Skeats and Miall.qxp:Romance.qxd 4 12 2008 17:51 Page i HISTORY OF THE FREE CHURCHES OF ENGLAND 1688–1891 H.S. Skeats and C.S. Miall i Skeats and Miall.qxp:Romance.qxd 4 12 2008 17:51 Page ii First published 1891 Skeats and Miall.qxp:Romance.qxd 4 12 2008 17:51 Page iii HISTORY OF THE FREE CHURCHES OF ENGLAND 1688–1891 FROM THE REFORMATION TO 1851 By HERBERT S SKEATS WITH A CONTINUATION TO 1891 By CHARLES S MIALL, AUTHOR OF ‘HENRY RICHARD, M.P., A BIOGRAPHY’ LONDON ALEXANDER & SHEPHEARD, FURNIVAL STREET JAMES CLARKE & CO., 13, FLEET STREET. iii Skeats and Miall.qxp:Romance.qxd 4 12 2008 17:51 Page iv Skeats and Miall.qxp:Romance.qxd 4 12 2008 17:51 Page v PREFACE ‘THE History of the Free Churches of England’ was brought out in a library form by Mr Skeats in 1868, and met with so much acceptance that, in the following year, a second edition was called for, which was ere long exhausted. It was the intention of my friend to have thoroughly revised the volume, with a view to a further issue; but this object was unhappily frustrated by his untimely death in 1881. Since that time down to the present day there have been frequent demands for a work which, in a consecutive narrative of facts and opinions, should convey a correct, impartial, and lively description of the important part played by the Free Churches in the development of the English nation from their earliest formation, and the present volume is intended to supply that want in as complete a form as possible. In undertaking to revise so unique a work, and bring down the History to the present day, I have been fully conscious of the delicacy of the task. Apart from the inherent difficulty of attempting vi to build upon the foundations of another man, there is the added difficulty of adequately preserving essential continuity, which in this case is increased by Mr Skeats’s original style of treatment. His History is no mere compilation. It is the outcome of most laborious research; and the vast material thus accumulated has been moulded and utilised with the skill, insight, and industry of an accomplished historian. There is abundant evidence that the author aimed at rigid impartiality, and this is as manifest in his critical estimate of the work and opinions of the earlier Nonconformists as in his judgment on the acts and tendencies of the Established Church. ‘Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice’, seems to have been his motto. His conclusions are not hasty or prejudiced, and for all of them adequate reasons are given. In revising his work I have been scrupulous to preserve its characteristic features. Here and there it has v Skeats and Miall.qxp:Romance.qxd 4 12 2008 17:51 Page vi vi HISTORY OF THE FREE CHURCHES OF ENGLAND 1688–1891 been necessary to correct some statements by the light of new information, to tone down a few needlessly strong expressions, and to omit some superfluous matter. But substantially the History remains as Mr Skeats wrote it. Its fine, incisive, and vivacious style, and the force and beauty of its sketches, have been reverently preserved. The narrative of Mr Skeats comes down to 1850. For the remaining five chapters I am vii solely responsible. Though I cannot aspire to his literary finish and faculty of perspective, I have found some assistance in a contemporary knowledge of the events described, and in a personal acquaintance with many of the actors who cross the stage. It has been necessary, in dealing with those events, to adopt a somewhat different method from that of my predecessor. The marvellous expansion of Nonconformity, the abundance of the material that might be utilised, and a necessarily restricted space, have made much compression inevitable. That there has been so little opportunity for comment on current events may be no disadvantage to the reader. If, to some people, the story may appear fragmentary, it is owing to the absolute necessity of selection. To others it may seem that too much prominence is given to the political history of Nonconformity; but, in this respect, I have simply been guided by the facts of the case. Combined agitation and action in and out of Parliament have been a foremost characteristic of Dissent during the last forty years. The remarkable—in deed, unprecedented— victories gained in the interests of religious equality, though faintly remembered now, are worthy of being put on record in a complete form as an essential part of our national history. These legislative concessions, it must be generally admitted, have not injured the Church of England. They are not only themselves just, but they have viii tended to assuage the bitterness engendered by ecclesiastical monopoly and the intolerance it produces; and their substantial fruits, it may be added, are enjoyed by Nonconformists who shrink from being classed with ‘Political Dissenters’. In his