UPPER

INDEPENDENT

CHURCH,

HECKMONDWIKE.

1674-1924.

Historical Sketch(Compiled by B. G. Burnley and J. W. Walker).

HBOKMONDWIKE :

SKNIOB & Co., LTD., "HERALD" OFFICE, CHBAPSIDK.

Rev. Matthew Stanley.

,1

HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

«PI

On the 24th of August, 1662, what was called the Actof Uniformity came into operation, when more than twothousand of the most holy, learned, and talented clergy-men of the Church of' England were expelled from herservice, and deprived of her emoluments, and were notallowed to proclaim the Word of God to the people forwhose gO'od they had studied, prayed, and preached. Itwas a time of extraordinary trial which furnished illus-trations of true iiO'bility of character without parallel inthe religious history of the world. Men of such worthcould not easily be silenced. They had been deprived oftheir livings but had neither lost their love of God nor forthe' souls of men, and scattered throughout the countrywere a body of men whose piety and learning proved thatthey were the true successors of the Apostles. The loss tothe Established Church can never be estimated, but thesemen, who made sacrifices and suffered persecution,opened up a new era in the religious life of England andgave a force to religious liberty which has steadily devel-oped to the present day.

Heckmondwike was without a settled meeting placefor ten years, but it appears that in the year 1672 the Rev.Josiah Holdsworth came to live in the town and for twoyears, whenever opportunity presented itself, preachedwith great acceptance and considerable success. Ananxious desire was expressed to enjoy the ministrationsof Mr. Holdsworth, and thus, on July 29th, 1674, wasformed the first Congregational Church in Heckmond-wike.

6 HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

It is, therefore, with devout thankfulness that wecelebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of thei UpperIndependent Church, and we would embalm anew theheroic deeds of thei founders of this church, and cherishafresh their profound homage to the principles of eternaltruth and liberty. In doing so we are thankful toAlmighty God that our principles have not changed. Weadhere to the principles on which our church was founded,acknowledging subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ aloneas its Supreme and Diyine Head, and do not recogniseany superior ecclesiastical authority on earth. Ourchurch elects its own members and office bearers, deter-mines its own form of worship and modes of church actiom,exercises its o>wn discipline, and is the ultimate authorityon all matters relating to church life. These principle'swere not new when Independency sprang out. of them,but arc based on the testimony of the Apostles andprophets, and havei been held by faithful men in everyage.

The following is :—A true record or register of the beginning and

providing of the Church of Christ at Heckmondwike.

In the year 1674 there were found some persons in the parishof Birsitall and Bailey, and (Jhe neighbouring parts thereabouts,which lived under the ministry of the Rev. Josiah Holds worth(who was then resident at Hecbmoiidwake) whose heart God hadopened, w© hope in some measure, with a desire to serve HisName and to walk in all His ways; those persons after some seri-ous consultation and seeking of God, with mature, deliberation,resolved to enter into a covenant with God, and one with another,and to join in Church fellowship (in that way called Congrega-tional') judging it (according to the light God had given us) to bethe most consonant to Gospel institution, that we might havemore close commune and the enjoyment of all the ordinances ofChrist. And to 'this end w© took the experience one of another,and having sought God by pnayer, through the good hand of Godupon us, we laid the foundation of a church on the 29th day ofJuly, in the year above said, in the presence of Mr. Marsden,teacher of the Churah of Christ at Topcliffe, near Wood Church;and Mr. Bailey, pastor of the same, and John Holdsworth, elder,with .several other members of the same church; and also Mr.Whiteohurst, pastor of the Church at Horton, near Bradford, and

HISTORY OP UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 7

George Ward, elder, with several members of that church; all ofwhich we called in as witnesses of our legal proceedings. Andthe names of the persons that laid the foundation were these:—

Jonathan JaiggerNicolas TaJbotSamuel HirdRichard Wi'lcockJames InesonWilliam WebsterJohn Heialow

John Lead'beaterWilliam BriggWilliam DixsonJoseph BriggJohn AplehyJohn Beaumont

Them follows the form of covenant—

And this is the form of covenant that was entered into withGod and wdith one another upon the said 29th day of July, 1674.

We, the poor, weak and unworthy servants of the. Lord JesusChrist, do covenant solemnly and voluntarily this day, in thepresence of the Great God, and 'before these people as witnesses,

That we, through His assisting grace, do give, up ourselvesunto the Lord to 'be His people, to walk .together as a Ohurch ofChrist, in all His ordinances, -and in all duties of holiness andobedience, and in all brotherly love and faithfulness each to other.

After this follows the "Confession, of Faith" whichwas agreed upon at the same time, and which occupiesfourteen closely written pages.

In this humble way, 250 years ago., the first Congre-gational Church at Heckmondwike was formed, and themeetings were held in a farm house at the top of what wasformerly known as the "Swash" and where now standsthe railway station, at Shaver Hill.

The admission of members into the Church duringthei year 1074, as recorded in the old Church, Book, wasas follow si:—

Aug. 24.—Mi'. Holdsworth was admitted member.Mr. HoMswonth was elected pastor.

