Chapter III: Section 2: The Church at Castle Hill

There are some places of worship which attain notoriety entirely from some celebrated individual that has been connected with them. The talents, the learning, the preaching, or the writings of one of the ministers, have identified the place with his name.

This is the case with the Meeting House at Castle Hill, Northampton. A plain structure, resembling many others that were built about the same period, it is regarded with the deepest interest, as the place where Doddridge spent the greater part of his life as a pastor. In that place Doddridge laboured; there stands the pulpit in which Doddridge preached; to that vestry Doddridge retired; there he often watched and prayed; at that table he oft presented the memorials of a Saviour's love, and poured forth from the fulness of an affectionate, fervent heart, the strains of an exalted faith and piety.

No certain record can be found of the first formation of the Church assembling in this place. Its origin is lost in obscurity. When the "Act of Uniformity" passed, Mr. Jeremiah Lewis, rector of Saint Giles's, Northampton, was ejected from his living; but such was his natural reserve, and such his retired habits, that it does not appear that he ever preached after his ejectment. He did not long survive that event. "He was a man of great meekness; remarkable for his prudence; much beloved by the neighbouring ministers."

Mr. Samuel Blower, who was ejected from Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, is recorded as the first pastor of this Church. Of his history but little is known. He was educated at Oxford, and was a Fellow of Magdalen College. Of his general character we are informed, "that he was of a meek temper, peaceable principles, and a godly life;" of his sentiments, that "he had very exalted thoughts of divine grace and redeeming love;" of the prevailing spirit of his ministry, "that he discovered a very tender regard to young persons, and would often address himself very affectionately to them, not only in his sermons, but in his visits; and that he rejoiced much when he saw anything hopeful in their characters:" of his method of preaching, that "he affected not a pompous way; nor did he dispense the truths of the Gospel with the wisdom of man's words, knowing that that was not so likely to be attended with a divine blessing--Scripture revelations, in Scripture language, were the main subjects of his discourses:" of his friendships we are told that "he was a most desirable friend, being free and communicative, candid in the last degree, of a very sympathizing spirit with those in affliction, and particularly mindful of them in his prayers; and he was so firm and constant where he professed friendship, that it must be some very ill thing indeed that was the occasion of his breaking it off." Of his devoted piety it is said, "that wherever he had an interest, he was for improving it for God to his utmost, and took every opportunity to do so."

He published a funeral sermon for Mrs. Elizabeth Tub, from Psalm xviii. 46: "The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock," &c. Mr. Blower afterwards removed to Abingdon, in Berks, where he died in 1701.

The records of this Church commence with the following statement:--

_Acts and Memoirs of the particular Church of Christ at Northampton,
of which Mr. Samuel Blower was pastor._

In the year 1695, this Church did, upon the departure of the Rev.
Mr. Blower, their pastor, give their unanimous call to Thomas
Shepherd to succeed him in the pastoral office, who thereupon
accepting the call, did actually succeed him in the office
aforesaid.

The form of the Church Covenant:--

We, this Church of Christ, whose names are underwritten, having
given up, ourselves to the Lord and one to another according to the
will of God, do promise and covenant, in the presence of God, to
walk together in all the laws and ordinances of Christ, according to
the rules of his Gospel, through Jesus Christ so strengthening us.
(This was subscribed by about 164 names.)

A memorandum on the next page states, "That Thomas Shepherd, accepting the call this Church gave him, did own and declare his willingness and consent to walk with them as a pastor with his people, so long as they could walk comfortably together in all the ways and ordinances of the Lord."

Under date of September 11th, 1696, we have the following statement, from which it appears that Mr. Shepherd's ministry at Northampton was of short duration:--

At a Church-meeting then holden, it was publicly owned by this
Church that Thomas Shepherd, their present pastor, was not under
obligation to a continuance with them, by virtue of any conditional
consent or promise made upon sitting down. The conditions not being
observed by this people, my engagements to them thereupon must needs
cease.

About a year and a half from this time, _i.e._, February 25th, 1698, Mr. John Hunt was chosen the pastor of this Church. His father was one of the ejected ministers, a Mr. William Hunt, ejected from the vicarage of Sutton, in Cambridgeshire. He was a man of eminent piety and great usefulness, and two of his sons became devoted ministers among the Dissenters. The pastor of this Church was first at Royston, and from thence came to Northampton, and afterwards he became minister of the Independent Church at Newport Pagnell. He appears to have inserted the following passage from Philip Henry's 'Life' among the Church records:--"Those ministers who will rule by love and meekness need no laws or canons to rule by, other than those of the holy Scriptures."

He was a man of considerable talent, and wrote several valuable works. There appear to have been 100 members admitted to the Church during the ministry of Mr. Hunt; that ministry closed at Northampton in 1709. He died at Tunstead, in Norfolk, in 1730. On February 22nd, 1709, after divers repeated calls, and days and times of seeking God, Rev. Thomas Tingey gave his acceptance of the call of this people, together with the reason of it, and was solemnly ordained unto the pastoral office and charge of this Church of Christ--Mr. Dowley, of Lutterworth, Mr. King, of Wellingborough, Mr. Some, of Harborough, Mr. Norris, of Welford, Mr. Ironmonger, of Buckingham, Mr. Jackson, of Buckby, Mr. Mason, of Spaldwich, and Mr. Wills, about to be settled at Kettering, and Mr. Dale, of Creaton, being present.

