Richard Fletcher

Richard Fletcher (1800-1861) was originally from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Fletcher entered the Independent college at Rotherham in 1819. After ministering at Ebenezer Chapel, Darwen, Lancashire, 1823-1831, he moved to Manchester, succeeding the popular William Roby as pastor of the Grosvenor Street Chapel. He remained there until 1853, when he and John Poore, minister at Hope Chapel, Manchester, were persuaded by the London Missionary Society to serve as missionaries in Australia following the gold rush. Fletcher ministered at St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia, 1853-1861. He was the father of William Roby Fletcher (1833-1894), prominent Congregational minister in Australia, 1858-1894. See Congregational Yearbook (1863), 225-228.