Swanwick - A Divided Pulpit.

Taken from Life of Matthew Hayes, The Collier’s Spurgeon by Matthew Wheeler. 1899

The year 1849 was one of trouble in the Wesleyan churches of the Ripley circuit. It was that memorable year during which the Rev. James Everitt, the Rev. Samuel Dunn, and the Rev. William Griffith were expelled from the Wesleyan body by the annual conference.

A secession followed their expulsion. Hundreds and thousands separated themselves from the Wesleyans, and became followers and supporters of the three expelled ministers. In quite a number of cases whole churches turned their backs on the Wesleyan denomination in consequence of the treatment meted out to the three ministers by the conference.

Writing on the subject in after years Matthew Hayes stated: –

“Whether these men were innocent or guilty, and whether the conference did right in expelling them, I cannot determine, but this I know, that in the Ripley circuit, over which the Rev. W. Griffith had been the presiding minister, there was much contention and ill-feeling manifested in many of our places of worship on the Sabbath, and in some cases a fight for the pulpit.

Those who had seceded from the Wesleyan body made a new preacher’s plan appointing the local preachers to conduct service in many of the Wesleyan chapels in the circuit, and at the same time the Wesleyan minister issued his plan appointing men to the very same chapels, and the people of those chapels were divided in opinion on the matters above stated, the Reformers saying, “Our preachers shall have the pulpit,” and The Wesleyan members vowing the same thing for theirs, thus causing much disturbance and bad feeling where piety and peace ought to have reigned.

I remember on one occasion being appointed on the Reformers’ plan to preach at Swanwick, afternoon and evening. That same day Mr. Nuttall, of Ripley, was appointed to the same pulpit by the Wesleyan plan. I attended, and entered the pulpit, announced the number of the hymn, and was in the act of reading the first verse when in came Mr. Nuttall straight to the pulpit, and after bowing his head a moment in silence, stood up by my side and said it was out of no disrespect to Brother Hayes, for whom he rather cherished a feeling of sincere friendship and esteem, but the pulpit was his.

“No, no, no,” in loud sonorous tones, mingled with a little bitterness, broke forth from the throats of a score of men, adding, “Brother Hayes was in the pulpit first, and he shall have it.”

Mr. Nuttall said he was properly authorised by the minister of the circuit to take the pulpit and conduct service, but a score of voices shouted again, “No, no, no. Brother Hayes shall preach and nobody else.”

How I trembled at such confusion and bitterness manifesting itself in the Lord’s house on this holy day. Again they shouted, “Give out your hymn, Brother Hayes; give out your hymn. Take no notice of him. If you don’t preach, no one else will.”
A moment’s pause ensued, the people waiting for me to give out the hymn, but instead of doing so I appealed to their religious instincts, telling them that Mr. Nuttall was my senior, and that I had heard him preach with pleasure when I was a boy, and that I would not confront him on his claim to the pulpit, and suiting the action to the word, I handed him the hymn book, when suddenly the men, women, and children rose to their feet, took their hats, dismissed the Sunday school, and were all outside the chapel in five minutes, leaving Mr. Nuttall and myself standing in amazement, with only one very old woman left for a congregation.

We looked each other in the face, then shook each other by the hand took our hats and departed, he to Ripley and I to Pinxton.”