questions arose as to the administration of ecclesiastical
affairs—indeed, as to the proper constitution of the Church. The
narrative in this volume has shown that the congregation at Hornton
Street was originally gathered by Presbyterians; and that though no
definite form of polity was adopted, the method of proceedings followed
somewhat the Presbyterian model. The institution of _elders_ was
proposed, but not carried out; _managers_, whose office seems to have
resembled somewhat that of elders, were at once appointed. For a long
time they distinctly and frequently appear in the records of the Society.
Moreover, at first mention is made of “communicants,” “members,” and
“subscribers”, but the word “Church” occurs only now and then, until the
appellation became established in Dr. Leifchild’s time. “Deacons,” too,
are mentioned, but not in a way to indicate what were their distinct
duties, and in what manner they were chosen. “Managers” continued to
administer affairs all the way through; and such persons held office down
to the termination of Dr. Vaughan’s ministry. The practice, when he
left, was strictly congregational; but still the existence of “managers,”
in distinction from deacons, lingered on,—the managers having chiefly to
do with the collection of subscriptions and the support of the minister.
When the new pastorate opened, it was thought time to put an end to what,
on Congregational principles, is an anomaly, and to reduce the
administrative power to the scriptural form of bishop and deacons. Hence
the office of manager was abolished, and an election of new deacons
followed. Those who had been called “managers” were now elected to the
diaconate, and new men were added to the number. Altogether they now
amounted to seven; their names being Messrs. Newton, James, Hine, Walker,
Thurston, Tomlin, and Watson. To give additional importance to this new
step in the Church’s history, it was thought desirable to have special
services connected with it; therefore, first the pastor, at a special
Church meeting, explained the nature of the office, as given in the New
Testament, and next Dr. Tidman, at a week evening lecture, delivered an
appropriate address to the newly-chosen officers. The Church now, in
form as well as spirit, received a decidedly Congregational impress; and
so it has continued ever since. From time to time new diaconal elections
were held, as vacancies occurred; the ballot being adopted, though the
names of suitable persons could be mentioned beforehand, the pastor and
those already in office being allowed, not indeed to _dictate_, but to
_suggest_ such as seemed most qualified for the office. The
last-mentioned deacon on the list just given—Mr. Robert Watson, of
Hammersmith—ought to be specially noticed, for he wrought a practical
change in the conduct of Church business little appreciated at the time.
Being a most conscientious, methodical, and business-like man, as well as
a devout and earnest Christian, he, as secretary of the official staff,
conducted everything in the most orderly manner. I have heard him say
that Church business occupied the chief time of one of his clerks. The
change he introduced into the minutes of proceedings is very striking.
Whereas before, entries were vague and irregular, and no clue is afforded
to determine when and how members were admitted; after Mr. Watson took
office, Church meetings are reported from month to month, with the
greatest regularity; and it can be seen at once who were received into
communion, and what of a spiritual or secular kind transpired. He and
his brethren revised the list of members every year, striking off with
inexorable decision the names of such as had ceased to attend the Lord’s
Supper. In March, 1848, it was made a standing rule, “That any member
being absent from the Lord’s Table for six consecutive months without
sufficient cause assigned, shall, after notice to the party and mention
to the Church, be considered to have withdrawn from the communion of this
Church.” It may be added, that a distinction was made between members in
full communion—having a right to vote in the choice of “bishop and
deacons,” and on other ecclesiastical questions—and persons only
occasional communicants, not adopting Nonconformist opinions, though from
spiritual sympathy wishing to unite with the Church at the Lord’s Table.
Occasional communion often led the way to complete fellowship; the
communicant, however, had to be elected at a Church meeting to a full
share in ecclesiastical rights and privileges.
