Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Reverend Richard Stretton (1672 - 1677)
Minister at Mill Hill
Impact on Mill Hill
On the 31st of May 1672, an application was put in by Richard Stretton to Timothy Cloudley for a license to allow religious meetings in the Presbyterian manner. On the 10th of June, the application was approved, and Stretton held a license to allow religious meetings at Sibell Dawsons’s home.
The new Chapel profited for the first three years by the ministry of Richard Stretton. In Ralph Thoresby’s diary, he stated that he was almost in constant touch with Stretton and whenever he was in London, he would take it upon himself to call on his minister (Thoresby, R. & Hunter, J. 1830).
Stretton being the first minster ‘within the walls’ was assaulted and received several threats and break-ins at his home. For a while, he had to wear a disguise to not be recognised. He was seen as a minister to be proud of and relied upon by several preachers. People referred to Stretton as a great man, with a peaceful and catholic spirit. He was known for his excellent prayer and was exceedingly polite.
Conclusions
Stretton was a minister who was a very good preacher and people respected him enough for being the first minister at Mill Hill Chapel. Stretton, unfortunately, had to live with the consequences of the Five-Mile Act, which simply stopped non-conformist ministers from coming within five miles of any parish ”‘where they had been the minister or preached since 1600”, and people who broke this law risked receiving “a £40 fine or six months imprisonment” (Wykes, D. L. n.d.).
Stretton was sent to Newgate Prison for six months. Within that time he helped congregations search for new pastors and distributed books to libraries all around the United Kingdom, particularly Scotland. He helped students who wanted to become ministers.
Richard Stretton died on July 3rd, 1712, and was buried in Bun-Hill Fields ground. Ralph Thoresby held the funeral service for Stretton.
Bibliography
- Garside, I. (2023) Old Mill Hill Chapel [Photograph]
- Hirst, S. (n.d.) A Brief Story Of Mill Hill And Its Two Centuries Of Tradition, Stuart Hirst Ltd. Survey House, Bond Street Leeds, pp. 1-3.
- Schroder, L. W. (n.d.) Mill Hill Chapel 1674-1924, Elsom & Co Ltd. Hull, pp. 24-38
- Thoresby, R. & Hunter, J. (1830) The Diary of Ralph Thoresby now first published from the original manuscript (2 vols). London: H. Colburn and R. Bentley.
- Wykes, D. L. (n.d.) Timeline – The Queen Mary Centre for Religion and Literature in English (Accessed 5 December 2023)
