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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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tlae house the | p ^ b followed him and many qf the pangre } gnt } on blowing their horns and other noisy instruments , to the breach of the peace , to the very extremity of the parish ; on December 5 th , 1816 , he had occasion to pass through A nstey , defendant James Gerrard came to , him , and said . " I
hope you wont think of coming- here any more to encourage such a low-lived , scandalous « et of fellows ; " witness said , " we don ' t coin ? her * to offend you or any other pe ^ rwi ; " Gen ard answered , " 1 ain very much offended and d © consider it a very great insult , and hope , you wont think of
coming here again ;** witness said , we certaiuly shall , and the more you oppose it , the more we shall consider it our duty to support it ; we have a licence from the , bishop , and no man dare to interrupt us . "
Gerrard replied , "I know we don ' t in the house ; you may preach in the house as often as you please , and they shall make their noise in the street as often as they please , and you nor any other man shall prevent them , and as often as that fellow
comes here to preach he shall have a band of music after his a ;* witness told hinv * ' that every man who joined in the riot was subject to a fine ot £ 40 y \ Gerrard replied ^ "I will see them out of it ; I have encouraged them and will again . "
Crossexamined by Mr . Casherd ; Mr . Hopkins , of the , Independent persuasion ; a . regular meetinghouse ... there , three miles from Butt ' s house ; congregation at Anstey consisted of about sixty persons , in a small room much crowded : several Anstev A oeo * room much crowded ; several nstey
people there , and ten or twelve from Tisbury ; there was formerly a May pole on the space before Butt ' s house , which bad been removed eight years , and replaced since the riot . James Butt , the owner of the house , confirmed the statement as to the riots , and
the presence of the clergyman aud tythinjrman with the rioters / and identified all the other defendants as having bells , horns , fifes and different instruments , except Pike , whom he saw present , but could not state his instrument ; saw the clergyman a week or a fortnight before December 31 , who said to him * " Is the
Methodist preacher coming to yonr house to preach to-night V * " No , Sir ^ not before next Tuesday or Wednesday . " Clergyman— " I am surprised such a fellow as you should bring such a set of fellows or damned fellows , iuto the place ; I hope we shall be able Jto make an example of
you within this month . " Saw clergyman in tbe mob , on December 31 , and heard jbiin aajr to tbe mob before the service bejran , loud and aueertogly , «* make way , "ty&jte way for $ i « Hfotiodisu to bear their WWM&er ?* : , , : , > . ,. .. John Butt corroborated tbe evidence of his brother . Clererai&n ' ft house two miles
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and a half from that place . Crdss-e ^ amined fey J&r . Wiftiams . ^^ l ^ n ^ nP ft ^ a Sunday s ^ nool 5 ; %$ M § # W **^ duty tbav < iay . ' - ~^?^^^' v ' ^^ were many youths ¦ v antf ^ , boys ;' aittoi ^^ iSet mob .. ' . , y ; ' . ^ ;< "'' //¦ ' : ' ' ; ' ¦ ' ¦ " ' ' ¦ ¦ ' . " H " S f ? ° William Sbe | i » ifri | fc ^ canstiattfe ^ tKi hundred , ^ fej&iwixitf given bjr tli ^'~ fink
mer witnesses true ; attended the rctig'ious worship at Anste ^ y , op ^ 'December 31 ^ MrV Hopkins , the officiating / ¦ qafnister , ^ ^ watf preach ] ng *; , b ^ e wag called iipon as Wi ^ tf constable to suppress a riot in the Street opposite the place of worsliip \ j \ vevit crtft ^ saw the people collected about tea yards ; from the door , shouting , blowing' horns ,
and making' a tremendous noise with various noisy things ; saw the cleryoian aiid iSerrard ; addressed Geuard , is tlie iythmgman , saying , " Sir , I am ashamed that such disgraceful proceedings as these
should take place in a parish where you are the peace-officer , without your endeavour ing * to auppvess them ;** Gerrard Mnswered him , t ( You had better bide at Home and mind your owa business ;*^ clergyman then addressed him , saying , " the more
shame for you , fbir being : here . He again addressed Gerrard , saying , " If you do not immediately endeavour to put a stop to it , if I live till the next assizes , I will present your parish for rioting , and you for neglect of duty , in not suppressing : it . "
Gerrard and the clergyman then , three distinct times , ordered the jnob to a play lip , play up , play up . ** The noise th ^ n became so great that he could scarcely hear himself speak ; returned . back into the meeting ; found tbe congregation disturbed and alarmed , and the continuance of the service was completely prevented .
Joseph Stringfellow , a Catholic and a farmer , resident at A nstey ; clergyman and Gerrard came to his house after the first or second time that Mr . Hopkins had been at A nstey ; they came to him to come and see that he and the fellows did no
harm ; said he was a Catholic and tolerated , and declined to interfere . Crossexamined : there had been formerly a Maypole and a feast on May da * y ; discontinued for ten years , at the request of Gerrard ; but such noises and proceedings never known until Mr . Hopkins went there
to preach , The letter before referred to , written by Gerrard , having been read , Mr . Casberd addressed ) the court and jury for defendants . To the clergyman tbe result was most important ; his chaiacter would be lost , his . preferment prevented , find ruin
might ensue to his family and himself . H « submitted that a conspiracy-was not proved ; there wight have been riots on Decetnber 31 , but there was no evidence of , any preconcerted determination to put down the preaching as stated in the indictment *
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Intelli ^ ence . ^^ auses affecting Dissmters at Salisbury Assizes . % \ p
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vox * . x * n 2 *
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1818, page 217, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2474/page/65/
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