It may be mentioned further that young people, before they reached an age
which would justify their giving a vote respecting Church affairs, were
allowed to partake of the Lord’s Supper, their subsequent full admission
to fellowship depending upon their election in the usual manner. That
“manner” was in accordance with the usual practice in Congregational
Churches half a century ago. A candidate first had an interview with the
pastor; then he or she was proposed to the Church; one of the deacons
_generally_, but not _always_, had conversation with the individual; and
at the next Church meeting, after a report of eligibility, the election
followed by a show of hands. {77}
That all particulars relating to the constitution of the Church may be
disposed of at once, it remains to be remarked, that when a new trust
deed of Church premises had to be made, instead of the Assembly’s
Catechism being recognised as a standard of belief, a short general
statement of evangelical doctrines was employed.
The year 1845 completed the first half century of the Church’s existence,
and it was deemed fit that the jubilee should be celebrated by a special
service. Accordingly,” a commemorative discourse” was delivered on the
13th of April by the pastor, and it appeared in print at the request of
the congregation. Two passages may be introduced:—
“With devout gratitude it should be remembered that the past half
century has been marked with peace. While some Churches have been
torn with intestine strife, or wrecked by schisms, or reduced to a
mere shadow by heartless formality, the communion of the faithful in
this place has been a practical illustration of the Psalmist’s words,
‘Behold! how good and pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity;’ while at the same time they have exemplified the
principle that progress is the law of spiritual existence in
societies as well as in individuals. It has not been the
peacefulness of death, but the peacefulness of life which has reigned
over this spot; not the calmness of the stagnant pool, but the smooth
and gentle flow of living waters; not the stillness of the rocky
desert, where all is desolate and bare and cold, but the silence of
the garden and the grove, where vitality gushes through many a
channel, and proves its presence and power by abundance of foliage,
flowers, and fruit.
“Every Church should be a kind of missionary station for its whole
vicinity, a centre of exertion and influence telling on the
surrounding sphere; a lighthouse built on a rock, lifting aloft the
lamps of truth, warning, and invitation; or, rather, a floating light
moving in the person of its members through the adjacent district, to
illuminate the benighted, to guide the wanderer, and to save the soul
from moral shipwreck. Happily, the obligation to exemplify an active
Christianity is now acknowledged by our Churches in general; and an
apparatus adapted to the evangelization of the bordering territory is
held to be essential to their completeness. We feel the obligation
ourselves, and, by the Divine blessing, we have much of the religious
machinery of the day at work upon this spot. But still, does it not
admit of question whether, as the advocates of a system which boasts
of its untrammelled freedom of action, and its vigorous voluntary
power; as those who believe that our cause, to use the words of Dr.
Doddridge, is ‘the cause of evangelical piety’; as those, especially,
who profess to be under everlasting and infinite obligation to Him
from whom we have received our light and salvation;—I repeat, does it
not admit of question, whether we are doing all that might be fairly
expected of us, for the diffusion of the truths we so much value
throughout the neighbourhood where we are located; whether our
energies are put forth to the full for the extension of the cause in
a place which numbers its 27,000 inhabitants, nearly four times the
number of the population fifty years ago, when this chapel was built;
whether we have provided all the means of Christian education we
might and ought, especially for those of our neighbours who are lying
around in vast masses, covered with the gloom of spiritual ignorance,
and paralysed, to an awful degree, by moral insensibility? While
there is much, very much, already done, which should encourage our
hearts and fill us with gratitude, is there not much, very much, yet
to be accomplished, to which Providence seems most urgently to bid us
put an earnest, steady, persevering hand.”
Important consequences resulted from these hints. In May it was
resolved, “That a special meeting of the Church should be convened, and
that members should be informed that the deacons have considered it
desirable that certain alterations should be made in order to provide
increased accommodation.” Such a meeting was held, and it determined
that the chapel should be enlarged by throwing the vestry and small
schoolroom behind the pulpit wall, with the organ gallery, into the body
of the building, so that a considerable number of additional sittings
might be provided for the enlarged congregation. Such an alteration was
effected, and the chapel was re-opened in October by Dr. Vaughan.
