A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



earlier.-'* The introduction of Unitarian doctrine 

 at Cross Street Chapel is believed to have had much 

 to do vyith the formation of this separate assembly, 

 which was Trinitarian. In 1762 a new building was 

 erected in Hunter's Croft, Cannon Street ; '" it was 

 soon enlarged, and in 1828 practically rebuilt. By 

 1856 the congregation had been dispersed in the 

 suburbs, and in i860 the building was sold, the 

 church in Chorlton Road, Old TrafFord, having taken 

 its place. In 1807 a new church had branched off 

 from Cannon Street, though not without friction, and 

 opened a place of worship in Grosvenor Street, near 

 the Infirmary.'" An earlier secession from Cannon 

 Street, in consequence of a dispute with the minister, 

 led to the formation of a church in Mosley Street in 

 1788.'" It was at Mosley Street Chapel that the 

 Lancashire Union of Independent Churches was 

 formed in 1806. This building was abandoned in 

 1848, being replaced by that in Cavendish Street, 

 Chorlton upon Medlock ; Dr. Robert Halley, the 

 historian of Lancashire Puritanism, was minister at 

 that time. Grosvenor Street Church is still in use, 

 and there are five others, at Knott Mill, and between 

 Ancoats and CoUyhurst. There is also at Collyhurst 

 a Welsh Congregational church. 



The Presbyterian "^ Church of England has a place 

 of worship in Ancoats. It is known as Chalmers 

 Chapel, and was built in 1854."° 



The Salvation Army has four barracks on the east 

 and north-east fringe of the township. 



The Quakers have existed in Manchester since the 

 time of George Fox, who visited the town in 1647, 

 and again in 1657 ; on the latter occasion the 'rude 

 people ' from the country threw at him ' coals, clods, 

 stones and water,' but he remarks that ' the Lord hath 

 since raised up a people to stand for His name and 

 truth in that town.'^^' Their first meeting-house was 

 in Jackson's Row ; it was rebuilt in 1732, but quitted 

 in 1795 for a new one in Mount Street; this was 

 rebuilt in 1830.*" It has a library containing early 

 Quaker books. 



The original Nonconformist chapel is that in Cross 

 Street, which was built for Henry Newcome in 

 1693-4.*^ This celebrated divine had been chap- 

 lain of the Collegiate Church for a few years during 

 the Commonwealth, but on the Restoration was not 

 admitted to a fellowship. He then ministered in 

 private as well as he could during the period of pro- 

 scription from 1662 to 1687. He died the year after 

 the chapel was opened, and was buried there.'" 



The site of the chapel had been known as 

 Plungeon's meadow, from the ovraer's name."*" The 

 place was damaged by the mob in 1 71 5, but was 

 restored with the aid of a grant from Parliament. 

 It was enlarged and rebuilt in 1737. There is a 

 small graveyard. 



The following is a list of the ministers of this 

 chapel, some of whom were of more than local 



emmence : — 



Henry Newcome, M.A., 1687-95 

 John Chorlton, 1687-1705 

 James Coningham, M.A., 1700-12 

 Eliezer Birch, 17 10-17 

 Joseph Mottershead, 1717-71 

 Joshua Jones, 1725-40 

 John Seddon, M.A., 1741-69 

 Robert Gore, 1770-79 

 Ralph Harrison, 1 771-18 10 

 Thomas Barnes, D.D., 1780-1810 

 John Grundy, 181 1-24 

 John Gooch Robberds, 181 1-54 

 John Hugh Worthington, 1825-7 

 William Gaskell, M.A., 1828-54 

 James Panton Ham, 1855—59 

 James Drummond, D.D., 1860-69 

 Samuel Alfred Steinthal, 1871-93 

 William Hamilton Drummond, B.A., 

 Edwin Pinder Barrow, M.A., 1893 



-93 



It was under the joint pastorate of Mottershead 

 and Seddon that the teaching changed from Trini- 

 tarian to Unitarian. A secession in 1789 led to the 

 formation of a second Unitarian congregation in 

 Mosley Street, which in 1837 moved to Chorlton 

 upon Medlock.''* Sunday schools are now maintained 

 in Lower Mosley Street, and there is also a church in 

 Collyhurst. The Academy for training Noncon- 

 formist ministers, originally founded at Warrington, 

 was re-established at Manchester in 1786 ; it was 

 transferred to York in 1803, and afterwards to Chorl- 

 ton upon Medlock, London, and Oxford, where, as 

 Manchester College, it is still flourishing.'" 



