The present pastor, Mr. Alfred Newth--who studied at Homerton College, and had been previously settled at Ripley, near Christ Church, Hants--came to Oundle in the year 1842, as the successor of Dr. Simpson. The present number of communicants is about 70. There are 120 children in the Sabbath-schools. Occasional services are conducted in two villages in the vicinity of Oundle, viz., Tansor and Glapthorne. CHAPTER XI. MEMORIALS OF THE INDEPENDENT CHURCH AT WEEDON BECK. In the village of Weedon, about eight miles from Northampton, where there is a royal military depot with barracks for 1500 men, storehouses and magazines capable of stowing 200,000 small arms, there stands an Independent Chapel for preaching the Gospel of peace, and maintaining the cause of Christ by the voluntary aid of his followers. It is a respectable village Chapel, capable of seating about 500 hearers; it has a grave-yard in the front, and commodious school-rooms behind. At the time of the Restoration, a Mr. George Martin was vicar of Weedon. Such was his loyalty, that he lost an arm for the King in Sir George Booth's rising. But, as one that "exercised himself to have a conscience void of offence both towards God and man"--first fearing God, then honouring the king--when the Act of Uniformity passed, he renounced his connexion with the Church rather than violate his conscience. Such was the spirit of the times, that in 1667 he was in Warwick Gaol for some months, for preaching the Gospel. Some time after his ejectment he exercised his ministry amongst a small number of worthy people at Stony Stratford, who had a great value for his memory a considerable time after. "He was," we are informed, "a serious, holy, good-tempered, and courageous man." It is probable that the cause of Nonconformity in Weedon owes its origin to the vicar's separation from the Church. Such an event would excite the attention of the people, and promote inquiry among them; and they would be led to seek those ministrations without the Church of which they were deprived within her pale by the oppressive enactments of the day. There had been a number from Weedon and the neighbourhood who had gone to the Church at Norton to hear Mr. Robert Allen, another of the ejected ministers, who was a very popular preacher, whose Church was crowded with hearers from the places around. "A congregation was jointly formed here and at Floor prior to 1668, in which year the first trust deed is dated." The earliest known minister of this society was Mr. Peyto. This person was engaged in the ordination service of Mr. J. Heywood, at Potterspury, in 1740. He was succeeded by Mr. Thomas Howe, a native of Northampton, and one of the Daventry students. "He removed before 1770 to Yarmouth, in Norfolk, where he continued until his death. He published several pamphlets and sermons."