Review: Revolution in the Church

Author(s): Esther de Waal

Review by: Esther de Waal
Source: Victorian Studies, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Jun., 1967), pp. 435-439
Published by: Indiana University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3825171
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Estherde Waal

REVOLUTION IN THE CHURCH*

1829 SAW THE COUNTRY tornasunderby the debate on Roman Catholic

emancipation;in 1859 Darwin'sOriginof Specieswas published.The thirty
yearsbetween thesetwo dates were turbulent ones. Stormyand dramatic
events,many of them momentous forthe development of thevariousChris-
tianchurchesof GreatBritain,makethisperiodone of seminalimportance.
Chadwickhas givenus a
In the sixhundredpages at his disposalProfessor
general survey. It is a masterlyachievement,witty,entertaining,lucid. It
makes compellingreading: a parade of deftlydrawn statesmenand church-
men (even if the pen-portraitssometimesapproach caricatures)- Welling-
ton speaking in his crisp staccato, Lord JohnRussell, obstinate,impulsive,
and angular, full of anecdotes and information,R. D. Hampden with his
harshvoice, ugly,stolid,and dull. But we also meet in its pages such splendid
lesser individualsas the Gloucestershiresquire who quarrelledwithhis rector
and opened a room in the parish for service where he read the liturgyand
preached the sermonwearing a surplice; or the Tewkesburydissenterwho
dealt with the distrainingofficerswho came to collect his church rate by
throwinga hive of bees into the room where theywere sitting;or Goodwyn
Barmby who founded a communistchurch at Bow Lane in 1841, with a
meeting-houseof white-washedwall and white deal furniture, and a liturgy
of lessons,business-epistles,discourses,conversation.The fund of incidental
informationis almost inexhaustible.Blomfieldwas the firstbishop not to
wear a wig, but ArchbishopSumner continued to wear his in church until
1862. When a block of stone fell fromthe towerof St. Mary's Nottinghamin
1844 the church was shut for four years while the town foughtover its re-
pairs. Much of ProfessorChadwick's storyemerges simplyfromhis vividly
described episodes themselves.When the firstof Blomfield'schurches was
built in 1839 and the mayorcame to lay the foundationstone in the presence
of the bishop, an infuriatedcow was driven amongst the several hundred
school-childrenassembled to sing a hymn.Eleven years laterwhen the foun-

* The VictorianChurch:Part
I, by OWEN CHADWICK; pp. x + 606. A. & C. Black:
London, 1966, 63s.; Oxford UniversityPress: New York, 1966, $12.50; Macmillan:
Toronto, 1966, $13.75.
Wesleyan and Tractarian Worship: An Ecumenical Study, by TREVORDEARING;
pp. xii +- 66. EpworthPress(SocietyforthePromotion
of ChristianKnowledge):
London, 1966, 27s. 6d.
The Age of Disunity, by JOHNKENT; pp. xii + 209. Epworth Press: London, 1966,
30s.

