This Stonehas been raised by an affectionate congregationto the memory of their beloved pastor,theRev. Joseph Gronow,who for more than twenty-one yearscontinued diligently, faithfully, and successfullyto discharge the duties of his office.His affection, simplicity, sympathy, and sincerityconciliated the respect of all who knew him,and peculiarly endeared him to his flock.With great calmness, and with a blessed hopeof a glorious immortality,he closed his mortal course, December the 9th, 1817,aged 49."Though dead, he yet speaks to his people,"for whose salvation he always manifested the greatest solicitude.
Mr. Gronow was about the middle stature, plain in appearance; as a preacher, serious, affectionate, fervent. Plainness and simplicity marked his language and the plan of his sermons, while they were full of evangelical truth, setting forth experimental and practical piety. He preached as one concerned for the honour of his great Master and the good of immortal souls. Mr. Gronow had been assistant for a short time to Mr. Maurice, of Stretton-under-Fosse, before he came to Weedon. He was succeeded by Mr. James Pinkerton, who had been a student at the Newport Academy, and was ordained here May 6th, 1819, and was pastor of this Church for thirteen years. In the year 1831 he resigned, and removed to Totteridge, near London; but he had not filled this situation more than two years, we believe, before he was summoned from the scenes of time and the services of the Church on earth. Mr. Pinkerton was of a very amiable and pious spirit, devoted to his Master's work. His sermons appeared to be well prepared, full of important and appropriate thought, discovering some energy of mind, and delivered with animation of manner. He frequently preached at the meetings of the County Association, and was always heard with interest.
At the close of 1831, the present pastor, Mr. Isaac Evans, came on probation, and was ordained July 24th, 1832. During the ministry of Mr. Evans a new school-room has been erected, at the cost of £120, which was opened in the year 1847. The Sabbath-school is conducted here, containing about 125 children.
The present number of communicants is 80. One service is conducted at Floor every Sabbath, where the congregation is considered as a branch of theChurch at Weedon. The present Chapel there was built in the year 1810.
Some alterations and improvements have recently been made in the Chapel at Weedon, at a cost of £115, which will, we trust, add to the comfort of the place and the accommodation of the congregation. All would be accompanied with the fervent and united desire of the pastor and his flock that abundant tokens of the blessing of the great Head of the Church may attend all their efforts.
The populous village of Long Buckby, containing more than 2600 inhabitants, has a neat and commodious Independent Chapel, capable of seating about 700 hearers, with convenient school-rooms, and a respectable dwelling-house for the minister. Previous to the erection of the present building there was an old Chapel, which had stood for many years in another situation; but it is much to be regretted in this case, as in some others, that no accounts have been preserved of the origin or early history of this Church.
Before the year 1662, when Mr. Richard Allen, who became one of the ejected ministers, preached in the parish Church of Norton, a short distance from this village, amongst other places mentioned from which hearers came to attend on his ministry, there were some from Long Buckby; but whether it was very soon after the ejectment of their favourite preacher that they sought the ministration of the Nonconformists in this place we have no account. The earliest notice we find of an Independent minister at Long Buckby is in the account of the ordination of Mr. Tingey, at Northampton, in 1709, when a Mr. Jackson, minister at Long Buckby, was present. In the account which Mr. Sanders, one of the pastors of the Church at Kettering,gives of his ordination, as preserved in the records of that Church, which took place November 23, 1721, he states—"Mr. Cartwright, of Buckby, began with prayer, and prayed well." This proves to us that there was a Mr. Cartwright, a Dissenting minister, at Buckby, 131 years ago. Again, we find his signature attached to the certificate of Mr. Hextal's ordination at Creaton in 1738, which shows us that his ministry extended over some considerable period in this place. He was also engaged in the ordination of Mr. J. Heywood, at Potterspury, in 1740.
As a further memorial of him, we have discovered a very old upright gravestone in the Churchyard of Long Buckby, erected to his memory. With some considerable difficulty we deciphered the inscription, which states concisely his age, the time of his death, and the character he bore.
In memoryof the Rev. Mr.Thomas Cartwright,who died April 13th, 1744, aged 57;having by a diligent, faithful, and humble dischargeof the various duties of the Christian andministerial life,obtained a good report of all men,and of the truth itself;being most highly esteemed of thoseby whom he was most intimately known.
