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THE BAPTIST CAUSE IN OADBY
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O
adby was known by a variety of names from the time of the Domesday
book when it was Aldebi,that was in 1086.
In 1220 it was called
Outheby and, in 1296 Ondeby. It was known by other names as well, or
should I say that Otherby was another? Enough of such frivolity! It is the name
Ondeby or Oneby, that is of particular interest.
Thomas Oneby became Sherriff and M.P. for Leicestershire in 1368, about the
time the plague killed half the inhabitants of Oadby.
Nichols' 'History and
Antiquities of Leicestershire' records: " In this town were anciently two Manors.one
belonging to the family of Ondeby, and the other to Brokesby: both of which Manors
came after to Waldron.
Thomas Waldron was appointed by Henry VIII to take the ecclesiastical survey of
Leicestershire in 1535. After the survey the two manors came into the'possession of
the Waldron family. In 1607, when James I (VI of Scotland) was King, a fine was levied
on John Waldron and His family.
This fine settled the manors of Oadby and
Brokesby; considerable property and land; the rectory of the church and the vicarage of Oadby upon certain gentlemen, for the use, among others, of John Oneby,
Esq. In 1629 during the reign of Charles I, John Waldron sold the manors and his
other interests to Sir John Lambe of Rothwell, Northamptonshire, who became lord
of both manors in 1638.
In common with other former lords of the manor, the Oneby family were
driven from pillar to post during this chequered period of English history. The John
Oneby, mentioned above, was living in the Priory House, alongside Hinckley Parish
Church, at the time of his death. A coloured memorial, dated 1662, which contains
sculptures of John Oneby, Emmett, his wife, his son and four daughters can be
found on the north wall of the chancel there. One of the daughters married the
Rev. Ezekiel Wright, the vicar of Thurcaston. Their son, Nathan, born in 1653, became Lord High Chancellor in 1696. Sir Nathan Wright succeeded to his mother's
estate at Oadby in 1716.
Why this long story? Ernest Baker, a former resident, wrote a "Brief History of
Oadby" in 1920. He records: "In 1672 John Oneby was allowed to preach as a
Baptist under the Declaration of Indulgence Act, and John Jones was allowed to be a
teacher in the house of the said John Oneby".
The 1672 Act ended twelve years of persecution (John Bunyan was released from
Bedford goal at the time) and gave Dissenters freedom to worship in public. The licences
issued to 'teachers' were either general, with no mention of an particular meeting place,
or for 'teaching' at some specified place.
Ernest Baker states that John Oneby, the Baptist preacher, was the son of the family,
whose memorial stands in Hinckley Parish Church. Was the 'House', mentioned in the
quotation above, Oadby Manor House?
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G.M.Trevelyan in his 'English Social History' states: "Politically, the Restoration of 1660
restored King, Parliament and Law in place of the 'forced power' of military dictatorship.
Ecclesiastically it restored the Bishops and Prayer Book and the Anglican attitude to religion,
in place of Puritanism. But socially …..
the Restoration restored the nobles and the gentry to their hereditary place as the acknowledged leaders of local and national life. " It seems very possible, in the light of
Trevelyan's last sentence, that John Oneby returned to the Manor House after his father's
death in 1662. The fact that his nephew, Sir Nathan Wright, succeeded to the estate in 1716
adds weight to such a possibility. So we are bound to ask whether Baptist work began in
Oadby more than three centuries ago?
W
hether or not John Oneby and John Jones began a work in the village,
credit must go to Mrs. Elizabeth Waldren for founding the present
cause. It is believed that some members of the Arnesby church,
formed in 1667, were living in Oadby in 1765. Robert Hall, Senior, had been minister at
Arnesby for twelve years, at that time and his illustrious son was one year old. He continued as Minister there until his death in 1791.
It was not until 1795, however, that Mrs. Waldren (nb. spelling of name has been changed
as often happened in those days) had her house licensed for the preaching of the Gospel, at a
time when the village was undergoing great change. It is generally supposed that
this was the old Manor Farm standing close by the Manor House on the Parade (which
later became the Oadby Council Offices and then the “Old Library” public house and currently in January 2014
stands empty, under renovation and “To Let”.)
The common fields (about 2,130 acres at that time) had been divided and
enclosed under the terms of an Enclosure Act in 1759. The Industrial Revolution virtually coincided with the Agricultural Revolution in Oadby! In the next year, 1760,
when George III became King, 'Stocking Frames' were introduced to the village and
work in this industry began, but not without protest. According to Ernest Baker's history " .... public protest was made in Oadby Market in the open square at the bottom
of New Street". In the same year Oadby's main thoroughfare, the long by-way leading from Leicester to Market Harborough, was widened and made into a high-way
(London Road). Prior to this alteration the main road from Leicester passed through
Wigston and Welford. To the great delight of local inhabitants the first mail coach
travelled through Oadby , on its way to London, in 1785.
Baker's history gives us another interesting insight. A dispute arose between
two women, each accusing the other of witchcraft. Both were challenged to the
ordeal of swimming.
They were bound around the waist and their thumbs and toes were tied together. Then they were thrown into a pool (no doubt The Washbrook near the site of the
'Oadby Owl' on Glen Road) and the one who sank was considered guilty by the mob.
We don’t know any further details but perhaps the people of Oadby witnessed
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immersion of another kind in later years when believers were baptised in this same
pool.
In the decade, 1790-1800, the village grew rapidly. There were eighty houses at
the beginning of the decade. Many of the mud houses were pulled down and a great
deal of building work went on. By 1801 Oadby had 126 houses and 129 families; the population stood at 624 and of these 309 were males and 325 females. 215 people were employed
in local industries and 60 in the fields.
Moving from the local to the national and international scene, two events of great importance to the Church occurred during this decade. John Wesley died on March 2nd,1791.
The Particular Baptist Missionary Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen
was founded in the home of Widow WaIlis at Kettering, on October 2nd, 1792. William Carey
packed his bags; bade farewell to his congregation at Harvey Lane, Leicester; set sail for
India and so began "a new era in Protestant Missions, not only in India but also in the entire
world," as K.S.Latourette, the Church historian, put it.
The Napoleonic wars broke out in 1793 and, as time went on, had an increasing impact
on the life of this country. It was 22 years before the Union Coach passed through Oadby,
lavishly decorated, on 29th June, 1815, proclaiming Wellington's victory at Waterloo. In that
same year Mrs. Elizabeth Waldren had a chapel building erected, at her own expense, for
the use of Particular Baptists.
What had happened since May 1795, when she first had her house licensed for the
preaching of the Gospel? Mr. Cave, who succeeded William Carey as Pastor of the Harvey
Lane Particular Baptist Church, preached monthly on a Tuesday evening, and Mr. Davies, the
Pastor of the Independent Church in Wigston (now Long Street United Reformed Church),
monthly on Sunday evenings. We are fortunate in having two accounts of the circumstances
which led to the formation of the church. One appears, in long hand, at the beginning of the
first ‘church membership' book. The other is contained in an extract from a ' Brief History of
the Baptist Churches in connection with the Leicester Association, being a circular letter
read before the ministers and messengers of the associated churches meeting at Monk's
Kirby on Whit Tuesday, 1865 .The latter states that at the beginning "congregations were
very small and sometimes so disorderly during the time of service, that it was found
necessary for the restoration of peace and quietness to read the Licence. "
In 1800 Mrs Waldren had a barn, standing on her premises, converted into a place of
worship. Numbers increased, as a result, and more regular services were held on Sunday
evenings. In spite of this, it was found necessary to close the prayer meeting through lack of
support. The account in the 'Church membership' book makes interesting reading: " ... but
Gideon-Iike tho' faint We kept pursuing. We found great need for faith and patience and
application of that gracious promise, 'be not weary in well doing: for in due season you
shall reap, if ye faint not, and we have experienced it verified. Providence and grace
have co-operated in a wonderful manner to strengthen the cause of God at Oadby. "
In 1806 Mr. Waldren came to live in Oadby after which, it is recorded:" ....
things wore a more pleasing aspect. His presence and propriety induced more to
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attend, some from one motive, some
from another." Week- night services
were held in addition to the services
on Sunday evenings and prayer
meetings were revived. The old
meeting-house was decaying rapidly
and it was Mr. Waldren's intention to
build a new place of worship. It
would appear that he died before
this intention was realised
So we come to 1815 when Mrs
Waldren had a building erected in
what is known today as Chapel
Street. (The building stood on the site now
occupied by shops and opposite the chip shop)
The estimate for the building itself
was £306. 14s. The pulpit, forms and
four pews were donated by subscription. Later in, June 1822, Mrs.
Waldren had the whole building
pewed at her expense and, as was
the custom, the seats were let.
In September of that year Mr
Harris was engaged as the first Pastor. He is described as "...some time
co-pastor with Mr Wakefield of Cranfield, Bedfordshire . "Congregations increased
to such an extent that it was found necessary to erect a gallery. Mrs. Waldren
owned a stable at the end of the chapel building which she converted into a vestry with a gallery above. Mr. Harris resigned his office after two years in September, 1824. After an interval of six months he was succeeded by Mr. Brooks of West
Haddon, Northamptonshire. A few weeks after the commencement of Mr. Brooks'
ministry the present church was formed. After the church moved to the present
building the 1815 chapel was converted into cottages. They were demolished in 1963
after which the current shops were built.
The 1815 date stone was still
in the wall when this
photograph was taken in 1963.
This “stone ” just crumbled
when an attempt was made to
remove it when the buildings
were demolished. The intention
had been to incorporate it in
our present building on
Leicester Road.
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T
he Particular Baptist Church was formed in Oadby on 8th May, 1825, when
thirteen members " ... amicably obtained ... dismission from the Particular
Baptist Church at Harvey Lane, Leicester, under the pastoral care of the Revd.
Robert Hall ... "
Robert Hall, son of Rev. Robert Hall mentioned in the previous chapter, was nearing
the end of his 'reign' at Harvey Lane. He came to Leicester from Cambridge in 1808 succeeding Mr. Cave, who had preached once a month at Oadby when Mrs. Waldren first had her
home licensed for worship. Robert Hall was probably the most famous pulpit orator of his
day and his preaching drew overflowing congregations. He ministered in Leicester at a time
when evangelical Anglicans and Dissenters were beginning to fraternise and even worship
together. His biographer, Olinthus Gregory, estimated that his evening congregation at
Harvey Lane contained more than a hundred "pious members of the Church of England, and
some of the neighbouring clergy frequently attended."
In 1815 and 1818 Hall wrote two long pamphlets advocating open communion. He was
opposed by Joseph Kinghorn, the pastor of the Particular Baptist church at Norwich.
Kinghorn defended the strict Baptist position - "It is not according to the law of Christ that
persons not baptized should come to the Lord's table." (He assumed that a person baptized
in infancy was unbaptized). Hall contended that "no man, or set of men, are entitled to
prescribe as an indispensable condition of communion, what the New Testament has not
enjoined as a condition of salvation." He was convinced that baptism must be restricted to
believers, but maintained that the Lord's table should be accessible to all who loved the
Saviour, whether they accepted believers' baptism or not. His argument is still cogent and
has the support of the majority of Baptists today.
Robert Hall's statue in De Montfort Square, bears witness to the impact he made on
Leicester. His influence stretched far beyond Harvey Lane. He was a firm and consistent advocate of the freedom of the Press. In 1819 he became directly involved in the plight of local
frame-work Knitters. He was so distressed at the low wages and unemployment, experienced by the workers in the trade, that he issued an 'Appeal to the Public on the subject of
the Frame-Work Knitters' Fund'. As a result of his advice and support a union was formed.
Men in work contributed 6d. a week to meet periods of unemployment and it was in order to
augment this fund that Hall made his 'Appeal'.
In 1826 he moved from Harvey Lane to Broadmead, Bristol, where he died five years
later. What makes his life quite remarkable is the fact that he suffered acute pain from early
childhood, in Arnesby, to the end of his days. A post mortem revealed that this was due to
renal calculus (kidney stone).
The Harvey Lane church was erected about 1756 as a result of work by the Sutton-inthe-Elms church. It became independent in 1760. During the ministry of the Rev. James
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Phillippo Mursell (1827-1876) who succeeded Robert Hall, new premises were opened in
Belvoir Street (the 'Pork Pie' Chapel) in 1845. The Harvey Lane premises were used for
Sunday School purposes until 1865, when a new body of Baptists took over the building
with the support of Belvoir Street. This 'second Harvey Lane' remained in being till about
1933, though the original chapel building was destroyed by fire in 1921. In 1941 Belvoir
Street merged with the church at Charles Street and formed the United Baptist Church.
The 'Pork Pie' chapel, scheduled for preservation in 1950 and purchased by Leicester City
Corporation, still stands in Belvoir Street.
When the Baptist church was formed in Oadby, the particular Baptists and the General Baptists were still, to all intents and purposes, completely separate. The General Baptists were Arminian in theology. (Jacobus Arminius, d.1609, was a Dutch Protestant
theologian who opposed the views of John Calvin, especially on predestination. John
Wesley was an Arminian). The Particular Baptists held the Calvinsitic doctrine of election.
(John Calvin, 1509-64, was a French theologian and reformer who settled in Geneva in
1536). According to this view, which was prevalent in a great part of Protestantism; the
Atonement was not made for all men, but only for those whom God had chosen for salvation; it was 'particular' and not 'general', i.e. universal.
Predestination remained a thorny question for many years. On one occasion an important member of Robert Hall's congregation took him to task for not preaching more
often on the theme of predestination. Looking him steadily in the face, Hall slowly and
deliberately said: "Sir, I perceive that nature predestinated you to be an ass, and what is
more, I see that you are determined to make your calling and election sure. "
In 1770 a 'New Connexion' was formed among the more evangelical of the General
Baptists. This was largely due to the inspiration of Dan Taylor (1738-1816), a native of
Northowram, near Halifax. As a youth he walked miles to hear the Wesleys and Whitefield.
His views on discipline did not square with those of Wesley and, in 1762, he settled as
the minister of a small group of seceders from Methodism at Wadsworth, near
Hebden Bridge. When he became convinced that there was no scriptural foundation for the practice of infant baptism, he and others applied to local Particular
Baptist ministers for believers' baptism, all of whom refused on the grounds that
they could not conscientiously baptise Arrninians. Eventually Taylor was baptized
by the General Baptist minister at Gamston, Nottinghamshire, in 1763. That year the
fellowship at Wadsworth became the first General Baptist church in Yorkshire.
When Taylor attended the General Assembly in London he soon became
disillusioned. At a time when their work was in rapid decline, the General Baptists
doggedly adhered to old customs and were fast becoming Unitarians. Before
long Taylor found the churches of the Leicestershire evangelical movement more
congenial company. He conceived the idea of uniting the Leicestershire churches
with such General Baptist churches throughout the country as remained orthodox. The New Connexion of General Baptists was ,obviously a child of the Methodist Revival and manifested two Methodist characteristics: strong evangelical
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zeal and strong corporate feeling.