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 436 Estherde Waal

dationstoneofhistenthchurchwas laid theEasternCountiesRailwayCom-

panylent a buildingfora mammoth tea and a processionincludedseven
thousandchildrenand pupil-teachers - the strongbodies of police present
to keeporderwerenotneeded.
The book is narrative and as pure narrative it reads magnificently.
As crisissucceedscrisisProfessor Chadwickhas thegiftoftakinghisreaders
intothefrayand makingthemsensetheburning conviction ofthecontempo-
raryprotagonists that thesewere matters on which anycompromise was un-
thinkable.Here,withnew lightupon them,are all the old familiarissues:
TractXC, the Hampdencase, the Jerusalem Bishopric, the Gorhamjudge-
ment.The framework withinwhichthisis setis a consideration of thethree
leadingquestionswithwhichEnglandwas faced.First,whether representa-
tive government was compatiblewithan establishedchurch;thatis, how
religiousinequalitycould be marriedto politicalequality.Second,whether
the Christianchurchescould adjust themselvesto industrialrevolution,
speedygrowth ofpopulation, and empireoverseas.Third,whether theChris-
tianchurchtaughttruth. The firstofthesequestionsreceivesthefullesttreat-
ment;thethirdthescantiest. Alreadythechurchwas underattack,notonly
fromthefindings ofarchaeology, ofgeology,and ofcomparative religion,but
also fromtheGermanNew Testament scholars,notably Strauss.It is striking
to be remindedthattheprincipaltheologicaland philosophical issueswhich
thechurchis stilldebatingwereraisedverymuchin theirpresentformdur-
ingthisperiod:theauthority oftheBibleand therelationbetweenfactand
interpretation in thedocuments whichconstitute it; theissuebetweendoubt-
ing reason and the commitment to religioustruth;the attemptat restating
Christianity in contemporary terms;theconfrontation ofscienceand religion.
This howeveris onlyVolumeI of Professor Chadwick'sopus and sinceVol-
umeII willstartwiththeyearthatsawthepublication ofEssaysandReviews,
his readersmayhave cause to hope thathe willhave moreroomand more
timefortheexpansionoftheological ideas.
But thereis no lackin VolumeI of attention to polemic.It is stimu-
latingin an age oflukewarm religiousand politicalcommitment to be taken
back so forcibly one hundredyearsto an age in whichpassionsragedand
issueswerefoughtoveras matters oflifeand death.Butperhapsthe excite-
mentofthearenahas ratherrunawaywiththeauthor.At timesone begins
to feelthathe has almostcometo see thereligioushistory ofthoseyearspre-
dominantly in termsofduel and conflict, so thatthenoiseof gunfire drowns
all else and someof thequieterand moreimportant mattersare lostin the
smokeand noiseofbattle.
The churchstrovewiththe state,AnglicanswithDissenters, Protes-
tantswithPapists,in debateswhoseramifications are oftenbewildering. At
timestheemphasisupontheseconflicts seemsto suggestthattheonlyplaces
in whichreligionmattered wereOxford, Cambridge, and London,sincehere
the fighting was best.The attention whichProfessor Chadwickfocuseson
the Universities, the bishops,and the politiciansmeansthatthe churchat
theleveloftheparishand theparishpriestcomesin formuchless consider-
ation.Admittedly it is nevereasyto deal withthesituation at thegrassroots
forthematerials are fewerand moredispersed.It mightalso be arguedthat
a generalsurveysuchas thisis notin anycase theplace forsuchtreatment:

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REVOLUTION IN THE CHURCH 437

ProfessorChadwick'sown monograph, VictorianMiniature(1961), is a

modelofhowthiscan be done.Yetthisneglectleadsinevitably to distortion.
Recentresearchhas beenmuchconcernedwiththepartplayedby theordi-
naryparishpriestsoftheChurchofEnglandin themovements forsocialre-
formof theseyears.ParsonBull is perhapsthe greatestof themand he re-
ceivesherethebarestmention,
despitetheexcellentbiography by J.C. Gill,
The Ten Hours Parson (1959). But we now know there were many more
besideswhoseconsciences weremovingthemto agitateforbetterlivingand
working conditions forthenew industrial poor.The church'ssupportforthe
movement forfactory reform was almostuniversalin the greatmanufactur-
ingtownsofthenorth(exceptforHalifax)and was a vitalfactorin itssuc-
cess. EvangelicalToryclergymen wereamongthemovement's firstpioneers
and theywerelaterjoinedbya generation influenced bytheTractarians. J.C.
Boddington, J.L. Frost,and WilliamMorganofBradford, RichardFawcett
and W. F. Hook of Leeds, JamesFranksand JosiahBatemanof Hudders-
field,David Jenkins of Pudsey,and JohnSharpof Wakefield - mensuchas
theseplayedan important part in therevival of the church's socialwitness.
As J. T. Ward has concludedin his The FactoryMovement1830-1855
(1962), a studyin whichhe demonstrates thestrength ofthisstrangely under-
rated clericalsupport,that "half-forgotten Northernclergymen were the
forerunners of F. D. Maurice'sChristian Socialism,StewartHeadlam'slater
Catholiccommunism and the late-century episcopalreformers." It is there-
foredisappointing thatProfessor Chadwickshouldmakeno use of this,or
of Gill'swork,fortogether theysignificantly alterthebalanceof ourunder-
standingofthechurchin itsroleas socialreformer and showit facingat the
parishlevel thesocialand moralproblemsposed by industry.
RomanCatholicemancipation and therepealoftheTest and Corpo-
rationActscarriedwiderimplications thanthe merelifting of the age-long
disabilitiesuponPapistsand Dissenters. Once theprincipleofreligious toler-
ationhad been admittedand thefirstcrackhad appearedin themonolithic
structure of churchand state,it soon became clear that the established
churchwas no longerimpregnable. The yearsthatfollowedsaw a radicalal-
terationin therelationsof churchand state,a changewhichwas nonethe
lessrevolutionary in thatit was achievedin a gradualand piecemealfashion.
Here forthechurchwas a real crisisofidentity. Withtheloss ofthesecure
assumption thatchurchand nationwereone,theChurchofEnglandhad to
recognisethatits role was becomingthatof a churchin an open society.
Slowlyit loosenedits hold upon the ordinarycitizen (irrespective of his
religiousaffiliations
or lack of them). No longerneed he be marriedin an
Anglicanchurch,pay tithesto hisAnglicanrector,contribute by churchrate
to theupkeepof hisAnglicanparishchurch.All thistooktime:churchrate
forexamplewas not abolisheduntil1868. And muchhad to be foughtfor
step by step.It tookyearsof debatebeforeany educationotherthanthat
in thehandsoftheChurchofEnglandcouldbe givenstateaid.
1851,the yearof theGreatExhibition, whichseemedto contempo-
rariesto boastthetriumph ofa prosperity without parallelin thenation'shis-
tory,was also theyearin whichHoraceMannpresented hisreligiouscensus.
His statisticstoldthenationbluntlythatfiveand a halfmillionpeoplewho
shouldhave attendedchurchon 30 Marchhad failedto do so. He also es-

