There are about 50 items relating to this church, kept in the Essex Record Office (ERO D/NC 35/1-50). They include accounts, minutes, Sunday School records, church history, letters and papers, accounts and registers: baptisms from 1792, burials from 1794 and marriages from 1860 (I think these are on fiche at the ERO). The book is quite detailed in the early years, but tails off as time goes on. There is a lot more in it than I have noted below, and it would be of interest well beyond Clavering, because the chapel drew its membership from a wide area. At the back, for instance is a list of over 100 members with notes on when they died, where they moved to, what happened to them, etc. Most of the leading members were farmers and tradesmen. Two-thirds of the men and over half of the women could sign their own names – if you compare this to the parish register, far fewer could do so, and this suggests that the chapel recruited members from the middle rather than the lower classes. One of the most interesting items is the Church Book 1826-1935 (ERO D/NC 35/11), from which the following selected extracts may be of interest.
1827 MEMBERS included: Banks, Barker, Boyton, Brooks, Bush, Cell, Challis, Clayden, Chessum, Cole, Cooper, Coyston, Coxall, Danes, Deards, Elgood, Farnham, Francis, Funston, Graves, Harvey, Hawkes, Hide, Hockly, Horden, Jackson, Jordan, Living, Laurence, Morris, Mumford, Orgar, Pavitt, Pigrim, Phipps, Pigg, Pluck, Rayment, Rumball, Staines, Sibley, Spencer, Stallibrass, Wallis, Wisbey, Womwell, Wright. (selected records only)
DISCIPLINE: Mrs. Mary Brown 'admitted the sin of intoxication' (27 Sept 1844, p.93). On 17 October 1828 Mr. Cell of Arkesden Lane was expelled because he had refused work offered to him when he applied for poor relief. The minister reported to the next meeting that Cell still considered he had been harshly treated by the parish offices and the magistrates, but there is no record of his submitting. Mr. Jordan of Arkesden 'excluded for immoral conduct October 19th 1834'. Sarah Pluck of Becketts, Arkesden excluded for immorality (11 August 1837). Richard Hollingsworth excluded from Communion (13 December 1839. (selected records only)
1829: Mrs. Abigail Bush, Butts Green, joined, daughter of Bro Staines.
25 March 1831 - death of Mary Reed of Clavering Bury, aged 25 (daughter of Rebecca Reed of The Bury).
1831 RETURNS OF DISSENTERS called for by House of Commons: For Clavering, the congregation of the chapel was 450, also 'A few Methodists meet in a licensed house, but have no resident minister' – these must have been Wesleyans, as the Primitive Methodists did not arrive till 1840s.
6 August 1831:- Jane Wright died 'who had long resident in the cottage in the meeting yard'.
February 1832 - several members of Wisby family died of typhus.
1840 MEMBERS included: Pavitt, Beard, Pigram, Clark, Trigg.
19 May 1845 - James Pavitt died - big tribute.
13 July 1845 - James Bond of Starlings Green died, he had 'severe rheumatism' and could not walk.
25 October 1845 - Pastor Bromley resigned, after which the Minutes are more brief and less interesting until Mr. Ault came in 1870.
31 July 1845: Robert Spencer, Clavering Hall gave the chapel 'a purse of gold' following his long absence.
Later surnames include: Jackson, Piggott, Mosfield, Glassock, Bowkell, Farnham, Taylor, Negus, Bailey.
DEACONS IN 1851 - James Harvey, John Beard, William Mumford and Joseph Claydon.
1851 onward: names include: Cowell, Green, Atkinson, Rayment, Knightley, Pelly, Morris, Minott, Bunting, Law, Hawes, Carpenter.
1861 onward: names include: Parker, Tyler, Button, Bowtill, Sell, Parker, Patmore, George, Savill, Bird, Whybird, Nottage, Kemp.
1870 onward: names include Reed, Jeffreys, Sibley.
17 March 1872: last service in old chapel, demolished next day.
21 August 1872: new chapel dedicated.
May 1872: Joseph Claydon died aged 92, after being a member of the church for 60 years, also deacon for many years.
1878:- Part of 'Skeen pasture' bought for enlarging burial ground.
1894: Mr. Mumford, pillar of the church, died after 68 years of membership and 56 years as a deacon.
27 January 1897: Miss Emma Spencer died, organist for 28 years, member for 48 years.
September 1900: Rev. Ault left after 30 years as Pastor, died soon after.
Note: this is only a very selective extract of the 19th century entries in a very interesting volume. A photograph of the old chapel, demolished in 1782, can be seen in History Walks in Clavering page 78, and a photograph of the new chapel in Clavering & Langley 1783-1983 page 47. The chapel flourished in the 20th century too – between the wars it was very much the community centre of Clavering and some of the older residents of the village still remember going to Sunday school, Band of Hope and social events there. The building is now undergoing a renaissance (see below).
© Jacqueline Cooper 2003
CLAVERING CHRISTIAN CENTRE
The building continued as a United Reformed Church until very recently, and has now become the Clavering Christian Centre, a church/community hall for the ecumenical union of the Anglican, Methodist and URC in Clavering. It is currently undergoing a very expensive restoration, and there is a major fund-raising drive going on to convert it to community use. Contributors can for instance buy a brass plate with their name on to be placed in the chapel in return for a donation. There are also on sale crosses made out of former chapel pews. For further information about the appeal committee, please write to the Vicar, Rev Duncan McGuffie at The Vicarage, Pelham Road, Clavering.