Mr Joseph Clark actually began work with the Teddington Baptist cause assisted by Mr J P Chalmers on 13 August 1882
proving, according to a note of the time to be "a very Paul and Barnabas".
The formal call to Mr Clark to be joint pastor with Mr J P Chalmers
was issued in October 1883 but in October 1884 Mr Clark became sole Pastor when an "affectionate farewell" was taken of Mr Chalmers.
However, Mr Clark resigned at the beginning of 1885 and a later note in the TBC Record says that he left for "wider ministry".
Mr Clark was particularly active in arranging for the purchase of the plot of land
in Church Road and the erection on it of the Tin Tabernacle.
His name appears on the original trust deed as involved in the
transfer of the land to the Trustees of the new church
from its original owner - John Nash Goatley.
On the documentation he is described as Joseph Clark, Wholesale Clothier
of "The Cottage", Middle Lane, Teddington.
After leaving Teddington, Joseph Clark became the first Minister of John Bunyan Baptist Church in Kingston-upon-Thames and he served there from 1885 until 1891. In 1891, the Baptist Union Directory lists him as resident in Church Road, Kingston-upon-Thames
but the following year (1892) he is recorded as having been the Minister of Nottingham Baptist Tabernacle
since 1891. That Church is listed as founded in 1868,
its buildings as seating 2200 and it is reported as having 660 members.
Joseph Clark's address is given in the 1892 BU Directory as Mountford House, Carrington, Nottingham.
In 1895, he preached at the opening of the new Church in Teddington at which point he was listed as being from Nottingham.
Auckland Baptist Tabernacle
in the 1990s
|
|
The TBC Record tells us that Rev Joseph Clark was called by Auckland Baptist Tabernacle, New Zealand
and moved to take up the Pastorate of that Church in 1897. It records in subsequent reports that
Auckland Baptist Church was large and growing.
Then in 1931 the Record reports that Rev Joseph Clark died in Hamilton, New Zealand on 13 June 1931 aged 78.
It says that he had by then been living in New Zealand for thirty years, first at Auckland and then at Hamilton and Morrinsville.
He is reported to have been survived by a widow and a "large family of grown-up sons and daughters".
|
Contact with Auckland Baptist Tabernacle has
confirmed that Rev Joseph Clark moved to New Zealand in 1897 from his pastorate at
Nottingham Baptist Tabernacle.
Rev Alexander (Alex) Greer succeeded Mr Clark in October 1885
and led the church until May 1887 when he resigned from the Pastorate.
He is regarded as the Church's first really settled Minister
with a work described as "steady, quiet building."
Although he arrived in October 1885, his membership (and that of his wife)
was only transferred to TBC on 31 March 1886 from Little Kingshill Baptist Church, Bucks.
His resignation was presented to the Church Meeting on 25 May 1887
and on 31 August 1887, his wife's membership was transferred to Great Broughton Baptist Church, Cumberland.
He married his wife (nee Emma Walker) in Walworth Road Chapel, St Saviour's on 4th Dec 1874 (GRO Marriage Index 1874 Dec St Saviour 1d 294), the marriage ceremony being conducted by Charles Haddon Spurgeon - probably because Alexander Greer studied at the Pastor's College (the predecessor of Spurgeon's College). The 1881 Census shows him as a Baptist Minister in New Quorn, Quorndon, Leics, age 39 and born in Workington, Cumberland with his wife Emma Greer age 40, born in Brixton, Surrey and a three year old son (Ernest A Greer) born in Braunston, Northamptonshire. The 1891 Census shows him as a Baptist Minister, age 50 and born in Workington, Cumberland, living in Great Broughton, Cumberland with his wife Emma Greer, age 51, born in Brixton, Surrey. In the 1891 Census they have a son, Ernest A Greer age 13, and born in Braunston, Hampshire (which is probably a mistake for Northampshire). The 1901 Census is entirely consistent with the a891 Census and has Alexander and Em ten years older still living in Cumberland, this time in Broughton. He is believed to have lived in Broughton until he died there in April 1920.
He is probably the Alexander Greer was christened as the son of Alexander and Mary Greer in St Michael's Parish Church, Workington, Cumberland on 17 May 1840 (This is probably the birth recorded at GRO Birth Index 1840 June Cockermouth 104 25 as Workington lay at the time in the Cockermouth Registration District, as did Broughton).
Rev Daniel Spencer was the shortest serving TBC Minister (February to October 1889).
He is recorded as living at 5 Oxford Road, Teddington in 1890
but does not appear in Teddington in the 1891 Census,
although the Coming of Age (1904) and Jubilee (1931) histories say that he 'frequently ministered to the Church until May 1891' when he left for Canada.