The old General Baptist church at Friar Lane, founded in 1651, was revived. In
his 'History of the General Baptists', Taylor recalls: "An endowment preserved the
shadow of a church. An infirm old man ... who lived at Earl Shilton, then enjoyed
the property, as nominal elder: and preached five or six times a year to the few
who chose to hear him." Archdeacon Lane, formed in 1790; Billesdon, formed in
1812, and many churches in West Leicestershire and along the Soar Valley owe their
existence to the vigorous leadership of Dan Taylor and the 'New Connexion'.
Churches like Harvey Lane and Charles Street, Leicester, and most churches
in the south of the county can trace their beginning directly, or indirectly to the
Particular Baptist Church at Sutton-in-the-Elms, founded in 1650. In England, as a
whole, Particular Baptists were more numerous and influential than General
Baptists.
In 1813, just two years before Mrs. Waldren erected the first building
in Chapel Street, the Baptist Union, as we know it today, was formed. At that
time it consisted of ministers and churches maintaining Calvinistic doctrines
and, in 1815, it was called 'The General Meeting of the Particular (or Calvinistic) Baptist Denomination'. In 1832 the Union was re-organised. It was then felt sufficient
to describe it as a union of Baptists ministers and churches "who agree in the sentiments usually denominated evangelical". This had the advantage of opening the door to
closer association with the churches of the 'New Connexion' who were emphatically of an
evangelical type. By the middle of the century, the old conflict between Calvinism and
Arminianism had declined in importance. In 1891, the 'New Connexion' and the Baptist
Union merged their organisations.
That this became possible was, in part, due to the missionary enterprise, led by
William Carey a century earlier, and the principle of open- communion, championed by
Robert Hall 75 years or so before .
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T
he following appears at the beginning of the first church membership
book
“We ,whose names are undersigned, having requested and amicably obtained
our dismission from the Particular Baptist Church meeting at Harvey Lane,
Leicester, under the pastoral care of the Revd. Robert Hall do now agree, with
the view of promoting the interests of religion in this populous village and having
the Ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper administered among us, to
form ourselves into a church of the same faith and denomination, namely a
Particular Baptist Church, maintaining the important doctrines of three equal
persons in the Godhead; eternal and personal election; original sin; particular
redemption; free justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ; efficacious
grace in regeneration; the final perseverance of real believers; the resurrection of
the dead; the future judgement; the eternal happiness of the righteous; and
everlasting misery of such as die impenitent; with the congregational order of the
churches, inviolably; and intended to be hereafter under the pastoral care of
minister holding the above sentimentsSignedWilliam Johnson, Elizabeth Waldren, George Allen, Thomas Brown,
William Illiffe, Sarah Godard, Sarah Collins, Sarah Ludlam, Sarah Potts, John
Goddard (PB) Anne Andrews, Dorothy Mathews, Elizabeth Chawner.
( The letters PB after Jonathan Goddard’s name indicates that he was a PaedoBaptist i.e that he had undergone infant baptism)
Three brief extracts from very early church minutes also appear–
May 8th 1825
“Agreed to receive into church fellowship with us brethren of the Independent
persuasion who will,on admission, declare in the presence of the church their
belief that they have been Baptized according to the word of God.”
It will be remembered that Mr Davies, the Pastor of the Independent Church
Wigston (now Long Street United Reformed Church) was one of the ministers
who preached in the house of Mrs Elizabeth Waldren when it was licensed for the
preaching of the Gospel in 1795.
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March 1826
“Agreed that no member reveal the affairs of the church to any who do not belong to
their community, not excepting even, their nearest relations”
And a third extract reads:June 19th 1827
“Resolved that any persons who may be proposed to this church professing Baptism
by immersion, shall not be received as members unless they comply with that
Ordinance.”
The ministry of Mr. Brooks, the church's second pastor, lasted just eighteen
months. Quite a lot happened in that time, however. Following the formation of the
church in May, 1825, 18 more members were added before his departure. Six candidates were baptized on 25th September, 1825 and nine on 2nd April, 1826. (The three
other new members were paedo-baptists). It would be interesting to know where
these early baptisms took place. Could they have taken place in the Wash Brook
which flows through Oadby? It is certainly a possibility, if we bear in mind the fact that
it was deep enough, at one point, for the drowning of witches some years earlier.
Mr. Brooks moved on to Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire, in September,
1826. Eight months later he was succeeded at Oadby by Mr. Miller of Woodford,
Northamptonshire. The first 'Church Membership' book contains a copy of the letter
dismissing Mr. and Mrs. Miller from their fellowship. It makes quaint reading these
days:
Woodford, June 17th,1827
"Dear Brethren,
Having Recd. a Letter from our late Pastor, Mr. Miller, requesting a dismission
for himself and Mrs. Miller from our communion to join in communion with you, we
hereby signify our assent to their request, and at the same time commend them to
the God of all Grace, that they with you may be meeting and preparing to join the
General assembly and Church of the first born whose names are written in Heaven.
"We also hereby wish to bear Testimony to the sterling piety and
uniform Christian Character of both Mr and Mrs Miller and pray that his labour
among you may not be in vain in the Lord. "
Mr. Miller was pastor for over three years. Two baptismal services
were recorded during his ministry and nine members added to the church. He
moved to Cranfield, Bedfordshire, in 1830. This was the church at which Mr.Harris,
Oadby's first minister, had once been co-pastor. Also, Cranfield is just a few miles
from Fenny Stratford where Mr. Miller's predecessor, Mr. Brooks moved to be pastor. It would appear that there were strong links between the first three ministers at
Oadby
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A circular letter, read to ministers and messengers at Monks Kirby in 1865,
refers to a Mr. Burdett, who succeeded Mr. Miller. He remained at Oadby until
1838. There is no reference to this pastor in the ' church membership' book, but two
baptismal services are recorded during this period and eight people were received
into membership.
Mr. Samuel Webb became pastor late in 1838 and remained until March 1842.
His wife died at Oadby in May, 1841 and he himself died soon after leaving the
pastorate in 1844. One baptism is recorded during Mr. Webb's stay. He was
succeeded at the end of 1843 by Mr Rees Price of Loughborough, who spent his last
days in the service of the church.
In the 'Baptist Magazine' published in 1844 the following notes appear:
"Oadby, near Leicester - We have been much revived since our Pastor, Mr.
Rees Price, came among us. Our congregations are large and prayer meetings are
well attended. On April 7th Mr Price baptized five, and May 26th four; when tracts on
Baptism were given away. Seven were scholars. We have more candidates and several
inquirers. Our Minister teaches and preaches from house to house. - J.W.
"Oadby, near Leicester - Eight persons were baptized by our minister, Mr.
Rees Price, two in the prime of life and six in the bloom of youth; four were
from our S.S. It was truly cheering to witness and mother and daughter follow
their Lord through the solemn ordinance, the latter only 15 years of age.
During the administration the vast concourse of spectators conducted
themselves with great propriety, and many were deeply affected - J. W.
The only member at that time with the initials J.W. was James Ward who was
baptized on 25th September, 1825, the first baptismal service after the formation of
the church. The notes above would add weight to the belief that the early baptismal
services took place in public.
Mr. Price died late in 1846 and for eleven years the church remained without a
pastor but not , as we shall see later, without oversight.
What had been happening in the village during the twenty years, or more, since the
church's formation? By 1830 the population of Oadby had grown from 624, at the turn
of the century, to over 1,000. During this period the village developed almost a
monopoly of the tuck-sock branch of the hosiery trade, but two or three middle-men
were reaping most of the rewards. These men, who were engaged in grocery or
general dealing, had been quick to exploit the practice of frame-letting. They let
out their frames to the knitters who were forced to accept truck (payment of wages
in kind), out of fear of losing work. The result was that the knitter not only paid the
middle-man rent for the hire of a frame; he also contributed to the profits that he
derived from his trade. In spite of the Truck Act of 1831, which forbade such a practice,
the knitters of Oadby openly opposed efforts to suppress truck. They feared the
consequences of laying information against the middle-men, in whose hands the tucksock branch of the trade was concentrated. It is not without significance that, in 1844,
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it is reckoned that 350 frames were being worked in the village and, by 1851, that
figure had been reduced to 200.
There was another instance of injustice at this time. In 1847 the first school for
the infants of working people and a house for a teacher, or "Dame", was built. It
was built on fifteen acres of land, which under the terms of the Enclosure Act of
1760, had been given to the village, for the use of the poor. The mud houses, built
for the poor, had become so dilapidated that the land was confiscated and became
the site for the school! The cost of erecting the school and house was paid for by
the sale of the old parish work-house; the accumulated rent from the Poor's
land; a government grant of £220; a National School grant of £75 and
contributions amounting to £44. For more than twenty years the children of
Nonconformists were refused entrance to the Oadby Villagers' National School,
because they had not been christened by a Vicar of the Church of England.
Hagar and Co's. Commercial Directory of the County of Leicester describes
what the village was like in 1849:
"Oadby is a large village and parish...in the union of Blaby; containing a population of
1,200 and 1,895 acres of land. It consists principally of one long street, remarkably clean;
the houses are neat and modern....The Rev. Francis Roberts Phillips, B.A. is the
incumbent . ...the Particular Baptists have a chapel here; and there are National and
Infant Schools. The poor have £77 p.a. in land and legacies..." Among the six members
of the Gentry is listed Mrs. Elizabeth Waldren. Among the list of Traders are two
members of the chapel at that time; Hannah Hodges, milliner and dressmaker
and William Sturgess, hosiery manufacturer. There are others listed who could
well have been husbands of church members; G. Chamberlain, framesmith; William
Goodwin, farmer, grazier and butcher; James Goodwin, shoe-maker; Thomas
Goddard, frame-work knitter; George Ludlam, painter and paper-hanger; John
Mellowes, shoe-maker and Charles Stevenson and Francis Warner, both farmers
and graziers. The National School had 33 boys and 31 girls.
It was a significant day in 1849 when Mr. J. Horsepool preached at the Particular
Baptist Chapel for the first time.
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I
n spite of the encouragement experienced during Mr. Price's ministry, the
church slipped back after his death. The circular letter, read at Monks Kirby,
records:
"During his brief pastorate of little more than three years, twenty persons were
added to the church; but it does not appear that due care was taken in the reception of
members, as many of them declined from the ways of godliness and brought dishonour
upon the church."
Mr. Horsepool, a member of Belvoir Street (formerly Harvey Lane),
Leicester, arrived in time to arrest the slide and put the church back on its
feet for another generation. He was, evidently, a man of means who gave
himself increasingly to the work at Oadby, during the last fourteen years of
his life. At first he supplied the pulpit once a month; then, from 1851-57, he
preached on alternate Sundays. Apart from the three brief extracts, taken from
the first minutes of the church (mentioned previously), the earliest minutes we
possess concern two church meetings, during Mr. Horsepool's period of
oversight. The first would seem to be linked with the decline which followed
Mr. Price's death:
March 29th, 1852.
"Agreed that any member being absent from the Ordinance of the Lord's
Supper for three successive months shall be visited by a deputation from the
church to know the reason of their absence and if they refuse to come until after
the sixth monthly Ordinance, not being able to give a satisfactory account unto
the church of their absence, they shall forthwith be excluded."
It is evident in the 'Church membership book' that a drastic revision of the
roll took place following that decision. Some members were excluded "for
inconsistent conduct"; some for "non-attendance" and others simply had their
membership "withdrawn"
The second minute, dated 26th October, 1857, concerns the church's
invitation to Mr. Horsepool to become minister. At a subsequent meeting, in
December of that year, he accepted. The invitation was signed on behalf of the
church by Mr. Charles Robinson, Deacon. The 'Church membership' book
indicates that Mr. Robinson was elected in 1847 (soon after Mr. Price's death),
and "deposed from the office of Deacon, Aug. 5 1868". Mr. Robinson was Baptized on
April 2nd 1826 and died in 1878. Apart from Henry Sturgess, who became a
member in 1844, was elected deacon in 1851 and then "withdrawn" from
membership in the roll revision of 1852, there is no written evidence of earlier
deacons or church officers.
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The minutes, at the beginning of Mr. Horsepool's ministry, are brief and, in the
main, concern candidates applying for church membership. Among these
references appears a masterpiece of understatement: "Several church meetings
during the year (1859) to settle matters of minor importance". How minor they were will
shortly appear!
Mrs. Waldren probably died in the early 1850's. She had erected the building in
Chapel Street at her own expense. It remained in her possession during her lifetime and, following her death, the church paid an annual rent of £8 for the use of
the building until 1859. In June of that year, under Mr. Horsepool's guidance, the
building was purchased at public auction. The following account is recorded in the
'Church membership' book:
16
Mr. Charles Stevenson, a farmer and grazier, was a good friend to the Chapel. He does
not appear to have been a member. (Mary Stevenson, who could well have been his wife,
joined the church in 1851) She moved on to Little Ashby, near Lutterworth, in 1867, and died
there in 1888). It looks as though he served as 'Building Fund Treasurer'. When the Jubilee
celebrations were held for the erection of the first chapel building, in 1865, an appeal letter,
concerning the balance outstanding on the above account was addressed to members and
friends. This letter indicated that donations should be sent to Mr. Stevenson. The School
Room referred to stands in Chapel Street and for many years was commonly known as the
'Adult School'. It has been refurbished and is currently used as Commercial premises having
been carefully restored in many ways.
It is not clear when the Sunday School was actually formed. In 1835 the Rev. T. K.
Bonney, Archdeacon on Leicester, reported that the Church of England Sunday School had
120 boys and girls. The earliest reference to the Baptist Sunday School appears in the 'Baptist
Magazine' of 1844, to which reference has already been made. Mr. Rees Price baptized eight
candidates on September 1st, 1844, and of these, it is noted, ''four were from our S. S." The
indications are that the School had been in existence for some time, before it became necessary to build specifically for Sunday School work. \
If early baptismal services took place at the Wash Brook, this practice ended with the
arrival of Mr. Horsepool. Apparently he did not conduct baptismal services himself, when he
became pastor. In 1858 two young men, who were to play major roles in the future life of the
church, were baptized and made members. Mr. Jonathan Goddard, the son of a founder
member, was baptized in the July, and Mr. William Siddans, in the December. Jonathan
Goddard was baptized at Belvoir Street by the Rev. J.P.Mursell. It is probable that the other
candidates were, too, during Mr. Horsepool's ministry until at least 1859. Then, in 1861, a
minute reads:
"May I, 1861 - Mr. Barnett of Blaby Baptized in the new school room Sarah
Ruffell, Mary Gray, Martha Bishop, Ann Perkins, Mary Burst and Martha Gilbert". From
then, until Mr. Horsepool's retirement and subsequent death in 1863, The Rev. J. Barnett,
who proved a good friend to the church here, made regular visits to baptize candidates in the
School Room.
