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Introduction
This humble minute book offers us the greatest insight into the development of the Baptist congregation in Tewkesbury. Written between 1655 and 1808, the minute book contains a variety of information written in dozens of different hands, most of whom are anonymous. It was used at times to write minutes, at others to keep records, to write drafts and other miscellany. The pages are not written chronologically and we have therefore added dates to the transcriptions.
How to use this book
The original book has been faithfully reproduced on the screen. You can turn each page using your finger.
As the handwriting is difficult to read, each page has been transcribed so you can read the text with greater ease.
On pages of particular interest, there is a hot spot which explains and brings to life the information contained.
A
These are the minutes from a meeting held by the Midlands Association of Particular Baptists at Warwick on 2nd May 1655. The account covers agreements between those churches attending, presumably including Tewkesbury, on matters including ideology, working together, marriage, and baptisms.
Particular Baptists first appeared around 1644 and believed that only a chosen few (the elect) would be saved by God. They focussed on regional organisation. Five associations of Particular Baptists, the Welsh, the Berkshire, the Irish, the Western, and the Midlands Associations all met regularly in the 1650s.
Their meetings were used to discuss a range of matters of concern to the running of their churches.
Here reference is made to the importance of the act of baptism and that it should be by dipping rather than by sprinkling. The latter was the practice in the Church of England, the National Church.
Baptists believed in believer’s baptism which was based on a person making a statement of belief in Jesus Christ. Infants were incapable of this; therefore believers would have to be re-baptized as adults who had made a conscious decision to accept Christ.
Baptists were sometimes referred to as ‘Dippers’ because of their belief in adult immersion.
At this second meeting of the Midlands Association of Particular Baptists, held at Morton Hinmarsh (Moreton in the Marsh), is the first mention of the Baptist Church in Tewkesbury, spelt Twexbury.
All the churches attending, Warwick, Moreton in the Marsh, Bourton on the Water, Tewkesbury, Hook Norton, Derby and Chester acknowledge each other as ‘true churches of Christ’ and agree to help each other.
Although there was a community of Baptists active in Tewkesbury, there is no record of where in the town they met.
Here we have the Association’s stance on marriage, in particular that it is unlawful for a church member to marry anyone who is not “a true believer in Christ”, presumably a fellow Baptist.
The Association’s position on the relationship of wives and husbands is also given and follows scripture. Corinthians 7.39 states that ‘the wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
In the case of husbands they should follow the advice given in Peter 3.7. ‘Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the weaker vessel.
For Baptists at this time, as with other Protestants who had formed their own Separatist churches, preaching was seen as crucially important to understanding the word of God.
Enthusiastic Protestants rejected rituals, priests and bishops as obstacles to the worship of God and wanted a simpler form of worship based on scripture and understanding the Bible.
Members of such congregations would frequently debate the sermons which had been preached to them, not something that would have been tolerated in the Church of England at this time, or even today.
‘Messengers’ was the name given to the representatives sent by the various churches to the meetings of the Associations of Particular Baptists. The messengers representing Tewkesbury are mentioned by name, John Fluck, Thomas Smith and William Heine.
Later on this page the importance of fasting and prayer is referred to. These were typically the responses of zealous Protestants to challenging situations, and it was clearly understood that there was no guarantee that God would respond to such actions or entreaties.
This entry highlights the hostile attitude of the Baptist church towards the Church of England, the National Church. Baptists believed that the Church of England relied too heavily on the corrupt doctrines of Catholicism.
Like the other Separatist churches which had split from the established church in the 17th century, Baptists wanted to copy the simpler first churches that appeared in the New Testament. In particular, they wanted to discard all practices that did not appear in the Bible.
This entry highlights the hostile attitude of the Baptist church towards the Church of England, the National Church. Baptists believed that the Church of England relied too heavily on the corrupt doctrines of Catholicism.
Like the other Separatist churches which had split from the established church in the 17th century, Baptists wanted to copy the simpler first churches that appeared in the New Testament. In particular, they wanted to discard all practices that did not appear in the Bible.
This entry highlights the hostile attitude of the Baptist church towards the Church of England, the National Church. Baptists believed that the Church of England relied too heavily on the corrupt doctrines of Catholicism.
Like the other Separatist churches which had split from the established church in the 17th century, Baptists wanted to copy the simpler first churches that appeared in the New Testament. In particular, they wanted to discard all practices that did not appear in the Bible.
This entry highlights the hostile attitude of the Baptist church towards the Church of England, the National Church. Baptists believed that the Church of England relied too heavily on the corrupt doctrines of Catholicism.
