northowram Green, where James Briggs now lives, and he took it ; removed at May-day follow- ing. At this time, in several disputes, there was a meet- ing of the chapelry ; Mr. Richard Sunderland of Coley Hall, being a justice of the peace, stood for Mr. Marsden. John Lumme opposed him. Mr. Marsden being turned out w^ent into Lancashire ; was curate at Ashton-under- Line, Middleton ; was followed with some heavy afflic- tions the latter end of his days. Most of his children were born here. Four sons of his were ministers, able men ; viz., Samuel, Jeremiah, Gamaliel and Josiah. One daughter he had, named Esther, that married Mr. Murcot, a famous minister in Ireland, and she was of extraordinary parts ; now dead. Had one son bred up a scholar ; I hear he is now turned Quaker. Mr. Josiah Marsden , the younger, was most eminent, but he is dead in Ireland. His other three brothers are living." Mr. Ralph Marsden died June 30, 1648. Three of the sons were Non-Conformists under the Act, and are in Calamy's list. The youngest was out of the scope of the Act, having gone to Dublin, where he was a Fellow of Trinity College ; he died early. (4.) " After Mr. Marsden there came two or three to Coley, as Mr. Bourn, Mr. Waugh, stayed a quarter or so, but made no settlement. The next settled minister was Mr. Robert Hierst [Hayhurst] , born at Ribchester, in Lancashire. His brother, Mr. Bradley Hierst, vicar of Leigh, turned out upon the Act of Uniformity; yet living at Maxfield, in Cheshire. This choice young man G 82 THE LIFE OF was at Coley seven or eight years, but fell into a con- sumption : took his solemn leave in the chapel ; told them he had spent his strength with them, he was able to preach no more. There was great weeping and la- mentation at the parting ; he pined away ; had his mo- ther with him, whose breasts he sucked as long as he was able ; then died at the Upper Briar, where he was tabled, leaving a sweet savour behind him both of sound doc- trine and holy life : was much lamented. (5.) After him came Mr. Denton, a godly minister, who lived at Priestley Green ; had no great matters, yet increased exceedingly in the world ; had several children ; continued here several years ; above seven. But times were sharp. The bishops were at their height. In his time came out the Book for Sports on the Sabbath-day, the Oath, &c. He saw he could not do what was required, and feared further persecution, and therefore took the opportunity of going intoNewEngland ; I suppose about the time that Matthew Mitchel and other good men went thither out of these parts. But he had little comfort there, because he was not altogether of their principles as to church discipline ; therefore was unsettled ; tost into several parts, till at last he returned into Old England about the year 1659 ; lived awhile in Essex, and there died*. In his time at * In this, the account which Mr. Heywood gives differs from that which we find in Mather's ' Magnalia,' where it is said that Mr. Denton died in New England. Dr. Mather gives a particular account of Mr. Mitchel, who went to New England in 1635, in the same ship which carried over Mr. Richard Mather, the minister at Toxteth, in Lan- cashire, when suspended by the bishop of Chester. Mr. Mitchel is described as a pious and wealthy person. It is a distressing account that is given of the calamities which befel him during the few years of his residence in that country. Several of his people were killed by the Pequot Indians ; his cattle destroyed by them ; and when he had moved to another part of the continent, his house, barn and goods were consumed by an accidental fire. He was involved also in troublesome disputings with other English settlers. He was suffer- ing also from the stone, which killed him in 1645, at the age of 54. He took with him a son, Jonathan Mitchel, then a boy of eleven years of age, who became a celebrated preacher and pastor of a church at Cambridge, N. E. He died in 1668, and an oratorical OLIVER HEY\VOOD. 83 Coley the chapel was enlarged, the new ceiling built that goes to the north, the seats made uniform, the pulpit brought from Halifax, being an old pulpit there oppo- site to that which now stands in the church ; for as this stands on the south side, so that removed stood north, facing the south, at the other great pillar. (6.) After him came Mr. Andrew Latham, a godly man, born about Prescot, in Lancashire, vv^hose brother, Mr. Paul Latham, was parson of Standish. This Mr. Andrew was but a young man when he came, but very hopeful, pious. He was tabled at Peter Lee's, at Norwood Green ; pro- pounded motions of marriage to one Jane Boyle, brought up with John Lumme at Westercroft, who opposed it, as was thought, because he intended to marry her to his son Timothy Lumme, she having a good portion. But when the old man was from home, by the assistance, as w^as thought, of his wdfe, Mr. Latham took her away, went to York, Leeds, and married her. John Lumme was in an exceeding rage, and could never abide Mr. Latham after, but persecuted him violently. Yet the good man enjoyed not his wife long ; she presently fell into a consumption ; he left her weak ; took a journey to London about some occasions ; she was dead and buried on his re- turn. He took on heavily ; preached not the Lord's Day after. The first time he preached he took that text, 1 Cor. vii. 29, 30. Then came on the war, and he fled with the rest when the earl of Newcastle lay with his forces about Halifax ; and he light to settle at Bury, in Lancashire, and joined with Mr. Ault, they having means allowed them out of that sequestered parsonage ; and within a year the banished people were returned, but wanted their old minister ; divers meetings of ministers and others were about it ; but John Lumme and others opposed it, though he was generally beloved. Yet he stayed at Bury ; married Mr. Thomas Binns, of Halifax's, daughter, by writer uses this expression concerning him : " All New England shook, when that pillar fell to the ground." There is a large account of him in Magnalia, hook iv. p. 167. g2 84 THE LIFE OF whom he had a daughter ; but he fell sick of a consump- tion, and died at Bury. Upon his death-bed he earnestly desired to see one seal of his ministry, one soul con- verted by his labours ; and God at last brought him one, a poor woman in Bury parish, that was wrought upon by his labours ; in which he took much content, and blessed God for that mercy. He was Congregational in his principles a little before he died, though he had been otherwise, and never gathered any church nor acted as an Independent ; but he was a holy man and a useful instrument. I have received the sacrament of the Lord's Supper from his hands in Bolton church in the Presby- terian way, not long before he died, and methought his garments did shine as he came to me. He was a plain and powerful preacher. I believe God did more good by his ministry than he knew of. I suppose he w^as at Coley nine or ten years. (7-) After him came Mr. Giles Clayton, from Altham, in Lancashire, an holy man and a serious preacher, though not of eminent parts, yet de- sirous to do good ; he was betwixt forty and fifty years of age when he came hither ; had a wife, but she died ; no child ; was tabled at John Bentley's house in North- owram (now William Cleg's) ; continued four or five years, then died ; was buried in Halifax church, in that chapel that's called Holdsworth's Works. My dear mother was buried just besides him. Good Mr. JoUie immediately succeeded him at Altham ; and though I hear of no great success in his labours, yet I hear a very good character of him, that he was an honest man and a Presbyterian. He made some attempts to set up disci- pline here and enjoy the sealing ordinance, but it would not do, he could not effect it ; though he lived here in the proper season for that purpose, in the time of the Long Parliament. (8.) When he was dead, they got one Mr. Cudworth, a good scholar and a holy man as was hoped, and a good preacher ; but so exceedingly melan- choly that it obscured his parts and rendered himself and labours less acceptable. He lived in Northowram, in OLIVER HEYWOOD. 85 some rooms in Robert Broadley's house, where Joseph Crowther now lives, and in a melancholy humour, he would not have gone to the chapel on a Lord's Day when people have been waiting for him, but said he could not preach, and so caused a disappointment. At other times, in public he would have expounded a chapter in the forenoon till almost twelve o'clock, and fallen to preaching after, and so kept them out of time. So that he tired people that they fell off from him, and he could not stay. He w^as not at Coley above a year, yet in that time he would have gathered a church in the Congregational way ; but the Christians in that congregation being not of that persuasion did not encourage him in it ; and so he did nothing and was glad to go away. I think he had been at Lightcliffe before; and went from hence to Beeston, A.rdsley, Ossett, and was not long resident anywhere ; was very poor ; built a house with difficulty upon the Common at Ossett; cast himself into debt; travelled often to London about an augmentation ; at last died ; left a widow and several children that are now got up ; have shifted pretty well ; live in Wakefield. In them God remembered his covenant." Mr. Heywood has left similar notices of the members of several families who formed the body of his parish- ioners at Coley. The principal of them were of the names of Lumme, Gates, Best, Whitley, Cooper, Brooks- bank, Butler, Slater, Northend, Drake, Bradley, Scott, Baxter, Dickson, Hemingway, Thorpe and Crowther. As pictures of domestic manners and evidences of ge- nealogy these notices have their value ; some of them are instructive. In the eyes of Mr. Heywood there were great virtues and enormous vices to be found in his little flock. They make part of a volume containing valuable matter for the topographer, which he entitles, 'The History of Coley.' The family of Sunderland had been in the earlier part of the century the owners of Coley Hall, and were by far the most considerable persons in the chapelry. They 86 THE LIFE OF were a liberal as well as a wealthy family, but they were on the point of leaving this part of the county when Mr. Heywood settled here. Mr. Langley Sunderland, the head of the family, was an officer in the Royal army, and by ex- penses incurred in the king's service and by sequestra- tions when the war was over, had become reduced to the necessity of selling his estate at Coley, which he did in 1652, when he removed the family to Ackton, near Pontefract, never to return*. The purchaser of the estate was Mr. William Horton, of Barkisland^ in another part of the parish, who let Coley Hall to tenants. The most remarkable of the persons by whom the Hall was inhabited was captain John Hodgson. At the beginning of the civil wars he was at the chapel at * Mr. Heywood says that he sold the Coley estate for 2000/., but tliat the whole estate in the parish of Halifax, which he sold, was of 800/. a-year, and that he had but 100/. a-year when he lived at Ackton, where he died in 1698, at the age of 81. An uncle of Mr. Langdale Sunderland gave the land on which the Free Grammar School founded by Matthew Broadley was erected at Hipperholm, a work which was completed in 1661. This uncle was Mr. Samuel Sunderland, of Harden, in the parish of Bingley, who died in 1677, at the age of 74. He got a large estate in trade in London, as did another brother (both born at Coley Hall) named Peter. Both these brothers fined for alderman, and both were public benefactors, Peter endowing a lecture at Bradford. On the night of the 11th of May, 1674, the house of Mr. Samuel Sunderland, at Harden, was broken into by nine thieves, who bound all the persons in the house, and broke open his chests, out of which they took 2000/. in silver and about .500/. in gold pieces. Notwith- standing this, he continued till his death to keep large quantities of specie in his house, and Mr. Heywood relates of him, that the day before he died he caused his chests to be opened where the money was lying closely wedged, and took a solemn farewell of it. He lived penuriously, and at his death had 17,000/. in money and 1200/. a-year in land. He made several endowments, and was a benefactor to Hipi)erholm School beside having given the land. This school, which is at a short distance from Coley Chapel, unlike in this respect to many of the rural grammar schools of Yorkshire, has flourished and been a truly valuable institution. Mr. Hewood gives a particu- lar account of the foundation of it. Captain Hodgson was a princi- pal means of getting the money left by Broadley for the jiurpose, which was withheld for nearly twenty years. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 87 Coley one Sunday morning when Mr. Latham was preaching, when a person came running in, telling the people that Sir William Savile had attacked the neigh- bouring town of Bradford, and was threatening destruc- tion to the people who had retired for safety into the church. Mr. Latham immediately began " to enlarge upon it in the congregation with a great deal of tender- ness and aifection," I copy the words of captain Hodg- son himself*, " so that many of us did put our hands to the plough with much resolution, being well appointed with necessary weapons ; and coming down to Bradford found the enemy ready to make an attempt upon them in the kirk. But we gave them no time ; but with a party of club-men or such as had scythes layed in poles, fell upon their horse on one side, and the musketeers on the houses that w^ere ready to storm the church on the other side, and so beat them off, took several of them prisoners that were got into the houses, and had taken their guns but that we wanted a scattering of horse." This was the first action of the war in these parts of York- shire and the first beginning of Mr. Hodgson's soldier- ship. He immediately accepted an ensign's commission in Lord Fairfax's army, where he soon became captain, and was engaged in many considerable actions in the course of the war. When it was over he returned to Coley, where he acted as a justice of the peace in the Commonwealth times. He was a thorough Republican and Independent, but having all the zeal and piety of Mr. Heywood, there was a great intimacy between them, notwithstanding their difference of judgment, and his name will frequently occur as our narrative proceeds. A more remarkable man who had made this parish his place of residence had left it about five years before Mr. Heywood settled at Coley. This was Sir Thomas Browne, of whose residence here there was a strong tradition, first committed to writing by Midgely and published in * Original Memoirs duriny the great Civil War. Edinburgh, 8vo. 1806, p. 94. 88 THE LIFE OF 1708, but discredited by Mr. Watson. It has, however, been distinctly proved to be correct, by recent re- searches, which have brought to hght two letters, pre- served in the Sloane Collection at the British Museum, addressed to Sir Thomas Browne at Norwich, after his removal to that city, from Dr. Henry Power at Halifax*. These letters place the fact of his residence there beyond all doubt. The Halifax tradition is, that he wrote the Religio Medici at Shibden Hall, a house at which Mr. Heywood sometimes visited, between Coley and Halifax. Tt would have been interesting to have known in what light such a person as Sir Thomas Browne appeared in the earlier years of his life to one who looked upon him from the point of observation at which Mr. Heywood was placed ; but I find not the slightest mention of him in Mr. Heywood's papers, neither indeed of the Religio Medici, which was no work for a Puritan. Of taste, intelligence, refinement, there appears to have been little at Coley ; and, on the whole, few places could be less promising and less eligible to a young man fresh from the University. But this was immaterial to Mr. Heywood ; his single aim having been then, as ever afterwards, to preach the gospel with energy, constancy and success, regardless of the absence of other objects of interest, dead to the suggestions of ambition; and caring little whether the seed were sown in rude and unculti- vated minds or in a finer soil, provided it took root and bore fruit to life eternal. For the first four years of his residence at Coley he lived in the house of one of his parishioners named Richard Best, a wealthy carrier and dealer in wool, who lived at Landimer in Shelf. He was a kind of Nabal, rich, co- vetous and churlish ; "the epitome," says Mr. Heywood, "of carnality, worldliness and carelessness." But he found in him " a notable school-book, and occasional * A Collection of Letters illustrative of the progress of Science in England, formed by J. O. Halliwell, Esq., and published by the Historical Society of Science. 8vo. 1841, p. 91. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 89 teacher in the then infancy of his ministry, learning from him what are the carnal pleas and cavils of misguided souls." He laments that he was unable to produce any change in the habitual thoughts of this person, who died in 1660*. In 1654 he removed to Godley House, which he hired of Nathan Drake, one of a numerous family seated from very early times in the Shibden valley, and which pro- duced, when they had emigrated from Halifax, several persons whose names are eminent in the literature of England. Here Mr. Heywood commenced house- keeping in union with his brother, Mr. Nathaniel Heywood, who had just become the minister of the chapel at Illingworth, as successor to Mr. Clarkson, and was lately married. When last we spoke of him he was at Cambridge. When he had finished his stu- dies there he spent some time in London, " to hear famous preachers," and then returned to Lancashire, w^here he was received into the family of Mr. Edward Gee, a noted Puritan, who had the church of Eccleston. He lived two years with Mr. Gee, and " became moulded in his method, manner and practice." He there became acquainted with Mrs. Elizabeth Parr, of the Wood in Eccleston, a relation of Dr. Richard Parr, bishop of Sodor and Man, to whom Mr. Gee had been chaplain. * The situation of this family at the time of Mr. Heywood's first acquaintance with them deserves to be put on recoi'd, on account of its great singularity. Best married about the year 1G18, and had three children, whom he named John, Michael, and Mary. Each of these married, and died before the father, each leaving an only child. After this the father married a second time, to his servant, and had again three children, to whom he gave the same names, John, Michael and Mary, who all grew up and married. Such a state of things would mock the efforts of the most expert genealogist who should attempt to discover the actual facts by the aid of wills and the other means of recovering genealogical truth. A better turn of mind appeared in some of the descendants : Martha Best, the daughter of the first-named John, became the wife of Joseph Daw- son, who was an ejected minister, and both of them were through life intimate friends of Mr. Heywood. 90 THE LIFE OF This was the lady whom he married. Illingworth was the first place at which he settled as a minister ; but he was less fortunate than his brother at Coley. He did good, but had potent adversaries, so that after two years stay he willingly accepted a call to Ormskirk, in his own county, where he continued to exercise his ministry till he was silenced by the Act of Uniformity. Mr. Heywood had a severe illness while living at Godley House, and there was for awhile little hope of his recovery. In this house the eldest daughter of his brother Nathaniel was born. In 1655 he removed to a house which he hired in the village of Northowram, a house to which he returned again as the possessor, after having left it for several years and gone to reside in another part of his chapelry. He took this house apparently in contemplation of his marriage. The lady with whom he united himself was Mrs. Eli- zabeth Angier, the daughter of John Angier, of Denton. — " holy and peaceable Mr. Angier," as a contemporary describes him, one of the most eminent of the Presby- terian ministers of the time. This w^as the Mr. Angier to whom he was accustomed to go with his mother to hear his affectionate and awakening discourses, and in whose house it had been intended to place him when he left Cambridge. There appears to have been everything in the connection to make it suitable to Mr. Heywood's character, position and objects ; and he himself thought it highly honourable to him that he had made it, for there was no minister of the time who had wrought himself more completely into the respect and affections of the gentry of his neighbourhood than Mr Angier, and there was cer- tainly none who had more influence than he through the whole Christian community around him. Mr. Angier was connected by his second marriage with Margaret Moseley with the wealthy and powerful family of that name in the neighbourhood of Manchester. The first wife of Mr. Angier, and the mother of his daughter, was OLIVER HEYWOOD. 91 Ellen Winstanley, by whom Mr. Heywood was allied to the HoiTOcks' and some other Lancashire families of note among the Puritans of the time before the wars. Mr. Angier himself was a native of Essex, brought up under one of the fathers of Puritanism, Mr, John Cotton, of Boston, who removed to New England, whither Mr. Angier had the intention of accompanying him, but was dissuaded from it by the relations of his wife, and by Francis Critchlaw, Mr. Heywood's uncle, a circumstance on which Mr. Heywood afterwards reflected with much satisfaction. They prevailed with him to remain in Lan- cashire, where he was first at Ringley Chapel, but being suspended at that place for want of sufficient conformity, he removed to Denton, one of the chapels of the parish of Manchester, where the remainder of his life was spent. As for the lady, Mr. Heywood speaks of her as " the mirror of her age for accomplishments and piety." They went through the old ceremony of hand-fasting or espousing. This was done in Mr. Angler's study a month before the day appointed for their marriage. The entire day was spent in prayer, except that there was a sermon preached by Mr. Nathaniel Rathband. At the close of it the parties were contracted. The banns were published in the church of Halifax at the close of the morning exercise on three Lord's Days. The marriage was celebrated on the 24th of April, 1655, at the chapel at Denton. A multitude of people were present, to whom a sermon was delivered, by Mr. Harrison, of Ash- ton-under-Line. Mr. Crew, of Utkington, in Cheshire, a great friend of Mr. Angier, presented them with a silver bowl, which was long preserved in the family as a relic. Of his wife's fortune, 200/. was paid to Mr. Hey- wood's father, who, in consideration of it, settled upon them lands at Little Lever of the annual value of 10/., in addition to the Walk Mill and lands at Water-side valued at 61. per annum. But she lived not long. She was of a sickly constitu- tion. Her first child, whom they named John, was born 92 THE LIFE OF atNorthowram on the 18th of April, 1656, and her se- cond, named Eliezer, on the same day of the month in 1657. A third son, named Nathaniel, died in his in- fancy. She herself died at her father's house on Sunday, May 26, 1661, at the age of twenty-seven. Mr. Hey- wood drew up an account of her blameless life and pious end. And while on these domestic affairs, it may be men- tioned that at his house at Northowram died his good and pious mother. Her death occurred at the time of the birth of his second son, when Mr. Angier was also a visitor at Northowram. Two or three days after its birth the infant was taken to the chapel to be baptized. Mr. Angier preached. The grandmother w^as present. On the next morning she appeared equipped for her journey home to Lancashire. Her unfitness to under- take the journey w^as perceptible to every one ; indeed, symptoms of speedy dissolution soon manifested them- selves. She was taken to her chamber, and at one o'clock she expired. It was the 22nd of April, 1657. On the 24th her body was laid in Holds worth's Works, a part of the church at Halifax rich in Puritan dust. There lie the remains of Mr. Boys, the lecturer, and of two of Mr. Heywood's predecessors in the chapel at Coley. There also, in due season, was Mr. Heywood himself interred. Mr. Booth and Mr. Bentley were also buried there. Their tombs, as well as that of Dr. Holdsworth himself, were plucked up, when Mr. Wilkinson, a later vicar, caused great alterations to be made in the fabric of the church. Mr. Bentley preached at Mrs. Heywood's funeral, from the remarkable text w^hich she had chosen. These particulars of Mr. Heywood's domestic history could not with propriety be omitted. In the next chapter we shall proceed with his public conduct as a minister. Before the death of his wife he had left the house at NorthowTam and removed to Norwood Green, a house which he hired of Thomas Oates. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 93 CHAPTER VI. MR. HEYWOOd's ordination. REMARKS ON ORDINATION OF MINI- STERS. HIS INTRODUCTION OF DISCIPLINE IN HIS CONGREGATION AT COLEY. OPPOSITION TO IT; CONSEQUENCES. PROPOSALS OF REMOVING TO YORK AND PRESTON. THE HOGHTONS. COMPLETE POLITICAL TRIUMPH OF THE INDEPENDENTS AND OTHER SECTARIES. ATTEMPT AT FRIENDLY UNION BETWEEN THE PRESBYTERIANS AND INDEPENDENTS. MR. NEWCOME, OF MANCHESTER. POLITI- CAL MOVEMENTS OF THE PRESBYTERIANS. SIR GEORGE BOOTh's RISING. INCREASED ESTRANGEMENT BETWEEN THE PRESBYTERIANS AND INDEPENDENTS. MR, HEYWOOD TAKEN BY A PARTY OF COL. LILBURn's TROOP. HIS BITTER REFLECTIONS ON THE POLITICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF THE TIMES. SPIRIT IN WHICH HE LOOKED TO THE KING's RESTORATION. OTHER MINISTERS THE SAME. Nothing material occurred to Mr. Heywood during the first two or three years of his ministry at Coley. The people were abundantly satis.fied with his zealous and acceptable discharge of his duties, and he was satisfied with the opportunities which were afforded him both of private study and public usefulness. " Still," he says, " he did not look upon himself as a minister in office, but a probationer and candidate for the ministry." This arose from his not having yet re- ceived ordination. He adds, that he could not have gone on without it with that comfort and confidence that afterwards he did. There was not in the county in which he was now settled any regularly constituted body of ministers to whom he could apply, at least not in the parts of the county with which he was conversant*. His thoughts, * Though the Presbyterian church was never established as a national measure, and only in Lancashire and London was such a &4 THE LIFE OF therefore, naturally turned to his native county, where the Presbyterian system was in complete operation, and particularly to the Second or Bolton Classis. He pro- posed himself to them as a candidate for ordination, and the proposal being favourably entertained, the ceremony was performed in the church of Bury on the fourth of August, 1652. Some indulgence seems to have been allowed him in the point of age. He presented certificates of his un- impeachable conduct, and of his call to the ministry by the people of Coley. Four of the older members of his congregation accompanied him to bear their oral testi- mony, and to be witnesses of what passed. The pro- ceedings began by an examination of him in divers parts of learning*. He then defended in Latin the thesis, that it is lawful to baptize infants. He delivered a ser- mon on Romans x. 15. Then, in the midst of solemn prayer, and before a great assembly of people, the mi- nisters present laid their hands upon his head as he kneeled before them. When this was done, Mr. Til- churcli formed as far as a single province could go, there were in many parts of the country during the Commonwealth times associa- tions of ministers, under the denomination of Classes, for the purpose chiefly of ordination. But these were only voluntary associations, while the Classes in Lancashire rested on the basis of the law of the land. One of these voluntary unions was of the ministers in the south parts of Yorkshire. They seem, indeed, to have been pretty general. * The examinations were severe. " Beside other matters touch- ing the work of grace in his own soul, his ends in desiring the mi- nistiy, and his direct call to the place where he would officiate, the expectant must give a satisfactory account of his skill in the Greek and Hebrew tongues, in logic, philosophy, and divinity, and also exhibit a thesis upon a question given in Latin, and defend it in the same language against the syllogistic opinions of three great scho- lars." — MS. Life of Martindale, before quoted, — who was examined by the Manchester Classis, and approved ; but when his Si quis was placed on the church door, eleven persons of his parish where Inde- pendent principles had found their way and brought with them, as usual, cavilling and dissension, objected ; 'whereupon he went to London and was ordained by a Classis of ministers there. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 95 desley delivered an address on the duties belonging to the ministerial office. The instruction it contained was " excellent and profitable." The whole service must have been solemn and impressive ; and so it appears to have been regarded by the multitude present ; for Mr. Hey wood says " there were many tears poured forth that day, partly in thankfulness for return of prayer, partly for further increase of grace ; with great impor- tunity and enlargement in petitioning a blessing upon that day's work." When he wrote those words he would think of his mother, who must have been pre- sent, and whose heart would be amongst those which overflowed in joy and fulness of hope and thanksgiving. How little have the successors of these men in the Pres- byterian ministry thought of what they were about, to suffer a service like this to have fallen into disuse ! "It hath often been much satisfaction to my spirit," observes Mr. Heywood, " in the midst of my troubles to review my regular entrance to the ministry. I had the unani- mous call and consent of the people ; by fasting and prayer, and imposition of hands, I was set apart to the great office ; and I have fovmd abundantly more assist- ance in my ministerial duties than I did before ; the Lord having borne up my heart with more comfort, confidence, courage, and enlargement ; yea, and hath made my labour more profitable and successful." Surely the important duties of the ministerial office will be per- formed more usefully to the people, and more satisfac- torily to the minister, when he looks upon himself as having entered upon a path from which there is no re- turn, and as being separated from the world in the peculiar manner practised from the beginning of Chris- tianity for this peculiar work ; as having thus special duties and special defences in the discharge of them, and as bound in conscience and duty to observe his ordination vows with the same strictness as his marriage vows made in the same sacred place, and in the midst of similar solemnities. 96 THE LIFE OF The objections to the service are, that it is supersti- tious, and that it conveys an impression of something which those concerned in it do not themselves suppose to exist. But do they who infer superstition consider how that word may be applied to any and to every thing connected with a religious profession and prac- tice, and that in point of fact there is nothing in a reli- gious and Christian practice which some persons have not been found to denounce as superstitious : infant- baptism, for instance, the Lord's Supper, or even the institution of a ministry at all ? Even Christianity it- self was once, we know, in ancient times denominated a superstition, and the number is not few of persons who so regard it now. In fact superstition is, more than anything else, relative and arbitrary. That may be superstitious to another which is not superstitious to me ; and it is at least hazardous in a Christian to de- clare any service of his religion superstitious which is so strong in primitive precedent and scriptural authority as ordination by " the laying on of the hands of the Pres- bytery," And as to the impression which it conveys, perhaps we know not very well what that grace was which the laying on of the apostles' hands actually con- veyed ; and still less what the laying on of the hands of persons not apostles, but only ministers, pastors, or bishops ; and in the same uncertainty we may still in- nocently leave it. Some think also that the distinction which it esta- blishes between minister and people is injurious. But is the separation of some persons to the practice of the healing art, and of others to the interpretation and practice of the law, and giving them monopolies, rank, titles, and privileges, which distinguish them from other men , an evil in the state of society in which we live ? Why then shall we presume evil in a similar state of things respecting those whose peculiar study is theology, and peculiar duty to maintain a healthful state of the public morals and the influence in society of Christian OLIVER HILYWOOD. 97 principles? — surely a high, honourable, and important office, not to be entrusted but to competent and recog- nised hands. It is not pretended that ordination will of itself give a man the graces and virtues which become a minister, or alone entitle him to the respect and con- fidence which it is desirable should be conceded to all who sustain that character ; but it marks him as having been w^orthy to bear the office in the opinion of compe- tent judges. It may happen that some persons may be thus prevented from engaging in duties belonging to the ministerial office which they might discharge respectably and usefully. But the same thing might be said of the fences which surround other professions ; and yet it can hardly be doubted that on the whole it is for the public good that such fences should exist, that in fact some guarantee should previously be taken of fitness to dis- charge the duties of professions to which peculiar privi- leges are given, which necessarily implies distinction: and that if some who might be useful are kept out of the ministry by it, others are kept out who w^ould take on them the character without preparation, and without either moral or intellectual fitness. On the question — by whom the ordination should be performed, whether by bishops, as successors of the apostles, and a distinct order, or by presbyters, — I do not now enter, further than to observe, that the pub- licity of the Presbyterian ordinations, while the Presby- terian discipline existed, seems to have been a favourable circumstance, both as respected the candidate and the people, whose hearts were then open to receive instruc- tion on the expectations they had a right to entertain from the person then admitted into the office of minis- ter, and on the other hand of the duties which they owed him : nor would the ceremony lose anything of its solemnity by the presence of so many reverend mi- nisters, some of them truly irpea^vTepoi, standing on the brink of the grave, delivering, as it were, the torch of Christian truth to younger hands, to be by them held H 98 THE LIFE OF out in the world and transmitted in due time to another generation. I know not how others may think of it, but I have never so strong an impression of the reality of the history on which our faith rests as when partaking of the Supper of our Lord, and thinking of myself as one in the long succession of people who have sat down at that table even from the l3eginning : but I question whether the unbroken series of ordained ministers of the church is not even a still more striking and forcible proof. We ought surely to have paused and reflected before we broke this polished chain of evidence. The ministers who laid their hands on Mr. Heywood were Mr. John Tildesley of Dean, Mr. John Harper and Mr. Richard Goodwin of Bolton, Mr. William Ault and Mr. Tobias Fourness of Bury, Mr. Peter Bradshaw of Ainsworth, Mr. Jonathan Scholefield of Heywood Cha- pel, Mr. Thomas Pyke of Radcliffe, Mr. Henry Pendle- bury of Holcomb, and Mr. Robert Bath of Rochdale. They wei*e all Puritans and Presbyterians. Four of them died before the Act of Uniformity in 1662 ; all the rest were of those whom their posterity frequently designate as the Bartholomean worthies. Seven years of much private comfort and public use- fulness had passed at Coley when the mind of Mr. Hey- wood became disturbed with the notion that there was a material defect in the way in which he was proceed- ing in his pastoral duties. The thought issued in a re- solution, and this resolution involved him in endless disputings, and was the beginning of many troubles. There is too often a restlessness in minds full of religion and benevolence uncomfortable to the parties themselves, and inconvenient to those connected with them ; and hence it is that the institution is a wise one, which sets certain metes and bounds about the path of ministers, wise, as respects the ministers themselves, and as re- spects the peace of the people to whom they minister. The case was this: — For many years, even from the be- ffinninff of the war in 1642, there had been no celebra- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 99 tion of the Lord's Supper in the chapel of Coley. This was a deficiency which the minister was hound to see suppHed ; and all would have been right had he revived the ordinance, and at stated times administered it. In this he would have received general support. But this was not enough to satisfy him. He could not bring himself to think of receiving in confidence those who came, that they came in sincerity and with a sufficiency of humility, faith, and repentance. Nothing would sa- tisfy him but such previous examination as he had known practised in Lancashire to ascertain the amount of Christian knowledge which the applicant possessed, and the proficiency which he had made in the divine life, and then to receive or to reject. In short his plan was to confine " the sealing ordinance," as the Puritans called it, to a select body of his parishioners only. Here then necessarily arose a very material question. It was no less than this, — whether the people, for whose use the chapel of Coley had been built and endowed in former times, had not a right to partake there of this ordinance without subjecting themselves to an examina- tion which might not be agreeable to those whose purity of life would bear the closest inspection, and which must have been very repugnant to any persons in whom sor- row was silently working out the fruits of repentance. There might be also those who would feel it a kind of duty to oppose themselves to a power which admitted of the term inquisitorial being applied to it, and who entertained less exalted ideas of ministerial prerogative than seem at this period to have possessed the mind of Mr. Heywood. His intentions were perfectly pure, but he ought to have foreseen the opposition which would arise, and that he was taking a course which would end in his finding himself to be the pastor of but a portion of his flock. The state of religious parties in his own chapelry and in the chapelries around him, might also have shown him that he was entering on a path of great difficulty H 2 100 THE LIFE OF and danger. He had some families of zealous Inde- pendents in his chapelry ; and there were Quakers near him who saw nothing hut superstition in the ordinance, and usurpation in the office of minister. Naylor, the noted Quaker, was a native of Ardsley and a member of the Independent congregation at Topcliife, both between Coley and Wakefield. We cannot perhaps fully determine how far these considerations were present to his mind, or whether he drew the distinction between a parish-minister in a pub- lic chapel and a minister who has collected about him a voluntary association of persons by whose contributions he is supported. But having once formed the resolu- tion, with that pertinacity to his purposes which is evi- dent in the whole course of his history, he determined to persevere. A meeting was called of the inhabitants, when he laid before them his plan. It was proposed that the triers should be chosen by the people, and re- port only to the minister. But when they came to the point of electing the triers, no person was found who had sufficient confidence in himself or the system to accept the office. Nothing daunted, Mr. Heywood still persevered, and at last succeeded in gathering from his flock a select society in the midst of many heart-burn- ings. But the harmony of the chapelry, and much of the comfort of the minister, were gone. Mr. Heywood's own account of this affair must be given: — "In process of time, when I had continued almost seven years in this congregation, I was convinced of my duty to endeavour to set up discipline, and restore the ordinance of the Lord's Supper ; which, after many disputes and carnal reasonings, I set upon and made the attempt. I had many discouragements in my first thoughts thereof, and loth was I to engage in such un- trodden paths, it being uncouth and odious in the coun- try. My first work was to preach many sermons about that weighty subject, partly to stir up in believers a de- sire thereof, partly to show the way to the obtaining it, OLIVER HEYWOOD. 101 and preparation for it, and suitable dispositions fit for a profitable participation of it : and at last fell to execu- tion. I desired a meeting. Many came ; and when I had acquainted them with the way I aimed to take, and desired them to make a choice of some that might assist me in the work (though that could not be yielded to), then I resolved to do what could be done myself. I entreated all those that desired to partake of that ordi- nance to acquaint me therewith, that I might discourse with them about the main fundamentals of religion, for I confess it hath always been my principle that grossly ignorant and scandalous are to be debarred that sealing ordinance. There came to me above a hundred and twenty persons, from most of whom I received abundant unexpected satisfaction, and found more knowledge, true piety, and convictions of conscience than I had before that made account of Many were exceeding glad of this opportunity they had to open their condition to me, who had been long hindered that way by prejudice, oc- casions, and many temptations. I found it so refreshing and encouraging to me, that it did abundantly compen- sate my labour if I had made no further progress in the work than only obtained so much acquaintance with the spiritual state of so many souls. And when I had finished that work, 1 communicated the names of such as I had dealt withall to the whole, and earnestly en- treated that if any had any just grounds of exception against any, that they would discover it before we pro- ceeded to administration ; and though there were many secret surmisings, yet no objectors appeared : and for those that were yet groundedly suspected of visible un- worthiness, though none could or would stand up to debar them of encroaching, yet the Lord acted that part, and by the forenoon's sermon pricked their con- sciences and diverted their intentions from sitting down, which might, I fear, have been a great distraction to some Christians. Yea, others resolving to stay, though not submitting to order, and so to disturb us, were 102 THE LIFE OF driven back, and we know not how, unless by the spe- cial and signal hand of God immediately there. We enjoyed the ordinance peaceably and comfortably, and it was very precious and profitable to the souls of such as had been long waiting for the salvation of God. This was the first ordinance that we have enjoyed, or that was administered, since these late uncivil civil wars in this perplexed nation, and it was a day of gladness and feasting, for the joy of our Lord was our strength : and having obtained help of God, we have continued in the frequent and usually monthly celebration thereof above these two years, and gives us grounded hopes of the further continuance thereof." Seventy-three per- sons appear to be the whole number who actually joined, the first name being that of Luke Hoyle, Mr. Heywood's especial friend. I proceed with Mr. Heywood's own narrative : — " But as every good work meets with opposition either from pretended friends or professed foes, and as usually the way of God or virtue lies betwixt two extremes, so that it is ordinarily crucified betwixt two thieves ; so here, on the one hand, some directly oppose making any dis- tinction at all, but w^ould have all to lie common, and would have the blood of Christ prostituted to all comers, yea, contemners of it : these beat down purity with the odious charge of novelty. On the other hand, others, pleading for an unwarrantable groundless separation, would be wise and righteous overmuch, and screw up the pin beyond the reach of the word, and lay that stress on circumstantials which the Scriptures do not, and we dare not. These are apt to challenge us with conformity and compliance with the world, and with looseness in our principles and practices. From both sides I have received grievous buffetings, and many fondly say the latter hath been far more prejudicial to my work and afflictive to my spirit than the former. The wicked of the world will be meddling and shooting hasty bolts. David was the drunkard's song : and every OLIVER HEVWOOD. 103 one hath a reviling flout to hestow on such as walk not in their road, though condescending as far as they can possibly. But, alas, it is not so much wonder if these be not skilled in these weighty matters, and parable be- seems not the mouth of fools ; and if these hate strict- ness and break all bonds asunder that may hinder them in the pursuit of easy lawless liberty, — that is, their design and custom is their reason, and their will their law, and thev are wiser in their own conceit than ten men that can render a reason ; these v/e may not think strange as if their licentious practice put them at catching hold of licentious principles to indicate the same, and fret and fume when great Diana falls, and cry after their ' privi- leges,' to which they have no right, as Micah after his Gods, yet would be indulged in ignorance, vanity, and se- curity: — though those have sometimes pleaded zealously for me, and would have put me in their bosoms, and pretended so much love as though they would have plucked out their right eyes (yet, notwithstanding, sus- pecting their principles^ I depended not upon them, and durst not trust their fond and groundless affection), now at last, because I crossed their humour, they railed at me, and would almost pull out my eyes in violent con- tradiction, and use their utmost endeavour to thrust me out of place. Truth it is, I expected no better from them, but worse. But I may say with David, it was my familiar friends and intimate associates, yea, I hope (some of them), sincere Christians, that are the greatest trouble to me ; and in this they are worse, because I expected better. Yea, some that have professed en- deared love to me as their spiritual father, these, pre- tending scripture grounds, w^ould throw the nation and congregation into a confused chaos, if they may model new churches and lay a new foundation, disparaging and despising the old principles and professors that have been of so many years' standing in this place. Would they join their hands with ours in reforming abuses, and build upon the old foundation, we should gladly join 104 THE LIFE OF with them and might be mutually helpful each to other, and lay no more stress upon relating experiences and joining in a covenant than the Scriptures do, and for their right and limited ends*," There is a great deal of very important matter in this too rhetorical passage. One thing is clear, that Mr, Heywood had w^rought himself into the affections of his people, whatever might be their judgment in the disputes of the time about Episcopacy, Presbyterianisra, or Inde- pendency. All seem to have loved and reverenced him alike. Why could he not be satisfied with such an opening for infusing Christian principles, and for keep- ing his simple mountain flock in the paths of duty in the way to heaven ? He has, however, not yet fully opened the mischief which was done, for his narrative proceeds thus: — "Truth it is, my earnest desires after peace and unity for our own advantage and mutual edification put me upon studying many means for com- posing our differences, and frequent meetings together for accommodation in what we could, that wherein we were agreed we might walk together in love, especially those common and confessed truths and ways of God that neither Satan, nor our common adversaries that watch for our halting and bear an equal ill-will to us all, might not insult over us divided, whom they durst not * In the volume of ' Soliloquies,' which I have not seen, he says, when speaking of this affair, after having expressed his thankfulness at the thought of having carried his scheme into effect, — " Who would have thought so great a work could have been carried on so far, managed by so weak an instrument, Avith so little assistance, and in the midst of so much discouraging opposition ! Surely the hand of the Lord was in all this ! Though we were a poor despised com- pany of weak individuals, deserted, if not opposed, by the rich in the congregation, who would not put their necks under the yoke of Christ, yet hath the Lord helped us in the discharge of our duty. When some threatened they would offer themselves at the ordinance to see if I would pass them by, the power of God's word did so prevail that they withdrew from their intended design." — The Life of the Rev. 0. Heywood, by the Rev. Richard Slate, prefixed to his Works, 8vo, 1827, vol. i. p. 52. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 105 meddle with united. And for this end I used all the means I could, and condescended as far as well I durst, so as not to wrong conscience, that we might meet in one : yea, so much am I delighted with the name of peace (dulce pads nomen), that I have cause to be jea- lous over myself lest I lose a grain of salt for an ounce of peace. I have gone to the utmost that my principles, conscience, and the w^ord of God would reach, that I might become all things to all men ; but, alas, our meetings and complyings have done little good, nay, it's w'ell if it have not done some hurt, though acci- dentally ; for the Lord is witness to the singleness and sincerity of my heart and aim in these undertakings, though the prejudices of men have put various miscon- structions thereupon." It is manifest that there w^as an end to his general usefulness in the character of a village pastor, to whom all looked up to be fed, that he must henceforth look upon himself as united in the bonds of Christian affec- tion with those only who formed his select society, while the rest w^ould attend his ministrations only through habit or convenience. This was a great change and a great evil ; but it was of the less consequence, as greater changes were at hand, and he was about to be removed from his public station at Coley. It was on the same rock that his brother split at Illingworth. There can be no doubt that Mr. Heywood's views in this matter were not only pure, but high ; that the whole plan had its origin in a sense of duty and a serious re- gard for the spiritual interests of the persons committed to his charge. If there were in it anything of earthly concretion, it was a little too elevated an idea of the value of pastoral superintendence, or perhaps of minis- terial superiority. His love for his whole people cannot be questioned ; and if what he relates of some of the more wealthy families among his parishioners be true, it might have been well for them, here and hereafter, if they had adopted other means than those which they 106 THE LIFE OF thought sufficient to strengthen the influence of Chris- tian principles in their hearts. His love to them was put about this time to the test. Looking at Mr. Heywood's position at Coley in what it would be too harsh to call a merely worldly point of view, looking upon it, I mean, as a field of exertion to a man of talent and education, and as a place in which suitable so- ciety to such a person was to be obtained, few situations would appear to be less desirable ; but he resisted, about this period, a temptation to remove to a scene of greater usefulness, where he would have been more in the eye of the world, and where he would have found many congenial minds. In fact, about this period of his life, when his eminent ministerial abilities began to be known, he had two opportunities of removal. One of them was to the church of Saint Martin in York ; the other, in which he appears to have had more difficulty in determining the course he would take, was to Preston in his native county. His call to Preston was clear and complete, for he had the nomination of Sir Richard Hoghton*, * This was the baronet, of Hoghton-Tower, in the neighbourhood of Preston. He died in February 1678. The sermon, preached at his funeral by Dr. Seth Bushell, is printed. A high character is given of him as a person of great worth and honour, and esteemed in the several relations of public and private life ; but he is not cele- brated for any peculiar strictness in his religious profession. Mr. Heywood, spealiing of his death, says that " he was a favourer of good things, though no great zealot." His wife, Lady Sarah Hogh- ton, who was a daughter of the first earl of Chesterfield, was ac- counted "very eminent for religion," and it was probably at her suggestion that there was an intention of bringing so zealous a mi- nister as Mr. Heywood to Preston. After the Act of Uniformity this family had service conducted by Non- Conforming ministers, — Mr. Ainsworth, Mr. Sagar, and Mr. Kaye. Mr. Tong, in his ' Life of Matthew Henry,' speaks of her as " a great patroness of religion and non-conformity"' (p. 197). She was living in 1693. There was a regular Non- Conforming congregation formed under her patronage and that of her son, Sir Charles, who was a correspondent of Mr, Heywood. Sir Charles died in 1710, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Henry Hoghton, who died in 1768 at the age of eighty-nine. To him succeeded the younger Sir Henry Hoghton, his nephew, who OLIVER HEYWOOD. 