|
In 1839 Sion Baptist Church at Higher
Cloughfold erected the second church to accommodate the growing
congregation which was still using the house that James Townsend had
licensed for worship in 1701. This new building itself had to be
enlarged in 1854 and with the numbers still growing it was decided
in 1864 to open a branch Sunday School at Cawl Terrace. The new
Sunday School was erected on land owned by Mr. Richard Ashworth of
Lea Bank on the site that is now occupied by the church of St John
the Devine, Cloughfold.
The church owed its
origin to the Rev, W C H. Anson,
who was the pastor of
Sion
Church from 1859 to 1865. In
early 1865 the Sunday School
at Cawl Terrace started holding evening services and this caused a
division between the members of Sion Church and Rev. Anson, and
after a number of disputes the church minutes for 28th October
record "That the Church and its minister sever connection on the
second Sunday in November". The Rev Anson arranged for a supply
minister to attend at Sion and opened the Cawl Terrace School for
church services as an independent Baptist Church.
The first page of minute book for the
newly independent church reads:
In the
month
of October
1865,
fourteen persons heretofore members of the
Baptist Church, Coughfold, being
greatly dissatisfied with the
state of affairs
in the above church and feeling deeply
the destitute condition of Cawl Terrace, determined with God's
assistance to form themselves into a Church and to attempt the
evangelisation of the neighbourhood. Accordingly on the 16th day of
the month they assembled in the classroom of the Irwell School,
kindly lent by Rd. Ashworth Esq. of Lea Bank and Irwell Mill and
passed the following resolutions:
1)
That there be a church formed at the Irwell School Room, Cawl
Terrace.
2)
That George Henry Ormerod be secretary of the Church.
3)
That we invite The Rev. W. C. H. Anson to become our pastor on the
condition that he serve the first year for what we can collect along
with a donation from Rd. Ashworth Esq. of an equal amount, the same
being generously promised.
4)
That there be a meeting on October 25th for the purpose of engaging
the Irwell School Room for teaching and public worship, and that
Mary Lord see Mr Ashworth and invite him to attend the said meeting.
The church opened for public worship
on Sunday November 12th 1865 and in the early days the church did
quite well. But soon it's fortunes began to change though it
is difficult to establish what was going wrong as the Secretaries of
the church left blank pages in the minutes book which may have
disclosed any disputes. For the next few years until January 1870
when Mr Anson was in Italy and the church was having difficulty
obtaining supply pastors from Bury College. Then on February 5th the
minutes record "That a deputation wait upon Mrs. Anson to see
about certain language she is said to have used greatly to the
discredit of the Church". Later that same month there is
reference to a vote to be taken by ballot "as to whether Mr.
Anson stay with us as our minister or not"
The vote went in favour of Mr. Anson
and on the March 5th it was agreed "That we engage Mr. Anson at
the sum of £60 per annum", but this was not to last on in the
minutes of June 26th 1870 appears "That we accept the resignation of
the Rev. W. C. H. Anson and that , as requested, his duties to this
Church end on the second Sunday in July"
For the next eighteen months the Church continued without a Pastor,
paying ten shillings per Sunday for Supply Pastors, but things
remained unsettled and on December 6th 1871 the Church passed the
following resolution:-
1) That we do
not carry on the place any longer as a separate church.
2) That if the Cloughfold Church sends us an invitation to unite
with them we accept. The invitation to
unite was cordially accepted by Rev. A. J. Parry and the Cawl
Terrace Church ceased to exist as separate Church with thirty of its
members transferred to the Cloughfold Church. The building was
retained as a branch Sunday School until August 1877.
In 1882 the Church and land were sold
for £100 to the Rev. Ezra Holliday vicar of St Mary's Church
Rawtenstall and it was run as a School/Church until 1889 when the
church St John the Divine was built on the land. |
