History of Keswick Congregational
Have you ever been arrested for going to church? Years ago you would have been in danger had you come to worship at a church like ours. There are records of men who were caught by the Keswick Commissioners, tried, found guilty of the offence of preaching the Gospel in Keswick and even imprisoned. Others were fined for the failing to attend Crosthwaite (St. Kentigern’s) Church.
In the seventeenth century Crosthwaite Church was the only building for miles around where the sacraments could be celebrated legally; folk had to bring their babies here for baptism and their dead for burial whether they lived in Thornthwaite, Thirlmere or even right down in Borrowdale. In the days before the civil war there had been years of ’pluralist’ vicars, which meant that they had the responsibility of several parishes. Although such men received their income and tithes from the poor parishoners they would employ a curate to mumble the Prayer Book services while they themselves lived a life of ease, caring little for the people they should have been shepherding.
But there were many people living in this area who longed to know the truth about God and life. Where could they go to hear Bible teaching? In 1645 a new vicar was appointed to Crosthwaite, and he was sympathetic towards such people. He appointed a man to preach the gospel in chapelries like Thornthwaite, Newlands and St. John’s in the Vale. Crowds flocked to hear him, not only from this parish but also from Cockermouth and even further north.
Imagine these folk eagerly setting off across the fell paths, some on horseback, some on foot, to hear Bible readings and preaching from a man who knew and loved both God and the Bible.
How excited they must have been! The civil war ended and Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. Things seemed to be looking up for those who loved to worship God according to what they read in the Bible.
The folk from Cockermouth decided to form themselves into a church in 1651 so that they could enjoy fellowship like this every Sunday. The following year the vicar at Crosthwaite appointed a new preacher for Keswick, James Cave. His preaching and his godly lifestyle continued to attract people from far and wide. When the vicar died in 1653 those of Keswick who were relishing James Cave’s ministry was ordained in Crosthwaite to be the minister and the church we now know as Keswick Congregational Church was born.
The three hundred and fifty years have passed since that historic day have borne testimony to God’s wonderful providence. Early years were tumultuous for after Cromwell’s decease and the return of the monarchy those whose consciences forbade them to worship according to the law, that is the dissenters, were hounded from pillar to post. Our minister, James Cave, was ejected as were some 2,000 faithful men throughout the country. This church probably assembled in woods, quarries, mines and isolated cottages to listen to God’s Word and to sing psalms and pray together. For a bried spell in 1672 they obtained permission to meet up at Castlerigg Hall, but Parliament soon withdrew that licence and they were forced to hide away again.
Now persecution arose in earnest; believers were obliged to meet at night and in secret for huge fines, imprisonment and even transportation awaited those who disobeyed the legislation aimed at stamping out nonconformity. But what God had established man could not extinguish. The church continued to meet. Just before the church’s 50th birthday a petition was sent to the justices of the peace requesting that it be issued with a licence to meet in a newly built cottage on Keswick’s “High Hill”. What rejoicing there must have been when they heard that permission had been granted!
Two years later a second petition was sent to Quarter Sessions and again a licence was issued, this time for another cottage tucked away in the centre of town. Between 90 and 95 worshippers met there regularly; they continued to study the Bible avidly, making much use of the divinity library that was left to them by one minister, and even studied Greek so thtat they could read the scriptures in the original language. Many of those early dissenters had survived persecution for their faith and prized their new freedom. However a generation arose who began to take that precious gift for granted. Great changes were occurring in this country and beyond. The Methodists began to meet in Keswick and attracted many, especially the poorer people, whereas our older church counted men of property amongst the members. The French revolution were the cause of unrest, high food prices and hardship for many. The meeting house given to the church in 1705 was not longer ideal and a new building was needed. A site was purchased in Lake Road and a new chapel was built in 1803.
Perhaps it was hoped that a new building would put new heart into worship, but as the century wore on fewer and fewer people attended services and soon they ceased to meet regularly at all. Had God not chosen to use this place it would surely have closed, but in 1849 a young man was sent to fan the embers and again the church began to grown. A new minister was called in 1854 and with his encouragement the present chapel was built for Congregational worship.
We have already seen that new buildings do not necessarily mean a new love for the Lord. Sadly the next century was one of much activity but little spirituality. In 1902, Pastor Taylor Herd challenged the Keswick Congregational Church declaring, “Are we a spiritual hospital or an effective army?” The many Victorians who filled the pews on Sundays and sold embroidered handkerchieves to raise funds on Saturdays knew little of the zeal of those persecuted Christians who gave their all for God two hundred years before. The Sunday School was bursting at the seams, but did those children detect a sincere infectious Christlike love in their teachers? One fears that they did not, for how few of them were attending the chapel after two world wars. But for the few faithful Christians who kept the doors open in the last years of the twentieth century there would be no anniversary to celebrate this year.
But God is faithful and his plans will not be thwarted. A new ministry began in this place in 1999 and the church has begun to grow again, not only in numbers but also in love for God, for His Word, for each other and for the lost world outside. Pray with us that the Holy Spirit may be so powerfully at work in and among us that the Lord Jesus may be revealed to many. May God grant another Pentecost with multitudes added to His kingdom. How better could we express our gratitude to Him for all that He has done for us through His Son?
