Ex Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN
 
 Born Msgr, 29.1759. Died April, 22.18Z2. 
 Enymmi byF.Caapa^fram.an.OryinaLPainting, in tfitfossession, tf if? F&ary. 
 
 FACSIMILE OF FRONTISPIECE TO JOHN AUOLEY'S LIFE OF COXE FEARY. 1823.
 
 A CENTUKY 
 
 OF 
 
 VILLAGE NONCONFORMITY 
 
 AT BLUNTISHAM, HUNTS. 
 
 1787 TO 1887. 
 
 WITH INTEODUCTOEY SKETCHES OF EELIGIOUS LIFE 
 IN THE I?TH AND 18m CENTUEIES. 
 
 K W. DIXON. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE : 
 
 PRINTED AT THE UNIVEESITY PEESS. 
 
 1887
 
 PRINTED BY C. J. CLAY, M.A. AND SONS, 
 AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
 
 To my Friends in Bluntisham and its neighbourhood, 
 who have been and are connected with the Congregational 
 Meeting-House there, I give this Memorial of "One 
 Hundred years of Village Nonconformity." 
 
 ROBERT WALKER DIXON. 
 
 May 25th, 1887. 
 
 2017713
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Bluntisham-cum-Earith 1 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 Puritanism . % 6 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 Huntingdon, St Ives, and the Lecturers 11 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Dr Robert Wilde 23 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Mr Henry Denne . . . . .-'"''. ^ : . ... 30 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Francis Holcroft and Joseph Oddy . . v " .- ; . . 38 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 The Act of Uniformity 44
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 King Charles the II.'s " Indulgence." 53 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Influence of St Ives and of the Church at Rowell .... 57 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Persecution of Mr Abraham Gill and others 63 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Society of Friends 72 
 
 CHAPTER XH. 
 Religious influence in the 18th Century 95 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 John Wesley 100 
 
 CHAPTER XIV, 
 George Whitfield 104 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 William Fletcher of Madely 109 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 William Grimshaw of Haworth 116 
 
 CHAPTER XVH. 
 
 John Berridge of Everton ..... .,:-.:.; 123 
 
 CHAPTER XVHI. 
 
 Henry Venn of Huddersfield and Yelling
 
 CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 State of the Establishment . '.. .A.'" ...,-,;> . . .138 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Rise of the Church at Bluntisham . ^*< .- < - ' . . 143 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Profession of Faith and List of early Church Members . . . 153 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Mr Coxe Feary's Call to the Pastorate and the Building of the 
 
 Meeting-house 159 
 
 CHAPTER XX1U. 
 Life of Mr Coxe Feary 168 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Mr Coxe Feary 226 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 Selections from Bluntisham Church Book 234 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Somersham, Colne and Woodhurst 242 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 The Old Meeting-house Congregation in the Eighteenth Century . 251 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 The Congregationalists 255 
 
 CHAPTER XXTX. 
 Mr Samuel Green 259
 
 Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 Rev. John Edmund Simmons, M.A 271 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 The Progress of the Church at Bluntisham . . , v . 276 
 
 CHAPTER XXXH. 
 Rev. F. W. Goadby, M.A. Lond 281 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 The Rebuilding of the Meeting-house, and Purchase of the Manse. 233 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 The Decade before the Centenary 294 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 Conclusion 306
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BLUNTISHAM-CUM-EARITH. 
 
 THE village of Bluntisham-cum-Earith, in Huntingdon- 
 shire, is situated on the left bank of the river Ouse, on the 
 borders of the Cambridgeshire Fens. Earith is on the low 
 ground, where its neat respectable looking houses fringe 
 either side of the high-road leading to the bridge which 
 crosses the Ouse. Here was the ancient ford through the 
 river and the causeway across the marshy ground leading 
 on to the Isle of Ely. The Romans appear to have thrown 
 up earthworks at this point as a protection from marauders 
 by river, having their settlement in the more healthy 
 district of their Colonia the Colne of our day. 
 
 When the neighbouring country depended on water 
 carriage for its coal and other supplies, Earith must have 
 been a place of importance, of which the wharves, now 
 fallen into disuse, are evidence. 
 
 Antiquarians will be interested in the Roman Camp, 
 usually called the Bulwark, on the left of the road, between 
 the river Ouse and the Old Bedford cutting. In 1826, in 
 a ditch dividing the meadows lying between Earith and 
 the church, was found a bronze statuette inlaid with 
 silver, of a Roman Jupiter Martialis, in nearly perfect 
 preservation. 
 
 T. B. 1
 
 2 BLUNTISHAM-CUM-EARITH. 
 
 Botanists will be interested in knowing that a few 
 years ago the "water-soldier" (Stratiotes aloides), now 
 almost extinct, grew in pools about these marshes. The 
 adder's-tongue fern grows on the river banks. The 
 water-violet, the fringed water-lily, and the yellow loose- 
 strife abound in and about the river. 
 
 Bluntisham stands on the high ground which slopes on 
 the east and south to the border of fen land through 
 which the river flows. 
 
 The soil varies in fertility. Its substratum is Oxford 
 clay, in which are found gypsum, gryphites, belemnites, 
 ammonites, and fossil wood. The surface of the Oxford 
 clay is diversified with deposits of boulder-clay, patches of 
 gravel which appear to belong to several different deposits, 
 and alluvial soil. 
 
 The church is half a mile from the centre of the 
 village of Bluntisham and the same distance from Earith ; 
 it stands alone on the brow of the high ground over- 
 looking the border of fen land through which the river 
 flows. Its architecture is chiefly of the perpendicular 
 style, but it is distinguished by its picturesque chancel 
 apse. The church forms a prominent object in the 
 landscape, for it stands high with tower and spire, and it 
 has witnessed all the events chronicled in this volume, 
 which have taken place since the addition of its latest 
 architecture just preceding the Reformation. 
 
 An event of importance to the village took place in 
 1815 when the enclosure of the parish was effected. By 
 this the appearance of the land that part of it which had 
 remained up to this time unenclosed was altered by the 
 hedges planted for bounding the lands and defining owner- 
 ships. Owing to the increased area of arable land and 
 its better cultivation, the population was increased, and
 
 BLUNTISHAM-CUM-EAEITH. 3 
 
 cottages with their gardens were added to the village in 
 proportion. 
 
 The changes that affect the appearance of our country 
 villages those not situated in the mineral or manufac- 
 turing districts are usually very gradual in their process. 
 But tempest and fire respect not our slowly changing rural 
 habits. The tremendous hurricane of September 1741, 
 which at noon swept over Somersham and Bluntisham, 
 lasting thirteen minutes, during eight of which it raged at 
 its full violence, was within the memory of middle-aged 
 people who were living in 1784 to 1787, when the congre- 
 gational church was formed and the meeting-house was 
 built. This terrible storm untiled the Rectory, demolished 
 its stables, and destroyed twelve of the one hundred houses 
 in Bluntisham ; sixty empty barns, and all the mills in the 
 track of the storm were blown down. Accompanying the 
 storm was a mist reaching about thirty yards from the 
 ground, which rolled along at the rate of one and a half 
 miles a minute, with a noise like thunder. 
 
 Several fires have occurred during the last thirty years, 
 which have somewhat changed the appearance of the 
 village, leaving gaps and occasions for new buildings, 
 and so the number of old-fashioned thatched houses has 
 much decreased. Before these fires the majority of the 
 houses were thatched and whitewashed. These irregular 
 old-fashioned buildings, with their gabled roofs and 
 windows with small leaden panes of glass, were picturesque 
 and homelike. Sometimes they had overhanging stories, 
 suggestive of ample shelter, and deep thatches suggesting 
 a liberal home roof. There is a cosiness and restful ap- 
 pearance about the old English village homes that endear 
 them to us greatly; they savour of the old times, when the 
 inmates had leisure to ruminate, and enjoy intervals from 
 
 12
 
 4 BLUNTISHAM-CUM-EARITH. 
 
 labour in reflection when they were more anxious about 
 the quality of their work than its quantity when their 
 nervous systems were not excited by telegrams, by the 
 arrival of letters twice a day, or the struggle to catch the 
 first post out when a newspaper once a week was suf- 
 ficient to keep them posted up in the news of the period 
 when the monthly periodical or the " quarterly" was a joy 
 to look forward to, and a new book was an event for the 
 year when they felt they could read all the periodicals if 
 they chose, but that three or four were sufficient when 
 there was time to read a good book through, and carefully to 
 digest it. There was the old farm-house kitchen in which 
 the dinner is over by half-past twelve, and by two o'clock 
 the pewter is replaced clean and bright on the shelves, the 
 distaff is plied and the spinning-wheel is whirring. Then 
 they rose with the sun and went to bed with the birds. 
 In godly households after supper is over the Scriptures are 
 read : in the summer the setting sun streams through the 
 open door, bathing in its soft light the generations next 
 to pass away ; or in the winter as they sit in the 
 ample chimney corner in the quaint high-backed chairs 
 flanked by younger generations on the oak settles, the fire- 
 light from the hearth wood fire gleams on the pewter on 
 the shelves, and dances about the settles. Now is the 
 time for the transmittal of household lore traditions of 
 troubled times, when the martyrs suffered under Philip 
 and Mary, and the Puritans under the Stuarts, yet stood 
 up bravely for purer religion and for liberty, especially 
 for freedom from priestcraft. They talk of the time when 
 the two thousand ejected ministers turned out of their 
 pleasant homes into the wide world, and of Whitfield and 
 the Wesleys, how they are turning the world upside- 
 down by their earnest gospel preaching.
 
 BLUNTISHAM-CUM-EARITH. 5 
 
 In telling the story of the rise and progress through a 
 hundred years of the little church of Bluntisham, it will 
 add to the interest of our story to relate the history of 
 some of those movements which prepared the way for its 
 commencement. Indeed they go to the making of the 
 conditions necessary to its foundation.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 PURITANISM. 
 
 THE translation of the Bible into English by Wiclif, 
 and its dissemination over the land, made an epoch in the 
 religious history of our country, and the knowledge of the 
 Scriptures prepared the way for the change in our national 
 religion effected in the sixteenth century. 
 
 The teachings of Wiclif, by lip and pen, and by 
 means of his itinerant preaching lay friars, prepared men's 
 minds for the Reformation. The outward effects of the 
 Reformation must have moved men in and about Hunting- 
 donshire and set them thinking, even had the deeper 
 questions involved in the change failed to do so; for by 
 far the largest part of the lands of that district changed 
 hands, passing from those of the great monastic insti- 
 tutions into those of laymen, and the numerous religious 
 houses familiar to so many generations of Huntingdon- 
 shire men ceased to exist. 
 
 A change so important must have brought the whole 
 question home to the minds of the people whose lives 
 were troubled by the outward material changes wrought 
 by the Reformation, as well as by the inner spiritual 
 significance of the movement. 
 
 In their habits, inherited ideas, modes of thought, 
 and ways of life, men are very conservative ; they dislike
 
 PURITANISM. 7 
 
 change, for most changes involve trouble, both physical 
 and mental, the latter often perplexed and painful; more- 
 over they have to overcome the wholesome dread of 
 changing for the worse. 
 
 These mental efforts are especially troublesome, be- 
 cause of the difficulty of decision, and people consequently 
 avoid making them. In the momentous matter of religion 
 men found before the Reformation all their wants met, 
 so far as those wants were recognised, by the same church 
 which asserted her authority for defining them and limit- 
 ing their extent. The machinery required to provide for 
 their religious needs was around them, kept going by 
 funds provided for the purpose, entirely independent of 
 and apart from their own effort, and generation after 
 generation had taken for granted that in this old order 
 of things all religious requirements were met. It is true 
 that with some of the more actively earnest minds it 
 was not so, as with the Wiclifites and Lollards who had 
 for more than a century testified against the existing 
 state of things. But the Reformation, through its alien- 
 ation of church lands, its dissolution of religious houses, 
 and its change of religion, displaced the old order. Those 
 of the old faith found their needs unsatisfied, and those 
 of the reformed religion were to a large extent in the 
 same difficulty, since many of the parish priests were 
 too conscientious to change their religion and remain 
 in their places, and from the scarcity of suitable men of 
 the reformed faith many parishes were without ministers. 
 Thus the people could no longer take for granted that 
 their religion was provided for them, because the state, 
 which had in a great measure substituted itself for the 
 church, very inadequately provided compensation for the 
 sweeping changes it had effected in the religious machinery
 
 8 PURITANISM. 
 
 of the nation. These religious wants, felt, but not now 
 met, roused the minds of men and set them thinking 
 how these wants could be satisfied. In some places they 
 formed themselves into independent religious communities, 
 as at Bocking in Essex, and at Faversham in Kent, during 
 the reign of Edward VI. In other places they combined 
 to influence or supplement the state-church institutions, 
 and when they deemed these totally inefficient they sup- 
 planted them. In this way the mode of supplying the 
 religious wants was changed. From the accident of the 
 times arose the necessity for voluntary support of religion, 
 and to these voluntarily supported religious communities 
 we are indebted in a great measure for the maintenance 
 and transmission of real religion in England. What was 
 at first regarded as an unfortunate necessity, has after 
 two centuries of practice come to be regarded by a large 
 part of our nation as a matter of principle, and its 
 infringement even by endowment as prejudicial to the 
 true interests of religion. Thus we slowly but effectually 
 learn our lessons. 
 
 There is an interesting MS. in the British Museum 
 of "Particulars of the Glassies" holden at the Bull in 
 Northampton entitled "Articles wherewith ye Ministers 
 of Northam. and Warwick shires are charged etc. 16 July, 
 1590. 2 Item, some of the especiall places so appoynted 
 for the Synodes, are London, Cambridge at tymes of 
 commencement and Sturbridge ffayre, and Oxford at the 
 Act ; because at those tymes and places they may assemble 
 w* least suspition." 
 
 "4 It'm, sondrie Ministers who mett in one or more 
 Synodes assembled w^in a yeare and a halfe last past 
 and lesse, concluded and agreed that everie man in his 
 severall charge should e endevoure to erect a government
 
 PURITANISM. 9 
 
 of Pastors, governinge Elders, and Deacons: That they 
 shoulde teache and houlde that all ministers who are 
 called accordinge to the order of the Churche of Englande 
 to be an unlawfull, or have an unlawfull callinge: And 
 that such allreadie beeinge ministers, as stand affected 
 well unto their Courses, and whom they dare trust, 
 shoulde be induced to renownce their former callinge 
 by Bishopps, and to take a newe approbation by them 
 in their Classis, beeinge an assemblie of sondrie ministers 
 w th in a certayne compasse in a shyer, and whereof they 
 have about iiij. in a shier, or so manye as convenientlye 
 may be : And that this is the Lordes ordinance, wherebye 
 orielye they must stande in theyr ministerie: and that the 
 lyke approbation shal be used in those that were not 
 ministers before : And that after such callinge, they that 
 were not ministers afore, may preache untill they be 
 called to some certayne charge. At what tyme if the 
 people of such place call them, then are they to be holden 
 full ministers, and may minister the sacraments. Never 
 the lesse it is permitted, that y" 3 shall goe to the Bishoppe 
 for writinge (for their safe standinge in theyr callinge) 
 as unto a Civill magistrate in a matter belonginge onelye 
 to the outwarde man, and none otherwise, ffor they 
 holde, that thereby he receaveth not anye power to be a 
 minister; or to lyke effect hath it bene concluded, or 
 is practised amongest them." 
 
 " 5 I'tm, in sondrie places of this realme such their 
 determinations have been and are put in vse and practice : 
 ...The sayde Snape renownced or woulde not stande in 
 his ministerie by the callinge of the Bishoppe, and was 
 agayne (as afore) allowed or called by the Classis; but 
 woulde not thereupon administer the Lordes Supper. 
 But afterwards the parishe of St. Peters afore sayde, or
 
 10 PURITANISM. 
 
 some of them, knoweinge that by reason of such deter- 
 mination he might not accompte himself a full minister, 
 untill some particulare congregation had chosen him ; 
 They did thereupon choose him for their minister; And 
 by that callinge and as afore, doth he stande in his 
 ministerie at this present, and not by the callinge of the 
 Bishoppe." 
 
 "6 Item, one Larke not farre from Wellingboroughe 
 in the sayde shier being not afore a minister accordinge 
 to the churche of Englande had the approbation of the 
 sayde Snape and others of a Classis upon tryall made 
 of him : And then was by them willed for his safe 
 standinge to goe to a Bishoppe (as to a Civill magistrate 
 onelye) for writinge." 
 
 About the year 1572 the Bishop of Peterborough 
 wrote to Lord Burleigh "seeing the Puritan preachers 
 are increased and wax bold very bold and stout-like 
 men, that seem to be not without friends." At this time 
 Robert Browne, the leader of the Brownists or Inde- 
 pendents, was living in the neighbouring county of Rutland. 
 Evidently this neighbourhood was a trouble to the Bishops.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 
 
 LET us see what further religious influences would be 
 likely to touch the ancestors of the people of Bluntisham 
 and its neighbourhood who formed themselves into the 
 church there and founded this meeting-house a century 
 ago. 
 
 Anthony Tuckney, D.D., Master and Regius Professor 
 of Divinity, was born in 1599, and bred at Emmanuel Col- 
 lege, Cambridge, of which College he was chosen Fellow. 
 After preaching at Boston, he was called to London in 1643 
 by the Parliament, being one of two members chosen of the 
 Assembly for the county of Lincoln ; in which capacity he 
 was much esteemed. It being then a dangerous time in 
 the county by reason of the heat of the war, he took his 
 whole family with him and never returned ; though at the 
 desire of the people, he kept the title to the Vicarage till 
 the Restoration, but received none of the profits. In 1645 
 he was made Master of Emmanuel College, which required 
 him to spend some months in the year at Cambridge; and 
 in 1648 he returned with his family thither, and was that 
 year Vice-Chancellor. In 1653 he was chosen Master of 
 St John's, and afterwards Regius Professor. He was by 
 virtue of this office Rector of Somersham in Huntingdon- 
 shire.
 
 12 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 
 
 He was a man of very great humility; and yet few 
 kept up more authority than he did in the University when 
 Vice-Chancellor, or in the College he was Master of; to 
 which many gentlemen and ministers sent their sons, merely 
 upon his account. After the Restoration, provision was made 
 by the Act for confirming and restoring ministers, that Dr 
 Tuckney should be restored to his Rectory of Somersham ; 
 but he did not enjoy it long. He was one of the Commis- 
 sioners at the Savoy, but was soon out of hopes of any 
 accommodation. Before the time for the conferences was 
 expired, he received a royal letter, professing great respect, 
 signed by Secretary Nicholas, dated Jan. 1, which gave 
 him a supersedeas from his public employment, promising 
 him 100 per annum during life, to be paid by his suc- 
 cessor. The good Doctor thought it would be to no purpose 
 to contend with the court, and that he could not long keep 
 his places as things were then managed : he therefore 
 resigned them both ; and had the annuity which was pro- 
 mised punctually paid for several years by Dr Gunning 
 who succeeded him. He retired to London, and there 
 preached sometimes in his own house, and occasionally in 
 the families of several friends. During the plague he 
 lived at Colwick Hall near Nottingham, where he was 
 soon troubled, and confined in the house of Robert Pierre- 
 point, Esq. ; but was there treated very civilly, and in a few 
 months discharged. Upon the five-mile Act, he removed 
 to Oundle and thence to Warmington in Northampton- 
 shire. After the fire in London, in which his library was 
 burnt, he removed into Leicestershire, and next to Totten- 
 ham, from whence in 1669 he removed to Spittle-yard, 
 where he died in 1670 in the 71st year of his age. 
 He had the character of an eminently pious and learned 
 man, a true friend, an indefatigable student, a candid
 
 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 13 
 
 disputant, and an earnest promoter of truth and god- 
 liness. 
 
 During some part of the interval between the years 
 1639 and 1645, Mr Richard Jennings, of Catharine Hall, 
 Cambridge, lived in Huntingdonshire. He was born at 
 Ipswich, and entered on his ministry in Northamptonshire 
 in the year 1639, during which time he lived with "that 
 excellent Christian Mrs Elms, noted for her hospitality to 
 the Nonconformists." In 1645 he settled at Combe in 
 Suffolk, and was ejected Aug. 24, 1662. He continued in 
 the parsonage house till 1678, when he came to London. 
 He spent the latter part of his life with three pious widows 
 at Clapham, where he died Sept. 12, 1709. He was a man 
 of unaffected piety ; a considerable scholar ; one of a good 
 invention and a strong memory. He retained his juvenile 
 learning in an advanced age, and was able to preach with- 
 out notes at ninety-two. He passed through the world 
 without noise and ostentation, and without even appearing 
 in print. 
 
 About the year 1642, Mr Ferdinando Pool who was 
 born at Ulsthorpe in Leicestershire in T596 settled in 
 Huntingdonshire, being presented with the living of Great 
 Catworth, worth about 130 per annum, where he lived 
 for about seven years ; yet such was his contempt for the 
 world, such his affection for the good people of Thrumpton, 
 and such his grateful respect to his good friend Mrs 
 Piggot, that when the war was over, he voluntarily left 
 his living, and returned to a much smaller allowance. 
 Mrs Piggot of Thrumpton had by her interest and money 
 sheltered him from the Bishop's courts for several years, 
 and in her family his seven children had been born; he left 
 her when the civil war broke out, settling in Huntingdon- 
 shire as one of the associated counties. He remained
 
 14 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 
 
 at Thruinpton until Bartholomew day, 1662, when he was 
 ejected. He died in 1676, aged upwards of eighty years. 
 He was a man of great humility and sincerity, a true 
 Nathanael without guile. He also possessed considerable 
 ministerial abilities, he was particularly eminent in prayer, 
 and had many remarkable answers to his prayers. 
 
 Early in the 17th century William Laud, afterwards 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, was Archdeacon of Huntingdon, 
 teaching the clergy that the Lord's Supper was a sacrifice, 
 and the table an altar, a doctrine which necessitated the 
 officiating " priest." Thus this test question of the Romish 
 Church was brought prominently before the people of 
 Huntingdonshire. John Williams, bishop of Lincoln, from 
 his episcopal palace at Buckden, whither he had retired, 
 being in disgrace with the court on account of his Puritan 
 proclivities, resisted these first innovations on the reformed 
 worship, and when the disciples of Laud began to remove 
 the Communion tables from the body of the church or 
 chancel, and place them altar- wise by the east window, so 
 as if possible to convert them into altars, Bishop Williams 
 told them it was contrary to the law of the Church of 
 England, which in its Homilies warns us " to take heed 
 lest our Communion become a sacrifice." 
 
 There must have been much of the Puritan spirit in 
 Huntingdon, of which later in this century we have evi- 
 dence in a letter written from the gaol at Ilchester by 
 the Rev. Joseph Allein, an ejected minister from Taunton, 
 and author of " An Alarm to the Unconverted," to his 
 friends at Huntingdon. This letter is dated " from the 
 prison at Juelchester October 29th, 1663," where he was 
 confined together with six other ministers and fifty 
 Quakers, who all had their lodgings in one room, the 
 air of which became so offensive that they took out
 
 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 15 
 
 the glass and removed some of the tiles from the 
 roof. 
 
 At the Act of Uniformity in 1662 the Rev. Samuel 
 Brooks, B.D., Fellow of Catharine Hall, Cambridge, was 
 turned out for refusing to take the engagement. He was a 
 learned man, a great school divine, and a laborious tutor, 
 who always had a numerous company of pupils of good 
 rank. He died on his own estate in Essex. 
 
 Stephen Marshal, the leader in the Smectymnuus con- 
 troversy with Bishop Hall, was a native of Godmanchester. 
 This celebrated book was written before the civil war in 
 answer to Bishop Hall's " Divine Right of Episcopacy." 
 It is curious that Huntingdon, where for a time Laud was 
 Archdeacon, should have furnished several Puritan leaders, 
 but perhaps we should rather regard it as the natural con- 
 sequence. 
 
 In Archbishop Laud's Metropolitan Visitation, about 
 1634, his Vicar-General says: "At Huntingdon, divers 
 ministers in that division were suspected of Puritanisme, 
 but being questioned professed absolute conformitie." 
 Prudent men ! 
 
 Here Oliver Cromwell was born and brought up, and 
 it was with the Puritans he delighted to associate. He 
 invited the sturdy Nonconformists to his house, read the 
 Scriptures and prayed with them there, and it is reported 
 took his own turn at exhortation. 
 
 Carlyle says, " Oliver naturally consorted henceforth 
 (1624) with the Puritan Clergy, in preference to the other 
 kind ; zealously attended their ministry when possible ; 
 consorted with Puritans in general, many of whom were 
 Gentry of his own rank, some of them Nobility of much 
 higher rank. A modest devout man, solemnly intent, ' to 
 make his calling and election sure/ to whom in credible
 
 16 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 
 
 dialect, the Voice of the Highest had spoken. Whose 
 earnestness, sagacity and manly worth gradually made 
 him conspicuous in his circle among such. The Puritans 
 were already numerous. John Hampden, Oliver's Cousin, 
 was a devout Puritan, John Pym the like ; Lord Brook, Lord 
 Say, Lord Montague, Puritans in the better ranks, and in 
 every rank abounded. Already either in conscious act, or in 
 clear tendency, the far greater part of the serious Thought 
 and Manhood of England had declared itself Puritan." 
 
 Dr Beard was Master of the public school at Hunting- 
 don, and Oliver Cromwell's schoolmaster. He wrote a 
 book entitled " The theatre of God's judgments, by 
 Thomas Beard, D.D., and preacher of the word of God in 
 the Town of Huntingdon " ; which he dedicated to the 
 Mayor and burgesses, for several good reasons, one of 
 them, ' because Mr Mayor, you were my scholar and 
 brought up in my house." Oliver Cromwell, in his first 
 speech in Parliament made 11 Feb. 162f, said, "I have 
 heard by relation from one Dr Beard, that Dr Alabaster 
 has preached flat Popery at Paul's Cross, and that the 
 Bishop of Winchester had commanded him as his Dio- 
 cesan, he should preach nothing to the contrary." Where- 
 upon it was ordered that Dr Beard of Huntingdon be 
 written to by Mr Speaker, to come up and testify against 
 the Bishop the order for Dr Beard to be delivered to Mr 
 Cromwell. But the king hastily interfered, and on Monday, 
 the 2nd of March, 1629, Mr Speaker Finch was forcibly 
 held down in his chair " till it pleased the house to rise " ; 
 while Parliament with locked doors, refusing egress or 
 ingress even to the King's Usher, passed their three reso- 
 lutions then immediately vanished, for they understood 
 the soldiery was coming. Probably Cromwell brought 
 word to Dr Beard that he was not wanted now. On the
 
 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 17 
 
 8th of July, 1630, Oliver Cromwell, Esquire, and Thomas 
 Beard, D.D., were named Justices of the Peace for the 
 Borough of Huntingdon. 
 
 At St Ives they had a Puritan Vicar the Rev. Job 
 Tookie, who for refusing to read the " Book of Sports " 
 was ejected from the living. The Book of Sports was 
 issued in the year 1618, though in deference to Archbishop 
 Abbot's objections, it was not enforced ; but under Laud, 
 orders were issued in 1633 that it should be read in all the 
 churches. This order when emphasised by the Bishops 
 occasioned great trouble to the Puritan clergy. Mr Tookie's 
 ejectment would probably date not later than this year, 
 perhaps before. During Bishop Wren's episcopate at 
 Ely thirty-one clergy were ejected owing to the Bishop's 
 " articles " and refusal to comply with the order to read 
 the Book of Sports. Mr Tookie, of St Ives' Vicarage, 
 was the son of a minister, and his family had furnished 
 several ministers in the past. He had a son Job, who 
 was ejected under the Act of Uniformity in 1662. "He 
 went to St Albans, where he was preacher in the Abbey, 
 and gathered a Congregational Church, but the wideness of 
 the place dimmed his voice. He had eminent ministerial 
 gifts, which were well approved. Being persecuted he 
 came to London in 1665, and lived in Bunhill fields, where 
 great numbers about him died of the plague, but he and 
 his were preserved. He took all opportunities to preach 
 till his strength failed him. He was eminent for his gift 
 in prayer, in which he was so happy in his expression and 
 so pathetic in his supplication as warmed the hearts of 
 his hearers and contributed not a little to the usefulness 
 of his labours during the whole of his ministry." He died 
 in London, Nov. 20th, 1670, aged 54 years. The persecu- 
 tions of the Puritans of Laud's times are apt to be over- 
 T. B. 2
 
 18 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 
 
 looked, owing perhaps to the overwhelming numbers who 
 suffered in 1662, and the subsequent years of persecution. 
 Yet no inconsiderable number of Puritan clergy suffered 
 for their nonconformity under Laud. One example shall 
 be given. During Laud's London episcopate Thomas 
 Shepard accepted the invitation to Earl's Colne in Essex 
 to be " lecturer " there ; the people desired he would re- 
 main with them longer than the three years, the usual 
 term for the engagement of a lecturer. Shepard was not 
 suffered to remain here unmolested. On the 16th Dec. 
 he was summoned by Laud to appear before him in 
 London. 
 
 Mr Shepard relates : " As soon as I came in the morning 
 about 8 of the clock falling into a fit of rage he (Bp Laud) 
 asked me what degree I had taken in the University. I 
 answered him that I was Master of Arts. He asked of 
 what College. I answered Emmanuel (Camb.). He asked 
 how long I had been in his diocese. I answered three 
 years and upwards. He asked who maintained me all 
 this while, charging me to deal plainly with him, adding, 
 withal, that he had been more cheated and equivocated 
 with, by some of my malignant faction, than ever was 
 man by Jesuit. At the speaking of which words, he 
 looked as though blood would have gushed out of his 
 face, and did shake as if he had been haunted by an ague 
 fit, to my apprehension by reason of his extreme malice 
 and secret venom. I desired him to excuse me. He fell 
 then to threaten me and withal to bitter railing, calling 
 me all to naught, saying, ' you prating coxcomb, do you 
 think all the learning is in your brain ?' He then pro- 
 nounced his sentence thus. I charge you that you neither 
 preach, read, marry, bury, nor exercise any ministerial 
 function in any part of my diocese ; for if you do and I
 
 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 19 
 
 hear of it, I'll be upon your back and follow you wherever 
 you go, in any part of the kingdom, and so everlastingly 
 disable you ! I besought him not to deal so in regard to 
 a poor town. And here he stopped me in what I was 
 going to say. ' A poor town ! You have made a com- 
 pany of seditions, factions, bedlams; and what do you 
 prate to me of a poor town ?' I prayed him to suffer me 
 to catechize on the Sabbath-day in the afternoon. He 
 replied, ' Spare your breath, I'll have no such fellows prate 
 in my diocese. Get you gone ; and now make your com- 
 plaint to whom you will.' So away I went, and blessed 
 be God that I may go to him !" True to his word, Laud 
 allowed him no rest at Earl's Colne ; after several narrow 
 escapes from the officers of the Star Chamber he retired 
 to another place to friends in Essex, then to Keddon, five 
 miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and other places. Still 
 pursued and deprived of the means of support, he turned 
 his thoughts to New England, and reached Boston in 
 America, October, 1635, after a year's delay through 
 various accidents. 
 
 With regard to the Lecturers, Carlyle tells us that in 
 the year 1624 Dr Preston, a Puritan College Doctor, 
 formed a plan for buying up such lay-impropriations as 
 offered themselves, and by these supporting good ministers 
 in destitute places. " The funds thus gained by subscrip- 
 tions which the Doctor set on foot, were also used to defray 
 the expenses of ' Lecturers ' or Preachers, who having 
 scruples about ceremonies, were not generally in priests' 
 orders, but in ' Deacons' ' or some other orders, and who 
 had permission to ' lecture.' The wealthy merchants of 
 London, almost all of them Puritans, took it up ; and by 
 degrees, the wealthier Puritans over England at large. 
 These ' Lecturers ' preached or lectured in market towns 
 
 22
 
 20 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 
 
 on market-days ; on Sunday afternoons for some idle or 
 otherwise engaged Priest, or as ' running Lecturers,' now 
 here, now there. They were greatly followed by the 
 serious part of the community. Some years later these 
 Lecturers had risen to such a height, that Dr Laud, now 
 come into authority, took them seriously in hand, and 
 with patient detail hunted them mostly out ; nay, 
 brought the Scoffers themselves, and their whole enter- 
 prise, into the Star Chamber, and there with emphasis 
 enough, and heavy damages, amid huge rumour from the 
 public, suppressed them." This was in 1633. Dr Wells 
 was one of these "Lecturers" and so was poor Mr Shepard. 
 Another of these "Lecturers" was Mr John Pointer, 
 who was born about the year 1599. " Left an orphan, his 
 guardian was enabled to give him a liberal education by 
 means of a very considerable estate left for that purpose. 
 At the age of eighteen, he entered Oxford University 
 and became a Canon at Brasenose College. He after- 
 wards spent a year at Leyden. On returning he under- 
 took a lecture at St Mildred's, Bread Street, London, 
 where he preached twice every Lord's day. He was forced 
 to quit this by the Idcumbent, after carrying it on for two 
 years. Afterwards he was called to be lecturer at Wootten- 
 waven in Warwickshire ; from whence he was forced to 
 depart by the opposition of some Papists. He next ob- 
 tained from the company of mercers in London a lecturer's 
 place in Huntingdon, though he had eleven competitors." 
 Mr Pointer was then apparently about thirty-one years 
 old when he went to Huntingdon. He preached there on 
 Saturday (the market day) for the benefit of the country 
 people, and gave the town a sermon every Lord's-day in 
 the great church, gratis. Some years afterwards, the 
 lecture being supplied by neighbouring ministers, he
 
 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 21 
 
 preached twice every Lord's-day. In this place he con- 
 tinued eleven years, till the troubles of the war forced 
 him to London, whence he afterwards removed to Oxford 
 with his family. Then for three years he had no stated 
 employment, being unwilling to accept any sequestered 
 living, though he had the offer of about twenty of that 
 sort. At length he preached for Dr French in his turn at 
 Whitehall. When the doctor died, without any seeking 
 for it, Cromwell put him into the vacant canonry of 
 Christ-Church, Oxford, making him promise that he would 
 take as much pains in the ministry as he had done at 
 Huntingdon ; which he did, by preaching once in six 
 weeks in the college, and every Lord's-day at St Thomas' 
 church, gratis. He kept his turn also at St Mary's, and 
 in four towns in the country. After the Restoration he 
 was cast out, and he never preached afterwards; but 
 visited the sick, whom he was " officious to serve." He 
 was very studious ; a grave preacher, and a man of con- 
 siderable worth. He died Jan. 2, 1683, in his eighty- 
 fourth or eighty-fifth year. 
 
 In the year 1631 Oliver Cromwell, leaving his mother 
 in her house at Huntingdon, came to live at Slepe Hall, 
 St Ives, where he farmed until 1636, when he removed to 
 Ely. In a letter he wrote to Mr Storie, dated St Ives, 
 11 Jan. 1635, he writes: "they that build up spiritual 
 temples, they are the men truly charitable, truly pious. 
 Such a work as this was your erecting the lecture in our 
 country in the which you placed Dr Wells, a man of good- 
 ness and industry and ability to do good every way ; not 
 short of any I know in England, and I am persuaded that 
 sithence his coming the Lord has by him wrought much 
 good among us." 
 
 In Dr Williams' library there is a MS. informing us
 
 22 HUNTINGDON, ST IVES, AND THE LECTURERS. 
 
 there was -in 1715 a congregation of Presbyterians in St 
 Ives with 500 members. And in Calamy's History of his 
 own times, in 1713, it is said that the minister of this 
 congregation was Michael Harrison, who had been a 
 minister of the Established Church, but had seceded to 
 the Presbyterians. The year 1642 is assigned, in the Con- 
 gregational Year Book, as that of the foundation of this 
 church. Report is doubtless correct in asserting that it 
 had its origin in the ejectment of the Rev. Job Tookie 
 from the Vicarage.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 DR ROBERT WILDE. 
 
 DR ROBERT WILDE was born at St Ives in 1609. He 
 was destined for the church, and was chosen Minister of 
 Aynho, in Northamptonshire, after the ejectment of a 
 "scandalous" minister by the Parliamentary Commis- 
 sioners. He was a candidate for this place with another 
 minister, and when asked by a friend whether he or his 
 competitor had got Aynho, Wilde answered, "We have 
 divided it I have got the AY, and he has got the NO." 
 At Aynho he remained until his ejectment, 24 Aug. 1662. 
 He was celebrated for his wit and his poetry ; the above 
 is a specimen of the former, and a specimen of the 
 latter we will give. Dr Calamy tells us that Richard 
 Baxter was much displeased with Dr Wilde's facetiousness, 
 and thought it injurious to his usefulness as a minister. 
 Baxter, on his way from Kidderminster to London, called 
 upon him at Aynho to reprove him " as the times were 
 very dark." When he came there he found the Doctor 
 had gone to church, it being observed by him and his 
 people as a fast day. Baxter got into a corner of the 
 church, and when the sermon was over came to the 
 Doctor, thanked him warmly for his sermon, and desired 
 that he would reprove and rebuke him sharply, as he 
 deserved it. Baxter added, " For my great uncharitable-
 
 24 DR ROBERT WILDE. 
 
 ness and folly in believing reports," and he then explained 
 why he had called upon him. A minister who knew 
 Wilde personally writes thus of him : " He was excellently 
 qualified unto his ministerial work ; none more melted or 
 melting in prayer, nor more serious and fervent in preach- 
 ing Christ and his gospel." Calamy adds that " those 
 who knew him, commended him, not only for his serious- 
 ness, but also for his strict temperance and sobriety. He 
 was very serious in serious things." On his ejectment he 
 retired to Oundle, where he died in 1679, aged 70 years. 
 A little before his death he preached on Rev. xivth and 
 12th verse, " Here are they that keep the commandments 
 of God, and the faith of Jesus," when he said, " It is but a 
 short time and I shall soon be in Paradise." As Dr Wilde 
 was different to the usually conceived type of a Puritan, 
 it will be interesting to know more of his character. Wood 
 says that "he was a fat, jolly, and boon Presbyterian," 
 and elsewhere speaks of " the humour of Dr Robert Wilde, 
 the poet." Dr Wilde's poems were originally published 
 in sheets, and in 1670 they were collected and published 
 in one volume. They enjoyed an immense popularity. 
 Dry den says that " Wilde was the Wither of the City, and 
 that the citizens bought more editions of his works than 
 would lie under all the pies at the Lord Mayor's Christ- 
 mas." When his famous poem first .came out in 1660, 
 Dryden says " I have seen them reading it in the midst of 
 'Change time; nay, so vehemently were they at it, that 
 they lost their bargains by the candles' ends." Dryden 
 adds, "it was equally well received amongst great 
 people." One of his poems describes the character of a 
 leader amongst the nonconformists, one of the ejected 
 ministers, and shows Dr Wilde's appreciation of him, 
 and his principles; we give it here. It is entitled
 
 DR ROBERT WILDE. 25 
 
 " A poem upon the Imprisonment of Mr Calamy in New- 
 gate." 
 
 "This page I send you, sir, your Newgate fate 
 Not to condole but to congratulate. 
 I envy not our mitred men their places, 
 Their rich preferments, nor their richer faces : 
 To see them steeple upon steeple set, 
 As if they meant that way to heaven get. 
 I can behold them take into their gills 
 A dose of churches as men swallow pills, 
 And never grieve at it : let them swim in wine 
 While others drown in tears, I'll not repine. 
 But my heart truly grudges, I confess, 
 That you thus loaded are with happiness ; 
 For so it is : and you more blessed are 
 In Peter's chain, than if you sat in his chair. 
 One sermon hath preferred you, so much honour 
 A man could scarce have had from Bishop Bonner; 
 Whilst we, your brethren, poor erratics be, 
 You are a glorious fixed star we see. 
 Hundreds of us turn out of house and home, 
 To a safe habitation you are come. 
 What though it be a gaol? Shame and disgrace 
 Rise only from the crime, not from the place. 
 Who thinks reproach or injury is done 
 By an eclipse to the unspotted sun? 
 He only by that black upon his brow 
 Allures spectators more; and so do you. 
 Let me find honey, though upon a rod, 
 And prize the prison, where my Keeper's God: 
 Newgate, or hell, were heaven, if Christ were there 
 He made the stable so, and sepulchre. 
 Indeed the place did for your presence call : 
 Prisons do want perfuming most of all. 
 Thanks to the Bishop and his good Lord Mayor, 
 Who turned the den of thieves into the house of prayer ; 
 And may some thief by you converted be, 
 Like him who suffered in Christ's company. 
 Now would I had sight of your mittimus ; 
 Fain would I know why you are dealt with thus. 

 
 DR ROBERT WILDE. 
 
 Gaoler, set forth your prisoner at the bar. 
 
 Sir, you shall hear what your offences are. 
 
 First, It is proved that you, being dead in law, 
 
 As if you cared not for that death a straw, 
 
 Did walk and haunt your church as if you'd scare 
 
 Away the reader and his Common Prayer. 
 
 Nay, 'twill be proved you did not only walk, 
 
 But like a Puritan, your ghost did talk. 
 
 Dead, and yet preach ! those Presbyterian slaves 
 
 Will not give over preaching in their graves. 
 
 Item, You played the thief, and if't be so, 
 
 Good reason, sir, to Newgate you should go : 
 
 And now you're there, some dare to swear you are 
 
 The greatest pickpocket that e'er came there. 
 
 Your Wife, too, little better than yourself you make 
 
 She's the receiver of each purse you take. 
 
 But your great theft, you act it in your church 
 
 I do not mean you did your sermon lurch, 
 
 That's crime canonical but you did pray 
 
 And preach, so that you stole men's hearts away, 
 
 So that good man to whom your place doth fall 
 
 Will find they have no heart for him at all. 
 
 This felony deserved imprisonment. 
 
 What ! can't you Nonconformists be content 
 
 Sermons to make, except you preach them too? 
 
 They, that your places have, this work can do. 
 
 Thirdly, 'Tis proved, when you pray most devout 
 
 For all good men, you leave the bishops out: 
 
 This makes Seer Sheldon by his powerful spell 
 
 Conjure and lay you safe in Newgate hell: 
 
 Would I were there too, I should like it well. 
 
 I would you durst swap punishments with me ; 
 
 Pain makes me fitter for the company 
 
 Of roaring boys ; and you may lie in bed, 
 
 Now your name's up ; pray do it in my stead. 
 
 And if it be denied us to change places, 
 
 Let us for sympathy compare our cases ; 
 
 For if in suffering we both agree, 
 
 Sir, I may challenge you to pity me : 
 
 I am the older gaol bird ; my hard fate 
 
 Hath kept me twenty years in Cripplegate ; 
 
 Old Bishop Gout, that lordly proud disease,
 
 DR ROBERT WILDE. 27 
 
 Took my fat body for his diocese, 
 
 Where he keeps court, there visits every limb, 
 
 And makes them, Levite-like, conform to him. 
 
 Severely he doth article each joint, 
 
 And makes inquiry into every point; 
 
 A bitter enemy to preaching, he 
 
 Hath half a year sometimes suspended me ; 
 
 And if he find me painful in my station, 
 
 Down I am sure to go next Visitation; 
 
 He binds up, looseth ; sets up and pulls down ; 
 
 Pretends he draws all humours from the crown. 
 
 But I am sure he maketh such ado, 
 
 His humours trouble head and members too: 
 
 He hath me now in hand, and ere he goes, 
 
 I fear for heretics he'll burn my toes. 
 
 Oh, I would give all I am worth, a fee, 
 
 That from his jurisdiction I were free! 
 
 Now, sir, you find our sufferings do agree, 
 One bishop clapt up you, another me : 
 But Oh ! the difference too is very great 
 You are allowed to walk, to drink, to eat ; 
 I want them all, and ne'er a penny get ; 
 And though you be debarred your liberty, 
 Yet all your visitors I hope are free. 
 Good men, good women, and good angels come, 
 And make your prison better than your home. 
 And may it be so till your foes repent 
 They gave you such a rich imprisonment. 
 
 Dr Wilde did not differ so much from the leaders of 
 the Puritans as many suppose. Milton, Colonel Hutchinson, 
 Selden, and Owen fairly representative Puritans were 
 all distinguished by their graceful dress and their polished 
 manners. Bastwick finds fault with the Independents : 
 " you shall find them with cuffs, and those great ones, at 
 their very heels, and with more silver and gold upon their 
 clothes and at their heels (for these upstarts must now 
 have silver spurs) than many great and honourable 
 personages have in their purses." Anthony Wood charges
 
 28 DR ROBERT WILDE. 
 
 Owen at the University, " with scorning all formality a 
 young scholar, with powdered hair, snake-bone band-strings 
 with very large tassels, and Spanish leather boots, with 
 large lawn tops and his hat mostly cocked, instead of being 
 a good example to the University." Cromwell himself, 
 when Whitelock told him, on his return from Sweden, 
 how he had amused the members of his Embassy with 
 music and dancing in the long winter nights, expressed his 
 emphatic approval " of such very good diversions." One 
 of the most popular preachers of the Commonwealth was 
 Henry Smith, whose sermons, like Latimer's, abound in 
 broad English humour. Milton, who appears to have 
 thought that his works would only be read by the Puritan 
 section of his countrymen, wrote for them "L' Allegro" 
 and " Comus ". See also Mrs Hutehinson's portrait of 
 her husband. 
 
 We have already mentioned two ejected ministers 
 who were born in the puritan town of St Ives. There 
 is yet a third who was born there Mr Robert Perrot ; 
 as his useful life was spent partly as minister at Dean 
 in the adjoining county of Bedfordshire, and after his 
 ejectment from that living, in Aug. 1662, in his native 
 county of Huntingdonshire, a short sketch of him here will 
 not be out of place. He was a serious, lively, useful 
 preacher, took great pains in visiting his flock (so Calamy 
 tells us), and was remarkable for starting and prudently 
 managing spiritual discourse in common conversation. 
 Indeed his whole carriage was exemplary. He practised 
 physic, and after his ejectment attempted to settle as 
 a physician, first at Kettering, and then at Nottingham ; 
 but the breaking out of the plague, by the coming of some 
 Londoners in 1666, prevented the one, and many incon- 
 veniences the other. About this time he had an oppor-
 
 DR ROBERT WILDE. 
 
 tunity of preaching in Huntingdonshire for Mr Rede, in 
 a public church near Buckden. Though this was under 
 Bishop Laney's eye, he met with no molestation. Here 
 he continued three years, and left on the death of Mr Rede. 
 He went to Maidstone in Kent, where besides practising 
 physic, he preached twice on the Lord's-day, and held 
 a lecture besides. Here he died, aged 87 years. In his 
 last sickness he was very composed and resigned ; neither 
 fond of life nor afraid of death.
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 MR HENRY DENNE. 
 
 WE now pass from St Ives and its puritan interest 
 of the first half of the 17th century, to return to it later 
 on, when we will mention a few indications of the non- 
 conformist influence which it exercised in the second half 
 of that century. In 1641 the inhabitants of Huntingdon- 
 shire petitioned Parliament, expressing their sympathy 
 with the Lord Kimbolton, impeached by Charles of high 
 treason, and beseeching them, ' to root out the Papists and 
 their religion, to devote the Popish lords and bishops, and 
 others, from the house of Peers, and exenterate these evil 
 counsellors from that illustrious assembly.' In Edwards's 
 "Gangrana" published in 1646 we are told that the Isle 
 of Ely abounded in Sectaries. About this time the neigh- 
 bourhood of Bluntisham was much stirred by the ener- 
 getic gospel preaching of Mr Henry Denne, who was 
 educated at Cambridge University and ordained in the 
 year 1630. He afterwards embraced Puritan views and 
 exercised great influence. He joined the Arminian Bap- 
 tists, and became a member of the church meeting in Bell 
 Alley, Coleman Street, London. This Church sent him 
 forth into Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire, to propagate 
 Christian truth. His labours were effectual ; many churches 
 sprang iuto existence, amongst them those of Fenstanton
 
 MR HENRY DENNE. 31 
 
 and Warboys. Before becoming a Baptist he was curate at 
 Pyrton in Hertfordshire, fulfilling for ten years the duties 
 of a parochial minister. In December, 1641, he preached 
 at Baldock a visitation sermon which gave rise to much 
 excitement, and ultimately to his separation from the 
 Anglican Church. In this sermon, preached before the 
 Clergy, he embodied those great truths of God's word, 
 which for ten years he had delivered to his own parish- 
 ioners. But they were unpleasing to many of his clerical 
 auditory, scarcely less so than the fidelity with which 
 he reproved their vices. " Thus do you," he boldly says, 
 " in some cases dissolve in the tavern, that which you con- 
 firmed in the pulpit, making a mock at all the ordinances 
 of God, and seducing those by your conversation for whom 
 Christ died." Mr Denne sought to revive the knowledge 
 of the gospel, at the same time he denounced pluralities 
 and the time-serving and licentiousness of the clergy. 
 But while Presbyterians and Independents were free to 
 preach anywhere not so the Baptists. Towards the close 
 of 1644, the Cambridge committee for providing ministers 
 and removing " scandalous " ones, arrested and imprisoned 
 Mr Denne. By the influence of Mr Desborough or 
 Disbrowe, a brother-in-law of Cromwell, the matter was 
 brought before parliament, and Mr Denne soon released. 
 In the same year or early in 1645 he became minister 
 of the parish of Eltisley in Cambridgeshire, though 
 his residence was at Caxton, about a mile distant. 
 James Disbrowe, lord of the manor of Eltisley and brother 
 of Major-General Disbrowe (says Noble the Tory writer) 
 whose name appears in the Fenstanton records as elder 
 of the church, " has placed over the parish of Eltisley 
 Mr Henry Denne whom he had, through the interest 
 of the all-powerful Mr Cromwell, released from prison
 
 32 MR HENRY DENNE. 
 
 Psalm singing was as heinous a sin here, as bending the 
 knee to Baal, and it was then as much noted for the 
 devout exercises practised there, as any other canting 
 place in the kingdom." Mr Denne appears as the de- 
 fender of the Quakers ; and pleads in the same pamphlet, 
 for a perfect toleration of papists, in respect of their re- 
 ligious belief ; transubstantiation, purgatory etc. cannot he 
 argues affect their relations with the state, but if they refuse 
 to abjure such doctrines as " faith is not to be kept with 
 heretics," or the like, then let them be dealt with as men 
 not fit to live in a commonwealth ; let them be banished, 
 thus anticipating Locke's judgment in this matter. Mr 
 Denne also defends the celebrated "Tinker" of Bedford 
 against the " frivolous " charges of the Cambridge Reader 
 in Rhetoric. As for Bunyan, says Mr Denne, "you seem 
 to be angry with the Tinker, because he strives to mend 
 souls as well as kettles and pans. The main drift of your 
 letter is to prove that none may preach except they be 
 sent." In Denne's j udgment it was enough that the church 
 at Bedford had called the " Tinker " to preach the gospel. 
 He needed no better commission than that. Mr Denne 
 died, it appears, about the year 1661. This epitaph, said 
 to have been written by a clergyman, a friend of his, only 
 remains : 
 
 " To tell his wisdom, learning, goodness unto men, 
 I need say no more; but here lies Henry Denne." 
 
 We can add a few more facts concerning Mr Henry 
 Denne. Edwards in his "Gangraena" states that Denne 
 employed himself during the year 1646 in "going up and 
 down the country, spreading his corrupt opinions and 
 dipping." In June he was arrested at Spalding in 
 Lincolnshire, and brought before two justices of the peace,
 
 MR HENRY DENNE. 33 
 
 charged with baptizing in the river four persons. We 
 are not informed of the result of his arrest, except that 
 he was confined "to the provost marshal for that day, 
 being the Lord's day, that he should not make a meeting 
 nor stir in the town that day by people resorting to 
 him." Mr Denne appears, like many men of his pro- 
 fession, to have entered the army, and to have taken 
 part in the war which overthrew the king, having got 
 into trouble for disputing the right of Parliament to order 
 the troops to Ireland, owing to the engagement the troops 
 had made on Triplow Heath. The next intelligence we 
 have of Denne is from a newspaper of the time : "Satur- 
 day, May 19, 1649. This day also came intelligence of 
 the surprisal of the revolted troops about Burford in 
 Oxfordshire; they, being twelve troops, were all taken; 
 very few escaped, some of the chief of which were im- 
 mediately condemned to suffer death, viz. Cornet Tompson 
 and Cornet Denn, or, as we call him, Parson Denn; and 
 two corporals, Church and Perkins; these being found 
 guilty upon the articles of mutiny are therefore adjudged 
 to die. Cornet Denn, being a man of parts, and one who 
 had been esteemed for piety and honesty, received his 
 sentence with great manliness and fortitude of spirit, 
 and yet with so much relenting and acknowledgement 
 of the just hand of God, the justice of the sentence, and 
 his submission thereunto, that he seemed to rejoice with 
 willingness to suffer under so righteous a sentence, and he 
 professed openly, that although his heart could not accuse 
 him of an evil meaning, yet was he convinced of the 
 evil of the action, and dangerous consequences of it."... 
 The four condemned persons were, one after the other, 
 brought to the place of execution, in the sight of 
 the rest of the soldiers. Cornet Tompson and the two 
 T. B. 3
 
 34 MR HENRY DENNE. 
 
 Corporals suffered the penalty of the law. Cornet Denne 
 being called out, came with much composure of spirit, 
 expecting to die, but the general having commanded 
 the Lieutenant-General Cromwell to let him know at 
 the place of execution that his excellency had extended 
 mercy to him, he soberly and suddenly replied: "I am 
 not worthy of such a mercy; 'I am more ashamed to 
 live than afraid to die' weeping bitterly." In justice to 
 Mr Denne we must give an extract from his explanation. 
 He says : " We did believe that there stood between us and 
 Ireland (referring to the order to march into Ireland) an 
 engagement made by the army at that famous rendezvous 
 at Triploe Heath," when the army engaged to disband, 
 on certain conditions one of which was that a council 
 should be formed of officers, and two soldiers from each 
 regiment. Denne, with others, urged upon his Excellency 
 this condition, "before we could submit to his Excellency's 
 order." Denne makes manifest to his fellow-soldiers, in 
 his declaration to them, that he regrets his late rash 
 attempt, and adds: "Oh ! how necessary it is at all times 
 to draw near unto God for wisdom and understanding 
 to guide and direct us in all our ways." In the month of 
 October, 1653, Denne laid before the Fenstanton church 
 a proposal to traverse the neighbouring districts in order 
 to preach the gospel, reminding them of our Lord's com- 
 mand to communicate to all the riches of His grace. 
 The church elected him as one of their evangelists, and 
 sent him forth to the work. During the year 1654 Mr 
 Denne extended his evangelistic labours to the county 
 of Kent, revisiting the scenes of his ministry ten years' 
 before. It led to an earnest request on the part of the 
 church at Canterbury, that Mr Denne should be per- 
 mitted to settle in that city.
 
 MR HENRY DENNE. 35 
 
 Early in 1655 he proceeded thither, with the cordial 
 concurrence of the church at Fenstanton, being supplied 
 by them with money, horses, and all necessary con- 
 veniences for the journey. On his arrival at Canterbury, 
 early in February, he found a hearty welcome, and a 
 house prepared for his reception. Shortly after the Resto- 
 ration of Charles II., the insurrection of Venner gave rise 
 to the apprehension and imprisonment of many Baptists, 
 and others supposed to sympathise with the principles 
 of the Fifth Monarchy men. 
 
 On the very day of the royal proclamation, forbidding 
 the assembling for worship of "anabaptists, quakers, and 
 other sectaries," the London baptists presented to the 
 King "An humble Apology," protesting against their sup- 
 posed participation in Venner's rebellion. 
 
 The royal ear was closed. This apology and others 
 were in vain. The meeting-houses were invaded by a 
 rude and savage soldiery, and the prisons were soon filled 
 with the victims of intolerance. In common with the 
 Quakers, a few baptists deemed it sinful to take an oath, 
 and their release from imprisonment was rendered still 
 more hopeless by the Bill brought into the House of 
 Commons in May 1661, for the suppression of baptists 
 and quakers, having especial reference to their refusal 
 to swear. Mr Denne came forward, and addressed his 
 brethren in prison, endeavouring to show them that to 
 take an oath is a lawful act, sanctioned by the word 
 of God. 
 
 From the time of its formation till the year 1676 
 or 1677, the church at Fenstanton enjoyed the services of 
 Mr John Denne as elder. He was the eldest son of 
 Mr Henry Denne and resided at Caxton. The first volume 
 of the Fenstanton records is all in his neat, good, writing 
 
 32
 
 36 MR HENRY DENNE. 
 
 and consists of 384 quarto pages. Mr John Denne after- 
 wards resided at St. Ives, and died in the year 1676 
 or 1679. In the expressive language of the records he 
 " died in the faith." A family of six children were born to 
 him between 1654 and 1672. 
 
 Mr Henry Denne had a second son Jonathan who with 
 his wife Sarah were members of the Fenstanton Church ; 
 they had six children registered as born to them. 
 
 This strong Missionary Church of Fenstanton lived on, 
 past the middle of the present century, and in con- 
 junction with that of Warboys, must have been an active 
 religious influence, bearing upon Bluntisham in the 17th 
 and 18th centuries. Indeed we are expressly told that 
 at a meeting held at Fenstanton on the fifth day of 
 the fourth month 1653, Edmund Mayle declared their pro- 
 ceedings at Over, and also at Bluntisham and Somersham. 
 
 In the records of the Warboys church we are told 
 " by the preaching of Henry Denne, many in this county 
 received the faith, of whom some were of this town." The 
 baptists disputed with Eusebius Hunt, " parish teacher of 
 Warboys," concerning the baptism of infants, on which 
 occasion it appears Henry Denne preached in " the stone 
 house " or parish church. After a second dispute, Denne 
 demanded of Hunt whether he judged it best to sprinkle 
 infants or let them alone ? Hunt answered, " let them 
 alone." This occurred in the year 1644. In the Fen- 
 stanton church register the names and residences are given 
 of members from 1645 to 1692. They appear to have 
 been drawn from as many as thirty-eight parishes, a few 
 of which we give : St Ives, Holywell, Haddenham, Eason, 
 the Hemingfords, Papworth, Yelling, Gamlingay, Cone (no 
 doubt Colne), Sutton, Over, Hoton (no doubt Houghton). 
 Visitors, we are told, "did go to Somersham, Yelling,
 
 MR HENRY DENNE. 37 
 
 Holywell, Over, Earith, Colne, and several times to Blunt- 
 isham, to see different church members residing at these 
 places." " In the time of the Commonwealth Henry 
 Denne was refused the use of the parish church at St Ives 
 by the Minister's committee. He went outside the town 
 and preached under a tree, telling the people that Christ 
 had died for Judas as well as for Peter, after which Henry 
 Denne shook the dust off his feet against St Ives and 
 departed."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 MASTERS FRANCIS HOLCROFT AND JOSEPH ODDY. 
 
 THERE were two men whose lives, devoted to Christian 
 teaching, exercised a notable and widely extended influ- 
 ence in Cambridgeshire and the surrounding counties. 
 These were Mr Francis Holcroft and Mr Joseph Oddy. 
 Both were Masters of Arts of the Cambridge University, 
 the one a Fellow of Clare Hall, and the other of Trinity 
 College. Both were presented to livings in Cambridge- 
 shire, Mr Holcroft to Bassingbourne, Mr Oddy to Meldreth, 
 and both were ejected from their Fellowships and Livings 
 by the Act of Uniformity in August, 1662. Closely asso- 
 ciated in their Evangelistic work after their ejection, 
 sometimes they shared the same prison, at other times 
 were confined in different prisons at the same time and 
 for the same reason. Both upon their release prosecuted 
 their plans with renewed vigour, preaching at Cambridge 
 in spite of a drum which the Gownsmen beat in their 
 meeting, preaching too all over the country, followed by 
 such multitudes that they were often forced to preach 
 abroad. Five years only divided them in their deaths, 
 and they lie buried side by side in the little burial ground 
 at Oakington purchased by Mr Holcroft and bequeathed 
 by him, together with a small estate for the poor of his 
 Church, for a burial ground. Over them a toinb is
 
 MESSRS FRANCIS HOLCROFT AND JOSEPH ODDY. 39 
 
 erected, which may still be identified by travellers passing 
 on the high road. 
 
