Victorian Celebrity: John Nelson Darby, Father of Modern Dispensationalism and Futurism

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Regina Jeffers

JohnNelsonDarby John Nelson Darby (18 November 1800 – 29 April 1882) was an Anglo-Irish evangelist, and an influential figure among the original Plymouth Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism in the English vernacular. He produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby.

Biography
Early Years
John Nelson Darby was born in Westminster, London, and christened at St. Margaret’s on 3 March 1801. He came from an Anglo-Irish landowning family seated at Leap Castle, King’s County, Ireland. He was the nephew of Admiral Henry D’Esterre Darby, and his middle name was given in recognition of his godfather and family friend, Lord Nelson.

Darby was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated Classical Gold Medallist in 1819. Darby embraced Christianity during his studies, although there is no evidence that he formally studied theology. He joined an inn of court, but felt that being a lawyer was inconsistent with his religious belief. He therefore chose ordination as an Anglican clergyman in Ireland, “lest he should sell his talents to defeat justice.”

In 1825, Darby was ordained deacon of the established Church of Ireland and the following year as priest.

Middle Years
Darby became a curate in the Church of Ireland parish of Delgany, County Wicklow, and distinguished himself by convincing Roman Catholic peasants in the Calary area to abandon the Catholic Church. The well-known gospel tract “How the Lost Sheep was Saved” gives his personal account of a visit he paid to a dying shepherd boy in this area, painting a vivid picture of what his work among the poor people involved.

He later claimed to have won hundreds of converts to the Church of Ireland. However, the conversions ended when William Magee, the Archbishop of Dublin, ruled that converts were obliged to swear allegiance to George IV as rightful king of Ireland.

Darby resigned his curacy in protest. Soon after, in October 1827, he fell from a horse and was seriously injured. He later stated that it was during this time that he began to believe that the “kingdom” described in the Book of Isaiah and elsewhere in the Old Testament was entirely different from the Christian church.

Over the next five years, he developed the principles of his mature theology—most notably his conviction that the very notion of a clergyman was a sin against the Holy Spirit, because it limited the recognition that the Holy Spirit could speak through any member of the Church. During this time he joined an interdenominational meeting of believers (including Anthony Norris Groves, Edward Cronin, J. G. Bellett, and Francis Hutchinson), who met to “break bread” together in Dublin as a symbol of their unity in Christ.

By 1832, this group had grown and began to identify themselves as a distinct Christian assembly. As they traveled and began new assemblies in Ireland and England, they formed the movement now known as the Plymouth Brethren.

It is believed that John Nelson Darby left the Church of Ireland around 1831. He participated in the 1831–33 Powerscourt Conference, an annual meeting of Bible students organized by his friend, the wealthy widow Lady Powerscourt (Theodosia Wingfield Powerscourt).

At the conference Darby publicly described his ecclesiological and eschatological views, including the pretribulation rapture. For about 40 years William Kelly (1821–1906) was his chief interpreter and continued to be a staunch supporter until his own death. Kelly in his work “John Nelson Darby as I knew him” stated that “a saint more true to Christ’s name and word I never knew or heard of.”

Darby saw the invention of the telegraph as a sign that the end of the world was approaching; he called the telegraph an invention of Cain and a harbinger of Armageddon.

Darby defended Calvinist doctrines when they came under attack from within the Church in which he once served. His biographer Goddard states, “Darby indicates his approval of the doctrine of the Anglican Church as expressed in Article XVII of the Thirty-Nine Articles” on the subject of election and predestination.

Darby said, “For my own part, I soberly think Article XVII to be as wise, perhaps I might say the wisest and best condensed human statement of the view it contains that I am acquainted with. I am fully content to take it in its literal and grammatical sense. I believe that predestination to life is the eternal purpose of God, by which, before the foundations of the world were laid, He firmly decreed, by His counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and destruction those whom He had chosen in Christ out of the human race, and to bring them, through Christ, as vessels made to honour, to eternal salvation.”

Later Years
Darby traveled widely in Europe and Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, and established many Brethren assemblies. He gave 11 significant lectures in Geneva in 1840 on the hope of the church (L’attente actuelle de l’église). These established his reputation as a leading interpreter of biblical prophecy. The beliefs he disseminated then are still being propagated (in various forms) at such places as Dallas Theological Seminary and by authors and preachers such as Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye.

In 1848, Darby became involved in a complex dispute over the proper method for maintaining shared standards of discipline in different assembles that resulted in a split between Open Brethren, which maintained a congregational form of government and Exclusive Brethren.

After that time, he was recognized as the dominant figure among the Exclusives, who also came to be known as “Darbyite” Brethren. He made at least 5 missionary journeys to North America between 1862 and 1877. He worked mostly in New England, Ontario, and the Great Lakes region, but took one extended journey from Toronto to Sydney by way of San Francisco, Hawaii, and New Zealand.

A Geographical Index of his letters is currently available and lists where he traveled. He used his classical skills to translate the Bible from Hebrew and Greek texts into several languages. In English he wrote a Synopsis of the Bible and many other scholarly religious articles. He wrote hymns and poems, the most famous being, “Man of Sorrows.” He was also a Bible Commentator. He declined however to contribute to the compilation of the Revised Version of the King James Bible. He died 1882 in Sundridge House, Bournemouth and is buried in Bournemouth, Dorset, England.

Later influence
If one accepted Darby’s view of the secret rapture… Benjamin Wills Newton pointed out, then many Gospel passages must be “renounced as not properly ours.”…this is precisely what Darby was prepared to do.

Too traditional to admit that biblical authors might have contradicted each other, and too rationalist to admit that the prophetic maze defied penetration, Darby attempted a resolution of his exegetical dilemma by distinguishing between Scripture intended for the Church and Scripture intended for Israel…

The task of the expositor of the Bible was, in a phrase that became the hallmark of dispensationalism, “rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Darby is noted in the theological world as the father of “dispensationalism”, later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield’s Scofield Reference Bible.

Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby’s teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. Mackintosh popularised Darby, although not his hyperdispensational approach, more than any other Brethren author.

In the early twentieth century, the Brethren’s teachings, through Margaret E. Barber, influenced the Little Flock of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Darby is sometimes credited with originating the “secret rapture” theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Some claim that this book was the origin of the idea of the “rapture.”

Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because “God is able to graft them in again,” and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the ways of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham.

Criticism
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle and contemporary of Darby published criticism of Darby and Brethrenism. His main criticism was that Darby and the Plymouth Brethren rejected the vicarious purpose of Christ’s obedience as well as imputed righteousness. He viewed these of such importance and so central to the gospel that it led him to this statement about the rest of their belief.

