History
Gathered 1672
Built Circa 1694
The origins of Brook Street Chapel lie in the "Great Ejection" of nearly 2000 ministers from the Church of England in 1662. They could not in good conscience, agree to the Act of Uniformity and the new Prayer Book.
Two "dissenting" ministers were registered in Knutsford in 1672 as Presbyterian preachers. In 1687, William Tong became minister. He stayed only two years, but was active together with Isaac Antobus in getting the new chapel built.
Act of Toleration 1689
In 1688, James II fled to France, William of Orange, with his wife Mary, became King and Queen of England. This was popularly known as "the Glorious Revolution". Since 1662, the Dissenters had suffered greatly under persecution. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress gives a flavour of the time. the Act of Toleration gave Protestant Dissenters freedom to worship in their own way.
Reasons for obscure location
The chapel was set among fields near the edge of the town, so as not to be conspicuous. Built in the meeting house style like those at Dean row and Macclesfield, it looked very much like a private house or farm building. The Dissenters still had a well founded fear that the right to public worship and freedom from prosecution granted them in 1689 might be taken away again. Local folklore has it that lookouts were posted by the outside steps to the galleries in the early days in case of attack from without.
The land, called the "nearer field", was provide by Issac Antrobus, a member of a prominent local family, who lived in brook House. He had allowed his house to be used for religious meetings before this and it was legally registered for that purpose in July 1689.
Our Beliefs
The beliefs of the people associated with the chapel are as diverse as the people themselves. It is a complex pattern, linked to our tradition and history, but taking much from modern attitudes to science, and our knowledge and appreciation of various religious traditions.
The founders of Brook Street Chapel were English Presbyterians, not to be confused with the Scottish variety. Originally, they hoped to set up a truly national church, broad enough to include all who called themselves Christians: ‘a comprehensive Christian Church’. Eventually their beliefs became Unitarian, believing that God was one person, rather than a trinity of three persons. This brief statement of a complex history includes several clues to the kind of people that we have become.
As one of our leading ministers and scholars has put it: “…Always its leaders have insisted that Christianity, as they understand it, is a ‘way of life’. [the] designation ‘Unitarian’ is a historical accident” Unitarianism today comprises many strands of practice and belief and cannot be boiled down to a few simple formulae.
We value openness or “comprehension”- an openness of heart and mind to truth, wherever we may find it. We respect and value other religious traditions, and feel we have much to learn from them, whilst seeking to avoid a simplistic attitude that says ‘they are all the same’. We are characterised by what has been referred to as a religion of the ‘once born’, rather than the ‘twice born’. We are far from being literalists, looking to interpret the Bible in an intelligent and open minded way. Much of the Bible makes sense when interpreted in a figurative or allegorical way (think of the work of the great scholar Origen of Alexandria in this context). We utterly repudiate any use of the Bible to oppress people or diminish their humanity: we believe that ALL people, as children of the one God, are equal and of the same intrinsic worth.
G.K Chesterton once said that "you don’t need any intellect to be an intellectual". We look to the heart and soul, as well as the mind for our inspiration. As St. Paul puts it: (I Corinthians Chapter 14 verse 15 - “I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also”. G. K Chesterton also said that the test of a good religion is whether you can laugh about it. We Unitarians and Free Christians have a sense of humour, not least about ourselves. Ours is a pilgrimage through life, with laughter, faith, and the love of friends. We welcome you to join us in our journey of faith.
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Gathered 1672
Built Circa 1694
The origins of Brook Street Chapel lie in the "Great Ejection" of nearly 2000 ministers from the Church of England in 1662. They could not in good conscience, agree to the Act of Uniformity and the new Prayer Book.
Two "dissenting" ministers were registered in Knutsford in 1672 as Presbyterian preachers. In 1687, William Tong became minister. He stayed only two years, but was active together with Isaac Antobus in getting the new chapel built.