 These two men exercised an influence in the district, 
 of which Cambridge is the centre, akin to that of the two 
 Wesleys in their larger field of action. Calamy says, 
 " These two men were the founders of almost all the non- 
 conformist churches about Cambridgeshire the church at 
 St Andrew's Street, Cambridge, being one of them and 
 exercised a general superintendency over them, assisted 
 by three other elders." Their earnest labours for the 
 advancement of the Kingdom of Christ, and for the 
 highest interests of their neighbours, kindled a corre- 
 sponding earnestness in hearts, responsive to the heavenly 
 call, making their hidden life in Christ manifest, quicken- 
 ing it into new life a life doubtless in many instances 
 transmitted from parents to children, and from friend to 
 friend. Along with, and also apart from it, would pass 
 traditions of acts the outcome of the renewed life all of 
 which must have prepared the neighbourhood of Blunt - 
 isham to respond to the efforts afterwards put forth by 
 Mr Coxe Feary and his friends, when they founded their 
 church, the centenary of whose meeting-house this narra- 
 tive commemorates. A few particulars of the lives of 
 Masters Holcroft and Oddy will interest those who value 
 their work. Mr Francis Holcroft was son of a knight who 
 lived at Westham near London, he was a pupil of Mr 
 David Clarkson, and Chamber-fellow with Dr Tillotson, 
 afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. He embraced puri- 
 tan principles, and became, when at Cambridge Univer- 
 sity, a communicant with Mr Jephcot, of S waff ham -prior, 
 eleven miles from Cambridge, who was ejected in 1662. 
 His chamber being over the college-gate, he often observed 
 a horse waiting before it a long time on Lord's-day morn-
 
 40 MESSRS FRANCIS HOLCROFT AND JOSEPH ODDY. 
 
 ings for one of the Fellows, to go to preach at Litlington, 
 a village thirteen miles distant, and often returning with- 
 out the preacher, who was much given to intemperance 
 and debauchery. Touched with compassion for the souls 
 of the neglected country people, and ashamed of con- 
 tinuing idle in the college, when preaching was so much 
 wanted, he offered to supply that parish. The offer was 
 accepted, and his ministry was successful to the conversion 
 and edification of many. About the year 1655 he accepted 
 the living of Bassingbourn, where he laboured " in season 
 and out of season," great multitudes following him. " Having 
 become acquainted with many of the congregational judg- 
 ment, he fell in with it, and became very zealous for it, 
 so that he formed a church upon that plan, and was much 
 against holding communion with the parish churches." 
 Many of the members of his church living in distant 
 villages, he and his assistant, Mr Oddy, administered the 
 sacrament at one or other of these villages every Lord's-day. 
 Mr Robinson writes that "After the ejectment Mr Holcroft 
 considered himself as being still pastor of his flock ; and 
 as they could not all meet in one place, he determined to 
 meet and administer the ordinances to them in separate 
 bodies, at the different towns where they lived. But as 
 this would have been too much for one man he assembled 
 his people at Eversden to consider the matter, when they 
 chose Messrs Joseph Oddy, S. Corbyn, J. Waite, and Beare, 
 elders. These all laboured in the same work till the next 
 year, 1663, when Mr Holcroft was imprisoned in Cam- 
 bridge Castle for preaching at Eversden, Mr Oddy for 
 preaching at Meldreth, Mr Corbyn and Mr Waite shared 
 the same fate, and Mr Beare escaped only by flight. 
 While the Pastors and Elders were thus separated from 
 their flock, the people continued to meet together, and
 
 MESSRS FRANCIS HOLCROFT AND JOSEPH ODDY. 41 
 
 passed their time in prayer and reading the scriptures. 
 Sometimes some of the ejected ministers preached to them 
 privately, and now and then the gaoler allowed Mr Hoi- 
 croft to go out in the night and preach to them and 
 administer the Lord's Supper. They had also letters from 
 him, one of which was printed in 1688, entitled, 'A Word 
 to the Saints from the Watch-Tower.' Mr Holcroft was 
 considered the pastor of all the churches in the county, 
 till soon after Mr Oddy's death, when these congregations 
 became separate churches. This change was rendered 
 necessary by Mr Holcroft's illness, first brought on by 
 colds caught after excessive heat in preaching. This ill- 
 ness induced melancholy, and he continued to decline till 
 on January the 6th, 1692, he died, at Triplow, either in 
 his 59th or 63rd year. His courage and spirits returned 
 before his death and he departed with great joy." Mr 
 Milway of Bury says of his preaching, " It appeared to me 
 truly apostolical, primitive and divine." Mr Robinson 
 says, "...he seems to have been one of those uncommon 
 men in whom the excellencies of several centred. His 
 learning was enough to have gained him an ample reputa- 
 tion, but his knowledge of the gospel of Christ was aston- 
 ishing. His preaching was less methodical than that of 
 his contemporaries, but then it was more useful." Dr 
 Calamy adds, " He was indefatigable in his labours, 
 preaching perpetually about the country, so that there is 
 scarcely a village in Cambridgeshire but some old person 
 can shew you the barn where Holcroft preached. He 
 had a lion-like courage, tempered with the most winning 
 affability in his whole deportment. His doctrines were 
 moderate Calvinism, and he had a great zeal for noncon- 
 formity, though a still greater for true piety, which he 
 revered even in his enemies. During his long imprison-
 
 42 MESSRS FRANCIS HOLCROFT AXD JOSEPH ODDY. 
 
 ment in Cambridge Castle he was exceedingly cheerful, 
 and though in the latter part of his life his spirits failed, 
 yet all his conversation was heavenly and divine." Mr 
 Oddy was born at Leeds, and passed from his school 
 there to Cambridge University. At some period he re- 
 tired to Willingham, where he in 1667 took up the 
 work of Mr Bradshaw, who had formed a church there 
 in his own house, and at this time left Willingham for 
 London. Mr Oddy not only preached to this people but 
 also all over the Fens. He was so much followed, persons 
 travelling over twenty miles to hear him, that he was 
 sometimes constrained to preach in the open fields, on 
 which account it is less to be wondered at that he was 
 frequently imprisoned. He was once confined five years 
 together, but at length his preaching privately to his 
 friends was connived at. Upon the Indulgence in 1672 
 he retired to Cottenham and gave himself up entirely to 
 itinerancy till his death, May 3rd, 1687. Mr Oddy was 
 quick at repartee and apt at rebuke. On one occasion, 
 soon after his release from prison, he was accosted by one 
 of the Cambridge wits with, 
 
 " Good day, Mr Oddy, 
 Pray how fares your body? 
 Methinks you look damnably thin ! " 
 
 to which Mr Oddy promptly replied, 
 
 " That Sir's your mistake, 
 'Tis for righteousness' sake; 
 Damnation's the fruit of your sin ! " 
 
 We must add one other anecdote of him, "When 
 preaching one night in a wood between W T illingham and 
 Cottenham, sitting upon his horse, that he might the more 
 readily escape if molested by informers, he was broke in 
 upon so abruptly, that he was thrown from his horse, and
 
 MESSRS FRANCIS HOLCROFT AND JOSEPH ODDY. 43 
 
 quite stunned by the fall. In this state of insensibility, 
 he was laid by his persecutors across the horse and in that 
 position carried to Cambridge Castle." 
 
 In the recital by Mrs Churchman of her troubles of 
 this time we are told " Persecution now came on apace ; 
 the Dissenters could have no meetings but in woods and 
 corners. I, myself, have seen our companies often 
 alarmed with drums and soldiers. Every one was fined 
 
 five pounds a month, for being in their company The 
 
 great trial now came on ; they found and seized my beloved 
 pastor (F. Holcroft) and carried him to ' Cambridge 
 Castle,' but even there God appeared wonderfully for him \ 
 he preached, and many souls were converted in that place." 
 Mrs Churchman afterwards mentions attending a meeting 
 at a place called "Toft." Mr Oddy (co-pastor with Mr 
 Holcroft) preached. Among the State Papers is a Spy 
 book showing the surveillance of the neighbourhood of 
 Bedford and Cambridgeshire; it speaks of Meldreth, 
 " where are concourses of many hundreds, both Indepen- 
 dents and Baptists; that Francis Holcroft stops at the 
 house of Widow Hawkes at Barlyn in Hertfordshire and 
 holds meetings in the neighbourhood, three hundred at a 
 time, and also meets with many hundreds at Cambridge." 

 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 
 
 LET us now turn our attention to the direct and in- 
 direct religious influence exercised by the nonconforming 
 ministers. They were those who would not conform to the 
 new " Act of Uniformity," which obliged all ministers of 
 the State Church to declare their unfeigned assent and 
 consent to all and every thing contained in the book of 
 Common Prayer etc. This they could not do, some for 
 the excellent reason that it was not published until a 
 few days before the 24th of August the very day ap- 
 pointed for the ejection of such ministers as would not 
 make the declaration. 
 
 We cannot enumerate the many reasonable objections 
 made by the nonconforming ministers. That they were 
 in earnest they shewed by leaving their parsonages and 
 casting themselves abroad on the world a few weeks before 
 the tithe was collected. It is grievous to think of the sad 
 farewells spoken and made in church and congregation, 
 Rectory and Vicarage. They were driven from their 
 pleasant homes, exchanging these for want and homeless 
 wanderings. 
 
 Amongst other things, the assent and consent, bound 
 them to deny the Lord's Supper to all who would not take 
 it kneeling. De Foe says "having occasion to go to
 
 THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 45 
 
 Windsor with a gentleman with whom I had had some 
 contest about the position of receiving this sacrament, and 
 the coercions then in fashion, it chanced we went into 
 the Royal Chapel of St George's and reviewing the fine 
 painting I was surprised that the government persecuted 
 the Dissenters for not receiving the Lord's-supper kneeling, 
 while in the altar piece the Saviour was represented ad- 
 ministering the Last Supper to his disciples all sitting 
 round the table it was strange how a fair government 
 could persecute its subjects for refusing to receive in a 
 position which at the same time, they acknowledged thus 
 publicly our Saviour himself did not practice at the first 
 institution. My friend was astonished and struck dumb." 
 Through the " Act of Uniformity " in the thousand 
 parishes, the voice of the devout Teacher of truth and 
 preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, was silenced, and 
 his familiar form seen no more in the house of the sick, 
 nor at the bedside of the dying, nor speaking words of 
 comfort to the bereaved, pointing them to the blessed hope 
 of reunion in their risen Lord. The deep mourning of the 
 ejected, and of those from whom they were separated, 
 rendered more bitter by the sense of the injustice of the 
 Act, cast a heavy cloud over the land. Its present and 
 future consequences were most disastrous. 
 
 Not only did the nonconformists suffer under the Act 
 of Uniformity, but from an Act which received the Royal 
 assent on the 31st October 1665 called the " Oxford five 
 mile act." It required all parsons and others in holy 
 orders who had not subscribed the " Act of Uniformity " 
 to swear that under any circumstances it was unlawful to 
 take up arms against the king, and that they would not at 
 any time endeavour any alteration of government in church 
 or state. Those nonconformist ministers who would not
 
 46 THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 
 
 subscribe this oath, of passive obedience, were forbid under 
 a penalty of forty pounds, except in passing the road, to 
 come within five miles of any city, town corporate, or 
 borough, that sends burgesses to Parliament, or within 
 five miles of any parish, town, or place, wherein they had, 
 since the passing of the act of oblivion, been parsons etc. 
 or where they had preached in any conventicle. They 
 were also rendered incapable of teaching any public or 
 private schools, or of taking any boarders to be instructed, 
 under the same penalty. In the year 1670 the Conventicle 
 Act, was re-enacted with two additional clauses "that if 
 any justice of the peace refuse to do his duty in the execu- 
 tion of this act he shall forfeit five pounds ; and that all 
 the clauses of this act, shall be construed most largely and 
 beneficially for the suppressing conventicles, and for the 
 justification and encouragement of all persons to be em- 
 ployed in the execution of them." Although the Act says 
 seditious conventicles, yet it is plain to any one acquainted 
 with the history of those times and with the trials of those 
 who were fined, that the real intention was to enforce con- 
 formity to the establishment. The agents chiefly em- 
 ployed were profligate mercenary informers who boasted 
 to the conscientious sufferers that they were servants to the 
 king and church, and that they would make them leave 
 their conventicles and conform. 
 
 Some of the worst men in the community found lucra- 
 tive employment as spies ; their pay depending upon the 
 diligence with which they hunted down the peaceable 
 people who frequented the gatherings of the noncon- 
 formists. They had every inducement to be vigilant, for 
 they received 7 or 8, sometimes even as much as 15, 
 for a single successful conviction. The common people 
 had many stories of the judgments that befel the informers.
 
 THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 47 
 
 After the Act of Uniformity came into force, Huntingdon- 
 shire benefited by the presence of several of the ejected 
 ministers who resided within the county. 
 
 Mr Vintress was ejected from Church Brampton, 
 Northamptonshire. He is said to have much resembled 
 Mr Stephen Marshall, one of the authors of " Smectym- 
 nuus," which title his initials commence who was born at 
 Godmanchester. It is probable that Mr Marshall would 
 sometimes visit his native place perhaps find shelter 
 there during the persecutions, his presence may have 
 been the attraction which induced Mr Vintress to settle at 
 Godmanchester on his ejectment from Church Brampton 
 in 1662. He died at Godmanchester and is spoken of 
 as a person of great worth, and above the common level 
 of ministerial abilities. 
 
 Laney, Bishop of Lincoln, whose episcopal palace was 
 at Buckden, allowed Mr Samuel Ainsworth, the ejected 
 Rector of Kelmarsh and at this time continuing in his 
 nonconformity, to preach publicly for some years together 
 in the adjoining parish of Brampton. This good Bishop, 
 we are told, also connived at the preaching of the Rev. 
 Mr Rolt, the ejected minister of Tempsford, when for 
 some time he preached publicly in a church near Buckden. 
 We have already referred to a similar indulgence in the 
 case of Mr Robert Perrot, ejected from Dean and a native 
 of St Ives, Hunts. Nor was this good Bishop the only 
 one who was friendly to the Nonconforming Ministers. 
 Some years later, in the year 1681, Bishop Barlow dated 
 a letter from Buckden, March 16th, written to the ejected 
 minister of Long Whatton, Leicestershire. " My reverend 
 brother, I have received yours, and this comes with my 
 love and respects, to bring you thanks for the rational 
 and pious book you so kindly sent me. Though my
 
 48 THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 
 
 businesses be many and my infirmities more, being now 
 past 74, yet I have read all your book, and some parts of 
 it more than once, with great satisfaction and benefit. 
 For in your meditations of the love of God and the world 
 you have instructed me in several things which I knew 
 not before, or at least considered not so seriously and so 
 
 often as I might and ought I shall pray for a blessing 
 
 upon you and your studies : and your prayers are heartily 
 desired by and for your affectionate friend and brother, 
 Thomas Lincoln." " To my reverend friend, Mr Samuel 
 Shaw, at his house in Ashby de la Zouch." What a pity 
 that such a correspondence was not more frequent be- 
 tween these suffering nonconforming clergy and their 
 conforming brethren in power. 
 
 Mr John Moore, the ejected minister of Clavering, 
 Essex, after his ejection, preached at Easton, in Hunting- 
 donshire, where he had an estate. He died in 1673, and 
 is described "as a man of an humble spirit and of a 
 blameless conversation." Philip Nye, M.A., of Magdalen 
 Hall, Oxford, was born 1596. In 1633 he went to Holland 
 to escape Laud's persecutions. He returned at the be- 
 ginning of the long parliament, and by the Earl of 
 Manchester's favour became minister of Kimbolton in 
 Huntingdonshire. " He had a great concern in choosing 
 the members of the Assembly of divines, in which he was 
 one of the dissenting brethren. He was one of the chap- 
 lains who attended the commissioners to Charles I. in the 
 Isle of Wight, 1647, and was made one of the Triers of 
 ministers in 1652. He was also a principal person in 
 managing the meeting of the congregational churches at 
 the Savoy, by the Protector's orders ; when the Declara- 
 tion of the faith, order, and practice of the congregational 
 churches in England was agreed upon by their Elders
 
 THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 49 
 
 and Messengers, October 12, 1658. After his ejectment 
 he preached privately, as opportunity offered, to a congre- 
 gation of Dissenters till the year 1672, when he died, 
 aged 76. " He left behind him the character of a man of 
 uncommon depth, who was seldom or never outstretched ; 
 but was of too warm a spirit." He had drawn up a com- 
 plete history of the old Puritan Dissenters ; but the MS. 
 was unfortunately burnt at Alderman Clarkson's in the 
 fire of London. But, besides the influence exercised by 
 these good men after the ejectment under the Act of 
 Uniformity, Aug. 24th, 1662, Huntingdonshire had the 
 benefit of the previous years of puritan teaching in 
 several parishes from which the ministers were after- 
 wards ejected. 
 
 From Bottlebridge Mr Simon King was ejected. He 
 had been schoolmaster at Bridgnorth, where Mr Baxter 
 and he lived together in the same house ; they were after- 
 wards fellow-labourers in Coventry. After Mr King's 
 ejectment in 1662 he lived at Long Orton, near Peter- 
 borough. He is described as " an able scholar, a man of 
 solid judgment, of an honest heart, and unblamable life ; 
 inclined to no extremes." 
 
 From the valuable parsonage of Elton, Mr Cooper was 
 ejected in 1662. "He was a grave, venerable person of 
 the Puritan stamp ; and a man of great note in this 
 country, for the purity of his life, the prudence of his 
 conduct, and his ministerial abilities. 
 
 From Hemingford Mr Heath was ejected. 
 
 From Overton Longville Mr Edward Spinks was 
 ejected, who at the Restoration had been previously 
 ejected from Castor in Northamptonshire, a living worth 
 300 a year, in the gift of the Bishop of Peterborough. 
 " Mr Spinks was an able preacher and a man of great 
 T. B. 4
 
 50 THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 
 
 note. After he was silenced he lived near Mrs Elmes. 
 his Wife's Mother, who had a good estate, and made all 
 nonconformist ministers welcome at her house ; " pre- 
 sumably this was in the same county as Overton Long- 
 ville. 
 
 From Cherry Orton Mr Gibson, M.A., was ejected, " a 
 good scholar, and an eminent preacher." 
 
 Mr Scott was also one of the ejected of this county. 
 
 From Standground, Mr Richard Kidder was ejected ; 
 he afterwards conformed and became Bishop of Bath and 
 Wells. "He is well known as the author of a valuable 
 work entitled ' The Messiah '." His predecessor in the 
 living of Standground was Ken, afterwards Bishop of 
 Salisbury, where he composed his popular morning and 
 evening hymns. He was afterwards translated to the 
 bishopric of Bath and Wells ,Sfa<L was one of the seven 
 non-juring Bishops who were sent to the Tower in King 
 James II.'s reign, because they would not take the oath 
 of supremacy. 
 
 From Over, Mr Robert Wilson, B.A., Jesus College, 
 Cambridge, was ejected. " He was eminently pious and 
 charitable, and an ardent beggar for the Nonconformists." 
 Mr Bains, a Norfolk clergyman, says of Mr Wilson, " He 
 was as good and pious a man as ever lived upon God's 
 earth." 
 
 From Sutton, William Hunt, B.A., King's College, 
 Cambridge, was ejected. He was very useful here till 
 his ejectment: when, being possessed of about 120, he 
 bought a house and a few cows ; and by his diligence in 
 teaching a school, and the industry of his wife, who kept 
 a dairy, with the kind assistance of charitable Christians, 
 he brought up five children well. He was a man of a 
 very catholic spirit, and a great lover of all who feared
 
 THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 51 
 
 and loved God. He was intimate with several persons of 
 the established church, and among the rest, with the 
 learned Dr Lightfoot, who expressed a high idea of his 
 learning, and shewed him great kindness. When he had 
 not liberty to preach, he went with his family to the 
 public church, and instead of striving for the uppermost 
 place, he chose the lowest, though the chief pew belonged 
 to his near relations. He was a man of eminent piety, 
 good ministerial abilities and great fidelity. He had a 
 more than common knowledge of Latin and Greek, and 
 was a good poet in each of these languages. He was 
 unwearied in visiting the sick ; ready to rise at midnight 
 to go and pray with the poorest person in the parish. He 
 was strictly faithful to his word, and would never promise 
 but when he knew he could perform. He was much 
 given to hospitality, and exceedingly charitable, seeming 
 to take more pleasure in giving than in receiving. His 
 house was common to poor travellers such as were clean 
 and decent he took into his family, and lodged in his 
 beds ; and such as were not, he lodged in his barn ; and 
 he would often converse with them there, and carry them 
 food, and in cold weather take them to his fire. He died 
 when about seventy years of age. 
 
 From Bluntisham Mr James Bedford, B.D. was ejected. 
 He was the son of Mr Isaac Bedford, the excellent 
 Minister of Clifton in Bedfordshire, and there he was 
 born. He was much applauded for his ability and faith- 
 fulness in the work of the Ministry. Mr Bedford of 
 Willion in Hertfordshire was his brother. 
 
 The religious influence of these good men in this 
 county must have been considerable. Bluntisham and 
 its neighbourhood doubtless shared in the benefits it 
 conferred ; and one would expect that the effects of this 
 
 42
 
 52 THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 
 
 influence, especially that arising from the ministry of the 
 good man in Bluntisham Rectory, must be felt through 
 the several generations down to the time of Mr Coxe 
 Feary.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE ROYAL INDULGENCE OF 1672. 
 
 FROM the adjoining county of Bedfordshire, the in- 
 fluence of John Bunyan was felt in Huntingdonshire, and 
 must have reached the neighbourhood of Bluntisham. 
 After his imprisonment for twelve years in Bedford gaol, 
 on regaining his liberty in 1672 on the proclamation 
 of Charles II.' s Act of Indulgence, he preached for sixteen 
 years in the Meeting-house at Bedford and the country 
 around, giving light and energy to evangelistic truth. 
 At this time Bunyan and his friends purchased a barn 
 and orchard at Bedford the site of the present " Bunyan 
 Meeting-house " and one of the names in which it was 
 conveyed was that of "Thomas Crocker" of Kimbolton, 
 Huntingdonshire. Under the Act of Indulgence by 
 Charles, allowing the licensing of Meeting-houses and 
 Conventicles, Bunyan applied for a licence to preach 
 in this barn at Bedford and at sundry other places, 
 amongst them two in Huntingdonshire, (viz.) Upthorne 
 and Kimbolton. Bunyan was the first (or nearly the 
 first) Nonconformist minister who obtained a licence to 
 preach in England under this Indulgence. 
 
 " The Congregatioualist " gives an interesting account 
 of the reception this Act of Charles met with in the 
 realm. " Amongst the persecuted Nonconformists the
 
 54 THE ROYAL INDULGENCE OF 1672. 
 
 news of the Royal Indulgence was welcomed with de- 
 light. The good news spread rapidly through the king- 
 dom. King's messengers were dispatched with copies 
 to the Lord-Lieutenants of counties and to the Mayors 
 of the principal cities; but they were outstripped by 
 unofficial messengers of various kinds. Scotch pedlars, 
 mounted on swift Galloway nags, carried the indulgence 
 into the country in their packs amidst their lace and 
 linen. Carriers in charge of country waggons spread the 
 intelligence in every little village through which they 
 passed. Guards of fast coaches caused the declaration 
 to be read aloud by the landlords of inns at which they 
 stopped to bait or change their horses. Itinerant preachers 
 carried the declaration in their bibles, and read it in 
 the congregations to which they preached. And whether 
 the news was told in barn or kitchen, in cellar, or wain- 
 scoted chamber, everywhere it awakened a thrill of glad- 
 ness. The fact of the indulgence added point to many 
 a sermon, inspired the devotion of many a prayer, and 
 gave volume to the singing of many a psalm. The tin- 
 streamers, as they laboured amongst the gorse on the 
 hill-sides of Cornwall, spoke to each other joyfully of the 
 great concessions made by the King. The weavers of 
 Lancashire as they bent over their looms, stopped the 
 shuttle to sing with gladness, no longer afraid of the spy 
 lurking at the door. The armourers of Warwickshire, the 
 blacksmiths of Northumberland, the coal-miners of Wales, 
 partook of the general joy. Artisans in towns, and fisher- 
 men on the coasts, manifested a similar amount of 
 enthusiasm ; while the stout hinds as they drove their 
 awkward ploughs through the rich soil, chanted psalms 
 with glad hearts because of the King's indulgence. An 
 office was opened at Whitehall, for the purpose of re-
 
 THE ROYAL INDULGENCE OF 1672. 55 
 
 ceiving applications and granting the necessary licences. 
 There were three forms drawn up: for a meeting-place, 
 for an itinerant preacher, and for a preacher to an assigned 
 place. The applications quickly began to pour in. There 
 is reason to believe that the London dissenters organized 
 a plan to facilitate the wishes of their brethren in the 
 country. Several of the leading Ministers signed receipts 
 for large numbers of licences, which they dispatched by 
 carriers into the country. After they were dealt with, 
 the original applications were carefully preserved and are 
 still in existence. In their haste to obtain the offered 
 privilege, applications were written upon the first scrap 
 of paper that lay near. There are hundreds of pieces 
 no bigger than the palm of a man's hand, containing 
 the name and address of the writer ; many of the papers 
 bear signs of having been torn out of some book ; others 
 are large sheets, with as many as thirty addresses upon 
 each. Within ten months about 3500 of these licences 
 were granted. 
 
 Though the humble Christians met in the houses of 
 friends, or in small rooms hired or built for the occasion, 
 their progress was marvellous. But the Bishops were 
 alarmed, and the King was advised to recall the indul- 
 gence. The licences were accordingly declared void by a 
 Proclamation in 1674. 
 
 We will record here the fact which George Whitehead 
 relates in his memoirs, " how one Thomas Ibbott, or Ibbitt, 
 a Huntingdonshire man, came to London two day's before 
 the great fire, in great haste, being on a sixth day of 
 the week, and alighted off his horse with his clothes 
 loose, and very much hastened or run through the city, 
 toward Whitehall, in such a like posture as many of 
 the inhabitants were forced to flee from the fire, when
 
 56 THE ROYAL INDULGENCE OF 1672. 
 
 they had scarce time to put on or fasten their wearing 
 clothes about them; such a sign he appeared to be, 
 and foretold his vision which he had before, that the city 
 would be laid waste by fire, according as I was informed ; 
 for I saw him not until that day's morning when the 
 fire was broken out. But the evening after the said 
 Thos. Ibbott had passed through the city, I met with 
 some of our women Friends at the Bull and Mouth, 
 near Aldersgate, who gave me a pretty full account 
 of him, how he had been with them that day, and told 
 them of his vision of the fire and message to London." 
 George Whitehead informs us that Thomas Ibbott was 
 convinced of the truth at a large meeting which George 
 Whitehead held in Thomas Parnell's barn, at King's Ripton 
 in Huntingdonshire, a considerable time before the fire. 
 George Whitehead further says " I knew the man, a 
 sort of manly person, zealous, and somewhat of a hot 
 spirit; so that his spirit is nearer to those destroying 
 angels, or fiery spirits, that are ministers of wrath and 
 severe judgments, than those friends are, who have 
 attained to a further growth in the spirit of the Lamb, 
 Christ Jesus. And that the said Thomas might sooner 
 have a discovery of such an evil, or judgment, or mischief 
 permitted to come upon the city, than they whose spirits 
 are more meek, gentle, and more settled in quietness and 
 peace."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 INFLUENCE OF ST IVES, AND OF THE CHURCH AT 
 ROWELL. 
 
 WE now return to St Ives and its Nonconformist 
 influence in the last half of the seventeenth century. 
 
 " Mr William Green, Master of Arts, Cambridge Uni- 
 versity, and Fellow of Katherine Hall, spent fourteen years 
 in the University. After his ejectment in 1662, he 
 preached in and about Cambridge in private. In the 
 latter part of his time, he lived at Fenny-Stanton, near 
 St Ives, in Huntingdonshire ; about which place many 
 were edified by his preaching and holy conversation. 
 He was a learned, grave, and holy man." 
 
 Mr John Richardson, of Queens' College, Cambridge, 
 at one time resided in St Ives, and kept a school there. 
 He afterwards was ejected from St Michael. He was of 
 a very heavenly mind. A loving and faithful friend to 
 the friends and children of God, and humble in his carriage 
 to them. He would take journeys to the meanest Chris- 
 tian friends and advise and pray with them. Being once 
 to preach at Paul's Cross, and as was usual a glass of sack 
 being offered him before he went into the pulpit, he 
 refused it, and pleasantly said, " he did not choose to preach 
 by the spirit of sack." Mr Nathaniel Bradshaw, B.D., 
 of Trinity College, Cambridge, and one of the Senior
 
 58 INFLUENCE OF ST IVES, 
 
 Fellows, lived at St Ives after his ejectment from Willing- 
 ham, where God greatly blessed his ministrations. When 
 ejected he left a very good living valued at 350 a year, 
 and many good people, for the sake of his conscience, 
 Aug. 24th, 1662. He was succeeded by a profane minister 
 who scoffed at him for his way of preaching ; Mr Bradshaw 
 replied, 'Sir, I left fourscore and ten praying families 
 in Willingham at my ejectment, and I am afraid your 
 ministry will never make them up a hundred.' As soon 
 as the act of Toleration came forth, he returned to his 
 old people at Willingham, and preached among them 
 till the last Sabbath of his life ; desiring no more of them 
 than his diet from Saturday night till Monday morning, 
 and his horse hire from St Ives, where he lived with 
 Mrs Mason, his wife's daughter. He was eminent in 
 personal holiness. He died at St Ives on the 16th October, 
 1690, in the 71st year of his age. He was buried in the 
 chancel of Willingham church, as was also his successor, 
 Mr Naylor, the profane person above mentioned. When 
 the Sexton was digging the grave for the latter near 
 Mr Bradshaw's grave, a high churchman who was looking 
 on exclaimed, ' Why do you bury him so near that fanatic ?' 
 To which an aged woman who was present, and who 
 knew their different characters, shrewdly answered, 'It 
 can't affect them while they lie here, and they may be 
 far enough off at the Resurrection !' 
 
 Mr Robert Billio, son of the ejected minister of Wick- 
 ham Bishops, Essex, came to live in St Ives, after his 
 return from Holland, where he had taken refuge during 
 the reign of James II. He returned just before the 
 Revolution. He married the daughter of Mr Rider, who 
 was ejected from the living of Bedworth in Warwickshire, 
 in 1662. An instance of the narrow escapes made by
 
 AND OF THE CHURCH AT ROWELL. 59 
 
 silenced ministers of this time occurs in the life of his 
 father. After his ejectment from the Rectory of Wickham 
 Bishops, he was preaching in the house of Israel Mayo, 
 Esq., at Bayford, in Hertfordshire, when men came in 
 search of him ; happily he was got out of the way in 
 time, and conveyed to a garret, where he was covered 
 in a dark hole with billets, and remained undiscovered. 
 
 The presbyterian congregation at St Ives must have 
 been an important one at this time, for quite early in 
 the next century it consisted of 500 members. Tenison, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, was favourable to the revolution 
 and to the liberal minded Prince of Orange the first 
 English king anxious to give equal rights to Dissenters. 
 Tenison was born at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, educated 
 at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He was made Rector 
 of Holy well, in Huntingdonshire, Bishop of Lincoln in 
 1691, and Archbishop of Canterbury in 1694. Other re- 
 ligious influence was brought to bear upon Bluntisham by 
 the wonderful energy of the Independent church at Roth- 
 well (Rowell) in Northamptonshire. It is known that the 
 Puritans held conventicles in their houses at Rowell as 
 early as the year 1634, from state papers of the reign 
 of Charles I. In the reign of William and Mary, there 
 was a flourishing church there, of which Mr Davis was 
 Pastor from 1690 to 1714. It appears from the church 
 book at Rowell that during Mr Davis' pastorate there 
 were ninety-seven persons admitted residing at seventeen 
 different villages in Huntingdonshire, amongst them those 
 of Holy well, Needingworth, and Woodhurst. 
 
 As the following anecdote illustrates both the man 
 and the times we will insert it. Mr Davis was summoned 
 to his trial at the Northampton assizes in the early part 
 of 1692. Whereupon, as appears by the Rowell church
 
 60 INFLUENCE OF ST IVES, 
 
 book, "Feb. 12th, 1692. Agreed that a day of fasting 
 and prayer be kept on Monday next, to seek the face 
 of God with respect to our honoured pastor, that is to 
 appear before men for the sake of Christ,, and also with 
 respect to Brother Hewlett which is also to appear before 
 men." Mr Davis refers in his vindication, in relation 
 to this trial, to the ill-affection towards him of the gentry 
 of this and the adjoining counties. Mr Maurice was 
 the Pastor of an independent church then existing at 
 Oxney, he was afterwards assistant to Mr Davis, and at 
 his death, Mr Maurice became the Pastor of the church 
 at Rowell. Mr Maurice tells us in reference to this trial 
 that when Mr Davis was " unjustly accused to authority 
 by invidious wretches, who could not follow their charge, 
 nor make any part of it good, and therefore he was pub- 
 licly and honourably acquitted, that a certain gentleman 
 in a virulent and impertinent manner asked him, 'What 
 business he had to go up and down to such places 
 babbling?' for so he called the preaching of the gospel. 
 Mr Davis, in the presence of them all, turned to him, and 
 with a countenance which testified a good cause and 
 a good conscience, said, 'Sir, I was upon the work of 
 my Lord and Master Jesus Christ do you know him ? ' 
 Whereupon the gentleman was struck with silence, and 
 many more with amazement." 
 
 During Mr Davis' pastorate the Rowell church shewed 
 amazing missionary energy. Amongst the numerous 
 churches it founded was one in the fens of Cambridge- 
 shire Guyhirn. In the church book occur the following 
 records respecting the " Guy Horn " community. " Feb. 
 1st, 1691, the church appointed messengers to enquire 
 into a handful of late converts in the Fens, and to give 
 the church an account." At the beginning of 1693, " the
 
 AND OF THE CHURCH AT EOWELL. 61 
 
 distinct enchurching of the brethren and sisters at the 
 Fens " begins to be mentioned. On July 16th of that 
 year the church ordered a letter of dismission to be 
 signed for the brethren in the Fens ; and on the 23rd, 
 a meeting was held at Guyhirn, in the record of which 
 the following entry occurs : " Then our brethren and sisters 
 were embodied into a church apart from us, by the consent, 
 and in the presence, of the messengers deputed by us." 
 The church at Guyhirn appears to have had at this time 
 thirty-seven members. It existed with its own Pastor 
 for one hundred and fifty years. 
 
 Amongst other churches founded by that of Rowell, 
 were two in Huntingdonshire, one of them at Kimbolton, 
 founded March 14th, 1693, consisting of ninety-five mem- 
 bers; the other at Needingworth, two miles from Blun- 
 tisham, this church became independent Jan. 17th, 1693, 
 and consisted of sixty-seven members. The church at 
 Rowell deputed Brothers Coales and Richard Pain to 
 preach at Needingworth ' as often as they could go '. It 
 appears that up to this time these Christians at Needing- 
 worth belonged to the church at Rowell and were mem- 
 bers of it, for on Dec. 12th, 1692, a letter of dismission 
 for the members about Needingworth was signed by the 
 Church at Rowell in order that they might separate into 
 a distinct body. In the records of a church meeting held 
 at Needingworth, Jan. 17th, 1693, the following entry 
 occurs : " Then the messengers of this church proceeded 
 to the work of the day to break them off into a distinct 
 church." The memory of this first dissenting church at 
 Needingworth seems to have completely died out there. 
 Probably a place called " Chapel Close " derives its name 
 from some relation to it. The present Baptist Church 
 originated from the labours of Mr Thomas Ladson nearly
 
 62 INFLUENCE OF ST IVES, &C. 
 
 one hundred years after the foundation of the church 
 there by Mr Davis. 
 
 There is another entry in the Rowell church book 
 which interests us : " Feb. 1st, 1691, messengers from 
 Mr Holcroft's church nigh Willingham, desired the prayers 
 of the church." There are other records of civilities 
 between the two churches in this old church book of 
 Rowell.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 PERSECUTION OF MR ABRAHAM GILL AND OTHERS. 
 
 IN Wilson's Life of De Foe there is an interesting 
 account given of Mr Abraham Gill, which, besides bearing 
 upon our subject because he preached at Manea and 
 Welney, in the neighbourhood of Bluntisham, is an in- 
 stance of the dangers men ran from local persecution in 
 those days. De Foe, always quick to defend against in- 
 justice, hoped by publicity to shame the persecutors of 
 Gill and bring him peace and help. 
 
 "Abraham Gill was born about 1665, was educated 
 amongst the Dissenters, but afterwards entered Brazen- 
 nose College, Oxford, where he took his M.A. degree and 
 orders in the Church of England. He was for two years 
 Curate at Manea, where he preached twice on the Sunday, 
 contrary to the usual custom of the neighbouring clergy. 
 In 1695 he accepted an invitation from the inhabitants of 
 Welney, a hamlet in the parish of Upwell, to officiate in 
 a privileged chapel there, the custom of the place em- 
 powering the people to choose their own minister. Here 
 he continued about seven years, preaching twice a day, 
 conforming in all other respects to the usages of the 
 Church of England. At length he became dissatisfied 
 with the liturgy and dropped such parts as he disliked, 
 until his scruples increasing, he omitted it altogether. As
 
 64 PEESECUTION OF MR ABRAHAM GILL AND OTHERS. 
 
 the chapel was exempt from ecclesiastical jurisdiction he 
 did not consider himself under the same obligation to 
 conformity as if it had been a parish church. Dr Gregg, 
 Rector of Upwell, went to remonstrate with him and 
 threatened to put in another Curate, but Mr Gill satis- 
 fying him that he held the chapel by a title over 
 which he had no authority, he desisted from giving him 
 any further trouble. Some time after this the living fell 
 into other hands, those of Hugh James, and he resolved 
 to get rid of Gill." De Foe relates a long series of per- 
 secutions by which he at length effected his purpose. 
 Having quitted Welney, Gill went into Lincolnshire, where 
 his enemies pursued and imprisoned him, but the pro- 
 secution failing he was released without a trial. This 
 barbarous usage, coupled with his known innocence, cre- 
 ated such an interest for him in the people of Upwell, 
 that many invited him to settle there as a dissenting 
 minister ; he consented and qualified himself according to 
 law ; a place of worship was licensed in the Archdeacon's 
 court at Norwich. His enemies assailed him and ob- 
 tained his commitment to Norwich gaol. There he re- 
 mained till the assizes, but with all their different charges 
 against him, he was acquitted. Mr Gill being restored to 
 his people, the Rev. Hugh James and his curate Lateward, 
 threatened to send him to prison again, if he presumed to 
 preach in their parish. They soon did so, and he was in 
 gaol at Wisbeach ; there he was detained over the quarter 
 session until the assizes, 26th April, 1704, when he looked 
 for his discharge. To prevent his getting away, the two 
 parsons conspired with some neighbouring justices to have 
 him impressed for a soldier. It was in vain he pleaded 
 his profession and that he was a freeholder of Lancashire, 
 and a freeman of the corporation of Wigan. Being de-
 
 PERSECUTION OF MR ABRAHAM GILL AND OTHERS. 65 
 
 livered over to the soldiers, he was marched forty miles to 
 Cambridge, where he was arrested for debt and lodged in 
 the Tolbooth. His enemies next raised a hue and cry 
 after him as a deserter, and Fern, a clerical justice, issued 
 a warrant for his apprehension. Gill now moved for a 
 ' habeas corpus ' to discharge him from enlistment, and for 
 a rule of court against the conspirators, and after seven 
 weeks of imprisonment returned to Welney, where his 
 wife and family were reduced to great distress. Here 
 fresh vexations were prepared for him, for his enemies 
 eluded justice. They slandered him in every way, but, as 
 De Foe says, " Gill dwells on the spot near them, and 
 preaches to his people, but they neither prove nor punish, 
 and yet the law is open." 
 
 An interesting reminiscence of these persecuting times 
 is found in the memoirs of Mrs Hannah More, who was 
 born in the year 1745. Her father was Mr Jacob More, 
 who had two great-uncles, captains in Oliver Cromwell's 
 army. His mother was a woman of extraordinary mental 
 vigour, and lived to be over ninety years of age. She 
 used to tell her younger relatives that they would have 
 known how to value Gospel privileges had they lived, like 
 her, in the days of proscription and persecution ; when, at 
 midnight, pious worshippers went with stealthy steps 
 through the snow, to hear the words of inspiration de- 
 livered by a holy man at her father's house, while her 
 father, with a drawn sword, guarded the entrance from 
 violent or profane intrusion ; adding that they boarded the 
 minister and kept his horse for ten pounds per annum. 
 
 On Dec. 12th, 1682, John Richardson writes to In- 
 crease Mather : " It is a sorrowful time with Dissenters ; 
 their ministers are much persecuted with much violence 
 on the account of forty pounds per month, and other 
 
 T. B. 5
 
 66 PERSECUTION OF MR ABRAHAM GILL AND OTHERS. 
 
 accounts. Mr Baxter's house is broken open, and his per- 
 son and goods seized (he was afterwards released). Mr 
 Mead's goods seized, but he escaped. Mr Cockrain, Mr 
 Partridge, their goods seized, and Mr James imprisoned, 
 and Mr Wise. Others sought after, fain to conceal them- 
 selves, and convey their very household stuff out of the 
 way." 
 
 Mr Samuel Baker, of Waterfield, in Suffolk, writes 
 Jan. 30th, 1682-3: "The meetings are suppressed in 
 Norwich and Bristol. Mr Vincent, a London minister, lies 
 a prisoner there three months. Many must leave the 
 king's dominions, or suffer death." 
 
 London, April 27th, 1683. "The meetings of Dis- 
 senters are prevented much as may be. Constables and 
 other watchmen attending at the doors of the wonted 
 meeting-places generally keep them out, that they meet 
 not, which is intended as a kindness, rather than to suffer 
 them to meet and then apprehend and prosecute them, 
 the king pressing it upon the Lord Mayor and authori- 
 ties in the city impartially to execute the laws against 
 them." Neal well describes these times in the following 
 passage. 
 
 "The Nonconformists were once more made to pass 
 through the furnace of persecution, made seven times 
 hotter than it was wont to be. They held their meetings 
 nevertheless, but more secretly, and assembled in small 
 numbers. They frequently shifted their places of worship, 
 and met together late in the evenings or early in the 
 mornings. There were friends without doors always on 
 the watch to give notice of approaching danger. Where 
 their dwellings joined they made windows or holes in the 
 walls, that the preacher's voice might be heard in two or 
 three houses. They had sometimes private passages from
 
 PEKSECUTION OF MR ABRAHAM GILL AND OTHERS. 67 
 
 one house to another, and trap doors for the escape of the 
 minister, who always went in disguise, except when he 
 was discharging his office. In country towns and villages 
 they were admitted through back yards and gardens into 
 the house, to avoid the observations of neighbours and 
 passengers. For the same reason they never sang psalms, 
 and the minister was placed in such an interior part of 
 the house, that his voice might not be heard in the streets. 
 The doors were always locked, and a sentinel placed near 
 them to give the alarm, that the preacher might escape 
 by some private passage." 
 
 It is difficult to estimate the influences or to define 
 the limits of spiritual forces. The persecutions in France 
 succeeding the Revocation of the " Edict of Nantes " were 
 known over all England, and stirred its protestant feeling 
 to its depth. This knowledge must have come with a 
 peculiar significance to the ears of Protestant Noncon- 
 formists whose religion was proscribed, whose pastors were 
 imprisoned, and whose members were subject to local per- 
 secution. To be at the mercy of a king who was secretly 
 a member of the most persecuting church in the world, 
 and openly of an intolerant state church, was to be in a 
 miserable position of insecurity ; and when the tales of woe 
 stories of houses in ruins of happy family life broken 
 in upon and crushed Protestant worship prohibited 
 its pastors slain when these came to be household stories, 
 told at all the fire-sides in England during the succeeding 
 winter of 1684-5, the good folk of Bluntisham and its 
 neighbourhood must have been deeply moved. When 
 individuals or whole families of the persecuted fled to 
 England for an asylum, some of them settled at Wis- 
 bech and a colony of them at French Drove. These 
 events and the questions they stirred, must have quick - 
 
 52 

 
 68 PERSECUTION OF MR ABRAHAM GILL AND OTHERS. 
 
 ened the love of liberty in all, and the love of religious 
 liberty in religious hearts. Many of these refugees settled 
 in the Eastern counties, where their descendants bear the 
 old French names, though often slightly changed. In the 
 life of the Kev. William Burkitt, M.A., Minister at Dedham 
 in Essex in 1692, we are told that "by his book of ac- 
 counts his labour of love for the poor French exiles con- 
 tinued six years successively, viz. from 1687 to 1692 ; in 
 which time, though he lived but in a country village, he 
 so exerted himself, far and near, in this matter, that he 
 collected no less than two hundred and sixteen pounds, 
 which he faithfully distributed towards the relief of the 
 said Protestants in Suffolk and Essex. Remarkable also 
 were his care, pains, and prudent conduct in the dis- 
 tribution of this charity ; for, as he gave some part of it 
 in specie, as necessity required, so that he might lay out 
 the rest in the most frugal manner for the furnishing 
 them with clothes and provisions, he rode about the 
 country to the cheapest markets." "All my charges for 
 journies and letters, all my labour and pains, I account as 
 nothing, but look upon it as the greatest honour of my 
 life, that the Lord made me such an instrument for the 
 relief of his persecuted members." In the Rowell records 
 we find the name of de la Hoi mentioned ; this family 
 appears to have been living at or near Guyhirn, and was 
 connected with the little community there in 1693, when 
 it was formed into a separate church. At a church meet- 
 ing held at Eowell, Sept. 7th, 1691, there is this minute, 
 " There these gave in their experience, these six from the 
 fens," amongst them is the name " Anne de Hoi." These 
 were fellow members with many Huntingdonshire people 
 living at Needingworth and other places, during their 
 association with the church at Rowell. In looking over
 
 PERSECUTION OF MR ABRAHAM GILL AND OTHERS. 69 
 
 the church book of Bluntisham Meeting the following 
 names occur which savour of a French origin and may be 
 reasonably conjectured to be the descendants of the French 
 refugees of a century earlier : they are Daniel Behague, 
 Elmour, Pappee, Piccard, Pickard and Parrin. The names of 
 Behagg, Elmore, Piggot and Parren still exist in the 
 neighbourhood. At St Ives the name of Bosquaiu was 
 owned by a French refugee family of 1684, and Mr Coxe 
 Feary's second wife was the widow of Mr John Bosquain. 
 
 That the state should try and bring about uniformity 
 in religious belief was almost as absurd as for it to 
 attempt to bring about unity in religious feeling from 
 the nature of things it must fail. The first is not de- 
 sirable and the second impossible, in any way the state 
 can comprehend. There is an ideal unity of religious 
 feeling recognised by lofty minds and pure hearts in which 
 the leaven of Christian principles has worked, and so 
 inspired they feel such unity attainable. But first we 
 have to learn what Dr Bushnell so- well expresses. "Most 
 of what we call division in the church of God, is only 
 distribution. The distribution of the church like that 
 of human society, is one of the great problems of divine 
 wisdom, and the more we study it, observing how the 
 personal tastes wants and capacities of men in all ages 
 and climes are provided for, and how the parts are made 
 to act as stimulants to each other, the less disposed shall 
 we be to think that the work of distribution is done 
 badly. It is not the same thing with Christian unity, 
 either to be huddled into a small enclosure, or to show 
 the world how small a plot of ground we can all stand on. 
 Unity is a grace, broad as the universe, embracing in 
 its ample bosom all right minds that live, and outreaching 
 all the narrow contents of all words and dogmas."
 
 70 PERSECUTION OF MR ABRAHAM GILL AND OTHERS. 
 
 People generally have no idea of the petty local 
 persecutions and annoyances to which Nonconformists 
 were subjected in the exercise of their religion after the 
 restoration, lasting indeed far into the 18th century. The 
 miserable bickerings too often prevailing between different 
 sects were far overshadowed by the persecutions and 
 annoyances which were inflicted by the state church, which 
 could bite as well as bark. 
 
 The possession of power by any body of Christians 
 or religious people is apt to beget in them a spirit 
 of intolerance which overrides justice. The spiritual 
 power of such a community we can neither limit nor 
 control, but we can lay down as a fundamental rule, that 
 no sect shall be endowed with temporal power, and that 
 no person in the realm shall be in the eye of the law 
 in either a better or worse position on account of his 
 opinion with respect to religion. Well would it have 
 been for the world and for England had Christians been 
 content to try and carry on their Master's work on their 
 Master's lines. They thought to be wiser than He, and 
 used weapons to promote Christianity, that He could have 
 used, but would not. And so far as they departed from 
 His methods of propagating the truth they miserably 
 failed, and the genius of the religion of Christ was 
 marred. 
 
 Milton understood and advocated these principles, and 
 what Milton was to the nation in the advocacy of the 
 freedom of religion from the patronage and control of 
 the State in the seventeenth century, that Locke was 
 to the nation in the eighteenth century. 
 
 According to Locke the origin of state-churches was 
 to be ascribed to the lowest passions of humanity; their 
 characteristics were not the characteristics of true religion,
 
 PERSECUTION OF MR ABRAHAM GILL AND OTHERS. 71 
 
 and their history had been one of cruelty and oppression. 
 He traced the divisions of Christendom, and the per- 
 secution to which men had been subjected, to the as- 
 sumption by the Clergy, supported by the Magistrates, 
 of sacerdotal power, although the scriptures plainly shewed 
 that there was nothing which a priest could do, which 
 any other man could 'not also do. Locke connected with 
 this the rise and growth of Episcopacy, and the ambition 
 which such an office had excited.
 
 CHAPTER XT. 
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 OF all the sects, except one, Congregationalists most 
 fully grasped the principles of religious freedom. Vane, 
 an "Independent" statesman, said, "The province of the 
 magistrate is this world and man's body, not his con- 
 science, nor the concerns of eternity." Colonel Hutchin- 
 son was an anabaptist ; Cromwell, although ecclesiastically 
 an Independent, yet never, forced Independency on the 
 nation. He was willing to tolerate Jews, a thing then 
 almost unheard of in Christendom ; and he allowed Usher 
 to preach close to Whitehall. By Congregationalists we 
 mean both Baptists and Independents. Agreeing in the 
 matter of church government, both are independent in 
 the proper meaning of the term, their point of difference 
 being that of baptism only, although there has existed 
 a more distinct difference among Baptists than among 
 Independents on the Calvinistic and Arminian doctrines. 
 
 The one exception is the Society of Friends. This 
 Society preserved purely the spiritual nature of religion, 
 clearing it from any entanglement with outward forms 
 and from all extraneous control. The Anglo-Saxon race 
 owes, and people of all nations owe, a debt of grati- 
 tude to this Society for having set forth so clearly and 
 so purely the fundamental quality of Christ's teaching
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 73 
 
 nay its very essence, and the 'Society will for ever be 
 held in veneration for this rare service rendered to man- 
 kind. 
 
 The Friends had a Meeting-house at Bluntisham, 
 which they appear to have used in the latter part of 
 the 17th, and early part of the 18th century. It stood on 
 the left-hand side of the road leading to Woodhurst, and 
 after the Friends left, it was used as the Poor-house, and 
 was afterwards turned into cottages which still remain. 
 
 This Meeting-house they gave up in the last century, 
 confining themselves to the one at Earith, which stands 
 pleasantly in the quiet retirement of its own burial ground 
 on the margin of the ancient road. From the caretaker's 
 house on the present Earith high road, the long pathway 
 bordered by shrubs and flowers leads up the slight incline 
 of the pasture to the home-like Meeting-house, with 
 windows ample for light and air, "yet provided with 
 blinds that withal our meditations be not disturbed by 
 over much even of God's best temporal gifts, but to 
 preserve temperance in all things." This is the with- 
 drawing room from the distractions of the world, that 
 is all, and it is enough. All the necessities of Christian 
 worship are met. In this dear old spot, so redolent of 
 the past, precious memories mingle with the sweetness 
 of the violets that purple the grass of this quiet resting- 
 place of the dead. Here for generations have the gentle 
 Friends though withal sturdy in holding to their prin- 
 ciples gathered for worship, and here still do their 
 descendants gather for the same purpose. One regret- 
 fully looks for the picturesque and distinctive garb that 
 in the past completed the quaint picture of the "first 
 day" worship. But although this is wanting, yet their 
 living representatives still hold this truth " twice trea-
 
 74 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 ShuLL o( kt& 
 sured " AH their HMaest uhaarte, that "God is a Spirit. 
 
 and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit 
 and in truth." The presence of men holding such opinions 
 as these must have been beneficial. The good they did 
 must have very far outweighed any evil resulting from 
 the narrowness and bigotry born of fanaticism, which 
 occasionally marred their pure Christian doctrine. 
 
 These qualities brought them into conflict with other 
 sects as well as with the Established Church. The 
 irregular method they often adopted in their attempts 
 to impart the divine light they believed they had from 
 Heaven, furnishes some excuse for the roughness with 
 which they were treated; it caused a dislike to them 
 in persons whose reverence for order frequently smothered 
 the important truth that order was supposed to pre- 
 serve. 
 
 The plan of our narrative now leads us to recognise 
 the religious influence which the Quakers brought to 
 bear upon the people in and around Bluntisham. 
 
 The founder of the Society of " Friends," whose cha- 
 racter stands out so prominently in "the noble army of 
 martyrs," and to whom Huntingdonshire is indebted for 
 much of its religious life and freedom, must have a place 
 in our memorials. 
 
 George Fox says, "I was born in the year 1624 at 
 Drayton in the Clay, in Leicestershire. My Father's 
 name was Christopher Fox. He was by profession a 
 Weaver, an honest man, and there was a seed of God 
 in him. The neighbours called him righteous Christer. 
 My Mother was an upright woman ; her maiden name 
 was Mary Lago, of the family of the Lago's, and of the 
 stock of the martyrs. 
 
 " In my very young years I had a gravity and a stayd-
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FKIENDS. 75 
 
 ness of mind and spirit not usual in children ; insomuch 
 that when I have seen old men carry themselves lightly 
 and wontonly towards each other, a dislike thereof hath 
 risen in my heart, and I have said within myself, ' If jever 
 I come to be a man, surely I should not do so, nor be so 
 wonton.' When I came to eleven years of age, I knew 
 pureness and righteousness : for while I was a child I 
 was taught how to walk so as to keep pure. The Lord 
 taught me to be faithful in all things, and to act faithfully 
 two ways, viz. inwardly to God, and outwardly to man ; 
 and to keep to yea and nay in all things." 
 
 " As I grew up my relatives thought to have made me 
 a priest; but others persuaded to the contrary. Where- 
 upon I was put to a man who was a shoe maker by trade, 
 and dealt in wool. He also used grazing, and sold cattle ; 
 and a great deal went through my hands. While I was 
 with him he was blest, but after I left him he broke and 
 came to nothing. I never wronged man or woman in all 
 that time ; for the Lord's power was with me, and over 
 me, to preserve me. While I was in that service, I used 
 in my dealings the word 'verily' and it was a common 
 saying among those that knew me, ' If George says verily, 
 there is no altering him.' When boys and rude persons 
 would laugh at me, I left them alone and went my way ; 
 but people had generally a love to me for my innocency 
 and honesty." 
 
 After this he went through many painful experiences, 
 discovering the want of true religion in many professing 
 Christians, until he seemed in despair. One priest ad- 
 vised him to be bled, " but," Fox says, " they could not 
 get one drop of blood from me, either in arms or head, 
 though they endeavoured it, my body being, as it were, 
 dried up with sorrows, grief and troubles, which were so
 
 76 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 great upon me, that I could have wished I had never 
 been born." But he persevered, seeking help, "seeking 
 heavenly wisdom and getting knowledge from the Lord," 
 and was brought off from outward things, to rely on the 
 Lord alone. "Though my exercises and troubles were 
 very great, yet I was sometimes brought into such an 
 heavenly joy." " As I cannot declare the misery I was in, 
 it was so great and heavy upon me, so neither can I set 
 forth the mercies of God unto me in all my misery. ! 
 the everlasting love of God to my soul, when I was in 
 great distress ! when my troubles and torments were great, 
 then was his love exceeding great." " The Lord God 
 opened to me by his invisible power, how, 'every man 
 was enlightened by the divine light of Christ.' For I saw 
 in that Light and Spirit which was before the scriptures 
 were given forth, and which led the holy men of God to 
 give them forth, that all must come to that Spirit, if they 
 would know God or Christ, or the Scriptures aright, which 
 they that gave them forth were led and taught by. When 
 the Lord God and his Son Jesus Christ sent me forth into 
 the world, to preach his everlasting gospel and kingdom, 
 I was glad that I was commanded to turn people to that 
 inward light, spirit and grace, by which all might know 
 their salvation and their way to God ; even that Divine 
 Spirit which would lead them into all truth, and which I 
 infallibly knew would never deceive any." His life of 
 self-abnegation, of earnest Gospel teaching, of energy in 
 diffusing the truth as he had received it is known to all. 
 During his missionary travels he visited Huntingdonshire 
 several times. His " Journal " informs us that he was at 
 Huntingdon in 1656. " The Mayor of Huntingdon came 
 to visit me, and was very loving, and his wife received the 
 truth." He visited Huntingdonshire again in 1659. And
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 77 
 
 again in 1662 : " Travelling into Huntingdonshire, I came 
 to Thomas Parnel's, where the Mayor of Huntingdon came 
 to see me and was very loving. From thence I went into 
 the Fen-country, where we had large and quiet meetings." 
 Again in 1666: "We went into Huntingdonshire, where 
 we had very large and blessed meetings ; and though we 
 met with some opposition, the Lord's power came over 
 all, and the monthly meetings were established there 
 also." Again he visited the county in 1669, and appa- 
 rently for the last time in 1678. He tells us in his 
 " Journal," " I went to Huntingdon, in which county I 
 staid several days, having many meetings, and much 
 service amongst friends ; labouring to convince gainsayers, 
 and to confirm and strengthen friends in the way and 
 work of the Lord. At Ives in Huntingdonshire George 
 Whitehead came to see me, and travelled with me in the 
 work of the Lord five or six days in that county, and 
 some part of Northamptonshire." George Fox died in 
 London on the 13th of llth month, 1690. 
 
 Thomas Ellwood bears testimony to his character in 
 these interesting words: "He was valiant for the truth, 
 bold in asserting it, patient in suffering for it, unwearied 
 in labouring in it, steady in his testimony to it, im- 
 movable as a rock. Deep he was in Divine Knowledge, 
 clear in opening heavenly mysteries, plain and powerful 
 in preaching, fervent in prayer. He was richly endued 
 with heavenly wisdom, quick in discerning, sound in 
 judgment, able and ready in giving, discreet in keeping 
 counsel : a lover of righteousness, an encourager of virtue, 
 justice, temperance, meekness, purity, chastity, modesty, 
 humility, charity, and self-denial in all, both by word and 
 example. Graceful he was in countenance, manly in 
 personage, grave in gesture, courteous in conversation,
 
 78 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 weighty in communication, instructive in discourse ; free 
 from affectation in speech or carriage. A severe re- 
 prover of hard and obstinate sinners ; a mild and gentle 
 admonisher of such as were tender, and sensible of their 
 failings. Not apt to resent personal wrongs ; easy to for- 
 give injuries, but zealously earnest where the honour of 
 God, the prosperity of truth, the peace of the church 
 were concerned. Very tender, compassionate and pitiful 
 he was to all that were under any sort of affliction ; full of 
 brotherly love, full of fatherly care ; for indeed the care of 
 the Churches of Christ was daily upon him, the prosperity 
 and peace whereof he studiously sought. Beloved he was 
 of God, beloved of God's people ; and (which was not the 
 least part of his honour) the common butt of all apostates' 
 envy, whose good notwithstanding he earnestly sought. 
 
 " He lived to see the desire of his soul, the spreading 
 of that blessed principle of divine light through many of 
 the European nations, and not a few of the American 
 islands and provinces, and the gathering many thousands 
 into an establishment therein." 
 
 George Fox left an epistle to be opened and read after 
 his decease ; at the head of it he writes : " This for all the 
 children of God everywhere, who are led by His spirit, 
 and walk in His light, in which they have life unity and 
 fellowship with the Father and the Son, and one with 
 another." 
 
 This was the good man to whom Huntingdonshire, in 
 common with so many other places, owed some of the 
 deep religious feeling and Christian life found there in 
 the seventeenth century and the years succeeding it. 
 
 One of the most prominent of George Fox's disciples 
 was George Whitehead, himself a minister and leader of 
 the Society.
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 79 
 
 This remarkable man was convinced of the doctrines 
 preached by George Fox when George Whitehead was 
 seventeen years of age, and for nearly seventy years he 
 laboured by word and example in support of them. Born 
 about the year 1636 in the reign of Charles I., he lived 
 through the Commonwealth and the reigns of Charles II., 
 James II., William and Mary, Anne, and into that of 
 George I., and advocated very earnestly the cause of re- 
 ligious liberty before that king, and when introduced to 
 the Prince of Wales, afterwards George II., he endeavoured 
 to impress the mind of the Prince with this great prin- 
 ciple. He died in the year 172f, at the age of eighty- 
 seven years. 
 