Like the other Separatist churches which had split from the established church in the 17th century, Baptists wanted to copy the simpler first churches that appeared in the New Testament. In particular, they wanted to discard all practices that did not appear in the Bible.
Here the question is considered of what should be the attitude to members of the Baptist church who have been noted or cast out. In this context, ‘noted’ possibly implies a first warning, with ‘cast out’ being expulsion from the church.
The records in the Minute Book reveal that members were cast out and then often re-joined at a later date. This is also backed up by information provided by The Church Book, another record of Tewkesbury Baptist Church’s congregation, written between 1750 and 1850.
In the early years of the Baptist movement, questions were asked about how the Church should be run. Here, at a meeting of the Midlands’ Association of Particular Baptists in 1656, it is asked ‘How far women may speak in the Church?’
It was decided that ‘[Women] may not so speak as that their speaking shall not show a knowledge of the inferiority of their sex and so be a usurping authority over the man and more.’
Women were officially excluded from playing any significant roles within the public sphere of the Church and were not appointed to positions of authority. Whether women were able to exert influence on a more informal level is impossible to know; no female voice has yet been identified in the historic documents relating to the Chapel. Women were, however, very present in the congregation and formed the larger proportion of the members.
In the early years of the Baptist movement, questions were asked about how the Church should be run. Here, at a meeting of the Midlands’ Association of Particular Baptists in 1656, it is asked ‘How far women may speak in the Church?’ (The question is asked on the previous page)
It was decided that ‘[Women] may not so speak as that their speaking shall not show a knowledge of the inferiority of their sex and so be a usurping authority over the man and more.’
Women were officially excluded from playing any significant roles within the public sphere of the Church and were not appointed to positions of authority. Whether women were able to exert influence on a more informal level is impossible to know; no female voice has yet been identified in the historic documents relating to the Chapel. Women were, however, very present in the congregation and formed the larger proportion of the members.
This question, posed by the ‘messengers’ from the church at Tewkesbury, relates to the period of the Protectorate (1653 to 1659) when Oliver Cromwell was appointed Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and ruled the country. Like many other Baptists, those from Tewkesbury wanted to know whether believers should continue to submit to the government. The answer which they received shows most Baptists preferred to continue to live at peace with the new republican government.
The query reflected the Fifth Monarchy agitation of the period. Fifth Monarchists were an extreme Puritan sect, some of whom were Baptists, who believed that Christ would soon reign on earth. After the execution of Charles I they initially supported Oliver Cromwell, but when he became Lord Protector they turned against him and staged an armed rising which was easily repressed.
The emergence and growth of the Baptist churches had been encouraged by the breakdown of the Church of England during the English Civil Wars and strengthened by Parliament’s victory. Baptists supported freedom of conscience in religious matters and generally favoured more government control by Parliament and the people, rather than the King.
At this meeting of the Midlands’ Association of Particular Baptists, held just down the road from Tewkesbury, in Gloucester, an important theological question is considered; ‘whether those that have received the work of regeneration (rebirth) may be said to be baptised with the spirit baptism according to the Scriptures (the Bible).’
For Baptists the Bible is the sole written authority for faith and practice. Baptists believe that the Bible teaches that only persons who have been born again should be members of a church. This new birth does not come by merely reciting facts about Jesus but by a genuine experience of faith in him.
This passage discusses the conditions under which a member of the congregation might depart the Church. It was considered unlawful where departing might cause a ‘scisme in the bodie’, in other words, the formal breach of union tearing apart or breaking from the religious body:
‘And so there is no division in the body, but all its parts have the same concern for one another’. (Cor: 12. 25)
This double page has been written in code. During the 1650s, non-conformist groups had enjoyed a brief relaxation in attitudes towards them. However, the restoration of Charles II to the monarchy and the 1662 Act of Unity, saw non-conformist groups once again persecuted. Forced underground, the ciphered pages protected the anonymity of the Tewkesbury congregation. This is also the first passage which refers specifically to the Church at Tewkesbury rather than the Midlands’ Association.
The code has since been deciphered revealing the names of all 128 members of the Church who might ‘come into communion together [so that] our communion should henceforth flow from union in spirit’.
The names are organised: elders; deacons; male members; female members; mixture of men and women, presumably those added after the original list was written.
Approximately 35% of members of the congregation are male; 65% are female.
The code was broken in the late 1800s.
John Cowell is listed here as an Elder. His grave can be found in the graveyard adjacent to the Old Baptist Chapel. He died on 31 July 1680, no age is listed/legible. A Mary Cowell lies besides him, presumably his wife. Mary died on 27 Aug 1679, no age given. Her name is listed on line 12 of the opposing page (22R).
