16/10/2025

The Will of Bernard Foskett


I Bernard Foskett of the city of Bristol, Minister being of sound and memory do make this my last Will as followeth, committing my soul to the mercies of God through the merits of a dear redeemer and my body to the earth to be devoutly interned.

I dispose of the worldly goods which God has graciously bestowed upon me thus in primis I give and bequeath to my cousin William Foskett of North Crawley, Bucks and his heirs one hundred pounds sterling to be paid six months after my decease.

Item: I give and bequeath cousin Elizabeth widow of Hugh Smyth late of Woolston, Bucks one hundred pounds sterling or if she be deceased to her children of her body begotten by the said Hugh Smyth to which children I give moreover the sum of sixty pounds or to the survivor or survivors of them at such time and in such proportions as she and her brother William Foskett shall think fit to whom therefore I would have it paid for them within six months after my decease.

Item: I give and bequeath to my cousin Elizabeth wife of Thomas Harris Salesman in Monmouth Street, St. Giles in the Fields, near London one hundred pounds sterling or if she be deceased to the children of her body lawfully begotten to which children I also give the further sum of £60 sterling or to the survivor or survivors of them at such times and proportions as their parents shall think fit and to whom therefore I would have it paid for them.

Item: I give and bequeath to my cousin Joseph Cooke of Oundle in Northamptonshire, Baker and to his heirs £50 sterling and to the said Joseph Cooke and to Ian Goodrich of the same place Gent £200 sterling in trust for the said Joseph Cooke’s children Joseph and Sarah which he had with his late wife Elizabeth daughter of my sister Mary deceased to be paid to each of them when they severally arrive at the age of 21 and to Sarah, sooner if she marry with her parents’ consent and if either die before the said sum has been received then I Will that the whole £200 be paid to the survivor of them and my Will is that any  - I may have under the said Joseph Cooke's world be freely given up to him.

Item: I give to my brother in law John Price of London, coal merchant fifty pounds sterling and if he be deceased I give the said sum to the children of my cousin Elizabeth Harris aforesaid share and share alike.

Item: I give to the treasurer of the Bristol Infirmary in Magdeline Lane fifty pounds sterling for the sole use of the said infirmary.

Item: I give to each of my good friends: Edmund of ——– Warwickshire, Philip Jones of Upton upon Severn, James Kettilby (sic) of Bewdley both in Worcestershire, Isaac Hann (sic) of Dorsetshire, William Plummer of Grittleton in Wiltshire £20 sterling and if any of them die before they have received it, to their widows or children or both at the discretion of my executor undernamed.

Item: I give to my good friends John Needham???, John Poynting of Worcester, Thomas Davies of Fairford, Evan Tomkin of Wroxham, William Christian, Isaac Woodman both of Worcestershire, Robert Day of Wellington, Richard Tipping, Miles Harry (sic), Jacob Mower (sic) of Evesham to each £5 sterling and if either of them be dead I Will that his share be given to his widow or his children or some other poor minister of the same denomination and I Will that all above legatees be paid within 6 months after my decease if it may be.

Item: I give to my friend John Beddome of the City of Bristol gentleman Ten pounds sterling and all my books and shelves containing them and my biggest desk to his son Benjamin and I give to his wife Rachel £40 sterling separately for her sole use to be paid to her on her receipt only and to be disposed of by herself to whom and how she pleases and I give to his son Benjamin £10 sterling and ⅓rd of my residuary estate and to his son John £20 to be paid to him when and how he pleases and I give to the said Benjamin £20 in trust for Mary the daughter of his sister Mary Brain to be paid to her where and how he thinks fit, letting her have the use in the meantime to be laid out as he directs.

I also give to Joseph Beddome £10 sterling and to his daughter Rachel £20 to be paid to her when and how he please.

I also give to Sarah & Martha Beddome £30 each to be paid to them when their mother thinks fit, to whom therefore I would have it paid by my executor for their use and I also give to Mary Brain —– £10 sterling and if the said John Beddome or any of his family die before their legacy is received, I Will the same to be distributed among all the children survivors share and share alike.

