SPEXTC
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On the way back from another explore we called in at this quaint derelict church as it has a nice story for its backdrop.
This Church, now cleared out and used to house livestock (sheep) and farm equipment was built 1849 as a "Free" Church of England church for Revd John Dodson of Littledale Hall. This gentleman seceded from the Church of England over the Gorham judgement.
Check out the small metal window frame in one of the photos, it still opens to this day and has a nice rusty catch to sit on when opened. How many people have operated that window in the past?
It sits in the valley of Littledale near to the village of Caton.
It was built in 1849 for Reverend John Dodson, who came from a family of shipping magnates in Liverpool, and was built at the same time as nearby Littledale Hall, which is now a residential rehabilitation centre for treating various addictions.
Reverend Dodson had been vicar of Cockerham, near Lancaster, from 1835 to 1849, but after he seceded, or officially withdrew his membership, from the Anglican Church in protest at an incident known as the ‘Gorham judgement’, he retired with his family to Littledale. He preached in the church for 30 years and died in Eastbourne in Sussex in 1890.
THE GOREHAM JUDGEMENT
The above mentioned judgement over which Reverend Dobson seceded his position as the vicar of Cockerham, is an interesting moment in our history and was a moment of great controversy and turmoil for the Church of England. George Cornelius Gorham, after which the controversial moment is named, was a vicar in the Church of England, and applied for the position of vicar of St. Peter's Church in Bramford Speke in Devon,
He was denied the position however as the bishop reviewing the application, Bishop henry Philpott's took exception to Gorham's views on baptism, which were that baptism at birth did not alone make one a Christian and that it depended upon keeping promises made later in life. The bishop denied Gorham the post but he appealed to a higher court, the ecclesiastical Court of Arches, to persuade the bishop to institute him but the court sided with the bishop's decision and awarded costs against Gorham instead. Many members of the church were disappointed and angry about this decision and this caused some, like reverend Dodson, to leave the Church of England and set up their own, free, churches.
Construction
The free church that Reverend Dodson had built in Littledale is constructed of Sandstone with a slate roof and is very simply laid out with just a nave and buttressed walls and no other divisions or rooms, except the front porch which is now barricaded with an iron grill. Above the porch is a plaque which reads ‘A Free Church, 1849'. The building is in fairly good condition except that one of the windows is missing it’s stone mullion post.
The graveyard of the church only has one gravestone, for which two burials are recorded, one is the vicar, John Dodson, and the other is for his eldest son, John, who died in 1851 at the age of 18. The church is well worth visiting to pay your respects to this man who decided to persevere with his own church and is in a beautiful and very seldom visited corner of the Forest of Bowland too so has a very quiet and contemplative air about it.
I have thus far been unable to ascertain how the Young John Dodson met his fate at the young age of 18. If any one does know please enlighten me with a comment.
Just a small post but I hope you enjoyed the history lesson.
Thanks for peeping.
This Church, now cleared out and used to house livestock (sheep) and farm equipment was built 1849 as a "Free" Church of England church for Revd John Dodson of Littledale Hall. This gentleman seceded from the Church of England over the Gorham judgement.
Check out the small metal window frame in one of the photos, it still opens to this day and has a nice rusty catch to sit on when opened. How many people have operated that window in the past?
It sits in the valley of Littledale near to the village of Caton.
It was built in 1849 for Reverend John Dodson, who came from a family of shipping magnates in Liverpool, and was built at the same time as nearby Littledale Hall, which is now a residential rehabilitation centre for treating various addictions.
Reverend Dodson had been vicar of Cockerham, near Lancaster, from 1835 to 1849, but after he seceded, or officially withdrew his membership, from the Anglican Church in protest at an incident known as the ‘Gorham judgement’, he retired with his family to Littledale. He preached in the church for 30 years and died in Eastbourne in Sussex in 1890.
THE GOREHAM JUDGEMENT
The above mentioned judgement over which Reverend Dobson seceded his position as the vicar of Cockerham, is an interesting moment in our history and was a moment of great controversy and turmoil for the Church of England. George Cornelius Gorham, after which the controversial moment is named, was a vicar in the Church of England, and applied for the position of vicar of St. Peter's Church in Bramford Speke in Devon,
He was denied the position however as the bishop reviewing the application, Bishop henry Philpott's took exception to Gorham's views on baptism, which were that baptism at birth did not alone make one a Christian and that it depended upon keeping promises made later in life. The bishop denied Gorham the post but he appealed to a higher court, the ecclesiastical Court of Arches, to persuade the bishop to institute him but the court sided with the bishop's decision and awarded costs against Gorham instead. Many members of the church were disappointed and angry about this decision and this caused some, like reverend Dodson, to leave the Church of England and set up their own, free, churches.
Construction
The free church that Reverend Dodson had built in Littledale is constructed of Sandstone with a slate roof and is very simply laid out with just a nave and buttressed walls and no other divisions or rooms, except the front porch which is now barricaded with an iron grill. Above the porch is a plaque which reads ‘A Free Church, 1849'. The building is in fairly good condition except that one of the windows is missing it’s stone mullion post.
The graveyard of the church only has one gravestone, for which two burials are recorded, one is the vicar, John Dodson, and the other is for his eldest son, John, who died in 1851 at the age of 18. The church is well worth visiting to pay your respects to this man who decided to persevere with his own church and is in a beautiful and very seldom visited corner of the Forest of Bowland too so has a very quiet and contemplative air about it.
I have thus far been unable to ascertain how the Young John Dodson met his fate at the young age of 18. If any one does know please enlighten me with a comment.
Just a small post but I hope you enjoyed the history lesson.
Thanks for peeping.
