NONCONFORMITY IN NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME We do not know when the first Meeting House was built on this site and we have no pictures of the building. Certainly there was a lot of antipathy towards dissenters during the 17th century. The 1662 Act of Uniformity, with its insistence on Trinitarian beliefs, meant that some clergy left their Protestant churches as they could not believe in the Trinity. Locally the Rev George Long left St Giles where he was curate and began to preach for dissenters. Many of these meetings would have been held in people's homes or in the open. The 1664 Conventicle Act forbade religious assemblies of more than five people outside the auspices of the Church of England. Then the 1665 Five Mile Act forbade clergymen from living within five miles of a parish from which they had been banned. At this point Rev Long left for Holland. In 1672 the Declaration of Indulgence allowed homes to be registered to hold dissenting services of worship and there are records of some houses in Newcastle being registered for that purpose. Thus this may be said to be the birth-year of the 'Unitarian' congregation in Newcastle-under-Lyme. It was not until 1682 that the term 'Unitarian' emerged in writings and the Newcastle congregation did not use this term - perhaps they called themselves Presbyterian, perhaps Independent or perhaps just Dissenting. The passing of the 1689 Toleration Act signalled more freedom of religious belief although it remained difficult for people to hold non-Trinitarian beliefs. Rev Long returned to Newcastle-under-Lyme in this year to take up ministering to dissenters. It is believed that the Meeting House had its first bricks laid soon after this and it was finished in 1694. This first Meeting House was burnt down by rioters in 1715. Following a court case the congregation received £412 in compensation and they began to build again. The second Meeting House was re-opened two years later in 1717. It is this Meeting House which remains to this day - the oldest non-conformist place of worship in Newcastle. The major change to its external appearance occurred in 1926 when a top floor was added to make a schoolroom. There have been other changes, mostly internal, but in essence the place has changed little in appearance since 1717. Meeting House records show that Dr. Joseph Priestley, Josiah Wedgwood and possibly Charles Darwin (as a member of Wedgwood's family) attended the Meeting House. The Unitarian flame has flickered but has never been extinguished and now offers an opportunity for all seekers after truth in the North Staffordshire area. Two documents attached at the bottom of the page provide more information about the history of Unitarianism locally and nationally, and of the Meeting House specifically. We are currently working on our archives and here is a snippet of what has been found. "The Minute Books for the years 1901 - 1910: They are all hand written and there are 55 A4 typed pages from these 10 years. They are constantly short of money and worried about repairs to the OMH. At the start of the period, they are without a Minister and are constantly trying to supply the pulpit. There are factions within the Committee and the usual disagreements (e.g. some unauthorised person wound the clock!) They are also having trouble with the caretaker, Mrs Pepper, who is "remiss in her duties." They then get a Minister, Mr Pegler, and things definitely improve but they have great difficulty finding their share of his stipend. His wife also dies suddenly whilst in Newcastle aged only 32. They seem to advertise special events in the "Sentinel". They have had a series of lectures on "Evolution", "Socialism" and "Spiritualism" and talks from Mr JC Wedgwood MP and Mr John Ward MP. On 27th September 1909 there was a Tea Meeting: "Arrangements made as to the Entertainment to follow the Tea Meeting tomorrow evening. Mr Weir promised to bring his gramophone, Mr Pegler would see Miss Marsh to arrange for her to sing, and Mr Cattell was to be asked to assist with a ventriloquial performance, whilst Mr J E Stapleton promised to get a singer or two, whilst Mr Cheney was to be asked to give readings." I would have like to have seen the ventriloqual effort! On Easter Sunday, 28th March 1910, the Wedgwood Medallion was unveiled by Mr J C Wedgwood, who also gave an address." A snippet from the Meeting House minute book of 12th March 1933 "The Secretary read the letter dated 6th March 1933 from the Secretary of the General Assembly, London , ...... and also asking if woman candidate would be acceptable for our Congregation. A long discussion took place, and it was decided that lady candidate would not be acceptable to Newcastle, the work being considered too arduous." The picture attached shows a photo of the chapel in 1957. Here's a link to the Unitarian Historical Society's website. |
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History of the Meeting House |