Mr. Cartwright left a widow, who survived him thirty-nine years.
The next pastor of this Church was a Mr. Walker, but of his life or ministry we find no records preserved.
Mr. Richard Denny became pastor of this Church in 1763, and continued his labours for nearly forty years. During his ministry the present MeetingHouse was built, in 1771; and in one part of that ministry a remarkable revival of religion took place, followed by permanent results of the most important kind. He was the last surviving student of Dr. Doddridge, for whom he retained to his last day the strongest affection. He survived until the year 1813, when he died at the age of nearly 90 years, having been disabled from regular public service for almost twenty years.
Mr. Denny was born at Barby, a small village in Northamptonshire. Having pious parents, he was from a child the subject of religious impressions. Serving an apprenticeship at Lutterworth, the preaching of the Gospel he heard there deepened and ripened these impressions, so that he was led at an early age to make a solemn dedication of himself to God as his Creator and Redeemer.
He was recommended to an eligible mercantile situation in the metropolis; but a peculiar coincidence of circumstances rendered his application unsuccessful, and, as he had long felt a great desire to devote himself to the work of the ministry, and that desire having been confirmed by his attendance while in London on the labours of Mr. Whitefield, the sacred flame of holy zeal was so enkindled in his breast, that from an ardent concern to honour his Saviour in the conversion of sinners, he now consecrated himself to this work. Being introduced to the notice of Dr. Doddridge, he kindly and cordially received him under his tuition. Though there was a great disparity between him and his tutor in talents and acquirements, yet there was a great resemblance in Christian affection, holy zeal, and ardent piety; and such was his regard to the "dear Doctor," as he generally styled him, that he often mentionedhis name and his excellencies with the tear glistening in his eye.
He was placed in two situations as minister after leaving the academy before he came to reside at Long Buckby; but here was the scene of the largest portion of his ministerial life, his labour, and his success; and at one particular time, as we have hinted, he was honoured with what was considered as remarkable success. He had been repeatedly complaining of the want of a blessing on his labours, and was greatly discouraged; but he wrestled hard, to use his own expression, by fervent and constant prayer, for a blessing to attend his efforts, and his great Master heard the voice of his supplication. There was an extraordinary revival in the congregation at large; many were awakened to the most serious concern about their everlasting interests; and in the course of two or three years about forty members were added to the Church.
After he had resigned his charge, in consequence of advancing years, he set an attractive example of piety and holy consistency; his lively and spiritual conversation was rendered useful to many. In his intercourse with Christian friends he manifested the supporting and cheering influence of religion under the infirmities of age, affording the most pleasing evidence of its reality and power. He was so remarkable for his kind and affectionate disposition, that he was often compared to the apostle John. He could converse on divine subjects to the last, when his frame was enfeebled and his mental powers weakened. Dr. Watts' Hymns were his constant companions; and those sentiments in them which appear almost too seraphic for common minds, exactly suited the elementin which he lived. In his last hours he said, "I shall soon see the blessed, blessed Redeemer, and the dear Doctor Doddridge." When he could no longer speak, he intimated a wish that his finger might be placed on a particular verse in Watts' Hymns. This is the language in which he wished to express the sentiments and feelings of his soul, when his lips could no longer move—
"Dearest of all the names above,My Jesus and my God,Who can resist thy heavenly love,Or trifle with thy blood?"
He died April 13th, 1813, and his remains were interred in the Meeting House he had been the means of erecting, and near the pulpit he had so long and so usefully filled. Six neighbouring ministers attended his funeral, and one of them, Mr. Gronow, of Weedon, delivered an affecting and suitable address on the occasion. The following Sabbath the funeral sermon was preached by his successor, Mr. D. Griffiths, to a very crowded audience, from Rev. xiv. 13: "And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."
The immediate successor of Mr. Denny was Mr. Mosely, who came from Atherstone to Buckby, continued here about eight years, and then removed to Hanley, in Staffordshire. It was during the ministry of Mr. Mosely that the present dwelling-house was built for the minister.
