PROTESTANT NONCONFORMITY
There are indications of Brownist activity in
Salisbury at the beginning of the 17th century, and
dissenters from the city were among the group who
migrated to Amsterdam with Francis Johnson. (fn. 1)
This connexion with Amsterdam may explain the
establishment of a Baptist congregation in Salisbury
by as early as 1626. A number of 'Anabaptists' were
fined for absence from church between 1630 and
1632, and a little later advocates of Fifth Monarchy
and Seventh Day Baptist views appeared. (fn. 2) The
latter seem to have had sporadic support in Salisbury
over a long period: in 1675 Francis Bampfield was
preaching in the city, and there was said to be a
'remnant' of Seventh Day Baptists in 1690. (fn. 3) The
General Baptists in Salisbury in the early 18th
century may have held similar views, for deeds of
1734 and 1748 suggest that a sect of Baptists was
allowed to use the Brown Street Chapel on Saturdays. (fn. 4) A. Flood, who was preaching in Salisbury
in 1715 and jointly with John Lane drawing 200
hearers, was probably a General Baptist, (fn. 5) and
Salisbury appears in the minutes of the Assembly of
General Baptists in the middle of the century. (fn. 6)
Calvinistic or Particular Baptists also gained a
hold on the city at an early date: a house was being
rented in 1678 for the use of preachers from Porton
church, the centre of the Particular Baptists in
south Wiltshire, who had held meetings in Salisbury
since 1657 and perhaps 1655. (fn. 7) This may have been
the house belonging to Thomas Batts which was
licensed as a Baptist meeting place in 1672, (fn. 8) but it
was more probably another house, because James
Wise was licensed to preach at Batts's house, while
Walter Penn was the most frequent preacher at the
Porton station in Salisbury. Another house licensed
in 1672 may have been used by a Baptist group; it
belonged to John Tombes who is variously described
as a Presbyterian and a Baptist. (fn. 9)
Puritan reformers within the church in Salisbury
during the Interregnum were led by John Strickland,
who was a member of the 1653 Wiltshire Association
of Puritan Ministers. All three Salisbury churches
had members of the Westminster Assembly as
incumbents. (fn. 10) Only Strickland, however, remained
in Salisbury after he was ejected from his living at
St. Edmund's Church in 1662. He was joined by
William Hunt, previously Master of Salisbury Free
School, and a number of ejected ministers from
outside Salisbury. (fn. 11) In defiance of the measures
taken against them, they continued preaching
within the city. Their activities were centred in
St. Edmund's parish where about 200 people were
said to attend conventicles held in 1669 at Anthony
Cooke's house and elsewhere. (fn. 12) In contrast, there
were only 11 or 12 suspected frequenters of conventicles in St. Thomas's parish and none in the rest
of Salisbury. To some extent this can be attributed
to Strickland's personal influence in St. Edmund's
parish both before and after he was ejected. Even
after his death in 1670, however, nonconformity
continued to be stronger in St. Edmund's parish
than in the rest of Salisbury: a census of nonconformists made in 1675 showed that out of 3,609
adults in the city 63 were protestant dissenters, of
whom 44 lived in St. Edmund's parish. (fn. 13)
Although the numerical strength of the dissenters
as shown by the 1675 census appears to have been
limited, there can be no doubt of their continued
existence and activity. Between the issue of the
Declaration of Indulgence and its withdrawal a
year later the houses of Thomas Taylor, John
Swallowfield, John Haddesley, Anthony Cooke,
Stephen Haskett, and John Hulatt were licensed for
use as Presbyterian places of worship, and the house
of George Whitmarsh for use by Independents or
Congregationalists. (fn. 14) The Presbyterians also made
applications to use the Guildhall and the Shoemakers' Hall, but licences were refused. After 1673
meetings again became liable to interruption and
preachers were imprisoned; it is claimed that John
Swallowfield spent a whole year in gaol. (fn. 15)
Quakers were not active in Salisbury until near
the end of Charles II's reign. Two isolated incidents
in 1657 met with quick repression and imprisonment: Francis Taylor interrupted a service at the
cathedral, (fn. 16) and Katharine Evans tried to call upon
bystanders in the Market Place to repent. (fn. 17) The next
Quaker to be recorded in Salisbury was George
Harris of the Close, who was prosecuted for refusing