James Grant wrote: “With the deadly heresies entertained and taught by the Plymouth Brethren, in relation to some of the most momentous of all the doctrines of the gospel, and to which I have adverted at some length, I feel assured that my readers will not be surprised at any other views, however unscriptual and pernicious they may be, which the Darbyites have embraced and zealously seek to propagate.”

Works
**The Holy Bible a new translation by J.N. Darby, a parallel edition, Bible Truth Publishers: Addison, Illinois.
**The Writings of J. N. Darby courtesy of Stem Publishing
**The Holy Scriptures (A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby) courtesy of Stem Publishing
**A Letter on Free Will by J.N. Darby, Elberfeld, 23 October 1861
**The Collected Writings Of J. N. Darby, Ecclesiastical No. 1, Volume 1: The Character Of Office In The Present Dispensation

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Happenings During the Reign of William IV: Kitty Wilkinson, The Saint of the Slums

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Regina Jeffers

220px-Kitty_Wilkinson Kitty Wilkinson (Catherine Wilkinson) (1786–1860) was an Irish migrant, “wife of a labourer,” who became known as the Saint of the Slums. In 1832, during a cholera epidemic, she had the only boiler in her neighbourhood, so she invited those with infected clothes or linens to use it, thus saving many lives. This was the first public washhouse in Liverpool. Ten years later with public funds her efforts resulted in the opening of a combined washhouse and public baths, the first in the United Kingdom.

Personal Life
Wilkinson was born Catherine Seaward in County Londonderry, Ireland, and at the age of nine was coming to Liverpool with her parents; unfortunately, their ship ran aground in the Mersey and her father and younger sister drowned. At twelve years of age she went to work at a cotton mill in Caton, Lancashire, where she was an indentured apprentice.

At age 20 she left the mill and returned to live with her mother in Liverpool, where they both were in domestic service. Shortly thereafter she married a sailor, Emanuel Demontee. Demontee permitted Kitty’s mother to live with them. After two children in quick succession, her husband drowned at sea. Therefore, she returned to domestic service. But shortly thereafter, upon being gifted with a mangle, she set herself up as a laundress. In 1823, she married Tom Wilkinson, a warehouse porter, and they continued to live at the Denison Street house that she rented.

Crusade
In 1832, cholera broke out in Liverpool. Wilkinson took the initiative to offer the use of her boiler, house and yard to neighbours to wash their clothes, at a charge of 1 penny per week, and she showed them how to use a chloride of lime to get them clean. Boiling killed the cholera bacteria. Once these activities came to their attention, Wilkinson was supported by the District Provident Society and William Rathbone.

Convinced of the importance of cleanliness in combating disease, she pushed for the establishment of public baths where the poor could bathe. In 1842 the combined public baths and washhouse was opened on Upper Fredrick Street in Liverpool, and in 1846 Wilkinson was appointed superintendent of the public baths.

In 1846 the Mayoress presented Wilkinson with a silver teapot from Queen Victoria en-scribed “The Queen, the Queen Dowager, and the Ladies of Liverpool to Catherine Wilkinson, 1846.” Wilkinson died in Liverpool and was buried in the St. James Cemetery with the inscription:

CATHERINE WILKINSON. Died 11 November 1860, aged 73. Indefatigable and self-denying She was the Widow’s friend. The support of the Orphan. The fearless and unwearied nurse of the sick. The originator of Baths and Wash-houses for the poor. ‘For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.’ St. Mark, 12th Chapter, 44th Verse.

Biographies
In 1910 “The Life of Kitty Wilkinson” was published by Winifred Rathbone, which provided a more accurate story of her life than previously available in “Catherine of Liverpool” in Chambers’ Miscellany, Vol III.

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Happenings During the Reign of William IV: Asiatic Cholera Pandemic

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Regina Jeffers

12 February – Second cholera pandemic begins to spread in London, starting from East London. It is declared officially over in early May but deaths continue. It will claim at least 3000 victims. In Liverpool, Kitty Wilkinson becomes the “Saint of the Slums” by promoting hygiene.

Hand bill from the New York City Board of Health, 1832. The outdated public health advice demonstrates the lack of understanding of the disease and its causes.

Hand bill from the New York City Board of Health, 1832. The outdated public health advice demonstrates the lack of understanding of the disease and its causes.

The second cholera pandemic (1829-1849), also known as the Asiatic Cholera Pandemic, was a cholera pandemic that reached from India to Europe, Great Britain and the Americas.

History
This pandemic began, like the first, with outbreaks along the Ganges River delta in India. From there the disease spread along trade routes to cover most of India. By 1828 the disease had traveled to China and reached the southern tips of the Ural Mountains in 1829. It reached England in December 1831: appearing in Sunderland, Gateshead and Newcastle. In London, the disease claimed 6,536 victims; in Paris, 20,000 died (out of a population of 650,000), with about 100,000 deaths in all of France. In 1832 the epidemic reached Russia, Quebec, Ontario, Detroit and New York. It reached the Pacific coast of North America between 1832 and 1834.

Legacy
Norwegian Poet Henrik Wergeland wrote a stage-play inspired by the pandemic, which had reached Norway. In The Indian Cholera, he criticized British colonialism for spreading the pandemic.

As a result of the epidemic, the medical community developed a major advance, the intravenous saline drip. It was developed from the work of Dr Thomas Latta of Leith, near Edinburgh. Latta established from blood studies that a saline drip greatly improved the condition of patients and saved many lives by preventing dehydration. But, he was one of the many medical personnel who died in the epidemic.

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Victorian Celebrity: Benjamin Wills Newton, the John Calvin of the 19th Century

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Regina Jeffers

170px-Newton Benjamin Wills Newton, (12 December 1807 – 26 June 1899) was an evangelist and author of Christian books. He was influential in the Plymouth Brethren. Although initially a close friend of John Nelson Darby, they began to clash on matters of church doctrine and practice, which ultimately led to the 1848 split of the brethren movement into the Open Brethren and Exclusive Brethren.

Early Days
Newton was born in Davenport near Plymouth, Devon, in a Quaker family. His father died shortly before Benjamin was born. Newton had no siblings. He studied at Exeter College, Oxford, where he obtained a 1st Class Classics degree in 1828 and became a fellow of the college.

