Letters in the National Library of Wales

I was able to see the Calendar of Letters in the National Library mentioned elsewhere, today. The 201 letters (NLW MS 1207E) have been bound in a thick volume with an appropriate frontispiece. Divided between ministers and missionaries, the letters appear alphabetically by author. In some cases prints of the relevant men have been inserted at the appropriate point. It would be good to look at other letters in the volume.

I was easily able to locate the two Beddome letters and the one sent to him by John Reynolds in 1786 with regard to the Seward Fund. I hope to report on these three letters in due time. They are (in order of date)

1. Beddome to Henry Keen[e] (November 14, 15, 1772). Henry Keene (1726?-1797) was the leading deacon at Maze Pond, Southwark, where Beddome was once a member. He was a philanthropist and involved in the anti-slavery movement.

2. Reynolds to Beddome (December 12, 1786). John Reynolds (1730-1792) is mentioned elsewhere on this blog.

3. Beddome and his deacons to the Association meeting in Evesham (May 31, 1789)

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Letter 41

On (Sunday) May 31, 1789, the church at Bourton-on-the-Water wrote to the Association meeting at Evesham.

It begins with "Greetings". It says that the Bourton Church "enjoys a measure of peace ... though Oneness of Heart is too much wanting." It complains that "the Spirit of Error is creeping into some of the churches, and that where the great doctrines of the Gospel are not totally rejected their importance is not properly attended to" and asks the Association to face this in their Circular·Letter.

The letter is signed by Beddome (who was ill), with James Ashwin, Edward Reynolds, Thomas Cressor, William Palmer, Richard Dalby, Joshua Parry, William Collett and Samuel Fox.

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Letter 35

On (Tuesday) December 12, 1786, John Reynolds (1730-1792), London, wrote a letter to Bourton conveying the views of Dr (Samuel) Stennett on the distribution of money left for the poor by Mrs Seward. A side note shows the letter to have been passed on to Mr Reynolds' Church.

[John Reynolds, now aged 56, had followed Brine at Cripplegate. He was, of course, baptized at Bourton by Beddome, and in 1770 had received an honorary AM from Rhode Island. Mrs Seward, of course, is the great Baptist benefactor and friend of George Whitefield.]

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A Calendar of Letters 1742-1831 apparently exists in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. It was owned by Isaac Mann (1785-1831). He  was a member of a church at Bridlington, under Robert Harness from Hull and when the Northern Education Society was established, he was the first student admitted, in April 1805, to the Academy at Horton. After short pastorates at Steep Lane, Burslem, Shipley, he returned to Horton as classical tutor in 1816, and became joint secretary to the Society in 1822. Four years later he went south to Maze Pond, London, retaining a close connection with the Society till his death. Most of the letters he collected had to do with one or other of these places.

The transmission of the collection is obscure for 50 years but in 1885 the letters were owned by W Thomas Lewis of Aberdare who sorted them into two groups, relating to Ministers and to Missionaries, arranging each group alphabetically, evidently valuing them as Autographs, and not concerned with the facts. One of his kindred was ennobled as Lord Merthyr and he, during the war, sold them for the benefit of the Red Cross. They were bought by the National Library of Wales (NLW MS 1207). The Rev F G Hastings, then pastor of Alfred Place Baptist Church, Aberystwyth calendared the 201 documents by order of date. Apart from one of 1711 they range from 1742 to 1831. The Baptist Quarterly (vi and vii) printed his remarks along with notes by W T Whitley in the 1930s.

Some few of the letters have a Beddome reference. This is the first:

Letter 17

On (Monday) September 14, 1772 (sic, it was actually Saturday, November 14, 1772) Beddome wrote a letter to Henry Keen of Southwark. The letter was intended to "cheer, refresh, and quicken" commending "My grace is sufficient for thee." It mentions that "Mr Clark, of Oxford, formerly your neighbour, preached at the Meeting House built by Madame Gin for Mr Rudd," but "apprehend not the most settled in his sentiments or direct in his conduct" and "appears to have acted weak." It mentions "Mr Wall" from whom "I have not heard for a long time." After his signature Beddome quotes three verses of a hymn "When sorrows rise and sins prevail." He says "They are a short hymn which I composed (I do every Sabbath)."

[Sayer Rudd was expelled from Baptist circles for Unitarian views and in 1736 Mrs Elizabeth Ginn built him a meeting-house in Snow's Fields, Southwark. However, he joined the Church of England in 1742. That a "Mr. Clark of Oxford" preached here was not known to Walter Wilson when he wrote the story of dissenting meeting-houses in and near London.]