There is a Chapel in the village of Swinford, about four miles from Yelvertoft, connected with this cause, in which a regular Sabbath-evening service is conducted by the pastor of this Church. There have been occasional services here for some years past, and a new Chapel was erected a few years ago.
Thus we have seen that there has been a gradual and pleasing advancement in this cause, giving hope of still further tokens of the divine presence and favour; while the pastor and his flock unitedly plead, "Let thy work still appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children."
CHAPTER XIX.
MEMORIALS OF THE INDEPENDENT CHURCH AT WOLLASTON.
The Independent Church in the village of Wollaston is of rather recent formation. Not more than sixty-four years have passed since the professing Christians residing in this place who dissented from the Established Church were formed into a regular independent Christian society; but in looking back to the early days of Nonconformity, we find a Mr. Edmund Matthews, a man of good learning, sound judgment, and serious piety, who had been the vicar of Wollaston, resigning the living, refusing to submit to the terms imposed by the Act of Uniformity, coming out from the Church, and taking his place among the noble band of Nonconformist worthies. It was a considerable sacrifice that he had to make, for truth and a good conscience. "Cut off from his former means of support, he lived privately at Wellingborough, and practised as a medical man, but was often reduced to great straits. When things were at the lowest, he would commit his wife and seven children to the care of Providence; and God mercifully appeared for them. He was laid on the bed of affliction, and saw his end approaching, with the prospect of leaving his family unprovided for. There came a messenger from two of his relations, one a draper and the other a minister, bidding him be easy about his wife and children, for the one would clothe them all, and the other provide them with food;" and to show how well they were disposed of, it is stated "that his wife afterwards practised medicine, and sent two of her sons to the University, while the eldest daughter married a knight." Mr. Matthews was a man full of compassion and genuine charity; exemplary for faith, meekness, patience, resignation to the will of God, and reliance on the promises. He had great comfort in death.
It does not appear that Mr. Matthews made any attempt to raise a congregation or to carry on his ministry after his ejectment; but as there were Nonconformist ministers who in this early period took opportunities to preach the Gospel at Wellingborough, which is within four miles of Wollaston, those who separated from the Established Church in the latter place would travel to the former to attend those services, and would become connected with the Independent Churches that were early formed there, while they endeavoured to obtain occasional services in the village where they resided.
It was soon after the middle of the last century that the present Chapel was built, viz., in 1752; but it was not until the year 1788 that the Church was formed and the first pastor settled. In that year Mr. Perry, of Lavendon Mill, near Olney, was invited to take the pastoral charge over them. He was the intimate friend and had been the fellow-labourer of Mr. Raban, who was pastor of the Church at Yardley Hastings. They had been connected with the Established Church at Olney; both of them had engaged in delivering exhortations at meetings for social prayer and for the mutual improvement of their fellow Christians who belonged to the Church. These engagements were the means of introducing them to further service, so that they both became pastors of Independent Churches in these villages, which were but a short distance from their former abode.
In the records of the Church at West End, Wellingborough, it is stated that "at a Church-meeting held October 5th, 1778, Mr. Perry, of Lavendon Mill, who had for some time before exercised his gifts among Dissenters, though at that time in connexion with the Church of England as by law established, having testified his desire to join this Church with a view to his being sent out to the ministry in an orderly way, he came, and gave an account of his call to speak the word, the reasons that induced him to approve of the order of Congregational Churches, and his reasons for desiring to join with this Church. He was proposed to the Church to join next Church-meeting." In a month from this time another meeting was held, when "Mr. Perry gave in his experience to great satisfaction, and then, according to former appointment, preached amongst us to good satisfaction also; and the Church being consulted, they thought it was plainly their duty to send brother Perry out to preach the Gospel wherever the Lord should be pleased to call him, and concluded the next Church-meeting should be held for that end and purpose." Then it was unanimously agreed that brother Perry should preach wherever Providence should call him.