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THE POWER OF THE CHAPEL A talk given by Averil Kear , Chairman of the Forest of Dean Local History Society as part of the ‘Voices in the Forest Festival

25 th June 2004 at Berry Hill Salem Chapel, near Coleford, Forest of Dean , Gloucestershire

Nonconformity offered an option for the ordinary man who had grown tired of the teachings and constraints of the Church of England.

By the 19th century Nonconformity evolved into a way of life for a vast majority of the population of England and Wales, influencing their religious beliefs, politics, education social life and even the way they brought up their children.

“Their prim stone hulks were the solidification

of almost everything judged important in the life

of the district gathered immediately around them.

Half a mile away there would be another chapel,

and, half a mile onwards again, yet another.

Each a ruling centre, with a ruling cabinet and

a discipline as immutable as an established natural law.”

Dennis Potter

The Emergence of the Nonconformists in the Forest of Dean .

We know very little about the start of nonconformity in the Forest of Dean although when records do begin to appear around 1660 it is obvious from the strength of the groups that they had been in existence for some time.

During the 16th century the religion of England was in a turmoil Henry VIII had changed religion to suit his requirements for marriage and the Puritan uprising against the Crown resulted in a Civil War in 1642 led by Oliver Cromwell.

IT IS NOT SURPRISING THEN THAT DURING THE CHANGES FROM REFORMATION TO RESTORATION AND BACK TO REFORMATION MANY PEOPLE WERE BECOMING DISILLUSIONED BY THE RELIGION ON OFFER IN ENGLAND AND DISSENTERS BEGAN TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD.

One good thing that did happen during this period was the translation of the Bible in the 1530’s by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale which was important for many people as it meant that there was no longer anybody between them and God, they could read his teachings directly from the bible for the first time. Many of the bible stories would have been very exciting to ordinary people much the same as adventure stories are today.

Forest of Dean dissenters like those throughout the country began to form their own groups but these meetings were illegal in the eyes of the Church of England and if the members were caught they were often persecuted for their beliefs. Sometimes when a dissenting congregation expressed their wish to build a meeting-house the vicar and his congregation threatened local builders and carpenters with loss of trade if they took any part in its construction. Often, in small communities, dissenters would be threatened with a loss of work and wages to try and prevent them from worshipping outside of the Church of England.

Despite the opposition and persecution Nonconformists still carried on worshipping in secret and building their own meeting places. At first preachers would be sent out from other chapels to surrounding areas to preach in the open air or in barns or private houses. Once a congregation had been established a small meeting house or chapel would be built. The chapels of the nonconformists were at first designed to blend in with their surroundings, to look like simple houses or outbuildings. This was to protect worshippers from persecution for practising their faith.

In 1660 records show that the Society of Friends (Quakers) were holding meetings at Coleford and Aylburton, and they were frequently hounded by the parish constables and many were imprisoned for their beliefs and illegal meetings. These Quakers though had a burning sense of mission and interrupted many Church of England services. Their leader George Fox encouraged his followers and kept a diary about these meetings. We know from this diary that he held early meetings in the Forest of Dean as in 1668 when he states “and then on the first day we had a large generall meeting in the forrest of Deane and all was quiet”

Diocesan records tell us that Benfield House in Newland was licensed for worship by the Presbyterians in 1689, and in 1691 the house of James Baylis at Blakeney was licensed for worship by Protestant dissenters.

In Mitcheldean tradition has it that there was an Independent church as early as 1662 There is certainly no doubt that dissenters were noted in Mitcheldean as early as 1623 when a man was reprimanded for interrupting the rector during a service in Mitcheldean Parish Church and in 1639 a couple went against the rules of the Church of England and married in an alehouse. By 1682 at least 13 people were reported for failing to attend services in the parish church and these people were probably the founders of the first Independent movement in the Forest of Dean

Baptists first appeared around 1603 and originally had two main groups. There were the General Baptists who believed in free will and the Particular Baptists who followed the teaching of John Calvin and believed in predestination. The earliest notice of Baptists in the Forest is found in a letter dated 1653 and among the signatures on the bottom appear William Skinne, John Mills and Francis Pebb “Elders, in the name and on behalf of the Church Baptised in the Forest of Dean”. Probably their church was in Coleford as there appears to have been considerable religious fervour going on here, certainly from the middle of the 18th century or even earlier.

In 1664 the Conventicle Act was passed: this decreed that

“any Nonconformists attending a religious meeting, or assembling themselves together to the number of more than five persons in addition to members of the family,for any religious purpose not according to the rules of the Church of England, should be punished

with a fine of ￡5,or three months imprisonment;

for the second offence, double;

for the third transportation.”

This broke up Nonconformist congregations everywhere, and they were forced to meet in secret in secluded areas.

A year later in 1665 the Five Mile Act was passed. This act decreed:

‘No Nonconformist minister or teacher whatever should, except when passing along the road, come within five miles of any city, or town-corporate, or borough sending member to Parliament, or within the same distance of any parish or place where he had formerly preached or taught, under a penalty of ￡40 for every offence’

This meant that preachers were forced away from the congregations that knew them and would help support them and were forced to become wanderers struggling to survive and depending on the charity of strangers.

