CHAPTER XIII.
MEMORIALS OF THE INDEPENDENT CHURCH AT POTTERSPURY.
The Independent Church in this place has existed about 160 years; not tracing its origin quite to the earliest days of Nonconformity, but commencing about thirty years after the passing of the "Bartholomew Act." It was not by the immediate operation of that Act, leading an ejected minister to raise a congregation of Nonconformists here, as in many other places, but by its gradual influence, that it led on to the formation of this Church.
At the time of the passing of the Act referred to, in 1662, the village was favoured with the ministry of Mr. Joseph Newell, who was sufficiently conscientious not hastily to submit to the requirements of this Act, for he suffered himself to be ejected from his living, though he subsequently conformed; but the minister by whose labour this Church was formed was the Rev. Michael Harrison, who preached in the parish Church of Caversfield, Bucks, and resided in the vicarage there, where he had performed the duties of a faithful minister of Christ for a number of years. He became dissatisfied with the terms of conformity; maintained familiar intercourse with evangelical Dissenters; and at length became fully prepared to recede from the Church.
Dr. Calamy, who was then studying at Oxford, says: "There were at this time monthly fasts appointed by authority, and generally observed very regularly, to implore the divine blessing in order to the success of our forces. At one of these fasts I was at Bicester, and assisted old Mr. Cornish, who was indisposed, at his Meeting House, in the morning; and afterwards walked over to Caversfield, about a mile distant, the Dissenters in a body bearing me company. There I preached in the public Church in the afternoon, and had a crowded Church from the country round. Mr. M. Harrison preached in the Church, of which Mr. Beard was patron; and he lived in the house adjoining. But Mr. Harrison was now from home, in Northamptonshire, where he was gathering a congregation of Dissenters about Potterspury, designing to quit the Church and settle among them."
Mr. Harrison's efforts were successful; he soon gathered around him some friends, removed to reside amongst them, formed a Congregational Church, and purchased a property, on which he fitted up a place of worship.
When Mr. Harrison removed to Pury, a Mr. John Warr, who formerly lived in the neighbourhood of Caversfield, came with him to enjoy the benefit of his ministry. And connected with this circumstance is another, which will show something of the spirit of the times. "When Mr. Harrison came to Pury, he brought a pulpit with him, which he deemed it necessary to conceal; therefore, to prevent it being known, Mr. Warr, being a shoemaker, contrived to fill it with shoe-pegs, and brought it among his own goods in a waggon from Bicester."
Some property his wife possessed, in the county of Chester, it is supposed was sold, to enable Mr. Harrison to purchase the premises on which his dwelling-house and the Meeting House were fitted up. When the barn which formed the humble Meeting House was prepared, at the request of the people Dr. Calamy preached at the opening, and had a numerous auditory. It should here be observed, that the disinterestedness and sincerity of Mr. Harrison were strikingly evinced by his willingness not only to relinquish his clerical stipend, but to hazard his own private property amongst a people who had never been accustomed to make voluntary efforts for the support of the Gospel ministry. He trusted, however, to the great principles for which he made these sacrifices, and to the faithfulness of their glorious Author; and he did not trust in vain. After labouring here about nineteen years, Mr. Harrison removed in the year 1709, and became the minister of an Independent Church at St. Ives, in the county of Huntingdon, where he continued to labour for many years, and died in January, 1726, leaving two daughters to lament their loss.
The property at Pury now passed into other hands; for Mr. Harrison, on leaving, sold it to a gentleman in the neighbourhood of London; reserving, however, to the people the pulpit and other fittings of the Meeting House. The congregation for some time rented the place; but subsequently purchased the whole property, and vested it in the hands of trustees.
The immediate successors of Mr. Harrison did not continue long at Potterspury, and of their labours little is known.
The first of these was the Rev. Mr. Bennett, who, declining to take the pastoral office, soon removed, and was followed by the Rev. Isaac Robinson, who sustained the pastoral office about four years. In 1714, the Rev. Wm. Bushnell was the pastor, and continued to preach here till Michaelmas, 1729, when he left, and removed to Andover, in Herefordshire; and from thence, in 1732, to Nailsworth. He was succeeded at Pury by the Rev. Samuel Taylor.
