possessed considerable influence with the Dissenters of the metropolis. 61 35 9 6 5 28 0 52 8 51 16 32 26 10 9 1 1 27 9 26 2 Lancashire Leicestershire 33 Lincolnshire 22 Middlesex 91 Norfolk. 20 40 27 8 14 "When," says Dr. Toulmin,* some Dissenting ministers in London set on foot, in the year 1772, an application to Parliament for relief, in the matter of subscription, and wished to be joined by their brethren in the country, in the prosecution of that object, they soon found that the Protestant Dissenters knew little of one another, and that those of one part of the kingdom, and even in the metropolis, were very little acquainted with the number or state of the societies in other parts. It suggested itself, therefore, to the Rev. J. Thompson, to open a correspondence with some of the brethren in different counties; to obtain as accurate an account as could be procured of the congre4 gations and ministers in their respective neighbourhoods. As the ground work of his inquiries, and of the information he solicited, he sent lists of the congregations in all the counties of England, taken by Mr. Neal, in the year 1715 or 1716." 8 0 247 The next document of this class to which we refer, is the interesting MS. of the Rev. Josiah Thompson, the original copy of which is deposited, we believe, in the library of Dr. Williams, at Red Cross Street. That gentleman was a respectable minister of the Baptist denomination, and by his property and general character To secure accurate returns, Mr. Thompson bestowed upon this pursuit some years of industrious application, and maintained an extensive correspondence. When he had obtained materials for the purpose, he drew out a complete view of the number of congregations in every county. He had these lists transcribed in an alphabetical order, and sent copies of them, bound in ruled books, with red forrels, to several friends who had assisted him in its compilation. Amongst his correspondents the Rev. Robert Robinson, of Cambridge, was distinguished for his diligence, and he received a MS. copy, from which Mr. Dyer, in the Appendix of his Life of Ro Monthly Magazine, vol. iii. p. 251. binson, has given the public the following totals, which afford a view of the numerical strength of the dissenting body, sixty years after Mr. Neal obtained the first returns. Counties. Bedfordshire Berkshire Buckinghamshire Cambridgeshire Cheshire Cornwall Cumberland Baptists. 17 Baptists. 5 15 7 3 24 8 3 7 39 13 14 25 21 24 7 2 17 15 15 Monmouthshire Norfolk Northumberland Worcestershire Yorkshire 1118 23 16 13 6 9 17 1302334D03220 0 19 7 20 391 Assuming that these returns approach to accuracy, it appears that, during sixty years, that is, from 1716 to 1776, the dissenting cause in general was almost stationary, having only increased eleven places during that long period. If our readers compare the returns for distinct counties, they will find in some instances a fearful decrease. It was doubtless during this period that nonconformity in England endured its most severe trial, in the melancholy defection of the Pres byterian body from the truth, and the consequent introduction of worldly opinions and religious apathy amongst its supporters, and which, we conceive, will go far to explain this anomaly in dissenting history. On the death of Mr. Robinson, of Cambridge, his library was sold, and the MS. copy of Mr. Thompson's list came into the possession of Mr. Lunn, bookseller, in that town. The Rev. B. Cracknell, then of Wareham, became its purchaser; and, after the lapse of twenty years, he found, of course, many errors to be corrected, and many omissions to be supplied, to render it complete. He attempted this revision, and, in the Monthly Magazine for November 1796, he published the lists of dissenting places of worship in Bedford and Berks, and which were followed by the lists of other counties, in alphabetical order, to Hereford, when it appears their publication was discontinued. It is not necessary to insert in this place the numbers of each county given in the Monthly Magazine, as in general the additions are inconsiderable. The counties of Cambridge, Herts, and Cornwall, however, must be excepted, as in Cambridgeshire the increase is 16, and in Herts 9, being in each a growth of one-third, and Cornwall 7, which is an addition of one-half. It should be remembered, too, that Mr. Thompson's list of these counties would be peculiarly correct, as his most zealous correspondents, Mr. Robinson, of Cambridge, and Dr. Toulmin, of Taunton, must, from their localities, have well known the circumstances of dissent in those counties. No other public attempt to obtain an accurate return of the number of dissenting churches in each county of the kingdom appears to have been made, till Messrs. Bogue and Bennett, in 1812, composed their History of Dissenters, when, by "the assistance of friends in different parts of the kingdom," they were able to present their readers with the following account, "which," they add, "will be found to possess sufficient accuracy to enable the reader to form a view of the number of the dissenting congregations, on which he may depend." Counties. Pres. Ind. Bapt. Total. 