Mr. Horsepool's considerable contribution to the life and work of this church is marked
by a memorial tablet which was moved, in 1897, to the present building. The minutes of
the last Annual Members' Tea Meeting he attended are typical of those written
during his ministry:
"1863. April 7 - The church continues in peace and union. Six have been
added during the year .... The prospects of the School pleasing and encouraging. 120
children on the books. Five pounds was kindly presented 10
J. Horsepool, half of which was given to the females' club and half for the
interest. "
The Leicester Association of Particular Baptist Churches came into being just
17
nine years earlier, in 1856. (The Particular was dropped from the title in 1872). Oadby
began sending an annual return in 1865. The first return indicates that there were 47
church members; 15 Sunday School Teachers and 125 children. The circular letter,
read at Monks Kirby on Whit Tuesday, 1865, has been referred to on several occasion. It is likely that his annual return was presented on that occasion, along with a
brief history of the church. In July of that year church meeting resolved: I
"That William Siddans, Jonathan Goddard and John Aldridge together with the
two Deacons. William Chawner and Charles Robinson, form a Managing committee." and
that "William Siddans be the Secretary for the Church". At that time William Siddans
and Jonathan Goddard were in their early twenties.
It was just fifty years since Mrs. Waldren had built the Chapel and Jubilee services were held on August 27th, 1865. As a result of collections taken at the close of the
afternoon and evening services, the 'Chapel Debt' of £76.6s. lOd (referred to in the
June 1859 account) was cleared. In November of that year, a Rev. C. J Smith was invited to preach for three months with a view to the pastorate. The February 1866
church meeting decided, with sadness, that it could not invite him "in consequence of
his views and preaching not being in accordance with the tenets of this church".
Consequently, in the May, William Siddans and William Chawner attended a
meeting of the Leicester Particular Association, at the Rev. P. J. Mursell's vestry,
Belvoir Street, and requested assistance towards the support of a pastor. In August,
1866, the Rev. T. Williams of Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, moved to Oadby. He
was one of Spurgeon's early students and, evidently, had been a member of C. H.
Spurgeon's church, Metropolitan Tabernacle. One of Mr. Williams' first tasks was to
form a Tract Society. Early in 1867 it became necessary to re-seat the chapel building.
Mr. Williams attempted to get C. H. Spurgeon to preach at the special services, held in
this connection, but we can only assume that he failed as no further mention is made of such
a visit.
Mr. Williams sought to make various alterations and improvements to services of worship. Some were received with more sympathy than others. Early in his ministry he had the
Watts' pulpit hymn book rebound and two copies of Dr. Rippon's hymn book purchased for
the pulpit and the desk. In August 1867 two resolutions were passed at church meeting
which are not altogether clear:
"that the hymns be sung through instead of giving out the verses singly," and
"that the addition of Singing, Reading and Prayer be made to the present order of service: these alterations to be tried as an experiment for three months".
Whatever the latter means, the congregation soon lost patience, for a month
later a resolution was passed:
"that one Reading and one Prayer be taken from the present order of Divine
worship". In October 1867 the first of several resolutions was passed that unfermented
wine would, in future, be used at the Lord's supper. The fact that this resolution was passed
more than once, in later years, would indicate that there was a lack of unanimity on this
18
point!
Following Mr. Williams' resignation and removal to London, in March, 1869, William
Siddans wrote to Mrs. Horsepool, the late pastor's widow, and the Leicester Association,
requesting their advice concerning the future. The church had been receiving financial
support from both sources during Mr. Williams' pastorate. In due course, the Rev.
J. Barnett was invited to preach and give the church his counsel. We cannot be sure
whether, or not, it was as a result of Mr. Barnett's advice, but a few weeks later, in May
1869, church meeting resolved:
"that in consideration of the low position of this church, it is desirable that we
seek the co-operation of, or union with, the Victoria Road Church. "
The Victoria Road Nonconformist Church had been erected just three years previously, in 1866, and a membership formed early in 1867. The first minister was the
Rev. Nathaniel Haycroft, M.A., and W. Chawner, E. Gilbert, J Goddard and W. Siddans
were deputed to wait on Mr. Haycroft and his deacons. As a result of this meeting Dr.
Haycroft agreed to arrange pulpit supplies for Oadby for a period of a year. As it
turned out the arrangement was to last for less than a year.
Victoria Road Baptist
Church
was located on London Road
Leicester at its junction with
Victoria Road which was later
renamed University Road after
the University of Leicester was
formed : however the Baptist
Church, now a grade II listed
building, kept its name as
Victoria Road. ( No doubt
confusing both citizens and
newcomers to the city).
In 1983 due to declining numbers
Victoria Road , having sold some
of it’s adjacent property to the
university , merged with Central
Baptist Church Charles Street
and the building was sold to
Leicester Seventh Day
Adventists. It is today still in
regular use as a place of Christian
Worship.
19
M
r. Thomas Wilshere, a deacon of the Victoria Road Church, accepted
Oadby's invitation to become honorary pastor in February, 1870. His pastorate was to last 21 years, the longest in the church's history. Mr.Wilshere,
who had previously held a pastorate in Ireland, continued to live and conduct his business in Leicester where he had set up a mortgage and insurance agency in Leicester in
1865 - this business still continues today (1975)as a stockbroking firm.. Mr. Wilshere
had a family of two sons and four daughters - his wife, Jane, whom he married at the
Independent Chapel, Market Harborough ,was the daughter of Joseph Sharman of
Market Harborough. At the commencement of his ministry the membership stood at
39; there were 7 Sunday School teachers and 109 scholars.
Oadby was undergoing change and development at this time. Gas had been introduced to the village in 1864. In 1872 the children of Nonconformists were able, at
last, to attend school in the village. For 25 years, such children had trudged to and
from Evington in order to obtain their schooling. They started this journey at the age
of three! Jonathan Goddard suffered this indignity and he, with others, fought hard
for a School Board under the Education Act of 1870. Their efforts were rewarded
when a Board was formed from all sections of the community, one of the first six in
Leicestershire. The National School would not, at first, cooperate with the School
Board and so the trustees of the Baptist Chapel in Chapel Street were approached to
see if they would lease their School room to be used as a Board School. After some
alterations were made - to keep the boys, girls and infants separate!! - this went ahead
at a nominal rent of £6 per year. The National School eventually became the Oadby
Board School and Jonathan Goddard, himself, served as a member of the School
Board for many years. ( more details of this can be read in Oadby 1880-1980 - published
by the Oadby Local History Group and now in the Reference Library at Oadby) The National School eventually became the Oadby Board School and Jonathan Goddard, himself, served as a member of the School Board for many years. The Village Hall was
built at a cost of £1,700 in 1874. (Sadly it was demolished exactly a century later) Despite these signs of progress, William Davenport and John Bonner were sentenced to
14 years imprisonment, in 1874, for attempting to take a pheasant in Tiglye Wood. This
was normal punishment for such an offence 120 years ago!
While these gentlemen languished in gaol, the Baptists of Oadby were
thinking that congregational singing could be improved with some accompaniment. A
Harmonium was purchased and two young men appointed to play it; Samuel Hurst
with James Perkins as his deputy.
In 1875, fifty years after the church's formation, the Baptists put the new
village Hall to immediate use. A committee was appointed to inspect the the chapel
building and report on necessary repairs. The committee made four
recommendations: 1.That the building should be cleaned and repaired inside and out.
2.That the existing entrance should be closed and a new entrance
20
made through the vestry.
3.That new windows be fitted where necessary.
4.That the chapel be re-seated with modern open stalls
The recommendations were acted upon straight away and services were held
in the Village Hall while the work was going on. While the building was being improved, it was decided to install a hot-water heating system which would be fired
by a boiler under the pulpit !! The building was re-opened with Thanksgiving services in September 1876. The work had cost £195. 9s. 6d. and the giving totalled £199.
8s. Id. Due to enlargement, the chapel was able to seat 250 people.
The arrangement with Victoria Road involved the Oadby church in giving a
report on its work and general agencies. William Siddans was deputed, in November 1876, to attend a Soiree at Victoria Road and to give this report. One imagines
that he and the new minister there, the Rev. F. B. Meyer, felt rather out of place.
Rev Meyer, a young minister still in his twenties, had moved to Leicester from York
in 1874. He succeeded Dr. Haycroft, who died the previous year.
Victoria Road Leicester was later renamed University Road and Victoria Rd
Baptist Church was located on London Road at the Junction of,what is
now,University Rd. However in the 1983 the church amalgamated with Central
Baptist Church Charles St. and the building sold to the Seventh Day Adventists .—ART 2013
Mr Meyer had become a close friend of the evangelist, D. L. Moody, during his
days at York, and he soon found himself ill-fitted for ministry to a well-to-do
congregation. He resigned the pastorate in 1878 and began holding meetings in the
Public Museum. Eventually, Melbourne Hall was built for him (in St. Peter' s Road,
Leicester). He exercised a great influence in Leicester and is especially remembered
for his prison-gate mission. He met prisoners as they were discharged, gave them
breakfast, found them employment and put new hope into their hearts. In 1892 he
moved to London where he became a national figure. He stopped the proposed
fight between Bombardier Billy Wells and the Negro, Jack Johnson. 'Meddling,
Maudlin Meyer' one national newspaper called him. Some of his devotional works
are still published and have a popular following throughout the world.
In 1878 the Oadby church procured a licence for the Solemnization of marriages and the building was first registered in February of that year. The Dissenters
Marriage Act was passed in 1836 and it is somewhat puzzling that the church did
not take advantage of this Act sooner. It perhaps gives an indication of how much
Oadby looked to stronger churches, in spite of its independent existence for more
than half a century. First, it had looked to Harvey Lane; later Belvoir Street and,
now, Victoria Road.
In the decade, 1870-1890, the population of the village grew from 1,250 to
1,731. By 1880, the membership of the church, about halfway through Mr. Wilshere's
21
pastorate, had grown from 39 to 66. Several baptismal services had been held since
the re-opening of the building in 1876 and the church was in good heart.
In 1882 a temporary gallery was purchased and erected for use at
Children's Anniversaries. In 1888, it is interesting to note that no evening
service was held at the Baptist Chapel on the occasion of the re-opening of the Parish
Church. There is little of historical note to record during the latter half of Mr.
Wilshere's ministry, though it is quite obvious that he continued to serve the church,
selflessly, during his last years. He died in January, 1891, at the age of 67. The last meeting he attended had been called to consider a shortage of Sunday School teachers. It
seems to have had some effect, because the annual return for 1891 shows 61 members;
14 teachers (an increase of three since 1890) and 142 scholars.
The Victoria Road church continued its connection when the Rev. G. Greenhough, its third minister promised to help in the support of a pastor. Mr. Greenhough,
who was minister there from 1879 to 1904, presided at Oadby's church meeting, in
September 1891, when a Rev. Thomas Baker of Stony Stratford was invited to the pastorate for a period of three years. Mr. Baker accepted the invitation on the understanding that a suitable house could be found in the village. It would appear that such
a house was never found, because there is no further reference to Mr. Baker in the
minutes!!
The next ministry was to begin a year later and would mark a period of expansion in the life of the church. Thomas Wilshere provided the sole basis for this, and a
memorial to his faithfulness stands opposite that of his predecessor, John Horsepool,
in the present church building.
O
n October 2nd, 1792, the Baptist Missionary
Society was founded in the parlour of Widow
Wallis at Kettering. A century later, to the
very day, William George Branch, a student of the Midland Baptist College,
Nottingham, entered his charge as minister at Oadby. He was 25 years of age and, in
all probability, the youngest minister the church has ever called. During the previous
half century there had been four pastorates. Three pastors virtually died in harness
and the fourth, though younger, remained for only two and a half years.
22
In 1891 the General and Particular Baptists amalgamated into one denomination.
There had been close co-operation for more than twenty years prior to the official
fusion. This is demonstrated by the fact that Oadby, hitherto known as a Particular
Baptist Church, invited W. G. Branch, a student from a college, hitherto known as the
New Connexion College.
The Rev.J. G. Greenhough of Victoria Road introduced Mr. Branch to Oadby and the
two men worked closely in the years that followed. There was co-operation, too,
between the churches of Oadby at this time. One of Mr. Branch's first tasks was the
publication of "a magazine with printed notices upon the covers of all services - Sunday and
weekday - held in the Village, at the Church (Episcopal), Baptist Chapel, Methodist Chapel
and at the Village Hall by Sister Anstice." On June 18th, 1893 we have the first record of
the Baptist chapel closing in order to join the Methodists on the occasion of their
Anniversary services.
Mr. Branch believed that the time had come to consider the possibility of a new
church building. He shared his thinking with Mr. Greenhough who advised him to
forget the idea for the time being, due to a recent commercial depression. The senior
man's advice failed to dampen his enthusiasm for this venture. Meanwhile he had
other things on his mind. At a public tea meeting, held in connection with the
68th church anniversary in October 1893, Mr. Siddans, the church secretary,
presented a purse of £23. 7s. 6d to the newly-married minister and his wife.
Following Mr. Branch's visit to Mr. Greenhough in 1893, the church established a building
fund and formed a committee. It was an act of faith which soon received its first
confirmation. Jonathan Goddard, who had been appointed chairman of the committee,
rented a piece of land from Mrs. Rachel Ellis of Knighton Hayes, Leicester. After discreet
enquiries, a letter was written to Mrs. Ellis asking if she would be prepared to sell a
portion, or the whole of the land lying between Chapel Lane and Hill's Yard, for the
purpose of building a new Baptist chapel. In February, 1894, Mrs. Ellis wrote to Mr.
Branch in the following manner:
"...I shall have pleasure in presenting the whole of the piece of land adjoining Hill's Yard to
the Baptist Community in Oadby as a site for the erection of a new Baptist Chapel."
She laid down whole just two conditions:
1."...that no Public House or other place for the sale of
intoxicating drinks, shall at any
time be erected on the land."
1."...that in event of the garden now in the occupation of Mr. Goddard being
required, reasonable notice to quit should be given to him." A trust deed was drawn up
in July,1894. In addition to the recreation ground which bears her name, Mrs. Ellis is
remembered as the lady who gave Oadby its first library and public baths. The baths,
which adjoined the present church building, were opened in 1904 and closed in 1984
23
The building fund committee was all male, but the ladies had an increasing part to
play in fund-raising, in the ensuing years. In co-operation with the ladies of Victoria
Road, a three day Sale was held at the Knighton Public Hall, in November, 1896. On
the first day, the Mayor opened the event; on the second day, Mrs. Ellis and on the
third, Mrs. T. Wilshere. Admission was ls.Od the first two days; 6d for the third and
2s.Od. for a season ticket! £250 was raised (two and a half times Mr. Branch's annual
stipend).
In spite of this boost to the fund, the Oadby folk were in for a rude awakening. It
had always been assumed that the maximum outlay for the project would be £1,500.
