Nonconformity in Norwich.
THE Church of Rome reigned supreme over all Europe for a thousand years,
but in the 15th century, reason revolted against her authority.
Lutheranism and Calvinism were the first forms of the revolt on the
Continent, and they assumed the names of Presbyterianism and Puritanism
in England and Scotland. Norwich, in common with Norfolk and Suffolk,
eventually took up the cause of the Reformation with a zeal and vehemence
which make them stand alone in the annals of history.
Norwich Nonconformists, in times of the fiercest persecution, held many
prohibited meetings, which were sometimes discovered in different parts
of the city. Norfolk, situated as it is in the eastern coast, was the
refuge of many protestants, who fled from the Netherlands to escape from
the severe persecutions of the infamous Duke of Alva. Even before this
time, there were many in the county and city who objected to the new
service book, or English liturgy, published by the authority of Edward
VI.
The Reformation made much progress here in the reign of this young and
pious king; but even then a disposition lingered to retain and enforce
some of the Romanist rites and ceremonies. The excellent Bishop Hooper,
who after all became a martyr, would probably have lost his life simply
for refusing to wear the priestly vestments, through the rigour of Bishop
Ridley (who himself afterwards suffered martyrdom) had he not at length
consented to wear them at his consecration. The Baptists, the
Unitarians, and all who went beyond the new state model were consigned to
the flames.
Bishop Hooper was born in the year 1495, and was burnt in the reign of
Queen Mary. The sixty years of his life formed the most important period
of English history. When he was born, the Reformation had just begun;
when he died it had struck such deep roots amongst the people, especially
of Norwich and Norfolk, that neither force, nor persecution, nor argument
could stop its progress. In Bishop Hooper’s time, and in his diocese of
Gloucester, the ignorance of the clergy was amazing. Out of 311 of his
clergy he found 168 unable to repeat the ten commandments; 31 out of the
168 could not tell in what part of the Bible the ten commandments were to
be found; 40 could not tell where the Lord’s prayer was given, and 31 did
not know who was the author of it. In Norfolk and Norwich the clergy
were quite as ignorant of Scripture. They practised all kinds of
impositions on the people who were debased by superstition, immorality,
and vice. There was over all the land a darkness which might be felt.
The people had no bibles nor testaments, and the prayers of the church
were all in Latin, and of course the people could not understand them.
There was scarcely any preaching at all, but instead thereof profane
miracle plays were performed in the cathedral, and were paid for like any
other dramatic performance.
In 1574, so notorious was the city for the nonconformity of many of the
ministers, that when orders were given to Archbishop Parker “to punish
the Puritan ministers, and put down the prophecyings, and readings, and
commenting on the Scriptures, which had been introduced into the church,”
the queen gave him private orders to begin with Norwich. Accordingly, in
1576, many of the Norwich ministers were suspended and treated so
severely, that even the Norfolk justices presented a petition to Her
Majesty, praying for lenity towards them.
Robert Brown, a clergyman of Norwich, originated the sect of the
Brownists, afterwards called the Independents. He was at one time a
zealous promoter of that system, but English societies existed before
him, holding similar views. According to Sir Walter Raleigh, 20,000
persons at least held independent principles of ecclesiastical polity.
Amongst these were many men of great learning and distinction, all of
whom were commanded to quit the realm. Wherever found, they were
imprisoned, with or without law, for life. Elias Thacker and John
Copping suffered death at Bury St. Edmund’s. John Lewis was burnt at
Norwich. Francis Kett, M.A., for holding “detestable opinions,” was also
burnt alive in Norwich. William Dennys was a martyr in the same cause,
at Thetford. Greenwood, Barrow, and Penry fell as martyrs of conscience.
Johnson, Smith, Answorth, Canne, Robinson, and Jacob, only escaped by
flight to Holland, and found liberty there to form several churches, and
to compose an elaborate account of their doctrines and principles, a fact
which testifies to their enlightened piety and superior learning.
In the reign of James I. no favour was shown to the Puritans, but on the
contrary, severities were continued. The king amply fulfilled his threat
to the Puritans at the Hampton Court conference;—“_If this be all your
party has to say_, _I will make them conform or harrie them out of the
land_, _or else do worse_.” By these proceedings the country was
rendered almost destitute of preachers, and scandalous men undertook the
care of souls in place of the zealous refugees. This King James
published the “Book of Sports,” in vindication of the encouragement of
various games on the sabbath day. Bishop Kennett styles it “A trap to
catch tender consciences,” and a means of promoting the ease, wealth, and
grandeur of the bishops. This book was, in the next reign, (Charles I.)
republished by the bigotted Archbishop Laud; and it was ordered to be
read in every church throughout the kingdom. The bishop of Norwich, then
Bishop Wren, was very peremptory on this and other points. He is said to
have driven upwards of 3000 persons to seek bread in a foreign land. The
woollen trade of Norwich, which had been created by the Flemish refugees,
was mostly in the hands of the Puritans, and the rigorous measures of
this prelate nearly destroyed it by banishing them.
