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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. — John Shaqi

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

There is another letter bearing the two-penny post mark of the 20th of
October, which I have also seen.—It is as follows:—

    Dear Sir,

    I received your note this morning in Bed, as I have contracted such a
    Dreadful cold Being wet on tuesday I am very much grievd i have not
    been able to comply with the request concerning Mr. C—  But I shall
    certainly keep my eye upon him and Do him all the Good it lays in my
    power where ever he is he knows my Disposition too well to impute any
    remissness to my conduct But I cannot Do impossibilities as I have
    Lately had and have now Got so many Distressing cases in hand Beside,
    I will Be sure to call on you as soon as I can— But am not able to
    day

                                                   I remain Yours J CHURCH

    32 hercules Buildings

    Badly directed to Mr. Oliver, or (Holloway) No. 6, Richmond’s
    buildings, Dean Street, Soho.

The next document is a letter dated March 7, 1810, from a person at
Banbury named Hall, who says that there was a report there against Church
of a very scandalous nature.  And that the managers of the chapel, after
making enquiries into it, sent him positive orders never to return to
Banbury again.

Then follows a letter from Wm. Clarke of Ipswich, a young man between 19
and 20 years of age, which contains an account of attempts too horrid to
be published in this paper.  I have within the last four days seen the
written confession (frightful indeed it is) of this poor simple young
man, whose mind was bewildered by the canting exhortations of Church; and
I have heard the whole of his statements corroborated by the oral
testimony of a Mr. Wire who resides at Colchester, and knows Clarke very
well.  The circumstances related by Clarke, would have furnished an ample
ground for a criminal prosecution had he made his complaint _immediately_
after the _assault_ was committed:—but suffering under the influence of
ignorance and fear, he kept it a secret too long, and afterwards accepted
of a pound note from Church.  A case was laid before two eminent
barristers, to have their opinion whether such a prosecution could be
carried on with any prospect of conviction.  Their opinion, which I now
have before me in their own hand writing, is, that after the long
concealment of a Charge, a Jury would pay no attention to his evidence,
unless he was confirmed in his story by other evidence.

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