Sept. 2.—Jonathan J agger was elected elder.Sept. 12.—Abraham Nailor, oif Heckmondwike, and Richard Armi

tiage and Sarah WheweH were admitted.Oct. 8.—Mrs. Holdswonth was admitted.O'ct. 29.—George Brooke' was admitted.Nov. 5.—Mr. Holdiswonth was ordained pastor, and Jonathan

J agger ruling elder.Jan. 4.—.Richard Wilcock was made .deacon.Dec. 25.—Katharine Chadwiok was admitted.

8 HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

It is quite likely that these entries were made fromsome other document, hence the line "commencing Jan-uary 4th" appearing between November and December.

Room in which the first Congregational Church in Heckmondwike wasformed, July 29, 1674.

Oliver' Beywood, one o>f the most celebrated Divinesand the prince of the Nonconformists of 1662, ex-communicated three times, fined and imprisoned oft, andejected from Ooley, near Halifax, was on terms of greatintimacy with Mr. Holdsworth. Hei frequently visitedthe meeting house in "Swash" for coofereince, as well asfor fastingi and prayer.

These were very troublous times, but the old churchbook, although containing much curious and interestinginformation, does not enter into details. It is clear, how-

HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 9

even", that Mr. Holdswoith did not pursue his ministra-tions! unmolested, for under1 date September1, 1677,appears the following item : "Laid down for releasing thepastor from the* hands of Mr. Ashbourne, above andbesides what was given by thei brethren: 01-06-08."This Mr. Ashbourne was the Vicar of Birstall. Judgingby the' difference in value between that time and thepresent £1 6s. 8d. was a, huge sum to raise for such a smallflock, as it would probably mean about £40 to-day.Another entry states that Mr. Holdsworth only received£1 17s. Od. from August to November, 1675, from whichit is inferred that he was not altogether destitute ofmoans of his own. Again we find that he was often paidin kind; one item referring to a load of wheat given tohim, valued at 12s.

The book records the first baptism, that of John, theson of Mr1. Iloldswoirth, February 13th, 1675. The pastorhad two other1 sons baptised, viz., Josiah, June 30th,1678; and Jaboz, October, 17th, 1680. The latter diedvery, young and was interred under the floor of the meet-ing house. Part of the tombstone is still preserved andmay be seen in the entrance lobby to our Sunday School.

Boferencei is often made to Fast Days, Public Exer-cises, Thanksgiving Days, etc., and under date Novem-ber 16th, 1678, we read: "Laid out for meat on the fastday : 00-01-01 (1/1)-" Other item's on, this page include:"Laid out for a joynt of meat which was given to thepastor: 00-01-00." "Laid out for meat, uponi a publickexorcise day: 00-03-04" (May 25th, 1679). "Given topastor's maid : 00-00-06" (March 8th, 1679). Services, atthis time, it has been recorded, often lasted about fivehours, with a quarter of an hour's interval for refresh-ment.

The next two pages are reproduced from the oldChurch Book,

12 HISTOEY OP UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

Another extract from the old Church Book recordsthat on September 22nd, 1678, Brother Briggs, semior,was admonished privately, in. the presence of the elders,by the pastor, according to the Scripture 1 Thess. 5, 12;18 Mat. 16; suspended also- as to the ordinance of theSupper; first, for his frequent and vain repetitions in theordinance of prayer in church meetings, secondly, that hecarried on unseemly in his outward gesture as to his oyosand hands in thei public congregation ; thirdly, that hekept a thief in his house contrary to the Scriptures; andfourthly, that, he was often reproved concerning all thesethings and did not reform.

A later entry states: ' 'Upon his reformation of theseoffences he was shortly after admitted into communionwith the church in all their ordinances."

Mr. Holdsworth, who, from 1681 to 1684, preachedalmost as often at Topcliffe as at Heckmondwike, died in1685 at. the comparatively early age of 46 years, and wasinterred at Tingley on the 29th July in that year, justeleven years from the day of the founding of the churchat. Heekmondwike. No tombstone can; be found to markthe place where he lies. His ministry was blessed withabundance of success and he is represented as being aman of great piety, sincerity, and energetic industry, justthe qualifications requisite in the pioneer of any greatmovement.

Rev. David Noble succeeded Mr. Holdsworth. Bornin Inverness, he had the reputation of being a. superiorscholar and a. good classic. He became a. member of theTopcliffe Church, April 8th, 1668. About that time heopened a school at Morley and had amongst his piipilstwo sons of Oliver Hey wood. In April, 1681, Mr. Nobleoffeired himself for examination with a view to the minis-try and met with the warm approval of the ordaining min-isters, Mr. Heywood being one. Eive years later he

HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 13

obtained his dismissal from the church at Topcliffe inorder to be connected with the church at Heckmondwike,from which he had received an invitation to the vacantpulpit. He was admitted into fellowship February 3rd,1686, and ordained by Messrs. Whitelock and Eeynolds,ejected ministers from Nottingham, who spoke of him asone -whom God—by extraordinary qualifications—hadpointed out for the ministry. This ceremony took placeMay 12th, 1687. About this time, a second chapel wasopened at Chapel Fold, but very few particulars of itshistory can be found. It has been stated that it was asmall barn, belonging to1 the Greenwood family.

Mr. Noble was so successful in his ministry that veryshortly the erection of a third chapel was found necessary.This wa.si built on the site of our old schoolroom—sinceconverted into< cottages. Mr. Noble died November 26th,1709, in! thei 23rd year of his pastorate, and was buried atDewsbury. He was a great student of prophecy, and inthe year 1700 published a, book entitled "The Visions, andProphecies' of Daniel Explained." Hei alsoi left behindhim a large treatise in MSS. on similar subjects.