Act of Toleration 1689
In 1688, James II fled to France, William of Orange, with his wife Mary, became King and Queen of England. This was popularly known as "the Glorious Revolution". Since 1662, the Dissenters had suffered greatly under persecution. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress gives a flavour of the time. the Act of Toleration gave Protestant Dissenters freedom to worship in their own way.
Reasons for obscure location
The chapel was set among fields near the edge of the town, so as not to be conspicuous. Built in the meeting house style like those at Dean row and Macclesfield, it looked very much like a private house or farm building. The Dissenters still had a well founded fear that the right to public worship and freedom from prosecution granted them in 1689 might be taken away again. Local folklore has it that lookouts were posted by the outside steps to the galleries in the early days in case of attack from without.
The land, called the "nearer field", was provide by Issac Antrobus, a member of a prominent local family, who lived in brook House. He had allowed his house to be used for religious meetings before this and it was legally registered for that purpose in July 1689.
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Succesion of Ministers
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William Tong
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1687-1689
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Thomas Kynaston
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1689-1695
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Samuel Lowe
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1696-1709
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Thomas Lea
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1709-1733
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John Turner
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1735-1737
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Thomas Colthurst
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1737-1739
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Robert Lord
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1740-1790
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Theophilus Harris
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1790-1794
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Philip George Davis
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1795-1809
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John Smethurst
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1810-1819
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Joseph Ashton
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1820-1826
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Henry Green
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1827-1873
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John Briggs Lloyd
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1873-1885
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James Black
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1885-1889
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George Andrew Payne
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1890-1930
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William Whitaker
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1930-1939
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Kenneth Twinn
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1939-1946
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Stanley Mossop
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1946-1955
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Albert Smith
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1956-1963
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Peter Jones
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1963-1967
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William R. Strachan
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1967-1984
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Peter Hughes
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1984-1990
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Interregnum
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1990-1992
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Charles P.Travis
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1992-1998
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Alexander D.Bradley
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1998-
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Our Beliefs
The beliefs of the people associated with the chapel are as diverse as the people themselves. It is a complex pattern, linked to our tradition and history, but taking much from modern attitudes to science, and our knowledge and appreciation of various religious traditions.
The founders of Brook Street Chapel were English Presbyterians, not to be confused with the Scottish variety. Originally, they hoped to set up a truly national church, broad enough to include all who called themselves Christians: ‘a comprehensive Christian Church’. Eventually their beliefs became Unitarian, believing that God was one person, rather than a trinity of three persons. This brief statement of a complex history includes several clues to the kind of people that we have become.
As one of our leading ministers and scholars has put it: “…Always its leaders have insisted that Christianity, as they understand it, is a ‘way of life’. [the] designation ‘Unitarian’ is a historical accident” Unitarianism today comprises many strands of practice and belief and cannot be boiled down to a few simple formulae.
We value openness or “comprehension”- an openness of heart and mind to truth, wherever we may find it. We respect and value other religious traditions, and feel we have much to learn from them, whilst seeking to avoid a simplistic attitude that says ‘they are all the same’. We are characterised by what has been referred to as a religion of the ‘once born’, rather than the ‘twice born’. We are far from being literalists, looking to interpret the Bible in an intelligent and open minded way. Much of the Bible makes sense when interpreted in a figurative or allegorical way (think of the work of the great scholar Origen of Alexandria in this context). We utterly repudiate any use of the Bible to oppress people or diminish their humanity: we believe that ALL people, as children of the one God, are equal and of the same intrinsic worth.
G.K Chesterton once said that "you don’t need any intellect to be an intellectual". We look to the heart and soul, as well as the mind for our inspiration. As St. Paul puts it: (I Corinthians Chapter 14 verse 15 - “I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also”. G. K Chesterton also said that the test of a good religion is whether you can laugh about it. We Unitarians and Free Christians have a sense of humour, not least about ourselves. Ours is a pilgrimage through life, with laughter, faith, and the love of friends. We welcome you to join us in our journey of faith.
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The Rev. William Tong