The Swedenborgians had a temple called, as usual. 

 New Jerusalem, built in 1793 in Peter Street."' It 

 was sold before 1890, and churches built at Moss 

 Side, Broughton, and Pendleton. 



The Bible Christians had Christ Church, built in 

 1823 in Every Street, and known as the Round 

 Chapel. It came into the possession of the Salvation 

 Army."*= 



^^ Nightingale, Land. Nonconf. v, 

 107-47 ; from this accoxint the brief sum- 

 mary in the text is derived. For the 

 Ancoats, Oldham Road, Ashley Lane, and 

 Queen's Park churches, see ibid. 180-8, 

 190. 



217 The Confession of Faith, &c., of the 

 Church of Christ in Hunter's Croft, 

 Manchester, was printed in J 764. 



217a Copies of the inscriptions are in 

 the Owen MSS. 



^^^ This chapel had a famous minister 

 in Dr. Robert S. McAll, who died in 

 1838. 



219 The ' Scots Calvinists,' or United 

 Secession Church, built a chapel, called 

 St. Andrew's, in Lloyd Street in 1799; 

 it was removed to Brunswick Street, 

 Chorlton upon Medlock, in 1858, and 

 now belongs to the Presbyterian Church 

 of England. Another Scotch Church, in 

 Mosley Street, was founded in 1831. 



220 The cause was founded in 1837. 



221 Fox, yourn. (ed. 1852), i, 60, 305. 

 The meeting was established about 1653 

 by Thomas Eriggs ; information of Mr. R. 

 Muschamp. 



"22 Aston, Mamh. 102 ; Baines, Lanes. 

 Dir. ii, 140. In 1774 a distraint was 

 made on twenty Quakers who refused to 

 pay their tithes ; Manck. Constables' Accts. 

 iii, 297. 



_ 228 Nightingale, op. cit. ■/, 81-107; 

 Sir T. Baker, Mem. of a Dissenting 

 Chapel, containing an account of the 

 ministers, trustees, &c., with illustrations; 

 Pal. Note Bk. i, 28 ; G. E. Evans, Recs. 

 ofPro-v. Assembly of Lanes, and Ches. 



22^ Henry Newcome was born in 1627 

 at Caldecote, Hunts. ; educated at St. 

 John's Coll. Cambridge; M.A., 1650; 

 ordained as a Presbyterian ; rector of 

 Gawsworth 1650 to 1657 ; chaplain — 

 there were then no fellows — of Man- 



250 



Chester 1657 to 1662. He was buried in 

 the chapel 30 Sept. 1695. For fuller 

 accounts of him see the works cited in 

 the last note ; also Pal. Note Bk. i, 17, &c. 

 His Diary and Autohiog. have been printed 

 (in part) by the Chetham Society ; the 

 Introduction to the former of these (by 

 Thomas Heywood) contains a biography. 



22<i' For the Plungeon family see Pal. 

 Note Bk. iii, 249, 283. The monumental 

 inscriptions are in the Owen MSS. 



22s Notices of several will be found in 

 Diet. Nat. Biog. 



228 Nightingale, op. cit. v, 104. 



227 Some Manchester reminiscences are 

 printed in Harland's Collectanea (Chet. 

 Soc), ii, 232-41. The building was at 

 the lower end of Mosley Street (then 

 Dawson Street), a little north of St. Peter's 

 Church. 



22s Aston, Manch. 103. 



228» N. and Q. (Ser. 7), xii, 323. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