107 the patron of the living, and the unanimous concurrence of the people. At Preston also the discipline was esta- blished which he was attempting to introduce at Coley. There were other considerable advantages. His reasons for declining it are not very apparent, and we may be- lieve that his affection for the people who first called him to the ministry prevailed over the inducements pre- sented to him ; to which, however, must be added, the advice of his father-in-law, Mr. Angier, who said to him, " It is ill transplanting a tree that thrives well in the soil." It was in the year 1657 that Mr. Heywood made his attempt "to set up discipline" at Coley. Whether he looked upon it as a step towards the establishment in those parts of the county of York of a Presbyterian Classis, we cannot tell ; but the scheme looks very like an attempt to establish a Congregational Eldership. In- dependency, however, was at that time quite in the ascendant, and any Presbyterian efforts must needs be ineffectual. It had indeed been so ever since the battle of Worcester, and it might perhaps have maintained its ascendency had not there been perpetual schisms in the Independent congregations themselves, some shooting off as Anabaptists, and many as Quakers, to say nothing of the minor sects. This was the certain and inevitable consequence of the encouragement they gave to lay- preaching, when there was no control over the " gifted brethren" but what the particular congregation might possess. This was not, however, without active opposition on the part of the Presbyterians, on whom this duty de- volved ; the Royalists and friends of the Episcopal church being at that time a discomfited and apparently a ruined party. The opposition was not merely in the form of was the last baronet of the family who took much interest in the affairs of Non- Conformity. Mr. Heywood relates some strange circumstances which attended the death of Sir Richard Hoghton ; — that the wheel of his mill went backward ; — that a dumb man warned him of his death by signs, &c. 108 THE LIFE OF paper-controversy, but political also. Soon after the battle of Worcester, while on the one hand the loyal earl of Derby was put to death, the Presbyterian warden of Manchester, Mr. Heyrick, was placed in confinement at Lambeth ; and in Lancashire, Mr. HoUingworth, Mr. Harrison, Mr. Gee, Mr. Latham, Mr. Johnson and other ministers, including even peaceable Mr. Angier, were placed under arrest for supposed political disaffec- tion to the new order of things, and as having actually excited the people to revolt. The effect of that battle was the consolidation of the power of Cromwell, the curtailed Parliament, and Independency. So completely was the power of the Presbyterians broken, that the Provincial Assembly, which had been constituted in London and which met half-yearly, dis- continued their meetings in 1655, "finding themselves," says Neal, "without power, and not being willing to apply to the Protector and his Parliament for support." Ill did the Presbyterians brook the ascendency which the less respectable part of the Puritan body had thus gained in the state ; and much did they deplore the rise of various discordant sects, and the dissensions which arose in consequence in almost every parish, on one ecclesiastical question or another. But they were with- out remedy : they had broken down the ancient govern- ment of the church, without ha\dng strength to establish another, and the consequence necessarily was the state of religious anarchy which they saw and lamented ; so that they had only themselves to blame, — too impatient perhaps, as those who administered the government of the church had been too severe. The friends of peace sought to promote it by attempts at union where the parties had not shot out into the wilder extravagances of the time. In particular, in the south of Lancashire, there was an attempt at union be- tween the Presbyterians and Independents, as far as there could be union between parties composed of elements so essentially difi*erent. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 109 A meeting was held at Manchester on the 13th of of July, 1659, at which certain terms of agreement were settled. They are expressed in very general words, and do no more than bind the two parties to the mutual ex- change of civilities and the laying aside " all unnecessary distances and unbrotherly carriages," which did not be- come ministers of a common Gospel. Mr. Heyrick, Mr. Harrison, Mr. Angier and Mr. Newcome were among the first to subscribe the terms on the part of the Presby- terians*. This is the first time that the name of Mr. Newcome has appeared, and as he soon came to take the lead in the affairs of the Lancashire Presbyterians, and as, con- sequently, his name will frequently occur as we proceed, it may be proper to state here that he was about two years older than Mr. Hey wood, and had studied probably at the same time with him in the University of Cam- bridge. He was one of many sons of Stephen Newcome, who was rector of Caldecote, in Huntingdonshire. He is described by Dr. Calamy as "a hard student, and of great proficiency in philosophy and theology." He was at the beginning of his ministry settled at Gawsworth, in Cheshire, from whence, in 1656, he removed to Man- chester to succeed Mr. Hollingworth, and at Manchester he spent the remainder of his life, which was continued to 1695, first as a clergyman of the Presbyterian church of Lancashire as long as it existed, and afterwards as * Similar attempts at union among religious parties were made about the same time in other parts of the kingdom. See Life of Philip Henry, 12mo, 1698, p. 60 : — The ministers in his neighbour- hood, the borders of Shropshire and Wales, " appointing particular associations, and (notwithstanding the differences of apprehension that were among them, some being in their judgments Episcopal, others Congregational, and others Classical) they agreed to lay aside the thoughts of matters in variance, and to give to each other the right hand of fellowship ; that with one shoulder and with one con- sent they might study each in their places to promote the common interest of Christ's kingdom, and the common salvation of precious souls." See more valuable matter on this point in the place re- ferred to. 1 10 THE LIFE OF the pastor of the Presbyterian Non -Conformists in that town. He married a lady of the family of Mainwaring of Cheshire, by which marriage he became connected with many of the principal families of that county, and brother-in-law to a remarkable but very different man of those times, Elias Ashmole, the alchemist and herald, and the learned author of the History of the Order of the Garter*. The union of the Lancashire Presbyterians and Inde- pendents, which was in fact rather a cessation of hostili- ties than a union, was to begin on the fourth Thursday of the September following ; but the whole design came to nothing, and the two parties became still more widely estranged, in consequence of certain political movements in which Mr. Heywood may be said to have had some share, as he was a suiferer in consequence of them. As long as Cromwell lived and retained his popularity with the army, any attempt of the Presbyterians would have been but in vain to regain the power which they had held for so short a time, or to re-establish that mo- narchy which they had sought not to destroy, but to place under constitutional restraint, or the church which they meant not to remove, but to reform ; the power of the sword was above them, and they had nothing to do but to sit on the ground by the side of the Royalists, and to sigh over the disappointment of all their hopes. But the removal of Cromwell made way for weaker minds, and there was a succession of persons who usurped the sovereign power without being able long to retain it. This revived the spirits and hopes of the Presbyterians, * The sons of Mr. Newcome were Conforming clergymen ; and several of his descendants have been in the church and ornaments to it. One of them was l)ishop of Rochester. I am not certain whether Newcome the archbishop of Armagh descended from New- come of Manchester, but if not from himself it was from a verj" near relative. Most of the Conforming Newcomes Avere of the class of English clergy called Liberal ; and the same may be observed in other families of Presbyterian extraction who have gone into the church, the Disneys, Dawsons, and others. OLIVER HEYWOOD. Ill who, weary of the intolerable tyranny of the Sectaries, began to contemplate, as the only means of relief, the recall of the king, and the restoration of the old constitu- tion, but, as they hoped, with stronger checks on the prerogative, and greater liberty for the ministers of re- ligion. Early in 1659 there -were several communications be- tween the leaders of the Presbyterian party and the king. The intention was that there should be simultaneous risings in various parts of the kingdom. The design was however a perilous one, and some persons who were early engaged in it dared not venture to show themselves openly ; so that, with the exception of a single movement at Derby*, there was only one outbreak of any moment, the principal seat of which was in the northern parts of Cheshire along the borders of south Lancashire. The leader in this movement was the younger Sir George Booth, of Dunham Massey, who had lately suc- ceeded to the title and estates of his grandfather, an old Sir George Booth, of whom Clarendon says, that he was " of absolute power with the Presbyterians." Sir Thomas Middleton, of Chirk Castle, joined with him. In the month of August in that year. Sir George Booth ap- peared at the head of a small force hastily collected, and marched upon Chester, of which he took military pos- session. He published a manifesto, in which he says, that " since God had suffered the spirit of division to continue in this nation, which was left without any set- tled foundation of religion, liberty and property, the legitimate power usurped at pleasure, the army raised at their expense misled by their superior officers, and no face of government remaining that was lawfully consti- tuted," they had therefore taken up arms in vindication of the freedom of Parliament, &c., but without the least * This movement was on the 12th of August, known at Derby by the name of ' White's Friday.' Colonel White appeared in the town, declaring against the usurping powers, and was supported by all the ministers in the town, except one. 112 THE LIFE OF mention of any design to bring back the king. That he rose with that design is however sufficiently manifest by two commissions from the king, dated the 22nd of July and the 9th of August, by which he was constituted commander-in-chief of all forces raised for His Majesty's service in Cheshire, Lancashire and North Wales*. It was principally through the influence of Mr. Cook, a Presbyterian minister at Chester, that Sir George Booth was admitted into that city, which was a strong garrison town, just as a few months later general Monk owed his ready admission into York in a great measure to another minister, Mr. Edward Bowles f. Many of the ministers both in Cheshire and Lancashire were privy to Sir George Booth's intentions, and favourers of his de- sign. But the movement was premature. Lambert was sent against him with a body of disciplined troops, and Sir George Booth imprudently marching out of Chester, was defeated at Winnington-bridge, near Northwich, his army entirely routed, and himself soon after taken prisoner. The whole was over in nineteen days. No- thing but the strength of a disciplined army like that commanded by Monk could have brought back the king in triumph. The reports of the loss of his friends which reached Mr. Heywood were appalling : but, in fact, Lambert acted with great moderation, which I add on the testimony of a minister who was in the secret of the rising before it took place, but who deemed it the more prudent part not to appear in it. — " And though it went on to a battle, yet Lambert, whatever were his ends, was not * The reader is particularly referred to The Peerage of England, 8vo, 1735, vol. ii. p. 479, 480, for documents which throw a strong light on Sir George Booth's intentions in this movement. ■\ On this important event in the history of the king's restoration I may be permitted to observ'e, that there is by far the fullest and most particular information ever given to the public, in a narrative written by Sir Philip Monckton, which the late Lord Galway kindly allowed me to insert in The History of the Deanery of Doncaster, fol. 1831, vol. ii. p. 41G. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 113 eager to shed blood. He took off his men from pur- suing, the foot, which they would soon have ruined, saying, * Alas ! poor men, they are forced and hired;' and sent them after the horse, which were better fitted to escape, and to them also free quarter was given when they fell into their enemies' hands*." The whole num- ber of the slain did not exceed thirty ; and thus ended the first Presbyterian movement towards the restoration of the king, and with it of ecclesiastical order and stable government. It was the first and only time in which persons who were on both sides of the Puritan family were arrayed in the field against each other. Most of the Presbyterian ministers who had been for- ward in this affair, or were suspected of being concerned in it, were seized: Mr. Cook, Mr. Harrison, and Mr. Joshua Kirby, the lecturer of Wakefield, were placed in prison at Lambeth. Mr. Newcome, Mr. Robert Seddon, Mr. Henry Finch, Mr. John Crompton, and Mr. James Bradshaw, all Lancashire ministers, are said by Calamy to have been favourers of the design. Mr. Newcome was ever after an intimate friend of the Booths, who were soon after the Restoration raised to the peerage. Mr. Angier was prudent : " He stayed at home," says Mr. Heywoodj " though his heart and prayers were that way, and he foresaw the event." Mr. Philip Henry wrote thus in his private diary: " Lord, own them if they truly own thee !" and when he was blamed by some persons for not giving thanks publicly for the defeat of Sir George Booth, he answered, that " his apprehensions concern- ing that affair were not the same with theirs : we are now much in the dark, never moref." * MS. Life of Martindale. t See Life of Mr. Philip Henry, 12mo, 1698, p. 65. He was the father of Matthew Henry, a name better known as lacing the author of an ' Ex])osition on the Scriptures', which continues to be highly valued. The name of Henry was exchanged for that of Warhurton by the son of Matthew Henry ; but the male line has been long extinct, while the descendants of the elder Henry are exceedingly 1 114 THE LIFE OF The natural effect of this movement was, that the two parties in the Puritan body should be still further estranged, and their jealousies and animosities become more bitter. It was now quite evident to the Independent mind that the Presbyterians looked to something more than the mere establishment of their own principles and the ascendency of their own party, and that it was no- thing less than bringing back the king and restoring a national church, either in the Episcopal or Presbyterian form, or in some form in which the two systems might be united, which to some persons of those times ap- peared practicable, among whom was Archbishop Usher. The authorities then in power required that public thanks should be given for the suppression of Sir George Booth's insurrection. This was an ensnaring matter for the Presbyterians. The bitter feeling which this movement occasioned was not confined to the parts of the kingdom which were the particular scene of it ; it extended to the neighbour- ing counties : and we must now relate what happened to Mr. Hey wood, and it shall be done in his own words, giving the few facts and his own reflections : — "While we were consulting an accommodation suit- able to the uniting of godly parties on both sides in our neighbour county, in comes an overflowing deluge in the. state that promotes divisions in the church. Sir George Booth with many other gentlemen, pleading their liberty to sit and vote in parliament with the rest of their members then sitting at Westminster, at last took up arms in Cheshire ; with whom the Presbyterians ge- nerally acceded and consented, and the Independents took the other side throughout the nation ; which as it rendered all former endeavours fruitless and an agree- ment almost hopeless, so it set a vast distance amongst numerous, and most of them have remained members of the Presb}"^- terian body of dissenters, to which some of them have been both a support and ornament. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 115 US in this congregation : many of our adversaries being deeply engaged in the late defection, thought they were bound in conscience (or from what principle or end they did it I know not) prosecuted against me as one of those they looked upon as traitors and rebels. Yet, whatever their ends were (the Lord knows, I shall not judge), but this I know, they dealt most injuriously with me, as though they intended to trepan me. They came to discourse with me, pretendedly in love and friend- ship, and got what they could out of me in state-affairs. And then, when they saw their opportunity, threatened they had in writing a charge against me uttered unawares by my own lips. And their own jealousy helped them to invent other things wherein they imagined I was guilty, though far otherwise ; and I may truly say, as in the presence of God, they laid to my charge things that I knew not, nor did they ever enter into my thoughts ; they wrested my words, and when I desired liberty to be mine own interpreter, if it were contrary to their ground- less surmisings, they called and accounted me a liar. They condemned me without trial, and when a con- siderable appearance of my people came to own me at a meeting, they would scarce give them or me leave to speak in my behalf; some of them openly contradicted me by sending a note to me in the middle of my sermon to distract me, though, blessed be God, it prevailed not to do me much hurt. They trampled scornfully upon me, as scarce worthy to live, some of them saying they could not tell how to trust their bodies with me, much less their souls ; that they could not sit down under any man's ministry that would not obey authority, though themselves were the most disobedient, changing them at their pleasure many times in a year if they suited not their ambitious and covetous humours, and though they could never charge me with disturbing the peace in word or action. But this I must confess, I could never say, Amen, to their prodigiously irregular actings, nor act against my conscience, for I must obey God rather than I 2 1 16 THE LIFE OF men. I could not, durst not, dissemble with God and man, in giving God thanks for what I was convinced was real matter of humiliation. I kept in the compass of my place and calling, and was freely content to be passive in suffering the penalty inflicted for the breach of their new-made laws ; yea, such was their carriages towards me that their own party elsewhere disclaimed them, and w^re ashamed of them, and voted some of them blame- worthy in a chmxh-meeting, and the country did so ring thereof that the reproach thereof will never be wiped ofip. Truth it is, that this was such a provoking occasion (the circumstances considered) ibr the commotion of my spirit as I never had before, that T could very ill brook or bear, and I found great need of special grace and an opportunity to practise some of the hardest lessons in Christianity, — to bear injuries without desire of avenging myself, to sufl'er grievous indignities patiently without animosity, w^hen wrongfully imposed to forgive freely, pray for such as despitefuUy used me, to love mine ene- mies, and to overcome evil with good, &c. I never knew what those lessons meant till now, and I may say by sweet experience the Lord helped me in these cases in good measure. By the help of grace I have not used perverse reflections against them in public, nor did it yet enter my thoughts to do them the least hurt, if I had them in my power ; nay, I can truly say, the more they wronged me, the more I prayed for them. " About the same time we had sharp trials. My wife was brought to bed of a third son, and when she had lyen but two days I was taken prisoner by a party of horse sent from Col. Lilburne, and I was taken to Brigge-house, but by the mediation of divers of my neighbours who undertook for me, I was released, after I had been among the unruly soldiers one night ; and within that fortnight, my little son Nathaniel died, Aug. 24, 1659 ; and the sad news of our dear friends' and countrymen's killing and dispersing was more bitter than all the rest. At which time these men triumphed OLIVER HEYWOOD. 117 over us with intolerable pride ; threatened sequestration, shot off a pistol by our window, and had once, tantum non driven me from my dear people. Once, indeed, I did resolve to go within a day or two, but being better advised, 1 thought it best to abide their trial, for I knew myself not guilty, no not in the breach of their own laws. But God hath his times and seasons in clearing up the innocency of his people ; he hath wonderfully owned the cause of his afflicted people, and rescued both out of the furious hands of one extreme that sought the destruction of ministry and ordinances under the notion of sanctity. And though in eschewing Scylla, we be now fallen upon Charybdis, yet God will fully reckon with and totally subvert the professed haters of the power of god- liness, especially when he hath accomplished his recon- ciling work upon the hearts of his people, and effected all his other works upon Mount Zion. Satan is come down and hath great rage because his time is short ; and short I hope it will be, for he hath promised that for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened, yet sharp it may be, for God hath a sad reckoning with us." I shall add one passage more from Mr, Heywood's reflections at this period on the state to which the pre- valence of Independency, and the encouragement which the Independents gave to lay-preaching, had brought the country : — " Oh, what a blow hath true religion sustained, under pretence of harmless opinions about mere circumstantial points, whereas they raze the foundations ! We were weary of monarchy, but shall be more weary of anarchy. Is there no one to sit at the helm of the ship of our poor commonwealth, but an army of rude unruly and con- tentious soldiers ? The sword of justice is drawn to support injustice, and the power of authority encourages such as do evil, and discourages those that do well. Were not ministers once the chariots and horsemen, the strength and beauty of our English Israel ; but are they not now the scorn and offscouring of this world ? Those 1 18 THE LIFE OF silly ignorant people, that admired at learning and almost worshipped scholars, now trample all under their feet, and would have universities demolished, literature ba- nished, and darkness introduced. Do we not see illite- rate, haughty and presumptuous soldiers and artificers perched up in congregations and without controul op- pose sound doctrine, sow tares, and teach the people to despise and malign the pious, prudent, faithful, peace- able and learnedly religious pastors?" En quels consevimus agros ! The true lesson which these reflections teach is, that it is the wisdom of those who desire nothing more than that peace and justice shall have their abode in the land of their birth and their delight, but above all of scholars and those who culti- vate what are especially arts of peace, rather to acquiesce in a little evil that may be perceived in the political state, whether civil or ecclesiastical, which has been long established, trusting to the silent power of time to remove it, than to open the way to a worse tyranny by endangering its stability. Whether the oppression of the Puritans under the early Stuarts was sufficient to justify revolt, when the Puritans themselves acted at least as oppressively to the loyal episcopal clergy, may be questioned ; but there can be no question that the state of things which Mr. Heywood describes was very dearly purchased by the dreadful havoc and misery which the civil wars occasioned*. * I cannot forbear inserting in this page a beautiful passage from Fuller, though it has been so often quoted. Speaking of the death of Mr. John Dodd in 1645, he says, " He was buried at Fawsley, in Northamptonshire; withAvhom the old Puritan may seem to expire, and in his grave to be interred : humble, meek, patient, hospitable, charitable, as in his censure of, so in his alms to, others. Would I could truly say but half so much of the next generation !" This was written in 1653. — Church Histori/, book xi. p. 220. Let scholars, and especially theological scholars of the Liberal school, read what happened to Hales of Eton, in those times. He was brought down from his moderate competence to " bread and beer," and little more which he obtained by the sale of his library, being, as is pleasantly said by his biographer, Dr. Pearson, " a true OLIVER HEYWOOD. l\\) But when such were the reflections of Mr. Heywood, who had been nursed in political and religious disaffec- tion, what must have been the thoughts of those, many of them, it cannot be denied, worthy and pious persons, as they were also refined and learned, who had been turned out of their stations in the Church, and were condemned to a perpetual silence ? and when we thus ar- rive at a knowledge of what was passing in the interior of a mind like his, we are prepared to find the enlight- ened and worthier part of the population concurring in a wish for the return of the exiled king, and for the burst of joy, such as was never before witnessed in England, wel- coming him to our shores. The following were the pri- vate reflections of Mr. Heywood when he heard that General Monk had declared for the king, and that the king's arrival was every day expected : — • " Lift up thine eyes, my soul ! and behold the face of things abroad. After a dark and gloomy winter comes a heart-reviving spring. What a change has been effected in half a year ! Surely there is a gracious moving wheel of Providence in all these vicissitudes. Usurpers have had the seat of jurisdiction, have held the reins in their hands, and driven on furiously these twelve years. They commanded a toleration of all but truly tender con- sciences, cast off parliaments of their own appointment at their pleasure, and threatened sequestration for all who w^ould not fall down and worship the golden image of their invention." — " Strange events have happened between September 1659 and May 1660. God is in the heavens and doeth whatsoever pleaseth him ; he hath glo- rified his great name, vindicated his truth and promises, and encouraged his people. He hath restored our civil rights, and given us the hope of a just settlement." The feeling which is thus expressed by Mr. Heywood Helluo of books." But what is worse than their own personal fate, the great interests which the scholar has at heart are amongst the first things to be sacrificed to the young ambition which arises out of the opportunities which have been unthinkingly afforded it. 120 THE LIFE OF was common to the great body of ministers with whom he is to be classed. They were weary of military rule and of ecclesiastical irregularity. Of Philip Henry it is said, by the writer of his Life, that " He was a hearty well-wisher to the return of the king, and was much affected with the mercy of it ; " and it is added, "His sense of that great mercy of God to the nation in the unbloody, peaceable and legal settlement of King Charles the Second upon the throne was the same with that of multitudes besides, both ministers and others, that were of the quiet in the land." The Manchester Classis di- rected that the 24th of March, 1660, should be observed as a solemn day of thanksgiving for the wonderful changes and deliverances which were looked for from the declaration of General Monk. Mr.Newcome addressed the people of Manchester in a strain of vehement in- vective against the persons who had abolished monarchy for their own selfish ends, and nearly destroyed religion itself, ending with an exhortation to be temperate and Christian in their joy : " He that hath caused it toward evening to be light, can make our sun set at noon. La- bour to be Christians still, and to carry like Christians under this wonderful mercy ; for the Christian hath not had the least hand in the procuring of it." This sermon he printed, and dedicated to the then leading Presby- terians in Lancashire, Sir George Booth, Sir Ralph Ash- ton, and Richard Holland, esquire, of Denton. Mr. Heyrick preached on the day of the king's coro- nation, from the words, "And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony, and they made him king and anointed him ; and they clapped their hands and said, God save the king !" — " You see," said he, " what the want of a king is, and by that you will the better judge of the blessedness and happiness of the people that have a king ; kingly government is the best government for order, peace and strengtli." Mr. Nathaniel Heywood preached at Ormskirk on the OLIVER HEYWOOD. 121 day of the thanksgiving for the king's Restoration, from 2 Sam. xix. 30, " And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house." I have been the more abundant in my citations and references on this subject, because an opinion very gene- rally prevails among the present representatives of the persons whose principles and conduct we are considering, that they were in politics against kingly government, and in ecclesiastics against a national church. Nothing how- ever can be further from the truth. The mistake has arisen from confounding the fathers of Presbyterian dissent with the fathers of Independent or Congregational dissent and the members of the different sects who sprung up under the Independent rule. They undoubtedly preferred the government, or rather anarchy, from which England was delivered at the Restoration ; but the Presbyterians looked upon that event as a relief from an unsettled, turbulent and oppressive usurpation, when the power shifted from hand to hand every few months, at the will of an igno- rant soldiery, and as bringing back security and order. There was nothing in Mr. Heyrick's eloquent discourse which was really inconsistent with the principles of him- self and his party, who had taken up arms, not to destroy the monarchy, but to fix upon it certain wholesome con- stitutional restraints, and not to destroy the church, but to make it more efficient in respect of the great interests contemplated in its institution. That they had failed, and only let in a body of fanatics and usurpers, is but the usual fate of well-meaning persons who commit themselves to the chances of great political change. 122 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER VII. DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE PRESBYTERIANS. POLICY OF THE COURT. RETURN OF THE ROYALIST CLERGY. MANY PURITAN MINISTERS ALLOWED TO RETAIN THEIR CURES. PROCLAMATION AGAINST CONVENTICLES. AFFECTS MR. HEYWOOD. PROHIBITED FROM BAP- TIZING. REFUSES TO USE THE COMMON PRAYER. HIS ENEMIES IN HIS CHAPELRY. CITATIONS TO YORK. DR. WITTIE. LADY WATSON. HIS REFLECTIONS ON CATHEDRAL SERVICES. UNSETTLED STATE OF ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS. SETTLEMENT BY THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. CHIEF PROVISIONS OF THE ACT. DIFFICULTIES OF THE PURITAN MINISTRY IN COMPLYING WITH THE TERMS OF MI- NISTERIAL CONFORMITY. THE TWO THOUSAND " BARTHOLOMEAN WORTHIES." PRIVATE AND FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES AT THE TIME. THE ELDEST BROTHER. MR. HEYWOOD CEASES TO BE THE PUB- LIC MINISTER AT COLEY. We are now approaching what may be regarded as the erreat crisis of Puritanism. The com'se which the pubhc pohcy of the reahn took on the retm*nof KingCharles the Second was in all respects disappointing and most discouraging to every branch of the Puritan family ; but it was especially mortifying to the Presbyterians, who were still the most numerous, substantial and valuable part of that family, to see them- selves confounded with the wild sects which had sprung from them in the preceding period and subjected to the same rigorous measures, and to find no sense entertained of their services in promoting the restoration of the monarchy, and not the slightest disposition to conde- scend to any of their scruples or their opinions in the new settlement which it was necessary to make of the ecclesiastical affairs of the English nation. They seem to have entertained the expectation of OLIVER HEYWOOD. 123 something very diiferent, and they conceived that the terms of the king's declaration at Breda authorized them to do so ; hut it must have been sufficiently manifest that, after the experience of the last twenty or thirty years, means would be taken to secure the nation from the possibility of another outbreak ; and the terms of the declaration, which go not beyond a qualified and limited indulgence of diversity of religious opinion and practice, would be little regarded when once the national mind was directed to the consideration of the mighty question, in what way ecclesiastical affairs should be conducted for the time to come ? Their hope of seeing their favourite project of a Presbyterian Establishment carried out, they must have at once abandoned ; the country did not go with them in the design, as had been proved during the short time in w^hich they were in the ascendant, and no sovereign will ever prefer a Presbyterian to an Episcopal church, which is at once an ornament and support to the mo- narchy, as it is also really a strong defence of the people, throwing, as it does, the broad shield of Christianity be- tween them and the oppressor. The utmost they could rationally expect was some kind of union of the two forms ; but whether the elements of the two systems admit of being united, it was too much to expect that the attempt would be made when the king was all-pow- erful, so great was the enthusiasm with which he was received, and there were so many who longed to see the pure Protestant Church re-established in the frame in which the Reformers had left it. There can be little doubt that it was the determination of the king's advisers from the beginning to effect the restoration of that church, but they proceeded with great seeming moderation and the appearance of a conciliatory spirit. Two years passed between the king's restoration and the final arrangement of ecclesiastical affairs. In that time occurred the Conference at the Savoy, which resembled the Conference at Hampton Court, and ended like that in contempt for the Puritan scruples. 124 THE LIFE OF The Puritan clergy were received at court with civility, and very tempting offers were made to some of them of stations of eminence in the church, Baxter, who came from the Welsh border, was offered the bishopric of Worcester ; Gilpin, a northern man, was offered the bishopric of Carlisle, which he declined, and was after- wards the Presbyterian minister of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Only Reynolds, who was made bishop of Norwich, for- sook his party in this crisis of its fate to accept the episcopal dignity. But while the persons who were at the head of public affairs were proceeding with a certain amount of delibe- ration and apparent disposition to conciliate, there was a general movement among the clergy who had been displaced in the late times, and were still alive to rejoice in the change which had taken place. The surviving bishops resumed their sees, the deans and other ca- thedral dignitaries their stalls, and the parochial clergy returned to the parishes from which they had been driven. In these cases, the Puritan ministers by whom they had been replaced in the Commonwealth times were obliged to give way, and it does not appear that they could rea- sonably complain of this. They attempted, indeed, to draw a distinction between ministers who had in the late times been removed for political delinquency only, and those who had been declared by the parliamentary com- missioners to have been unworthy of their benefices, as being "ignorant and scandalous;" but this was over- ruled ; and surely it was but fair to assume that sixteen years of adversity had produced some change for the better, and that another trial should be allowed of mi- nisterial sufficiency. The number was very considerable of the ministers who returned. Where the incumbent who had been removed was dead, the ministers in possession of the benefices were allowed to retain them without being subjected to any inquiry into the manner in which they were put in pos- session. This was an important condescension to the OLIVER HEYWOOD. 125 Puritan ministry, and it seems to have been granted equally to the Presbyterian, the Independent, and the Anabaptist ; but then it could be considered as only a temporary measure, as it cannot be doubted that it was determined to restore the Episcopal Church almost im- mediately with the authority of parliament, when terms of communion would be required with which it was known that few of them could comply. Mr. Heywood's case came within the scope of this condescension, for there was no one to set up any claim to his little benefice at Coley. It was the same with his brother at Ormskirk, who had indeed the presentation of the Countess of Derby, widow of the unfortunate earl, the true and undoubted patron, as well as the approba- tion of the commissioners for the admission of public preachers. But Mr. Nathaniel Heywood lost at this time his appointment of one of the four itinerating ministers of Lancashire, with its income of 50/. a-year, which gave occasion to a shrewd taunt of the adversary, alluding to his restoration text, "Let him take all." An amusing collection might be made of the texts se- lected by the divines of this period, and of all sides, for their political sermons. Mr. Johnson, who returned to claim his fellowship in the church of Manchester, on his re-appearance in the pulpit, addressed the congregation from the words of the 129th Psalm, "The ploughers ploughed upon my back ; they made long their furrows : the Lord is righteous ; he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked." Mr. Wright, the vicar of Ecclesfield in the south of Yorkshire, a milder man, on resuming pos- session of his beautiful church and extensive parish, took his text from another Psalm, " He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him ;" and continued to enjoy the benefice from which he had been harshly removed (for I have some reason for be- lieving that he was an excellent Christian minister) more than thirty years. 126 THE LIFE OF The resuming of their churches by the clergy whom the parliamentary commissioners had removed, could not always be effected without unedifying scenes being ex- hibited. There was a story current at Halifax in Mr. Watson's time, that Dr. Marsh, the ejected vicar, made his appearance in the church one Sunday morning soon after Mr. Bentley had commenced his service, and march- ing up the aisle with the Book of Common Prayer under his arm, removed Mr. Bentley from the desk in the face of the congregation, and conducted the ser^dce in the ancient manner. Dr. Marsh was soon succeeded by Dr. Richard Hooke, a firm, able, and zealous church- man, and probably on that account placed in this im- portant situation by the Crown, in whose gift it was. But though Mr. Heywood was for the present quieted in the possession of his chapel of Coley, he soon felt the effects of the change of the times. There was an apparent moderation in the proceedings of those w^ho directed public affairs, but still there was enough to show the Puritan ministry that impediments would be placed in their way. Advantage was taken of a frenzied insurrection of a few persons in the utmost extreme of Puritanism, who were called Fifth Monarch- ists, to issue a proclamation prohibiting conventicles, or small assemblies of persons in private houses, for the purpose of religious conference, hearing the word and prayer. This was very hard upon the more sober part of the Puritans, to whom these meetings were refreshing to their spirits ; and it cannot be denied that the politi- cal evil attending them was as nothing compared with the support which they gave to the influence of a devo- tional and Christian spirit through the land. Sucli a proclamation plainly showed that the authorities of the time were looking upon the whole subject in a point of view merely worldly, and in a spirit which would sacri- fice the interests of religion and morality to merely tem- poral security. This was the first of a long series of similar acts in the same spirit. Mr. Heywood notices OLIVER HEYWOOD. 127 it thus : — " This day, January 23, 1660-1, we had de- signed to meet together for fasting and prayer in private, but are prevented by a declaration from authority. The truth is, our dread sovereign, at the first and hitherto, hath allowed us abundant liberty for religious exercise both in public and private, but his clemency has been abused, which has occasioned this severe and universal prohibition. The fanatical and schismatical party, truly so called, have by their unwise and unwarrantable prac- tices troubled all the people of God throughout this na- tion, and have rendered the sweet savour of Christian converse to be abhorred." Here is a spirit of acquies- cence and submission as profound as any friend to the prerogative could desire of any man, and a very innocent view of the measures of the court. Indeed it appears but too plainly that the Puritan ministers saw but imperfectly either their own actual position, or the intentions of the court and parliament concerning them. They had never sought to cultivate the wisdom of this world, by which they might have combated with a better chance of success the politicians of the time who possessed it in abundance. In fact they were confounded and baffled at every turn. Their better praise is, that they had the wisdom which cometh from above, and this cannot be denied them. The next inconvenience which Mr. Hey wood found, originated nearer home. He was considering the ques- tion of the baptism of infants of scandalous parents, and had found himself more perplexed than instructed by the arguments on that point of Baxter, to whom the Presby- terians of that time and long after looked up for direc- tion, when he was surprised by an order from the vicar of Halifax to forbear baptizing at all. This was not directed against himself in particular, but was addressed to all the curates throughout the vicarage, it being the vicar's intention that all children should be brought for baptism to the parish church. Mr. Heywood, with less than his usual candour, attributed the order to an avidity 128 THE LIFE OF for fees. He continued to perform the ordinance, pay- ing over the accustomed dues to the parish-church. The next was a more serious difficulty. In these two unsettled years there was no uniformity in the manner in which the public religious services were conducted in the churches and chapels of the realm. It appears to have been left to the minister who was in actual possession to conduct the services at his own dis- cretion, or as could be agreed upon betv/een himself and the people. The restored ministers would of course bring back the use of the Book of Common Prayer ; the Puritan ministers would adhere to the form of the Di- rectory, in which the minister was at full liberty, in the devotional parts of the service. The difficulty was in cases in which the minister was of one mind, and the people, or a considerable number of them, of another : and this was the case in Mr. Heywood's chapelry. There was a party who earnestly desired that the Com- mon Prayer should be restored at Coley, as it had been in the parish-church and in some of the other chapels. At the head of this party was Stephen Ellis, of Hipper- holm, a person of the best account for property of those who resided in the chapelry, and, as far as anything ap- pears, a respectable man ; zealous however in his own way, as Mr. Hey wood was in his. At his suggestion, and with the concurrence of some other persons, the book was brought to Mr. Heywood as he was about to commence the service in his usual manner. This was on Sunday the 25th of August, 1661. Mr. Heywood asked the person who presented it by what authority he did so ; but to this no reply was made, the person con- tenting himself with laying it on the cushion of the pulpit. Mr. Heywood took it quietly down, and having laid it in the lower pulpit (the reading-desk, which it would appear from this anecdote he did not use, but conducted the whole service in the pulpit, as has been the usual practice of the successors of the Presbyterian ministers since), v^ent on with the service in his usual OLIVER HEYWOOD. 129 manner. " I was wonderfully assisted that day in pray- ing and preaching, so as many were amazed, as since they have told me ; and it satisfies me I did but my duty in what I did, upon my former convictions." There was something of the insolent humour attributed to the people of this parish in the mode in which the party proceeded; but in respect of the main question, there was no very clear right on either side. It cannot be denied that Ellis and his friends had a claim to a rea- sonable share of the direction of parish affairs in this particular, nor can it be denied that in the then unsettled state of the church Mr. Heywood might consult his own judgment on what it was proper to do. He could not, however, contend for his own right of enforcing his ow^n views on this subject upon his people without set- ting up the principle of clerical imposition, which had been so much complained of by the Puritans from the beginning. In such an incident as this we see the absolute neces- sity of some third party who can determine with author- ity questions such as these, which must, from the nature of things, perpetually arise in religious communities, and w4iich, in point of fact, have arisen on this very subject of the comparative value of free prayer and a liturgical form in many dissenting congregations. Mr. Ellis ap- pealed to such a party. At his suggestion, William Greenwood, an attorney, who had lately become an in- habitant of the chapelry, applied to the Consistory Court at York for a citation to Mr. Heywood to appear and answer the said Greenwood*. The citation was served on the 13th of September. * Greenwood was a Skipton man, who had recently become con- nected with Coley by his marriage with the widow of one of the Whitleys of Cinderhills, near the Chapel, a debauched and profligate family of good property. The shocking deaths of persecutors has been in all ages a favourite topic with Christian writers. Both hus- band and wife died in consequence of being thrown from horseback a few years after, — she in 1664, and he in 1668. The Whitleys he d suffered by sequestrations iu the preceding times. K 130 THE LIFE OF It was the first case of the kind. Mr. Heywood was advised to appear, that he might not be excommunicated for contempt. As he journeyed towards York he met accidentally with old Elkana Wales, who had long been the Puritan minister in the chapel of Pudsey, and his son-in-law, James Sales, another minister of the same character. They gave him every encouragement to de- fend what he had done. On his arrival at York he went immediately to the Minster, where the Court was then sitting in the accustomed place on the north side. They were engaged with other affairs, but the attention of the whole Court was turned on Mr. Heywood the moment he was announced. He was asked if he had chosen a proctor, and on his replying, that he was there in person to answer any charge which might be made against him ; he was told that he might go his way, and appear again that day three weeks. This might be only a form of the Court, but it appears unreasonable and oppressive, as does also their refusal to communicate to him the charge on which he was cited. There came up to him in the Minster, Dr. Robert Wittie, the physician, who was then residing at York, the author of certain singular books in prose and verse. He strongly exhorted Mr. Heywood to stand firm, as an example to other ministers who might be troubled in the same manner. Lady Watson, one of the " elect Ladies," of whom there were several at that time at York*, great favour- * Lady Watson was the widow of a lord mayor, Stephen Watson, who twice filled the office in the Parliament times, — 1646 and 1656 ; and held her rank according to the tenor of the old York saw : — " My lord is a lord for a year and a day. But my lady 's my lady for ever and aye." We shall meet, as we proceed, with two other ladies at York whose rank was of the same kind, — Lady Hewet and Lady Hoyle. Lady Hewley, another of the ladies of York who gave encouragement to the Non-Conforming ministry, somewhat younger than those I have named, was the wife and widow of a knight. Sir John Hewley, who was some time member for the city. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 131 ers of the Puritan ministry, wrote to Mr. Heywood, soon after his return home, intimating to him that the Court had no authority in his case, and advising him to take no notice of their citations. Instead, therefore, of appearing again at the end of the three weeks, he took a journey into Lancashire. On his return he found a second citation, of whicii he took no notice. A third citation came, to which he did appear. Of what passed on this occasion he gives no particular account, and only says that " they dismissed him with promises of a fair audience the next time." The issue of all was, that he was suspended from exercising his ministry in the dio- cese of York on the ground of non-appearance and con- tempt. The suspension was puhlished in the church of Halifax on Sunday, June 29, 1662. On that day he took solemn leave of his people at Coley : " on which occasion," he says, " he saw more strong workings of affection and tears of sorrow than he had ever before seen in public." Everything shows how much he was beloved by many, and how influential his ministry must have been on them. This suspension did but a little anticipate his separa- tion from his beloved people ; for the Act by which the Church was settled in a form in which he could not appear as a minister, had before that time received the royal assent, and would in a few weeks come into com- plete operation. One passage from his auto-biographical remains, re- lating to his visits to York, must not be omitted, it is so characteristic, and shows how truly he was the son of the woman who demolished the relics of superstition in the places of religion around Bolton: "My heart was much grieved w^hen I saw the fond way of worship used by them, as I passed by the door, where they were then at work. Divers I saw with white surplices, and red tippets upon their backs ; their worshipping towards the east at singing Gloria Patri ; their singing the Lord's Prayer and Creed ; and resounding of the organs ; K 2 132 THE LIFE OF all which they use : though I stayed not then to see and hear all, yet I saw enough to make me hate vain inven- tions, and to love God's perfect word and pure worship better ; to pity and pray for them that mangle and trifle with the holy things of God, and turn them into a mere formality ; to desire after and to delight in the pure and wholesome waters of the sanctuary, and worshipping my God in spirit and in truth." Good : — if the worship which he witnessed were mere formality ; and undoubt- edly, however the hearers may be affected, it is to be feared that there is not always a corresponding senti- ment in the hearts of those who make the sweet melody : and this was possibly all that Mr. Heywood meant. To have extended his reflection further, would have been but to act in the spirit of those who represent the sin- gular aspects of some of the old Puritans when engaged in their way of worship as assumed and artificial. It is but right to admit, that in both the true spirit of devo- tion may be found. As to the magnificent scene around him, he appears to have been wholly unimpressed by it, whether as a creation of taste and skill, or as a temple raised to the honour of the living God, and dedicated to his service*. * I have before had occasion to speak of the insensibility of the Puritan mind to the impressive effect of the places in England of old consecrated to the purposes of Christianity ; but let it not be sup- posed that this insensibility^ is common to their descendants and present representatives. Who admires more the surpassing edifice of which we are speaking than my reverend tutor, the Presbyterian minister at York ? I have also now before me a letter from an older Presbyterian minister whom I knew in my youth, bom in 1728, and the great-grandson of Mr. Dawson, one of the ejected Puritan mini- sters, the neighbour and very intimate friend of Mr. Heywood, in which he says : — "We reached York about four, and amused our- selves for more than two hours in viewing the cathedral. I was scarce ever so pleased with any structure. Other biuldings of this nature fill the mind with awe ; this filled mine with reverence and delight. It is at the same time light and airy, great and magnifi- cent. I could have stayed among the dead and works of antiquity much longer with solemn ])leasure." Shall I not add, that these Avere the sentiments, written in 1778, of the Rev. Joseph Evans, OLIVER HEYWOOD. 133 The new settlement of the English Church was done in Parliament, which is in effect to say, that it was the result of the solemn expression of the national will hy its admitted organs, — the king, the privy-council, the lords spiritual and temporal, the knights of the shires, and the buro-esses. To call this settlement the act of the king or of the bishops, is to make a most important mistake respecting it : it was the act of the national will as much as any public measure in that or any subsequent Parlia- ment (except so far as the recent Reform Act may be said to give to the decisions of Parliament more of the cha- racter of being expressions of national determination), — the issue of the struggle of conflicting parties, in which the Puritan party found itself in the minority. Neither was the Act the erection of a Church ; it but reinstated the Church as it had existed long before, after its tem- porary overthrow. This memorable Act is the 12th and 13th Charles II. chap. 4, and is entitled " An Act for the Uniformity of Public Prayers and Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies, and for establishing the form of making, ordaining, and consecrating Bi- shops, Priests, and Deacons in the Church of England." It received the royal assent on May 17, 1662, but it allowed to ministers in possession of the benefices, to the 24th of August following, to ponder over the terms of Conformity. This was the feast-day of Saint Bartholo- mew, already made remarkable in the annals of ecclesi- astical reformation by the massacre at Paris in the reign of Charles the Ninth. The following are the chief provisions of the Act : — (1.) One uniform service, and no other, to be used in all churches and chapels throughout the realm ; which for thirty-eight years the Presbyterian minister at Sheffield, a gen- tleman to whom I and my family owe the highest obligations .'' He was the executor of my grandfather, the guardian of my father ; and to me a wise instructor, a kind and generous friend ; a father, in ever\^ sense but one. 134 THE LIFE OF service shall be that of the Book of Common Prayer, published in the first year of Queen Elizabeth, with the slight alterations which had recently been made in it. (2.) Every minister holding any ecclesiastical benefice or promotion, to read publicly in his church or chapel the said Common Prayer, before the feast of Saint Bar- tholomew then next ensuing, and in the presence of the congregation to declare his unfeigned assent and consent to everything contained in and prescribed by the said Book, on penalty of immediate deprivation. (3.) Every person in holy orders, and every school- master, to subscribe a declaration that "it is not lawful, upon any pretence whatever, to take arms against the king ; and that they abhor the traitorous position of taking arms by his authority against his person ; that they will conform to the Liturgy of the Church of Eng- land ; that they hold that no obligation lies upon them from the oath called the Solenm League and Covenant, but that they regard it as an unlawful oath, and imposed upon the subjects of the realm against the known laws and liberties of the kingdom*." (4.) No schoolmaster to teach without a licence from the bishop. (5.) No person to hold any benefice or spiritual pro- motion who had not received episcopal ordination ; and if any such person were already in possession of any church or chapel, he was, ipso facto, declared to be de- prived of it, and the patron might proceed to appoint a person duly qualified. (6.) Lecturers or preachers to declare their assent to the Thirty-nine Articles mentioned in the Statute of the 1 3th of Elizabeth, and no lectures or preachings to be had without the use of the Common Prayer. (7.) Any person not episcopally ordained administer- ing the Lord's Supper, to be liable to the penalty of one hundred pounds. * The abjuration of the Solemn League and Covenant was to cease on the 25th of March, 1G82. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 135 It is evident, therefore, that all the Puritan objections to the Church as it existed before the wars remained in full force, and that it was determined to compel con- formity even to the minutest point in gesture, vestments, and ceremonies. The Book of Common Prayer remained without any alteration, except in a few very trifling matters, and these made it not in any degree more acceptable to the Puri- tans, The use of it was made imperative, and there was therefore an end to the exercise of free prayer in the public assemblies. No preaching of unordained persons was to be allow- ed, and no kind of ordination admitted as valid except that by bishops. Abjuration w^as required of an oath which had been taken by nearly all the ministers then in possession of the benefices ; and another oath w^as imposed involving the most complete surrender that could be made of the liberty of the subject into the hands of the crown. That ultimate right of resistance is rarely to be men- tioned, and even to be rarely thought upon ; but it can- not be formally given up without converting a consti- tutional monarchy into a despotism ; and so the nation at large seems to have thought, when in the next gene- ration they abolished this oath and substituted for it the oath of due allegiance. In all this there was much which made it extremely difficult for persons who had been educated in Puritan principles, and who had that nice and scrupulous con- science which a religious education usually produces, to comply with the terms of ministerial communion which w^ere held out to them. To have accepted them, and so remained in the stations which they held in the Church, would have been to have renounced every principle for which they had been contending, and to sanction a system of national worship and ecclesiastical discipline which they in their consciences did not regard as sufiiciently 136 THE LIFE OF scriptural, or as conducive of the interests of either sound morality or pure religion in the land. The recjuirennent of re-ordination was one to which the younger ministers, such as Mr. Heywood, could not bring themselves to submit without in effect declaring Presbyterian ordination invalid, and without, by submit- ting to the ordinance twice, approaching the confines of profaneness. They regarded it also as leading them in effect to condemn the ordination of the foreign Pro- testant Churches, which was almost universally prac- tised in the manner in which they had received it, and to put in question the validity of the ordinances admi- nistered by them, by which in those times many minds would have been greatly disturbed. This with respect to the Presbyterian ; the Independent could consent to receive no ordination from any minister at all ; and the Anabaptist agreed in this point in the main with the Independent, superadding the necessity of adult baptism. This point of re-ordination, it is manifest, struck also at the seat of honour, if considerations of that kind could have any place in deliberations concerning such high matter as this. It impugned the conduct of their reverend fathers in the ministry, proclaimed the solemn service an empty form, and brought, more forcibly than anything else, home upon their minds the thought from whence they had fallen. The Presbyterian ministers, or, to speak more gene- rally, the Puritan ministers, were thus placed in a posi- tion of great difficulty ; they must either condescend to renounce in a public and solemn manner all the peculiar opinions in which they had been educated ; declare, as to most of them, the ordination which they had received to be invalid, thinking it not only otherwise but emi- nently scriptural ; submit to an oath which struck at the very foundations of the liberties of their country ; and place themselves under a perpetual restraint in their public ministrations by reading, where before they had been accustomed to pour out their hearts in devout ex- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 137 pression :— or they must abandon the stations in which they were placed, cease to minister to a people with whom their hearts were united, and throw themselves upon the world without a profession, and consequently, as to most of them, without the usual means of support. That so many of them chose the latter alternative, is a striking proof of the reality of their previous professions, and an animating instance of sacrifices voluntarily made out of regard to maintaining peace of conscience, and to the duty of submitting every opposing inclination to the claims of Christian sincerity. " Nor shall the eternal roll of praise reject Those unconforming ; whom one rigorous day Drives from their cures, a voluntary prey To poverty and grief and disrespect, And some to want — as if by tempest wreck 'd On a wild coast ; how destitute ! did they Feel not that conscience never can betray. That peace of mind is Virtue's sure effect. Their altars they forego, their homes they quit, Fields which they love, and paths they daily trod, And cast the future upon Providence : As men the dictate of whose i7iward sense Outweighs the world ; whom self-deceiving wit Lures not from what the}' deem the cause of God." Wordstvorth's Ecclesiastical Sketches. The number of ministers who at this time refused to accept the terms of ministerial Conformity in the newly- restored church is loosely estimated at two thousand. Mr. Hey wood says that they were two thousand five hundred, but in this number were included many who, though not conforming at first, did afterwards comply with the terms. The whole number of names in Dr. Calamy's list does not reach two thousand, and there are some of whom he could obtain no account, and whose title to the character of minister may be regarded as ques- tionable. In this honourable list are Mr. Hey wood, his brother, Mr. Nathaniel Heywood, and his father-in- law, Mr. Angier. There are also the names of nearly 138 THE LIFE OF all his friends in the ministry, — Bentley, Jollie,Newcome, Tildcsley, Goodwin, Park, Harrison. In the parish of Halifax, beside himself and Mr. Bentley, there were the two Roots, Mr. Robinson, and Mr. Gamaliel Marsden. In the parts of Yorkshire with which he w^as most ac- quainted, the following ministers were Non-Conform- ists : — Mr. Kirby of Wakefield, Mr. Wood of Sandal, Mr. Hill of Crofton, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Jeremiah Mars- den of Ardsley, Mr. Christopher Marshall of Woodkirk, Mr. Richardson of Kirk Heton, Mr. Thorpe of Hopton, Mr. Swift of Peniston, Mr. Spawford of Silkston, Mr. Waterhouse of Bradford, Mr. Dawson of Thornton, Mr. Town of Howarth, Mr. Sharp of Addle, Mr. Crossley of Bramhope, Mr. Cotes of Rawden, Mr. Smallwood of Idle, Mr. Wales of Pudsey. At a greater distance, were the clergy of the towns of Leeds, Sheffield, and Rother- ham, with several at York*. * In speaking of these men I shall call them by the terra by which they are usually designated. The Ejected Ministers, without distinguishing between those who gave way to the old incumbents and those who were in possession of benefices or cures from which no predecessor had been removed. By ' Ejected Ministers/ then, in the succeeding pages, I mean those ministers who had been engaged in the ministry before August 24, 1662, and who did not comply with the terms of ministerial communion prescribed by the Act. There is an admirable biographical account of most of them by Dr. Calamy : and as this work of Dr. Calamy's has been already several times referred to, and will be more frequently mentioned hereafter; and as the nature of the work, which is one of the most valuable store- houses of original biography to be found in the modern literature of England, infinitely superior both in extent and novelty of informa- tion, in arrangement, and other literary merits, to the rival work, Walker's ' Sufferings of the Clergy,' is not very generally under- stood ; — the following account of it may be acceptable: — When Baxter, one of the most celebrated of the Presbyterian divines, died, there was found among his papers a large manuscript containing ' Memoirs of his Own Life and Times.' This manuscri])t was printed in 1696, by his friend Mr. Matthew Sylvester, in a folio volume, entitled ' Re I i quia Baxteriance,' &c. It is an ill-digested work, and contains many things of little value, together with large i)apers va- luable in themselves, but easily, and perhaps advantageously, sepa- rated from the parts of the work projjerly historical. Among these OLIVER HEYWOOD. 139 The private reflections of Mr. Hey wood on this occa- sion turn almost entirely on the injury which was done to the cause of religion hy the removal of so many ex- cellent ministers from the stations which they filled ; and it cannot be doubted that there went out at this time from the Church of England the most assiduous and careful of its pastors, the most energetic and suc- cessful of its preachers ; that, in the eyes of all per- sons who look to the interests of religion and the maintenance of a high tone of piety and virtue, in the is that aiFectIng memorial of the progress of Baxter's own mind in respect of the things in controversy in those times, which excited so strongly the admiration of Coleridge, and is indeed a noble piece of self -inspection. This and many other things were left out, and the rest of the Avork better digested, when it ajipeared, in 1702, in an octavo volume, entitled ' An Abridgement of Mr. Baxter's History of his Life and Times.' This work was by Dr. Calamy, who was grandson of old Edmund Calamy, a celebrated London minister of the time of the Commonwealth. In 1713, a second edition of this work appeared, in two large octavo volumes. In this edition there is a continuation of the history to the year 1711; and a chapter in the former work, containing notices by Baxter of many other mi- nisters who took the same course that he did under the Act of Uni- formity in 1662, was expanded into a volume of 845 pages, containing the names of all the ministers who were sufferers on the return of Charles the Second, or by the politico-ecclesiastical measures adopted soon afterwards, with ample accounts of most of them. The first vo- lume of this work is entitled ' An Abridgement of Mr. Baxter's History of his Life and Times,' and the second volume ' An Account of the Mini- sters, Lecturers, Masters and Fellows of Colleges and Schoolmasters, who were Ejected or Silenced after the Restoration in 1660, by or before the Act of Uniformity ;' an honest title, which is of itself an answer to some modern cavils against his work. This is the work which is here quoted under the abbreviate of the title ' Account,' &c. It is by some writers referred to by the title of the First Volume, as Dr. Calamy's ' Abridgement,' &c. Fourteen years afterwards, namely, in 1727, Dr. Calamy published, in two more octavo volumes of goodly size, with continuous paging, ' A Continuation of the Account of the Ministers,' &c., as before. This contains corrections and additions, with many new lives. This is the work quoted as Dr. Calamy's ' Continuation,' &c. In 1775, Mr. Samuel Palmer, a dissenting mi- nister at Hackney, published a work in two volumes octavo, which he entitled ' The Non-Conformists' Memorial, originally ivrittcn by Edmund Calamy, D.D., now abridged and corrected, and the Author's 140 THE LIl'E OF public arrangements which are made concerning eccle- siastical affairs, and not, or not principally, to the mere effect of them on the temporal or political condition, — there was much to be deplored in the loss of the ser- vices of these men, some of whose peculiarities might have been disregarded, or a frame of a church contrived such, as they might have felt no difficulty, or little diffi- culty, in conforming to it. It is remarkable how very little from this time we hear of the old Puritan scruples. The whole question appears to have assumed quite another character ; the comparative value of the services of the Ejected Ministers, and those of the Conforming Clergy, and the limits of the two conflicting principles, which, as we shall soon see, came immediately into play, — • the principle of private conscience of duty, and the prin- ciple of obedience to the national will. As time went on, other questions of greater moment arose. The sense of the injury done to the highest and dearest interests of his country, and, personally, of the opportuni- ties which he himself would lose of doing God service, was by far the most predominant sentiment in the mind of Mr. Heywood. The lower considerations seem to have been little thought of by him. But neither he, nor others who acted with him, could be wholly insensible to the value of the security which an honourable profession gives against the ordinary accidents of life, and to the immediate benefit which resulted on the exercise of the profession : and it was so ordained, that, at that particular juncture, as if to make more striking the example which they presented of superiority to worldly considerations, there were pri- vate reasons in the case of both the Mr. Heywoods to lead them to wish that there should be no diminution of their temporal resources. Mr. Hey wood's settled estate yielded him at this time a very small income, and he was burthened with a debt of thirty pounds, having also two additions inserted, with many further particulars and neiv anecdotes.' Little can be said in praise of this work, and little more of the later editions in which it has appeared. OLIVER HKYWOOD. 141 young children who looked to him for support. And it was also at this particular juncture that the fortunes of his fatlier w'ere wholly destroyed. Buoyed up by his former successes, this enterprising and scheming man had entered into new speculations which had wholly disappointed him. The ruin was total. He was cast into prison ; and his two other sons, who had been brought up to commerce, fled to foreign lands. One of them left a family in England. The elder Mr. Heywood had also, to add to their embarrassment, married a second wife, a young woman, who brought him a second family. It is re- markable, that this crisis in their affairs occurred in the very interval between the passing of the Act of Uni- formity and the time when assent must be signified to its terms ; for it was on Midsummer Day, 1662, that Mr. Heywood took his last leave of his eldest brother. " Oh, I remember his tears and agonies of spirit at my house at Norwood Green. He was entangled in my father's affairs ; withdrew from his own house privately; took a sad and sorrowful leave of his wife and children ; resolved to go beyond sea ; came to my house. I ac- accompanied him to Chapel of Frith, in Derbyshire. There we parted affectionately, June 24, 1662. At part- ing, we changed horses, and that horse I have kept almost fourteen years. He went to London, and so took shipping with Lord Willoughby, governor of the Planta- tions*. I suppose they went to Surinam or Barbadoes, and had their lot of many hundreds of acres." The younger brother, Josiah, accompanied him. They were scarcely heard of afterwards, and were supposed to have died before two years were over. It cannot therefore be doubted, that, when every allow- ance is made for any terrene matter, such as the spirit of party, the point of honour, the influence of example, respect for elders, and, perhaps, the lingering hope that * Francis the fifth lord and William the sixth lord, his brother, both went to the West Indies. Francis was drowned at Barbadoes in 1666, and William died in the same island in 1673. 142 THE LIFE OF a steady resistance might ultimately succeed in compelling the legislature to relax the severities of the Act, the con- duct of Mr. Heywood was an instance of heroic self- devotion, such as men have been honoured for of good men in every age, and such as we may humbly hope is acceptable in the sight of God. From this time, then, August 24, 1 662, Mr. Heywood ceased to be the public minister at Coley ; but he con- tinued to reside among his former flock. OLIVER IIEYWOOD. 143 CHAPTER VIIL THR EJECTED MINISTERS RESOLVE TO CONTINUE IK THE EXERCISE OF THEIR MINISTRY, SUPPORTED BY MANY OF THE LAITY. MR. HEY- WOOD's SUCCESSORS AT COLEY. HE IS EXCOMMUNICATED. EF- FECTS. EXCOMMUNICATED IN THE DIOCESE OF CHESTER ALSO. PREACHES IN HIS OWN AND OTHER PRIVATE HOUSES. CONVENTICLE AT CAPTAIN Hodgson's broken up. — nis house searched. — OTHER ALARMS. THE FARNLEY-WOOD PLOT. GOES FROM HOME TO PREACH IN DISTANT PLACES. MR. SWIFt's CASE AT PENISTON. ANOTHER EXCOMMUNICATION. THE PARLIAMENT AND THE KING CONCUR IN TREATING THE NON-CONFORMISTS WITH SEVERITY. REMARKABLE ACCOUNT OF THE SINGING OF BIRDS IN THE NIGHT WHILE THEY ARE AT WORSHIP. PREACHES AT PENISTON, MOTTRAM, DENTON. MR. HOLLAND'S PURPOSED MARRIAGE SERMON. THE CONVENTICLE ACT. THE TWENTY-FOURTH OF AUGUST OBSERVED AS A FAST-DAY. QUESTION OF NON-CONFORMISTS ATTENDING THE CHURCHES. BRAMHOPE ; MR. DYNELEY. CHAPELS FOUNDED IN THE COMMONWEALTH TIMES.' VISITS LONDON, LANCASHIRE, LEEDS. MANY ARRESTS OF NON-CONFORMISTS. CASE OF POSSES- SION. VARIOUS FASTS. Two courses were open to the Presbyterian ministers, who, for the reasons already given, were obliged to retire from the stations which they had occupied in the Church ; — a quiet submission to the law, by which silence was imposed upon them, or to act in open opposition to the law and in defiance of it. And the eyes of the na- tion must have been turned upon them to observe the course which they took, as their determination was full of very important consequences both to the then present and to future generations. A very few betook themselves to secular employ- ments : three or four of them became physicians ; se- 144 THE LIFE OF veral became tutors in private families ; some established schools. But, by far the greatest number of them, among whom was Mr. Heywood, determined to maintain their right to be recognised in the character of minister with which they had been solemnly invested, and though pre- vented from exercising their ministry in the places in which they had been accustomed to do so, to seize any opportunities that might be presented to them of con- ductino; relig-ious services. Their case w^as very different from that of their fathers, the Puritan sufferers before the war, who had never thought of gathering communities from the Church, and thus setting up, as it were, an opposition to it. 7'heir object had been to change the form of the Church, or to obtain greater liberty in it w^hile it continued as it w^as, and they had lived in the not unreasonable hope and expectation of doing so. The Act of Uniformity must nearly have extinguished that hope in the minds of most of them, as it must have shown them that no kind of change was contemplated, and that an unreserved Con- formity would henceforth be insisted upon as rigidly as in the preceding times, and that those who did not con- form must cease to act as ministers. The language of the Act plainly was, — " Officiate in the Church and ac- cording to the forms of the Church, or cease to exercise the ministry at all." They were too many to think of emi- gration, — the course w^hich their fathers had adopted when they were prohibited one by one from exercising their ministry at home ; if indeed they felt the horror of schism, or the danger of it, so strongly as to make it incumbent upon them to incur the inconveniences of transporting themselves to a distant covmtry. But their horror of schism, which, as respects a church which is only national, not universal, is an offence hardly to be defined, and their reluctance to do any thing which was schismatical, would be abated by the example which had been set by the gathered churches of the Independents in the preceding times, and also of the Anabaptists and OLIVER HEYWOOD. 145 Quakers, by whom the ice had been broken : and they were sufficiently numerous to make their determination to defy the law in what they considered the discharge of their consciences, a matter not to be disregarded by those w^io had the direction of public affairs, and they had in point of fact very great influence in producing the great political change of 1688, though after years of struggle and adversity. It can scarcely have been that the framers of the Act of Uniformity did not contemplate that the effect would be exactly that which took place ; though, crushed as the Puritan party now were, it probably was not fore- seen that the house of Stuart would not ultimately stand its ground. If any amongst them, however, looked for a quiet submission, they must have been very ill-informed respecting the state of the Puritan mind ; and if they expected by a few severities to silence the voice of the Presbyterian ministry, they must have greatly misunder- stood the character of the men with whom they had to do, and the effects of an education w^hich had given to their minds a strength above all the strength of temporal power. What can be done wdth men who " rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus ?" It appears now to be but one of those superficial truths wdiich no one can overlook, that it is the part of true policy, whatever it may be of Christian zeal, in the men wdio wdeld the power of the state to " forbear from such men, and let them alone," secure that " if the counsel and work be not of God it will come to nought, but if it be of God they cannot overthrow it ;" or, in other words, that there will arise variety of opinion in Protestant communities, and some of these opinions will be wild and irregular : but though this is an evil, it is the less evil when not anim.adverted upon, and may be tolerated as long as the temporal state sustains no direct injury. Still more is it the wisdom of temporal authorities to forbear, when there is nothing wild and extravagant, but perhaps some little excess of zeal for L 146 THE LIFE OF that which is good, and when the aim is purely to keep up a healthful state of the public morals and the influ- ence of Christian truth in a Christian land ; and this was henceforth the principal object of the Presbyterian ministry. The notion of toleration was however at that time little understood in England by any party. The Lord Chancellor Hyde, in whose mind the public policy respect- ing the Non- Conformists for the most part originated, seems to have had not the most distant notion of it, but to have thought it possible to compel all persons to fol- low in one particular track. The principle of toleration grew up in the times which now follow, partly out of the treatment which the Non-Conformists received, but principally through the efforts of the then rising body of Latitudinarians, laymen and divines, for there were both, Conformists and Non-Conformists, who felt that an in- tolerant and circumscribing church places very serious obstacles in the way of men who look upon themselves as in the pursuit of divine truth, not as if they had al- ready attained it, a class which soon began to attract notice in England. As to Mr. Hey wood, no man's mind w^as stronger in the strength of religious principle and in the hope and confidence of the Gospel. He was full of the recollection of the faith and patience of the saints, the labours and sufferings of the apostles, and of men in later times who had opposed themselves even to the death against the power of the oppressor, such as his own Marsh and Bradford, whose names had been " household words" in the common talk of the friends of his youth. He was not a man, loyal and submissive as he was in all tem- poral affairs, to yield to Acts of Parliament passed or to be passed which would silence the voice which had been so often raised to comfort the afflicted and to convince the guilty. Was he not an ordained and regularly ap- pointed minister of the Gospel, who had made a solemn vow in the midst of the great assembly and in the pre- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 147 sence of his fathers in the ministry, some of whom were gone in the faith that they had committed the Word to to him, and was he not bound by it to continue stedfast in the ministry to the end of his life ? Had he not the apostoHc words ever sounding in his ears, Vcb mihi, si non prcedicavero ? And did not the growing profaneness and immorahty of the time call for the counteraction which an uncompromising and faithful ministry pre- sented ? Could an Act of Parliament, or successive Acts of Parliament, avail to nullify his mission, or would it avail him in the day when the Lord should take account of his servants ? Such was the way in which he and other ministers reasoned when they determined to set up private con- science of duty against the national will, — a determina- tion rarely to be justified, but certainly not always to be condemned. It is a serious thing to oppose the law, because it is by the law that we are protected ; and it can hardly ever be vindicated (except in the cases in which the law has become effete and obsolete, though not formally changed), except in the case in which a person is seriously convinced that in no other way can he acquit himself in the higher duty which he owes to the great Sovereign and Lord of all. At the same time this is a fearful step, which the modest and humble Christian will ever dread to take ; because there is such a thing as an erroneous conscience, a mind heated by religious enthusiasm so as to be incapable of forming a clear notion of what is the line of duty ; and because of the numerous instances which have occurred in the his- tory of the Church of intolerable mischiefs having been committed at the prompting of individual judgment on what is right. It has been an error of the persons who spring from and represent the parties of whom we are speaking, to think too lightly of the respect which is due to the laws and institutions of the realm, begun at this period. The wisdom is, if it were attainable, for the legislature so to frame its measures that the private con- l2 148 THE LIFE OF sciences of sensible, honourable, wise and religious men shall not be offended. The men who were silenced as public ministers by the Act of Uniformity were strengthened in the resolution which they took to continue to perform the duties of ministers, whatever might be the consequence, by ob- serving how great was the number of persons who ear- nestly desired it of them, and who were willing to sustain their share of the peril and inconvenience of the course. We may now, with our present knowledge and feeling, and with the improvement which has taken place in the taste of religious persons, think the discourses of these men which have come down to us uninstructive and un- improving, and gather from them, that their long prayers must have been as unedifying to instructed minds. But it was different in those days : when the voice of one of these zealous ministers was to be heard, hearers flocked " as doves to the windows" (one of their most favourite scripture-expressions), and this when there was "open vision ;" but how much more when they stole to some se- questered spot and there listened in privacy amid the darkness of the night, while the horses of those who waited to take them as their prey were heard around their places of assembly ! Nor had these men so lived in the world that they had not conciliated the kind affections of numerous private friends who would not forsake them in their adversity, but who clung to them the more closely when they saw them buffeted and evil- entreated by a world that was not worthy of them. There were also amongst the laity many who agreed with them in principle respecting the constitution of the Church, the imposition of the Liturgy, and the continu- ance of practices deemed superstitious ; who though not called upon by the Act, which required nothing of the laity, to take a prominent ground of opposition, yet felt themselves under an obligation to countenance those who were so. It was also often found that pastors were placed in the situations which the Puritan ministers had OLIVER HEYWOOD. 149 vacated, who were less pious, less energetic, less useful ; and this led to comparisons not favourable to the new order of things. A new question also arose out of it, which became afterwards one of great moment in the controversy between Dissenters and the Church, namely, in whom it was most htting that the nomination of pastors should be vested ? It is a thing admitted, that there was a great difficulty at first in supplying the places from which the ministers had been removed with suitable successors to them; and, amongst others, the people of Coley were not fortunate in their selection of ministers to succeed Mr. Heywood. They had first a Mr. Fisden, of whom Mr. Heywood says, that " he was not liked, being a Vv'ild man." They had then a minister who called himself Mr. Pattison, though his name really was White. After a month's stay he took an abrupt departure, carrying with him property borrowed of his neighbours. They had then Mr. Hoole, one of the ministers who had been a Non- Conformist at first, but who had conformed after having been two years out of the Church. He came in October 1664 and left Coley in 1669, being " not much regret- ted." They had then Mr. Moore and Mr. Ichabod Fur- ness, who gave the people little satisfaction and stayed but a short time ; and lastly, for the present, came Mr. Bramley, who left Coley under discreditable circum- stances. These six ministers fill up the first twelve years after they had lost their affectionate and able pastor. We left him under a suspension. He made no attempt to obtain the removal of it, knowing that the twenty- fourth day of August was at hand. But the Court at York was not content with suspending him from the exercise of his ministry ; they proceeded to excommuni- cation. I trace his papers in vain for the precise ground on which this sentence was pronounced, but it was pro- bably for further contempt. The sentence was published in the church of Halifax on the 2nd of November, 1662. How it was received by Mr. Heywood we may read in 150 THE LIFE OF his private memorials : — " Were it just, how formidable would the sentence be ! but ' The Curse causeless shall not come ;' and Christ owned the poor ejected man with more free and familiar entertainment. 'Tis usual with God to communicate himself the most to those that are forsaken of their hopes and friends. Oh, that my God would now take me into more intimate communion with himself!" This was not a man to be subdued by severities. The effect of the sentence was to exclude him not from the pulpit only, but from the congregational as- sembly ; and of this he soon had an odious proof, for, going as a hearer to the chapel in which he had long been the minister, the churchwarden commanded him to avoid the place, as one lying under the sentence. He refused to obey, and it does not appear that force was resorted to. On another occasion, the chapel being without a minister, he had invited Mr. Lever, who had been ejected at the chapel in Ainsworth, to visit Coley and to preach there. Mr. Lever came. It was the 7th of December ; the weather was snowy and sharp ; yet great multitudes came. When ready to enter the chapel two of Mr. Heywood's old opponents stopped them, charging Mr. Lever to desist, or proceed at his peril. They informed him also that there was a troop of horse near at hand who would be called in to disperse the assembly. Upon this the people who had come to- gether separated, and the two ministers returned thought- fully home. On another occasion, at a somewhat later period, calling by accident at Shibden-hall, between Coley and Halifax, the family invited him to dine. It happened that Dr. Hooke, the new vicar, was to dine there on the same day. When he arrived he refused to sit down with Mr. Hey wood, alleging that it was against the canons to eat with an excommunicated person. Mr. Hey wood of course retired. Mr. Ellis, who was churchwarden at Coley, claimed OLIVER HEYWOOD. 151 from him the payment of four shillings for four days' absence from church, under the statute of Elizabeth. This appeared to him most unreasonable, as he was ex- cluded from the Church by his sentence of excommuni- cation. A poor pretext was taken to pronounce the like sen- tence of excommunication in the diocese of Chester, where the bishop, Hall, was determined to proceed in a strong manner against the Non-Conformists. The pre- text was, that he had preached a funeral sermon at Bolton when on a visit there. This was in November 1662. There was little of the slow and sober gait of penal justice in these proceedings, for the citation was published in the church of Bolton on the 7th of Decem- ber, when he was at his house in another diocese, and the sentence of excommunication was pronounced on the 4th of January following. These things show that Mr. Heywood had by this time attracted no small share of public attention, that he was regarded as a leading person among the Non- Conformists, and that it was thought his example would be likely to produce great mischief. These severe measures, instead of daunting him, or making his friends afraid, produced a reaction in his favour. " Satan is overshot in his own bow : that which was intended for my greatest ignominy is turned to my greatest glory, and hath set the people of God upon owning me and praying for me more than ever : yea, there hath been unwonted importunities for my poor company at several houses where very many came to hear the word of God, even in the night." Mr. An- gier, in the face of the Church's authority, admitted Mr. Heywood to the communion in the public chapel at Denton. There Mr. Angier still remained, though he had not conformed, sustained by the high reverence which every one felt for his character, his age, and the countenance given him by the chief gentlemen of the place. Mr. Heywood speaks of the great comfort which 152 THE LIFE OF he found In this act of his father-in-law. But Mr. An • gier, always a man of peace, advised him to apply to the Court at York to have the sentence removed. Mr. Hey- wood took some steps for this purpose. But when he learned from the Chancellor that this could not he done unless he took the oath cle parendo juri et stando man- datis EcclesicB, he refused to proceed with his supplica- tion. He went on in the course which he had thought it his duty to take without any particular molestation from the magistracy. It was known that he preached in pri- vate houses, and also that persons resorted to his own house to be present at religious services ; but no notice was taken of it, or at least very little, and the first storm fell upon the house of his Independent neighbour, Cap- tain Hodgson, who gives the following account of it : — ' ' My next trouble came upon me in the beginning of July [June] 1663. I had occasion to be at Leeds, and coming home at night, I found Mr. Jollie, a good man, was come to my house out of Lancashire on purpose to visit me and my family, and, as his custom v*'as and had been many years, to instruct us. My wife had sent for many neighbours to come in ; and the Act of Conformity having taken place, he was performing family duty, being tender of his own liberty as well as ours. He craved a blessing upon the ordinance, and spoke something from a scripture. But I desired to put an end to the duty, in regard there was danger towards us, our neighbours that belonged to Sir John's troop* being mounted with a * Sir John Armitage, who resided at Kirklees, which had been a house of Professed Ladies, suppressed at the Reformation, an interest- ing place on the borders of the parish of Halifax. He was through life an active enemy of the Non- Conformists in his character of ma- gistrate, and as having command of the trained bands, or militia, the troopers named in the text. Lady Armitage was a daughter of Thornhill, of Fixby, in the parish of Hahfax. She brought him eight sons, none of whom left issue to inherit his title of baronet. On their death the estate went to a distant relation, in whom the title was revived in 1738. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 153 design to set the house about. But one of their wives sent us word to look to ourselves ; and so we dismissed the company out at the back-door into the fields, the minister and all, and shut up the gates and doors of the house ; and presently we were set about with horsemen. In the morning I caused the hall-door to be opened, after a parley, and suffered three persons to come in, Abraham Mitchell, the leader of the party, Samuel Fox- croft, and John Hanson, who came in with his sword drawn, but I caused him to put it up ; and so I showed them my children and family in bed ; and so they w^ith- drew, and searched neighbours' houses, and no prey : — so wonderfully did God hide us from the fury of these men*." This was the meeting to which the following passage in Mr. Heywood's papers refers : — " On June 10, 1663, there was a great meeting at Coley-hall where Mr. Jollie was to preach ; but, as it pleased God, I was in Lanca- shire. The soldiers had intelligence, and came to ap- prehend them, but were disappointed, the persons met having notice of the design. Which night they came to my house to search, but found not their prey ; yet since they have got information concerning several persons, and have bound them to sessions and to good behaviour. Divers have escaped them whom they are now seeking ; others they are sending to prison upon other accounts ; yet hitherto I have lived quietly at home, though they often watch my house to get a clear advantage against me ; and though they know of some solemn meetings I have been at to preach the word, yet hitherto the Lord hath restrained them." * Original Memoirs during the great Civil War, p. 181. This was not the first effect which Captain Hodgson found from the change of the times. Very soon after the Restoration he was committed to the castle of York for treasonable woi'ds by two neighbouring jus- tices, Sir John Kaye, of Woodsome, and Sir John Armitage. He was acquitted on his trial. He was in trouble again for pretended plotting, when his arms were taken from him, and he was in other respects harassed. He was decidedly a Republican and Independent. 154 THE LIFE OF Again, " On Wednesday, August 12, 1663, towards night came to me three several messengers to bring me word that the troopers would come that night to appre- hend me, and desired me to withdraw out of the way. I told them I had not broken either God's law or man's law, so as to deserve any punishment from them ; there- fore I resolved to stay, hoping that my integrity would preserve me, and my known loyalty to God and the king would be my best apology against the imputations of men about my plotting, which is the common pretence to secure men ; but my escaping would seem to plead guilty. Accordingly I stayed and slept as sweetly as ever I did in all my life, without the least molestation. And many other times have I had the like merciful pro- tection and prevention after such like alarms ; so that though I was the first person that was meddled with in these parts, yet hitherto God hath been a defence upon my habitation so as my body and goods are preserved, and I may set up the stone Ebenezer, Hitherto the Lord hath helped, to admiration ! " The autumn of that year was a time of great alarm in the parts of Yorkshire in which Mr. Heywood resided, and if we could suppose that the whole was not well known to the Government from the beginning, not wholly without reason. A small body of simple, ignorant, and deluded people who lived about Morley and Gilder- some, who belonged to the class of the extreme Puritan, being Republicans and Independents, rose in arms in the October of this year, declaring for a Christian ma- gistracy and a Gospel ministry. They proceeded so far as to throw up entrenchments in Farnley-wood, in the neighbourhood of Leeds. The plot had ramifications in other parts of the kingdom ; and among the persons who were seduced to join in it was Ralph Rymer, of the neighbourhood of Northallerton, who had been a se- questrator in the late times (father of Thomas Rymer, the collector of the Foedera), who was taken and executed. Colonel Hutchinson's name is mentioned in connexion OLIVER HEYWOOD. 155 with it, and the name also of General Lambert, who was to take the entire command. Mr. Hey wood says that he was personally acquainted with many of the people of his neighbourhood who were concerned, twenty-one of whom were executed. He intimates that they were simple-minded men, lured on to destruction ; and he speaks of Major (whose name I suppress out of respect to those who are now his representatives), as " that perfidious wretch, guilty of so much blood in the plot- business." The principal person who appeared at Farnley-wood was Captain Thomas Oates, of Morley, who was one of those executed. When his son was prepared to give evidence against him, the judge refused to hear him. How sad that political necessities can ever be supposed to call for scenes such as those "^ ! The name of Mr. Heywood is not mentioned in the de- positions to which I have alluded below. Indeed nothing could have been more directly opposed to his principles and repugnant to his feelings than to have had the least share in a political movement like this. It was his principle through life to keep himself as much as pos- * Beside thus appearing in so shocking a position, he gave very extended information to the magistrates. His long, rambHng, and uninteUigible depositions are printed by Dr. Whitaker in his work entitled Loidis and Elmete, p. 108-113. I do not blame Dr. Whita- ker for having published them, but I could wish that he had not given his own credence and authority to such incredible statements, and charged on respectable men, not so much the wickedness as the folly of implicating themselves in anything so ridiculous ; and I wish that he had given some intimation that this, like the plot of the same period called Yarrington's, has every appearance of having been arti- ficial, — a contrivance of government itself. Artificial plots formed part of Hyde's policy ; if ever to be justified at all, only on the ground of very extreme necessity. Dr. Whitaker might also have pro- nounced a stronger opinion on the conduct of the unhappy person whose depositions they are, — Ralph Oates, Ma.ster of Arts ; con- cerning whom I find in Mr. Heywood's papers, that he entered the church as a Conformist minister, had the living of Smeaton, near Wentbridge ; sold an estate of 80/. per annum ; got into much debt, and became a private soldier. 156 THE LIFE OF sible apart from political affairs, his whole heart and mind being absorbed with attention to the duties of his ministerial office. Nor was the object at which these people aimed one in which he felt any particular inter- est ; for though feeling the evils of his position, he had felt the evils also of sectarian rule. What he w^anted was firmly established kingly government, and a church wisely and liberally constructed, so as best to answer the ends of its institution. About this time the entries in his auto-biographical remains become more particular, and he put down, not day by day, as afterwards he did, but, very frequently, notes of incidents as they occurred ; so that we have more of facts, and less of reflection upon them, than before. Thus, he gives an account of one of his first Sunday rambles in search of an opportunity to preach, which he had not found at home. He was through life an early riser, and this day, at the end of September, he set out with the intention of going to Peniston, a small country town about twenty miles south of Coley, where Mr, Swift still continued to ofticiate in the church with- out having conformed, the principal families in the pa- rish, the Bosviles, Words worths, and Riches, being Pu- ritans and supporters of him* ; but missing his way, he turned to Honley, where another Non-Conforming mi- * Mr. Swift's case was very peculiar. He continued to hold the church till his death, many years after, though he had never sub- scribed, nor used the Common Prayer; Init he was several times imprisoned for offences of Non-Conformity. The doubt respecting the right of presentation, which occasioned a lapse after Mr. Swift's death, probably favoured this irregularity. We shall find Mr. Hey- wood several times afterwards at Peniston, preaching in the church ; and he remarks that this freedom of Mr. Swift was the more W'orthy observation, because the church of Peniston had been made a garri- son in the time of the war by Sir Francis Wortley, whose seat is at no great distance, " who from hence roved uj? and down the country, robbing and taxing many honest people ; but now the good people from all parts flock thither, and there are sweetly refreshed with the bread of life in public when a spiritual famine is through the land." OLIVER HEYWOOD. 157 nister, Mr. Dury, was still in possession of the public chapel. Mr. Dury was absent that day, and no oppor- tunity of preaching being presented, Mr. Heywood pro- ceeded to the chapel in Holmfirth, in a very romantic country, where he arrived about noon. The morning service was over, but the preacher and several of the people besought him that he would conduct the service in the afternoon, which he did. On another Sunday, October 1 1 , he preached the whole day in another ob- scure place, Shaw-chapel, in the parish of Prestwich in Lancashire, having been expressly invited to do so, "' a great number of good people being gathered from a distance." He did this at a great hazard, and notices as a mercy that he had not been troubled on account of it, as other Non-Conformist ministers had been who had preached at the same chapel. He had great encourage- ment in the apparent effects at this beginning of his irregular ministrations. It was natural that it should be so. On the 6th of December another sentence of excom- munication against him was published in the church of Halifax. He does not inform us whether this was a more severe sentence than the one under which he al- ready lay, or what circumstances rendered a repetition of the sentence necessary ; but " he desires to make some spiritual use of it, and get so much nearer to God, as men cast him out from them." He continued to act also in open defiance of it ; for on the 20th of the month he went to the chapel at Coley, where on that day Mr. Moor, of Baildon, a reputed Antinomian, was to preach. The churchwarden came in fury, before the minister had begun his sermon, insisting that Mr. Heywood should withdraw, and calling on the minister not to preach to an excommunicated person. He refused to retire, and Mr. Moor proceeded with his discourse. But when he returned home, Mr. Heywood was not satisfied with what he had done, and forbore to attend the chapel in the afternoon. He spent it in private religious medita- 158 THE LIFE OF tion, which appears to have been more than usually in- tense. Everything which happened at this period of his life appears to have been turned by him into marks of God's approval of the course which he had taken. An unex- pected present of five pounds at Christmas, at a time when he wanted the means of discharging the rent of his house, is particularly noticed by him as a proof " that God cared for him," He took encouragement from it, and wrote in his diary, " The Lord is my shep- herd ; I shall not want," and "Hitherto God hath helped." The year 1664 opened upon him with no prospect of any improvement in his position, for the question be- tween the king and the Parliament respecting the policy to be pursued towards persons not conforming to the Church was composed, and both were agreed in taking severe measures for the better protection of the Church. The sentence of excommunication was still in force ; and a vain attempt was made to have it removed. Tt was even intended that he should be arrested under it, and principally on that account he left his home and re- mained for a month among his friends in Lancashire On his return he had ten weeks of quiet, having frequent religious assemblies in his house, when the services ap- pear to have been exquisitely delightful. " Yesternight," says he, " above all the rest, is a night much to be ob- served, and deserves an asterism of memorial, being the evening of March 28, 1664. Wlien we had appointed a meeting, notice was brought that some persons had promised N. W."**" to find out and acquaint him with our meeting, that he might catch us together : upon which, some that were wont to come absented them- selves, though several others at a distance came that formerly have not been with us ; and God watched over us, and kept us in safety. Yea, more than that, all the * Nathan Whitley, of Rooks, a very determined adversary of Mr. Heywood. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 159 while they were together, namely, from 8 o'clock till 11, there was a most sweet, pleasant, melodious singing of birds about the house, as delightfully as ever I heard in all my life, and I was much taken with the music. All the company heard it, and wondered at it ; and all said it was more than ever they heard before for birds to sing so sweetly in the night, and at this season. Immediately after all the company was gone away, I went out, but could not hear so much as a chirping, or any noise of a bird at all. I humbly and believingly take this as a token for good, and a sign that our ' summer is near,' and * the time of the singing of birds is not far off.' — Cant. ii. 12. And it may be an evidence of God's pro- tecting providence, according to that in Isaiah xxxi. 5. ' As birds flying, so will the Lord of Hosts defend Jeru- salem ; ' or of an exemption from the ' causeless curse ' of a malicious and malignant excommunication, Prov. xxvi. 2." In this way he moralises on all occurrences which have in them anything remarkable. It was pro- bably a family of nightingales ; yet the nightingale is very rarely heard in the groves of Halifax, and it was unusually early in the year, even when we remember that the change of the style makes the 28th of March answer to the 7th or 8th of April. Early in May his adversaries obtained the writ de ex- communicato capiendo against him, but it was no further put in force than to obtain an engagement from him to be forthcoming whenever the sheriff called for him. He speaks of the civility with which the bailiff used him, and attributes the leniency with which he was treated to the interference of Dr. Maud, a physician then practising at Halifax. No new condition, however, at all altered his resolu- tion to continue in the exercise of his ministry. " Yes- terday morning, May 8, I was called out of my bed before sun-rise by a considerable number of persons who came to hear the word of God : and there came another company in the forenoon, and still more in the 160 THE LIFE OF afternoon, and we enjoyed all the day in peace, freedom from disturbance, and abundant spiritual enlargement. It was a sweet day to my spirit, though painful to my body ; but having so fair a call, and full an auditory, I laid out myself, not knowing but it may be a parting exercise ; and I find that ' when Paul was ready to de- part, he continued his speech till midnight'." On the next Sunday, May 15, he went again to Pe- niston. He arrived early in the morning, and Mr. Swift prevailed upon him to conduct the service of the day in the church (so bold was he) ; and Mr. Heywood accord- ingly officiated both in the morning and evening service. There was a great assembly ; and when the service was over, a gentleman of the parish sent to Mr. Heywood a message, offering him an asylum at his house, where he believed he might find security, understanding that he was in some trouble. " I thanked him, but resolved to return to my family and commit myself to the Lord, who I hope will still watch over me, as hitherto he hath wonderfully done." On the 5th of June he went, by invitation from the churchwarden, to preach at the church of Mottram in Longdendale, in Cheshire, and this with the consent of the vicar, though a Conformist. The vicar himself was present at both the services, and was very desirous to have Mr. Heywood come again. Two days after he was at Denton, at the house of Mr. Angier, where a private fast was kept. There was a considerable number of persons assembled. He began the service. " I con- tinued about three hours pouring out my soul before the Lord, principally on behalf of his Church." Another private fast, at which he was present, was kept, appa- rently nearly at the same time, at Denton Hall, the seat of Colonel Holland*. * Colonel Holland, the Richard Holland, Esq., before mentioned, had been a considerable person in the Civil Wars, and was a great friend of Mr. Angier. He died about this time. His estate of 800/. a-year passed to his brother, a bachelor of sixty years of age. Mr. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 161 In the summer of this year the king gave his assent to a bill tendered him by Parliament, which was framed to put an end to any uncertainty on the state of the law in respect .of persons holding or frequenting con- venticles. The preamble sets forth, that doubts had arisen whether the statute of the thirty-fifth of Eliza- beth was still in force, declaring however these doubts unreasonable ; but, to put an end to the uncertainty, it is now enacted, that every person present at any religious meeting where there are five persons or more above the household, on information before a jus- tice of the peace, shall be committed to gaol for any time not exceeding three months, or pay a fine not ex- ceeding five pounds ; for the second offence six months' imprisonment, or fine of ten pounds ; and for a third offence, on conviction by a jury, be transported to any of His Majesty's foreign plantations, except Virginia and New England, for seven years, or pay a fine of one hundred pounds. Lieutenants, deputy-lieutenants, or any commissioned ofiicers of militia, sheriffs, justices of the peace and other officers, are required to repair to the places where such conventicles are supposed to be held and to dissolve them, and power is given to the justices of the peace to enter houses to search, using force if ne- cessary. A most oppressive and unchristian Act ; one of a series of such measures, when the determination was taken to suffer no religious service in England but that which was according to the manner of the Church from which so many ministers had withdrawn themselves. All the effect of the Act, however, was only to produce more of caution in the private assemblies which were Heywood relates this singular story of him : — that, intending to marr}', " he found out a suitable gentlewoman, one Mrs. Britland : the marriage-day was appointed ; all things settled and concluded. In the meantime he fell sick and died, and was buried upon the day that was prefixed for marriage solemnities. The minister preached upon the same text at the funeral that was appointed for tlie nup- tials, Matthew xxv. 6, only changing the words ' There was a cry made,' for ' Behold the bridegroom cometh.' " M 162 THE LIFE OF held. On the determination of the ministers it produced no change, nor, on their principles, ought it. Mr. Heywood had at this period service every Sunday in his own house, and he notices that he had always more than twice the number of strangers allowed by the Act. His manner of conducting the service did not much differ from that which had formerly been his prac- tice when the public minister, except that the devotional part occupied a larger portion of the time, an hour in the forenoon being spent in confession and petition, and an hour in the afternoon " in the great and sweet duty of thanksgiving." The 24th of August was observed at the house of a neighbouring minister as a solemn fast. "The Lord helped his servants with strong cries, many tears, and mighty workings to acknowledge sin, accept of punish- ment, and implore mercy, after two years' death upon the ministry. Sure I am God bottles all these tears ; these prayers shall not be lost. From this time forth I will hearken what God will speak ; he will speak peace to his saints, for when he prepares his people's hearts to pray he will bow his ear to hear. This day's sowing is a sweet earnest of future harvest." In September we find him preaching again in the public churches of Peniston and Mottram, and visiting Denton. In October, continuing his usual services in his own house, he finds that he is watched, and he re- ceives information of Sir John Armitaffe's intention to surprise them at one of their meetings, and put the pro- visions of the Conventicle Act in force against them ; but nothing was done. At this period a very material question was agitated in the body of Non-Conformists, who had by this time acquired something of consolidation and distinctness, namely, whether it were lawful, and if lawful^ expedient, that those who attended the services of the ministers who had retired from the church should also attend the public service in the parish churches. The importance of OLIVER HEYWOOD. 163 this question will be at once perceived. " Some," says Calamy *, "were vehement for an entire separation." But Mr. Baxter and Dr. Bates, with others, were for having the Non-Conformist laity to frequent the public churches at times when none of their own ministers were to be heard, and to resort to them occasionally even when they had their choice, to show their charity and catholic spirit. And with this latter opinion Mr. Hey wood's judgment coincided, and he encouraged those who came to his private services to attend also the ministry at the public chapel, of Mr. Hoole, then lately settled there, whom he looked upon to be a good and pious man. To promote this object he even forbore to have such frequent services at his own house on the Sundays ; and as to himself, he was so disposed to attend the public service, that he obtained such an opinion as he could from the inter- preters of ecclesiastical law on the question, whether an excommunicate might not lawfully attend the preaching of the word, not joining in the prayers. The answer which Dr. Hitch gave was ambiguous ; from which Mr. Heywood drew the conclusion that there was nothing very determinate in ecclesiastical law. He was fre- quently present at Mr. Hoole's services. In the November of this year appears to have begim his acquaintance with the Dyneleys of Bramhope in Wharf-dale, the head of which family, Mr. Robert Dyne- ley, was an ancient Yorkshire esquire, a grandson of Sir Robert Stapleton, who, in the days of Queen Eliza- beth, had been accounted, according to Sir John Harington, " the finest gentleman of England next to Sir Philip Sidney," and married to a daughter of Sir John Stanhope. He w^as a person of great religious zeal, one proof of which was the founda- tion of a chapel at Bramhope, in the Commonwealth times, in which was placed a Puritan minister, Mr. Crossley, who continued his services there without ha- * Abridgement, &c., p. 310. M 2 164 THE LIFE OF ving conformed, under the protection which Mr. Dyneley afforded him, though neither the minister nor the patron were allowed to proceed in this course without legal animadversion*. On the 6th of November Mr. Hey- wood went to hear Mr. Crossley, and in the afternoon was pressed by Mr. Dyneley to conduct the service, which he did. " I had unwonted liberty of speech and spirit both in prayer and preaching, and God affected the hearts of his people. Blessed be God ! such a season is v>?orth a prison. Let me obey God's will and do his * The foundation of the chapel of Bramhope took place in 1649, when there was no Church of England, in the ordinary sense of the term. Tlie freeholders united in the work with Mr. Dyneley, the lord of the manor, particularly Mr. Robert Todd, the Puritan and Non- Conforming minister in one of the churches of Leeds. It is one of the earliest instances of a foundation for religious purposes resting on a private trust-deed. The lord and the freeholders sur- rendered on this occasion 130 acres of the waste grounds of the manor to Sir George Wentworth and other persons, for the use of a cliapel to be erected and the maintenance of an able and godly mini- ster ; ten acres to be appropriated for a messuage for the minister's residence, and forty pounds a-year, to be raised from the rest, for his stipend : full power is given to Mr. Dyneley, together with the trus- tees, and with the assent of Mr. Todd and " four of the most honest, godly and conscientious inhabitants of the chapelry" of their nomi- nation, to appoint the minister : if they neglect to do so within three months, the ministers of Leeds, Addle, Guiseley and Otlcy, with the assistance of any three or four of the said feoffees and of four of the honest and godly inhabitants, are to nominate : power to suspend and deprive the minister is reserved to Mr. Dyneley and the feoffees, with the approbation of the four ministers. See Loidis and Elmete, p. 197. This shows what appeared to a body of Puritans of those times the most judicious means of settling that very difficult point in ecclesiastics, the mode of appointing a minister to a cure. Foundations of this kind and this age are rare. There were four others in the diocese of York, and probably more : Ellenthorpe, Great Houghton, Stannington, and Morley. After a generation or two the Dj^neleys conformed, and the Bramhope chapel became united to the Church. The other four have continued in the hands of the Non- Ccmforming descendants of their founders, by whom they could not be intended for the service of the Book of Common Prayer, or for a minister who could comply with the terms of the Act of Uniformity. I have heard, I know not how truly, that the chapel at Great Houghton has recently been united with the Church. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 165 will, and let his will be done upon me !" He soon paid another Sunday visit to Bramhope, where he heard Mr. Ord, a north-country minister, who was lately in prison at York for preaching in a public church in that city. He remained there on the Monday, which was the 30th of January, a public fast, when a great congregation assembled from all parts, and we find Mr. Crossley and Mr. Heywood both engaged in conducting the service ; Mr. Crossley began, and Mr. Heyvv'ood took it up at eleven o'clock, " continuing," he says, " with abundant enlargement till half-past three." In the course of this year, 1665, Mr. Heywood spent six weeks in a journey to the south, visiting Cambridge, Dedham in Essex, where he had many relations on the part of the Angiers, London, Coventry, and returning by Lancashire. The r2th of July was kept as a day of thankfulness for his safe return. We have no particulars of what occurred in this journey, though he says that there were things that were worth a particular recital. During his absence his house was searched by Sir John Armitage, on suspicion of a conventicle. Such suspicions were by no means unreasonable, for Mr. Heywood, whether at home or abroad, paid no re- gard to the state of the law in this respect, scarcely even a prudential regard ; conscientious regard, certainly none. On one of several visits to the neighbourhood of Bolton in the course of this year, the rector of Radcliffe, Mr. Beswick, sought to have the law enforced against him for collecting unlawful assemblies, but failed, chiefly through the moderation of Mr. Hulton of the Park. The 2nd of August, one of the public fast days on ac- count of the plague, was observed by him at his father's house with more than common solemnity. His bro- ther, Mr. Nathaniel Heywood, and Mr. Jones of Eccles, another Non-Conforming minister, were there. The service began at ten and was continued till six in the evening. On the 13th he preached in the public chapel at 166 THE LIFE OF Shadwell, not far from Leeds. This seems to have been the boldest act in his illegal career ; for Mr. Hardcastle*, who had been the minister before the Act, was at that time in prison for continuing to preach. The place was also under the particular notice of the magistracy of Leeds, who were intent on suppressing conventicles ; and had not their attention been drawn away by a meet- ing of Quakers held on the same day, many of whom were taken and committed to prison, it was supposed that they would have sent their officers to Shadwell. On the Monday Mr. Heywood proceeded to Leeds, where were many persons to whom his visit was welcome. There was a large private assembly to whom he preached. This has too much the appearance of courting danger and inviting persecution ; especially as at that particular time there w^as a strong simultaneous action among the magistracy to put the law in force against the Non-Con- formists. On the 19th of the month, Dr. Maud, Captain Hodgson, the younger of the two Roots, Nathaniel Shrig- ley and John Lumme were arrested in the parish of Hali- fax, and it was expected that he would be arrested too. This was on a rumour of a plot ; and it was repre- sented, says Captain Hodgson, as having originated with the Duke of York, who was then coming to York with his duchess. The like arrests took place in other parts of the country. The persons arrested were taken to York, where, says Captain Hodgson, there were at least four- score prisoners, among whom were parliament-men, colonels, majors, lieutenant-colonels and captains. They were kept in prison for a considerable time, but at length released without trial. The 24th of August was again kept by him as a fast- day, but privately, with a few of his neighbours only. He " lamented the sad judgment before the Lord, inquired the cause and the sin which had provoked it, begged * It may be added to Dr. Calamy's account of Mr. Hardcastle, that he married a daughter of Lieutenant-general Gerard, who was an Anabaptist, ay Mr. Hardcastle also was. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 167 the sanctified use of so dreadful a stroke, and besought God to remove it." On the 17th of September, when he was observing the Sunday at home, Joshua Whitley the constable, brother to Nathan Whitley, came with a warrant of search to Mr. Hey wood's house ; but on this occasion the whole number of strangers was only four. On the 11 th of October he joined with Mr. Wales of Pudsey in a fast at Wakefield, on behalf of a person who was supposed to be possessed or bewitched. The erro- neous opinion respecting the origin of such complaints as that under which the young man laboured, lingered longer perhaps among the Puritans than in other classes of the community ; as did also notions of the possibility of injury being actually done by the poor unfortunate and ignorant persons who conceived of themselves that they possessed some strange occult power of doing so. But the most reflective men of the times had not yet risen superior to these erroneous notions, for who was more so than Sir Thomas Browne ? I give in the note some particulars of this case*. Mr. Hey wood remained at Wakefield se- * The name of the party was Nathan Dodgson, and his case is thus described by Mr. Heywood : — " He was strangely taken, especially at prayer ; six or seven lusty men could scarcely hold him, but he was lift up otF the bed with incredible violence. He had abundance of fits that day ; had all his senses taken from him ; was as stiff as a stone ; did sing in his fits. The Lord helped his servants to pray feelingly with compassionate hearts, and God heard prayer, for from Wednesday till Monday that I came away, he had no such violent fits, only when we went to prayer he was ordinarily cast into a kind of slumber and was not sensible. He often sees an apparition like a woman, and those that are with him hear a terrible noise, but see nothing." The singing while the body was in a state of rigidity and the apparition which Dodgson saw show plainly the kind of witchcraft under which he lay, and liring the case very closely to that which is described in a singularly interesting manner by Dr. John Jebb (Wo7'ks, 1787, ii. 44). He calls the disease catalepsy. The disea&'e is of rare occurrence, and females appear to be more particularly subject to it. Dr. Jebb's patient was a lady. The case of Mrs- Martha Hatfield of Laughton, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, of 168 THE LIFE OF veral days, one of which was a Sunday, when he preached at Flanshaw-hall in the neighhourhood, a place in which the voice of the Puritan minister of those tinnes was often to be heard. Mr. Kirby, who had been the Lady Cambden lecturer, continued to live in the town, and had erected a pulpit in a large room of his house for the more convenient performance of Non-Conformist ser- vices. Mr. Heywood preached in it in the evening, and had a large assembly. On the 1 7th (these details cannot be omitted, as it is my design to show as much as possible of the mode of life of the earlier of the Non-Conforming ministers in England) he kept a fast at the house of Mr. Joseph Dawson, a young minister who had been ejected from Thornton chapel;, in the neighbouring parish of Bradford, and had come to reside in the near neighbourhoodof Mr. Heywood. He was a native of Morley, the son of Abraham Dawson of that place, who was one of the persons implicated by Ralph Oates in the Farnley-wood insurrection, when that reckless man dealt around him destruction and death with an unsparing hand*. There was a close intimacy which an account was published in several editions, was of the same kind; only rehgion having a stronger hold on the young woman's mind, who was but twelve years of age, than a softer passion, instead of singing plaintive airs, she talked with extreme volubility, in the phrase of the Puritan preachers who resorted to her father's house. The case of Elizabeth Barton, the maid of Kent, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, was of the same kind, accoi'ding to the descrip- tion given of it in the statute of her attainder. When in her trances, she mingled with her pious exhortations opinions on the king's divorce. This was construed into high treason, and she was executed. There happened to be at that time at Wakefield one of those unfor- tunate persons who lay under the susi)icion of being adepts in the arts of witchcraft, and who perhaps thought that they might be able to gratify malignant feelings by the use of such arts. Suspicion im- mediately fell upon this woman as having bewitched Dodgson. Some persons, indignant at the act, or thinking possibly that thus Dodgson might be relieved, caused her death. A jury found what they did murder, and three persons were convicted and executed ; so that four lives were sacrificed through an ignorant apprehension of the nature of the disease. "*" Yet Mr. Dawson lived out all his days, and the inscription on OLIVER HEYWOOD. 1G9 between Mr. Hey wood and Mr. Dawson for the remainder of their lives, and we shall find them frequently acting in concert. Early in November he was again among his friends at Peniston, where he preached on the 5th of November, and again on theV/ednesday following, being the Monthly Fast on account of the plague in London. While Mr. Heywood was preaching, they were alarmed by the ap- pearance of a few troopers at the church-gates, who were supposed to be sent by Sir Thomas Wentworth of Bret- ton, the principal magistrate in those parts of the county. He had several times before warned the people of Pe- niston to forbear. Mr. Heywood was guided out of the church and taken a back way to Water-hall, an old house of the Words worths, his great friends. It seems, however, to have been a needless alarm, as he was left unmolested, and on the Friday preached again, a funeral sermon for the mother of his host. The next fast, the 6th of December, he kept at Den- ton, and he states that in the Christmas week, within the compass of eight days, he kept three fasts and preached nine several times. And thus ended the year 1665. his gravestone is still remaining in the chapel-yard of Morley, one of the few instances of such memorials outside of an edifice having been allowed to remain through one hundred and seventy years. 170 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER IX. 1666—1667. THE OXFORD OR FIVE MILE ACT. THE NON-CONFORMIST MINISTERS SUPPORTERS OF THE LIBERTIES OF ENGLAND. MR. HEYWOOD LEAVES HIS HOME IN CONSEaUENCE OF IT. TRAVELS IN CHESHIRE AND LANCASHIRE. RETURNS HOME, WHICH IS NOW COLEY-HALL. THE ACT VERY NEGLIGENTLY EXECUTED. HE PREACHES AS USUAL, ONLY MORE FREQUENTLY FROM HOME. HIS PREACHING TOURS IN YORKSHIRE, CHESHIRE AND LANCASHIRE.- — 'HIS INTRODUCTION TO THE PURITAN GENTRY IN SOUTH YORKSHIRE. DR. HITCH. CON- VENTICLE AT BIRCH-HALL. THE BRINGING IN MAY. HIS SECOND MARRIAGE WITH MRS. ABIGAIL CROMPTON. The rumours of plots, on which so many persons were arrested in the autumn of 1665, were coincident in time with another oppressive measure directed against the Non-Conforming ministers. How many of the plots of which we hear so much in the history of the reign of Charles the Second were real, is a subject of historic doubt, but if there were any plots against the existing government which admitted of being charged upon the Non-Conformists, it is evident that it was not the Presby- terians who were concerned in them, but the remains of some of the sectaries who carried their principles quite to the extreme ; and it w^as thought a severe hardship upon the Presbyterians that pretence should be taken , from the disaffection of a small part of the Independents and Ana- baptists, to frame general measures which laid fresh diffi- culties in their way, and exposed them to fresh inconveni- ences ; and this, especially, as the Presbyterians were by far the largest body of Non- Conformists, so much so, that Rapin says, " they were considerably more numerous OLIVER HEYWOOD. 171 than all the other Non-Conformists together," and also that " they had doctrines and interests really separate from those of the other sects*'." But it was the policy of those who directed public affairs to recognize no distinc- tion among the various bodies of Non-Conformists, but to treat all equally as enemies to the State and Church. This was very unjust, as neither in principle nor in practice were the Presbyterians enemies to the govern- ment. It may be doubted whether, in the preaching of any of the sectaries, there was anything properly seditious, but this certainly could not be charged upon the Presby- terian ministers, whose single aim in their preaching was the promotion of virtue and piety, and who wished for the overthrow neither of the State nor the Church. Their single disobedience to the law lay in their peaceable and effectual pleadings with their fellow-beings to remember their Christian obligations and to make themselves meet to share at last in the Christian promises. The existence of such a body of men was no real evil, as has since been shown in a long tract of time during which another policy has been pursued respecting them without any mischievous results. But suppose some evil did arise, it was hard to send men to loathsome gaols for the mere offence of preaching, or of going to hear a Christian discourse delivered by a Christian minister, and that in such numbers, that the loathsomeness and unwholesomeness of the old prisons of England were made still more afflictive. It brought back the recol- lection of the times, which were not much further remote from the times of which we are speaking than the Rebel- lion of 1745 is from the time in which we live, wlien they who were the fathers of the Church, as then restored, were crowded in dungeons before they came forth to public execution. It is fortunate for the interests of humanity, that there is a practical limit to the power of any government, * History of England, io\., 1743, vol. ii. p. 641. 172 THE LIFE OF when it would seek, by long imprisonments, to weary and break the spirits of any considerable number of its sub- jects. There cannot be towns of gaols and armies of gaolers, and large magazines of provisions. Two-thirds of a nation can hardly proceed in the way of imprison- ment against the other third, when they are obstinate or resolute. And so thought the statesmen of the time, and the new measure of oppression was framed accordingly. It was an Act of banishment against the Non-Conforming ministers, not from England, but from the places in which they were residing, and from all the incorporated towns. It provided that they were to remove to the distance of five miles from any place in which they had ever exer- cised their ministry, and not come, except when travelling, within the same distance of any city or corporate town. The penalty for each offence was forty pounds, one-third of which was to go to the informer. They might, how- ever, keep themselves out of the scope of the Act by taking the political oath prescribed in the Act of Uni- formity, with the additional clause, that "they would not at any time endeavour any alteration of government either in Church or State." This bill passed easily in the Commons, but in the Lords there was a strong op- position, headed by the Earl of Southampton and the Lord Wharton, who was through life a great friend and patron of the Puritan ministry. The royal assent was given to this heartless measure on the 31st of October, and it was to come into operation on the 24th of March following. Very few of the ministers took the oath. Of Mr. Hey- wood's friends Mr. Swift of Peniston is, I think, the only one who took it. And here it is that the Non-Conforming ministers stand forth prominently as protectors of the liberties of England. When they rejected the terms pro- posed in the Act of Uniformity, there were many circum- stances concurring with the objections to the political oath to induce them to refrain from complying. But in this OLIVER HEYWOOD. 173 case the political principle alone interferes to prevent them from saving themselves from the multiplied inconveni- ences of a forced removal from the places of their abode ; and they refuse to surrender that ultimate check on evil government which has its silent seat in the breasts and hands of a people. It is to be remembered that they were a body of men in whose minds conscientiousness was fully formed and deeply impressed, and who re- spected the sanctity of an oath. Mr. Heywood's family consisted at this time of his two sons, who were schoolboys at the newly founded school at Hipperholm, and a female servant, whose name, Martha Bairstow, deserves to be perpetuated on account of her long fidelity to her master and her care of his children. He continued the same course of preaching at distant places, as Shadwell, Leeds, Peniston and Denton, as he had done before, in the early months of this year ; but when the •24th of March was come and it was no longer lawful for him to remain at Coley, he took his departure from his home, leaving his children to the care of his servant. In this his course differed from that of many of his brethren, who, under the terror of the Act, removed their whole households from the places in which they were established, some to other parts of the country, but more to such towns as Man- chester, Bolton, Shetheld and Mansfield, where there was a considerable population, but where the inhabitants were not incorporated. He spent the 23rd of March at Halifax, in taking leave of his many friends there, and on the 24th he crossed the hills to Denton to join his father-in-law. " It was the weariest, most tedious jour- ney I have had that way, which I have gone many hun- dred times, but scarce ever with so sad a heart in so sharp a storm of weather." But there is another passage, penned apparently at the moment, which presents a more lively image of the good man as he travelled over the wea- risome hills which divide Yorkshire and Lancashire : — " Methinks this day of our scattering is a lively emblem of 174 THE LIFE OF our State ; and I could not but think of it as I travelled from mine own house to sojourn ; for all day it hath been terrible storms of hail and snow set on with a violent wind, yet it hath cleared presently, and after a short intermission of beautiful sunshine, suddenly overcast and darkening and snowing fast ; yet now from four o'clock till night very clear. Just such is the life of a Christian : but of this we may say, Nubecula est cito transitura ; and It's but a storm against the wall, and The end of a godly man is peace." He spent the next day, which was Sunday, with Mr. Angier ; and on the Monday morning the elder and the younger minister set out together, neither of them having apparently formed any plan beside that of paying short visits to some of the gentry of Cheshire, at whose houses Mr. Angier was always welcome. They went first to Mr. Hyde's of Norbury, an infirm old gentleman, having a sister living with him who was dumb and lame. There they remained two nights. They next visited Sir Thomas Stanley at Alderley, who had been created a baronet on the king's return. Here Mr. Hey wood, being requested to conduct the family prayers in the morning, had to resist a temptation " to study and speak handsome words with respect to the company," which was large. From thence they proceeded to Mobberley, where Mrs. Robin- son, an aunt of Mr. Angier's wife, resided; and from thence to Mr. Lea's of Darnall, where they were nobly treated and entertained. They remained there several days, and on the Sunday heard Mr. Hall, a Conformist, at the church of Over. On Tuesday they went, by in- vitation, to Mr. Crew's of Utkington, to keep a private fast. On the 11th they returned to Denton, where Mr. Angier, notwithstanding the Act, which was very loosely executed, continued to reside. Mr. Heywood did not so immediately return to his home. He proceeded to Manchester, where he heard Mr. Heyrick preach at the funeral of old Mr, Strange- ways, and then went on to Bolton, There he preached OLIVER HEYWOOD. 175 frequently, as also in his own house at Waterside, in which his father then lived. He kept a fast at Mr. Fogg's in Darcy Lever, where he was engaged in preach- ing and praying from eleven to five. On the 19th he went to Ormsliirk to visit his brother, whom he found living in his own house unmolested, so unwilling are a magistracy to put in force penal laws which carry with them the marks of unreasonableness or extreme severity. His brother returned with him to Little Lever, and a fast was kept by them at Brightmet on account of a youth going to Cambridge. The two brothers went together to Manchester, where they found many of their " ba- nished brethren." The '29t\i of April was a busy day. Mr. Heywood preached in Manchester early in the morn- ing ; he then went to Prestwich, there to spend the Sunday in public ; and in the evening came to the house at Waterside, where Mr. Nathaniel Heywood preached to a considerable auditory. Monday was spent in a similar manner; and on Tuesday, the 1st of May, he set out on his return home. Four Non-Conformist ministers were lodged that night at the inn at Littlebo- rough, the well-known stage at the foot of Blackstone- Edge, namely, the two Mr. Heywoods, the younger Mr. Angier, a son of Mr. Angier of Denton, and Mr. Starkey, formerly a fellow of St. John's College, Cam- bridge, who removed to live amongst his own friends in Lancashire when he had been ejected from Grantham. Mr. Nathaniel Heywood and Mr. Angier went the next day to Coley, but Mr. Heywood and Mr. Starkey took their way to Bradford to visit Mr. Waterhouse, who re- mained there unmolested, at whose house they found old Mr. Elkana Wales, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Sharp, all Non-Conforming ministers, with whose company Mr. Heywood was much refreshed. At night, when they were preparing to retire to rest, Mr. Heywood left Mr. Waterhouse's, and came secretly to his own house. Thus were the first six weeks spent by him after the Five Mile Act came into operation. 17G THE LIFE OF During his absence his family had removed from the house which he had inhabited since 1660 on Norwood- green, to Coley-hall, " a sweet habitation near the cha- pel," which he shared with Captain Hodgson. He remained at home for a fortnight, during the whole of which time he had frequent services at his house, and neither the interference of the magistracy nor the cu- pidity of any private informer occasioned him any incon- venience. The only difference between his condition after this Act came into operation, and before, seems to be, that he deemed it prudent to be more frequently absent than before. We find him making a round of visits among his friends who lived in the pleasant tract of country between the Wharf and the Aire, going first to Bingley, where he found Mr. Bentley complaining of an unsuitable abode. He passed from thence to Menston to visit Colonel Charles Fairfax (a brother of old Ferdi- nando Lord Fairfax), the antiquary of a family to whom religion and learning have many obligations. From thence he went to Mr. Dyneley's at Bramhope, where he spent several days, and then removed to Rawden, in the parish of Guiseley, where a very old Mr. Rawden resided, father, it is believed, of Sir George Rawden, at whose house he preached to a large auditory. Thus we see that some of the principal gentry of the country did not scruple to countenance Mr. Heywood in doing that which was opposed to the law. The truth is, they knew the integrity of his heart, and they saw and felt the value of his services to the cause of virtue and religion. From Mr. Rawden 's he proceeded to Bramley, where he was received at the house of Elias Hinchball, a man of less note, though perhaps not of less worth. Here a number of persons assembled from Leeds and other neighbouring places, and Mr. Heywood continued his discourse to them till almost midnight. On the next day he ventured into Leeds itself, a prohibited place, and where there were several persons in the magistracy very zealous for the suppression of conventicle preach- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 177 ing. He preached, however, at night in the house of John Cummin to a very great number of persons. He slept at the house of Robert Hickson, the most eminent favourer of Non-Conformity at Leeds in its then inci- pient state. The next night he preached at Hunslet, at the house of Geffery Beck ; and on Thursday went to Wakefield, where he preached at the house of Mrs. Eli- zabeth Riddlesden. On Saturday he kept a fast at Mr. Kirby's, and rode the same evening to Peniston, where he preached on the Sunday openly in the Church. On Monday he came to Alverthorpe, near Wakefield, where he was entertained at the liouse of John Kirk, and preached at Thomas Holdsworth's. On Tuesday he went to Mr. Thorpe's, at Hopton, a minister silenced by the Act of Uniformity, though it does not appear that he had any pastoral charge. He remained there two or three days, and then proceeded to Slaughthwaite to visit Robert Binns. I give these details, partly to show how Mr. Heywood was at this time employed, and partly in what places he sowed the seed which sprang up afterwards in the form of Presbyterian dissent. He returned home on the 1st of June, and on the 4th kept a day of thanksgiving with Captain Hodgson " for God's mercy to him in his deliverance out of prison," where he had been confined since the arrest of the Hali- fax men in the August of the preceding year. Mr. Heywood has a very pertinent remark on the effects of the Five Mile Act. It tended, he says, verv much to the furtherance of the gospel by producing " strange thoughts of heart and strong workings of affection at parting, and by causing doors to be opened in many places far more than was the case before," and by enlarging the acquaintance of the ministers. In fact it operated, as persecution generally does, to give union and intensity to the persecuted, and to open the springs of sympathy in good and compassionate hearts. Sunday, June 17, he spent at Bramley, where he preached three times, and found the hearts of the people N 178 THE LIFE OF much affected. This Is a phrase which he often uses ; but there are no traces in his diaries of those violent effects which attended the ministry of the two founders of methodism in the succeeding century, wdth whose, in other respects, Mr. Heywood's course at this time may be compared. On the 19th he set out on a journey to Lancashire, keeping a fast at Sowerby by the way with his friend Mr. Dawson. He visited Rochdale, and Bury where was the funeral of his aunt Winstanley, at which his brother-in-law, the younger Angier, preached w^iat Mr. Hey wood calls " a rhetorical sermon." This Mr. An- gier appears to have degenerated from the habits and manners of his family*. Mr. Heywood preached on the Saturday night, and kept the Sunday at the house in Little Lever in which he was born ; and on Monday to a company of women at Manchester on his way to Denton, where the remainder of the week was spent, Mr. Seddon, another ejected minister who still continued to preach, conducting the service on the Sunday. Mr. Angier took him another journey among the gentrv of Cheshire. They went first to Dunham, the seat of Lord Delamere, the Sir George Booth of 1659, " where we were nobly treated, yet I thought home and heaven is better than all this : 1 had affecting considera- tions of the excellency of grace beyond all this worldly pomp and splendour." On the next day they went to the house of Mr. Venablcs, of Agden, and thence to. Mr. Lea's, of Darnall, where Mrs. Lea was lately dead. They paid a visit to Mr. Crew at Utkington, and then proceeded to Sandbach to wait on Mrs. Shawcross, aunt * When enumerating the afflictions of the older Mr. Angier, Mr. Heywood speaks thus : — " His son, his only son, devoted to God not only in Christian profession hut ministerial function, miscarrying under such education, with such aggravations," &c. — Works, 8vo, 1827, vol. i. p. 552. He is to he distinguished from another Mr. Angier, a minister whose name will now frequently occur, who was a nephew of old Mr. Angier of Denton, and like him a Non-Conform- ins: minister. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 179 to a lady to whose hand Mr. Heywood was at this time making pretension. They then proceeded to the house of Mr. Union, near Talk-on-the-Hill, " who is something a deformed man and hath a comely wife, and is exceeding jealous of her ; will needs be divorced from her ; disowns some children ; shuts her up upon no real ground but his own melancholic conceits." From thence they proceeded to Leek, and "visited one Mrs. Parker, Colonel Venables' daughter, who married against her father's consent : the thing is sadly aggravated, and he wonderfully exasperated against her ; she weeps bitterly ; hath buried two children : there God made me of some use*." They then returned to Denton. In this summer we find him also attending a sister, who was ill, to the Spa at Knaresborough, which had been brought into repute by the writings of Dr. Dean and Dr. Wittie. Many persons from Leeds were there, and Mr. Heywood soon collected a little congregation, to whom he preached at widow Hogg's. He kept a private fast at Francis Ingle's, near the wells. On his return he visited Mr. Dyneley ; but he accompanied his sister to Little Lever, preaching, as before, every day at Bolton and the villages around. Returning home, he paid visits at Chadwick-hall, near Rochdale, to Mr, * Mrs. Parker was the mother of no less a person than Sir Tho- mas Parker, the first Earl of Macclesfield. This gives a value to the anecdote, and the rather as the name and family of the lady are not found in the peerages. As the earl was in his sixty- sixth year at the time of his death, April 28, 1732, it may be that the lady was enceinte of this great birth when the two divines were at her house. She died in 1699, and was buried in the church of Wirks worth in Derbyshire. Her father, Colonel Robert Venables, had been Go- vernor of Chester in the Civil Wars, and was sent by Cromwell against Hispaniola. The narrative of the expedition is in Dr. Leo- nard Howard's Collection of Letters, 4to, 1753, pp. 1 — 21. lliere is a treatise on Angling, by him, which was reprinted in 1825. In Mr. Heywood's Obituary we find that he died in 1687, and was buried on the 26th of Jidy. See, for this branch of the ancient family of Venables, Harl. MS. 2119, f. 13, where are shown three marriages of the Colonel and members of his family with the Leas of Darnall, friends of Mr. Angier. N 2 180 THE LIFE OF Horton at Sowerby, and to Mrs. Root, near Sowerby- briclge. He remained at home about a fortnight, preaching in his own house on the Sundays, where he had about forty persons to hear him, and keeping fast-days. One of them was at the house of Mary Wright, " a hearty, affectionate, active Christian, a dear companion to my sweet wife." She was ill, and died. Another was with Jonathan Priestley, who was also ill, but recovered. He was a principal member of a very numerous family of the name, eminent among the early Non-Conformists of the parish of Halifax. On the 22nd of August he again left his house on another tour of nocturnal preachings. He visited Bram- ley, exposing himself again to the danger of the Leeds magistracy. He travelled with Mr. Wales, who was forced by the Act to leave his home, and was then on his way to the north with his wife*. He inspected a house, to which some of his friends wished him to re- move that he might not be exposed to so much peril under the Act, but declined to take it. He visited Wakefield, where he ker.t a fast at Mr. Kirby's, and preached on a Sunday in the church of Peniston both morning and evening, and " had a large auditory and sweet enlargements." On this journey he visited parts of Yorkshire which he had not seen before. Mr. Swift and Mr. Richardson, another Non-Conforming minister who lived at Lassel-hall in the parish of Kirk-Heton, went with Mr. Heywood to Rotherham to visit Mr. * The wife of Mr. Wales was Elizabeth Clavering, of Calliley, in Northumberland, aunt to Sir James Clavering of Axwell, who " had in the eminency of her Christian graces what she wanted in what the moralists of the world call the amiableness of a good nature." This is said of her by Ambrose Barnes, who knew her well, having married one of her daughters of a former marriage with Thomas Butler, a merchant of Newcastle. He says of Mr. Wales, that he was of a mild disposition, and not to be drawn from his people at Pudsey by very tempting offers made to him by Lord Fairfax, who c:reatlv esteemed him. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 181 Clayton, who had been the minister there before the Act, and who continued to reside there ; and the next day they went on to Sheffield, where they visited Mr. Birkbeck, who had been turned out of the church of Ackworth near Pontefract, and afterwards Mr. Rowland Hancock, who had been turned out of the place of one of the assistant ministers in the church of Sheffield, and who then lived in the wild country about Bradfield. On their return they visited Mr. Cotes, another Non- Conforming minister, who had fixed his residence at the pleasant little town of Wath-upon-Dearne. They then passed to Swathe-hall, in the neighbourhood of Wors- borough, where resided a member of the family of Wordsworth, a gentleman of good estate, and connected with the principal Puritan families in those parts of the country*, whose house was always open to the Non- Conforming ministry. Mr. Heywood next visited the cheerful little village of Cawthorn, and preached there at a friend's house in the night. From thence he passed to Denton, having Mr. Hawden, who had been ejected at Brodsworth, in his company. He preached publicly there on Sunday the 2nd of September. He returned to Peniston, where he kept the fast on account of the plague on the 5th, preaching publicly from ten till four. He then returned through Wakefield home. He writes thus on the •24th of September: — "The Lord hath thus long graciously continued me in safety at mine own house ; and I have spent three Lord's Days at home, and have had above three-score on a-day ; kept a fast, preached on the week-days^ and found much of the Lord's gracious presence and wonderful providence watching over me, though it was pretty generally known * Mr. Heywood was a very frequent visitor at Swathe-hall in the time of Mr. Wordsworth, who died in 1690. Three of his wives, — for he was four times married, — were daughters respectively of per- sons who had been leaders in the Puritan movement of the late times, namely, Robert Hyde of Denton, Mr. Angler's friend. Major Spencer of Attercliflfe, and Sir Edward Rodes of Great Houghton. 182 THE LIFE OF that I was at home, God stirring up many from several parts to come to spend the Sabbath with me." On that day, however, he again left his home, going to Hag- stocks, and Bowood, where he visited his " good friend " James Robinson, and so to Rochdale. There he lodged at the house of Matthew Hallowes, and preached ; as he did on the following day, at Chadwick-hall, reaching Little Lever at night. On the Friday night he preached at Mr, Whitehead's, who had married his sister, and on Saturday at Thomas Crompton's. He spent the Sunday in the house where he was born, where his sister White- head and her husband then lived, " and God helped wonderfully to preach and pray amongst some hundreds of people." On Monday night he preached at Joseph Moxon's, in Bolton. On Tuesday he went to Orms- kirk to visit his brother, but not finding him at home (for he was absent, " being as busy at work as T,") went to Eccieston and Leland, and returned to Bolton on Thursday in time to preach at night at the house of George Holt. On the next night he preached at Lau- rence Crompton's, and spent the Sunday at Mr. Brown's at Holcombe in the parish of Bury. On the Monday he passed to Denton, visiting Manchester in the way. On the Tuesday, accompanied by his cousin Bradshaw, an ejected minister, he visited again his favourite and favoured Peniston, and kept there the public fast for the burning of London, " the Lord assisting us both very graciously." On the Thursday Mr. Jollie was with them, and the three ministers kept a fast at the house of Isaac Wadsworth (Wordsworth), " a good man, but much afflicted." On Friday he was at Cawthorne, where he visited the families of Nathaniel Bottomley and his brother Roebuck, who was sick. On the Sa- turday he arrived at Swathe-hall, and preached in the night. In the morning he was away early and back to Peniston, no very short or easy ride, where he preached in the afternoon, Mr. Bradshaw preaching in the morn- ing. He lodged with the Wordsworths at Waterhall. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 183 On the Monday he set his face homewards, visiting Mrs. Richardson, the wife of Mr. Richardson the ejected minister, and Mr. Thorpe, another ejected minister, reaching home on the 15th of October, having been absent three weeks. Some change had taken place in the abode of his family during his absence, though still inhabiting Coley-hall. This led him to remark, " What a clear emblem am both I and my family of a flitting condition in this world ! " Mr. Heywood began to be weary of this rambling life, and he entertained at this time serious thoughts of re- moving himself and his family into Lancashire, where he might live in his own house in peace. He had also another inducement, — the better opportunities which he should have for the education of his sons, who were now of the ages of nine and ten years*. The change in his intention he attributes entirely to the persuasive impor- tunity of his kind neighbours and hearers. " Here I stayed at home almost three weeks, in which time I preached in mine own house three times every week (besides some work abroad), where we had more solemn and numerous meetings than formerly, almost an hundred persons at once. We have a more private place than ever before, where I can sing and speak as loud as I please without fear of being overheard." On the 3rd of November we find him again at Peniston, where he preached on the next day, being Sunday, and " enjoyed the sweet sealing ordinance of the Lord's Supper according to institution." Mr. Modesley ad- ministered it. On Monday, the 5th of November, Mr. Garside preached, who was the Cheshire Non-Conform- ing minister of that name. On the Tuesday, he, Mr. * Mr. Heywood notices, about this time, the appearances of reli- gion in the minds of his two sons. He once heard them repeating, while in bed, long passages of Scripture, the younger the 10th chap- ter of the Book of Revelation, and the elder the 12th. They had learned catechisms long before, and had indeed been brought up very much as Mr. Heywood had himself been educated. 184 THE LIFE OF Heywood and Mr. Hawden kept a fast with Leonard Appleyard, of the parish of Peniston, " a good man." On the Wednesday he kept the monthly fast in public, and went that evening to Mr. Sotwell's at Cat-hill, and on Thursday to Mr. Cotton's at Moor-end, in the ad- joining parish of Silkston. On the Friday he went to Mr. Wordsworth's at Swathe-hall, where he kept the Sabbath with great satisfaction. On the Monday Mr. Wordsworth and he travelled to Rotherham to visit Mr. Clayton, at whose house they found Mr. Hancock, who accompanied them to Laugh- ton-en-le-Morthen, where resided Mr. John Hatfield, a gentleman of good estate and a member of a very exten- sive family connexion, including most of the principal gentry in those parts of Yorkshire, who had been ex- ceedingly active in all the Puritan efforts of the preceding times. It included the Westbys of Ravenfield, the Spen- cers of Attercliffe, the Brights of Carbrook, the Gills of Car-house, the Rodes of Great Houghton, the Stani- forths of Firbeck, the Knights of Langold, and the Tay- lors of Wallingwells. The heads of several of these families had eminent military command in the wars, and others had served the Parliament as members of com- mittees for divers purposes in the West Riding. Of this circle of Parliamentarian families the town of Rotherham may be regarded as the centre, and there were few parts of Ejigland where the Puritan principle prevailed in an equal extent among the families of the best account. This was Mr. Hey wood's first introduction among them, and we shall find as we proceed that he was frequently re- ceived by them at their halls, and that his ministerial services were highly acceptable. At Laughton he found the Mrs, Martha Hatfield mentioned in a note at p. 167, of whom he only says that there "were many strange things recorded in a book concerning her." She was sister to his host ; and the author of the book in w^hich her sayings during the paroxysms of her extraordinary complaint are treasured up, was Mr. Fisher, the ejected OLIVER IIFA'WOOD. 185 vicar of Sheffield, who had married a sister of her father, Mr. Anthony Hatfield. Mr. John Hatfield was twice married, first to a Disney of Swinderby, and afterwards to Antonina Norcliff'e, a daughter of Lady Norcliife of Lang:ton, who was by birth a Fairfax, whose kindness to the Non-Conforming ministry is celebrated by Dr. Ca- lamy. At Laughton also he met with Mr. Whitehurst, who had been ejected from the church of that town, but was living there undisturbed, notwithstanding the Act. Mr. Heywood's visit was very short, as was always the case with him. From Laughton he was taken to Ravenfield, where Mr. George Westby resided, when his acquaintance with that family began. He passed to the house of Mr. Cotes at Wath, thence to Mr. Words- worth's at Svvathe-hall, and returned home, preaching at Wakefield by the way. He recommenced his itinerant labours on Monday, the 3rd of December. On this occasion he went first to Mr. John Sharp's at Little Horton, near Bradford, the father of Mr. Thomas Sharp who had been ejected at Addle. Addle had been a sequestered parsonage, Dr. Hitch having been removed in the Parliament times in pursuance of an ordinance against pluralities*. A rehgious meeting was appointed at Horton, at which * Of this eminent churchman there are many notices in Mr. Hey- wood's papers, of which the most material is the following : — " Fe- bruary 10, 1676-7, died Dr. Hitch, dean of York, parson of Guiseley (where he died, and was buried February 16), vicar of Normanton, parson of Addle, aged eighty-two, one of the richest churchmen in the country. He stated his son in 1100/. a-year, and his grand- child in 200/. a-year. He gave the parsonage of Addle, with his daughter, to Dr. Brearey, who thereupon turned from being a civi- lian to be a preacher. He had resigned Addle in the Parliament time, who had passed an Act against pluralities, but at the king's return sued for it again, and cast Mr. Arthington, as having done it unwillingly. He used to boast that for divinity, law, and physic he would play with any man. A man of parts ; he practised physic ; was said to be in a consumption thirty years before he died." If there were many such instances as this, we cannot much wonder at the Puritan objections to a state of things which allowed of them. Dr. Hitcli's posterity flourished at Leathley for several generations. 186 THE LIFE OF Mr. Sharp the younger was to have preached, but the work was put upon Mr. Hey wood, who was always ready and always welcome. On Tuesday night he preached at Mr. Rawden's of Rawden ; on Wednesday at Joseph Kitchen's, at Farsley ; on Thursday at Leeds ; on Friday he visited Mr. Clayton of Okenshavv ; and on Saturday reached the house of Sir Edward Rodes of Great Houghton, who had invited him*. He spent the Sunday there " with much comfort." On Monday he was at Wath ; on Tuesday visited Mr. Vincent at Barn- borough-grange f ; and on Thursday came to Swathe- hall. He preached at Peniston on the Sunday ; on Monday visited Mrs. Sotwell at Cat-hill, and " dined at Gunthwaite with Major Sedascue, a Germanj." Though * Sir Edward Rodes was a son of Sir Godfrey Rodes, and grand- son of Francis Rodes, a judge in the reign of Elizabeth. He was in possession of the estate of Great Houghton at the beginning of the Civil Wars, and one of the first acts of hostility in those parts of Yorkshire was an attack upon his house there in the beginning of September 1642. He was closely united in opinion with the Ho- thams, and it was chiefly through the opposition which this party made to it that the scheme for the neutrality of Yorkshire in the impending contest was frustrated. But he was soon amongst those who wished to retrace their steps, and was arrested with the two Hothams and committed to the Tower. He however served the Parliament faithfully in a military capacity, and afterwards under Cromwell in Scotland, of whose Pri\'y Council he was, and member in one of his parliaments for the shire of Perth. After the Restora- tion he lived quietly at Houghton, where he died in February 1667, a few weeks after Mr. Hey wood's visit. In 1650 he founded a cha- pel, near the hall, for the performance of religious sendee. t This was the head of another of the large landed families in those parts of the West Riding, father-in-law to Mr. Samuel Cotes, the ejected minister, then living at Wath. He died on July 15, 1667, " fide evangelica, vere catholica," an expression in his ejntaph in the church of Barnborough which appears to be directed against his neighbours at the Hall, the Mores, descendants of Sir Thomas More, and inheritors of his attachment to the Roman Catholic Church. :j: Gunthwaite was the seat of the Bosviles, two of v, hom had been distinguished on the Parliament side in the wars ; but they were both dead, and the estate was at this time a minor's. Major Sedascue, who inhabited the house, had married one of the Bosviles. He was a Bohemian, a supporter of the Elector Palatine, on whose defeat he OLIVER HEYWOOD. 187 it was the depth of winter, he set out after dinner from Gunthwaite for Denby- grange ; but having received wrong instructions concerning the road, and it being a thick mist, he lost his way on Emley-moor, and so turned to Hopton-hall. After two days' stay there he visited Lassel-hall and Denby-grange, reaching home on the lyth of December. These notes of Mr. Heywood's, of his itinerant labours, bring us acquainted with the persons who in those parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire opened their houses to the Non-Conforming ministry when they were preaching in open defiance of the law, and were the fathers of Pro- testant Dissent in those parts. They present information which is of the most authentic kind, and they are now, it is believed, the sole remaining memorials of what was done in preparation for the rise of the various Non- Conforming societies which arose in this district. And with the view of perpetuating their names and services, and giving definiteness to this portion of English eccle- siastical history, I proceed to give further accounts of the journeys of this indefatigable man at this period of his life. On December 31, 1666, he set out for Lancashire, baptizing a child at Halifax by the way, and preaching at Rochdale at night. On the next day he was at Little Lever, where he met his brother, Mr. Nathaniel Hey- wood, and they preached together at the houses of their three brothers-in-law, who resided in that neighbour- hood, William Whitehead, Thomas Crompton, and Sa- muel Bradley, to a multitude of auditors. On the Monday he went to Bolton, and " at night up to High Horrocks, where he preached on Tuesday all day," re- turning to Bolton, where at night he preached at the house of George Holt. On Wednesday he preached at Thomas Mason's at Little Lever, and at night at Peter Heywood's. On Thursday a solemn fast was kept at fled to Eneland, and l)ecame an officer in the Parliament army. He died at Helith-hall, near Wakefield, in 1688. 