PROTESTANT NONCONFORMITY.
Westbury lies in that area along the Wiltshire-Somerset
border in which, during the later 17th and very
early 18th century, dissenting influences were particularly active. (fn. 28) Conventicles met during this
period in private houses or barns, usually in out-ofthe-way places. In 1669 a number of Anabaptists
met at the house of Roger Cutter (Cator or Cater),
their preacher, and a group calling themselves
Quakers met at the house of John Gowen with
Philip Hunton as their preacher. (fn. 29) Hunton, ejected
from the living of Westbury in 1662, was licensed
to preach in 1672 as a Congregationalist in his own
house in the town. (fn. 30) A barn and house belonging
to Thomas Edwards of Westbury were also licensed
that year as Presbyterian meeting places. (fn. 31) At
Chapmanslade in 1699 a barn belonging to Robert
Hopkins and at Westbury in 1700 a house belonging
to John Oatbridge were likewise licensed for use by
dissenters. (fn. 32) In the following year a barn at Bratton
belonging to John Hodges of Warminster was
licensed for use by Quakers, (fn. 33) and in 1702 a dissenters' meeting place was licensed in the house of
William Green at Hawkeridge. (fn. 34) Between 1713 and
1734 three houses in Westbury and a barn at
Penleigh were all similarly licensed. (fn. 35)
The Anabaptists, who met in the house of Roger
Cutter in 1669, were a congregation which had been
founded in 1662 (fn. 36) as an offshoot of the Old Baptist chapel at Southwick. (fn. 37) Cutter remained as their
pastor until his death in 1693, and in 1689 he
represented his congregation at the first Baptist
Assembly in London. (fn. 38) By 1694 this congregation
belonged to the Western Association. Meetings
were held at various places in the neighbourhood
of Westbury Leigh, and frequently at Clay Close
House, belonging to members of the family of
Phipps. After 1693 the congregation moved to a barn
belonging to Stephen Self, a clothier, standing on
the site of the present Baptist chapel at Westbury
Leigh, and in 1714 Self converted his barn into a
chapel. In 1724 when William Wilkins was pastor
(1724-45), John Watts, an elder of the church,
with 29 followers left the Westbury Leigh chapel and
formed a new congregation in a barn at Westbury
called Mallox. Watts, however, soon left Westbury
to devote himself to his work as pastor of a Baptist
church at Erlestoke, (fn. 39) and the congregation returned to the Westbury Leigh chapel. In 1796-7,
when Robert Marshman (1763-1806) was pastor,
a new and larger chapel was built on the same site.
The foundation stone was laid in 1796 and almost
the whole cost of the building, which was about
£1,300, was raised by the congregation, which
numbered 116. During his ministry Marshman
helped to form a church at Chapmanslade (see
below). Marshman was succeeded by George
Phillips, who was, however, suspected by some of
the congregation of Wesleyan leanings. After some
dispute Phillips and his followers left the Westbury
Leigh chapel to found a new chapel at Penknap
(see below). Westbury Leigh was without a pastor
for five years, but during this time a Sunday school
was formed. Between 1847 and 1871 the Westbury
Leigh congregation raised money for many improvements to their chapel. It is a large red-brick
building with stone window-dressings and roundheaded windows at ground- and first-floor levels.
The Baptist chapel at Westbury Leigh benefited
from several bequests. John Wilkins, a clothier,
by his will, dated 1729, directed that £20 a year
from his farm of Honeybridge, North Bradley,
should be divided equally between the minister
and poor of the congregation. The £10 for the poor
was to be spent on coats, bearing the testator's
cloth-mark upon the sleeve. In 1834 a scheme was
made for this charity, providing for the maintenance
of the farm and investment of surplus income. In
1833 the farm (about 63 a.) was sold and just over
£3,000 invested. By a scheme of 1920 the funds of
this charity were divided into three equal parts: one
for the benefit of the minister of Westbury Leigh
Baptist church; the second for the poor of the
congregation of that chapel, and the third for the
poor of the Anglican congregations of Holy Trinity,
Dilton Marsh, and St. Saviour, Westbury Leigh.