Establishment of a Brethren Assembly at Plymouth
At Oxford, he abandoned Quaker beliefs and joined the Anglican Church. He was friends of Francis William Newman and George Wigram. Through Newman, he first met John Nelson Darby. Newton and his friends in Oxford became increasingly critical of the Anglican Church, especially in regard to its subjection to the sovereign state and the appointment of ordained clergy.

In December 1831, Wigram left the Anglican church and bought a nonconformist place of worship, Providence Chapel in Raleigh Street, Plymouth, Devon. Meetings were open to Christians from all denominations for fellowship, prayer, praise and communion.

In January 1832, Newton and Darby, although at the time, both Anglican clerics, shared communion with Wigram at such a meeting. By March 1832, Newton had left the Anglican Church, committed himself to the new fellowship and married a local girl, Hannah Abbott. The “Providence People” as they were known locally, grew quickly, became known as “The Brethren from Plymouth” and then were referred to as the Plymouth Brethren.

Around 1832 Darby also left a denominational/sectarian system, the Church of Ireland.

The predominant features of the Plymouth assembly in 1832 included:
**Rejection of clergy and adoption of the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers
**Plurality of Elders – The elders were unpaid. Newton soon became an elder, and earned his living as a school teacher
**Weekly communion
**Separation from evil systems – e.g. not being in the armed forces or a member of any apostate denominational church

The Plymouth assembly was similar to an assembly in Dublin, Ireland, which was established in 1827 by Anthony Norris Groves, Darby and other Christians who sought a return of Christendom to New Testament principles. Like the Dublin assembly, which originally was anti sectarian in that it was open to all Christian believers, the Plymouth assembly in 1832 began defining qualifications for membership and an insistence that fellowship could only occur after severing any other fellowship with a denominational church. The shifting to a sectarian position was detected by Anthony Norris Groves, as shown in his letter to Darby in 1835.

Relations with John Nelson Darby
John Nelson Darby was the dominant force in the early Brethren movement. Newton saw him as his mentor, whilst Darby saw Newton as a prized disciple. It was Newton who had first invited Darby to the Plymouth Assembly in 1831 in order that the Plymouth assembly could be modelled on the assembly in Dublin. Darby, eager to evangelise and teach throughout Europe, appointed Newton as the primary elder in Plymouth. Although they were in agreement over many issues, such as the rejection of the pentecostal teachings of Edward Irving, by 1834, cracks began to develop in their relationship.

In 1834, a dispute arose over their friend, Francis Newman, who had started to hold heretical beliefs in regards to the divinity of Christ. Darby excommunicated Newman, but Newton allowed Newman to keep fellowship with the Plymouth assembly in the hope that Newman would be restored. In 1835, demonstrating his increasing independence of Darby, Newton stepped down as presiding elder, believing that elders should not be elected by the authority of man, as had been the case at Plymouth. Although no longer the presiding elder, his influence and leadership of the assembly continued to grow.

A bigger dispute also began to arise in the 1830s over their differing views of future events predicted in the Bible. Although both were premillennialists, Newton believed the church would go through the tribulation, whilst Darby, who previously also believed in a post tribulation rapture, began to shift positions and became increasingly convinced in a pretribulation rapture. Newton also had a different view on dispensationalism and believed the present dispensation consisted of three concurrent parts. Firstly the dispensation from Noah to the 2nd coming of the Lord (Genesis 9 v1-6), secondly the Gentile dispensation commencing with Nebuchadnezzar and also terminating with the 2nd coming of the Lord, and thirdly the New Covenant dispensation. Newton was particularly critical of Darby’s belief that future events in chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew relate primarily to the Jews after the church had been secretly raptured and said that “the Secret Rapture was bad enough, but this [John Darby’s equally novel idea that the book of Matthew is on ‘Jewish’ ground instead of ‘Church’ ground] was worse.”

Newton interpreted 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 2 Thessalonians 2 v1-4 as proof of a post tribulation, non-secret rapture. He viewed Darby’s dispensational and pre-tribulation rapture teaching as “the height of speculative nonsense.” Unlike Darby, he also believed that the church is made up of both Jews, including Old Testament saints, and Gentiles who have been made one in Christ and that Darby’s scheme, followed logically, implied two distinct and separate ways to salvation.

Between 1835 and 1845, Darby spent much of his time in Continental Europe during which time the assembly in Plymouth had grown to over 1000 people with the condition of the assembly being likened to “heaven on earth.”

In 1840, a larger chapel in Ebrington Street, Plymouth, was built and used for the main worship services, while Providence Chapel was retained for smaller meetings such as evangelistic services.

In 1843, Darby briefly visited Plymouth, and tensions with Newton grew. Darby was dismayed by the state of the assembly which, in his absence, he perceived as having shifted away from the priesthood of all believers towards the establishment of official clergy. The doctrinal dispute over future events also was intensified by the publication of Newton’s book Thoughts on the Apocalypse in 1842 which, in the following year, received a hostile 490-page review by Darby.

In March 1845, Darby fled Switzerland, due to a threat of revolution in Geneva, and travelled directly to Plymouth to “battle for the soul of Brethrenism.” A war of words, escalating into a pamphlet war ensued. The battle was over eschatology, the priesthood of all believers together with the role of assembly leaders. Darby had by this time developed strong views against the formal recognition of elders.

Also at dispute was whether, as Newton believed, each assembly was independent and autonomous or, as Darby believed, were connected and integral parts of a universal body. Both Darby and Newton had strong, intransigent personalities, which exacerbated the situation. The dispute became personal with Darby exiting from fellowship with the Plymouth assembly and publicly accusing Newton of deception and dishonesty. The charges against Newton were investigated by the elders at Ebrington Street and were dismissed.

Although most of the Plymouth assembly, at this stage, supported Newton, Darby did have some support in the dispute, particularly from Wigram, by then living in London, who had earlier financed the purchase of both the Raleigh Street and Ebrington Street premises.

In December 1845, Wigram wrote to the Plymouth elders formally withdrawing his fellowship from Ebrington Street and revoking his loan of the Raleigh Street chapel. The use of Raleigh Street was given to Darby and his supporters, resulting in two local brethren assemblies at odds with each other. Both parties continued with the dispute and were eager to explain their position to other brethren assemblies, which were springing up throughout the country. In 1846 whilst Newton was travelling around London holding private meetings to partly answer charges levelled against him by Darby, a brethren assembly in Rawthorne Street, London, where Wigram was leader, requested Newton to attend a meeting so that the charges against him could again be looked into. Newton, backed by the Ebrington Street meeting, declined their persistent requests to attend, and was subsequently excommunicated by Rawthorne Street.