When the architect, Mr. G. Brown, submitted his plans in February, 1897, the
estimate came to £1,742 18s 7 1/2d The Church meeting still gave the go-ahead and in
June the firm of F. Elliott began work. The church was opened on Thursday, 17th
March, 1898. The report which appeared in the 'Leicester Daily Mercury' the
following day , makes good reading: "The building.. is in the Gothic style.. At the West
end of the chapel there is a recess, where it is hoped to shortly place a new organ.. There is
a gallery in course of erection at the east end of the building...The pews in the chapel are
pitch pine, but are not yet varnished..
“Mr J Matthews, the treasurer of the building fund...said… the total
estimated cost of the whole of the buildings would be £2,350. Against that amount
they had already received in cash £1,348.... The collection that afternoon
amounted to over £33, and then they had to take into consideration the collections
to be made that night, and the probable sale of the old chapel.. He had pleasure in
stating that Ald. Wood had promised to give the last £50,f the amount (loud
applause).
"The pastor of the chapel, Rev. W. G. Branch, thanked all those who had assisted
in bringing the venture to such a successful issue. They had renewed their youth so
to speak. This was not merely an outburst of early enthusiasm on their part, for it
was over one hundred years since Baptist ministers first preached in the village. he
hoped they would all put their shoulders to the wheel, and do their best to support
the chapel in the future."
The original target of £1,500 was exceeded in less than five years and the Debt on
the building was finally cleared in 1907.
As so often happens at such times, the church itself was bursting with new life and
vigour. Prior to the opening of the new church a Band of Hope was formed; a
Christian Endeavour Society replaced the meeting of the Christian Band and and
a Bible Class was held on Monday evening (in addition to the Tuesday Mid-week
Service). One winter, Mr. Branch gave a series of lectures on "The Reformation",
Mrs. Branch was asked at a church meeting if she would ascertain whether a
Mother’s Meeting was necessary. In spite of the financial commitment facing the
church a letter was sent to Victoria Road in 1897 giving thanks for continued
24
financial assistance. The letter also stated that Oadby were now in a position to pay
£15 more towards the Minister’s stipend. At this point the salary was made up as
follows :Oadby
Victoria Road
£40
£35
A gift of £5 was given to
Mr Branch “ for the extra
amount of labour given
to the building fund
Leicestershire
Association
£15
Baptist Union
Augmentation
Fund
£15
The old schoolroom was sold to Mr. William Stevenson of Syston for £120
(the plot of land had been purchased from Mr. Charles Stevenson in 1859), and the
old chapel to a Mr. Prentice who paid £100 and contributed a further £20 to the
building fund. Soon after the opening of the new church, Mr. Branch received an
invitation to the pastorate of the Vale Church, Lancashire. A meeting was hastily
arranged after an evening service and he was given a unanimous invitation to
remain. He accepted and remained another eight years.
Until the new building was opened, it was the practice to appoint three
deacons every five years. At this time a decision was taken to enlarge the diaconate
to five and have elections every three years. At the first election Messrs. Thomas
Bishop, Alfred Bishop, Jonathan Goddard, Samuel Hurst and George Hames became
deacons. Jonathan Goddard had previously been a deacon since 1874; Thomas
Bishop had served one term from 1890, and Alfred Bishop one term from 1894.
William Siddans retired from the diaconate, at this election, due to ill health.
He first became church secretary in 1865, during the interregnum which followed
Mr. Horsepool's death. Apart from a short break, he remained secretary until 1883,
when he was succeeded by Jonathan Goddard. He served as a deacon for 29 years;
as Sunday School Superintendent for 28 and as a church member for exactly 50
years. Mr. Siddans died in 1909.
The first stewards were Mr. Alfred Bowles and Mr. George Summerland.
Mr. Bowles' marriage took place at the Methodist Church on June 7th,1897, the
same day that Mr. Bettoney, a bell-ringer at the Parish Church, celebrated his
marriage. In spite of the fact that neither wedding took place in the old Baptist
Chapel, Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Bettoney both spent their active years in the
service of the Baptist church. Mrs. Bowles was baptized on January 31st 1899, and
her membership was transferred from the United Methodist Free Church a week
later. Both Mrs. Bowles, in December 1974, and Mrs Bettoney, in March, 1975,
celebrated their 100th birthdays and at that time had lived through more than half
the church's history!
The minutes of church meetings, at the turn of the century, indicate a greater
awareness by the membership of social and political issues. The Indian Famine
25
was discussed on several occasions. Special collections were taken and, in 1900,
Mr. Albert Goddard, the choir master, arranged a brass band concert on the Ellis
recreation ground for the same purpose. In 1897 the minister and deacons were
authorised to sign a petition to the Queen asking for an official inspection of
convents. A meeting was held, after an evening service in June 1900, to express
support for a Bill seeking the prevention of sales of Liquor to children under 16.
The Education Bill, introduced in 1902 by Balfour's Conservative Government,
caused great offence to Nonconformists. It provided much-needed aid to Secondary
Schools, but the controversy arose over its provisions in regard to denominational
schools. Dr. John Clifford, minister of Westbourne Park Baptist Chapel, London,
became the popular leader of the Passive Resistance Movement once the Bill became
law. The Movement sought to dissuade house-holders from paying the proportion of
their rates which was to be devoted to church schools. A church meeting in 1903
agreed the school room could be used for meetings of Passive Resisters "against the
Priestly so-called Education Acts 1901 and 1902". How high feelings raged locally can be
gauged by the fact that the Rev. P. T. Thomson, who ministered at Victoria Road
from 1905-1914, was imprisoned on eight occasions for resistance to this Bill.
In 1903 another minute appears to the effect that church meeting approved the
efforts of Sunday School teachers to form a 'Boys° Life-Saving Brigade' (presumably
the Boys' Life Brigade, a fore-runner of the modern B. B. movement). This would
include gymnastic exercises with no special military training. It can only be assumed
that the venture failed, as no further mention is made of this until the present Boys'
Brigade Company was formed in October 1960.
In 1905 co-operation between the Baptists and Methodists developed further
when united mid-week services commenced. On alternate weeks Mr. Branch spoke
at the Methodist church and Mr. Mallelieu the Methodist minister, at the
Baptist Church. This arrangement was to prove advantageous to the Baptists for,
within three months Mr. Branch announced that he had accepted an invitation to
become Minister at Stafford. During the interregnum Mr. Mallelieu took all the midweek services.
There is no memorial tablet to Mr. Branch in the present church building.
Perhaps that is fitting, because the building itself stands as a living reminder to us of
him and those who shared his labours. When he became minister in 1892 the
membership stood at 54. When he moved in 1906 it stood at exactly 100. His
subsequent pastorates were Stafford (1906-22); Bedworth(1923-29; Kings
Sutton(1929-34) and Street(1934-36). He died at Ashford in Kent, November, 1956. A
tribute made at the time included the following sentence: "As preacher, pastor and
author he made a lasting impression on the lives of a countless number of people."
26
I
n 1901 the population of Oadby was 1,880. Although the chapel recorded
no annual return that year, the figures, for years either side of that date,
would indicate a membership of about 100 and a Sunday School of more
than 150 scholars. In other words, at least one in eight of the population had some
connection with the Baptist Church.
It is significant that Mr. Branch ended his ministry here in the year that
historians consider Nonconformist fortunes began to wane. D.W.Brogan in 'The
English People' wrote: "It is probable that Nonconformity reached its height of
political power, was most representative of the temper of the English people,
round the beginning of this century. ...but in the generation that has passed since
the great Liberal landslide of 1906, one of the greatest changes in the English
religious and social landscape has been the decline of Nonconformity." The first
World War had a shattering effect on the Church in this country, but the signs of
decline were already apparent in Free Church Life before it began. This was
reflected in the Baptist cause here.
There were sixty members present at a church meeting, following the evening
service on 15th April, 1906, which unanimously invited the Rev. Gilbert Augustus
James to the pastorate. Mr. James, who trained at the Cardiff Baptist College, had
previously ministered at Firehead and Isle Abbott (1899-1903) and Hatherleigh,
from 1903. Sir Edward Wood gave an address at his recognition services in the
September.
Mr. James lived at 9, The Villas, during his time in Oadby. He arrived to find
plans well in hand to fill the recess at the west end of the chapel. William Porritt,
the organ builder, was engaged to build the fine instrument we enjoy today. Mr.
Andrew Carnegie, the American iron and steel magnate, was thanked in August,
1906 for his generous offer to pay the latter half of the cost. William Siddons, the
son of the former church secretary, was appointed organist in 1907. Mr. Samuel
Hurst, who had played the harmonium for many years, had expressed the wish to
retire. The first organ-blowers appointed were Mr. T. Granger and Mr. John
Honeywell. In later years Mr. Honeywell's sons, Messrs. Billy, Harry and Jim
Honeywell were to establish something of a record in Oadby by playing the organs
of the Parish church, the Methodist church and the Baptist Church respectively, at
the same time. Mr. Jim Honeywell followed in his father’s footsteps as an organ
-blower.
Every opportunity was taken, following the installation of the organ, to hold
musical services on Sunday afternoons. At the end of 1908 a piano was purchased
for £18 and a fund launched to pay off the cost by instalments. Throughout this
period, the church had reason to be grateful to sister churches; the wider
Association and the Baptist Union for continual financial assistance and practical
27
help. The Victoria Road church; the Leicester Association; the East Midlands Baptist
Association (founded in 1892) and the Baptist Union Augmentation Fund had made
full-time ministry possible from 1892. The Leicester Baptist Extension Committee
gave £400 to the Building Fund in 1900. Forms, for the lower school room, were
given by Victoria Road. In 1910 and 1911 Melbourne Hall presented 200 hymn books.
Late in 1911 Mr. James moved from Oadby to Walkley, Sheffield. In 1913 he
resigned from the Baptist Ministry and entered the Church of England. Following his
departure, doubts were expressed as to whether the church could really afford to call
another minister. However, after a vacancy of just over a year, the Rev. Henry Short
was given a unanimous invitation to the pastorate. He settled early in 1913. Soon
afterwards he called a meeting to discuss the advisability of purchasing a Manse. A
Manse Fund was established but it was to be many years before this dream was
realised. Just over a year later the Fund was abandoned. The Dorcas Society was
thanked for the gift of £20 from the previous year's Garden Fete and the money
devoted to church expenses.
From August 1914 to November 11th 1918 Great Britain was engaged in a bitter war
with Germany; a war which involved most of Europe and a large part of the world, a
war which cost millions of lives.
Men from all walks of life were sent to fight and, along with the rest of the country,
Oadby sent it’s share of young men. Casualties were high and fifteen men who had a
connection with this church either died in battle or from wounds received on the
battlefield. They are named as
G H Elliott LG Boulter W Markham F Sturgess E W Mathews C E Mathews
S T Allen M Summerland H Summerland R Chamberlain T Grainger W Fenwick
A Bennett S C Potterton and O Mellows.
On Sunday, June 6th,
1920, Mr. Herbert
Sturgess-Wells gave an
address and unveiled a
tablet in memory of
fifteen former Sunday
School Scholars who
died in the first World
War .
28
The ladies of the chapel were as active as ever, particularly as the men-folk went off
to the front. In addition to the work and efforts of the Dorcas Society, the Women's
Guild presented a cloth for the Communion table in 1914 and, six months later
provided curtains for the vestry windows and doors. Mrs. Odell, who had succeeded
Mr. Siddans as organist in 1913, became ill, and her daughter stepped into the breach
temporarily. Retiring collections were taken so that Christmas parcels could be sent
to former scholars of the Sunday School serving at the front. No doubt the ladies
were engaged in making these up.
Mr. Short resigned the pastorate in May, 1915 and, subsequently, became a
member of Victoria Road. He had trained for the ministry at Regents Park Baptist
College, London, and held a pastorate at Earls Barton, Northamptonshire from 19011908. He came to Oadby after four years in the United States of America. As far as is
known he left the ministry altogether in 1915 and became an insurance salesman.
Due to the low condition of the church, following Mr Short's resignation, the
deacons consulted with officers of the East Midland Baptist Association. As a result,
the Rev. J.R.Godfrey, the minister at Arnesby, was invited to carry out a limited
amount of pastoral visitation at Oadby; preside at church meetings and conduct midweek services on alternate Tuesday evenings. (The arrangement with the
Methodist Church had continued for a decade at this time.) Late in 1916 a
Management Committee was formed consisting of four deacons and five
representatives from the East Midland and Leicester Associations. The five
representatives were Messrs. J. A. Yates, W. H. Wright, W. H. Wilshere, W. S. Wallen
and H. Sturgess-wells. The wives of two of these gentlemen, Mrs. Wallen and
Mrs. Sturgess-Wells, helped with the Girls' Guild.
Lighting restrictions affected the time of evening services during the latter half
of the War. After a brief attempt in 1916 to hold the 'evening' service at 3.00pm
church members decided to revert to a 6.00pm. service. Screening of the chapel
windows proved so inadequate that the local policeman had to interrupt an evening
service on at least one occasion. The united mid-week services were held for a time
in the Village Hall as a "precaution against War danger of Zeppelins", the minutes
recall.
As the first World War drew towards its close, Mr. Jonathan Goddard laid down
his office as church secretary. He had been baptized 60 years previously; became a
deacon in 1874 and succeeded William Siddans, as secretary in 1883. During those
years he had seen the fortunes of his beloved chapel wax and wane. He was a man
of many talents who shared his knowledge and learning liberally. He served as Clerk
to the Oadby Council. Mr. H. Sturgess-Wells, the first Chairman of the Oadby Urban
District Council, formed in 1913, described Jonathan Goddard, in his autobiography,
as: " ......a genial old soul, of patriarchal appearance, fond of Astronomy and the
Arts, devoted to his large family and home. ....He was a Baptist local preacher and
used to cycle to village chapels, Sunday by Sunday, until he was 80 or so." Mr.
Goddard and Mr. Alfred Bishop, a fellow-deacon and former treasurer, had
29
previously been made Elders in 1916. Jonathan Goddard died on 19th December,
1920. Mr. Samuel Hurst, who had resumed his duties as organist in 1916, became
church secretary in 1918.
The Rev. A. E. Wheeley of Husbands Bosworth was invited to become pastor
early that year. Some indication of the decline that had taken place, during the War
years, can be drawn from the fact that 23 members were present at church meeting
when Mr. Wheeley was invited. When the previous two ministers were called, in
1906 and 1913, 60 were present at both meetings.
It would appear from the minutes that Mr. Wheeley was the first minister to
include Infant Dedication in service of worship. The first recorded Dedication is that
of Stanley, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Stedman, on December 12th, 1920. Such
services were not widely practised in Baptist churches until about this time. The
present practice goes back to the end of `the 19th century, when Dr. John Clifford
responded to the request of parents and introduced a simple ceremony in the home.
