Objection from Mr Maw
The following letter from Mr Samuel A. Maw is not dated, but was attached to one of the Rev. Hibbert Wanklyn’s early circulars of 1864 and sent to the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury:-
Needham Market
To the Dean [&] Chapter of Canterbury
Gentlemen
I take the liberty of forwarding to you the enclosed picture of the condition of the Church of a parish from which I believe you derive an income very considerable in proportion to the extent of the parish itself.
It appears to me that if you really value the credit of that wealthy section of the universal church – which has exclusive use of these public buildings – you will gladly appropriate a sum of money for the purpose required; to be repaid, if need be, out of your annual tax upon the parish – rather than that entire strangers to the place – and especially those who maintain their own system of worship without asking the state to tax their fellow Christians for their help – should be imposed upon for such a purpose.
The objects for Charitable effort both religious and civil are so numerous that even the most wealthy and generous can but attend to a portion. They must discriminate.
And I do thoroughly disapprove of these wholesale applications to the public – and especially when, as in the present instance, it seems to be to make good the deficiencies of those who have neglected their moral if not their legal duty towards this place.
Yours respectfully,
Samuel A Maw
From a document held by the Chapter of Canterbury; their ref BB 4/1178
Transcription © G. Sankey
Mr Samuel A. Maw
In the census returns of the time he is described as a farmer and banker.
The obituary of Mr Samuel Alexander Maw in the Bury and Norwich Post of July 8th 1884 stated:
He was born at Hawksmile House, Creeting St Mary, on the 22nd October, 1807. He was a warmly attached member of the Society of Friends1, a staunch Nonconformist, and an advocate of religious equality. He was stoutly opposed to the payment of Church-rates and tithes, and repeatedly suffered distraint rather than pay the demands made upon him.
Context
Challenges to Church of England Dominance
By the mid 1830s the privileges of the Church of England had been mitigated by acts which gave the Catholics and Dissenters greater freedoms. In 1818 and 1824 large sums had been donated by the state to fund the building of new churches. The Church of England continued to hope for more handouts, but these appeals were rejected. From 1832 to 1868 there was much parliamentary lobbying over demands from the nonconformists to abolish compulsory church rates which had to be paid by all property occupiers, regardless of whether they supported their parish church, the chapel or no religious organisation at all. This campaign was finally successful in 1868 when an act was passed abolishing compulsory church rates.
Whilst Mr Maw’s letter reproduced above appears to be the only direct objection to the Deopham project, the mood of the times had definitely turned against any expectation that Church of England projects would be favoured. The voice of the Dissenters had become very significant.
Commissioners of Woods and Forests
It is interesting to note that the Commissioners of Woods and Forests made a significant donation of £110, and the Incorporated Church Building Society (which was much funded by the Commissioners of Woods) gave £25. The grants from the Commissioners for Woods were nominally given by the Crown, although since their lands were being managed by the state, and their donations required approval by parliament or the Treasury, this was a back-door route to give state support to Church of England projects. This practice was keenly debated in parliament in 1857 where much opposition was expressed. William Cox (an Anglican) argued that “The property belonged to the nation, for the benefit of all sects, and it could not be properly appropriated towards any one sect unless Parliament was prepared to make similar contributions towards other Churches”.
In London, donations by the Commissioners of Woods to the Church of England were justified on the basis that they were supporting the spiritual well-being of those living in the areas where they were landlords; it is difficult to see how this argument could have been sustained in Deopham.
Footnotes
- The Society of Friends is often known as the Quakers. ↩︎
Bibliography
Flew, Sarah (2018) The state as landowner: neglected evidence of state funding of Anglican Church extension in London in the latter nineteenth century in Journal of Church and State, 60 (2). pp. 299-317.
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| Date | Change |
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| 23/2/24 | Published |
Deopham History 