The minister of whom we have the fullest account, and whose ministry appears to have been most extensively and permanently useful in this Church, though attended with some eccentricities that diminished its value, was the Rev. John Heywood, who came from Lincoln to this place in 1739. "After preaching here for about twelve months, he was ordained September 25th, 1740; on which occasion Mr. Petto, of Floor, began the service with prayer; Mr. Cartwright, of Long Buckby, prayed before sermon; Mr. Hunt, of Hackney, preached the sermon to the people; Mr. Clark, of St. Alban's, offered the ordination prayer, accompanied with imposition of hands; Dr. Doddridge gave the charge; and Mr. Drake, of Yardley Hastings, concluded with prayer."
When Mr. Heywood passed his examination previous to his ordination, he was required to maintain the following thesis in Latin—"The Scriptures a rule of faith." The manuscript, carefully and curiously written, together with the hymn which he composed to be sung at the ordination, remains to the present day, as a proof of his learning and a specimen of his talents. The ordination hymn, and about forty others which he composed for the use of his congregation, were afterwards published, dedicated to Dr. Doddridge, with whom Mr. Heywood was on intimate terms, and to whom he expresses himself as under very great obligations.
At the time of this settlement the Church appears to have consisted of fifty-seven members, of whom fifteen had been admitted by Mr. Harrison, one by Mr. Robinson, twenty-four by Mr. Bushnell, and nineteen by Mr. Taylor.
The following Church covenant was drawn up by Mr. Heywood, which is agreed to by all who join the Church:—
Church Covenant.
1. We avouch the Lord this day to be our God, and ourselves to be his people, in the truth and sincerity of our hearts.
2. We call heaven and earth, angels and men, to witness this day that we recognize our baptismal covenant, and give up ourselves to God the Father, Son, and Spirit, as our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, in an everlasting covenant never to be forgotten.
3. We do bind ourselves, in the presence of God, to walk together in his ways; to attend upon his word and ordinances of his grace; resolving to cleave to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to him alone, for pardon and salvation.
4. We do sincerely promise, through divine assistance, to make the glory of God our aim and end; to watch against everything that would offend God, grieve his Holy Spirit, and bring a reproach upon the good way of God.
5. We solemnly promise to walk with all our fellow Christians with all humility and tenderness; to love one another, even as Christ has loved us, and given himself for us; to avoid jealousies, suspicions, backbitings, censurings, provokings, secret risings of spirit against them; to bear and forbear, to give and forgive, as our dear Lord has taught us.
6. At all times we desire, by the help of divine grace, to watch against everything that would offend our fellow Christians, and promise to be willing to submit to the advice and council of our minister and fellow Christians.
7. We promise to behave with all possible loyalty and allegiance to his sacred Majesty King George, and to pray for him and all his royal family, that God may bless them, and confound all the designs and blast the counsels of all his enemies, both at home and abroad.
8. We promise to cultivate the duties of the closet, and to promote family prayer, that God may dwell with us and bless us, and all that are dear to us. We also promise to abound in the strict sanctification of the Lord's-day, and to bring all we can under the droppings of God's sanctuary. And all this we promise, not in our own strength and power, but in the name and strength of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whose blood we desire this covenant may be sprinkled.
Such was the active spirit and ardent zeal of Mr. Heywood, that he engaged in an extensive range of itinerant labour, not only in the villages in which his predecessors had preached, but in many and more remote places, where, but for his abundant efforts, the Gospel would have been unknown. He kept a journal of all the places in which he preached. Great prosperity in the Church appeared to be the result of these zealous and faithful labours. Mr. Heywood addressed a pastoral letter, on "the nature and importance of regeneration," to the Church and congregation, which are represented as residing in about twenty places around Potterspury, the names of which are given. In this wide sphere of pastoral labour, Mr. Heywood used to travel for many years on an old grey horse, which often stumbled, and sometimes fell; but he, nothing injured or dismayed, would prosecute his journey with his waistcoat open, and the long ends of his neckcloth streaming in the wind, while his tall lank figure, his slovenly appearance, and his too often despised employment, caused him to be regarded by many as among the most eccentric of men. This impression was doubtless increased by the colloquial style of his village discourses, in which he often condescended to employ the most common provincial expressions. The excellent Mr. Robins, in his memoir of Mr. Strange, of Kilsby, speaks of Mr. Heywood as "that singular gentleman, much more famed for his zeal than for the prudence or propriety of his conduct."