4 16 20 8 21 34 27 41 65 Bedfordshire 0 Berkshire 1 12 Buckinghamshire 17 Cambridgeshire 20 44 Cheshire 5 37 Cornwall Devonshire Dorsetshire Durham Essex Gloucestershire 17 16 Hampshire Herefordshire Hertfordshire 32210734BQRON-Bomo 32 23 65 36 45 24 59 117 17 32 57 27 11 In the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, 6 French, 17 It now becomes our duty to ad- 4 50 18 7 5 7 9 8 6 17 34 6 32 though confessedly incomplete, contained a more perfect return than was ever before obtained. It now devolves upon us to name the sources of our information, and to explain the manner in which the following statistical returns and county lists have been compiled. All our topographical and statistical information is derived from Mr. Capper's valuable Topographical Dictionary, from the Reports of his Majesty's Commissioners on Charitable Foundations, and other Parliamentary papers. The returns respecting the contributions and labours of the Bible, Missionary, and School Societies have been made from the latest reports of the several institutions referred to, and though it is probable mistakes may be found in our attempts to divide their general returns amongst the particular counties to which they belong, yet we are confident, from the labour which has been bestowed upon this part of our work, that our readers may confide in its general accuracy. In our attempt to report the state of other denominations, we have had recourse to the best authorities in our reach. The information we have given respecting the Roman Catholic communion in the United Kingdom is derived from their accredited organs, the Catholic Miscellany for 1827, and the Laity's Directory for 1828. The Presbyterian body, which now includes within it the Unitarian congregations of the kingdom, has not, to our knowledge, published any return of the number of places in their connection. We hoped to have found in the last report of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association, a full notice, in one form or other, of their several congregations. There are not, however, eighty distinct congregations named in that document, and its supplementary statements, which certainly does not include half the number of Presbyterian Societies in England. We were, therefore, compelled to resort to the authority we formerly quoted on this subject, the Manchester Socinian Controversy, which contains a summary of the chapels occupied by Unitarians in England, Wales, and Scotland, and though this may be regarded as the report of an opponent, yet it served the purpose of the gentlemen who edited that volume to make the returns as full as possible. Our brethren of the particular Baptist denomination have followed our example, and published, in several numbers of the Baptist Magazine, a list of their churches and pastors. We therefore take that return as our authority, at the same time remarking, that we could have much extended our list of Pædobaptist congregational churches, had we admitted into it the pastors and churches who hold Hypercalvinistic opinions amongst us. Such churches do appear to our knowledge in their list, probably through inadvertency on the part of our brother editors, yet we feel it right, with perfect good feeling, to make this observation. The statements respecting the Wesleyan Methodist connection, are derived from a work recently published by the respected President of their Conference for the present year, the Rev. John Stevens, entitled, Annals of Methodism, which, with "the Minutes" of their annual meeting, afford abundant information. The Countess of Huntingdon's connection have a quarterly periodical, entitled the Evangelical Register, in which a list of their stations is published from time to time. We regret that we have no authorized source of intelligence respecting the Calvinistic Methodists, and other partial conformists not in that connexion. It only remains for us to acknowledge the assistance we have received in preparing the list of pastors and churches from the ministers and gentlemen, whose names we gladly record, as affording to our readers the best evidence of the accuracy of our returns; and we offer our cordial thanks to Rev. Messrs. Roby, Manchester; Wildbore, Penryn; Goulty, Brighton; Guyer, Ryde; Redford, Worcester; Davies, Hereford; Bishop, Gloucester; Gawthorn, Derby; Luke, Taunton; Shaw, Ilkiston; Byron, Lincoln; Wooldridge, Bristol; Burder, Stroud; Foster, Oakham; Sibree, Coventry; Gibbs, Newcastle; Jones, Kendal; Morley, Bridlington; James, Bristol; Thodey, Cambridge, Bounsell, Ottery; W. Rooker, Tavistock; Fairbrother, Dereham; Good, Salisbury; Hitchin, Hockliffe; Weaver, Shrewsbury; S. Rooker, Bideford; Scales, Leeds; Cooper, Dublin; Caston, Sherbourne; Baker, Shepton Mallet; Greatbach, Southport; Bulmer, Haverfordwest; Jones, Trelech; Roberts, Odiham; Halley, Harper, and Arundel, London; Slatterie, Chatham; James, Woolwich. Also to Messrs. Gallion, Cambridge; Ellerby, Manchester; Justice, Mallow; T. Wilson, J.Wilson, B. Hanbury, and F. Pitman, London. LIST OF CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES AND MINISTERS THROUGHOUT ENGLAND, &c. BEDFORDSHIRE. EXTENT, &c.-36 miles long, from 18 to 22 broad. Parishes, 124. Towns, 10. Population, 83,716. ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION.-Lincoln, Diocesan, Dr. King. ENDOWED PUBLIC CHARITIES, annual rental and dividends, £10,112. 5s. 4d. BIBLE SOCIETY AUXILIARIES contributed during the past year, £603. 11s. 10d. MISSIONS, in aid of, contributed-Church, £231. 13s. 6d. London, 26. Wesleyan Methodists, £205. 4s. 11d. Buptist, £212. 15s. 4d. Home, £4. 2s. 5d. SCHOOLS, numbers educated.--National, no return.-British, 776. Sabbath, 3,028. DENOMINATIONS.-Roman Catholics, 1 congregation. Presbyterians, 0. Particular Baptists, 21. Wesleyan Methodists, 4 circuits, 35 chapels, 8 travelling preachers, 55 local preachers, 1805 members, being as 1 to 46, of the county population. Independents, 7. ASSOCIATIONS, &c.-Sunday School Union. Bedford Congregational Union, including Baptists and Independents. Rev. Samuel Hillyard, Secretary. EXTENT, &c.-48 miles long, 25 broad. Towns, 12. Parishes, 148. Population, 131,977. ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION.-Salisbury. Diocesan, Dr. Burgess. ENDOWED PUBLIC CHARITIES, annual rental and dividends, £11,928. 17s. 5d. AUXILIARY MISSIONS to the Church, £645. 3s. 9d. London, £385. 4s. 7d. |