John Cowell was prosecuted in 1677 for performing a 'pretend' marriage which involved William Higgins listed on line 22. Higgins was also prosecuted.
On the original coded pages, we can see that some names have been scribbled out, as a result of having been excluded from the Church.
Here on line 3, ‘Francis Walker’ has been deleted. Later pages in the book (130L and 130 R) an account records the crimes for which these individuals were excluded from the Church.
It is documented that Francis Walker was expelled from the church on 12 December 1665 for ‘lying, great stubbornness, suspected fornication and the casting of the practice of God’s ordinances’.
Written by John Haydon, the minister of the Tewkesbury Baptist Church from 1752 to 1771, this is the first reference to the Old Baptist Chapel (the meeting house) in the Minute Book. There is also mention of one of the galleries as well as to one of the floods to which the town is notoriously prone.
John Haydon had come to Tewkesbury from the small Cotswold village of Horsley, where he had been dismissed from his own church for introducing singing!
Here we have a direct reference to the number of recorded members of Tewkesbury Baptist Church. There are 156 members of the congregation, including those who were ‘disorderly’. In this context, disorderly means those who had been judged as having acted immorally.
The Church of Christ was how the Baptists in Tewkesbury referred to their church. Joseph Price was the pastor between 1695 and 1721 and came from the Baptist church in Leominster.
Old Baptist Chapel Court was once known as Millington’s Alley, possibly because the Millington family at one time owned it, or premises along it.
The Ranford/Ransford/Rainsford Family, the spelling varies, sometimes within a couple of generations, have an enigmatic connection with the Old Baptist Chapel. William Ranford (1667 to 1752), who is buried in the Baptist burial ground next to the chapel, was the great grandson of Thomas Rainsford who died in 1583. Although nothing can be proved, some sources have identified Thomas as an early nonconformist, with distinct ‘Baptist’ leanings. One reason cited for this belief is the fact that his son John, who was possibly born around 1578, was not baptised until 1599, when he was an adult.
For many pious Protestants, the English Reformations of the 16th century were seen as incomplete. The Church of England, even with the Monarch as its head, still had too many Catholic influences. Enthusiastic Protestants, such as perhaps Thomas Rainsford, rejected rituals, priests and bishops as obstacles to the worship of God
Several generations of Rainsfords have been identified as being connected the Baptist Church in Tewkesbury over the centuries.
This is the only reference in the Minute Book to the Quakers. In the last decades of the 17th century, Quakers met in St Mary’s Lane, just around the corner from the Old Baptist Chapel, in three properties with an adjacent burial ground (now a small memorial garden).
By the middle of the 18th century it has been estimated that there were about 50 Quakers in Tewkesbury. There was frequently fierce competition for members between the Baptists and the Quakers, as Robert White’s ‘defection shows.
One particular area of dispute between these two nonconformist churches was over the role of women. Many Baptists held traditional beliefs about male and female roles. Only men could be elected as community leaders, and only men were allowed to be ministers. The Quakers, however, believed strongly in gender equality. They were one of the first churches to allow women to hold leadership roles, and they encouraged women to get an education.
This is quite possibly Edward Ransford/Ransford/Rainsford, the spelling of the family name varies, sometimes within a couple of generations, who lived 1702 to 1788. If he was being baptised in March 1729/30, he would have been an adult. When he died he left £100 to the Baptist Chapel in Tewkesbury.
Up until 1752 the year in England officially began on 25th March. So if you see a document dated any time between January and 24 March before 1752, be aware that in modern terms, you need to add a year. In publications you may see this written as January 1750/51, the year as it was known at the time / the year as we know it now. This is also known as OS (Old Style) and NS (New Style).
This is presumably a reference to the burial ground which is located at the end of Old Baptist Chapel Court. Although the date above the gate reads 1655, the earliest recorded burial is Mary Cowell, dated 1679.
Hot Spot 23
PAGE REFERENCE: 1722 - 1738 (33R, LINE 14)
This is presumably a reference to the burial ground which is located at the end of Old Baptist Chapel Court. Although the date above the gate reads 1655, the earliest recorded burial is Mary Cowell, dated 1679.
Hot Spot 23
PAGE REFERENCE: 1722 - 1738 (33R, LINE 14)
This is presumably a reference to the burial ground which is located at the end of Old Baptist Chapel Court. Although the date above the gate reads 1655, the earliest recorded burial is Mary Cowell, dated 1679.