Mr. W. Bridge, M.A., was the lecturer of St. George Tombland, Norwich, up
to the year 1637. He was a pious and learned man, who held other livings
and performed his duties well. To him, on a certain day, came Bishop
Wren’s order to read the “Book of Sports” on the next Sunday in church.
He sat in dejection, with the odious volume before him, abhorring the
profaneness of its contents and its daring contradiction of Scripture.
He resolved not to read it. He took counsel of his brethren, and several
of them together refused compliance, fled to Yarmouth, and thence with
sad hearts embarked for Holland, where they spent many anxious years,
hoping to be allowed to return. Laud informed King Charles I. that
Bridge had left two livings and a lectureship and had fled to Holland;
and the king wrote against his name this bitter sentence: “_We are well
rid of him_.” It was an expression worthy of a bigoted and worldly mind.
Thus it appears that the reformation was not the work of kings or
bishops, or the great and learned. The history of those times is the
history of persecuting power in opposition to the progress of the
Gospel—an opposition the more dreadful inasmuch as it was carried on
under the pretence of doing service to religion.
The Reformed Church of England acknowledged the right of private judgment
in theory, but ignored it in practice. The Puritans, on the other hand,
carried it out to its legitimate consequences; and Milton, their great
champion, advocated absolute freedom of thought and speech as the
birthright of every man. No doubt Puritanism ran into some excesses of
bigotry and intolerance, but it was an intolerant age. Puritanism,
however, preserved civil and religious liberty and the right of private
judgment, and perpetuated that right to all sects and classes of the
nation. Puritanism has been charged with the sin of schism, but the
early reformers were forced into it by persecution for conscientious
scruples respecting points of doctrine and discipline. William Bridge,
Asty, Allen, Cromwell, and Fynch, all were thrown out of their livings by
the Act of Uniformity, and became Nonconformist ministers in Norwich.
Without any conference the question put to them was, “_Will you upon oath
conform_?” The answer was, “We cannot.” Immediate expulsion followed.
Where, then, was the sin of schism? Their sin would have been in
conformity. They would have proved to the world that they were mere
hirelings, like the “Vicar of Bray,” who changed his religion to please
the reigning sovereign of the day. Bridge, returning with some others to
his native county, founded the first Independent church at Yarmouth about
1642. A year later the church at Norwich was formed into a distinct
body. They met at first in a brew-house in St. Edmund’s, afterwards in
the refectory over the cloisters in the convent formerly belonging to the
Black Friars.
THE INDEPENDENTS.
We shall now briefly advert to the rise of the Nonconformist religious
denominations in this city, and quote a passage from a discourse by the
Rev. A. Reed, delivered at the Old Meeting House, Norwich, on February
27th, 1842, on the occasion of the second centenary. He said,—
“There is no doubt that in or about 1641 many refugees returned to
their homes in Norwich, Yarmouth, and other places. Those who
returned to the two former localities had been united together in
fellowship with the church at Rotterdam. They earnestly desired
that, as they had been companions in suffering, they might not cease
to form one church. The difficulty was where to fix the joint
society. Norwich offered liberty and opportunity. But the proximity
of Yarmouth to the sea was desirable for safety. Early in 1642 they
met, probably in Norwich, to discuss the point; and agreed to send to
Rotterdam for leave to gather in fellowship here. The assent reached
them in the autumn, authorizing them to form a church at Norwich or
other place. On November 23rd, 1642, they met to form a church.
Most of the members’ names, twelve in all, we find afterwards
attached to the Norwich covenant. They did not settle the question
of place at this meeting. The Yarmouth church book records a
resolution to fix the church at Norwich for the present. They met
again for this purpose, and the brethren at Norwich, out of an
earnest desire to finish the work of incorporating a church, yielded
that the church meetings (i.e. ordinances and meetings for admission
of members) should be for the present at Yarmouth. The church was to
settle with all convenient speed where most liberty and opportunity
appeared, and wherever the increase of the church was greatest; but
none of them were required to remove their habitations at present.