Thei Rev. John Kirby followed Mr. Noble. He wasadmitted to the Church and also elected pastor, July 5th,1710. He resided at White Lee for many years and kepta school there. Thei eminent Dr. Priestley was one of hispupils and spoke highly of his abilities and scholarship.During Mr. Kirby's time collections were made towardsbuilding meeting houses! at Ossett and Hopton. His lab-ours extended over thei greater part of half a. century.Death closed his earthly career February 16th, 1754, atthe age of 77. He was originally interred in the groundswhere our old Sunday School stood, but when the oldchapel was built, his remains were removed and placed infront of that sanctuary, and his tombstone still remainsin our burial ground.

14 HISTORY OP UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

Mr. Kirby was succeeded by Mr. Scott, a nativei ofBerwick, who* had been very highly recommended to thechurch. Two- trusty messengers from Upper were sentto> hear him preach and converse: with him. They werehighly pleased with all they saw and heard, and Mr.Scott was invited to preach at Heckmondwike, which hedid on November112th, 1752. His text was characteristicof the man and the sermon produced a powerful impres-sion on the minds of thei people. The' test was Acts 10,29th verse: "Therefore' came I unto' you without gain-saying as soon as I was sent for; I ask, therefore, forwhat intent you have- sent for me." The good people,however, were not hasty in their movements. A cor-respondence was entered into* with Mr. Scott, a day o-fprayer and fasting was. observed, and at length the wayseemed clear and a call was given. Mr. Scott hesitatedlong, and the more he' hesitated thei more anxious theHeckmondwike Church became to secure hisi a.cceptancy.Eventually he saw his way clear to accept the call, thewhole negotiations having lasted about 16 months.

On May 30th, 1754, Mr. Scott was admitted a mem-ber1 of the church and elected pastor on the' 20th June fol-lowing. His. ministry was well received and soon provedabundantly useful. It was about, this time that somefriends, in London formed the Northern Education Societyfor the purpose of dispelling the clouds of socinian dark-ness; them, spreading over the Northern Counties of Eng-land. This wasi followed by the' formation, of an academyin the West Riding, of which Mr. Scott becamei thei firsttutor, and was said to have educated for the ministryabout sixty persons. The academy continued at Heck-mondwike till Mr. Scott.'si death. It was then removed toNorthoiwram where it remained twelve years, when it. wasbroken1 up through the conduct of the Principal. Thencethe students were removed to Idle and now, it) may be said

HISTORY 01? UPPER INDEPENDENT CHUEOH. 16

to perpetuate its existence in, some measure at the UnitedCollege, Bradford.

Mr. Scott was an excellent minister, always, faithfulto' his high trust, hence the church grew till it againbecame necessary to' enlarge the borders. A new andcommodious chapel was therefore erected a,nd opened forpublic worship1, November 29th, 1761, and this had soonto be enlarged by the addition of galleries and in otherways. In connection with these' alterations a, very inter-

Rev. James Scott.

esting circumstance' is related which deserves to be per-petuated as illustrating, in a striking manner, the strongpiety and faith: of our forefathers. For the purpose ofenlarging thei chapel it was necessary to> purchase! the fieldadjoining the chapel yard, in thei rear of the old building,but not a singlei foot could be obtained either1 for love ormoney. Therefore they had to be content with enlargingit to> the extent of the few yards between the back of thechapel and the field in question. A plan was preparedand building operations, commenced, but it so happenedthat, in thei field stood a, stalwart oak, onei strong arm cfwhich projected considerably over the ground required, so>that without thei removal of that part of the tree the chapelwall could not be built. Thei owner would not hear of it

,:16 HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

being meddled with. He stormed and threatened thepeople with serious legal consequences, if they dared tocut off the offending branch. They offered to buy thewhole tree or pay compensation for any injury done' to it,but, the owner would come to> no terms, declaring thatwhore the tree stood it should continue to grow. Theworkmen refused to> touch it, and the work came to astand. The people, having tried all human meansin vain,, in their extremity now turned to God to directthem out: of their difficulty. A prayer meeting wascalled, and they determined to continue night after

Upper Independent Chapel—Opened November 29, 1761.

night in prayer until an. answer should be given to theirrequest. Their prayers, were that God would soften thestubborn heart, of the owner of the tree and so clear theway for a renewal of the work. They had not long towait, for during the night following one of these prayermeetings, a, tremendous thunder storm occurred andwhen, thei morning dawned it was found that God's, light-ning had shattered thei tree into a, thousand fragments.Thus their prayers were answered so effectually as to pre-vent any further hindrance to the progress of their pious

HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 1?

undertaking. We are no>t told whatthought about; it.

'stubbor'nsideis"

Mr. Scott has always had ascribed to him the charac-ter of a profound Divine and masterly expositor. At theLord's Supper table he was unequalled. His appearanceis described as commanding, his manner grave and solid,and his doctrine sound and uncorrupt, savouring much ofthe old puritans. Hei was so acceptable as a,n occasionalsiipply that, in, some places he was looked upon as, a secondPaul. Mr. Scott, who instituted the HeckmondwikeLecture, was a, man of extraordinarily good health, and itis stated that during the whole course of his ministry hewas never once prevented from preaching by illness- tillabout, six months before his death, which took place onJanuary llth, 1783, thei 30th, year of his ministry. Hewas buried in our chapel yard.