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438 Estherde Waal

timatedthatwhileoverfiveand a quartermillionpersonsattendedthewor-
shipoftheChurchofEngland,fiveand a halfmillionworshipped withother
religiousbodies. Even afterdeducting Jews,Mormons, and Roman Catholics,
the uncomfortable factstillremainedthatin grossthe dissenting churches
commandedthe allegianceof nearlyhalf the populationof Englandand
Wales. "EdwardMiall confessedto a curioussensation.He said thatas a
dissenter he feltlikethe son of a peer,treatedfrombirthas a menial,and
suddenlyfinding himself in his ancestralhome,recognised and receiving the
attention due to his rank."Of courseMann'sfigures couldbe criticised but
theycouldnotbe dismissedentirely and theyendedforeverthepossibility
of treatingthe establishment as privilegedon the groundthatit was the
churchof the greatmajority of thecountry.
This crisisof identity led to a searchforauthority. The turningof
thecatholicwingto theearlychurch,and oftheevangelicals to holywrit,al-
thoughin thefirst instanceit understandably concerned theclergymorethan
thelaity,was thenaturalconcomitant ofa churchforcedbycircumstances to
readjustitselfto a worldwhichno longertookitsexistence forgranted. That
thisis whatwas happening-thatthe churcheswere beingforcedto dis-
coverforthemselves theirplace in a freesociety- is therealityunderlying
thebittercontroversy and theoftenstrident polemicof theseyears.
"Reform of theministry was themomentous reform of theVictorian
Church,"writesProfessorChadwick.At the beginningof the nineteenth
century theChurchofEnglandwas stillmedievalin itslegalframework and
such abuses as wealthylivingswithfewparishioners, and sine-
pluralities,
cures encouragedthe well placed but leftthe workto the poor and ill-
equippedcurateswith? 80 a year.By 1860 theevidencefora startling im-
provement was widespread, and one of the most interesting themes of this
studyis Professor Chadwick'sanalysisof thereasonsforthatchange."The
clergyof 1860conductedworshipmorereverently, knewtheirpeoplebetter,
understood a littlemoretheology, said moreprayers, celebratedsacraments
morefrequently, studiedmoreBible,preachedshorter sermonsand worse."
The squarsonwas going,thebishopsofwealthand socialstanding weredis-
appearing.In 1816,36.8 percentofthemagistrates wereclergymen; in 1857,
21 per cent.Littleofthisreform can be attributed to theworkofPeel's Ec-
clesiasticalCommission(although Bishop Blomfieldhad complacently
claimedthatthe commission had saved the Churchof England). Public
opinion, the press, nonconformist rivalryand nonconformist conscience,
moralfibreof the middleclasses,evangelicalgospel,and Puseyitesacra-
mentalism - all theseplayedtheirpart,thoughthe ideals of worshipand
ministry taughtby theTractarians perhapsstandout as themostsignificant
singlemovement of all.
ButProfessor Chadwickalso showshowtheOxfordMovement, while
benefiting thechurchand particularly theclergy, yetweakenedit in popular
esteemby introducing a riftbetweenclericaland lay and "makinglaymen
suspiciousofclergymen." In the 1830's manygentlemen couldstilllookupon
holy orders as the most attractive of theprofessions; thirty yearslaterother
careershad becomerespectablewhilethe rewardsforthe clergywereless
and theworkgreater.As thesocialincentives to taketheclothgrewless so
thenumbersof graduatestakingordersdeclined(althoughtheactualnum-