to take the oath in 1678 or 1679. (fn. 18) In 1684 six men
were fined for attending a Quaker meeting, (fn. 19) and a
number of levies made on Quakers two years later (fn. 20)
add to the evidence that the movement was gathering strength at this period. A regular monthly
meeting was established in Salisbury before 1697;
and in 1703 the houses of Robert Shergold and
John Moore were set apart as Quaker meeting
houses. A new house in Gigant Street licensed in
1712/13 for the use of 'Protestant Dissenters' was
certified by Robert Shergold, James Lansdale, and
James Wilkens, and was used by the Quakers. (fn. 21) The
Salisbury monthly meeting was abandoned, however, in 1717, (fn. 22) although preparative meetings were
held until 1827. (fn. 23)
The early groups of both Particular Baptists and
Presbyterians or Independents formed churches
which have had a continuous history from the 17th
to the 20th century. In 1690 the Baptists organized
from Porton broke away from their mother church
and became independent with Walter Penn as their
first minister. (fn. 24) The Brown Street Particular
Baptist Church originated with this secession: the
first chapel in Brown Street was erected shortly
before June 1719, (fn. 25) and was apparently rebuilt
in 1750 when 'the new house built for worship' in
Brown Street was registered. (fn. 26) The chapel was
supported by both local farmers and tradespeople:
the 1734 list of trustees includes 3 yeomen, a
'gentleman' and a cork-cutter, a mercer, a lacedealer, and a weaver. (fn. 27)
Two outstanding ministers of the early Brown
Street chapel were Henry Phillips, pastor from 1766
to 1779, and his successor John Saffery, who was
pastor for over 50 years. The former opened a free
school and at one time was teaching over 150
children to read, write, and do accounts. (fn. 28) During
his ministry the congregation increased to between
200 and 300 persons, and this expansion continued
under Saffery until it became necessary in 1829 to
erect a larger chapel. (fn. 29) It was built in what was later
described as 'debased classical style', (fn. 30) and had 250
free sittings and 550 others. Soon after it was opened
there were said to be 210 church members and a
congregation of 600, (fn. 31) but in 1851 on the day of the
ecclesiastical census there were only 336 people at
the evening service. (fn. 32) Although the chapel was
substantially modified in 1882 the sittings were not
again increased. (fn. 33) A small part of the cost of the 1882
alterations was met by a loan from the Baptist
Building Fund, but it was soon repaid and the
congregation seems to have been a fairly wealthy
one. (fn. 34) The church has also been helped by Thomas
Attwater's gift of £200 in 1752 for the future repairs
of the chapel. (fn. 35) It is known that this gift brought in
£8 a year from 1837 until the beginning of the 20th
century. The capital sum was re-invested some time
before 1933 and the annual income has since been
paid into the general fund of the chapel. (fn. 36) A little
assistance has also been received from Richard
Earlsman's charity: this was a gift of £1,180, in
support of Salisbury nonconformity in general. In
1905 the annual income was £29 10s.: the St.
Edmund's Church Street Methodists received £19
for their poor, the Congregationalists received
£7 0s. 8d., and the Brown Street Baptists received
£3 9s. 4d. for general maintenance. (fn. 37)
The 1882 alterations increased the number of
classrooms to 24, and in 1889 there were 440 Sunday
School pupils, (fn. 38) a big increase from 1851. (fn. 39) The
numbers declined steeply in the last decade of the
19th century and the first three decades of the
twentieth. (fn. 40) The number of church members, on
the other hand, has remained fairly constant at
between 230 and 285. (fn. 41) Since at least the early 19th
century the Brown Street Church has been
responsible for a number of village stations: there
were 5 of these in 1836–7, (fn. 42) 2 in 1889, (fn. 43) and 4 in
1957 (Bodenham, Coombe Bissett, Porton, and
Winterslow). (fn. 44)
One small charity for the relief of the poor is
administered by the minister of the chapel: by his
will proved in 1787 Richard Spraggs left £50 to be
used to give 10 poor members of the meeting 2s. 6d.
each on New Year's day. The rest of the income was
to be used to buy bread for the poor living in Castle
Street, regardless of their sect or religion. (fn. 45) No
payments were made until after 1860, when the
money and accumulated interest were re-invested.