The Management Committee, formed in 1916, apparently saw no need to meet
after Mr. Wheeley's arrival. Mr. W. H. Wilshere, son of the former pastor and a
member of the Management Committee, repeated an offer he had made previously to
purchase a house for the use of the minister, with a view to the church paying him
back by instalments. This offer was accepted. Mr. Wheeley lived in 'Linden House'
Lindhurst Road. After the War the area in front of the chapel building was cleared. All
the trees, with the exception of one on each side, were removed; the hedge cut lower
and the area grassed over.
The church determined to recover lost ground when the Women's Guild were
asked to visit 400 homes with leaflets giving details of sermon themes. Lady visitors
were also appointed by the diaconate to visit lapsed members. Perhaps this has some
connection with the fact that church meeting agreed, early in 1921, to elect two lady
deacons in addition to the existing five male members of the diaconate! Mrs. A. L
Bishop and Mrs. J. L. Baker were the first ladies elected.
Mr. Edgar Stacey succeeded Mr. Albert Goddard as Choir Master when the latter
moved to Leicester in 1920. A year later Mr. Stacey resigned and was succeeded by
Mr. Jim Honeywell who was sixteen years old at the time. His brother, Harry ,
became the organist.
In 1923 Mr. Tom Smalley proposed in Church meeting that the diaconate should
give consideration to the erection of a new school room. It was agreed that a Building
Fund should be established and the choir were asked to give a musical entertainment
to launch it. As the church began considering plans for the Centenary celebrations, at
the end of 1923, a target of £1,000 was agreed in connection with the project. Several
other decision were taken that year. Mr. Wheeley was invited to remain for a further
term as minister. Copies of the Baptist Church Hymnal, first published in 1900, were
30
purchased. Mr. Samuel Hurst, who had served so faithfully as organist, teacher and
deacon, resigned as church secretary and was created a life elder. He refused an
illuminated address so a special minute was recorded. Mr. James Leon Baker was
appointed church secretary in his place.
In September 1924 it was agreed that the united mid-week services, commenced at
the conclusion of Mr. Branch's ministry, should be discontinued. Just eighteen
months had elapsed since the launching of the Building fund and already £234 had
been raised. The church set out to raise £30 to cover the cost of the 1925 Centenary
celebrations, so that all money received could be added to the Fund. Mr. Wheeley's
plan to produce a 'Centenary Booklet' was agreed with the proviso that the deacons
act as censors. The major part of the booklet contained quotations submitted by
members, scholars and friends on the date of their birthdays.
The Centenary celebrations lasted throughout October 1925. A Sunday School Day
was held at which scholars gave a demonstration entitled 'Past and Present'. An Old
Scholars' Reunion took place and the Rev. W. G. Branch returned to give addresses on
'What the Sunday School has done for me' and 'What can I do for the Sunday School?'
Other special services were held. Among the preachers were the Rev. A. M. Retch of
Victoria Road and Dr. J. W. Ewing of London.
A decision to wire the church for electric lighting in 1925 had to be deferred, due to
the installation of a new boiler. In spite of this disappointment, Mr. Alfred Bowls was
able to report that £566.18s. 8d had been raised towards the new Sunday School
Building in just two years. A few weeks later the need for a new schoolroom became
more obvious than ever when Mr. Bowles reported to church meeting the visit of
frogs in the down-stairs room!!
In February 1926 Mr. Wheeley announced his
resignation. In the July, the church showed its
appreciation of his ministry by presenting him with a
wallet containing £42.10s.0d. He moved to Overseall ,
staying until 1931. He was at Kirkby & Sutton in
Ashfield from 1931-37, and then Brook-end, Keysoe,
where he died in 1943. In due course, Mrs Alice
Wheeley, his wife, returned to Oadby as a member and
she died in 1951.
31
W
hen Mr. Wheeley left Oadby in 1926, the membership stood at 70;
there were 20 teachers and 139 scholars in the Sunday School. It is
little wonder that there was such need for a new school room. The
downstairs room was cramped, dark and damp. Sunday morning and afternoon
Schools overflowed into the vestries above. Yet friends who recall those days,
under Mr. Alfred Bowles' Superintendency , have the happiest of memories.
Frequent concerts were held in the old school room and the Misses Malkin and
Hurst staged a number of operettas. In the days before the premises were wired
for electricity, Jim Honeywell and Harold Sherriff showed their ingenuity when 'fairy
' lights were required for one production. The used an upturned cycle with an early
dynamo and, as Harold turned the crank, six little home-made lamps lit each of the
fairies. In later years Mr. Honeywell would accompany Mr. Sherriff, a member of
the choir and tenor soloist, when he sang in many of the Leicester churches. Mr.
Sherriff's father was responsible for laying on water to the premises in 1927.
The Rev. C. Edwin Sparrow accepted an invitation to the pastorate and settled in
November 1927. Mr. Sparrow, who was in his fifties, had trained at Regents Park
Baptist College, London, and entered the ministry in 1899. His previous pastorates
had been at Hawkshurst, Shoreham, Buckden and Ellington, Offord D'Arcy, the
Comberton Group & Leighton Buzzard. At that the time the church decided to buy
its first Manse - 46, Parkland Drive, Oadby.
During 1928 a Renovation Fund was launched. As a result the organ was
cleaned and repaired by Porritts, and an electric motor fitted at the end of 1929; the
church was wired for electric lighting and the interior of the building was renovated
(at a cost of £70). Reopening services were held on August 30th, 1931. Early in
1932, the deacons received a letter from Miss Ethel Honeywell asking whether steps
could now be taken to erect the new Sunday School building.
The church made Mr. F. Odell a life elder in 1931 in recognition of his services as
treasurer for eighteen years, and deacon for seventeen. His successor was Mr. G. H.
Mawby. Mr. Tom Smalley succeeded Mr. J. L. Baker as church secretary in 1932. In
May of that year Mr. Smalley saw his youngest son, Edward, baptized.
In September, 1932, a social evening was arranged at the time of Harvest
Thanksgiving, to bid farewell to Mr. Sparrow. He moved to Modbury, his last
32
pastorate, and retired in 1938. He died in May 1947 and his funeral service was
conducted by Dr. David Russell, at the Church Road Baptist Church, Acton,. London.
During the interregnum, which followed Mr. Sparrow's departure, the church
meeting debated whether to sell the manse but failed to come to a decision. In 1933
the deacons submitted plans to church meeting for the new School Room. A £600
free of interest loan was obtained from the Baptist Union Loan Fund and Bentley &
Co's tender for £1,743 accepted. By the day of the stone-laying £800 had been
raised. The opening took place on Saturday, December 16th 1933. Oadby acted as
host church to the delegates of the East Midland Baptist Association at the 1934
Autumn meeting.
At the beginning of 1935, the Rev. Hector Harcup was invited to the pastorate.
At that time Mr. Harcup had been minister of his first church, Melbourne, Derbyshire,
for just under four years. He declined the invitation and remained at Melbourne
until, 1938, when he moved to North Evington. Although the church meeting
decided to sell the Parkland Drive Manse in January 1935, no action was taken and
the house remained in the church's possession for many years, with rent being
received from a tenant.
At the end of 1935, the Rev. Denis Bareham accepted the church's invitation to
become minister. He settled in February, 1936. Mr. Bareham had trained at the
Dublin Baptist College and came to Oadby from his first pastorate, Glengormley,
Oadby Baptist Church Interior – c 1930-1931
Taken from an etching made about the time that the church was wired for electricity
and the interior renovated.
Note the choir pews and the curtain in front of the pulpit
33
Belfast, where he had ministered from 1933. He moved into the Parkland Drive
Manse. At the same time, Mr. Alfred Bowles took over the church secretaryship, for
a year, and Mr. L. G. Smalley succeeded Mr. G. H. Mawby as treasurer.
In June 1936, Mr. Len Stacey became a member of the church and little over six
months later was elected deacon. He remained as a deacon for the rest of his life,
being made a life deacon in 1973, in recognition of the service he had rendered to
this church.
The four chairs used by deacons at Communion services were donated in
memory of various friends and dedicated for use on 6th June, 1937
M
r . G. H. Mawby served the church as secretary from 1937 to 1940,
and Mr. Tom Smalley succeeded his son, Leonard, (who moved
with his family from the district) when he became treasurer for the
second time in 1939. This was a period when the whole Smalley family gave notable
service to the church. Leonard, Reginald and Edward, Jonathan Goddard's three
grandsons, all played the organ at various times. Leonard was a deacon from 1931
and treasurer from 1936; May their sister, became a deacon in 1938 and eventually
church secretary in 1951 ; Reginald served as a deacon and treasurer from 1943 to
1946 and Edward, before he entered Bristol Baptist College, served as Choir Master
and organist in succession to his brother, Leonard.
Soon after the outbreak of the second world war, Mr. Bareham moved from
Oadby to Purfleet and South Stifford. He remained there till 1943, when he moved
to Thetford and Brandon, and eventually to Foleshill, Coventry until 1953. Following
Mr. Bareham's departure there was an interregnum of three years, during which Mr.
Len Stacey served as Church secretary. The church had received help and co-operation from the Victoria Road friends at two periods in its history. In 1869 the church
sought the counsel of the Rev. J. Barnett of Blaby and subsequently approached
Victoria Road. The ministries of Thomas Wilshere and W. G. Branch were the outcome. It is quite a coincidence that, in June 1941, the Rev. A. Dalton, minister of Blaby,
introduced the possibility of a second link-up with the Victoria Road Church. Correspondence followed between the two churches, as a result of which the link was
renewed after a gap of close on forty years. The Rev. R. C. Walton was the minister
of Victoria Road at that time. He left there in 1943 and, later had a distinguished
career in the School Broadcasting Department of the B.B.C.
34
Mr. Sherriff carried out improvements to the church heating system in
1941. Due to lighting restrictions, 'evening' services were held a varying times
from 3.30 to 6.00p.m. as in the first world war. In November, 1942, Mr. F. E. Winterton, a deacon of Victoria Road was appointed moderator. During the war, the
downstairs school room was requisitioned for the used of military personnel. At one
church meeting the diaconate were asked to look into their extravagant use of fuel.
In 1943, Mr. J. L. Baker began his second period of service as church secretary and
Mr. Reg. Smalley succeeded his father as treasurer.
A suggestion was presented to church meeting that the Rev. Hector Harcup,
now the minister at North Evington, should become Assistant Minister at Victoria
Road and Minister at Oadby. A formal agreement was drawn up between the churches, in July 1943, and Mr. Harcup commenced his ministry on September 5th. In spite
of the war the church came back to life. Copies of the Baptist Church Hymnal
(Revised), published in 1933, were purchased and used in worship, along with a new
pulpit Bible. Fellowship evenings commenced on a Wednesday and Sunday evening
meetings for young people, with the clear purpose of preparation for church membership. As soon as the war ended and military personnel vacated the school room, a determined effort was made to build up the Sunday School again. The church gave its
blessing and encouragement to Edward Smalley as he entered the Bristol Baptist College for ministerial training.
In 1946, Mr. Ken Honeywell was asked to succeed Mr. Reg. Smalley as organist,
as soon as he was released from the navy. Mr. Smalley and his wife were moving
from the district and, in the meantime, Ken's father, Mr. Jim Honeywell, who had
served as organist of the Archdeacon Lane Baptist Church for some years, was
asked to play. Repairs to the organ were put in hand at that time. Pews were purchased from the Emmanuel Baptist Church, Leamington Street, Leicester, and these,
with timber from the front pew, were used to construct a platform for the Communion table.
Dr. Arthur Kirkby succeeded the Rev. R. C. Walton as minister of Victoria Road in
1945. He and representatives of the church attended annual meetings at Oadby which,
after the war, took place on Saturday evenings, commencing with tea.
In the early post-war years several further improvements were made to the
church. A new pulpit fall was presented. The carpet covering the communion table
platform was presented by Mr. & Mrs. J. Boulter. In 1948 a deaf-aid system was installed which proved a boon to those hard of hearing. In recent years, of course, this
has been replaced by a loop system which works in conjunction with the modern hearing aids.
The village of Oadby grew out of all recognition in the post war years. The village
35
chapel had become a suburban church in a generation. The census figures tell the
story. In 1901 the population was 1,890; in 1931, 4,724; in 1951, 6,205; and in June
1972, prior to amalgamation with Wigston, 20,490.
In June 1947, the church celebrated the Jubilee of the stone-laying of the
present church building w ith the return of the Rev. W. G. Branch, now in his 80th
year. On Thursday, June, 19th, a public meeting was held at which one of the
speakers was Dr. F. Townley Lord, minister of Bloomsbury Baptist Church and
President of the Baptist Union. Prior to the meeting a musical concert was given
by the 'Shady Lane String Quartette'.
The quartet came from a local Prisoner of War Camp, located in Shady Lane,
where the Arboretum now stands, and were led by Georg Bleyer, a professional
musician, trained at the Leipzig Conservatoire. Mr. Harcup wrote about this concert: "Following the tea we were privileged to listen to a programme of music arranged by Jim Honeywell and Georg Bleyer. I doubt if better music has ever been
heard in our church. Dr. Lord was very enthusiastic about it and he wrote a
lengthy notice in the 'Baptist Times', which he edited at the time".
For about fifteen months before they were repatriated in 1948, the prisonersof-war were allowed to leave their camp. On Mr. Harcup's initiative, contact was
made with the camp authorities and the Lutheran Padre. As a result 28 prisoners
attended morning service on the first Sunday morning service in 1947. From then
on numbers at united services increased. The prisoners sat to sing and stood to
pray (the usual Lutheran practice). At first, few of them could speak English. The
Padre led the prayers in German, while Mr. Harcup announced the 'subjects for
prayer' to the congregation, and then everyone joined in the Lord's prayer. In addition to this contact, friendships had previously been made with Germans, who
had fled from Hitler's concentration camps to this country before the war and
were living at Wistow Hall. The Lutheran pastor of that community, Dr. Schweitzer, preached at one of the united services which were arranged before the
prisoners were repatriated and several members, in addition to Mr. and Mrs.
Harcup, would entertain them in their homes.
Pastor Bucholz, the Lutheran Padre at the Shady Lane Camp, gave the children's address in English at one united service. Mr. Harcup learnt that the Pastor,
who had not been a members of Hitler's party, was due to be transferred to a camp
where only Nazi party members were interned. The pastor was already ill and had
received no news of his wife and six children who were living in the Russian zone. Mr.
Harcup took up the matter with the local Member of Parliament and the Minister of
War directed that there should be no transfer.
36
On one occasion Mr. Harcup visited the camp and was allowed to go to the Padre's room, which served as a church. The purpose of his visit was to discuss the possibility of a united Communion service. He had tea. The water was boiled in treacle tin
on the stove in the middle of the hut. The tea-pot was another treacle tin and the
cups, smaller sized tins.