Mr. Tingey had previously been minister at Newport Pagnell, so that Mr. Hunt's removal was an exchange of situations with him. Mr. Tingey was an evangelical and able minister, and very zealously exerted himself, even beyond his strength, to preach the Gospel in destitute towns and villages around. On leaving Northampton he became pastor of an Independent Church in Fetter Lane. Dr. Ridgley preached his funeral sermon, and published it, in which he gives him a high character as an able and successful minister. He died November 1st, 1729, a few weeks after his settlement in London.

The ministry of Mr. Tingey appears to have continued about twenty years, until the first part of the year 1729, for on September 28th of that year we find the first invitation given to Doddridge, with a view to the pastoral office.

As we have a more full account of this pastorate than of any other over the Church at Castle Hill, and as it is invested with some peculiar interest from the labours of Doddridge, so we think it proper to present the particulars to some extent before the reader. The following is a copy of the invitation:--

_From the Dissenting Congregation at Castle Hill, Northampton._

The Church of Christ in Northampton sendeth greeting.

REVEREND SIR,--The dispensations of God's providence towards us in
suffering the removal of our late pastor is very awful, and we hope
hath lain with weight upon our hearts. It hath urged us to make
prayer and supplication that God, the Great Shepherd, would appear
and direct us in this difficult and weighty matter, and send among
us one whom he will eminently own and make a great blessing unto us.

Sir, we have had some taste of your ministerial ability in your
occasional labours amongst us, which have given a general
satisfaction to the congregation; but this matter being so
important, we humbly apply ourselves to you, that you would come
and preach among us as a candidate for a month. We leave our
brethren, who will bring this, to use what further arguments they
may think meet, and recommend you to the wisdom and conduct of the
divine Spirit, and continue our prayers and supplications to the
great God for our direction. We subscribe our names by the order and
consent of the whole Church. (Signed by ten persons.)

The prospect of this removal to Northampton became a matter of great concern to Doddridge and his friends. He had recently commenced his academy at Harborough; he was engaged as assistant to Mr. Some; the latter was very unwilling for him to entertain the idea of removing at this time; and from his representations, and the regard Doddridge had for his friendship, with some other circumstances, he had almost arrived at a determined refusal. But in the Church at Northampton there was much concern about the matter, and they did all in their power to obtain a compliance; and it was as if God worked with them. They made such representations to the ministers who were likely to have influence with Doddridge, as to engage them on their side. Mr. Clarke, of St. Alban's, wrote, October 21st, 1729--

DEAR SIR,--Your resolution with respect to Northampton I could not
but approve, according to the view I then had of the matter; but
to-day Mr. Bliss, of that town, called upon me with a letter from
the Church, in which they represent how unanimously and earnestly
they desired your settlement among them, and how ready they should
be in every particular to make the removal agreeable to you; and
that as to the objection from your attendance upon your pupils, they
would gladly accept of what time you could spare without any damage
to them, as they are sensible that you have abilities to go through
with both employments. They further urged, that should you refuse
their invitation, it might expose them to the danger of division,
and they could not join unanimously in any other call. Mr. Bliss
also told me that they could have a house fit for your academy on
easy terms, and that they would furnish some of the rooms for you at
their own expense; and that if Mrs. Jennings did not think fit to
remove her family, and is out of pocket by having provided for the
reception of your pupils, they would make her a handsome present to
reimburse her. In short, that the people were so set upon having you
on any terms, that they would do anything for you in their power,
and earnestly desired me to press you to consent.

I must own, their very great zeal in this matter weighs very much
with me; and the more so, because it would give you the prospect of
being of great service there, and by that means in all that county,
where you might be an instrument of promoting a more catholic
spirit, as well as of bringing in souls to Christ. I am ready to
think that God has some special work for you to do there.

And Mr. Some, the most decided and earnest opponent of the change, goes to Northampton to converse with the people about the matter, intending to prevail on them to give it up; and he, in writing to Doddridge, says, "The hearts of the people are moved altogether as the trees of a wood when bent by the wind; and they are under such strong impressions about your coming to them, that it is impossible for a man to converse with them without feeling something for them. The mention of your name diffuses life and spirit through the whole body, and nothing can be heard of but Mr. Doddridge. I find myself in the utmost perplexity, and know not what to say or do. I think I am like _Saul among the prophets_; and that the same spirit which is in the people begins to seize me also."

Still, before his removal from Harborough, he undergoes a great struggle. He had almost decided, notwithstanding all this, to remain there; went to Northampton to "lay down his good friends there as gently as he could"; preached to them with this view from "When he could not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done." He thinks much of the weight of business that would lie upon him as tutor and pastor; of his own youth; the largeness of the congregation, and having no prospect of an assistant. But he is passing through a room of the house where he lodges, and hears a child reading a chapter in the Bible to its mother;--the only words he distinctly catches are, "As thy day so shall thy strength be." This deeply impressed him, yet he persisted in his refusal. Then a deacon of the Church, whose father was ill, presents an urgent request for him to improve his father's death when he is taken away. He dies that night. Doddridge is detained by his promise for the funeral. He is greatly assisted; many attend, and express the greatest satisfaction in his labours. While waiting for this funeral the young people come to him in a body, and entreat his continuance, promising to submit to every method of instruction he might propose. At length he is so overcome as to be convinced that it is his duty to accept the invitation, though still directly contrary to the advice and wishes of his friends; yet, seeing the hand of God in it, he breaks through all other restraints. After much earnest prayer, correspondence, and consultations, Doddridge sends his answer to the invitation to the pastoral office, of which the following is a copy:--

_To the Congregation at Northampton, on my acceptance of their
Invitation to undertake the Pastoral Charge._

_December 6th, 1729._

MY DEAR FRIENDS,--After a serious and impartial consideration of
your case, and repeated addresses to the Great Father of Light for
his guidance and direction, I can at length assure you that I am
determined by his permission to accept of your kind invitation, and
undertake the pastoral care of you, with the most ardent feelings of
sincere gratitude and affection.