 Besides the general influence which his occasional 
 presence and the truths he taught brought to bear on 
 Bluntisham and its neighbourhood, there is one episode 
 in his life which has a particular bearing on the subject 
 of our history, and directly affects our narrative. In its 
 relation we must bear in mind that the hotness of the 
 dispute and the apparent bitterness between the dis- 
 putants was occasioned by the different views they held 
 on the right of the state to interfere in the control and 
 support of religion. James Bedford approved of a state 
 church, and accepted the position of a minister of the 
 established church; he was Rector of Bluntisham-cum- 
 Earith, and was therefore owner of the tithes of that 
 parish. When his parishioners refused payment he in- 
 sisted, and did not shrink from employing the means the 
 law furnished for enforcing his tithe payments, even to 
 the imprisonment of recusants. 
 
 George Whitehead strongly disapproved of the whole 
 system and principle of State Churchism. He considered 
 that those who paid tithe supported a corrupt establish-
 
 80 THE SOCIETY OF FKIENDS. 
 
 ment, which fostered an arrogant and worldly spirit, and 
 forced upon the country a system of priest-craft and an 
 idolatrous, debased religion. No one who knows George 
 Whitehead can for a moment doubt the purity of his 
 motives, or that in all his actions he was guided by the 
 highest principles. His mind was full of divine light, and 
 his heart was a shrine of Christian truth. 
 
 James Bedford, three years after the stirring episode 
 which follows, rather than do violence to his conscience 
 by signing the Act of Uniformity, gave up his Rectory 
 home his titles and the social status this position secured 
 him. Knowing the high Christian character of both dis- 
 putants, we shall not unduly weigh against them the 
 uncouth roughnesses which appear in their dispute, and 
 which pertain to the " pomp and circumstance " of their 
 war, and seem almost inseparable from the disputes of that 
 period. George Whitehead gives the following account of 
 an occurrence in the year 1659. 
 
 " One James Bedford, Priest of Bluntsham cum Erith 
 in Huntingdonshire, having made a great noise boasting 
 and clamour against the people called Quakers, to render 
 them ridiculous and odious, some of our Friends had 
 some public disputes or discourses with him, in order to 
 abate his clamour, yet notwithstanding he persisted in 
 his reviling and ostentations against us, as if he could 
 refute and run down the Quakers. At a dispute which 
 our dear friend, John Whitehead, had with the said 
 priest at the Steeple-house at Haddenham in the Isle 
 of Ely, when I was present, (but did not much interpose, 
 the appointment being between the priest and John) I 
 observed the priest to be a meer empty confident boaster 
 and reviler, and made but poor work on't. The dispute 
 being over, the priest went to Justice Castle's in the
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 81 
 
 Town, and I went thither after him in order to have 
 some discourse with him before the Justice, which I 
 obtained, and discovered his ignorance, of which the 
 Justice was made sensible in some measure ; yet seemed 
 a little to speak in the Priest's favour, but could not 
 vindicate him. Nevertheless the Priest continuing a 
 boasting clamorous adversary, and being a notorious 
 persecutor of divers of our Friends for tithes ; it was 
 desired by some Friends, that I might have a public 
 meeting with the said Priest, to dispute him ; and also 
 I understood that our dear friend and brother Geo. Fox 
 Senior, was desirous that I should meet him. After 
 serious consideration thereof, I found the Lord gave me 
 freedom to meet the said boasting Priest publicly, where- 
 upon I writ him a few lines importing my willingness 
 or desire to meet him at his own parish church, so called, 
 on a certain day." 
 
 Mr Bedford appears "by his note to have published 
 in Ives market a day of his own appointment, pretending 
 that he and Geo. Whitehead were to have a dispute that 
 day in Bluntsham church." Although Geo. Whitehead had 
 arranged to attend a meeting at Cottenham, he, believing 
 the one at Bluntisham to be more important, decided to at- 
 tend it. " I forthwith took my horse, and the said friend 
 with me, and we hastened to Earith and Bluntsham about 
 five miles, and quickly got thither, and I was in the 
 Steeple-house about half an hour before the Priest came 
 and sat down quietly in a pew. When he came in, with 
 his books or tools, to make a noise against us, smiling, 
 and bowing towards the people, I only looked up upon 
 him, and sat down again quietly in the pew. The priest 
 mounted the pulpit like some conqueror; yet not ex- 
 pecting antagonist, or combat, vauntingly called for George 
 T. B. 6
 
 82 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 Whitehead. I sat still awhile (being out of his sight) to 
 hear how he would boast or insult. He called over and 
 over, 'Where's George Whitehead?' At last Henry Foster 
 forwardly answered, 'He's here'; thereupon I stood up 
 and said, 'Here I am'; but the Priest would not own 
 that I was the person, Geo. Whitehead, that was to meet 
 him ; I saw then he was surprised, and he would have 
 shuffled me off or shifted the dispute ; saying, ' You are 
 not George White-head, tho' you have a white face.' 
 Justice Castle being present, said, ' Yes, he is the man ; 
 Mr Bedford, look to yourself, etc.' I seeing the Priest 
 so vain, and trifling in his talk, before he would enter 
 into dispute, called out to him, ' Leave thy babbling, and 
 let's come to matters, etc.' Then the Priest took out his 
 watch, and laid it before him, and proposed for each of 
 us to declare one quarter of an hour at a time, and not 
 exceed, and he would begin first ; and I should have the 
 like time to answer." 
 
 Mr Bedford then began to read divers accusations, and 
 perverse stories out of a book or books, against the 
 people called Quakers, set out by some invidious ad- 
 versaries, priests or others, and then (with contempt and 
 derision) he descanted upon what he read against the said 
 people. 
 
 Mr Bedford's accusations and Mr George Whitehead's 
 refutations are then set forth, but would occupy too much 
 room to give here. 
 
 One complaint Mr Bedford made was that a Quaker 
 called him "a beast." George Whitehead then undertakes 
 to prove from scripture that Mr Bedford is a beast, and 
 further that "he demerited the character of an 'evil beast'. 
 "And when according to the preceding argument and 
 instances, I made proof of my charge against the said
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 83 
 
 Priest Bedford, instead of making any reply or defence 
 for himself, he quickly came down, slid away, quitted the 
 place, and left the assembly ; so that his former boasting 
 and insulting was at an end, as I really believed the Lord 
 would stop his mouth, for I felt the zeal of the Lord and 
 his power with me at that time." 
 
 George Whitehead urges that James Bedford has 
 shewed himself an unruly and vain talker, having taken 
 up a great deal of time here, in vainly talking and prating 
 to no purpose. 
 
 "That his teaching is for filthy lucre's sake, is manifest 
 by his covetous practices and persecutions, for his filthy 
 lucre against such as dissent from him : witness his and 
 his men's taking away by force and violence, wheat, barley, 
 and pease in great quantities, as much as he and his men 
 pleased, for tithes from John Cranwell, besides four lambs 
 and wool, what his men pleased in quantity, without 
 account of value, and also three cows with calf, and a cart 
 and wheels, in all amounting to 20 worth of goods for 
 12 demanded. And besides all this oppression and ex- 
 tortion, imprisoned John Cranwell in Huntingdon jail, to 
 shew how legally he pretended to proceed, when he had so 
 arbitrarily and illegally proceeded by force, to spoil and 
 take away his honest neighbour's goods, to gratify his own 
 avarice and revenge against him. It was thus apparent, 
 this Priest taught for filthy lucre's sake, such things as he 
 ought not ; consequently, he was before his own hearers 
 and others, proved a beast according to the sense of the 
 Apostle Paul, and the scriptures of truth ; and I may add 
 that consequently he demerited the character of an evil 
 beast" 
 
 George Whitehead says: "I had a very good and quiet 
 opportunity to declare and demonstrate the truth, and 
 
 62
 
 84 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 preach the gospel to the people and all were peaceable 
 and when I had thereby cleared my conscience to them, I 
 gave them public notice of a meeting I intended, if the 
 Lord pleased, to have the next day at the same town. So 
 we all went peaceably out of their steeple-house ; and the 
 next day according to appointment, we had a very good 
 and serviceable meeting, to which divers men of account 
 came." He then travelled, and laboured in the work of 
 the gospel in Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and the 
 Isle of Ely. 
 
 In the year 1672 George Whitehead was moved to 
 write a few lines to the king requesting liberty for the 
 suffering Friends, entrusting them to the care of 'our 
 honest and loving Friend, Thomas Moor,' who presently 
 presented them, and a few days afterwards George 
 Whitehead and Thomas Moor had an interview with 
 king Charles, who granted them liberty to plead their 
 cause before him and his council at Whitehall. They 
 were successful, and the king granted pardon to the 
 Quakers, and with the help and advice of George 
 Whitehead, this pardon was extended to many imprisoned 
 Baptists, Presbyterians, and Independents amongst them 
 John Bunyan, imprisoned in Bedford gaol. " This docu- 
 ment swelled to that bigness, that we were hard put to it 
 and troubled to find out a way or means to have it dis- 
 persed to all the prisons throughout England and Wales, 
 where our Friends were confined. In two weeks' time we 
 performed the journey and service for our suffering 
 Friends in Huntingdon, having very providentially met 
 with the under sheriff for Huntingdonshire and Cam- 
 bridgeshire, who was a very fair and civil man, at 
 Edmunds-Bury to whom I showed the king's patent and 
 desired him to see them delivered out of prison in both
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 85 
 
 counties." It appears ten Quakers were in gaol in 
 Huntingdonshire and one thousand four hundred and 
 sixty in different prisons in England, and so by the deter- 
 mined and persevering efforts of this good man there was 
 great joy in the prison-houses up and down the land, the 
 poor captives were freed and now they could once more 
 advocate the principles so dear to them, and the glorious 
 gospel of the blessed God, more precious than liberty or 
 life. 
 
 George Whitehead performed another great service 
 in the cause of justice. He petitioned the king, James 
 II. , to put a stop to the infamous doings of the informers, 
 whom he describes as a company of loose, irreligious, 
 profligate wretches, who have been encouraged to plunder, 
 rob, steal, break houses, commit burglary, tear away and 
 make havoc and spoil of their neighbours' goods, to serve 
 the CHURCH and KING! The sufferers were frequently 
 convicted " in their absence, and often on false depositions 
 sworn by concealed informers." The king granted an 
 enquiry. On the day appointed, a great company of in- 
 formers were collected at Clifford's Inn, who when they 
 saw a large number of their victims coming forward to 
 charge them with injustice and cruelty, before impartial 
 commissioners, were ready " to gnash upon them with 
 their teeth." The result was that " Their unjust trade 
 and gain was discountenanced by the justices and quarter 
 sessions and the discoveries made of their wickedness and 
 injuries, forced some of them to fly; and others turned to 
 beggary." The Friends, though they had been so severely 
 impoverished by the proceedings of the informers, did not 
 hesitate to supply the wants of these worthless creatures 
 in their destitution. George Whitehead gives an instance 
 of this kind in his own case. "After the trade of informing
 
 86 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 was over, George Hilton, a notorious Informer, came to 
 my house, complaining to me that he was to be a servant 
 to a great person, but wanted clothes, or money to buy 
 him some; whereupon I gave him something, being willing 
 to render good against evil; he having been a very in- 
 jurious adversary against myself, and many others of our 
 Friends; however I was comforted that the case was so 
 well altered, as that from taking away our goods by force, 
 these poor wretches were fain to come and beg of us." 
 
 Yet still the Quakers suffered from the fines inflicted 
 on them as recusants for non-attendance at their parish 
 church, twenty pounds a month, and two-thirds of their 
 estates. " The sottish, rude bailiffs, when they had seized 
 the farmers' goods, remaining at their houses, eating and 
 drinking until the goods were removed; sometimes the 
 goods seized were for eleven months' absence from their 
 parish church, amounting to two hundred and twenty 
 pounds forfeiture ! This iniquity also George Whitehead 
 successfully opposed, and stayed by the king's leave pro- 
 cesses against several hundred persons then under pro- 
 secution. 
 
 Risking too great divergence we must follow the 
 nearly octogenarian into the royal presence and listen to 
 some of his simple, wise words. In 1714 George White- 
 head congratulated the king, George I., on his accession, 
 beginning his address, " Thou art welcome to us, King 
 George, etc." 
 
 Intimating his desire to see the Prince of Wales, he 
 was introduced and addressed the prince as follows. "We 
 take it as a favour that we are thus admitted to see the 
 Prince of Wales, and are truly very glad to see thee. 
 Having delivered our address to the King thy royal 
 father, and being desirous to give thyself a visit in true
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 87 
 
 love, we very heartily wish health and happiness to you 
 both ; and that if it should please God thou shouldst sur- 
 vive thy father and come to the throne, thou mayst enjoy 
 tranquillity and peace, etc. I am persuaded, that if the 
 King thy father and thyself do stand for toleration, for 
 liberty of conscience to be kept inviolable, God will stand 
 by you. May King Solomon's choice of wisdom be thy 
 choice, with holy Job's integrity and compassion to the 
 oppressed; and the state of the righteous ruler com- 
 mended by King David, viz., 'He that ruleth over men 
 must be just, ruling in the fear of God ; and he shall be 
 as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, even a 
 morning without clouds; as the tender grass springeth 
 out of the earth by clear shining after rain.' " 
 
 It is said the good old man's address was well received 
 by the prince. 
 
 Through the kindness of the Clerk to the meeting at 
 Earith we are enabled to give extracts taken from the 
 ancient book containing the records of the Society, and 
 commenced two hundred and thirty years ago. Here is a 
 simple record of their primitive form of worship. 
 
 "Anno 1655 James Parnell, the servant of the Lord, 
 came to Colne in Huntingdonshire, and was entertained 
 by Francis Dun of the same town, who having received 
 the precious truth invited his neighbours to his house to 
 be partakers with him of the like precious truth, as it was 
 delivered to the said James, and great love was begotten 
 in several of the inhabitants to the truth, and to this day 
 and for ever shall come to bless the God of our lives." 
 
 Passing over twenty years we find ourselves in more 
 troubled and less tolerant times. 
 
 We will give several extracts which show the diffi- 
 culties in which these Christian people were then placed,
 
 88 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 and the quiet persistency with which they held on to 
 their practice of meetings for prayer, the study of the 
 Scriptures, and teaching of the truth according to the 
 inward divine light vouchsafed to them. 
 
 Names are given more fully than they else would have 
 been, because of the interest they are likely to occasion to 
 representatives and descendants now living in and about 
 Bluntisham. 
 
 The following entry appears to be a copy of the warrant 
 issued on account of a meeting, of which and its con- 
 sequences an account is given in the Friends' record : " To 
 ye Constables, Church-wardens and Overseers of ye poor 
 for ye town of ffeun-Stanton. Whereas there was a seditious 
 meeting or conventicle, held in ye dwelling house of 
 Thomas Bundy of Bluntisham in ye County of Hunting- 
 don upon Tuesday the 19th of October 1675 when there 
 were present about twenty four persons and a speaker or 
 
 teacher, all above ye age of 16 ys. old of religious 
 
 worship contrary to the liturgy of ye church of England 
 as by ye oathes of sufficient witnesses was made to ap- 
 pear before mee, contrary to ye laws in such cases made 
 and provided as by the reward duly appeared." 
 
 Our next extract is the account of this meeting written 
 by the Friends in their book : " The 19th of 8th Month 
 1675, there being a peaceable meeting at the house of 
 Thomas Bundy according to the usual manner of ffriends 
 to wait upon god, where was John Edward exhorting the 
 people to an holy life and a godly conversation and speak- 
 ing to the praise of his most holy name who hath loved 
 us And about the middle of the meeting time there 
 came John Potts of Somersham and Thomas Gilbie of 
 Bluntisham, Informers, in a very deboyst violent manner 
 and pulled down the said John Edward, and would have had
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 89 
 
 him away by force to Nicholas Johnson (called a Justice) 
 but they having no warrant did not get him away with 
 them, but one of them went to get a warrant and in the 
 mean time the meeting was ended and ffriends departed : 
 but the said Informers informed the s d Nicholas Johnson 
 that it was a seditious conventicle, whereupon he issued 
 out his warrants to distrain the goods and chatels of 
 friends as followeth (viz.) Tobias Hardmeat of ffenn = 
 Stanton for the same meeting for his own offence fined 
 5s. and for the poverty of the speaker or preacher un- 
 known and fled 9. 15s. Tobias in all fined 10, for which 
 fine Thomas Gilbie informed and another man (who says 
 that he was not informer but that he was hired to come 
 with him) came to William Sibley's of the s d . town and 
 meeting with the officers, namely, Emmanuel OfHey, 
 Constable, Mark Morgan one Warder, Rieland Harvie, one 
 overseer for the poor for the s d . ffenn=Stanton, and 
 having a warrant from ye s d . Nicholas Johnson, came and 
 demanded the money of Tobias Hardmeate, but he told 
 them he would not give them two farthings to take it of 
 them, and said to them, if they would have his goods, 
 they might take them, as they would answer it before 
 him that gave him them, and they went and took two 
 horses worth about 6 a cow worth about 3 and a 
 feeding hog worth about 1. 10s. and kept them one 
 night at William Sibley's, and the next morning cryed 
 them at the town and having no chapman to buy them, 
 Emmanuel OfHey went and forced a poor man named 
 Richard Hawkins, who when he understood their business, 
 was very unwilling to serve them, but he pulled him and 
 knipped him by the arm and threatened him to make it 
 cost him his cow, if he would not go to help away with 
 the goods to Somersham, and so he went, and young
 
 90 THE SOCIETY OF FEIENDS. 
 
 Robert Allpress went without forcing hoping to get a 
 great reward for his pains. So they sent them away to 
 Nicholas Johnson and Emmanuel Offley, John Peaverall 
 and John Martin junr., at the pound, went for to meet 
 him there, and when they were there, Nich. Johnson 
 ordered them to be put up at ye sign of the bull, where 
 he and his informer made what markets they pleased, 
 having none to be chapmen but themselves, and what 
 price they set on them they went at which was 7 and 
 Nich. Johnson gave the constable five shillings for their 
 charges and encouraged them as good and diligent 
 officers." 
 
 " Thomas Bundy for wittingly and willingly suffering 
 the conventicles to be kept in his dwelling-house fined 
 20. Thomas Seaburne for his second offence fined ten 
 shillings for which was taken from him one cow worth fifty 
 shillings. William Bavin for his own offence fined ten 
 shillings for which was taken from him one cow worth 
 fifty shillings. Matthew Broadway for his own offence 
 fined ten shillings. Widow Green for her own offence 
 fined ten shillings. John Nun for his own offence fined 
 ten shillings, for which a coffer of linen and other goods 
 were taken from him worth fifty shillings. The said John 
 Nun was also fined five shillings for his Wife's offence. 
 William Gill for his own offence fined ten shillings. 
 Lawrence Dunch for his own offence fined five shillings. 
 William Evings for the offence of his Wife fined five 
 shillings. Thomas Hodson for his own offence fined ten 
 shillings." 
 
 " At a meeting at Earith at the house of Amy Peacock 
 widdow the 27th of 12th month (16/75) Thos. Gilbie 
 and John Potts Informants, who gave information thereof 
 upon oath to Anthony Hammond of Somersham, where-
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 91 
 
 upon he issued out his warrants for the distraining of 
 goods and chattels of the persons hereunder named. 
 
 Thomas Bundy for his 2nd offence fined ten shillings. 
 
 Thos. Hodson 
 
 Wm. Hodson for his 1st offence fined five shillings. 
 
 Matthew Broad way for his 2nd offence fined ten shillings. 
 
 John Niin 
 
 and the said John Nun for the second offence of his Wife 
 fined ten shillings. 
 
 All the above were of Bluntsham. 
 
 Amy Peacock, Earith, fined for the house 
 20. 
 
 Benjamin Thornton. 
 
 Richard Bass. 
 
 all of 
 
 Thomas Cook. Earith * 
 
 Edward Christenwheate. 
 
 Ann Hull, 
 for the same meeting fined ten shillings. 
 
 Thomas Burgis, Richard Triploe, Richard Taylor, 
 Thomas Peete all fined for the same meeting." 
 
 Here is another entry of interest to us. 
 
 " Whereas these several persons inhabiting within the 
 said parish of Bluntisham being all of the age of 16 years 
 and upwards, and subjects of this realm of England have 
 been duly convicted before me Anthony Hammond esq. 
 one of his majesty's justices of the peace for the said 
 county, upon the oath and information of two credible 
 witnesses for being present with others to the number 
 of fifty persons and upwards upon the 7th day of February 
 now last past, at an assembly, conventicle or meeting 
 under colour and pretence of exercise of religion (other) 
 than according to the liturgy and practice of the church 
 of England in the barn belonging to the dwelling house of
 
 92 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 Amy Peacock, Widow, situate in Earith in the said 
 county of Hunts, -who wittingly and willingly suffered 
 the same at which said meeting or assembly or con- 
 venticle there was a certain man unknown to the said 
 informers who then and there preached to the rest of the 
 said persons contrary to a late act of the present parlia- 
 ment in the case made and provided. (1676)." 
 
 Another entry is as follows. 
 
 " At a meeting of the people of the Lord at the house 
 of Amy Peacock of Earith, Widow, on 23rd of 2nd month 
 called April, 1676, A person (viz. George Whitehead) 
 being there, that was moved by God's eternal Spirit 
 to preach the everlasting gospel with wholesome exhor- 
 tations to the fear of the Lord, there came unto the 
 said meeting these Informers Stephen Perry of Cambridge, 
 Thomas Gilbie of Bluntisham and John Somersham who 
 having been in long season in an Alehouse came into 
 the meeting like madmen, threatening and pulling people, 
 not regarding either age or sex, to the hurt of some 
 women present and being demanded of a friend (Jasper 
 Robins by name) what authority they had for so doing, 
 they replied they had a commission from the King to 
 break up the meeting, the aforesaid Jasper Robins speak- 
 ing to the constables that came with the Informers to 
 keep the peace, and if any of them had a warrant from 
 any Justice we would obey it, and the said Informants 
 pretended they had one, but it appeared they had not, 
 but came in their own wills, in that violent and drunken 
 spirit, so they going away in a rage, especially against 
 the aforesaid Jasper because he desired the constables 
 to set them in the stocks for their drunken behaviour, 
 but some weeks after they went to one John Tryse of 
 Godmanchester and made a complaint that the aforesaid
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 93 
 
 Jasper had spoken certain evil words against the King 
 [yet] invented only in their own wicked hearts, and then 
 also informed of the meeting, so that the said Jasper 
 Robins and others were fined, and he bound to answer 
 their complaint at the next quarter sessions, he knowing 
 his own innocency therein, and that the constables and 
 
 others were all the when they pretended he spoke 
 
 these words to the court which upon the 3rd Quarter 
 
 Sessions was obtained and the matter being heard their 
 wickedness was manifested and the jury gave in their 
 verdict that the said Jasper was not guilty and the 
 informers aforesaid seen to be guilty of perjury in the 
 sight of God and man. The persons fined for the said 
 meeting were these following, Thomas Parnell, Ripton 
 Regis for ye said meeting for his own offence and ye 
 pretended povertie of ye preacher fined ten shillings. 
 Benjn. Thornley, Edward Christenwheate, Thos. Cooke, 
 Richard Basse all of Earith. William Bavin of Bluntisham 
 fined five shillings, three swine taken from him worth 
 thirty-four shillings, William Prior of Somersham, being 
 a young man and newly come out of his apprenticeship, 
 and so poor as to the outwards that he had little or 
 nothing but his wearing clothes, was fined for the said 
 meeting five shillings. For which the officers of the said 
 town of Somersham, he being in bed, took away his 
 clothes and left him nothing of his meane apparel but 
 one hose, insomuch that he was forced to borrow clothes 
 to cover his nakedness until he had laboured for more. 
 His clothes were valued at ten shillings." 
 
 We must also give this entry which is of interest 
 to us. 
 
 " Whereas Thomas* Seabourne of Bluntisham, Labourer, 
 Sarah Greene of the same town, Widow, Thomas Bundy
 
 D-i THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 of the same town, Husbandman, and Mary his Wife, 
 Thos. Hodson of the same town ffalle. William Bavin 
 of the same town Sheepsherd, John Nun of ye same 
 town, bodys-maker, and Margaret his Wife, Lawrence 
 Dunch of the same, Labourer, Mark Willigor, Apprentice 
 to ye said John Nun, of the same, all of them of Bluntis- 
 ham in the county aforesaid amongst others. All and 
 every of them above the age of 16 years and subjects 
 of ye realm, were taken and known to be an unlawful 
 assembly, meeting, or conventicle, at or upon ye 3rd 
 day of April last past in a barn belonging to a dwelling 
 house of Amy Peacock of Earith, Widow, there assembled 
 being above the number of five 'persons over and besides 
 ye said household under colour and pretence of exercise 
 of religion in other manner than according to ye liturgie 
 and practice of the church of England, as by a reward 
 and conviction therefore made by me John Tryce esq. 
 one of his majesty's Justices of the Peace... by virtue of an 
 act of parliament entitled an act to prevent seditious con- 
 venticles. (1676). 
 
 Names of persons suffering their goods to be taken 
 rather than pay tithe. 
 
 Ed. Christenwheate, John Browne, fisherman, John 
 Cranwell, all of Earith. 
 
 George Purkis, Robert Chabb, Abraham Purkis, Thos. 
 Barr, all of Bluntisham. 
 
 Eichard Jennings, John Rignoll, Thos. Butler, Richd. 
 Taylor, Willm. Colling, all of Colne."
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 WE have now brought our history of the religious 
 influences bearing upon Bluntisham and its neighbour- 
 hood down to the close of the 17th century. Through 
 the succeeding century, the different centres of religious 
 life the foundations of which we have traced in the 
 17th century are diffusing spiritual life and energy. 
 There is the influential Presbyterian church at St Ives. 
 There are the Baptist churches at Fenstanton and War- 
 boys founded by Henry Denne. For a time at least the 
 Independent churches at Needingworth and Kimbolton, 
 founded by the church at Rowell, and those founded by 
 Holcroft and Oddy. And at Bluntisham there are the 
 Quakers. During the reign of W T illiam and Mary, Non- 
 conformists were tolerated, and were free to worship as 
 they chose. Civil rights equal with those of their fellow- 
 subjects would have been granted them had the king 
 and queen not been frustrated in their intention by the 
 High-church party. But the new sovereign, queen Anne, 
 as her reign lengthened, became increasingly swayed by 
 the genius of her family traditions. She hated the men- 
 tion of her Hanoverian successor, and would have had 
 the Pretender to succeed her on the throne a Laud for 
 the Church and a Strafford for the State would have 
 been to her mind.
 
 96 RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 On Sunday morning, the 1st of August, 1714 the 
 very day on which the infamous " Schism Act " was to 
 come into force Thomas Bradbury, the Congregational 
 minister of Fetter Lane meeting-house bold Bradbury as 
 Queen Anne styled him was walking dejectedly through 
 Smithfield, when he met Bishop Burnet. The bishop 
 called to him from his carriage, and inquired, "why he 
 seemed so troubled ? " Bradbury replied, " I am thinking 
 whether I shall have the constancy and resolution of that 
 noble company of martyrs whose ashes are deposited in 
 this place; for I most assuredly expect to see similar 
 times of violence and persecution, and that I shall be 
 called to suffer in a like cause." The bishop, endeavour- 
 ing to calm him, informed Bradbury that the queen 
 had been given over by her physicians, and was expected 
 every hour to die, and that he himself was on his way 
 to Court. He offered to send a messenger to Brad- 
 bury to give him the earliest intelligence of the queen's 
 death, and arranged that, if the messenger should find 
 Bradbury in his pulpit, he should go into the gallery of 
 Fetter Lane meeting-house and drop a handkerchief. The 
 queen died the same morning, and while Bradbury was 
 preaching, the messenger arrived, and dropped his hand- 
 kerchief from the front gallery. The preacher made no 
 reference to the event in his sermon, but in the suc- 
 ceeding prayer he offered public thanks for the delivery 
 of the nation, and implored the Divine blessing on King 
 George the 1st. and the house of Hanover. He then asked 
 the congregation to sing the eighty-ninth Psalm. It is 
 said that, shortly after, Bradbury preached from the text, 
 " Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her, for she 
 is a king's daughter." 
 
 Under the Hanoverian dynasty the struggle would be
 
 RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 97 
 
 not how to preserve, but how to extend freedom. Hence- 
 forth the free churches may feel secure in the freedom 
 granted them under king William to worship as and 
 where they choose. But the spirit of persecution and 
 intolerance was not dead, it is the produce of bigotry, 
 which is bred of stupidity and passion. It lived to assert 
 itself against each religious revival of the century against 
 every advance towards the freedom of the individual, both 
 in his social and national capacities and in the exercise 
 of his mental and moral powers. 
 
 The State, the Established Church, "society," the 
 religious sects, in all of them there lurked this evil 
 spirit of intolerance and persecution, which led people 
 to act unjustly, and, whether successful or not in its efforts 
 to repress free speech and free action, it created bitterness 
 and hatred except in the hearts of those in whom the 
 spirit of Christ dwelt in sufficient force to lift them above 
 the sway of human bigotry and passion, into the light 
 and love and sweet reasonableness of his heavenly king- 
 dom. 
 
 Of all the revivals of the 17th century that due 
 to the exertions of Whitfield and the Wesleys was the 
 earliest and the most far reaching. All three were 
 Oxford men, and had been ordained priests in the English 
 church. Their incessant labours, their earnest gospel 
 preaching, their devoted lives, were the outcome of su- 
 preme love for Christ and for the souls of men. In Scot- 
 land and Ireland and in the American States, as well 
 as through England and Wales, their influence was felt 
 in every county, town, and village. When the churches 
 were closed to them, and when no building would hold 
 the immense crowds that flocked everywhere to hear 
 them, they preached in the open air, in the churchyards, 
 T. B. 7
 
 98 RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 in the streets, in the fields, at fairs and gatherings of all 
 sorts. Thousands came together to hear them the arti- 
 zans of the great cities, the workers in the coal districts 
 the Cornish miners, the weavers of the north, and the 
 peasants from the farms. Everywhere the degraded the 
 outcast and the miserable flocked to hear these eloquent 
 earnest men, whose message of the free forgiveness of 
 God and His great salvation through Jesus Christ to 
 all who were truly penitent, came from their hearts, and 
 was proclaimed with a force which seemed more than 
 human. Awe pervaded the congregations, and a sense 
 that the power which moved them was from heaven. The 
 influence wielded, and the marvellous change effected, by 
 these earliest revivalists of the Church of England, de- 
 mands, in our history of the religious influences bearing 
 upon our subject, more than a bare mention. We there- 
 fore will allow space for some description of these remark- 
 able men, and also add short memorials of several of 
 those Church of England clergy who sympathised with 
 them in their religious work, and stood prominently out 
 as evangelical preachers. 
 
 Of these, Fletcher of Madely, Venn of Hudders- 
 field, Grimshaw of Haworth, Romaine of Blackfriars and 
 Berridge of Everton were the chief. Venn made Hud- 
 dersfield the centre of the most untiring evangelistic 
 labours; he subsequently removed to Yelling in Hunts. 
 But of all the founders of the Evangelical party in the 
 Church, Berridge of Everton was the most conspicuous. 
 His evangelistic powers were only surpassed by the three 
 Apostles of the early movement. Everton in his time 
 was a place where thousands from all the country round 
 crowded to hear its extraordinary preacher, and to share 
 in the wonderful revival of which it was the centre.
 
 RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 99 
 
 Berridge's eccentricity probably contributed in no small 
 degree to his personal popularity. He was possessed of 
 a rough and ready wit, which he used unsparingly in his 
 public addresses, as well as in private intercourse. There 
 is this additional reason for sketches of the lives of 
 two of these good men Venn and Berridge they 
 were personally known to Mr Coxe Feary, and lived in 
 his neighbourhood. Venn might almost be called his 
 spiritual father. 
 
 Some good influence must have been exercised by the 
 Reverend Daniel Whiston, who for more than fifty years 
 was curate of Somersham for conscience' sake so we 
 gather from a mural tablet erected to his memory in 
 Somersham Church, and from the interesting memoirs of 
 William Whiston, who tells us that his brother never 
 sought preferment, owing to his conscientious objection to 
 sign the Thirty-nine Articles and to read -the Athanasian 
 Creed, which he never would do, and on this account 
 was subjected to a prosecution, quashed however by the 
 influence of a neighbouring nobleman. Daniel Whiston's 
 influence in the eighteenth century should not go unac- 
 knowledged. 
 
 72
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 JOHN WESLEY. 
 
 John Wesley, the founder of the Methodists, was born 
 at Ep worth in Lincolnshire in the year 1703, and was 
 educated at Oxford. He and his brother Charles, with 
 Whit field, James Hervey and a few others, formed a society, 
 to the members of which the title of " Methodists " was 
 given a name signifying "living by rule or method," used 
 in the previous century to describe "those who stood up for 
 God," as Dr Calamy observes in his " Ejected Ministers." 
 In the year 1738, Wesley visited the Moravian settlement 
 at Herrnhut, in Germany. It was from the Moravians in 
 England that he learned the necessity of a simple but liv- 
 ing faith, and it was from the preaching of Christian David 
 at Herrnhut that he learned with what forcible effect the 
 doctrine of "the righteousness and the blood of Christ," 
 might be presented, and his sermons shew how he profited 
 by the lesson. He also heard from Christian David and 
 his brethren, accounts of their " experience " the state of 
 feeling and conflict they had passed through before they 
 attained settled religious peace. 
 
 Following Whitfield at Bristol, Wesley reluctantly 
 preached in the open air, after having been present at a 
 service Whitfield held the day before he left Bristol. 
 Wesley's great success at Bristol and its neighbourhood
 
 JOHN WESLEY. 101 
 
 encouraged him to further independent action, and on the 
 day after his return to London he accompanied Whitfield 
 to Blackheath, where about 13,000 persons were assembled 
 to hear him preach. When Whitfield requested Wesley to 
 take his place, he was surprised, and somewhat unwillingly 
 assented, for he says, " nature recoiled." Thus through 
 Whitfield's example and influence Wesley's strong eccle- 
 siastical prejudices yielded, and henceforth he started on his 
 marvellous career of missionary preaching. In old age ac- 
 counting for the wonderful vigour he preserved unim- 
 paired, he gives as one reason, "that he never travelled 
 less by sea or land than four thousand five hundred miles 
 in a year ! " 
 
 The extent of his travels over the United Kingdom 
 and Ireland and America, is so well known, that it is un- 
 necessary to say more on this subject. The number of his 
 followers shows his power of attraction and organization. 
 Whether in country places, or in great cities, he drew 
 enormous crowds to hear him. The risks he ran from 
 furious mobs and angry clergymen would fill a volume, 
 but nothing daunted, he allowed none of these things to 
 stop him from preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 Sometimes the cry was raised, "Knock his brains out!" 
 " Down with him ! " " Kill him at once ! " and on one oc- 
 casion, " Crucify the dog ! Crucify him ! " But in all, he 
 was full of faith and courage. Sometimes when he had 
 finished his discourse and pronounced the blessing, not a 
 person offered to move ; the charm was on them still ; 
 man, woman and child, remained where they were till he 
 set the example of leaving the ground. One day many of 
 his hearers were seated upon a long wall, built of loose 
 stones as is common in the northern counties. In the 
 middle of the sermon it fell. Wesley says, " The whole
 
 102 JOHN WESLEY. 
 
 wall, and the persons sitting upon it, sunk down together, 
 none of them screaming out, and very few altering their 
 position, and not one was hurt at all ; but they appeared 
 sitting at the bottom, just as they sat at the top. Nor 
 was there any interruption either of my speaking, or of 
 the attention of the hearers." His vocal powers were 
 marvellous. In the seventieth year of his age, he 
 preached at Gwennap to the largest assembly that ever 
 collected to hear him ; from the ground which they 
 covered, he computed them to be not fewer than two and 
 thirty thousand, and it was found upon inquiry that all 
 could hear. Gwennap was a favourite preaching place of 
 his, he relates : " At Gwennap I stood upon the wall, in 
 the calm of the evening, with the setting sun behind me, 
 and almost an innumerable multitude before, behind, and 
 on either hand. Many likewise sat on the little hills, at 
 some distance from the bulk of the congregation, but they 
 could all hear distinctly while I read, 'the disciple is not 
 above his Master.' " He said of this amphitheatre in his 
 old age : " I think this is one of the most magnificent 
 spectacles which is to be seen on this side heaven. And 
 no music is to be heard upon earth, comparable to the 
 sound of many thousand voices, when they are all har- 
 moniously joined together, singing praises to God and the 
 Lamb." 
 
 Southey describes Mr Wesley's venerable appearance 
 when about eighty years of age. " His face was remarkably 
 fine ; his complexion fresh to the last week of his life ; his 
 eye quick and keen and active ; when you met him in 
 the street of a crowded city, he attracted notice, not only 
 by his band and cassock, and his long hair, white and 
 bright as silver, but by his pace and manner, both indi- 
 cating that all his minutes were numbered, and that not
 
 JOHN WESLEY. 103 
 
 one was to be lost." In his eighty-fourth year he first 
 began to feel decay, and upon commencing his eighty- 
 fifth, he observes, "I am not so agile as I was in times 
 past; I do not run or walk so fast as I did, my sight is a 
 little decayed. I feel no decay in my hearing, smell, taste 
 or appetite, (though I want but the third part of the food 
 I did once), nor do I feel any such a thing as weariness, 
 either in travelling or preaching." His younger brother 
 Charles died in his eightieth year, and in him he lost a 
 faithful and affectionate friend and coadjutor. John 
 Wesley preached at Lambeth on the 17th Feb. 1791, 
 took cold, struggled on against an increasing fever, but 
 continued to preach for several days after. On the 2nd 
 March he died in peace, in the eighty-eighth year of 
 his age and the sixty-fifth of his ministry. The reform he 
 wrought in the religious life of his time was wonderful. 
 At his death, he left in the British dominions and in 
 America 511 preachers and 134,589 members.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 GEORGE WHITFIELD. 
 
 George Whitfield was ordained priest of the Estab- 
 lished Church in 1739, and at once began to preach in 
 London. Though the churches were large and crowded 
 exceedingly, many hundreds stood in the churchyard, and 
 hundreds more returned home. When he preached in some 
 of the City churches at six o'clock on Sunday mornings, in 
 the latter months of the year, long before day you might 
 see in the streets people with lanterns going to hear him. 
 The effects of his preaching were wonderful. In Feb. he 
 was at Bristol and preached at Kingswood on Sunday to a 
 congregation of ten thousand people the numbers con- 
 tinually increasing all the time he was there. A flame of 
 holy love was kindled, which could not be easily put out. 
 It was afterwards kindled in Wales, Gloucestershire and 
 Worcestershire. Indeed wherever he went God abund- 
 antly confirmed the word of his messenger. On Sunday 
 April 29, 1739, he preached for the first time in Moorfields 
 and on Kennington Common, where the thousands of 
 hearers were, says Wesley, "as quiet as they could have 
 been in a church". From the situation of the ground 
 and the laxity of the police, Moorfields had become a 
 royalty of the rabble, a place for mountebanks and merry - 
 andrews, where fairs were held during the holy-days, and ,
 
 GEORGE WHITFIELD. 105 
 
 where at all times the dissolute and the reprobate re- 
 sorted, the pests of society. Preaching in Moorfields 
 Whitfield called, attacking Satan in his stronghold. 
 Many persons told him he would never come away from 
 the place alive. They knew not the power of impassioned 
 eloquence upon a topic in which every hearer was vitally 
 concerned ; and they wronged the mob who seldom are 
 guilty of atrocities till they are deluded or misled. On 
 one occasion the table which had been placed for him 
 was broken in pieces by the crowd ; he took his stand 
 therefore upon a wall and preached without interruption. 
 His favourite ground upon week-days was Kennington 
 Common, and there prodigious multitudes gathered to 
 hear him ; sometimes eighty carriages, very many horse- 
 men, and from thirty to forty thousand persons on foot; 
 and both there and at his Sunday preachings in Moor- 
 fields, when he collected for the Orphan-House, so many 
 halfpence were given him by his poor auditors that he 
 was wearied in receiving them. At Moorfields more than 
 20 of the collection were in halfpence. 
 
 Several instances are given in Dr Southey's sketch 
 of Whitfield, of his influence and power in preaching. A 
 man at Exeter stood with stones in his pocket, and one in 
 his hand, ready to attack ; but dropped it before the 
 .sermon was far advanced, and going up after the preach- 
 ing was over, he said, " Sir, I came to hear you with 
 the intention to break your head : but God through your 
 ministry has given me a broken heart." A ship-builder 
 was once asked what he thought of him. " Think ! I tell 
 you, Sir, every Sunday that I go to my parish church 
 I can build a ship from stem to stem under the sermon ; 
 but, were it to save my soul, under Mr Whitfield, I could 
 not lay a single plank." Hume said it was worth going
 
 106 GEORGE WHITFIELD. 
 
 twenty miles to hear him. But perhaps the greatest 
 proof of his persuasive powers was, when he drew from 
 Franklin's pocket the money which that clear cool 
 reasoner had determined not to give for the orphan 
 house at Savannah. Franklin disagreed with his plan, 
 and with the expenses incurred in carrying it out. Hear- 
 ing Whitfield soon after his decision and " perceiving that 
 he intended to finish with a collection, I silently resolved 
 he should get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a 
 handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, 
 and five pistoles in gold. As he proceeded I began 
 to soften and concluded to give the copper; another 
 stroke of his oratory made me ashamed of that, and deter- 
 mined me to give the silver ; and he finished so admirably, 
 that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, 
 gold and all." 
 
 The man who produced this extraordinary effect had 
 many natural advantages. He was something above the 
 middle stature, well proportioned, though at that time 
 (about 1739) slender, and remarkable for a native grace- 
 fulness of manner. His complexion was very fair, his 
 features regular, his eyes small and lively, of a dark 
 blue colour ; in recovering from the measles he had con- 
 tracted a squint with one of them ; but the peculiarity 
 rather rendered the expression of his countenance more 
 easily remembered, and did not in any degree lessen 
 the effect of its uncommon sweetness. His voice excelled 
 both in melody and compass, and its fine modulations 
 were happily accompanied by that grace of action which 
 has been said to be the chief requisite of an orator. An 
 ignorant man once described his eloquence oddly, but 
 strikingly, when he said that Mr Whitfield preached like 
 a lion. So strange a comparison conveyed no inapt a
 
 GEORGE WHITFIELD. 107 
 
 notion of the force and vehemence and passion of that 
 oratory which awed its hearers, and made them tremble 
 like Felix before the Apostle. For believing himself 
 to be the messenger of God, commissioned to call sinners 
 to repentance, he spoke as one conscious of his high 
 credentials ; yet in all his discourses there was a fervent 
 and melting charity; an earnestness of persuasion, par- 
 taking the virtue of that faith from which it flowed, 
 inasmuch as it seemed to enter the heart which it pierced, 
 and to heal the wounds it made. 
 
 Whitfield died at Newberry in America on the 30th 
 September, 1770. In infirm health, yet preaching every 
 day, he set out on Saturday the 29th for Boston, but 
 before he came to Newberry, where he had engaged to 
 preach the following day, he was importuned to preach 
 by the way. He did so to a number of people assembled 
 in a field, but this so exhausted his strength that when he 
 came to Newberry he could not get out of the ferry-boat 
 without the help of two men. In the evening however he 
 recovered his spirits and cheerfulness. He went to his 
 chamber at nine o'clock, his fixed time, from which no 
 company could divert him. He rose at four the next 
 morning : after awhile he reclined for about ten minutes 
 on his bed : then fell on his knees, and prayed most fer- 
 vently to God that, " If it were consistent with his will, 
 he might that day finish his Master's work." He then 
 desired his servant to call the clergyman at whose house 
 he was staying, and in another minute breathed his last. 
 An American paper says of him, " In his public labours he 
 has, for many years, astounded the world with his elo- 
 quence and devotion. With what divine pathos did he 
 persuade the impenitent sinner to embrace the practice of 
 piety and virtue ! Filled with the spirit of grace, he spoke
 
 108 GEORGE WHITFIELD. 
 
 from the heart and with a fervency of zeal, perhaps unequalled 
 since the days of the Apostles. From the pulpit he was 
 nnrivalled in the command of an ever crowded auditory ; 
 nor was he less agreeable and instructive in his private 
 conversation. Happy in a remarkable ease of address, 
 willing to communicate, studious to edify." 
 
 Mr John Wesley in the funeral sermon he preached for 
 Whitfield says, "How few have we known of so kind a 
 temper, of such large and flowing affections ? Was it not 
 principally by this that the hearts of others were so strangely 
 drawn and knit to him ? Can anything but love beget 
 love ? This shone in his very countenance, and continually 
 breathed in all his words, whether in public or private. 
 Was it not this which, quick and penetrating as lightning, 
 flew from heart to heart? which gave that life to his 
 sermons, his conversations, his letters ?"
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 WILLIAM FLETCHER OF MADELY. 
 
 Jean Guillaume de la Flechere was born at Nyon, in 
 the Pays de Vaud, Switzerland, in the year 1729. He 
 was educated for the ministry at Geneva, but found him- 
 self unable to subscribe to the doctrine of predestination. 
 After several attempts to gain preferment as a soldier of 
 fortune, first at Lisbon and afterwards in the Low Coun- 
 tries, frustrated by peace, he came to England and 
 became tutor in the family of Mr Hill, of Fern Hall in 
 Shropshire, and through Mr Hill's influence was afterwards 
 presented to the vicarage of Madely in this county. 
 Whilst in Mr Hill's family he one day went out on horse- 
 back and returned home late, and not with his companions. 
 He explained that he had stopped behind to listen to an 
 old woman in the market-place, who was speaking so 
 sweetly of Christ that " I knew not how the time passed 
 away." Mrs Hill said, " Why our tutor will turn methodist 
 bye and bye ! " " Methodist, madam, pray what is that?" 
 " Why the Methodists are people that do nothing but 
 pray they are praying all day and all night." "Are 
 they ?" said Mr Fletcher, " then by the help of God, I will 
 find them out, if they are above ground ! " The love of 
 God and man abounded in his heart ; and finding in the 
 Methodists the sympathy he desired, he joined them, and
 
 110 WILLIAM FLETCHER OF MADELY. 
 
 for a time took to ascetic courses of which he afterwards 
 acknowledged the error. He lived on vegetables, and for 
 some time on milk and water and bread : he sat up two 
 whole nights in every week, for the purpose of praying 
 and reading and meditating on religious things ; and on 
 the other nights did not allow himself to sleep, as long as 
 he could keep his attention to the book before him. At 
 length by the advice of his friends Mr Hill and Mr 
 Wesley, whom he consulted, he took orders in the English 
 church. He now anglicised his name to Fletcher, and 
 on becoming Vicar of Madely applied himself to his 
 duties with a zeal that made him equally regardless of 
 appearances and of danger. The whole rents of his small 
 patrimony in the Pays de Vaud were set apart for chari- 
 table use, and he drew so liberally from his other funds 
 for the same purpose that his furniture and wardrobe 
 were not spared. Because some of his remoter parishioners 
 excused themselves for not attending the morning service, 
 by pleading that they did not wake early enough to get 
 their families ready, for some months he set out every 
 Sunday morning at five o'clock, with a bell in his hand, 
 and went round the distant parts of his parish, to call up 
 the people. And wherever hearers could be collected in 
 the surrounding country, within ten or fifteen miles, thither 
 he went to preach to them on week-days, though he 
 seldom got home before one or two in the morning. At 
 first the rabble of his parishioners resented the manner in 
 which he ventured to reprove and exhort them in the 
 midst of their revels and riotous meetings ; for he would 
 frequently break in upon them without any fear of the 
 consequences to himself. Publicans and maltmen were 
 his especial enemies. A mob of colliers, who were one 
 day baiting a bull, determined to pull him off his horse as
 
 WILLIAM FLETCHER OF MADELY. Ill 
 
 he went to preach, set the dogs upon him, in their own 
 phrase to bait the parson ; but the bull broke loose, and 
 dispersed them before he arrived. In spite, however, of 
 the opposition which his eccentricities excited, not from 
 the ignorant only, but from some of the neighbouring 
 clergy and magistrates, he won upon the people, rude and 
 brutal as they were, by the invincible benevolence which 
 was manifest in his whole manner of life, till at length his 
 church, which had at first been so scantily attended that 
 he was discouraged as well as mortified, began to overflow. 
 Mr Fletcher's constant object was to promote Christian 
 charity and Christian union. When believed to be in the 
 last stage of a consumption, he writes, " My regard for 
 unity recovers my drooping spirits, and adds new strength 
 to my wasted body : I stop at the brink of the grave, over 
 which I bend ; and as the blood oozing from my decayed 
 lungs does not permit me vocally to address my contending 
 brethren, by means of my pen I will ask them, if they 
 can properly receive the holy communion, while they wil- 
 fully remain in disunion with their brethren, from whom 
 controversy has needlessly parted them ! " This referred 
 to the bitter controversy between the Calvinists and Ar- 
 minians. He was then about to leave England for what 
 appeared to be a forlorn hope of deriving benefit from his 
 native air; but before his departure, he expressed his desire 
 to see those persons with whom he had been engaged 
 in this controversy, that he might " testify his sincere 
 regret for having given them the least displeasure, and 
 receive from them some condescending assurance of recon- 
 ciliation and good will." Those who accepted the invita- 
 tion were edified as well as affected by the interview, and 
 expressed the highest satisfaction at being introduced to 
 the company of one, whose air and countenance bespoke
 
 112 WILLIAM FLETCHER OF MADELY. 
 
 him fitted rather for the society of angels than the conver- 
 sation of men. 
 
 When Mr Fletcher offended his antagonists it was not 
 by any personalities, or the slightest breathing of a ma- 
 licious spirit, but by the ironical manner in which he 
 treated the doctrines he combated. His talents were of 
 the mercurial kind ; his fancy was always active, he had 
 a sense of humour, and was an impassioned writer. Dis- 
 tinguished by his intellectual powers he ranks high among 
 the group of the evangelists who led the religious re- 
 vival of the eighteenth century. 
 
 When seeking the restoration which no one was sanguine 
 enough to expect, he wrote to Mr Wesley in 1770 and says, 
 " I invite all Christians to do, what the herds do on the 
 Swiss mountains, when the wolves make an attack on 
 them : instead of goring one another, they unite, form a 
 close battalion, and face the enemy on all sides." And in 
 writing a pastoral letter to his flock he says, "I some- 
 times feel a desire of being buried where you are buried, 
 and having my bones lie in a common earthen bed with 
 yours.. .but I exult in thinking that neither life nor death 
 shall ever be able, (while we hang on Christ the crucified, 
 as He hung on the cross,) to separate us from Christ our 
 head, nor from the love of each other, his members." But 
 he recovered, and ascribed his almost miraculous recovery, 
 to eating plentifully of cherries and grapes. He returned 
 to his parish, and married Miss Bosanquet, a woman per- 
 fectly suited to him in age, temper, piety and talents. 
 " We are two poor invalids," said he, " who, between us, 
 make half a labourer. She sweetly helps me to drink the 
 dregs of life, and to carry with ease the daily cross. I 
 keep my sentry-box till Providence removes me : my 
 situation is quite suited to my strength. I may do as
 
 WILLIAM FLETCHER OF MA DEL Y. 113 
 
 much or as little as I please, according to my weakness; 
 and I have an advantage, which I can have no where else 
 in such a degree : my little field of action is just at my 
 door, so that, if I happen to overdo myself, I have but a 
 step from my pulpit to my hed, and from my bed to my 
 grave. If I had a body full of vigour, and a purse full of 
 money, I should like well enough to travel about as Mr 
 Wesley does ; but as Providence does not call me to it, I 
 readily submit. " The snail does best in its shell." This 
 good man died in 1785, in the 56th year of his age. The 
 circumstances of Mr Fletcher's death were as peculiar as 
 those of his life. He had taken cold, and a considerable 
 degree of fever had been induced ; but no persuasion 
 could prevail on him to stay from church on the Sunday, 
 nor even to allow any part of the service to be performed 
 for him. He said it was the will of the Lord that he 
 should go ; and assured his wife and friends that God 
 would strengthen him to go through the duties of the 
 day. Before he had proceeded far in the service he grew 
 pale, and faltered in his speech, and could scarcely keep him- 
 self from fainting. The congregation were greatly affected 
 and alarmed; and Mrs Fletcher, pressing through the crowd, 
 earnestly entreated him not to persevere in what was so 
 evidently beyond his strength. He recovered, however, 
 when the windows were opened, exerted himself against 
 the mortal illness which he felt, went through the service, 
 and preached with remarkable earnestness and effect, for 
 his parishioners plainly saw that the hand of death was 
 upon him. After the sermon he walked to the com- 
 munion-table, saying, " I am going to throw myself under 
 the wings of the Cherubim, before the Mercy-seat!" 
 " Here " (it is his widow who describes this last extra- 
 ordinary effort of enthusiastic devotion) "the same dis- 
 T. B. 8
 
 114 WILLIAM FLETCHER OF MADELY. 
 
 tressing scene was renewed, with additional solemnity. 
 The people were deeply affected while they beheld him 
 offering up the last languid remains of a life that had 
 been lavishly spent in their service. In going through 
 this last part of his duty he was exhausted again and 
 again; but his spiritual vigour triumphed over his bodily 
 weakness. After several times sinking on the sacramental 
 table, he still resumed his sacred work, and cheerfully dis- 
 tributed, with his dying hands, the love memorials of his 
 dying Lord. In the course of this concluding office, which 
 he performed by means of the most astonishing exertions, 
 he gave out several verses of hymns, and delivered many 
 affectionate exhortations to his people, calling upon them, 
 at intervals, to celebrate the mercy of God in short songs 
 of adoration and praise. And now, having struggled 
 through a service of near four hours' continuance, he was 
 supported, with blessings in his mouth, from the altar to 
 his chamber, where he lay for some time in a swoon, and 
 from whence he never walked into the world again." On 
 the Sunday following he died; and that day also was 
 distinguished by circumstances not less remarkable. A 
 supplicatory hymn for his recovery was sung in the 
 church ; and one who was present says, it is impossible to 
 convey an idea of the burst of sorrow that accompanied it. 
 " The whole village wore an air of consternation and sad- 
 ness. Hasty messengers were passing to and fro, with 
 anxious inquiries and confused reports ; and the members 
 of every family sat together in silence that day, awaiting 
 with trembling expectation the issue of every hour." 
 After the evening service, several of the poor, who came 
 from a distance, and who were usually entertained under 
 his roof, lingered about the house, and expressed an earnest 
 wish that they might see their expiring pastor. Their
 
 WILLIAM FLETCHER OF MADELY. 115 
 
 desire was granted. The door of his chamber was set 
 open ; directly opposite to which he was sitting upright 
 in his bed, with the curtains undrawn, " unaltered in his 
 usual venerable appearance ; " and they passed along the 
 gallery, one by one, pausing as they passed by the door, 
 to look upon him for the last time. A few hours after he 
 breathed his last, without a struggle or groan, in perfect 
 peace and in the fulness of faith and hope. Mr Wesley 
 says, " I was intimate with him for thirty years. Many 
 exemplary men have I known, holy in heart and life, 
 within fourscore years ; but one equal to him I have not 
 known so unblamable a character in every respect, I 
 have not found either in Europe or America. Nor do I 
 expect to find another such on this side of eternity." 
 Fletcher in any communion would have been a saint.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 WILLIAM GRIMSHAW OF HAWORTH. 
 
 THE influence exercised by William Grimshaw, in- 
 cumbent of Haworth, was very great ; his parishioners are 
 said to have been as wild as the black barren country 
 they inhabited, and to have had little more sense of re- 
 ligion than their cattle yet he tamed them and brought 
 them under his control. 
 
 John Newton says, "One Sunday, as a man was 
 passing through Haworth on horseback, his horse lost a 
 shoe. He applied to the village blacksmith to put it on. 
 To his surprise, the man told him he could not shoe a 
 horse on the Lord's day without the minister's leave. 
 They went together to Mr Grimshaw, and the man 
 satisfying him that he was really in haste, going for a 
 doctor, Mr Grimshaw permitted the blacksmith to shoe 
 the horse, which otherwise he would not have done for 
 double pay." 
 
 " It was his frequent custom," adds Newton, " to leave 
 the church at Haworth while the psalm before the sermon 
 was singing, to see if any were absent from worship and 
 idling their time in the churchyard, the street or the ale- 
 houses ; and many of those whom he so found he would 
 drive into church before him. A friend of mine, passing 
 a public-house in Haworth on a Lord's-day morning, saw
 
 WILLIAM GRIMSHAW OF HAWORTH. 117 
 
 several persons making their escape out of it, some 
 jumping out of the lower windows, and some over a low 
 wall. He was at first alarmed, fearing the house was 
 on fire ; but on inquiring what was the cause of the 
 commotion, he was only told that they saw the parson 
 coming. They were more afraid of the parson than of a 
 justice of the peace. His reproof was so authoritative, 
 and yet so mild and friendly, that the stoutest sinner 
 could not stand before him." 
 
 " He endeavoured likewise to suppress the common 
 custom of walking in the fields on the Lord's day in 
 summer, instead of coming to God's house. He not only 
 bore his testimony against it from the pulpit, but went 
 into the fields in person to detect and reprove the de- 
 linquents. There was a spot at some distance from the 
 village, where many young people used to assemble on 
 Sundays in spite of all his warnings. At last he dis- 
 guised himself one evening, that he might not be known 
 till he was near enough to discover who they were. He 
 then threw off his disguise, and charged them not to 
 move. He took down all their names with his pencil, 
 and ordered them to attend on him at a day and hour 
 which he appointed. They all waited on him accord- 
 ingly as punctually as if they had been served with a 
 warrant. When they came, he led them into a private 
 room, when, after forming them into a circle and com- 
 manding them to kneel down, he kneeled down in the 
 midst of them, and prayed for them with much earnest- 
 ness for a considerable time. After rising from his knees, 
 he gave them a close and affecting lecture. He never 
 had occasion to repeat this friendly discipline, which en- 
 tirely broke the objectionable custom." 
 
 " He was particularly watchful," says Newton, " over
 
 118 WILLIAM GRIMSHAW OF HAWORTH. 
 
 those of liis flock who made an open profession of religion, 
 to see if they adorned the doctrine of God our Saviour in 
 all things, and maintained a consistent character; and he 
 was very severe in his censures if he found any of his 
 communicants guilty of wrong practices. When he sus- 
 pected hypocrisy, he sometimes took such strange methods 
 to detect it as perhaps few men but himself would have 
 thought of. He had a suspicion of the sincerity of some 
 of his hearers, who made great pretence to religion. In 
 order to find out one of them, he disguised himself as a 
 poor man, and applied to him for relief and a lodging, 
 and behold ! this person, who wished to be thought very 
 good and charitable, treated him with some abuse. He 
 then went to another house, to a woman who was almost 
 blind. He touched her gently with his stick, and went 
 on doing it until she, supposing it was done by some 
 children in the neighbourhood, began not only to threaten, 
 but to swear at them. Thus he was confirmed in his ap- 
 prehensions." 
 
 Hardy tells us, "That at a cottage meeting, some of 
 Grimshaw's people had to endure much annoyance and 
 persecution, and for a long time no one could discover 
 who the delinquents were. At last the Incumbent came 
 to their assistance and solved the mystery. He put on an 
 old woman's cap and peeped stealthily from behind the 
 door, and then appeared to grow rather bolder, while he 
 quietly made the observation he wished. He found there 
 was a set of rude boys, who only came to make sport and 
 annoy others. They soon began to make fun of the old 
 woman (as she seemed to be), and defied her with mocks 
 and menaces. In this way they were all found out and 
 brought to justice, and then the persecution ceased." 
 
 He carried his humility and simplicity of living to
 
 WILLIAM GRIMSHAW OF HAWORTH. 119 
 
 such an extent that he thought anything good enough 
 for himself, if he could only shew a Christian brother 
 kindness and hospitality. A godly friend, who once came 
 to stay a night with him, was surprised on looking out of 
 his bedroom window in the morning, to see Grimshaw 
 with his own hands cleaning his guest's boots ! Nor 
 was this all. On coming downstairs he discovered that 
 Grimshaw had actually given up his own bed-room for 
 his accommodation, and had spent the night in a hay- 
 loft ! This was on a preaching occasion, when his house 
 was filled with visitors. 
 