In 1847, the Darby party discovered that Newton, firstly in an article printed in 1835, had taught heretical doctrine in regards to the Person of Christ. The article was produced as a rebuttal to Edward Irving’s heretical teachings regarding the Person of Christ, which had gained popularity.

Newton believed that Christ, although perfect, experienced sufferings before the day of Crucifixion, not for the sake of others, but due to his association, through his mother, with Adam and his descendents and more specifically with the apostate nation of Israel. Therefore, according to Newton, Christ suffered hunger and pain and had a mortal body. Darby and his supporters seized the opportunity to condemn Newton as a heretic. Although Newton apologised and retracted his “Adamic error,” and withdrew for consideration his views on the sufferings of Christ, some of the elders at Ebrington Street began to lose confidence in him.

Darby was not satisfied at this, allegedly due to the lack of repentance shown by Newton or as Henry Groves, the son of Anthony Norris Groves, another eminent Brethren leader said, Darby was “bent on ruling” and wanted rid of his rival. Darby’s persistence in the matter and Newton’s refusal to retaliate, but rather to “turn the other cheek,” resulted in Darby successfully winning over the elders who had supported Newton, leaving Newton isolated. On December 7, 1847, Newton permanently left the brethren movement and moved to London where he established an independent meeting.

The feud ultimately led to the division of the Plymouth Brethren in 1848 when George Muller, the co-leader of Bethesda chapel, a brethren assembly in Bristol, allowed visitors from Ebrington Street into fellowship in Bristol and was slow to comply to Darby’s ultimatum for all assemblies to condemn Newton’s heresy. Darby, in response, excommunicated all those in fellowship at Bethesda. The assemblies, which supported Darby’s action, became known as the Exclusive Brethren and those which rallied behind George Muller and Bethesda chapel, and subsequently also excommunicated, were named Open Brethren.Ironically, in 1858, Darby also was accused of holding a similar heresy to that of Newton’s in regards to the sufferings of Christ.

Post Brethren Years
Newton married Maria Hawkins in 1849, his first wife having died in 1846. His only child died at the age of 5 in 1855.
Throughout the next 50 years, he remained active as a Christian teacher and writer. After leaving the Plymouth Brethren, he set up an independent chapel in Bayswater, London. He later lived in Orpingon, Kent, followed by Newport, Isle of Wight. For the last 3 years of his life he lived in Tunbridge Wells.

Although labelled as an evil-doer and a false teacher by the Darbyites, other people view Newton as the John Calvin of the 19th century and believe the Brethren movement may have done better if it had followed his teaching rather than Darby’s dispensationalism, and Darby’s belief in the any moment pre-tribulation secret return of the Lord for the secret rapture of the saints to heaven, and for the Lord to return publicly with the church 7 years later for the commencement of a 1000 year reign.

His friends and supporters during years of relentless vilification by the Darbyites included Samuel Prideaux Tregelles, George Muller and Charles Spurgeon.

Historian Roy Coad notes, “He lived until 1899, retreating into a little circle of two or three churches of his own, and leaving a devoted following, mainly among Strict Baptists.”
As a writer he produced more than 200 published works. His great gift was exposition of the Scriptures and, particularly, unfulfilled prophecy.

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Victorian Celebrity: George Wigram, Founder of the Plymouth Brethren

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Regina Jeffers

George Vicesimus Wigram (29 March 1805 – 1 February 1879) was an English biblical scholar and theologian.

Early Life
He was the 20th child (hence his middle name) of Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet, a famous and wealthy merchant, and the 14th child of Lady Eleanor Wigram, Robert’s 2nd wife (an aunt to Charles Stewart Parnell). His family were all capable and several of his siblings became illustrious in their own chosen fields: Sir James Wigram became a judge and Vice-Chancellor; Joseph Cotton Wigram became Bishop of Rochester, Loftus Wigram was a barrister and politician, and Octavius Wigram was prominent as an insurance underwriter in the City of London.

As a young man George Wigram obtained a commission in the army. One of his postings was to Brussels. He spent an evening exploring the Waterloo battlefield, and it was here he had a religious experience that changed his life. He wrote of it thusly, “Suddenly there came on my soul a something I had never known before. It was as if some One, Infinite and Almighty, knowing everything, full of the deepest, tenderest interest in myself, though utterly and entirely abhorring everything in, and connected with me, made known to me that He pitied and loved myself.” This led to his resigning his commission in the army, and in 1826, he entered Queens College, Oxford, with the intention of becoming an Anglican clergyman.

Christian Career
At Oxford he met John Nelson Darby and Benjamin Wills Newton. Dissatisfied with the established church, Wigram and his friends left the Anglican church and helped establish non-denominational assemblies, which became known as the Plymouth Brethren. He had considered joining Anthony Norris Groves and his mission to Baghdad in June 1829, but changed his mind just prior to the faith mission set off.

After leaving Oxford University, Wigram, using his family wealth, in 1831 bought church premises in Plymouth, and there established a Brethren assembly. During the 1830s Wigram also financed the establishment of assemblies in London.

Wigram had a keen interest in the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible, which was of great interest to the emerging Brethren assemblies. In 1839, after years of work and financial investment, he published The Englishman’s Greek and English Concordance to the New Testament, followed in 1843 by The Englishman’s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance to the Old Testament. He also edited the influential Brethren periodical Present Testimony and Original Christian Witness for many years (from 1849 to his death with posthumous issues running to 1881). This periodical superseded the Brethren’s first magazine, The Christian Witness.

Besides his literary work his oral ministry was considered to
be marked by an attractive freshness: a contemporary remarked that his “very face became radiant as he spoke.” Many of his addresses have been preserved and published in the two volumes Memorials of the Ministry of G.V. Wigram and Gleanings from the Teaching of G.V. Wigram. These were collected by the erstwhile Lewisham Road Baptist Church Minister, Edward Dennett.

With Wigram’s help, Darby became the most influential personality within the Brethren movement. Wigram is often referred to as being Darby’s lieutenant, as he firmly supported Darby during moments of crisis. In 1845 he supported Darby in his doctrinal differences with Benjamin Wills Newton in the Brethren assembly at Plymouth. In Darby’s 1848 dispute with George Müller, Wigram again sided with Darby in relation to the reception of believers who had previously been in fellowship with Newton, and on Müller’s reluctance to publicly denounce errors by Newton in regards to the sufferings of Christ (errors which Newton had already retracted). He also helped Darby fend off accusations of heresy, also in regards to the sufferings of Christ, in articles written in 1858 and 1866, which some considered were very similar to Newton’s errors two decades earlier.