188 THE LIFE OF William Whitehead's. On Friday he went to Manches- ter, and preached at night at the house of Mr. James Hulton of Droilsden, an old Commonwealth officer. He passed on to Denton, and preached at the chapel on Sunday. On Monday he accompanied Mr. Angier to Mobberley to the funeral of old Mrs, Robinson, and slept at Knutsford at the house of Mr. Antrobus, " who used me exceeding courteously." He remained a day or two at Denton, and on his return dined at Mr. Ran's at Ashton-under-Line, and lodged at Chadwick-hall, which we now find to have been the residence of a re- lative named Edmund Hill. A singular circumstance had just occurred in the neighbourhood of Manchester, of which I find no notice in Mr. Hey wood's papers, and derive my information from another source. Colonel Birch, a Parliamentary officer, permitted two wandering ministers from Ger- many to preach at Birch-hall on Sunday the 18th of November, 1666. They were engaged from nine to three speaking very fluently, denouncing all manner of woe 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 neigh- bouring Royalists. The magistrates took the opportunity of putting the Conventicle Act in force against Colonel Birch and several persons who were present at this meet- ing, amongst whom was the wife of Ralph Worsley, a gentleman of Rusholm, ancestor of the Worsleys of Piatt, friends of the Non-Conformists. Against the Non- Conforming ministers, the magistrates of South Lanca- shire had acted with much moderation. Mr. Heywood remained at home for a fortnight, preaching on Sundays and week-days as usual, and on January 31 set out on another preaching tour, which was this time in Yorkshire. On that night he and Mr. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 189 Sharp preached at BowUng, near Bradford ; on Friday he lodged at Mr. Sale's of Pudsey, and on Saturday went forward to Bramley, where he preached three times on the Sunday. He preached again at Samuel Ellison's, near Bramley, on the Monday, and on Tuesday ventured to enter the corporate town of Leeds, where he visited friends, haptized several children, but, being indisposed, was unable to preach. On the next day he was better and preached, visited a sick person, and then travelled to Bramhope, where he prayed with Mr. William Dyne- ley, then near his death in a consumption, and afterwards preached to the household. He preached to them again in the morning, and then proceeded to Mr. Rawden's of Rawden, where he preached on Friday, February 8. He returned home by Bradford, where he lodged at the house of Mr. Waterhouse, the minister. On Friday, the 15th, he set out again. He went first to Slaughth^Yaite, where he lodged at the house of Robert Binns, where the younger of the two Roots then lived, whom he sent to Coley in his absence. From thence he went to Denton, where he preached, and heard his cousin Samuel Angier, who was then newly come out of Essex to assist his uncle, in the other part of the day. He spent some days visiting friends about Stockport and Manches- ter ; spent some days at Little Lever, preaching six times ; returned to Denton, and his cousin Samuel Angier ac- companied him to his house at Coley, where Mr. Jollie met him. They kept a thanksgiving day for Jonathan Priestley's recovery. On Friday, March 15, he went to Wakefield, where he lodged with his good friend William Heaward, and preached at Mr. Kirby's on Saturday morning. He spent the Sunday, preaching as usual, at Peniston, and lodged at the house of Thomas Hague of Carlcotes, then newly married to a friend of Mr. Heywood's. He went from thence to Denton, where he kept a private fast at Mrs. Arderne's at Denton-hall ; six ministers were en- gaged. On Wednesday he went to Little Lever, where 190 THE LIFE OF he preached at James Barlow's and elsewhere, and, re- turning to Denton, preached twice on the Sunday. He visited Manchester and Rochdale, and returned home on the 27th. On Saturday, April 6, he went again to Peniston, Mr. Dawson accompanying him. They visited Mr. Thorpe by the way. He preached twice on the Sunday " called Easter Day," which is the way in which, with a not very intelligible scrupulosity, he speaks of the ancient Christian festivals, Easter and Christmas. There was a large as- sembly. On Monday he was at William Roebuck's at Cawthorne, where he met Mr. Kirby to hold a prayer- meeting on a special occasion. On the next day he rode to Denton and forward to Manchester. He stayed at Manchester to " hold a consultation about a solemn business," which was nothing less than his own intended marriage. The lady was Abigail Crompton, one of many daughters of James Crompton* of Brightmet, in the parish of Bolton, one of the good old Puritan families of that parish. She was at that time thirty-two years old. H^e spent a few days in the neigh- bourhood, his brother, Mr. Nathaniel Heywood, meeting him, and returned to Coley on the 12th. On the 1 8th he was away again, into the heart of the West Riding, preaching first at the house of William * There was, as we have seen, a previous connexion between Mr. Haywood's family and the Cromptons at Brightmet, by the marriage of his sister Hannah with Thomas Crompton of that village, and even a still earlier consanguinity. How Thomas and James were related, does not appear ; nor how either of them stood related to Abraham Crompton of the same place, the father of John Crompton, a minister, who was born at Brightmet, and ejected at Arnold, in Nottingham- shire. But no doubt there was a near consanguinity among them. John Crompton, the ejected minister, had two sons, both of whom were the ancestors of families of great worth and respectability. The elder, Abraham, was the ancestor of Sir Samuel Crompton, who was created a baronet in 1837, and of several other families of the name settled in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire ; the younger, Sa- muel, was a Non-Conforming minister at Doncaster, and was the ancestor of families of the name at Gainsborough and Birmingham. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 191 Thompson, near Kirkstall-abbey, where he had a great auditory. On the next day he preached at Leeds, " at the house of Matthew Boyse, a godly ancient Christian, that hath been in New England*." At night he went to Mr. Ralph Spencer's, a merchant of Leeds, and on the next day to Mr. Rawden's at Rawden, where he spent the Sunday and conducted a service^ which he concluded the earlier, because Dr. Hitch, the dean of York and rector of Guiseley, in which parish Mr. Rawden lived, was " to pay that ancient gentleman a visit that day, which he did." Mr. Heywood does not inform us whe- ther he had on this occasion an interview with the dean. He left Mr. Rawden on Monday, and proceeded to Bram- ley, which appears to have been a favourite place, and at night preached at Farsley, at the house of Joseph Kitchen. The next day he w^as applied to by a gentle- w^oman of Pudseyf and two other persons under great trouble of mind ; and, visiting Mr. Sharp by the way, arrived at home on the 23rd. April 29, he set out for Lancashire ; lodged and preached at Matthew Hallowes' at Rochdale ; and lodged the next night at Mr. Hulton's at Manchester. " That night," says he, " they have a foolish custom after twelve o'clock to rise and ramble abroad, make garlands, strew flowers, &c., which they call Bringing in May. I could sleep little that night by reason of the tumult." This was one of the ancient and beautiful customs of the country with which the spirit of Puritanism had long been at war. It had spoken in the reign of Elizabeth, by the mouth of Philip Stubbs, in his ' Anatomy of Abuses,' and, in later times more feebly, by the mouth of Thomas Hall, the ejected minister of King's Norton, in his 'Downfall of May-games |.' He went the next * Father, I believe, of Boyse, the Non-Conforming minister at Dubhn, author of various works. t No doubt, Mrs. Milner, as appears afterwards. + Mr. Heywood had fully imbibed the spirit of writings such as these : — " At the very time the king came in, 1660, at Chorley there 192 THE LIFE OF morning to Denton, and on the following clay accom- panied his sister and cousin Angier to visit his brother Angier at Dean, where he left them and proceeded to Little Lever. The next morning he went to Heaton- hall, near Prestwich, on business to Mr. Lawrence Fog, and then to James Hardman's of Bradfield, near Hey- wood-chapel, where he preached. He was then on his way towards home, and one is tempted to ask, how it is that we see nothing of Brightmet and Mrs. Abigail Crompton, in contemplation of his marriage with whom he had kept the 25th of April, •' that the Almanacks call St. Mark's Day," as a religious solemnity. He called at his cousin Edmund Hill's ; then on Mrs. Hor- ton* of Barkisland, " who was to send her son to Oxford on Monday morning," and that night came to Robert Ramsden's house, near Ealand-park, where he preached on Sunday, May 5, and came to his own house at night. In the morning he took leave of Captain Hodgson's son, who was going with Mr. Thomas Horton to Oxford. Thursday, May 23, he set out again for Lancashire, taking his children and servant with him. They spent several days with Mr. Angier at Denton, one of which was the anniversary day of the king's return, when there was a service in which Mr. Heywood took a part. He then went to Bolton ; preached at his brother Thomas Crompton 's in Brightmet ; kept a fast at his father's house at Waterside, preached at Adam Ferniside's, and at his uncle Francis Critchlaw's. He returned home by Denton. was a stately May-pole erected, upon which was set a crown and a cross with a coat of arms, and adorned with brave garlands. At certain times every year they met there, and had hired a jjiper to play on Sundays and holy-days ; and had very lately dressed it. But in July, 1666, there was terrible thunder, and the thunder-bolt split it to shivers, and carried the ornaments nobody knows whither, and broke it to the very bottom, though set two yards within the ground. This is a certain truth ; I looked at the place." * Wife or widow of Mr. Heywood's landlord at Coley-hall. The son here mentioned settled in the country, married one of the daugh- ters of Thornhill of Fixby, and died in 1699, leaving co-heirs. OLIVER HRYWOOD. 193 Wednesday, January 19, he went to Sheffield, on a special call to keep a fast at Mr. Birkbeck's house ; " where T preached and went to prayer, but found not wonted enlargement or assistance ; as to personal mat- ters I was in some measure helped, but in public con- cernments I w^as much straitened. It was a solemn day ; we were ten ministers ; good old Mr. Wales concluded the work. The truth is, there was a choice minister, one Mr. Sylvester* of Mansfield, whom the Lord did wonderfully carry out in the duty of prayer. Blessed be God for that day." He visited Mr. Sotwell at Cat-hill, and his friends at Wakefield, in his way home. On June 25, he went again into Lancashire ; and on Thursday, the 27th, was married by Mr. Hide at Salford Chapel. Nearly twenty persons were at the wedding, but all of the nearest relations to the parties. On the Sun- day after he went to the church at Manchester, where he heard Mr. Weston, and in the afternoon to the chapel at Salford, where Mr. Hide preached ; and at night he himself preached at Mr. Hulton's, whom he now begins to call brother, the wife of Mr. Hulton being a sister to his bride. It may be presumed that at this time his sen- tence of excommunication had been removed. Mr. Heywood was not to be long detained from his beloved work. On the Tuesday we find him engaged with Mr. Newcome and Mr. Finch in keeping a fast at Hulm-hall with his aunt Moseleyf . In the course of the week they visited Mr. Heywood's relations at Bolton and in the neighbourhood. On the Sunday he attended the church at Bolton, but preached himself at night; * This was Mr. Matthew Sylvester, ejected at Gunnerby, in Lin- colnshire, who appears to have been at this time residing among his relations of the same name at Mansfield, a town to which several of the Non- Conformist ministers retired during the existence of the Five Mile Act. He lived afterwards in London, where he contracted a great intimacy with Baxter, whose ' History of his Own Life and Times' Mr. Sylvester published after Baxter's decease. t A sister, or sister-in-law, of the second wife of Mr. Angier of Denton. 194 THE LIFE OF spent two days with his brother Okey*, and preached there ; visited his brother Crompton at Brightmet-hill ; kept a private fast at Wilham Crompton's at Darcy Lever, and on Friday returned to Coley, leaving his wife in Lancashire ; but returned the Monday after, and on the 25th of July he brought her into Yorkshire, some friends accompanying them as far as Middleton, and others meeting them at the inn at Littleborough. In the month of August they visited together the families with whom Mr. Hey wood was intimate in the neighbourhood of Peniston, and also others who lived in the direction of Leeds. * For this person there is, or at least lately was, a singular and not very well conceived epitaph in the church-yard of Bolton, which has been so often printed, that I content myself with this general notice of it. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 195 CHAPTER X. 1667—1672. REASONS FOR THE PENAL LAWS BEING NOT ENFORCED WITH MORE SEVERITY. DISPOSITION TOWARDS NON-CONFORMISTS OF THREE NORTHERN LIEUTENANTS, THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM, THE EARL OF DERBY AND THE EARL OF DEVONSHIRE. ANECDOTES. CHANGE OF THE MINISTRY. ATTEMPT AT A COMPREHENSION OF THE PRES- BYTERIANS AND A TOLERATION OF THE INDEPENDENTS. FAILS. THINGS REMAIN AS THEY WERE, AND MR. HEYWOOD PURSUES THE SAME COURSE. STATE OF SOCIETY AT BINGLEY. VARIOUS JOUR- NEYS OF MR. HEYWOOD. DEATHS OF SEVERAL NON-CONFORMING MINISTERS. PUBLISHES HIS HEART-TREASURE. APPEARS AGAIN IN HIS OLD CHAPEL AT COLEY. LADY HOYLE. OTHER JOURNEYS. PUBLISHES HIS CLOSET-PRAYER. THE TWO ROOTS. PUBLISHES HIS SURE MERCIES OF DAVID. MR. HEYWOOD IMPRISONED AT LEEDS. DISTRAINT UPON HIS GOODS. PURCHASES LAND. THE BUTTONS. OATES'. DEATH OF MRS. HORTON. WITCHCRAFT. SUMMARY OF MR. HEYWOOd's LABOURS. We are now arrived at the autumn of 1667. We have seen the bold manner in which Mr. Heywood proceeded to act in defiance of the law, and how little molested he really was ; alarmed, indeed, at times, but neither fined, imprisoned, nor even taken before the magistrates. We have also seen incidentally that the provisions of the Conventicle Act and those of the Oxford or Five Mile Act were as much disregarded by his brother at Orms- kirk, and his father-in-law at Denton, as well as by other ministers, but few of whom suffered the penalties denounced, in comparison with those who escaped. The explanation of this anomalous state of affairs is to be found, in part, in the unwillingness, so natural to the noble mind of the better class of Englishmen, to o 2 196 THE LIFE OF put in force the provisions of Acts which press severely against any body of men where the guilt is purely technical and legal, and the conduct, were there no law touching the case, unequivocally meritorious. The policy of the Earl of Clarendon was not adopted without strong opposition, and, amongst others, the three lords who were the Lieutenants of the counties of York, Lancaster and Derby were not men who were disposed to lend their aid to the strengthening of the Church by the persecution of either Non-Conformists or Papists. In Derbyshire, the Earl of Devonshire was an enemy to all tyrannical measures, as the house of Cavendish has ever been*. In Lancashire, the Earl of Derby, though the son of James, the Earl who had been put to death in the days of Puritan ascendency, showed no particular affection for the Church as then restored! > ^^^ in York- * Thomas Stanley, who had been ejected at Eyam in that county, continued with his people, and joined Mr. Mompesson, who had succeeded him in that place, in ministering to them when the village was desolated by the Plague in 1666. Bagshaw, the author of a very pleasing little volume, entitled De Spiritnalibus Pecci, or Notes of the JVo?'ks of God, and of those who have been Workers with God in the Peak of Derbyshire (8vo, 1702), thus speaks of the Earl of Devonshire having thrown his protection over him : — " When some who might have been better employed moved the then noble Earl of Devonshire, Lord-Lieutenant, to remove him out of the town, I am told, by the credible, that he said, ' It is more reasonable that the whole countiy should, in more than words, testify their thank- fulness to him, who, together with his care of the town, had taken such care as no one else did to prevent the infection of the towTis adjacent,' " (p. 64.) t I find the three following anecdotes of the Earl of Derby in a ma- nuscript in the hand- writing of Mr. Newcorae of Manchester, con- taining notes of his correspondence and of some of the occurrences of his time : — Sir Roger Bradshaigh, a great enemy of the Puritans, complained to the Earl of conventicles held at Toxteth-park and St. Helen's, and of the Earl's remissness in not suppressing them, seeing they were so near his seat at Knowsley ; when the Earl told him, that if he took up these, he should take up all, meaning the Papists. Another story is this ; and is perhaps scarcely credible in the form in which it is told. The Bishop of Chester preached at Knowsley ; his subject was the observance of Sunday ; he was en- OLIVER HEYVVOOD. 197 shire, that influential office was held by the Duke of Buckingham, who had married the daughter of Lord Fairfax, the Parliament's General, and who was an enemy to the policy of Lord Clarendon, if not from any better principle, yet from the desire of supplanting him in the king's favour and effecting a total change of the mi- nistry*. These political intrigues were also favourable to tertained at the earl's house, who, to put an affront upon him, after dinner called for tables to play with Sir Roger Bradshaigh. The bishop was offended, and left Knowsley sooner than he intended. The Rector of Walton, who was a Hey wood of Hey wood, on one occasion en- treated the earl to interfere to put down the conventicle at Tox- teth-park. The earl asked him. What the people did when they met ? The rector replied, they preached and prayed : " If that be all," re- plied the earl, " why should they be restrained ? Will you neither preach nor pray yourselves, nor suffer others to preach and pray ?" Mr. Hey wood notices his death thus : — " The Earl of Derby is lately dead. Lord Charles, having endured a long pining disease. His body was opened, and the physician found not one drop of blood in all his body, except a drop or two at his heart. He died this December ultimo, 1672. It calls to my thoughts his commanding Mr. Christian to be shot to death in the Isle of Man, upon his mother's instigation, for delivering up the castle there to the Parlia- ment upon terms, many years before, in the war. But this was upon the king's coming in, for which his Majesty frowned on him. Chris- tian's blood shed, left no blood in noble blood. There 's a loss of him in Lancashire, as being the great bulwai"k against Papists." * The Duke of Buckingham was the second Villiers who bore that title. His strange inconsistent character is known to every one. He had a Non- Conforming minister for his chaplain, and when the Lady Fairfax, his mother-in-law, died, he proposed that her funeral sermon should be preached publicly by this Non- Conformist. The archbishojj interposed, and the duke sent him a scornful mes- sage by his secretary. When there was an intention among the clergy of York to obtain sentences of excommunication against all who did not receive the sacrament at Easter, the duke waited in person on the archbishop at Bishopsthorpe, to induce him to stay the proceedings. Another thing told of him is, that when Morley, Bishop of Winchester, urged in the king's presence the necessity of putting down conventicles, as if they were not put down the churches would be deserted, the duke remarked to him in rougher terms than I choose to print, " You should preach better and Jive better, and then your congregations would be as full as theirs." In Mr. Newcome's MS. there is an account of his duel with the Earl of Shrewsbury, which happened at the very time when the measure for 198 THE LIFE OF the Non-Conformists. They ended in the disgrace and dismissal of the Earl of Clarendon in the autumn of this year, and in his place being filled by persons who had less defined projects in relation to Church-aifairs, or who sought the accomplishment of their purposes with less decided efforts. Two other circumstances were also favourable at this period to the Non-Conformists. One was the personal conduct of the king, by which the moral sense and the piety of the nation could not but be greatly shocked and oifended. How far the clergy about the court, or the Conforming clergy at large, may have been justly chargeable with not having raised the warning voice and asserted the universal obligations of Christianity, we are perhaps, at this distance of time, not well able to judge ; or whether the ministers of the Church as established were as zealous in the more important duties of their office, as such times demanded, when the ancient sobriety and respectability of the English gentry were changing to habits too nearly resembling those of the court (of which there were too many examples in the county in which Mr. Heywood resided) ; but, under such circum- stances, the moral sense, the religion and the piety of the nation would not really disapprove the conduct of men who spoke Christian truths with Christian bold- ness, even though they might lament that this was done at the expense of that Christian union and order which it is so desirable to maintain, and of that respect for law which it is so dangerous to violate. comprehension of this year was in progress. The earl was slain. The event appears to have wrought very strongly on the duke's mind, if the following report was true, which occurs in a letter writ- ten in the month of March : — " The Duke of Buckingham is hecome a most eminent convert from all the vanities he hath been reported to have been addicted to ; hath had a solemn day of prayer for the completing and confirming the great work upon him. Dr. Owen and others of the like persuasion [Independents] were the carriers on of the work. He is said to keep corresj)ondence with the chief of those parties. He grows more and more in favour and power." OLIVER HEYWOOD. 199 The other favourable circumstance was the occurrence at this period of two great calamities in the city of Lon- don. The conduct of the Non-Conforming ministers during the Plague had been so self-sacrificing, so honour- able to them, and useful, as to have won over many to a feeling of complacency towards them who did not con- cur with them in the duty of separation : — and when the churches were burnt in the fire, they who could convert, in a moment, a dwelling-house into a church, found themselves almost the only persons who could pour consolation into the hearts of an afflicted and grateful people. The Duke of Buckingham came into power towards the close of the year 1667, and one of the first measures of the new government was a scheme for toleration and comprehension, — that is, comprehension for the Presby- terians, and toleration for the Independents and other sectaries. The Lord Keeper Bridgeman was the person to whom the management of this aifair was committed, and he entered into communication with Dr. Manton and Mr. Baxter, the heads of the Presbyterians. Terms were agreed upon, which Baxter says would have been satisfactory to fourteen hundred of the Non-Conforming ministers. What they were, may be seen in his Reliquia*, or in Dr. Calamy's * Abridgementf .' Some of the diffi- culties were smoothed ; but the whole scheme was de- feated by a strong opposition to it of the greater part of the clergy. The bill was drawn by Chief Justice Hale, but before it could be introduced, a vote was passed in one or both of the Houses, " that no man should bring an Act of this nature into the House." So that things remained as they were, and the Conventicle Act, the term of which was near expiring, was renewed for a further period. Serious expectations were entertained by some per- sons that this plan of comprehension and toleration would have succeeded ; but others had no such expecta- * Part iii. p. 33. t p. 317. 200 THE LIFE OF tion, and it was supposed that the opposition of the Independents would of itself be fatal to it. On the 4th of January, I find Mr. Henry Ashhurst writing to one of his Non-Conforming friends in Lancashire, Mr. Newcome of Manchester, "It is upon good grounds supposed that you must have your pulpits again ;" but his correspondent took a juster view of the probable issue: — "When I hear such talk, I think of the story of Sancho the Third, King of Spain ; his elder brother's children were put beside the crown for their helpless infancy, and are kept out to this day ; but the daughter and heir of that line is now married into the family, which is now the Duke of Medina Celi, and every duke doth, in course, once in his time, formally petition the King of Spain for restoration to the crown. The king, in course, gives this answer, 'Mo est liger'' [_No es lugar], ' There is no room.' So our just liberty is talked of, by fits in course, and in course doft off with Mo est liger, There is no room. — God can dig the Rehoboth (Gene- sis xxvi. 22), and then we shall have room ; on him will we wait." On the 18th, Mr. Ashhurst writes: — "Mr. Baxter and Dr. Wilkins [afterwards Bishop of Chester, a great favourer of the measure] were with the Lord Keeper about the drawing of an Act of Comprehension. Mr. Baxter drew up a part of it. Liberty will be granted ; Noiv there is room; because the necessities of the king's affairs enforce him to it. Mr. Baxter fears lest they con- trive some subtle words to entrap good people. Others say the assenting to the Thirty-Nine Articles shall be the qualification of a preaching minister, but there is nothing fully determined." And again, on the 25th : — " Liberty will stand or fall by the Parliament ; but the Speaker of the House of Commons, who is Episcopal, saith that it is fit to place you in your pulpits, because the Lord's hand hath appeared so against us, since your ejection. You see what God can do." And again, February 1 : — " There will certainly now be room, if the Independents OLIVER HEYWOOD. 201 do not frustrate our hopes, by rejecting that which the old Puritans would have leaped at ; they say they desire no more liberty." But on the •24th of March he wrote thus : — " I must now acquaint you with news as sad as true. After all our hopes the Parliament hath turned you all out of doors. On Wednesday last your business was debated, and referred until that day three weeks. Yesterday, unexpectedly, they debated the renewing the Act against Conventicles, when several Hot-spurs pleaded hard for the Lawn-sleeves, pretending such tumultuous meetings would end in rebellion, and forgot nothing that might incense the Moderates themselves, and at twelve o'clock it was ordered that three persons should draw up a new Bill against Conventicles, which will, it is thought, be more severe." The change of ministry did not, therefore, in effect do any thing to change the position of the Non -Conformists till some years after, when, as we shall see, indulgence was granted them by the king's own prerogative. Mr. Heywood's course remained the same after his marriage as before. He held what were termed Con- venticles in his own house, both on Sundays and on other days ; he frequently preached at the houses of the neighbouring gentry to whom his services were accepta- ble, and not unfrequently at the houses of other persons, inhabitants of the villages around him. He sometimes occupied the pulpits in the public chapels ; and he not unfrequently engaged in what may be called preaching- tours, going from one gentleman's house to another in places distant from Coley where the Puritan spirit prevailed. It ^\l[\ not be expected or desired that I should follow him from house to house, which it would be easy to do by the light which his diaries now afford, in which the business of each day is entered ; or that I should proceed to the same extent in my extracts from those diaries as in the notices before given of his proceedings at the be- ginning of his irregular ministrations. But I shall ex- tract sufficient to show his manner of life at this period, 202 THE LIFE OF which was the manner of life of many ministers beside himself; his opinions; the enlargement of the circle of his religious society ; the foundation of the Non-Con- formist congregations, which arose in a great measure in consequence of his exertions ; with passages occa- sionally introduced illustrative of the state of society in those times, or anecdotes preserved by him of occur- rences in the parts of the kingdom in which he lived. On Thursday, September 5, 1667, he went to Bing- ley, a town in the vale of the Aire on the edge of Craven. Mr. Bentley, who had found this an uncom- fortable place of residence, had not attempted to intro- duce Non-Conformist preaching ; and Mr. Heywood observes, that the first private meeting they had had was when he preached that night at Marley-hall, which had been a seat of a branch of the family of Savile, but was then in the hands of Joshua Walker, a tenant. Bingley was regarded by him as a place of great ignorance and profaneness, but he had a considerable auditory who were much affected*. * Bingley is one of several parishes in the West Riding of which no particular account has yet been published ; so that it is not easy to identify the persons, who were all of the better quality, intended by Mr. Heywood in the following passage, the value of which will be un- derstood Avhenever such history of the parish shall be undertaken : — " I being in Bingley parish, August 13, 1672, they were discoursing of the decay there was of persons of quality ; and I can say, since I knew that place, there is a decay of these houses and families ; — Mr. Savile of Marley, Mr. Frank of Cottingley, Mr. Binns of Rush- forth, Mr. Murgatroyd of Riddlesden, Mr. Murgatroyd of Greenhill, Mr. Currow of Nostrop, Mr. Johnson, and others. Some are in debt ; some imprisoned ; some rooted out, title, name ; some dead, posterity beggars. Oh ! what unthriftiness, wickedness, doth, and God's curse for the same. This is a good lesson : Prov. iii. 33. Zech. V. 4." Mr. Savile sold his land, " lived a sharking wandering life ; died at an ale-house near Elland, called Mother's-o'-th'-Cote, January 8, 1668." Mr. Binns, the owner of Rushforth-hall, was a justice of the peace and a great enemy of the Puritans in the three or four years that he lived after the Restoration. " He was a witty man. Left some three sons and as many daughters, and his estate encumbered with a debt of 2000/. The eldest son was improvident, spent apace ; borrowed 700/. of Mr. Benson, clerk of assize, who, to OLIVER HEYVVOOD. 203 In the same month he was engaged in keeping a solemn fast at Robert Ramsden's of Park-nook, and another at his neighbom-'s, Captain Hodgson's, in which he was engaged from eight in the morning till two. On a visit to Lancashire in October he preached with Mr. Pendlebury in Ainsworth, and again in the same township at the house of Mr. Strangeways with Mr. As- pinal, who had been ejected at Mattersey in Nottingham- shire*. He visited his brother at Ormskirk ; preached at Adam Ferniside's in Little Lever in company with Mr. Holme ; and again at Captain Seddon's. On his recover it, compelled him to sell his land, which he did to Mr. Bus- field of Leeds for 2900/., out of which, when Mr. Benson was paid, and the portions to the younger children, nothing remained for him. He became besotted." When the Non- Conformists were allowed to hold meetings in 1673 under licence from the king, Mr. Hey- wood obtained a licence for Rushforth-hall, of which Joshua Walker was the tenant under Mr. Busfield, who, however, soon compelled him to have the licence withdrawn. Of the owners of Riddlesden- hall, Mr. Heywood's account is even less favourable. In the time of the war it was sold to Mr. James Murgati'oyd by Mr. Rushworth, a man of indifferent character, who reserved a room for his own re- sidence, and as much corn and malt as would maintain him, but sold them also, and died miserably at Keighley. Of his two sons, the eldest, named John, died in York Castle, a prisoner for debt, and his younger son lived in an extremely poor condition at Riddlesden. The Murgatroyds were no better. John Murgatroyd succeeded his father ; he was a profane debauched person ; disinherited his eldest son, who married a daughter of Mr. Savile of Marley. The other four sons inherited the estate in quick succession, killing themselves by intemperance. When they were dead, the estate came to the eldest son, who enjoyed it five years, but was extravagant, and mort- gaged it. There are further notices of misconduct, extravagance, vice and imprisonment, and finally the sale of Riddlesden-hall, which Mr. Heywood says was a magnificent house, built new by Mr. James Murgatroyd, who was accounted worth 2000/. a-year. It became the property of Mr. Edmund Starkey. "That family, the Murgat- royds, is the most dreadful instance in the countrj^ ; all that know tell strange passages of them." * To the account of Mr. Aspinal given by Dr. Calamy, it may be added, that he married the widow of one of his parishioners, Gama- liel Lloyd, who died in 1661, leaving a large family of sons, whose pos- terity have been eminently successful at Manchester and elsewhere. 204 THE LIFE OF return home he preached at James Hardman's, near Heywood-chapel, and at Chadwick-hall. In Novemher he and Mr. Dawson went to Mr. Sharp's at Little ^Horton to hold a private fast with Mr. Sale and Mr. Waterhouse " about a special business, and our judgment was desired in an intricate matrimonial case, which seems something dark." Interference on such occasions was not a very unfrequent occurrence in the practice of the Puritan ministry. On November 26 he notices the deaths of " two emi- nent servants of God, Mr. Hawksworth, minister for- merly at Hunslet, buried there yesterday, and Mr. Small- wood, formerly minister at Batley, buried this day. The former died at Alverthorpe-hall on Saturday afternoon, November 23, the latter at Flanshaw, November 24, on Lord's day in the afternoon ; not a quarter of a mile distance, and not a day betwixt their deaths." Dr. Ca- lamy gives an account of both these ministers. In December he ventured again to Leeds, where he preached in the houses of Joseph Jackson and Mr. Spen- cer. He preached also in the public chapels of Bramley and Bramhope to large auditories, repeating his sermon at Bramley at the house of Mr. Rawden. On the 20th he preached at the house of Mrs. Smallwood of Flan- shaw, and " on the day that they call Christmas day" at Bingley, when he preached again at Marley-hall and visited Mr. Robert Ferrand and his son, Mr. Benjamin Ferrand. Before closing the account of events of the year 1667, it must be mentioned that in this year was published his treatise entitled ' Heart-Treasure.' It is the substance of three discourses which he had preached at Coley from the words " A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things," expanded into a work of 287 pages ; and he inscribes it from his study at Co- ley-hall, June 14, 1666, "To his very loving and dearly beloved friends and neighbours, the inhabitants of Coley OLIVER HEYWOOD. 205 and the places adjacent*." It is plain and practical, serious and useful ; with nothing extravagant or enthu- siastic, but full of excellent instruction for a religious life. The readiness, appositeness, and frequency of his quotations from the Fathers and Commentators is a re- markable feature, when we consider how little time his hurried life afforded him for reading and study. His mind appears also to have been full of the biography of religious persons, both Englishmen and foreigners. But nothing is more observable than the use which he makes of the Divine Poems of Herbert, and the taste which is shown in his selections from them. It was the first and best, and most popular of Mr. Heywood's printed wri- tings. Bagshaw, in his De Spiritualibus Pecci, says of it, that it is "a treasure as well as of a treasure ;" and I find it in a list of books recommended to his wife by Gervase Disney, Esq., whose biographical confessions, published in 1692, form a very remarkable picture of the lay Puritan of the severer kind f in the first age after the Act of Uniformity. * The full title of his work is this : — Heart -Treasure, or an Essay tending to fill and furnish the head and heart of every Christian with a soul -enriching treasure of truths, graces, experiences, and comforts ; to help him in meditation, conference, religious performances, spiritual actions, enduring afflictions, and to fit him for all conditions ; that he may live holily, die happily, and go to heaven triumphantly. Being the substance of some sermons preached at Coley in Yorkshire on Matthew xii. 35. By O. H., an unworthy minister of the Blessed Gospel. The book is now exceedingly rare. I have seen only one copy of it. There are other printed writings of Mr. Heywood of which I could never obtain the sight, and shall owe any account of them which may be given hereafter to the republication of them in 1825, and some following years, by Mr. Vint, who has rendered in more ways than one a good service to the public by his diligence in collecting them, and care in reprinting them. In the library of the British Museum, extensive as it is, but deplorably deficient in early English books, there are, I think, only three or four out of fifteen publica- tions of Mr. Heywood. t The passage is remarkable, as showing the books which had su- perseded the writings of Perkins, Bolton, Preston, and Sibbes, as the reading of the Puritans in 1685 : — " Be much in reading and study- ing good books ; these I commend to thee especially, viz. the Holy 206 THE LIFE OF 1668. This year opens with a remarkable event, being no- thing less than the reappearance of Mr. Heywood in his old pulpit in Coley Chapel. "The next Lord's Day, being the first Sabbath in the new year, I preached at Coley Chapel in public. Mr. Hoole having given no- tice the day before that he would be absent, I took the advantage of the vacancy : we concluded of it but within the evening the night before, and the morning was ex- ceedingly windy, so that few could hear the bell ; but in the afternoon there was a very great assembly : — the Lord graciously assisted ; it was a good day ; and for the ef- fect of it, the will of the Lord be done." On the next Sunday he preached in another public chapel, that of Slaug-hthwaite on the borders of Yorkshire and Lanca- shire, " where he had kept many an exercise." He had a difficult and dangerous journey, "being waylaid with snow upon the hills." He lodged as usual, when visit- ing that wild and rough country, at the house of Robert Binns. When at home at this period he " preached thrice a week, according to his custom." On the 26th he preached at the public chapel at Bramley to " a nu- merous crowding congregation," though strongly dis- suaded from doing so by his friend, Elias Hinchball, because Mr. Hardcastle had been taken at a meeting at Bible with Pool's Annotations ; Swinnock's One Cast for Eternity ; Barret's Christian Temper ; Hey wood's Heart-Treasure ; Rayner's Precepts ; Dunton's Heavenly Pastime ; Case's God's Waiting to be Gracious ; Flavel's Fountain of Life ; Bolton's Tost Ship ; R. Al- len's Rebuke to Backsliders ; Janeway's Heaven upon Earth ; Swin- nock's Regeneration ; Love on Heaven's Glory, &c. ; Flavel's Saint Indeed ; Steel of Uprightness ; Calamy's Godly Man's Ark ; Hook- er's Doubting Soul ; Hardcastle's Christian Geography ; Watson on Contentment ; Mede's Almost Christian ; Doolittle on the Sacra- ment ; his Call to Delaying Sinners ; most of Bunyan's Works, very useful if read without prejudice. These books, amongst others, I have had much refreshment from, and heartily commend them to thee." — p. 124. Habent sua fata liheUi ! ^'erily this worthy esquire's taste is less conspicuous than his piety. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 207 Leeds the Thursday before. The next day he preached at Edward Wildman's at Holbeck, close to the corpo- rate town of Leeds, and was hardly to be persuaded not to enter Leeds itself and preach there. But on his friends telling him that a constable was actually on the watch for him, he desisted and went to Beeston, and so to Morley, where he preached at the house of Abraham Dawson to a large company who were quickly assem- bled. From thence he passed to Wakefield " to visit Mr. Hardcastle in the House of Correction, sent thither from Leeds for having a conventicle there : on Friday I dined with him in his reproachful prison, and we had much intercourse together." On the 9th of February he preached at another public chapel, namely, that at Idle in the parish of Calverley, where he had a very numerous congregation. The place w^as then without a regular minister. He went also to Peniston, where he preached in the church, and "went to visit old Mr. Spawford at Mr. Cotton's house." Mr. Spawford had been many years the minister in the church of Silkston, the mother of the Staincross churches, and even of the church of Mottram in Longdendale, in the tongue of Cheshire land interposing between Yorkshire and Lancashire, but doubtless, from the circumstance just named, in remote times a part of Yorkshire. Mr. Spawford was then eighty, and he died in the course of the year. In this journey Mr. Heywood also preached at Wakefield, visited Lady Hoyle* on his way to Leeds, * Lady Hoyle was the widow of Alderman Thomas Hoyle of York, whose unhappy end was made the subject of scoffing by the scurri- lous writers of the time. It is thus spoken of by John Shaw, the ejected minister of Hull, in the memoirs which he left of his own life : — " On which day, the year followdng, namely, January 30, 1649-50, and about the same hour of the day that the king suffered, Mr. Thomas Hoyle, alderman of York, and burgess in the Parliament for York, hanged himself in his chamber at "Westminster. He was well known to me, and my daughter Emote lived in his family at York. He was generally accounted a very good man ; but before his death he grew excessively melancholy, as his lady is at this pre- sent. It was commonly reported that he was one of those that 208 THE LIFE OF and there he was received by Mr. Hickson, but does not state that he preached. But in March he preached twice at Leeds, where I own T meet with him with less satis- faction than at other places, because other places were scenes of less danger, and did not require his services less than Leeds. On his way to Leeds he met Mrs. Mil- ner, of Pudsey, at Ellis Bury's, where he preached with special reference to her troubled condition. In this journey also he preached at Gildersome. The anniversary of the day of the ministers' banish- ment from their homes, March 25, was observed by some of them in the same manner as the greater day of Saint Bartholomew when the provisions of the Act of Uniformity came into force. The fast in this year was kept at Richard Robinson's. In the next event he seems to have yielded a little, though but a little, to the oppo- sition made to him. " On Lord's Day, March 29, I spent the Sabbath at James Brooksbank's, being per- suaded to it because of a proclamation the day before at Halifax against conventicles ; but at four o'clock at night I preached at home, and had a full auditory." It is clear that he had been uneasy in mind while at the house of his more cautious friend. Religious conferences were amongst the exercises of the Puritans of these times. Mr. Heywood was present passed sentence of death against the king in the High Court the year before ; but it was a clear mistake or slander, for he was then neither in the court nor near the city at the time." — Memoirs of the Life of John Shaw, some time vicar of Rotherham, printed as a pri- vate work by John Broadley, Esq., from the manuscript copy in the Museum, 12mo, Hull, 1824, p. 63. In The Antiquities of York City , 8vo, 1719, it is said that " he was found dead by his lady, she having been abroad that morning," p. 111. When Mr. Heywood visited her she was living at the house of Mr. George Foster at Thwaites, near Leeds, who managed her affairs, she being "under sore afflic- tion of spirit by desertion and melancholy several years." He preached and prayed in her chamber. Mr. Heywood visited her again in July, in which month she died, and was buried at Sandal on the 24th. Mr. Heywood says that before her death she gave them a sign by lifting up her hands that God was returned. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 209 at one which was held at Uenton-hall, then the residence of Mrs. Arderne. Mr. Martindale was there, and both he and Mr, Heywood spoke extemporarily on the re- deeming of time. On the 8th of April he kept a private fast at Man- chester with Mr. Newcome, and Mr. Goodwin who had been ejected at Bolton, of whom Calamy says, that after his ejectment he lived at Manchester, where he studied chemistry and was a great proficient. " God wonder- fully helped : I hear since it was the day appointed for the Parliament debating the business of Non-Conform- ists' liberty, and it is a token for good." He went to Oldham to visit the family of Mr. Hopwood under great affliction ; preached at his cousin Judith Heaward's house at Hollinwood, and at the public chapel in Ainsworth, where he had a large congregation and no interruption, though the high sheriff, Mr. Greenhalgh of Brandle- some, and his father-in-law. Dr. Bridgeman, dean of Chester, were within two miles. He preached again at the chapel on the succeeding Sunday, and in the evening at James Pilkington's. He preached also at the house of James Hardman, at Broadfield, near Heyw^ood Cha- pel. In May he visited Rawden, and preached to a consi- derable number. " Though the old gentleman be dead, yet we are sweetly entertained : he died April 25 ; was near eighty-six years of age." He then went to Bram- hope and Arthington. At the latter place he visited an afflicted gentlewoman, Mrs. Arthington, "who is my Lord Fairfax's sister." Preaching the next night at William Thomson's, near Kirkstall Abbey, Mr. Foxcroft, a justice of the peace and alderman of Leeds, interrupted them. Mr. Heywood was conveyed out by a back way, and it does not appear that any of the persons present were fined. Notwithstanding he went into Leeds, preached, and walked about the streets as if it were not a prohi- bited place ; visited Mr. Hardcastle, then in prison there ; and this though, on May 31, Mr. Hancock, for preach- p 210 THE LIFE OF ing at Alverthorpe, was committed to the castle of York by Mr. Copley of Batley. On the same day, Mr. Hey- wood was preaching in his own house to a large auditory. In July he was at Knaresborough with Mr. Nathaniel Hey wood, when he visited Mr. William Kitchen at Ri- pon, who had lately married a daughter of Captain Hodgson. He visited also Mr. Cholmley of Braham, a gentleman of fortune and ancient family. He went again to Leeds, where he preached at the dedication of a new house, built by R. H. (Robert Hickson.) In August he visited Mr. Dyneley at Flanshaw-hall, son to Mr. Dyneley of Bramhope ; was at Wakefield and Leeds, and extended his journey to York, another pro- hibited place. He found Mr. Rider there, and preached frequently. On the 30th he preached all day at the chapel at Idle. In September he visited his friends in Lancashire, preached at Gorton Chapel and elsewhere ; went on to Chester, another prohibited place, where he preached at his cousin Bullen's and Mr. Greg's ; went to Tarvin, and preached there at his cousin Nathaniel Greg's, and to Warrington, where he preached at Mr. Samuel Lied- ger's. He preached at Shaw Chapel on his return. " November 3, having been two Lord's Days at home, T went to Houghton to my Lady Rodes', where we had a solemn fast on Wednesday ; Mr. Clayton, of Rother- ham, and I preached and prayed, and Mr. Kirby closed the work with prayer. The day after, being the 5th of November, my lady prevailed with us to stay and spend some time in thankfulness. Mr. Grant began, and I preached and prayed, and Mr. Kirby concluded*." November 1 1 , there was a conference at Mr. Hey- wood's, the subject being Original sin. In this year he published his second work, entitled ' Closet-Prayer a Christian Duty.' It is a long and ex- cellent discourse on Matthew vi. 6. * Lady Rodes was the widow of Sir Edward Rodes, who died Februarj- 19, 1666, and daughter of Sir Hammond Whichcote. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 211 1669. " This day, being January 29, we have been interring the corpses of old Mr. Hill and his wife. He was aged eighty years within a few weeks ; she near as old. They had lived many years together. He died on Wednesday, betwixt eleven and twelve o'clock. She died at three o'clock the same day. Seven Non-Conformist ministers laid him in the grave." This was Mr. Edward Hill, formerly of Christ's College, Cambridge, who had been ejected at Crofton, near Wakefield. On the Five Mile Act he settled himself at Shibden, near Mr. Hey wood's residence. March 28, he preached at Hunslet Chapel to a very large congregation. In April, being in Lancashire, he preached the funeral sermons of Mr. Park, and of his uncle Francis Critchlaw, at Bradshaw Chapel. He notices the death of Mr. Elkana Wales, who died at Mr. Hickson's at Leeds on May 1 1 ; the fourth death in the Yorkshire Non-Conforming ministers of Mr. Hey- wood's neighbourhood. January 26, he preached at Morley in the chapel, and when he was in the pulpit, while a psalm was singing, Mr. Broadhead, vicar of Batley, Morley being a member of that parish, " comes up tossing among the crowd up the alley, and got with much ado to the clerk ; bade him tell Mr. Heywood to come down and let him have his own pulpit, and then hasted away to Batley ; told Jus- tice Copley what a multitude of people there were at Morley hearing a Non-Conformist : he took no notice of it ; bade let us alone ; and so through God's mercy we enjoyed the day quietly." He visited Mr. Marshal, the minister, and lodged at Hague-hall. July 4, he preached again at his old chapel of Coley ; and again on September 19, Mr. Hoole being absent. July 7, the shock of an earthquake was distinctly felt. It was felt also at Bradford, Idle, and as far as Ripon*. * It was observed also in Lancashire and about London. p2 212 THE LIFE OF He visited Alderman Hewet and his wife at Wakefield, and Timothy Smith at Leeds, where he met Mr. Illing- worth, another Non-Conformist divine. He kept a fast in company with Mr. Nesse, a minister of CongregationEil sentiments, at Leeds. August, preached again at Lady Rodes' ; lodged at John Scurr's at Hague-hall. October 28, another Yorkshire Non-Conforming mi- nister was buried, the elder Mr. Root, who was interred at Sowerby with much solemnity*. November, he is preaching at Leeds and in the neigh- bourhood. At Leeds his friends who entertain him are J. Cummins, Mr. Spencer, and Mr. Paul Thoresby, an * The account of this Mr. Root, given by Dr. Calamy, being de- fective in many points, I shall take the jjresent opjiortunity of making some additions. He was born about 1590, educated in Magdalene College, Oxford, and travelled much abroad in his j^ounger days. Dr. Calamy then skips over the events of his life till the year 1645, when he was pastor of an Independent church at Sowerby, where he M^as living when the Act of Uniformity was passed in 1662. But it appears by Mr. Hey wood's Life of Angler, that in 1632 there was a design of placing him in the chapel of Denton, which was favoured by the two Hydes of Norbury and Denton, but opjiosed by another considerable person there, Mr. Holland of Denton. This was when Mr. Broxholme was silenced, and Mr. Angier was chosen. He ob- tained, however, a settlement in the same parish of Manchester, be- coming minister of the chapel at Gorton; and we find him in 1634 baptizing the daughter of Mr. Angier, who became the wife of Mr. Heywood, and joining with Mr. Horrocks in preaching sermons on the day of Mr. Angier's second marriage to Mrs. Margaret Moseley in 1643. In that year he was placed in the church of Halifax, and in or about 1646 he retired from Halifax and settled at Sowerby. In 1646 he engaged in the Lancashire controversy between the Pres- byterians and Independents, the title of his tract being J Just apology for the Church of Duckenfiekl. After the Uniformity Act, IVIr. Root continued among his people at Sowerby, but he was harshly treated, being sent to the castle at York for very trifling infringement of the law in respect of ecclesiastical affairs. His son, Timothy Root, was also an ejected minister, being settled at Sowerby-bridge Chapel when the Act took i)lace. He continued a Non-Conformist for many years, partaking largely of the hardshi])s of the time ; but at length, as late as 1685, he conformed, and had the rectory of Howden. But he lived not long, dying at Beverley in 1687. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 213 alderman, great-uncle to Ralph Thoresby, the antiquary of Leeds. 1670. January, preaching at Honley ; and at Hulme, at the house of Mr. Earnshaw. At length the magistracy interfere: — "Upon Satur- day, March 12, I went to Bramhope ; preached there upon the Lord's day. Monday night went to George 's house at Little Woodhouse ; there preached ; and before I had done was apprehended by constables ; carried to the mayor*, who put me to the common pri- son, called Capon-hall or Cappon-callf ; by the mediation of friends was released on Tuesday, this March 15, the same day forty years after I was baptized." Mr. Hey- wood designed to write a fuller account of this affair, but I have not seen it|. When at hberty he began again to preach even in the same parish of Leeds. " I preached on Wednesday night at Joseph Wood's, near Bramley ; came home on Thursday. Blessed be God for this journey." — "On Friday, March 25, we had a private day at Mr. Dawson's." On the 27th he preached in public all day at Idle, where he was entertained at Thomas Ledger's. He also went to Horsford, where he preached at the house of John Clarkson. New names of friends now appear : — "Went on Mon- day to visit Mr. Thorpe ; Josiah Oates, not being well ; William Heaward at Wakefield, after the death of his good wife ; went back to Flanshaw, where I had ap- * The mayor of Leeds, then Godfrey Lawson, Esq. t The name of the prison is written plainly in Mr. Hey wood's MS., but it does not occur in Tlioresby's Survey of the town. + In the account of Mr. Heywood in Dr. Calamy's work, com- municated probably by Mr. Heywood himself, it is said " the mayor treated him like a fury. He asked whether he had not been once in their hands already. Mr. Heywood answered with some address, that he was never in prison, but once for the king in Sir George Booth's risinff. 