You will easily apprehend that I could not form this resolution
without a great deal of anguish, both with regard to those friends
whom I am called upon to resign, and in reference to that great and
difficult work that lies before me, in the care of your large
congregation and my academy. But I hope that I have sincerely
devoted my soul to God and my Redeemer; and therefore I would humbly
yield myself up to what, in present circumstances, I apprehend to be
his will. I take this important step with fear and trembling, yet
with a humble confidence in him, and with the hope that in the midst
of these great difficulties he will not leave me entirely destitute
of that _presence_ which I desire to prefer to everything which life
can bestow.

As for you, my brethren, let me entreat of you, that "if there be
any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship
of the Spirit, if any bowels of mercy, fulfil ye my joy." Let me
beseech you to remember, that by accepting your call I have
entrusted the happiness of my life into your hands. Prepare
yourselves, therefore, to cover my many infirmities with the mantle
of your love, and continue to treat me with the same kindness and
gentleness as those dear and excellent friends have done whom I am
now about to leave in compassion to your souls; for God knows that
no temporal advantage you could have offered would have engaged me
to relinquish them.

May my heavenly Father comfort my heart in what is now determined,
by giving an abundant success to my ministrations among you, so that
a multitude of souls may have reason to praise him on that account!
and let me beg that you will bear me daily on your hearts before his
throne in prayer, and seek for me that extraordinary assistance
without which I must infallibly sink under the great work I have
thus undertaken.

I shall continue to recommend you, my dearly beloved, to the grace
of Almighty God, the great Shepherd of his sheep, with that
affection which now so peculiarly becomes your most devoted friend
and servant, in the bonds of our common Lord,

PHILIP DODDRIDGE.

The account of the ordination we present, as inserted by Doddridge in the records of the Church:--

After repeated solicitations, long deliberation, and earnest prayer
to God for direction, I came to the resolution to accept the
invitation of my dear and most affectionate friends at Northampton
on Saturday, December 6th, 1729, and certified the Church of that
resolution by a letter that evening. I removed from Harborough and
came to settle here on Wednesday, December 24th. On Thursday, March
19th, 1730, I was solemnly set apart to the pastoral office by
prayer, and fasting, and imposition of hands. Mr. Goodrich began
with prayer and reading Eph. iv.; Mr. Dawson prayed; then Mr. Watson
preached from 1 Tim. iii. 1, "If a man desire the office of a
bishop, he desireth a good work." Mr. Norris then read the call of
the Church, of which I declared my acceptance; he took my
confessions of faith and ordination vows, and then proceeded to set
me apart by prayer. Immediately afterwards, Mr. Clarke, of St.
Alban's, gave the charge to me; and Mr. Saunders, of Kettering, the
exhortation to the people; and Mr. Mattock concluded the whole
solemnity by prayer.

It was a delightful, and I hope it will prove a very profitable,
day. I write this memoranda of it under the remembrance of a painful
and threatening illness, which detained me from my public work the
two ensuing Sabbaths. The event is still dubious; but I leave my
life and my dear flock in the hand of the great Shepherd, hoping
what passed on my ordination-day will be an engagement to me to live
more usefully, or an encouragement to die more cheerfully, than I
should otherwise have done. Amen.

I administered the Lord's Supper, for the first time, on Lord's-day,
April 12th, 1730. I hope we had much of the presence of God with
us, and may regard it as a token for good. On the 4th of February it
pleased God to add to us eight persons, in whose character and
experience we find great reason to be fully satisfied.

The number of names entered in the Church-book, as we consider by the hand of Doddridge, is 342.

After about ten years' labour as pastor, tutor, and author, finding the state of the Church not to his satisfaction, and feeling that he could not attend to it as it appeared to him to require, he endeavoured to engage the Church to choose some assistants to him in his work among the people, under the name of elders. They acceded to the request of their pastor, and unanimously made choice of the Rev. Job Orton, Rev. John Evans, as also of Mr. John Brown, to assist the pastor in his care of the society; and also desired Mr. Samuel Heyworth, by divine providence resident among them, though a member of the Church at Rowell, to assist, by his counsels and labours, in the same office. They were solemnly recommended to God by prayer at a Church-meeting, February 26, 1740, having then signified their acceptance of the call.

These elders appeared at once to enter with an earnest spirit on the duties of their office. After several meetings amongst themselves, with the concurrence of the pastor and deacons they drew up a letter, to be presented to the Church, expressive of what they considered to be the duties to which they were called, and of what they regarded as necessary to the good order and prosperity of the society. The letter was gratefully received by the Church. Special Church-meetings were appointed to consider the proposals it contained, and the unanimous sanction of the members present was given to what the elders desired. Regarding the letter as an interesting document, we shall here present it before the reader:--

_The Elders and Deacons of the Church of Christ assembling on Castle
Hill, Northampton, to their brethren of the Church, greeting._

DEAR BRETHREN, BELOVED IN THE LORD,--As we are chosen, in common
with our pastor, to watch over you, and serve among you in offices
relating to the public honour, edification, and comfort of the
society, we think it our duty to address ourselves to you with one
consent, on a subject which appears to us of great importance.