Soon after this agreement, however, the Norwich brethren find these
concessions too inconvenient; they beg that the church may be settled
at Norwich, and that the Yarmouth people would remove to the city.
At length they consent reluctantly to part company, and a separate
church is formed at Norwich. But the materials for the society
already existed, and owing to these facts, the early date of 1642
appears to me to belong as much to us as to our sister society at
Yarmouth.”
The records of the congregational church at Beccles contain information
of much historic value to all the congregational churches in Norwich,
Norfolk, and Suffolk, and from those records the following particulars
are derived. On June 10th, 1644, the Church at Norwich in the Old
Meeting House was regularly formed. Mr. Oxenbridge, assistant pastor at
Yarmouth, and several of the Yarmouth brethren were present, when the
covenant was adopted and signed afresh. On July 26th, 1647, Mr. Timothy
Armitage was unanimously chosen pastor. The members were 32 in number.
After the death of Mr. Armitage, in 1655, Mr. Thomas Allen, M.A., gave up
the station he held of “Preacher to the City” in January, 1656, to become
pastor of the Old Meeting. During his long ministry of 17 years, the
cause continued to flourish, the congregation being large. He died
September 21, 1673.
On October 9th, 1675, Mr. John Cromwell was ordained pastor, and Mr.
Robert Asty an assistant pastor. Mr. Asty was an ejected minister of
Suffolk, an author, and a useful, devout preacher. Still the church
grew, and was the centre of much good to the city and county, for many
congregations were established in Norfolk and Suffolk, at Wymondham,
North Walsham, Guestwick, Tunstead, Stalham, Edgefield, and other places.
Then followed, about 1685, Mr. Martin Fynch, who was an ejected clergyman
of Totney, in Lincolnshire. An elaborate inscription yet remains on his
tombstone, to record his worth and usefulness. He was carried to his
grave on the shoulders of his deacons, amidst great lamentations of the
whole church and congregation. About two or three years before his
death, a handsome and spacious brick edifice was erected, which is the
present Old Meeting House. In 1688, the Revolution promoted the cause of
religious liberty. Many distinguished residents in the city now joined
the nonconformists, and the resources of the society were increased by
endowments left for the benefit of the poor, and other purposes.
Mr. John Stackhouse succeeded Mr. Fynch in 1690, and continued pastor for
17 years. Towards the close of his pastorate, the church began to suffer
from its altered circumstances. It had become far too worldly for its
spiritual welfare. The bonds of unity, so long preserved by Christian
charity, grew weak. The members divided in reference to the choice of a
co-pastor, and the dispute ran so high, that the minister and most of the
congregation were actually driven out of their place of worship, and were
obliged to fit up a meeting house in the ruins of the Black Friars’
convent. Mr. Stackhouse died without witnessing a reconciliation between
the mutually offended parties.
Mr. Thomas Scott left the pastorate of the church of Hitchin, in Herts,
and settled in Norwich in 1709. The two parties were reconciled under
his ministry, and he returned to the Old Meeting House about 1717, under
very favorable auspices. His son, Mr. Nichol Scott, became his
assistant, and a most unhappy difference on a point of doctrine once more
kindled the flame of discord. The son was dismissed in 1737, and numbers
of his hearers left with him. For a time he lectured in the French
Church, but finding little encouragement, he became a doctor of physic,
and practised in the city. The father’s mind was so shattered by the
dispute, that he became almost unfit for ministerial work. He died in
1746.
Mr. Scott was, in his latter years, assisted by Mr. Abraham Tozer, who
now succeeded to the charge at Norwich. Dr. Doddridge assisted at his
ordination, and Mr. Samuel Wood was chosen co-pastor with Mr. Tozer. On
the removal of the latter to Exeter, Mr. Wood, afterwards Dr. Wood, held
the pastoral office for twenty years. The church enjoyed, under his
care, a season of prosperity and peace, and the meeting house was densely
crowded. He died, November 2nd, 1767, much lamented.
Mr. Samuel Newton, who had been assistant preacher, was ordained pastor
February 16th, 1768, and continued in the office fifty-six years. He
gave the second list of the whole number of members, which had increased
to 108. He had five assistants in succession. Mr. Hull was the last
assistant, and on the death of Mr. Newton, June 29th, 1809, succeeded him
in the pastoral office. The number of members increased to 112 in 1811,
and to 156 in 1820. Mr. Hull officiated fourteen years, and then
resigned in consequence of a disagreement with the deacons. He became a
church clergyman and perpetual curate of St. Gregory’s in this city.