But he made suitable preparation for his more stated labours, and preserved his taste for classical and polite literature; a great many sermons, beautifully written in a peculiar kind of long hand, prove the former, while his association with noblemen of patriotic and classical minds in the neighbourhood proves the latter. His Grace the Duke of Grafton not only condescended to visit him, but gave him free access to his library at Wakefield, as he did also his immediate successor. The Duke was in principle a Dissenter, and in sentiment a Unitarian. Though his Grace differed widely from both Mr. Heywood and his successor, he was very kind to them both; he once, at least, attended at the Meeting at Pury, and till the time of his death subscribed £10 a year to the support of the cause. His subscription was continued some time after his death, but withdrawn at the decease of the Rev. Isaac Gardner.
But Earl Temple, the noble proprietor of Stowe, formed a much closer intimacy with Mr. Heywood; his classic wit, sound learning, and inflexible patriotism, induced his Lordship to spend much time in the company of this worthy pastor. On the death of George II., he preached and printed a sermon on the occasion, which he dedicated to his noble friend. An amusing anecdote in connexion with this nobleman is related of Mr. Heywood, in the following words:—
Soon after the accession of George III., as was usual on such occasions, the Dissenting body went up to the throne with an address of congratulation. Mr. Heywood, who was known to them, went up with them; but when he came into the Royal Palace at St. James's, he happened to see there his friend Earl Temple, with whom he immediately entered into conversation. Nothing could equal the vexation of the London ministers, when they saw Mr. Heywood enter the room at Dr. Williams's library, where they were assembled to go to the Royal Palace, nor their surprize at finding that he was the only one of their number who had a friend at Court; for their plain-looking country brother had no sooner entered than he was recognized by Earl Temple. While Mr. Heywood was conversing with the noble Earl, the ministers were admitted to his Majesty's presence, kissed hands, and were in the act of returning, which being perceived by Earl Temple, he suggested to Mr. Heywood the danger of losing the opportunity he came to enjoy. Mr. Heywood instantly turned round, and passing by his brethren who were returning, called out to the King, as he retired from the throne, "Stop, please your Majesty, stop! I have come all the way from Potterspury to kiss your Majesty's hand, and I hope I shall be allowed the honour." The King, with all that excellency of disposition for which he was remarkable, turned round and presented his hand. Mr. Heywood gave it two or three hearty kisses, adding, "God bless your Majesty! and I hope you will make a good King."
Scenes and associations like these, however, formed but parentheses in the history of this devoted man, whose general occupation in the instruction of the young, village preaching, and pastoral visits, secured him more satisfaction, and doubtless more honour too, than the noblest friendships earth could have supplied. Scarcely a Church-meeting was held without some addition to the society through his useful labours. It appears that during the many years he was pastor, there was not more than one person suspended from Church fellowship for improper conduct.
Mr. Heywood was unfortunate in his marriage relation, and for twenty-eight years endured all the painful consequences of not taking heed to "marry in the Lord"; his home was uncomfortable, his work as a minister of the Gospel often impeded, and its difficulties increased. The violence of disposition, equalled only by the selfishness, of his wife, formed quite a contrast to the amiableness and liberality of his own. The effects of this unsuitable union were partly apparent in his neglected person and comfortless appearance; but what his spirits suffered from it was known only to God, to whom it was presented in the many prayers he offered up on her account. These prayers were ultimately answered, and in the year 1768 he had the great happiness to receive her into the Church of which he was pastor.
Other domestic afflictions came upon him; particularly the loss of a beloved and only son, who, having evinced true piety from his earliest years, was devoted to the ministry, and studying with Dr. Ashworth, at Daventry; when on the 3rd of May, 1762, he was drowned while bathing, in the eighteenth year of his age. The pressure of these afflictions, together with the effects of unremitting labour and frequent exposure to wet and cold in his village excursions, began to show themselves in his constitution, and his health and strength declined. His dread, however, of being an idle servant, induced him to continue his efforts to the utmost extent. At length he was obliged to relinquish all public engagements but those of his own pulpit, for which he soon became unequal; but when he could no longer ascend the desk or walk to the Meeting House, he insisted on being carried there, and, seated in one of the aisles, like the beloved Apostle he continued to exhort his people to come to Christ. His great affection and solicitude for children and young persons was always displayed; and when confined to his bed in his last sickness, this anxiety did not forsake him, for he would have the young people of his charge assembled in interesting groups around his bed-side, and, after addressing them with much Christian feeling, he desired them to kneel down that he might lay his hands upon them, with fervent petitions for the divine blessing to rest upon them. At length, while surrounded by a few of his chosen friends, to whom he bore a peaceful testimony of the grace of Christ, he fell asleep in the Lord on the 1st of January, 1778. His venerable friend, the Rev. William Bull, of Newport, preached his funeral sermon.