When the erection of the chapel referred to, in thenorth-west corner1 of thei present burial ground, had beencompleted, the following "Rules" or "Orders" wereagreed upon by thei trustees, church members, and con-gregation, :—

(1) That no person is to thank 'that what he, hath contributedtoward the, trailding and furnishing of the, chapel and conveni-ences, about it, is his making ia purchase of ye seat that falls tohim, 'but thai the, money laid out this way is to be accountedas, iaid ouit for the glory of God and the, promoting true Chris-tianity in this place, viz., The Doctrine commonly called Cal-vinism. The' justice of this rule will appear .if we consider thatevery single .seat in the, place,, including all the expense of thobuilding and conveniences about it, hath cost about five-pounds, which is more than many in the congregation hathcontributed or were able to, contribute, so that but a few havegiven, what itheir seats really coat.

Note well. Since the ibuilding the chapel, etc., the chapelylard hait'h been enlarged, which cost £13, and a chapel housebuilt which cost about £60.

(2) That the chapel, 'the seats and all things thalt belong to it, arecommitted to the trustees, in trust for the church and congre-gation) who. do meet or may meet in it for Divine worship.

(3) Thiat helads of families have the choice of seats according totheir >coinitri(butio.n towards the expense of the building and

18 HISTORY OP UPPER INDEPENDENT CHUBCH.

finishing ait, that is, thalt they who have subscribed most havethe first, choice, iand so through the whole.

(4) Thlat if .a family be not .sufficient to fill a seat ordinarily, thehead o',f -the family shall invite, .any that he -thinks proper to sitwith him, buit if lie neglect to. do. this, the trustees shallappoint some person or persons ito sit with that family in order•to fill it, especially if room be wanted for persons or families.

(5) That no. persons nor their heirs have any property in their seats,to. sell them or assign them to others, but that when any seatsbecome vacant they are. <to be. disposed of by the trustees, asthey sihall judge shall toe most for the benefit of the church. Aseat then 'becomes vacant when those to whom dit did belongneglect to attend and -contribute towards the support of theGospel.

(6) If a family be reduced that it cannot fill a -seat, and if therebe another larger family that needs such a, seat, and if itappear to. the Trustees that the providing such a family with aconvenient seat will tend to the encouragement of religion,the trustees, with the .consent of the church, shall assign thatseat to the larger family and provide for the lesser familyanother .convenient seat, but that no. person or persons shalltoe removed from the seat that hath been assigned them untilanother convenient seat or sufficient place be provided forthem. The (power of removtinig a family 'from a seat, pew, orcloset, the trustees shall use. only when it may plainly appearthat it will tend to the promoting of religion in the place andthe support and eneouiiagemeat of the Gospel.

(7) If any person shall think himself ill used by the trustees withrespect to any of the forsaid Articles, he hat.h liberty to appealto the church, and the case shall be determined by the majorityof -votes.

The design of these Eules or Orders is, inasmuch as is possible,to prevent any after dispute's or .differences that may happen con-cernirag the Title or Right that families may claim to the seats thathave been assigned or may be assigned to them.

These Rules or Orders were agreed upon and published at the firstassignment olf the seiats, before the front and west galleries, werebuilt; after the finishing of those 'galleries, and before, the secondassignment of the seats, they were publicly read to the congregationpresent on December 1st, 1763, 'being the day of the second assign-ment of the seats.

That the .above is a true and jusit •copy of the Orders or Eulesagreed upon and published is attested August 12th, 1767, by me,James Scott.

The same hand hath copied them into this book in futuram redmeimoriain, .September 19th, 1775.

Following Mr. Scott's! ministry the church was with-out pastor1 for two years. Them came the Rev. WilliamBooker1. He was elected October1 31st, 1785, but onlycontinued in the office a, few months. On April 12th,

HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 19

1786, he left the pulpit before the sermon and did notpreach again, as pastor1. His departure, however, causeda division, and thoi.se whoi still wished to attend his minis-try left the chapel and built what, was then called the"Lower Chapel," now West-gate.

The Rev. Obadiah Bennett, succeeded Mr. Booker in1786. He> remained about 5|- years and them resigned hischarge in 1792 through some unpleasantness between himand his people. He has been described a.s a fine, autocra-tic looking man, rather humorous and a. most eloquentpreacher, drawing large congregations from some dis-tance. Occasionally hei was very eccentric in his choiceof texts, as the following instances will show : "Nine andtwenty knives," "Old shoes and clouted," Set on thegreat, pot," "The shepherd took from the bear two legsand a piece of an ear.'' He resided at Grove House.

After another interval of about twoi years, viz., inApril, 1794, the Rev. Thos. Halei, then. Independent, min-ister at Green, Acres, Lancashire, was given, and accepteda call. Hei came to settle in Heckmondwike in August,1794, and discharged his duties a.s pastor to the satisfac-tion of his congregation; for nearly 27 years, dying onMay 17th, 1821. Hei alsoi found a resting place in our oldgraveyard, where his tombstone can be found. It wasrecorded by the Rev. Henry Bean that for a. long timeafter Mr. Hale's death seldom were persons received intothe church whoi did not make honourable: mention of hisname and many acknowledged that they had receivedtheir first religious impressions, or otherwise derivedgreat spiritual advantage from his ministry, thus provingthat the extant o<f a minister's usefulness and good workis unknown to him in, this; life. During Mr. Hale's minis-try the late Miss Parsons, of Staincliffei Hall, wasadmitted to the church.