Mr. Daniel Griffiths was the next pastor of the Church; he commenced his stated ministry at Buckby March 27th, 1803, and was ordained the 17th ofNovember following, when Mr. Anthony, of Bedford, began the service by prayer and reading the Scriptures; Mr. Horsey, of Northampton, delivered the introductory discourse, asked the questions, and received the confession of faith; Mr. Denny, the former pastor, offered the ordination prayer; Mr. Toller, of Kettering, gave the charge, from 1st Tim. iv. 13-16; Mr. Gill, of Harborough, addressed the people, from Deut. i. 38; Mr. Knight and Mr. Morrell were engaged in the devotional parts of the service; and Mr. Cox, of Clipstone, preached in the evening, from Matt. vi. 33.
The ministry of Mr. Griffiths was continued in this place for thirty-nine years. In the year 1819, the congregation having much increased, the Chapel was considerably enlarged, and a fourth gallery erected, at an expense of more than £300, which was cheerfully defrayed by the people. At the re-opening of the Chapel in September, the late Mr. Toller, of Kettering, preached, and it is supposed to have been the last time that he officiated out of his own pulpit. Mr. Robertson, then of Stretton, in Warwickshire, "preached," observes Mr. Griffiths, "a noble sermon in the evening, from 'All souls are mine.'"
In the year 1825 a new and commodious school-room was erected, by means of a legacy of £50 left by Mr. David Ashby for that purpose; the remainder of the cost being defrayed by the relatives of Mr. Ashby.
Mr. Griffiths resigned his charge on the 19th of December, 1841. He still survives, and, with the remaining strength of declining life, is able to preach once on the Sabbath to assist his son, who is minister at Cannock, in Staffordshire.
After the resignation of Mr. Griffiths, the congregation was supplied for some time chiefly by the students from Spring Hill College; but at length an invitation was given to Mr. Apperly, from Blackburn Academy, who entered on his pastoral duties on the 2nd of October, 1842.
The ministry of Mr. Apperly continued for about ten years. We regret to state that the congregation did not remain in a united or prosperous state; and on the 4th of July, 1852, Mr. Apperly resigned and emigrated to Australia. His friends, as a token of their regard, made him a present of thirty guineas before his departure.
The present number of communicants is near 50. There are 100 children in the Sabbath-schools.
The interest of £230, and the rent of a small close of land, amounting in the whole to about £17 per annum, belong to the place towards the support of the minister for the time being.
A village containing the population there is in Long Buckby, with everything convenient for the worship of God, the ministry of the word, and the instruction of the young, in the commodious Chapel and school-rooms, presents an interesting sphere of labour; and we hope to hear that this cause again revives and extends, under the labours of a devoted and successful pastor.
Mr. F. Evans, of Ulverston, Lancashire, has accepted an invitation to the pastoral office, and was to commence his stated labours here October 31st, 1852.
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 ofChester, 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 sustainedthe 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 himand 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.
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 himand 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 mostcommon 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 thronewith 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."
Soon after the accession of George III., as was usual on such occasions, the Dissenting body went up to the thronewith 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 exhorthis 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 itoff." 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 appearto 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, inthe 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.
The name of this village is familiar to many of the lovers of poetry from Cowper's celebrated lines on "Yardley Oak," standing in "Yardley Chase," about a mile and a half from the village.
A stranger paying a visit to Yardley might have his attention excited by the appearance of a large and beautiful stone building, as an Independent Chapel, with a respectable minister's house on the south side of the Chapel, and spacious school-rooms on the north. The whole of the buildings, standing on an elevation and being enclosed by a wall and ornamental iron railing, add much to the appearance of the village.
It would be highly gratifying to any friend to Dissenting Churches to be able to tell from what small beginnings this rose, who commenced an Independent interest here, what difficulties were overcome, what trials were borne, and with what success the efforts were crowned. But in these respects disappointment meets us. Those who first laboured here, and laid the foundation of this Church, were more anxious, we presume, to have their services approved and recorded on high, than to secure a record of them to be handed down to their successors in the Church below. We think it would have been wiser if they had left ussome written memorials of the labours in which they engaged, and of the blessing that attended them, not for our gratification merely, but for our encouragement and improvement.