I also give to the above named Rachel wife of the said John Beddome my silver tankard looking glass and all other household goods I may die possessed of and to every other child besides John, above named, of her son Benjamin which shall be born before my decease £10 sterling.

Item: I give and bequeath to each of my good friends Geo Wilkinson —– (Abraham) Larwill in _____ (John?) Ashe Kirk —- in ______(John?) Reynolds, (Richard?) Strange in (Stretton)_Clarkson ———, Edmund Jones, Crispin Curtis, Phil Gibbs in Plymouth? £5 and if either of them die before he receives it his widow or children or some other Minister of the same denomination and principles whom my executor shall choose.

I also give the same sum to John Ryland of Warwick, Minister and Whitmore Carpenter.

Item: I give to Elizabeth Heritage and the said John Beddome’s maid servant at the time of my death £3 each.

Item: I give and bequeath to my good friend Hugh Evans of the City of Bristol, Minister £30, to each of his 6 children he had by his late wife Sarah £10 to be paid severally attain the age of 21 years or sooner if they marry with their father’s consent and if either of them die before they have received it, to the survivors share and share alike and to the said Hugh Evans whom I make sole executor of this my last Will, I give all the rest of my estate of what kindsoever, real or personal not before or otherwise disposed of in trust ⅓rd to him and his sons, another ⅓rd to Benjamin Beddome as above mentioned and the other ⅓rd to poor Ministers of the same denomination and principles with those above mentioned £5 or £10 apiece more to any of the most good above mentioned and the like or more to others as my executor and Benjamin Beddome shall think most proper by witness whereof I have set my hand and seal this 19th day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty one.

Bernard Foskett

Signed, sealed and declared by the Testator to be his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who at his desire and in his presence set our own hands as witness

Jos Browne, Saz Browne and Henry Romsey

This Will was proved at London 23rd October in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty eight before the Right Honourable Sir George Loo Knight, Doctor of Laws, Master ——- or Commissary of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury lawfully constituted by the Oath of the Reverend Hugh Evans the sole executor mentioned in the said Will to whom administration was granted of all and singular the Goods, Chattels, and Credits of the said deceased having been first sworn by commission duly to administer the same.

14/10/2025

Pickles Book 1 Review




Stephen Pickles Cotswolds Pastor and Hymn Writer: The Life and Times of Benjamin Beddome (Upham, Southampton, England: The James Bourne Society, 2023, hardback), 471 pages

After long neglect, Beddome studies seem to be enjoying a welcome renaissance. This current offering from the world of High Calvinism is a large, handsome and appreciative biographical treatment enhanced by numerous illustrations, a full bibliography, the confession and covenant of the church where Beddome's father pastored in an appendix and a list of hymns quoted. The book grows in part out of a lecture given in 2017 but is really the fruit of a life time's interest. It is the first of a proposed two volumes. The second will concentrate on Beddome's writings, although this present volume extensively quotes 75 hymns, several sermons and other writings.

The volume is divided into six unequal parts dealing with Beddome's early life; long pastorate; the vicissitudes of life he knew; two educationalists he baptised; the Bible, missionary work and the slave trade and his last years.

Part 1 takes us from Beddome's birth in the Midlands through to pastoral studies in London. Pickles quotes a hymn by Beddome's father and outlines at length doctrinal declension in nonconformist churches and the revival under Whitefield and others that followed and had such an effect on Baptists. The section ends with a chapter on Samuel Wilson, who baptised Beddome.

The book's longest part on Beddome's pastorate is 16 chapters long. It begins with his ordination and marriage, invitations to go elsewhere (dealing only with the call to London), his new home and the new chapel. The 1765 letter to the Midland Association is reproduced in a further chapter followed by a chapter on his catechism. That is appropriately followed by a digest of an extant sermon on nurturing the spiritual welfare of the young. Nothing is said of Bourton before Beddome's arrival.