20 HISTORY OF UPPEK INDEPENDENT CHUBCH.

It was also during Mr. Sale's pastorate that o>ur firstSunday School (in conjunction with, Westgate Chapel)was formed, viz., in the year 18.10, but judging from, theitems of expenditure religious teaching did not take upmuch time, as we find that, a, good deal of the money wasexpended on alphabets, primers, slates, pencils, writingbooks, and ink, a,nd that not only children but, grown upmen, and women were' instructed in elementary subjects.In, 1812 there were 250 persons "receiving instruction,"

Rev. Thomas Hale.

but this number did not satisfy the worshippers at Upper,and the dual arrangement lasted only about ten or1 elevenyears. Many were of opinion that therei was insufficientprovision for the Sabbath day education of children "inthis neighbourhood," and a, proposal for separation wasbrought before the congregation on September 23rd,1821. A committee of twelve persons was appointed toarrange the business with the other parties concerned,and on the following day, September 24th, 1821, this com-mittee met a, deputation from the "Lower" Chapel, when

HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 21

it was agreed "that a fadr and equal division of the booksshould be made, that a collection recently made at the oldchapel should be retained for the use of the intended newschool therei; that one-half of the- debt due to the treasurershould be paid by the committee of the old chapel; andthat the separation should take place from and after thefollowing Sabbath Day."' The books were divided onOctober 2nd by Francis Goodall, George Popplewell,Mattheiw Hale, and William Oldroyd—"as appointed"—and five- days' later, October 7th, signalled the first day ofteaching in, the old chapel. Henceforth the life of theschool was inseparable: from the life of the church, andthe successes of the Upper Independent Chapel during thelast century are due in no small measure to- the patientband of workers whoi have given lavishly of their time tothe training of the yomng. A .general meeting of thoseinterested in the Sunday School was held on the eveningof Christmas Day, 1821, when the following officers wereappointed: Six superintendents, (three for the boys),Joseph Tattersfield, David Newsome, and Francis Good-all, (three for the girls), David Farrar, John, Smith, andWilliam Tatteirsfield; treasurer, Thomas Burnley;librarian, Francisi Goodall; secretary, Matthew Hale;committee, Joseph Tattersfield, Abraham Armitage,David Newsome', Samuel Cook, William T'attersfield,David Farrar, Thomas' Oldfield, John Smith, FrancisGoodall, and George Whitehead.

The following were appointed to teach writing:—Boys' department: M. Hale, J. Tattersfield, junr., B.Naylor, Jas. Burnley, and J. Firth; girls' department, A.Naylor, S. Decs, A. Dex, and M. Firth.

We have made a perhaps lengthy reference to the for-mation of our Sunday School here, but it will be noticedthat we are brought into contact with families who havehad much to do with the building upi of our church. The

22 HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

Dex family, for instance, priocr to this date had been con-nected with, this church, for a hundred years. (A MissDex ultimately became the wife of the Rev. Henry Bean).Them wei find the Tattersfields, Firths, and Burnleys.

It, was James Burnley, who, in, 1824, took a, leadingpart, in the formation, of Grove Chapel, Q-omersal, thefoundation: stone of which was laid in, .1825, and thechapel opened for public, worship1 in 182G. Mr. Burnleydid not. server his connection with, Upper until about ayear later and soon afterwards he provided, entirely at hisown cost, the first building specially erected for SundaySchool purposes at G-omersal.

From, 1821 to 1824 there wa,s no. settled minister,though in 1823 a, unanimous call was given to the Rev.Henry Bean, who' was a native of London and a. studentin college at Idle at the time. This call Mr. Bean ac-cepted, though hei continued his studies at the Academytill June, 1824, when he came to settle here. His ordina-tion: took place on September 1st, 1824, and on, Sunday,September 5th, hei administered his first sacrament atUpper. In the following year Mr. Bean married MissDex, a young lady of hisi own congregation. Shei was, inall respects, what may be termed the bea.u ideal of a min-ister's' wife, ever ready to cheer and encourage and helphim in his work. They were devotedly attached to oneanother and were spared to live together for 35 years.During Mr. Bean's long and able ministry the church andcongregation, increased rapidly, so* much, so that it becameabsolutely necessary to seek again for increased1 accom-modation. Sittings were not to be had and many, afterwaiting in vain for a, long time, had to seek a spiritualhome elsewhere. Perhaps no* stronger impression of thestate of things then existing can be conveyed than bystating that the late Mr. John Burnley, who' had attendedthe chapel from boyhood until it was pulled down, neverhad a pew of his own, but he and his1 family had to be con-

HISTOR-y OP UPPER, INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 23

tent with two> half pews. It was then, that Miss^ Parsons,of Staincliffe Hall, offered to contribute £600' towards anew chapel, but thei trustees did not see their way forsome years after this offer was madei to embark upon, a.building scheme. Matters were brought to a head by theland upon which the chapel now stands being offered forsale, and Missi Parsons a.gain pressed the church to makean effort to secure it and proceed with, the building of anew chapel. Realising the necessity of something being

Rev. Henry Bean.

done at oncei thei land was. procured, and the erection of asanctuary proceeded forthwith. Miss Parsons, whoi wasover 701 yeara of age, laid the foundation, stone on GoodFriday, April 5th, 1844. She did not speak in, public,biit contented, herself with addressing a tetter to thechurch and congregation, thanking them for the respectand honour which they had shown to her in asking her toperform the ceremony, and hoping they would continue: tounite in carrying forward the good work. Mr. Bean gave

24 HLSTOBY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

an address, in which, he traced the history of thei churchfrom its foundation.