The prisoners were given a piece of cake once a week. To preserve it as long
as possible, they would toast it and keep it in a tin. The padre insisted that the English minister share it with him, little more than a square inch each. Mr. Harcup says:
"It was like a sacrament of fellowship in itself. The surroundings, the tin cans, the
fact that the tea was weak and without milk and sugar, that all we had to eat was a
tiny piece of austerity cake - these counted for nothing. It was the best he had to
share with me and he was glad to be able to do it. I felt very close to him at that moment." Afterwards, as Mr. Harcup read through the order for communion, he
came to the words of institution: "For I received from the Lord...." and the Padre responded: "You read that, we come." So two different traditions shared Communion
at a united service on 4th May, 1947.
Returning to affairs at the church. Mr. G. H. Mawby became treasurer again,
in 1946, following Mr. Reg. Smalley, and he was succeeded, in turn by Mr. W. Gray
in 1949. In July 1949, The Rev. Edward Smalley was ordained at Oadby by the
Principal of Bristol College, Dr. Arthur Dakin. As far as can be ascertained he is the only
member of the church to have entered the ministry throughout its history, and it was
fitting that he should conduct the 150th anniversary services. Mr. Smalley was
appointed General Superintendent of the Eastern Area in 1972 following pastorates
at Rockingham Road, Kettering from 1949 to 1955; Tilehouse Street Hitchin from 1955
to 1966 and Hutton and Shenfield Union Church from 1966 to 1972. He retired to
Shenfield Essex.
In 1951, Miss May Smalley succeeded Mr. J. L. Baker as church secretary. Her father, Mr. Tom Smalley, who was baptized by Mr. Branch on June 27th, 1893 and had
served the church and the churches in so many different ways, was made a life
elder. Mr. Alfred Bowles died early in 1951. He, like Mr. Smalley, had been baptized by Mr. Branch on August 28th, 1893. He became a deacon in 1901 and served
with distinction till his death. He served the Sunday School for over half a century
and was Superintendent for over forty years. Mr. Harcup wrote: "Through his
work as Superintendent and Door Steward, as well as deacon, he achieved a unique
place in the life of the village. This was also helped by his cheerful disposition, his
gift for friendship and his interest in sport, especially Rugby Football, though the latter always took second place to his loyalty to church events if both clashed." A memorial fund, supported by many folk outside the circle of his Baptist friends, raised over
£100. As a result main gates at the front of the church were erected and a memorial
plaque place in the church vestibule. The gates were "opened" on 20th October 1951.
In April 1951, Mr. Harcup announced that he no longer felt able to continue as Assistant Minister at Victoria Road, and, in consequence, must seek another pastorate.
37
The Oadby church meeting unanimously invited him to continue as minister,
agreeing to pay the whole of his stipend. Mr. Harcup accepted the invitation and
remained a further six years. The exterior of the church was renovated during 1951
by Mr. F. E. Winterton's firm. Mr. Winterton had acted as a moderator during the
interregnum, prior to Mr. Harcup's arrival. New curtains were fitted in church by
the ladies and extensive alterations took place in the downstairs schoolroom.
At the annual church meeting in 1953 a membership of 76 was reported,
twenty more than a decade before when Mr. Harcup commenced his ministry.
Porritts carried out minor alterations to the organ and the blower was moved from
the choir vestry to the kitchen below. The Baptist Union Model Trust Deed was
adopted by the church in 1954 and the East Midland Baptist Association became trustees. In 1955 a decision was taken to hold Communion services once a quarter in the
morning. Previously Communion services had only been held in the evening. In
November of that year, pew felts were presented to the church by Mr. H. Sturgesswells, J.P. in memory of his second wife. He said: "My wife enjoyed worshipping at
Oadby Baptist Church from time to time except for the hard seats!",
As Oadby began to grow, members were invited to undertake visitation
of the new housing estates. Mr. Harcup had lived at 63, Stoughton Road throughout
his ministry - a house rented from Mr. G. H. Mawby. In June, 1956, the church meeting decided to purchase the house at 49, Stoughton Road, for £1,000. Loans were
quickly raised from the E. M. B. A. and a number of members, who made interest free
loans. £500 was spent on repairs, new fitments and re-decoration. In September
1956 Mrs. Bowles relinquished her responsibility for preparing the Communion
Table after forty years. In the same year, the lighting in church was improved.
Mr and Mrs. Harcup had very little time to enjoy the new Manse. In December 1956, the church learnt that their minister had accepted an invitation to the
pastorate at Newhaven, together with a post under the United Kingdom Alliance.
Mr. Harcup moved in March 1957, and remained at Newhaven until his retirement in
1968. He died in 1978. His ministry held a very warm place in the affection of those
who had shared the war and postwar years with him and Mrs Harcup
Early in 1957 the Rev. and Mrs. Cairiog Rogers' membership was
transferred from Uppingham Road, Leicester, just in time for Mr. Rogers to
accept appointment as moderator. The 60th Anniversary of the stone-laying of the
present building was celebrated in June, 1957. Mr. Harcup came back to preach,
along with Dr. H. H. Rowley, the President of the Baptist Union, and the Rev. Edward
Smalley.
In December, 1957, the Rev. R. W. J. Webb accepted the unanimous
38
invitation of the church to the pastorate. Mr. Webb, who trained at Bristol College, had previously ministered at High Street, Tring, from 1941 to 1946, and
South Oxford from 1946. He, his Wife Elaine and four sons settled into the new
Manse in April, 1958. They did not only receive a warm welcome from the membership. There was a larger congregation of wood-worm in the church floor!! Twenty gallons of 'Cuprinol' were purchased at the time of their arrival and several
years' treatment began. In the summer of that year it proved necessary to purchase two oil-fired boilers at a cost of £650. Remarkably, by November, 1961, the
debts on the Manse and the boilers had been cleared.
Soon after Mr. Webb's arrival, another faithful servant of the church died.
Mr. Harry Boulter became a deacon in 1914, soon after he and his wife transferred their membership from Kirby Muxloe. He served on the diaconate for thirty
years. Mr. and Mrs. Boulter lost their only surviving son in France at the end of the
first World War. One of the Communion Chairs is dedicated to his and Mrs.
Boulter’s memory - she died three years later.
In 1959, Mr, Webb was appointed Free Church Chaplain at Stretton Hall - a
long-stay hospital for physically or mentally disabled people. He served in that capacity for the remainder of his ministry at Oadby. Mr. Jim Honeywell played the
piano for him at the weekly services held in the wards. When Mr. Webb left the
work continued when Rev. Powell was appointed Chaplain and he was succeeded
by Rev. Dr. Anthony Thacker When it became too much for Mr. Honeywell to
continue, his role as pianist was taken over by Mr. Cliff Farmer, who until his death
in 1994 at the age of 82 had been a Life Deacon of this church and his splendid bass
voice was heard in the choir until just a few months before he died. the hospital is
no more; closed down in 1991 under the new National Health policies of “care in
the community”. During the years of contact about forty members of the church
and choir regularly visited the hospital at Stretton Hall which was very near to the
present site of the Leicester Grammar School near Great Glen. At Christmas we sang
carols and were joined by the patients and staff - in return we ate far too many mince
pies. We also had some of the more able people along to services at OBC and one memorable Christmas some of them put on a Nativity Play in the Church - it was most moving
in its simplicity.
1960 brought something of a revolution to the children's and youth work
in the church. Family Worship began in that year on the 2nd October. Sunday
School became the Children's Church and afternoon Sunday School ceased . Earlier in the year the Girls Brigade and the Boys' Brigade Companies were both
formed . Jenny Brooks and Rosemary Neville ( Later Rowell) being the first GB
officers and Derek and Mavis Betts becoming the first BB officers. There had
been youth groups before this time and it is understood that the formation
of uniformed organisations was not without some controversy. There was a
strong pacifist faction with the membership at that time who were initially
opposed the formation of uniformed organisations.
39
1960 also saw the forging of links between the churches at Billesdon and
Oadby. Mr. Harcup had been a good friend to the church during his ministry.
When Mr. Webb arrived he accepted an invitation to give pastoral oversight
and thus became the first minister of Billesdon Baptist Church this century.
In those days Mr. Webb would ride his bicycle to Billesdon to take services
and to visit folk out there. Over the years these bonds have grown and both Rev.
Powell and Dr. Anthony Thacker have been inducted as ministers of that church.
This practice has now ceased as Billesdon continued to grow over the years and
called its own minister.
In 1962, Mr. G. S. Minards took over the treasure ship of OBC from Mr. J.
Kirby. With the help of a legacy, copies of the 'Baptist Hymn book' first published that year, were purchased. A projector, previously bought by Mr. Derek
Betts for church use, became church property. At the same time an amplification
system was fitted. Mr. Webb and the church meeting strongly opposed the
proposition of the Bishop of Leicester, supported by the Director of Education,
that a Church of England Grammar School should be established in Oadby. The
Bishop lost the day and Beauchamp Community College, as we know it today,
came into being.
Rev G A JAMES BA
Rev Thomas WILSHERE
1870-1891
1906- 1911
Rev W G BRANCH
1892-1906
Rev W G Branch (1892-1906) and Rev
Hector Harcup (1943-1957) at the
services held in 1943 to celebrate the
Jubilee of the present church building.
Mr Branch had been
instrumental in the building of the
premises.
40
Rev Ronald WEBB BA
1958 - 1972
Since the mid-1960's an annual budget has been presented to church meetings.
After the Manse and Boiler Funds were closed a Building Fund was once again established . Saturday Coffee mornings were set up initially to raise funds for this
but over the years they have continued to be a meeting point and an outreach to
members of the public - some of whom have started coming to church services.
Derek Betts’ 'Anchor Stamp Bureau' brought in additional customers and also
raised funds for the Fund and many other good causes. The building fund actually
was used to build the vestibule between the church and the schoolroom and the
new kitchen (the old one was like something out of Dickens novels!). Soon after, a
playschool was started in the schoolroom and continued for a number of years.
Mr. George Clark took over the post as treasurer from Mr. Minards early in
1969, during their fourteen years at Oadby, Mr and Mrs. Webb were instrumental in
commencing other activities to meet specific needs. There was the "Wives Group";
the Church Family Fellowship Hour", held monthly on Wednesday evenings, which
was an umbrella name for all kinds of activities and meetings - sometimes entertainment, recitations, slide shows, country walks. It all seems very quaint nowadays
but it was pre-television mania days and was always well attended.
"living link" was established with Miss Hazel Pilling who served the Baptist Missionary Society between 1960 and 1974. The church made up "Wants Boxes" and,
while it was possible, sent them out to Hazel. The church enjoyed her visits and letters and the arrangement was of mutual benefit. When Hazel returned to the U.K.
a new link was made with Beryl Fox until she returned to the U.K. to be married..
Mr. Webb's ministry virtually coincided with Oadby's growth from a small town
to a large sprawling suburb. It was a taxing time for minister and people. It is a
measure of his ministry's success that “former villagers' and “newcomers” integrated happily into one Christian fellowship. The membership rose to well over 100
but, due to the constant movement of members in and out of the area, membership
fluctuated considerably.
Mr. Webb was held in high regard beyond the borders of this church. In 1966
he became the President of the East Midlands Baptist Association, when the
meetings were held in Oadby.
Mr and Mrs Webb moved to Pershaw in 1972, eventually retiring to Saffron
Walden, Mr Webb died on April 27th 1990, Mrs Webb living until her late 80s.
During the interregnum the Rev. Bill Rosie acted as moderator. The church
decided that it was a good time to upgrade the manse while it was empty. Some
£3000 was spent on additional rooms, central heating, repairs and re-decoration.
The debt was cleared by 1974. Mr. and Mrs. Fawcett moved to Bedford in 1972 and
Mr. Geoffrey Curtis was appointed Church Secretary.
41
T
he Rev. P. Vaughan Powell began his ministry on January 13th, 1973 and
had moved into the Manse ( 49 Stoughton Road, Oadby) a week or so
sooner together with his wife Phillida and three little girls, Eiluned, Robyn
and Mandy. The manse had been upgraded and improved considerably during the
interregnum and the family soon settled in. Mr. Powell had
previously held pastorates at Bradninch in Devon and at Kings Heath
in Birmingham. His father Rev. Melvyn Powell was also a Baptist
Minister. Something else happened around this time - we started
calling our minister by his Christian name, and it took quite a while to
become so familiar - in fact some folk never did manage it!
No sooner had Mr. Powell settled in than preparations began to
celebrate the Ter-Jubilee of the founding of the Church (as explained
in chapter 1). These preparations were to include a considerable
amount of alterations and improvements to the premises. There
had been a pressing need for many years to extend the schoolrooms in order to
accommodate the various departments of Children's Church on Sunday mornings.
Various plans were considered and it was decided eventually to drastically alter the
downstairs schoolroom and to bring the “catacombs' under the church into use.
During the winter of 1974-75 work parties of varying numbers were to be found
toiling away in the gloomy schoolroom. Each wooden block on the floor was lifted
and scrubbed individually and the “catacombs' were dug out and turned into two
useable rooms and a store cupboard. There was a great deal of fellowship and
laughter as well!! Eventually the work was completed and Mrs. Ivy Woodrow ( née
King) who, before her marriage and departure to Salisbury, had served the church in
numerous ways, was invited to do the grand re-opening of the improved rooms.
Ivy was baptized in 1928 and, apart from nine years at Brown St. Church in
Salisbury when she first married, was a faithful member of this church until her death
in 2013 at the age 0f 102. (Ivy returned to Oadby from Salisbury following the death
of her husband. and continued her membership. )
Another alteration which took place at this time was in the church - the choir
pews, which were sideways to the main body of the church, were removed and
replaced with chairs facing the congregation - the "modesty" curtains, hiding the
knees of the ladies in the choir, were left in place at that time!
The main Ter -Jubilee celebrations took the form of a historical pageant type
review (in which just about everyone in the fellowship took part!) a Flower and Craft
Festival and a Reunion with friends who had moved away.
The Oadby Council of Churches had been busy during these years and it had
been arranged that each church should hold Harvest Service on the same Sunday so
that distribution of produce could be coordinated into areas sooner than people
known to each church. That system continued for about 20 years.
42
There had been closer cooperation between the churches and in 1976, on April
17th, three friends from St. Peters Anglican Church, together with three candidates
from this fellowship were baptized by total immersion in this church, the vicar ,
Rev. John Tonkin and Rev. Powell sharing in the baptisms. ( More recently Rev. Rajni
Kaneria, vicar of St. Paul's, has joined with Rev. Dr. A. Thacker in the baptism of other
Anglican friends.)
1978 saw the 80th anniversary of the current church building and on 17th, (the
actual anniversary,) 18th and 19th of March, a time of thanksgiving was held with a
visit from the President elect of the Baptist Union, Mrs. Nell Alexander, being a
highlight, and special services were held on the 19th March which happened to be
Palm Sunday.
As previously mentioned Rev. Hector Harcup died in 1978 and, on 29th January
the same year, Mrs. Hannah Bowles died at the age of 103 years, having been a
member and faithful servant of this fellowship for 79 years, since January, 1899.
