A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



and dumb chapel attached to St. John's. The vicar 

 also presents to St. Michael and All Angels', Daisy- 

 field, acquired from the Wesleyans in 1839 and 

 rebuilt in 1869," and to Holy Trinity, Mount 

 Pleasant, 1846" ; the former of these has a mission 

 church, St. Gabriel's. Christ Church, built in 1859," 

 has mission rooms and a chapel of ease of the Saviour ; 

 the Bishop of Manchester and trustees present alter- 

 nately. St. Thomas's," 1865, has St. Jude's mission 

 church ; the Bishop of Manchester collates. All 

 Saints', Nova Scotia, was built in 1872 as a memorial 

 to Archdeacon Rushton, the late vicar of Blackburn " ; 

 it has a school church of Emmanuel attached ; five 

 trustees present. More recent are St. James's, Shear 

 Brow, 1874, patron the Bishop of Manchester"; 

 St. Luke's, 1877, five trustees"; St. Matthew's and 

 St. Barnabas's, both 1886," and in the gift of the 

 Bishop of Manchester ; St. Silas's, Billinge, begun in 

 1877, consecrated in 1900, five trustees." The 

 Church Army has a mission st.ition. 



Methodism has been represented since 1780," when 

 the Old Calender House was turned into a chapel 

 and opened by John Wesley in 17 So or 1781 ; but 

 the numbers grew so rapidly that a proper building 

 was erected in Clayton Street in l7S6,and Blackburn 

 w.TS soon after made a circuit. The chapel w.is 

 enlarged and almost rebuilt in 1816 and others were 

 added, so that there are now eight Wc-lcyan Methodist 

 churches here. The Primitive Methodists began at 

 Eanam about 1820, and have now seven churches in 

 two circuits. The United Free Methodists originated 

 in I 836 and 1853, and have now four churches. The 

 Bible Christians, recently united ivith them, had a 

 church and a mission room. The Methodist Ne\v 

 Connexion opened a mission room in 1865."* 



David Crosslc}', the Baptist minister at R.icup, 

 preached at Shorrock Green Hall about I 736 "and 

 probably at Mellor also, this being the beginning of 

 Baptist work near Blackburn. Adam Holden in 1758 

 removed from Bacup to Blackburn and the following 

 year a church was formed in his house, but he died 

 before the chapel at Islington was opened in 1765. 

 This was the first Nonconformist chapel within the 

 township, and it is still used by the Particular Baptists.*" 

 The Baptist Union hired a room in Ainsworth Street" 

 in 1838 and a church was formed the next year ; in 

 1 840 they built a chapel, called the Tabernacle, in 

 what is now Montague Street. A secession from it, 

 lasting from 1848 to 1863, had a chapel or chapels 

 called Rehoboth." From the reunited Montague 

 Street congregation a new chapel in Leamington Road 

 sprang in 1895-6. 



Though after 1662 Nonconformity was strong in 

 the neighbourhood, it does not appear that any 



organized congregation existed in Blackburn itself, but 

 after the Toleration of 1 689 Charles Sagar, who had 

 had to withdraw from the mastership of the grammar 

 school in 1666, registered his house in Blackburn as 

 a meeting-place for Presbyterians." This does not 

 seem to have endured for long, Tockholes Chapel 

 being used, and it was not till 1778 that the Inde- 

 pendents were strong enough to constitute themselves 

 into a separate church and build a chapel in Chapel 

 Street." A large number of Scottish settlers in Black- 

 burn worshipped with them. A minister of more than 

 local distinction was connected with it, the Rev. 

