PROTESTANT NONCONFORMITY
The triumph of Puritanism during the civil wars
meant the complete breakdown for the time being of
Anglican organization in Cambridge. The report
of the committee appointed under the ordinance of
June 1649 showed that the parish of St. Andrew the
Less was the only one with a minister serving the
cure, though there were preachers at Great and
Little St. Mary's. (fn. 1) The Restoration thus meant an
abrupt readjustment of the townsmen's religious
practices, and the addition of more independent
congregations to those already in existence. The
earliest evidence of the formation of the various
meetings comes from the reports of official repression, which begin even before the Conventicle Act.
The notebooks of Sir Thomas Sclater, J.P. for the
Borough 1660–84, are a valuable source of this type. (fn. 2)
The Friends.
Rough treatment of the Quakers
had begun under the Commonwealth, in the mayoralty of Pickering (1653–4) and in 1660 there were as
many as 67 Quakers in the Cambridge gaols. (fn. 3) In
1654 George Whitehead was welcomed there by
Alderman Blackley, later to be ejected from the Corporation as an adherent of the Friends. (fn. 4) By 1659
there was a flourishing meeting 'in our own house
over against Sidney College', where in August Whitehead and Fox publicly disputed with Smith, the
University librarian. (fn. 5) In April and May 1660 a series
of attacks, which Alderman Blackley tried in vain to
restrain, were made upon the house by 'unruly
scollers, soldiers and others'. (fn. 6) In February 1661
some 72 Friends, mostly women, were committed
to the Tolbooth, some for refusing to take the oath
of obedience, others for attending a conventicle at
the Quaker house near Sidney Sussex College. (fn. 7) In
1667 ten Quakers were taken in the house of the
shoemaker, William Brazier. (fn. 8) In 1670–1 there are
further records of commitments for refusal to bear
arms, and for the holding of meetings in the house
of William Brazier and Nicholas Frost. (fn. 9) The records
of the Quarterly Meeting of 1670–1 note, 'Cambridge—Most Friends in prison'. (fn. 10) Under the
general pardon of May 1672 ten of the Cambridge
Quakers were released, (fn. 11) but in 1674 and 1684
William Brazier was again penalized for holding
meetings in his house. (fn. 12) After the Toleration Act
Ann Docra devised (1700) the estate in MeetingHouse Yard in Jesus Lane, with certain lands in
Fulbourn, for the benefit of Friends. Subscriptions
from Friends elsewhere made possible the building
of a new meeting-house in 1777, 'on the bank of the
King's Ditch' extending over the old graveyard.
The meeting was closed in 1795. From 1827 to 1832
the buildings were used for the Jesus Lane Sunday
School for Barnwell children conducted by undergraduate members of Simeon's congregation, and
from 1855 to 1862 for the Cambridge Public
Library. The meeting was reopened in 1884. New
buildings were erected in 1894 on the site of the old
cottage at the entrance, believed to be Brazier's
house, which had been condemned, and in 1926
thoroughgoing alterations gave the interior an entirely new form. For all its vicissitudes, however,
there seem good grounds for believing that the
present site at the junction of Park Street and Jesus
Lane facing the wall of Sidney gardens is the one
used continuously since 1659. (fn. 13)
The Independents.
Whilst the Independent
congregations in the county were being organized
by Holcroft and Oddy, (fn. 14) evidence of the early meetings in the town is scanty. Sclater's notebook
records the breaking up of a meeting in Widow
Wilson's house in St. Andrew's Street in April 1665.
The preacher, Thomas Dac, described as 'a heavenly
man' by one of his congregation, was fined, as was
his hostess. The congregation escaped through Mr.
Blackley's yard and Emmanuel Field. (fn. 15) This may be
the first reference to the group for which in 1672,
during the shortlived indulgence of Charles II, a
licence was obtained for a meeting-house at St.
Andrew's (or Hog) Hill. (fn. 16) In 1675 the notorious
informer Stephen Perry reported a meeting in
Robert Wilson's house in St. Andrew's parish.
Wilson (1627–1710), a teacher of music in Cambridge, was one of the original trustees of the Hog
Hill meeting in 1687. (fn. 17)
In 1668 a conventicle was reported in the house of
Widow Pettit. (fn. 18) She may have been the relict of
Richard Pettit who was said in 1662 to have served
as clerk of the County Committee under the Commonwealth, (fn. 19) and she is probably the Elizabeth
Pettit for whose house in Green Street Corbyn, who
had been preaching in St. Michael's parish in 1669,
obtained a licence in 1672. (fn. 20) Two of the early dissenting meetings, it would seem then, were in
existence by 1668.
Other conventicles reported in 1673 were those in
Bridge Street, where Holcroft and Oddy had taken
out licences to preach in 1672, and in Scroop's
house in Trinity parish. (fn. 21) Other houses licensed for
conventicles in 1672 were those of Brian Kitchingman (Mayor 1647–8, ejected from his aldermanship
in 1662), (fn. 22) reported by Perry as one who 'encouraged
fanatics', Richard Thurlow, Downham Yeomans,
Lancelot Hooper, and Job Hall. Hall's house in
Bridge Street was probably the scene of Holcroft's
and Oddy's ministrations. (fn. 23) In 1689, under the
Toleration Act, in addition to the meetings at Hog
Hill and Green Street, six private houses were
notified at Quarter Sessions as places of worship, (fn. 24)
and several other small meetings split off subsequently.