original Preface—and the same thought pervades his book—Mr Skeats reasonably claims that the best features in the political and social constitution, and the mental as well as the religious life, of England can be traced to the direct or indirect influence of the principles of Dissent; in other words, to the fuller recognition of those natural rights in respect Skeats and Miall.qxp:Romance.qxd 4 12 2008 17:51 Page vii FOREWORD VII to free thought and free religious action, which are the patrimony of no particular sect. Step by step, not without severe and protracted struggles, these claims have been, to a considerable extent, realised. Their results are now under the guardianship of a phalanx of Free Churches, that are conscious of their growing power, flanked by the mass of outside opinion which, in the course of generations, they have, to so large an extent, created. Although in this matter there can be no retrogression, there is still an imperative need to frustrate all stealthy schemes for placing the Established Church in a position of absolute independence, so long as it retains connection with, and receives the patronage of, the State. This History sets forth with emphasis the portentous evils and dangers of ix that unbridled sacerdotalism which is once again re-asserting its pretensions. In this direction the Free Churches have yet a great work to do. I shall greatly rejoice if a further issue of this historical narrative should help to strengthen their resolution. Not only the spirit of the age, but influential allies within the Church are on their side, if they actively utilise them. To Nonconformists especially seems to be committed the task of grappling with these reactionary tendencies, seeing that the Evangelical party has become increasingly quiescent. Happily, with all their differences, the leading Nonconformist bodies are drawing closer together at a period when such union for such an object must be irresistible. Some few of the topics I have dealt with, though of real interest, had almost passed from my recollection till refreshed by a study of the volumes of the Nonconformist and contemporary publications, and will probably be entirely new to the majority of readers. But no research has been spared to present all sections of the narrative in as complete a form as possible. For the most part it has been found necessary to advert in a very cursory fashion to the many eminent Nonconformists who have passed away during the period under review, notwithstanding the temptation to expatiate on their distinctive qualities and conspicuous services; while it has been useless x attempting to discuss such recent and significant events as the Congregational International Council, the scope of the Free Education measure, the more general action taken by many of the Free Churches in connection with various social reforms, and many other indications of revived religious activity. The year 1888—the Bicentenary of the Skeats and Miall.qxp:Romance.qxd 4 12 2008 17:51 Page viii viii HISTORY OF THE FREE CHURCHES OF ENGLAND 1688– 18 91 Revolution that brought legislative relief to Dissenters—was fixed upon as a goal, but, owing to the interlacing of events, it has been found practically impossible to draw a hard and fast line, while some of the Nonconformist movements of the last three years have been full of significance and hopefulness. In sketching the course of these latter-day events I have been much indebted to the facilities kindly afforded by the authorities at the Congregational Memorial Hall and the Baptist Mission House, and for valuable assistance from experienced members of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion and the Society of Friends, and from the Secretary of the Unitarian Society, and to various other friends, such as Mr J Carvell Williams, for help and suggestions and the loan of books. In the midst of my labours a volume, entitled ‘The Interregnum’, by Mr FA Inderwick, OC (Sampson Low, Marston, & Co.), came into my hands, containing a most interesting and elaborate sketch of legislative, social, and religious life in England during the Commonwealth era, based on xi official documents, letters, and newspaper reports, which throw a flood of light upon the characteristics of that period, and show that many valuable reforms were suggested by Cromwell, such as free education, which have been only realised by subsequent generations. Unfortunately the book only reached me when the sheets dealing with the events of the Commonwealth had already passed through the press. CHARLES S. MIALL. 9, Cathcart Hill, Junction Road, N. September, 1891. Skeats and Miall.qxp:Romance.qxd 4 12 2008 17:51 Page ix CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTORY—REVIEW OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY FROM THE REFORMATION TO THE REVOLUTION.