You cannot but know, dear brethren, that our Lord Jesus Christ,
whose servants we are, has by his apostles commanded his Churches
that they "withdraw themselves from every brother who walketh
disorderly, and not according to the traditions received from them;
that they mark those that cause scandals among them; and that if any
obey not the word, that they note that man, and have no fellowship
with him, that he may be ashamed; and that if any brother be a
fornicator, or covetous, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an
extortioner" (and, upon the same principle, if he be a liar, or one
that defrauds others), "they should not eat with such a one; but
that" (though such as are without are to be referred to the judgment
of God) "they judge those that are within, and put away from among
themselves such wicked persons." These, brethren, are the precepts
of Christ, according to which, by our entering into Church
fellowship, we engaged to walk; and we apprehend that the neglect of
these precepts, and the discipline in the Church of Christ which
should be founded upon them, is a great evil, which often provokes
God to withdraw from his people, and to hinder the success of other
ordinances while this is neglected. We do therefore, in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, beseech you that ye would attend to these
precepts, and would consent to proper measures for the regular
exercise of discipline among us. And as we have observed that
several have withdrawn themselves from the table of the Lord,
though their names stand as members among us, we desire that the
Church would take it into consideration, and that if it shall be
found (as they fear it will) that some have withdrawn on account of
such irregularities in their behaviour as have given scandal and
offence, we cannot think the matter ought to rest merely in their
withdrawing from us, but that it is our duty as a Church solemnly to
admonish them, and, where the offence has been great and public, to
separate them from our communion, till God shall give them
repentance to the acknowledgment of their sin; after which, it is
our undoubted duty, on a suitable time of trial, with proper
declarations of their repentance, to admit them again in the spirit
of love and rejoicing in their recovery.

We do therefore, in concurrence with our pastor, by whose
approbation we write these things, exhort you, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that you enter into a serious disquisition of
these things; and advise, that you appoint a day in which they may
be solemnly discussed, at which the members of the Church shall be
present, and such only; at which time we, the elders, are ready to
exhibit a list of several persons absenting themselves from
communion, of whose cases the Church will do well to judge, that
such measures may be taken concerning them as the precepts of our
common Lord direct; and we desire that the elders may now be
commissioned, in the name of the Church, to give notice to such
persons, if they think proper to attend at that meeting, that if
they have anything to offer in favour of themselves and their own
conduct, they may be heard, and all due regard be paid to their
defence; they being also in the name of the Church informed, that if
they do not so attend, their absenting themselves without sufficient
reason assigned will be taken as a confession of their being
incapable of offering any excuse, so that the Church will
accordingly proceed against them.

To this, as our unanimous advice to the Church, we have here set our
hands, that if any of us then should be absent, our approbation of
these measures may be evidently declared; and we pray that God may
guide you in all your deliberations and resolutions, to the glory
of his name, and the honour and edification of this Society.

_April 2nd, 1741._

After this follows a number of cases presented to the Church for suitable admonition and discipline. One entry we will quote, as deserving the attention of the Churches of Christ at the present day:--

It is the unanimous judgment of this Church, that the frequent acts
of bankruptcy which have happened in Dissenting congregations, as
well as elsewhere, have brought so great a dishonour on religion,
and occasioned so much mischief and reproach, that we think
ourselves obliged in duty to enter our public protest and caution on
this head; and we do hereby declare, that if any persons in stated
communion with us shall become a bankrupt, or, as it is commonly
expressed, fail in the world, he must expect to be cut off from our
body, unless he do within two months give to the Church, by the
elders, either in word or writing, such an account of his affairs as
shall convince us that his fall was owing not to his own sin and
folly, but to the afflicting hand of God upon him; in which case,
far from adding affliction to the afflicted, we hope that as God
shall enable us we shall be ready to vindicate, comfort, and assist
him, as his friends and brethren in Christ.

Signed, in the name and presence of the Church, this 1st day of May,
1741, by the pastor and deacons.

Shortly after this Doddridge is deprived of his valuable assistant in the academy and the Church, Job Orton; and he parts with him in a manner that indicates the high sense he entertained of his worth, and the affectionate attachment he felt to him. When it was decided for him to leave, we find this record:--

Our dear and reverend brother, Mr. Job Orton, having declared his
purpose of leaving us, on the invitation of the united Church at
Shrewsbury, was solemnly recommended to God by the prayers of the
Church, several hours being spent in that exercise, and then was
dismissed to the said Church at Shrewsbury by the following letter,
sent by the pastor, in the name of the Church:--

"_The Church of Christ assembling on Castle Hill, Northampton, to the Church of Christ in Salop assembling_.

