Midland Churches: A History of the Congregations on - General ...

lessees, <strong>of</strong> a bar72 a72d adjoini~zg room, situate behzild a house, now nzmzbered 17,
in H~?z Street, in <strong>the</strong> parish <strong>of</strong> St. Lazeprence : and this barn had been for some
time aud was <strong>the</strong>n used as a meeting-hozcse. The trustees purchased <strong>the</strong> freehold
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se prenzises in 1701. In 1730 <strong>the</strong> pre??zises were conz)eyed to a set <strong>of</strong> new
trzkstees, <strong>of</strong> whom tAe Rev, Praancis BZackmore was one. The trzcsts were declared
szhtfdy as for <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ~o~zg~egation <strong>of</strong> Pratestant Dissent~rs assetnbling for
Uziti7te worshz$ ; szcch having bcen <strong>the</strong> or@i?zal trzcsts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> property. In 1738
<strong>the</strong> trustees sold <strong>the</strong> above premises ; a new sz'te ziz Oat Street, Z'B <strong>the</strong> paris/z <strong>of</strong>
All Saiqzts, hazling beta purchased for <strong>the</strong> erection <strong>of</strong> a new meeting-house.
B' deed, dated 3 October, 1737, <strong>the</strong> Oat Street site was settl%d ziz tmstees,
<strong>of</strong> ze)hom <strong>the</strong> Rev. Paul Cardale was one, and <strong>the</strong> trusts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> new deed declared
that <strong>the</strong> vzeeting-house intended to be, and shortly ajterwards erected on <strong>the</strong> Oat
Street pretrzises, should be used by <strong>the</strong> Protestant Dissenters, ' cont??zonly called
Presbyterialzs,' as a nzeeting-house or place <strong>of</strong> ?-elzgzbus worship. i"/ze introduction
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> additiozal words, ' conzmon& called Presbyterians,' joints to <strong>the</strong> fact that
szizce <strong>the</strong> Heh Street Meeti~zg-hoztse had been opened o<strong>the</strong>r dissenters had built
places <strong>of</strong> worsh$ in Eveshanz, and it became necessary to distinguish <strong>the</strong> Oat Street
colzgregatzbn from <strong>the</strong> later relkiozts bodies. The descr$tzbn, ' P?-esbykrian,' had
an historim l mea7ring, but involved nothi~zg in <strong>the</strong> nature <strong>of</strong> Presbyterian discz2line
or doctri~ze. 22e Oat Street congregation in Eveshant, <strong>the</strong>reJore, was, fmnz <strong>the</strong>
end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sevefzteentlz century, and has been ever silrce, based z@on a je?fect& opelz
fozcndatin, free for such doctrilzal develojments as were actztaZZy realized from
time to time dz~nhg its whole history.
Of <strong>the</strong> prez~adence <strong>of</strong> Puritanisnt in Eveshavz <strong>the</strong>re are many pro<strong>of</strong>s. Perhaps
<strong>the</strong> ~tzost important is that, in 1600, Lezvzj. Bailey, author <strong>of</strong> ' The Practice <strong>of</strong>
Piety,' and aferwards Bishop <strong>of</strong> Bangor, was rector <strong>of</strong> All Saints. He was tutor
to Prince Henry o/' lVaZes, and broz~ght about <strong>the</strong> i~zcorporation oJ <strong>the</strong> borough <strong>of</strong>
Eveshant in 1605 i7.z <strong>the</strong> Prilzce's nawze.
At <strong>the</strong> passit2.g <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Act <strong>of</strong> U7zzJformi@, in 1662, <strong>the</strong> nzi?zistsrs <strong>of</strong> both <strong>the</strong>
Eveshanz parishes were ejected. One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se, Mr. George Hojkins, when ejected
from All Zalizts, we?zt to reside in a ~zezghboziri~zg village, and very probab4 kejt
ap some i?ztercourse zuith <strong>the</strong> Evesham dissenkrs.
The jrst nzinister <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> meetifzg-house in Nzg/z Shvet was <strong>the</strong> Rev. John
Higps, supposed to be t?ze son <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Rev. Daniel H&gs, a H~orcestershire man,
qkcted fronz a living ifz Sozcth Wales, and afterwards a ;~lzi~zister at Swansea.
John N&gs died at Ez~eshanz in 1728.