The book's longest chapter examines Beddome's religious experience by means of a catena of extended quotations mostly from hymns but also from sermons. Pickles concludes that Beddome wanted to keep Christ central and live for his praise but, very much aware of human depravity, knew that salvation has to be by means of Christ's satisfaction alone. Full of thankfulness for his conversion, he was aware of a tendency to regress at times and greatly desired Christ's presence. Pickles posits fluctuations in Beddome's assurance and underlines that he taught that Christ is always the answer. Beddome longed to grow in grace and loved to meet with God's people. At the end of this chapter some Beddome letters from 1759 and 1760 that were published in The Evangelical Magazine in 1800 are reproduced.

A chapter headed Spiritual Darkness follows. It alerts us to apparent problems Beddome knew in 1762 but, in the absence of any discussion, most of the chapter is taken up with Daniel Turner's long letter to Beddome about it. A more interesting chapter comes next. It begins with statistics from Brooks' history of the church and is enhanced by its use not only of hymns and sermons dealing with church membership and discipline but also content from the Bourton-on-the-Water church book. Pickles is very familiar with this material and makes excellent use of it also in the next chapter where he outlines the generosity of the Bourton church to various people.

A number of chapters deal with people Beddome knew. There is an expected chapter on seven men Beddome sent into the ministry and a less expected one on his deacons. As for friends of Beddome, Sarah Evans, Benjamin Seward, Henry Keene and Benjamin Francis are singled out. For some reason Pickles makes little reference to Snooke and Hall who married Seward's daughters and were members of Beddome's congregation.

There is also a chapter on family bereavements and two substantial chapters at the end of the second section looking at The Midland Association to which Bourton belonged and relations with Anglican ministers. This final chapter attempts to connect Beddome and Whitefield but there is probably not enough evidence to establish this attractive proposition beyond a doubt.

Part 3 on the vicissitudes of life looks at weather and harvesting, general sickness and war and peace. Once again intimacy with the church book makes it possible to round out the picture of Beddome and his congregation in a most interesting way. Part 4 is mostly on John Ryland with some material on William Fox, both baptised by Beddome and both leading educationalists.

In Part 5 four chapters cover the preciousness of the Bible, its distribution to the nations, the Baptist Society for the propagation of the gospel and the slave trade. Here the and his times comes into its own with a great deal of material about others other than Beddome. The helpful chapter on slavery hardly mentions him. The book closes with Part 6, a relatively short section on Beddome's closing years. This is very well done.

There are a very tiny number of typos and one or two possible minor errors in the book but overall it is a solid contribution to studies in this area. Many editors would have been much more brutal and may have cut the contents by as much as a half. Readers will be divided as to whether including so much extraneous material is a merit or demerit.

13/10/2025

Beddome and his milieu


I have been reading some 18th century biographies recently of major figures of the time. It is worth bearing in mind that these are some of Beddome's contemporaries. Whether he interacted with any of them we do not know.
  1. Composer, Georg Friedrich Handel 1685-1759
  2. Artist, William Hogarth 1697-1784
  3. Politician, William Pitt 1708-1788
  4. Gardner and landscape architect, Lancelot 'Capability' Brown 1716-1783
  5. Engineer, James Brindley 1716-1772
  6. Furniture maker, Thomas Chippendale 1718-1779
  7. Artist, Thomas Gainsborough 1727-1788
  8. Architect, Robert Adam 1728-1792
  9. Potter adn entrepreneur, Josiah Wedgwood 1730-1795
  10. Engineer, Thomas Telford 1757-1834
So even if Beddome never heard any Handel or saw any Hogarth or Gainsborough or sat in a Chippendale chair or drank from a Wedgewood cup hemay well have been aware of some of these men. (Beddome trained in the same placeas Humphrey Gainsbrough, brother of the artist).