"DEAR BRETHREN AND FRIENDS, BELOVED IN THE LORD,--As the providence
of God hath seen fit to remove from us to you our reverend and dear
brother, Mr. Job Orton, who has for many years resided amongst us,
and has of late years, with great honour and acceptance, ministered
unto us and assisted us under the office of an elder; though we
cannot resign him without the most affectionate and tender concern
and deep regret, yet, being obliged to acquiesce in the
determination of the great Head of the Church, though to us a very
painful one, we think it our duty by these letters to dismiss him
from our stated communion to yours; which accordingly we hereby do,
blessing God for all the advantages we have enjoyed by his ministry
and presence, and earnestly praying that his labours may not only be
highly acceptable and delightful to you, as we are persuaded they
must be, but that they may be crowned with abundant success. We
cannot doubt but your conduct to him will be so obliging and
affectionate, as abundantly to demonstrate the sense you have of the
singular favour of Providence to you in sending among you so able,
so faithful, and so zealous a labourer; and we earnestly desire your
prayers for us, that God may make up to us, by his immediate
presence and blessing, the unspeakable and otherwise irreparable
loss which we sustain by his removal from us.

"Signed, by the unanimous direction of the Church, at their
Church-meeting, October 1st, 1741, in the name of the whole society,

"PHILIP DODDRIDGE."

Another memoranda by Doddridge we shall here insert:--

_May 2nd, 1748._

I reviewed the list of the Church from the beginning, and found that
from 1694, when Mr. Hunt was settled as their pastor (that is,
within the compass of 54 years), 784 members have been admitted,
inclusive of those then found--that is, one year with another, more
than 14 members each year: of which 240 only continue alive and
reside still among us; of which, 58 were admitted before my
settlement with the Church;--and, as I have admitted 299, they show
that 117, who have been admitted from that time, are either removed
or dead, besides many others who were admitted before.

N.B.--Seventy-eight have been my pupils.

This would average, during the ministry of Doddridge, 16 admissions in a year.

The following letter of Doddridge, written about this period, containing some statements relating to his Church and his feelings as a pastor, we think never before published, may here be suitably introduced. It was addressed to "the Rev. Mr. Ryland, in Warwick," father of the late Dr. Ryland, of Bristol, and afterwards minister of College Street Chapel, Northampton.

_Northampton, May 17th, 1747._

REV. AND DEAR SIR,--I am much obliged to you for your affectionate
letter, and shall be very ready to give you a visit and a sermon, if
Providence give me a convenient opportunity; but my motions are at
present uncertain, depending partly on some visits I expect from my
friends, and partly upon other circumstances. Be assured, Sir, that
if I have an opportunity I shall be very glad to see you and serve
you to the best of my little power, and think myself happy in an
opportunity of doing anything to promote the kingdom of Christ
amongst you or elsewhere. I beg your prayers for me. Through the
Divine goodness I continue well. I have been much afflicted by the
breach made in our Church by the Moravians, who have got from us a
little congregation. The affliction has been increased by the death
of some very promising and hopeful persons, especially of one who
died last night, and whose age, circumstances, and character
concurred to give us the greatest hopes of usefulness from him; so
that it is one of the greatest blows of that kind that I have
received since I came hither. My spirits are much grieved and
oppressed; pray that I may be enabled to wait on the Lord with quiet
submission and humble hope.

We congratulate you on your marriage, and heartily recommend you and
Mrs. Ryland to the Divine blessing.

I am, Rev. and dear Sir,
Your affectionate brother and obliged humble servant,

P. DODDRIDGE.

One more entry we have in the Church-book, relating to his success as a pastor:--

_Some Remarks which have occurred to me on the State of the Church since
January 1st, 1747, which I note for the Instruction of any future
Pastor._

At the time above mentioned, I took a review of the number of Church
members, which I found more decreased since Michaelmas, 1745, than I
ever knew it to be in double that time; for I found that since that
time we have received only 15 members, and have lost 17; 12 have
died or removed the last year, and only 8 of the 15 have been
admitted this year; so that our decrease since Michaelmas, 1745, is
2, and since this time twelve-months, on the whole, 4--a very
discouraging circumstance, especially considering how much I have
abounded in exhortations to the Lord's table during the last year.

N.B.--The _omission_ of the names of three, since recollected, who
were admitted in 1745, made the state of affairs appear more
melancholy than I afterwards found it to be.

His last statement is--"In looking over the account for the year 1749, I find that 22 had been admitted, and 22 removed by death or otherwise; so that we were just as at the beginning of the year--in all, 239."

These statements rather surprise us; considering what the writer of them had devolving upon him in the care of his academy, in his extensive correspondence, in his numerous and valuable publications, that he should, amidst all this, pay so particular and minute attention to the state of the Church of which he was pastor. It shows strikingly the activity, ardour, and entire devotedness of his spirit. But, alas! it was too active and ardent for the material framework long to sustain the efforts to which it was impelled. Hence the very next entry we meet with is, "That the Rev. Philip Doddridge, Doctor of Divinity, after being twenty-one years pastor of this Church, died at Lisbon, to which place he had resorted for the recovery of his health, on the 26th of October, 1751, we may truly say, to the unspeakable loss of this Church."

How he lived and how he died is very extensively known, by the Memoir published by Orton--the "Centenary Memorial" of him recently sent forth by Stoughton; so that, though we would fain linger over his memory, yet anything further respecting him would seem to be out of place here.

We happen to have in our possession a copy of the poem sacred to the memory of Doddridge, as it was first published by its author, Mr. Henry Moore, who had been one of the Doctor's students, and was afterwards settled as a minister in Devonshire. It is the same poem in substance as is given by Orton at the close of his 'Memoirs of Doddridge'; but it is there considerably altered from this first copy. It is thus inscribed to Mrs. Doddridge:--

Permit me, Madam, to present to you the following poem, as a
testimony of my high veneration for the memory of my deceased tutor,
and my tender sympathy with his afflicted family.