In connection with the chapel enlargement, additional accommodation was
provided at the back of the premises for the British and Sunday schools.
These alterations created an impetus, happily felt by people and pastor.
Various kinds of work went on, two of which may be mentioned: first, the
delivery of a course of lectures in the new schoolroom on “Christian
Evidences,” which attracted large audiences from week to week; and next,
the institution of a Bible class, including the whole of the week evening
congregation, when expositions of Scripture were given by the pastor,
followed by a list of questions. These questions were taken home, and
the week after written replies were brought. In many instances the
replies were of a very superior order, and the reading of the papers
excited a very deep interest. The exercise proved a success, and the
schoolroom was often crowded on these occasions.
The chapel, enlarged in 1845, became in 1847 too small to accommodate
sufficiently the increased number of attendants, and to meet the
spiritual wants of the neighbourhood. A select meeting in Hornton Street
vestry speedily followed, to consider what, under the circumstances,
ought to be attempted, and the result was a resolution to erect a new
chapel at Bayswater, to which a portion of the Kensington congregation
living in the Bayswater neighbourhood might remove. {81} This measure
was advocated by the pastor as the right way of promoting the interest of
Evangelical Congregationalism. To wait till bickerings arose, and
diversions occurred in consequence, was truly mischievous. To “swarm”
like bees, a goodly number removing to a new hive, that was a wise
method, which God would be sure to bless. Mr. Walker, who lived at
Bayswater, was anxious for a chapel there, and before the little party in
the vestry separated, much more than £1,000 was promised. Soon the
amount reached the sum of £1,700. A committee was formed for the
fulfilment of the enterprise.
The year 1848 is memorable in the history of Europe. It will be
remembered that just then the Continent shook with political convulsions
from end to end; and in the month of April the inhabitants of London felt
intense anxiety, owing to the Chartist demonstration on Kennington
Common. The Sunday before that incident a considerable number of Hornton
Street hearers consisted of gentlemen just sworn in as special
constables; and the grave and earnest manner of all present was increased
by the Rev. William Walford, who preached on the occasion, and referred
to his own recollections of what took place in England when, from week to
week, it heard of the Paris Reign of Terror. God, he said, had brought
this country through a more terrible excitement then, and would still be
a protector of those who trusted in Him. Thus amidst political storms
the foundation of Horbury Chapel was laid, even as Hornton Street, more
than half a century before, had been built when England felt the throes
of the French Revolution.
The corner-stone of Horbury Chapel was laid by Sir Culling Eardley,
August 30th, 1848. The new building was completed and opened in
September, 1849. The Sunday before a sermon was preached at Kensington
from the words, “_We be brethren_,” and the spirit of those words was
embodied in all the proceedings which ensued.
About one hundred seat-holders left Hornton Street for Horbury; and about
forty members, including two very influential deacons, Messrs. Newton and
Walker, resigned, and migrated to the new settlement. They requested, in
a letter dated October 29th, 1849, their dismissal in the following
appropriate terms:—
“We, the undersigned members of the above communion, purposing to
separate ourselves from it, in order to form a Church at Horbury
Chapel, Notting Hill, of the same faith and order, affectionately
request that the necessary dismissal may be granted to us for the
purpose.
“While recognising the tie which for various periods has outwardly
bound us together in Church fellowship,—we desire ever to continue
attached to each other in the bonds of the Gospel, and would
gratefully acknowledge the goodness of our heavenly Father in having
so long vouchsafed to the Church at Hornton Street His presence and
blessing—in supplying it with a succession of faithful pastors, in
honouring the preaching of His Word by them, in creating a spirit of
activity and desire for usefulness on the part of so many of our
fellow-members, and in permitting love and union to prevail in our
midst. We pray that these blessings may long be continued to you,
and be realized by us in our new connection; that there may be
speedily sent to us a pastor, a man after God’s own heart, who shall
preach the Gospel fully and freely, deacons who shall purchase to
themselves a good degree, and that we and our fellow-members,
individually, as well as in our associated character, may be
distinguished alike for our humility and piety, and for our activity
and devotedness to the cause of Christ.”