Married Life
Wigram married Fanny Bligh in 1830, the daughter of Thomas Bligh, whom Wigram had known as a girl in Ireland; she died in 1834. His second marriage was to Catherine, the only daughter of William Parnell of Avondale. Their London home was 3 Howley Place, Harrow Road, London. In 1867, Wigram visited Canada. His wife Catherine joined him there two months later, but became ill and died a short time later. The family physician was Limerick-born Dr Thomas Mackern. Wigram was 62 years old. Four years later his daughter Fanny Theodosia, child of his first wife, died.

Travels
Wigram travelled in the UK, preaching and teaching in large Brethren assemblies. He visited Switzerland in 1853 and again in Vaud Canton in 1858. In later life, he went abroad to minister to the many overseas assemblies of the Brethren, including Boston and Canada in 1867. Writing in November 1871, from Demerara, British Guiana, he said, “I came out in my old age, none save Himself with me,” Jamaica 1872. This led to further travel, visiting Australia and New Zealand in 1873-75 and again in 1877-78.

Besides travel he maintained a wide correspondence with labourers in emerging Brethren assemblies. Among these were Louis Favez of Mauritius.

Hymnology
Wigram contributed to the hymnology of the Brethren assemblies in a number of ways. He edited the anthology Hymns for the Poor of the Flock (1838). This collection contained hymns by Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, William Cowper, Thomas Kelly and others; and an appendix was added, chiefly to include a number of hymns by Sir Edward Denny that had just been written.

The four earliest of John Nelson Darby’s were also inserted. 18 years later (1856) Wigram compiled A Few Hymns and some Spiritual Songs for the Little Flock to replace the previous collection. This hymnbook was revised by Darby in 1881, William Kelly in 1894, and again by T.H. Reynolds in 1903.

Wigram also wrote a number of hymns, and these include the following
** Well may we sing, with triumph sing
** Oh, what a debt we owe
** The Person of the Christ
** What raised the wondrous thought

Death
Wigram died in 1879 at the age of 74 and was buried with his daughter in Paddington Cemetery by the side of Sir Edward Denny. It has been said that the large concourse of people there sang a hymn in deference to his wish expressed in his lifetime, so that all might understand that he owed all to the sovereign mercy of God. The hymn sung was: “Nothing but mercy’ll do for me, / Nothing but mercy – full and free, / Of sinners chief – what but the blood / Could calm my soul, before my God.”

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England’s 1835 Highway Act Codifies the Laws Relating to Highways

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Regina Jeffers

The Highway Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 50) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Highway Acts 1835 to 1885.

Parish Boards
The Highway Act 1835 placed highways under the direction of parish surveyors and allowed them to pay for the costs involved by rates levied on the occupiers of land. The surveyor’s duty was to keep the highways in repair, and if a highway was out of repair, the surveyor could be summoned before the courts and ordered to complete the repairs within a limited time. The surveyor was also charged with the removal of nuisances on the highway. A highway nuisance could be abated by any person, and could be made the subject of indictment at common law.

The board consisted of representatives of the various parishes, called “way wardens” together with the justices for the county residing within the district. Salaries and similar expenses incurred by the board were charged on a district fund to which the several parishes contributed; but each parish remained separately responsible for the expenses of maintaining its own highways.

The amending acts, while not interfering with the operation of the principal act, authorize the creation of highway districts on a larger scale. The justices of a county could convert it or any portion of it into a highway district to be governed by a highway board, the powers and responsibilities of which would be the same as those of the parish surveyor under the former act.

New Road Offences
The Highway Act 1835 specified as offences for which the driver of a carriage on the public highway might be punished by a fine, in addition to any civil action that might be brought against him:

***Riding upon the cart, or upon any horse drawing it, and not having some other person to guide it, unless there be some person driving it.
***Negligence causing damage to person or goods being conveyed on the highway
***Quitting his cart, or leaving control of the horses, or leaving the cart so as to be an obstruction on the highway.
***Not having the owner’s name painted up.
***Refusing to give the same.
***Driving animals or a ‘carriage of any description’ on the footway.
***Not keeping on the left or near side of the road, when meeting any other carriage or horse. This rule did not apply in the case of a carriage meeting a foot-passenger, but a driver was bound to use due care to avoid driving against any person crossing the highway on foot. At the same time a passenger crossing the highway was also bound to use due care in avoiding vehicles, and the mere fact of a driver being on the wrong side of the road would not be evidence of negligence in such a case.
***The playing of football on public highways, with a maximum penalty of forty shillings.

Section 72
Section 72 provides: “If any person shall wilfully ride upon any footpath or causeway by the side of any road made or set apart for the use or accommodation of foot passengers; or shall wilfully lead or drive any horse, ass, sheep, mule, swine, or cattle or carriage of any description, or any truck or sledge, upon any such footpath or causeway; or shall tether any horse, ass, mule, swine, or cattle, on any highway, so as to suffer or permit the tethered animal to be thereon.”

This clause is referred to by the current Highway Code:
Rule 62: (use of cycle tracks).
Rule 64: “You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.”
Rule 145: “You MUST NOT drive on or over a pavement, footpath or bridleway except to gain lawful access to property, or in the case of an emergency.” (The offence of driving on a bridleway is covered by a later act)
Rule 157: (The Department for Transport cited this section in 2006 when it ruled that Segways could not be legally used on pavements in the United Kingdom.)

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Bristol Riots from 1793 – 2011

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Regina Jeffers

The Bristol riots refer to a number of significant riots in the city of Bristol in England.

Bristol Bridge Riot, 1793
The Bristol Bridge Riot of 30 September 1793 began as a protest at renewal of an act levying of tolls on Bristol Bridge, which included the proposal to demolish several houses near the bridge in order to create a new access road, and controversy about the date for removal of gates. Eleven people were killed and 45 injured, making it one of the worst massacres of the 18th century.

Queen Square Riots, 1831

The 3rd Dragoon Guards violently suppressing the Bristol Riots of 1831.

The 3rd Dragoon Guards violently suppressing the Bristol Riots of 1831.

The Bristol Riots of 1831 took place after the House of Lords rejected the second Reform Bill, which aimed to get rid of some of the rotten boroughs and give Britain’s fast growing industrial towns such as Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Bradford and Leeds greater representation in the House of Commons. Bristol had been represented in the House of Commons since 1295, however by 1830 only 6,000 of the 104,000 population had the vote.