 His ways in his own parish, as he went about doing 
 the work of a pastor, were very peculiar. Hardy says, 
 " When he met with any in the lanes he would enter 
 into familiar conversation with them, and generally asked 
 if they were accustomed to pray. When they answered 
 in the affirmative and he doubted their sincerity, he bade 
 them kneel down and show him how they performed this 
 duty. There were sometimes scenes by the road-side in 
 consequence, that a stranger could not look at without a 
 smile ; but to the persons concerned these inquiries were, 
 in some instances, the means of awakening concern about 
 their souls. The tradition of the district is, that 'he 
 would rive them from horseback to make them pray.' 
 Once on his way to Colne he overtook an old woman, and 
 asked her where she was going. She replied, 'to hear 
 Grimshaw.' He pitied her many infirmities; but she 
 said 'her heart was already there, and she would make 
 the body follow.' Struck by her earnestness, he took her 
 up behind him on the pillion of his own horse, and thus 
 enabled her to reach the place without further toil." 
 
 One of the most remarkable and well authenticated 
 anecdotes about Grimshaw is in connection with Haworth
 
 120 WILLIAM GRIMSHAW OF HAWORTH. 
 
 races. These races were an annual festival got up by the 
 inn-keepers, and a great occasion of drunkenness and 
 profligacy. For some time Grimshaw attempted in vain 
 to stop them. "At last," says John Newton, " unable to 
 prevail with men, he addressed himself to God. For 
 some time before the races he made it a subject of 
 fervent prayer that the Lord would be pleased to inter- 
 fere, and to stop these evil proceedings in his own way. 
 When the race-time came the people assembled as usual, 
 but they were soon dispersed. Before the races could 
 begin dark clouds covered the sky, and such excessively 
 heavy rain fell that the people could not remain on the 
 ground, and it continued to rain incessantly during the 
 three days appointed for the races. This event was much 
 spoken of in Haworth. It became a sort of proverbial 
 saying among the people that old Grimshaw put a stop 
 to the races by his prayers. And it proved an effectual 
 stop. There were no more races at Haworth." 
 
 He was very particular in enforcing order and devout 
 behaviour among the sleepers in his church. Careless- 
 ness and inattention were openly rebuked ; and he 
 would not proceed with the service until he saw every 
 person present in the attitude of devotion. Some of his 
 hearers certainly deserved great attention and encourage- 
 ment. Not a few came ten or twelve miles every Sunday 
 to attend his ministry. One John Madden of Bacup 
 often walked to Haworth on a Sunday and returned the 
 same evening, a distance out and home of nearly forty 
 miles. Towards the close of his life, when some of his 
 friends, in tenderness to his health, wished him to spare 
 himself, he would answer ' Let me labour now ; I shall 
 have rest enough by and by, I cannot do enough for 
 Christ, who has done so much for me.' Romaine says
 
 WILLIAM GRIMSHAW OF HAWORTH. 121 
 
 " He was the most humble walker with God I ever met 
 with ; insomuch that he could never bear to hear any 
 commendations of his usefulness, or anything which be- 
 longed to him. His last words were, 'Here goes an 
 unprofitable servant!'" He died in 1763. 
 
 His directions for his burial are like his life. The 
 number of attendants was to be twenty "religious or 
 relative friends, or both." He would have only a plain 
 poor man's burial, and a plain poor man's coffin of elm 
 boards, with the words on the cover, "To me to live 
 is Christ, and to die is gain." All the way to the church 
 suitable verses were to be sung, in various selected metres 
 and tunes, out of the 23rd, 39th and 91st Psalms, and 
 also suitable hymns. One of the attendants at least 
 was to be a Methodist preacher, and he was to preach 
 a funeral sermon from the text on the coffin. The 
 Methodist preacher selected for the occasion was his old 
 friend and fellow labourer Henry Venn of Huddersfield. 
 " He was followed to the grave by a great multitude who 
 beheld his corpse with affectionate sighs and tears, and 
 who still cannot hear his much loved name without 
 w T eeping for the guide of their souls." 
 
 Grimshaw entered entirely into and agreed with 
 Wesley's views, and acted as assistant in the circuit wherein 
 he resided. When Whitfield or Wesley came to visit him, a 
 scaffold was erected for them in the churchyard, the church 
 not being large enough to hold the concourse that as- 
 sembled. Prayers therefore were read in the church, 
 but the preaching was in the open air, and the sacrament 
 was afterwards administered to successive congregations, 
 one church-full after another. Whitfield happened, in 
 one of his sermons, to speak as if he believe4 his hearers 
 had profited much by the exertions of the faithful pastor
 
 122 WILLIAM GRIMSHAW OF HA WORTH. 
 
 who had so long laboured amongst them, but Grimshaw 
 stood up, and interrupted him immediately, saying with 
 a loud voice, " Oh Sir, for God's sake do not speak so ! 
 I pray you, do not flatter them ; I fear the greater part of 
 them are going to hell with their eyes open." 
 
 His admiration of the itinerants was very great; his 
 house was their home, they preached in his kitchen, and 
 he always gave notice at church when this would be ; 
 and, that their flock might not be scattered after his 
 death, when a more regular and less zealous minister 
 should succeed him, he built a chapel and dwelling-house 
 at his own expense, and settled it upon the Methodist 
 plan. Once he embraced a preacher after his sermon, 
 and said, " The Lord bless thee, Ben ; this is worth a 
 hundred of my sermons!" And he bowed down before 
 another, saying, he was not worthy to stand in his 
 presence.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 JOHN BERRIDGE OF EVERTON. 
 
 IN a sketch of the life of Berridge by the Rev. J. C. 
 Ryle, we are told he was never married and lived entirely 
 alone. He was born at Kingston, Notts. May 1, 1716, 
 within a very few years of Whitfield, Wesley, Grirnshaw, 
 Romaine, and Rowlands. His father was a wealthy 
 farmer and grazier at Kingston. His brother Thomas 
 lived and died at Chatteris, Isle of Ely, and survived 
 John. His father designed John for his own business, 
 but John never took to it, and eventually was entered 
 at Clare Hall, Cambridge, in 1734. He was elected Fellow 
 of his college, and resided there till 1749. He was a 
 hard reading man, and made such progress in every branch 
 of literature that he obtained a high reputation in the 
 University as a thorough scholar. A clergyman who 
 knew him well for fifty years said that he was as familiar 
 with Greek and Latin as he was with his mother tongue. 
 He says himself that he sometimes, at this period of his 
 life, read fifteen hours a day. His natural love of humour 
 and his social disposition entailed on him many tempta- 
 tions. His acquaintance was courted by people of high 
 rank and position ; and men like the elder Pitt, after- 
 wards Lord Chatham, were among his intimate asso- 
 ciates and friends. Hudibras (says Whittingham his bio-
 
 124 JOHN BERRIDGE OF EVERTON. 
 
 grapher) was so familiar to him that he was at no loss 
 in usiDg any part of it on any occasion. While he was at 
 college, if it was known he would be present at any public 
 dinner, the table was sure to be crowded with company, 
 who were delighted with the singularity of his conver- 
 sation and his witty sayings. About this period of his 
 life he took holy orders as a Fellow of Clare College. 
 In 1749 after eleven years of apparent idleness he 
 began to feel a desire to do something as a clergyman, 
 and accepted the curacy of Stapleford, near Cambridge, 
 being then thirty-three years old. He took pains with 
 his parishioners, and his preaching was striking, plain 
 and attractive, and his life was moral and correct. His 
 diligence as a pastor was undeniable. Yet his ministry 
 throughout these six years was entirely without fruit, 
 to his own great annoyance and mortification. The fact 
 was, that up to this time he was utterly ignorant of the 
 gospel. 
 
 In the year 1755, Berridge was presented, by his 
 college to the vicarage of Everton in Bedfordshire. He 
 took up his residence at once at his living, and never 
 moved away till he died, holding his cure for thirty-eight 
 years. His biographer says, " At Everton Mr Berridge 
 at first pressed sanctification and regeneration on his 
 hearers as strenuously as he had at Stapleford, and with 
 as little success. Having continued for two years in this 
 unsuccessful mode of preaching, and his desire to do good 
 continually increasing, he began to be discouraged. 
 Doubts arose in his own mind as to whether he was 
 right himself. These secret misgivings brought to him 
 embarrassment and distress, and he cried continually 
 to God for direction in these simple words, ' Lord, if I 
 am right, keep me so; and if I am not right, make me
 
 JOHN BERRIDGE OF EVERTOX. 125 
 
 so, and lead me to the knowledge of the truth as it is 
 in Jesus.' As he sat one morning some time in the 
 year 1758 musing on a text of Scripture, these words 
 seemed to dart into his mind like a voice from heaven, 
 " Cease from thine own works, only believe." Immediately 
 he began to think on the words "faith," and "believe," 
 and looking into his concordance found them very fre- 
 quently used. This surprised him so much, that he in- 
 stantly resolved to preach Jesus Christ and salvation by 
 faith. He therefore composed several sermons of this 
 description and addressed his hearers in a manner very 
 unusual, and far more pointed than before. God soon 
 began to bless this new style of ministry. One of his 
 parishioners came to inquire for him, 'Well, Sarah, what 
 is the matter ? ' ' Matter,' she replied, ' why I don't know 
 what is the matter ! These new sermons ! I find we are 
 all to be lost now. I can neither eat, drink nor sleep, 
 and I dont know what is to become of me.' The same 
 week came two or three more on a like errand." So con- 
 firmed was Mr Berridge in his belief that his recent 
 impressions were from God that he determined in future 
 to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. He im- 
 mediately burnt his old sermons. He himself says, " I 
 preached up sanctification by the works of the law very 
 earnestly for six years in Stapleford and never brought 
 one soul to Christ. I did the same at Everton for two 
 years without any success at all. But as soon as I 
 preached Jesus Christ and faith in His blood, then 
 believers were added to the church continually, then 
 people flocked from all parts to hear the glorious sound 
 of the Gospel ; some coming six miles, others eight and 
 others ten." His next step was to commence preaching 
 outside his own parish, all over the district in which he
 
 126 JOHN BERRIDGE OF EYERTON. 
 
 lived. This he began on June 22, 1758, and on May 14, 
 1759 he writes : " On the way to Meldred, we called at 
 a farmhouse. After dinner I went into the yard, and 
 seeing nearly one hundred and fifty people, I called for 
 a table, and preached for the first time in the open air. 
 We then went to Meldred, where I preached in a field 
 to about four thousand people." The extent of his labours 
 became prodigious. He used to preach in every part 
 of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, 
 and in many parts of Hertfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. 
 He would often preach twelve times and ride a hundred 
 miles in a week. When we find that he was the means 
 of awakening no less than four thousand persons in one 
 single year, we may have some little idea of the good that 
 he did in his district by his thirty years' preaching. The 
 work that Berridge did among farmers and labourers 
 had few to proclaim and chronicle it. At certain periods 
 of his ministry curious physical effects were produced 
 similar to those produced by the preaching of Wesley, 
 but he never encouraged these perplexing phenomena. 
 
 Berridge tells us, " Soon after I began to preach the 
 Gospel of Christ at Everton, the church was filled from the 
 villages around us, and the neighbouring clergy felt them- 
 selves hurt at their churches being deserted. A person of 
 my own parish, too, was much offended. He did not like 
 to see so many strangers, and be so incommoded. Between 
 them it was resolved, if possible, to turn me out of my 
 living. For this purpose they complained to the bishop of 
 the diocese, that I had preached out of my parish. I was 
 soon after sent for by the bishop ; but I did not much like 
 my errand. When I arrived, the bishop accosted me in a 
 very abrupt manner. ' Well, Berridge, they tell me you 
 go about preaching out of your own parish. Did I insti-
 
 JOHN BERRIDGE OF EVERTON. 127 
 
 tute you to the livings of A y, or E n, or P n ? ' ' No, 
 my lord,' said I ; ' neither do I claim any of these livings. 
 The clergymen enjoy them undisturbed by me.' 'Well, 
 but you go and preach there, which you have no right to 
 do.' ' It is true, my lord, I was one day at E n, and there 
 were a few poor people assembled together, and I admo- 
 nished them to repent of their sins, and to believe on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of their souls ; and 
 I remember seeing five or six clergymen that day, my 
 lord, all out of their own parishes upon E n bowling- 
 green/ < Oh ! ' said his lordship ; ' I tell you you have no 
 right to preach out of your own parish ; and if you do not 
 desist from it, you will very likely be sent to Huntingdon 
 gaol.' 'As to that, my lord,' said I, 'I have no greater 
 liking to Huntingdon gaol than other people ; but I had 
 rather go thither with a good conscience, than live at my 
 liberty without one.' Here his lordship looked very hard 
 at me, and very gravely assured me 'that I was beside 
 myself, and that in a few months' time I should either be 
 better or worse.' ' Then,' said I, ' my lord, you may make 
 yourself quite happy in this business ; for if I should be 
 better, you suppose I shall desist from this practice of my 
 own accord ; and if worse, you need not send me to Hun- 
 tingdon gaol, as I shall be provided with accommodation 
 in Bedlam.' His lordship now changed his mode of at- 
 tack. Instead of threatening he began to entreat. 'Berridge,' 
 said he, ' you know I have been your friend, and I wish to 
 be so still. I am continually teazed with the complaints of 
 the clergymen around you. Only assure me you will keep 
 to your own parish ; you may do as you please there. 
 I have but little time to live ; do not bring down my grey 
 hairs with sorrow to the grave.' At this instant, two 
 gentlemen were announced, who desired to speak with his
 
 128 JOHN BERRIDGE OF EVERTON. 
 
 lordship. ' Berridge,' said he, 'go to your inn, and come 
 again at such an hour, and dine with me.' I went, and 
 on entering a private room, fell immediately upon my 
 knees. I could bear threatening, but knew not how to 
 withstand entreaty, especially the entreaty of a respectable 
 old man. At the time appointed I returned. At dinner 
 I was treated with great respect. The two gentlemen 
 also dined with us, and I found they had been informed 
 who I was, as they sometimes cast their eyes towards me, 
 in some such manner as one would glance at a monster. 
 After dinner his lordship took me into the garden. 
 ',Well, Berridge,' said he, 'have you considered my re- 
 quest ? ' ' I have, my lord, and have been upon my knees 
 concerning it.' ' Well,' ' and will you promise me that 
 you will preach no more out of your own parish ?' 'It 
 would afford me great pleasure,' said I, ' to comply with 
 your lordship's request if I could do it with a good con- 
 science. I am satisfied the Lord has blessed my labours 
 of this kind, and I dare not desist.' 'A good conscience !' 
 said his lordship ; ' do you not know that it is contrary to 
 the canons of the church ? ' ' There is one canon, my lord, 
 which says, ' Go preach the gospel to every creature. ' 
 ' But why should you wish to interfere with the charge 
 of other men ? One man cannot preach the gospel to all 
 the world.' ' If they would preach the gospel themselves,' 
 said I, ' there would be no need for my preaching it to 
 their people ; but as they do not I cannot desist.' His 
 lordship then parted from me in some displeasure. I took 
 no measures for my own preservation ; but divine provi- 
 dence worked for me in a way I never expected." 
 
 " When I was at Clare Hall, I was particularly ac- 
 quainted with a certain Fellow of that College and we 
 were both on terms of intimacy with Mr Pitt, the late
 
 JOHN BERRIDGE OF EVERTON. 129 
 
 Lord Chatham, who was at that time also at the Uni- 
 versity. This Fellow of Clare Hall, when I began to 
 preach the Gospel, became my enemy and did me some 
 injury. At length, however, when he heard that I was 
 likely to come into trouble and be turned out of my living 
 at Everton, his heart relented. He began to think within 
 himself, ' We shall ruin this poor fellow among us.' This 
 was just about the time I was sent for by the bishop. Of 
 his own accord he writes a letter to Mr Pitt, saying nothing 
 about my Methodism, but to this effect : ' Our old friend 
 Berridge has got a living in Bedfordshire, and I am told 
 there is one of his neighbours who gives him a great deal 
 of trouble, and has accused him to the bishop, and it is 
 said, will turn him out of his living. I wish you would 
 contrive to stop his proceedings.' Mr Pitt was then a 
 young man and not desiring to apply himself to the 
 bishop, spoke to a certain nobleman about it to whom the 
 bishop was indebted for his promotion. This nobleman 
 made it his business, within a few days to see the bishop, 
 who was then in London. ' My lord,' he said, ' I am 
 informed you have a very honest fellow named Berridge 
 in your diocese, and that he has been ill-treated by a 
 litigious neighbour, who I hear has accused him to your 
 lordship, and wishes to turn him out of his living. You 
 would oblige me, if you would take no notice of this 
 person, and not suffer the honest person to be interrupted.' 
 The bishop was astonished, and could not imagine in 
 what manner things could have thus got round." 
 
 Berridge died in a good old age on January 22nd, 1793. 
 Old Henry Venn, of Yelling, his son John Venn and 
 Charles Simeon, were among the few neighbours with 
 whom the good old Vicar of Everton felt entire sympathy. 
 
 There was a strange vein of quaintness in his mental 
 T. B. 9
 
 130 JOHN BERRIDGE OF EVERTON. 
 
 constitution, which seemed to crop out on every occasion. 
 He was continually saying odd things, and employing odd 
 illustrations to convey his meaning, and could not help 
 putting things in a ludicrous way. It was in vain his 
 friends warned him of his besetting sin. The old evan- 
 gelist acknowledged his infirmity, and pleaded that he 
 " was born with a fool's cap on, and that a fool's cap was 
 not so easily put off as a night cap. Odd things break 
 from me as abruptly as croaking from a raven." Quaintly 
 he thought, and quaintly he spoke, and so he preached 
 and wrote, quaint he lived and quaint he died. Berridge 
 writes, "Nature lost her legs in Paradise, and has not 
 found them since ; nor has she any will to come to Jesus. 
 The way is steep and narrow, full of self-denials, crowded 
 up with stumbling-blocks ; she cannot like it ; and when 
 she does come, it is with huge complaining. Moses is 
 obliged to flog her tightly, and make her heart ache, be- 
 fore she casts a weeping look at Jesus. Once she doated 
 on this Jewish lawgiver, was fairly wedded to him, and 
 sought to please him by her works, and he seemed a 
 kindly husband ; but now he grows so grim a tyrant, there 
 is no leaving him." 
 
 Berridge was a bachelor. He thus writes to Lady 
 Huntingdon about the marriage of ministers on March 23, 
 1770, "Before I parted with honest G.,I cautioned him much 
 about petticoat snares. He has burnt his wings already. 
 Sure he will not imitate a foolish gnat, and hover again 
 about the candle ? If he should fall into a sleeping lap, 
 like Samson, he will soon need a flannel night cap, and 
 a rusty chain to keep him down, like a chained bible to 
 the reading desk. No trap so mischievous to the field 
 preacher as wedlock ; it is laid for him at every hedge- 
 corner. Matrimony has quite maimed poor Charles
 
 JOHN BERRIDGE OF EVERTON. 131 
 
 (Wesley), and might have spoiled John (Wesley) and George 
 (Whitfield) if a wise Master had not graciously sent them 
 a brace of ferrets. Dear George has now got his liberty 
 again ; and he will escape well if he be not caught by 
 another tenter-hook. Eight or nine years ago, having 
 been grievously tormented with house-keeping, I truly 
 had thought of looking out for a Jezebel myself. But it 
 seemed highly needful to ask advice of the Lord. So, 
 kneeling down on my knees before a table, with a bible 
 between my hands, I besought the Lord to give me a 
 direction." We may add that Jeremiah xvi. 2 settled the 
 question to Berridge's satisfaction, in the negative. 
 
 He was a man of singular kindness and self-denial. 
 Houses and barns were rented for preaching, lay-preachers 
 maintained in all directions, and his own travelling ex- 
 penses provided by himself. Whenever he preached in a 
 cottage, he always left half-a-crown for the use of it ; and 
 during his itinerancy he actually spent 500 in this way 
 alone. His whole income, both private and professional, 
 was annually spent in doing good, and even his family 
 plate was sold to buy clothes for itinerant preachers. As 
 to his own habits, they were simple in the extreme. When 
 the Hon. and Rev. W. Shirley stopped at Everton to 
 preach during Berridge's absence from home, he wrote to 
 him : " You must eat what is set before you, and be 
 thankful. I get hot victuals but once a week for myself, 
 viz. on Saturday; but because you are an honourable 
 man I have ordered two hot joints to be got each week 
 for you. Use what I have just as your own. I make no 
 feasts, but save all I can. I have never yet been worth a 
 groat at the year's end, nor desire it." In another letter 
 he says, "I fear my weekly circuits would not suit a London 
 or Bath divine. Long rides and miry roads, in sharp 
 
 92
 
 132 JOHN BERRIDGE OF EVERTON. 
 
 weather ! Cold houses to sit in, with very moderate fuel r 
 and three or four children roaring or rocking about you I 
 Coarse food and meagre liquor! Lumpy beds to lie on 
 and too short for the feet, with stiff blankets like boards 
 for a covering ! Rise at five in the morning to preach : 
 at seven, breakfast on poor tea ; at eight, mount a horse 
 with boots never cleaned, and then ride home, praising 
 God for all mercies !" 
 
 When Henry Owen paid a visit to Berridge in 1792 
 he found him very old and decaying ; sight very dim, his 
 ears can scarcely hear, but a joy in his countenance and 
 with a lively hope looking for the day of his dissolution. 
 He expressed himself as alone, unable to read or hear, or 
 do anything. But he said, ' Lord if I have thy presence 
 and love, that sufficeth.'
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 HENRY VENN OF HUDDERSFIELD AND YELLING. 
 
 Henry Venn was born at Barnes in Surrey in 1724. 
 He was the descendant of a long line of clergymen, 
 reaching downwards in unbroken succession from the 
 time of the Reformation. Rev. J. C. Ryle says, "At 
 present the name of Venn has appeared for seven gene- 
 rations in the clergy list of the Church of England." 
 
 Henry Venn became Curate of Clapham in 1754, where 
 he resided five years. In 1759 he was appointed Vicar 
 of Huddersfield, where he laboured with wonderful success 
 for twelve years, after which weakness and indications 
 of consumption obliged him to give up his heavy work 
 there for the quiet retirement of the country village 
 of Yelling in Huntingdonshire, which in 1870 had a 
 population of some four hundred souls. His church at 
 Huddersfield was so crowded that numbers came who 
 could not gain admission. Persons flocked thither from 
 distant hamlets, inquiring what they must do to be saved. 
 On Sunday he would often address the congregation from 
 the desk, briefly explaining the psalms and the lessons, and 
 frequently begin the service with a solemn and impressive 
 address. His whole soul was engaged in preaching; and 
 as at this time he only used short notes in the pulpit, 
 ample room was left to indulge the feelings of com-
 
 134 HENRY VENN OF HUDDERSFIELD AND YELLING. 
 
 passion, tenderness and love, with which his heart over- 
 flowed towards his people. In the week he regularly 
 visited the different hamlets in his extensive parish ; and 
 collecting some of the inhabitants at a private house, ad- 
 dressed them with kindness and earnestness which moved 
 every heart. From a letter written in 1762 we learn that 
 the Vicar of Huddersfield generally preached eight or 
 ten sermons in the week in distant parts of the parish, 
 when many came to hear who would not come to church. 
 It also mentions that his outdoor preaching was found 
 specially useful. Canon Kyle says, " The immediate effects 
 produced by Henry Venn's preaching appear to have 
 been singularly deep, powerful, and permanent." 
 
 Henry Venn's grandson visited Huddersfield in 1824, 
 fifty-three years after his honoured grandfather had left 
 the place. He called upon several old people who heard 
 and valued Mr Venn's preaching. Among them was 
 Mr Brook of Longwood, who said, " The people used to go 
 from Longwood in droves to Huddersfield Church, three 
 miles off. Some of his hearers came out of church to- 
 gether, whose ways home were in this direction ; and 
 they used to stop at the Fir's End, about a mile off, 
 and talk over for some time what they had heard, before 
 they separated to go to their homes. That place has 
 been to me like a little heaven below ! I never heard 
 a minister like him. He was most powerful in unfolding 
 the terrors of the law; when doing so, he had a stern 
 look that would make you tremble. Then he would 
 turn off to the offers of grace, and begin to smile, and go 
 on entreating till his eyes filled with tears." 
 
 Another old man of 82 said of his preaching " Nobody 
 could help being affected ; the most wicked and ill- 
 conditioned men went to hear him, and fell like slacked
 
 HENRY VENN OF HUDDERSFIELD AND YELLING. 135 
 
 lime in a moment, even though they were not converted. 
 I could have heard him preach all the night through." 
 
 Another person of eighty-five years old said, Mr 
 Venn would say to the lads he catechized, "Read your 
 bibles, dear lads, and press forward, and you cannot miss 
 heaven." 
 
 Another says, "When Mr Venn got warm with his 
 subject, he looked as if he would jump out of his pulpit. 
 He made many weep. When he came up to the church, 
 he used to go round the churchyard and drive us all in 
 before him." He was on terms of intimate friendship 
 with Wesley, Whitfield, Grimshaw and Fletcher. 
 
 There is an interesting letter written by Venn to 
 Lady Huntingdon about the year 1768 in which he 
 boldly supports Whitfield in his out-of-doors preaching, 
 and as it illustrates the characters of both the good 
 men we must give it room here. It was written on 
 the occasion of Whitfield preaching on a tombstone in 
 the churchyard of Cheltenham Parish Church, after per- 
 mission had been refused to preach in the church. Venn 
 writes, " To give your ladyship any just description of 
 what our eyes have witnessed and our hearts have felt the 
 last few days at Cheltenham, exceeds my feeble powers. 
 My inmost soul is penetrated with an overwhelming 
 sense of the power and presence of Jehovah, who has 
 visited us with an effusion of His Spirit in a very 
 eminent manner. There was a visible appearance of 
 much soul-concern among the crowd that filled every 
 part of the burial-ground. Many were overcome with 
 fainting; others sobbed deeply, some wept silently; and 
 a solemn concern appeared on the countenance of almost 
 the whole assembly. But when he pressed the injunction 
 of the text (Isa. Iv. 1), on the unconverted and ungodly,
 
 136 HENRY VENN OF HUDDERSFIELD AND YELLING. 
 
 his words seemed to act like a sword, and many burst 
 out into piercing cries. At this juncture Mr Whitfield 
 made an awful pause of a few seconds, and wept himself. 
 During this interval Mr Madan and myself stood up and 
 requested the people as much as possible to restrain 
 themselves from making a noise. Oh ! with what eloquence, 
 what energy, what melting tenderness did Mr Whitfield 
 beseech sinners to be reconciled to God, to come to him 
 for life everlasting, and to rest their weary souls on Christ 
 the Saviour! When the sermon was ended the people 
 seemed chained to the ground." 
 
 He removed to Yelling in 1771. His life here was 
 singularly quiet and uneventful. The change from Hudders- 
 field apparently added some twenty-six years to his life, 
 for on his removal his health and strength gradually 
 returned. He writes to a Huddersfield friend, " You tell 
 me you have no idea how we get on. Take the following 
 sketch. I am up one of the first in the house, soon 
 after five o'clock ; and when prayer and reading the 
 blessed Word is done, my daughters make their ap- 
 pearance, and I teach them till Mrs Venn comes down 
 at half-past eight. Then family prayer begins, which 
 is often very sweet, as my servants are all, I believe, born 
 of God The children begin to sing prettily; and our 
 praises, I trust, are heard on high. From breakfast 
 we are all employed till we ride out, in fine weather, 
 two hours for health, and after dinner employed again. 
 At six I have always one hour for solemn meditation 
 and walking in my garden till seven. We have then 
 sometimes twenty, and sometimes more, of the people, 
 to whom I expound God's Word. Several appear much 
 affected ; sometimes Jesus stands in the midst and says, 
 'Peace be unto you!' Our devotions end at eight, we
 
 HENRY VENN OF HUDDERSFIELD AND YELLING. 137 
 
 sup and go to rest at ten. On Sundays I am still enabled 
 to speak six hours, at three different times, to my own 
 great surprise : Oh ! the goodness of God is raising me up !" 
 Though he seldom came before the public as he did in 
 his Huddersfield days, he still found many ways of doing 
 his Master's work, and proclaiming the gospel which he 
 loved. The value of his preaching was soon discovered, 
 even in his secluded neighbourhood, and he had the 
 comfort of seeing fruit of his ministry in Huntingdonshire, 
 as real, if not so abundant, as in Yorkshire. Occasionally 
 he preached out of his own parish, though not so often 
 perhaps as his friend and neighbour Berridge could have 
 wished. Sometimes he preached in London in the pulpit 
 of Surrey Chapel, so late as 1786. 
 
 About six months before his death he finally left 
 Yelling, and settled at Clapham, near his son who was 
 then rector of that well-known London suburb. He died 
 on the 24th of June, 1797, at the age of seventy-three.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 STATE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. 
 
 WE have DOW reviewed the principal religious influ- 
 ences which at earlier periods probably touched the in- 
 habitants of Bluntisham and its neighbourhood. When 
 we consider the large area from which was drawn the con- 
 gregation assembling at the Meeting-house at Bluntisham 
 we can the more readily believe that each of the religious 
 forces we have had in review had its influence in preparing 
 the people for the movement led by Mr Coxe Feary, when 
 he and his friends founded the society and built the 
 Meeting-house, which for one hundred years has been a 
 centre of light in Huntingdonshire. 
 
 At the time of this movement in 1784 religion in the 
 Established Church was at a very low ebb. Pluralists, fre- 
 quently non-resident, provided for their parishes at the 
 cheapest rate they could command. The clergy were often 
 appointed from political or social or family considerations, 
 quite apart from the question of the hold they had on 
 religious truth ; many had scarcely a perception of the 
 nature of spiritual religion, much less any experience 
 in themselves of its power to save. Consequently they 
 were unable to minister to their people in spiritual things, 
 and some honestly acknowledged this inability. In rnany 
 districts there was spiritual deadness sometimes a dark-
 
 STATE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. 139 
 
 ness like heathendom no light to guide the soul heaven- 
 ward no sympathy with souls struggling with doubt and 
 fear, or striving to enter into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 
 Some of the clergy, beneficed and otherwise, disgraced 
 their calling by excessive drinking. Immersed in world - 
 liness to the complete absorption of their time in pleasure, 
 they neglected even their ordinary clerical duties. Some 
 were curiously unable to comprehend the spiritual and 
 religious difficulties of their people. A question on these 
 matters perplexed them, and at a remark on these topics 
 they were nonplussed. It is difficult now to picture the 
 religious condition of England at the time of which we 
 speak, and to realise how large was the number of 
 churches in which there was no gospel teaching. This 
 being the case, it is not to be wondered at that people in 
 whose hearts the Spirit of God was moving, and who were 
 not unmindful of the divine light, grew dissatisfied with 
 the quality and extent of the preaching within the Church 
 of England. In many places they either left the parish 
 church altogether or only attended in part, driving off to 
 a gospel preacher in some church, meeting-house, cottage, 
 gentleman's kitchen or farm-house, wherever an oppor- 
 tunity existed. They would often travel many miles for 
 the spiritual food of which they felt in need, sometimes 
 going a distance of twenty and even thirty miles on the 
 Sunday, not unfrequently travelling these distances on foot. 
 " Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteous- 
 ness, for they shall be filled." 
 
 Miss Hannah More thus describes the state of the Esta- 
 blished Church in her own neighbourhood. 
 
 Dating from Cowslip Green in 1789, Miss More writing 
 to Mrs Kennicott, says, " We have in this neighbourhood 
 thirteen adjoining parishes, without so much as even a
 
 140 STATE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. 
 
 resident curate." And in a letter to Mrs Carter, Miss 
 More writes, " Our own villages are in Pagan darkness, 
 and upon many of them scarcely a ray of Christianity 
 has shone. I speak from the most minute and diligent 
 examination. In one particular spot, for instance, there 
 are six large parishes, without so much as a resident 
 curate. Three commonly gifted curates cannot serve eight 
 churches." 
 
 In another letter to Mrs Kennicott Miss More writes, 
 " I have fixed on the central parish of six large ones, 
 which have not so much as a regular curate, for the prin- 
 cipal scene of my operations. I have hired an old Vicarage 
 house which has had no inhabitant these hundred years, 
 and in this I propose to place some pious and knowing 
 people to instruct the poor, who are more vicious and 
 ignorant than I could have conceived possible in a country 
 which calls itself Christian. The Vicar who lives a long 
 way off, is repairing the house for me, and as he is but 
 ninety-four years old, he insists on my taking a lease, and 
 is as vigorous about the rent as if I were taking it for an 
 assembly-room." In a letter to Mr Wilberforce dated 1789 
 from the George Hotel, Cheddar, Miss More writes, " The 
 Vicarage of Cheddar is in the gift of the Dean of Wells; 
 the value nearly fifty pounds per annum. The incumbent 
 
 is a Mr R , who has something to do, but I cannot 
 
 here find out what, in the University of Oxford, where he 
 resides. The curate lives at Wells, twelve miles distant. 
 They have only service once a week, and there is scarcely 
 an instance of a poor person being visited, or prayed with. 
 The living of Axbridge belongs to the Prebendary of 
 Wiveliscombe, in the cathedral of Wells. The annual 
 value is about fifty pounds. The incumbent is about sixty 
 years of age. The Prebend to which this Rectory belongs
 
 STATE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. 141 
 
 is in the gift of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Mr G. is 
 intoxicated about six times a week, and very frequently is 
 prevented from preaching by two black eyes, honestly 
 earned by fighting." 
 
 For placing a school at Wedmore, Hannah More was 
 ultimately prosecuted in the Ecclesiastical Court. Some 
 of the depositions went to prove as an offence, that Miss 
 More's schoolmaster " had been heard to pray extempore 
 in private, and that he was a Calvinist." " The church," 
 says Miss More, "was in danger." (See her letter to Mr 
 Wilberforce.) 
 
 " Although possessed of vast revenues and a monopoly 
 of power, the Established Church had almost utterly neg- 
 lected to perform its duty in respect to the religious 
 education of the people." *.,..-, 
 
 Chief Justice Blackstone, who made a point at this 
 time (1767) of hearing the most celebrated preachers in 
 London, stated that in all his visits to the churches he 
 did not hear a sermon that had more Christianity in it 
 than a speech of Cicero, and that it would have been 
 impossible for him to tell whether the preacher was a 
 Mahommedan or a Christian. Scattered throughout 
 England were a few " Methodist " clergy, the Founders of 
 the Evangelical party in the Established Church, who 
 laboured incessantly for the advancement of religion ; but 
 they were outnumbered by thousands and frowned upon 
 by all who were in authority. 
 
 The pillar of fire and cloud of smoke which had guided 
 our Bluntisham friends to seek the spiritual sustenance 
 they needed at the hands of a gospel preacher in a distant 
 church, soon stood over their native village, and they found 
 there the means of grace. 
 
 The Congregational form of worship is the simplest pos-
 
 142 STATE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. 
 
 sible; it was adopted by the primitive church when it met 
 in the upper room. It is the expression of the first need of 
 the two or three who desire to meet the Lord. And so 
 such have continued to do ever since. When at Bluntisham 
 they first met in a small room and their little band in- 
 creased, they changed to a larger room. Their band still 
 increasing they met in a barn. Their circle widening they 
 built a meeting-house still widening, they enlarged their 
 meeting-house. What less could they do ? And what 
 more was necessary ? Then they made their own internal 
 arrangements their rules of procedure and of worship. 
 And so led by their common sense, actuated and con- 
 trolled by the spirit of Christ, they quietly carried on their 
 work. 
 
 People t*Ha uff their noses at our old meeting-houses, 
 but forget the usual circumstances under which they were 
 built: Poverty exacting strict economy and a Puritan 
 sense of the incongruity of ornament. In a building 
 erected for the exercise of spiritual worship, nothing they 
 thought should be introduced which could distract atten- 
 tion either by its ugliness or its beauty. Space, light, 
 air, protection from weather, no bar to the sight of the 
 minister, or to the sound of his voice. These were the 
 essentials, and beyond these they had for the most part no 
 money to carry them, nor desire to go. In those simple 
 days neither debts nor begging were so congenial nor 
 respectable as they are now.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 RISE OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 
 
 IN telling the story of the forming of the church, and 
 building the Meeting-house at Bluntisham, we have the 
 advantage of the " Memoirs of Mr Coxe Feary," written 
 by his friend Mr John Audley of Cambridge in 1823. In 
 the introduction we are told and this is quoted from 
 Mr Coxe Feary " There were in the parish of Bluntisham, 
 a few families of Dissenters of the people called Quakers, 
 at so early a period as about the year 1657. They had a 
 place for public worship, but the cause declined ; they 
 sold their place, and built another in the next village, 
 Earith. In the last century there were three or four 
 families of the Baptist persuasion at Bluntisham, who 
 had occasional preaching at their houses ; but without 
 increasing the number of Dissenters. The whole village, 
 therefore, except the few families mentioned above, re- 
 mained strict church people till the year 1784, when the 
 following circumstances entirely changed the religious 
 complexion of the people." 
 
 At the time of which we are writing the Rev. John 
 Jacob Oakes was Vicar of Bluntisham. That he was not 
 one of the " Gospel preachers," we draw from several facts 
 stated in the narrative given by Coxe Feary of the reli- 
 gious movements of the time, and from the need of
 
 144 RISE OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 
 
 evangelical teaching, felt by the church people of Bluntis- 
 ham sufficiently to induce them to travel on Sunday to 
 Yelling that they might attend the services of the Rev. 
 Henry Venn. 
 
 Mr Coxe Feary has narrated the events of this time in 
 a series of memoranda in the records of the church of 
 which he became the first pastor, and we cannot do better 
 than quote his words: they are written in the third person, 
 in the year 1784. 
 
 " His having now given up attendance at his own parish 
 church, and going twelve miles the distance Yelling is 
 from Bluntisham every sabbath to worship, excited great 
 attention among his neighbours, who frequently enquired 
 into the reason of his conduct. This gave him a favour- 
 able opportunity of talking to them about the salvation of 
 their souls, and of the importance and great advantage of 
 evangelical preaching. Yea, such was the love and tender 
 compassion he felt for poor perishing sinners, that he 
 could not refrain from testifying to them, 'Repentance 
 towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.' Many 
 in the village, like the noble Bereans, ' received the word 
 with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures 
 daily whether those things were so.' So desirous were 
 the people of religious instruction, that in the course of 
 the summer a number of his friends and neighbours would 
 frequently go to Yelling with him, to hear Mr Venn. 
 Moreover such was the religious concern excited in the 
 neighbourhood by his example and religious conversation, 
 that it might be truly said, ' Lift up your eyes, and look 
 upon the fields, for they are white already to harvest.' " 
 
 We can imagine the company of travellers on their 
 Sabbath-day's journey to Yelling ; the way would lead 
 them through St Ives, across the river Ouse, by the ancient
 
 RISE OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 145 
 
 bridge, arid along the broad high road. They would cross 
 the Roman " Via Devana " leading from Cambridge to 
 Godmanchester, and another Roman Road the " Ermine 
 Street," near Kisby's Hut. We know their topics of con- 
 versation. 
 
 " Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to 
 another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it and a book 
 of remembrance was written before him for them that 
 feared the Lord and that thought upon his name." When 
 the two friends were walking to Emmaus that memorable 
 evening, an unknown companion walked and talked by 
 their side. Was he not, though unseen, accompanying 
 the friends to Yelling and opening their eyes ? 
 
 In the autumn of the same year Mr Feary purchased 
 Whitfield's sermons and the same evening read one of 
 them, no doubt at his own house, to his shepherd la- 
 bourers and his intimate and bosom friend, Mr Asplan, 
 who were much delighted. The text was ' What think ye 
 of Christ?' The next evening, without his knowing or 
 expecting any such thing, a number of poor people carne 
 with Mr John Kent, a gentleman of the village, to hear 
 him read a sermon. A circumstance so unexpected much 
 embarrassed him. The idea of reading before so many 
 people, and the shame of being counted a methodist 
 preacher, led him to decline reading; but such was their 
 desire to hear, that they declared they would not depart 
 until he had read a sermon to them. Accordingly, with no 
 little confusion he repeated the same sermon he had read 
 the night before; and such was the satisfaction received, 
 by the blessing of God upon the sermon, that it laid the 
 foundation of the present church and congregation. Such 
 events as these shew that God's thoughts are not our 
 thoughts. One of the poor women very much wished him 
 T. B. 10
 
 146 RISE OF THE CHURCH AT BLUXTISHAM. 
 
 to read a sermon at her house the next evening. He con- 
 sented on condition. that she would not make it known; 
 but, notwithstanding the caution taken to conceal it, when 
 he went in the evening the house was filled ; and it was a 
 most interesting sight to behold the profound attention 
 and deep seriousness, with which the poor people re- 
 ceived the glad tidings of salvation from the reading of 
 that sermon. He continued reading to the people during 
 the winter, in the same cottage, one of the almshouses at 
 the south end of the village, belonging to Thomas Harrison. 
 And such was the awakening in the place, that the people 
 were constantly enquiring "What they must do to be 
 saved?" In the spring of 1785, as the house could not 
 contain the people, they removed into the next house, 
 which was larger. Here for the first time Mr Feary 
 found courage to pray with the people after the sermon. 
 They being unaccustomed to anything of the kind, it 
 produced such a feeling of affection and surprise, that, 
 like the people at Lystra, with Paul and Barnabas, they 
 would have done sacrifice. The congregation still in- 
 creasing, they opened a larger house in the village. All 
 this while they had no regular time for worship, but 
 sometimes met two, three or four evenings in the course 
 of the week. Being still a constant attendant at Mr Venn's 
 church on the Lord's day, he acquainted him with what 
 was going on. Mr Venn encouraged him, pressed him to 
 keep on, saying that " he believed God had a great work 
 to do at Bluntisham;" and that "in the course of the 
 summer he would come over and help them." 
 
 At this time Mr Feary was favoured with the friend- 
 ship of two other clergymen Mr Simeon, of Cambridge, 
 one of the leaders of the " Clapham Sect," and a Trustee 
 for the livings purchased by the Evangelical Trust Fund,
 
 RISE OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 147 
 
 and Mr Brock the minister of the villages of Stukely 
 and Offbrd. Mr Audley says that " Mr Simeon on one 
 occasion during the summer preached a sermon in Mr 
 Feary's house, the service commencing at 5 o'clock in the 
 morning. The room was crowded to excess, and tradition 
 says many collected at the back of the house, so that 
 Mr Simeon, standing outside near a pump which still 
 remains, addressed his hearers through open door and 
 window." Mr Audley adds, " This was a season long re- 
 membered with peculiar pleasure, on account of the evident 
 tokens by which God gave testimony to the word of His 
 grace." 
 
 Mr Venn, agreeably to his promise, paid a visit to 
 Bhmtisham during that summer, and for his accommo- 
 dation Mr John Kent opened his barn, in which Mr Venn 
 preached to a large and deeply attentive congregation. 
 The scene was affecting, and Mr Venn declared that he 
 never but once in all his life enjoyed such a season of 
 refreshment from the presence of the Lord. From this 
 time Mr Kent insisted upon the people accepting the use 
 of the barn as often as they pleased. They thankfully 
 embraced the offer, opened a small subscription, and fitted 
 it up for their use. This barn stood a little back from 
 the road on the opposite side to the site of the present 
 chapel, and a few yards further up the road, but was taken 
 down some years ago, and a new one built on the spot. 
 The premises are now owned by Mr John Beldam. 
 
 Mr Feary continues, " This was a new trial to their 
 friend C. Feary, as it looked so much like a separation 
 from the Establishment, and of his being a Dissenting 
 Minister; to neither of which he at that time could 
 be reconciled. But though this was unpleasant to his 
 feelings, he continued meeting the people and reading 
 
 102
 
 148 RISE OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 
 
 sermons, in order to keep them together, hoping to have 
 an opportunity of procuring a Curate to preach the gospel 
 in the church. For this purpose he mentioned the matter 
 to the Rev. Mr Simeon, who was very desirous to accom- 
 plish such an object, and applied to Mr Houseman, a 
 serious clergyman, who engaged to come, if Mr Oakes, 
 the rector, consented; and the people proposed a sub- 
 scription towards his salary. But the proposals were 
 rejected." Mr Feary next invited Mr Simeon to favour 
 the people at Bluntisham with another sermon, the 
 service he held before in Mr Feary 's house having been 
 attended with such beneficial effects. Mr Simeon after 
 consulting with one of his seniors thought proper to de- 
 cline Mr Feary's request. The refusal of Mr Simeon 
 to come any more amongst them added to that of the 
 rector to receive an evangelical clergyman as his curate, 
 perplexed Mr Feary and his friends. "And as they 
 did not know what to do on the Lord's day, Coxe 
 Feary proposed to meet them in the morning before 
 he went to Yelling, and in the evening on his return, 
 and pray with them and read a sermon to them. And so 
 anxious were the people to hear the word of God, that 
 multitudes would be waiting on the road for his coming 
 home. They continued this practice for some time, until 
 the congregation became very large, not fewer than be- 
 tween three and four hundred. Under these encouraging 
 circumstances, Mr Venn advised him to stop at home 
 the whole of the Sabbath which he did. Having finished 
 all Mr Whitfield's and Mr Hervey's sermons, he was 
 under the necessity of making an effort at expounding 
 a chapter out of the sacred Scriptures. This he did for 
 some months : after which he took a single passage, and 
 endeavoured to preach from it, which proving acceptable,
 
 RISE OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 149 
 
 ho was encouraged to go on, ' for the hand of the Lord 
 was with him, and a great number believed and turned 
 unto the Lord'." And so the Gospel was preached and 
 services were held regularly in the barn. There is a 
 delightful appropriateness in these simple village meetings, 
 under the home-like thatch, so cool in summer, so warm 
 in winter. One imagines the country folk greeting one 
 another outside the barn as they gather for the service, 
 and as they return comparing impressions of what they 
 had heard, and speaking together of the good Lord who 
 had Himself met them. Mr Audley says, " The state 
 of things at Bluntisham being known by that excellent 
 man, the Rev. Joseph Saunders, pastor of the Inde- 
 pendent Church in Cambridge, he went over and preached 
 in the barn." Of this the following memorial is preserved : 
 " Thursday, July 25th, 1786, Mr Saunders of Cambridge 
 preached from these words of Paul, Phil. i. 6, ' Being con- 
 fident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good 
 work in you, will perform it until the day of Christ.' 
 There was a very crowded audience, and I never saw a more 
 attentive congregation, for the whole appeared much 
 affected. The word distilled as the silent dew upon the 
 people, who were evidently refreshed from the presence of 
 the Lord. I believe it to be a season which will never be 
 forgotten. As God had blessed his labours of love to 
 a number of immortal souls, they began to feel a desire to 
 walk together in the order and fellowship of the gospel. 
 After seriously examining the principles of Dissent, and 
 having frequent meetings for prayer for a divine blessing 
 upon their undertaking, they applied to Mr Saunders, 
 pastor of the Independent Church at Cambridge, for 
 advice relative to their forming themselves into a Christian 
 church, and the following letter was received from him."
 
 150 RISE OF THE CHURCH AT BLTTXTISHAM. 
 
 "CAMBRIDGE, 16tft NOT. 1786. 
 "DEAR SIR, 
 
 " Too long your letter has lain by me unnoticed ; but 
 almost constant and unexpected interruptions have been the 
 cause. My soul magnifies the Lord for the great things he 
 has done for you, and by you, and among you already. Also 
 for now laying it upon your hearts, publicly to give up your- 
 selves to the Lord your God, and to one another, that so 
 you may honour him, edify each other, and bear up the name 
 of your glorious Redeemer in the midst of this sinful world. 
 Msy the shout of a King be among you on the solemn day you 
 speak of. And who can tell what may be its pleasing and 
 glorious effects on others, who may stand by, and hear what 
 God has done for your souls ; whose hearts he has touched 
 and animated to make a public surrender of yourselves to the 
 Lord, and to each other, to walk together in all gospel ordi- 
 nances ? By all means have your day of prayer publicly, as at 
 other times, and let all the people be present that desire 
 it, unless you apprehend this would discourage and keep back 
 any from speaking, who would do it at a private meeting. 
 But in case you fear any present who might laugh, or restrain 
 any from speaking freely of God's gracious dealings with 
 them, then meet in a more private manner. My prayers are 
 for you, my heart is with you ; and with the kindest respects 
 to you all, I rest, your affectionate brother in Christ, 
 
 J. SAUNDERS." 
 To Mr Coxe Feary, Bluntixham. 
 
 Mr Feary continues, " After mature deliberation upon 
 the subject, it was agreed to have the solemn transactions 
 of the day public, and openly to acknowledge Him 
 who died upon the cross to save the chief of sinners." 
 
 " On Dec. 28th, 1786, a public meeting was held in the 
 barn, when after singing and prayer, and in the presence 
 of a numerous congregation, Coxe Feary, with twenty-five
 
 RISE OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 151 
 
 of his Christian friends, related severally the Lord's gracious 
 dealings with them, joining together in hand and heart, 
 giving up themselves to the Lord and to one another, by 
 the will of God, to walk together in the fellowship of the 
 gospel, and to support the interest of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ in the world, as King upon His holy hill of Zion." 
 
 " Their meeting was solemn, the sight was truly affect- 
 ing, and many were constrained to say that they enjoyed 
 a season of refreshment from the presence of the Lord. 
 It was agreed upon that meetings for prayer, and for 
 transacting the concerns of the church, should be held in 
 the week before their Lord's-supper days." 
 
 Of the twenty-six persons who, including Mr Feary, 
 thus united themselves together in Christian fellowship, 
 thirteen were men and thirteen were women. They were 
 
 1. Coxe Feary, of Bluntisham, Farmer, who was after- 
 wards chosen Pastor of the church. 
 
 2. James Seekings, of Colne, Labouring man. 
 
 3. \Vm. Whittlesey, of the parish of Somershaiu, Brick- 
 layer. 
 
 4. Nathaniel Gifford, of the parish of Over, Cambridge- 
 shire, Farmer. 
 
 5. John Hall, of Woodhurst. Died in the year 1812. 
 
 6. John Thang, of Somersham Fen. 
 
 7. Gabriel Sallis, who came out of Gloucestershire, and 
 settled at Bluntisham. 
 
 8. Thomas Shanks, of the parish of Colne, who died 
 3rd July, 1788, and was the first buried in the burial 
 ground. 
 
 9. John Elmour, of Bluntisham, Dairy-man, Died 7th 
 or 8th Jan. 1811. 
 
 10. William Asplari, of Bluntisham, Farmer, chosen to 
 the office of Deacon, 1787. 
 
 11. Peter Barlow, of Somersham, Farmer.
 
 152 RISE OF THE CHURCH AT BLUXTISHAM. 
 
 12. Thomas Harrison, of Bluntisham, Bricklayer. Died 
 Mar. 19th, 1803. 
 
 13. Elizabeth White, of Bluntisham, was called by divine 
 grace under a sermon preached at Bluntisham by Mr Simeon 
 of King's College, Cambridge. Died 1815. 
 
 14. Ann Fordham (afterwards Mrs Gregory), of Bluntis- 
 ham, was brought to an experimental knowledge of Jesus 
 Christ when very young. 
 
 15. Dinah, the Wife of John Kimpton, of Somersham, 
 Labourer. 
 
 16. Ann Richardson, the Widow of Jos. Richardson, 
 of Bluntisham ; she died suddenly, Sept. 6th, 1802. 
 
 17. Elizabeth, the Daughter of Thos. Christmas, of 
 Somersham, Labourer. 
 
 18. Hannah, the Widow of John Greene, of Somersham, 
 Farmer, Died May, 1819. 
 
 19. Elizabeth, the Daughter of Wm. Royston, of the 
 parish of Woodhurst, Farmer. 
 
 20. Sarah, the Widow of Wm. Holiday, of Bluntisham, 
 Carpenter, died 25th Oct. 1792, remarkably happy in the Lord. 
 
 21. Martha, the Wife of John Burton, of Bluntisham, 
 Labourer. 
 
 22. Mary, the Wife of John Howard of Colne, Labourer. 
 
 23. Mary Gowler, a poor Woman. Died April, 1818. 
 
 24. Susannah, the Wife of Robt. French, of Woodhurst. 
 
 25. John Kimpton, of Somersham. 
 
 26. Elizabeth Kiminons, the Wife of Thomas Kimmons, 
 of Somersham, Butcher. 
 
 These persons deserve honour as the Founders of the 
 church at Bluntisham. Their names are also entered 
 in another place in the church book appended to the 
 Confession of Faith which we give in the next chapter.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 PROFESSION OF FAITH AND LISTS OF EARLY CHURCH 
 MEMBERS. 
 
 THE twenty-six members who first united themselves 
 together to form the church were soon joined by others. 
 
 " At the next church meeting, Jan. 27th, 1787, seven 
 more members were admitted and related the Lord's 
 dealings with them in bringing them out of the kingdom 
 of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. 
 
 27. Thomas Wilson, of Witton, Hunts. Farmer. Died 
 Sept. 1797. 
 
 28. Edward Parker, of Colne, Smith. Died Dec. 1814. 
 
 29. Joseph Johnson, Over, Labourer. 
 
 30. Mary, the Wife of Thos. Harrison, of Bluntisham, 
 Bricklayer. After an honourable profession of Christ for 
 fifteen years died in the Lord, Jan. 1st, 1802. 
 
 31. Elizabeth, the Widow of Elias Carter, of Bluutisham. 
 A good old Avoman, died full of faith Jan. 1st, 1802. Her 
 last words were, "Not a wave of trouble rolls across my 
 peaceful breast." 
 
 32. John Clai'k, of Over, Cambridgeshire, a youth. 
 
 33. Thos. Philip, of Somersham, Collar-maker." 
 
 " March the 9th. At the church-meeting, after prayer 
 and singing, the following persons, in order to give up 
 themselves to the Lord and to the church by the will
 
 154 PKOFESSION OF FAITH 
 
 of God, after relating the Lord's dealing with them, were 
 admitted, viz. 
 
 34. William Barley, of Earith, Miller and Baker, was 
 chosen to the office of Deacon in the same yeai'. 
 
 35. Thomas Midcalf, of Holywell, Dairy-man. 
 
 36. Robt. Leeds, of Colne, Farmer, chosen one of the 
 Deacons the same year. Died on the 17th July, 1816, after a 
 long affliction, which he bore with great patience and sub- 
 mission to the will of God. He had lost his sight some years 
 before his death, but was never heard to complain. 
 
 37. Poulter Margest, of Woodhurst, Farmer. 
 
 38. Elizabeth, the Wife of Thos. Shanks, of Colne, 
 Labourer. Died 9th June, 1809. 
 
 39. Hannah, the Widow of Wm. Harrison, of Bluntis- 
 ham, Bricklayer. Departed this life on the 22nd Nov. 1800, 
 leaving behind her five fatherless and motherless children who 
 have all been brought up according to his word, where it 
 is said "Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them 
 alive ; and let thy widows trust in Me." 
 
 40. Mary, the Wife of Wm. Whittlesey, of Bluntisham, 
 Labourer. After faithfully serving the Congregation for 
 twenty-four years, in sweeping the Meeting-house, opening 
 the doors etc., she changed a state of sin and affliction, for an 
 inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and that fadeth not away. 
 Oct. 16th, 1810. 
 
 41. Mary Pappee, servant of Mrs Potto's, of Earith, 
 admitted May 9th, 1787. 
 
 42. Elizabeth Woods, of Needingworth, admitted July 
 2nd, 1787. 
 
 43. William Carter, of Colne, Labourer, admitted July 
 2nd, 1787. Chosen to the office of Deacon the same year. 
 
 44. Ann Day, of Colne, Widow, admitted July 2nd, 1787. 
 She died after a long affliction, which she bore with Christian 
 patience in hopes of eternal life, April 23rd, 1808.
 
 AND LISTS OF EARLY CHURCH MEMBERS. 155 
 
 45. Cooper Adder, of Colne, Labourer, admitted July 2nd, 
 1787. 
 
 46. Elizabeth Asplan, of Bluntisham, admitted Sept. IGth, 
 1787. 
 
 47. Ann Wood, of Needingworth, admitted Sept. 16th, 
 1787. 
 
 48. Elizabeth Feary, of Bluntisham, admitted Sept. 16th, 
 1787. 
 
 49. Thomas Ratford, admitted Nov. 15th, 1787. 
 
 50. William Lambert, of Earith, Smith, admitted Nov. 
 15th, 1787. 
 
 51. Elizabeth Benton, admitted Nov. 15th, 1787. 
 
 52. Henry Rose, of Colne, Shepherd, admitted, Jan. 10th, 
 1788. 
 
 53. James Blake, Colne, Weaver, admitted Feb. 9th, 
 1788. 
 
 54. William Watson, Somersham, admitted Feb. 9th, 1788. 
 
 55. Ann, the Wife of John W T allice, of Woodhurst, 
 Labourer, admitted April 10th, 1788. 
 
 56. Mary Cheer, of Colne, admitted April 10th, 1788." 
 
 It appears that four of the members of the church 
 were chosen Deacons in the year 1787: they were, 
 
 William Asplan, Farmer, of Bluntisham. 
 William Barley, Miller and Farmer, of Earith. 
 Robert Leeds, Farmer, of Colne. 
 William Carter, Labourer, of Colne. 
 
 The following is copied from the Church book, entered 
 at the head of the list of members, and entitled : 
 
 "A form of Covenant held by the church of Christ at 
 Bluntisham, planted 28th day of December 1786." 
 
 " We who are by nature children of wrath even as others 
 have heretofore been in a state of more than Egyptian dark- 
 ness, even such darkness as may be felt, and were strangers
 
 156 PROFESSION OF FAITH 
 
 to the covenant of promise, and without God in the world ; 
 but God who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith 
 he loved us in Christ before the foundation of the world, 
 has by a wonderful interposition of Divine Providence, even, 
 in such a way and manner as constrains us to confess and say, 
 ' it is the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes.' Being 
 therefore brought through Grace and everlasting Love to look 
 unto him on whom our help is stayed. Under a due sense 
 of God's gracious dealings towards us and our great obligations 
 to God, we are firmly persuaded in our own minds that it is 
 our duty as well as privilege in mutual consent and agreement 
 with each other to support the cause and interest of our great 
 and glorious Redeemer, and knowing that for so great and 
 important a work, it requires that we should be united together 
 in heart and affection, or as the Scriptures express it, ' Of 
 one heart and of one soul ; being knit together in love.' In 
 order thereto we do hereby publicly, and without reserve 
 (in the strength of the Lord) resign and give up ourselves 
 wholly to Christ, the complete Saviour of his people, and to 
 one another, to walk together in church fellowship, and com- 
 munion, promising in his strength to support the cause and 
 interest of our Redeemer's Kingdom." 
 
 "I. It appears according to the rule given in the New 
 Testament, that those that propose themselves to be members 
 of a church could not be admitted as such until a full and 
 satisfactory proof be given of a woi'k of grace on their souls. 
 It is said that when Saul assayed to join himself to the 
 Disciples, they were all afraid of him, and believed not that 
 he was a Disciple until it was declared unto them how he had 
 seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him ; 
 and how he had preached the gospel in his name. Agreeable 
 to which we propose to admit none to the Lord's table, but 
 such as we believe have experienced a work of grace upon 
 their souls, and shall be approved of by the church, and if 
 approved of to be admitted."
 
 AND LISTS OF EARLY CHURCH MEMBERS. 157 
 
 " II. As a church of Christ we desire through grace not 
 to countenance the works of darkness such as Adultery, Forni- 
 cation, Uncleanness, Murder, Drunkenness and such like. 
 And not to frequent public places of amusement such as 
 Horse-racing, Playhouses, Dancing, Cardplaying, Gaming, 
 nor to frequent Ale-houses, unless lawfully engaged, but ac- 
 cording to that scripture, ' come out from amongst them, and 
 have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of Darkness, 
 but reprove them. But on the other hand to take the written 
 word of God our Saviour and seek each other's edification, the 
 increase of Christ's Kingdom, and the good of mankind." 
 
 " III. That such steps be taken as make for love, peace, 
 aud order, viz. not to absent ourselves from the public worship 
 of God unless lawfully engaged, according to that scripture, 
 'forsake not the assembling of yourselves together,' but to 
 abide by and meet with each other at all times, as well in 
 adversity as prosperity, and not to withdraw on slight occa- 
 sions nor without giving sufficient reasons for so doing; but 
 every member to fill his place and fulfil his office to which 
 he is appointed by the Church, whose right it is to appoint 
 and ordain all her officers. Also to be careful that there be 
 no unnecessary debates or envyings, whisperings, backbitings, 
 but as the scriptures of truth point out, ' with all lowliness 
 and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another, 
 tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's 
 sake hath forgiven us. Also to pray one with and for each 
 other." 
 