In 1905 the income of £3 4s. 8d. was spent on
grocery vouchers for 13 poor persons. In 1953 it
appeared that another investment of £88 belonged
to this charity, and the total income was distributed
among the poor by the minister. (fn. 46)
After the Toleration Act of 1689 the Presbyterian
congregation became even stronger than before.
They were able to provide John Haddesley, minister
in 1690, with about £40 a year—an ample living. (fn. 47)
In 1715 a Mr. Sloane, almost certainly a Presbyterian or Independent, had 500 hearers. (fn. 48) The building
of a meeting house in Salt Lane took place probably
early in the 18th century, (fn. 49) and is yet further
evidence that the congregation was flourishing and
prosperous at that date. Their children benefited
from the gift of Edmund Mack who bequeathed
£200 by his will of 1699 to buy apprenticeships each
year for two boys of the Presbyterian congregation
who lived in St. Martin's parish. (fn. 50)
The history of the church during the remainder
of the 18th century is obscure and is a story of
decline. It seems doubtful whether the congregation
had more than a nominal existence by as early as
1773, because there were then said to be only three
nonconformist churches in Salisbury (fn. 51) and these
were certainly the Brown Street Baptist Church, the
Wesleyan Methodist Church in St. Edmund's
Church Street, and the Congregational Church in
Scots Lane. The disintegration of the church is also
indicated by the fact that the accounts of Edmund
Mack's charity were not properly kept during the
last quarter of the 18th and early years of the 19th
centuries, and the funds were sometimes misapplied.
One of the difficulties about this charity, however,
may have been a lack of suitable candidates: between
1722 and 1789 58 boys were apprenticed at a cost of
nearly £300, but in 1808 the charity had to be
extended to boys in other parishes, or, failing that,
to girls. (fn. 52) By 1815 at all events the congregation
had ceased to exist, for the Salt Lane premises were
then said to be abandoned and ruinous and were
sold to the Wesleyan Methodists for use as schoolrooms and a minister's residence. (fn. 53) Edmund Mack's
charity passed into the hands of the Methodists at
the same time.
One cause of the decline of the Presbyterian cause
in Salisbury may have been a secession to the
Congregational church in the middle of the 18th
century. A group of people with Congregational
views began meetings in 1757, and in 1766 William
Warne endowed the then minister, John Wheeler,
with 2 houses in Scots Lane. (fn. 54) A chapel was erected
at the rear of one of the houses; it was registered for
worship in 1767, (fn. 55) and enlarged in 1791, (fn. 56) and
again in 1829 by the addition of schoolrooms and
vestries. (fn. 57) There seems to have been no link
between the congregation established in 1757 and
those early Congregationalists meeting at George
Whitmarsh's house. The registration in 1796 of a
room in Milford for use by Independents (fn. 58) probably
shows the existence of another separate group, but
no more is heard of it. A secession from the Scots
Lane church in 1806, (fn. 59) however, led to the erection
of a chapel in Endless Street, which was registered
4 years later. (fn. 60)
This secession was more probably caused by
personal than by important doctrinal differences,
for in 1860 the two churches were re-united. (fn. 61) The
Endless Street chapel with 150 free and 650 other
sittings was chosen as the meeting place in preference
to the Scots Lane chapel, which had only 150 free
sittings and 380 others. (fn. 62) It was necessary to choose
the larger building because the total congregation
at evening service in the two chapels sometimes
exceeded 800. (fn. 63) The Scots Lane premises were
used as schoolrooms for the British School until it
closed in 1888 (fn. 64) and for the Sunday School until
1890. (fn. 65) In 1879 the present church was built in
Fisherton Street. It is a stone building in Early
Decorated Gothic style with a tall spire, and seats
650. (fn. 66) The total cost was £11,000, and the Endless
Street chapel was sold to help to raise this amount. (fn. 67)
Schoolrooms were later added to the Fisherton
Street chapel and the Scots Lane chapel was sold.