In the Coming of Age (1904) history he is listed as having the qualification F.R.G.S. (presumably
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society).
The January 1908 edition of the Record included a letter from Rev Daniel Spencer in which he says,
'Here in this great land I have had the joy of preaching the glorious gospel in over 300 Baptist Churches from sea to sea
... my three pastorates have been happy ones."
He also refers to "My dear wife and daughter report the visit made to you last summer as one of great pleasure to them,"
and he says "my family are all well, ... the eldest and youngest being married".
We have now found out the following about Rev Spencer's time in Canada:
|
Rev Daniel Spencer F.R.G.S. LL.D.
Dr Spencer served in two of the larger churches within the
Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec and he was a prominent clergyman in
the Temperance movement in the Brantford area of Ontario.
1891-1895 St Thomas Baptist Church (now Centre Street Baptist), St Thomas, Ontario, Canada
1895-1900 First Baptist Church, Brantford, Ontario, Canada
1900-1905 Resident of Kingston and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada but not in pastoral service
1905-1908 First Baptist Church, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
He is mentioned in the Annual Report of the Baptist Union of Western Canada as residing in Vancouver,
British Columbia ca. 1911 and in Calgary, Alberta ca. 1914.
The latter is the last entry about him in the Canadian Baptist Archives.
The material in this panel is by courtesy of Dr Kenneth R Morgan, D.Min.
Director of the Canadian Baptist Archives
at McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada
|
A history of elections in British Columbia mentions that the results of a plebiscite in 1909 on the question "Are you in favour of a Local Option Law being given to the people that they may have the right to say yea or nay, in their own town city or district, to the licensed liquor traffic?" were conveyed
in a letter 10 February 1910 to the Premier, Richard McBride, from Rev. Dr. Daniel Spencer, Superintendant of the Local Option League of British Columbia (PABC GR 441 v.38).
In 1919, Quebec Baptist Church records that it had help "during its relocation in 1919" from an American called Rev Dr Daniel Spencer. Whether this is the same or a different person is not clear.
Rev Williamson served as Minister of TBC from an enthusiastic call in 1891 until his death in 1899.
Rev Robert John Williamson was born in Levenwick, Shetland in about 1857. Having decided to enter the pastorate he first attended Edinburgh University.
He then moved down to London where he spent three years at "Mr Spurgeon's Theological College".
He took up his first pastorate at Studley near Redditch in 1886 and he was there for six years.
He appears in Studley, Warwickshire in the 1891 Census as a Baptist Minister age 32 lodging with a family called Oakley.
He married a Studley girl, Miss Helen Hall, in December 1892, soon after starting his second (and last) pastorate at Teddington.
Rev Williamson had a personal life which might merit the word tragic
- his wife, Helen, died on 17 May 1894 after they had only been married just over a year. She was 25 years old.
(Her death was probably related to child-birth as their only child, Helen, died on 4 April 1915 aged 20 and is buried with her parents in Teddington Cemetery.)
Rev Williamson had to have a foot amputated in 1897 after two serious operations had failed to save it.
(The operation was conducted in his own house by Dr Luscombe - a medical man who was also a Church member.)
He went on an extended period of convalescence in Switzerland and Eastbourne in 1897, returning to service in April 1898.
Rev Corbet assisted the Church during Rev Williamson's absence.
Then in 1899 Rev Williamson's right hand had to be amputated (also by Dr Luscombe) following which he returned to the work of the ministry - as cheerful as ever.
However, he died on 2 September 1899, aged 42, 'after finding the borderland to be very beautiful' (his own words).
His obituary in 1899 said of him, "As a preacher he was decidedly drastic.
But he laid the heart bare in order only to purify and heal"
while the Jubilee history of the Church says,
"He was the friend of everyone, the counsellor of the perplexed, the consoler of the sad,
the monitor of the guilty, the guide to Calvary of the sin-burdened."
Rev Alexander Corbett assisted the Church through Rev Williamson's extended period of ill-health from 1897 into 1898.
His call in 1897 was to take the oversight 'as far and for as long as was necessary'.
Rev Corbett moved to the pastorate of Lansdowne Baptist Church, Bournemouth in April 1898 as Mr Williamson returned to service after an extended period of ill-health.
He later moved to a pastorate in Reading.
He retired from ministry due to ill-health in 1928,
and he died in Earley, Reading in July 1934 aged 73 leaving a widow, three sons and two daughters.
