Owing to the brevity of Snooke's 1769 diary (the first nine month's entries have been removed from the original) there is little to learn about Beddome, who turned 52 at the beginning of this year. Presumably Beddome went to the association meetings in Upton on Severn, north of Tewkesbury, a similar distance from Bourton as Bromsgrove is. The preachers were Thomas Skinner of Towcester (1753-1795) and Daniel Turner of Abingdon (1710-1798); the moderator was Joshua Thomas of Leominster (1718-1797).
Reynolds was down from London late October and most of November, though not to preach. Beddome took 12 of the 13 Sundays recorded, the only visitor being John Butterworth from Coventry (1727-1803). There was also the double lecture on Wednesday, November 13, when the preacher was Thomas Hillier (d 1790) at that time from London (later Tewkesbury) on Hebrews 13:14. On Christmas Day, Thomas Davis (c 1730-1784), the long serving minister at Fairford, rode cross country to preach on Romans 13:14. Beddome was at home and entertained Snooke and others.
Beddome's Sunday preaching was mainly on Matthew 25, Acts 16, John 14:6 and Luke 16:1, 2. On Fridays he worked his way through Psalm 7:1-11. The last one of the year was quite poorly attended, it seems.
The birth of Beddome's son Richard must have taken place in this year but it is not mentioned. There were also deaths. On October 7, a Thomas Palmer of Olney died. This is probably the one who had married Mrs Beddome's sister Hannah just four years before (January 3, 1765). There was also the death of a child in the Hyatt family, prompting Beddome to preach on Matthew 18:3 on Sunday, October 8. Tea with the Snookes on Mondays was still the pattern and happened most weeks, although on November 9, it was at the Palmers. Snooke himself called on the Beddomes, November 18 and 20, though Beddome appears not to have been at home. Reynolds was there the second time.
A reminder that even then all was not sweetness and light comes with a statement by Snooke that a Dr Clark of Cheltenham had taken some highwaymen at nearby Stow.*
*Cheltenham is a spa town and many medical men were based there. In the Kent Gazette for [Tues] Dec 19, 1769 this paragraph appears
On Thursday morning [Dec 14?] Mr. Anthony Clarke, Surgeon, in Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire, was stopped upon the road near that place, by a single highwayman well-mounted, who presented a pistol to his breast, and robbed him of about 20s[hillings] in silver, his watch, and a piece of blue stone. Mr. Clarke immediately gave alarm, and after a brisk pursuit, the highwayman was taken in bed at a public house in Stow on the Wold, in Gloucestershire, about one o'clock on Friday morning. The watch and blue stone were found in his pocket:
(Perhaps he was found in The Porch House which claims to be England's oldest inn).
