Potton Registration and Early References

In 1672 Charles II issued a Declaration of Toleration for Protestants dissenting from the Church of England; this had the effect of some dissenting meeting houses registering with the Secretary of State. The Toleration Act of 1689 enshrined the right of protestants to dissent from the Church of England and, once again, encouraged meeting houses to register voluntarily with local quarter sessions and Anglican church. Registration provided protection against persecution, laying a duty of protection upon magistrates and so was popular with nonconformists. Most registrations were made with quarter sessions until the middle of the 18th century, presumably due to the mutual antagonism of nonconformists and established Church. However, from that point registration with the Church, via the local archdeaconry began to become the favoured method, because the archdeaconry Registrar would issue a licence at any time rather than during the days each quarter when the quarter sessions met.

Visitations by the Bishop of Lincoln to Bedfordshire in the early 18th century give some idea as to the number of nonconformists in each parish from returns made by the vicar or rector. Former County Archivist Patricia Bell has compiled returns from 1706 to 1720 for the Bedfordshire Historical Records Society (Volume 81, published 2002); information for Potton includes the following:

• 1706: the parish: “contains 240 families, out of which 2 are of Quakers. No other whole family of Dissenters nor any Meeting house. No Papist or reputed Papist lives in it;
• 1709: “2 or 3 families Independents. One family of Quakers”;
• 1720: “About 5 families Presbyterians and 3 Quakers … There is a place said to be licensed for a meeting house [see below] for the Presbyterians but has been no assembling in it for these 3 months last past neither is there any Teacher belonging to it”.

Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service has a reasonable number of registrations of nonconformist meeting houses in both the Quarter Sessions and Archdeaconry of Bedford archives. Registration continued through the 19th century even though persecution faded away - this was because registered buildings were allowed to claim exemption from parish poor rates, were exempt from control by the Charity Commission and were allowed to be licensed to carry out marriages. These things meant that registration became almost compulsory in practice for well established nonconformist meetings. This is fortunate for the local historian because sometimes the only surviving references to a nonconformist meeting occur as registrations. One drawback with the registrations are that they do not usually inform the reader of the particular type of denomination involved, though sometimes it is possible to infer it from other evidence.

Edwin Welch researched the history of registrations in Bedfordshire for Bedfordshire Historical Records Society Volume 75 Bedfordshire Chapels and Meeting Houses [published in 1996] and found the following for Potton:

• 1716: the dwelling house and outhouses of Thomas Lake, glover, were registered by John and Samuel Hensman [P64/7/1);
• 1758: the dwelling house of Jeremiah Negus in King Street was registered by Negus himself, who was a plumber and Thomas Clerk of Everton, a servant [ABN1/1, ABN2/10];
• 1758: Negus and Clerk also registered the dwelling house of Esther Gatward [ABN1/1, ABN2/12];
• 1761: a malting in King Street was registered by Thomas Thorn and George Gatward, both woolcombers [ABN1/1, ABN2/19];
• 1788: a barn of Edmund Bumbery was registered by Bumbery himself, John Emery, John Rogers, George Emery and William Reynolds [ABN1/1, ABN2/58];
• 1789: a barn of Martha Miller, widow, was registered by Martha herself, John Miller, carpenter, John Rogers, cooper, Elizabeth Rogers, John Miller, glazier, S. Pedley, Richard Whithead and Martha Norman. The registration states: “being desirous of worshipping God according to the rules of his written word, and the dictates of our own Consciences” [ABN1/1, ABN2/63].