'The low moral standard of our nation'
A significant amount of material has been added to the records of St Mary’s Castle Street, 1865-2021 (D/P175). This church has a fascinating history, having started as an independent church following the liturgy of the Church of England, when the first congregation broke away from Reading St Giles after the death of a popular Evangelical incumbent (read more about this in our highlight 'William Wilberforce and the "Reading affair"'). For much of the 19th century their clergy were taken from the Independent tradition, many trained by the Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion, but in 1836 the members who preferred this style of worship were expelled and started up Castle Street Congregational Church. St Mary’s was strictly governed by a trust deed which insisted the liturgy of the Church of England must be followed, and became an official part of the Church of England, but never had a parish or Ecclesiastical District assigned. In the late 20th century the church became a bastion of the conservative Evangelical tradition, using the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and the Authorised Version of the Bible. Members were so strongly opposed to the ordination of women as priests that in 1994 they broke away and became one of a handful of congregations nationally to form the Church of England (Continuing), and the minister became one of the denomination’s first Bishops.
The newly catalogued material includes papers relating to the Christian Housing Aid St Mary's (CHASM), a Housing Association established by the church in 1986 to provide housing for young single and married people in need of short to medium term housing. Unfortunately it proved difficult to secure any suitable property due to rising house prices in Reading, other than temporary lodgings in people's houses, and the Association only lasted a few years. Nonetheless, the records provide an interesting insight into housing issues in the 80s. There is also an intriguing reference to views on national politics and society in one of the church magazines at the height of the Profumo scandal of 1963, when the minister wrote that ‘the debate in the House of Commons revealed the low moral standard of our nation'.
Nonconformists
We were also pleased to receive a photograph of Newbury's Women's Own Annual Tea Party at Newbury Congregational Church, 1934 (D/EX3030). Bracknell Methodist Church has added material for the period 1990-2012 to its archive (D/MS23).
Tithes contrary to law
A very miscellaneous collection of documents we recently purchased includes deeds of property in Buscot, 1762; Lambourn, 1775; Milton, 1647; and Sutton Courtenay, 1649. Most interesting is a fascinating glimpse into a local dispute in 1736, in the form of a declaration signed by 13 Lambourn landowners and tenants. The wealthy Thomas Garrard claimed to be entitled to tithes from the year’s second mowing of clover and grass made into hay. Everyone else declared his claim to be ‘contrary to all law, custom and usage’. Garrard had sued Seymour for non-payment and threatened others, so the signatories, fearing this could be used as a precedent against them later on, contributed to Seymour’s defence fund. It would of course be another century before tithes were commuted, and two before the tithe rent charges were completely abolished. In contrast, there is also a testimonial to John Leesmith, on his resignation as Hon. Secretary of the English Amateur Race Club of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1872 (D/EZ227).
Battle in the pews
Deeds of a house called Devenyshe in Maidenhead, 1590-1633, and land in Wargrave, 1677, have been purchased together with an interesting arbitration agreement relating to use of a particular pew in the chapel of SS Andrew and Mary Magdalene in Maidenhead in 1608. The pew in question had historically belonged to the warden, bridgemen and burgesses of the borough, but it had been taken over by two women, Margaret, wife of John Davis and Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Awstin. Various lawsuits ensued, with allegations of assault and battery by the women and their husbands, and those who disputed their claim. The couples were evicted from the pew and relegated to the next two seats below it (D/EZ230).
You can find out more about all these records by searching our online catalogue. Enter the collection reference given above in the Catalogue Reference field.