The earliest trust deed of a Meeting House at Yardley is dated 1719, and it speaks of the building as having been recently erected. The first notice that we have been able to find of a stated minister in this place occurs in the certificate of Doddridge's ordination at Northampton, in 1730. One of the signatures to that document is Mr. J. Drake, of Yardley. The same name occurs in a certificate which we have seen, preserved in the handwriting of Doddridge, of the ordination of the Rev. W. Hextal, at Creaton, in 1738. Mr. Drake was also present at the ordination of Mr. Haywood, of Potterspury, in the year 1740, and he also officiated in the ordination service and signed the certificate of the late Rev. W. Bull, of Newport, in October, 1766. Thus we learn that he was for a considerable number of years minister of this place. It was also stated by the late Mr. Bull, that during the latter years of his life he resided at Olney, was pastor of the Independent Church there, and was accustomed to preach one part of the Sabbath at Yardley, and the other part at Olney.
About the year 1782, the Church at Yardley, being destitute of a minister, requested Mr. Thomas Raban, of Olney, to render them his assistance. After supplying them with acceptance for some time, he was invited to become their pastor, and was ordained in 1783. There are some interesting particulars preserved of the character and labours of Mr. Raban, which we shall briefly present to the reader. He was born at Turvey, in the county of Bedford—the villagethat was for years distinguished by the ministry of Legh Richmond, and by the results of his ministry leading to the formation of an Independent Church in that place. Mr. Raban was apprenticed at Olney, where he first heard the truths of the Gospel from Mr. Moses Brown, author of 'Sunday Thoughts,' then the vicar of Olney. When about ten years of age, he was deeply convinced of sin, and guided to the Saviour of sinners. He became a stated hearer and an affectionate friend of Mr. Brown's, and joined in communion with the Church. He had occasional opportunities of hearing Mr. Whitefield, and to his dying day he retained the savour of the truths which that eminent servant of Christ delivered. Speaking of Mr. Whitefield, he would say, "I once had the honour of having him hang on my arm; and, to be sure, I thought myself the happiest of men:" at another time—"I attended him as a guide to a village where he was going to preach, to my unspeakable gratification." He sometimes also attended Mr. Hervey's ministry, and would speak of his sermons with renewed satisfaction and delight to the end of his life. About the year 1778, in conjunction with an intimate friend, he began to exhort at prayer-meetings attended by members of the establishment. They persevered in this practice for some time solely with the view of being serviceable to their fellow Christians in that neighbourhood; though the Lord, by this step, was preparing them for spheres of usefulness in another direction, and the great Bishop of Souls soon found employment for both of them. This friend of Mr. Raban's was Mr. Perry, who afterwards became minister at Wollaston.
When Mr. Raban had accepted the invitation to Yardley, he was much devoted to the spiritual interestsof his flock; but having a numerous family, he continued at Olney, following his occupation as a mechanic or builder. This enabled him to serve his flock with scarcely any reward but their affections and their prayers. In addition to his labours at Yardley, he preached lectures in different places; and it is worthy of remark, that he was the first Dissenting minister who established a lecture at Woburn, Bedfordshire, where there is now a settled congregation.
Several remarkable escapes from danger and death were experienced by Mr. Raban. On one occasion, being in an unfinished building two stories high, his foot slipped and he fell to the ground and pitched upon an axe, the edge of which stood upright; it cut his hat, but missed his head, and he sustained little or no injury. At another time, a large piece of timber, on which he had set his foot, heaved up and fell with him into a saw-pit, and an anvil of a hundred pounds' weight, connected with the wood, fell upon him; but it only bruised his leg, which was soon healed. There was another still more remarkable preservation which he had to record. As he was assisting in raising a beam in a mill, the rope slipped, when the beam, under which he stood, fell with him from a height of four stories; but though much injured by the fall, his life was wonderfully preserved. At another time, he was driving a team with a load of hay down a narrow lane, when, by attempting to get on the other side of the waggon, he was thrown under the wheel; but he had the presence of mind to call to the horses to stop, which they did in a moment, and thus he was once more saved from instantaneous death. Such deliverances must have deeply affected the heart of a good man, and have led him with some deep emotion to say,with the Psalmist, "who redeemeth our life from destruction." But within the last month of his existence, the truth of Cowper's beautiful lines were exemplified—