Whilst this excellent man displayed at times an eccentric manner, and there might be something imprudent connected with his zeal, yet his excellent temper, disinterested labours, sound learning, and true piety, secured for him the respect and veneration of many; and the formation of several flourishing congregations, and the conversion of many souls, prove that he did not labour in vain.
As might have been expected, when Mr. Heywood's village labours decreased, the Church and congregation became much reduced, and it required the services of a young and devoted man to revive the declining interest.
Mr. John Goode, a student at Newport Academy, had assisted Mr. Heywood before his death, and he was invited to become the pastor, and was ordained October 24th, 1782, when his tutor, Mr. Bull, gave him the charge, from 1st Kings xx. 11: "Let not him that girdeth on his armour boast as he that putteth it off." The declining congregation was greatly revived; for though Mr. Goode did not attempt to fill the whole sphere of labour which his predecessor occupied, yet he preached in all the principal places. A decisive proof of his success remains in the present Meeting, and the pastoral house adjoining. The old Meeting House, which had originally been a barn or out-building belonging to what was called "Padder's Farm," and in which the congregation had assembled from its first establishment, was now pulled down with the old house adjoining, in which Mr. Harrison and his successors had resided. The present Meeting House and Parsonage were erected on the site, and the former was opened for public worship by Mr. Bull on the 9th of August, 1780.
Mr. Goode was born at Buckingham, March 26th, 1754. He served a regular apprenticeship to an apothecary there. During his early days, Buckingham Church was favoured with the ministry of the excellent Rev. David Simpson, afterwards of Macclesfield, well known as the author of the 'Plea for Religion and the Holy Scriptures.' Mr. Goode and his brother, afterwards the Rev. William Goode, the successor of the celebrated Romaine, at Blackfriars, were brought to the knowledge of the truth under the ministry of Mr. Simpson. When brought earnestly to attend to his own salvation, he had a lively and anxious solicitude after the salvation of others. He was in the habit of rising early, and, accompanied by a few young friends, going to preach in some of the neighbouring cottages, and then returning to his daily duties at the time of commencing business. He also frequently met a few friends in the evening at a private house for prayer, and the exhortations he then delivered appear to have been made useful to many, who lived to exemplify the power of religion. It is a pleasing fact, which deserves to be recorded in connexion with this little social meeting, that the great Head of the Church was at this time training up three of its members to occupy important stations of usefulness in distinct portions of his vineyard—the subject of this account, his brother (afterwards the clergyman of Blackfriars), and the Rev. James Hinton, for many years the highly-esteemed and useful pastor of the Baptist Church in the city of Oxford.
Mr. Goode determined on devoting himself to the work of the ministry, entered the academy at Newport, and from thence came to Pury, where he continued for fourteen years. The Duke of Grafton favoured Mr. Goode with many marks of kind attention and friendship. An epistolary correspondence which passed between them at different times is still preserved, which, while it illustrates the liberal and condescending respect of the nobleman, exhibits the consistent though gentlemanly demeanour of the Christian pastor, availing himself of any opportunity that offered to do good. At length Mr. Goode removed to London: the Church at White Row, deprived by death of a popular and excellent minister, the Rev. Mr. Trotman, invited Mr. Goode to become their pastor. This removal was very unfavourable to the Church and congregation at Pury; a sad state of trials and difficulties was soon experienced. At White Row Mr. Goode continued to labour for thirty years, during a considerable portion of which he had a large congregation, and was the instrument of conversion and edification to many. In the latter part of his ministry, in consequence of removals and deaths, it was much reduced; but in the year 1819 there were 150 members in communion.
After the removal of Mr. Goode, the members of this Church who resided at Towcester, deeming it more expedient to form themselves into a separate Church than continue their attendance at Pury, five miles distant, were dismissed from this connexion for this purpose, which was the commencement of the Independent Church in that town.