This congregation benefits from the receipts of two
charities: John Wheeler by his will proved in 1870
left £400 to Endless Street chapel, from which
£10 10s. a year is now paid into the general fund. A
similar sum is received from Warne and Perry's
charity, although the origin of this charity is not
known. (fn. 68)
Methodism made its first impact on Salisbury
when Westley Hall, a pupil and connexion by
marriage of Wesley, went to Fisherton Anger as
curate in 1736. (fn. 69) A meeting was established in the
coach-house of the 'Green Dragon', Fisherton. Ten
years later Hall broke with John and Charles
Wesley, and Methodism was weakened in Salisbury.
John Wesley visited the city frequently, and with
his encouragement a small group opened a meeting
room in a shop in Greencroft Street in 1750. (fn. 70) A
chapel was built in St. Edmund's Church Street in
1759, (fn. 71) which Wesley described as 'the most
complete in England'. (fn. 72) After preaching there ten
years later Wesley paid the church a great tribute:
'the congregation was alive, and much more the
society. How pleasing it would be to be always with
such!'. (fn. 73) Enthusiasm for the Methodist cause was
increased by the preaching of John Webb in 1782. (fn. 74)
The number of church members between this date
and the end of the 18th century fluctuated violently:
there were 380 members in 1785, 636 in 1789, 238
in 1791, and 360 in 1798. (fn. 75) The chapel was re-built
in 1810 with 280 free sittings and 780 other sittings. (fn. 76)
Five years later the old Presbyterian Meeting Place
in Salt Lane (see above) was bought for use as
schoolrooms. There was no longer a Sunday School,
however, by 1851, although the average congregation
for evening service at that date was said to be 900. (fn. 77)
New schoolrooms were erected in Greencroft Street
in 1879: they were used for a Sunday School and
in the week for meetings and classes connected with
the chapel. (fn. 78) In 1958 the church was still thriving
and had 410 members. (fn. 79)
The administration of Edmund Mack's charity
passed into the hands of the St. Edmund's Church
Street Methodists when they bought the Salt Lane
chapel in 1815, and since that date the funds have
been used to apprentice children of their congregation, with preference for those living in St. Martin's
parish, or failing that, children of other Wesleyan
Methodist congregations within a 4-mile radius of
Salisbury. In 1905 the usual premium paid was £20
and there was no lack of applicants. (fn. 80) In 1932 the
annual income of this charity was about £183. (fn. 81)
It was re-organized in 1937 and its benefits extended
to children entering a trade or other occupation. (fn. 82)
A Wesleyan chapel opened in 1860 in Wilton
Road, Fisherton Anger has been within the city
since the boundary changes of 1904, but its history
is traced below (p. 193).
A Methodist Reform Church congregation opened
a chapel in Milford Street in 1852. (fn. 83) This church
became a member of the United Methodist Free
Churches. The list of trustees shows clearly the
social group which supported this church: there
were 3 gardeners, 2 boot and shoe makers, 2 bakers,
3 grocers, a miller, a saddler, a butcher, an umbrella
maker, a draper, a tailor, a painter, a cornfactor, a
music seller, a picture dealer, a librarian, a solicitor's
clerk, and a yeoman. (fn. 84) In 1878 a schoolroom was
built, (fn. 85) and 2 years later the church was said to hold
800. (fn. 86) Acoustics, light, and ventilation were poor,
however, and in 1896 a new building was begun and
was opened a year later. (fn. 87) It is a brick building with
stone facings, designed by W. H. Dinsley, (fn. 88) and had
450 sittings, a school hall, and 7 other rooms. (fn. 89) After
the Second World War the congregation declined
and in the early part of 1958 there were only 81
members, (fn. 90) so the chapel was closed later in the year
and the congregation transferred to St. Edmund's
Church Street.