Local magistrate Sir Charles Wetherell, a strong opponent of the Bill, visited Bristol to open the new Assize Courts, on 29 October. He threatened to imprison participants in a disturbance going on outside, and an angry mob chased him to the Mansion House in Queen Square. The magistrate escaped in disguise, but the mayor and officials were besieged in the Mansion-house.

The rioters numbered about 500 or 600 young men and continued for three days, during which the palace of Robert Gray the Bishop of Bristol, the Mansion House, and private homes and property were looted and destroyed, along with demolition of much of the gaol. Work on the Clifton Suspension Bridge was halted, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel was sworn in as a special constable.

The mayor requested the assistance of the cavalry as a precaution and a troop of the 3rd Dragoon Guards and a squadron of the 14th Light Dragoons were sent to Britol under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Brereton of the Dragoons. Brereton did not wish to incite the crowd and even ordered the squadron from the 14th out of the city after they had successfully dispersed a crowd. Seeing this as a victory, the riots continued, and eventually Brereton had to call on the 3rd and 14th to restore order, and he eventually led a charge with drawn swords through the mob in Queen Square. Four rioters were killed and 86 wounded, although many more are believed to have perished in the fires set by the rioters. Along with the commander of the 3rd Dragoons troop, Captain Warrington, Brereton was later court-martialled for leniency, but Brereton shot himself before the conclusion of his trial.

Approximately 100 of those involved were tried in January 1832 by Chief Justice Tindal. Four men were hanged despite a petition of 10,000 Bristolian signatures, which was given to King William IV.

Old Market Riot, 1932
On 23 February 1932 some 3,000 unemployed engaged in running battles with the police as they tried to march down to the city centre, led by the National Unemployed Workers Movement. Police baton-charged protesters outside Trinity police station and along Old Market.

St Pauls Riot, 1980
The St Pauls riot started on 2 April 1980 in the St Pauls district, when the police carried out a raid on the Black and White Café, known as “Britain’s most dangerous hard drug den,” located on Grosvenor Road in the heart of St Pauls. It is unclear why the riot started either due to the police ripping a customer’s trousers and refusing to pay, or they were simply attacked as they removed alcohol from the café. The riot continued for many hours and caused large amounts of damage including a Lloyds Bank and post office. Several fire engines and twelve police cars were damaged along with the shops. 130 rioters were arrested. The next day the Daily Telegraph headlined with,”19 Police Hurt in Black Riot” and blamed lack of parental care.

Hartcliffe, 1992
On 16 July 1992 there was a riot in Hartcliffe estate after two men who had stolen an unmarked police motorbike were killed in a chase with a police patrol car. The disturbance lasted for 3 days. Police were stoned and many shops in the Symes Avenue shopping centre were attacked and destroyed.

Stokes Croft Tesco Riot, April 2011
The contentious Tesco Express was vandalised during the riot.
On 21 April 2011, there was a riot in the Stokes Croft area of Bristol, following a raid by police on a squat named ‘Telepathic Heights.’ A protest ensued, and they withdrew, however at 9pm that evening, riot police blockaded the area and entered the squat. A crowd quickly gathered, with approximately 300 people defending the squat, and a further 1000 caught up in the mayhem. More than 160 officers were involved in the operation. The reason for the operation given by the police was that they held intelligence that petrol bombs were on the premises designated for the Tesco development opposite.
The riot eventually died down following the withdrawal of the police, after which the newly opened Tesco was attacked resulting in smashed windows and graffiti.

The night’s operation cost around £465,000 and involved 160 officers from 12 different forces including Avon & Somerset.

Local Labour MP Kerry McCarthy criticised the “heavy-handed” behaviour of the police and said that “[a Labour council candidate] was hit by a truncheon and I was shoved out of the way by a policeman at one stage.” McCarthy described the riot as “an anti-establishment protest: against capitalism and corporations, similar to what we saw in the march against the cuts in London where Starbucks and banks were targeted.”

A second set of riots took place a week later on 28/29 April. Tesco continued to insist that the protests were not fuelled by anti-Tesco feeling (despite opposition from protesters) and that it was only supported by a small handful of protesters.

The Tesco express reopened on 24 May 2011, causing further peaceful protests during the day.

National Riots, August 2011
In the early hours of the morning on Tuesday 9 August, it was reported that vandalism and looting occurred in Bristol in response to similar occurring elsewhere in the country, predominantly the 2011 England riots.

Posted in British history, Georgian Era, real life tales, Regency era, Victorian era, William IV | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Late Regency Happening: Tithe War in Ireland

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Regina Jeffers

The Tithe War (Irish: Cogadh na nDeachúna) was a campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience, punctuated by sporadic violent episodes, in Ireland between 1830 and 1836 in reaction to the enforcement of tithes on subsistence farmers and others for the upkeep of the established state church–the Church of Ireland. Tithes were payable in cash or kind and payment was compulsory, irrespective of an individual’s religious adherence.

Background
Tithe payment was an obligation on those working the land to pay ten per cent of the value of certain types of agricultural produce for the upkeep of the clergy and maintenance of the assets of the church. After the Reformation in Ireland of the 16th Century, the assets of the church were allocated by King Henry VIII to the new established church. The majority in Ireland who remained loyal to the old religion were then obliged to make tithe payments which were directed away from their own church to the reformed one. This increased the financial burden on subsistence farmers, many of whom were at the same time making voluntary contributions to the construction or purchase of new premises to provide Roman Catholic places of worship. The new established church was supported by only a minority of the population, seventy-five percent of whom continued to adhere to Roman Catholicism.

Emancipation for Roman Catholics was promised by Pitt during the campaign in favour of the Act of Union of 1801, which was approved by the Irish Parliament, thus abolishing itself and creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The king, however, refused to keep Pitt’s promises, and it was not until 1829 that the Duke of Wellington’s government finally conceded to the Roman Catholic Emancipation Act, in the teeth of defiant royal opposition. However, the obligation to pay tithes to the Church of Ireland remained, causing much resentment. Roman Catholic clerical establishments in Ireland had refused government offers of tithe-sharing with the established church, fearing that British government regulation and control would come with acceptance of such money.

The tithe burden lay directly on the shoulders of farmers, whether tenants or owner-occupiers. More often than not, tithes were paid in kind, in the form of produce or livestock. In 1830, given the system of benefices in the Anglican system, almost half of the clergy were not resident in the parishes from which they drew their incomes. These issues, more often than not, were inflamed by the senior Irish Roman Catholic clergy, who were now dependent on voluntary contributions due to the discontinuation of the Maynooth grant. Incensed farmers vehemently resisted paying for the support of two clerical establishments. Aided and abetted by many of the Roman Catholic bishops and clergy, they began a campaign of non-payment.