There is some confusion about whether his surname was Corbett or Corbet,
earlier records tend to have the 'tt' but early and later records have only one 't'
although some intermediate histories use 'tt'.
It seems likely that 'tt' is correct.
The 1901 Census records him as a Baptist Minister (surname: Corbet) living in Bournemouth, age 40 and born in Scotland, married to Agnes (age 36 and also born in Scotland), with three children - Alexander (age 4), Margaret (age 1) and Eric (age 4 months).
Rev Harry John Horn was a man of "forceful personality and courage"
who set about clearing the building debt which stood at £1,255 when he arrived in July 1900 but had been comfortably cleared within four years.
During his ministry the Church built the Sunday School Halls which required the purchase and demolition of two houses adjoining the church property.
Wally James described him as "a great Bible teacher and Christian administrator"
and the Jubilee History describes him as an "enthusiastic seeker for souls for his Master."
He is listed in various Baptist Union Directories as having trained at Cardiff Baptist College,
and having first been Minister of Bethel Baptist Church, Barry (1894-1900).
In 1910 Rev Horn left Teddington to take up a call to the pastorate of Park Road, Rushden (1910-1916).
During part of the First World War he served with the Soldiers Christian Fellowship in France.
He returned home in 1917 to take up the pastorate at Rye Lane Baptist Church, Peckham (1917-1924) and
he concluded his ministry at Purley (1924-1935).
The 1901 Census records him as a Baptist Minister, age 33 and born in Poplar, London, with a wife Kate (age 32 and born in Havantbury, Hampshire) and a daughter - Constance (age 4 born in Glamorganshire).
His marriage is probably the one registered as between Harry John Horn and Kate Constance Blackmore in the Fordingbridge Registration District in the third quarter of 1895 (GRO Marriage Index 1895 Sep Fordingbridge 2b 1245).
According to old editions of the Baptist Union Directory,
Rev James McCleery trained at Manchester and Owens.
His first church was at Ramsbottom (1890-1897) and his second was
Avenue Road, Southend-on-Sea (1898-1911).
He led TBC during the Great War (First World War) when many
from the Church went to serve in the forces.
He was noteworthy for "his successful efforts to win young people for Christ",
and saw the setting up of the Scouts and Girls' Life Brigade.
He left Teddington to go to ministry at Tile House, Hitchen in 1918
where he served until moving to Zion Baptist Church, Cambridge in 1926.
The 1901 Census shows him as James Mcclery, a Baptist Minister, age 38 born in County Down, Ireland, and living in Prittlewell, Essex. His wife is Alice Mcclery age 37 born in Brightwell, Berks.
Rev William Harold Tebbitt came to Teddington after training at
the Metropolitan College (Spurgeons's College) and a first pastorate at Woking (1911-1919).
He left Teddington in 1927 when he was called to the pastorate of Immanuel Church, Southsea
and he served there until 1934. From 1932-1934 he combined that pastorate with an honorary
pastorate of Fareham Baptist Church.
In 1934 he was appointed to be the Baptist Union General Superintendent for the Eastern Area.
Rev Henry John Morley was born at Stratford-on-Avon
and worked as a journalist in Sussex for two and a half years before training for the
Baptist ministry at Manchester Baptist College.
His first pastorate was at Eccles (1899-1904) and was followed by further pastorates at
Church Street, Kidderminster (1904-1914), Sydenham, Forest Hill (1914-1922)
and Canterbury (1922-1928).
He came to Teddington in 1928 and left on
accepting a call to a new and smaller Baptist cause in Woodmansterne (1937-1938).
He finished his ministry at Mostyn Street(E), Llandudno (1941-1942).
The Jubilee history of 1931 (produced during his pastorate) describes Mr Morley as having a
"clear-sighted outlook upon the problems of everyday life,
his fearless advocacy of all that he believes to be the will of his Father,
his clear Gospel teaching, and his explanations of the articles of our faith,
make him a worthy successor to as fine a line of Pastors as any Church could possibly have had."
The 1901 Census shows him as Henry Morley age 30 and born at "Lincoln, Stratford on Avon", living at Barnoldswick in Yorkshire.
At the same address is an Ella Morley age 24 and also born at "Lincoln, Stratford on Avon".
Rev E F (Ernie) Sutton moved to Teddington from Shirley Baptist Church, Southampton in 1940.
He had served in the armed forces during the First World War, and then was in pastorate at Harlesden from 1921 before moving to Southampton in 1932.
Three weeks after his arrival the church buildings (but not the Sunday School buildings) were destroyed by enemy bombing.