It is interesting here to remember that, whilst the chapel was being
built, the idea arose that the new and the old congregations might remain
united under a common pastorate of two or three ministers, they
interchanging pulpits with each other from week to week, the communicants
in the two places at the same time forming together one organic Church.
This would have been very gratifying to the Hornton Street pastor, and
would have coincided with his views of primitive municipal Churches; but
practical difficulties arose, and the scheme was abandoned. In lieu of
it, however, the communicants at Kensington and Notting Hill resolved
annually to partake of the Lord’s Supper together, a practice which has
since been continued with hallowed and pleasant results.
If 1848 was a year of storms, 1851, when the first English Exhibition was
opened, will ever be remembered as a year of peace. It seemed as though
the millennium had dawned. “No more wars now,” thought many a sanguine
spirit, soon to be undeceived in this respect; but the tranquillity and
good-will amongst the hundreds of thousands who thronged to the Crystal
Palace are undeniable, and the effect of it on the Kensington Independent
congregation was manifest in crowded attendances and in animated
services, for which the artistic wealth and the manifold associations of
the great gathering furnished the pastor with manifold illustrations.
The rising tide of the Church at Kensington did not ebb when the
Exhibition was over; and owing to this, in the year 1854, the friends
found it necessary to consider whether they ought not to build a new and
much larger place of worship for themselves and their neighbours.
Promised subscriptions speedily opened the way to the execution of this
enterprise; and in June, 1854, the pastor laid the first stone of the
chapel in Allen Street. The chapel was opened in May, 1855, when the
Rev. Thomas Binney preached in the morning, and the Hon. and Rev. Baptist
Noel in the evening. On the following Sunday the opening services were
continued, Dr. John Harris preaching in the morning, and the pastor in
the evening. The Rev. William Brock closed the series on the following
Tuesday evening.
The entire cost, including purchase of the land, was £8,748 9_s._ 6_d._,
and the whole was paid for on the last Sunday in January, 1860, when
public collections reached the amount of £365 10_s._ 2_d._,—being seven
shillings more than was required.
In the autumn of 1856 the Church lost one of its most active deacons.
Mr. Padgett (brother-in-law of the pastor), who had been formerly a
deacon at Trevor Chapel, Brompton, died suddenly whilst travelling in
Switzerland, and it became the pastor’s painful duty to preach the
funeral sermon, just after his own return from a continental tour. The
text selected was Amos v. 8: “Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and
Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and, maketh the
day dark with night.”
A season of great anxiety occurred in the month of January, 1857, when
the pastor received an invitation from New College to become Principal of
that institution, upon the death of the lamented Dr. Harris. The
intimate connection between the pastor and that college—he having taken
an active part in the foundation of it, and having declined one of the
professorships offered at that time—made him particularly anxious to
ascertain the path of duty at this crisis. He informed the deacons of
what had occurred, and sought their advice. He wished to decide, not
according to any preconceived plan, but as it might appear on a
comparison of claims, arising from the college on the one hand, and the
Church on the other. The deacons returned the following answer:—
“Having this evening met to consider the important communication
which you submitted to us last Tuesday, in reference to the
invitation given to you to succeed the late Dr. Harris as Principal
of New College, we have prayerfully, and with thoughtful earnestness,
endeavoured to view the matter in all its bearings, and we thank you
for the confidence implied in the fact of your having referred the
matter to us.
“Although as deacons of the Church under your charge its interests
naturally present themselves prominently before us, we have sought to
avoid any selfish or contracted feelings in reference to that Church,
and have desired to take an enlarged view of the interests of the
Church of Christ as a whole. Our first attention has been given to
the suggestion made by you as to the practicability of your retaining
a limited connection with Kensington Chapel as minister while
undertaking the principalship; and our feeling is that it could not
be done with comfort to yourself or advantage to the Church.