After Emancipation in 1829, an organized campaign of resistance to collection began. It was sufficiently successful to have a serious financial effect on the welfare of established church clergy. In 1831, the government compiled lists of defaulters and issued collection orders for the seizure of goods and chattels (mostly stock). Spasmodic violence broke out in various parts of Ireland, particularly in counties Kilkenny, Tipperary and Wexford. The Irish Constabulary, which had been established in 1822, attempted to enforce the orders of seizures. At markets and fairs, the constabulary often seized stock and produce, which often resulted in violent resistance.

A campaign of passive resistance was proposed by Patrick “Patt” Lalor (1781–1856), a farmer of Tenakill, Queen’s County, who later served as a repeal MP (1832–35). He declared at a public meeting in February 1831 in Maryborough that “…he would never again pay tithes; that he would violate no law; that the tithe men might take his property, and offer it for sale; but his countrymen, he was proud to say, respected him, and he thought that none of them would buy or bid for it if exposed for sale. The declaration was received by the meeting in various ways: by many with surprise and astonishment; by others with consternation and dismay, but by a vast majority with tremendous cheering.” Lalor held true to his word and did not resist the confiscation of 20 sheep from his farm, but was able to ensure no buyers appeared at subsequent auctions.

The “War” 1831–36
The first clash of the Tithe War took place on 3 March 1831 in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny, when a force of 120 yeomanry tried to enforce seizure orders on cattle belonging to a Roman Catholic priest.

Encouraged by his bishop, he had organised people to resist tithe collection by placing their stock under his ownership prior to sale. The revolt soon spread. On 18 June 1831, in Bunclody (Newtownbarry), County Wexford, people resisting the seizure of cattle were fired upon by the Irish Constabulary, who killed twelve and wounded twenty; one yeoman was shot dead in retaliation. This massacre caused objectors to organise and use warnings such as church bells to signal the community to round up the cattle and stock. On 14 December 1831, resisters used such warnings to ambush a detachment of 40 Constabulary at Carrickshock (County Kilkenny). Twelve constables, including the Chief Constable, were killed and more wounded.

Regular clashes causing fatalities continued over the next two years, causing the authorities to reinforce selected army barracks fearing an escalation. Taking stock of the continuing resistance, in 1831 the authorities recorded 242 homicides, 1,179 robberies, 401 burglaries, 568 burnings, 280 cases of cattle-maiming, 161 assaults, 203 riots and 723 attacks on property directly attributed to seizure order enforcement. In 1832, the president of Carlow College was imprisoned for not paying tithes. On 18 December 1834, the conflict came to a head at Rathcormac, County Cork, when armed Constabulary reinforced by the regular British Army killed twelve and wounded forty-two during several hours of fighting when trying to enforce a tithe order reputedly to the value of 40 shillings.

The conflict had the support of the Roman Catholic clergy and the following quotation, from a letter written by the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Dr. James Doyle to Thomas Spring Rice became the rallying cry for the movement:

“There are many noble traits in the Irish character, mixed with failings which have always raised obstacles to their own well-being; but an innate love of justice, and an indomitable hatred of oppression, is like a gem upon the front of our nation which no darkness can obscure. To this fine quality I trace their hatred of tithes; may it be as lasting as their love of justice!”

Outcome
Finding and collecting livestock chattels and the associated mayhem created public outrage and proved an increasing strain on police relations. The government suspended collections. One official lamented that “it cost a shilling to collect tuppence.”

In 1838, parliament introduced a Tithe Commutation Act for Ireland. This reduced the amount payable directly by about a quarter and made the remainder payable in rent to landlords. They in turn were to pass payment to the authorities. Tithes were thus effectively added to a tenant’s rent payment. This partial relief and elimination of the confrontational collections ended the violent aspect of the Tithe War.

Full relief from the oppressive tax was not achieved until the Irish Church Act 1869, which disestablished the Church of Ireland, by the Gladstone government.

Posted in British history, Georgian Era, Ireland, Living in the Regency, real life tales, Regency era, Regency personalities | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Regency Celebrity: John Bellingham, Assassin

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Regina Jeffers

220px-John_Bellingham_portraitJohn Bellingham (c. 1769 – 18 May 1812) was the assassin of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. This murder is the only successful assassination of a British Prime Minister.

Early Life
Bellingham’s early life is largely unknown, and most post-assassination biographies included speculation as fact. Recollections of family and friends show that Bellingham was born in St Neots, Huntingdonshire, and brought up in London, where he was apprenticed to a jeweller, James Love, at age fourteen. Two years later, he went as a midshipman on the maiden voyage of the Hartwell from Gravesend to China. A mutiny took place on 22 May 1787, which led to the ship running aground and sinking.

In early 1794, a man named John Bellingham opened a tin factory on London’s Oxford Street, but the factory failed, and the owner was declared bankrupt in March. It is not certain this is him, but Bellingham definitely worked as a clerk in a counting house in the late 1790s, and about 1800 he went to Arkhangelsk, Russia, as an agent for importers and exporters. He returned to England in 1802, and was a merchant broker in Liverpool. He married Mary Neville in 1803. In the summer of 1804, Bellingham again went to Archangel to work as an export representative.

Russian Imprisonment
In autumn 1803, the Russian ship Soleure (or sometimes “Sojus”) insured at Lloyd’s of London had been lost in the White Sea. Her owners (the house of R. Van Brienen) filed a claim on their insurance, but an anonymous letter told Lloyd’s the ship had been sabotaged. Soloman Van Brienen believed Bellingham was the author, and retaliated by accusing him of a debt of 4,890 roubles to a bankruptcy of which he was an assignee. Bellingham, about to return to Britain on 16 November 1804, had his travelling pass withdrawn because of the alleged debt.

Van Brienen persuaded the local Governor-General to imprison Bellingham. One year later, Bellingham secured his release and went to Saint Petersburg, where he attempted to impeach the Governor-General. This angered the Russian authorities, who charged him with leaving Arkhangelsk in a clandestine manner. He was again imprisoned until October 1808, when he was put out onto the streets, but still without permission to leave. In desperation, he petitioned the Tsar. He was allowed to leave Russia in 1809, arriving in England in December.

Assassination of the Prime Minister
Once home, Bellingham began petitioning the United Kingdom Government for compensation over his imprisonment. This was refused, as the United Kingdom had broken off diplomatic relations with Russia in November 1808. Bellingham’s wife urged him to drop the matter, and he reluctantly did.