On this page we have two members of the Baptist church in Tewkesbury who have been cut off; James Bishop for swearing, and further down the page, James Boulton for lying. To be cut off meant that you were unable to attend meetings and thus to worship with your fellow believers.
John Haydon was the minister of the Tewkesbury Baptist Church from 1752 to 1771. Prior to his arrival there had been a two year hiatus in ministers, his predecessor, Thomas Perks having died in 1750.
Haydon had come to Tewkesbury from the small Cotswold village of Horsley, where he had been dismissed from his own church for introducing singing ! Hymn singing only became common in Baptist services during the 18th century. Previously, psalms were chanted or sung unaccompanied, and even that was certainly not to every ones taste.
By the time that Haydon had taken up his post, church membership had fallen to around fifty.
Thomas Hiller followed John Haydon as Pastor of the Tewkesbury Baptist Church in 1769. Hiller was Haydon’s nephew. It is likely that he was a Sabbath-keeper, believing Saturdays were a holy day and a day of rest. It is possible that he had previously served at the Church at Natton, located two miles east of the Old Baptist Chapel, on the other side of the M5. The Church of Natton were Seventh-Day Baptists.
Thomas Hillier died on 27 June 1790. The Tewkesbury Baptist Church Book records that Hillier was ‘almost universally respected & [his death] greatly regretted by the Church and Congregation’.
It is interesting that so many baptisms took place during the winter months given that the water was unlikely to have been heated. A test of faith indeed! By this date, the baptistery had been installed in the chapel. However, the water was most likely collected from the nearby well or filtered off the roof. Prior to this, it is thought that baptisms took place under cover of darkness in the nearby river. The practice of full immersion in cold, polluted rivers led to opponents of the Baptists accusing them of murder as well as sexual misbehaviour. There is little evidence for either accusation!
It is unlikely that specific robes for baptising were used during the seventeenth century. Those being baptised would have worn their everyday clothing. By the nineteenth century, Baptism gowns with weighted hems became more common, though many men also wore their cricket whites!
Eighteenth century graffiti has been found on the pastor’s room exterior wall. It reads ‘HY. Jenks, 1798’ and ‘Yarnell’. Here we see a James Yarnell documented as being baptised in 1787. Later in the Minute Book, James is recorded as having been suspended in 1806 for fornication.
This page is one of the few written in the Minute Book for which the author is known. John Davies, Pastor between 1791 and 1802, writes here of his appointment as Pastor of the Tewkesbury Baptist congregation. A decade later, he was dismissed for ‘improprieties of conduct’. Whilst the Minute Book does not specify why Davies was dismissed, a nineteenth writer Thomas Wilkinson explained in his ‘History’ [needs checking] ‘I have conversed with some old people who attended him ministry in the old chapel in Church Street. He was not a discreet man; he was fond of baptising people and occasioned some trouble. He was dismissed in disgrace in 1802. He is the only minister of the Church who from his flock in anything like dishonour.’
William Wall: William Fletcher : Excluded William
L (?) yes – Ann Jenkes & Hannah Potter
Were Batisd, and joind, ye Church July : 6th
1800
By J: Davies
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Walton was Baptisd and joind,
to ye Church August 31st 1800
Excluded for immorality Jno Davies
June 4th 1815
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Strafford was Baptisd,
& joind to ye church Sept 28th – 1800.
Jno, Davies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Griffiths and Prudence
Clay were Baptizd, and Recd,
into the church apl 26th : 1801
Jno, Davies
William Wall: William Fletcher : Excluded William
L (?) yes – Ann Jenkes & Hannah Potter
Were Batisd, and joind, ye Church July : 6th
1800
By J: Davies
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Walton was Baptisd and joind,
to ye Church August 31st 1800
Excluded for immorality Jno Davies
June 4th 1815
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Strafford was Baptisd,
& joind to ye church Sept 28th – 1800.