 "IV. And the better to provide for the peace and tran- 
 quillity of the church, and to prevent strife and divisions, 
 in case of any dispute or debate arising in the church, (except 
 it be a fundamental article), the lesser number to submit to 
 the greater in the fear of the Lord. ' For God is not the 
 Author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of 
 the saints. ' " 
 
 "All church matters to be kept within the church."
 
 158 PROFESSION OF FAITH, &C. 
 
 " V. If any Brother or Sister is called by Providence 
 to remove to a distance from the church, we agree to give 
 them a dismission to a sister church if they desire it." 
 
 " VI. As a church of Christ we believe from the New 
 Testament that the Lord's-day should be devoted to his service, 
 and that no worldly business, except of necessity, should go 
 forward on that day ; but that it be spent in prayer, reading, 
 attendance on the worship of God. Servants ought not to be 
 allowed to follow their own carnal inclinations on the Lord's- 
 day, but be persuaded to attend some place of Worship." 
 
 "VII. We hold it unlawful in any unjust manner, to 
 buy, or beg, or hire anything out of the hands of another, 
 but that each of us follow our respective call and vocation 
 according to the word, and that we study to be quiet and do 
 our own business." 
 
 "VIII. We hold that all unruly and careless walkers 
 are to be warned thereof and admonished, but if they persist 
 in hardness and obstinacy, they must be rebuked sharply, and 
 if they prove finally impenitent must be separated from the 
 church." 
 
 " Lastly. The Apostle observes, 'As we have therefore 
 opportunity let us do good to all men, especially unto them 
 who are of the household of faith.' Brotherly love demands 
 such a conduct in church members to their brethren in distress ; 
 on this consideration we are persuaded that it is our incumbent 
 duty to consider the Lord's poor, and relieve them according 
 to our several abilities, as knowing that which is done to 
 them is done to our great Redeemer, as he himself declares, 
 ' for as much as ye have done it unto one of these little ones 
 ye have done it unto me.' These things we approve and desire 
 to be found in the practice of. Amen."
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MR COXE FEARY'S CALL TO THE PASTORATE, AND THE 
 BUILDING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE. 
 
 STILL quoting from the Church book, we read : 
 " The Congregation increasing, the barn in which they 
 assembled was found too small ; it was, therefore, pro- 
 posed to open a subscription for the purpose of building 
 a Meeting-house sufficient to accommodate the congre- 
 gation. The subscriptions amounted to 300. They 
 purchased a piece of land, and on the 10th day of April, 
 1787, the first brick of the present Meeting-house was 
 laid by C. Feary. 
 
 The following hymn was considered as adapted to the 
 occasion : 
 
 "These walls we to thine honour raise, 
 Long may they echo with thy praise; 
 And thou descending bless the place 
 With choicest tokens of thy grace. 
 
 Here let the great Creator reign, 
 With all the graces of his train; 
 While power divine his word attends, 
 To conquer foes, and cheer his friends. 
 And in the great decisive day, 
 When God the nations shall survey, 
 May it before the world appear, 
 That crowds were born to glory here." 
 
 Dr. DOD BRIDGE.
 
 160 MR COXE FEARY'S CALL TO THE PASTORATE, 
 
 How much Mr Feary's heart was in this business ap- 
 pears from the following memorandum : 
 
 "April 10th, 1787. I am brought to see through 
 Divine Goodness, what I have so ardently wished for, a 
 place for Jehovah, an habitation for the mighty God of 
 Jacob, begun to be built. Laid the foundation stone 
 with my own hands. O ! that it may be for the Divine 
 Glory, for the spread of the Redeemer's kingdom, and for 
 the everlasting salvation of my fellow sinners, that, when 
 the Lord comes to number up his people, it may appear 
 that this and that man were born there. And when my 
 head shall rest in the cold grave, may it still be the seat 
 of the Redeemer's empire. Amen." 
 
 During the building of the Meeting-house, the infant 
 church continued its progress and elected its good and 
 earnest leader to be its first minister. "1787, May 9th. 
 The church met, and after prayer and singing, it was 
 agreed upon to give Coxe Feary a call to the pastoral 
 office. Mr Asplan was appointed to speak for the church. 
 Addressing himself to them, he said, ' Brethren, We 
 have reason to admire the condescension and goodness 
 of the great Jehovah, that we who once sat in the dark- 
 ness and shadow of death, destitute of the gospel of 
 Christ, and without hope in the world, are now so highly 
 favoured as to be a church of Christ. Having no Pastor 
 regularly appointed over us, we believe it to be the will 
 of the great Shepherd, that there should be a succession 
 of teachers and pastors in the Christian church to the 
 end of the world, for the perfecting of the saints, for the 
 work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body 
 of Christ. We have the greatest reason to believe that 
 our Brother Feary is designed for the ministry, and that 
 the providence of God seems to point him out to us as a
 
 AXD THE BUILDING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE. 161 
 
 suitable person for our pastor. For my part I am free 
 to confess that the Lord has blessed his labours of love 
 to my soul many times. I have frequently been refreshed 
 under his ministry, and have been made to rejoice in the 
 Lord Jesus. I have no doubt but you have been sharers 
 with me in those happy seasons. Under these considera- 
 tions, I hope you will agree with me in thinking it to be 
 the will of God, that we should give our brother Feary 
 a call to take the pastoral care of us. My brethren, you 
 have a right to speak freely upon this subject, as the 
 choice of a minister depends upon the choice of the 
 people. Therefore, if you think that our dear friend and 
 brother, who is now before you, is qualified to teach you 
 in the great truths of religion, and that you wish him to 
 be over you in the Lord, I would have you signify your 
 approbation by holding up your hands.' 
 
 " The church and congregation present testified their 
 approbation by a show of hands. Brother Asplan, address- 
 ing himself to Coxe Feary, then said, 'Dear Brother, 
 You see how the hearts of your brethren are determined, 
 and you hear their call. I humbly hope you will consider 
 it as the call of the Lord by them. In His name and 
 theirs, I request your answer.' 
 
 " C. Feary, being deeply impressed with a sense of his 
 own weakness and of the great importance of the work, 
 was constrained to say, 'Who is sufficient for these things ?' 
 But a great variety of the most encouraging circumstances 
 having attended his labours among them, he felt a con- 
 viction that it was his duty to accept the call, and comply 
 with their affectionate request. He accordingly returned 
 the following answer to Mr Asplan. 'Sir, It affords me 
 a high degree of satisfaction to find that your affectionate 
 attachment to me is such, that you are willing to entrust 
 
 T. B. 11
 
 162 MR COXE FEARY'S CALL TO THE PASTORATE, 
 
 me with the edification of your souls in the important 
 concerns of religion. I thank you for the confidence you 
 have reposed in me, begging that through Divine grace 
 I may be enabled to command your increasing affec- 
 tion and esteem, as becomes a servant of Jesus Christ. 
 Nothing but a full conviction of my usefulness, under the 
 blessing of God, among you, joined with a full conviction 
 of God's having put me into the ministry, could have in- 
 duced me to comply with your kind and affectionate 
 invitation to take the oversight of you in the Lord. 
 Under these considerations, I do solemnly, as in the 
 presence of God, accept your call, and am ready to take 
 the oversight of you in the Lord.' 
 
 " The business was closed with fervent prayer to God. 
 that this solemn transaction might be crowned with the 
 blessings of Divine grace, so that he who sowed, and they 
 who should reap, might rejoice together." 
 
 Mr Feary speaks further on this subject in his short 
 memorials. 
 
 " 1787, May 9th. This afternoon the church met, and 
 gave me a unanimous call to take the pastoral care of 
 them. I could not resist their kind and affectionate re- 
 quest ; accordingly I accepted it ; I trust not without 
 estimating, in some measure, its importance. May the 
 great and good Shepherd give me every qualification 
 needful for such an arduous undertaking ; so that the 
 pleasure of the Lord may prosper in my hand, and that 
 I may look upon this day's work with the greatest 
 thankfulness." 
 
 The plain Meeting-house was not long in building 
 commenced on the 10th of April, 1787, it appears to have 
 been ready for use by October the 26th, and on that day it 
 was opened for public worship. Mr Feary writes :
 
 AND THE BUILDING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE. 163 
 
 " 1787, October 26th. The church and congregation 
 had the pleasure of seeing a House for God, and this 
 day was appointed for opening it. Mr James, one of 
 the preachers in Lady Huntingdon's connection, delivered 
 an excellent sermon from 1 Cor. iii. 9, ' Ye are God's 
 building.' They collected at the doors 31 5s. Qd. In 
 the evening good Mr Bond, of Eversden in Cambridge- 
 shire, preached from Exod. xx. 24, ' In all places where 
 I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will 
 bless thee.' The Congregation were very serious, and 
 numbers enjoyed a season of refreshment from the pre- 
 sence of the Lord." 
 
 This Meeting-house was placed length- ways to the 
 road. It was built of red brick, and was plain-tiled with 
 a double span ; the gables whereof faced the road. The 
 windows were oblong at the back, all the rest were 
 square, the panes small and leaden framed. Its size was 
 forty feet by thirty-one feet. The entire cost, including 
 the ground purchased, was 623 Os. 7d. 
 
 In the year 1797, the accommodation being too small, 
 the back wall was taken down and the end walls pro- 
 longed fourteen feet, thus making the Meeting-house 
 measure forty feet by forty-five feet. The expense of 
 this alteration was 230 10s. 6d. 
 
 In the year 1805 a new Vestry was built, which cost 
 100. And in 1817 a new gallery was added for the 
 Sunday School children at a cost of 192. In this state 
 the old Meeting-house continued, until in the year 1875 
 it was pulled down to be replaced by the present sub- 
 stantial edifice. 
 
 The purpose of the Meeting-house was thus expressed 
 in the original Trust deed ; " For the worship of Almighty 
 God according to the custom of Protestant Dissenters." 
 
 112
 
 164 MR COXE FEARY'S CALL TO THE PASTORATE, 
 
 1788, April 23rd. This day was set apart for the 
 settlement of Coxe Feary, or publicly to recognise what 
 the church had heretofore done in calling him to the 
 pastoral office amongst them. A respectable number of 
 ministers and messengers, whom they had invited from 
 neighbouring churches to behold their faith and order, 
 were present. Mr Robert Robinson of Cambridge began 
 the service by singing the hundredth psalm of Dr Watts. 
 He read the eighteenth of St John's Gospel, and in such 
 a striking and peculiar manner as to surprise the whole 
 congregation, which was very numerous. He next prayed 
 for a Divine blessing; after which, in the most free and 
 familiar manner, he pointed out the principles of Pro- 
 testant Dissenters their reasons for separating from the 
 Establishment the folly and stupidity of those who never 
 examine for themselves and the propriety of calling no 
 man master, but Jesus Christ. He then turned to one of 
 the Deacons, and requested him to relate the measures 
 which the church had previously taken ; which being 
 done, Mr Robinson requested C. Feary to give a confession 
 of his faith, which he very readily did, by observing, "that 
 he felt unspeakable pleasure in declaring his belief of the 
 existence of the Great Cause of all things, in whom we 
 live, and move, and have our being ! " Then he followed 
 with thirteen more separate articles, such as the suffi- 
 ciency, authenticity and divine authority of the Holy 
 Scriptures the personal distinctions of Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost the doctrine of Divine Providence the 
 universal depravity of the whole human race the impos- 
 sibility of man extricating himself from the consequences 
 of the fall eternal and personal election particular re- 
 demption justification, pardon and eternal life, as the 
 gift of God through our Lord Jesus Christ the new
 
 AND THE BUILDING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE. 165 
 
 birth, with the final perseverance of such in holiness as 
 have experienced that divine change Christian fellowship 
 the resurrection of the body the day of judgement 
 the final happiness of the saints, and the everlasting pun- 
 ishment of the wicked. 
 
 "Mr Stevenson, of Castle Hedingham in Essex, 
 preached a most affecting and interesting sermon to the 
 church and congregation, from Titus ii. 10, ' Adorn the 
 doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.' The service 
 was closed with prayer and thanksgiving." 
 
 We are told that Mr Stevenson, with his accustomed 
 kindness, came to Bluntisham at a very short notice, 
 although the distance was nearly fifty miles. The ordina- 
 tion service had been long, the meeting-house was crowded 
 to excess, and the people were almost exhausted; still the 
 church and congregation were to be addressed. But al- 
 though Mr Stevenson rose under such unfavourable circum- 
 stances, his serious and affectionate manner, accompanied 
 with an anecdote or two, so exhilarated the spirits of the 
 people, that the effect produced may not inaptly be com- 
 pared to that of a cordial given to a person just ready to 
 faint. Mr Stevenson entered into his rest a few months 
 before Mr Feary. He had been sinking for a considerable 
 time, but having a fine flow of natural spirits, being 
 delightfully supported by the hopes of the Gospel, and 
 loving the Master whom he served with his spirit, he 
 embraced every opportunity of addressing his flock. At 
 the age of 73, and with a pulse which for a considerable 
 time was at most only 28, and sometimes so low as 24, he 
 preached on what are called the four last things. At the 
 close of 1821, he delivered a discourse to the aged, and 
 gave notice that on the morning of the new-year's day he 
 should preach to the young. That new year's day came,
 
 166 MR COXE PEARY'S CALL TO THE PASTORATE, 
 
 but he passed quietly away on this the first day of 1822. 
 His daughter lived to extreme age, and when over ninety 
 years old taught in the Sunday School of her father's 
 chapel. The chapel is not far from the ancient church 
 and keep the fortress-home for seven centuries of the 
 Earls de Vere. 
 
 The Rev. Joseph Saunders, of Cambridge, Mr Coxe 
 Feary's friend, was invited to give the " charge " at the 
 ordination ; but the state of his health not permitting him 
 to be present, his place was supplied by his brother, the 
 Rev. Thomas Saunders, of Coventry. These two brothers 
 were descended from Laurence Saunders, who suffered mar- 
 tyrdom at Coventry in the reign of Philip and Mary. 
 
 " April 27th. Being Lord's-day, the church for the 
 first time had the pleasure of breaking bread, remem- 
 bering their dear Lord at the sacred supper. It was a 
 pleasurable opportunity a foretaste of that ' rest which 
 remaineth for the people of God.'" 
 
 And so the little church was formed if not in the 
 blood of its founder, yet in his toil and sweat. There was 
 the farm to look after the men to direct the wife and 
 children to maintain the living to be got, and all things 
 to be kept together the dislike to break away from his 
 parish church much fear and anxiety, " lest I run before 
 I am called," and " lest I fail in my undertaking " the 
 shrinking first from reading before people and then from 
 praying and speaking in public "which I have never 
 done before " all so strange and new and " what call 
 have I to it ?" "and what fitness for it?" " Who can be 
 sufficient for these things ? " Yes, it was founded in toil 
 and trouble in fear and trembling in these, and in 
 prayer and the firm resolve were the foundations laid. 
 But strong faith, living love and bright hope, gave power
 
 AND THE BUILDING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE. 167 
 
 for the accomplishment of the work, and " underneath 
 were the everlasting arms." " All things are possible to 
 him that believes." Dr Dollinger can see in the Noncon- 
 formist religious communities of the Anglo-Saxons, nothing 
 but the singular power that race possesses for organization, 
 but thinks they only flourish while their ministers preach 
 the comfortable doctrine of election which suits their seat- 
 holders' love of ease. But we know that it is only as our 
 ministers are true, earnest and " untruckling," that they 
 secure the respect and support of theft people.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 Mr Coxe Feary gives a history of himself in a series 
 of entries in the church book, they are written in the third 
 person, and we cannot do better than quote from them. 
 
 " Coxe Feary, a native of the parish of Bluntisham, 
 was born on the 29th of May, 1759. His parents were 
 not rich, but respectable. They put him to a school in 
 the village, where he was taught reading, writing and 
 arithmetic. He was naturally of a lively and cheerful 
 disposition, and like other boys of his age, fond of play : 
 though wild and giddy, he was not viciously inclined his 
 levity never bordered on profaneness. He was taken from 
 school at twelve years of age to attend to the business of 
 the farm, such as keeping sheep, ploughing, etc.: but as 
 he had a thirst for reading, his leisure hours were devoted 
 to his books. The religious books which he read were, 
 ' Sherlock on Death,' ' The Whole Duty of Man,' Stack- 
 house's ' History of the Bible,' and other works of that 
 complexion. But being ignorant of God's method of 
 salvation, he laboured to recommend himself to the Divine 
 favour by a life of moral virtue, and supposed that he 
 should obtain salvation ' by the deeds of the law.' Under 
 the influence of this principle, he laid aside the amuse- 
 ments of the world, devoted his attention to the study of
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 169 
 
 the moral precepts of the Bible, avoided what appeared to 
 him sinful, and constantly attended public worship at the 
 parish church. His neighbours, therefore, entertained and 
 expressed a high opinion of his religious conduct, which 
 only made him upon better terms with himself, and led 
 him to say in his heart, ' God, I thank thee that I am not 
 as other men are.' 
 
 "Although he had not, at this time, any clear or dis- 
 tinct views of the gospel, yet there was reason to believe 
 the Lord was graciously leading him to a more full dis- 
 covery of the glorious gospel of the blessed God. As he 
 very frequently retired for prayer, and walked in the fields 
 for meditation and praise, these seasons have been de- 
 lightful and interesting to his mind. The beauties of 
 creation, the harmony of the groves, and the unbounded 
 goodness of God in his providence, have so filled his heart 
 with the most delightful sentiments of gratitude and joy, 
 that with tears of satisfaction he has broken out in the 
 language of David, ' What is man that thou art mindful of 
 him ! and the son of man that thou visitest him ! ' He 
 now began to be dissatisfied with the trifling, and, as he 
 thought, the irreligious conduct of those who attended the 
 worship at the Established Church in the parish where he 
 lived. This induced him to turn his attention to the 
 Dissenters, in whom he thought he saw more regard for 
 religion than among the persons of the Establishment. 
 
 " The Baptists in the neighbouring village he found 
 high Calvinists, and some of them very narrow-minded 
 and illiberal, pronouncing destruction on all who did not 
 believe their creed ; this prevented his going amongst 
 them. At Earith there was a congregation of the people 
 called Quakers, whose virtuous and moral behaviour, 
 united with their belief of the dignity of human nature,
 
 170 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 and the freedom of the will in matters of religion, which 
 at that time were according to his own views, reconciled 
 him to attend occasionally their place of worship. In this 
 undecided state he continued till about 1780, when the 
 dialogues of that pious and eminent man of God, Mi- 
 James Hervey, fell into his hands. Having been much 
 delighted and entertained with his ' Meditations,' he set 
 about the reading of ' Theron and Aspasio ' with expecta- 
 tions of pleasure ; but being a stranger to the gospel plan 
 of salvation, he found himself very much offended with 
 the doctrines of Divine grace, and laid aside the book 
 with a determination to read it no more, because he found 
 his favourite notions of free-will and the merit of good 
 works wholly discarded. Thus unsettled, his religious 
 views made him very unhappy and distressed ; and, having 
 no religious friend or companion to 'expound unto him 
 the way of God more perfectly ' he was much embarrassed, 
 and regretted he had ever seen the work. In 1782, it 
 was impressed upon his mind to give the book a more 
 close and impartial reading ; and such was the nature of 
 the impression, that he felt a degree of impatience to see 
 it a second time, notwithstanding his former determina- 
 tion. He perused the work, and the Lord blessed the 
 reading of it to the conversion of his soul to the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. He now saw and deeply lamented, the sin 
 folly and abominable pride of his own heart, in that he 
 should have been all his life building upon a false founda- 
 tion, and setting at nought ' the chief corner stone.' But 
 he was now enabled to say with the Apostle, ' what things 
 were gain to me those I counted loss for Christ ; yea, 
 doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the excel- 
 lency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord.' His 
 views of God's method of salvation, revealed in the
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 171 
 
 ' glorious gospel of the blessed God,' became the joy and 
 delight of his soul ; yea, such were the peace and happi- 
 ness of his mind, arising from the hopes of immortality 
 and eternal life, that he found a 'joy unspeakable and full 
 of glory.' Thus it appears, God is a sovereign : he ' has 
 mercy on whom he will have mercy ; ' and in producing a 
 change of heart, his Divine influence is like the wind, 
 which ' bloweth where it listeth ; ' we ' hear the sound 
 thereof, but cannot tell whence it cometh and whither it 
 goeth ; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.' 
 
 " Being favoured with the distinguishing love of God to 
 himself, the chief of sinners, he began to feel a benevolent 
 and tender concern for the salvation of his fellow-creatures. 
 He pitied them, he wept over them, he prayed over them. 
 It was his heart's desire and prayer to God that they 
 might be saved. He endeavoured to convince them of 
 their danger in being without hope, and without God in 
 the world. He entreated them to flee from the wrath 
 to come, to leave the city of destruction, and flee to 
 the mountain. Yea, how frequently did he say to those 
 about him in the village, ' We are journeying unto the place 
 of which the Lord said, I will give it you. Come, go 
 with us, and we will do you good, for the Lord hath 
 spoken good concerning Israel.' " 
 
 These sentiments are embodied in a letter which 
 Mr Feary wrote in 1783, to a friend at Bluntisham, 
 who after Mr Feary 's death would speak of his solicitude 
 for the spiritual well-being of his neighbours. 
 
 RESPECTED FRIEXD, 
 
 I have taken up my pen to communicate to you, that 
 one evening, being retired from the hurry and toil of the day, 
 I was very agreeably exercised in mind at the stillness of 
 the night. [He then alludes to the cessation of human
 
 172 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 labour at the close of the day, and the period when the 
 approach of darkness puts an end to the exertions of man.] 
 Thus my friend, it will be with our infinitely momentous 
 and everlasting concerns, in that melancholy hour when death 
 will summon us to make our appearance before the awful 
 majesty of heaven, and lodge our bodies in the silent chambers 
 of the grave. I, therefore, beg you to remember what the 
 wise man says, ' There is no work or device or knowledge 
 in the grave, whither we are going:' that is, there is no 
 repentance or amendment in the caverns of the tomb. 'Be- 
 hold now is the accepted time ! Behold now is the day of 
 salvation ! ' This is the only time allotted for obtaining the 
 great reward, and making thy salvation sure. And art thou 
 lulled in a vain security, or dreaming in a supine inadver- 
 tency? Start, O start from thy lethargy, and gird up the loins 
 of thy mind. Work while it is day. Improve the present 
 seed-time, that eternity may yield a plenteous and joyful 
 harvest. That you may be awakened by these considerations, 
 and stirred up to a firm faith in the ever blessed Jesus, and a 
 steady adherence to the Gospel of Christ, and may know 
 by happy experience ' what is the hope of your calling, and 
 what the exceeding greatness of his power to themward that 
 believe,' is the desire of him who is writing to you. I must 
 beg you to attend to the Scriptures, and to pray to God that 
 he may enlighten your mind by his Holy Spirit, that you may 
 see the gracious privileges contained therein. They, my friend, 
 are the ouly rule for us to walk by they testify of Christ 
 point him out as the only procuring cause of a sinner's acceptance 
 with God, and his enjoyment of eternal felicity. He hath 
 made peace through the blood of his cross, and through that 
 blood we have redemption. It is with regret of mind, my 
 friend, that I think of your carelessness, for I have a great 
 desire for your everlasting welfare, which has been my chief 
 motive for writing to you. Therefore, examine yourself im- 
 partially consider how your affairs stand with God, and see
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 173 
 
 if you have an interest in the merits of Christ; for if you 
 have not, (I dare not flatter you,) you are in a state of death. 
 I hope, therefore, you will say, ' What must I do to be saved 1 ?' 
 I shall reply, ' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall 
 be saved.' To him I hope you will turn for pardon, for 
 justification and for eternal life, which is the gift of God a 
 gift which I humbly wish you and I, and all the children 
 of God may possess. 
 
 Your well-wisher, 
 
 COXE FEARY. 
 
 We now return to Coxe Feary's memoranda in the 
 church book. 
 
 " Some few of his neighbours began to think him 
 righteous over much, many others listened to him with 
 a sincere desire of being instructed in the knowledge 
 of salvation ; and to whom the Lord made him a blessing. 
 Notwithstanding the total change he had undergone 
 in his religious views and feelings, he still continued 
 to worship at the parish church, though the preaching 
 was by no means suited to his views. This was a circum- 
 stance he very much regretted ; but such were the pre- 
 judices of his education, that he could by no means be 
 reconciled to worship with the Dissenters. From this 
 embarrassment he was happily relieved in the following 
 manner : In the spring of the year 1784, he was called 
 to Huntingdon on business, where, in a bookseller's shop, 
 he providentially met with a Mr B., a pious clergyman, 
 who preached the gospel at the neighbouring villages 
 of Stukeley and Orford. After some conversation on 
 religious publications, Mr B. very kindly invited him 
 to take his tea with him. The invitation was gladly 
 accepted, and the interview was truly interesting, as 
 it led him to hear Mr B. next Lord's-day, where he found
 
 174 LIFE OF MR COXE' FEARY. 
 
 himself at home under the sound of the glorious gospel 
 of the blessed God. After the services of the day he 
 returned home, rejoicing to think he had found a place 
 in the Establishment where the glad tidings of salvation 
 were proclaimed to poor sinners. He now formed the 
 resolution of constantly attending Mr B.'s preaching, but 
 by the persuasion of that gentleman he was induced 
 to give up his design, and to attend the labours of Mi- 
 Venn, of Yelling, where he could enjoy the services both 
 parts of the Lord's day. On the day called Easter 
 Sunday, he went to hear Mr Venn, with whose lively 
 and zealous preaching he was much delighted. This 
 event led to an intimate acquaintance with that gentle- 
 man, which was ever after esteemed as one of the happiest 
 circumstances of his life. Being honoured with the friend- 
 ship of such a judicious, pious and excellent man, and 
 with the privilege of constantly hearing him preach, he 
 was much gratified, and became established in the faith 
 and hope of the gospel. In the autumn of the same 
 year (1784), the Life and Sermons of the famous Mr 
 Whitfield providentially fell into his hands. Being at 
 St Ives market, he went into the bookseller's shop as 
 usual, where lay three volumes of Whitfield's works. On 
 looking into that part of his life .where he preached to 
 the colliers of Kingswood, near Bristol, and to the populace 
 in Moorfields, he was much delighted, and surprised he 
 had never before heard of Mr Whitfield. He asked whose 
 books they were; the bookseller replied, 'They are yours; 
 I sent an order for some books, and they have made a 
 mistake, and have sent me these methodistical books 
 instead of what I ordered. I did not return them, but 
 kept them for you, thinking you would be pleased with 
 them, as nobody reads so many religious books as your-
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 175 
 
 self.' The price was eighteen shillings. Thinking this 
 was more than he could well spare he returned home 
 without them ; though, just as he left the shop, the 
 bookseller said ' I shall not send them back, as I expect 
 you will alter your mind by another market-day.' And 
 as he predicted, so it was ; for having found on enquiry 
 what a pious, laborious and zealous servant of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, Mr Whitfield had been, he was determined 
 to have them." 
 
 Mr Audley tells us that "about this time he first visited 
 Bluntisham. Mr Feary was in the field. He went to him 
 there, and a conversation took place on Church Govern- 
 ment. He was agreeably surprised at the correctness of 
 those sentiments which he thought Mr Feary entertained 
 on that subject, especially as they appear to have been 
 drawn wholly from the New Testament. The next day 
 being Lord's day, he heard Mr Feary preach in the barn 
 from Psalm Ixxiii. 1, ' Truly God is good to Israel ; ' and 
 he himself spoke to the people in the evening; the first 
 time, he apprehends, of his addressing a congregation in 
 public." 
 
 Mr Feary now commenced what he calls " Short Me- 
 morials of the Lord's dealings with him ; or a journal of 
 some of the most remarkable occurrences in the course of 
 his Christian experience, from the year 1786." 
 
 " May 8, 1786. This day found myself much exercised 
 about my temporal affairs, which very much embarrassed 
 me, not seeing any probable source of relief to answer my 
 present demands. In my distress I retired to the Throne 
 of Grace, spread my case before the Lord, and was en- 
 abled to plead his promise and faithfulness to his children. 
 To his glory I record it, he heard and answered me in the 
 day of my distress, by sending me a supply from a fiiend
 
 176 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 from whom I had no expectation. Thus in the mount of 
 the Lord his gracious hand shall be seen. 
 
 " 14th. In the morning expounded ; in the after part 
 of the day preached in the barn, to a very crowded con- 
 gregation. Was remarkably happy and composed in the 
 first part of the service, but in the last how wretched ! 
 My mind unaffected, my ideas confused and distracted, 
 insomuch that I was made to cry to the strong for strength. 
 I am perfectly satisfied that I am nothing that Christ is 
 all in all ; and that without the gracious influence of the 
 spirit of God, both preaching and praying are uncomfort- 
 able work. In the evening, through the persuasion of 
 friends, went to Chatteris, and preached in the Countess 
 of Huntingdon's Chapel. It being the first time I ever 
 preached from amongst my own people, it very much em- 
 barrassed my mind; and what added to my embarrassment 
 
 was, that Mr , the General Baptist, came with his 
 
 people to hear me. I, knowing he was a violent opposer 
 of Calvinism, through some warm disputes which had taken 
 place at C., was fearful I should have been very much 
 confounded ; but, through the goodness of the Lord to me 
 a poor, feeble young man, I was helped to speak with 
 some comfort and freedom, from John x. 27, 28. 
 
 " 17th. This evening I walked to Somersham, and for 
 the first time preached there, from Ephes. ii. 1 3. The 
 barn was very full, my mind was in some degree at liberty, 
 the people very serious, and I hope the Lord was with us 
 of a truth. This evening, preached from Psalm xxviii. 9, 
 ' Save thy people and bless thine inheritance ; feed them 
 also, and lift them up for ever.' Found my mind much 
 impressed while speaking to the people, and believe it was 
 ' a season of refreshment from the presence of the Lord/ 
 I never saw a more affecting season ; the congregation
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 177 
 
 seemed dissolved in tears, and my soul never felt a more 
 settled peace in the enjoyment of my God than at this 
 time. But, O ! wretched man that I am ! I was soon 
 after tempted to have high and flattering thoughts of 
 myself. Lord, pardon the extreme depravity of a poor 
 worm, and teach him to give thee all the glory. Amen." 
 
 " 19th. My mind was rendered extremely uncomfort- 
 able, on being informed that my dear brother was so pro- 
 voked at my being engaged in the ministry, that he said 
 in his warmth, he believed I should, through my foolish- 
 ness, bring myself to poverty. Being sensible that my 
 engaging in so noble a cause would be unfriendly to my 
 temporal pursuits, somewhat depressed my spirits, but 
 found relief on reflecting that the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 his first Disciples, had little in the world but shame and 
 reproach. I was enabled to rejoice in the choice I had 
 made, and had rather serve the Lord in a state of in- 
 digence, than be without his favour in a state of affluence. 
 May the Lord help a poor feeble creature to hold out 
 unto the end, that he may be saved. Amen." 
 
 Mr Feary had afterwards the pleasure of receiving this 
 his only brother into the church. 
 
 " 24th. This evening, expounded the 42nd Psalm at 
 Woodhurst. Found my mind comfortable in speaking to 
 the people. Many were refreshed, and made to rejoice in 
 the Lord their God. When I returned home, I found the 
 Widow C labouring under extreme distress of soul, 
 from a powerful and deep conviction of the evil of sin, 
 and, like the Philippian Gaoler, crying out 'What must I 
 do to be saved ?' I spoke to her of the ability of Christ 
 ' to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him.' 
 O Lord, how gracious art thou to an unworthy wretch, 
 in making his labours of love effectual to promote the 
 
 T. B. 12
 
 178 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 Redeemer's kingdom. Not unto me, but to thy name be 
 the praise. Amen. 
 
 " July 2nd. This day, experienced a most painful and 
 humbling sense of my own unworthiness ; insomuch that 
 I thought myself the vilest creature in the world, and was 
 made to cry, 'Who can understand his errors ? Cleanse 
 thou me from secret faults ; then shall I be innocent from 
 the great transgression.'" 
 
 1787, May loth. This morning as he rode out, he 
 reflected: "In that awful hour when death shall execute 
 his summons, and call me away from the present state of 
 things, I must bid adieu to these rural retreats and shady 
 groves. Farewell ! ye pleasing scenes of nature, with all 
 your variegated beauties, with all your lively charms and 
 balmy sweets ; no more must you regale my senses with 
 sacred joy and vast delight. Farewell ! ye sprightly in- 
 habitants of the woods, ye little songsters of the groves, 
 who warble forth your great Creator's praise ; no more 
 will your charming melody swell upon my ear. Farewell ! 
 my dear relations ; no more will your affectionate regard 
 be esteemed by me, while you attend my poor remains to 
 the grave, and let fall the parting tear for one who will be 
 regardless of that sorrow which may rend your heart, and 
 insensible to all your care of him a lifeless mass, fit 
 companion for fellow-worms. Farewell ! my beloved friends 
 and companions in tribulation, united in the bonds of the 
 gospel, and with whom I have taken sweet counsel and 
 walked to the house of God in company ; no more will 
 your animating conversation about the glories of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom be enjoyed by me. Farewell ! my 
 dear flock, the people of my care ; no longer shall I be 
 pleased with beholding you flocking to the house of God, 
 to hear his word and celebrate his praise. But let me
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 179 
 
 stop my roving meditations, and recollect that, should I 
 be immediately snatched from all these dear delights, and 
 close my eyes upon these pleasing scenes of nature, it will 
 be to behold the God of nature and of grace in the person 
 of his Son ; to hear the songs of the redeemed ; to join 
 the friends of the bridegroom ; to dwell for ever in perfect 
 bliss, where sorrow shall be banished for ever banished 
 from the realms of peace. Then come, Lord Jesus, come 
 quickly. Amen. 
 
 "Sept. 12th. While looking over my men at work, 
 this day, was much pleased with the surrounding prospect. 
 The whole field appeared alive. The men busily loading 
 the wheat, the multitudes of poor but industrious people 
 gathering up the fragments that nothing be lost, and the 
 active youths driving the loaded corn across the furrowed 
 land, anxious for the day to cry, ' Harvest home.' How 
 profusely does our gracious benefactor repay our labour 
 and toil. We plough, we sow, and wait the proper season : 
 it is all we can do. The Lord alone causeth the earth to 
 bring forth her increase. O that we may devote our days 
 to that God who has promised that ' While the earth 
 remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and 
 summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.' 
 This being the case, the cultivation of our lands ought to 
 be in humble dependence upon God ; and instead of dis- 
 gracing the close of harvest with revelling and drunken- 
 ness, which is too frequently the case, to lift up our hearts 
 in humble gratitude to the God of all our mercies. 
 
 " 1788, Jan. 29th. This day had a pleasant interview 
 with Mr Brock, at the house of friend Willson, at Witton. 
 In social prayer was remarkably comfortable ; felt re- 
 freshed from the presence of the Lord ; was ready to say 
 with David, ' In my prosperity I shall never be moved. 
 
 122
 
 180 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand 
 strong.' But how soon are our brightest days beclouded ! 
 Our comforts, how soon they are gone ! The next day as 
 I returned home, I never felt more miserable than at that 
 time. Under a sense of the evil of my own heart, I was 
 ready to sink, and was made to say, ' Behold, I am vile ; I 
 abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.' I felt my- 
 self disposed to envy the very brutes of the earth, and to 
 wish myself any creature, but a sinful one. 
 
 " Sep. 16, 1790. This morning was very pleasant in 
 reading Elliot's Appendix [in answer] to Dr Priestly on 
 the Atonement, and never felt my mind more impressed 
 with the importance of the subject. Am fully persuaded 
 that this glorious doctrine is fully consistent with, and 
 worthy of, the glorious character of Jehovah, and well 
 suited to the case of such sinful creatures as we are. A 
 view of the doctrine at this time was peculiarly affecting 
 to me, as I had laboured under a very painful sense of my 
 extreme depravity of heart and the deceitfulness of sin, 
 which renders the blood of Christ precious as the only 
 means of pardon in the sight of God. How welcome are 
 the reviving rays of the sun to a poor traveller, exposed to 
 cold and storm ; so is a sense of pardon to a poor sinful 
 creature, who feels the evil of sin. 
 
 "Dec. 10th. This evening found myself very ill after 
 preaching, with a violent sinking, which increased to that 
 degree that I could not sit up. About nine o'clock the 
 complaint in my stomach brought on my fits, which did 
 not leave me till about three o'clock in the morning. 
 Was exceedingly ill all the next day, but found my mind 
 comfortably supported; was helped to stay myself upon 
 the Lord, and thought of my approaching dissolution with 
 great composure. Was helped to say with David, 'Yea,
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 181 
 
 though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death 
 I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and 
 thy staff they comfort me.' I continued getting better 
 till the next Lord's day, when the following alarming 
 circumstance happened. The person who attended me 
 in my affliction, by mistake, gave me two large tea spoon- 
 fuls of laudanum, which, after an hour or two, brought 
 upon me such a feebleness in all my limbs that I could 
 not support myself. Was led up to bed, my head almost 
 distracted, and it was with the utmost difficulty I was 
 kept from going to sleep ; which, if I had done, it is 
 probable I should never have awaked again. I trust I 
 see the wisdom of God in this gracious dispensation of his, 
 which was designed to do me good; and hope that I 
 am made to say, ' It is good for me that I have been 
 afflicted.' " 
 
 Soon after this period, Mr Feary's sentiments on the 
 question of baptism underwent a change. At what time 
 his doubts first arose on the subject of infant baptism is 
 not known ; but as he was on friendly terms with Mr 
 Robinson of Cambridge, and went to consult him previous 
 to his ordination, it is probable that gentleman might 
 suggest something to him on the subject. Be that as it 
 may, some of his friends, who heard him converse on the 
 subject, after he became a Baptist, are persuaded that 
 Mr Robinson's work on baptism did more than anything 
 else to convince him, as he expresses it, that infant 
 baptism was not the baptism of the New Testament. 
 
 " 1791. Coxe Feary having been dissatisfied with infant 
 sprinkling, as not being the baptism of the New Testament, 
 after much prayer and enquiry into the subject, he entirely 
 relinquished the practice of it, and openly avowed him- 
 self a believer in adult baptism ; and, according to the
 
 182 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 convictions of his mind, was baptised on the 5th of April, 
 1791." 
 
 About nine o'clock in the morning of that day, there 
 were assembled not fewer than five hundred people of 
 different ranks, at Over Cote, beside the river Ouse, when 
 Coxe Feary read the following hymn. 
 
 Jesus and shall it ever be, 
 A mortal man ashamed of thee? 
 Ashamed of thee whom angels praise, 
 Whose glories shine through endless days? 
 
 Ashamed of Jesus! sooner far 
 
 Let evening blush to own a star! 
 
 He sheds the beams of light divine 
 
 O'er this benighted soul of mine. etc. etc. 
 
 The hymn was sung with the greatest solemnity and 
 devotion by the congregation, who seemed much impressed 
 with the sentiments contained in it. He then prayed 
 for the presence and blessing of the great Head of the 
 Church ; after which he addressed the people, stating his 
 views of the nature of Christian baptism, as being from 
 heaven and not of men. The mode, not by sprinkling, but 
 by a total immersion of the subjects in water: 'Buried 
 with him by baptism into his death.' The proper subjects 
 of baptism, not infants, but men and women, making a 
 public profession of their faith in Christ. ' He that be- 
 lie veth and is baptised, shall be saved.' ' Here is water ; 
 what doth hinder me to be baptised ?' 'If thou believest 
 with all thine heart, thou mayest.' The end, 'not the 
 putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of 
 a good conscience towards God.' After having addressed 
 the listening multitude on each of these particulars, Coxe 
 Feary with twelve of his friends proceeded to the river, 
 where Mr Baron, of Cottenham, baptised them. After the
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 183 
 
 friends were dressed, he gave them a suitable exhortation, 
 and closed the solemn service with prayer and thanks- 
 giving. 
 
 " 1791, June 9th. Coxe Feary, for the first time, ad- 
 ministered the ordinance of baptism, by baptising five of 
 his aged female friends. It was truly an interesting sight, 
 to behold them go through the ordinance with such com- 
 posure and satisfaction." 
 
 " 1792, Jan. 1st. Am brought to see the commence- 
 ment of another year. Having obtained help of God, 
 I continue to this day. When I look back on the past 
 year, I have cause to say, it has been a remarkable period 
 in my experience. I appeared infatuated with a desire 
 of wild speculations, which being yielded to, soon produced 
 a kind of scepticism, which led me to look on all Christian 
 experience as enthusiasm, and was ready to treat it with 
 the utmost contempt, as cant and hypocrisy. This 
 brought a damp upon my soul, chilled my affections for 
 God, and love for the souls of my people. In this state 
 of mind, my devotional exercises were, at times, very 
 formal and flat. Preaching became dry, and I believe 
 very uninteresting. No conversation suited me, but that 
 which turned upon Politics or Theological controversy. In 
 short, I appeared to myself to be making rapid strides 
 to Infidelity and Deism. In this situation I was not 
 happy, felt alarmed at the danger of my state, which 
 frequently, at the close of the year, brought me to lament 
 my case before God, who very justly might have given me 
 up to strong delusions to believe a lie, as a sure sign 
 of future destruction. But, adored be His holy name, He 
 has caused the riches of His grace to be manifested in me, 
 the chief of sinners, by bringing me back to his fold 
 again. I am, beyond the shadow of doubt, confident,
 
 184 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 that salvation is entirely of grace, and that Jehovah will 
 have mercy because he will have mercy." 
 
 "July 21st. Such an astonishing change took place 
 in the weather last night, as is seldom known in the 
 course of divine providence. The day before was remark- 
 ably fine, very hot, and the hay was made all the day 
 uncommonly good. But in the night, when all were asleep, 
 there was such a fall of rain, attended with a strong wind, 
 that the meadows in the morning were all under water, 
 and the fruits of the earth seemed to be threatened with 
 immediate destruction. The people seemed struck with 
 the most solemn awe. Such changes as these ought to 
 teach us the sad uncertainty of all things here below, 
 so that we may learn to lay up treasure in heaven. I 
 being likely to suffer considerably by the flood, under 
 the first impressions of alarm felt a temptation to murmur 
 against the Lord. But after recollecting myself, was 
 enabled, through the goodness of the Lord, to say, ' The 
 Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, and blessed be 
 the name of the Lord.' 
 
 "August 9th. This day I find, upon examination, 
 that pride and sinful thoughts are my greatest evils. As 
 to the first, I find it discovers itself in all I do. Have I 
 enlargement in my public work of preaching and praying ? 
 I feel it heaving my heart. Is my company wanted by 
 my friends ? I am ready to be proud of it. Do I engage 
 in the exercise of religious duties ? I feel its influence. 
 In short, I frequently find it spoils all I do. O Lord, give 
 me a greater share of humility and godly simplicity, that 
 I may say, ' Not unto me, not unto me, but to thy name 
 be all the praise.' And as for sinful thoughts, I am 
 sometimes so distressed, that I am fearful lest I should 
 be carried away by them without control. Lord, keep
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 185 
 
 me by thy Almighty power, that I fall not in the hour 
 of temptation ; but do thou make me more than conqueror, 
 through him that hast loved me. Amen." 
 
 He now writes in a more cheerful strain. 
 
 " 1793, Jan. 4th. I am brought to the beginning of 
 another year. I trust, through the goodness of the Lord, 
 it has been a more comfortable one to my soul than the 
 last. Have had my mind more free from unbelief and 
 doubts. Have felt the foundation of my hope, the un- 
 changeable love of God in Christ Jesus, to bear my eternal 
 concerns ; so that I can sing with Dr Watts, 
 
 ' How can I sink with such a prop, 
 As my eternal God?" 
 
 No ! This is the rock, against which the gates of hell 
 shall not prevail. On feeling the importance of the 
 glorious doctrines of the gospel in my own mind, was 
 enabled to urge the necessity of them with greater ardour 
 in my public preaching. I hope, on the whole, that God 
 has made this shaking season of use to establish my mind 
 more in the truth. Just as the wind, by shaking the 
 young trees, causes them to strike deeper root into the 
 earth, it has made me examine closely every article of 
 my faith ; so that I can now say, what I believe is the 
 effect of a full conviction of its truth: May that God, 
 who has, for the wisest purposes, permitted my mind 
 to be so exercised, keep me, by the power of His grace, 
 that I may abide at my post, be found faithful unto death, 
 and so receive a crown of life. Amen and Amen." 
 
 " Jan. 6th. Lord's day. This morning I preached from 
 Psalm Iv. 6. Found my mind very happy, while I en- 
 deavoured to point out the infelicities the Christian pilgrim 
 meets with in this sinful world, and that passionate desire 
 he feels in his heart to be at rest. I hope the Lord Jesus
 
 186 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 was with us of a truth. In the afternoon found my spirits 
 sink, and my mind much embarrassed at the thought of 
 preaching, which made me dread going into the pulpit ; 
 but was happily disappointed, for the Lord was very 
 gracious unto me, insomuch that I found a comfortable 
 degree of liberty and pleasure in speaking to the people 
 from Psalm Ixxxvii. 3, ' Glorious things are spoken of 
 thee, O city of our God.' Thus how frequently does the 
 Lord disappoint our expectations. When we are fearful, 
 he encourages us ; when confident, he humbles us, by 
 letting us feel our own weakness and nothingness, that 
 we may not lean to our own understandings. 
 
 " Feb. 18th. Was called by providence to preach the 
 funeral sermon of my much esteemed friend and Christian 
 brother, Mr Nunn, of Over in Cambridgeshire. The 
 text which he left for that purpose was John xv. 19. 
 Mr Nunn was admitted a member of the church, Dec. 1, 
 1791, after giving a pleasing and most edifying account 
 of the Lord's gracious dealings with him. 
 
 " March 10th. Lord's day. When I arose this morning, 
 I found myself much indisposed, and was fearful I should 
 not be able to preach. But the Lord was truly good to 
 me in abating the force of my complaint, so that I was 
 enabled to go through the work of the day with con- 
 siderable ease, and much comfort in my mind. I ap- 
 peared to draw near to eternity was perfectly composed 
 at the thoughts of my dissolution, as my soul did not 
 appear to shrink from dying. But like good old Simeon, 
 could say, ' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in 
 peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.' 
 
 " Sept. 23rd. This evening, at the prayer meeting, 
 in the first part of the service I found my mind quite 
 indisposed for religious exercises ; my thoughts turning
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 187 
 
 on my temporal concerns, which at this time were very 
 trying. One of the friends read the 248th hymn in 
 Rippon's selection, which was the happy means of relief 
 to my soul, particularly the 4th verse : 
 
 'No good in creatures can be found, 
 
 But may be found in tb.ee; 
 I must have all things and abound, 
 While God is God to me.' 
 
 " 1794, June 20th. This evening, visited friend Munns; 
 found her approaching towards the closing scene of life, 
 but mercifully calm and composed in mind. The fear 
 of death was swallowed up in the glorious hopes of im- 
 mortality and eternal life. In praying with her, was 
 awfully impressed with a sense of the undiscovered world. 
 Eternity made my soul feel similar sensations to those 
 of Jacob, mentioned in Gen. xxviii. 7. What an unspeak- 
 able pleasure does it afford a serious mind, to visit the 
 children of God in the hour of death, and witness the 
 victory they obtain over the king of terrors. O Lord, 
 grant that when I come to be struggling in the agonies 
 of death, my soul may find divine support, and be helped 
 to rejoice in hope of eternal life. 
 
 " 1796, Dec. 31st. This is the last day of another year. 
 I am brought, through the goodness of God, thus far. I 
 look back upon this year with peculiar thankfulness of heart 
 to my covenant God, who has, through grace, crowned 
 it with loving kindness and tender mercies. As a Chris- 
 tian I have experienced great grace under Jive weeks 
 pain of the stone and gravel, and fifteen more of much 
 weakness and infirmity. I could find divine support. To 
 His praise I here record it as my day has been, so has 
 grace been imparted to me, a poor worthless creature. 
 Such have been the happy effects of this affliction to my
 
 188 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 soul, in a spiritual point of view, that I have reason to 
 thank God for it, and hope ever to look back upon it with 
 pleasing reflection, and to number it among my many 
 mercies. May the remaining years of my life be devoted 
 to that God who has been so mindful of me, a poor worm. 
 Amen. 
 
 "1798, March loth. Was called to preach at Wood- 
 hurst this evening. Drank tea with my poor friends at 
 John Bass's, whose serious and pious conversation both 
 delighted and edified my soul. I generally find my mind 
 more seriously impressed in the company of my poor friends, 
 who have little else to converse about but the blessings 
 of the gospel, and the hope they have of being with the 
 adorable Redeemer. Such subjects never fail to warm 
 the devout affections of the soul. After tea, I walked 
 into the garden, was pleased at the clean and decent state 
 it was in felt a secret wish that all the labouring poor 
 of the country were, like my friend, blessed with a cow 
 and a spot of land, to raise them from that state of distress 
 which the poor are too frequently in. My mind was led 
 to a train of thought upon that passage, Psalm Ixxxvii. 3, 
 ' Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God ;' and 
 I preached from the words with a good deal of pleasure. 
 
 " 1799, April 21st. Lord's day morning. Was much 
 delighted in reading Elihu's reply to Job, and God's re- 
 proving him for his rashness. At the same time could 
 not but admire the effects of divine grace in that humility 
 it produced in Job, who, after hearing such a sublime 
 description of the glorious majesty of God, exclaimed, 
 ' Behold, I am vile, what shall I answer thee ? I will lay 
 my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I 
 will not answer ; yea twice, but I will proceed no further.' 
 The pleasure I find in reading the sacred Scriptures con-
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 189 
 
 vinces me of their incomparable worth. What sublime 
 descriptions of the perfections of Jehovah what a history 
 of his universal Providence what glorious doctrines 
 what great and precious promises of grace and strength to 
 the godly and what grand and glorious prospects of im- 
 mortality and eternal felicity do they present to the serious 
 mind ! 
 
 " Sept. 1st. Was enabled to go through the services of 
 this day with peculiar pleasure to myself and many of my 
 friends. The house was crowded in the afternoon ; felt 
 much concerned for the souls of the people, while speak- 
 ing of the way of the unconverted, from 1 Peter iv. 3, 4. 
 In the evening went to Woodhurst ; and as I was speak- 
 ing to some friends was surprised at seeing a lark alight 
 just by the side of us, and continue to follow us, as though 
 it sought our protection ; and so it did for a hawk was 
 hovering over our heads, ready to dart down upon the 
 poor helpless creature. My mind was much struck with 
 the sight, and led to reflect upon the state of a man who, 
 brought to a knowledge of himself, sees the avenger of 
 blood behind him, whilst he seeks in Christ a hiding place 
 from the storm, and a covert from the tempest. O that 
 sinners might be made to seek unto the Lord, who will 
 abundantly pardon ! 
 
 " Oct. 9th. This day had a pleasing and, I trust, a good 
 opportunity at the church meeting. Felt a peculiar de- 
 gree of pleasure while expounding the ninth chapter of 
 Acts. And what gave me additional pleasure was, my 
 dear friend and companion in life gave up herself to God 
 and to the church, by the will of God. It is my desire 
 and I trust prayer to God, that we may both, like Zacharias 
 and his wife, walk in all the commandments of God's 
 house blameless, and at last sit down with Abraham,
 
 190 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of our heavenly 
 Father. 
 
 " 1800, June 28th. This day, being deeply affected 
 with a sense of my sin and folly, and of my interruptions 
 in the regular duties of the closet, having, for some time 
 past, suffered myself to be diverted from a close attention 
 to religious exercises, I do hereby desire, and solemnly 
 engage, in the strength of the Lord Jesus, whose grace I 
 hope will be sufficient for me, to watch against that sin 
 which has so frequently beset me, and makes me cry out, 
 ' O wretched man that I am ! ' entreating the Lord to 
 help me to mortify that and my other sins, and to perfect 
 holiness in the fear of the Lord. And I would also un- 
 feignedly promise, in the strength of the Lord, to begin 
 and close every day with reading a portion of scripture, and 
 prayer to God. May the Lord help a poor worm thus to 
 devote himself to God, and rest entirely upon his grace." 
 
 A friend of Mr Feary's, a Baptist minister, has fur- 
 nished several letters which Mr Feary wrote to him when 
 at the Bristol Academy. 
 
 March 23rd, 1801. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, Mrs K. received your letter yesterday. 
 It was read at the tea table at my house. It rejoiced our 
 hearts, as we all feel interested in your welfare. I am very 
 happy that you go out to preach so soon ; let no opportunity 
 slip, as it will give you a habit of public speaking, and greatly 
 facilitate your future exercises in the pulpit. Accustom your- 
 self by all means to speak off without notes, you will find 
 them difficult to leave off in future. I do not mean by this 
 that you should not labour in composing your sermons ; by all 
 means do ; and those sermons which you study the closest will, 
 in general, be the most useful. But, after all, look to him 
 who has promised, ' Lo, I am with you always, even to the
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 191 
 
 end.' With respect to myself, I am sometimes depressed very 
 much in my mind about preaching, and am ready to say, ' I 
 shall speak no more in His name.' At other seasons the Lord 
 affords me some tokens of His love, and then I am encouraged 
 to go on in His strength. I hope, on the whole, I find it my 
 delight to be engaged for God. It is a glorious work ; may 
 our hearts be more and more in it. You complain of yourself : 
 I have no doubt but you feel much through the depravity of 
 your own heart. Ah ! my friend, this is what you will have 
 to struggle with all the days of your life ; but remember we 
 have an High Priest who is touched with the feeling of our 
 infirmities. I once thought, as Israel of old did, that my 
 enemies were all destroyed, that I should have nothing to do 
 but sing my Redeemer's praise the remaining part of my journey. 
 But, alas ! these were the thoughts of an inexperienced boy, 
 who at that time was unacquainted with the depths of Satan, 
 and knew but little of his own heart. I have learnt by painful 
 experience since, the meaning of the following scriptures : 
 Psalm xix. 12, 13; Jer. xvii. 9; John xv. 5. Yea, I should 
 sometimes despair, did I not know that God is unchangeable 
 in the purposes of His love ; and having loved His own, He 
 loves them to the end. Yours, etc. C. FEARY. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 FKIESTONE SHORE, 
 
 April 4th, 1801. 
 
 I received yours, and am glad you arrived safe at Bristol. 
 Allow me to say to you again, study not to be the fine, but 
 useful preacher. Be as chaste and correct as possible in your 
 language, but plain and simple, lest people should suspect you 
 preach yourself, and not Christ Jesus the Lord. You will 
 wonder at my writing from this place. I am here for the 
 benefit of sea bathing. My dear friend, may you increase in 
 holiness and spiritual mindedness, which is so essential to a 
 profitable discharge of the ministerial work. I know at this
 
 192 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 time much the want of such a state of mind ' O that I knew 
 
 where I might find him !' is the language of my heart. I am 
 sometimes afraid I should perish in the wilderness ; yea, 1 
 should have no hope were it not for the covenant love of God 
 in Christ. While I bathe in the sea for health, may my poor 
 polluted soul be washed in the fountain opened for sin and un- 
 cleanness ; and which alone will be sufficient to remove the 
 guilt of sin. O, how delightful will the haven of rest be to a 
 person, like myself, in danger of wrecking every moment ! 
 Yours, etc. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 BLUNTISHAM, 
 Nov. 4, 1801. 
 
 I received your long expected letter in the third week of 
 October, instead of the first. I did not know how to account 
 for your delay, but was fearful you were unwell. Did you 
 know my anxiety of mind to hear from you at the time pro- 
 posed, I think you would have stolen an hour from your 
 numerous engagements, and favoured me with a line; but I 
 excuse you, on condition you do so no more. I rejoice to hear 
 you say you are comfortable in preaching. I hope you will 
 find yourself equally comfortable at other times. It is a most 
 desirable thing to enjoy communion and fellowship with the 
 Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. This will support us 
 under all our afflictions, and make the work of the Lord 
 pleasant to ourselves, and profitable to the people. I am 
 pleased yea, it delights my soul, to hear how you go on at 
 Bristol, and that the work of the Lord prospers. May it be 
 the case at every place where the name of the Lord is re- 
 corded. We have had no additions since you left us. We 
 have been well attended, and I hope we have experienced 
 some seasons of refreshinent from the presence of the Lord; 
 but should rejoice to hear poor sinners crying out, 'What must 
 we do to be saved 1 ' This would greatly revive us and be like 
 rain upon the new-mown grass. I remain, etc.
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 193 
 
 1802, June 27th. ..." such was the debilitated state 
 of my body, that I was with difficulty kept alive ; but the 
 Lord bringeth down to the grave, and he bringeth up ; he 
 kills, and he makes alive ; and as Dr Young beautifully 
 expresses it 
 
 'What can preserve my life? or what destroy? 
 An angel's arm can't snatch me from the grave, 
 Legions of angels can't confine me there.' 
 
 My affliction was singular, and my consolation was pro- 
 portioned to the severity of my suffering; so that that 
 promise was graciously accomplished in my experience, 
 ' Thy shoes shall be iron and brass ; and as thy day is, so 
 shall thy strength be.' For on the Lord's-day morning a 
 sweet and composed state of mind imperceptibly came on, 
 so that I felt no will of rny own, but so resigned to God, 
 that it is not too much to say that I found, through grace, 
 a perfect resignation to the will of my heavenly Father, 
 for the space of thirteen days and nights ; and, although I 
 was in constant pain and had no rest, yet such were the 
 consolations of God to me, that I never felt the hours 
 wearisome, but thought they passed away swift as in health. 
 I felt Satan let loose upon me with all his fiery darts, per- 
 suading me that I had never been right, and that I was 
 the chief of sinners. I felt no way disposed to dispute this 
 point with the enemy, but absolutely saw myself the vilest 
 wretch out of hell. And yet such was the goodness of 
 God to me, that, under such a view of my exceeding sin- 
 fulness, and in the very prospect of an eternal world, I had 
 such an unshaken confidence in the truth of that precious 
 portion of God's word, where it is said, ' It is a faithful 
 saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ 
 came into the world to save the chief of sinners', I was con- 
 strained to say, 'and why not me?' I had such soul- 
 T. B. 13
 
 194 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 refreshing views of God's everlasting love in Jesus Christ, 
 as I am not capable of expressing. Yea, the thoughts of 
 being encompassed in his everlasting arms, removed all 
 fears of death from me, so that I could in the fullest sense 
 say with Dr Watts : 
 
 'Jesus can make a dying bed, 
 Feel soft as downy pillows are, 
 While on his hreast I lean my head, 
 And breathe my life out gently there.' 
 
 "What shall I render to the Lord for such manifes- 
 tations of his grace alone to me who am less than the 
 least of all saints, and the chief of sinners ? I would with 
 adoring gratitude, say, ' Not unto me, not unto me, but 
 unto thy name be the glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's 
 sake'." 
 
 Speaking on the same subject, in a letter to a friend, 
 he says, " It was a most remarkable season to me ; and 
 that I, who am so unworthy, should have been so blessed, 
 is more remarkable still ; I never enjoyed so much of 
 heaven in all my life ; nor do I ever expect the like 
 again on this side the grave. Such seasons of refresh- 
 ment from the presence of the Lord, are the effects of 
 sovereign goodness, and are intended to show 'what 
 almighty grace can do'." 
 
 The Rev. Mr White, of Cirencester, in Gloucestershire, 
 says, " I was with him in his heavy affliction in the year 
 1802, and never witnessed such patience resignation and 
 sweet serenity of mind as he then displayed. It was 
 truly delightful. I remember his saying, ' I have always 
 admired Dr Watts' verse. ' Jesus can make a dying bed', 
 but have thought it a kind of poetic flight. But I now 
 find it to be a reality. ' Jesus CAN make a dying bed feel 
 soft as downy pillows are.'"
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 195 
 
 Bluntisham exhibited, at this time, a remarkable scene. 
 The number of persons in gigs, on horseback, and on 
 foot, who came to enquire after Mr Feary, was un- 
 exampled ; and was of itself a strong proof how much 
 he was beloved. 
 
 The first text he preached from, after his recovery, 
 was, Deut. xxxiii. 29, ' Happy art thou, O Israel ; who is 
 like unto thee, O people, saved by the Lord,' etc. 
 