I am, Madam, your most obliged humble servant,

H---- M----.

_Northampton, February, 1st, 1752._

We extract the following lines from pages 7-9:--

O, snatch'd for ever, ever from our view,
Thou best, thou greatest of thy kind, adieu!
Thou, in whose ample, comprehensive mind,
All the ten thousand streams of science join'd;--
All the fair train of social virtues smil'd,
And bright religion beam'd divinely mild.
Ah, love shall listen with delight no more,
While from thy lips Truth pours her sacred store;--
No more, while studious to instruct and please,
You temper serious sense with graceful ease;--
No more, with zeal for God and virtue fired,
By reason govern'd, and by heaven inspired,
Thy various eloquence our ears shall charm,
Command our passions, and our bosoms warm;
Bid in our breast seraphic raptures roll,
And spread the generous flame from soul to soul;
While sinners start, by conscious terror stung,
And tremble at the thunder of thy tongue.

Once more, adieu! O friend, instructor, guide,
With whom our hopes, our fairest prospects died.
With what fond zeal we press'd the throne divine,
To rescue from the grave a life like thine!
If ardent prayers--if streaming sorrows, shed
In all the bitterness of soul--could plead,
Our prayers, O Doddridge! had revers'd thy doom,
And tens of thousands wept thee from the tomb.
But cease, rash Muse--oh, tremble to repine!
'Tis heaven demands him, and we must resign.
All-perfect Goodness ever wills the best:
Then bow submissive to the high behest,
And silent drop the tributary tear
That nature's forced to pay to friendship dear.
Though heaven forbids us to indulge our grief,
A tear it will allow--the soul's relief.
Yet who would wish him still confin'd below,
Struggling with dire disease, or loads of woe?

Then dry the tear, suppress the rising sigh,
Weep not for him who could rejoice to die.
E'en when the quiv'ring pulse, the panting breath,
And clay-cold sweat, presag'd th' approach of death,
His steady soul, by conscious virtue arm'd,
No inward stings or gathering clouds alarm'd.
Calm as the silent surface of the sea,
When ev'n the gentle breeze has ceased to play,
Fair hope, strong faith, his sinking soul sustain'd,
In smiling peace each rising care seren'd;
Heav'n on the saint shed down her cheering ray,
And open'd on his mind her dawning day.
Then his warm breast with bliss ecstatic glow'd,
Fir'd with th' approaching vision of his God.
Impatient of his soul-confining chains,
Eager he welcom'd the dissolving pains;
Already seem'd on seraphs' wings to rise,
Already spurn'd his dust, and tower'd into the skies.

Methought I saw him mount the starry way,
His temples beaming with celestial day.
Rapt in a flamy car, sublime he flew--
The flamy car fire-breathing coursers drew;
Swift as the lightning glimpse he flash'd along;
While, waiting for his flight, a white-rob'd throng
(Once wretched souls, enslaved by Satan's yoke,
Whose painful bonds his arduous labours broke),
Grateful and happy, smile to see him rise,
And hail him welcome to th' applauding skies;
Ten thousand harps, harmonious as the spheres,
Proclaim their joy, and charm his ravish'd ears.

In proceeding with the Memorials of this Church, now bereft of its beloved and honoured Doddridge, we find that the Rev. Robert Gilbert was called to be the pastor, and entered upon the pastoral charge at Lady-day, 1753. This worthy man died December 28th, 1760. We are unable to ascertain what was the condition of the Church during the ministry of Mr. Gilbert; but have some reason to conclude that it was not in a united or prosperous state. Considerable difficulty might be expected to attend the choice of a successor to such a pastor as the one that had immediately preceded; and this more fully appeared after Mr. Gilbert's short course of labour had closed.

Mr. Hextal was the next pastor of the Church. He was a native of Broughton, near Kettering; became a member of the Church at Kettering under Mr. Saunders; for which, see the Memorials of the Church at Kettering. He was a student at Northampton under Dr. Doddridge; first settled at Creaton, then at Sudbury, from which place he came to Northampton. We have no record of the time when he entered on his ministry at Castle Hill, and no account of anything that transpired during his ministry; but under the date of April 16, 1775, we have this record: "It was this day agreed, by a majority of eighteen brethren of this Church, to dismiss the Rev. Mr. Hextal from his office as pastor, minister, and teacher." This appears to have led to very painful altercations between the friends of Mr. Hextal and those that were opposed to him, which ultimately led to a separation from the Church and congregation. Those who were attached to Mr. Hextal endeavoured to regain the pulpit for him by a process of law, pleading the right of the subscribers to a vote for the pastor; but this was overruled, as contrary to the deed which gives "the power to the Church (upon giving six days' notice by the deacons) to elect, place, and displace a minister as they think proper." The result was, that Mr. Hextal's friends withdrew, and built the Chapel in King Street, where Mr. Hextal ministered till the close of his life. The names of thirty members are given, as having been first admonished for withdrawing themselves from the Church, and, refusing to return, were declared as no longer standing in this relation to them. The name of Mary Doddridge occurs amongst those who had withdrawn. In 'Orton's Letters to Dissenting Ministers,' we have the following passage, in a letter dated December 26, 1762: "My last letters from Northampton encourage me to hope that Mr. Hextal will be comfortable and useful there." To this, Mr. Palmer, the editor, appends the following note:--

An amiable and respectable minister, who removed from Sudbury on
account of dissensions occasioned by a party spirit in electing
members of Parliament, and succeeded Mr. Gilbert in the congregation
of which Dr. Doddridge had been pastor, where he soon met with
equally cruel usage, and was obliged to withdraw to a new Chapel
which his friends erected for him, where he ended his days in peace.
His great candour and benevolence gave occasion to morose-minded
people, who disliked some that espoused his cause, to charge him
with a want of orthodoxy; whereas, in point of sentiment, he was in
fact higher than the generality of acknowledged Calvinists. Such is
the blindness of bigotry.