Jno, Davies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Griffiths and Prudence
Clay were Baptizd, and Recd,
into the church apl 26th : 1801
Jno, Davies
The baptized Church of Christ at Tewkesbury Gloucestere
to the Church of Jesus Christ of the same faith, meeting at
Westmancoat worcestershire_______ _______ ________
Dear Brethren _____
We willingly and cheerfully com
ply with your Desire, expressed in conjunction with
that of our respected Friends. Mrs Martha Dobbs, Mrs
Martha Bomford & Mrs Ann Puiser, in dismissing
them from our Communion to that of yours, as it
appears most convenient for them to enjoy the Or
dinances of the Gospel with you _____ We sincerely wish
the best of Blessings may attend your Connection, that
the Hands & Heart of your beloved Pastor may be strengthend
and encouraged by each – that you may be made a
mutual comfort to each other in the Church militant
& all be daily waiting with increasing meetings. for a
for a final Dispersion [?] to the glorious Church triumphant. &
there may we also have the Happiness of meeting with you
Signed at our Church Meeting this 15 Day of June 1804
D. Trotman. Pastor
Dan Mersell
John Do____
Peter Oakley
Abrm Harris ______
Do________
The baptized Church of Christ at Tewkesbury Gloucestere
to the Church of Jesus Christ of the same faith, meeting at
Westmancoat worcestershire_______ _______ ________
Dear Brethren _____
We willingly and cheerfully com
ply with your Desire, expressed in conjunction with
that of our respected Friends. Mrs Martha Dobbs, Mrs
Martha Bomford & Mrs Ann Puiser, in dismissing
them from our Communion to that of yours, as it
appears most convenient for them to enjoy the Or
dinances of the Gospel with you _____ We sincerely wish
the best of Blessings may attend your Connection, that
the Hands & Heart of your beloved Pastor may be strengthend
and encouraged by each – that you may be made a
mutual comfort to each other in the Church militant
& all be daily waiting with increasing meetings. for a
for a final Dispersion [?] to the glorious Church triumphant. &
there may we also have the Happiness of meeting with you
Signed at our Church Meeting this 15 Day of June 1804
D. Trotman. Pastor
Dan Mersell
John Do____
Peter Oakley
Abrm Harris ______
Do________
The baptized Church of Christ at Tewkesbury Gloucestere
to the Church of Jesus Christ of the same faith, meeting at
Westmancoat worcestershire_______ _______ ________
Dear Brethren _____
We willingly and cheerfully com
ply with your Desire, expressed in conjunction with
that of our respected Friends. Mrs Martha Dobbs, Mrs
Martha Bomford & Mrs Ann Puiser, in dismissing
them from our Communion to that of yours, as it
appears most convenient for them to enjoy the Or
dinances of the Gospel with you _____ We sincerely wish
the best of Blessings may attend your Connection, that
the Hands & Heart of your beloved Pastor may be strengthend
and encouraged by each – that you may be made a
mutual comfort to each other in the Church militant
& all be daily waiting with increasing meetings. for a
for a final Dispersion [?] to the glorious Church triumphant. &
there may we also have the Happiness of meeting with you
Signed at our Church Meeting this 15 Day of June 1804
D. Trotman. Pastor
Dan Mersell
John Do____
Peter Oakley
Abrm Harris ______
Do________
The baptized Church of Christ at Tewkesbury Gloucestere
to the Church of Jesus Christ of the same faith, meeting at
Westmancoat worcestershire_______ _______ ________
Dear Brethren _____
We willingly and cheerfully com
ply with your Desire, expressed in conjunction with
that of our respected Friends. Mrs Martha Dobbs, Mrs
Martha Bomford & Mrs Ann Puiser, in dismissing
them from our Communion to that of yours, as it
appears most convenient for them to enjoy the Or
dinances of the Gospel with you _____ We sincerely wish
the best of Blessings may attend your Connection, that
the Hands & Heart of your beloved Pastor may be strengthend
and encouraged by each – that you may be made a
mutual comfort to each other in the Church militant
& all be daily waiting with increasing meetings. for a
for a final Dispersion [?] to the glorious Church triumphant. &
there may we also have the Happiness of meeting with you
Signed at our Church Meeting this 15 Day of June 1804
D. Trotman. Pastor
Dan Mersell
John Do____
Peter Oakley
Abrm Harris ______
Do________
The baptized Church of Christ at Tewkesbury Gloucestere
to the Church of Jesus Christ of the same faith, meeting at
Westmancoat worcestershire_______ _______ ________
Dear Brethren _____
We willingly and cheerfully com
ply with your Desire, expressed in conjunction with
that of our respected Friends. Mrs Martha Dobbs, Mrs
Martha Bomford & Mrs Ann Puiser, in dismissing
them from our Communion to that of yours, as it
appears most convenient for them to enjoy the Or
dinances of the Gospel with you _____ We sincerely wish
the best of Blessings may attend your Connection, that
the Hands & Heart of your beloved Pastor may be strengthend
and encouraged by each – that you may be made a
mutual comfort to each other in the Church militant
& all be daily waiting with increasing meetings. for a
for a final Dispersion [?] to the glorious Church triumphant. &
there may we also have the Happiness of meeting with you
Signed at our Church Meeting this 15 Day of June 1804
D. Trotman. Pastor
Dan Mersell
John Do____
Peter Oakley
Abrm Harris ______
Do________
