Nonconformity in Cardington

 

 
The Howard Meeting in March 2007

Registration of Nonconformist Meeting Houses

In 1672 Charles II issued a Declaration of Toleration for Protestants dissenting from the Church of England; this had the effect of some dissenting meeting houses registering with the Secretary of State. The Toleration Act of 1689 enshrined the right of protestants to dissent from the Church of England and, once again, encouraged meeting houses to register voluntarily with local quarter sessions| and Anglican church. Registration provided protection against persecution, laying a duty of protection upon magistrates and so was popular with nonconformists. Most registrations were made with quarter sessions until the middle of the 18th century, presumably due to the mutual antagonism of nonconformists and established Church. However, from that point registration with the Church, via the local archdeaconry| began to become the favoured method, because the archdeaconry Registrar would issue a licence at any time rather than during the days each quarter when the quarter sessions met.

Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service has a reasonable number of registrations of nonconformist meeting houses in both the Quarter Sessions and Archdeaconry of Bedford archives. Registration continued through the 19th century even though persecution faded away - this was because registered buildings were allowed to claim exemption from parish poor rates, were exempt from control by the Charity Commission and were allowed to be licensed to carry out marriages. These things meant that registration became almost compulsory in practice for well established nonconformist meetings. This is fortunate for the local historian because sometimes the only surviving references to a nonconformist meeting occur as registrations.

Independents

In 1775 an Independent meeting was registered with the Archdeaconry of Bedford at the house of Robert Huckle in Cardington [ABN2]; those registering were Joseph Smith and John Whitemore of Cardington and Joshua Symonds of Bedford. Symonds was a minister at the Bunyan Meeting in Bedford and then became a Baptist. It is possible, given the early links between the Baptists and the Independents that this became the Howard Meeting

Howard Meeting: Cople Road

Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service has very little in the way of archives from this church which was first registered in 1839 by Benjamin Prole, William Wootton, John Edward Bodger and Ebenezer Malden [ABN1/2; ABN2]. The original meeting was a wooden board and tile building, replaced by the present church in 1908. The Howard Meeting was an independent church which, like about three quarters of such churches became associated with the Congregationalist movement which in turn, in 1970, became the United Reformed Church

Wesleyan Chapel about 1900 [Z50/24/97]

Wesleyan Methodist: Cople Road

Methodism was founded in 1740 by John Wesley. Over the course of time splinter groups formed their own versions of Methodism, the original form becoming known as Wesleyan Methodism. The Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Cardington was built in 1823 on land purchased from William Henry Whitbread for £6/15/-. The building was thirty feet by twenty one feet and had a gallery for 60 and a harmonium. A vestry behind the church was at first storey height and reached both from the gallery and by a flimsy outside staircase. A schoolroom adjoined the chapel. The Methodist Magazine wrote of the chapel at its opening: "The preaching of the Methodists in this village commenced about two years ago. The Chapel is so situated as to accommodate also the adjoining village of Cople". The chapel was registered with the Archdeaconry in 1824 by its new minister.

The first minister was Thomas Rowe and the first trustees Thomas Row, draper, Isaac Wale, tailor, John Dowsett, surgeon, John Isitt, butcher, John Howard, ironmonger, Benjamin Johnson, carpenter, Joseph Swannell, farmer, Thomas Hine, farmer, Samuel Bennett, farmer, William Bennett, farmer, Charles Armstrong, farmer and William Biggs, baker. At first the cause did not seem to prosper and closure was considered. In 1898 marriages were licensed at the chapel.

The Methodist Church of Great Britain was formed in 1932 when a number of strands of Methodism, most importantly for Bedfordshire, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodism once more joined together. The chapel in Cardington closed in 1983 and is now a private house. In 1985 an agreement with the United Reformed Church allowed the Methodists to share the Howard Meeting in Cardington.

The former Wesleyan Chapel in March 2007