Forest of Rossendale. 209 



During times of alteration or rebuilding, the congregation at 

 Cloughfold has on more than one occasion assembled for divine 

 service in the unfinished erection, in order to secure the bequest, 

 and fulfil the provision of the will, that they should never be at one 

 time, six weeks without preaching at the said chapel. 



The two endowments referred to above, have accumulated, the 

 ;^40 to ;^S5, and the ^"150 to £,20'^, being ^260 in the whole ; 

 a very small augmentation, when the length of time, and the 

 increase of the value of property in the district, are taken into 

 account. A great want of foresight on the part of the earlier 

 Trustees was displayed in the disposition of the two bequests. 

 Had the original sum, instead of being put out at simple interest, 

 been invested in the purchase of land, the increase in the realisable 

 capital would probably now have been tenfold. But even this 

 small accumulation is accidental, and is to be accounted for in this 

 way, that during a certain number of years in the course of its 

 existence, the church was without a minister, and consequently, the 

 interest instead of being paid away was added to the capital. 



About the year 1750, a small chapel was built at Lumb for the 

 use of the Baptists residing in that neighbourhood. The circum- 

 stances which led to its erection are worth recalling. The inhabi- 

 tants of the Lumb and Dean valleys have long been favourably 

 known for their musical skill ; and to cultivate their love of the art, 

 it has been their custom for generations to hold meetings for 

 practice in each others' houses. Sacred music was 'CasSx forte, as it 

 continues to be to this day, and it would seem to have exercised a 

 hallowing influence upon their minds. Of these singers, John 

 Nuttall and several others became members of the Baptist church 

 at Bacup, then under the ministry of Joseph Piccop, and by 

 their example and exhortations, and the reading aloud of religious 

 authors at the musical gatherings, many were led to follow in their 

 footsteps. Though the meeting-house at Lumb was built in 1750, 

 three years elapsed before a church was formed. In May 1753, ' 

 the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was first administered to the 