The minister's house was built a,t this time.

This chapel, with a seating accommodation of fromeleven to twelve hundred, as against seven, to- eight hun-dred in, thei previous one, wa.s opened for Divine worshipon Wednesday, March 12th, 1845. In thei morning a ser-

Upper Chapel Opened 1845.

mon. was preached by the Rev. Thomas Raffles, D.D.,LLD., of Liverpool, and the dedicatory prayer wasoffered by the Reiv. Henry Bean. The Rev. ThomasScales, of Leeds, was the preacher in, the afternoon,, andthe Rev. R, W. Hamilton, LLD., D.D., of Leeds, in theevening. On, the Sunday following the pulpit, was occu-pied by:—morning, Rev. J. M. Obery, M.A., of Halifax;afternoon, Rev. John Ely, of Leeds; evening, Rev. J. G.

HISTORY OP UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 25

Miall, of Bradford. On Monday, March 17th, 1845, theRev. Jamee Parsons1, of York, preached a, special sermon,and on. Good Friday, March 21st, 1845, the Rev. JamesGregory, of Thornton, was the preacher. The lady whoi

had done so much towards bringing about the erection ofthis chapel, lived ten years; longer to worship in it. MissParsons died on the 17th November, 1854, in, the 85thyear of her a,ge, and was interred in the burial ground infront of the chapel.

It was on. May 5th, 1858, that, the foundation stoneof our present Sunday School was laid by the late Mr.Edwin Firth, and the school opened the following year.

Mr. Bean,, though robust and apparently enjoyinggood health, died suddenly, after a hard day's work, onFriday evening, March 7th, 1862. His death took placeafter he had attended the iisual Friday Evening CottageMeeting at Mrs. Tattersfield's, Dewsbury Moor, where hehad preached with great earnestness from thei words"The Lord hath made known his: salvation." On hisway home a, messenger invisible from the skies met himwith the invitation "Friend, come up higher." LikeJohn of old, he fell to the ground in unconscious homage.Assistance was quickly obtained, and he was carried tohis earthly home, in a few minutes to' exchange it for thatHeavenly Mansion to which he had pointed so many.Mr. Bean was greatly beloved by his congregation and athis funeral he had nearly the whole town as mourners, sohighly and universally was he. respected. Though not abrilliant preacher, he may be considered as a, very success-ful one. He was, described as never so happy as whenpreaching or preparing his work. He seemed to have athorough kno.wlege of the human heart. His style wasactive and vivacious, yet characterised by intense earn-estness and great solemnity. He was a thorough Inde-pendent, a, genial brother, a faithful friend and a holy

26 HISTORY OP UPPEK INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

man. His industry and punctuality were extraordinary,and it is recorded that during the 40 years he was at Heck-mondwike he only once failed to keep, an appointment atthe correct time. Many times temptations were held outto induce him to leave Heckmondwike, but his invariablereply was "No, I saw my way into Heckmondwike whenI came, and I will see my way as clearly out before Ileave." As .a, token of respect for Mr. Bean, the churchand congregation erected, at a cost of £150, a, monumentover his grave in the form of an obelisk of highly polishedgranite, bearing the folk-wing inscription : "Sacred to thememory of the Bev. Henry Bean, whoi died suddenly,March 7th, 1862, in the sixty-sixth year of his age, andthe fortieth year of his ministry in this place. Thismonument is erected by his bereaved people as an affec-tionate tributei to his memory, and in, admiration of hisexemplary Christian character." A writer of a shortmemoir published in 1863 concludes: "He was no idler,else he never would ha.ve been able to gather and keep to-gether such a flock as he did and that, too, in; the villa.gewhere many others! had tried, but failed to accomplishsuch a- task. Few, very few, co'tdd have laboured fornearly forty years and never once get across with hisflock; yet this he accomplished, and died leaving one ofthe most flourishing churches that this country can boastof, without a stain on his mantle."

After another interval of nearly two- years, duringwhich there was no settled minister, a call was given tothe Eev. Charles Allan Mines, of Nottingham. This wasaccepted, and Mr. Mines camei to Heckmondwike onApril 24th, 1864. He was recognised as pastor at a largeand enthusiastic meeting of the church and congregationheld July 13th, 1864, in oair present largei schoolroom,and which meeting was presided over by Mr.Thomas F. Firth. Mr. Mines had a long and suc-cessful ministry, was beloved by his people, and in him

HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 27

(Mr. Bean's great- anxiety that his successor should be onewho would preach the simple gospel "Christ Crucified")theire was a literal answer to the good man's prayers, asfrom his lips the gospel was preached in all its purity,simplicity and freedom. He did a great and good workand his memory still lives in the hearts and affections ofthe people of Upper,

Rev. Charles Allan Mines.

