'THE DERBYSHIRE REFORM SOCIETIES, 1791-1793', by E. Fearn, Derbyshire Archaeological Journal, Volume LXXXVIII, 1968.

A valuable insight into the pioneering Derby political reform society with which William Ward was associated in the early 1790's. The 'parent society' referred to by John Clark Marshman was the London Corresponding Society.

Pages: Cover; 47; 48; 49; 50; 51; 52; 53; 54; 55; 56; 57; 58 & 59.

Reproduced with the kind permission of the Derbyshire Archaeological Society.

 

'ADDRESS' of the Derby Society for Political Information to their fellow citizens in the form of a poster. Published after a meeting of the Society held at the Talbot Inn, Irongate, Derby, on 16th July 1792. and written by William Ward. Almost certainly it was printed at the Derby Mercury (although there is no imprint), it may even have been typeset by Ward himself.

The text was later reproduced in a London newspaper and the printer was sued for sedition at the Kings Bench Court in London. The case was successfully defended by Thomas Erskine (M.P. for Portsmouth) who speculated in court (wrongly) that it had been written by Dr. Erasmus Darwin.

Poster

 

'The Centenary Manual with Historical Review, of Trinity Baptist Church, Green Hill, Derby'. January 1896.

Pages: Cover; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17 & 18.

The Agard Street Particular Baptist Chapel was purchased by the Great Northern Railway Company in 1876 for £3,000 and a railway viaduct was built in its place. The congregation built a new church on Green Lane and called it Trinity Baptist Church. In the 1890's the then minister, the Rev. William Harris, was looking into the history of the church in order to celebrate its centenary. His best researches came up with January 1796 as the date of the church's birth, and the celebrations went ahead accordingly. The fact that even he didn't know exactly when it was founded shows the dearth of documentary evidence available to him. This was created by the tumultuous events surrounding Ward's invitation to John Thelwall to hold a meeting in the chapel in March, 1797. The early documents, minutes of meetings, etc. must have been destroyed after this time.

One small paragraph in the Derby Mercury of 18th October 1792 would have been of interest to him.

We hear that the Rev. Andrew Fuller is expected to preach on Sunday next, in a room opened for public worship at Mrs. Murden's, by the Brook-side.

This is the first recorded meeting of Particular Baptist in Derby. Mrs. Murden, whose husband was involved in Ward's political activities, either owned a shop, or an inn, on Brookside and provided a room for the meeting. It took place on 21st October 1792, four and a half months after Carey's sermon in Nottingham and 19 days after the founding of the Baptist Missionary Society in Kettering.

The Manual provides other valuable information, unavailable elsewhere about the Agard Street Chapel. Personal contact with the present minister at Trinity has resulted in the Derbyshire Record Office at Matlock being provided with a 'Register of Births' for the Agard Street Chapel, together with other documents.

This copy of the Centenary Manual has been very kindly provided by Margaret Williams, Curator of the Carey Heritage Museum at Moulton. Margaret comes from Derby and her maiden name was Ward. Her and her family were members of the Junction Road Baptist Church, Derby.

 

'John Thelwall, a Pioneer of Democracy and Social Reform in England during the French Revolution.' By Charles Cestre, Swan & Sonnenschein & Co, 1906.

Pages from a biography of John Thelwall which cover the period of his visit to Derby in 1797 and give a brief background to the events. Also inserted is the concluding chapter which illustrates his motives and achievements.

Page: Title Page.

Chapter 2, Page: 125; 126; 127; 128; 129.

Conclusion, Page: 189; 190; 191; 192; 193; 194; 195; 196; 197 & 198.

Courtesy Sheffield University.

 

'The Annual Register, or a View of the History, Politics, and Literature. For the year 1797.'
published by F. C. and J. Rivington, 62 St. Paul's Church-Yard, & 3 Waterloo-Place, Pall Mall.

The entry for 20th March 1797 regarding the riot at the Baptist Chapel, Agard Street, during a meeting held by John Thelwall. To have appeared in the Annual Register the incident must have been mentioned in a London paper, however, nothing appeared in the Derby Mercury.

Page: Title Page; 20th March.