"A man of singular abilities"

John Hirst 1736-1815 of Accrington
who became minister
in Bacup

In 1770 Beddome was consulted by his fellow minister Lawrence Butterworth (1727-1803) concerning a dispute between the churches in Accrington and Bacup in Lancashire. Butterworth reveals this in a letter of June 11, 1770. His original plan had been to raise the question at the association in Bewdley. Unable to do that he consulted instead with two of his brothers, both ministers, and Beddome, whom he calls "a man of singular abilities". The dispute concerned a brother dismissed from one church but admitted to another without enquiry. See page 94 of a work on John Hirst found here.