214 THE LIFE OF pointed to meet old Mr. Dyneley at his son's ; lodged there : on Tuesday, after dinner, went to Healy, where I preached at widow Heaton's to a considerable num- ber." In May he preached at the chapel at Coley. In the midst of the sermon in the afternoon Stephen Ellis came in with the churchwardens and took down the names of divers persons whom they found there, Mr. Hey wood still continuing the service. In June he visited Mr. Dyneley at Bramhope, Ar- thington, Rawden, where now lived Mr. Coates, the ejected minister, whom he had before visited at his house at Wath, near Rotherham*, but who had now become resident on his own lands at Rawden, where he was born. July 3, he preached all day in the church of Peniston. On Monday he dined with Mr. Nailor at Ecclands, and lodged at Mr. Riche's of Bull- house f. July 10, he preached three times at home, and next morning he found himself again under the animadver- sion of the magistracy. " The churchwardens and over- seer came to this house ; told Captain Hodgson they had a warrant on Sabbath-day night from two justices, Mr. White j and Mr. Copley §, to make distress upon my goods for ten pounds ; and because of my poverty to lay it upon other two men, Richard Kershaw and William Pollard of Wyke, five pounds a-piece, for being at that * See Calamy, Account, p. 530, for this Mr. Samuel Coates, who was ejected at West Bridgeford in Nottinghamshire. His daughter married one of the Bagshaws in Derbyshire. t Sylvanus Riche, the son of Captain WiUiam Riche, who had a commission under Fairfax. He had married one of the family of Wordsworth of Waterhall. The family became extinct in 1769 by the death of his grandson, Aymer Riche, Esq. They founded the dissenting chapel at Bull-house. :J; Francis Whyte, Esq., the recorder of Leeds and Pontefract, grandson of Dr. Francis Whyte, bishop of Elj^ § Edward Copley of Batley, whose name has occurred before. He was grandson of John Lord Savile of Howley. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 215 conventicle at Coley Chapel when I preached there. These officers wanted Mr. Hodgson's assistance, being an overseer. On Tuesday morning they came and showed me the warrant ; demanded ten pounds ; told me it was best to pay, since money cannot be under- valued, but goods may. Upon my refusal they came on Wednesday morning, that is, James Mitchel of Crow- nest, constable, Thomas Hanson of Mitham, church- warden, Samuel Wadington of Norwood-green, overseer, and brought three men with them to take down and help to hurry out my goods. They swept all away ; three good chests, three tables, chairs, stools, my bed, bed- ding, curtains — all my goods, except a cupboard and some chairs, are gone. They carried them to John Appleyard's at Shut ; appointed R. Langley and Nich. Empsal to prize them ; they rated them, together with ten books, to ten pounds and a noble ; cheap penni- worths ! All this was on Wednesday, July 13, 1670. Blessed be God ! In the afternoon I preached on the text, Heb. x. 34*. On Friday I preached again on the same text, and on Saturday went into Lancashire f." This distraint was made under the new Act against Conventicles, 22 Charles II. ch. 1, which came into force on May 10, 1670. July 23. "I went to Pool ; preached in a chapel there on Lord's Day peaceably : blessed be God that a new unheard-of door is open for God's people." Au- gust 6, he preached at Shadw^ell in the midst of dangers and alarms ; went to Leeds, where this time he was not invited to preach. August 21, he preached again at Pool, and afterwards visited Mr. Dyneley, The 24th was observed as a fast in his own house. "August 28, the younger Mr. Root preached at Shad- * " Ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance." t See more of the details of this seizure in Mr. Slate's ' Life of Mr. Heywood.'— ff7/o/e irorks, i. 147—150. 216 THE LIFE OF well, when Lord Savile*, Mr. Copley, Mr. Hammond, and forty of Lord Freschvile's troopers from York came, took Mr. Root, carried him to York, and put him in the castle ; took four hundred or five hundred names of people, seized on their horses, made them pay five shil- lings a-piece before they had them. I was earnestly desired to have been there that day. He was kept close prisoner ; put into the low gaol among twelve thieves ; had double irons laid on him for four days and nights ; but on Captain Hodgson's importunity with Mr. Copley was released." On October 4 Mr. Hey wood went to Slaughthwaite to help Mr. Root in a day of thanks- giving for his deliverance out of prison, " and God was seen on that day." Captain Hodgson accompanied him. I am unwilling to omit what I find in the diary under December 15: — "1 was wanted at home, for Richard Langley's eldest son John was fallen suddenly sick. I went to visit him on Thursday in the afternoon, but he was not sensible. I saw he was gone : he died on Tues- day evening, December 15. The night before he died, T being with him, there was a candle standing on the cupboard, a great one, none near it, which I observed did swaile up in a blue blaze several times, and then went out of itself; and though I think none but myself observed the manner of its expiring, yet all smelt the snuff. I thought it strange, and looked upon it as an emblem and presage of death." I leave it without com- ment, as a singular accident resting on credible evidence, and the more singular as being coincident in time with so important a family event. In this year he found time in the midst of his labours to prepare a second part of his ' Heart's Treasure.' This he entitles ' The Sure Mercies of David,' it being in fact a sermon, much enlarged, we may believe, on the text, Isaiah Iv. 3. * It is not clear which member of the family of Savile is intended by Mr. Heywood ; nor does it appear that there was at that period, 1G70, any one who would be projicrly det-cribed as "Lord fefivilc." OLIVER HEYWOOD. 217 1671 Early in this year we find Mr. Heywood in a part of Lancashire which he does not appear to have visited hefore. It was Mr. Jollie's district, the parts about Clitheroe, his house being situated on the north side of Pendle-hill. It was an exchange ; Mr. Jollie came to Coley, and Mr. Heywood went to his people. On March 12, he had appointed to preach at Woodhead-chapel, in one of the passes of the mountains which separate Lan- cashire and Yorkshire ; but it was a terrible storm of snow, making the moors impassable, so he remained at Hulme, and preached at Mr. Earnshaw's. On Monday night he preached again at Mr. Earnshaw's, and the same night, after nine o'clock, he rode three miles and preached again at Godfrey Armitage's at Lidget, in Kirk-Burton parish. In the same month he preached at Heckmondwike. In April we find him buying land. None of Mr. Hey- wood 's accounts of receipt and expenditure have been preserved ; but it is evident that he cannot have lived all these years, conducting these frequent religious ser- vices, without gratuities from those who benefited by them. It is true, not many great, not many noble, were called ; but he cannot have visited such families as the Fairfaxes, Arthingtons, Dyneleys, Rawdens, Rodes', or the Sotwells, Cottons, Wordsworths and Riches, without receiving from them gratuities which would bear some proportion not only to their estimate of the value of his very acceptable services, but also to their sense of the sacrifices which he had made in what they deemed a just and holy cause. His ether friends were, for the most part, the lesser gentry, or the better kind of yeomanry, — men whose names are not perhaps in the heralds' books, but men of substantial property, and whose sober and religious habits of life gave them the better power of being liberal and generous with their less affluent means. However, certain it is, that in the year of which we are 218 THE LIFE OF speaking, he added to his estate at Little Lever by a pur- chase of land adjoining to it. "T must confess 'tis strange I should buy land in such a day as this ; but my case is almost like the prophet's, I was necessitated to buy it, and that God that cast it unsought-for on me can tell how to see it is discharged, though I had never so much money together in all my life. Jeremiah xxxii. 7, 8—12." It now appears that Mr. Heywood's goods which had been taken under the distress had found no purchasers near his residence. They remained in a neighbouring barn ; from whence, on June 6, they were taken away by Robert Reiner, a bailiff of Wakefield. On June 13, he preached again at John Armitage's at the Lidget to a great number. On June 16, he had a private day at Captain Hodg- son's, on his son, Timothy Hodgson, going to be chap- lain to Sir John Hewley at York. We shall hear of him again. He spent the greater part of his life in the family of Sir John and Lady Hewley*. August, he went to York in the assize-week ; preached twice at Lady Watson's on the Sunday, and heard a sermon twice in public. He frequently attended the ser- vices in the churches. He was at York five days, and preached frequently. He went to Mr. Hutton's at Pop- pletonf for a night. On his return visited Mr. Haw- * I need scarcely apprize the reader that this is the lady whose benefactions to the Non-Conforming ministry have been of late years the subject of so much litigation. t This family was closely connected with the heads of the Pres- byterian party in Yorkshire. Richard Hutton of Poppleton, grand- son of Archbishop Matthew Hutton, married one of the daughters of Ferdinando Lord Fairfax, and died in 1G48 ; but the widow lived till 1687. His sister was the wife of Edward Bowles, the Presbyterian minister at York, who did so much to facilitate the admission into that city of Monk and his army, in their march upon London, in 1660. One of the sons married a daughter of Sir Edward Rodes of Great Houghton ; another, who settled at Pudsey, married one of the daughters of James Sale, the ejected minister ; and his son married a daughter of Richard Thorpe, another of the ejected minis- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 219 den at Sherburn, and Captain Drake at Pontefract, where he preached on the Sunday in a malt-house. The 24th of August he kept as a fast, " black Bartholomew Day." It was a private fast, none but the family being present. Each prayed in turn, he, the wife, the two sons and the maid, beginning with the youngest. Nov. 11, Saturday. " I and my wife weut to Hague- hall, where I preached on Lord's Day ; had a consider- able auditory. On Monday we went to Wakefield ; called at Alverthorpe ; lodged with Mr. Jonas Dickson. On Tuesday I visited friends in Wakefield ; went to Flanshaw, dined with Mr. Bodley and several friends ; lodged there with Mr. Dyneley ; called on Wednesday at Chickenley, at Mr. Josiah Oates' house*, and home that night." 1672. At the beginning of this year he was again preaching at Joshua Walker's, near Bingley. He went to Arthing- ton " to visit that good gentlewoman," Mrs. Arthington, then a widow ; kept a solemn day at Bramhope, where Mr. Root and he preached, and old Mr. Holdsworth " administered the Supper ;" went to Leeds, preached at John Cummins' ; preached at the chapel at Bramley on the first Sunday in the new year. " On Lord's Day, January 14, I preached at home ; there was a great assembly, because none were at chapel. ters, both of whom are frequently mentioned in these pages. They were great benefactors to the chapel at Hopton. Mr. Holdsworth was ejected at Poppleton by the Act. * Chickenley is a hamlet in the parish of Dewsbury. This is the second time that we have found Mr. Haywood visiting at Mr. Gates', who was then a young man, having been boni in 1643. The inti- macy thus begun continued through the remainder of Mr. Hey- wood's life. Mr. Oates sent one of his sons to Leeds, where he was a successful merchant, and died in 1729, "a great loss to his large family and to Mill-hill congregation," says a contemporary minister who knew him. Many of his posterity have resided at Leeds, and been supporters and ornaments of the Dissenting interest in that town. 220 THE LIFE OF About one o'clock tidings came that Stephen Ellis had got a warrant and was resolved to come to break us up, which occasioned me to break off and dismiss them ; the rest of the day Captain Hodgson and I spent in prayer." January 23. " I went to Heckmondwike, where I preached at Abraham Naylour's ; had a large assembly." February 6. "I went to the burial of Mrs. Horton* ; and on February 12 to the funeral of Richard Hoyle's fourth son, who had been all strangely taken with strange diseases ; pined away ; they have suspected some witch- craft f ; O that they saw the Lord's hand !" February 25. "I helped at a private fast at William Cordingley's with old Mr. Holdsworth and his sonj." * This lady was the owner of Coley-hall, where Mr. Hey wood lived ; " a gentlewoman of 1000/. a-year; lived sparingly, and usually had but ordinary clothes. Many things considerable about her. Several of the servants were affrighted with a great knocking and variety of music the night before she died. We had a very great solemnity [at the funeral], multitudes of people. Dr. Hooke preached a fine flourishing flaunting sermon. I pray God it may do good. These scriptures were fresh in my thoughts. Psalm cxlix. 6, ad fin. Prov. xvi. 4." t The notices in Mr. Heywood's papers of this kind of delusion are not unfrequent. He relates of one Joseph Hinchliffe and his wife, that they were accused of this crime of witchcraft, and bound over to appear at the Assizes to answer the charge, but could not bear it, for on Thursda)'- morning, February 4, 1675, he hanged him- self in a wood near his house, and was not found till the Sunday. In the mean time the wife died, praying for those that had falsely ac- cused her. We may admire the vigour of devotional and i)ious sen- timent, and respect a devoted reverence for every thing that appears to be countenanced by the language of the Scriptures, but we cannot but perceive how needful it is that these feehngs should be chastised by a cool judgement and common sense. \ Both the Holdsworths, who were ejected in Yorkshire, are no- ticed by Dr. Calamy, but he does not say that they were father and son. -They were both named Josiah. The elder was born at Rip- ponden, in Halifax parish, was ejected at Poppleton, and died at Wakefield October 18, 1677, aged 75. The younger was ejected at Sutton, in the East Riding, became chajilain to Sir Richard Hogh- ton, but returned to Yorkshire, and in 1672 set up a meeting at Heckmondwike. He died in 1685, aged 50. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 221 Many journeys he went of which I have taken no no- tice, as they were to visit parties who have been already mentioned as having opened their doors to him, and listened to his instructive, awakening and often eloquent discourses, and joined with him in those devotional ex- ercises which must have been striking and affecting, as they could suspend in attention those who heard him for two or three hours without intermission. But I fear that I mav have descended to too great minuteness of detail, and wearied the patience of many of my readers by this attempt to preserve and make known the names of those who were founders of Protestant Non-Con- formity, or, what is the same thing, Protestant Dissent, in the parts of the kingdom to which the labours of Mr. Heywood were principally applied. But, having mentioned them once or twice, there will be the less necessity for introducing such details in the further pro- gress of this work. In a tabular synopsis which Mr. Heywood drew up of his ministerial labours, we find that in the seven years from 1666 to 1672 he preached 436 week-day sermons, kept 151 fasts, and thirty-eight days of thanksgiving; and travelled 5028 miles. Add to this his Sunday du- ties. When at home his time was passed in religious meditation, and in devotional exercises which were often as intense as those of which we read in the lives of the most holy of the hermits, or the most seraphic of the friars. 222 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XL 1672. SUDDEN CHANGE IN THE POLICY OF THE COUNTRY RESPECTING THE NON-CONFORMISTS. THE KING's DECLARATION FOR INDULGENCE. DIFFICULTIES IN ACCEPTING THE LIBERTY. MODE OF PROCEDURE. ADDRESS FROM THE LANCASHIRE MINISTERS. DECLARATION OF A PORTION OF THE YORKSHIRE MINISTERS. FORM OF APPLICATION FOR LICENSES. MR. HEYWOOD's LICENSE. HIS REMOVAL TO HIS OWN HOUSE AT NORTHOWRAM. FITS UP THE LARGEST ROOM AS A PLACE FOR WORSHIP. FORMS HIS CONGREGATION IN CHURCH ORDER. MUTUAL PLEDGE AND DECLARATION. UNION WITH HIM OF MANY INDEPENDENTS. FOUNDATION OF THE CONGREGATION AT WARLEY. HIS TRAVELS DURING THIS SUMMER, AND THE RISE OF LICENSED MEETING-HOUSES IN VARIOUS PLACES. FOUNDATION OF AN ACADEMY FOR THE EDUCATION OF NON-CONFORMING MINISTERS. REVIVAL OF PRESBYTERIAN ORDINATION. The year 1672 is a very memorable one in the history of Protestant Non-Conformity. Early in the year a great and sudden change took place in the policy of the country. It was determined by the king's advisers that he should dispense with the penal laws against the Non-Conformists, and that the ministers should be allowed, on certain easy conditions, to conduct religious services in such manner and places as to them should seem meet. This was to be done by virtue of the king's prerogative, as supreme in eccle- siastical affairs, it being well known that Parliament would not have given its sanction to the measure, so great was the dread of an intention on the part of the king to introduce Popery, and so strong the persuasion of the importance of maintaining the Protestant Church OLIVER HEYWOOD. 223 of England in its full strength, as the great defence against such a design. The change was therefore announced by a Declaration issued on the king's sole authority. The Declaration was to the effect that " there was very little fruit of all those forcible courses and many frequent ways of coercion that had been used for reducing all erring and dissenting persons ; wherefore, by virtue of his supreme power in matters ecclesiastical, he suspends all penal laws about them, and offers to allow a convenient num- ber of public meeting-places to men of all sorts that did not conform, provided they took out licenses, set open the doors to all comers, and preached not seditiously nor against the discipline or government of the Church of England." This Declaration was published on the 15th of March. It came upon persons in whose favour it was issued quite unexpectedly, and they at first scarcely knew how to receive it. No one could take the benefit of it with- out acknowledging the king's dispensing power — a ha- zardous admission, and very incongruous with the part which they had taken in the preceding times. It cannot, indeed, be denied that the acceptance of the boon was in effect to admit the king's power to dispense with the operation of Acts of Parliament in which the national will was embodied, when they concerned in any way ecclesiastical affairs. This was a very dangerous admis- sion, since, though used now in their favour, it might hereafter be used for the purpose of bringing back Popery, to which the king was, on some good grounds, suspected to incline, as well as his brother. This disturbed the minds of some of the ministers of both denominations : but the Presbyterians were alarmed at the thought that it gave too much encouragement to the sectaries, and would thus tend to the injury of the church. Others of them feared the introduction by its means of heresies ; and all seem to have seen that its effect would be to place them 224 THE LIFE OF in the same position witli the sectaries; to force them, in fact, into that position, and so to reduce very greatly their chance of comprehension. The Independents could have nothing to object against it, except the point of prerogative and the possible facilities which it might make for the introduction of Popery ; and they went up first with an address, acknow- ledging the king's goodness and declaring their accept- ance of the favour. But the Presbyterians in London were not long after them. Both were very graciously received. Dr. Calamy says that the addresses were very cautiously worded. All was done within a fortnight of the appearance of the Declaration. The intelligence was soon conveyed into the country. On Monday, the 18th of March, Mr. Hey wood was keeping a private fast at the house of John Smith in the parish of Bradford. He says that on that occasion he " prayed with more enlargedness than usual for the church, and for poor ministers, that their mouths might be opened ; when lo ! an answer ; for on the next morn- ing two messengers came to my house, one from Halifax, the other from Leeds, bringing the welcome intelli- gence." The texts, Ezra vii. 27, and Isaiah Ixv. 24, came into his mind. I do not find in Mr. Heywood's papers much on this subject, except acknowledgment of the divine favour in having removed the impediments to the exercise of his ministry. Of the political considerations connected with the measure, he thought, it is probable, very little. His desire and design was to do God service in the zealous prosecution of his duties as a minister, and he thought of little else. Yet, even he was not fully satisfied ; and he writes thus : — " There is cause of grief that Papists and Atheists enjoy so much liberty ; but we have oppor- tunity of resistance ; we have liberty to do good, as they have to do hurt." The intelligence reached Manchester on the 18th. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 225 One of the first thoughts which arose in the mind of Mr. Newcome was, the difficulty of reconcihng the en- joyment of the new hberty proposed to them with the principle of adherence to a National Church. " Some of us," says he, " desirous to enjoy the benefit of it, and yet to retain our principles of anti-separation or any appearance of it, did agree to write a letter to Alderman Ashurst, to wait upon the bishop and to desire his advice and assistance in it, especially for the obtaining liberty for void chapels and churches where the incum- bents could give leave." This letter was written on the 30th of March, and was signed by Mr. Holbrook, Mr. Richardson, Mr. Lever, Mr. Scoles, Mr. Risley, Mr. Finch, Mr. Bell, Mr. Angier, Mr. Newcome, Mr. Con- stantine, Mr. Eaton and Mr. Jones, all Non-Conforming ministers residing at Manchester and in its immediate vicinity. A reply was received from a minister in Lon- don, probably Mr. Stretton, which opens a view of the method in which the court meant to proceed in granting the licenses: — " This day I was with Sir Joseph Wil- liamson, through whose hands this business passes under Lord Arlington, who readily granted me a license to preach in any licensed place, and another for the place I nominated, both to be ready immediately." The writer then mentioned the names of other ministers for whom he desired licenses, but he was informed that govern- ment expected application should be made from persons in the country by themselves, with an acknowledgment of the favour of His Majesty towards them in granting this indulgence, and that they meant to use it with mo- deration and peaceableness. In respect to the application that they might be allowed to preach in public churches or chapels, that was absolutely refused. A minister might name his own house, or any other convenient place. It was also required that the minister's opinion be punctually stated, whether he was of the Presbyterian, Independent, or Anabaptist persuasion, or denomination Q 226 THE LIFE OF as it was afterwards called*. At this interview Sir Joseph Williamson urged the propriety of an application being made in all cases in the form of an address or petition^ and he said that the court expected applications to be made without delay. The reason of this is appa- rent. Written pledges were thus obtained from the heads of the Presbyterian body at once of their approval of the dispensing power, and their willingness to step down from their high position as men bent on effecting a change in the constitution of the National Church, to become mere separatists, each officiating in his own place licensed for the purpose by public authority, and to his own little community of followers. A minister who took a license for his house at the Hermitage in Cheshire, wrote thus, on the 9th of April : — " I would willingly have my own house licensed, since it may be no prejudice to my liberty elsewhere. I am very much afraid that in the general this course will run us into absolute Independency and separation ; and that in the public places, where the usual hours are taken (as they will generally be throughout England), the present church's harvest will be thin of ears ; and where these hours are not taken, excepting amongst a very few sober people, nothing will be done." Philip Henry took nearly the same view : — " The danger is, lest the allowing of separate places help to overthrow our parish-order, which God hath owned, and to beget divisions and animosities amongst us, which no honest heart but would rather should be healed. We are put hereby into a trilemma ; either to turn Independents in practice, or to strike in with the Con- formists, or to sit down in former silence and suffering, till the Lord shall open a more effectual door." Adam Martindale, a very sensible man, but in this point * Baxter, who was never without his doubt and scruple, refused to accept of a license in which any of these words were contained. He would be styled only a Non-Conformist. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 227 extremely bigoted, expresses his judgement thus: — " I confess I was not satisfied whether the king could, by his prerogative, suspend the execution of all ecclesiastical laws ; but this was above my skill. And I did so little like a universal toleration, that I have oft said and once writ in answer to a book which Mr. Baxter after more largely answered in print, that if the king had offered me my liberty upon condition that I would consent that Papists, Quakers and all other wicked sects should have theirs also, I think I should never have agreed to it. But seeing the king's license did but help to clear my way to do that which I would have done without it if I could have been suffered, being, as I believed, illegally rent from my people by the patron and bishop, and that the Papists and all others must have their liberty whether I would or no, T resolved to take mine, that I might help to countervail them." But, notwithstanding these difficulties, the general feeling throughout the Non-Conforming body was, that the Indulgence ought to be accepted ; and addresses and applications flowed in from all parts of the kingdom, and were graciously received. It cannot however be doubted that the Presbyterians at this time made a great sacrifice of principle, and allowed themselves to be forced into the position which the Independents had occupied on principle and from choice. And hence it is that Bishop Stillingfleet represents the acceptance of the In- dulgence offered at this time as the true beginning of English Protestant Dissent. On the 19th of April, Mr. Heywood, who, though he had been long settled in Yorkshire, ever considered him- self as nearly connected with the ministers of his native county, was at Manchester, where he spent the forenoon in prayer with Mr, Newcome and Mr. Finch ; and in the afternoon there was a meeting of eighteen ministers, " to consult about our use of the king's Declaration ; there was a great harmony." Q 2 228 THE LIFE OF The following address was agreed upon: — " To the King's Most Excellent Majesty, " The most humble and dutiful acknowledgment of the Non-Conforming Ministers in the County of Lancaster ; " May it please Your Most Excellent Majesty, " We, your most loyal and faithful subjects, being deeply sensible of your princely clemency and favourable inclination towards us manifested in your most gracious Declaration of Indulgence, dated JNIarch 15, 1671-2, make this our most humble and grateful acknowledg- ment thereof, sincerely promising our constant and cordial endeavours, to the utmost of our capacity, to promote Your Majesty's honour, interest and authority, as also our peaceable and inoffensive deportment in the exercise of the liberty so freely vouchsafed to us ; whereby as (by God's assistance) we shall evidence that our Non- Conformity was not out of any disaffection or disloyalty to Your Majesty's person or government, so we shall give Your Majesty such cause to be confident of our loyalty as we hope may encourage you to continue your royal favour, and to confirm your gracious indulgence and clemency towards us." This address was signed by thirty-eight Presbyterian ministers, and six Independents. Among the former are Mr. Angier, Mr. Newcome, Mr. Nathaniel Heywood and Mr. Samuel Angier ; and amongst the latter Mr. Briscoe and Mr. Jollie. Of what was done by the Yorkshire ministers I find no account, except that in May there was a meeting of a portion of them at York, at which, after much debate, the following declaration was agreed upon. (Mr. Hey- wood was not present) : — " We, knowing that union and communion is the ground and strength of all lasting society, sacred and civil, and seriously considering the great evils that OLIVER HEYVVOOD. 229 have come and may befall a church and kingdom by heresy and schism on the one hand, and sedition and rebellion on the other (these breaking the bonds of loy- alty and well-grounded peace, the other of truth and charity), have resolved, that, as we do with all thank- fulness accept His Majesty's Indulgence to us of liberty to exercise our ministry, which is far more dear to us than all worldly concernments ; so in making use of it we will endeavour it may be done without the least tendency to division or any breach of loyalty or obedi- ence to His Majesty's person and government, or unne- cessary separation and breach of the knot of union, peace and charity with that part of the visible church whereof we profess ourselves members. In order to which end we have consented and do agree, First : That by making use of His Majesty's Indulgence and receiving licenses to preach, it is not our intention to set up any distinct or separate churches in opposition to those already established, but, as members of one and the same church and preachers of the same doctrine therein declared, to be, what in us lies, helpful to the established ministers in carrying on the same general ends of piety, loyalty and charity, by instructing their people in mat- ters of religion and duty to God and the king. " Second : That in the course of preaching in our li- censed places, we will not take up the canonical hours in any city, town corporate, parish or chapelry where there is an established minister or ministers that will do their work, but shall preach in other convenient hours before or after (on Lord's Days, holy days and other seasonable timesl, as shall be least prejudicial to the more public and authorised devotions, which we also do intend to frequent, and to persuade the people we are acquainted with to a constant attendance upon. " Third : We declare that it is our desire (and accord- ingly we will endeavour) to persuade those people that shall come to hear us, or any of us, that they pay all their covenanted and accustomed dues and duties to their parish ministers, and that they withdraw not any part 230 THE LIFE OF of them (or of their wonted respects) from them upon our account, but that they express their duty therein more cheerfully to God and the ministers by how much more helpful opportunities they have and do enjoy. " Fourth : That we judge it our duty, in the exercise of our ministry, so to preach as to insist on those points that we conceive most tend to charity and holiness, and to follow after those things that make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another ; and, therefore, " Fifth: That we will studiously avoid all needless controversies, exhorting the people to labour after unity between our brethren and us and among themselves, by their prayers to the God of peace and by their amicable and even behaviour to all ; that it may not be said, ' I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas ;' but, whoever planteth and watereth, that they themselves may labour to be God's husbandry and may bless that God who giveth them increase. " Sixth : That it may appear we desire union and peace with all, and to be helpful to our power to the work of the Lord, wherever we may, we will not refuse to preach in the congregational meeting-places or assemblies when requested or desired, provided they do not therein carry on such designs as tend to the manifest breach of the bonds of peace and unity by endeavouring to gather separate churches. *' Seventh : That we will be assistant in what we can to the legally settled ministers and others who own them- selves Protestants of the Church of England, by discourse or dispute, in defence of truth, against the common ene- mies to the doctrines of the Catholic Church ; and also, " Eighth: That if His Majesty (our gracious Sove- reign), upon ours or any others' petition, shall, in his great wisdom, see it fit, and be satisfied that it may yet tend to further happy advantages to church and kingdom, that our liberty be enlarged to preach in churches and chapels, we do resolve to give what assistance we can to our brethren of the conformable clergy, in carrying on the great work and ends of their ministry, at such con- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 231 venient times as they shall desire, and shall chearfully also preach in such places as are not otherwise supplied, when we shall be licensed thereunto." The ministers of Derbyshire also met, and agreed to- gether that they would not preach at the time when the public churches were open, — more striking evidence of their unwillingness to separate cannot be given, — and desired to be still considered members of the National Church. As a specimen of the form of petition when applica- tion was made for licenses, I give that presented by Robert Diggles, Thomas Bayley, Thomas Evans and eleven other persons, inhabitants of Manchester, in be- half of themselves and others, on which the license was was granted to Mr. Newcome : — " The humble address, &c., sheweth, that Your Ma- jesty's gracious declaration of the 15th of March last past, wherein Your Majesty's Indulgence to such as can- not conform in all things to the Church of England as it is now established is so fully manifested, is with all humble thankfulness acknowledged by us ; and profess- ing our loyalty to Your Sacred Majesty with all sin- cerity, and resolving, by the grace of God, to use the liberty so given us with that moderation and peaceable- ness that Your Majesty may not have cause to repent the favour aiforded to us therein, we are humble petitioners to Your Sacred Majesty that, in pursuance thereof, Your Ma- jesty would be graciously pleased to allov/ and license Mr. Henry Newcome, master in arts, one of the Presbyterian persuasion, our former minister in this place, to exercise his ministerial functions amongst us ; and that the house of the said Mr. Newcome, hired for that purpose, situate in Manchester, may be the place allowed for their meeting ; for which royal favour to the said Mr New- come and us. Your Majesty's most humble petitioners shall ever pray." To return to Mr. Hey wood. The day following that 232 THE LIFE OF on which he received intelligence of the change in the public policy respecting Non- Conformists he kept as a fast at Captain Hodgson's. He then went a round of visits among his friends at Halifax, Thornhill, Wake- field, Leeds and Bramhope ; and a second round to Hop- ton, Cawthorne and Denby-hall, where lived his intimate friends the Cottons. They were no doubt visits of con- gratulation and delight. He then took his journey into Lancashire, visiting Mr. Horton at Sowerby by the way. He visited Rochdale, Denton and other places, as well as Manchester and Bolton, and returned home on April 26. A license was obtained for him, which bears date April 20, and was received by him on May 4. On the next day he preached at his house at Coley-hall to a great number of people. " Charles R. " Charles, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. To all mayors, bailiifs, constables and other officers and ministers, civil and military, whom it may concern, greeting. In pursuance of our Declaration of the 15th of March, 167^, We do hereby permit and license Oliver Hey wood, of the Presbyterian persuasion, to be a teacher of the congregation allowed by us in a room or rooms in his own house, in the parish of Halifax in the county of York, for the use of such as do not conform to the Church of England, who are of the persuasion commonly called Presbyterian, with further license and permission to him, the said Oliver Heywood, to teach in any place licensed and allowed by us, according to our said De- claration. Given at our Court at Whitehall, the 20th day of April, in the twenty-fourth year of our reign, 1672. " By his Majesty's command. <( TT J 4^ 1 * '» " Arlington." " He wood, a teacher*. * This was Mr. Hey wood's original license. He took out a second for the house of John Buttervvorth [at Warley] in the parish of Halifax, which bears date July 25, 1672, and this is the license of which an admirable fac simile is criven in the second volume of OLIVER HEYWOOD. 233 When Mr. Heyvvood received this license he was just on the point of removing from Coley-hall to the house in the village of Northowram, about half a mile distance, the house in which he had formerly lived, in which his two sons were born and where his mother died. He was formerly the tenant, he now returned to it as the pro- prietor, which he notices as a circumstance worthy observation, inasmuch as the owner of it had thought by turning him out of it when he was only a tenant to compel him to leave the neighbourhood. He was able to accomplish the purchase by presents which had un- expectedly flowed in upon him. He gave one hundred marks for the house and a little portion of land ; his friend and neighbour Jonathan Priestley managing the business for him. He says that he " preferred this house to any in the whole country round ; and the rather that it is in Coley where my heart is more than in any place in the w^hole world beside." He lived in it for the remainder of his life, thirty years, and died in it. On the first evening which he spent in it he directed his son to read the thirty-second chapter of Jeremiah, and he Mr. Vint's edition of the Works of Mr. Hey wood. This second license is in the possession of Mr. Hey wood's descendants. The former found its way into the museum of Mr. Wilson of Broomhead-hall near Shef- field, who collected with great avidity documents of every description, and left a noble collection of them at his death in 1783. I have seen both. It remains to be added, that in The Life of Oliver Heywood, by the Rev. J. Fawcett of Ewood-hall, a Baptist minister (2nd edit. Hahfax, 12mo, 1809, p. 79), there is what purports to be a copy of the license granted to Mr. Heywood, but with this remarkable dif- ference, that he is described as being of the " Independent," not " Presbyterian," persuasion. Dr. Fawcett's copy of the license cannot be genuine. He was too good a man to be suspected of any fraud, and he seems to have drawn up the license as he concluded it must have run, regarding Mr. Heywood, contrary however to all manner of evidence, as an Independent, not a Presbyterian, by the assistance of a printed co])y of a license granted to another minister, which he found in Calamy. But such fabrications are always dangerous ; and who can tell how much some persons may have been influenced by this unauthentic instrument to take a share in the attempts which have been lately made by the modern Independents to appropriate to themselves the Presbyterian endowments } 234 THE LIFE OF runs a parallel between his case and that of the prophet, in which, however, there is nothing peculiarly striking. One of the largest rooms in the house he immediately set apart for the purpose of receiving the people who came to attend his religious ministrations. He calls it his 'meeting-house.' " On Lord's Day, May 12, I preached in my meeting-house in Northowram ; had vast multitudes of people." — Again, May 29, "I had multi- tudes in and about my house, many went away because they could not come within hearing ; oh for Rehoboth, room!" — " On Wednesday, May 19, we had a private fast in my meeting-house, the first week-day fast we have had there ; God graciously helped." — June 2. *' I preached at home ; had a great assembly." But besides what he did at home in this first month of his liberty, he was engaged in many other services in distant places : he kept a fast with four other ministers at Mr. Sharp's ; another at Joshua Seynior's ; another at John Kershaw's. He preached at John Butterworth's in Warley, where was a vast multitude of people. He kept a private day at Josiah Stansfield's. He also went to Wakefield, Hague-hall and Morley, at which last place he left his two sons to remain for education under the care of David Noble, a Non-Conforming minister, placing them at board at the house of Mr. Thomas Dawson. The persons who formed the crowds who at this pe- riod attended Mr. Heywood's ministry may be divided into two classes, the constant and the occasional hearers. The former consisted, for the most part, of persons who had been his hearers while he was the public minister at Coley, and who had not ceased to look upon him as their pastor, though the bond between them had been forcibly broken. These had been accustomed to attend his secret ministrations, and they now stood forward as persons desirous to acknowledge him in a formal and public manner as their pastor and teacher, and to form his regular congregation, till the time came when they. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 235 both pastor and people, might be received again into the National Church. Mr. Heywood immediately formed them in church-order, as he had attempted to do when he was the public minister, together with other persons who were desirous to join with them. They subscribed the following covenant* : — " We, the inhabitants of Coley chapelry and others, being professors of the Christian religion, do willingly and heartily subscribe to the doctrine of the Gospel con- tained in the Scriptures of truth, and solemnly profess our faith in God the Father, Creator of all things, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the redeemer of God's elect, and in the Holy Ghost, the sanctifier and com- forter of the faithful, and do give up ourselves to the Lord in covenant according to the terms of the Gospel, to be ruled by His will in His word, acknowledging the need we have of the ministry of the word and seals of the cove- nant for our edification, do still own Oliver Heywood (whom God hath wonderfully restored to the exercise of his ministry amongst us) as our rightful pastor formerly chosen by us, and shall be willing, by the assistance of God's grace, to believe and practise what truths and duties he shall make manifest to us to be the mind of God, desirous to maintain communion with God and one another in God's worship, and to discharge what mutual duties God requires of us in his word as members of the same body, as occasion shall be offered ; resolving, by the grace of God, to walk in our places, as becomes the Gospel, in all good conscience towards God, one another, and to all others, to the end of our days, against all opposition by the persecutions and * Though Mr. Heywood left an account of this transaction and many memoranda respecting the congregation, it is not easy to collect with exactness the number of persons whom he thus in the first instance gathered around him ; but they appear to have been above a hundred. Among them was Mrs. Mary Maleverer. whose mother was a grand-daughter of Archbishop Toby Matthew. This lady removed to Wakefield on her maniage with Mr. Samuel Boyse, a merchant there. 236 THE LIFE OF allurements of the world, temptations of Satan, and cor- ruptions of our wicked hearts, in order to the glory of God and our eternal salvation." And they gave, one by one, the following pledge : — " I do heartily take this one God for my only God and my chief good, and this Jesus Christ for my only Lord, Redeemer and Saviour, and this Holy Ghost for my Sanctifier ; and the doctrine by Him revealed, and sealed by His miracles, and now contained in the Holy Scriptures, I do take for the law of God and the rule of my faith and life ; and, repenting unfeignedly of my sins, I do resolve, through the grace of God, sincerely to obey Him both in holiness to God and righteousness to man, and in special love to the saints and communion with them, against all the temptations of the devil, the world, and my own flesh, and this to the death. " I do consent to be a member of the particular church at Northowram, whereof Oliver Hey wood is teacher and overseer, and to submit to his teaching and ministerial guidance and oversight, according to God's word, and to hold communion with that church in the public worshipping of God, and to submit to the bro- therly admonition of fellow-members, that so we may be built up in knowledge and holiness, and may the better maintain our obedience to Christ and the welfare of this society, and hereby may the more please and glorify God," Mr. Heywood himself made the following declara- tion : — " I, Oliver Heywood, in the county of York, mini- ster of the Gospel, having spent above twenty years in the Lord's work amongst the inhabitants of Coley cha- pelry, being suspended ten years from the public exercise of my ministry, am now at last restored, upon the ear- nest prayers of the church, to the exercise of my pastoral work in mine own house, by His Majesty's Declaration and license, dated March 15th, 1672, do wilHngly and OLIVER HEYVVOOD. 237 thankfully accept of this open liberty of my ministry, lamenting my former neglects, justifying the Lord in the evil He hath brought upon us, begging reconciliation and a better heart to do God's work more faithfully, and imploring his blessing for success ; and now resol- vingj by the assistance of God's grace, to giv^e myself up to the Lord's work, among this people, in studying the Scriptures, preaching the word in season and out of season, praying with and for them, watching over them, instructing, admonishing, exhorting them publicly and privately, endeavouring to convert sinners, to confirm, comfort and quicken saints, to administer baptism and the Lord's Supper, exercise discipline according to the rules of the Gospel, (so far as I am convinced, from the word,) to walk before them in all holy example ; resol- ving, by the grace of God, to suffer affliction and perse- cution with the people of God, if God call to it, as the faithful soldier of Christ and pastor of souls ; that at last I may give up my account with joy, being pure from the blood of all men. So promiseth the unworthy servant of Christ, Oliver Heywood," In this sensible, rational, affecting and edifying man- ner was the foundation laid of one of the Presbyterian congregations in the West Riding, one hundred and seventy years ago, a congregation which still exists, though it has undergone many modifications as well as various fortunes. And in a similar manner were the foundations laid of many other congregations, throughout the kingdom, though there is reason to think, in some instances, without these particular and formal pledges. Tn its foundation the congregation at Northowram was purely Presbyterian, the pastor taking no authority from the people to teach and to preach, but deriving it by de- volution from his fathers in the ministry at whose hands he had received ordination. Neither were there deacons appointed with co-ordinate authority with the pastor, with whom alone it remained to accept into his congre- gation those whom he thought proper to admit, and to 238 THE LIFE OF regulate the times, the manner and order of the pubhc ministrations as seemed to himself to tend most to edi- fication. The congregation took the pledge on Wednesday, the 12th of June, on which occasion the Lord's Supper was administered. Here the ordinance appears to have been used as a kind of solemn ratification of the covenant, a purpose to which in all ages it appears to have been applied. As soon as it was known that Mr. Heywood had ga- thered about him a congregation thus pledged to accept him as their pastor and to walk together in church- order and union, some persons who were Independents in principle expressed a desire to be permitted to join with them. Some of these had been members of the Independent church which the elder Root had collected at Sowerby, which church had been nearly dispersed on his decease. Mr. Heywood speaks of them as the soberer part ; but it is best to give his own account of this ma- terial addition to his charge : — "Upon Tuesday, June 18, '72, there was a solemn meeting appointed at my house betwixt our brethren of the Congregational persuasion and us. Accordingly there came several of Mr. Root's church, expressing their desire to join in communion with us in all ordinances. We declared plainly the state of both societies ; our pre- sent actings, and the principles upon which w^e acted. And though our principles were different, yet we con- curred in our actings for the main, and both parties were willing to overlook any matters of difference. And upon further debate and enumerating our members, they fully acquiesced in my fidelity as to admission; were willing to take them as they stood without de- manding any further satisfaction concerning them ; and we also owned theirs, and were willing to entertain them to all ordinances : and a special season was ap- pointed for communicating together in the Lord's Sup- per. Both parties went away abundantly satisfied." Then, remembering how despitefully he had been treated OLIVER HEYWOOD. 239 by the Independents at the time of Sir George Booth's rising, he adds : — " This is the strange work of God ! Men's spirits are strangely altered. Captain Hodgson earnestly promoted this work. Blessed be God. Zeph. iii. 9, Jeremiah 1. 5, Phil, iii. 15." Again : — "The servants of God through the nation, and particularly in this congregation, have a long time been begging a union and accommodation among the Lord's people. Particularly it has been my prayer to God for this poor congregation that it might be united together in Christian communion ; and many years ago we had many meetings for that end, and still broke. But now at last the Congregational men among us have desired to sit down with us at the Lord's Supper. We had a conference and agreed upon it ; and now, ac- cordingly, July 14, 1672, we enjoyed that distinguishing ordinance together, being Lord's Day evening; were about sixty communicants of our and their members ; sweet harmony ; some comfortable presages of God, and good satisfaction." Besides Captain Hodgson, the principal person w^ho then joined with them was Mr. Joshua Horton of Sowerby*. Mr. Hey wood laid the foundation, at nearly the same time, of another Presbyterian society at Warley, another place in the parish of Halifax. " God," saith he, " hath cut out work for me in a new place ; for, upon Whitsun- * Robert Tillotson, father of the archbishop, had been a member of Mr. Root's church, but deserted it before the death of Mr. Root. He died in February, 1683. Mr. Heywood was invited to the funeral, but did not go. The archbishop's earUest connections lay among the Puritans of the stricter kind. A letter from Clare-hall to Mr. Root, the pastor of the family, written in 1 649, has been often printed. There is the following notice of him by Mr. Heywood : — " Dr. Tillotson came to Sowerby, May 21, 1675, to visit his aged father, Robert Tillotson, who is eighty-two ; allows his father, who traded all away, forty pounds a-year to live on. Preached at Sowerby twice on Lord's Day, May 23, being Whitsunday, on 1 John iii. 10, plainly and honestly, though some expressions were accounted dark and doubtful. May 30, he preached at Halifax." 240 THE LIFE OF Tuesday, May 28, '72, I was called to preach at John Butterworth's house in Warley, where a great multitude of people were got together. T hired the house for preaching in a twelvemonth for fifty shillings. God helped my heart ; awakened people's affections, gave me some encouragement that God hath some work in that barren place. Yea, there are several in that neighbour- hood that have come to hear me in mine own house above a year, and have set up religious duties and meetings together ; so that there is good hope of mercy for them." He got a license for this house, himself being named as the minister ; and we find him frequently preaching to this congregation in this year. But at the end of the year he gave it up. The reason given for the discontinuance was, that it w^as too near the meeting- house which Mr. Joshua Horton had established at Sowerby, and that Mr. Bentley, who seems not to have had the zeal or energy of Mr. Heywood, said the people would have too much preaching. On June 5, he went to Leeds, where he found that Mr. Nesse had already established a meeting-house, at which Mr. Heywood preached. This was the beginning of the Independent congregation afterwards meeting at the chapel in Call-lane in that town. On June 13, he went into Howarth parish, w^here he had never been before, and which he describes as a very immoral and profane place, where there had never been good preaching. He preached at the house of Jonas Foster to a very large assembly. July 7, Going into Lancashire, he found that the Non- Conformists of Rochdale had established a meeting- house, at which he preached, and again, a few weeks later, with his brother of Ormskirk. July 22, He set out on a round of visits in the neigh- bourhood of Wakefield ; baptized a son of Mr. Thorpe of Hopton-hall ; lodged at Mr. Josiah Oates' at Chick- enley; was present at Wakefield at a " house-lecture" of Mr. Kirby's ; went forward to Hemsworth and Bads- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 241 worth ; returned to Lady Rodes' at Houghton, and to Mr. Wordsworth's at Swathe-hall. On September 18 he visited his friends in Lancashire, where he found a licensed meeting-house in Ains worth, where he had in his youth often been accustomed to go to the public chapel : he preached in his brother Good- win's pulpit at Bolton with Mr. Pike. On his return he lodged at Josiah Stansfield's. He went to Morley and preached at Mr. Bayley's meeting-house, an exercise with Mr. Jollie : he preached also at Mr. Dawson's meeting-house in Birstall parish, so thickly were they springing up around him. But before the end of the year he preached also at Mr. Holdsworth's meeting- house in Heckmondwike ; for Mr. Bentley at Halifax ; at Mr. Farrand's house in the parish of Bingley ; and at Alverthorpe, near Wakefield, where a malt-kiln had been converted into a meeting-house. These were the pri- mordia of Presbyterian congregations, some of which still exist. At Alverthorpe he had many hundred hearers. He preached also this year, November 19, at the house of Richard Wilkinson, near Keighley, which he describes as a profane place. Here he was interrupted while preaching, not by the magistracy, but by one of the sectaries, a person named West, an Antinomian, who had been a Quaker. In a few places where the Non-Conformists were rich or sanguine, they began to build meeting-houses. This was the case at Leeds, where the Presbyterians in 1673 erected the chapel on Mill-hill, where they still continue to assemble. Thoresby, the Leeds antiquary, whose father was one of the chief promoters of the design, says that it was the first chapel built in the north of England, and that it was built, more ecclesiastico , with arches. But in general the liberty granted by the Declaration of Indulgence was thought too precarious to justify such a step as this, and the event showed that it was so. R 242 THE LIFE OF We see, therefore, in the preparation of places set apart for pubHc worship, and in the formation of con- gregations in church order, though this latter measure does not appear to have been general among the Pres- byterians, the setting out of a community or sect of Christians, the severing them more distinctly than had yet been the case from the great community of English Protestants. But the Non-Conformists, in the year of which I am speaking, adopted two other measures which went even farther than this in giving them the character of a distinct religious community looking forward to a con- tinuance in that character. These two measures were the establishment of academies for the education of their youth of the better condition in University learning, and especially of the youth who were destined for the minis- try among them ; and the ordination among themselves of persons who were desirous to enter the Presbyterian ministry. The Non- Conformists in the north of England were fortunate in having amongst them a person who was excellently well qualified to discharge the duties of that difficult and responsible office, the tutor and director of one of these academies. This was Mr. Frankland, a minister then in the vigour of life, being of the same age with Mr. Hey wood, and having studied at the same time in the University of Cambridge. " There," says Ca- lamy, " he made good proficiency both in divine and human learning, and had no small credit in the Univer- sity." He there also was deeply impressed by the minis- try of Mr. Hammond. He received Presbyterian ordi- nation in 1653, and was settled at Bishop Auckland when the Uniformity Act drove him out of the Church. It was the re-ordination on which he chiefly rested his dissent, and his repugnance to renounce his Presbyterian orders led him to resist the importunities of Bishop Cosin, who would gladly have retained him in the OLIVER HEYWOOU. 