The Rev. Stephen Morell removed from Exeter and was chosen pastor in June
17th, 1824, and he died in October of the same year. The church next
invited the services of the Rev. J. B. Innes, of Weymouth, in 1825, and
being chosen pastor, he continued in the office twelve years. He died in
April, 1837. He was greatly beloved by his personal friends, and his
character and talents were held in general esteem.
The vacant office was next filled by the Rev. J. H. Godwin, who was
ordained to it on December 6th, 1837. After fulfilling the pastoral
duties for two years, he became resident tutor of Highbury College. The
Rev. A. Reed was then invited to fill the office, and became pastor over
a church of 190 members. He continued till 1855, and then removed to a
wider sphere of labour. The Rev. John Hallett was invited in the
following year, and is now the esteemed minister of the church. Mr.
Hallett, in a recent contribution to the pages of the _Evangelical
Magazine_ on the history of the Old Meeting House, says:—
“The Rev. A. Reed, B.A., now of St. Leonard’s, was Mr. Godwin’s
successor till 1855. Under his superintendence, bicentenary
services, commemorating the foundation of the church, were held,
which, judging from published and oral reports, must have been of a
stirring and deeply interesting character. Spacious school-rooms
were erected, and large day-schools established. Many still live in
our midst who gratefully attest the faithfulness and success of Mr.
Reed’s pastorate.
“In April, 1856, the writer was, he believes, divinely led to occupy
the vacant post. For obvious reasons, the history of the last twelve
years must remain untold. It may, however, be stated that the
present pastor, like his predecessor, has had the privilege of
celebrating a bicentenary. For reasons before assigned, it will
probably be conceded that nowhere was it more proper that a
bicentenary commemoration of the ejectment of 1662 should be held
than in this Old Meeting House, and that a more fitting way of
commemorating it could not be devised than that of enfranchising the
building in which some of them laboured, and the ‘yard’ in which they
sleep. This was accordingly done. The premises, which were
leasehold, and the lease of which was nearly expired, were purchased
and repaired at a large outlay, and then put in trust for the
denomination. ‘Thus, for nearly two centuries, has the Lord
preserved to Himself a worshipping people in this place. Thousands
have found this ancient sanctuary the very ‘House of God,’ and,
literally, ‘the gate of Heaven,’ and are now enjoying the full glory
they anticipated here. And,’ adds my predecessor, with a
thankfulness and faith in which I fully share, ‘still the waters flow
strong and deep, and the banks are green with promise, and through
future ages the brook shall not be dried up, but with purer, wider,
stronger, and more fertilizing current, shall form one of those
millennial streams wherewith the whole earth shall be watered as a
fruitful garden of the Lord.’”
THE BAPTISTS.
Mr. Martin Hood Wilkin, in his life of Joseph Kinghorn, gives the
following account of the origin of the Baptist denomination. A General
(Arminian) Baptist Church was formed in Norwich in 1686 by the learned
and zealous Thomas Grantham. They purchased a part of the White Friars’
Priory in St. James’s, on the site of which they built the Meeting House
now known as the Priory Yard Chapel. From this Church several members
separated at a very early period and formed the Particular (Calvinistic)
Baptist Church, over which Mr. Kinghorn afterwards presided. Of its
history he has left a somewhat elaborate sketch in the notes of the last
sermon he preached in the Meeting House, in St. Mary’s, before it was
taken down in 1811. He says,
“Of the origin of this Church I find no record. The first date in
our old Church book is 1691. In 1693, we find an account of
admonition given to a brother who had, ‘for several years past,’
withdrawn himself from the Communion of the Church. * * * I find a
statement of the sentiments of the Church in that time, entitled,
‘The several articles of our faith, in which with one accord we
agree.’ Of the state of the Church I can say but little. A list of
55 members follows, which appears to have been the number at that
time. Of their minister I can say still less, except that the second
and third articles in the book are drawn up with that precision which
marks the junction of talent and education, especially at a time when
few had any claim to the advantages of a classical education. One of
these is signed ‘Edward Williams, pastor.’ * * * * At this time our
ancestors met for the worship of God in the ‘Granary,’ in St.
Michael’s Coslany. Their baptisms were performed in the river. At
one period, a friend had premises convenient, and in the memory of
some now alive, they were used for that purpose; but such is the
effect of habit, that the prejudice in favour of a mode so primitive
continued some time after better conveniences were obtained. From
this period nothing of importance is to be discovered till 1745.