As it is with old buildings they need maintenance and in March, 1979 plans were
made to give the church a complete overhaul. The boilers needed replacing and gas ,
instead of oil,was to be the new fuel; the church windows needed draught-proofing;
the organ needed a complete overhaul; the church lighting needed rewiring and
updating; the church needed redecorating and new carpet was needed - ouch!
However, in faith the church went ahead with these plans and, at the church
meeting in June 1979, it was revealed that an estimated £23,000 (plus Value Added
Tax) would be needed to complete the work. In fact, at the church meeting of
November 17th, 1982 the fellowship was informed that a massive £33,000 had been
raised, that the work had cost £31,000 and the remaining £2,000 would be added to
the Fabric Fund as it was then known. At this point the writer remembers the
Doxology being rendered with great gusto by all present!!
The Church then looked quite different- with the platform enlarged to allow for
dramatic and musical items . Significant alterations were ,then and later,the removal
of some pews to allow wheelchair access and to make more room for the growing
music group.
Whilst this project had played a great part in the efforts of the fellowship during
those three or so years it had not been the only item on the agenda. During this
ministry House Groups were initiated and, initially, received a mixed reception but
nevertheless four groups were established and this seems to be the continuing
pattern today. Giving to the BMS and Home Mission had in fact increased somewhat
at a time when it would have been easy to cut back on giving.
There were a considerable number of baptisms and requests for church
membership and the spiritual life of the fellowship was "in good heart". I quote these
words from Rev. Vaughan Powell who used them when in October, 1982 he
announced that he had accepted the call to the ministry of Rugby Baptist Church and
would be leaving us at the end of January, 1983. We said farewell to Vaughan,
43
Phillida, Eiluned, Robyn and Mandy with heavy hearts for we had grown to love
them all very much and they had given us great spiritual and physical
encouragement over the ten years of ministry.
So, here we were with an interregnum. Rev. W. J. Grant, a retired minister and
former Area Superintendent, became our moderator and led us through this time.
The onerous task of seeking a new minister to recommend to the church fell on the
diaconate and eventually a special church meeting was called on the 30th March,
1983,to discuss a candidate. The conclusion of this meeting was that we should call
the Rev. Anthony Thacker M.A. to the ministry of this church and his acceptance
was received just in time for Easter. He was young, single (but engaged to Helen)
and was in the final throes of work necessary to earn his Doctorate which, in the
event, he was able to complete by the time of his induction on 3rd September, 1983.
Anthony Thacker had grown up in Kirby Muxloe and had studied at Cambridge and
Oxford - Regents Park Theological College. He had previously held a pastorate at
Treforest in Wales.
S
ince he came as Minister in 1983 there have
been many changes in Anthony Thacker's
life. First of all he moved into the present
manse (8, Brambling Way, Oadby)- a modern, more
manageable house than the previous one; in 1984 he
married Helen, and they now have three sons,
Christopher, Alexander and Stephen.
There have also been many changes in the church brought by the guidance of
the minister or at the suggestion of the members.
The greatest innovations have been in style of worship and of worship music
which has developed. There is a flourishing music group, introducing a variety of
instruments to lead worship. The music group is also used in an ecumenical sense
as, once a month, they go along to a new "church", which meets in a school on a
new housing development - Woodland Grange - to encourage the friends who
have planted the church there. There was, however, still a love of the older hymns
and of the music which only sounds "right" on the organ. The present organist is
Mrs Awena Grimbley. She was formerly the choir leader when Mr. Jim Honeywell
was organist. Jim Honeywell was organist for over 40 years and he retired in
about 1985. Jim died aged 89 years in 1992 and will be long remembered by those
who knew him as a gentle quiet man with a twinkle in his eye and a real love for the
Lord and so gifted with his music.
Even though some of the words have been 'updated' in Baptist Praise and
Worship, published in 1992, it is good to sing hymns and songs which have come to
us down the ages. The church was able to acquire copies of this new book due to
legacies in memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Annie Swift and Mrs. Elsie Wright and some
smaller gifts for the purpose.
44
Contact has been maintained with the work of the B.M.S. in many ways but
particularly over the last ten years as we have followed the work of Margaret
Swires who initially worked in Brazil but later re-located to Peru . She is
supported both in prayer and in practical terms by this fellowship along with the
other churches in the World Mission Link group.
The Boys and Girls Brigade Companies continue to thrive and the Youth
Fellowship also continues to meet , for a number of years these groups h joined
together for a week's Youth Camp, visiting various parts of England and Wales.
In 1993 the church felt that our youth work could be strengthened by the
employment of a part time youth worker and in May of that year Andy Mitchell ,
accompanied by his wife Leanne , joined us . Andy stayed until 1995 when he left us
for other challenges. It was decided not to take on another paid youth worker at
that time.
Leanne however remained with us in the drama group and eventually became
instrumental in forming “Paradox Performing Arts” The umbrella title covering all
the performing arts groups of the church mainly “Regeneration “ worship band and
The Translucent Theatre Company.
The” Translucent Theatre Company” , started in 1994, was created to perform
drama sketches within church services.– since 1994 there have been more than fifty
members who have performed within the group in drama sketches, mime dance
and puppetry This performance work swiftly expanded beyond services at OBC ; to
local churches and Christian events. Paradox has, over the years, been on tour
around the East Midlands with six different events, namely variety shows Praise
parties and plays as well as playing and performing for the annual BMS celebration
Paradox has also performed around the country, at the invitation of churches and
national organisations ,including Urban Saints (formerly Crusaders ), Boys’ Brigade,
Girls’ Brigade, East Midlands Baptist Association,Baptist, World Congress,.Leading
Edge and The Baptist Union Assembly. (LM 2014)
‘The House groups continue and vary in size according to need but they are
valuable, whether large or small, in that they enable people to get to know each
other and the word of God in a deeper way. There is a thriving Ladies Group and
Men's Fellowship - a good point of social contact. There is a care programme
which means that contact is made fairly regularly with all members of the church
and regular congregation - with new names being added as people join the
fellowship.
Due to the careful stewarding of the fabric of the church buildings we are about
to have a celebration without a major overhaul of the premises - as seems to have
happened at most earlier celebrations. But who knows what the future will bring the present church buildings will be 100 years old in 1998 and as we continue with
45
God's work in this place for as long as He wills it we must maintain our good
stewardship of this place of worship.
The membership of the church currently stands at 114 and does not seem to vary
much as families come and go - each of the newcomers brings something special to
the fellowship and we thank God for this. Our oldest member, Miss May Smalley, - a
descendant of Jonathan Goddard who was a founder member of the church - was
baptized in 1921. She is in her late nineties but, sadly, due to frail health is likely to
spend her remaining days in a residential home. ( May Smalley died in November 1996)
In November, 1994, Len Stacey, whose name runs through the history of this church
over the last 60 years, passed away aged 90. A man who cared so much for all he
knew and who loved his garden, Len Stacey's family has planted a tree in the Church
garden in memory of him and his first wife, Madge. These days Oadby is very much a
transient place with very little remaining of it as a village community. The population
at the 1991 census stood at 19,452 - a not inconsiderable growth in 140 years from 1,200
in 1849!! There is a thriving Christian Witness in the town in all denominations, which
now belong to the Churches Together in Oadby, and in looking back we look to the
future and the continuation of Christ's Kingdom.
Churches mentioned throughout this history have had various changes - the
Independent Church in Wigston is now Long Street United Reform Church ; Blaby
Baptist Church is still thriving ; Harvey Lane is under the Holiday Inn at St. Nicholas
Circle ; the Belvoir Street Chapel is now the Pork Pie Library and Victoria Road Church
building is now a Seventh Day Adventist Church - its fellowship having united with
Charles Street Baptist Church to form the Central Baptist in 1983. Whatever their
present situation Oadby Baptist Church owes each of them a debt of gratitude for the
assistance given at various times throughout it's history.
46
And so the story continues : and the words of a the well known hymn
encapsulate how we should look "200 years back to the future" >>>>>>>>
LORD, for the years your love has kept and guided,
Urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way,
Sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided,
Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today.
Lord, for that word, the word of life which fires us,
Speaks to our hearts and sets our souls ablaze
Teaches and trains, rebukes us and inspires us;
Lord of the word, receive your people's praise.
Lord, for our land, in this our generation,
Spirits oppressed by pleasure, wealth and care:
For young and old, for commonwealth and nation,
Lord of our land, be pleased to hear our prayer.
Lord, for our world, where we disown and doubt him,
Loveless in strength, and comfortless in pain,
Hungry and helpless, lost indeed without him:
Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign.
Lord, for ourselves, in living power remake us Self on the cross and Christ upon the throne,
Past put behind us, for the future take us:
Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone
-
Timothy Dudley Smith
1926-
( These words are copyright and are reproduced by permission
and in this format at the request of the author.)
And , Praise The Lord,the story continues–––––Read on
47
A
fter the celebrations in 1995 marking 200 years of Baptist Witness in the
village , which became the town of Oadby, and now part of the Borough of
Oadby and Wigston, no end of challenges presented themselves. How could
we bring this church up to date, suitable for today's people.?
In 1996 the church invited a small team of three persons, appointed by the Baptist
Union, to visit and examine the church as part of the BU’s “Action in Mission” programme” and to comment on how the fellowship and minister could be more effective as
God’s witnesses here in the centre of Oadby. Certain recommendations were made , some
were accepted and put into practice and may have been responsible for a period in which
there much change and forward thinking.
There was a rising spirit within the fellowship and what presented itself as a great
need was the lack of space. The church was growing in number and there were increasing
administration tasks which needed someone with the ability to keep up with modern
technology and regulations - what was needed was an office, in which to base an administrator , and a quiet room, extra toilets , including facilities for disabled persons ; and “we
must have a small kitchenette , easily accessible to the sanctuary”. So, now then, what
is the one of the most important things needed when such a project is considered?
MONEY! The means to pay!
A day of prayer and fasting was held on a Saturday with most of the fellowship
attending and whilst most people remained for the whole day others were only able to
stay for shorter periods . Prayer leaders were on hand to coordinate and lead the various
groups, seeking the Lord’s guidance as the church sought to find His will., considering
the future of this building and how it could be used in the furtherance of His kingdom.
The day was rounded off as the fellowship gathered around The Lord’s table,
sharing Communion and offering up cash and pledges of future giving.
The thank offering was counted as the fellowship gathered, this time around the tea
table in the church hall
There were shouts of praise and the singing of the doxology when the counters
came in and announced that the day’s giving and pledges amounted to more than
£42,000. At the beginning of the day, with an estimated cost of £100,000 in mind, it had
been felt that to go ahead we needed a starting figure of at least one third of of the final
cost. Well over that figure had been given or pledged and in the next few days further
gifts were made bringing the total to well over £50,000. This was a sure sign that this was
the way God was leading and it was time to get the professionals in!
The task of raising the rest of the money went ahead which came via gifts , grants and
short term loans.
Architects and builders were engaged and the project took shape, Sunday worship
48
was temporarily moved to Langmore School, Kenilworth Drive. There was great rejoicing
when the builders and decorators finally finished their tasks and the sanctuary was re-dedicated with the congregation moving back into the much improved premises.
Of course, as with most building projects, all did not go smoothly and there were
various problems which were dealt with as they arose ; the end result being a much more
pleasant building in which to worship God and for any who visit the premises for whatever
reason.
The glass doors, replacing the old solid wooden ones, made the church so much lighter and visible to those walking by. The additional toilet and kitchen facilities being greatly
appreciated and the “quiet room” a great asset to the ministry here in the heart of Oadby.
The church office, manned and open three mornings each week, proved to be a real
asset. Initially manned by volunteers it soon became evident that a more permanent arrangement was needed and it was decided to employ an administrator on a part time
basis. A young woman named Ruth was our first administrator, but shortly after taking up
the post Ruth left Leicester and the church then employed the present administrator
Steve Holman . Steve has shouldered a mountain of essential admin tasks , the church
computer was installed in the office sophisticated photocopying equipment hired
enabling the church to print “The Link” in house and the myriad other papers which have
become necessary to the running of a busy church in the 21st century.
The total cost of the improvements to the church building was in the region of
£120,000 ; any short term loans taken out to finance this project were all repaid by early
2003 .The fellowship felt confident that God would guide them into the next project- the
much needed refurbishment of our church hall and schoolrooms , so much in use by the
Boys’ and Girls’ brigades , youth club, ( now known as KLUB) Sunday School (renamed
Sunday Club) and other church activities.
The old inadequate Kitchen had been virtually condemned by the local authority and
could only be used to serve previously prepared hot drinks. The toilets were old and
inadequate. ….Etc etc –
After a lot of prayer and expert advice the church went forward in faith . seeking in
2003 a lot of sacrificial giving, grants and loans. The old kitchen was demolished and a
new one built and fitted with modern equipment, new toilets were installed , the main
hall flooring renewed and heating vastly improved.
The hall and schoolrooms were renamed “The Oasis Centre”; as well as church
based activities and groups it was now suitable and available for use by others in the community. “The Well”cafe was opened and run by volunteers on Tuesday mornings ,
“Bulrushes”, which is a very popular , and oversubscribed , mothers and toddlers group
meets on Thursday morning , there are line dancing classes on one day and English language classes for non English speakers on another etc.
This all adds to the outreach of the church and as a result its ministry is enhanced as
the church hopes to show the love of Jesus to all who come in..
The “improvements” to the Oasis Centre cost in the region of £134,ooo. All debts and
49
loans were cleared within five years.
No sooner had the church paid off the loans for the Oasis Centre in 2008, when it was
faced with a massive problem with the sanctuary roof which entailed complete re-roofing
at a cost of some £36,000. Again the membership responded and gave sacrificially and all
costs were met.
In April 2005 the fellowship suffered a very sad loss when Debbie Kelham, a larger
than life young woman who was on fire for The Lord and so active in so many aspects of
church life, died very suddenly at the age of 40 years. Her unexpected death left all in shock;
the fellowship gathered in prayer , bringing the collective sorrow before God, and we were
lifted up. Debbie’s parents tend the garden areas around the church as an ongoing memorial to her.
In July 2006 the minister, Rev Dr Anthony Thacker , left after 23 years ministry
(surpassing Thomas Wilshere’s ministry by two years) and moved to Hinckley Baptist
Church; we were now in an interregnum . The responsibility of ensuring the ongoing
ministry of the church and guiding the fellowship as we sought God’s guidance in calling
another minister fell onto the diaconate.
Under the guidance of the Rev Dianne Tidball, the East Midlands Baptist Association’s
Regional Minister, the Rev Tim Fergusson of Aylestone Baptist Church , assisted by one of his
deacons Mr Stan Mackley, became Moderators until a new minister was appointed.
On September 3rd 2008 ,following the lengthy process to seek and call a minister, the
church welcomed the Rev Ellen Price .
Ellen was about to be ordained , having trained at Spurgeons College and attached to Morden Park Baptist Church, Surrey. She had accepted the call to Oadby after a virtually unanimous vote of the
church meeting. It will be understood that calling the first female minister could be a little controversial even in 2008 and there were a few
who objected on scriptural grounds and felt it necessary to move to other churches- whilst others , who had been of similar opinion , were able
to accept that this was God’s calling.