 On his recovery, Mr Feary resumed his ministerial and 
 pastoral labours with the same assiduity, affection and suc- 
 cess, as before. He eagerly availed himself of every oppor- 
 tunity of doing good. In October, 1802, he thus counsels 
 and encourages his young friend at Bristol Academy : 
 
 "I received yours, and am much delighted with the good 
 news it contains ; and hope it will encourage you to go on 
 rejoicing, esteeming such an instance of the Lord's goodness as 
 an earnest of what God intends to do by you. Such instances 
 of the power of divine grace are, as the Apostle expresses 
 it, 'Our epistles, known and read of all men.' There is 
 nothing strengthens the hands of the faithful ministers of 
 Christ more than their usefulness in the conversion of souls 
 to the dear Redeemer. I hope you make a point of studying 
 two sermons every week, that you disuse your notes as much 
 as possible in the pulpit, and that you constantly aim to be 
 the useful, more than the refined, preacher. When I say 
 this, I do not wish you to be vulgar, but to commend yourself 
 to every man's conscience in the sight of God, and to the 
 understanding of your hearers ; so that you may, through 
 divine grace, be an able minister of the New Testament. 
 
 Yours etc." 
 
 " 1803, Jan. 1st. I am this morning brought to see the 
 beginning of another year. The last has been marked 
 with goodness and mercy from a covenant God to me, for 
 
 132
 
 196 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 which I desire to say, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, 
 and all that is within me, praise his holy name.'" 
 
 " June 13th. Was this evening visited with the loss of 
 our dear little girl, about thirteen months old. What 
 shall I say? I would bow with all submission to the 
 will of God, who does all things well, and say, ' Not my 
 will but thine be done', well knowing that dear infants are 
 taken from the evil to come." 
 
 To his young friend at the Academy he thus writes. 
 
 "BLUNTISHAM, 
 Feb. 1803. 
 
 "I am pleased to hear that you are so much engaged in 
 business. It is the diligent band that tuaketh rich. You com- 
 plain of darkness ; it may ' endure for a night, but joy cometh 
 in the morning.' I am glad that you are enabled to look 
 through the cloud, and lay hold of the Lope set before you. 
 May the Lord keep you looking unto Jesus, from whom 
 all our strength is derived, and who must be our all in all. 
 The reason why so many Christians have no settled peace 
 is, they, looking into themselves, find so many imperfections 
 and follies, that they are filled with doubts and distressing 
 fears. Had they clear views of the gospel, they would find 
 in the promises of God ground to rest their weary and dis- 
 tressed souls upon. I am glad you see the lowness of S.'s 
 sentiments. It will not do. I have no doubt that they are 
 good men ; but a little like those half-bred Jews, who spake 
 half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' 
 language, but according to the language of each people. What 
 makes me think such sentiments wrong is, that they who 
 hold them, never act upon them when in prayer to God, or in 
 dying circumstances. Here, the serious parts of them are 
 as Calvinistic as old John Calvin himself. It is as you observe, 
 a mercy to be kept in the right path. 
 
 Believe me, Yours etc."
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 197 
 
 To the same. 
 
 " BLUNTISHAM, 
 
 Oct. 1803. 
 
 " My dear friend, I received yours, and was pleased to 
 hear of your recovery, and have no doubt but your afflictions 
 are designed by your heavenly Father to work together for 
 your good ; and that they will produce in you the peaceable 
 fruits of righteousness. I do not like to hear you say that 
 you are in doubt respecting yourself. What, have you no 
 love for Jesus? No desire after communion with him 1 ? No 
 concern for the prosperity of his kingdom 1 No love for them 
 who bear his image 1 You know you have ; and when the 
 opposite of these things would prevail in your heart, you know 
 it is your infelicity and great distress. Then why doubt? 
 God is of one mind ; none can change him. His promises are 
 yea and amen, in Christ Jesus the Lord. If we looked more 
 to him who came into the world to save the chief of sinners, 
 we should have more settled peace and lasting joy. 
 
 Yours etc." 
 
 To the same. . 
 
 "BLUNTISHAM, 
 Mar. 1804. 
 
 " What you say about Dr H. leads me to suspect that you 
 think he is doing no good; yea, that he is, perhaps, doing 
 harm. This I do not like, because I think it is the very same 
 uncandid spirit which you complain of in his people. I do 
 not say this to hurt your mind, but to guard you against 
 indulging a disposition so unlike our Lord and his Apostles, 
 who possessed that ' charity which hopeth all things.' Were I 
 disposed to infidelity, I should be strongly tempted to it from 
 the bitterness which I discern between good men on both 
 sides of the question. One says of the other, They do not 
 preach the gospel ; the others say of them, That they are doing 
 no good, but perhaps harm : and thus good men unchristianise
 
 198 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 one another, and infidels triumph and many weak minds 
 are discouraged. These things ought not to be; and indeed 
 did we possess more of the simplicity which is in Christ, things 
 would not be so. But we all have a great degree of selfishness 
 about us, and we are too much disposed to love them who 
 think the best of us. 
 
 Yours, etc." 
 
 " 1804, Aug. 20th. This morning was called to witness 
 a most painful and trying scene the death of my dear 
 girl, Betsy Butcher, who after twenty-three days of very 
 heavy and painful afflictions expired at half an hour 
 after nine o'clock." Mr Feary was her uncle and she 
 lived with him before his second marriage. " Her affection- 
 ate attachment, her extreme gratitude and constant desire 
 to oblige, rendered her very dear to me, and made 
 the stroke severely felt. But, blessed be the God and 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our sorrow is not without 
 hope ; for there was reason to hope that in her ' was 
 found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel.' 
 In the first stages of her confinement she was exercised 
 with some painful suspicions lest she should not be right 
 in the sight of God; but God who is rich in mercy, 
 afforded her support and divine consolation, by impressiag 
 her mind with those sweet words : ' And there shall 
 be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light 
 of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they 
 shall reign for ever and ever.' I frequently enquired 
 the state of her mind. 'At times', she replied, 'comfort- 
 able; at other times, her affliction was so heavy, that 
 she could not think of any thing else.' Two days before 
 her death, she awoke out of her sleep, and thought she 
 heard singing. I said 'My dear, you have been dreaming.' 
 ' Well,' said she, ' I thought I was singing that verse
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 199 
 
 Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, 
 Stand dressed in living green ; 
 So to the Jews old Canaan stood, 
 While Jordan rolled between.' 
 
 The next morning, being called up, I found her, 
 as I supposed, ready to depart but after a few minutes 
 she revived, and looking affectionately at me said, ' I am 
 now going, I thought at first I should not recover.' She 
 immediately repeated, 
 
 '0 if my Lord would come and meet, 
 My soul should stretch her wings in haste, 
 Fly fearless through Death's iron gate, 
 Nor fear the terrors as she past.' 
 
 Her difficulty in getting up the phlegm brought her 
 into a great strait, which made her fear her patience 
 should not hold out, saying, ' Why is his chariot so long 
 in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot?' I 
 said, in much distress, ' My dear, how is the state of your 
 mind?' She said, 'Comfortable.' Not long after she 
 expired without a sigh, struggle or the least motion. 
 Thus ended my dear girl ; a loss, that only God can help 
 me to sustain. 
 
 " On the Lord's day following, my dear and much re- 
 spected friend, Mr A., improved the opportunity, by a 
 suitable discourse from Rev. xxii. 5, to the largest con- 
 gregation, and the most affected, I ever witnessed in the 
 Meeting-house at Bluntisham." 
 
 With this entry Mr Feary's " Short Memorials " close. 
 
 The following is a letter to his friend, Mr White: 
 
 "BLUNTISHAM, March, 1805. 
 
 "I am glad you have so comfortable a prospect of a situa- 
 tion. From what you say of the place, and the kindness of the 
 friends, it appears to me to be your duty to stay with them ;
 
 200 LIFE OF MR COXE FEART. 
 
 and I sincerely wish the Lord may bless you, and make you 
 a blessing. I hope you will closely study your sermons. Aim 
 as much as possible at a variety of subjects ; you will find it 
 necessary as a stated preacher. Do not put off writing your 
 sermons till late in the week, but begin early, yea, let some 
 part of the morning in each day of the week, when at home, 
 be devoted to this purpose. Should your friends press you 
 to visit them too frequently, do not comply, lest you should 
 contract a habit, which will break in upon your studies, and 
 so injure your usefulness. I need not say that the closest 
 attention to study will not do without much prayer, as it is 
 God that giveth the increase. Therefore a simple and child- 
 like reliance on Him for enlargement and comfort is necessary. 
 I am pleased at your dwelling on the doctrines of grace ; not 
 that I suspect your disbelief of them, but I have thought your 
 fear of the abuse, might prevent a suitable degree of attention 
 to them. The children ought not to be denied their food, 
 because carnal professors may abuse it. No, we must ' feed 
 the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own 
 blood.' 
 
 Yours, etc." 
 
 In 1807, on the 2nd October, Mr Feary lost a beloved 
 Sister, Mrs Asplan, wife of one of the Deacons, who was 
 one of his oldest and kindest friends. How he felt on 
 this occasion, may be learned from the following extract: 
 
 " BLUNTISHAM, Jan. 4th, 1808. 
 
 " In looking over your kind letter this morning, I was 
 surprised to find it is more than two months since I received 
 it. Days, how swift they are ! I have been, and am much 
 concerned, for the loss of my dear Sister. It is a painful 
 stroke. On such subjects, my feelings are not to be described. 
 I have no doubt but our loss is her eternal gain ; but such is 
 my reluctance to part with affectionate friends, that I feel more
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 201 
 
 reconciled to the idea of my own death, than to theirs. But 
 why should I say so ? Shall not the Judge of all the earth 
 do right?-" 
 
 In January, 1815, Mr Feary sustained a very heavy 
 loss in the death of one of his best friends, Mr William 
 Tebbutt. His funeral sermon was preached by Mr Feary, 
 from Luke xxiii. 42, 'Lord, remember me, when thou 
 comest into thy kingdom.' In the sermon, Mr Feary gave 
 an account of the religious experience of his friend, and 
 of the strong consolations which he experienced in the 
 near views of eternity. In the spring of this year Mr 
 Feary was visited with the first stroke of paralysis. It 
 was slight, and felt chiefly in the calf of his left leg. This 
 attack past away without materially injuring him in any 
 other part. From this time, however, his strength gradu- 
 ally declined, and he became less able to attend to the 
 duties of his ministry; yet he preached as before, both 
 at home, and in the neighbouring villages, with acceptance 
 and usefulness. In the church book, he writes : " Aug. 
 13th, 1815. We had a public baptizing at Over Court, 
 in the afternoon, when, in the presence of more than a 
 thousand spectators, who behaved with the greatest serious- 
 ness, Mr Tall, of Swavesey, baptized sixteen persons. The 
 ordinance was solemn and impressive, and we hope the 
 presence of our Lord Jesus Christ was with us of a truth." 
 Mr Feary, notwithstanding his indisposition, continued 
 his labours, as a faithful and wise steward, till April, 1817, 
 when he was visited with a much more severe stroke of 
 paralysis, which threatened the termination of his public 
 ministry, and also of his life. Being a little recovered, 
 he took a journey the next month into several neigh- 
 bouring counties, hoping that the air and exercise would 
 do him good. His debility however, was so great, that
 
 202 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 he could not have done this, had he not travelled with 
 a horse and gig, accompanied by a trusty servant. In 
 this journey he was at times very cheerful, and enjoyed 
 the company of those friends on whom he called; yet 
 his mind seemed in a restless unsettled state, and he 
 frequently wanted to return home. No great advantage 
 was obtained by this excursion, except that his mind 
 being free from the expectation of having to preach, he 
 was more easy than he could have been with that labour 
 in immediate view. This stroke affected the whole of 
 his left side, and ever afterwards he was unable to use 
 his left arm or leg, with any comfort. Yet after he came 
 home, he preached at different times, though with much 
 difficulty ; and he continued preaching till the com- 
 mencement of the year 1818. On Christmas Day, 1817, 
 he preached at Somersham ; and on the first Lord's day 
 in 1818, he preached twice at home. His last was a 
 funeral sermon which he preached for a young woman. 
 After the service he said in his familiar way, " If I do not 
 give up, I shall die in my gears." He makes an entry 
 in the church book "Jan. 4, 1818. This day, Coxe 
 Fear}' found himself so unwell, as to be under the necessity 
 of calling a church-meeting on the next Thursday, for the 
 purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of 
 laying aside his labours for a time." Accordingly, oil 
 Jan. 6, a church-meeting was held, when it was unanim- 
 ously agreed that he should be permitted to lay aside his 
 labours for six months, in order to see if rest, under the 
 blessing of God, might promote his health ; and that he 
 should procure supplies from the kind assistance of neigh- 
 bouring churches, the friends engaging to accommodate 
 the ministers at their houses on the Sabbath, and their 
 expenses to be defrayed by Mr Asplan out of the sub-
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 203 
 
 scriptions made to the minister's stipend. " The church 
 agreed to these 'propositions of Mr Feary with not one 
 dissenting voice." 
 
 About three months after Mr Feary was laid aside, 
 he addressed the following excellent letter to his friend, 
 the Rev. Mr White of Cirencester : 
 
 " BLCNTISHAM, April 1st, 1818. 
 
 "I dislike to write letters at all times, and especially now 
 I am so shattered. You have heard that I have given up 
 preaching till midsummer ; aiid such is my feeble state, that 
 unless the warm weather improves my health, I shall not be 
 able to do much more. It is a mercy that though I have 
 laboured hard for thirty-three years, it has not been in vain. 
 I have not spent my strength for nought ; for, unworthy 
 as I am, God has smiled on my feeble attempts to promote 
 the Redeemer's Kingdom. I can truly say, 'to Him be all 
 the praise.' It is painful to give up preaching the Gospel to 
 perishing sinners before life is closed. But shall not the Judge 
 of all the earth do right? Yes, He is too wise to do wrong, 
 and too gracious to be unkind, and I trust He will in His own 
 good time, unworthy as I am, present me faultless before the 
 presence of His glory, with exceeding joy ; to whom be glory 
 for ever and ever. Amen. Though I know the cause of God 
 at Bluntisham, and in every other place, is safe in the hands 
 of Christ ; yet I cannot help feeling a deep and anxious con- 
 cern for the welfare of the church and congregation ; and that 
 the Lord would be pleased to send us a pious, affectionate, 
 prudent, zealous and warm-hearted young man ; one after 
 God's own heart, not seeking his own glory, but the glory 
 of Christ. Wishing you, like Abraham, to be blessed and 
 made a blessing, 
 
 I remain, 
 
 Your affectionate friend, 
 
 C. F."
 
 204 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 The faculties of Mr Feary's mind, as well as the mem- 
 bers of his body, growing more and more feeble, when the 
 six months' retreat from his public labours were expired, he 
 gave up all thoughts of preaching, and further supplies were 
 obtained. But as the churches in the neighbourhood had 
 fully proved their kindness towards him and his friends, 
 these supplies were procured from other quarters. One 
 of the first was, Mr S. Green, son of the Mr Samuel 
 Green who succeeded Mr Feary in the Pastorate. Other 
 supplies followed, but Mr Samuel Green eventually settled 
 at Bluntisham in January, 1819, as co-pastor with Mr 
 Coxe Feary. On his coming, Mr Feary would have 
 relinquished the pastoral office altogether, but Mr Green 
 wished him to remain as co-pastor with himself; for 
 though there was no probability of his preaching any 
 more, yet his knowledge of the church and congregation, 
 derived from experience, would, had he retained his in- 
 tellect, have made him very useful. When this was pro- 
 posed to him he cheerfully consented to it. After this 
 he was only able to converse with his friends a few 
 minutes at a time ; and when he did converse with them, 
 religion and the affairs of the church were the subjects 
 of his conversation ; and he always spoke like a man of 
 great feeling and good judgment. By the help of his 
 friends, he got to meeting on the Lord's day for several 
 months after this time, and on two or three occasions 
 administered the Lord's supper ; but he could only speak 
 in an imperfect manner. 
 
 On the 6th of April, 1819, his eldest daughter, Jane 
 aged 18, died after a fever of but few days' continuance. 
 When her death was first apprehended to be near, the 
 idea of it affected him very deeply ; he was indeed almost 
 overwhelmed, and thought that he should not be able
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 205 
 
 to survive the loss: but when the event was realised, 
 he was supported under it beyond what could have been 
 expected. She was interred the following Lord's day. 
 At his request, Mr Green preached a funeral sermon from 
 Isaiah Ixvi. 13, and part of the 14th verse. Notwith- 
 standing the weight of his own affliction, and the painful 
 occasion of this service, he expressed himself much like 
 'a man of God.' He knew the Lord had a just right 
 to dispose both of him and her as seemed good in his 
 sight; and though he would at times burst into tears 
 at the recollection of his dear, dutiful daughter, he soon 
 quieted his own mind by speaking of the providence of 
 God. 
 
 His faculties now became more feeble, and every little 
 circumstance seemed to overcome him ; his nervous system 
 was so weak, that he could hardly ever speak without tears. 
 His spirits were dejected ; gloomy apprehensions filled 
 his mind ; and he seemed, in general, as though the loving- 
 kindness of the Lord, on which he had often expatiated 
 with pleasure, gave him no comfort. Yet he had lucid 
 intervals, when he was favoured with views of the Divine 
 goodness, and was enabled to cast himself upon the pro- 
 mises of God. At these seasons he discovered what the 
 spiritual state of his mind would have been, had he not 
 laboured under the influence of a complication of dis- 
 orders, which, by the mysterious union of body and mind, 
 made him a prey to mental depression. To see him at 
 this time was truly humbling to the pride of human 
 nature. One, who for the excellency of his character, 
 and the grace of his lips, had been the pride of all around 
 him ; who had comforted the mourner and soothed the 
 disconsolate ; himself the subject of distressing maladies, 
 which neither medicine nor kindness could alleviate.
 
 206 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 Though thus afflicted already, he was frequently visited 
 with what seemed to be slight strokes of paralysis. His 
 friends apprehended he would be removed from this world 
 in one of them, and that the last could be at no great 
 distance. Yet he survived one after another, till his 
 intellectual faculty was almost gone. In Feb. 1821, his 
 physical health which had been tolerable became very 
 indifferent. In that month Mr Green went to him, and 
 found him favoured with his senses, and quite comfortable 
 in his mind ; he was also able to speak with greater free- 
 dom than usual. He said he hoped he should not continue 
 long in this world. Upon taking leave of him, Mr Green 
 said he hoped he would be better when he should see 
 him again, at which he burst into tears, and very feelingly 
 said, he hoped he should, and that their next meeting 
 would be in heaven. After this he was hardly ever able 
 to utter anything distinctly, and took but little notice 
 when his old friends went to see him. One of these who 
 had a most tender regard for him, says, ' In the last inter- 
 view I found him only the wreck of what he had been, 
 but discovering all that affectionate tenderness for which 
 he had always been distinguished/ And another old 
 and valued friend, says, "For a long period our dear 
 brother was not able to converse, and towards the close 
 of life, within three or four weeks, was so much palsied, 
 that he could not utter a word for a long time together. 
 The last pleasant interview I had with him might be 
 a month or five weeks before his departure, soon after a 
 stroke of the palsy, which we supposed would soon end 
 his existence. I went to him and asked him how he was. 
 He gave me no answer. I then said, ' you are very bad ' : 
 I received no answer to that. I then asked him if he 
 feared to die. He then spoke, and said ' No ' : and im-
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 207 
 
 mediately a flood of tears followed. I repeated ' Soon all 
 your sorrows will be left below ; and earth exchanged for 
 heaven.' Upon which tears of joy evidently flowed abun- 
 dantly. This interview with my dear brother gave me 
 great satisfaction. But many, very many times, when 
 his complaint was not so heavy upon him, he displayed 
 the greatest concern for the welfare of his people, and 
 the church and congregation which, in the hands of God, 
 he had been the instrument of raising in his native spot. 
 And it was evident he had more thought about his people, 
 than he had about himself. It was peculiarly affecting 
 that he, who had been the delight of his friends, both 
 in his public and private capacity, and who, had he died 
 whilst he was capable of being happy and useful among 
 them would have been lamented as much as almost any 
 man ever was in his own immediate connection, had now 
 become so helpless, that his best friends rejoiced when 
 the Lord was pleased to take him out of this world." 
 
 At length, the long-wished for period arrived, and on 
 Monday the 22nd day of April, 1822, his spirit ascended 
 to that felicity to which it had been long aspiring. 
 
 Mr Feary was buried near his beloved daughter, in the 
 meeting-house burial ground, on the Lord's day following 
 his death. The time of the funeral prevented other 
 ministers taking part in the solemn service. The whole 
 duty therefore fell upon Mr Green, who delivered the 
 address at the grave, and preached a funeral sermon from 
 1 Pet. i. 3, 4. Mr Green on being applied to for some 
 account of his sermon says, " I spoke what appeared 
 to me the sense of the text, and then applied it to the 
 congregation as well as I could, observing that they all 
 knew more of Mr Feary than I did, it would therefore be 
 vain in me to attempt to inform them about him. That
 
 208 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 I saw him only as we see a tree in autumn, when its 
 foliage is withered, and little or nothing of its summer 
 beauty remains, with but a few leaves hanging on the 
 branches, waiting the coming of winter to bring them 
 to the ground. Or as a house, which indeed when first 
 built was beautiful, but having then answered the purposes 
 of its owner, was fast going to decay, and its materials 
 nearly ready to mingle with their original earth. Yet 
 though when first I knew him, he was like a house 
 in a state of dilapidation, even its ruins were sufficient 
 to prove it had once been a noble mansion. These re- 
 marks were to be understood in reference to his mind, 
 not his body. I expatiated on the gospel he had preached 
 that he was gone to give up his account to his Lord 
 and Master ; and in a solemn manner assured the people, 
 they must soon follow him into the eternal world, to give 
 an account to God what use they had made of the gospel 
 which they had heard from his lips ; and charged them to 
 consider these things, as they valued their souls and 
 wished to be happy in a future state. The great number 
 of people that attended on the occasion fully proved the 
 very high esteem in which Mr Feary was held by all 
 the neighbourhood, even for many miles round." 
 
 Mr Audley adds " few men were more beloved where 
 he was known than Mr Feary. He had a soul formed 
 for friendship ; and when you met him, the hearty grasp 
 of his hand and his affectionate welcome, assured you 
 that his professions were sincere. As no one could reason- 
 ably doubt of his sincerity, and as he united with a sound 
 judgment, great suavity of manners, he was frequently 
 applied to by his friends for advice, so that in his im- 
 mediate neighbourhood he might be considered as a sort 
 of public man. His talent however, lay more immediately
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 2()9 
 
 in the prosecution of that important work, to which he 
 had so evidently been called by the grace of God. But 
 although he was so ready to spend and be spent in the 
 work of the Lord, he was so averse from engaging in such 
 public services as ordinations, that he took a prominent 
 part in only two of these solemnities, during the whole 
 course of his ministry." 
 
 " The first was at the settlement of Mr John Ingle, at 
 Ramsey, in Huntingdonshire, in which the introductory 
 part of the service was assigned to him. This he per- 
 formed to general satisfaction, for he was quite at home 
 on the subject of dissent, and detested intolerance from 
 whatever quarter it proceeded. The other ordination was 
 that of Mr George Norman, at Soham, in Cambridgeshire, 
 in 1810. His friend, Mr Andrew Fuller, of Kettering, gave 
 the charge, and Mr Feary preached to the people from the 
 prayer of David in the 118th Psalm : 'O Lord, I beseech 
 thee, send now prosperity. ' " 
 
 "I will relate what I had from Mr Feary himself. Mr 
 Fuller was at Bluntishain, and had a pretty long conver- 
 sation with Mr Feary on religious topics, when it was 
 found that the sentiments of these two friends very nearly 
 coincided. Mr Feary, as appears from his confession of 
 faith at his ordination, was a Calvinist; and I believe, 
 he did not swerve in after life from the principles he then 
 maintained." 
 
 " Mr Feary as a preacher was very popular. Although 
 he possessed no literary attainments, his natural good 
 sense, combined with a deep conviction of the important 
 office he sustained, led him to pay more attention to his 
 sermons than, I believe, was generally imagined. Being 
 at Bluntishain a few years ago, I remember seeing a con- 
 siderable number of them in half binding. I think there 
 T. B. 14
 
 210 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 were twenty volumes, and I understood they were for his 
 beloved daughter, Jane. But as it pleased Him, who 
 doeth 'all things well', to take her away, Mr Feary, soon 
 after that event, destroyed most of the volumes, so that at 
 his decease, only three remained. There were, however, 
 sixteen volumes more, regularly put together, all of which, 
 except perhaps one, were secured by a piece of parchment 
 sewed round the middle. The whole number appears 
 to have been full twelve hundred. Almost all that have 
 fallen under my notice contain nearly eight small octavo 
 pages, written in long hand, and with very few abbre- 
 viations. The last I have seen is from Ez. xxxvii. 1 10, 
 the vision of the dry bones, and is dated as preached 
 at Bluntisham, Jan. 26th, 1817. But from comparing the 
 number of this sermon with others I am inclined to 
 think it should have been 1816, and that the last written 
 sermon was preached by Mr Feary in July, 1816. Mrs 
 Feary is of opinion, that after that time Mr Feary found 
 himself incapable of writing his sermons as formerly." 
 
 "Few ministers, it is apprehended, who laboured under 
 equal disadvantages with my friend, have left behind them 
 so great a number of outlines of sermons, all regularly 
 written, with the divisions, subdivisions and improve- 
 ments. But he was a labourer in the Lord's vineyard ; 
 and at one period of his life read so closely, as perhaps to 
 lay the foundation of some disorders, which occasioned 
 him great uneasiness and pain." 
 
 His heart was tenderly attached to the people of his 
 charge, and he said, "I have made idols of my people, and 
 they have made an idol of me." 
 
 His friend the Rev. Mr White says, " I have been 
 taught to revere his name from my childhood, and have 
 received benefits and favours from him, which will render
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 211 
 
 his name dear to me, as long as I can think of it. He 
 was the instrument of my earliest religious impressions. 
 It was when I was about the age of twelve, that, laying 
 his hand upon my head, he said in his peculiarly soft 
 and affectionate manner, ' Daniel, my boy, I hope you 
 pray.' By him I was led to devote myself to the ministry 
 of the gospel ; and how much I am indebted for his kind 
 advice and assistance, rendered in various ways, it is im- 
 possible for me to state. He was to me a kind, affectionate, 
 and faithful friend. I loved and venerated him as my 
 own parent, and he ever acted towards me as a father. 
 I never knew or heard of any one who so fully sustained 
 the character of the friend and father of the people of his 
 charge. In the pulpit and out of it, he was all affection 
 and mildness ; and I have always considered that his 
 great success was principally, under God, to be attributed 
 to his peculiarly affectionate manner of enforcing the 
 gospel. I confess that with all the veneration I feel 
 for his character, I have sometimes been at a loss to 
 account for the extraordinary attention his ministry ex- 
 cited. At one period, many of his hearers came from 
 eight or ten miles' distance, and the village of Bluntisham 
 at that time presented to the view, on Lord's days, a 
 novel and impressive scene. The earJy hour at which 
 many of the hearers began to arrive, the deep interest 
 that appeared to be taken in the service of the sanctuary, 
 and the powerful exercise of Christian love and tender- 
 ness between the pastor and his people, were calculated 
 to make a deep and salutary impression on the mind of 
 the most indifferent spectator. And I have no doubt but 
 many who have witnessed these scenes have secretly said, 
 ' This people shall be my people, and their God my God.' 
 Never did our friend appear so great as on these occasions, 
 
 14 2
 
 212 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 for then he appeared as the father and friend of his 
 people ; every one was anxious to obtain a look, a shake of 
 the hand, the promise of a visit to preach at a neighbour- 
 ing village, etc. But I feel it impossible to do justice 
 to the interesting subject when I begin I know not 
 when or where to leave off." Mr Audley tells us " that 
 the above is not the language of hearsay, but of one 
 brought up in Bluntisham, who speaks what he knows, 
 and testifies what he has seen." 
 
 The following ' Conclusion ' was drawn up by Mr 
 Newton Bosworth, the well-known schoolmaster of Merton 
 Hall, and afterwards of Llandaff house, Cambridge, to 
 whom so many of our fathers the boys of that gene- 
 ration went to be educated in the second decade of the 
 present century. 
 
 " The preceding sketch of Mr Feary's life, imperfect 
 as it is as to one important period from 1804 to 1816 
 of it, will have enabled the reader to form a pretty correct 
 estimate of his general character. It may not be improper, 
 however, to bring the principal features of it more dis- 
 tinctly into view, especially as, in his own Narrative and 
 Memorials, from which the facts of his history have been 
 chiefly extracted, we could not expect to find him speaking 
 of himself, as others, who observed his conduct and en- 
 joyed the benefit of his labours, would be induced to think 
 and speak concerning him. While the energy of Christian 
 principle would urge him onward in his course, the influ- 
 ence of Christian humility would prevent him from 
 recording, and even from perceiving, those excellences 
 which his friends could not fail to recognise, and may be 
 permitted, with gratitude to the author of them, to admire 
 and applaud, while they endeavour to imitate them. The 
 slightest attention to the preceding account cannot fail,
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 213 
 
 I think, to have convinced the reader that Mr Feary was in 
 many respects, an extraordinary man. The moral reform- 
 ation which, by the blessing of God, he effected in his 
 native village, and its neighbourhood, and which must 
 have afforded him, in the retrospect, unspeakable delight, 
 is an event to which under all its circumstances not many 
 parallel cases can be adduced. Without education, except 
 in the slightest elements of it, without influence, except 
 what naturally accrued to him from the very efforts he 
 employed and the success which attended them, without 
 forwardness and vanity, for he rather shrank from than 
 courted the publicity which awaited him, he produced a 
 most remarkable and permanent change in a great part of 
 the population around him ; commencing his labours with- 
 out a single follower, continuing them, with an ardent, yet 
 well-tempered zeal, amidst alternate hopes and fears, 
 successes and discouragements, and ending by the form- 
 ation of a flourishing church and congregation the latter 
 amounting to seven or eight hundred persons. If, as the 
 Scriptures assure us, ' he that winneth souls is wise,' the 
 claim of Mr Feary to the character of a wise man cannot 
 be disputed. The success which during a long course of 
 years, attended his ministerial exertions, was very great. 
 The deep sense he entertained in his own mind of the 
 importance of religion, the love he bore to the Saviour 
 and to the souls of men, excited him to labour ' in season 
 and out of season,' for the spiritual benefit of his fellow- 
 creatures. His natural endowments peculiarly fitted him 
 for this office ; kind, tender and affectionate ; cheerful 
 and even lively in his disposition ; attractive in his 
 manners, and sincere in all his professions ; he seldom 
 failed to convince those to whom he addressed himself, 
 whether privately or in public, that " he sought not theirs,
 
 214 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 but them," and was animated by no other desire respecting 
 them than to promote their highest good. If to pursue 
 the best ends by the most appropriate means, be a mark 
 of wisdom, the claim of Mr Feary to that quality, on this 
 ground also, will be allowed with equal readiness. No end 
 can be superior to that of promoting the glory of God, by 
 directing men to Him who died to save them. ' Patriots 
 have toiled, and in their country's cause bled nobly ; ' 
 but he who devotes his life to the sublime purpose of 
 instructing the ignorant, and of showing unto men the 
 way of salvation, acts more nobly still. Such were the 
 ends Mr Feary had in view ; and how he sought to obtain 
 them, has in a great measure been shown." 
 
 "There are many situations in which qualifications dif- 
 ferent from those which Mr Feary possessed, would appear 
 to be requisite for acceptance and success ; but in the 
 particular sphere in which he moved, and amid the cir- 
 cumstances which in succession presented themselves to 
 his notice, it is not easy to imagine any combination of 
 qualities more fitted than those which he displayed, for 
 the attainment of the great object which filled his mind, 
 and called forth all his prayers and his exertions. Had he 
 employed much of his time in scientific and literary pur- 
 suits, it is highly probable, from the activity of his mind 
 and the clearness of his understanding, that he would 
 have made a respectable proficiency in human learning, 
 and that these attainments might have been turned to 
 good account in his ministerial capacity." 
 
 "But, while thus occupied, time would have been lost; 
 and the case was urgent. Those who needed his instruc- 
 tions and warnings, were swiftly passing along towards an 
 eternity for which they were ill prepared. He therefore 
 felt himself impelled, by compassion for their souls, to
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 215 
 
 rouse them to a sense of their condition, and urge them 
 to seek salvation and peace. Having felt 'the love of 
 Christ,' ' and the power of the world to come,' he was 
 constrained, " by a sense of that love and that power to 
 imitate, and make strenuous exertion in the cause of, his 
 Divine Master. Not that he neglected the cultivation of 
 his talents, whenever the demands of more pressing and 
 important duty would allow him time for that object. 
 He had an insatiable thirst for knowledge of almost every 
 kind ; he accumulated by degrees a valuable library ; 
 and read with greediness everything of value which came 
 in his way. He studied his Bible with great attention ; 
 not with partial views, or merely in detached passages 
 and insulated texts, but in a course of connected and 
 discriminating perusal ; and although he made no preten- 
 sions to literature or criticism, in the strictness of their 
 acceptation, he diligently availed himself of every assist- 
 ance within his reach, in exploring the Sacred Writings ; 
 and derived great advantage from consulting many of 
 those valuable expositions and other theological works, 
 with which our own country and language so happily 
 abound. He was also well acquainted with some of 
 the principal authors in various other departments of 
 English literature. In short nothing that appeared in 
 nature, nothing that occurred in life, nothing that he 
 observed in himself or others, was indifferent to him ; all 
 was made to contribute to the increase of his mental 
 stores all was consecrated to the service of the sanctuary, 
 and brought, as occasion offered, to bear on the object to 
 which his life was devoted." 
 
 " The caution and prudence which he manifested in 
 the outset of his career, as a Christian and a teacher of 
 Christianity; the absence of everything like arrogance
 
 216 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 and display in the prosecution of it; the readiness and 
 discretion with which he adapted himself to novel and 
 unlooked-for circumstances ; the simplicity of aim which 
 appeared in his whole deportment at this crisis, were 
 highly honourable to his character and favourable to the 
 success and stability of his purpose. The most zealous 
 advocates of regularity and prescription, it may be sup- 
 posed, would have little or nothing to urge against a 
 series of measures so conducted, in which, if in their 
 estimation any evil were combined, the good so greatly 
 overbalanced it. Though educated in the Established 
 Church, and warmly attached to it for some time alter 
 he began to think seriously on religious topics, he did 
 not, as is well known, remain in her communion. Partly 
 by adopting, from the necessity of the case, the practice 
 of dissent, and partly from an examination of its prin- 
 ciples, he became and continued through life a firm and 
 consistent Nonconformist ; yet his friends whom he left 
 never suspected his integrity, or denied him the credit of 
 having acted from honourable and conscientious motives. 
 As a preacher, Mr Feary was deservedly popular. His 
 style of preaching was colloquial, rather than elaborate ; 
 and was well calculated to convey instruction to the under- 
 standings of his hearers and to make an impression on 
 their hearts. His action in the pulpit was easy and 
 graceful, his voice melodious, and his whole delivery un- 
 usually happy. In his ministerial capacity, there was an 
 admirable union of the most inflexible fidelity and the 
 tenderest affection. He never 'shunned to declare the 
 whole counsel of God,' however unpalatable it might be 
 to any of his hearers. His attachment to what he con- 
 ceived to be TRUTH, would never suffer him to conceal 
 his sentiments ; but his manner of stating and defending
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 217 
 
 them was so modest that it never gave offence to those 
 who differed from him. It was not often, however, that 
 he touched upon disputed points in the pulpit ; his whole 
 soul seemed to be absorbed rather in pointing sinners to 
 the Lamb of God, and in enforcing practical religion, than 
 in the confutation of speculative errors." In the opening 
 of his addresses he usually considered the scope of the 
 passage which he chose for his text, the circumstances 
 which gave rise to it, the connection in which it stood 
 to the context, the doctrine which it taught, or the duty 
 which it enjoined; on these points his statements were 
 clear, judicious and instructive ; but it was in the appli- 
 cation, as it is called, of his sermons, in his appeals to the 
 consciences of his hearers, that he was more especially 
 interesting and impressive. When he warned the im- 
 penitent, or roused the careless, or stimulated the sloth- 
 ful, or called back the wanderer ; when he encouraged the 
 timid, or confirmed the wavering, or comforted the dis- 
 tressed ; when he directed the convinced sinner to the 
 Lamb of God, or the self-condemned to the hope of 
 pardon through the blood of Christ; when he spoke of 
 rest to the weary and heavy-laden, or pointed to the 
 heavenly inheritance and the crowns of glory which await 
 the faithful ; it was then that his countenance beamed 
 with an unwonted energy which testified the intensity 
 of his own emotions and the earnest desire he felt for the 
 everlasting benefit of all his hearers. They, on their part, 
 listened to him as to a man who meant what he said, 
 felt what he expressed, and practised what he preached. 
 In paraphrasing and expounding the Scriptures he par- 
 ticularly excelled ; although in his manner of reading 
 them there was nothing remarkably striking. No part 
 of his pulpit exercises appears to have been more ac-
 
 218 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 ceptable or more useful than that of exposition, to which 
 he frequently resorted on a Lord's-day evening. His 
 prayers were truly excellent copious, fervent, spiritual 
 and humble." 
 
 "By a due admixture of the doctrines and precepts 
 of the Gospel, he preserved his hearers from Pharisaical 
 pride on the one hand, and Antinomian licentiousness 
 on the other." Though he zealously inculcated the im- 
 portant truth that we are justified in the sight of God 
 only through faith in Christ, he never failed to urge, with 
 equal earnestness, that faith without works is dead ; nor 
 did he suffer his hearers to forget that the gospel was 
 intended to produce holiness, as well as to secure peace ; 
 to renew in man the lost image of God, as well as to 
 preserve him from eternal death ; to make him a " par- 
 taker of the Divine nature," as the only means of fitting 
 him to enjoy the Divine presence for ever. In his pre- 
 paration for the pulpit, Mr Feary was far from being 
 satisfied with a slight attention to his subject. He 
 generally wrote out the introduction at full length, or 
 nearly so, and very correctly stated the heads, subdivisions 
 and topics of improvement, of which he intended to treat 
 in his discourse, together with the leading observations 
 to be introduced under each ; leaving himself, however, at 
 liberty to make use of any thoughts or suggestions which 
 might arise at the time of delivery ; a method which 
 Fe'ne'lon and other eminent men have considered to be 
 most conducive to impression and effect in public addresses. 
 
 But preaching, although a most important, is not the 
 only, nor always perhaps, the most effectual means of 
 usefulness which the pastor of a church possesses. Much 
 may be done by personal intercourse, frequent and affec- 
 tionate, between a minister and his people. Of this kind
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 21> 
 
 of intercourse Mr Feary supplied a striking example. 
 The habit of it indeed constituted one of the distin- 
 guishing features of his character ; and it may be doubted 
 whether the great success which attended his labours is 
 not to be ascribed, under God, more to his diligence and 
 tenderness in this respect than even to his preaching. 
 " The loveliness of his deportment to his people will not 
 be easily forgotten. He had a talent for insinuating re- 
 ligious truth into their minds by conciliating their esteem, 
 winning their affections and fixing their attention. His 
 temper was so amiable, his conduct so gentle and his 
 concern to do good so apparent to all, that even persons 
 indisposed to religion would receive instruction from him 
 pleasantly, and in some such instances it was received 
 effectually. To the poor of his flock he was especially 
 attentive, and on many occasions he has been known to 
 leave the society of his more opulent friends to visit 
 them. Indeed it was his general practice, when he went 
 into any of the adjacent villages to dine with a friend, 
 to steal away in the afternoon for an hour or two on 
 purpose to call upon his poor friends to converse with 
 them on spiritual subjects, which he would do in the 
 most simple, artless and affectionate manner. If he found 
 any of them in distress, he was sure to devise some plan 
 for their relief; not unfrequently did he relieve them out 
 of his own pocket; and when this was not the case, he 
 would appeal to the liberality of his friends. He always 
 took great delight in promoting the spiritual welfare of 
 his young friends, who frequently flocked to his house on 
 a Lord's-day evening, to enjoy his edifying conversation. 
 He often told them that upon their conduct and exer- 
 tions depended the prosperity of the cause, when he should 
 have left the world."
 
 220 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 That such a man should acquire influence in a society 
 which he so faithfully and affectionately served is per- 
 fectly natural ; but though this influence was at length 
 considerable, he never perverted or abused it ; he never 
 employed it to 'lord it over God's heritage/ or claimed 
 any dominion over the faith of his people. Indeed, if 
 such had ever been his intention, he took the most un- 
 likely method to accomplish it ; for he continually in- 
 culcated, both in preaching and conversation, the most 
 dignified, liberal and independent principles. Convinced 
 of the personal responsibility of every man for his own 
 sentiments and conduct, and of his consequent right to 
 freedom of enquiry and judgment, and knowing for him- 
 self the value of intellectual independence, Mr Feary 
 never wished for a moment to deprive others of a privilege 
 which he himself estimated so highly. " To the law and 
 to the testimony," he wished every sentiment he uttered 
 to be brought for examination ; and while he pressed upon 
 his people most earnestly the necessity of an interest in 
 Christ, and the importance of eternal things, he exhorted 
 them to 'search the Scriptures' for themselves, to think for 
 themselves, and, with application by prayer to the fountain 
 of grace and illumination, to judge for themselves whether 
 the truths he delivered to them were so or not. Still his 
 influence in the congregation, to a great extent, was in- 
 evitable ; what he did not assume his people most freely 
 yielded to him ; and thought themselves happy under his 
 inspection and care. Thus he ruled most entirely in their 
 hearts, and swayed over them a sceptre of love. He 
 thought, he acted, he read, he prayed and preached for 
 the whole of his hearers ; and all were well satisfied. If 
 the meeting was to be enlarged, he was to project the 
 plan : if a Sunday School was to be formed, he was to be
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 221 
 
 the leader : if poor friends were in distress, he was the 
 man to whom they were to repair for advice and relief. 
 Whatever difference of opinion might subsist among any 
 of his hearers in matters relating to the cause, all were 
 well satisfied with his superintendence." 
 
 " His general knowledge was varied and extensive ; 
 and, as much of it related to matters of business and the 
 common affairs of life, his friends frequently sought his 
 judgment in their own concerns, and seldom repented 
 regulating their conduct by his advice. He was ever 
 ready to listen to them ; he sympathised with them in 
 their sorrows, participated with them in their joys ; and 
 was highly delighted whenever it was in his power to 
 render them any service. He was remarkable also for the 
 facility with which he could transfer his attention from 
 one person and subject to another." " Whether he was 
 engaged with the builder, farmer, gardener or tradesman, 
 he never was at a loss ; but could always adapt his con- 
 versation to his circumstances, so as to instruct, or receive 
 instruction from, those with whom he conversed." 
 
 "He was an ardent friend to civil and religious liberty; 
 detesting bigotry and intolerance wherever he met them, 
 and by whomsoever they were displayed. If ever he was 
 in danger of being betrayed into any transgression of the 
 limits of moderation and decorum, it was on this topic : so 
 strongly were his feelings excited when any instance of 
 oppression or persecution was announced to him, that he 
 could scarcely find language to express his detestation of 
 it. For a short time, indeed, at one period of his life, as 
 he himself confesses, political and other speculations pro- 
 duced an unhappy effect upon his mind, and diminished 
 the ardour of his spiritual feelings; an effect which is 
 sure to occur, whenever any inferior object or pursuit is
 
 222 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 allowed to encroach upon that station which things of the 
 highest interest ought to occupy alone. This considera- 
 tion appears not to have been overlooked by Mr Feary ; 
 for to his honour it may be remarked that, in after life, 
 how warmly soever he might continue to feel, and at 
 times to express himself, when he thought the interests of 
 liberty were endangered or attacked, the spirituality of 
 his mind suffered no depression, his ministerial and pastoral 
 assiduity no check, and his preparation for a future 
 world no interruption. So strong and so dominant was 
 the religious principle in his heart. To the concerns of 
 the present state he gave that kind degree of attention 
 which they appeared to deserve ; 
 
 ' But all his serious thoughts had rest in heaven. ' 
 
 In some men the assertion of independent principles is 
 often accompanied with the practice of oppression ; and 
 the liberty they allow is in the inverse ratio of that which 
 they claim. In Mr Feary the love of liberty was a genuine 
 sentiment, prompted by benevolence, and carried out 
 into practice. Hence arose the kindness with which he 
 treated the poor of his flock, his domestics and dependents, 
 and his liberality towards all who had intercourse with 
 him. His conduct, in other respects, was as independent 
 as his principles ; nothing could induce him to act in 
 opposition to the dictates of his conscience and his con- 
 viction of duty. Though he stood alone, he would main- 
 tain the 'cause of right;' and persevere in any course 
 he was assured, on careful enquiry, was consistent with 
 the will of God. Such a union of firmness with modesty, 
 of humility with zeal, of ardent feeling with steady per- 
 severance, of genuine piety with liveliness of temper, as 
 Mr Feary exhibited, is not often presented to our view."
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 223 
 
 "During a period of thirty-five years did this excellent 
 man preside over the church and congregation with 
 fidelity and love ; and the greatest harmony ever sub- 
 sisted between himself and them. In that time were 
 admitted into the church about two hundred and seventy 
 members, the greater part of whom received their first 
 religious impressions from his ministry. Such a number, 
 in so long a period, would not be deemed extraordinary 
 in some situations, where the church was previously 
 organized and the congregation large ; but here it should 
 be recollected, there was not only no church when Mr 
 Feary began his labours, but no materials of which to 
 form one, until some years afterwards; and it is some- 
 what remarkable, that one of the persons to whom he 
 first read a sermon of Mr Whitfield's, was nearly the 
 last member he received into his church." 
 
 "Although Mr Feary was domestic in his pastoral, as 
 well as his personal habits, spending his days almost 
 entirely among his own people, and therefore seldom ex- 
 changed services with other ministers in the neighbour- 
 hood, yet he ever manifested towards them a spirit of the 
 greatest cordiality, and was beloved and esteemed by 
 them in return. He also enjoyed the friendship of 
 several eminent men, who became acquainted with him 
 in his seclusion, duly appreciated his worth, and spoke 
 of him in terms of the sincerest regard. Among these 
 may be noticed the late Rev. Andrew Fuller, of Ketter- 
 ing; the Rev. Robert Hall, of Leicester, who resided at 
 Cambridge during the most active period of Mr Feary 's 
 life; the Rev. W. Jay, of Bath; and Dr Gregory, Pro- 
 fessor of Mathematics in the Royal Military Academy, 
 Woolwich." 
 
 "In estimating the value of a character, much con-
 
 224 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 sideration is due to the situation and pursuits of him 
 who sustains it ; and in comparing the different occupa- 
 tions of mankind, none, in the eye of a Christian, will 
 appear to be of superior, or equal importance to that of 
 him who seeks to prepare his fellow- creatures for an 
 eternal world. Many persons have run a more splendid 
 career of worldly glory, many have been distinguished by 
 higher endowments and brighter talents ; but if a life 
 of piety and benevolence, of activity and usefulness in 
 the church of Christ, be entitled to commendation and 
 remembrance, few indeed have a greater claim to them 
 than this amiable and excellent man. All who feel an in- 
 terest in the prevalence of true religion, will be thankful 
 to God for what he has wrought by him : will rejoice in 
 the good which he has been the instrument of effecting ; 
 and will delight to contemplate its consequences as likely 
 to extend to future generations in this world, and to 
 everlasting ages in the world to come." 
 
 Several sentences in this chapter were extracts from a 
 letter written by Mr Matthew Tebbutt, of Bluntisham, to 
 Mr Bosworth.
 
 LIFE OF MR COXE FEARY. 225 
 
 Inscription on a tablet in the Meeting-House at 
 Bluntisham. By Mr Newton Bosworth. 
 
 IN THE ADJOINING BURIAL-GROUND ARE DEPOSITED 
 THE REMAINS OP 
 
 THE REV D . COXE FEARY, 
 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS THE FAITHFUL PASTOR OF THIS CHURCH, 
 
 WHICH, UNDER GOD, 
 
 WAS RAISED BY HIS INSTRUMENTALITY, 
 
 NURTURED BY HIS CARE, AND INSTRUCTED IN DIVINE THINGS, 
 
 ALIKE BY HIS PREACHING, AND HIS EXAMPLE. 
 
 HAVING LEARNED IN EARLY LIFE THE VALUE OF RELIGION, 
 
 AND EXPERIENCED ITS EFFICACY TO PURIFY THE HEART, 
 
 AND LEAD THE SOUL TO GOD, 
 
 HE WAS PROMPTED BY THAT LOVE WHICH THE GOSPEL INSPIRES, 
 
 TO DIFFUSE AMONG HIS FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS 
 
 THE BLESSINGS HE HAD HIMSELF RECEIVED. 
 
 HlS SUCCESS WAS GREAT, 
 
 AND HIS REJOICING ON ACCOUNT OF IT, SINCERE. 
 
 BY A LIFE OF ZEALOUS AND BENEVOLENT EXERTION 
 
 IN THE CAUSE OF ClIRIST, AND FOR THE GOOD OF SOULS, 
 
 HE ENDEARED HIMSELF 
 TO A NUMEROUS CONGREGATION, 
 
 WHO HERE RECORD THEIR GRATITUDE FOR HIS LABOURS, 
 AND THEIR AFFECTIONATE VENERATION 
 
 FOR HIS MEMORY. 
 
 HE DIED ON THE 22ND DAY OF APRIL, 1822, 
 IN THE 63RD YEAR OF HIS AGE. 
 
 T. B. 15
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 Mr Coxe Feary must have been a loveable man. He 
 had the milk of human kindness in his nature. His 
 genial disposition, so kindly, so gentle, and his affable 
 manners expressing these qualities so simply, made him a 
 general favourite. The respect people bore to him was 
 swallowed up in their love. It is pleasant to contemplate 
 the farmer pastor: contact with nature in the field with 
 his farm labourers, kept him in touch with the rural con- 
 gregation. Their anxieties were his, as were their hopes. 
 A good seeding, a dry hay time, a fine harvest, were a joy 
 to him and to them. Many a time has the homely pastor 
 smelt the sweet breath of the kine in the pasture or the 
 straw yard, and watched them chewing the cud of content, 
 a satisfied look has come over his face, as his fingers felt 
 the soft well-filled coats of his fatting stock, or regarded 
 his sleek sleeping pigs. Many a spring morning has burst 
 upon him, when with joy he has listened to the singing of 
 the birds, and heard the lowing of the cattle expectant of 
 food and attention; has been refreshed by the sparkles of 
 dew on the tender herb, and the delicious suggestion of 
 odour from the dampened mould. In the evening he has 
 watched the cows returning again, lowing as they come ; 
 and listened to their lazy crunching of the sweet hay in
 
 MR COXE FEARY. 227 
 
 the stall, as they yielded to the milk-maid their rich 
 burden. The sight of the chased lark seeking his protec- 
 tion touched his heart. The budding trees nature teem- 
 ing with life and beauty the harvest field, full of activity 
 and the promise of a speedy harvest home all awake his 
 fancy and stir his feelings. He carried a critic's eye up 
 the straight even furrow, left by the ploughshare, and it 
 rested on the row of shining rooks following doing good 
 work. The smooth rolled barley ground, with the fresh 
 shoots of the corn pushing through the soil after the 
 warm April showers, gratified him. He took pride in the 
 clean stubble, discovered after harvest, and in the well 
 hoed field of roots. In these respects Mr Feary was most 
 suitable for the position his Christian character and aims 
 qualified him to fill at Bluntisham. He was the chairman 
 of the farmers' market dinner at St Ives on Mondays and 
 took his part in parish work. His father and mother 
 lived in the same house their son afterwards inhabited. 
 They took their son Coxe to the church to be baptized, 
 and from the register we learn that their names were 
 Benjamin and Elizabeth Feary. It was this lady who 
 being deaf made the pulpit stair her " coign of vantage " 
 for hearing her son speak. Mr Coxe Feary tells us that 
 when he was a boy he did the work on the farm that boys 
 can do. His family appears to have lived in the parish 
 from the early part of the seventeenth century. The 
 house in which Mr Coxe Feary was born, and in which 
 he died, is the first on the left of the road which leads 
 to the village of Bluntisham out of the St Ives and 
 Earith high road. It now belongs to the grandsons of 
 Mr Coxe Feary, Mr Feary's daughter Naomi having 
 married her first cousin once removed, Mr Stephen Feary, 
 the grandson of the minister's only brother, whose son 
 
 152
 
 228 MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 John was the said Stephen's father. This house fronts 
 the rectory grounds which are on the opposite side of the 
 road. It is conveniently near the Meeting-house which 
 stands a little higher up the road on the opposite side. 
 We must go into the garden behind this house which he 
 owned as well as inhabited. It is a pleasant garden and 
 bears evidence of the good taste of him who planned it. 
 Here are the gravel walks which Mr Feary laid out and 
 the lawn which he laid down. These evergreen shrubs 
 and trees were chosen and planted by him, and the forest 
 trees overshadowing the arbour are also his planting, all 
 done by clever hands, prompted by a heart in love with 
 its work. The summer-house on its low raised mound 
 was his handiwork, in its bower of trees, w r ith its opening 
 to the sunny south, its pleasant view of pasture and river, 
 and beyond an extensive gently rising landscape of rural 
 fields and villages, marked by the church spires of 
 Holywell and Over. It was from this summer-house that 
 Mr Coxe Feary addressed his neighbours and friends in 
 the early times before the barn was used they gathered 
 on the grass plot around and in front of the low mound on 
 which he stood to declare the goodness of Jesus Christ. 
 
 When Mr Simeon of Cambridge preached at Mr 
 Feary's he began the service at five o'clock in the 
 morning; he took up his position where the pump now 
 stands at the back of the house, the doors and windows of 
 which were open, and the overflow of the rooms and 
 passages stood round him in the court which divides the 
 house from the garden. This service impressed the 
 people and good effects followed. 
 
 Mr Feary had one brother Stephen, who married a 
 sister of Mr William Prentice. He lived in Sutton fen 
 and attended the ministry of the Rev. Thomas Robinson of
 
 MR COXE FEARY. 229 
 
 Mepal Church, who afterwards removed to Leicester: he 
 was the author of " Scripture Characters." Mr Stephen 
 Feary was greatly concerned at his brother's dissent it 
 would bring disgrace upon his family, and when he 
 finally left the Establishment and became a preacher and 
 a settled minister, it must, he thought, bring financial 
 failure upon him. But after a time he changed his views 
 on these matters, put a different relative value upon things, 
 and eventually joined his brother's church at Bluntisham. 
 Henceforth he will be a regular worshipper at the meeting 
 there. His daughter, Mrs John Ilett, said, "My father 
 had a few books and read them ; " of these his family has 
 preserved Robinson's " Scripture Characters," and " Scott's 
 Bible," which he took in parts, as they were issued. 
 
 Mr Coxe Feary was twice married. His first wife was 
 Miss Elizabeth Potto, of Earith, who lived only twelve 
 months after their union. 
 
 In November 1798, his second marriage took place. 
 The lady was Mrs Jane Bosquain, widow of John 
 Bosquain, esq. of St Ives, Huntingdonshire, whose family 
 were French Refugees in 1684. Her maiden name was 
 Shortland, a Nonconformist family at Rowell in Northamp- 
 tonshire. Only one daughter survived her parents 
 Naomi afterwards Mrs Stephen Feary. An old friend of 
 Mr Feary mentions in a letter Mr Feary's strong disappro- 
 bation of, and dislike to, all clerical badges, titles and dis- 
 tinctions; "it was his wont, warmly to exclaim in reference 
 thereto, ' Never will / be styled, or nicknamed Reverend, 
 for reverend and holy is His name, and it shall not be 
 mine'" 
 
 There are two matters of interest in Mr Audley's 
 "Memoirs of Mr Feary" which must not be omitted. 
 Both relate to his Baptism. He tells us " that although
 
 230 MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 Mr Feaiy became a decided Baptist, and, as might be 
 expected, the greater part of the church gradually united 
 with him in that sentiment; yet there was nothing rigid 
 either in him or in them. The church was open for all 
 who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and Pedo- 
 Baptists were received into its communion with the 
 greatest cordiality." The other paragraph is concerning 
 Mr Baron, who performed the ceremony. " He was pastor 
 of the Baptist Church at Cottenham, in Cambridgeshire. 
 He was born at Soham, and when a boy was acquainted 
 with Mr Fuller," of Kettering, " whose superiority of mind 
 to all the other boys with whom he associated, was evi- 
 dently manifested. Mr Baron became a member of the 
 Independent Church at Isleham, and was called by that 
 church to the work of the ministry. After preaching 
 some months to the church at Cottenham, with great 
 acceptance, he was invited to be their pastor, accepted the 
 invitation, and was ordained July 2nd, 1783." 
 
 The old meeting-house at Cottenham was the place in 
 which those excellent men, Messrs. Holcroft and Oddy, 
 preached, and their pulpit is still preserved; but before 
 Mr Baron's ordination, as it was out of repair and too small 
 for the congregation, the present meeting-house was erected. 
 But there was such a continued increase of hearers, that 
 the new meeting-house was three times enlarged, and 
 considerable numbers were added to the church. Mr Baron 
 was one of Mr Feary's early associates, and to the day of 
 his death, Nov. 7, 1807, he was highly esteemed by him, 
 and by his friends at Bluntisbam, both as a Christian and 
 a minister of Jesus Christ." His great talent lay in 
 village preaching, there he was quite at home, and was 
 exceeded by few in the county. In token of the interest 
 Mr Feary took in the people of his flock we record the
 
 MR COXE FEARY. 231 
 
 fact that after the Sunday luncheon at the inn, etc., the 
 farmers and their wives were accustomed to gather in 
 Mr Feary's sitting-room, where he would converse with 
 them till afternoon service. The room was often crowded. 
 
 There is an interesting entry by Mr Feary in his 
 diary memorials, "May 8, 1786. This day found myself 
 much exercised about my temporal affairs, which very 
 much embarrassed me, not seeing any probable source of 
 relief to answer my present demands. In my distress, I 
 retired to the Throne of Grace, spread my case before the 
 Lord, and was enabled to plead his promise and faithful- 
 ness to his children. To his glory I record it, he heard 
 and answered me in the day of my distress, by sending me 
 a supply from a friend from whom I had no expectation. 
 ' Thus in the mount of the Lord, his gracious hand shall 
 be seen.'" Doubtless it was in reference to pecuniary em- 
 barrassment at this time that his brother's remark was 
 made which rendered poor Mr Feary " extremely uncom- 
 fortable in his mind;" he chronicles the remark in his 
 diary on the 19th May, "he believed I should, through 
 my foolishness, bring myself to poverty." This was said 
 in reference to his turning preacher. But he never wanted, 
 and was enabled to keep things together, maintain himself 
 and his family respectably, and leave a nice little property 
 to his only surviving child, Naomi. 
 
 Mr Coxe Feary was buried in the meeting-house 
 ground. On the tombstone is the following inscription 
 composed by Mr Matthew Tebbutt " Here mingle with 
 the dust the mortal remains of the founder of this Cause 
 the excellent Coxe Feary ; whose amiable temper, various 
 knowledge, and agreeable manners, commanded universal 
 esteem ; while his affectionate solicitude to promote the 
 welfare of his flock, endeared him to them while living,
 
 232 MR COXE FEARY. 
 
 and has embalmed his name in their memory now he is 
 no more. He died 22nd April, 1822, aged 63 years." 
 