In 1812, Bellingham renewed his attempts to win compensation. On 18 April, he went to the Foreign Office where a civil servant told him he was at liberty to take whatever measures he thought proper. On 20 April, Bellingham purchased two .50 calibre (12.7 mm) pistols from a gunsmith of 58 Skinner Street. He also had a tailor sew an inside pocket to his coat. At this time, he was often seen in the lobby of the House of Commons.

After taking a friend’s family to a painting exhibition on 11 May 1812, Bellingham remarked that he had some business to attend to. He made his way to Parliament, where he waited in the lobby. When Prime Minister Spencer Perceval appeared, Bellingham stepped forward and shot him in the heart. He then calmly sat on a bench. Bellingham was immediately restrained and was identified by Isaac Gascoyne, MP for Liverpool.

Trial and Execution
John Bellingham was tried on Friday 15 May at the Old Bailey, where he argued that he would have preferred to shoot the British Ambassador to Russia, but insisted as a wronged man he was justified in killing the representative of his oppressors.

He made a formal statement to the court, saying:
“Recollect, Gentlemen, what was my situation. Recollect that my family was ruined and myself destroyed, merely because it was Mr Perceval’s pleasure that justice should not be granted; sheltering himself behind the imagined security of his station, and trampling upon law and right in the belief that no retribution could reach him. I demand only my right, and not a favour; I demand what is the birthright and privilege of every Englishman. Gentlemen, when a minister sets himself above the laws, as Mr Perceval did, he does it as his own personal risk. If this were not so, the mere will of the minister would become the law, and what would then become of your liberties? I trust that this serious lesson will operate as a warning to all future ministers, and that they will henceforth do the thing that is right, for if the upper ranks of society are permitted to act wrong with impunity, the inferior ramifications will soon become wholly corrupted. Gentlemen, my life is in your hands, I rely confidently in your justice.”

Evidence was presented that Bellingham was insane, but it was discounted by the trial judge, Sir James Mansfield. Bellingham was found guilty and sentenced:

“That you be taken from hence to the place from whence you came, and from thence to a place of execution, where you shall be hanged by the neck until you be dead; your body to be dissected and anatomized.”

The sentence was carried out in public three days later. René Martin Pillet, a Frenchman who wrote an account of his ten years in England, described the sentiment of the crowd at the execution:

“Farewell poor man, you owe satisfaction to the offended laws of your country, but God bless you! you have rendered an important service to your country, you have taught ministers that they should do justice, and grant audience when it is asked of them.”
A subscription was raised for the widow and children of Bellingham, and “their fortune was ten times greater than they could ever have expected in any other circumstances.”
His widow remarried the following year.

Notes
In 1984, Patrick Magee made a serious attempt on the life of Margaret Thatcher in the Brighton Bombing. There were also serious attempts on the lives of King George III, Queen Victoria and King Edward VIII; and the Gunpowder Plot to bomb the Palace of Westminster.

Henry Bellingham, the current Conservative MP for North West Norfolk, is distantly related.

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1835~Last English Execution for Buggery: James Pratt and John Smith

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Regina Jeffers

Recently, English law was changed to support the marriage of those of the same sex. Therefore, I thought I would point out a situation when buggery was still considered a crime.

Hangin_outside_Newgate_Prison James Pratt (1805–1835) also known as John Pratt, and John Smith (1795-1835) were two London men who became the last two to be hanged for sodomy in England, in November 1835. Pratt and Smith were arrested in August of that year after being observed having sex in the room of another man, William Bonill.

Arrest
William Bonill, aged 68, had lived for 13 months in a rented room at a house near the Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London. His landlord later stated that Bonill had frequent male visitors, who generally came in pairs, and that his suspicions became aroused on the afternoon of 29 August 1835, when Pratt and Smith came to visit Bonill. The landlord climbed to an outside vantage point in the loft of a nearby stable building, where he could see through the window of Bonill’s room, before coming down to look into the room through the keyhole.

Both the landlord and his wife saw through the keyhole sexual intimacy between Pratt and Smith; he then broke open the door to confront them. Bonill was absent, but returned a few minutes later with a jug of ale. The landlord went to fetch a policeman and all three men were arrested.

Trial and Execution
Pratt, Smith and Bonill were tried on 26 September 1835 at the Central Criminal Court, before Baron Gurney, a judge who had the reputation of being independent and acute, but also harsh. Pratt and Smith were convicted under section 15 of the Offences against the Person Act 1828, which had replaced the 1533 Buggery Act, and were sentenced to death. William Bonill was convicted as an accessory and sentenced to 14 years of Penal transportation.

James Pratt was a groom, who lived with his wife and children at Deptford, London. A number of witnesses came forward to testify to his good character.

John Smith was from Southwark Christchurch and was described in court proceedings and newspaper reports as an unmarried labourer, although other sources stated he was married and worked as a servant. At the trial, no character witnesses came forward to testify on his behalf.

On 5 November 1835, Charles Dickens and the newspaper editor John Black visited Newgate Prison; Dickens wrote an account of this in Sketches by Boz and described seeing Pratt and Smith while they were being held there:

“The other two men were at the upper end of the room. One of them, who was imperfectly seen in the dim light, had his back towards us, and was stooping over the fire, with his right arm on the mantel-piece, and his head sunk upon it. The other was leaning on the sill of the farthest window. The light fell full upon him, and communicated to his pale, haggard face, and disordered hair, an appearance which, at that distance, was ghastly. His cheek rested upon his hand; and, with his face a little raised, and his eyes wildly staring before him, he seemed to be unconsciously intent on counting the chinks in the opposite wall.”
—A Visit to Newgate

The jailer who was escorting Dickens confidently predicted to him the two would be executed and was proved correct. Seventeen individuals were sentenced to death at the September and October sessions of the Central Criminal Court for offenses that included burglary, robbery, and attempted murder. On 21 November, all were granted remission of their death sentences under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy with the exceptions of Pratt and Smith. This was despite an appeal for mercy submitted by the men’s wives that was heard by the Privy Council.

Pratt and Smith were hanged before Newgate Prison on the morning of 27 November, in front of a crowd that was larger than usual. The size of the crowd was possibly because this was the first execution to have taken place at Newgate in nearly two years. The event was sufficiently notable for a printed broadside to be published and sold. This described the men’s trial and execution and included the purported text of a final letter that was claimed to have been written by John Smith to a friend.

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