243 Church*. In the Commonwealth times he was named a tutor in the college which was to be established at Durham for the northern youth. When he was silenced he retired to Rathmel in Craven, where he had an here- ditary estate. Here he set up a private academy, having under his charge a son of Sir Thomas Liddel, a son of Dr. Whitaker, a physician near Burnley, who afterwards became the minister of the Independent congregation at Leeds ; also Elston, who was afterwards the minister of the Independent congregation at Topcliffe. Three other names are mentioned of early students in the list of his pupils, which is printed as an appendix to the funeral sermon of Mr. Daniel Madock of Burton-upon- Trent, one of the last survivors of them, and which agrees with one in Mr. Heywood's hand-writing in most particulars ; but it was in 167'2 that the academy began to flourish, and that the Presbyterian ministers began to send their sons who were destined to the ministry to the care of Mr. Frankland. Some opposition was made to Mr. Frankland, and he was obliged to move his academy from place to place, as in 1674 to Natland, near Kendal : in 1683 to Calton in Craven; in 1686 to Attercliff"e, near Sheffield ; and in 1689 to Rathmel again, where it continued till Mr. Frankland's decease in 1698. The whole number of pupils was three hundred and three. After his death the academy was continued by Mr. Chorlton, Mr. Newcome's successor as the Presbyterian minister at Manchester, and another academy for the north was established by Mr. JoUie of Sheffield at Attercliffe soon after the time when Mr. Frankland left that village. One of the pupils of Mr. Frankland, Dr, Clegge of Chapel-en-le-Frith, describes the course of study in this academy as having consisted of " logic, metaphysics, somatology, pneumatology, natural philo- * The bishop proposed to give him ordination in private, thus : " If tliou hast not been ordained, I ordain thee," &c. Mr. Frank- land declined, on the ground of conscience. — Account, &c., p. 286. R 2 244 THE LIFE OF sophy, divinity, and chronology," and gives some par- ticulars of the discipline of the house*. The first Presbyterian ordination among the Non- Conformists in the north of England, and perhaps the first in any part of the kingdom, was held at Manchester on the 29th of October, 1672. Mr, Heywood was one of the ministers engaged in itf, the others being Mr. Angier, Mr. Newcome, Mr. Finch, and Mr. Robert Eaton , at whose house in Deans-gate the ordination was performed. The persons ordained had been all in the exercise of the ministry for several years. They were Mr. Joseph Dawson, the near neighbour and friend of Mr. Heywood ; Mr. Samuel Angier, the nephew of Mr. Angier of Denton; and Mr. John Jollie, a younger bro- ther of Thomas Jollie of Altham. The notices by Mr. Heywood of what was done on this occasion are few. The duties of the day were begun by Mr. Eaton with prayer : then Mr. Finch prayed ; then Mr. Heywood. Mr. Angier took the confession of faith from Mr. Dawson, and his answers to what Mr. Hey- * The Life and Character of the Rev. John Ashe of Ashfurd, 12mo, 1736, p. 53—56. t On his arrival at Manchester the day before, he went imme- diately to the church, where the Warden was preaching a funeral sermon for Mr. Nicholas Moseley of Ancoats, whom he calls his " uncle," with that disposition which prevailed in those times to comprehend as many persons as possible within the terms of rela- tionship. Mr. Moseley was brother to Mrs. Angier, the second wife of Mr. Angier, whose daughter by a former marriage Mr. Heywood had married to his first wife. Mr. Moseley is described as a justice of the peace, and a great man in those parts. He was travelling on horseback to London with his man and two Dickinsons, his friends, accompanying him, and was seized with an apoplectic attack while on horseback, when near Lichfield, and died in twelve hours. The body was brought in a coach to Manchester. He was on his way to London to carry on a suit which he had commenced against his bro- ther, Mr. Edward Moseley of Holme-hall, who was executor to Sir Edward Moseley, by whom a legacy of 7000/. had been bequeathed to Nicholas. A great suit with the Maynards had also arisen out of the will of Sir Edward. « OLIVER HEYWOOD. 245 wood calls the usual questions ; he then delivered the ordination prayer with imposition of hands. Mr. New- come did the same for the younger Angier, and Mr. Eaton for Mr. Jollie. Then Mr. Newcome delivered a discourse from 1 Timothy iv. 12, and gave the young ministers a charge ; and the whole was concluded with prayer and the blessing. Mr. Heywood having given these few particulars observes, " It was a sweet solemn day ; an hopeful budding of Aaron's rod after a sharp winter : Blessed be the Lord !" No persons appear to have been present except those engaged. Towards the close of the year, namely, on the 27th of November, Mr. Heywood kept a solemn day of thanksgiving for the liberty which had been granted them; on which occasion, to use his own expression, " he made his friends a feast." 246 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XII. 1673—1674. MR. HEYWOOD INTERRUPTED AT LASSEL-HALL. CHRISTMAS FESTIVI- TIES AT WOODSOME. PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT RESPECTING THE king's DECLARATION. THE TEST ACT.— FEELING OF NON-CON- FORMISTS TOWARDS THE ROMAN CATHOLICS. SUCCESS OF MR. HEY- WOOd's labours. THE BAYLEYS. DEVOTES HIS SONS TO THE NON-CONFORMING MINISTRY, AND SENDS THEM TO MR. HICKMAn's. INTERESTING DOMESTIC SERVICE BEFORE THEIR DEPARTURE. MR. HORTON BUILDS A CHAPEL AT SOWERBY. OPPOSITION OF DR. HOOKE. VIOLENT DISSENSIONS IN THE PARISH. THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AT HALIFAX. DUEL OF MR. JENNINGS AND MR. AIS- LABIE, NON-CONFORMITY AT YORK ; LEEDS ; WAKEFIELD. IN- TERRUPTION. DEATHS OF SEVERAL MINISTERS. HIS SONS GO TO MR. FRANKLAND's. MARRIAGE OF HIS SERVANT, MARTHA BAIR- STOW. 1673. On new-year's day Mr. Heywood travelled through great rain and tempest to the village of Idle, where he preached in the meeting-place, at which at that time Mr. Johnson usually officiated*. On the 2nd of January he preached at Mr. Richardson's at Lassel-hall, and while thus en- gaged he was interrupted by a clerk of Sir John Kaye of Woodsome, a neighbouring magistrate, who was zeal- ous against Non-Conformity. The clerk required Mr. Heywood and Mr. Richai'dson to produce their licenses, and on the next day they repaired to Woodsome, where * Who is the Mr. Johnson mentioned very slightly hy Dr. Calamy, ejected in Yorkshire. He lived in the latter part of his life at Pain- thorpe near Wakefield, and his modest tomb still remains in a retired part of the church-yard of Sandal. OLIVER HEYVVOOD. 247 they produced the license for Lassel-hall. Mr. Heywood had not his own hcense with him, but he sent it in a few days for the inspection of Sir John Kaye. At the interview, Sir John Kaye intimated that they had gone beyond the king's intention, and that his permission was abused. It is not clear that this could be made out, so that, no wonder, Mr. Heywood departed little satisfied with the interview. He w\is the less so, as he found the house at Woodsome full of jollity. There was " open house, feasting, drinking, revelling: there I saw a great number of gentlemen, among whom was Mr. Thomas Horton, musicians, master of misrule, or lord of misrule, as they call him, &c." Mr. Heywood had fallen on the twelve days of Christmas, which from time immemorial had been observed as a time of great hospi- tality in the old halls of Yorkshire, but especially at Woodsome*. On the 13th he preached at James Dyson's in West- * Some years ago I caused to be inserted in The Retrospective Review the Christmas Song of Woodsome, from a copy by one of the family. It has more of good feeling than of poetry, and it certainly gives a not-unfavourable impression of the effect of the Christmas hospitalities of the old time. Take three of the stanzas as a speci- men : — " The master of this house, where now ye are set. Doth think you all welcome and much in your debt ; That with him you are pleased to use honest mirth, And with him to rejoice in Jesus Christ's birth." " He doth eke require you, both more and less, If there be among you any grief or distress. To reconcile yourselves, in this time of mirth. That you may be partakers of Jesus Christ's birth." " The master of this house, simple though he be, Doth care for his neighbours in every degree ; And earnestly biddeth you turn wrath to mirth, By the godly embracing of Jesus Christ's birth." Yet it must, I fear, be allowed that there was much of intemperance at the festive meetings of the gentry of the better class at that time in Yorkshire. 248 THE LIFE OF wood, near Slaughthwaite, and on the next day, five miles further, at Lidget, a Hcensed place, where after- wards a chapel arose. On March 1 6 he was at Dr. John Hall's at Kipping in Thornton, to preach, where also one of the old Non-Conforming societies arose. On April 1 1 he was at Manchester, where he attended a meeting held at Mr. Newcome's house to consult about " ministers' continuance to preach." I do not find more respecting this meeting in any remains of the time, but it was plainly held in reference to the new position of public affairs, the Parliament, which met in February, having passed a resolution that the king's Declaration was at variance with the constitution. The terms of the vote were these : " That His Majesty's pretended power of suspending the penal laws in matters ecclesiastical might tend to the interruption of the free course of the laws and the altering of the legislative power, which hath been always acknowledged to reside in His Majesty and in his two Houses of Parliament." Mr. Love, one of the members for the city of London, and himself a Non- Conformist, voted for this resolution, declaring that he would rather still go without liberty than have it in a way that would prove so detrimental to the nation. Plans of legislative relief for the Non-Conformists were proposed, but nothing was done ; and the Parliament rose, the king having promised that his Declaration should not be drawn into a precedent, and having given his assent to the bill which was directed against the Papists, but which, under the name of the Test Act, came afterwards to be regarded as a very great grievance by the Non-Conforming Protestants. This enactment declared that no person should hold any office or place of trust who did not take the oaths of supremacy and allegiance ; and that all who should be admitted into any ofiice, civil or military, after the first day of Easter term, 1673, should receive the sacrament according to the usage of the Church of England, with- in three months after their admittance, in some public OLIVER HEYVVOOD. 249 church upon some Lord's Day. The Non-Conformists had nothing to ohject to the oaths of supremacy and allegiance ; but with respect to the latter provision, the Independent portion of them would object to it as being an acknowledgement of a National Church, and the Presbyterians as the sacrament could not be received in the Church but in the kneeling posture, which to those in whom the ancient Puritan scruples were not worn away was greatly objectionable ; and after a while, through the whole Non-Conforming body, a strong feel- ing prevailed that there was desecration of this holy ordinance in its being made a kind of test of a man's fitness to take upon himself an office which was merely temporal. The continuance of this Act, and also of the Corporation Act, passed in 1661, which required the same test, constituted the great grievance of the Dissent- ers after the relief which they obtained by the Toleration Act of 1689, nor was it removed till the present century. I shall abridge Mr. Heywood's remarks on these af- fairs, retaining all that is material. "The Parliament being to sit February 4, 1672-3, there were many hopes of our adversaries, and great fears of God's people, lest they should disannul the King's Declaration for our indulgence. The king made a speech to the Parliament, tells them of the good effect of it, vindicates it from the liberty of Papists thereby. We received news from the Parliament that they had voted this indulgence illegal, the other party being out- voted by sixty votes." Again, " Yesterday, April 3, 1673, I had intelhgence that God hath owned his mi- nisters and people, and heard prayer in the face of the nation ; particularly that though the Parliament have been long puzzling about our liberty, and were resolved at least to alter it and settle it some other way according to law, which we should have been glad of had the terms been tolerable ; but they could not accord, and have therefore left it to His Majesty's pleasure to do as he sees occasion, which is that he hath stickled so much 250 THE LIFE OF for. But withal they have passed a severe bill against the Papists, which we take as a rich mercy." The last clause is a remarkable indication of the feel- ing of the times, especially as coming from a man who was himself claiming from the state an indulgence and toleration which it was ill disposed to grant ; and it shows how little the fundamental principle of toleration was then understood even amongst those who wanted it, — that men should be thrown on their individual re- sponsibility in respect of their religious faith and prac- tice as long as they demean themselves as good subjects in things temporal. That there was, however, a differ- ence between the case of the Non-Conforming Protestant and that of the members of the Catholic Church can hardly be in fairness denied, arising out of the political state of Europe and the then state of the balance of power, which rendered the strengthening of the Protest- ant interest a matter of great importance to the main- tenance of peace and of the independency of the Protest- ant states. It required the passing away of four or five generations before the Non- Conforming body could be brought to see that toleration was the due of the Papist, and might safely, and ought justly, to be extended to him. Their slowness in coming to this conclusion must be in part attributed to their natural jealousy of their own liberty, which they conceived to be inseparably united with the principles of the Revolution and of the accession of the house of Hanover*. But these ob- * There are few things more remarkable in the conduct of the Non- Conforming body than the pains which they took to cherish an abhorrence (I do not use too strong a term) of Popery, without suf- ficiently distinguishing between the principle and the persons. I find a good old Non-Conformist lady, a grand-daughter of Philip Henry, entering in her diary in 1726, that on the 5th of November her minister " concluded an excellent discourse with the old pathetic exhortation, ' I commend you to the love of God and to the hatred of Popery.' " There are expressions of this kind in a sermon of Dr. Benson's, a gentle and moderate man, about 1746, which are abso- lutely shocking, not merely to Christian feeUng, but to the feelings of humanity. In some of the dissenting chapels copies of the Book OLIVER HEYVVOOD. 251 servations of Mr. Hey wood are the more remarkable, when we consider that this very Act in which he re- joices became almost immediately one of the great grievances to his own party. Thus " even-handed jus- tice," &c. The king did not recall or annul the licenses at this time. It was, however, nothing to Mr, Heywood as to his own determination, whether king or Parliament were favourable or unfavourable to his design. Preach he would, whatever might be their determination ; and far from me to say this lightly, who have the unimpeacha- ble witnesses of the integrity of his heart before me, of his zeal for the best interests of man, and of his own earnest desire to approve himself a faithful servant of Him who had called him. If the public authorities gave him facilities, he accepted them and was grateful ; if they presented obstacles, he showed that he had an energy of action, and an energy of patience also, by which he could meet and overcome them. He received, at the time of which we are speaking, encouragement to proceed in his ministry by finding unexpected proofs that he had not spent his strength in vain. He often remarks that the people to whom he preached were affected at the time ; but on the 23rd of of Martyrs were laid on the sacrament-table by the side of the Bible ; and this book was preserved in the Non-Conforming families as, next to the Bible, their most valuable literary treasure. This book must have had great influence on the English nation. I well remember it in my own family, and the effect which the prints had upon me in early childhood, when the leaves were turned over for me, and a plaintive voice, which I seem now to hear, spoke of the pitiable suffer- ings of Latimer and Ridley, and the barbarous severities of Bonner. The connexion between Dr. Priestley and Mr. Berrington had something to do in wearing off these asperities. The labours of Dr. Geddes in biblical criticism did more, as showing that the Bible was by no means a neglected book among the Roman Catholics ; but the discussions on the Catholic Relief Bill were the main cause of the change of feeUng towards them in the Non- Conforming body, together with the changed posture of European politics. Almost the whole body of the old Dissenters of England joined in petitions in favour of their relief. 252 THE LIFE OF June, 1673, he enters in his note-books that he had friends visiting him from the neighbourhood of Wood- kirk, when John Coppendale, one of them, told him that of the persons who had been lately admitted into the Independent Church at Topcliffe, of which Mr. Marshall was then the pastor, most of them had declared in their experience, that the first work upon their minds was by his ministry, when they heard him in the " sad and si- lencing times." He takes occasion from this to remark, that there were long seasons of danger in those times, when no minister in those parts, except himself, dared to preach. He notices also, about the same time, what he calls " a sweet and signal return of prayer." — " Mr. Samuel Bayley, the only son of my good old friend Samuel Bay- ley of AUerton in Bradford parish, a solid, gracious, useful, peaceable, tender-hearted Christian as any I have known ; I have been with him at many a sweet day of praver ; and a few days before he died we were at a pri- vate fast together in Ovenden-wood ; and oh ! oh ! how melting and affectionate was his heart for his children, a son and daughter, both here this day ! The daughter is married to John Brooksbank of Elland, a godly man. The son preached with me this day ; prayed admirably well ; preached a most solid experimental sermon con- cerning Christ's withdrawing from souls, from Canticles iii, 1 ; handled it exceedingly profitably and awakeningly to sinners. I succeeded, and my heart was much melted ; and in the beginning of prayer God helped my expres- sions and affections in breaking forth into God's praises for his infinite mercy in returning an answer to prayer, which had influence upon my following discourse, and animated my hopes for my children. This was Mid- summer-day, June 24, 1673, in my house." The allusion here to his own sons arises out of the determination which he had now formed to bring them both up to the Non-Conforming ministry. Two other ministers in his neighbourhood, his intimate friends, did OLIVER HEYWOOD. 253 the same, namely, Mr. Richardson of Lassel-hall, and Mr. Kirby of Wakefield, who had given to his only son the name of God's-gift, which sounds harsher in English than the corresponding and well-known name of Diodati does in the Italian. A lay-friend, Mr. Cotton, also de- voted one of his sons at this time to the Non-Conform- ing ministry. Why they were not sent at once to Mr. Frankland, I do not well understand ; but on some in- ducement, Mr. Heywood, Mr. Richardson, and Mr. Cot- ton sent at first their sons to a more distant academy, namely, that which Mr. Hickman had established at Dusthorpe, near Broomsgrove, in Worcestershire*. The party set out on Monday, May 19, 1673. An important step like this was not taken without previous religious solemnities : — " My sons being to go abroad for learning next week, I took them with me to three private days this week. One was at Halifax, May 14 ; at home. May 15 ; the last at Mr. Dawson's, May 16. But Thursday, at home, was such a day as we have seldom had. I purposely appointed it to seek God in their behalf, and God wonderfully helped all his ser- vants to plead for them. About the middle of the day I called them both forth before the company ; asked them several questions, as, What calling they chose ? With tears they both answered, ' The ministry.' I asked them, For what end? they might suff"er persecution ; must not dream of honour therein, and to live like gentlemen, &c. They told me, ' Their only end was to glorify God * Mr. Hickman, who was a bachelor of divinity and a celebrated preacher at Oxford, had been turned out of a fellowship of Magda- lene College. He was the author of many controversial works, among which is one entitled Laudensium Apostasia, showing that many Di- vines are fallen from the doctrine received in the Church of England, 4to, 1660. He wrote the Apologia pro Ministris in Anglid vulgh Non- Coif or mist is, an. 1662, Aug. 24, die Bartholomeo dido, ejectis, &c., 12mo, 1664. This was intended to circulate on the continent among the foreign Protestants. After continuing his academy for some years he retired to Holland, where he was minister of the Eng- lish congregation at Leyden. 254 THE LIFE OF and win souls.' I marked John's words : he said, * He desired to do God more service than any of his ancestors.' I asked them, What they desired Mr. Dawson and the rest of God's servants might pray to God for on their hehalf ? They spoke openly, both of them. Eliezer spoke first, and said, ' That God would give them grace and gifts, forgive the sins of their childhood and loss of time ; would make them studious, keep them from temptation and sinful company.' John's answer was muchwhat of that nature. They both wept exceedingly ; tears dropped down apace ; the whole company wept. Then I gave them up solemnly to God in his work. They that went to prayer read also a scripture. W. B. read 1 Samuel i, of dedicating Samuel to God ; Mr. Dawson read Gene- sis xxviii, of Isaac's sending away his son Jacob ; R. R. read Proverbs iii, about getting wisdom ; Mr. Hodgson read the latter end of Genesis xlviii, from verse 8 to the end, and when he came to those words, verse 16, ' The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads,' tears stopped him ; we all wept. The scripture I read, and expounded briefly, was 1 Chronicles xx, of Solo- mon's charge by David about building the temple. In prayer God helped all ; but God wrought strangely in my heart : oh, what a flood of tears ! what pleadings with God ! I can scarce remember the like. Blessed be God ! it's a token for good. At night, after the young men's conference, I set my two sons a praying. Eliezer began, and wept and prayed very feelingly; but John exceeded, both in strong scriptural expostulations^ and sobbing and weeping, that sometimes he could hardly speak : and such an evening of such a day I have seldom had in all my life. I w^atch to ' hear what the Lord will speak' to all these ; surely ' he will speak peace ;' but oh, that I and mine might ' not return to folly ! ' On Friday, May 16, Mr. Dawson had appointed a day of thanks- giving the day after this sweet fast ; Mr. Bentley and he and I kept the day, with many more ; and God gra- ciously helped our hearts, though I had not such strange OLIVER HEYWOOD. 255 motions and affections as the day before ; yet I look upon this as a pledge and presage of occasions of thank- fulness to God in future times, yea, a kind of antedating and anticipating a day of rejoicing in the mercies begged of God the day before. And, as we had the ordinance of baptism, so they named the child Eliezer*, ' God is my help,' after my younger son's name." In this year Mr. Joshua Horton, whose name has been mentioned as a member of Mr. Root's church, but afterwards joining Mr. Heywood, built a meeting-house for the Non-Conformists in or near Sowerby in this parish, at a place called Quarry-hill, for which he ob- tained a license by Mr. Heywood's assistance. It w^as to be supplied with services by four of the neighbouring ministers, namely, Mr. Heywood, Mr. Bentley, Mr. Daw- son, and Mr. Timothy Root. It was opened on Tuesday, May 6, and Mr. Horton intended that there should be a Tuesday lecture preached in it. This measure excited strong feeling in the mind of Dr. Hooke, for Mr. Horton was a very principal person in his parish, a justice of the peace, and a man of 1000/. a-year estate f. Dr. Hooke thought it his duty to interpose, and the first step which he took was to address to Mr. Horton the following; let- ter, of which neither the temper nor the style is much to be admired : — * The sons of Mr. Dawson, as I find in some of the family pa- pers, were named Abraham, Joseph, Obadiah, Eliezer, Samuel, and Eli, all Old Testament names, according to the custom of the parish. Abraham, Joseph, and Eli were all Non-Conforming ministers. Eliezer, who was born on the 9th of May, 1673, and whose baptism is noticed in the text, did not maintain the reputation of this family for virtuous and religious habits. He was living in 1735, when I find one of his nieces, the daughter of his brother Joseph Dawson, pathetically lamenting his folly, and interceding with God for him : " Thou knowest he is the son of thy faithful servant, and the son of thy handmaid ! " t Mr. Horton of Sowerby was a brother of William Horton of Howroyd. His eldest son removed to Chaderton in Lancashire, and was the grandfather of William Horton of that place, who was created a baronet in 1764. 256 THE LIFE OF " Sir, — I hoped to have met you with your minister on Wednesday at our church, and after with your bre- thren, the feoffees of Mr. Nathaniel Waterhouse, at the lecturer's house ; but I suppose you were so full with the four hours' exercise at the dedication of your new- built cottage, as you formerly called it, now turned into a synagogue, that you could not digest the prayers of our church and a sermon there the next day. Had I seen you then, or foreseen your designed meeting, I should have been so bold (as my pastoral duty binds me) to have asked your authority. To that end I was to w^ait on you at your inn to-day, but you being gone home, I sent after you this messenger on the same er- rand. If you have authority, I desire you to show it, and that before the next meeting (which I hear is on Tuesday next), and I have done. If you have not, I request you to desist, your act (however you judge it) being a sin, a scandal, a schism, a danger; and so you will find perhaps sooner than you expect. If you shall please in thankfulness to God, who hath increased your estate, to express your pious charity, you may do it more piously in making an addition to the chapel of Sowerby. I give you this timely intimation and caution in Christian charity, and expect your present answer." Mr. Horton wrote a temperate reply, in which he spoke of God's command for preaching the word, in season and out of season, of the King's Indulgence and of the license which he had obtained for the place ; and declaring that what he had done was not in opposition to, nor prejudice of, the public ordinance of the Lord's Day, to which he bore a due reverence, and at which he gave attendance, but to redeem a little time for God's service and the good of souls ; and withal, reminding the vicar that, if he rightly considered the great abound- ing of sin and necessity of sinners, he would see a need of obeying that command, *' Cry aloud, spare not," &c., and would thank God for such as would help in that good work. OLIVER HEYWOOD. 257 Mr. Horton read this letter before it was sent, to the society at Northowram, the day of the Lord's Supper being administered happening to be at the time. Mr. Horton 's practice at that time was to attend the services at the pubHc chapel at Sowerby, except on the Sundays which were perhaps once a month, when he went to hear Mr, Heywood at Northowram. His contribution to Mr. Booker, the public minister, was eight pounds per an- num, and he gave ten shillings to the minister for each of the services in his own meeting-place. It was not in Dr. Hooke's power to prevent Mr. Horton from doing what appeared to him right in this particular ; but not long after he took an opportunity of annoying Mr. Horton, in a way which is an early, and may be the first instance, of the provisions of the Test Act be- ing brought to bear against the Non-Conformists. He insisted on the Sacrament being taken kneeling, though this was generally dispensed with by the clergy of that time, out of deference to the scruples of their Puritan parishioners. Dr. Hooke caused it to be understood that he had determined to grant no certificate of the ordi- nance having been received to any person who did not kneel ; and at the same time insisted upon the go- vernors of the Grammar-school at Halifax, of whom Mr. Horton was one, qualifying under the Act. This appears to have been a very unreasonable extension of the scope of the Act. Some of the governors did thus qua- lify, but others refused ; and Dr. Hooke, in still greater irritation, inveighed, in the pulpit of the church of Hali- fax, against preaching in houses, as a dishonour to God, and tending to bring preaching into contempt. Dr. Hooke seemed determined at this time to act with all possible hostility against the Non-Conformists. " Monday morning, November 10, 1673, there came an apparitor from York, and another from Halifax, and apprehended James Brooksbank and Robert Ramsden, two of our members, upon a writ de Excommunicato capiendo ; the occasion whereof was, their refusing to s 258 THE LIFE OF take the churchwardens' oath ; though they faithfully served the office. When they were exconrimunicated, as they call it, they consulted with us what to do, fearing this capias. We desired them to send to York and get it off, if a little money would do it ; but Dr. Hooke hath put a bar to that, so that it could not be done, so that it ran up to this ; and this day, November 1 1 , they are gone towards York Castle, together with one Joshua Smith of Sowerby, a Quaker, upon the same account ; which they must do, unless they would have given eight pounds a piece for their release. God Almighty go with them ! We had a solemn day of prayer at William Clay's the same day they were taken, and so sent them away with prayer." They did not, however, find their way into the cells of the Castle, for, on their arrival at York, they consented to pay six pounds each, and were released. In the midst of these heats the Duke of Buckingham visited Halifax. He was raising recruits for the army. Dr. Hooke was absent, being at Ripon, preaching in his prebendal course. The duke attended the church on the Sunday, when the lecturer preached, but gave so little satisfaction, that in the afternoon the duke refused to go, and walked up to the Gibbet. He lodged at the house of Dr. Maud, of whom he inquired if there were any Non-Conformists in those parts, and being answered " Many," he said it was the king's pleasure that they should have their liberty. Henry Lord Fairfax was with him, to whom Mr, Bentley communicated Dr. Hooke's treatment of the Non-Conformists ; who said, that if Dr. Hooke had been at home, the duke would certainly have given him a rebuke, as he had lately done to Mr. Cooke at Leeds, when he complained to him of the meetings of fanatics. The duke appears to have allowed himself to use very violent language when speaking v/ith clergymen on this subject. This view of the state of the parish of Halifax during the existence of the king's Licenses cannot be looked at OLIVER HEYWOOD. 259 without great concern. It shows, that if good was done hy the irregular ministrations of such men as Mr. Hey wood, that the good did not come unattended with mo- ral as well as physical evil : and we may learn from it the evil of laying a disproportionate stress on peculiarities of opinion in respect of religious faith and practice, as tending to social disunion and the evils we have contem- plated ; and, on the other hand, the wisdom of exercising the utmost forbearance in those in whom any portion of the public power is vested, in the treatment of those who deem themselves, rightly or wrongly, bound to take any peculiar course of religious practice. In the August of this year Mr. Heywood was at York, and his brief notes of what he did on this visit afford us a glimpse of what the Non-Conformists of that city were doing. He was a visitor at the house of Sir John Hewley ; heard Mr. Williams, one of the ejected minis- ters, at Lady Watson's, on the 7th ; preached on the next day with Mr. Ward, another ejected minister, at his meeting-place at Mr. Andrew Taylor's, and again on Sunday, in the afternoon. So that we see Non-Con- formity active, and the work countenanced by persons of consideration. 1674. This year passed as the preceding. The king's In- dulgence was still continued ; but still the enemies of Non-Conformity found out means to annoy, and were the more eager against them as they saw the number of separate congregations increasing everywhere. We have at this time the punctual relation by Mr. Heywood of every day's occurrences. On March 25, he preached " at Mill-hill in Leeds." At this newly-erected chapel there were at first four mi- nisters, two of whom, Mr. Sale and Mr. Sharp, have already been frequently mentioned. The other two were Mr. Cornelius Todd, son of Mr. Robert Todd, wlio had been a minister at Leeds in the Commonwealth-times, s 2 260 THE LIFE OF and Mr. Richard Stretton, who had been chaplain to Tho- mas Lord Fairfax, and who was through hfe, the greater part of which was spent in London, one of the most active and influential managers of the affairs of Non- Conformity. But the Non-Conformists of Leeds were not allowed, even in the times of the Lidulgence, to proceed without molestation. — "We had the case of Leeds much upon our hearts to God in prayer, be- cause it is the most considerable ])lace in these parts, and God hath graciously brought them off, indeed wonderfully, after some shocks. Two bailiffs informed against fifty persons being at Mill-hill May 24, and June 7, 1674, but were baffled; indicted for perjury; bill found at Leeds Sessions and York Assizes ; w'arrants out for them. Still their enemies were busy ; prevailed with the mayor to send six officers to the meeting-place, who came August 26 ; Mr, Todd was preaching. The constable said the mayor charged them to desist that work in that place : Mr. Todd boldly replied, ' Are you not Christians ? And surely you will not be worse to us than heathens were to Paul, who had liberty to preach the Gospel in heathen Rome.' They went away. We, hearing that the archbishop was at Leeds, were afraid of some combinations against them. We earnestly prayed for them August 24, being Bartholomew's Day. The day after we had account of their full liberty still ; even the Lord's Day the bishop was at Leeds." Mr. Heywood experienced a similar interruption when preaching at Alverthorpe, September 20. Three bailiffs came in the morning, and in the afternoon many pro- fane persons from Wakefield, among whom was " a wild young scholar, one Ratcliffe," (who must have been he who was afterwards the celebrated physician of that name) and who afterwards entertained his riotous com- panions with mimicry of Mr. Heywood's sermon and the delivery of it. On November 13, Mr. Copley and Mr. Whyte held a private Sessions at Wakefield, the only business at which was to summon Mr, Heywood and OLIVER IIEYWOOD. 261 forty persons of the Alverthorpe congregation, including Mr. Dyneley and Mr. Kirk, to convict them under the Conventicle Act. The two justices having sat ahovc half an hour, and none of the persons summoned appear- ing, they adjourned the Sessions, and meeting some of the parties on the road, spake courteously to them. This Mr. Heywood attributes to the conduct of the Duke of Buckingham, who had rebuked Mr. Copley the Saturday before at Leeds for troubling his neighbours. Sir John Armitao;e, Sir John Kav and Mr. Benson had refused to attend this Sessions. The congregation at Alverthorpe was the same which afterwards met at a chapel in Wakefield. It had been regularly constituted some months before, but, even at this early period, the inconvenience of popular election of a minister began to be felt, "The inhabitants met about choice of a minister ; and though in the beginning the storm of unruly passion grew high amongst them, yet towards the close their spirits were so sweetly calmed, that they all condescended to one thing ; agreed lovingly, and parted good friends." This was a little before June the 28th, on which davMr. Heywood preached to them, recommending peace. On the 30th of June he preached in Lady Rodes' chapel at Great Houghton, in company with Mr. Richard- son. " I began concerning ' the Root of the Matter;' he went on from Colossians i, 20, on ' Fruitfulness in every good work.' God ordered our subjects as if we had purposely cast them into the same mould." Dr. Hooke continued his opposition. " About July 20, 1674, there came out an order from the archbishop, some say of the procurement of Dr. Hooke, to cause the old churchwardens of last year, and now of this, to join together and present all their names through the parishes as did not receive the Sacrament at church. A great bustle they made about it ; several meetings, but could do nothing. The doctor put them on, but, at the latter end, when he saw he could not effect any thing, he told the 262 THE LIFE OF old officers plainly, that if they made any other present- ments they were perjured, having given in the former upon oath. So they gave their five shillings a-piece to Dr. Hooke and Thomas Cockcroft, to hring them off with the spiritual court." This was a year of great mortality among the minis- ters of Mr. Heywood's acquaintance, on both sides of the mountains. " God hath sadly broken us by death of several Non-Conforming ministers ; Mr. Bath of Roch- dale, Mr. Shelmerdine of Mottram, and Mr. Jones of Eccles." In Yorkshire there died, Mr. Clayton of Ro- therham, Mr. Birkbeck of Sheffield, Mr. Cart of Hans- worth, and Mr. Witton of Thornhill. Mr. Clayton died on June 13, after a very short illness, having been out of his house the day before, and the preceding day having visited Mr. Birkbeck at Sheffield. He was born, lived and died at Rotherham. Mr. Birkbeck followed him on the 8th of July, and was buried in the churchyard at Sheffield on the 10th, on which occasion Mr. Bloom preached. The stone which covers his grave was in ex- istence within these few years, but searching for it lately in that overcrowded cemetery, it was gone, with three or four other gravestones having upon them names of ministers who were ejected. Mr. Cart died at the beginning of September. He is described by Mr. Hey wood as "a great scholar, a good man, a good preacher," and he says, " There is great loss of him, being a useful man in those parts." There is a small collection of tombs of this family in the churchyard of Hans worth, which living he had resigned. Mr. Witton had been rector of Thornhill. He had not preached after his ejection^ being rich, yet had been of great use for his poor brethren's supply. The reader will find more respecting all these ministers in Dr. Calamy's in- valuable work. Two events of a domestic nature occurring in this year remain to be mentioned. Mr. Heywood's two sons, having been not quite a year OLIVER HEYWOOD. 263 vvith Mr. Hickman, were recalled home, and transferred to Mr. Frankland's academy. This appears to have been early in the year. On the 23rd of April Mr. Heywood was with Mr. Richardson at Lassel-hall, consulting about Mr. Richardson's son joining his sons at Mr. Frank- land's, a design which Mr. Heywood did not heartily approve, thinking that the son of Mr. Richardson had done his sons no good at Mr. Hickman's. The two Heywoods, the younger Richardson, Thomas Cotton and God's-gift Kirby entered Frankland's academy nearly at the same time, all being destined for the ministry. They were all there on the 29th of July, when Mr. Heywood met Mr. Kirby, Mr. Richardson, and Mr. Wright, a Nottinghamshire minister, who was nearly related to the family of Cotton, at Mr. Cotton's house at Denby, to spend part of the day in prayer in behalf of their five sons at Mr. Frankland's . — " Oh how earnestly did God help our hearts !" They alluded in their prayers to the opposition which was made to Mr. Frankland, and Mr. Heywood recorded among his " Returns of Prayer," that he received intelligence soon after of the cessation of this opposition. The other event is the marriage of the servant Martha Bairstow, July 3, which was kept as a solemn day. She had lived with him, he says, sixteen years, and had been ex- ceedingly faithful, and careful of him and his, afiiicted with him in all his afflictions, and sharing with him in all conditions. " My heart was much affected in secret prayer ; but, in the family, affections ran out into pas- sion in reading. Genesis xxiv, of Abraham's faithful ser- vant and Rebecca parting from home." Such glimpses of the manner of life of our forefathers are as pleasing as they are rare*. * Mr. Heywood gives an account of an event which occurred at York about this time, in which the Duke of Buckingham was sup- posed to have more to do than appears in Mr. Heywood's narrative, circumstantial as it is. The story is in itself remarkable, and as it also illustrates the sentiments of Mr. Heywood respecting the deaths 264 THE LIFE OF of persecutors, I give it a place in these pages. It is hardly neces- sary to add that the house at York in which the Duke of Bucking- ham at this time resided, had been the Fairfaxes' ; and that the de- scendants of Mr. Aislaby succeeded the Mallorys in the possession of the fine estate of Studley. " Mr. George Aislaby, the register of the spiritual court at York, did challenge Mr. Jonathan Jennings to a single duel, by whom he was slain, on Jan. 10, 1G75, being Lord's Day. The occasion was this : the Duke of Buckingham living at his own house at York hath several masks, plays, interludes, dancings, at which, a day or two before, was, amongst the rest. Sir John Mallory's daughter, living with Mr. Aislaby, whose wife was her own sister. They stayed at the masking very late at night. Mr. Aislaby and his family went to bed, left a man up to wait for his sister's coming home and open the gates. The man went to the duke's house to meet them, but missed them, for Mr. Jon. Jennings (Sir Edward Jennings' brother, of Ripon) had taken her into his coach. They coming to the gates in the man's absence, knocked, but got not ad- mitted, whereupon Mr. Jennings takes her to his brother-in-law's. Dr. Watkinson's, house, where he lodged. The day after Mr. Aislaby and Mr. Jennings met together ; had some words about it ; were sharp ; Mr. Jennings told him it was hard Sir John Mallory's daugh- ter must wait at George Aislaby's gates and not be admitted. It ran so high, that Mr. Jennings told him he was the scum of the country. This stuck upon Mr. Aislaby's big spirit. Thereupon, after he had been to church in the forenoon, on Sabbath Day noon, Jan. 10, 1675, he sent a challenge to Mr. Jennings, charged the servant to deliver it to his own hands, but he, being at dinner, could not but give it to one of the servants. He inquired what answer he brought, who telling him ' None,' sent him again to him, commanding him to bring a positive answer. Having delivered the note, Mr. Jennings said, ' Go, tell your master I will wait ujion him presently.' The place was called Pen-roes, without Boulen-bar [Bowtham-bar] . The sign was, the toll- ing of the bell to church. Mr. Jennings took a boy with him, as though he would walk, who directed him to that place, or near it, and sent him back, none suspecting the business. Mr. Aislaby kissed his wife when he went out. She said, 'Love, will you not go to church ?' ' Yes,' said he, ' but not to the church you go to ;' so went out. They met ; Mr. Aislaby was come first ; they fell to it with their swords ; Mr. Jennings run him up the right arm ; his body was un- touched ; so many veins being cut he bled excessively. Mr. Jennings led him back bj' the arm, then left him ; went and told his servants to go and fetch their master ; who made ready his coach ; got him into it. The last words he was heard speak were, ' I had him once in my power ;' so died. By that time he was got home, his wife, being Sir John Mallory's daughter, came to the coach, being big with the twelfth child, fell down in a swound. He was searched by surgeons, who had no hurt upon his body, but arms. Mr. Jen- OLIVER HEYWOOD. 265 nings was at Dr. Watkinson's ; when he heard it was ready to tear the flesh off himself; when recovering, he got the duke's coach, went out of town ; is gone straight to London, post, to beg his par- don. The occasion and beginning of this might be a comedy, but the end is a tragedy. — This George Aislaby was servant to one Turbot, register of the spiritual court in the former bishop's days, and when his master died he married his mistress, had by her 20,000/., and having the books, &c., was put into the same office, since the bishop's government was restored, and hath made a won- derful improvement of it ; for besides the place, which is worth 500/. per annum, he had much increased it by laying capiases for excommunicated persons through the country, giving some thirty or forty shillings for a capias, and if the bailiffs took the persons, made them pay five pounds, or six, or eight, or some ten pounds a-piece, or else go to prison. This hath been a gainful trade, doubling, yea trebling, his money in a year; so by these shifts he hath gotten 2000/. a-year, and left it all in an instant ; being prodigal of his blood, could not bear an affront. It is confidently said that he was engaged in at least twelve duels formerly in Ireland, which he would not manage without the guilt of some blood, which God hath righteously re- turned upon his own head; by such a hand of their own party as God singled out. However, this violent persecution of God's peoj)le for conscience sake was a sin which God will seldom suffer to pass unrevenged. I have had suspensions, citations, excommunications, against myself, all under his hand. Lord, teach this generation something by it. Mr. Jennings took two men ; went to the high sheriff'; they were bound with him in 500/. a-piece for his appear- ance at the Assizes, and got his pardon from the king, and walked up and down York streets with confidence," •266 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XIII. 1675—1682. Till;; LICENSES WITHDRAWN. MR. HEYWOOD CONTINUES TO PREACH AS USUAL. SUCCEEDS TO SOME FAMILY PROPERTY. DEATHS OF MR. COTTON ; MR. BENTLEY ; MR. BAYLEY. BURIAL GROUND AT MORLEY. WISH OF THE PEOPLE FOR HIS RETURN TO THE PUBLIC CHAPEL AT COLEY. MR. KIRBY. HIS SONS GO TO FINISH THEIR STUDIES AT EDINBURGH. DEATHS OF HIS FATHER, SISTER, FATHER- IN-LAW AND BROTHER, IN ONE YEAR. NOTICE OF MR. NATHANIEL HEYWOOD. FURTHER ITINERANT LABOURS. RISE OF THE BAPTIST CONGREGATIONS AROXTND MR. HEYWOOD. DEATH OF SIR JOHN ARMITAGE. COMMENCEMENT OF A REGULAR SYSTEM OF ORDINA- TION IN THE WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE. MINUTE ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST OF THESE SERVICES. FURTHER PREACHING TOURS. RECEIVES A VISIT FROM LORD RUTHERFORD. CONNEXION BE- TWEEN THE SCOTCH AND ENGLISH PRESBYTERIANS. THE LAM- BERTS. DEATH OF MR. HORTON. MR. HEYWOOD TAKEN BEFORE MR. ENTWISTLE FOR PREACHING AT SHAW-CHAPEL. MR. ELIEZER HEYWOOD BECOMES CHAPLAIN TO MR. TAYLOR OF WALLINGWELLS. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MR. HANCOCK AND MR. BLOOM. DIF- FERENCES IN MR. WHITEHURSt's CONGREGATION. PUBLISHES HIS LIFE IN GOD'S FAVOUR. EXCOMMUNICATED AGAIN. VARIOUS OR- DINATIONS. MR. TIMOTHY JOLLIE. MR. NOBLE. MR. JOHN HEY- WOOD. THE DROUGHT OF 1681. DEATH OF MR. MARSDEN. 1675. In the February of this year the king's Declaration for Indulgence was recalled, and things reverted to the state in which they were before March 15, 1672. Of the circumstances under which Mr. Heywood re- ceived information of this important change, he gives the following account : — OLIVER HEYWOOD. 267 " Tuesday, February 9, 1675, being invited to preach at the new meeting-place at Leeds, I set from home. Had studied, as I conceived, a good sermon, and pleased myself in imagining what an auditory I should have the day after ; what content I should give to good people ; how seasonable the text and subject would be, being Revel, ii, 4, 5, of Losing first love, God removing Can- dlestick, there being danger of it. As I rode over Hardger Moor I checked and challenged myself for these proud conceits ; told the Lord how just he would be (and endeavoured to wean my mind to content) if he should prevent my preaching it, or send wicked men to disturb ; or shame me, by withdrawing from me. When I came as far as Morley, I met A. C, a friend, on the road, who showed me the king's Order for recalling Licenses and suppressing meetings ; and when I came to Leeds we had a meeting at Mr. Stretton's house, to consult about my preaching. Mr. Thoresby, Mr. Dickson, Mr. Hickson, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Iveson, Mr. Milner*, and others did all judge it expedient to forbear ; partly because it was an Order, and so in force as soon as published without proclamation ; partly because of the aldermen's rage, being exasperated by the Non-Conformists' con- flict with them and conquest of them, but especially be- cause they had told the mayor and aldermen that if the king called in the Licenses they would cease. So I for- bore preaching in public, yet preached my sermon in private, at Mr. Stretton's house, that night." He dismissed his own congregation at Northowram. " The most heart-melting day and work that ever I can remember was February 14, '75, the Lord's Day. The week before we received the king's Order to call in his Licenses, and it was judged fit that we should cease as to that public way of preaching openly to all. * These are names of families most of whicli continued to be of principal account among the burgery of Leeds for a century after this time ; but few of them remained Non-Conformists long after the accession of the house of Hanover. 268 THE LIFE OF I took my solemn farewell upon that Lord's Day, preach- ing on Revel, ii, 4, 5, of Removing the Candlestick, and in the close dismissed that meeting, gave my reasons, some advice to them. God caused abundant affections, floods of tears, such as I never had experience of in all my life in public ; promising my best assistance to them all in private. And oh that God would set the stamp of his grace and Spirit upon the world's affections ! Who knows what good may be done by that closing sermon? However, these affections are a token for good, and pre- sage the Lord's gracious return." Mr. Heywood gives a summary of his reasons for desisting to preach publicly : — " (1.) because he would comply with the will of the sovereign, that men may be convinced that they were of the ' peaceable in the land,' and to take off the imputation of sedition ; (2.) because Parliament was soon to meet, and at the last session were taking their case into consideration, and it was hoped, if they conducted themselves peaceably, something would be done for them by law ; (3.) the Licenses not being according to the established law of the land, but by the king's prerogative, it is by some feared they may prove of dangerous consequence, for if he may dispense with laws upon one account, he may also supersede them upon another; (4.) several ministers elsewhere had given over this public way of preaching by Licenses, especially at Leeds, that had held up valiantly, and had bestowed four hundred pounds in building and preparing a meeting- place, besides Mr, Nesse's beyond the bridge ; (5.) some of his brethren who had been backward in preaching would have censured and condemned him as obstructing their liberty if he had continued his work, as they have been apt to do, and he would not give any offence ; (6.) because he would not trepan or ensnare people, but let them know upon what terms we are now, that they might not lay the blame on him if hereafter any fine be laid upon them, but that they might know the worst and count the cost ; (7) my people, most of OLIVER HEYWOOD. 