In 1950 the payments due to the poor were made
mainly in contributions to a clothing club. (fn. 40) Another
charity for the benefit of both the minister and the
poor of the Westbury Leigh Baptist congregation
was that established by a bequest in the will of
Robert Haynes, dated 1851. Some hundred years
later the minister received about £10 annually from
this charity, and about £5 were distributed to
deserving cases among the congregation. (fn. 41) Charities
for the benefit of the minister only were established
by bequests in the wills of Sarah Cockel (dated
1746), Richard Haynes (dated 1767), and John
Turner (dated 1804), and the minister was still
receiving small sums from these bequests in the
mid-20th century. (fn. 42) James Humphries by his will,
dated 1805, bequeathed £100 for the benefit of the
poor of the congregation. This money was subsequently used to buy a site for a manse, but house
and land were sold in 1949 and the money reinvested for the benefit of the poor. (fn. 43) The Westbury Leigh Baptist congregation also benefited
under the will of Charlotte Laverton (see below).
After his withdrawal from Westbury Leigh in
1810, George Phillips held his first service in the
open air at Upton Lovell. (fn. 44) For about six months
he continued to preach in a farmyard at Dilton
Marsh because no house or barn big enough to
hold the congregation could be found. The site
for a chapel at Penknap was given by Stephen
Applegate, a member of the congregation. The first
service was held in the chapel, which was called
Providence Chapel, in the autumn of 1810. Phillips
was chosen as minister and some 30 followers
formed themselves into a church. The differences
with the chapel at Westbury Leigh were settled and
some financial compensation made to Phillips. At
the time of Phillips's death in 1833 the Penknap
congregation numbered 175. At about this date a
stream near Boyer's Mill was used for baptisms,
later a stream at Stormore was used. In 1859 some
members of the Penknap congregation complaining
that the minister, Joseph Hurlestone, preached
Arminianism, left the church. One member then
opened his own house for services, and later
the upper part of a house in Slob Lane was
equipped as a chapel, known as Gideon Chapel,
but this congregation failed to establish itself.
A Sunday school at Penknap was begun in
1810. The chapel was enlarged in 1835. It
is a plain red-brick building with pointed windows with y-tracery at ground- and first-floor levels.
The chapel benefited under the will of Charlotte
Laverton (see below).
The Baptist chapels of Westbury Leigh and
Penknap lie within ½ mile of each other on the
south-west fringe of Westbury. Early in the 19th
century the need for a chapel nearer the centre of
the town was felt, and in 1825 about ten people
worshipping at Cook's Stile Meeting House formed
themselves into a church. (fn. 45) In 1829 the congregation
numbered 180 and there were two deacons. Visiting
ministers, however, supplied the pulpit until 1839
when the first minister for the new congregation
was appointed. A new chapel with seating for
350 was built and opened in West End in 1868.
Two bequests have been made for the benefit
of the minister. Eliza Deacon, by her will
dated 1893, and Anna Deacon, by her will
proved in 1896, bequeathed £40 and £28 respectlively for the minister. In 1903 a sum of £70 represented these bequests and in the mid-20th century
the interest was being paid annually to the
minister. (fn. 46)
The exact date of the formation of a Baptist
church at Bratton is not known. (fn. 47) William Gough,
a Presbyterian, who was responsible for the
establishment of a Baptist church at Erlestoke, (fn. 48)
almost certainly also preached at Bratton in c. 1667,
and nonconformity in the two places was always
closely linked. Members of the Westbury Leigh
congregation also preached at Bratton during the
ministry of Roger Cutter. The meetings in John
Hodges's barn in 1702, said to be of Quakers, may
really have been the nucleus of a Baptist church,
for no further reference to a Quaker meeting in
Bratton has been found. In 1720 John Watts, who
left Westbury Leigh and became minister at Erlestoke,
undertook to preach once a month at Bratton in
the house of Jeffery and Catherine Whitaker. Soon
afterwards services were held once a fortnight, then
once a week, and the congregation moved to a
schoolroom belonging to Jeffery Whitaker. (fn. 49) In
1733 a site was given on which a chapel was built. (fn. 50)
The building was paid for by voluntary subscription. In the same year the chapel joined the Western
Association. Some time between 1734 and 1747
the congregations of Erlestoke and Bratton were
amalgamated. In 1828 the congregation numbered
100, and later in the century Bratton became a
centre for village evangelisation in the region.