These unhappy circumstances greatly diminished the numbers in the Church. Under date of April 24th, 1777, we find the names of only 64 members, showing a great decrease since the death of Doddridge.

Rev. John Horsey was unanimously invited to the pastoral office February 2nd, 1777, and testified his acceptance of it on the 2nd of March. He was dismissed from the Church at Ringwood, to be received as a member of the Church at Northampton, and then ordained as the minister. The following is the account Mr. Horsey gives of the ordination service:--

Having accepted the pressing solicitations of my friends, I was
solemnly separated to the pastoral office over the Church of Christ
assembling on Castle Hill, Northampton, on May 14th, 1777. Mr.
Scott, of Hinkley, began with prayer, and reading the 100th Psalm
and 3rd Chapter 1st Epistle to Timothy. Mr. Towle, of London,
delivered an introductory discourse, received the Church's account
of the steps they had previously taken, read by Mr. John Wood,
together with a renewal of their call; I testified likewise my
acceptance of it, and delivered my confession of faith. Mr.
Saunders, of Bedworth, set me apart by prayer and imposition of
hands; Mr. King, of Welford, gave the charge, founded on 1st Cor.
iv. 2; Mr. Rowley, of Warwick, prayed; Dr. Mayo, of London, preached
on 2nd Cor. iv. 5; and Mr. Bull, of Newport, concluded in prayer.
Our assisting friends officiated respectively with an amiable order
and propriety, the Divine Spirit was eminently with us, and his
blessing, we hope, will attend the important transactions of the
day.

_June 1st._--I administered the Lord's Supper for the first time; it
was a very comfortable season. May God grant us his presence in our
future engagements of a similar nature!

Mr. Horsey's ministry over this people extended to the lengthened period of fifty years, during which time 170 members were added to the Church. He died on May 12th, 1827. Mr. Horsey was a man of very gentlemanly appearance and manners, great ease, affability, and much kindness; his style as a preacher pleasing, and rather attractive, not distinguished by much energy; but we have heard that in the first years of his ministry at Northampton it was popular, and drew together a rather crowded congregation.

Much has been said and written respecting Mr. Horsey's deficiency in orthodox views, or in distinct statements on some of the great points of evangelical truth. He had the charge of the academy for a time after its removal from Daventry, at the resignation of Mr. Belsham. Suspicions arising as to his sentiments on the person and work of Christ, he resigned his office as tutor, and the academy was for a time broken up; nor was the Church or congregation after this in a flourishing state under the ministry of Mr. Horsey. The attendance declined; the number of members diminished. This may be the case under certain circumstances where there is no deficiency in truth, or piety, or ability, on the part of the ministry, and hence may present no certain criterion of the one or the other; and there were a number, we believe, of truly pious devout persons of evangelical sentiments, who continued under the ministry of Mr. Horsey, esteemed his character, and prized his preaching. Yet it must be allowed, we apprehend, that there was a certain vagueness in his statements respecting the person and work of the Redeemer, which showed either that the mind of the preacher was not earnestly intent on discovering and grasping the truth, under a powerful impression of the value of the truth, or that it had formed opinions to which it was unwilling to give a clear and distinct utterance; but Mr. Horsey manifested the spirit of devotion, and a humble reliance on Christ as the Saviour of sinners, and would be found "looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life."

When Mr. Horsey's infirmities increased so as to render him incapable of fulfilling all the duties of his office, Mr. Charles Hyatt was invited to become co-pastor; but Mr. Horsey being removed by death before this connexion had been completed, Mr. Hyatt was then invited to take the pastoral charge, which he accepted, and was ordained September 25th, 1827. We present Mr. Hyatt's account of the engagements of the day:--

After solemn deliberation and prayer to God for direction, I
accepted the invitation of my kind friends at Castle Hill to become
their pastor, and conveyed that resolution in a letter to the
Church, 1827. On Wednesday, September 26th, I was solemnly
recognized as the pastor of the Church. Mr. Edwards, of King's Head
Lane (now King Street) Meeting, commenced the services of the day by
reading and prayer; Mr. Robertson, of Wellingborough, delivered the
introductory discourse; Mr. Toller, of Kettering, asked the usual
questions; Mr. Hyatt, senior, offered up the ordination prayer; Mr.
Morrell, of Wymondley, delivered the charge, founded on Rev. ii. 10;
Mr. Fletcher, of Stepney, preached to the people, from 1st Cor. xvi.
14; Mr. Gray, of College Lane, concluded with prayer. It was a most
delightful and interesting service. Nearly 50 ministers were
present, and the impressions then made will, it is hoped, never wear
away.

