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Mormonism in Upper Caldecote

In common with Thorncote, Upper Caldecote had a Mormon meeting, not a common phenomenon in Bedfordshire. It was first registered in 1850 in a house in occupation of Martha Larkin by Christopher Layton, Samuel Martin and William Wagstaff, the latter two being two of those registering a Mormon meeting in Thorncote at the same time [ABN1/2 and ABN2/418]. A building in Upper Caldecote was registered as Mormon in 1853 by John Sears, the trustee, which was cancelled on revision in 1895.

The secular authorities wished to know how many people in the country attended worship and the rough proportions for each denomination. Thus a census of worshippers was held on Sunday 30th March 1851, known as the Ecclesiastical Census. Given that the Mormom meeting in Caldecote was registered in 1850 it is surprising that there was no return for that meeting in the census. There is a return for Thorncote, however, which suggests that the Mormons in the district may have met alternately at each meeting, or some such similar arrangement.