The Baptist chapel at Bratton is a small red-brick
building standing in the middle of its burial ground
at the end of a narrow lane. A public road running
through the chapel-yard was diverted in c. 1800.
Two stone pillars at either end of the original
building bear the date 1734. The chapel was enlarged in 1786 by extending it about 12 ft. backward.
Thorough restoration took place in 1807 and windows on the east and west sides were opened. A
schoolroom was added at the west end in 1818. In
1856 the roof of the chapel was raised 4 ft., much
interior restoration carried out, and another schoolroom, a vestry, and a lecture room were added.
The schoolroom on the west side was enlarged in
1874, and new windows were inserted in the chapel
in 1899.
The chapel benefits from a number of bequests.
Jeffery Whitaker, by his will, proved 1775, gave
£350 and a house 'lately erected for pious and religious uses at Brown's Plot'. The interest on
£100 of this bequest was to be given to the Baptist
minister if he preached occasionally in the house,
but when the time came for a house to be built for
the minister, the £100 were to go towards the cost
of this. The interest on £150 of the same bequest
was to provide £1 1s. for the minister annually, and
the interest on the remaining £100 was to be
devoted to the poor and the education of poor
children in Bratton. (fn. 51) In 1961 the minister was still
benefiting from this charity, and £1 1s. was paid
for an annual sermon. (fn. 52) Several other bequests
have been made for the benefit of the minister:
Joseph Goodenough Blatch, by his will proved
1840, left £500, Thomas Whitaker, by his will
dated 1855, bequeathed £100, John Reeves, by his
will proved 1892, bequeathed £200, (fn. 53) and Emma
Pocock, by her will proved 1932, bequeathed
£100. (fn. 54) A bequest for the benefit of the choir was
contained in the will of John Griffin, proved 1882. (fn. 55)
In 1777 Daniel Grey was preaching in a friend's
house in Chapmanslade. (fn. 56) He was followed by
other preachers, calling themselves students of the
Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion. Later,
preachers came from many neighbouring Baptist
chapels, and in 1788 the Revd. Robert Marshman,
of Westbury Leigh, baptized 8 people at Chapmanslade. Thenceforth services were held in one of the
communal workshops connected with the cloth
industry until 1799 when a chapel was built in the
village to accommodate about 140 people. The first
minister was appointed in 1802. In 1846 some
trouble broke out among the congregation and the
minister resigned, leaving the chapel in debt. The
debt was not cleared until 1864, but five years after
this there was enough money among the Chapmanslade Baptists to have the chapel repaired at a cost
of over £1,000. At about this time the Baptists were
joined by the congregation which withdrew from
the Congregational chapel in the village (see below).
The Baptist chapel is built of coursed rubble with
a tiled hipped roof.
By 1826 Baptists living in and around Stormore
(Dilton Marsh), which at that time was the home of
many hand-loom weavers, wanted a chapel in their
hamlet. (fn. 57) Services that year were being held in one
of the cottages, and for a time they were conducted
in a loft over a carpenter's shop, but in 1829 a small
mission chapel was built and became known as
Scott's Meeting. It stood by the stream used by
both Penknap and Westbury Leigh Baptists for
baptisms. In 1884 it was rebuilt as a mission church
of the Westbury Leigh chapel and in 1890 a preaching service was held there every Sunday afternoon.