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REVOLUTION IN THE CHURCH 439

ber of ordinandswas increasing).Whilein 1841 therewerenotmorethan

forty-eight non-graduates, by 1862 something likeone in threeofall persons
ordainedhad notbeen to a university. Professor Chadwickthrowsoutthese
intriguing factswithoutproffering anyexplanation. We shouldliketo know
moreaboutthesenew clergy.Whatsortof men weretheyand fromwhat
social class,who werewillingto offerthemselves to a profession whichno
longer held out the promise of reasonable leisure and comfort?
The unanswered questionsare remarkably few.The volumeis fullof
good things.Professor Chadwick'sassessment of the successiveinfluence of
Melbourne, Russell,and Palmerston on thecomposition of theBenchis par-
ticularly valuable.His pictureof RomanCatholicism beforeand afterthe
restoration ofthehierarchy is vividand sympathetic. His weighingup ofthe
strengths and weaknessesof the EcclesiasticalCommission is veryfair.His
handlingof Dissentis one ofthefullestand mostsympathetic accountsthat
has appearedfroman Anglicanpen.
Our knowledgeof EnglishDissentin the nineteenth centuryis also
muchincreasedby JohnKent,himself a Methodist in
minister, his collection
of essays,The Age of Disunity.Methodism, he claims,is probablythemost
misunderstood of Englishreligiousmovements. "JohnWesley'spersonality
has overshadowed the idea of Methodism, and interestin himhas largely
distracted attention fromthewiderbusinessof studying Methodisthistory.
Studentsof Englishhistory in the nineteenth centurystillinvoke'Evangel-
icalism'as thesolutionofalmostall theirreligiousproblems.Evangelicalism,
liketheFeudal System, neverexisted."The intention of thisbookis to cor-
rectsomeofthesemisinterpretations. Atone timestudiesofearlynineteenth-
centuryEnglish historysimplyignored Methodism,and Halevy per-
formedan important taskin his Historyof theEnglishPeople in theNine-
teenthCentury(1913) in showingtherelevanceof Methodism to thesocial
pattern of the 1830's. Unfortunately both his facts and his opinionswere
unreliableand JohnKenthas littledifficulty in showingthathe was funda-
mentally ignorant ofeventhesimplest aspectsofMethodist history.One con-
clusionindeedwhichemergesverystrongly froma numberof theseessays,
notablythoseon JabezBuntingand on theearlynineteenth-century doctrine
of the ministry, is the complexity of Methodistdevelopment afterWesley,
and it is mostvaluableto have herethefirstseriousattemptto explainthe
divisionsofVictorian Methodism. No longerwillchurchhistorians be able to
ignorethedoctrinal differencesbetweentheWesleyanMethodists on theone
hand and the EvangelicalAnglicansand the followersof the Countessof
Huntingdonon the other- an oversimplification whichhas resultedin a
"nonhistorical sentimentalized mish-mash."
TrevorDearing'sthesis,Wesleyanand TractarianWorship,setsout
to showthe parallelsbetweenthe two in theologyand piety.He claimsno
directhistorical linksapartfromthe factthatbothowed muchto the non-
jurors.The book has an eirenicintentin promoting thereconciliation between
Anglicansand Methodists. If he failsit is by identifying Methodismwith
Wesley,the verymisunderstanding whichJohnKent'shistorical studiesdo
so muchto elucidate.

University
of Nottingham

JUNE 1967

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