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Religion & Morality Vindicated, Against Hypocrisy and Pollution: Or, an Account of the Life and Character of John Church the Obelisk Preacher, Who Was Formerly a Frequenter of Vere-street, and Who Has Been Charged With Unnatural Practices in Various Places. To Which Is Annexed, a Fac-simile of a Letter, Written by Him to James Cook, Who Kept the Infamous House in Vere-street.Bell, Robert

Religion

Religion & Morality Vindicated, Against Hypocrisy and Pollution: Or, an Account of the Life and Character of John Church the Obelisk Preacher, Who Was Formerly a Frequenter of Vere-street, and Who Has Been Charged With Unnatural Practices in Various Places. To Which Is Annexed, a Fac-simile of a Letter, Written by Him to James Cook, Who Kept the Infamous House in Vere-street.

Name: Religion & Morality Vindicated, Against Hypocrisy and Pollution: Or, an Account of the Life and Character of John Church the Obelisk Preacher, Who Was Formerly a Frequenter of Vere-street, and Who Has Been Charged With Unnatural Practices in Various Places. To Which Is Annexed, a Fac-simile of a Letter, Written by Him to James Cook, Who Kept the Infamous House in Vere-street.
Author: Bell, Robert

Bell, Robert

Church, J. (John), approximately 1780-approximately 1825 -- Trials, litigation, etc.; Trials (Sodomy) -- England

SIR,—In your Paper of the 25th ult. in an article relative to John
Church, you say, “The Magistrates sent him away from Banbury.”  As some
persons might, from this erroneous statement, conceive that the people to
whom he preached then, heard with indifference of his vile propensities;
we beg of you, in justice to them, to correct this error.  It was the
Trustees of the Chapel who gave him his immediate dismission from their
place, on the first intimation of his destestable practices, to which
they could attach any credit.

                               We are, Sir,

                                                     Your humble Servants,
                                                           JOSEPH GARDNER.
                                                           THOMAS GARDNER.

                                * * * * *

_The following are the letters referred to in pages_ 8 & 9.

    Honoured Sir,—In reply to your letter concerning Mr. C.  I can only
    inform you, there was a report against him of a very scandalous
    nature; but how far his culpability extends, it is quite out of my
    power to determine.  He was absent from hence when the rumour first
    spread.  The Managers of our Chapel took great pains to enquire into
    the origin of such reports, and the result was, they sent Mr. C.
    positive orders never, on any account, to return to Banbury again;
    which advice he has hitherto wisely observed.  Now, Sir, after giving
    you the above information, I beg leave to conclude the subject, by
    referring you to your own comment hereon.

                                                         (Signed) S. HALL.

    Banbury, March 7,
             1810.

The next extract exhibits the confession of Wm. Clarke, of Ipswich.

    Having been called by providence to Colchester, I went to hear John
    Church preach in a barn, was invited to Mr. Abbott’s; was prevailed
    upon to sleep with John Church; I did sleep with him three nights;
    after being enticed to many imprudences, I was under the necessity to
    resist certain attempts, which, if I had complied with, I am fearful
    must have ruined both soul and body; the crime is too horrid to
    relate.

                                                            WILLIAM CLARK.

                                                           RICHARD PATMORE
                                                                J. ELLISON
                                                                   C. WIRE
                                                                H. T. WIRE
                                                                Witnesses.

                P.S.  This took place in March last, 1812.

                                * * * * *

The third letter casts still further light on the dark business of the
former.

                                       _Colchester_, _September_ 16, 1812.

    SIR,

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