In 1958 the chapel was still a mission church of
Westbury Leigh. (fn. 58)
The Old Congregational Chapel in Warminster
Road, Westbury, also called the Old Independent
Meeting, or Lower Meeting, claims to date from
1662. (fn. 59) It clearly derives from the congregation
which gathered round Philip Hunton after he had
been ejected from his living in 1662 (see above),
although there is no precise record of the formation
of a church during Hunton's life time. (fn. 60) His followers met at his house in Westbury where he preached
privately. On his death in 1682, Hunton left to the
'Protestant Nonconforming Church' of Westbury
a piece of land called the Hop Ground. During
the pastorate of Hunton's successor a barn in Lower
(now Leigh) Road was converted into a chapel, but
this was burnt down in 1711. The Hop Ground
was then sold to pay for the building of a new
chapel. This chapel was probably built on the site
of the present Congregational chapel on the east
side of Warminster Road. In c. 1725 the congregation numbered 800. (fn. 61) Among the congregation
were some of Westbury's most influential inhabitants and in 1751 there was a certain amount of
disagreement with the minister. He was suspected
of holding unitarian views and was accused of
preaching sermons condemning slavery. Eventually
part of the congregation withdrew and a second
church, known as the Upper Meeting, was formed.
The earlier congregation survived, however, and
in 1821 re-built its chapel at a cost of £2,000. It is
a red-brick building with stone dressings and a
front embellished later in the 19th century. In 1829
the congregation numbered 500. (fn. 62) Between 1763
and 1795 a total of £400 was bequeathed for the
support of the minister. The origin of this money is
unknown but in 1829 it was invested for the benefit
of the minister, together with £200 which were
bequeathed that year by Thomas Austin. Austin also
left nearly £200 to provide cloaks and clothing for
the poor of the congregation, and in the mid-20th
century the income from the Austin Charity was
distributed as small gifts of money or was spent on
buying clothing. (fn. 63) The Old Congregational Chapel
also benefited by the will of Miss Charlotte Laverton
(see below).
The members of the Old Congregational Chapel
who withdrew in 1751 met at first in a barn which
lay somewhere between Westbury and Westbury
Leigh. (fn. 64) But in 1763 their chapel, which became
called the Upper Meeting Chapel, was opened on
the west side of Warminster Road. By 1829 the
congregation numbered 300. (fn. 65) Throughout the
19th century attempts were made to unite the two
congregations. The first invitation to re-unite came
from the older congregation in c. 1816, but this like
several later attempts came to nothing. (fn. 66) Union was
only achieved in 1940 when the two congregations
came together to form the Congregational Church
of Westbury. (fn. 67) The Upper Chapel was then closed
and all services held in the Old Chapel. In 1960 the
Upper Chapel, a plain red-brick building, was used
as a builder's store.
