History
History
To unite us in our Christian faith and love for Christ and share our prayers, news, diary, projects and history of the Baptist churches in Shropshire.
This is the "Introduction" of a book SHROPSHIRE BAPTIST HISTORY - An Account of the Baptist Churches of Shropshire and the Surrounding Area by Rev. Michael Collis.
The book, which contains details of the history of the individual churches with comprehensive references and index, will be published in the near future.
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Shropshire (or Salop as it was often known) was at the end of the eighteenth-century predominately a rural county, although the Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge locality was the leading iron-producing area in Great Britain.
A Topographical Account of Shropshire from Pigot's & Co's British Atlas comprising the Counties of England (1840)
SALOP is an inland county, bounded on the north by Cheshire and part of Flintshire; on the east by Staffordshire; on the south by the counties of Radnor, Hereford and Worcester; and on the west by those of Denbigh and Montgomery.
SOIL, CLIMATE, and AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE. - Few counties are possessed of a greater variety of soil, or are more diversified in appearance: divided into nearly two equal parts by the Severn, its south portion assumes the mountainous character exhibited by the counties of Montgomery and Denbigh; while the north approaches the resemblance of a level, agreeably relieved by a few simple hills and romantic valleys, finely wooded. The meadows on the side of the Severn are extremely fertile, being frequently enriched by the overflowing of that river, which is navigable in its whole course. The CLIMATE is considered highly salubrious; the air is pure, although in many parts it is sharp and piercing. The PRODUCTIONS of this county are various and valuable: the breed of cows and sheep deserve particular notice,- the former giving large quantities of milk, and much of the cheese sold under the denomination 'Cheshire' is produced from the dairies here; it is acknowledged that the sheep fed upon its hilly tracts afford some of the finest fleeces in the Kingdom. The whole county is in general well cultivated, yielding great quantities of grain; its southern borders producing excellent hops, and agreeably varied with fine, healthy orchards.
MINERALS AND MANUFACTURES. - Rich as this county is in the production of the field, the treasures extracted from it bowels are not of minor importance: lead iron, lime-stone, free-stone, pipe clay and coals are found in great abundance; and in the hundred of North Bradford are salt springs; while on the eastern side of the county are a number of extensive iron-works, that give employment to several hundred hands. The chief MANUFACTURES are porcelain and flannel, the former is of great excellence and in proportionate demand; the latter though somewhat reduced from its former importance is by no means reduced to insignificance. The principal manufacturing towns are Shrewsbury and Oswestry, for flannels; in the neighbourhood of the former town are large iron foundries, and it was here that the noble Menai Bridge was cast. In the parish of Madeley are also immense iron-works; the stupendous iron bridge that bestrides the Severn at this place was constructed from the furnaces here. At Coalport are china manufactories, of great extent and celebrity; at Bridgnorth, carpets and porcelain are manufactured; at Broseley, various descriptions of porcelain ware; at Hales Owen, nails and pearl buttons; and Ludlow and its vicinity derive considerable prosperity from its extensive malting trade.
Since 1840 there have been changes to the boundaries of Shropshire. For instance, Hales Owen (now spelt Halesowen) and Oldbury were incorporated into Worcestershire in 1844. In 1974 the counties adjoining Shropshire were as follows: starting in the north was Cheshire, and then working clockwise was Staffordshire in the east, Worcestershire in the southeast, Herefordshire in the south, Radnorshire in the southwest, Montgomeryshire in the west and Denbighshire in the northwest. A small-detached portion of Flintshire was also located in the northwest between Denbighshire and Cheshire. In 1974 the counties of Breconshire, Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire merged to form the new county of Powys.
In Commonwealth times there were Baptist societies in Shropshire at Bridgnorth, Ellesmere, Ludlow and Shrewsbury and by 1669 there was a Baptist society at Stoke upon Tern. However, the story of Baptists in the county needs to be seen in the context of the development of Baptist churches elsewhere in England and Wales.
The first Baptist church in England met in London at Spitalfields in Southwark, from 1611. Guy's Hospital now stands on this site. Thomas Helwys formed this on his return from Amsterdam where he had fled to avoid persecution. It was the first of a number of Baptist churches, which were found chiefly in Kent, and other pockets of rural England. They called themselves by titles such as 'Churches of Christ' or 'Churches of God, who walk according to the commands of Jesus Christ'. Later they were termed 'General Baptist' or 'Arminian' from the name of the Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius, because they believed in general redemption, holding that the salvation, which Christ secured on the cross, was for all people who were capable of receiving saving faith. They were distinguished from Particular or Calvinistic churches, which believed in particular redemption holding that Christ's salvation was only for the elect, those already known to God; they alone would be given the grace to respond to Christ in faith. The first Calvinistic Baptist church appeared in London in 1638 under the leadership of John Spilsbury. These churches were strong in London, the Midlands and the West Country. A much smaller group, the Seventh Day Baptists, was usually, though not invariably, Calvinistic in theology, and seems to have developed during the 1650s.