15/07/2025

More on Richard Haines

Mr Pickles points out that Beddome's protégé Richard Haines (d 1767) who became the minister at Bradford on Avon, unlike Beddome and other protégés did not do any formal study in preparation for the ministry as far as we know. He points out that this is probably true also of Haines' own protégés, Charles Cole (1733-1814) pastor at Whitchurch, Hampshire, for over fifty years; Robert Marshman (1735-1806) pastor at Westbury Leigh for over forty years and John Matthew. Further, Robert Parsons (1717-1790), the stone mason and pastor at Bath, though from Broadmead, was decidedly against formal ministerial training. Haines was present at meeting in 1752 and 1755 at the beginning of the history of the church in Bath. He also draws attention to something found here. There it says of Cole that

He was baptized in February 1756 and became a member of the church at Bradford. Soon after this it was apparent he possessed ministerial talents and having opportunity to exercise them in two or three villages in the neighbourhood with acceptance he was called to the work of the ministry in 1758.
Providence now opened the way for his removal from Bradford in the following manner: his Pastor having occasion to go to Devizes accidentally met with two worthy individuals who were on their way to Bristol with a view to procure a student from the academy for the church at Whitchurch. In conversation with Mr Hains the object of their journey was mentioned when Mr H suggested that Mr Cole might possibly suit the people at Whitchurch. The small pox prevailing greatly at that time at Bristol and Mr Hain's account of Mr Cole induced them to relinquish their journey on the promise of Mr H to influence Mr Cole to pay the church at Whitchurch a visit. With this engagement Mr Cole's diffidence and modesty made it difficult to comply; at length he assented and in May 1758 preached his first sermon among them and tarried six weeks which issued in an invitation to supply them a twelve month with a view to the pastoral office which he accepted; at the close of the period he was unanimously invited to take the oversight of them in the Lord and notwithstanding the low state of the church which was reduced to 13 members he undertook the charge and was ordained by Messrs Hains of Bradford, Phillips of Salisbury and Kent of Broughton June 6 1759.

26/06/2025

Two new books on Beddome




Readers of this blog will be pleased to know that two new books on Beddome have recently appeared or are about to appear. Firsty, a second volume and final volume by Stephen Pickles completes the record of his extensive research into Beddome's life and testimony. The first part of the book I have read and it uncontroversially ransacks Beddome's works to piece together a theology, something I have longed to do myself. The second part of the book gets into Huntington, Fuller, etc, and the more controversial matters among Particular Baptists. I have not yet read that part but hope to do so in the near future.
Meanwhile, Yuta Seki has put his PhD on Beddome into popular form. “Long May Thy Servant Feed Thy Sheep” looks at Beddome's pastoral theology, making use of letters, sermons and other materials. I am not sure when this volume will appear but I have seen it and it looks excellent. “Long May Thy Servant Feed Thy Sheep” is a quote from a Beddome hymn.

New Festschrift including essays on Beddome


“A deep spiritual well”: eighteenth-century Evangelicals & their legacy
has just appeared. It is a collection of essays celebrating the academic achievements of historian Grant Gordon, whose research on key eighteenth-century Evangelicals such as John Newton, John Ryland Jr, David George, George Whitefield and John Wesley has opened up fresh avenues for understanding these men and their times. The essays especially focus on Ryland and his family and the English Particular Baptist community to which he belonged. A number of essays deal with slavery, the impact of the American Revolution on British North America, pastoral vision and race and touch on key issues of concern to the Rylands and to Newton. I noted in oparticular two essays on Beddome, one by Dr Haykin and one by Dr Yuta Seki. Both appear elsewhere in different forms but it is good to see our friend's name out there.