The next few years were very bleak for the Nonconformist groups but they still believed passionately that their interpretation of the Word of God was the right one. They believed that the poor should take priority over the rich and there should be freedom in the way in which the ordinary man was able to live. So they still met in secret.

Charles II was at heart a Roman Catholic, but as England at this time was Protestant, Catholicism was a Dissenting religion. In order to favour the Catholic religion without bringing himself under persecution he set out the ‘Declaration of Indulgence’ in 1672, which granted to all Dissenters, Protestant and Catholic alike, the privilege of worshipping according to their own doctrines, though, in order to do so, licenses must be obtained, signed by himself. These licenses were for preachers and places alike. The Declaration was withdrawn the following year but in this time over 4,000 applications were entered.

In 1689, during the reign of William of Orange, the Act of Toleration was passed effectively allowing people to practise different religions free from the fear of prosecution and persecution. However, this did not mean that the religions of the Dissenters were fully accepted by the Church of England as worthy counterparts. Between 1754 and 1857 all nonconformists still had to marry in an Anglican church except for Quakers and Jews.

The 18th century. This was a period when ‘alternative’ religions really began to emerge. These religious societies often started out as groups of students who met for Bible study. They were composed of laymen and so were often un-favoured by the Anglican Church. At the start nearly everyone in these Bible study groups still took their orders from the Established Church and most carried out good deeds in their parishes.

However more and more these groups began to become disillusioned with the Anglican ministry. They felt that the church was neglecting its duties and its members. These Bible Groups recognised the shortcomings of the established Church and the need for a revival became great.

In 1739 Methodism emerged in the Forest of Dean after George Whitefield preached in Coleford. He was a Calvanistic Methodist and as such his teachings were in direct opposition to those of John and Charles Wesley.

The evangelism of John Wesley had an extraordinary impact on the working classes whose conditions of living made them ready to seek a far better way of life, but Methodism made very little inroad into the Forest until after 1820.

Wednesday , 17th August 1763

Hence we rode to Coleford.

The wind being high, I consented to preach in their new room;

but large as it was, it would not contain the people, who appeared to be not a little affected, of which they gave sufficient proof by filling the room at five in the morning”.

In 1749 John Wesleys brother Charles had a poor reception at St. Briavels but John Wesley himself was welcomed when he visited Coleford on 15th March 1756 “We reached Coleford before seven, and found a plain loving people, who received the word of God with gladness”. He visited again in 1763.

The Church of England remained the dominant religion throughout the 18th century with 90% of the population swearing at least some sort of allegiance.

Universities were Anglican and non-conformists were kept out with the intention of keeping their education at a basic level. The Anglican clergy performed and recorded all baptisms and burials and church courts still had business over wills and marriage disputes.

BUT chapels were beginning to appear in the Forest of Dean by the end of the 18th century.

These chapels differed greatly to the parish churches of the Anglican Faith, they were of a much more simple design, usually rectangular in plan, with none of the ornate sculpture and mouldings found on Anglican churches. The idea was that the emphasis should be on the lessons being preached and not the luxury of the architecture. These chapels were often small but had no system of seating based on class and all were welcome. This is most likely why chapels found favour with the middle and lower classes as they no longer felt like 2nd class citizens. Non-conformists had to obtain licenses from the Bishop of their Diocese to build Meeting Houses or to turn Current dwelling houses into Assembly Houses.

The dissenting religions offered ordinary folk the chance to seek a better life. They were religions accessible to the humble and unsophisticated.

The chief characteristic of 19th century religion was Evangelism. The belief that every man and woman was heir to the sins of Adam and destined to spend eternity in Hell unless justified by faith. Evangelists believed that only those who experienced a conversion and were willing to profess their faith would find Heaven after death

Evangelistic preachers believed that salvation could not be bought, learnt or inherited; it had to be earned by conduct and morals. Membership to these churches was not dependent on your birth or land it was voluntary and required only commitment and piety. This is partly why many of the nonconformist religions practice adult baptism. They do not see membership of the church as a birthright but something that had to be earned and professed to when old enough to understand the implications of your faith.

Nonconformist preachers required no specialist training or qualifications and, as today, many of them were laymen. What was required of them was evidence of their conversion to Christ, a passion for the salvation of their congregation and the ability to communicate their faith in simple terms.

Most preachers from the nonconformist religions travelled around the country spreading their faith preaching in the open air or at private meetings. As the numbers of preachers grew so did the area that they could cover and the number of circuits that they could complete. In 1746 there were 7 Methodist preaching circuits in Great Britain, in 1790 this had grown to 60 and by 1830 the number had exploded to 336. This was one advantage that the nonconformist religions had over the Church of England - they were flexible in structure.

By 1818 20% of Primitive Methodist preachers were women and by 1824 30% of the travelling preachers were women, and it cannot be denied that women preachers created a curiosity and certainly were responsible for drawing more men into the religion.

The extent of popular support for Evangelical Nonconformity is evident in the unique religious census of 1851 of England and Wales. The census revealed that 40% of the population had attended a religious service on Sunday 30th March 1851, and of that 40% nearly half were Protestant Nonconformists.

During the 19th century, the lower classes in society began to feel that they no longer fitted in with the Anglican Church with its grand architecture, procession and class based seating orders. It was within the poor and the unsophisticated that Evangelical Nonconformity found its greatest support and this accounted for a large portion of the population of the Forest of Dean.