Both General and Particular Baptist churches had much in common. They alike were congregational in government and wished to be independent of any state interference. Their members were responsible for the appointment of their pastors and other officers. They sought to organise their life on the model of the New Testament, which was their authority in all matters of faith. This led to their rejection of paedobaptism (child baptism) as they claimed that scripture only recognised the baptism of believers. So they were sometimes called Anti-Paedobaptists.
Baptist work in Wales can be traced back to back to 1646 and a mission of Hugh Evans, a native of Llan-hir (Llanyre), near Llandrindod. After spending sometime as a clothier's apprentice in Worcester, he moved to Coventry and joined a General Baptist church there. His concern for his native land led him to seek the help of Jeremy Ives, minister of the General Baptist church in Old Jewry. London. The two came to Wales, preaching for the most part in Radnorshire, where several Baptist fellowships were formed. The hope excited by these workers is reflected in the preface to the General Baptist Midland Confession of 1651, addressed partly to Wales. The English language was little used in Mid-Wales and so the Radnorshire Baptists were left without suitable literature in their own language. Spontaneity and 'openness to the Spirit' was a significant feature of General Baptist worship and so it is not surprising that when the Quakers came to the county, they were successful in making converts from these General Baptists.
The Puritan leader Vavasor Powell, who was born at Cnwclas (Knucklas), Radnorshire, was an ardent evangelist and it is said that there were few places in Wales that he did not visit to preach the Gospel. We have a delightful picture of him preaching in Shropshire at Sweeney Hall, Oswestry, by Richard Gough who was there:
Powell founded over 20 churches and organized a system of itinerant preachers. For many years his followers were known as Pobl Vavasor Powell, the people of Vavasor Powell. For these churches he drew up a Calvinistic Confession of Faith. He was baptized as a believer in 1655 but we do not know where his baptism took place. Two places have been suggested, namely, Olchon, near Abergavenny, and Rhual Park, near Mold. There is an open-air baptistery at Rhual but it was not built until 1685. Powell preached at Garth Fawr Farm in Montgomeryshire and a field where he preached on the adjoining farm is known as the 'Pulpit Field'. On the last occasion he came to Brondrefawr in Radnorshire he had to flee when he received news of the approach of troops seeking to arrest him. He left behind his mobile pulpit, which was subsequently recovered and is now in Bwlchysarnau Baptist Chapel.
Powell's emphasis was on gathering congregations of Dissenters comprising both paedo-Baptists and Baptists, rather than forming specifically Baptist churches. His own church, the main gathering of which was at Llanbrynmair, Montgomeryshire, practiced both infant and believers' baptism. Consequently, he did not have a long-term influence on the development of Baptist churches in the country.
Powell spent much of the final decade of his life imprisoned in Shrewsbury, the Fleet and Caronne House, Lambeth, where he died, aged 53, in 1678.
The first Particular Baptist church in Wales was formed in 1649 at Ilston, then in Glamorgan. According to tradition the church met in the pre-Reformation Chapel of The Trinity in Ilston valley. From this church several churches were formed, including those at Hay and Abergavenny. Salem Baptist Chapel, Hay, has a plaque which states that it is 'The second oldest Nonconformist Chapel in Wales' with the Schoolroom dating from 1647. However, the building dates from 1815 when a fairly good (Welsh, lled dda) meeting-house was erected. The original church seems to have closed c.1754 when Joshua Thomas, who supplied the church on two Sundays a month, left the town for Leominster. The cause was revived in 1813 and it was described as a new cause (eglwys newydd) when it was admitted to the South-Eastern Association in 1823.
The church at Llanwenarth, near Abergavenny claims to be the oldest Baptist Fellowship now existing in Wales. In Wrexham, Denbighshire, a Baptist church developed from the oldest Dissenting congregation in the town. Its minister, Rev. John Williams, became a Baptist in 1715 and subsequent pastors were Baptists.
Particular Baptist meeting houses in Radnorshire were opened at Rock, near Pen-y-bont in 1721 and Newbridge in 1760. In 1792 a chapel was erected at Nantgwyn near the border of Radnorshire with Montgomeryshire. The Nantgwyn congregation, together with the small congregation at Capel Newydd (Newchapel) in the parish of Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire, was received into the South-eastern Association as the Nantgwyn church in 1797. The congregation at Capel Newydd was a branch of the Nantgwyn church until about 1838 when it became an independent church. The chapel at Capel Newydd dates from 1815.
With the help of David Evans, the minister of Dolau in Radnorshire, a church at Rhydfelin, near Newtown (then spelt Y Drefnewydd in Welsh), was formed in 1792. A meeting-house was erected with a cottage for the use of the chapel keeper. From this church developed a separate congregation at Newtown.
The early Baptist meeting houses were simple buildings. They did not have baptisteries and so baptisms took place in the open air in streams and rivers and so were an occasion for public witness. For instance, the Baptist Reporter in 1845 contained the following report:
The minister referred to in this report was Rev. Thomas Morris of Newport, Commercial Road, who after he had erected ten chapels was known as 'Ten Chapel Tom'.
History Continued - Page > 2 3 4 5