 Joseph Fletcher, D.D., pastor from 1806 to 1822, 

 he then removing to Stepney." The present church, 

 on the old site, was opened in 1 874. James Street 

 Church was opened in 1842 and others have followed, 

 the Congregationalists now having nine churches and 

 chapels. An Academy or college for the education of 

 candidates for the ministry was established at Black- 

 burn in 1816, under the rule of Dr. Fletcher. Its 

 home was in Ainsworth Street till it was removed to 

 Manchester in 1843.** 



The Scottish Presbyterians, together with some 

 malcontents, appear to have separated themselves from 

 the Independents about 1 8 10, for in that year a 

 chapel was built in Mount Street and its ministers 

 were obtained from the Burgher Seceders' Church in 

 Scotland." It was for a time Congregational and the 

 Rev. George Payne, a tutor in the Academy, became 

 its minister in 1823.''' In 1828 it was acquired by 

 the United Secession Church of Scotland, and so was 

 afterwards in the hands of the United Presbyterians, 

 now the Presbyterian Church of England. Its minister 

 formany years was Dr. Grosart, who has been mentioned 

 above. A new church, called St. George's, replaced 

 it in 1868 ; this is in Preston New Road. There is 

 another church, built in 1901 for a cause founded in 

 1885, at Whalley Range. Old Scotch Independents 

 are named in 1877.'' 



The Society of Friends, first mentioned in 1777, 

 built a meeting-place in 1 8 1 8 ; the Swedenborgians 

 in 1854 — New Jerusalem "; the Christian Brethren 

 in 1S72 ; the Catholic Apostolic Church (Irvingites) 

 appeared about 1876, using the old Free Library 

 building for a time ; the Salvation Army has several 

 stations ; and there are two Gospel halls, an Evangelical 

 Protestant Church, an Ecclesia of the Messiah, and a 

 Christadelphian meeting-place. In 1825 there was a 

 Unitarian chapel in Ainsworth Street, but it has 

 disappeared 



Although the vicar ejected by Queen Elizabeth in 

 1562 contrived for more than twenty years to minister 

 in the neighbourhood, and although a small group 

 of Roman Catholics" continued to reside there, no 



*^ A district was assigned in 1845 ; 

 ibid. 8 Jul}'. 



•" For district ibid. 3 July 1849. 



^ Ibid. 30 Oct. i860. 



" liid. 13 Mar. 1866. 



"Ibid. i8 Oct. 1872. 



"Ibid. 14 May 1875. 



" Ibid. 7 May 1S78. 



^ Districts were assigned to them in 

 1887. 



^ District assigned 1900. 



^' This account is from Abram, op. cit. 

 366. ^^ Ibid. 370. 



^^ Ibid. 364.-5, and information of Dr. 

 Whitley of Preston. 



*"' A temporary secession met in Ains- 



worth Street 1819—24. There was an- 

 other temporary division about 1877 ; the 

 meetings were in Exchange Street. 



«i Then called Branch Road. The in- 

 formation about this chapel is due to the 

 Rev. Joseph Farquhar, the present pastor. 



*^ For this division see Abram, Black- 

 burn Characters, 351. The building in 

 Feilden Street is now used for baths. 



«3 Hilt. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 

 231. Thomas Whalley, who then minis- 

 tered at Chipping (ibid.), was buried at 

 Blackburn in 1705 as *a dissenting 

 minister' ; Abram, op. cit. 359. 



" The account in the text is from 

 Abram, op. cit. 360-4 ; Nightingale, 



24.8 



Lams. Nonconf. ii, 53, &c. The foUow- 

 ing dates are given : Park Road, 1851-8 j 

 Montague Street, 1862-6 ; Furthergate, 

 1873-8 ; Audley Range, 1877-90. 



" Diet. Nat. Biog. 



^ Abram, op. cit. 363. 



'^ Ibid. 365 ; Nightingale, op. cit ii, 

 68-79 i Abram, Blackburn Characters, 

 283-4. 



** He has a notice in Diet. Nat. Biog. 



*' Abram, op. ciL 370. 



'" They had a meeting-place as early 

 as 1825 ; Baines, Lanes. Dir. i, 503. 



" Richard Bradley, usher of the free 

 school in 1619, was dismissed in 1641 for 

 recusancy ; Abram, Blackburn, 356. 