269 them, and especially the most intelligent, advised to it, and judged it the most prudent course that could be taken, to withdraw into more retired meetings, and not be so public." Some of these reasons are not devised in quite his usual spirit ; and he soon found that he could not ad- here to his determination. Frequent religious exercises in company with others, in which he led the devotions or delivered Christian instruction, were as necessary to him as his daily food. "Yet though I did give this notice, notwithstanding, we have enjoyed several days of considerable liberty in my meeting-place, pretty full of people, and began about eight o'clock, preached till twelve, twice. This day, being March 21, 1674-5, I began half an hour after eight; had done about one." Towards the end of the year he writes: — "Though T took my leave February 14, 1675, with much affection, many tears, yet God was pleased to remember us. I observed what others did, who generally kept on their work in meetingrs. T was troubled at mv cessation. Within tw^o days I fell to preaching again. Many flocked to ordinances. God graciously helped; there was no danger, not a dog moving his tongue against us. And thus we have continued in as full assemblies as formerly all the summer, and thus far of the winter, till this day, which is December 12, 1675, in vs'hich time many [public] ministers have been at Coley, but settled not. The best minister, a Scotchman, died, was buried December 9, '75 '^. Since which the heads of the cha- pelry of Coley have been consulting to give me a call to preach in pubHc, and say things will not go right till I be brought to it again. What God will do in these * Mr. Andrew Lowthian, introduced by Dr. Hooke on the disap- pearance of Mr. Bramley. He had been curate to the Dean of Dur- ham at a country-living, where his stipend was six shillings a week, not " forty pounds a-year," but something less than sixteen. He came to Coley August 9, 1G74, and died of a fever 6th of Dec, 1675. The iiarishi"wood inter- rupted when preaching there, 260. Ambrose, Mr., of Preston, a chief sup- porter of Presbyterianism in Lanca- shire, 62. Anabaptists or Baptists, rise of, in York- shire, 280. Anderton, Roger, his ordination, .378. Andrews, Mrs., of Little Lever Hall, Mr. Heywood's godmother, 29. Angler, John, of Denton, a popular Pu- ritan minister, 32 ; a chief supporter of Presbyterianism in Lancashire, 62; scheme of Mr. Heywood's living awhile with him, 68 ; his daughter married to Mr. Heywood, 90 ; some particulars of his early history, 91; arrested after the battle of Worcester, 108 ; pri\'j' to Sir George Booth's de- signs, 113; keeps his place, though not conforming under the Uniformity Act, 151 ; his death, 275. Angler, Samuel, his ordination, 244. Angler, Samuel, another, his ordination, 353. Annesley, Dr., his congregation invite Mr. HejTvood, 391. Antinomianism preached in the i)arish of Halifax in the Commonwealth times, 78. Antrobus, Mr., of Knutsford, 188. Ararat, suggestion of a singular coinci- dence, 43. Arianism, introduction of it among the Presbyterians, 441. Armitage, Godfrey, of Lidget, a great friend of Mr. Heywood, 217. Armitage, Sir John, of Kirklees, 152 ; searches Mr. Heywood's house, 165; his unfortunate death, 282. Arthington, Mrs., sister of Lord Fair- fax, 209, 219. Aspinal, a minister ejected at Mattersey, 203. Assembly of Divines, constitution and purpose of the, 54. Ault, WilUam, lecturer at Halifax, 77; removes to Bury, 83 ; lays hands on Mr. Heywood at his ordination, 98. Aurora borealis, appearance of, 35. Bacup, in Rossendale, origin of the Baptist Society there, 281. Bagshaw, William, his De Spiritualibus Pecci, 196 ; his testimony to Mr. Heywood's ' Heart-treasure,' 205. Ball's Catechism, 31 ; the author of it, ib. Baptism of Mr. Heywood, 29. ' iiaptismal Bonds,' published, 356. Baptists, rise of, in Yorkshire, 280. Barksdale's Memorials, singular passage from, 23. Barlow, Mr., lecturer at Halifax, 77. Barnes, Ambrose, of Newcastle, MS. account of his Ufe and opinions, 48. Bartholomew Day, observance of, by religious exercises, 162, 166, 219, 279. Bath, Robert, minister of Rochdale, lays hands on Mr. Heywood at his ordination, 98. Baxter, his ' Life and Times,' 138. Bayley, Samuel, a young minister, 252 ; his death and character, 271. Beebee, Mr.,aNon-Conforinist minister, 326. Bcntley, Eli, Mr. Heywood's acquaint- ance with him at college, 49 ; put into the church of Halifax, 78 ; 454 INDEX. preaches at the funeral of Mr. Hey- ■wood's mother, 92 ; turned out of the church of Ilahfax, 126 ; retires to Biugley on the Five Mile Act, 170; preaches at Halifax, 241 ; atSowerby, 255; his death, 270. 'Best Entail,' published, 381. Best, Richard, of Landimer, character of, 88 ; singular genealogy of his fa- mily, 89. Beswick,Mr., rector of Radchffe, wishes to put the law in motion against Mr. Hey wood, 165. Bingley, character of the gentry there, 202 ; dissenting chapel there, 386 ; disputes in the congregation, 401. Biiins of Rusliforth-hall, extinction of the family, 202. Binns, Robert, a friend of Mr. Hey- wood, 206. Birchall, ^A■illiam, a friend of Mr. Hey- wood, 45. Birch-hall, conventicle there, 188. Birds, remarkable singing of, in the night, 159. Birkbeck, Mr., an ejected minister, frequently mentioned, his death, 262. Blamire, Jonas, his ordination, 394. Bloom, Mr., an ejected minister, his dispute with Mr. Hancock, 294. Bolton, his writings highly valued by Mr. Hey wood, 47. Bolton, Robert, Esq., a favourer of the Reformation, 5. Bolton-en-le-Moors, parish of, an an- cient seat of religion, 4 ; the Geneva of Lancashire, 3.5 ; a dissenting cha- pel built there, 3S8 ; but see the work passim. Book of Sports, 19. Books most in favour with a rigid Puritan, 205. Booth, Sir George, his rising, 1659, 111; visited by Mr. Heywood when Lord Delamere, 1665, 178. Booth, Robert, minister of Halifax in the time of the Commonwealth, 78. Boundary of Yorkshire and Cheshire, 207. Bourn, considered by some the father of Puritanism at Manchester, his preaching, 6. Bourn, a minister, 81. Boys, Mr., lecturer at Halifax, 76. Bradbury, Thomas, early notice of, 385. Bradford, a Protestant martyr in the reign of Mary, his labours and let- ters, 4. Bradshaigh, Sir Roger, anecdote of, 196. Bradshaw,Peter, minister at Ainsworth, lays hands on Mr. Heywood at his ordination, 98. Bramhope, chapel of, foundation and consitution of the, 164. Brearcliffe, John, of Halifax, his death, 316. Briscoe, Michael, a very early Inde- pendent minister in Lancashire, 64. Broadhead, Mr., vicar of Batley, inter- rupts Mr. Heywood while preaching, 211. Brooksbank of Elland, 252. Brown, Robert, an early Independent, 59. Browne, Sir Thomas, his residence at Halifax, 87. Broxholmc, a minister, silenced at Den- ton, 16. Bruck, William, a favourer of the Re- formation, 5. Bruen, John, of Bruen-Stapleford in Cheshire, attends the lecture at Manchester, 6 ; breaks the painted windows in his chapel at Tarvin, 27. Buckingham, Duke of, favours the Non-Conformists, 197; visits Halifax, 258 ; rebukes persons who would disturb the meetings of the Non- Conformists, 261 ; fatal event at York, his connexion with, 263. Bull-house, chapel built, 387. Bunting, Henry, his Itinerarium Totius S. S., 45. Biu-y, Mr., of Suffolk, collecting infor- mation respecting the ejected mini- sters, 389. Butterworth, John, of Warley, his house licensed in 1672, for Non-Conformist worship, 240. Byrom, Edw'ard, his ordination, 353. Calamy, Dr., his ' Lives of the Ejected Ministers,' 138 ; indebted to Mr. Hey- wood, 396. Cambridge, Mr. Heywood's admission at Trinity College, 43 ; state of the University, 44. Carrington, Mr., his ordination, 363. Cart, of Hansworth, Mr., an ejected minister, his death, 262. Catalepsy, case of, 167. Chaderton, Robert, his ordination, 351. Chester taken militarv possession of by Sir George Booth, 1659, 112. Chorlton, Mr., succeeds Mr. Newcome as pastor of the Presbyterians of Manchester, 388. INDEX. 455 Church, the three leading senses of the term, 58. Churches of England, exquisite heauty of, Ijcfore the Reformation, 28. ' Christ's Intercession,' puhlished, 402. Clarendon, Lord, petty in his puhlie condnct, 48. Clarkson,Mr.,uiinisteratIllingworth,79. Cla^'ton, Giles, an early minister at Coley, 84. Clayton, of Rotherham,Mr.,an ejected minister, frequently mentioned, his death, 262. ' Closet Prayer,' puhlication of Mr. Heywood's treatise so entitled, 210. Coley, Mr. Heywood's settlement there, 69 ; foundation of the chapel, 72 ; succession of ministers before Mr. Hey wood, 80 ; Mr. Heywood's suc- cessors, 149, 269, 273, 323. Colton, Thomas, his ordination, 377. Comprehension, scheme of, for the Presbyterians, in 1667, 199. Conferences, 209. Conventicles, Act of, 1664,161 ; renewed in 1667, 199, 201. Conversion, Mr. Hey wood's notion of,38. Coore, Richard, minister at Croston, an Antinomian, 79. Corporation Act passed 1661, 249. Cotes, an ejected minister, 214 ; his death, 327. Cotton, family of, frequently mentioned. Cotton, Thomas, the minister, his edu- cation, 253, 263 ; his ordination, 390. Cotton, Wilham, his death, 270. Court, Ecclesiastical, at York, Mr. Hey- w'ood summoned before it, 130. Critchlaw, William, his death, 36. Critchlaw, family of, 22, 33, 211. Crompton, Mrs. Abigail, the second wife of Mr. Heywood, 190. Crompton, the family of, 190. Crossley, David, an early Antinomian and Anabaptist in Yorksliire, 281. Cudworth, Mr., an earlv minister at Coley, 84. Cunlifte, Jennet, daughter of Robert Cunlitfe, Esq., excommunicated by an Independent church, 298. Darnton, Mr., his ordination, 284. Dawson, Joseph, an ejected minister, his marriage, 89 ; comes to reside near Mr. Heywood, 168 ; his ordina- tion, 244 ; baptism of his son Ehezer, 255 ; one of the preachers at Sowerby, 255 ; sepulcliral memorial of his fa- mily at .Vlorley, 272. Dawson, Abraham, his ordination, 356. Dawson, Joseph, junior, his ordination, 379, ' Denomination,' technical use of the word, 226. Denton, Jonathan, Mr. He}"\vood's fu- neral sermon for him, 386. Denton, Mr., minister at Coley, 82. Denton, Nathan, thought to be the last survivor of the ejected ministers, 316. Derby, slight insurrection there in 1659, 111. Derby, James Earl of, attacks Bolton, and is afterwards put to death there, 36. Derby, Charles Earl of, anecdotes of, 196. Devonshire, William Earl of, anecdote of, 196. Dickenson, Robert, an occasional preacher, 303. Dickenson, Thomas, his ordination, 379 ; succeeds Mr. Heywood at Noithow- ram, 406. Discipline, clerical, a peculiar kind at Manchester, 7. Discipline, Mr. Heywood's unfortunate attempt to set up, at Coley, 98. Disney, Gervase, his ' Biographical Con- « fessions,' 205. ' Dissenting Brethren,' the, 59. Distraint ou Mr. Heywood's goods, 215, 218. Dodsworth, his collections one of the evidences of the Heywoods of Hey- wood, 3. Drake, Captain, of Pontefract, a friend of Mr. Heywood, 219. Drake, Mrs., her case alluded to, 23. Drakes, the, of Shibden, 89. Drought of 1681, 305. Duckinfield, Independency there, 64. Duiy, Mr., kept possession of the cha- pel at Honley though not conforming under the Uniformity Act, 157. Dyneley, Robert, Esq., of Bramhope, commencement of Mr. Heywood's acquaintance with him, 163; Mr. Heywood visits him, 176, 1/9. Dvnelev, William, death of, 189. Earthquake, 1669, 211. Eaton, Samuel, of Duckinfield, an early Independent, 64. Eccles, a barn there converted into a meeting-house, 388. Education among the Puritans, 39. ' Ejected ministers,' sense in which the term is used, 138. Election of ministers, 261. Elland, foundation of the chapel, 395. 456 INDEX. EUenthorpe, foundation of the cbapel there, 164. Ellis, Stephen, a zealous churchman and great opponent of Mr. Heywood at Coley, 128, 150, 214, 220. Ellison, Timothy, curate of Coley, 323. Entwisle, Mr., a. magistrate, Mr. Hey- wood taken before, 292. Excommunication, sentence of, against Mr. Heywood, 149 ; another, 151 ; a third, 157 ; a fourth, 297 ; excom- munication by a Presbyterian body, 65 ; by an Independent, 298. Eyaui, in Derbyshire, notice of the Plague there, 196. Fairbank, Mr., minister at Luddenden, 79. Fairfax, Colonel Charles, Mr. Heywood visits him, 176. 'Family Altar,' pubbshed, 381. Farnley-wood Plot, 154. Favour, Dr., vicar of Halifax, 76, 77. Fawcett, Rev. Dr., his misrepresentation of Mr. Heywood's Ucense, 233. Firbeck, Mr. Hevwood preaches at the public cbapel there, 289, 292. Firth, Mr., vicar of Mansfield, his regard for the Non-Conformists, 326. Five members, the king's demand of the< fast on occasion of, 33. Five Mile Act, 172; one effect of it, 1 7 7. Flanshaw-hall, Puritan ser\ice there, 168. Flood, great, noticed, 43. Fourness, Tobias, minister of Bury, lays hands on Mr. Heywood at his ordi- nation, 98. Frankland, Richard, an ejected minister, at the head of the Northern Aca- demy, 242 ; visit of Mr. Heywood, 311, 323 ; visits Mr. Heywood in pri- son, 322 ; writes a treatise against a Socinian, 393 ; his death, 396. Fulwood, foundation of the chapel, 415. Funeral feasts, 405. ' Gathered Churches,' how used, 60. Gee, Edward, an eminent Puritan mi- nister, 89. ' General Assembly,' published, 397. German ministers, two, visit England, 188. Gibson, Mr., an earlv minister at Colev, 80. ' God's-gift,' a baptismal name in the family of an ejected minister, 253. Goodwin, Richard, minister at Bolton, 65 ; lays hands on Mr. Heywood at iiis ordination, 98. Grammar-schools, method of teaching in them, 41. Greek pronounced in the University manner, 42. Green, Peter, his ordination, 363. Greenwood, an attorney at Coley, 129. Gregg, Mr., vicar of liolton, baptizes Mr. Heywood, 29 ; his family, 30. Hales of Eton, a 'Helluo Librorum,'! 18. Halifax, parish of, its inhabitants, his- tory, &c., 71 ; dissenting chapel built at the town, 387, 389. Hammond, Samuel, his great influence as a preacher at Cambridge, 48. Hampton Court, conference at, 15, 17. Hancock, Rowland, an ejected minister, committed to the castle at York for preaching, 210; his dispute with Mr. Bloom, 294. Hand-fasting, ceremony of, 91. Hardcastle, minister of Shadwell, 166 ; imprisoned, 207, 209. Harpur, John, nainister at Bolton, 65 ; lays hands on Mr. Heywood at his ordination, 98. Harrison of Walmesley chapel, a Ptiri- tan minister, 32 ; afterwards of Ash- ton, a chief supporter of Presbyte- rianism in Lancashire, 62. Hartlev, David, father and son, 358, 404.' Hatfield, Mr. John, of Laughton-en-le- Morthen, 184. Hatfield, Mrs. iMartha, her strange case, 167, 184. Haughton, scheme to settle Mr. Hey- wood there, 70. Hawksworth, an ejected minister, his death, 204. Playhurst, Robert and Bradley, both ministers, 81. ' Heart-Treasure,' publication of the, 204. ' Heavenly Converse,' pubbshed, 395. Henry, Philip, his feeUng in respect of Sir George Booth's design, 113; on the king's restoration, 120. Herle, Charles, rector of AVinwick, a member of the Assemljly of Divines, 54. Hesketh, Robert, minister at Northow- ram, 407. Hewet, Lady, of York, a friend of the Puritan ministry, 130. Hewley, Sir John, member for York, 130 ; Mr. Hodgson his chaplain, 218; Mr. Heywood visits him, 259, 280, 296 ; his and Lady Ilewley's atten- tion to Mr. Hevwood when connnit- INDEX. 457 ted to the castle at York, 331, 332, 333 ; other visits to them, 335, 337 ; his death, 389. Hewle)', Lady, wife of Sir John Hew- lev, 130, 323, 38G ; her benefactions, 423, 425. Hey, John, of Craven, his a house of hospitality to the Non-Conformists, 279; ordinations there, 298, 303. Heyrick, Richard, warden of Manches- ter, a mendjer of the Assembly of Divines, 54 ; a great supporter of Presbyterianism in Lancashire, 62 ; imprisoned after the battle of Wor- cester, 108; his sermon on the king's restoration, 120. Heywood, famUy of, 1. Hey wood, manor of, 2 ; etymology of the name, 3. Heywood, Alice, mother of Mr. Hey- wood, her early history, 22 ; and character, 25 ; death, 92. Heywood, Eliezer, Mr. Heywood's younger son, birth, 92 ; early mani- festations of rehgion, 183; his edu- cation by the same persons as his brother John. See Heywood, John ; becomes chaplain to Major Taylor, at Walling-wells, 291 ; his ordination, 353 ; many other notices of him. Heywood, John, Mr. Heywood's eldest brother, his fate, 141. Heywood, John, Mr. Heywood's son, birth, 92 ; early manifestations of rehgion, 183 ; at Hipperholm school, 173; at school with David Noble, 234 ; goes to Mr. Hickman, 253 ; to Mr. Frankland, 263 ; to Edinburgh, 273 ; teaches school at Kirk-Heton, and becomes minister of the Non- Conformists in Craven, 291 ; or- dained, 303 ; chaplain to Lady Wil- braham, 304 ; many other notices of him. Heywood, Josiah, Mr. Heywood's younger brother, his fate, 141. Heywood, Nathaniel, brother of Oliver, at school and college, 50 ; his course on leaving the University, 89 ; mi- nister at Illingworth, and lives in the same house with his brother, 89 ; removes to Ormskirk, 90 ; his ser- mon on the king's restoration, 121 ; assiduous in preaching when ejected, 182 ; his death, 275. Heywood, Nathaniel, the younger, his ordination, 35.{. Heywood, Oliver, the elder, his con- version, 7. Heywood, Oliver, a Roman CathoHc priest so called, 30. Heywood, Richard, father of Mr. Hey- wood, his early history, 21 ; goes to Holland on parish affairs, 37 ; his dispute with the Congregational Eldership at Bolton, 65 ; his misfor- tunes, 141 ; his death, 274. Hickman, Mr., an ejected minister, has an academy for the education of ministers, 253. Hickson, Robert, a principal favourer of Non-Confonnity at Leeds, 177 ; Mr. Heywood dedicates his new house, 210. Hill, Edward, an ejected minister, death of, 211. Hill, Joshua, a Puritan minister, 22. Hill, Sir Richard, parallel to his case, 23. Hill, Dr. Thomas, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, 44. Hipperholm school, foundation of, 86. Hitch, Dr. Robert, account of, 185. Hodgson, Captain John, frequently men- tioned, his early history, 86 ; a con- venticle broken up at his house, 152 ; arrested and taken to York, 166; thanksgiving for his dehverance, 177; goes to reside at Cromwell-botham, 279. Hodgson, Timothy, son of Captain John, goes to be chaplain to Sir John Hewley, 218 ; his ordination, 298. Hoghton, Sir Richard, and others of his family, 106. Holdsworths, two ejected ministers so called, 220, 282. Holdsworth, John, his ordination, 363. Holdsworth, Dr. Richard, an early vicar of Halifax, 73, 77. Hollands of Denton, family of, 160. Holland, John, his ordination, 378. IloUingworth, Mr., of Manchester, a great supporter of Presbyterianism, 62 ; under arrest after the battle of Worcester, 108. Hollis family, their benefactions, 424. Holmfirth, Mr. Heywood preaches there, 157. Hooke, Dr. Richard, appointed vicar of Halifax, 126 ; refuses to sit down to meat with Mr. Heywood, then an excommunicate, 150 ; liis remon- strance with Mr. Horton, 255 ; liis great hostility to the Non-Conform- ists, 257, 261, 311 ; dies, 357. Hoole, Mr., one of Mr. Heywood's successors at Coley, 149. 458 INDEX. Hopton, chapel of, 219. Horrocks, a Puritan minister, 23, 32. Horton, Joshua, founds a chapel at Sowerbv, 255 ; his disputes with Dr. Hooke,"256, 257 ; his death, 291. Horton, Mr., death of, 220. Hotham, John, Presbyterian minister at York, 334. Hough, Mr., vicar of Halifax after Dr. Hooke, anecdote of, 357. Houghton, Great, chapel there, 164, 261. Hovy, Mr., one of Mr. Heywood's suc- cessors at Coley, 273. Howarth, a profane place, 240. Hoyle, Lady, of York, a friend of the Puritan ministn', 130 ; her death, 207. Hoyle, Richard, death of his son, 220. Hubbert, minister of the chapel in Ains- worth, 8. Hulme, Banaster, son of a school-fellow of Mr. Heywood's, his death, 43. Hultons, family of, rich and religious, 7. Hulton, Adam, godfather to Mr. Hey- wood, 29. Hulton of the Park, a justice of the peace, protects Mr. Hey wood, 165. Huttons of Poppleton near Y'ork, patrons of the Non-Conformists, 218 ; Mr. Heywood visits them, 334. Janney, Edward, a merchant at Man- chester, and public benefactor, 5. Iconoclasm, English, ou whom princi- pally chargeable, 27. Idle, Mr. Heywood preaches there, 207, 213, 246 ; barn converted into a cha- pel, 386. Jennings, Sir Jonathan, kills Mr, Ais- labie in a duel at Y'ork, 264. Jessop, Francis, Esq., of Broom-haU, anecdote of, 293. Independency, its characteristics, first appeai'ance and rapid progress of the principle, 58 ; appearance of it and controversy in Lancashire, 63 ; Inde- pendent churches established tliere, 64 ; Independents desire to join Mr. Heywood's Presbyterian congrega- tion, 238 ; an excommmiication, 298 ; attempt at union, 372. Indidgence, the, of 1672, 224. Johnson, of Ellenbrook, a Puritan mi- nister, 32. Johnson, ilr., Fellow of Manchester church, 125. Johnson, Mr., an ejected minister, 246, 407. JoUie, Major James, accountof him, 49. Kay, Mr., minister at Rastrick, 79. Kaye, Sir John, of Woodsome, inter- view of Mr. Heywood with, 246. Kipping, Mr. Heywood preaches there, 248. Kirby, Joshua, lecturer at Wakefield, imprisoned after Sir George Booth's rising, 113 ; erects a pulpit in his house at Wakefield, 168 ; brings up a son to the ministrj , 253 ; his death, 273. Kirshaw, Nicholas, his ordination, 369 ; disputes in his congregation, 400. Knaresborough, Mr. Heywood visits the Spa, 179. Knight, Sir Raljdi, a favourer of Non- Conformity, 289 ; in the secret of Monk's designs, 326. Knocking, death-warnings, 220. Jollie, John, his ordination, 244. Jolhe, Thomas, Mr. Heywood's acquaint- ance with him at Cambridge, 49 ; be- comes an Independent, 64 ; a great friend of Captain Hodgson, 152 ; his conduct at an ordination, 370 ; but for Mr. Jollie see the work passim. Jollie, Timothy, ordination of, 299 ; his imprisonment, 310; visited in prison by Mr. Heywood, 323 ; his thoughts on Mr. Smith's heterodoxy, 401. Isherwood, Thomas, vicar of Eccles, school-fellow of Mr. Heywood, his death, 43. ' Israel's Lamentation,' published, 318. Issot, John, his ordination, 283 ; pas- tor of the Craven Non-Conformists, 304. Lake, Dr., after bishop of Chichester, put by the Puritan authorities into the church of Halifax, 77. Lambert, General, his moderation after the defeat of Sir George Booth, 112. Lambert, John, son to the Major-Ge- neral, 290 ; his lady, ib. Lancaster, Mr. Chaderton, the minister there, 352 ; Mr. CaiTington, 363. Latham, Andrew, an eailv minister at Coley, 83. Latitudinarians, appearance of, in En- gland, 146. Lay-preaching allowed by the Indepen- dents, 58 ; Mr. Hevwood's opinion of it, 296, 313. Leach, Thomas, of Riddlesden-hall, baptism of his son David, 290. Learning, state of, in the Puritan mi- nistry, 39. Lectures, one mode of diffusing the l)rinciples of the Reformation, 6 ; INDEX. 459 itinerant lecturers in Lancashire, 7 ; lecture at Halifax, 7G. Ledger, Thomas, of Idle, a friend of Mr. Ileywood's, 213, 287. Leeds, Jlr. lleywood preaches there in times of danger, 166, 176, 208, &c.; arrested and imprisoned there, 213 ; Mr. Nesse's meeting-house founded, 240 ; Mill-hill chapel founded, 241 ; Mr. Heywood preaches in it, 259 ; opposition of the magistrates, 260 ; zeal of the Non-Conformists there, 268, 279. Leniing, Ralph, a lay-preacher, 313. Lever (Little), hirth-place of Mr. Hey- wood, 2. Lever, Mr., ejected at Ainsworth, anec- dote of, 150. Liberty of conscience, King James' de- claration for, 347. Library of Mr. Richard Heywood, 32 ; burnt, 37. Licenses, the, of 1672, 225; Mr. Key- wood's, 232 ; Dr. Fawcett's mistake about it, 233 ; withdrawn, 1675, 266. Lidget, Mr. Hevwood preaches there, 217, 218, 248 ; opening of the cha- pel, 385. ' Life in God's Favour,' publication of, 297. Lindsey, Rev. Theophilus, effects of his conduct on the Presbyterians, 443. Lister, Accepted, his ordination, 379. Lister, John, his ordination, 363. Lister, Joseph, and his sons, notice of, 295. Lister, Thomas, of Shihden-hall, his fu- neral, 288. London, Mr. Hey wood's visit to, 317. London ministers, body of, 431. Lord's Supper, Presbyterians and Lide- pendents have different modes of ce- lebrating, 84 ; Mr. Heywood against open communion, 100 ; used as a ratificatory senice, 238. Lowthian, Andrew, one of Mr. Hey- wood's successors at Coley, 269. Macclesfield, Sir Thomas Parker, first earl of, his parents, 179. Maleverer, Mrs. Mary, 235. Mallory, Miss, of Studley, fatal duel about, 264. Man, Isle of, eldest branch of the Iley- woods remove thither, 3. Manchester, the lecture there in the time of Queen Ehzabeth, 6 ; a great seat of Puritanism, 15 ; the Mar])re- late i)ress there, 15 ; proceedings of Non-Conformists there in 1672, 228, 231 ; Mr. Heywood invited to be the minister, 389 ; singular choice of a minister, 397. Maulove, Timothy, his ordination, 356. MaiTiage, Mr. Heywood performs the ceremony of, 289. Man-iage, sermon preached at, 23 ; Mr. Hey wood's to Mrs. EUz. Angier, 91. Marsden, GamaUel, his death, 306. Marsden (alias Ralphsou), Jeremiah, 317. Marsden, Ralph, an early minister at Coley, 80 ; his sons, 81. Marsh, a Protestant martyr in the reign of Mary, liis labours and letters, 4. Marsh, Mr., of Garson, 318. Marsh, Dr. Richard, deprived of his vicarage of Halifax, 77; returns to take possession of it, 126. Martindale, Adam, his autobiography, 43 ; his ordination, 94. jMatrimonial case, submitted to the judgment of ministers, 204. May-games, 191. Meetings of ministers, 375. ' Meetness for Heaven', published, 380. Meteor, extraordinary, or Northern Light, 34. Methodism, its effects on the Old Dis- sent, 447. Midgely, supposed author of the Turk- ish Spy, 397. Midgely, vicar of Rochdale, his Puritan scruple, 15. Milner, Mr., afterwards vicar of Leeds, in the chapel of Sowerby-bridge, 78. Mitchel, James, his ordination, 379. Mitchel, Matthew, a Hahfax man, goes to New England, miseries there, 82. Mitchel, Richard, in Craven, his a house of hospitality to the Non-Conformists, 279 ; the first ordination among the Yorkshire Non-Conformists held there, 284. Mitchell, Wilham, an early Antinomian and Anabaptist in Yorkshire, 281. Mixenden, chapel built, 398. Morley, foundation of the chapel there, 164 ; Mr. Heywood interrupted while preaching there, 211; luemorials of early Non-Conformists in the chapel yard, 272. Moseley, Nicholas, of Ancoats, his death, 244. Mottram in Longdendale, Mr. Heywood preaches there, 160 ; the church for- merly subordinate to Silkston, 207. Murcot, Mr., a minister in Ireland, 81, 460 INDEX. Murgatroyds of Riddlesden-hall, their extinction, 203. Music, church, Mr. Heywood's reflec- tions on, 132. Newcome, Henry, Preshyterian minister at Manchester, account of his early life, 109 ; privy to Sir George Booth's designs, 113; his sermon on the king's restoration, 120 ; address for his license to preach in 1672, 231. * New Creature,' published, 384. New mode of preaching, 384. NicholIs,Mr.,an early minister at Coley, 80. Nohle, David, a minister and schoolmas- ter, 234 ; chaplain to Mr. Woolhouse of Glapwell, 302 ; account of him, ib. NorthowTam, beginning of the Non- Conforming congregation there, 235 ; chapel built, 356; school, 357; Mr. Heywood's successors in the ministry there, 406 ; but see iheviox^ passim. Norton in Derbyshire, Mr. Heywood's visit to, 327. Gates, Captain Thomas, of Morley, con- cerned in the Farnley-wood Plot, 155. Gates, Josiah, of Chickenley, fi-equently occnrs; Mr.Heywood visits, 213, 219, 288 ; accompanies him to his trial at Wakefield, 330. Gates, Ralph, son of Captain Gates, his infamous conduct, 155. Ggle,Mr., an Independent minister, 301. Okey, Mr. Heywood's brother-in-law, 194. Gld Testament names, great prevalence of, at Halifax, 75. Grdination among the Presl)yterians, 56 ; the Independents, 58 ; of Mr. Heywood, 94 ; remarks on the im- portance of the service, 95 ; private unions of ministers for this purpose in the Commonwealth times, 94 ; Mr. Martindale's ordination, ib. ; first Non-Conforming Presbyterian, 244 ; others, 283, 298, 299, and many other pages ; change of opinion respecting, 429. Paget, the minister at Blackley, the first Oliver Heywood converted by his preaching, 8 ; silenced, 16. Palmer, Samuel, his ' Non-Conformists' jMemorial,' 138. Papists, Non-Conformists' feeling to- wards, 250. Parker, Mrs., daughter of Colonel Vena- bles, 179. Parr, Dr. Richard, bishop of Sodor and Man, his relative Mrs. Elizabeth Pan- married to Mr. Nathaniel Heywood, 89. Pendlebury, Henr\', minister at Hol- comb, lays hands on Mr. Heywood at his ordination, 98. Peniston, a parish abounding in Puritan families, 156 ; Mr. Heywood preaches there, 160 ; again, and alarmed, 169 ; again, 182, 183. Perkins, his writings in esteem in the Puritan families, 32, 47. Pike, Robert, the minister at Bolton, 37. Pontefract, Mr. Heywood preaches in a malt-house there, 219. Pool's ' Synopsis,' original price, 282. Portrait of Mr. Heywood, 406. Prayer, precaution to deaden the sound of, 32 ; intensity of it in the Puritan families, 33 ; pecuHar system of, 34. Preaching, different views of the effects of, 76. Presage of death, supjjosed, 216. Presbyterian Church of England, scheme of the, 55 ; never executed and why, 57 ; yet carried out in Lancashire, 62 ; predominant there, 64 ; book of proceedings of the Manchester Clas- sis preserved, 65 ; illustration of the working of the system, ih.; Presby- terian provincial assembly of London dissolved in 1655, 108 ; position of the Presbyterians between Prelacy and Independency, 277. Presbyteries, the nine Lancashire, 62 ; members of the first Manchester and Bolton Presbyteries, 63. Preston, his writings in esteem in the Puritan famiUes, 32,47. Preston, Mr. Heywood invited to settle there as a minister, 106. Priestley, Jonathan, a friend of Mr. Heywood, 180. Priestley, Dr. Joseph, 444. Priestley, Nathaniel, his ordination, 379 ;' settles at Halifax, 389. Private judgment, principle of, 432. Prodigies, 306. Pudsey, chajjel built, 387. Puritan, brief notice of the peculiarities of this section of the Reformed, 8 ; Fuller's distinction of old and new, 118. Pyke, Thomas, minister at Radclifl'e, lays hands on Mr. Heywood at his ordination, 98. Quakers, how regarded by the Presby- terians, 45. Radcliffe, Dr. John, anecdote of his vouth, 260. INDEX, 461 Rathband, a Puritan minister, silenced at Ainsworth, 16; one of Mr. Hay- wood's schoolmasters, 40. Rawden, Mr., of Rawden,Mr. Heywood \'isits him, 176, 191 ; his death, 209. Ray, John, his ordination, 363. Reresby, Sir John, anecdote of, 293. Restoration of Charles 11., a subject of great rejoicing to the Presbyterians, 120 ; anniversary observed by the Non-Conformists, 192. Richardson, Mr., an ejected minister, frequently mentioned ; brings up a son to the ministry, 253 ; preaches with Mr. Hevwood at Great Hough- ton, 261. Riche, Sylvanus, of Bull-house, 214 ; his descendants, 415. Right hand of fellowship, 355. Rither, James, his singidar account of the people of Halifax, 74. Robinson, Mr., minister at Rastrick, 79. Rochdale, foundation of the Non-Con- formist congregation there, 240. Rodes, Sir Edward, of Great Houghton, 186 ; his relict, 210 ; his descend- ants, 415. Root, the elder minister of the name, an early Independent, 64 ; put into the church of Halifax and removes to Sowerby, 77; his death, 212. Root, Timothy, a Non-Conforming minister for twenty-tliree years, con- forms, 212; imprisoned, 216; one of the preachers at Sowerby, 271. Rotherham, cliapel built, 387. Rothwell, Edward, his ordination, 379. Rudel, a schoolmaster near Horwich,40. Rupert, Prince, his attack upon Bolton, 35. Rushforth-hall, in Bingley, one of the first places in Yorkshire licensed for Non-Conforming worship, 203. Rushworths of Riddlesden-haU, their extinction, 203. Rutherford, Lord, a Scotch nobleman, visits Mr. Heywood, 289. Rymer, collector of the Fcedera, his fa- ther's unhappy end, 154. Sacraments, diminution of respect for, 429. Sagar, Mr., his ordination, 379. Sale, Mr., an ejected minister, frequently mentioned; his death, 292. Salisbury, painted glass there broken, 2. Sampson, Dr., collects materials for a history of Puritanism, 387. Savile of Morley, extinction of the fa- njily of, 202. Scatcherd, Mr. Norrisson, his care of the memorials of the early Non-Con- formists at Morley, 272. Scholefield, Jonathan, minister at Hey- wood chapel, lays hands on Mr. Heywood at his ordination, 98. Scots Presbyterians, their connexion with the English, 289. Seeker, his early connexion with dis- sent, and conformity, 449. Sedascue, Major, of Gunthwaite, 186. Selden, a member of the Assembly of Divines, his opinions, 54. Servant, marriage of Mr. Heywood's, 263. Shalcross, Richard, of Manchester, a favourer of the Reformation, 5. Sharp, Abraham, 398. Sharp, minister at Leeds, his death, 398, Sharp, Sir Cuthbert, publication by him of parts of the MS. life of Ambrose Barnes, 49. Shaw, John, the ejected minister, 207 ; death of his son, 316. Shaw-chapel in parish of Prestwich, Mr. Heywood preaches there, 157 ; apprehended for preaching there, 292. Sheffield, ordination there, 299. Sibbes, Richard, his writings in esteem in the Puritan families, 32, 47. Silkston, chiu-chof, its extensive parish, 207. Slaughthwaite, Mr. Heywood preaches in the chapel there, 206. Smallwood, an ejected minister, his death, 204. Smith, IMatthew, his intended ordina- tion, 353 ; his ordination, 355 ; his questions at the first meeting of mi- nisters, 376 ; minister at Mixenden, 398 ; his heresy, 399 ; his public an- nouncement of it, 400, 401, 403. Socinianism, introduction of it among the Presbyterians, 443. Sorocold, family of, at Manchester, 5. Sowerby (see Root), meeting-house erected there, 240, 255. Spawford, an ejected minister, 207. Stage-coach travelling, 317. Staniforth, Mr., of Firbeck, long ser- vices there, 292 ; fast, 326. Stanley, Sir Thomas, of Alderley, vi- sited by Mr. Hej-wood, 174. Stanley, Sir Edward, a great friend of Mr. Nathaniel Heywood, 276. Stannington, foundation of the chapel there, 164. Stretton, Richard, one of the ministers at Leeds, 260, 392. 462 INDEX. Sunday, sports allowed on, 7 ; sal)l)ati- cal strictness of the Puritans, 11, 20. Sunderland, Langdale, sells Coley-hall, &c., 86. Sunderland, Samuel, remarkable bur- glary in his house, 86. ' Sure mercies of David,' publication of the treatise so called, 216. Surey Demoniac, the, 368. Suspension from the ministry, sentence of, against Mr. Heywood, 131. Sutton, Dr., of Leicester, his collection of memoirs of the descendants of Joshua Kirby, 274. Swift, Mr., retains the church of Penis- ton, though not conforming under the Act of Uniformity, 156. Sylvester, Field, of Sheffield, 398. Sylvester, Matthew, publishes Baxter's ' Life and Times,' 138 ; present at a fast at Sheffield, 193. Taylor, Andrew, of York, Non-Conform- ists meet at his house, 259, 323 ; imprisoned, 333. Taylor, Major, of Walling-wells, Mr. Heywood's introduction to that fa- mily, 289 ; Mr. Eliezer Heywood goes to be his chaplain, 291 ; his death, 293. Taylor, Mr., minister at Chapel-le- Brears, an Antinomian, 79. Taylor, Timothy, an earlv Independent, 64. Test Act passed, 248 ; brought to beai" against the Non-Conformists, 257. Texts, war of, 120, 125. Thirtieth of January services, by the Presbyterian ministers, 165. Thoresby, Paid, of Leeds, 212. Thoresby, Ralph, frequent mention of, passim ; his conformity, 394 ; attends Mr. Heywood's funeral, 405. Thorpe, Richard, of Hopton, an ejected minister, frequently mentioned ; his ordination, 284. Tildesley, Mr., of Dean, a chief sup- porter of Presbyterianism in Lanca- shire, 62 ; wishes to detain Mr. Hey- wood in Lancashire, 70 ; delivers the charge at Mr. Heywood's ordination, 95. Tillotson, Robert, father of archbishop Tillotson, 239, 435, Todd, Cornelius, one of the first four ministers at Mill-hill chapel, Leeds, 259. Toleration Act, provisions of, 359. Toleration, scheme of, for the Inde- pendents in 1667, 199. Tong, Mr., remarkal)le passage froui his writings, 410. Topcliffe, the Independent congregation there, 271. Town, Robert, minister of Elland, an Antinomian, 78. Town, Mr., minister at Heptonstall, 79, 281. Toxteth-park chapel, Mr. Heywood preaches there, 288. Trusts, dissenting, 419. 'Turkish Spy,' supposed author of, 397. ' Two Worlds,' published, 399. Venables, Colonel, 179. Vincent, Mr., of Barnborough-grange, 186. Vincent, Thomas, a Non-Conformist minister, visited by Mr. Heywood in prison, 318. Uly, Dr., a divine in Essex, storj'of, 28. Uniformity, Act of, its provisions, 133. Union of Presbyterians and Independ- ents, attempt at the, 109. Waddington, Robert, his ordination,305. Waite, Mr., a Puritan minister at Hali- fax, 77. Wakefield, frequently mentioned, see the work passim ; dedication of the chapel, 395. Wales, Elkana, an ejected minister, his death, 211. Walker, Joshua, of Rushforth-hall, in Bingley, a friend of Mr. Heywood, 202, 219, 288. Waller, the poet, a daughter of his buried at Morley, 272. Walmesley, an Independent church established there very early, 64. Ward, Ralph, of York, a minister, Mr. Heywood visits him in prison, 333. Warley, foundation of the congregation, 239 ; chapel built, 386 ; congregation adhere to Mr. Smith, the minister, notwithstanding his heretical opi- nions, 403. Waterhouse, Mr., ejected at Bradford, 175, 189,407. Water-side, residence of Mr. Heywood's first known ancestor, 2. Watson, Lady, of York, widow of a lord-mayor, frequently mentioned ; a great patron of Non-Conformity, 130 ; Mr. Heywood preaches at her house, 218. Waugh, ]Mr., a minister at Coley, 81. Wesley, his Puritan descent, 448. Westby, George, Esq., of Ravenfield, 185 ; his son Thomas Westbv, 414. Wharton, Lord, 382. INDEX. 4G3 Whitakcr, Thomas, an early student in Frankland's academy, 243 ; impri- soned at York, 310 ; Mr. Hey wood at the same time, 331. ' White's Friday,' at Derby, 111. Whitehnrst, Richard, an ejected mini- ster, his strange practices, 295. Whitley s of Cinderhills, at Coley, 129. Williiims, Dr. Daniel, his benefactions. 425. WiUoughby, Lord, 141,277. Winterbnrii, opening of the chapel there, 312. Witchcraft, case of, 167 ; another sup- posed case, 220. Wittie, Dr. Robert, anecdote of, 130. Witton, ilr., of Thornhill, an ejected minister, his death, 262. W^oodhead, Abraham, of Thong, a friend of Mr. Heywood, 278. Woodsome, Christmas festivities there, 246. Wordswortlis,of Water-hallin Peniston, favourers of the Puritan ministry, 169. Wordsworth, John, of Swathe-hall, 181. Wright, Jonathan, his ordination, 379. Wright, vicar of Ecclesfield, a royalist clergyman, 125. York, Mr. Heywood invited to settle as minister in the church of Saint Martin's, 106 ; Monk's admission into the city, 112; activity of the Non- Conformists there, 259, 280, 296, 323. THE END. I'niNTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYI.CK, RKD LION COURT, FLEF.T STREET. AprU 1842. CATALOGUE OF NEW WORKS PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, BROWN, & CO. iloiitroiu WL comprising 1. Geography and Topography, Voyages and Travels, '""S". AND GuiDE-BooKS 2 and 3 2. History and Biography 4 to 9 3. Novels and Tales ^ 4. Encyclopedias and Dictionaries 10 and 11 5. Juvenile Works ^^ 6. Agriculture, Farming, and Land Surveying . . 12 7. Gardening ^^ 8. Mrs. Marcet's Works ^ 9. Miscellaneous Works '^ ^"" 1" U ilson and Ogilvy, Printers,] *- ' CATALOGUE 01' NEW WORKS I. 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AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF GARDENING ; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horiiculture, Floriculture, Arlioriculture, and Land- scape Gardening, including all the latest improvements, a General History of Gardening in all Countries, and a Statistical View of its Present State, with Suggestions for its Future Progress in the British Isles. By J. C. Loudon, F.L.S. H.S. &c. New Edition, greatly enlarged and improved, in 1 very thick vol. 8vo. with nearly 1000 engravings on Wood, j£2. 10s. cloth lettered. AN ENCYCLOP/EDIA OF PLANTS ; Comprising the Description, Specific Character, Culture, History, Application in the Arts, and every other desirable particular, respecting all the Plants Indigenous to. Cultivated in, or Introduced into Britain ; combining all the advantages of a LinuKan and Jussieuean Sjiecies Plantarum, an Historia Plantarum, a Grammar of Botany, and a Dictionary of Botany and Vegetable Culture. The whole in English, with the Synonymes of the commoner Plants in the different European and other languages ; the scientific names accentuated, their etymology explained; the Classes, Orders, and Botanic Terms illustrated by engravings; and with Figures of nearly 10,000 species, exemplifying several Individuals belonging to every genus included in the work. Edited by J. C. Loudon, F.L.S. H.S. &c. : the Specific Characters by Professor Lindley; the Drawings by J. D. C. Sowerby, F.L.S.; and the Engravings by R. Branston. 2d Edition, corrected, with Supplement, in 1 very thick vol. 8\'o. jt 3. 13s. 6d. cloth lettered. AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. By J. C. Loudon, F.L.S. H.S. &c. Comprising the Theory and Practice of the Valuation, Transfer, Laying out. Improvement, and Management of Landed Property, and the Cultiva- tion and Economy of the Animal and Vegetable Productions of Agriculture, including the latest Improvements, a General History of Agriculture in all Countries, and a Statistical View of its Present State, with Suggestions for its Future Progress. With nearly 1,300 Engravings on Wood. 3d Edition, with a Supplement, containing all the recent Improve- ments, in 1 very thick vol. 8vo. £2. 10s. cloth lettered. A DICTIONARY OF PRINTING. By William Savage, Author of" Practical Hints on Decorative Printing," and a Treatise "On the Preparation of Printing Ink, both Black and Coloured." In 1 vol. Svo. with numerous Diagrams, ^t^. 6s. cloth lettered. PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. II Encyclopaedias and Dictionaries. A DICTIONARY OF ARYs7 MANUFACTURES, AND MINES ; ('ontainino: a clear Exposition of their Principles and I'ractice. By Andrew Ure, M.D. F.R.S. iM.G.S. &c. New Edition, in 1 thick vol. 8vo. illustrated with 1,211 Engravings on Wood, Jt2 10s. cloth lettered. A DICTIONARY OE PRACTICAL MEDICINE ; Comprising General Pathology, the Nature and Treatment of Diseases, Morbid Structures, and the Disorders especially incidental to Climates, to Sex, and to the different Epochs of Life, with numerous approved Formuteof the Medicines recommended. By James Copland, M.D., Consulting Physician to Queen Charlotte's Lying-in Hospital ; Senior Physician to the Royal Infirmary for Children ; Member of the Royal College of Physicians, London ; of the Medical and Chirurgical Societies of London and Berlin, &c. Publishing in parts, of which 7 have appeared. AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF COTTAGE, FARM, AND YILLA ARCHITECTURE. With about 1,100 pages of Letterpress, and upwards of 2,000 Wood Engravings ; embracing designs of Cottages, Farm Houses, Farmeries, Villas, Country Inns, Public Houses, Parochial Schools, &c. ; including the interior Finishings and Furniture ; accompanied by Analytical and Critical Remarks illustrative of the Principles of Architectuial Science and Taste, on which the Designs for Dwellings are composed, and of Landscape Gardening, with Reference to their Accompaniments. By J. C. Loudon, F.L.S. &c. New Edition, corrected, in 1 very thick vol. 8vo. with above 100 of the Plates re engraved, contain- ing above 100 entirely new illustrations, ^3. 3s. handsomely bound in cloth, and lettered. THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPtEDIA, And DICTIONARY of RURAL AFFAIRS: embracing the most recent Discoveries in Agri- cultural Chemistry ; adapted to the comprehension of unscientific Readers. By Cuthbert W. Johnson, Esq., Barrister at Law, Editor of the " Farmer's Almanack," &c. Illustrated with Engravingsof the most approved Agricultural Instruments. In 1 thick vol. Svo. ^2. 10s. bound in cloth, and lettered. This work is published also in parts, at 5s. each, of which 9 have appeared : to be completed in 1 more part. AN ENCYCL0P.1DIA OF ARCHITECTURE; Historical, Theoretical, and Practical. By Joseph Gwilt, Esq. F.S.A. In 1 thick vol. Svo. with numerous Illustrations on Wood. (In the Press.) AN ENCYCLOPyEDIA OF CIYIL ENGINEERING ; Historical, Theoretical, and Practical. By E. Cresv, Esq. F.A.S. C.E. In 1 thick vol. Svo. with numerous Illustrations on Wood. (Preparing for Publication.) V. JUVEmiLEJWORKS. THE BOY'S COUNTRY ROOK : Being the real Life of a Country Boy, written by himself; exhibiting all the Amusements, Pleasures, and Pursuits of Children in the Coimtry. Edited by William Howitt, Author of "The Rural Life of England," &c. 2d Edition, 1 vol. fcp. Svo. with about 40 Woodcuts, 8s. cloth. MASTERMAN READY ; Or, the Wreck of Pacific. 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THE YOUNG LADIES' BOOK : A Manual of Elegant Recreations, Exercises, and Pursuits. 4th Edition, with numerous beautifully executed Engravings on Wood. ^"1. Is. elegantly bound in crimson silk, lined with imitation of Mechlin lace. CONTENTS. The Cabinet Council ; L' Overture; Moral Deportment ; the Florist ; Mineralogy ; Conchology ; Entomology; the Aviary; the Toilet; Embroidery; the Escritoir; Painting; Music; Dancing; Archery; Riding; the Ornamental .\rtist ; L' Adieu. 12 CATALOGUE Ol' NKW WORKS VI. AGRICULTURE, FARMING, LAND-SURVEYING, $cc. DESCRIPTIVE MEMOIRS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BREEDS of the DOMESTIC ANIMALS of the BRITISH ISLANDS. By David Low, Esq. F.R.S.E., Professor of Agriculture in the University of Edinburgh. Imperial Quarto, Parts 1 to 13, (to be completed in 14 parts) 21s. each. *»* Each Part contains four beautifully coloured Plates, with a full History and Description of the Breeds contained in the Part. *' A beautifully illustrutL'd work,ivhich should be patronised by all the farmers' clubs. "---Cvtumert W. Johnson. The work is divided into four distinct divisions, as follovrs : — 1. The OX ; Five Parts and a Supplement, of which four are now published. This will comprise 22 Plates. The Supplement will be contained in Part 14 of the work. 2. The SHEEP ; Five Parts and a Supplement, comprising- 21 Plates. The Supplement will be contained in Part 14 of the work. 3. The HORSE ; Two Parts (published), comprising 8 Plates. 4. The HOG ; One Part, with Supplement, comprising 5 Plates. The Supplement will be con- tained in Part 14 of the work. ELEMENTS OE PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE ; Comprehending the Cultivation of Plants, the Husbandry of the Domestic Animals, and the Economy of the Farm. By David Low, Esq. F.R.S.E., Professor of Agriculture in the Uni- versity of Edinburgh. 8vo. 3d Edition, with Alterations and Additions, with above 200 Wood- cuts, 18s. cloth lettered. A TREATISE ON THE DOMESTIC ANIMALS ; Comprehending their Food, Treatment, Breeding, Rearing, Diseases, &c. By Professor Low. 1 vol. 8vo. (In the press.) LOUDON'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. (For particulars, see page 10 of Catalogue.) CUTHBERT JOHNSON'S FARMER'S ENCYCLOPJ]DIA, And Dictionary of Rural Affairs. (For particulars, see page 11 of Catalogiie.) BAYLDON'S ART OF VALUING RENTS AND TILLAGES, And the Tenant's Bight of Entering and Quitting Farms, explained by several Specimens of Valuations; and Remarks on the Cultivation pursued on Soils in different Situations. Adapted to the Use of Landlords, Land-Agents, Appraisers, Farmers, and Tenants. 5th Edition, re-written and enlarged, by John Donaldson. With a Chapter on the Tithe-Com- mutation Rent-Charge, by a Gentleman of much experience on the Tithe Commission. 8vo. 10s. 6d. cloth lettered. TREATISE ON THE VALUATION OF PROPERTY FOR THE POOR'S RATE ; showing the Method of Rating Lands, Buildings, Tithes, Mines, Woods, Navigable Rivers and Canals, and Personal Property : with an Abstract of the Poor Laws relating to Rates and Appeals. By J. S. Bayldon, Author of "Rents and Tillages," 1 vol. Svo. 7s. 6d. boards. SIR HUMPHRY DxVVY'S AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY : With Notes by Dr. John Davy. 6th Edition, Svo. with 10 Plates, 16s. cloth lettered. CONTENTS. Introduction; Tlie General Powers of flatter wliich Influence Vegetation ; the Organization of Plants ; Soils ; Nature and Constitution of the Atmosphere, and its Influence on Vegetables ; Manures of Vegetable and Animal Origin ; Manures of Mineral Origin, or Fossil Manures ; Improvement of Lands by Burning ; Experiments on the Nutritive Qualities of different Grasses, &c. CROCKER'S ELEMENTS OF LAND SURVEYING. Fifth Edition, corrected throughout, and considerably improved and modernized, by T. G. Bunt, Land Surveyor, Bristol. To which are added, TABLES OF SIX-FIGURE LOGA- IIITH.MS, &c., superintended by Richard Farley, of the Nautical Almanac Establishment. 1 vol. post 8vo. 12s. cloth lettered. Xlt The work throui^hout is entirely revised, and much new matter has been added ; there are new chapters, containing very full and minute Directions relatin:? to the modern I'raetice of Surveying, both with and without the aid of angular instrixments. The method of Plotting Estates, and Casting or Comimting their Areas, are described, &c.&c. The chapter on Levelhng also is new. OUTLINES OF A NEW PLAN OF TILLING AND FERTILIZ- ING LAND. By Thomas Vaux. Svo. 6s. 6d. cloth lettered. Bj the proposed svstem, all poor and waste lands (comprising one moiety of the United Kingdom), on which there are from four to five incfies of soil, may he made to yield three times as much butcher's meat and wool per acre, as the richest f razing lands now vield ; effected principally hy manual labour, and by tilling only one-fourth of the soil at a time ; and y that manure only which will be produced on the spot whereon the system is brought into operation. PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. 13 VII. GARDENING. LOUDON'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF GARDENING. (For particulars, see page 10.) THE HOSE AMATEUR'S GUIDE : Containing: ample Descriptions of all the fine leadings Varieties of Roses, regularly classed in their respective families ; their History and Mode of Culture. By T. Rivers, Jun. 2d Edi- tion, with Alterations and Additions. I vol. fop. 8vo. 6s. cloth lettered. Amon^ the additions to the present Edition will be found full Directions for Kaising New Roses from Seed, by modes never before published, appended to each Family; vith descriptions of the most remarkable New Roses lately introduced; an alphabetical list of all the New Roses and Show Flowers. THE VEGETABLE CULTIVATOR; Containing- a plain and accurate Description of all the different Species of Culinary Vegetables, with the most approved Method of Cultivating them by Natural and Artificial Means, and the best Modes of Cooking them ; alphabetically arranged. Together with a Description of the Physical Herbs in General Use. Also, some Recollections of the Life of Philip AIiller, F.A.S., Gardener to the Worshipful Company of Apothecaries at Chelsea. By John Rogers, Author of " The Fruit Cultivator." Fcp. 8vo. 7s. cloth. APRACTICAL TRExVTISE ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE GRAPE VINE ON OPEN WALLS. By Clement Hoare. 3d Edition, 8vo. 7s. 6d. cloth. CONTENTS. Introduction ; Observations on the present Method of Cultivating Grape Vines on open Walls ; on the capability and extent of the Fruit-bearing Powers of the Vine; on Aspect; on Soil ; on Manure ; on the Construction of Walls ; on the Propagation of Vines ; on the Pruning of Vines; on the Training of Vines; on the Management of a Vine during the first five years of its growth; Weekly Calendarial Register; General Autumnal Prunings ; on the Winter Management of the Vine ; on the Plantino^ and Management of Vines in the public thorough- fares of towns ; Descriptive Catalogue of twelve sorts of Grapes most suitably adapted for Culture on open Walls. PRACTICAL HINTS ON THE CULTURE OF THE PINE- APPLE. By R. Glendinmng, Gardener to the Right Hon. Lord Rolle, Bicton. 12mo. with Plan of a Pinery, 5s. cloth. THE THEORY OF HORTICULTURE ; Or, an Attempt to Explain the Principal Operations of Gardening; upon Physiolog-ical Prin- ciples. By John Lindley, Ph.D., F.R.S. 1vol. 8vo. with Illustrations on Wood. 12s. cloth. This book is witteu in the hope of providing the intelligent gardener, and the scientific amateur, correctly, with the ra- tionalia of the more important operations of Horticulture; and the author has endeavoured to present to'his readers an inteUigible explanation, founded upon well ascertained facts, which they can judge of by their own means of observation, of the general nature of vegetable actions, and of the causes which, while they control the powers of life in plants, are capable of being regulated by themselves. The possession of such knowledge will necessarily teach them how to improve their methods of cultivation, and lead them to the discovery of new and better modes. AN OUTLINE OF THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF HORTICUL- TURE. By Professor Lindley. 18mo. 2s. sewed. A GUIDE TO THE ORCHARD AND KITCHEN GARDEN; Or, an Account of the most valuable Fruits and Vegetables cultivated in Great Britain : with Kalendars of the Work required in the Orchard and Kitchen Garden during every month in the year. By George Lindley, C.M.H.S. Edited by Professor Lindley. ] large vol. 8vo. 16s. boards. THE LANDSCAPE GARDENING AND LANDSCAPE ARCHI- TECTURE of the late Humphry Repton, Esq.; being his entire works on these subjects. New Edit on, with an historical and scientific Introduction, a systematic Analysis, a Biogra- phical Notice, Notes, and a copious alphabetical Index. By J. C. Loudon, F.L.S., &e. Originally published in 1 folio and 3 quarto volumes, and now comprised in 1 vol. 8vo. illus- trated by upwards of 250 Engravings, and Portrait, 30s. cloth ; with coloured plates ^3. 6s. cloth. THE SUBURBAN GARDENER AND VILLA COMPANION : Comprising the Choice of a Villa or Suburban Residence, or of a situation on which to fomi one ; the Arrangement and Furnishing of the House ; and the Laying-out, Planting, and general Management of the Garden and Grounds ; the whole adapted for grounds from one perch to fifty acres and upwards in extent; intended for the instruction of those who know little of Gardening or Rural Affairs, and more particularly for the use of Ladies. By J. C. Loudon, F.L.S., &c, 1 vol. 8vo. with above 300 Wood Engravings, 20s. cloth. A SELECTION FROM THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND HORTI- CULTURAL PAPERS, published in the Transactions of the Royal and Horticultural So- cieties, by the late T. A. Knight, Esq., President of the Horticultural Society of London, &c. To which is prefixed a Sketch of his Life. 1 vol. royal 8vo. with Portrait and 7 ilates. los. cloth. 14 CATALOGUK OF NKW WORKS VIII. MRS. MARCET'S WORKS. CONVERSATIONS ON CHEMISTRY ; In which the Elements of that Science are familiarly Explained and Illustrated by Experiments. 14th Edition, enlarged and corrected, 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. 14s. cloth. CONVERSATIONS ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY ; In which the Elements of that Science are familiarly explained, and adapted to the compre- hension of Youna: Persons. 9th Edition, enlarged and corrected by the Author. In I vol. fcp. 8vo. with 23 Plates, lOs. 6d. cloth. CONTENTS. Of the General Properties of Bodies ; the Attraction of Gravity ; the Laws of Motion ; Compound Motion; the Mechanical Powers ; Astronomy; Causes of the Earth's Motion; the Planefs; the Earth; the Moon; Hydrostatics; the Mechanical Properties of Fluids; of Spring's, Fountains, &c. ; Pneumatics; the Mechanical Properties of Air ; on Wind and Sound ; Optics; the Visual Ang-le and the Reflection of Mirrors ; on Refraction and Colours ; on the Structure of the Eye, and Optical Instruments. CONVERSATIONS ON POLITICAL ECONOMY; In which the Elements of that Science are familiarly explained. 7th Edition, revised and enlarg-ed, 1 vol. fcp. 8vo. "s. 6d. cloth. CONTENTS. Introduction; on Property; the Di\-ision of Labour ; on Capital; on AVaops and Population ; on the Condition of the Poor; on Value and Price; on Income; Income from Landed Property ; Income from the Cultivation of Land ; Income from Capital lent ; on Money ; on Commerce; on Foreign Trade ; on Expenditure and Consumption. CONVERSATIONS ON VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY ; Comprehending the Elements of Botany, with their application to Agriculture. 3d Edition, 1 vol. fcp. Svo. with 4 Plates, 9s. cloth. CONTENTS. 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