Toleration in Cambridge was in fact the preliminary to a fissiparous evolution of the dissenting
churches. The terms Presbyterian and Independent
are so loosely used by historians of the 17th century
that William Cole's indiscriminate use of the terms
Anabaptist, Presbyterian, and Independent seems
almost justifiable. Only gradually is it possible to
identify a meeting in terms corresponding to modern
Free Church organization.
On 2 August 1691 Joseph Hussey preached in 'the
new meeting-house built since the liberty in 1687'
on Hog Hill (now Downing Place) (fn. 25) and became the
first pastor of 'the Great Meeting', (fn. 26) a church then
consisting of 76 members. Up to 1694 this called
itself a Presbyterian body. In that year the pastor
advocated 'a more democratic form of church
government'. The meeting thereupon became Congregational, and in October 1696 the Presbyterian
minority seceded. (fn. 27) It was this meeting-house which
was 'pillaged and almost demolished' by Jacobites
on Oak-apple Day in 1716. (fn. 28) When 'the learned and
famous Mr. Hussey' retired in 1719 there was a
congregation of 1,600, with a church membership of
150, (fn. 29) but a period of disputes and secessions followed, traceable to personal and economic rather
than doctrinal differences. In 1721 a hundred of
the poorer members left the congregation, with the
minister of their preference (Richard Davis), and the
rich majority remained in possession. A similar
schism occurred in 1735, and the church was only
restored to harmony during the ministry of J. Conder
(1738–54). (fn. 30) An attempt in 1766 at a union with the
Stoneyard Baptists failed, and by 1767 the meeting
had again dwindled to 100. It was revived by Joseph
Saunders (1767–88), a fine preacher and the ally of
Charles Simeon, who used to attend his afternoon
services. (fn. 31) Towards the end of Saunders's ministry
a new meeting-house was erected on the old site in
Downing Place; its windows were broken by an
anti-Jacobin mob in 1792. (fn. 32) The dwindling of the
membership to 52 may perhaps be attributed to the
counter-attractions of the Stoneyard Chapel under
Robert Hall. (fn. 33) The vitality of the congregation,
however, is shown by the active support given to
overseas missions, and by the foundation in 1801 of
the Cambridge Benevolent Society by Mrs. Flower,
a member of the congregation. (fn. 34) The Society was
supported by churchman and dissenter alike. William
Harris (minister 1806–17) restored the membership
and attracted a large student congregation. A manse
was built for him in 1807. (fn. 35)
In 1874 after nearly 200 years the Downing Place
site was abandoned, (fn. 36) and replaced by Emmanuel
Church in Trumpington Street, opposite Pembroke
College. A Sunday School was added in 1896. A
daughter church was erected in Victoria Road in
1884. (fn. 37)
Presbyterians.
The second meeting-house
registered in 1689 was that in Green Street. It
derived presumably from the conventicle in Elizabeth Pettit's house. (fn. 38) Cooper was unable to locate the
meeting-house precisely, but it lay north of Green
Street in St. Michael's parish. Its minister was
Thomas Taylor of Norwich. (fn. 39) There was another
meeting-house south of the street in Holy Trinity
parish. The Presbyterian minority that seceded
from Hog Hill in 1696 joined the congregation in
the northern Green Street meeting and induced it
to declare itself Presbyterian. It so continued until
1716, when its minister, Dr. Cumming, went to the
Scottish Church in London. The chapel seems to
have been in use as late as 1813, since John Stittle,
who preached there for 30 years, was buried in it in
1813, but his flock were Particular Baptists, and his
memorial is in Eden Chapel in Fitzroy Street. (fn. 40)
The Presbyterian church today represents a new
beginning, initiated by a petition sent in 1881 by
Presbyterians in Cambridge to the Presbytery of
London. For a while Presbyterian services were
held in the Guildhall, but by 1891 the church of
St. Columba had been built at the corner of Downing Street and Downing Place, (fn. 41) which with Westminster College makes Cambridge an active centre
of Presbyterianism. St. Columba also had a mission
hall in York Street, which was in existence in
1907.
Baptists.
Though there were Baptists in Cambridge during the Interregnum it was the second
migration from Hog Hill meeting which first led to
the foundation of a Baptist community. The hundred
poorer members who seceded in 1721 under Davis's
leadership hired a stable and granary in the Stoneyard next to Hobson's Spinning House in St. Andrew's Street, and set up their own meeting, with a
church membership of 132. Further secessions to
Barnwell in 1723 and to Miller's Barn in 1725 reflected the divisions of the congregation on the subject of infant baptism. The seceders of 1725 returned
in 1727, and there was a temporary recovery, but the
meeting was nearly extinct when Robert Robinson of
Norwich accepted its invitation in 1759. (fn. 42) During his
ministry (1759–90) the Stoneyard meeting grew and
flourished. A new meeting-house was built in 1764,
and Robinson, who was an able preacher, drew
audiences of as many as 200 gownsmen to his Sunday
evening lectures. (fn. 43) He was a friend of Simeon, though
his political views were very different, for he was an
ardent advocate of reform, (fn. 44) and a friend of Priestley.