 The following obituary notice of Mr Feary is believed 
 to have been written for the county newspaper by his 
 friend Mr Matthew Tebbutt : 
 
 " Died a few weeks ago at Bluntisham in this county the 
 Rev. Coxe Feary, who was for many years a highly respectable 
 and eminently useful minister of a numerous and flourishing 
 church and congregation of Protestant Dissenters in that 
 Village. Few men have laboured in the cause of God with 
 more zeal and perseverance than he did, or have more faith- 
 fully and affectionately discharged the solemn and important 
 duties of the ministerial office. The private as well as the 
 public character of this excellent man was truly admirable, 
 being one continued exhibition of all those eminent virtues 
 and lovely qualities, which dignify elevate and adorn human 
 nature. Such was the urbanity of his manners, the goodness 
 of his heart, and the unaffected sweetness of his disposition, 
 that he never failed to obtain the warm regard of all with 
 whom he was acquainted. Although Mr Feary was eminent 
 for the gentler graces, and for a mind possessed of the most 
 delicate and refined sensibility, he was by no means destitute 
 of those solid principles of action which are the foundation 
 of moral excellence. His mind was too deeply imbued with 
 love to God and with good will to men, ever to permit him 
 to be led astray by any hopes or fears from the path of 
 rectitude and duty. It was this rare and happy union of 
 whatever is amiable and gentle with the strictest integrity, 
 and the greatest inflexibility and decision, in which the dis- 
 tinguishing excellence of his character consisted. The ruling 
 passion of his heart was love. This generous and powerful 
 principle it was which taught him in imitation of that great 
 and glorious Being who sends His rain on the just and on the 
 unjust and whose tender mercies are over all His works to
 
 MR COXE FEARY. 233 
 
 discover the utmost benignity towards all liis fellow-creatures 
 around him. In reviewing his whole character, as developed by 
 his uniform conduct it is obvious that he was one of those 
 rare specimens of human nature which approach as near to 
 a state of moral perfection as it is possible for man to attain, 
 in the present imperfect state. The last two or three years 
 of the life of this good man were embittered by a series of 
 bodily affliction and distress, but the happy moment at length 
 arrived which terminated all his troubles and introduced his 
 happy spirit into the regions of immortal life and joy."
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE BLUNTISHAM CHURCH BOOK. 
 
 WE confine these to the Pastorate of Mr Coxe Feary. 
 Elizabeth Feary of Bluntisham, mantua maker, and 
 the sister of C. Feary, the pastor of the church, was 
 admitted on a profession of faith in Christ Jesus, on the 
 16th September, 1787, was baptized on the 13th May, 
 1792. After a life of usefulness, as a Christian and a 
 member of the church, she died much lamented by her 
 friends and the poor of the church and congregation on 
 the 2nd October, 1807. She was married to Mr Asplan, 
 one of the deacons of the church. 
 
 Thomas Ratford, of Fendrayton, Cambridgeshire, Dairy- 
 man, was admitted Nov. loth, 1787. When he joined 
 the church he gave the following account, viz. : He was 
 induced by a neighbour to come to Bluntisham as a 
 matter of curiosity to hear a boy preach : on entering the 
 barn he found his attention arrested by the novelty of 
 the scene, and his mind was very much impressed with 
 the hymn, which Mr Asplan was reading. It was that 
 hymn 'Broad is the road that leads to death, and thousands 
 walk together there, while wisdom shows a narrower path, 
 with here and there a traveller,' etc. This produced such 
 severe reflections upon his past sinful and wicked conduct, 
 as to fling him into inexpressible horror, and distress of
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE BLUNTISHAM CHURCH BOOK. 235 
 
 mind, he looked upon himself as a monster of wickedness, 
 neither fit to live nor die ; thus burdened with guilt, and 
 tormented with the fear of Hell, he was under such 
 temptation to destroy himself, that he went to a pond 
 with full purpose to put an end to a life, too miserable to 
 be sustained. But God who is rich in mercy, at the 
 moment he gave up all for lost, graciously appeared for 
 him, by delivering him from the kingdom of Satan into 
 the kingdom of God's dear Son. He died suddenly on the 
 10th Dec., 1813, aged 84 years, after making an honourable 
 profession of the gospel nearly thirty years. 
 
 1788, May 15. James Green, of Swavesey, Cambridge- 
 shire, Shoemaker, admitted. 
 
 1788, May 15. Chas. Cole, of Swavesey, Cambridge- 
 shire, Farmer, was admitted on a profession of faith. 
 
 1788, May 18. Mary Finch, the Wife of Edward 
 Finch of Houghton, Labourer, admitted. 
 
 1788, June 15. James Ingle, of Over, Camb., Farmer, 
 admitted. 
 
 1788, Elizabeth Cole, the Widow of Wm. Cole, of Blun- 
 tisham, Schoolmaster, admitted. 
 
 1788, Elizabeth Royston, the Widow of Mr Royston, 
 of Woodhurst, Farmer, admitted: she was called by divine 
 grace under the ministry of Mr Venn of Yelling. 
 
 1789, May 4. Ann Shepperson, the Wife of Wm. 
 Shepperson, of Ramsey, Farmer, admitted : after an honour- 
 able profession of the gospel, she died Dec. 12th, 1802, full 
 of divine consolation in the Lord. 
 
 1790, Dec. 24. Hannah, the Wife of Henry Kent, of 
 the Parish of Earith, Gentleman, admitted. She was a 
 woman remarkable for her good sense, amiable dis- 
 position, benevolence of heart, and zeal for the cause of 
 God.
 
 236 SELECTIOXS FROM THE BLUXTISHAM CHURCH BOOK. 
 
 1790, Dec. 24. Elizabeth, the Wife of John Bell, of 
 Earith, Fowler, admitted. 
 
 1791, June 9. Ann Christmas, the Wife of J. Christ- 
 mas, admitted. Died Nov. 1804. 
 
 1791, Dec. 1. John Nunn, of the parish of Over, 
 Camb. Farmer, admitted, after giving a most pleasing and 
 edifying account of the Lord's gracious dealings with him, 
 and of the reasons of his withdrawing himself from the 
 church of Christ at Willingham, where he formerly stood 
 a member. He died Feb. 1793. 
 
 1792, April 26. William Gregory, Schoolmaster, of 
 Bluntisham, admitted. 
 
 1793, July. Susanah Willson, Wife of Thomas Willson, 
 of Witton, admitted. 
 
 1796, Feb. 21. Stephen Feary, of Sutton Fen, Isle 
 of Ely, Farmer, the only Brother of Coxe Feary, admitted. 
 
 1796, May 28. John Ayers, of Earith Bridge, Willing- 
 ham, Camb., Fisherman, admitted, he was a most ex- 
 cellent Christian and entered into rest May 28th, 1807. 
 
 1796, Dec. 5. Noble Robinson, of St Ives, admitted., 
 after relating a pleasing and interesting account of the 
 Lord's gracious dealings with him. 
 
 1799, Jan. 16. Thomas Ulph, of St Ives, Ironmonger, 
 admitted. 
 
 1799, Sept. Jane Feary, Wife of Coxe Feary, the 
 Pastor of the Church, admitted. 
 
 1800, Oct. 22. Ann Jackson, of Houghton, admitted. 
 1800, Nov. 28. Daniel White, a very amiable youth, 
 
 son of Thos. White, of Bluntisham, Dairyman : he was 
 apprenticed at Cambridge, and while there attended 
 Mr Simeon's church, who took great notice of him. His 
 friend Coxe Feary procured him a situation suited to his 
 inclinations, as Student in the Bristol Academy, where he
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE BLUNTISHAM CHURCH BOOK. 237 
 
 entered on his studies Jan. 8, 1801, under the patronage 
 of the Bristol fund. He was baptized June 3, 1801, and 
 preached at Bluntisham the same day for the first time ; 
 after continuing four years at Bristol, he was invited to 
 a Baptist church, at Cirencester, Gloucestershire. 
 
 1801, Feb. 18. Jonathan Ilett, formerly of Somer- 
 sham, Farmer. He died full of hope, April 8, 1805. His 
 funeral sermon from Deut. xxxii. 9 and 10. 
 
 1802, Dec. 1. Mary Ilett, Wife of Mr J. Ilett, Farmer, 
 in Somersham Fen, died Dec. 1814. 
 
 1803, July 31. Edward Camps, of Wilburton. Gentle- 
 man, admitted on giving a very pleasing and interesting 
 account of the Lord's gracious dealings with him. 
 
 1803, Aug. 28. William Camps, of Wilburton, Camb. 
 Gentleman, admitted. He with his Brother, Mr Edward 
 Camps, fitted up a place for public worship upon their own 
 premises, a congregation having been gathered, they chose 
 Mr Langford, a schoolmaster in the village to be their 
 Pastor. The two brothers applied for their dismissal on 
 this account, Dec. 1808. 
 
 1803, Dec. 20. Ann Tebbutt, Wife of William Tebbutt, 
 gentleman, admitted. 
 
 1804, Jan. 18. William Tebbutt, Bluntisham, gentle- 
 man, admitted. He went to Cambridge to bring his 
 youngest son from school ; leading the horse to the water, 
 the animal rose up and came down with his forefeet upon 
 his leg, which brought on a violent fever, of which he 
 died, in the course of a few weeks, on the llth Jan., 1815. 
 The following account was found among his papers after 
 his death and contains the substance of what he delivered 
 to the church when he was admitted. " My first im- 
 pressions of a religious nature were in reading Hervey's 
 Meditations, a book which I purchased about fourteen
 
 238 SELECTIONS FROM THE BLUNTISHAM CHURCH BOOK. 
 
 years ago, and such were my impressions at the time that 
 it became a matter of serious enquiry with me What 
 must I do to be saved ? I thought the preachers I had 
 been in the habit of hearing were men that bore no 
 resemblance to the author of that book. From this view 
 of things I was resolved to go somewhere else, and in taking 
 a view of the neighbourhood where I lived Dr Haweis 
 was presented to my mind, accordingly I went ; but the 
 humbling doctrines of the gospel which he so eminently 
 set forth were at first not very palatable to me who 
 accounted myself pretty moral, who had escaped the gross 
 vices of the age ; but by constantly attending, my views 
 on the subject altered, and I trust I can say I felt my 
 need as well as my interest in the Saviour of mankind. 
 In going constantly there I formed an acquaintance with 
 several religious characters from whom I received no 
 small advantages, and the loss of whom I regretted at 
 leaving that country. I remember once in particular 
 being invited to spend a sabbath evening where the con- 
 versation turned upon religious subjects and prayer, and 
 where we did not break up until near midnight ; the con- 
 versation made a lasting impression on my mind, which 
 convinced me of the propriety of our strengthening and 
 confirming one another in our most holy faith ; thus I 
 continued to go very comfortably until Providence bv 
 a variety of circumstances fixed my situation here. On 
 coming to Bluntisham, not having an opportunity of hear- 
 ing the gospel in the church, such were my prejudices, 
 that I had no wish to hear it anywhere else. Conse- 
 quently not attending to the means, my zeal for divine 
 things gradually declined and wore away when it pleased 
 God to remove my Uncle by death, and my Partner in 
 life seemed to give a decided preference to worship in this
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE BLUXTISHAM CHURCH BOOK. 239 
 
 place (i.e. the Nonconformist meeting-house), which at 
 first was not very agreeable to me, bat finding it to be 
 the bent of her mind it induced me to unite with her 
 rather than be separated. Accordingly I began to come 
 now and then, until at length I came altogether, but 
 still I was full of doubts and fears, lest I should be wrong 
 in dissenting from the Church of England ; but in going to 
 an ordination at St Neots, my mind was relieved from 
 that embarrassment, that, with reading works on the sub- 
 ject has confirmed me in the principles of Dissent. Thus 
 I stand this day desiring to enter into church fellowship 
 and communion with you, hoping through divine grace to 
 adorn my profession by a suitable life and conversation, so 
 long as I remain among you." 
 
 1804, June 18. Francis Paul, of St Ives, admitted. 
 
 1807, June 4. Elizabeth Watts, Wife of Wm. Watts, 
 of Bluntisham, Labourer, died Dec. 1808. 
 
 1808, Feb. 4. Mary Paul, of St Ives, admitted. In 
 a very long letter to the church she writes that it was her 
 "happiness to be brought up by religious Parents whose 
 earnest prayer and solicitude was to train us up in the 
 nurture and admonition of the Lord." She also refers to 
 the benefit she derived from the sermons of Mr Coxe 
 Feary, especially one from Deut. xxxii. 2, and by reading 
 the 18th chapter of Dr Doddridge's "Rise and Progress." 
 
 1811, May 11. Mrs Smith, of Colne, Wife of John 
 Smith, Labourer, admitted. Died Jan. 1812. 
 
 1812, Ap. 2. Wakefield Cooper, of Woodhurst, 
 Labourer, admitted. 
 
 1813, Dec. 29. William Ellis, of Colne, Labourer, 
 admitted. 
 
 1813, Dec. 29. Thomas Bid well, of Colne, Labourer, 
 admitted.
 
 240 SELECTIONS FROM THE BLUNTISHAM CHURCH BOOK. 
 
 1814, Mar. 3. Sarah Butcher, Colne, dressmaker, 
 Niece of Mr Coxc Feary, admitted. 
 
 1814, Mar. 31. Ann Pedley, Widow of Wm. Pedley, 
 of Earith, Labourer, admitted. 
 
 1814, Mar. 31. Eliz. Kignal, of Earith, admitted. 
 
 1814, June 1. Thos. Wilderspin, of Needingworth, 
 admitted. 
 
 1814, Dec. 1. Ann Ekins, Wife of George Ekins, of 
 Woodhurst, Farmer, admitted, upon giving the following 
 account of her religious experience. 
 
 " Long time have I laboured under a desire of joining 
 God's people, but have frequently been, discouraged when I 
 have heard how others have been enabled to stand up and tell 
 the time and manner of their convictions and conversion. 
 Were I to begin with my convictions it would be from a child 
 but through the follies of youth, and from being also in a situa- 
 tion unfriendly to religion these convictions were smothered until 
 through the invitation of Mr Ilett's family I was brought to 
 hear the preaching of Mr Feary, where I trust the Lord met 
 with me, though sin and Satan have often drawn me aside. 
 In these dark seasons I have been very much distressed. I 
 trust, although I cannot ascertain when and how, and by 
 what steps and advances the blessed change was wrought, yet 
 through grace, I can say, one thing I know, whereas I was once 
 blind and now I see myself a lost undone creature by nature 
 unable to extricate myself, and I would cast myself entirely 
 upon the merits of Christ's death and sufferings for redemption, 
 whose mercy is extended to the chief of sinners, or else with 
 such a heart as mine I dare not presume. Should I be per- 
 mitted to cast in my lot with the people of God, I am well 
 aware what watchfulness is required, and nothing draws me 
 back so iQuch as a fear of dishonouring the Lord, if I should be 
 left to the propensities of my own heart. ANN EKINS." 
 
 Dec. 1st, 1814.
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE BLUNTISHAM CHURCH BOOK. 241 
 
 1815, Nov. 13. Willm. Watts, of Colne, admitted. 
 He spoke for some time in a most engaging manner of 
 what the Lord had done for him, saying that his religious 
 impressions were occasioned by a dream in which he be- 
 held a most awful display of the Last Day, when Jesus 
 Christ shall judge the world in righteousness. His mind 
 was so affected by the sight, that the impression terminated 
 in a change of heart, which has been manifested by an 
 amiable and lovely deportment for more than two years. 
 
 1815, May 3. Mary Feary, Bluntisham, mantua- 
 maker, was admitted on giving a most interesting account 
 of the manner in which she was brought out of darkness 
 into the light of the gospel. 
 
 1815, May 3. Ann Giles, of Colne, mantua-maker, 
 admitted. 
 
 1817, Feb. 27. Coxe Butcher, of Colne. Nephew of 
 C. Feary, admitted. 
 
 1817, Dec. 4. William Weston, Somersham, Wheel- 
 wright, an amiable youth of about nineteen years of age. 
 He gave a most interesting account of his religious views 
 and feelings, which indicated an Israelite indeed in whom 
 is no guile. It was truly charming. 
 
 T.B. - 16
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 SOMERSHAM, COLNE AND WOODHURST. 
 
 Mr Coxe Feary in his "Memorials" writes: "1786, May 
 17th. This evening I walked to Somersham, and for the 
 first time preached there, from Ephes. ii. 1 3. The barn 
 was very full, my mind was in some degree at liberty, 
 the people very serious, and I hope the Lord was with us of 
 a truth." For some time meetings were held in the barn, 
 till, their numbers increasing, the friends there decided 
 to have a regular place of worship, and we are told by 
 Mr Audley "Mr Feary having several members and 
 friends at Somersham, two miles from Bluntisham, to 
 whom he preached lectures, they were desirous of a more 
 comfortable place than that in which they had worshipped 
 for their occasional meetings. Ground therefore was 
 purchased, and a very neat meeting-house erected, which 
 was opened in the spring of 1812. Mr Fuller, of Kettering, 
 preached an excellent sermon at Bluntisham the preceding 
 evening, and the next morning a very encouraging one 
 at Somersham, from Zech. iv. 10, 'Who hath despised 
 the day of small things ? ' The congregation was so large 
 in the afternoon, that it was thought expedient to have 
 the service in a close. Mr Ragsdell, of Thrapston, preached 
 from Matt. vi. 10, ' Thy Kingdom come.' The sermon 
 in the evening was by Mr Edmonds, of Cambridge, from 
 Psalm Ixxiv. 21, ' Arise, God, plead thine own cause.'"
 
 SOMERSHAM, COLXE AND WOODHURST. 243 
 
 It appears that the zealous Baptist minister of Need- 
 ingworth, Mr Thomas Ladson, previous to this, had fre- 
 quently visited Somersham and continued to do so till 
 his death, preaching in houses opened for him. When 
 he died, the persons who attended his services appear 
 chiefly to have joined the Bluntisham congregation under 
 Mr Feary. Mr Ladson was a High Calviuist, and is 
 reputed to have said, " A man under peace has no more 
 to do with the law than a dead man with his old shoes." 
 This was received as though intended in the debased 
 antinomian sense, and not in its original and Apostolic 
 meaning " Therefore ye are no longer under the law, but 
 under grace." 
 
 When Mr Ladson first held meetings at Somersham, 
 the resident clergyman was much annoyed, and sum- 
 moned him to appear at the Huntingdon Assizes for 
 holding a conventicle and creating a disturbance, but 
 Ladson being protected by the " Act of Toleration," which 
 had recently come into force, the petty persecution fell 
 to the ground. The Curate's action appears to have 
 strengthened Mr Ladson's cause, for shortly afterwards 
 a cottage at the bottom of Church Lane was converted 
 into a permanent meeting-house for his followers. A 
 grave-yard attached to this meeting-house is still in exis- 
 tence, being probably one of the smallest in the kingdom. 
 The "Act of Toleration" alluded to as having recently 
 come into force was that modification of the legal dis- 
 abilities under which dissenters had laboured imposed 
 by Queen Elizabeth and by the " Act of Uniformity " and 
 the "Test and Corporation Acts." This "modification" 
 became law in 1779 just ninety years after the other 
 modifications of these Elizabethan and Stuart pena 
 statutes, which modification was enacted in the reigu 
 
 162
 
 244 SOMERSHAM, COLNE AND WOODHURST. 
 
 of William and Mary, and was called " The Act of 
 Toleration." Before 1779 all Dissenting preachers and 
 teachers were required to take oaths and subscribe be- 
 fore a general or quarter session all the Articles of 
 Religion excepting the thirty-fourth and fifty-sixth, or 
 neglecting to do so, were liable to the penalties of the 
 " Act of Uniformity " and the " Conventicle " and " Five 
 Mile Acts" of Charles II. The names of all sub- 
 scribers to these Articles were required to be registered. 
 Dr Doddridge was summoned by a clergyman for non- 
 compliance with the provisions under the " Test Act " 
 respecting Dissenting Teachers, but the prosecution was 
 stopped by order of George II., who declared that he 
 would have no prosecution for conscience sake during 
 his reign. It was fortunate for Mr Ladson that he was 
 protected by the new " modification " against the perse- 
 cuting intolerance of the Curate. 
 
 The congregation at Somersham still continued a 
 branch of the Bluntisham church, but in the year 1818 
 became a separate community. Its independence came 
 about in this way. In that year Mr Coxe Feary was seized 
 with paralysis, and was so ill that he was obliged to give 
 up active work, and the church at Bluntisham had to get 
 preaching supplies, one of whom they chose for their 
 new minister. An earlier supply Mr Joseph Belsher 
 being much liked by the Somersham part of the Blun- 
 tisham congregation, they, to the number of fourteen, 
 requested their dismission, in order to form themselves 
 into a separate church of the same faith and order. With 
 this request the church at Bluntisham complied. Somers- 
 ham became consequently a separate church ; and having 
 chosen Mr Belsher for their pastor, they addressed an 
 affectionate letter to the church at Bluntisham, in which,
 
 SOMERSHAM, COLNE AND WOODHURST. 245 
 
 among other things, they say, " It would afford us pleasure, 
 and give to the world a proof of your regard, if you would 
 permit our esteemed friend, your pastor, to take a part 
 in the solemnities of our Ordination, on the 17th March, 
 1819." Mr Feary was incapable of attending, but Mr Green 
 (Mr Feary's co-pastor) went, and gave the charge to 
 Mr Belsher. 
 
 Colne was another village regularly visited by Mr Coxe 
 Feary and his friends. Meetings for prayer were held 
 week by week in some cottage offered for the purpose. 
 At one time these meetings took place regularly in the 
 cottage of James Blake, a weaver. 
 
 Comparatively recently a pretty little meeting-house 
 has been erected by the Bluntisham congregation at a 
 cost of 225. It was opened on the 15th Dec. 1869. 
 
 The first record we have of Mr Feary's visits to Wood- 
 hurst is in his "Memorials," the diary in which for a few 
 early years he made some entries. 
 
 " May 24th, 1786. This evening, expounded the 42nd 
 Psalm at Woodhurst. Found my mind comfortable in 
 speaking to the people. Many were refreshed, and made 
 to rejoice in the Lord their God." These visits to Wood- 
 hurst were frequent and regular ; the meetings were held 
 in a cottage, and were much valued by the people. We 
 learn from the oldest living member of the Bluntisham 
 Church, admitted 31st April, 1829, a pleasant account of 
 the primitive ways of the little band of earnest Bluntisham 
 folk, who so frequently walked over to Woodhurst, to hold 
 meetings there. Miss Gregory, the daughter of one of the 
 mothers of the Church, for her mother, then Miss Ann 
 Fordham, was one of the foundation members of 1786, 
 has herself been for more than half a century a nursing 
 mother of the church at Bluntisham. She has often heard
 
 246 SOMERSHAM, COLNE AND WOODHURST. 
 
 her mother describe the walks to and from Woodhurst on 
 these occasions. How, after the cottage meeting was over, 
 the little company would travel back to Bluntisham to- 
 gether; in the fine weather, as they went they would 
 sing a hymn, then kneel down by the way side, while one 
 of their number lifted his voice in prayer; then rising 
 from their knees, they journey on, "singing as they go" a 
 truly processional hymn, with the roads for their aisles, 
 the stars for their lights, and the open country for their 
 great cathedral. How sweetly the voices must have 
 sounded to the villagers they were leaving, as the strains 
 from the wayfarers became fainter waning as the dis- 
 tance increased or to the villagers they approached, 
 waxing more distinct a pleasant harbinger of their re- 
 turn. These pilgrims of the night remind us of the pil- 
 grims of the middle ages, chanting their litanies as they 
 proceeded from shrine to shrine, along the ways still bear- 
 ing the name of " The Chantry." Fancy stirs us, as we 
 walk along these consecrated ways, the air is tremulous 
 with pleasant memories, which take the place of the sweet 
 sounds hushed long ago. 
 
 " ! \ojt they die on yon rich sky, 
 They faint on hill and field and river; 
 Our echoes roll from soul to soul, 
 And grow for ever and for ever, 
 Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, 
 And answer echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying." 
 
 In the winter, when the weather was bad, the road 
 from Bluntisham to Woodhurst was execrable no gravel 
 deep ruts soft deep mire and puddles of water rendered 
 it almost impassable no fit place or time for kneeling 
 by the way side now. We must watch, as well as
 
 SOMERSHAM, COLNE AND WOODHURST. 247 
 
 pray, all our energy needed to walk circumspectly, and 
 preserve ourselves from falling into the sloughs, and avoid 
 the deep ruts, and the hollows rilled with mud. Some- 
 times the way was so bad that it seemed impassable for 
 women rthen the men would carry their wives pick- 
 a-back, and so get them over these worst places. Thus 
 the work was carried on. Worthy folk they have their 
 reward. 
 
 Sometimes Mr Feary would go to Woodhurst a three 
 miles walk in the afternoon to make calls on some of 
 the folk sick or otherwise. On these occasions he made 
 it a practice to take tea in some cottage selected for the 
 purpose, and thither the neighbours would repair, each 
 bringing some contribution to the general store ; one 
 brings a loaf of bread, another a pat of butter, someone a 
 bit of cheese, or a little tea and sugar or new milk : one 
 wonders what would happen if each had been moved to 
 bring the same thing all butter for instance but their 
 movings would be more discreet ; then the donors would 
 stay and partake of the gifts, and the conversation led by 
 the Pastor, or some veteran Christian, would feed the 
 soul, while the simple viands fed the body ; and so they 
 would go from strength to strength, hoping all of them to 
 appear before Zion when their life's race is run. Homely, 
 pleasant neighbourly ways these, very sensible and human. 
 On one occasion the careful housewife brought out a towel 
 which she spread over the minister's knee-breeches lest 
 they should get soiled by the bread and butter and tea. 
 As they brake bread together did not the Lord sit down 
 with them? Truly it was a right method of remem- 
 bering him in the sacramental supper. They, "breaking 
 bread from house to house did eat their meat with 
 gladness and singleness of heart."
 
 248 SOMERSHAM, COLNE AND WOODHURST. 
 
 A circumstance, somewhat remarkable, occurred in one 
 of Mr Feary's visits to Woodhurst, which, although he 
 left no memorial of it was related by him many years ago, 
 and is confirmed in all the material parts of it by another 
 of his friends. He went to visit a sick person. Prayer 
 was proposed, and all the persons in the house were called 
 to be present. Amongst them was a poor washer-woman. 
 When they arose from their knees they were all bathed in 
 tears. The impression made on the good woman was 
 lasting, and issued in her conversion to God. She after- 
 wards became a member of the church, and continued to 
 the end of life a consistent Christian. Mr Feary has been 
 heard to mention another instance of a person converted 
 by his prayer. It is thought to have occurred during a 
 visit to a sick person at Woodhurst, or at some other 
 place. 
 
 " Mr Feary having a considerable number of hearers 
 from the village of Woodhurst, three miles from Bluntis- 
 ham, a small place was built for their accommodation in 
 1798, and regularly vested in the hands of Trustees," Mr 
 Coxe Feary dissenting minister, being one of them. 
 " Here their beloved friend and pastor preached lec- 
 tures, sometimes on Lord's day evenings, at other times 
 on week days." The friends at Woodhurst built this 
 meeting-house themselves, and they paid for it themselves 
 (clay-bricks and thatched), and it was to be " for the use 
 of a congregation of protestant dissenters from the church 
 of England to resort to for the worship and service of God." 
 The land, twenty-two feet by fifteen, was given by " John 
 Bletsoe," for the above purpose, " of his own voluntary 
 will." The building itself was but twelve feet by ten, the 
 rest of the bit of land serving for the way of ingress and 
 egress. At one time, in order to conduct the week night
 
 SOMERSHAM, COLNE AND WOODHURST. 249 
 
 service on Thursday evenings, two farm labourers used 
 regularly to walk over from Bluntisham, there and back 
 six miles, after their day's work sometimes a hard day 
 of thrashing corn in the barn ; after conducting the prayer 
 meeting in this little meeting-house, they had their supper, 
 and walked back to their houses, to rise early the next 
 morning to their day's labour. 
 
 Mrs Ann Ekins, nee Longland, who lived at Wood- 
 hurst, was a regular attendant at Bluntisham meeting, 
 and an earnest friend of Mr Feary, she used to drive 
 with her family to Bluntisham every Sunday, and stop 
 the day to attend the services morning and afternoon, 
 passing the interval in the meeting vestry. When her 
 husband, Mr George Ekins, lay at the point of death, and 
 she was expecting to be left with six little children her 
 father, Mr Thomas Longland, of Warboys, came over to 
 see her he had good property was a farmer there, and 
 hated dissent. Said he to his daughter, " If you will for- 
 sake those ' Culemites ' I will provide for you as a lady, 
 but if not, I will cut you off without a shilling ! " She 
 stuck to her " Culemites." Her father lived to change 
 his mind, and to respect her convictions. "Culem" 
 seems to have been the name of a man at Needingworth, 
 and dissenters in the neighbourhood were called after him 
 by way of reproach. One of the six little children was 
 "John Longland," who in 1829, on 30th July, became a 
 member of the Bluntisham church and a hearty supporter 
 of all good works throughout a long life. Wakefield 
 Cooper, of Woodhurst, was a member of the Bluntisham 
 church, he regularly dispatched his children to the 
 Sunday School at Bluntisham every Sunday there was 
 no Sunday School at Woodhurst in those early times 
 and the children went regardless of weather. His daughter,
 
 250 SOMERSHAM, COLNE AND WOODHURST. 
 
 Mrs Elsom, is still living, and at the age of eighty-two, 
 recalls the time seventy years ago, when she was one of 
 these children her teachers were, Miss Susan Gregory 
 and Miss Jane Feary, the daughter of the Pastor who 
 diedjust before her father. Joseph Cooper was another of 
 these children. John Barratt, and Hawkins, more than 
 seventy years ago, were regular attendants at the Bluntis- 
 ham Sunday School. Joseph Cooper who yet lives to 
 tell us, that he had a spelling-book given him at the 
 school, and that his teacher was " Mitch el Harrison 1 ," of 
 Earith. 
 
 1 This good man died some years ago in the United States, leaving 
 in his will a legacy to the Bluntisham church in token of his loving 
 memory.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE CONGREGATION IN THE 
 EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 THE red brick walls and gables, the large square 
 windows, with small leaden framed panes of glass, forming 
 the outside the heavy pillared galleries, the lofty pulpit, 
 and high backed pews, which distinguished the inside of 
 the old meeting-house at Bluntisham, were very dear to 
 the old folk of Mr Coxe Feary's time in the last century. 
 It was their spiritual home, and with some, their spiritual 
 birth-place. In it they had met the Lord Jesus. Their 
 souls were fed on the Heavenly manna and refreshed from 
 the presence of the Lord. Here from the lips of their 
 beloved Pastor, they listened to the words which fell from 
 other lips nearly seventeen centuries ago, which had been 
 spirit and life to generation after generation. How often, 
 when the Sabbath morning came round, did the words of 
 the Psalmist burst from their hearts " I was glad when 
 they said unto me, ' Let us go into the house of the Lord ' ; 
 Our feet shall stand within thy gates." And the refrain, 
 " They shall prosper that love thee." They had often 
 "walked to the house of God in company" and "taken 
 sweet counsel together." Let us follow the good folk 
 of three generations ago, and repair also to the place 
 " whither the tribes go up." So we fall in with the crowd
 
 252 THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE CONGREGATION 
 
 of worshippers, as they converge on the meeting-house, by 
 the different roads and paths. The numbers of vehicles 
 of all sorts, and people on horse-back, and afoot, is aston- 
 ishing, reminding one of a fair. Some come on pillions, 
 from long distances, and often through miry places nine 
 miles, twelve, fifteen, and one lady rides on horse-back 
 from Parson Drove, a distance of twenty-five miles, thus 
 travelling fifty miles in the day. Out of Sutton Fen, in 
 bad weather, three Miss Fearys, nieces of the minister, 
 ride, each on her horse how else could they pass along 
 the miry black fen roads ? Mrs George Ekins drives in 
 with her family from Woodhurst all weathers, although 
 near upsetting in crossing the brook, and like to stick in 
 some slough, on the gravelless cross-road. Out of Somers- 
 ham Fen, comes Mr John Ilett and his family. Miss 
 Elizabeth Vail's grandfather walks every Sunday from 
 Chatteris, a distance of nine miles, and then there is the 
 return journey, in all eighteen miles. Gigs, chaises, carts 
 with springs and without, single horses, and pillions, but 
 mostly pedestrians, collect from Colne, Somersham, Pidley, 
 Woodhursfc, Earith, Needingworth, St Ives, Over, Holy- 
 well, Fen Drayton, Fen Stanton, Ramsey, Chatteris, March, 
 Wistow, Upwood, Sutton Fen, Somersham Fen, Witton, 
 Houghton, Godmanchester, Abbot's Ripton, Swavesey, 
 Manea Fen, Doddington, Warboys, Wilburton, and even 
 from Parson Drove. And so from all parts they gather, 
 and put up their horses at the village inns, or at some 
 friendly farm buildings. In the winter, the red cloaks of 
 the women brighten and warm the scene, and their black 
 coal-scuttle bonnets aid the picturesque, they seem made 
 to catch the wind wonderful it is in stormy weather how 
 bonnet and head keep together, but their connection is 
 secured by a long dark wooden skewer. Should the hymn
 
 IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTUKY. 253 
 
 book have been taken home, it returns swathed in a 
 pocket-handkerchief and a sprig of " lad's love " with it ; 
 and doubtless somewhere, where the women are seated, 
 there are rows of pattens. There are the men the 
 labourers in their best smocks, with plaited breast-plates, 
 in their knee-breeches and gaiters, and beaver hats 
 perhaps some veteran still donning the old fashioned 
 three-cornered hat. These beavers are not removed until 
 the wearers have secured their sittings, and have leisure 
 to attend to such trifling matters of detail, and then they 
 are hung up on the wooden pegs that form long rows on 
 the walls of the meeting-house below and in the galleries. 
 In the summer, the .women are in their short linseys, 
 high waisted gowns, with balloon-like sleeves, and the 
 men in grey worsted stockings and low shoes with buckles. 
 Within the meeting, the men file off to one side and the 
 women to the other. The high straight-backed pews are 
 fast filling and the galleries are getting crowded most of 
 all in the afternoon. To short people, the only indication 
 of the presence of some of the shorter members of the 
 assembly, is the time-honoured beaver, hanging on the 
 peg above his seat. Two lines from a hymn of Dr Watts's 
 or Rippon's selection are given out at a time, and then 
 sung by the congregation sitting, then two more lines, and 
 so on ; for the majority of the humbler worshippers are 
 unable to read. There are some good voices, treble and 
 bass, and they take the lead in the fugue tunes, which are 
 often so intricate in their windings, that folk are apt to 
 lose their way. Then comes the long prayer, when all 
 rise and, turning round, stand to worship the position 
 adopted in the most ancient services. During the sermon 
 of about an hour in length, after some of the heads and 
 divisions have been set forth, strenuous exertions are
 
 254 THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE CONGREGATION. 
 
 made by unfortunate persons overtaken by drowsiness, 
 \vho, fearing sleep, ward off such an impropriety and evi- 
 dent loss, by standing upright. Several deaf people sit 
 on the pulpit stairs to get the better of deafness the 
 minister's mother being one of them, and another the 
 equestrian lady in her habit from Parson Drove. The 
 table pew is the regular resort of the veterans of the 
 congregation relicts of the generation fast passing away. 
 The services probably begin at half-past ten in the morn- 
 ing, and half-past one in the afternoon. In the interim, 
 the wayfaring part of the congregation, who do not fre- 
 quent the village inn or the houses of friends, repair to 
 the vestry, where in winter there is a fire. Hither come 
 some good folk, and sell to the needy food penny loaves 
 of bread, pats of butter, and bits of cheese, and frequently 
 a boiling kettle and tea provide a refreshing cup and so 
 strength is renewed for the service in the "afterparts of 
 the day," when they flock again into the meeting-house. 
 When an illumination is necessary, sundry "dips" are 
 lighted about the place and at long intervals it is 
 always a dangerous process they are snuffed by fingers 
 or snuffers, and a light is sometimes prematurely quenched. 
 And so our great-grand-parents made holyday, and kept 
 alive and vigorous their higher life, at least this was one 
 valued means of doing so, and all chief purposes were 
 answered and highest needs met. Wherein are our new 
 " churches " and newer fashions, with their show and debt, 
 better than these quiet old world ways ? Will not their 
 zeal and piety compare with our own ?
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 
 
 WICLIF and his followers were the precursors of the 
 Puritans of the sixteenth century. They were imbued 
 with the same principles, which under different circum- 
 stances the outcome of the experience of two centuries 
 developed into the opinions of the Puritans of the Tudors' 
 and Stuarts' reigns. Wiclif gave the scriptures to the 
 people in their own tongue ; inviting thereby their indi- 
 vidual judgment in matters of religion. He would depend 
 less upon the Priests wished to give the sacramental cup 
 to the laity. He desired simplicity and purity in the 
 doctrines and forms and teachings of the church, and 
 laboured for a greater degree of independence for the laity 
 in respect of religion. His ideas on these subjects were 
 transmitted from him and his immediate followers through 
 the Lollards, who were the living links of connection be- 
 tween Wiclif and the Puritans. 
 
 The Puritans strove for purity of ritual, of morals and 
 of religion within the Established Church ; they desired 
 to have simplicity in the forms of worship, and in 
 doctrine ; and acknowledged the Scriptures as the sole 
 authority for defining what these should be. There were 
 others, who, holding these views and so far they were 
 Puritans went further. They held congregational prin-
 
 256 THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 
 
 ciples would worship apart from the Established Church 
 and were therefore called Separatists. Some of these 
 were Ana-baptists, and were the ancestors of the Baptist 
 Congregationalists of the present day ; some were Bedo- 
 baptists, and were called by the names of their leaders, 
 as Brownists, Barrowists, etc., they were the ancestors of 
 the Independent Congregationalists of our own time. 
 Speaking generally, these Separatists held that religion 
 should be neither patronised nor controlled by the State, 
 but be let alone ; they were the forerunners of our present 
 Liberationists. The Brownists in Queen Elizabeth's reign 
 stated their ideas on this matter with great clearness at a 
 discussion which one of their number Francis Johnson 
 held with a Puritan minister of Kent, in which the former 
 says, on the subject of Disendowment, " The Queen may 
 take to her own uses the Lordships and possessions of the 
 Prelates and other clergy, which happy work, by what 
 princes soever it is done, as certainly it will come to pass, 
 for the Lord of Hosts hath spoken of it, it will greatly 
 redound to the glory of God, the honour of themselves, 
 the free passage of the gospel, the peace of the Church, 
 and the benefit of the whole Commonwealth." He also 
 proposes that the endowments of the Church of England 
 should be given "for schools, universities, the upholding of 
 hospitals, almshouses, and the like ; for help of poor 
 widows, and fatherless, and strangers, for the impotent 
 sick and helpless of all sorts ; for making and repairing of 
 bridges and highways." He adds, " The Brownists would 
 have these idolatrous livings returned to the Common- 
 wealth from which they were taken. But our forward 
 (puritan) ministers that wish the Prelates down and their 
 livings taken from them would gladly have them for their 
 own use. As you (Henry Jacob) have pleaded for them."
 
 THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 257 
 
 In Charles the First's reign the " Brownists " petitioned 
 for a full and impartial toleration for the great benefit of 
 freedom of conscience. They asked for toleration of all 
 "Brownists," "Puritans," " Socinians," "Arminians," "Papists," 
 etc. 
 
 " We beseech you, give your consent, agree, vote for it 
 that every man may have freedom of conscience. LET 
 THEM ALONE. We desire nothing but the truth by this 
 freedom and connivancy. Truth will at last appear ; that 
 which is of men will be dissolved, that which is of God 
 will continue and remain for ever ! Neither will they be 
 contented with any thing that shall be established by Act 
 of Parliament, were it never so good. Only freedom will 
 in time cause the truth to shine upon them." 
 
 "The matter therefore, of so great importance and 
 consequence, we submit, leaving to your honours' profound 
 and deep judgments, humbly requesting and imploring, 
 again and again, that, for the quiet of the State, for the 
 comfort of the subject, and for the love of truth, you cause 
 and proclaim a toleration, that for religion none shall be 
 persecuted, but every one freely enjoy his own conscience..." 
 Unfortunately these just and enlightened views found no 
 favour. The Convocation of 1640 decreed that "no person 
 shall import or print any of the books of the Brownists, 
 Separatists and other Sectaries, on pain of excommunica- 
 tion, and of being further punished in the Star Chamber." 
 The Brownists were no insignificant sect ; as early as 
 1580 Sir Walter Raleigh spoke of them as existing by 
 "thousands." In 1583 Brownists and Anabaptists are 
 freely classed together, a natural classification, since their 
 ideas on internal Church polity were, and are, identical, 
 and both are suitably designated Congregationalists. The 
 Congregationalists were joined by many Independents 
 T. B. 17
 
 258 THE CONGREGATIOXALISTS. 
 
 and Baptists during the reign of Charles I. and the 
 Commonwealth. The former did not generally disapprove 
 of the connection of religion with the state, their stand 
 was against prelacy. 
 
 At the ejectment of 1662 large numbers of the non- 
 conforming ministers, and their flocks who sympathised 
 with them, swelled the ranks of the Congregationalists, 
 chiefly of that branch of them known since the time of 
 Charles I. as Independents. They held in theory, the 
 propriety of a state church, but w r ould have it differently 
 regulated. The church at Bluntisham was founded by 
 Bedo-baptists, or Independents. Mr Feary subsequently 
 changed his views on the subject, and practised "believers'" 
 baptism, most of the members following his example ; but 
 it occasioned no difficulty and no change in any other 
 respect, each member simply carried out his own con- 
 viction, and throughout the century that has intervened 
 no difficulty has arisen on this question. There are many 
 other churches in our land adopting the same practice, in 
 which Congregationalists, using one or the other, or neither 
 form, work harmoniously together.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 MR SAMUEL GREEN. 
 
 THE following memoir appeared in The Baptist Maga- 
 zine, August, 1840: 
 
 Memoir of the late Rev. Samuel Green, by his Son, the 
 Rev. S. Green, of Walworth. 
 
 "'The memory of the just is blessed,' and when a 
 righteous man whom God has rendered useful is taken 
 out of the world, it behoves survivors to preserve a record 
 which may have the effect of inducing others to tread in 
 his steps so far as he trod in the footsteps of Christ, and 
 also to magnify the grace of God in him. On this ac- 
 count, as well as because the church has a right to every- 
 thing belonging to her ministers that may be beneficial, 
 the following memorial is presented of my late honoured 
 father. His own memoranda furnish the materials. 
 
 " His origin was lowly, little likely to send forth a 
 minister of talent and usefulness. Nuneaton in Warwick- 
 shire was the place of his birth, a town which in moral 
 and spiritual cultivation is still far behind many other 
 parts of this country. Much, however, of improvement in 
 these particulars has been mercifully achieved there since 
 1770, the year in which my father was born. His pa- 
 rents were poor but industrious, and for the station they 
 
 172
 
 260 MR SAMUEL GREEN. 
 
 occupied highly esteemed, but they were without the fear 
 of God. As their family was large, every child as early 
 as possible was placed at the wheel or the loom. A free- 
 school in the town furnished to my father, up to his 
 eighth year, the rudiments of learning; and subse- 
 quently an evening school somewhat augmented his 
 stock of knowledge. His mind was inquisitive, his ap- 
 plication close, and to use his own words, 'I soon be- 
 came more learned than any of my father's children.' 
 Between the ages of eight and ten years he was led to 
 entertain great apprehensions as to his condition before 
 God. How this subject was presented to his mind does 
 not appear. His parents his mother especially regular 
 in the discharge of the external duties of religion, were 
 accustomed frequently to commend to his attention the 
 word of God ; so that it would not be difficult to account 
 for this concern. The Spirit of God, even at this early 
 age, was preparing him by such means as were within his 
 reach for the engagements of future life. His distress 
 was exceedingly great ; he describes himself as deploring 
 his immorality, or wishing he had many years before then 
 been in hell, vainly imagining that he would have become 
 familiar with his pain. What might not have been the 
 blessed advantage to himself, and probably to others, had 
 he then been favoured with such means of instruction as 
 might have fully set before him the way of salvation ! 
 Children of the disciples of the Redeemer cannot too 
 highly prize the blessing of such parentage. These im- 
 pressions, however, soon wore away, and my father after- 
 wards became a kind of ringleader among boys of his 
 own age, and even of more advanced years. He describes 
 himself as lost to all fear and shame, as abandoned to 
 every vice which his age and circumstances would allow.
 
 MR SAMUEL GREEN. 261 
 
 His conduct was the grief of his parents, especially of his 
 mother, whose heart he conceived the Lord was now 
 opening. They fancied he would commit some crime, 
 at once ruining himself and involving them in pain and 
 disgrace. He had joined a benefit club whose members 
 aided each other in sickness; but, as is unhappily the 
 case with many such societies, their time and money 
 were too often spent in rioting and drunkenness. One 
 of their number had engaged in a pugilistic contest which 
 ended fatally; and while with the rest of the club, my 
 father stood at the grave of his fallen companion, and 
 listened to the reading of the office for the burial of the 
 dead, his mind was powerfully impressed with the awful- 
 ness of the delusion cherished by expressing over such a 
 man the hope that he rested in Christ, and would rise to 
 everlasting life. ' My serious thoughts at this time,' he 
 says, ' returned, yet they were not effectual to change my 
 heart.' Some check was, nevertheless, laid upon his career. 
 About that time the preaching of a Mr Hemmington in 
 one of the village churches near Nuneaton was beginning 
 to excite considerable attention. Many of the people 
 flocked to hear him. A simple, fervid, evangelical minis- 
 tration was a new thing in those days. The memory of 
 the oldest inhabitant could furnish nothing parallel, and 
 though the village was at six miles' distance, many, and 
 among them some of the acquaintances and companions 
 of my father, went every Lord's day to hear him. ' There 
 was no small stir about that way.' Some said one thing 
 and some another ; the great number of the townspeople 
 thought, however, that a strange whim was obtaining 
 possession of the people, to take them so far to listen 
 to the ravings of a man whom they considered at best but 
 a harmless fanatic.
 
 262 MR SAMUEL GREEN. 
 
 " Meri vale church was crowded. 'Among the persons 
 who flocked thither,' says my father, 'was a young man 
 with whom I had been intimately acquainted. I could 
 not tell what was now come to him ; he never made his 
 appearance among his companions, and if at any time he 
 was seen in the street, it seemed as if he wished to get 
 out of it as soon as possible. I thought much about him, 
 and as I deemed myself wiser than he, I fancied if I went 
 once to the church to hear this man, I should be able to 
 show my friend his mistakes. With this view I ventured 
 to go. Mr Hemmington was not that day in his pulpit. 
 A Mr Valentine, a clergyman like-minded, addressed the 
 congregation with great earnestness on the errors into 
 which ungodly men fall as to religion 'There need not 
 be, they say, so much ado about it ; God is merciful,' with 
 other things of the same kind. ' But,' added he, ' when 
 they come to die, ask them whether they think religion 
 important whether there can be too much concern for 
 the soul's salvation whether faith in Christ be an un- 
 necessary thing; they will then hold a different language.' 
 
 " The appeal seemed directed to me. I was exactly 
 the individual whose language had been uttered, whose 
 thoughts had been brought out. I cannot describe my 
 feelings ; but though it is now twenty-eight years since, 
 the scene is fresh in my remembrance. I imagine I .see 
 the man of God in the pulpit; the people crowding in 
 every direction, in the pews and aisles of the church; the 
 gothic arches, the carvings, the old-fashioned seats, the 
 walls green with mould and damp; nay, I seem as if now 
 seated in the old gallery, and beginning with the utmost 
 consternation to say to myself, ' What have I been doing 
 all my life ? I am mistaken; I am utterly wrong; these 
 people are right; I must become a new man.' It seemed
 
 MR SAMUEL GREEX. 263 
 
 then as if I had been totally blind, and that now my eyes 
 were opened. I can never forget those moments. What 
 surprise I felt! How it was or from whence it came. I 
 knew not, but when the service was ended I came out of 
 church full of astonishment, and instead of trying to con- 
 vince my companion of his delusion, I viewed those who 
 understood the things I had heard as the happiest people 
 in the world. Persons who walked so far to hear the 
 word of God were likely in returning to seek to benefit 
 each other by mutual conversation; and it is pleasing to 
 discover from my father's journal, that many of them met 
 in the evening of the Lord's day at the house of one of 
 their number for united supplication and for reading the 
 Scriptures. He went to their meeting the very evening 
 after his mind had received the impressions already 
 mentioned. All were astonished; some hoped for the 
 best; some were thankful; but when after a short time he 
 began to tell how great things the Lord had done for him, 
 he was met by cold suspicion and doubt. ' So notorious a 
 wretch as I to be converted was to them an unlikely 
 thing; they could scarcely believe it; as yet they knew 
 but little of God's ways, and did not understand the 
 language of Paul, "where sin abounded grace did much 
 more abound." ' On this part of his history my father 
 remarks with great force, 'Wisdom is necessary in dealing 
 with newly-awakened persons; but what good might not 
 be expected if Christians would but imitate the tenderness, 
 the gentleness, and affection of Christ, who feeds his flock 
 like a shepherd, gathers the lambs in his arms, and carries 
 them in his bosom. How great the unreasonableness, how 
 irreparable the injury, of old Christians forgetting the 
 weakness of childhood.' The impressions thus made led 
 him as a guilty sinner to seek pardon through the blood of
 
 264 MR SAMUEL GREEN. 
 
 atonement; the obtaining of which, while it set him free, 
 and created a joy unspeakable and glorious, induced the 
 conviction which never forsook him that to the free grace 
 of God alone he was indebted for his recovery from eternal 
 wretchedness. 'I was sunk,' he says, 'to the lowest 
 depths of degradation and misery a monster of iniquity 
 a very devil; yet God had mercy on me; ten thousand 
 thanks to his holy name.' The exclusive reign of divine 
 grace in the salvation of a sinner was not with him so 
 much an opinion as a feeling; it was one of the things 
 embraced by his consciousness, not simply assented to by 
 his judgment. And here I may take leave to say, though 
 my father through his whole life utterly detested the idea 
 of so limiting the mercy of God as not to invite all freely 
 to partake of it, and of supposing that any obstacle pre- 
 vents man's obeying the invitation but the state of his 
 heart, he ever maintained those doctrines which are 
 usually denominated Calvinistic. The free grace of God 
 in conversation was his frequent theme. Early in life he 
 married. His wife was young ; her mind had been graci- 
 ously enlightened; and her deep piety, her affectionate 
 disposition and sound sense admirably adapted her for a 
 companion to him. He soon fell, however, into great pecu- 
 niary straits and difficulties, from which there seemed no 
 way of escape but one, against which every feeling of his 
 heart rose in strong opposition. After struggling against 
 these difficulties for some time ineffectually, a debt of 
 about four pounds induced him to enlist as a common 
 soldier into the County Militia. This body at that time 
 assembled for a month in each year, to be trained to the 
 military art; they were not likely, as he thought, to be 
 called away from home. Soon afterwards, however, the 
 French war assumed such an aspect as to put in requisition
 
 MR SAMUEL GREEN. 2G5 
 
 all the forces Government could command, and my father 
 was ordered to join his regiment, .to occupy different 
 parts of the coast as occasion might require. With a 
 heavy heart he left home; his necessary companionship 
 was anything but favourable to the growth of devout and 
 religious feeling; yet he says, 'I feared and prayed, and 
 became diligent in the use of whatever means of grace I 
 could command, seeking from God that support and direc- 
 tion which were so needful at this trying season. The 
 more my companions ridiculed my religion and persecuted 
 me, the more I looked to the Lord; and now I cannot but 
 thankfully adore the mercy and the power which preserved 
 me from evil.' 
 
 "In the company in which my father was, there was 
 another man, Edward Burton, ' to whose memory justice/ 
 he says 'is much in arrears.' He was a good man, and 
 full of the Holy Ghost ; and perhaps by some he will 
 be remembered as afterwards the humble pious pastor 
 of a small congregation at South-hill, Bedfordshire. Mr 
 Burton was a preacher during his soldier's life. My 
 father's mind had been greatly exercised on the subject 
 of preaching, previously to his assuming the red coat ; the 
 two men, therefore, one a sergeant, and other a corporal, 
 became exceedingly intimate. Sergeant B., the elder, 
 watched over his friend with a fatherly care, and occasion- 
 ally admonished him with a brother's kindness. 
 
 " At Liverpool, my father, who had mostly attended 
 among Baptists since his soldier's life had commenced, 
 was about to join the church under the late Samuel 
 Medley, from whom he received much kind and Christian 
 attention ; but at that juncture his company was ordered 
 to a considerable distance, so that he was not privileged 
 to put on Christ by a public profession till some time
 
 266 MR SAMUEL GREEX. 
 
 afterwards, while encamped near Folkestone, in Kent. In 
 the regiment there were several pious soldiers, accustomed 
 to meet for worship under the guidance of Sergeant 
 Burton ; his absence on Lord's day led to my father's 
 being solicited to take his place ; and the church at 
 Folkestone hearing of this circumstance, requested him to 
 give them an opportunity of judging what were his gifts 
 for the ministry. A point of order seems to have pre- 
 vented their calling him to the work he longed for ; still 
 they agreed that ' he might preach when opportunity 
 offered and necessity required.' His connexion with Folke- 
 stone was but short. The regiment to which he belonged 
 was ordered to Colchester ; but the want of full accord- 
 ance between his views and those of the estimable minister 
 who then laboured there, stood in the way of his re- 
 ceiving much encouragement. His mind was severely 
 tried, and often did he pray that his ardent desires for 
 the ministry might be taken away, as he had but little 
 hope of their being gratified, ' Once,' he says, ' I came 
 to the resolution to give up my profession of religion ; 
 but as this purpose was being settled, it suddenly occurred 
 to me, while I was walking in the barrack-yard, that if I 
 did so I must renounce the house of God, and no more 
 associate with his saints; on which the snare was mercifully 
 broken, and I escaped.' At length the regiment was 
 ordered to Norwich. Much kindness on the part of the 
 friends at Colchester was shown at parting, and often 
 in his later life have I heard my father refer to his 
 stay there, as endeared by a thousand grateful remem- 
 brances. Good was done in the church, partly through 
 the instrumentality of the soldier-Christians; and both 
 Baptists and Independents vied with one another in their 
 expressions of affectionate solicitude for their welfare.
 
 MR SAMUEL GREEN. 267 
 
 My father says, 'There was not a happier man in all 
 the regiment than myself; for, notwithstanding my little 
 difficulties, the Lord was with me and strengthened my 
 persuasion that he would in due time accomplish the 
 great desire of my soul, and enable me to preach to 
 sinners the glad tidings of salvation. When we came 
 within about a mile of Norwich, to which we were all 
 entire strangers, I was thinking about preaching.' Soon 
 after their arrival it was noised abroad, that there was 
 a preaching sergeant among the soldiers, and he was 
 speedily sought for to occupy the many pulpits of the 
 city and neighbourhood. The corporal was not forgotten ; 
 and my father says, 'in a little time I was requested 
 to preach in the vestry of the late Mark Wilks' meeting, 
 on a Lord's-day evening. This I did, and was desired 
 to repeat the exercise, but without any further prospect.' 
 At East Dereham, the minister, Mr R Denham, was 
 declining in health ; Sergeant Burton was sought to supply 
 his place ; but when on one occasion he was unable to 
 go, Mr Wilks who was looking out for a supply, met my 
 father in the street. Said he, ' Corporal Green, you must 
 go and preach at Dereham.' My father resisted this un- 
 expected proposal ; but Mr W. was not a man to be 
 refused, so that he felt constrained to apply for leave 
 of absence, and was soon on the road to East Dereham, 
 where he preached. He afterwards preached at Diss for 
 the people under the pastoral care of Mr Charles Farmery. 
 Mr Denham soon afterwards died. Mr Farmery was 
 looked to as the adviser of the people in their affliction, 
 and though they could only raise a salary of 20 per 
 annum, it \vas deemed right by the church to request my 
 father to take the oversight of them in the Lord. He 
 was a soldier, however, and procuring his discharge was a
 
 268 MR SAMUEL GREEN. 
 
 difficult affair. He could not raise the necessary sum ; 
 three or four pounds was all the Dereham people could 
 venture to promise. My father belonged to a class of 
 men greatly valued by the officers; it was not likely 
 they would give him up ; but he determined on making 
 the trial. His captain readily promised he would do all 
 he could with the Colonel to further my father's wishes. 
 The next day my father was ordered to attend on the 
 Colonel, who, after several enquiries, said, ' Yes, corporal, 
 you shall have your discharge for 20.' My father bowed 
 and hastened to his friend Farmery; the money was 
 borrowed and the next day his discharge was procured. 
 During his connection with the army, my father had 
 obtained many furloughs, and walked many weary miles, 
 to visit his beloved wife and family; but he was now 
 delighted with the prospect of once more living with 
 them, and of prosecuting the work dearest to his heart. 
 He removed with them to East Dereham, but soon after- 
 wards his wife died leaving him with three small children, 
 all this added to the duties, of the pastorate greatly op- 
 pressed him. But God was with him, and his usefulness 
 began to appear. Soon afterwards he married a daughter 
 of a farmer in Norfolk ; and by the help of a school 
 which for a few years was greatly prosperous, he was 
 enabled to live. 
 
 " His ministry at Dereham continued for twenty-two 
 years, during which the church and congregation steadily 
 increased. The meeting-house was enlarged in 1815, and 
 my father having given up his school labours, visited 
 many of the villages around on Sunday evenings. In 
 three of them small meeting-houses were fitted up. With 
 the Independents my father was always on terms of kindly 
 intercourse. Though a Baptist from conviction, he was
 
 MR SAMUEL GREEN. 209 
 
 neither bigoted nor narrow. He loved, and could maintain 
 fellowship with all who loved Christ." 
 
 At the close of 1818 Mr Green left Dereham and be- 
 came co-pastor with Mr Coxe Feary at Bluntisham, where 
 he laboured for eleven years. In the summer of 1829, 
 while on a visit to his old friends in Norfolk, he was seized 
 with paralysis, and in 1830 relinquished his charge at 
 Bluntisham, and removed to Thrapstone. When his son 
 saw him in April he was very peacefully waiting his dis- 
 missal, which happened on the 17th August, 1840. 
 
 His son says of him that he was a man of stern, un- 
 bending integrity a sturdy saint, who carried his religion 
 into every engagement. His preaching was exceedingly 
 simple and earnest. He had felt the power of the gospel 
 working an effectual change in his own heart; he anti- 
 cipated this result in others only as it was explained and 
 urged home by every consideration which affection could 
 employ. He was of untiring activity and diligence. In 
 early life he has been known to keep school the whole of 
 every day in the week, Saturday afternoon and Sunday 
 excepted to preach twice at home on that day sermons 
 that must have cost him much thought and application 
 walk three or four miles, and preach at night, then walk 
 home, to return to the same round during the succeeding 
 week. To this he thought himself called ; and when he 
 had such an impression, no labour was too great, no toil or 
 sacrifice too severe. His desire was to spend and be spent 
 in the service of God. 
 
 Mr Green died at Cambridge, and was buried in the 
 Bluntisham Meeting-house burial ground. In the meeting- 
 house a tablet is erected to his memory, with the following 
 inscription. " To the memory of the Rev. Samuel Green 
 who ministered to this congregation from 1819 to 1830 for
 
 270 MR SAMUEL GREEN. 
 
 a time as co-pastor with the Rev. Coxe Feary and after- 
 wards as his successor, a good soldier of Jesus Christ, up- 
 right in his conduct, loyal in his devotion to his Divine 
 Master, fearless in his contention for the faith once delivered 
 to the saints. He died August 17th, 1840, aged 70 years."
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 JOHX EDMUND SIMMOXS, M.A. 
 
 John Edmund Simmons, M.A., was the son of the Rev. 
 John Simmons, Baptist Minister of Wigan in Lancashire ; 
 his mother lived to the age of ninety-five years and was 
 buried in the Bluntisham meeting-house ground; to the 
 time of her death she could see to read any print without 
 the aid of spectacles. In speaking of her son the pastor 
 of Bluntisham church she would say, "We always thought 
 there was some'at in John." Mr Simmons married the 
 daughter of a Church of England clergyman, she had pro- 
 perty, and it enabled him to spend sufficient time at 
 Glasgow University to take his Master of Arts degree. He 
 had a brother who was minister of the Baptist Church at 
 Olney a clever man and well educated. 
 
 Mr Simmons was pastor of a church at Stony Stratford 
 before he came to Bluntisham, where he remained for 
 thirty-eight years. 
 
 His character was tenacious and independent, he was 
 strictly honourable, upright and conscientious. He was 
 possessed of philanthropic goodness of heart and bene- 
 volence of disposition, with a prevalent concern for the 
 well-being of his neighbours, particularly of his own flock. 
 These moral qualities were combined with some valuable 
 mental ones. He had an excellent memory, and power of
 
 272 JOHN EDMUND SIMMONS, M.A. 
 
 concentration and took a firm grasp of subjects which en- 
 grossed his attention. These mental characteristics, with 
 his habit of independent thought, enabled him to treat a 
 subject by his own method, and in his own particular way. 
 He held his opinions strongly and it was not easy to move 
 him from them, nor was it likely he would be easily moved 
 from them, for he had arrived at his conclusions, thought- 
 fully and deliberately ; and his goodness of heart, his 
 excellent mental powers and his long experience entitled 
 his opinions to deference and respect. His course was 
 marked by its consistency, maintaining an even balance 
 his people could depend upon him. His theology was 
 Calvinistic, but he was not extreme in any of his doctrinal 
 views. He much admired and read Scotch Presbyterian 
 Theology. 
 