For a long period the deacons held their meetings ateach other's houses and some very interesting discussionsare recorded. For instance, on February 1st, 1866, at ameeting at Mr. John, Bailey's, "a, conversation took placeof the second coming of Christ," and, the "millenarian"views were considered. At the same gentleman's houseon March 4th, 1869, arrangements were made to enter-tain ministers and delegates to the District Meeting of theHome Missionary Society. "Provision requisite to bemade for 30." Evidently the inner wants of the dele-gates were well attended to, for the order was given for"301bs. of beef and mutton; potatoes; 3 do-zen bottledbeer; tea, and coffee."

I28 HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

In 1871 the deacons, of Upper met the deacons fromWestgate and George Street in one of the Upper class-rooms. The Rev. A. Mines presided, and the subjectsdiscussed were: "The Education Question," "TheComing Nonconformist Conference.," "Cottage Hospitaland British, Workmen's Homes1 wanted for the town."Also- a conversation took place on the advisability ofunited action on the. part of the church in the way ofmutual help and co-operation.

Healey congregation: was discussed on November30th, 1871, and it was resolved that "those who> were, con-sidered eligible for membership bei invited to join, o>urchurch a,t Upper Chapel, to. attend our church meetings,and communicate with us, at thet Ordinance." Withregard to. the formation of a church at "Doghouse" (Nor-ris.tho.rpe) the. matter was deferred to. a future meeting forconsideration, but no. further progress was made onJanuary 4th, 1872.

A resolution, however, was passed at a, deacon'smooting held at, Mr. T. F. Firth's, on, August 29th, 1872,as follows : "That it is desirable that a, church should beformed at, Dog'housei, but that it sho'iild not be an Inde-pendent Church, but should for the present form a, part ofthei Upper Chapel church." Several conferences wereiheld with the Norristhorpe people, together with Mr.Fearnley, who was in charge of thei mission there, whichended ultimately in Mr. Mines reporting to the deaconson April 3rd, 1873, that, the formation of a branch churchat Norristhorpe was not, acceptable to. the people. It was1878 before a, separate, church was formed at Norristhorpe.,although, the subject was to the front in 1874.

In May, 1873, it was decided that all future meetingsof the. deacons' be held in the classrooms, tea to be pro-vided at each meeting, the cost to be paid for by the

HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 2!)

deacons. In this year (1673) 52 teachers and scholarswere admitted members of the church.

The Bicentenary of Congregationalism in Heckmond-wike was celebrated in, July, 1874. Commencing with aservice for Yo.ung People on Monday evening, July 27th,1874, held in Westgatet Congregational Chapel, Heck-mondwike, addresses were delivered by the Rev. AllanMine's (Upper1), Rev. Mark Howard (Westgate), andRev. H. H. Oakley (George Street). The. Rev. J.Foarnley (Norristhorpe) conducted the devotional part ofthet service.

The services were continued on the following evening(Tuesday) in George Street Congregational Chapel, whena, sermon was preached by Dr. Joseph Parker, pastor ofthe City Temple, London, from the first ten verses of thelast chapter of Romans. The Rev. T'hos. Nicholson, ofProvidence Place, Gleckheaton, conducted the devotionalpart of the service., and the chapel was crowded.

Further services' in celebration were, held on Wednes-day, July 29th, this being thei birthday of Independencyin, Heckmondwike. A large number of peoplei sat downto a tea provided in thei afternoon in thei Upper school-room, and presided over by ladies from Upper, Westgatei,and George Street congregations. After tea a publicmeeting! was held in the chapel, the chairman being Mr.T. F. Firth. After the meeting had been opened by theRev. J. Craddo'ck (Gomer'sal) and the Rev. E. H. Da.vies(Birstall), Mr. Firth, delivered a, fine address dealing withthe birth of Nonconformity. This was followed by a, his-torical sketch of the origin and progress of Congregation-alism in Heckmoindwike, given by Mr. George Burnley,and to which the compilers of this history are much in-debted. Others who. addressed the meeting included theRe.v. A. A. Ramsey (Trinity Congregational Church,

30 HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. Rl

Dewsbury), Rev. Allan Mines (Upper), Rev. T. Nicholson(Oleiclch.ea.tion), and the Hem M. Howard (Westgate) andH. H. Oakley (George Street).

The idea of "cottage meetings" appears to have de-veloped about 1874, and in October of that year arrange^ments were made toi hold special sea-vices on Wednesdayevenings at house® in the following districts: D'erwsburyMOOT, Dewsbury .Moor Grate, Kilpin Hill 'No. 1, KilpinHill No. 2, Bunkers Hill, Top of Heckmondwike., WhiteLeei, Chapel Lane, High Street, Battye Street., CroftStreet, and Flush. One gentleman! was appointed leaderin each district, a.nd two> or three others engaged to givewhat help they could. These meetings were laterreported on very favourably and in some parts of thetownship were carried on for a, number of years. Evan-gelistic work was a. strong part of the church's activitiesat this: time and Saturday evening meetings were held inthe Market Place during the autumn of 1875.