“In considering the matter generally, the following points have
occurred to us as deserving of serious attention:—
“1. The special claims of Kensington as a sphere of labour for an
intelligent Christian minister.
“2. Your peculiar qualifications for representing the interests of
Nonconformity in the neighbourhood.
“3. The peaceful and prosperous state of the Church under your
charge.
“4. The claims of a confiding and affectionate people who, within
the last two years, have manifested their attachment by erecting our
present place of worship at a cost of several thousand pounds, of
which a large amount still remains due.
“5. Your success as a preacher, and your increasing acceptableness
to your own people.
“6. The more limited opportunity which would be afforded to you at
New College of exercising your talents as a preacher.
“7. The difficulty which the Church anticipates in securing an
appropriate successor.
“8. The fact that it would not be more difficult (if as much so) to
supply the vacant office than your vacant pulpit.
“Other considerations, which we need not enumerate, have occurred to
our minds. The foregoing we venture to submit to your attention.
They have led us to the conclusion that, however honourable the
invitation may be to you, and however it may be pressed upon your
notice, and however usefully you might be employed in it, it does not
appear to us to be your duty to relinquish your present position and
sphere, where you have been so much blessed, in order to undertake
the office in question.”
This letter decided the point. Attractive as was the post at New
College, the claims of the Church at Kensington, especially so soon after
the building of the new chapel, appeared more urgent: and it may be added
that the deacons, especially Mr. Watson, turned the incident to account
by proposing that £1,000 should be raised as a thank-offering for the
continuance of the existing pastorate, the sum to be employed in
liquidation of the chapel debt. This amount contributed to its entire
extinction.
Encouraging years of labour followed, and in 1860 additions to the Church
reached their highest point up to that time,—a proof of the Divine
blessing on what had been done and determined; and it was regarded as a
cause for special gratitude and thanksgiving.
The new chapel was thoroughly repaired and embellished in 1863, at a cost
of about £600. Of this amount the sum of £400 was subscribed beforehand,
and the rest was obtained by collections on the last Sunday of January,
1864.
In the spring of 1865 the Church, long aware of their pastor’s wish to
visit the Holy Land, most generously came forward to gratify him in this
respect, and opened a subscription which amounted, almost immediately, to
the sum of £400, which was placed at his disposal to defray the expenses
of the journey. A public meeting followed, when the money, enclosed
within a tastefully devised oriental-like purse, mounted in gold, was
presented, with an intimation that, during the absence of about four
months, the friends would undertake to pay supplies. Before his
departure he delivered two sermons on the first Sunday in February, and
on the 7th of the month started with Dr. Allon, Dr. Spence, the Rev. John
Bright, of Dorking, and Mr. Stanley Kemp Welch, on the much talked of
trip. {88} It proved successful and gratifying, except that a serious
illness befel Dr. Spence during his journey, and that the Kensington
pastor returned as yellow as an old Indian, much to the dismay of his
flock when they lovingly welcomed him back to the pulpit. The temporary
attack of jaundice, however, proved not at all injurious, as after his
recovery from it his health was if anything better than before.
Certainly the journey gave him an interest in Palestine, and in the
Scriptures relating to it, greater than ever, and furnished ample
materials for lectures to the congregation.
The year after his return from the Holy Land he expressed a wish, not
only for his own sake, but the better to meet spiritual wants in the
Church and the surrounding district, that an assistant should be
provided; and this matter came before the Church in February, 1866, when
the following resolution was passed: “That this meeting desires to
express its cordial concurrence in the deacons’ proposal for the
appointment of an assistant to the minister, to be selected by him, and
to be sustained, as an experiment for one year, by a special fund.” In
pursuance of this resolution the Rev. Alden Davies became assistant
minister, and proved so useful in visitation, superintendence of classes,
and preaching on Sunday afternoons, and other occasions, that his
services were prolonged for three years, greatly to the comfort of his
senior colleague, and the satisfaction of his numerous friends.