Then the premises which stood on this spot were purchased and the
Meeting (house) was erected, which was nearly two-thirds the size of
the present building. When it was finished I do not find, but from a
private record I am informed, that Mr. Lindoe, who for many years was
an honourable and valued deacon, was the first person baptised in
this house, and this was on March 15th, 1746. From this period, for
some time, the Church seems to have worn a flourishing appearance on
the whole. They had a minister, Mr. John Stearne, who was evidently
a superior man. He died in July, 1755. Rev. George Simson, M.A.,
from Cambridge, accepted a call from Mr. Stearne’s Church, went to
Norwich, in 1758, continued there two or three years, and then
removed to Warwick, where he had formerly been pastor, and where,
weighed down by age and infirmities, he died suddenly in 1763. After
this period there was an evident decline for some years, though to
what extent I am not able to say. Afterwards there was an appearance
of prosperity. In 1766 I find a list of members again, amounting to
59, the largest number hitherto met with, but alas! after that
period, there was much to be lamented. There was the evil conduct of
some, and a spirit of division in others, which all tended to
mischief. * * * * But we are now approaching a period within the
remembrance of many of you, in which it will be useless to attempt to
trace the history of events which you know. Suffice it then, to say
that causes already mentioned brought the Church and congregation
down to a very low ebb, when Mr. David, whose name I have heard so
many of you repeat with esteem and affection, first came here. On
his ordination, the list of members that appeared in the Church book,
and which included all the members as they stood at that time, was
only 31; and now events took a turn. The short period of his life
was distinguished by its utility. The Meeting House became too small
for the congregation, and in 1783, it was enlarged to its present
size.”
Such is Mr. Kinghorn’s account (condensed) of the early Baptist Churches.
After a visit to the North, he returned to Norwich in July, 1789, and
then commenced the long career of his ministry at St. Mary’s Chapel,
though the invitation to the pastoral office was not received till some
months afterwards. He rigidly adhered to what is called “strict
communion” in his Church, admitting only those who had been immersed to
the Lord’s supper; and on this point he maintained a long controversy
with Mr. Robert Hall, of Bristol, who advocated “free communion” with all
believers in a Work published in 1815. The Rev. J. Kinghorn was much
esteemed by his numerous friends, including Mrs. Opie, J. J. Gurney,
Esq., Rev. J. Alexander, Bishop Bathurst, Mr. W. Wilkin, Mr. W. Taylor,
and others, of Norwich, and many more men of learning all over the
country. He took rank among the Nonconformists with Mr. R. Hall of
Bristol, Mr. Foster, the author of _Essays on Decision of Character_, Mr.
Innes, and Mr. James A. Haldane, of Edinburgh.
The following TRIBUTARY LINES are by MRS. OPIE, on hearing it said that
J. Kinghorn “was fit to die.”
“Hail! words of truth, that Christian comfort give!
But then the ‘fit to die,’ how fit to live!
To live a bright example to mankind,
‘Feet to the lame and eyesight to the blind!’
To lift the lamp, the word of God, on high;
To point to Calvary’s mount the sinner’s eye;
To tread the path the first Apostles trod,
And earn that precious name, ‘a man of God.’
He lived whom Christian hearts deplore,
And hence the grief—he lives for us no more.
But faith exulting joins the general cry,
He, fit to live, was greatly fit to die!”
Mr. Kinghorn was succeeded by the Rev. W. Brock, who was the esteemed
pastor for many years, and is now the minister of Bloomsbury Chapel,
London. He was followed by the present minister, the Rev. G. Gould.
* * * * *
The Calvinistic Methodists in Norwich seem to have been originated by Mr.
James Wheatley, who came to the city about 1750, and preached at first in
the open-air, on Tombland and the Castle Hill. Great excitement was
produced, and a temporary building was soon erected, and called the
Tabernacle. The site has been changed, but the name is still retained.
The present Tabernacle was built in 1784.
The Wesleyan Methodists first appeared in Norwich in 1754, when the Revs.
John and Charles Wesley visited the city, and the Rev. J. Wesley preached
here for some time, and on leaving, appointed Mr. T. Oliver in his room.
One of his successors was the Rev. R. Robinson, afterwards at Cambridge,
who also preached for some time at the Tabernacle; and another was Dr.
Adam Clarke, the learned Commentator, who was appointed in 1783, but left
in 1785. Their first chapel was built in 1769, in Cherry Lane.