07/06/2025

10 works by Particular Baptists against Priestley's unitarianism



  1. John Butterworth (1727-1803) A serious address to the Rev Dr Priestley 1790
  2. Lawrence Butterworth Thoughts on mora government and agency 1792
  3. Caleb Evans (1737-1791) An Address to the Serious and Candid Professors of Christianity 1772, 1773
  4. Caleb Evans (1737-1791) Christ Crucified: Or the Scripture Doctrine of the Atonement 1789
  5. John Fawcett (1740-1817) The Christian's humble plea for his God and Saviour, a poem in answer to several pamphlets latey published by Dr Priestley 1772
  6. Benjamin Francis (1734-1799) The Socinian Champion or Priestleyan divinity 1788
  7. Andrew Fuller (1754–1815) The Calvinistic and Socinian Systems examined and compared, as to their Moral Tendency 1793
  8. John MacGowan (1726-1780) Socinianism brought to the test 1773
  9. Samuel Rowles (1743-1820) Remaks on Dr Priestley's Letters 1784
  10. Samuel Rowles (1743-1820) Revealed religion asserted 1786

06/06/2025

Medical References in Sermons 24


In a sermon on 1 Timothy 1:8 he says

It is implied however in our text that the divine law, though good in itself, is liable to abuse by being improperly applied, as the same medicine may either be efficacious or pernicious by being skilfully or unskilfully administered. 

Brooks on an uncommon occurrence in 1764

It has featured in this blog previously but in Thomas Brooks history of the church he concludes Chapter 5 (pp 65, 66)

We must not however suppose that Mr Beddome was surrounded by none but sympathizing friends in the church and congregation. There were those who dared to oppose and openly withstand him. Before we pass from the period of his ministry we must give one other picture not of any common occurrence but of a scene which has no parallel in the history of this church and we fancy not in that of many others at least in modern times.
Feb 25th 1764 At the desire of one or two friends Mr Beddome preached from Rev i:10 I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. He meddled with the change of the Sabbath as little as he could to do justice to his text. He did not assert that the Christian Sabbath was intended but only said that it was generally supposed to be so, assigning some reasons for it. When he had done, before singing, Jonathan Hitchman of Notgrove stood up in the face of the whole congregation and opposed him. He asked several questions and made some objections to which Mr Beddome answered but finding there was no likelihood of being an end he at length told him that his conduct was both indecent and illegal and that it was no wonder that he who had so little regard to the Lord himself as to deny his divinity and set aside his righteousness should have as little regard to his day. He replied he knew no other righteousness of Christ than obedience to his gospel to which Mr Beddome answered that Christ's righteousness was not our obedience to the gospel but his own obedience to the law. And so the dispute ended.
Great excitement must have been occasioned by this incident. Strange tales would no doubt be told of the scene at the chapel. Had we looked in on that day we might have seen the village in an uproar. Now all have passed away, let us hope that Jonathan Hitchman did not retain his mistaken views of the righteousness of Christ. Some years after, Mr Beddome, recording the death of Mrs Hitchman, says 'She was a good woman, a savoury Christian, and not at all tainted with her husband's views.'

Notgrove is only four miles west of Bopurton. Who was Jonathan Hitchman? There was a William Hitchman c 1728-1802 at Hillesley, near Wotton under edge, Gloucestershire. He was the pastor of what was then a mixed Baptist church but that later became a Particular Baptist church. Hitchman came there in 1761. He was from the seventh day Baptist church in Natton, where Philip Jones was pastor. His assistant or co-pastor in his latter years was his long serving deacon Joseph Rodway (1742-1799), father of the ministers James Rodway (d 1841) and Joseph Rodway (d 1843). The three became ministers the same day. For eight years Rodway Senior would preach in the morning and Hitchman in the evening. Hitchman kept a school in Hillesley. One of his pupils was the Independent minister, Charles Buck (1771-1815). Was Jonathan his son or more likely brother. (William was only 34 in 1764).

02/06/2025

Hymns for the sacraments

Mr Pickles points out, interestingly, that whereas Beddome's hymn book contains 38 hymns on baptism, there are only four on the Lord's Supper. I wonder if that is because of the way the hymns were prepared - as accompaniments to the sermon. Baptisms would part of the service ending with an appropriate hymn. When the Lord's Supper was celebrated once a month it usually took place after the main service and normally included no singing. (This is a guess).