After this settlement, some of the friends of the late Mr. Horsey separated from the Church and congregation, and commenced the Unitarian interest in the town. On this subject we present the following statement--

Friday, November 22nd, 1827, we held our first Church-meeting, when
the following letter was read to the Church:--

"_To the Church of Christ assembling under the pastoral care of the
Rev. Charles Hyatt._

"We, the undersigned members of the Church of Christ assembling in
Castle Hill Meeting, having, in obedience to the dictates of our
consciences, united in the formation of a society of Christians,
whose worship is directed solely to the one God the Father,
agreeably to the express injunctions of our Saviour, deem it proper
to withdraw, and hereby beg leave to announce our withdrawment, from
the worship and communion of the Church to which we have hitherto
belonged, on account of the discordance existing between the mode of
worship as there practised and that which we believe to have been
enjoined and observed by Christ and his apostles."--(Signed by nine
members.)

The individuals who signed this letter, in connexion with some of the subscribers, formed themselves into a society professing Unitarian sentiments.

The list of the members at Castle Hill after this contains but fifty names.

Mr. Hyatt's ministry in Northampton continued six years and three months, when he removed to be co-pastor with his father in London. He preached his farewell sermon March 21st, 1833. Something more than eighty members appear to have been admitted during this period.

Mr. Hyatt was the son of the Rev. Charles Hyatt, of Shadwell, London. He was born in the year 1805. Trained in the fear of God, he resolved, on leaving school, to devote himself to studies preparatory to the Christian ministry. Although but fifteen years of age when he formed this resolution, yet he was eligible for admission into Wymondley College, under the auspices of the trustees of Mr. Coward, and accordingly he entered there in 1820, under the patronage of Dr. Collyer. He honourably occupied six years in his studies, and then became the pastor of the Church at Northampton.

He was strongly urged by his father to resign his charge at Northampton, to undertake the co-pastorate with him in the Church at Ebenezer Chapel, Shadwell--the people having invited him to this office. His acquiescence in this request proved a great source of comfort to his venerable father, with whom he indeed laboured "as a son with the father" in the Gospel. He took an active part in the labours of the British and Foreign Sailors' Society, and, in 1844, was chosen to be its secretary. The growing infirmities of his honoured father threw the whole weight of pastoral duties upon him; and his frame, always delicate and prone to disease, began to yield to the pressure of labour, which was too much for his strength. On the 16th of June, 1846, his venerated father died; and in nine short months after this, the happy spirit of the son was gathered to his fathers. This change came upon him somewhat by surprise. It is a well known symptom in pulmonary disorders, to look for restoration to health and activity even to the last; and when, therefore, he learned from his physician that there was no hope of his ultimate recovery, it was to him an unexpected announcement. But it caused him neither depression nor alarm. He was prepared for the event; and in the last days of his sickness he was favoured with a continued rapture of love, hope, and joy, which was never interrupted but by the paroxysms of pain which terminated his amiable and holy life. He died in the 42nd year of his age.

Rev. John Bennett succeeded Mr. Hyatt in the pastoral charge at Castle Hill in June, 1833, and is the present minister of this Church. The number of communicants at the present time is 160. There are 300 children in the Sabbath-schools.

Since the commencement of Mr. Bennett's pastorate, four young men have gone out from this Church into the regular ministry. Three members of the Church are almost constantly engaged in village-preaching; but there are no stations connected with the Chapel.

The present Meeting House was built in the year 1695. It is just according to the general fashion of Dissenting places of worship of that era, in respectable towns--a plain building, entirely destitute of architectural ornaments, three galleries, and large pillars to support the roof. Commodious school-rooms were built for the Sabbath-school in the year 1825, at a cost probably of L500. About fourteen years ago the lower part of the Chapel was entirely repaired; lobbies made for the gallery stairs, stone steps to the galleries, new aisles, and cost about L400. It has just undergone considerable alterations--pillars removed, new roof, and new galleries, at a cost of L500. It was re-opened for worship on Wednesday, the 6th of October. We have been favoured with the following account of the services by the pastor:--

On the Wednesday morning the Rev. J. Sherman, of Surrey Chapel,
preached an admirable sermon, to a very large and deeply interested
audience, the Rev. T. Thomas, of Wellingborough, having commenced
the service with reading and prayer. In the evening the service was
opened by the Rev. W. Todman, of Yardley, Hastings, who read the
Scriptures and prayed. The Rev. Dr. Archer, of London, then
delivered a most eloquent discourse, which was listened to with the
deepest interest by an audience which filled the Chapel to
overflowing. The friends dined together, and took tea at the Milton
Hall. On the following Sabbath the Rev. H. Toller, of Market
Harborough, preached morning and evening, with his customary power
and acceptance, to overflowing congregations. The various
collections amounted to more than L85. The cordial and fraternal
spirit manifested by the other Dissenting Churches in the town was
such as to afford the deepest gratification to the friends of the
Redeemer at Castle Hill. Altogether, the occasion will long be
remembered with pleasure and thankfulness by this ancient Christian
society.

In the vestry are Doddridge's table, chair, and looking-glass.

The present state of the Church at Castle Hill is such as, we have no doubt, excites grateful emotions to the God of all grace from the pastor and his flock; and in the words of their beloved Doddridge they would say,--

"Th' eternal Shepherd still survives,
New comfort to impart;
His eye still guides us, and his voice
Still animates our heart."