The Rev. George Vowell, of Homerton Academy, was invited as a candidate for the pastoral office after Mr. Goode's removal, and entered upon his labours here. He had not long resided at Pury before he was married to Miss Hall, the only child of Mr. Abraham Hall, a gentleman of considerable reputation and property, in Aldermanbury, London; but not many weeks after this, symptoms of a rapid decline made their appearance, and terminated his short but honourable life, November 20th, 1795, aged 23 years.
The Rev. Stephen Morrell preached here for some months, and afterwards settled at Kilsby.
Early in 1795, Rev. William Whitefoot preached for several Sabbaths; but as his doctrinal sentiments were not approved by all the congregation, he withdrew to Hanslope, and with him the members of the Church who resided there seceded, and in that village a separate cause was attempted.
During the two following years, the Rev. Messrs. Savage, May, and Saunders preached as candidates, but no permanent arrangements were concluded. In September, 1798, the Rev. E. White was invited as a candidate for the pastoral charge; and in March, 1799, the Church, which had by this time fallen into a very low state, was re-organized under his direction, there being only eight of the members then remaining united together out of forty-seven which had belonged to the Church under Mr. Goode's ministry; five others were admitted at the time of the re-organization. Mr. White continued to preach at Pury till October, 1800, when he finally declined accepting a call to the pastoral office, and removed to Hertford, where he was ordained in April, 1801. He ultimately went to Chester, and died there May 5th, 1811.
During the time the Church and congregation were in this low condition no person took a more lively interest in their affairs than the Rev. Samuel Greathead, of Newport; he not only frequently preached to them and administered the Lord's Supper, but suggested to them such plans as were likely, through the blessing of God, to revive the interests of religion among them. In 1805 he recommended to them the Rev. Isaac Gardner, then preaching at Newport, in Essex, as a person likely to suit them as a pastor. Mr. Gardner came to reside among them, and it was hoped that the time had come for God again to favour this part of his Zion; but Mr. Gardner's age rendered him incapable of the exertions required, and during the sixteen years he remained at Pury his infirmities were such as to render him more fit for a station of comparative ease than for one requiring all the zeal and activity of youth. During the ministry of Mr. Gardner another Church was formed at Stony Stratford, which drew off some of the best subscribers, and left but few to uphold the mother Church; but about this time a Mr. Smith, one of the friends to this Church, left £100, the interest to be paid to the minister for the time being for ever.
Mr. Gardner died on the 21st of October, 1821, in the 67th year of his age. A small neat tablet, by the side of the pulpit, marks the spot where his remains are deposited.
Again the Church was supplied from the Newport Academy, and the Rev. James Slye, one of the students, was invited to become the pastor. He succeeded Mr. Gardner in 1823, and was ordained on the fifteenth day of June, 1825, on which occasion the Rev. James Pinkerton, of Weedon, began with reading the Scriptures and prayer; the Rev. E. Barling, of Buckingham, delivered the introductory discourse, and asked the usual questions; the Rev. D. W. Aston, of Buckingham, offered the ordination prayer; the Rev. T. P. Bull, of Newport, gave the charge, from Phil. i. 17; the Rev. William Chapman, of Greenwich, preached to the people, from 2nd Cor. v. 18; and the Rev. T. Adkins, of Southampton, concluded with prayer.
Mr. Slye's settlement was attended with a happy revival in the congregation; two new galleries were soon after erected for the accommodation of the children of the Sabbath-school; and in 1826, the room in which the evening lecture had been carried on (Yardley Gabion) being found too small to contain the increased attendance, a new Chapel was erected, in which service is regularly conducted on the Sabbath evening. Mr. Slye still fills the office of pastor here, and continues his acceptable and useful services amongst this people. The report of the North Bucks Association, to which this Church belongs, states "that at Potterspury the attendance is still good, and there is reason to believe the word is not preached without effect. The Sabbath-school continues in an encouraging state. This place has been visited during the past year by a deputation from the Missionary Society, and the sum of £16. 16s. 3d. has been transmitted to the funds of that institution. Grafton and Alderton are supplied from this Church as formerly, at both of which places the attendance is good. The present number of Church members is 65. There are 130 children in the Sabbath-school. In 1846, two new school-rooms were erected. Services are conducted in three villages in the vicinity."
Thus this Church has been preserved to the present time, through changing circumstances and many difficulties; yet the name of the Redeemer is still honoured among them, and vital Christianity promoted.