In the years following its formation the Upper
Congregational Chapel benefited by several bequests, made by members of some of Westbury's
leading families. Gaisford Gibbs, by his will
proved 1790, bequeathed £400. Elizabeth Ludlow,
by her will proved 1794, bequeathed £200, and a
bequest of £200 was made at an unknown date by
William Gaisford. Thomas Matravers, by his will
proved 1794, bequeathed £400 to the chapel, but
his estate could not meet the bequest. Matravers's
nephew, however, made a gift of £100 which was
used for building. A bequest of £100 was made by
John Crosby, by his will proved 1821. This bequest
proved to be void, but Crosby's children made a
gift of £100. Jane Fatt, by her will proved 1835,
gave £100 for the benefit of the minister, and the
minister also benefited under the will, dated 1851,
of Robert Haynes, a benefactor of Westbury Leigh
Baptist chapel. A bequest to the Upper Chapel was
contained in the will of Abraham Ludlow, proved
1807, and for some years £5 were paid annually from
this, but nothing is known of it after 1876. (fn. 68) In
1926 a scheme was prepared for the joint administration of the charities of Gaisford Gibbs, Elizabeth
Ludlow, William Gaisford, John Crosby, and Jane
Fatt. (fn. 69)
The congregation of the Upper Meeting with
those of the Old Congregational Chapel, and the
Baptist chapels of Westbury Leigh, Penknap, and
West End benefited by the will of Charlotte Laverton. By a deed, dated 1887, Charlotte Laverton, in
exercise of a power given her by the will of her
brother, Abraham Laverton, appointed that after
her death the interest on £1,500 should be paid
annually to the minister and deacons of the five
chapels. The proportion in which the interest was
to be divided was left to the decision of the trustees,
and the money was to be used for the poor of the
respective congregations. (fn. 70) The income of this
charity has subsequently been divided equally
between the beneficiaries. In 1954, when there
were only four chapels concerned, The Upper
Meeting having been closed in 1940, about £50
was shared among them for poor members of their
congregations. (fn. 71)
A Congregational church was formed at Chapmanslade in 1761. (fn. 72) This is the first nonconformist
church known to have existed in Chapmanslade,
but in c. 1725 there was a Presbyterian congregation
there numbering 300. Their minister, however,
lived in East Knoyle, so it is possible that services
were held there. (fn. 73) The Chapmanslade Congregationalists met in a barn until 1771 when a chapel
was built. (fn. 74) This was enlarged in 1810 and repaired
in 1819. (fn. 75) In the middle of the 19th century disagreement between minister and congregation
resulted in the withdrawal of the entire congregation, who joined the Chapmanslade Baptist
chapel. (fn. 76) The Congregational minister was obliged
to resign and the chapel, much dilapidated, was
pulled down. (fn. 77) A new chapel to seat 128 was built
and opened in 1867. (fn. 78) It is a stone building in
Gothic style.
In 1844 a Congregational church was built at
Hawkeridge (in the parish of Heywood) as a mission
chapel to the Old Congregational Chapel at Westbury. (fn. 79) It is a small rough-cast building.
John Wesley preached in the open air at Westbury in 1748 and recorded that the congregation
behaved well, in spite of the town's reputation for
roughness. He preached again in Westbury in
1749. (fn. 80) A Methodist chapel was built in c. 1809 at
a cost of £400 raised by voluntary subscriptions. (fn. 81)
In 1829 the congregation numbered 200. (fn. 82) The
original chapel in Warminster Road was used in
1958 as a Masonic Hall. A new chapel in Station
Road was opened in 1926. (fn. 83) Until 1869 the Westbury Methodist congregation belonged to the
Warminster circuit. It then joined the newly
formed Wilts. and Somerset Mission. Between 1910
and 1915 it transferred to the Trowbridge circuit. (fn. 84)
There were 16 Methodists in Bratton in 1829. (fn. 85)
A chapel at Stradbrook there was built in 1870,
largely at the expense of Nathaniel Snelgrove, who
made a bequest of £400 for its maintenance in his
will, proved 1874. By 1956 the chapel was closed
and the congregation transferred to the Westbury
Methodist chapel. (fn. 86)
In the 18th century the Quakers were represented
in Westbury by the Matravers family, and the plot
outside the south-west corner of the churchyard
where they were buried is called the Quakers'
burial ground. (fn. 87) A Friends Meeting opened in
Westbury in 1943, but moved to Trowbridge in
the following year. (fn. 88)
In c. 1820 a congregation, calling themselves
'New Lights', met for worship in the house of a
Mr. Hayter of Eden Vale. (fn. 89) Hayter was reputed to
have been a former clergyman of the Church of
England. (fn. 90) After his departure from Westbury his
followers continued to meet in the yard of the
Horse and Groom Inn. (fn. 91) One of the congregation
then presented a site at Cooks Stile, and in 1823
the foundations of a chapel were laid. The congregation, however, failed to perpetuate itself and the
chapel was sold to the trustees of the West End
Baptist chapel. (fn. 92)