 He resembled in appearance what we imagine was the 
 type of the puritan minister of the Calvinistic school, al- 
 though there was nothing morose or stern about him. On 
 the contrary, there was a drollness with him, and frequently 
 a quizzical expression on his features indicative of humour 
 and much human feeling. There was a quaintness about 
 his face and his general style which provoked curiosity 
 and excited interest. He had the face and person and 
 gait of a man to whom the lover of the uncommon would 
 desire an introduction, and using it, would not be dis- 
 appointed. His conversation evidenced a man extensively 
 read, both in old literature aud in that of the present 
 time, and well versed too in the periodicals and newspaper 
 topics of the day. There was a curious aptness to be 
 interested in all sorts of whimsical subjects, old world 
 topics and oddities, and curiosities of literature. He was 
 reserved and apparently not easily moved, yet he was 
 possessed of a very kind heart and much feeling, which
 
 JOHN EDMUND SIMMONS, M.A. 273 
 
 was more easily roused than people generally sup- 
 posed. 
 
 His quiet manners covered a nervousness not very ap- 
 parent, but which nevertheless was there, and often lent 
 awkwardness to a somewhat peculiar address. Notwith- 
 standing his determination to maintain the mastery over 
 his emotions, he was sometimes overcome, and his strong 
 feeling shown by long pauses in his sermon, and occa- 
 sionally even a burst of weeping. At times, when under 
 deep feeling his sermons were very affecting, and powerfully 
 appealed to his people on behalf of the truth. Holding to 
 a sound orthodoxy on important points, he yet was fond of 
 going into uncommon theories, and sometimes astonished 
 friends as well as strangers by propounding some quaint 
 theory or supporting some unusual hypothesis. There 
 was readiness to serve, accompanied with curious awkward- 
 ness in rendering the service, e.g. some of his young people 
 were desirous that their pastor should undertake a Bible- 
 class for them, and at length screwed up their courage, and 
 apprised him of their wish. He at once assented, and 
 arranged a time for meeting. When they met he waited 
 to hear from them what they wanted him to do, they with 
 the diffidence belonging to their age were nonplussed, and 
 the well-meaning pastor left, after saying he thought they 
 wanted to say something to him. 
 
 He was very independent in his action, and took entirely 
 his own course in his ministerial teachings and pastorate. 
 
 After a course of sermons on the Calvinistic doctrines 
 of election, etc., which lasted longer than was agreeable to 
 some of his people one of them venturing in some way 
 to give the pastor a hint of the feeling prevalent on the 
 matter, Mr Simmons remarked that such feeling evidenced 
 the natural depravity of the heart fighting against the 
 T. B. 18
 
 274 JOHN EDMUND SIMMONS, M.A. 
 
 truth, and the need they had of such sermons he should 
 put them through another course ! Some thought if the 
 pastor occasionally exchanged pulpits with another minister, 
 the simple fact of a change might be beneficial. He acted 
 on this suggestion, but provided such poor exchanges that 
 his people regretted they had made the suggestion. His 
 preaching was always sensible and good, and he frequently 
 displayed feeling which shewed itself in his own peculiar 
 way. On one occasion when he preached before the 
 Associated Ministers of the county, his sermon struck all 
 present as one of singular force and power. Sometimes in 
 his sermons he would make sententious remarks which 
 were easily remembered. Referring to some persons who 
 objected to work, excusing themselves on the ground, 
 " that they were not brought up to it," said he, " Such folk 
 will soon be brought down to it." He was a poor visitor. 
 Once a humble member of his congregation said, "You see 
 Mr Simmons is a very good man but he can't force con- 
 versation out of you." Yet he enjoyed a quiet social cup 
 of tea at the homes of his people and shewed very sociable 
 feelings. He would drop in at a house and the friend 
 would say, "You'll stay and take tea with us, Mr Sim- 
 mons?" "Just what I've come to do," he would reply, and 
 the tea would be hastened to suit his early hours. 
 
 Accustomed to a very quiet life in his country house at 
 Colne, about a mile from Bluntisham, his daily enjoyment 
 was in a walk or in calling on some friend and driving him 
 out with him in his pony chaise, on which occasions he would 
 remark that if people knew more of the beauties that 
 laid immediately around them, they would not want to go 
 so far away from home for their enjoyment as they now 
 thought necessary. He took great quiet satisfaction in 
 the rural surroundings of his drives.
 
 JOHN EDMUND SIMMONS, M.A. 275 
 
 Mr Simmons was buried in the meeting-house ground, 
 and on a mural tablet within the meeting-house is this 
 inscription, " Erected by the congregation worshipping in 
 this place to the memory of the Rev. John Edmund 
 Simmons, M.A., who was their Pastor 38 years, from 1830 
 to 1868, and during the whole of that time, by his able and 
 varied presentation of the truth of God's word, and by a 
 life of unblemished and unostentatious piety obtained the 
 confident affection of his flock and the respect of the 
 neighbourhood around. ' He that in these things serveth 
 Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men.' He 
 died September 5th, 1868, aged 72 years." 
 
 182
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 THE PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 
 
 THIS chapter is placed here because it appears better 
 to look back, than to anticipate. From the selections 
 from the church book, and the sketches given of the 
 various ministers, much of what we have to tell concerning 
 the progress of the church at Bluntisham has been told ; 
 what remains we will endeavour to give in this chapter. 
 
 Sometimes water holds in solution certain substances, 
 the presence of which is not detected by ordinary observa- 
 tion, until it is manifested by the introduction of some 
 other substance which attracts it, and then beautiful 
 crystals are formed. A process akin to this took place at 
 Bluntisham and its neighbourhood; some of the people, 
 sensitive to the touch of the Spirit of God, were attracted 
 to Mr Coxe Feary, they gathered round him, the Christian 
 Church was formed, beautiful, because in some degree it 
 made manifest the spirit of Jesus Christ and put on some 
 of the white garments of holiness. As the Lord Jesus 
 Christ sacrificed his life, that we might have an ideal 
 church before us, Christians need offer no excuse for 
 enthusiasm when they recognise in any community an 
 attempt to realise this ideal. Mr Coxe Feary and his 
 friends earnestly sought to do this, and succeeded in a 
 good measure. The church they founded was a home for
 
 PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 277 
 
 kindred spirits, for all those who were striving to put on 
 the Lord Jesus, and to have his " mind " within them. 
 And it has offered a spiritual home to all such, through 
 the century that ensued. None can tell the good it has 
 effected or measure the benefits it has conferred. To God 
 only are these known, and it may be that some who have 
 passed from the little community below, to the great 
 gathering of the church above, are telling with joy results 
 unknown here, but revealed there, results beyond value. 
 We all crave sympathy. To get it fully in matters of 
 small importance is a pleasure ; in affairs of greater im- 
 portance, it is proportionally valuable ; and on questions 
 of vital importance, it is precious indeed. Full sympathy 
 of soul with soul, on subjects which move the profoundest 
 feelings of the heart, and elicit the deepest emotions, is 
 priceless treasure. It was this highest, fullest sympathy, 
 which this- Christian community had to offer, and as one 
 soul after another was touched by the love of God, and 
 the grace of his dear Son, they naturally came for sym- 
 pathy to those, who having had a like experience, were 
 able to give it. What was it but the craving for full 
 sympathy, on the most soul-stirring topics, that led the 
 people of Bluntisham to waylay Mr Feary on his return 
 from Yelling, that impelled them to drive or walk, 
 twenty-four miles on the Sabbath day, or the lesser 
 distances, in search of what their souls longed for? What 
 but this led them to withdraw from their parish church, 
 and frequent the conventicle, in close room, and draughty 
 barn? It was not to their social advantage, either in 
 position, or in gifts, or (at that time) in the respect of 
 their neighbours. But now they have formed their little 
 church, this pressing need is met, as far as human nature, 
 in its imperfect sympathies, is able to meet it. " Come
 
 278 PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 
 
 with us and we will do you good," was the hearty invita- 
 tion of Mr Feary and his friends. Here one, and there 
 one, gladly responded, and entered the inner circle of the 
 church, or joined with the congregation worshipping at 
 the new meeting-house. So the little -church was built 
 up. Mr Feary was excellent in diffusing the Christian 
 spirit of love amongst his people, and in attracting his 
 neighbours by the power of his love, and the force of his 
 Christian character, and under his pastorate, distinguished 
 by its simplicity, and earnestness, the church and congre- 
 gation rapidly increased. 
 
 His successor, Mr Samuel Green, took up the work 
 when illness obliged Mr Feary to resign. Mr Green carried 
 on the good work on the same lines as his predecessor. 
 Neither had received much school learning, nor any 
 college education, nor especial training for the ministry, 
 but both brought to bear on the neighbourhood, what 
 was far beyond this characters which had been formed 
 in the school of experience. Contact with their fellow 
 men, in the every-day affairs of life, made them conver- 
 sant with commonplace ways and needs they knew men's 
 habits, and ways of looking at things, and therefore knew 
 how to help them, and to present to them God's truth. 
 Had they not known toil in the field in the camp? 
 The every-flay difficulties that meet men in their struggle 
 for gaining their daily bread these they had experienced, 
 and through perseverance, and patient continuance in well 
 doing, by power of heart, rather than by force of intellect, 
 they had achieved their position as leaders ; this quality 
 and this natural education, particularly fitted them for 
 the pastorate of the village folk. During the three pas- 
 torates, occupying the first eighty years of the church's 
 existence, many efforts were put forth for the advance-
 
 PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 279 
 
 ment of the Kingdom of the Redeemer At Home In 
 the Neighbourhood And Abroad. At Home. The old 
 meeting-house had been built, and the land purchased, at 
 a cost of 623 Os. 7d., the whole paid for by the congre- 
 gation. A grave-yard prepared for use ; a Sunday-school 
 formed and carried on, when such schools were far from 
 general. The meeting-house had been twice enlarged, 
 once in 1797, when it was increased by an addition of one- 
 third more accommodation on the ground-floor, at a cost 
 of 230. 10s. dd., and again in 1817 when a gallery was 
 erected for the accommodation of the Sunday-school 
 children, at a cost of 192. In 1805 a new vestry was 
 built which cost 100. In 1810 the burial-ground was 
 enlarged, and fenced in, at a cost of 70. In the Neigh- 
 bourhood. We have seen how friends went over to 
 Somersham, and Bluntisham and Colne. How the little 
 room was built by the friends at Woodhurst, and the 
 meeting-house at Somersham, in 1812, both in a great 
 measure through the energy and Christian life of the 
 church at Bluntisham. And Abroad. Collections were 
 made for various good objects, far removed from their 
 own personal influence, e.g. Mar. 3, 1805, Collected for the 
 Baptist church and congregation at Cradley in Worces- 
 tershire, 14. 10s. In 1806, wishing to convert the Jews, 
 the good friends collected 17. 3s. after a sermon 
 preached by Mr Frey, a native of Franconia. Then they 
 collected about the same time the sum of 31. 10s. 6d. in 
 "aid of the distressed Germans, who were reduced to 
 poverty, and went through the calamities of war." On the 
 14th June, 1808, they made a collection for the church at 
 South-hill, which amounted to 13. 2s. and this same 
 year, they collected for a church in Cornwall 17. 9s. 6d. 
 In 1812 Mr Feary makes a memorandum in the church
 
 280 PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH AT BLUNTISHAM. 
 
 book, " Collected for ministers, and meeting-houses, in 
 about eighteen months, the sum of 91. 5s." Another 
 entry made by Mr Feary under the year 1816, "The 
 church and congregation collected for the French Pro- 
 testants, who (since the abdication of Napoleon, and the 
 placing the Bourbons on the throne,) have been most 
 shockingly and barbarously persecuted by the Catholics ; 
 we sent them 15. 2s. Gd." 
 
 Although these entries all occur during the first Pas- 
 torate, it appears from an entry made by Mr Green, in 
 1824, that the debt contracted in the building of the new 
 gallery, behind the pulpit, was not paid off till April of 
 that year, and at the same time that this old debt was 
 cleared, " The new wall at the back part of the Meeting- 
 yard was built, and paid for. This is deemed a great 
 mercy by the church." Mr Green makes the following 
 entry: "April 20th, 1826, This day was held by the 
 church as a day of prayer and supplication to God, that 
 he would mercifully bless us with his holy spirit, make 
 the means of grace useful to the conversion of sinners, and 
 the promotion of his glory. It was a good day with our 
 souls. We were well attended. Our friends seemed more 
 than satisfied." In the year 1845 Mr Thos. Pulsford 
 visited Bluntisham and held revival services. They resulted 
 in many names being added to the church roll. During 
 the nine months following his visit there were one hun- 
 dred and twenty-six additions to the church. Mr Simmons 
 observes in an entry made "Oct. 31st, 1845, Present 
 statistics, 280 members, 230 Sabbath scholars, 4 village 
 stations. Clear increase last year 120 members."
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 FREDERICK W. GOADBY, M.A. 
 
 A CHANGE of ministers is always a time of trial to a 
 Congregational Church, and at Bluntisham it seemed 
 especially difficult to provide a successor to Mr Simmons 
 after his pastorate of thirty-eight years. Yet this was 
 accomplished with entire success, and a choice was made 
 which resulted in a connection between pastor and people 
 of warm affection during its whole continuance. The 
 course taken by the church was perhaps somewhat unusual 
 and deserving of notice. Conscious that the resources of 
 the congregation were not sufficient to maintain in comfort 
 a pastor with a wife and family, it was determined to seek 
 a minister from among the young students of Regent's Park 
 College, who had conducted the services of the chapel 
 during the illness of Mr Simmons. This plan had the 
 merit of giving a young minister the opportunity of 
 gaining experience among country people, and more time 
 for study and out-door life than when plunged at once into 
 the bustle of a large town. It is pleasant to remember 
 that Mr Goadby, who came straight from college, spent 
 about eight happy and useful years at Bluntisham, and 
 with matured knowledge and confirmed health then under- 
 took the charge of an important congregation at Watford. 
 Those who knew him will never remember without a 
 touch of pain how soon a virulent fever contracted on the
 
 282 FEEDERICK W. GOADBY, M.A. 
 
 Continent snatched him from the fairest prospects of 
 usefulness and happiness. 
 
 Mr Goadby was an accomplished scholar, of which his 
 degree as M.A. of London is a sufficient guarantee, but he 
 was much more. His attainments had not crushed or 
 enfeebled his imagination, and he carried his load of 
 learning lightly. A true poet, he constantly in his sermons 
 illustrated the truths of religion by some bright gleam of 
 genius. Preaching on Penitence he said, "When once the 
 tears of sorrow for sin against our Heavenly Father begin 
 to fall, the cloud soon dissolves and the sun of his favour 
 again shines upon us." Two at least of his hymns the 
 world will not willingly let die, and that written for the 
 reopening of Bluntisham meeting-house after restoration 
 seems assured of immortality. The two concluding verses 
 are almost perfect, and were the expression of genuine 
 feeling. When they were sung many a tender chord 
 became responsive to the touch of a master. 
 " And if our hearts to-day 
 
 Are touched with secret pain, 
 
 And thoughts of missing faces blend 
 
 With our rejoicing strain ; 
 
 let the eye of faith 
 
 That heavenly temple see, 
 
 Where, amidst holier, vaster throngs 
 
 They ever worship Thee." 
 
 Surely the humble worshippers in Bluntisham meeting- 
 house whose passing away was lamented in these lines 
 shared with the friend of Milton mourned as Lycidas, the 
 honour of embalmment in true poetic verse. Mr Goadby 
 died at Watford a few years after his removal from 
 Bluntisham, to the great grief of all who knew him, and 
 especially to the sorrow of the working men of his new 
 field of labour.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE REBUILDING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE AND PUR- 
 CHASE OF THE MINISTER'S HOUSE. 
 
 THE order of events is most easily shown by extracts 
 from the chronicles in the church books. It appears that 
 Mr Simmons made no entries in the church book sub- 
 sequent to the year 1850. The next entries are made by 
 Mr Goad by, commencing in 1868 the first year of his 
 Pastorate, "the Rev. J. E. Simmons, M.A., having resigned 
 the Pastorate of the church through serious illness, in 
 the early part of the year, application was made to 
 Mr F. W. Goadby, M.A., Student of Regent's Park 
 College, London, to supply the pulpit for a few Sundays 
 on the completion of his college term in July. This he 
 did on the last Sunday in July, and first two Sundays in 
 August. On the last of these days a meeting of the 
 church was held, and he was asked to supply for a further 
 period of a month, with a view to the pastorate. With 
 this request he complied, and preached during the months 
 of September and October. On the llth October, after 
 the morning service, conducted by the Rev. J. P. Campbell, 
 of Cambridge, the sense of the congregation, and after- 
 wards of the church was taken respecting an invitation 
 to Mr Goadby to become Pastor of the church. As a 
 consequence of the resolutions then passed the following 
 letter was written to him.
 
 284 THE REBUILDING OF THE MEETIXG-HOUSE 
 
 "BLUNTISHAM, Oct. 13th, 1868. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 Your probationary stay at Bluntisham with a view 
 to the pastorate having expired, the pleasurable duty devolves 
 upon me on behalf of the church and congregation, of informing 
 you of the result of the Meeting held on Sabbath morning. 
 
 After the service was concluded, the congregation were 
 requested to remain a short time. It was then put to the 
 whole body by a show of hands and it was found there was 
 a decided majority in your favour, at the same time there was 
 a considerable minority against. After some remarks had been 
 made, and suggestions offered, as to the desirability of una- 
 nimity, and of the minority foregoing their objections, and 
 falling in with the majority a motion was put, and carried, 
 that the sense of the congregation be retaken, and it was found 
 there was a far less minority than the first time. 
 
 The church were then requested to remain a short time, 
 and a resolution was then put, and carried, that you be invited 
 to take the oversight of the church. That motion was carried 
 nem. con. ; one member it is true had opposed, but before the 
 meeting closed publicly withdrew it. And that the Great 
 Head of the Church may guide, direct, and enable you to see 
 your way clear, is the prayer of, yours (on behalf of the church 
 and congregation) 
 
 Most faithf uUy, 
 
 JOHN C. FEARY." 
 
 "This invitation Mr Goadby gave his anxious and 
 prayerful consideration, and on Sunday, Oct. 25th, a letter 
 was read from him to the church and congregation, ex- 
 pressing his acceptance of it. On Lord's day, Nov. 8th, 
 he entered upon his duties." 
 
 The Recognition services in connection with the settle- 
 ment of Mr Goadby were held ou the 27th January, 1869.
 
 AND PURCHASE OF THE MINISTER'S HOUSE. 285 
 
 The following is a portion of the report that appeared in 
 the " Freeman Newspaper." 
 
 " Long before the afternoon service commenced, the 
 chapel was crowded with friends from far and near. The 
 introductory services were conducted by the Rev. Thos. 
 Lloyd, minister of the free church, St Ives. The Rev. 
 W. Robinson, minister of St Andrew's Street Chapel, 
 Cambridge, then gave an address on the nature of a 
 Christian Church, taking the following divisions as the 
 basis of his discourse. I. A church is a congregation. 
 II. A true church of God is holy. III. A church should 
 be free unto men, subject to the Lord Jesus Christ. IV. It 
 should exist for the edification of its members, and as 
 a witness to those around. Mr Feary, deacon, then read 
 a very interesting statement, which included an account 
 of the origin and rise of the church, and of the steps which 
 led to the invitation of the new Pastor. Mr Goadby then 
 gave some account of his Christian life, his entrance on the 
 ministry, his views on the various doctrines held by Baptist, 
 and other Christian bodies, and of the reasons which led to 
 his acceptance of the Pastorate. The Rev. J. H. Millard, B.A., 
 of Huntingdon, then offered an exceedingly suitable and 
 earnest ordination prayer. After this the Rev. Dr Angus, 
 President of Regent's Park College, delivered the charge 
 to the minister, from 2 Thess. iii. 1, and at the close referred 
 to his knowledge of Mr Goadby from his five years' resi- 
 dence under him as a student. The service was closed by 
 the Rev. S. Kerry, of Calcutta. At 5 o'clock tea was pro- 
 vided in the school room and chapel, for the large number 
 of visitors and friends who were present. The service in 
 the evening was introduced by the Rev. W. E. Winks, 
 of Wisbech, and the Rev. Jackson Goadby, of Leicester, 
 preached a stirring sermon."
 
 286 THE REBUILDING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE 
 
 " 1869, Oct. 12. A special church meeting was held 
 this evening," to take into consideration the constitution 
 and rule of the church, respecting the Ordinances. It 
 was stated by the Pastor that although the church was 
 ordinarily spoken of as a Baptist church, there was nothing 
 in the church book to indicate that the church regarded 
 Baptism as an essential to church fellowship. There were 
 records of Baptisings, but the Articles of faith and practice 
 were drawn up prior to the embracing Baptist views by 
 Mr Coxe Feary, when in 1791 he changed his opinions on 
 that point. The Pastor further stated, that while the 
 practice had undoubtedly become Baptist, there had been, 
 and were a number of members on the church books who 
 held different views, and had been admitted without 
 baptism. In this openness of fellowship he fully concurred, 
 and personally, he could see no reasonable objection to its 
 being extended to the ordinance of the Lord's supper also, 
 so that the simple tests of membership in the church 
 should be, " faith professed in the Lord Jesus Christ and 
 a life consistent with such a profession." 
 
 After a discussion the church decided, " That in case 
 of conscientious difference of opinion with regard to either 
 ordinance, the church reserves the power to admit, or 
 otherwise, according to the case before it, no case to be 
 considered as a precedent for another, but each case to 
 be considered on its own merits." 
 
 The next especial matter of interest for us is the fol- 
 lowing entry. 
 
 " 1869, Dec. 15. The want of a chapel at Colne, for 
 week evening and Sunday afternoon services, has long 
 been felt. This year an effort has been made to erect 
 such a place, 100 being promised to the Pastor for this 
 purpose in the course of a few days. A building in every
 
 AND PURCHASE OF THE MINISTER'S HOUSE. 287 
 
 way suitable, and exceedingly tasteful, has been erected, 
 and was this day opened. Kev. J. H. Millard, B.A., of 
 Huntingdon, preaching therein in the afternoon, and 
 Messrs Millard, W. E. Winks, C. P. Tebbutt, W. Tebbutt, 
 J. L. Ekins, and the Pastor, addressing a public meeting 
 in Bluntisham Chapel in the evening." 
 
 "1871, June 15th, Thursday. The chapel which had 
 been built at Colne, cost more than was anticipated 
 namely about 225 of which 100 had yet to be found 
 it was proposed in the early part of this year to have 
 a Bazaar etc. in order to liquidate the debt. Great efforts 
 had been made by the ladies of the congregation for some 
 months, and to day a Bazaar was opened in the school- 
 room. There were four stalls presided over by different 
 ladies, and also music and refreshments. Visitors were 
 numerous from all parts of the county. In the evening 
 a sacred concert was given in the chapel, which was 
 crowded to excess. Miss Perl, of London, Miss Tebbutt, 
 of Nottingham, and other friends, as well as our own 
 choir, rendered efficient service, and Neville Goodman, 
 Esq., M.A., and the Rev. J. P. Campbell, of Cambridge, 
 delivered addresses." 
 
 " Friday. The bazaar was again opened this afternoon 
 and evening, and a pleasant entertainment of music, 
 readings, etc. given for a couple of hours. The success 
 of the effort has been in every way decided the debt 
 being quite cleared off, and it is expected there will be 
 a considerable surplus." And so the new chapel at Colne 
 was paid for. 
 
 The next project entertained by the people was ex- 
 plained at a special meeting of the congregation called 
 for August 5th 1873, to consider the propriety of pur- 
 chasing a " minister's house " and of " altering the chapel."
 
 288 THE REBUILDING OF THE MEETIXG-HOUSE 
 
 At this meeting it was proposed to raise the sum of 
 1000, of which 500 was to be spent on the purchase, 
 or building of a house, and 500 on the improvement 
 of the chapel. Mr C. P. Tebbutt offered a house ad- 
 joining his own, with a large garden and orchard for 
 450. This offer was accepted, and the house agreed to 
 be bought on behalf of the Trustees of the chapel. Since 
 that time this house has been the house for the minister, 
 and a very suitable pleasant house it is, some way farther 
 up the village than the chapel or " meeting-house." 
 
 On the 9th November, 1873, Messrs John Coxe Feary, 
 Charles Prentice Tebbutt, Charles Daintree, and William 
 Barrett, were chosen Deacons. Mr Stephen Feary having 
 been for the last few years the only deacon, it was thought 
 desirable that others should share with him the labours 
 and responsibility of this office. By December, about 
 1000 has been promised by members of the church and 
 congregation and friends outside the chapel alterations 
 are being rapidly pushed forward all the necessary prepa- 
 rations are making, and it is hoped to begin the actual 
 renovation next May. Already, in pursuance of the 
 scheme, a small vestry for the minister has been added 
 to the vestry behind the chapel, and this will be all ready 
 for use next Sunday the first in the new year. 
 
 On New Year's Day 1874, a tea meeting was held. 
 About two hundred and thirty people sat down to tea 
 addresses were delivered in the chapel by Mr Tebbutt 
 and the Pastor. The choir sang several anthems, and 
 Messrs Feary and H. Jackson each read appropriate 
 selections. The tea was given by the ladies of the con- 
 gregation, and the proceeds were dedicated to the building 
 fund. It was felt that an earnest and united feeling 
 pervaded the meeting, which augured well for the spirit
 
 AND PURCHASE OF THE MINISTER'S HOUSE. 289 
 
 in which the various special duties of the year were 
 to be met. 
 
 When the spring came the old meeting-house was 
 pulled down and during all this year and into the next 
 the workmen are all astir in the building of its successor, 
 which is being constructed in the way most suitable to 
 use up old materials, and so lighten the burden of heavy 
 expenses, and the new building is to suggest the old one, 
 so that sacred memories, happy associations and time- 
 honoured connections may, unbroken, be passed on to 
 the new meeting-house. So they take down the old 
 place tenderly and reverently, respecting its cherished 
 traditions, its corruptible parts return to the dust, but 
 its uncorrupted parts are renewed and reared into the 
 perpetuation of itself. It will not be a new building, 
 neither is it the old one, to one who had parted from 
 the old meeting-house in his youth then returned to 
 its successor in his old age, the appearance would be a 
 puzzle is it the same or another ? The old materials, 
 which are not perishable, have combined with new ones, 
 and it is a resurrection. The old meeting-house is 
 "clothed upon," and in its transformation its identity is 
 preserved blessed recollections, sacred traditions, hallowed 
 associations, happy memories these all cling to it all 
 that is worth preserving is there what had decayed has 
 passed away " behold all things are made new." It has 
 become an emblem of the change awaiting its old friends 
 at present sleeping quietly around it. When the next 
 New Year's Day came round, friends at their social tea 
 could congratulate themselves on their nearly completed 
 meeting-house, and so Jan. 1st, 1875, was spent thank- 
 fully and hopefully. But before the month was out, a 
 sad farewell must be made our old [friend Mr Stephen 
 T. B. 19
 
 290 THE REBUILDING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE 
 
 Feary nephew and son-in-law to the first pastor, a link 
 connecting us with the past, is taken away. The event 
 is thus noticed in the church book. 
 
 " 1875, Jan. 22. This day the church and congre- 
 gation and many friends from a distance assembled to 
 perform a sad and painful duty to lay in their last 
 resting place the earthly remains of our dear friend and 
 helper the late Stephen Feary, who died of paralysis on 
 the 17th instant. He joined this church in 1840, and for 
 many years was its trusted and beloved servant, as deacon. 
 For many years he led the prayer meetings, and 'gave 
 out' the hymns at the Sabbath worship. But of late 
 his sight and hearing failing him. he has been compelled 
 to relinquish most of his more active duties. He was 
 stricken with paralysis at St Ives market, on Monday the 
 4th (the previous day he had attended the three services, 
 assisting as usual at the Lord's supper in the afternoon). 
 He was brought home, and for a day or two seemed 
 rallying, but a second stroke falling on the Friday, he 
 became unconscious, and gradually sank to rest. Much 
 sympathy is felt for bis widow, who is now deprived 
 of one with whom she has walked for nearly forty years. 
 Mr Feary was universally beloved for his kindly and 
 sympathetic nature. He has gone to be witb Christ, 
 which is far better." Mr Feary died in his seventy-third 
 year. 
 
 The rebuilt meeting-house was opened on Wednesday, 
 the 9th of June, 1875. At 12 o'clock the morning service 
 was conducted by the Rev. J. H. Millard, B.A., of Hunting- 
 don, and a sermon was preached by the Rev. Henry Allon, 
 D.D., of Union Chapel, Islington. In the evening a 
 public meeting was held at which Thomas Coote, Esq., 
 of Fenstanton presided, and the speakers were Rev.
 
 AND PURCHASE OF THE MINISTER'S HOUSE. 291 
 
 J. T. Browne, of Northampton, Rev. Dr Allon, Rev. Dr 
 Robertson, of Cambridge, Neville Goodman, Esq., M.A., of 
 Cambridge. At the morning service a hymn composed by 
 Mr Goadby was sung. 
 
 Our fathers' Friend and God, 
 
 In whom they live for aye, 
 
 Hear thou their children, Lord, and thine! ki ', 
 
 Be near to us this day. 
 
 Upon this hallowed spot 
 
 Thy face has often shone ; 
 
 Thy Word been preached, Thy mercy felt, 
 
 Thy will with gladness done. 
 
 In faith we now renew 
 
 Our fathers' Sabbath home, 
 
 And with the memories of the past 
 
 Link all the years to come. 
 
 Grant, Lord, with this new House, 
 
 New grace our hearts to cheer, 
 
 New life within, new power without, 
 
 God of our fathers, hear ! 
 
 And if our joy to-day 
 
 Be touched with secret pain, 
 
 And thoughts of missing faces blend 
 
 With our rejoicing strain. 
 
 let the eye of faith 
 
 That Heavenly Temple see 
 
 Where, amidst holier, vaster throngs, 
 
 They ever worship thee. 
 
 The total cost of this rebuilding and purchase, in- 
 cluding all fixtures in the meeting-house, and all repairs 
 and alterations of the minister's house, amounted to 
 2307. 19s. 4<d. a large sum for an agricultural village 
 congregation, but one which they bravely and success- 
 fully met paying off the whole by the Midsummer of 
 1881. In this effort they were cordially assisted by many 
 friends who have ever been ready to give their help to the 
 Bluntisham church and congregation. 
 
 192
 
 292 THE REBUILDING OF THE MEETING-HOUSE 
 
 Mr John Wheatley the builder evinced his interest in 
 the Meeting-house by carving in wood a beautiful frieze 
 of grape vine, leaves and fruit, with other designs to sur- 
 round the inside of the roof. Its height removes it so 
 far from the eye, that much of the beauty of the design 
 and excellence of the execution are missed except by 
 a very careful examination. 
 
 Mr Tebbutt contributed to the beauty of the place by 
 giving two stained glass windows, which were placed 
 in the wall on either side of the pulpit, illustrating the 
 childhood of Christ when conversing with the doctors in 
 the Temple, and Christ in his manhood, blessing the 
 children. These were extra gifts the generous expressions 
 of the deep interest the donors felt in the restoration of 
 their village meeting-house. Other special gifts were 
 made to complete the convenience and beauty of the 
 building. 
 
 On the 5th March, 1876, a communication was made 
 to the church occasioning deep regret. " After the or- 
 dinance of the Lord's supper this afternoon, the pastor 
 stated that he had come to the conclusion of which they 
 were not altogether ignorant that the time had now 
 come when duty impelled him to seek some wider sphere 
 of labour. He had spent more than seven happy and 
 profitable years at Bluntisham, and received great kind- 
 ness and sympathy on all hands ; but the way had now 
 opened for him to follow the late Mr Best in the pastorate 
 of the church at Watford, and he felt it to be his duty 
 to accept the call. He laid his resignation of the pastorate 
 before the church, intimating that he had arranged with 
 the deacons to remain at Bluntisham over the first Lord's 
 day in May." 
 
 On the proposal of Mr C. P. Tebbutt, seconded by
 
 AND PURCHASE OF THE MINISTER'S HOUSE. 293 
 
 Mr C. Daintree, Mr Goadby's resignation was accepted, 
 and the following resolution respecting it carried unani- 
 mously. "That in accepting Mr Goadby's resignation of 
 the pastorate of this church, the members present wish 
 to express their full and unabated confidence in him 
 as a faithful minister of Jesus Christ, their thankfulness 
 for the blessing which has attended his labours during his 
 seven years' stay with them, and their earnest prayer that 
 God will bless him in the fresh field of work to which he 
 is going."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 
 
 THE Rev. F. W. Goadby, M.A., having accepted the 
 invitation of the church at Watford to become their 
 Pastor, application was made to Mr J. Foster Makepeace, 
 student of Regent's Park College, London, to supply the 
 pulpit with a view to the pastorate. This he did, first 
 for two Sundays in March and April, and then for four 
 Sundays in May and June. 
 
 At a church meeting held, "a resolution moved by 
 Mr Mortlock and seconded by Mr J. C. Feary was unani- 
 mously passed by the church, and subsequently confirmed 
 by the congregation, that Mr Makepeace be invited to the 
 pastorate." The following letter is the embodiment of 
 that resolution. 
 
 "BLUNTISHAM, NEAR ST IVES, June 15th, 1876. 
 
 Dear Mr Makepeace, 
 
 I am requested by the Deacons, to inform you that 
 an unanimous vote of the church and congregation at Bluntis- 
 ham, has authorized them to invite you to become their 
 Pastor, if arrangements can be made of a kind satisfactory 
 to both parties. Will you please let me know as early as you 
 can, what are your feelings as to this most important matter. 
 Praying that you, and we, may be guided aright, believe me, 
 dear Mr Makepeace, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 C. P. TEBBUTT."
 
 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 295 
 
 To this letter Mr Makepeace replied : 
 
 "REGENT'S PARK COLLEGE, June Kith, 1876. 
 
 My dear Friends, 
 
 I hasten to reply as soon as possible to your kind 
 invitation to me to become your pastor. I have but one 
 answer to give and I trust it is the answer of many prayers 
 and rmich thought namely, a very cordial acceptance of your 
 call. 
 
 I do this, believe me, with much fear and trembling, 
 feeling deeply my own weakness ; and yet with all boldness, 
 being assured it is the Master's will. None will be more 
 conscious than I, that it will be a long time ere I fill, in any 
 measure, Mr Goadby's place ; long ere I do the work as 
 effectually, long ere I win your esteem and affection as com- 
 pletely, as he has done ; and yet I shall come knowing and 
 strong in the knowledge that I can trust in your kindness, 
 and patience and sympathy, as I take up the work which 
 for so many years has so faithfully been carried on at 
 Bluutisham. 
 
 From what I have seen of you and your work, I gather 
 abundant cause for hopefulness. If a church at peace with 
 itself, and a people with ' a mind to work,' and a good field of 
 labour, be guarantees, under God's blessing, of a happy and 
 successful ministry, I shall have those guarantees at Bluntis- 
 ham. And I do pray, dear friends, that my coming among 
 you may be for our mutual welfare, that we may become 
 ' Co-workers with God,' ' being stablished and built up ' in the 
 faith, and together contending with heart and hand, by a pure 
 and holy example, and by earnest activity in the Master's 
 service, to extend the bounds of Messiah's Kingdom. 
 
 I do not apprehend that your subsequent arrangements 
 will affect this my answer. Those arrangements I leave in 
 your hands, though of course I should like to be apprised of 
 them at your earliest convenience And now, dear friends, I
 
 296 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 
 
 commend you to the protection and guidance of Him who is 
 alone the Keeper and Leader of Israel. 
 
 I remain, yours in sincerity, 
 
 J. F. MAKEPEACE." 
 
 " The arrangements subsequently made were as fol- 
 lows." "The fixed salary of the Pastor to be 120 per 
 annum, payable quarterly, minister to have use of house 
 
 and small garden at the back Three months' notice of 
 
 any change in the pastorate to be given, and arrangements 
 made for a few weeks' holiday in the year." 
 
 Mr Makepeace commenced his ministry on Sunday, 
 July 23rd, 1876. 
 
 The following entry gives a short account of the Recog- 
 nition services. 
 
 " 1877, April 10th. To-day services were held in 
 connection with the settlement of J. F. Makepeace at 
 Bluntisham. 
 
 In the afternoon, the Rev. F. W. Goadby, M.A., the 
 late minister, preached an excellent sermon from Jerem. 
 xx. 9. At five o'clock tea was provided in the school- 
 room, of which about three hundred persons partook. In 
 the evening a public meeting was held in the chapel, 
 which was crowded with friends from far and near. The 
 chair was taken by F. Warren, Esq., of St Ives. The 
 Revs. J. Angus, D.D., J. M. Millard, B.A., T. Lloyd, 
 F. W. Goadby, M.A., S. H. Firks, and J. F. Makepeace, 
 and C. P. Tebbutt, Esq. took part in the proceedings. It 
 was the general feeling of the friends that a very happy 
 day had been spent." 
 
 " On the 6th day of June following, the annual 
 meeting of the Hunts. Association of Christian Churches 
 was held at Bluntisham. In the morning at 11.45, a
 
 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 297 
 
 sermon was preached in the chapel by the Kev. J. Brown, 
 B.A., of Bedford. At half-past one o'clock a cold col- 
 lation was served in a tent in Mr Tebbutt's paddock. A 
 meeting for business was held at three o'clock. Tea was 
 provided at five o'clock, and a public meeting was held at 
 six o'clock. Speakers : Rev. J. Brown, B.A., Messrs Bate- 
 man Brown, Thos. Coote, J. R. Wilkinson and Milligan of 
 Dean ; C. P. Tebbutt, Esq., presided. The meeting was 
 felt by all to have been a very happy and successful one." 
 
 " 1878, Feb. 21st. This evening we held a members' 
 tea meeting. About ninety friends sat down to tea at 
 six o'clock. After tea a social meeting was held in the 
 Vestry, the Pastor presiding. Speeches were delivered 
 by Messrs C. P. Tebbutt, J. W. Jewson, Chas. Daintree, 
 Wm. Barrett, Stephen Butcher, Philip NeAvman and 
 John Ellis. A most harmonious, enjoyable and profit- 
 able evening was spent." 
 
 Each year during Mr Makepeace's pastorate, the cus- 
 tomary new year's tea meeting was held, at which the 
 members of the church gathered for a social evening. 
 
 And each year, about Midsummer, anniversary services 
 were held in the chapel. 
 
 On the 29th Dec. 1881, " Two new deacons were elected, 
 viz. Mr James Mortlock, of Pidley, and Mr Henry Jackson, 
 of Earith." 
 
 The anniversary service held on the 14th June, 1881, 
 must have special notice, for it was accompanied by an 
 announcement that, as the result of extra efforts, they 
 were quite out of debt having now defrayed all the 
 -expenses incurred by the spirited movements of 1874 5, 
 when the Meeting-house was rebuilt and the Parsonage 
 purchased. Another important anniversary is thus re- 
 corded in the church book.
 
 298 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 
 
 " 1882, June 13th. Anniversary services were held 
 to-day. Preacher in the afternoon Rev. G. S. Barrett, 
 B.A. of Norwich. Tea under tent at 5. Meeting in 
 chapel at 7. Chairman, H. Goodman, Esq., of St Ives. 
 Speakers Mr Barrett of Norwich, and Rev. J. Me Clure of 
 Sawston. There was a large attendance, and a very plea- 
 sant day was spent, despite the persistent and heavy rain 
 that fell. During the day a bazaar was held in the school- 
 room, which was prettily decorated for the occasion. The 
 object was to pay for the repainting of the Manse." 
 
 "June 14th. The Bazaar was reopened to-day at 
 2 o'clock. It was crowded all day. At 5 o'clock a public 
 tea was provided in the tent. It was estimated that 350 
 sat down to tea. At 7 o'clock an entertainment of music, 
 singing etc. was held in the Bazaar room. The Bazaar 
 was a thorough success, realizing over 70." 
 
 " June 22nd. This evening some friends met in the 
 chapel by invitation of the Bazaar Committee, and with 
 some kindly and appreciative words, spoke of the pastor's 
 work among them, and presented him with a silk bag 
 containing 30. Mr Makepeace, in thanking the friends 
 spoke of the past six years, and of the joy and satisfaction 
 his ministry at Bluntisham had given him, expressed the 
 belief and hope that it would be increasingly so in the 
 future." 
 
 " Aug. 5th. This afternoon was buried Mrs Stephen 
 Feary. She survived her husband seven years. She had 
 been ailing for a long time, and died in perfect peace, 
 greatly lamented and beloved. She will be greatly missed 
 for her good Christian character and kindly sympathetic 
 nature." 
 
 Mr Makepeace thus refers to her in the sermon he 
 preached on the 6th Aug. 1882, the day after her burial,
 
 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 299 
 
 " She was the honoured bearer of an honoured name, a 
 worthy daughter of a worthy father. We shall not soon 
 forget the purity and tenacity of her religious faith the 
 fulness of her trust in Christ the strength of her attach- 
 ment to all that was lovely and pure and honest and of 
 good report. The poor will remember her and bless her 
 memory. This church will miss her, for although of late 
 3 r ears she has been confined to her house ; yet though not 
 in body, she has always been with us in spirit, and who 
 can tell what ministries of love the spirit world serves ? 
 As to her faults I think of what Bolingbroke said of 
 Maryborough, 'He was a brave soldier, and I have for- 
 gotten all his faults' I say, 'She was a good woman, 
 a kind mother, a true friend, and I have forgotten all her 
 faults/ " Mrs Feary died Aug. 1st, 1882, in the seventy- 
 fifth year of her age, in the same house in which her 
 father, the good old minister, was born, and where he had 
 lived and died. She was buried with her husband in the 
 meeting burial-ground. Here we will record the death of 
 Miss Simmons, the sister of the Rev. John Edmund Sim- 
 mons, M.A., the late pastor. Miss Simmons, who had 
 occupied the house at the top of the road where it turns 
 to the right and left to Woodhurst and to Colne died 
 March 6th, 1880, aged 87 years, and was buried in the 
 meeting-house burial-ground. 
 
 Mr Makepeace thus refers to her, in the funeral ser- 
 mon he preached on Sunday morning, March 14th : "As 
 to her earthly course, it needs not that I should record 
 her faithful, consistent Christian character, for it is in- 
 delibly recorded personal observation of her walk and 
 conversation has recorded it on your memories and your 
 hearts. Her kindly solicitude for others, that instinct of 
 protection which Paul had, and which God gives to some
 
 300 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 
 
 men and women as truly as he gives to others an -instinct 
 to seek protection, was very remarkable. She was good 
 to all, with that thoughtful consideration which is the 
 rarest type of a generous nature. The later years of her 
 life were spent in much suffering suffering, indeed, such 
 as few here have any realisation of, but which she endured 
 with a cheerful and submissive patience to the end. And how 
 clear, how active, how versatile her mind was, I can testify. 
 There are one or two in this congregation now who will 
 remember the circumstances that have led me to select 
 my present text ' Not for that we would be unclothed, 
 but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up 
 of life.' This fourth verse was always perplexing her ; 
 her mind was ever reverting to it, trying to understand it. 
 Again and again she has appealed to me for its interpre- 
 tation, but I never was able to satisfy her though I tried 
 my best. She stumbled upon the word 'upon.' 'Upon 
 what,' she said, 'clothed upon what?' And once I told 
 her that when she went to heaven she must ask Paul 
 what it meant, and whether he could recal what he was 
 thinking of when he wrote it. How she laughed ! There 
 was no forced solemnity, no straitened dread, in her an- 
 ticipation of death, and she died as peacefully as if she 
 were only tired and slept awhile." Miss Simmons before 
 she died made the handsome gift of two hundred pounds 
 towards providing a minister's house, and we have seen 
 how all her wishes for it were fulfilled in its comple- 
 tion. 
 
 The entries in the church book will best explain the 
 dissolution of the bonds between the pastor and people at 
 Bluntisham. 
 
 "1882, Sep. 24th. At the close of the morning's 
 service, Mr Makepeace placed his resignation in the hands
 
 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 301 
 
 of the Deacons, asking them to communicate it to the 
 church at the earliest opportunity." 
 
 " Oct. 1st. To-day, after the Communion service, the 
 following letter was read from Mr Makepeace to the 
 church : 
 
 " To the members of the Church : 
 
 MY DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 I have asked the Deacons to place before you my resigna- 
 tion of the ministry in this place, but 1 felt I should also like 
 to address a few words to you by letter : You are aware that I 
 have accepted an unanimous invitation to the Co-pastorate of 
 Dr Cox's church at Nottingham. A little explanation of this 
 somewhat sudden step is needed, especially as, on June the 
 22nd, when you so kindly and generously presented me with a 
 purse of gold, I expressed my fixed determination to remain 
 with you for some years to come. That was my sincere desire 
 and determination at that time, and I had then no thought at 
 all of leaving you. About the middle of July, however, I 
 received the first intimation of some wish at Nottingham that 
 I should remove thither. Advantageous offers and suggestions 
 were made to me of a character which affected very closely 
 some work on which I am now especially engaged, accom- 
 panied by very cordial overtures towards a settlement there. 
 No step was then taken beyond my promise to preach for 
 them on the 10th of Sept. ; I did so, and shortly afterwards I 
 received a hearty and unanimous invitation, which, as I have 
 said, I accepted. And now it remains but for me to ask you 
 to accept my resignation of my position here as your minister. 
 I cannot tell you with what soreness of heart at the prospect of 
 leaving you, with what deep affection for you all, with what con- 
 tinued and strengthened desire for your prosperity as a church, I 
 do so. You all know, without my telling you, how I have loved 
 to work here, and how happy the years have been to me, that have 
 passed away since 1876, when I first became your Pastor. To me
 
 302 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 
 
 they have been what I feel will prove the most peaceful years 
 of my life. I cherish the hope that they have not been alto- 
 gether unfruitful years to you. To you, to the members of the 
 Congregation, and to the children and young men and maidens 
 who have gathered round me, I would say from my heart, 
 " God be with you." The Deacons will inform you what 
 arrangements have been made for the few remaining weeks of 
 my stay here, and for a few weeks beyond. Believe me ever 
 to remain, my dear Friends, yours very affectionately, 
 
 J. FOSTER MAKEPEACE." 
 
 The following resolution, proposed by Mr Mortlock, and 
 seconded by Mr J. C. Feary, was carried unanimously : 
 
 " The church assembling at Bluntisham Meeting-house, 
 having received from their pastor, the Rev. J. Foster 
 Makepeace, a letter stating his intention to accept a call 
 to a "Co-pastorate with Dr Cox at Nottingham, wish, in 
 accepting his resignation, to assure him of their high 
 regard and affection, and their cordial good wishes for his 
 prosperity and happiness in the fresh field of work he has 
 felt it his duty to undertake." 
 
 And so the pastor left for a fresh field of labour, and 
 the people must seek another to fill the place amongst 
 them which Mr Makepeace has vacated. 
 
 After several months' interval, during which time the 
 pulpit was supplied in various ways, it was arranged at a 
 church meeting, held June 17th, 1883, to invite Mr Bryan, 
 of the Pastors' College, London, to preach for the next 
 three Sundays. 
 
 "At a church meeting held July 8th, Mr Bloomfield 
 proposed and Mr Humphrey seconded, ' That an invitation 
 be given to Mr Bryan to take the Pastorate at Christmas.' 
 Carried unanimously."
 
 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 303 
 
 " At a church meeting, held after the communion ser- 
 vice, the first Sunday in August, Mr Bryan's letter, 
 accepting the pastorate, was read, the conditions of which 
 the church agreed to." The letter was as follows : 
 
 "BRISTOL, July 18th, 1883. 
 C. P. Tebbutt, Esq. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your letter conveying the church's invitation 
 has received considerable thought, and my mind has been 
 prayerfully exercised as to how I should respond to it. I may 
 now put my resolve into the words of David, "I will go in 
 the strength of the Lord God." You are aware that I have 
 had but two years in college and greatly desired three, but the 
 following considerations have led me to obey your call, believ- 
 ing it to be of God. The invitation being quite unanimous 
 a willingness on the part of the church to wait until January 
 for the commencement of my pastoral duties that facility 
 will be afforded me for continuing my studies. 
 
 There are many details concerning my relationship with 
 you that I am leaving to your Christian generosity. I trust 
 we are entering upon a period of happy and successful work 
 together. May the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us 
 and establish the work of our hands. 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 W. COLIN BRYAN." 
 
 Mr Wyndham Colin Bryan entered upon the duties of 
 the pastorate on the sixth of January, 1884. The public 
 recognition of this fact was made on the 4th of April 
 following, when numerous friends gathered to evince the 
 interest they took in the new connection formed between 
 the young pastor and the church and congregation. In 
 the afternoon of the day, at half-past three, service was 
 conducted by the Rev. T. Lloyd, of St Ives, and a sermon
 
 304 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 
 
 preached by the Rev. W. R. Skerry, of London, from 
 1 Peter i. 5, 6, 7, which rivetted the attention of the 
 large congregation assembled on the occasion. At half- 
 past five a public tea was provided, when the large 
 schoolroom and the vestries of the chapel were filled to 
 overflowing. In the evening a public meeting was held, 
 presided over by Henry Goodman, Esq., of St Ives. A 
 very large company were present, including many ministers 
 and friends from the neighbouring towns and villages. 
 The chairman's address was most appropriate for the 
 occasion, bearing on the relations between the pulpit and 
 the pew. Mr Jackson, on behalf of the church, stated the 
 circumstances which had led to the call of Mr Bryan to 
 the pastorate, and then Mr Biyan related the reasons 
 which had induced him to enter the ministry and to 
 accept the invitation to take charge of the church. The 
 charge to the Pastor was delivered by the Rev. Professor 
 Gracey, Principal of Mr Spurgeon's Pastors' College, and 
 was founded upon the words from Heb. xiii. 17, " Watch 
 for your souls." The subject was dealt with in a masterly 
 manner, making a deep impression on all who heard it. 
 The charge to the church was given by the Rev. W. R. 
 Skerry, who laid before them their duty to their pastor 
 what they might expect from him, and what he might 
 expect from them. The ordination prayer was offered by 
 the Rev. H. Bell, of Houghton. The other ministers who 
 took part in the meeting were the Revs. T. A. Smith, of 
 Haddenham, W. Hetherington, of Ramsey, R. S. Latimer, 
 of Willingham, and J. Briggs, of Shoreham, who gave 
 hearty words of welcome and congratulation to the church 
 over which Mr Bryan had become pastor. It was the 
 general impression of those who were present that very 
 pleasant and successful services had been held.
 
 THE DECADE BEFORE THE CENTENARY. 305 
 
 Since this time the usual annual gatherings of the 
 church members at tea, and the anniversary services have 
 taken place. The work of the Church is being carried on 
 in a happy spirit of unity by the combined, earnest, per- 
 severing efforts of Pastor and people, which augurs well 
 for the future usefulness of the Church. 
 
 On the 28th of Dec. 1886, the members of the church 
 met at tea in the schoolroom to commemorate the forma- 
 tion of the church one hundred years before that day. 
 After tea a meeting was held, over which Mr C. P. Tebbutt 
 presided. "Addresses were given by Messrs Tebbutt, 
 Jackson and Wheatley. Mr John Feary read a part of 
 the late Coxe Feary's life, and the Pastor spoke of the 
 circumstances under which the Church was formed. 
 Brother M. Pedley closed with prayer what was felt to 
 be a very pleasant meeting." 
 
 The general desire of the Church and Congregation to 
 distinguish the year of the centenary by some useful 
 memorial, led them to decide to alter and enlarge the 
 schoolroom, in order to add to its convenience and comfort, 
 by replacing the brick floor with a wooden one, adding 
 a new room to the east end and improving the interior so 
 as to render it a convenient room for the Sunday School, 
 and for general village requirements. These and other 
 beneficial arrangements have all been carried out in a 
 substantial and tasteful way at a cost of somewhat over 
 three hundred pounds. Arrangements have been made to 
 celebrate the centenary by a public meeting to be held on 
 the 25th of May of this year, 1887. This book also is a 
 consequence of the centenary arrangements. 
 
 T. B. 20
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 THE religion taught by Jesus Christ was characterized 
 by perfect simplicity. Regardless of form and ceremony, 
 the Founder of the Christian religion declares that " God 
 is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him 
 in spirit and in truth." He separates his religion from all 
 that is external, and declares it to be independent of ritual 1 . 
 He does this by simply teaching and shewing its nature. 
 This unworldly, pure spirituality, has been a "stone of 
 stumbling and rock of offence," through the eighteen 
 centuries which have intervened between the times of his 
 immediate followers and ourselves. In all times the pro- 
 fessors of this religion have sought out many inventions, 
 by which they thought to accelerate the advance of religion, 
 agreeably to their own notion of what would be to its 
 advantage. Kings undertook to nurse it, and the church 
 thankfully accepted their protection. Then what was 
 
 1 It may be urged that most Christians have accepted the Lord's Supper 
 and Baptism as sacraments enjoined by our Lord. The absence of careful 
 direction as to the observance of the one, and the fact that our Lord did 
 not practise the other baptism and that Paul felt relieved that he had 
 practised it so little seem to leave them both as matters of expediency. 
 The opinion of the Society of Friends and some others appears to 
 the writer the most Christian view of the matter. B. W. D.
 
 CONCLUSION. 307 
 
 heavenly became earthly. High ceremony gorgeous 
 vestments stately ritual imposing processions rich 
 music magnificent temples and what was worse than 
 all sacerdotal pretensions to a sacrificial priesthood so 
 overlaid it, that the religious ceremony of worship became 
 a parody of the religion of the Founder of Christianity. 
 The highest art is characterized by simplicity, by severe 
 chasteness of style. The beauty which distinguishes it is 
 in its adaptation to its purpose and in its naturalness ; 
 that which is fictitious and artificial, having no correspond- 
 ing use or purpose, is incompatible with true art. When 
 the early English style of architecture passed into the 
 " Decorated," and became overladen with ornament, it was 
 appropriately styled the "Debased." When men do not 
 understand the "raison d'etre" of a thing when they 
 cannot recognize the principles on which it is founded 
 they are misled into all manner of vagaries, until at length, 
 what they are upholding is discovered to be but a travesty 
 of what was once reality. So men having failed to appre- 
 ciate the fundamental principles of Christianity unable 
 to grasp its pure spirituality, and its entire independence 
 of outward form defiled its simplicity by forms and 
 ceremonies overlaid it with gorgeous ritual, and debased 
 it by sacerdotalism. They say these are only aids to 
 worship. If that be the case, they are so misleading, so 
 apt to engross the attention, and become the object of 
 worship, that it is imprudent to adopt them. Not only 
 have these erroneous conceptions pervaded the Romish 
 church, and to a lesser degree the Anglican church, but 
 even Nonconformists are not free from them. We say 
 that we erect handsome and ornamented buildings, "for 
 the glory of God" But already " The earth is the Lord's 
 and the fulness thereof." The only things not His are the
 
 308 CONCLUSION. 
 
 affections and worship of His children's hearts these are 
 His only as we give them. If the motive originating the 
 grand temple be love the love is a worthy gift which 
 finds its expression in ministering to the pleasure we take 
 in the beautiful, but to speak of it as adding to the glory 
 of God is incorrect and misleading. 
 
 There has been a strain of puritanism, running through 
 the ages, always protesting oithor against the worldly 
 and sensuous debasement of the Christian religion. Some- 
 times it has been prominent enough to be noticed in 
 history, as in the Waldenses and Albigenses the Hussites 
 in Germany, and the Moravians in the Wiclifites of 
 England, and their Lollard successors, and in the Tudor 
 and Stuart Puritans. Possessing a clearer idea of the 
 religion of Christ than others, they strove to regain the 
 primitive simplicity of the original teaching of Christ. 
 The Nonconformists who succeeded the Puritans notably 
 the Congregationalists, and above all the Quakers con- 
 tinued the endeavour to revive the pristine purity and 
 simplicity of Christianity. Through much suffering have 
 the Free Churches of course including the Quakers 
 held their puritan principles, and by heroic steadfastness, 
 wrung from a reluctant Church and State, liberty, with 
 freedom of thought and action ; and as they gained a 
 clearer and truer perception of Christ's method, they 
 gradually sought the more complete disentanglement of 
 religion from connexion with the state ; and they now 
 await with confidence, the consummation of their long 
 and hard struggle, when no individual will be placed in 
 a better or worse position, on account of the opinions he 
 holds with regard to religion. 
 
 The church at Bluntisham has its place in the honour- 
 able position occupied by the Free churches of England.
 
 CONCLUSION. 309 
 
 For a hundred years, our Nonconforming Brethren at 
 Bluntisham have shown that the work of Jesus Christ can 
 be carried on without help or pay from the State. Liberty 
 religious and civil the freedom of the individual in 
 thought and action have been upheld, and in spite of 
 civil and religious disabilities, they took their independent 
 stand, held their own views, and pursued their own way, 
 guided by their religious instincts derived from their 
 knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of His religion 
 as set forth in the Scriptures. 
 
 Our Nonconformist Churches have had to struggle 
 with many difficulties. To an extent not easily esti- 
 mated the nation is indebted to the Free Churches of our 
 villages and country towns. The Nonconformist Church 
 at Bluntisham instilled into the minds of the youth of 
 several generations reared within its influence principles 
 of right and much of God's truth. To them the simple 
 gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached. They have 
 been led into wisdom's path, and guided in the way of 
 righteousness. Habits have been formed associations 
 made which will be perpetuated through generations yet 
 unborn, and in countries scarcely known. The great cities 
 of our land have profited by the living influence of truth 
 disseminated by the Bluntisham Nonconformist Church 
 truth which has been felt in our colonies and in many other 
 parts of the earth. In large towns those on whom the 
 churches there have exercised a beneficial influence often 
 remain to be the strength and support of those churches, 
 but in our village communities those whom they have 
 influenced go forth from their homes and become the 
 bone and sinew and the sustaining strength of the churches 
 of our great towns and cities, and of our world-wide co- 
 lonial life. Truly they become the salt of the earth. In
 
 310 CONCLUSION. 
 
 every place it requires faith and patience to labour on, 
 but in our little country churches more than common self- 
 abnegation and disinterestedness are needed. The strain 
 of puritanism is preserved by the free church communi- 
 ties scattered about our land. Within them free thought, 
 independent judgment and unfettered action are en- 
 couraged ; the drawbacks are the evils incident to liberty, 
 and these are less dangerous than those incident to 
 slavery. The free exercise of the intellectual and moral 
 powers of men promotes their growth adds to their moral 
 and intellectual health and to the measure of their 
 strength. With such an environment we are more likely 
 to get freshness of thought, new ideas and greater origi- 
 nality, less subserviency to errors bound to us by habit, 
 less tendency to travel in deep-worn ruts. This healthy 
 surrounding of freedom keeps the heart and mind more 
 open and ready to receive light, as God in his many ways 
 fulfils his purposes to us. Nor is this free atmosphere 
 incompatible with conservatism. What we can receive of 
 truth and right is still rendered more sacred by long tra- 
 dition, by hallowed association, and cherished memories. 
 The simple truths of the Bible, the stories of the Old and 
 New Testaments, are still woven into our lives, inter- 
 twined with our parents' love, and the brightness and 
 sweetness of home. 
 
 At the present time our Country Free Churches are 
 in great need of sympathy and help. They are feeling 
 the effects of the present terrible agricultural depression, 
 and beside the poverty consequent on this, they are con- 
 tending with the gradual depopulation of our purely agri- 
 cultural districts, and the distress which this entails on 
 many of their supporters. The long continuance of these 
 troubles, their aggravation as time lengthens, instead of
 
 CONCLUSION. 311 
 
 the amelioration long hoped for, is a source of great and 
 increasing anxiety. These struggling village churches claim 
 all the help which can be given them in word and deed. 
 To give this wisely without weakening self-respect and 
 therefore self-help, is however no easy task, and we earnestly 
 hope that the next record of Village Life at Bluntisham 
 will tell of returning prosperity to our Village Religious 
 Communities. 
 
 PASTORS OF BLUNTISHAM NONCONFORMIST 
 CONGREGATION. 
 
 COXE FEARY 1787. 
 
 SAMUEL GREEN 1818. 
 
 J. EDMUND SIMMONS, M.A. 1830. 
 
 F. W. GOADBY, M.A., Lond. 1868. 
 
 J. FOSTER MAKEPEACE 1876. 
 
 W. COLIN BRYAN 1884. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE : PRINTED BY C. J. CLAY, M.A. AND SONS, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
 
 A 000027869