He left Teddington in 1946 to become pastor at Twynholm, Fulham.
Mr Sutton was married and had one son (John) and two daughters (Mary and Margaret).
Rev Frederick George Missen trained at Spurgeon's College and before coming to Teddington had pastorates at
Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex (1932-1938) and then at Central Baptist Church, Walthamstow (1938-1946).
He came to Teddington in 1947 but after ten years of pastorate devoted to having the
new church building erected and completed, he resigned in February 1957 because of ill-health. He died on 8 August 1958.
It was written of him that "during all the time he had been with us, he had given all in the service of his Master".
In January 1999, Dr Hedley Missen (son of Rev Fred Missen) said, "I remember Teddington well.
The Induction Service was held on 1 January 1947, a very snowy day.
We lived in the manse at 16 Gloucester Road, Teddington.
The Teddington Sunday School and Scouts brought me through to my Christian faith and I was baptised at Teddington."
Immediately before coming to Teddington in 1957, Rev Theo Valentine was BMS
Youth Secretary.
He had trained at Rawdon Baptist College, Leeds and Regents Park College after which
he had served from 1940-1945 in a pastorate at Upton, Lambeth (with oversight of Christ Cherch, Lambeth) and
a further pastorate at Broadway, Derby from 1945-1952.
Rev and Mrs Valentine continued to live in the area for many years after he left the pastorate - he took up employment as chaplain to a local engineering company - until Rev Valentine died in 1982.
Rev J Ronald (Ron) Harper came to Teddington in 1967 from Bury St Edmunds and went on from here to ministry in Colchester.
Ron Harper was famous for cycling energetically around Teddington on his pastoral visits.
In his retirement years, he used to conduct many services at his local cemeteries and cremetoria
- to the extent that his ambition became to achieve an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for conducting the most funeral services ina single year (his record was about 1300!).
Rev Roger Martin was trained at Spurgeon's College,
his first pastorate was at Newport, Isle of Wight (1968-73) and he moved from there to Teddington in 1974.
His subsequent pastorates were Poynton (1980-1990), Leigh Road, Leigh-on-Sea (1990-1999),
and Stockton Tabernacle (1999-2009).
While at Stockton he served as Chairman of the Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) and later he was appointed Vice-Chairman of Spurgeon's College.
At the beginning of May 2009, he was elected Vice-President of the
Baptist Union of Great Britain and would have served as its President 2010-11.
But less than a week after his election he was diagnosed as having pancreatic cancer
and he died a week later.
Rev Roger Martin was married to Elizabeth and they had four sons - Karl, James, Reuben, and Alexander.
Rev James Philip Binney was trained at Spurgeon's College and subseqently was minister at Bewdley in Worcestershire (1969-73)
before serving in an Assemblies of God ministry. Before coming to Teddington he was at Mitcham Lane, Streatham (1977-1980).
His subsequent ministries include Kings Heath & Moseley (1998-2004) and Beckenham (2004- ).
The Diaconate told the Church Meeting on 8 September 1982, that it was
"unanimously enthusiastic and enthusiastically unanimous in favour of issuing an immediate call to the Pastorate".
Mrs Wyn Herd came to TBC in 1984 from Altrincham to be our Associate Minister.
Her call, issued in September 1983, was:
- to be responsible for the development of the Lord's work among women in the fellowship and to be involved in such work inthe area;
- to be involved in the provision of family counselling in the fellowship and in the area;
- to be involved in a teaching ministry, in discipling, and in the development of leadership within the fellowship and in the area;"
Rev William George (Bill) Miles trained at the Union Theological College, Aberystwyth
and then went into ministry under the auspices of the Prebyterian Church of Wales.
He then served in Baptist ministry at New Milton (1978-1981) and Crawley (1981-1988) before coming to Teddington in 1989.
He moved from Teddington to Henley-in-Aden at the beginning of 1996 and served there until his retirement in 2003.
Bill Miles is married to Hilary and they have four children, Miriam, Jonathan, Jeremy, and Julian.
Rev Andrew Leslie Willis trained at Birmingham Bible Institute.
Teddington was his first pastorate and he moved from here to Brixham at the end of 1996 where he was minister until 2005.
He is married to Angela and they have two children - Rachel and Christopher.
Rev Richard John Littledale trained at Spurgeon's College (a period which included a time working with Rev Michael Collis at Hertford).
He was Associate Pastor at Purley Baptist Church from 1992 until the departure of Rev John Balchin in 1996 when he served as the sole minister there
until moving to Teddington in September 1997. He is married to Fiona and they have three sons, Joseph, Jonathan, and Luke.