When Anthony Thacker became minister the manse was at 49 Stoughton Road , it
was later thought to be unsuitable and the house at 8, Brambling Way was purchased as
the manse. In due course Anthony and Helen Thacker along with their three sons moved
out of church property to their own house and 8, Brambling Way was rented to a tenant.
With the expected arrival of a new minister the manse was reclaimed. It was found to
be in poor condition, in need of some major alteration and decoration. The fellowship,
along with some professional help, refurbished the house and made it fit for a minister and
family.
50
In 2009 new government legislation introduced covering the charitable status of
churches indicated that if the church wished to retain its charitable status then it must register with the Charity Commissioners and in order to do so must adopt a constitution
acceptable to the commissioners.
In response , and to save both time and money on legal fees, the Baptist Union of
Great Britain produced a draft template that met with all the legal requirements and
advised all churches to adopt a constitution based on this template. OBC followed this
advice and adopted such a constitution.
Whilst the church hosts strong Girls’ and Boys’ Brigade Companies there was concern about the lack of youth facilities in Oadby, especially youth facilities with a Christian
base. Oadby had become a very multi-cultural area with a mix of residents from various
backgrounds. The opportunity arose for the church to join the Pais Project and support a
team of young Christian workers at that time based at Holy Trinity Church Regent Road,
Leicester.
The church was joined by Abi Nuttall a young lady from Bolton who remained as a
Pais worker with the church for two years. She formed part of a team of young people
working in churches and in schools in the Oadby and Leicester area before continuing her
education and beginning a degree course at Leicester University. During this time the
church upgraded the lower hall and rooms making them more suitable for use by the
young people .
As Abi’s time with Pais drew to a close our youth work was increasing and it was felt
that as well as voluntary youth workers the church needed to call a full time paid “Youth
Worker” (Abi remained with the church, transferring her membership and worshipping
with the fellowship as she studied at Leicester University.)
About this time too the Leicester Diocese of the Anglican Church became involved
with “The Reality Youth Project”, which arranged for youth workers in local churches ,
Oadby Baptists elected to join the Reality Partnership and to financially support a youth
worker , to be based at OBC.
Consequentially a young man named Luke Wigston , a member of Whetstone Baptist Church came to Oadby in Autumn 2012 . Luke later transferred his membership to
OBC. He had been selected by the church to be the first full time paid youth worker assisting in all aspects of the youth ministry, especially in the youth groups on Friday and Sunday evenings.
To learn more about Pais and the Reality Youth project go to their respective websites. www.paisproject.com and www.realityyouthproject.co.uk
House groups have, for several years, formed an integral part of the ministry at the
church and these have continued and increased in number with up to eleven groups meeting on a regular basis.
The Women’s Meeting has changed to include men and is re-titled “The Bridge”.It
meets on one evening per month for a variety of activities ; Tuesday Fellowship likewise is
51
open to all , meeting in the afternoon once a week it caters for the older members of our
fellowship.
At the rear of the Oasis Centre stood an area of land between the Hall and the Garden
Close properties . For many years this land had been rented out to the local authority and
formed part of the council depot on which the refuse vehicles were garaged. When the
depot was relocated to Wigston Road the council decided to build houses on the site ; the
plot of land owned by the church was no longer needed . The council did offer to buy it from
the church for housing at a very nominal price but the church elected to retain the land in
case of further extension to the church and it stood unused for several years. It had a thick
concrete cap over it needing special equipment to remove .
Alongside and to the left of the Oasis Centre also stood a large plot of unused land which
formed the site of the former “Fairview Cottages” . The cottages had been demolished several years ago and the land was overgrown and neglected. It consisted of several plots, each
one owned by a different person and some of the land owned by the local authority. The
church had considered purchasing this land some years ago but due to the multi ownership
had met with difficulties which had at that time, seemed insurmountable.
It was a surprise when in 2010 it was learned that, a local businessman, had purchased the land and proposed to build two bungalows on the site. It was then apparent
that if the church wanted to use the land at the back of the Oasis Centre access would be
impossible once these bungalows had been built. After discussion the new owner agreed
to delay his work to allow the Church access as they considered what to do. A decision
was quickly made and it was decided to convert the land into a garden with access by
pathway to the left of the Oasis Centre. Again, money was needed,the fellowship was informed, prayed and gave, a building firm engaged , some voluntary work by church members
was done. The work went ahead apace and the cost of about £17,000 met . The church has an
unexpected bonus of a garden, or more correctly an outdoor area, for use by all : this has
proved a great asset ,
The June 2013 church meeting discussed and agreed to investigate the practicalities of
removing the pews from the sanctuary, replacing them with more comfortable chairs which
could be rearranged making the building more versatile for worship and prayer . It was
acknowledged that removal of the pews would also entail rearrangement of the heating
pipes located down the centre of the church. New Carpeting and general refurbishment of
the sanctuary was probably required .The estimated total cost would be in the region of
£20,000. As will be seen, this was a very conservative sum and was later amended to about
£30,000
A small “Sanctuary Team” was formed and engaged to consider the matter and report
back to the Church Meeting . At the November 2013 meeting it was announced that the
church had been bequeathed a considerable legacy in the will of Mrs W inifred Smalley , of
the Smalley family who were so much part of the fellowship in past years ; she had recently
died at the age of 100 years. Shortly after receiving notification of this gift another legacy
was received following he death of Mrs. Ivy Woodrow , née King,who had been our oldest
member and who had died at the age of 102. ( Read more about Ivy on p 42)
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At the November 2013 meeting following reports from the “sanctuary team” it was
agreed that the pews should be removed and the sanctuary refurbished, not all of the
legacy monies should be used in this project and 10% donated to a charity , that an appeal
would be made to the membership for the sum of £6000, in fact paying for chairs at £55
each.
Following the appeal at the beginning of January 2014, almost £10,000 was donated. Indicating that this was the way the church should proceed.
The work to remove the pews and refurbish the sanctuary, involving both outside
contractors and volunteer working patties began in early February 2014 and was completed by early March, the total cost being £31,480.51 . As agreed at the church meeting
10% of the legacy monies were to be donated to charity .
In October 2013 The Church Secretary had step down for personal reasons and it
was agreed at a Special Church Meeting that the rôle should be divided into two,
namely Governance and Admin. Mr Martin Jones , a deacon, and Mr Steve Price were
elected to the posts.
Refurbishment of Oadby Baptist Church Sanctuary
February-March 2014
The Church reopened with thanksgiving and celebration on
Sunday March 16�� 2014 –116 years after the original opening on March 17�� 1898
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Cost of the refurbishment
Outreach
Oadby Baptist Church has supported Baptist World Mission (previously referred to by
its former title of Baptist Missionary Society) for many years and has, formed relationships
with individual mission workers. In 2004 the church supported one of our teenagers as
she spent six months in Genoa , Italy, as part of a BMS action team
As previously stated ( page 45), in 1984 Margaret Swires became the BMS “Link
Missionary” , Margaret had then recently been trained and posted to Brazil, she was, in
November 2005, relocated to Peru. In October 2013 , after 29 years service Margaret
announced that she would be leaving the mission field and returning to England ; retiring
from BMS . She visited OBC and preached for the last time on January 26�� 2014.
Further Outreach–––Members of OBC have been part of several short term
mission teams over the years. Teams have been to Albania, Nepal and Kenya, and
individuals have also taken part in both short and long term mission teams.
One group took part in a BMS short term mission team in Nepal for three weeks
working with street children connected to a church in Kathmandu. The volunteers
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ran a holiday club for the children using games, stories, crafts, drama, songs and
puppets as well as taking part in the services and local mission school.
Four teams (over four years) worked in Albania alongside a church in Lushnja, taking
part in street evangelism using mime, puppets and testimony. They also ran holiday
clubs for the churches and trained them in areas of children’s work and performance.
The visits by the teams were about encouraging and supporting the young
congregation in their developing work.
Several teams continue to visit Mahali Pa Watoto (a place for the children) on the
outskirts of Nairobi. This is a pre-school with around 70 disadvantaged children. The
teams do a variety of work alongside the children including supporting in the
classroom and helping around the site. The membership of OBC , along with other
supporters, provide financial support too.( LM)
God has always been calling Oadby Baptist Church to serve the local community .
We are his body in Oadby and in all kinds of ways inside and outside the church we
have been making a difference — running after school clubs in Launde and Brocks
Hill Primary schools, members serving as school governors, local councillors, visiting
in local prisons, helping with many local charities. In 2011 several deacons felt God
saying we should all be involved in one week of outreach. Here is the Baptist Times
article about the week:
'Is God there?' 'Does God care?'
These were the two questions Oadby Baptist Church wanted to ask their town in
2011 . 'Yes 11' became the answer. From 21st to 28�� August in the mornings children
came to 'Time Explorers' holiday club. Afternoons saw 'Holiday at home' entertaining, feeding and worshipping with older folk. At 5.30pm the 12 pluses arrived for
games in the park, food, and games back at church. Meanwhile an environmental
team cleared two areas of land and two ladies' overgrown garden, our margins
team gave gifts and chatted to traffic wardens, our Big iIssue seller, our street cleaners and other council workers. People were invited to 'Hymns for a summer
evening', on Wednesday evening we ran a pub quiz in Wetherspoons, on Friday
night our drama and music groups joined with comedic magician John Archer for a
cabaret evening at the British Legion where more than 200 people had great fur. and
heard a challenge to explore the Christian faith. Saturday morning brought the
British Motorsports team to a Men's breakfast, a member of the British Othello
federation to teach and encourage players of all ages, and finally everyone was invited to our barbeque on Saturday. We shared with those walking past the church as
well as a packed room of families. Rev Ellen Price spoke in our celebration service on
August 28th of how wonderful it had been to see so many in the church
serving Oadby and demonstrating that God is there and he cares deeply for our community. (EP)
This has been followed by many more events in the community, including entertainment and food on the street when the Olympic torch passed through Oadby in
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2012 and in September 2013 joining the Muslim community on their fun day with a
prayer, craft and games stall. Every event, successful or less than successful has
been teaching us more about listening to God, following his leading and reaching
out with the love of Jesus. In 2014 we are seeking to fulfil Jesus' commission of
Matthew 28 to go into the world and make disciples through missional communities. We look forward to seeing how God leads us in this.
At the beginning of February 2015 Ellen announced to the church that she and her husband
Steve had accepted the call to become joint regional ministers in the EMBA and that they would
be leaving at the end of April 2015.
On Sunday April 26th 2015, at Oadby Baptist Church, Steve was ordained and both were inducted
as Regional Ministers in a service of thanksgiving and farewell by the EMBA Team Leader Rev
Diane Tidball
The Service was followed by a “hog roast” and communal meal at which representatives of other
churches and many others attended.
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Appendix 1
Ministers of Oadby Baptist Church
Mr Harris
1822-1824
Mr Brooks
18925-1826
Mr Miller
1827-1830
Mr Burdett
1830-1838
Mr Samuel Webb
1838-1842
Mr Rees Price
1843-1846
Mr John Horsepool
1857-1863
Rev T Williams
1866-1869
Mr Thomas Wilshere
1870-1891
Rev W G Branch
1892-1906
Rev G A James BA
1906-1911
Rev H Short ATS
1913-1915
Rev A E Wheeley
1918-1926
Rev C E Sparrow
1927-1932
Rev D H Bareham
1936-1940
Rev H A Harcup
1943-1957
Rev R W J Webb BA
1958-1972
Rev Vaughan Powell BA
1973-1983
Rev Dr Anthony Thacker MA 1983-2006
Rev Ellen Price
2008- 2015
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Appendix 2
Church Secretaries,
Mr William Siddans
1865-1868
Mr John Buswell
1868-1869
Mr William Siddans
1869-1883
Mr John Goddard
1883-1918
Mr Samuel Hurst
1918-1923
Mr James Leon Baker
1923-1932
Mr Tom Smalley
1932-1936
Mr Alfred Bowles
1936-1937
Mr George Mawby
1940-1943
Mr James Leon Baker
1943-1951
Miss May Smalley
1951-1965
Mr Douglas Fawcett
1965-1972
Mr Geoffrey Curtis
1972-1975
Mrs Mary Russell
1975-1976
Mr David Honeywell
1978-1985
Mrs Katie Fuller
1985-1988
Mrs Sheila Travis
1988-1992
Mrs Jill Headley
1992-1995
Mr Ralph Harrison
1995-1996
Mrs Lynda Owen
1996 -2001
Mr Graham Neville
2001-2004
Mrs Katie Fuller
2004 2009
Dr Richard Jervis
2009-2012-
Mrs Rachel Parsons
2012- 2013
Mr Martin Jones &
2014-
Mr Steve Price
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2009
Appendix 3
Church Treasurers
Mr W Bishop
1866-1868
Mr J Gray
1868-1872
Mr W Bishop
1872-1892
Mr T Bishop (ass. His father)
1878-1892
1892-1904
Mr A L Bishop
Mr T Smalley
1904-1913
Mr F Odell
1913-1931
Mr G H Mawby
1931-1935
Mr L G Smalley
1936-1939
Mr T Smalley
1939-1943
Mr R Smalley
1943-1946
Mr G H Mawby
1946-1949
Mr W Gray
1949-1958
Mr J Kirby
1958-1962
Mr G S Minards
1962-1969
Mr G E Clark
1969-1978
Mr E Mountford
1979 (3 months)
Mr M Hardy
1979-1980
Mr E J Swift
1980-1983
Mr R Harrison
1983-1991
Mr J Melia
1991-1994
Mrs G Mason
1994-1999
Mr David Carter
1999-2002
Mrs Kath Felix
2002 -2008
Mr Steve Rowe
2008-2011
Mr Mark Jones
2011-
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S
ince 1795, when Mrs Elizabeth Waldren had her house licensed for the
preaching of the Gospel, there have been many changes in the way the
Baptists have worshipped and spread the good news of Jesus to the
people of Oadby.
There have been times of great blessing and times when things have been
very hard and spirits have been low;no doubt this will continue as the church
moves on into 2014 and beyond.
At the moment our fine Porritts organ, partly paid for by The Andrew
Carnegie, Trust,in 1906’; stands mostly idle and there is some debate as to its
future. The church music being now led by a modern music group consisting
of several musical instrumentalists, traditional hymns have given way to
worship songs and the hymnbook has been replaced by the overhead
projector and screen.
We thank God that we are able to praise and worship him as a fellowship of
believers in this fine building, of which we are stewards and we pray that we
will use it to further His Kingdom here in Oadby.
NB Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish born steel magnate who owned huge steel works in the USA . He
became a very generous philanthropist who through his trust fund gave monies to educational and
cultural causes both in the USA and Great Britain . He is remembered by Carnegie Hall, New York and
the many libraries and church organs funded by his trust fund.
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