He made an eloquent but vain appeal for reunion
with the Independents of the Hog Hill meeting. (fn. 45)
He was also an active farmer of close on 200 acres
at Chesterton, a dealer in corn and coals, and the
manager of the Chesterton ferry. (fn. 46) Robinson's successor, Robert Hall (1790–1806), was an even more
remarkable and distinguished man. (fn. 47)
During the early years of the 19th century 'village
stations' or local chapels were founded by the St.
Andrew's Street Meeting at Coton (c. 1810) and
Barton (1822). (fn. 48) Members of the chapel took a
prominent part in town government in both the
18th and 19th centuries. The chapel was rebuilt in
1836 on the original site, and the present building
replaced it in 1904. (fn. 49)
Several charitable trusts founded since 1849 for
poor members of the congregation are attached to
the St. Andrew's Street chapel. Two legacies for the
support of the chapel and one for the minister were
also made in 1864, 1905, and 1922 respectively. (fn. 50)
In 1882 a mission hall in Mill Road was founded
for the St. Andrew's Street chapel. It became independent a few years later. The chapel in Arbury
Road was built between 1928 and 1931. The earliest
trust deed of the Zion Baptist Chapel in East Road is
dated 1845. There is also a chapel at Cherry Hinton.
The St. Andrew's Street chapel had a mission hall in
Cambridge Place, which was sold in 1940. (fn. 51)
The 'Strict and Particular' chapels are Eden
Chapel in Fitzroy Street, built in 1825 (fn. 52) and reconstructed and enlarged in 1874; the chapel in Tenison
Road which was opened in 1897 replacing the Hope
Chapel in Paradise Street (founded 1861); (fn. 53) and
Hope Chapel, Cambridge Place (1929). The last
named is a 'Gospel Standard' chapel. (fn. 54)
Wesleyan Methodists.
Meetings were held
by the Wesleyan Methodists in Cambridge in 1800,
but the first permanent congregation was founded
in the yard of the Brazen George Inn in St. Andrew's
Street in 1810. In 1815 William Beacock, a Yorkshire plasterer, built a chapel in Blucher Row,
Barnwell, with his own hands, assisted by the unskilled labour of other members of the society,
which then numbered about 80. (fn. 55) In 1830 the
Methodists took over the chapel on the south side
of Green Street which had earlier housed an Independent meeting. (fn. 56) When the numbers had increased to 300, the chapel in Hobson Street was
opened in 1849. This was rebuilt in 1894 but was
sold to the County Council in 1912. It was replaced
by the new Wesley Church near Christ's Pieces in
1913. There are other chapels at the corner of
Norwich Street and Hills Road (1871), in Romsey
Town (1906), in Meadowlands (1952) and in
Chesterton. The last was founded in 1858 and a new
building on a new site in Chesterton High Street
opened in 1904. This was sold in 1952 and a new
chapel opened in Scotland Road. (fn. 57) The Hills Road
and Romsey Town chapels benefited from legacies
left by Robert Sharman (will proved 1943). (fn. 58)
Primitive Methodists.
The Primitive
Methodists held their first meetings in Castle End in
1820, and their first chapel was built in St. Peter's
Street in 1822, and rebuilt on the same site in 1863. (fn. 59)
A new chapel was built in 1914 on an extension of
the original site facing Castle Street. They also had
a chapel in Newmarket Road (1875). A chapel in
Panton Street, held under a trust deed of 1845, was
sold in 1911 to the Christian Scientists. (fn. 60)
Other denominations.
The Unitarian
congregation in Cambridge dates only from 1904.
In 1928 the Memorial Church was built in Emmanuel Road. (fn. 61) The Catholic Apostolic Church,
Pound Hill, is said to have originated in 1834, and
ceased to be a church in 1954. (fn. 62) The premises have
subsequently been used as a cold store. The first
public Christian Science service was held in the
Victoria Assembly Rooms in 1899 (fn. 63) and the church in
Panton Street was bought in 1911 from the Primitive
Methodists. (fn. 64) The Christian Science Reading Room
has been at 96 Regent Street since 1919. (fn. 65) The Salvation Army 'opened fire' in Cambridge in 1885, and the
present citadel in Tenison Road was opened in 1914. (fn. 66)
There is also a men's hostel in East Road. (fn. 67) The Cambridge National Spiritualist Church was formed in
1928 and the Myers Memorial Hall in Thompson's
Lane opened in 1949. (fn. 68) The Cambridge Christian
Spiritualist Church has records which indicate its
existence in 1931. Services have been held at various
addresses, including Ram Yard and Falcon Yard. In
1953 the church was moved to 17 Corn Exchange
Street. (fn. 69) Under a deed of 1879 the former Theatre
Royal in Newmarket Road became an undenominational mission hall. After 1915 it was no longer used
for this purpose and was sold in 1926. (fn. 70)