The Tunstall and Scotter circuits of the Primitive
Methodist connexion undertook an extensive mission
in the west of England in 1823. (fn. 91) It seems probable
that the 'Tent Methodists' who in the autumn of that
year registered as places of worship Horsepits Field
in Milford, a large room in 'Canal Street', and the
Freemasons' Hall in George Yard, High Street,
were inspired by, or part of, this mission. Their
minister was William Sanger. (fn. 92) There is no evidence
that these 'Tent Methodists' continued to meet in
Salisbury and in 1827 a new Primitive Methodist
mission began. (fn. 93) A room in a dwelling house in
New Street was lent for services, (fn. 94) and a small
society of 7 or 8 members was formed. By 1833
Salisbury was at the head of a circuit with 2 preachers
and 250 members. (fn. 95) The first chapel was built in
Fisherton Street and its later history is dealt with
below. (fn. 96) Another Primitive Methodist chapel was
opened in St. Mark's Road in 1890. (fn. 97) Both these
chapels were brick buildings and in 1940 had 360
and 214 sittings respectively. (fn. 98)
Since the union of the Methodist Church in 1932
two new chapels have been opened: that in Roman
Road, Bemerton, was opened later in 1932 and that
in Saxon Road, West Harnham, was opened in
1955. (fn. 99) The Methodist churches in the city in 1956
had a combined membership of nearly 2,000. (fn. 100)
The religious life of dissenters in Salisbury in the
19th century was not confined to the older nonconformist churches. Some houses and public
rooms were registered for worship by groups who
did not state their denomination. (fn. 101) They may have
been connected with the various chapels or they
may have been forerunners of the new denominations
which were established in the city in the 19th and
20th centuries. The earliest of these was the New
Jerusalem or Swedenborgian Church which first
registered the Freemasons' Hall in George Yard in
1825, with John Harbin as minister. (fn. 102) A chapel in
Crane Street was registered in 1828, and a house in
St. Edmund's parish in 1834. A congregation
founded in 1831 with David Tom Dyke as its
leader was said to have met in Endless Street and
later in George Yard. (fn. 103) There may, therefore, have
been more than one group of Swedenborgians in
the thirties. Ten years later a congregation began to
meet in Castle Street; in 1851 there were 100 free
sittings and the average congregation was about
50. (fn. 104) A New Jerusalem congregation met in Antelope
Yard, Catherine Street, in 1878, probably the congregation previously meeting in Fisherton Street but
the church had vanished by 1894. (fn. 105)
The Catholic Apostolic Church met in the
Temperance Hall, Catherine Street, from 1862 to
1876. (fn. 106)
The Salvation Army opened fire in Salisbury in
1880 or early in 1881. Meetings met with considerable resistance for the next two years: in February
1881 the mayor and justices forbade meetings
because of disturbances, and opposition to them was
organized by a 'Society for the Suppression of Street
Parading'. (fn. 107) Two years later a crowd of 1,000 is
said to have pelted them with eggs and tomatoes, (fn. 108)
and 60 special constables were appointed to deal
with these riots. Colonel G. N. Pepper of the
Salvation Army claimed that they were organized by
youths with the connivance of the city's innkeepers.
The meeting was able to open a hall in Salt Lane
later in 1883 (fn. 109) and the riots seem to have died down.
In 1930 the meetings were attracting large congregations. (fn. 110)
The Open Christian Brethren re-opened the old
Congregational chapel in Scots Lane as City Hall
in 1895; there were 250 sittings. (fn. 111) This hall was
disused by 1925 but in 1929 the Barnard's Cross
Gospel Hall was erected, (fn. 112) and is still (1957) used by
the Open Brethren. Christian Brethren were also
meeting in Brown Street about 1930. (fn. 113)
Christian Science services were held in private
homes from 1915 to 1922, when a room was leased
in Avon Chambers, Castle Street, and public services
began. In March 1929 the congregation moved to
24 Milford Street and the following April the
society received recognition from the Mother
Church, The First Church of Christ, Boston. (fn. 114)
A Christadelphian meeting was established in
Brown Street about the beginning of the 20th
century, (fn. 115) and in 1929 the present Christadelphian
Hall in Ashley Road was opened. (fn. 116)
The foundation stone of the Emmanuel Mission
Hall at 63 Devizes Road was laid in 1906. (fn. 117) It was
used by the Railway Mission in 1927 but was
re-registered in 1954 as the Emmanuel (Free
Evangelical) Church. (fn. 118)
In 1930 the Elim Four-Square Gospel Alliance
took over the City Hall (see above) for their meetings. (fn. 119) Four years later the Quakers resumed
meetings in Salisbury at the Rechabite Hall, and a
preparative meeting was established in 1946. (fn. 120) The
Jehovah's Witnesses are the most recent congregation to be established in Salisbury: their church,
Kingdom Hall, in Alexander Road, Bemerton, war
opened in 1950. (fn. 121)