The continued success both in connection with theChurch and Sunday School had the effect of enlarging thescope of influence. The lack of a convenient room in, theHealey district in which to collect and teach the youngon the Sabbath caused considerable anxiety about theyears 1868 and 1869. Some of thei labourers at Uppertook the matter iip with enthusiasm and commenced aSunday School in a. small room in Common Road, Stain-oliffe, hired for the purpose. This flourished considerablyand more children presenting themselves for tuition thancould be accommodated, it was determined, if possible, toerect a school. A committee was formed and they pur-chased the ground On which the present Healey Churchand School stands. An appeal to the Upper congrega-tion, through the minister and by circular, to raise thesum of £500, met with a quick response, for on the Sun-day following the appeal from the pulpit, it was announced

that promises of upwards of £360 had been made. Thiswas further increased by a working sewing party andother means to £400. Plans of the intended buildingwere obtained and the different works in connection withthe same let for £380. In addition to this was the cost ofthe land, about £100, to which had to be added the inter-nal fittings, so that the whole would probably cost a little"over £500. The foundation stone was laid on Whit-Monday, May 17th, 1869. The scholars of the Henleyschool, who numbered about 80, along with those of theUpper school, met at one o'clock in our largei schoolroom,and thei wholoi walked in procession, carrying flags andbanners, to> the- site of the now building. On arrivingthere they were,marshalled in proper form round the placedestined to receive the corner .stone, and the ceremony oflaying the stone was performed; by Mr. George Burnley.Hei explained that thei principle® intended to be taught inthe new school were those.of Independency and Congre-gationalism, principles which he believed were most inharmony with the teaching of the Bible, "grand andglorious old principles handed down to them, throughmuch privation a.nd a. great amount of self-sacrifice, bytheir noble forefathers." Rev. Allan Mines followedwith an address in which he stated that the movementhad not been commenced in any spirit of opposition tobrethren in Christ, who* were working around them.They .wished to take their place amongst the workers andcultivate^ a little patch, trusting that some day it wouldbecomei fruitful as the garden of the Lord.

The first .trustees elected were: Messrs. J. E. Walker,Thomas Taylor, Robert Bruce, Jeremy Firth, J. E. C'legg,William Parker (nominated by thei Young men atHealey), George Burnley, Edwin Firth, James. Walker,Joseph Tattersfield, junr., Henry Morton, and JohnTerry (nominated by the Upper trustees), , , , . , , , .

32 HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH.

Mr. Mine® closed his ministry at Upper on Sunday,March llth, 1877, and his last prayer was that thepreacher1 of the following Sabbath might be thei choice ofthe people. His prayer was answered, for1 on Sunday,March 18th, 1877, the Rev. Frederick Hall, then occupy-ing his first pastorate at Kipping Chapel, Thornton, nearBradford, preached to a largei congregation from thewords I Kpheisians, verses 13 and 14: ' 'After that ye be-lieved, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,which is: thei earnest of our inheritance." Mr. Hall wasthei guest of Mr. Richard Clarkson.

HISTORY OF UPPER INDEPENDENT CHURCH. 33

Rev. Frederick Hall.

Following a meeting of trustees and church membersheld April 12th, 1877, a, general meeting of the congrega-tion was held April 17th, and it was decided that a. "call"be sent to Mr. Hall. The "call" of the church and con-gregation, was. signed by close upon 800' names (withouta single dissentient) and this was conveyed to Mr. Hallby a deputation consisting of Messrs. George Burnley,Richard Olarkso-n, Thomas Freeman Firth, and Jeremiah

Tattersfield. 'The acceptance of the call was madei knownat the services on Sunday, April 29th, and on, Sunday,June 3rd, commenced a 17 years' pastorate which theLord graciously blessed.

Mr. Hall took as thei test of his first, sermon Exodusxxxiii, verses 14 and 15 : "My presence shall goi with theeand I will give thee rest." "If Thy presence go not withmo, carry mei not up hence." (This text was alwaystaken by Mr. Hall on, thei anniversary of this day, so thaton seventeen occasions he preached from what becameknown as the "old test.")

A public recognition service was held on Tuesday,September 18th, at which, 700 were' present at the tea, andat the subsequent meeting the chapel was crowded, allthe aisles being filled. Mr. T. F. Firth, J.P., presided,and amongst those on the platform were thei Revs. T.Nicholson (Cleckheaton), J. R. Wolstenholme (Wake-field), J. H. Stanley (Bradford), W. Houghton (Allen-ton),G. S. Smith (Halifax), S. D. Hillman (Ilkley), J. P. Wil-son (Huddersfield), G. Macullum (Dewsbury), J. P.Arnold (Sheffield), March Timson (Great Horton), W.Burrows (Kendal), J. Libbey (Mil-field), and H. H.Oakley, Mark Howard, C. Tregoning, S. W. Lawton, andJoshua Armitage (Heickmondwikei); and others.

At this period, in the old and well-filled chapel, theincome from pew rents was about £300 per annum, butthis was increased in the "new" chapel, which was openedduring Mr. Hall's pastorate, to closei tipon £500. Therewas also- a large increase in the membership of the church.

The deacons were: Messrs. T. F. Firth, RichardClarkson, John Bailey, Thomas Terry, James Walker,Benjamin Walker, John Oxley, John T'atteirsfield, andGeorgei Burnley (secretary); and the trustees: Messrs.L. H. Firth, R. Clarkson, Charles Burnley, James