| In
these words, James Hudson Taylor, missionary and founder of the
China Inland Mission, described the believers at Tottenham over
one hundred years ago. In the early 1800’s, Tottenham, to the
north of London, was a pleasant country town of about 8000
inhabitants. Many farms, nurseries and smallholdings were dotted
across the landscape, and the rich and famous had their country
homes in this rural setting to escape the noise and squalor of
London.
In 1838, John
Eliot Howard, the distinguished chemist, and fellow of the Royal
Society, commenced a regular gospel meeting in the area. Some
time earlier, through his personal study of the Scriptures, his
eyes were opened to the great truth of justification by faith
alone. He renounced all ties with the Religious Society of
Friends, of which many of his family were members, and he and
his wife Maria were baptized by immersion, and for the first
time broke bread at the local Baptist Chapel. In November of the
same year, a small group (eight in number) of like-minded
believers, met for ‘worship and the breaking of bread’ in a
small cottage. This marked the beginning of assembly work,
witness and testimony in the area.
Under the
mighty hand of God, souls were saved, whilst others, seeing for
themselves from their personal study of the Scriptures the
errors of the established church, left other groups to join the
now growing company of believers. Within just three years the
assembly numbered 88, no longer meeting in the small room of a
cottage, but in the Brook Street Meeting House, (Brook Street
Chapel), which was erected and opened by John Eliot Howard and
his older brother Robert in June 1839.
In the newly
erected Brook Street Meeting House a baptistry was constructed
under the floor, and many there were who publically testified to
their faith by passing through the waters of baptism. Dr.
Barnardo, founder of the famous orphanages, James Wright,
son-in-law to George Muller, and hundreds of other believers,
well known and unknown, have down through the years passed
through the waters of baptism at Tottenham. In those early days,
many well known and highly esteemed brethren gave help to the
growing assembly, including J. N. Darby, George Muller, John
Morley, J. G. Penstone, and G. Soltau, to name but a few.
When the tragic
split took place amongst the growing number of assemblies, the
brethren at Tottenham felt it necessary to draw up the Tottenham
Statement of 1849, which clearly set forth their position in
regard to those whom they could receive. The Tottenham
Statement, or Memorandum, is still displayed and adhered to
today.
From those very
early days, the work of mission played an important part in the
life of the assembly. There was long and lasting fellowship with
James Hudson Taylor, as China was opened up to the gospel. In
1852, A. N. Groves spoke of the work of God in India and pleaded
prayer for the vast sub-continent. James Von Summer, and his
wife were in fellowship at Tottenham for a number of years,
during which time he produced the Missionary Reporter, which was
to be one of the forerunners of the Echoes of Service missionary
magazine.
This was the
commencement of an interest in the Lord’s work and servants
which has continued to the present day, resulting in the
commendation of many brethren and sisters who have gone forth to
many parts of the world with the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Thus a work for
God was commenced in North London and by the grace of God
continues to the present day. During the early to mid-1900’s
the assembly prospered with both spiritual and numerical growth.
Just prior to the Second World War there were about 130 in
assembly fellowship, with a Sunday School numbering over 350
children. Great efforts were made to reach young and old alike
with the gospel. Evangelistic campaigns both in tents and in the
hall were held, as well as regular gospel preaching indoors and
out. In the years immediately following the war, numbers in
fellowship began to decline for many and varied reasons, and
tragically that decline has continued.
The area has
vastly altered, from a quiet rural area to a busy, industrial
and cosmopolitan one, in fact one of the most deprived areas of
London. The farms and smallholdings have long since gone,
together with the wealth and refinement of those early days, but
a needy population still remains. This includes men, women and
children from over 150 different ethnic backgrounds, with their
diversity of language, culture and spiritual needs. In recent
years many ‘groups’, mainly Afro-Caribbean have sprung up in
the area, some of them preaching ‘another gospel’. More
recently ‘The Temple’, advertised across London, has opened
for Hedonistic worship!
Today the
assembly is very weak, but by the grace of God a testimony is
still maintained. Gospel preaching, distribution of literature,
work among young and old alike continues. Over the years efforts
have been made to reach some of the ethnic groups with the
gospel. For example, a work amongst Kurdish boys, Bible studies
in the home with Ethiopian refugees, and pioneer work on two
notorious housing estates have reached many with the message of
God’s love.
With the demise
of so many London assemblies over the past forty to fifty years,
how important it is to strengthen the things that remain. Prayer
is valued, not only for numerical, but also spiritual growth
within the assembly and the furtherance of the gospel in this
most deprived and needy area of North London.
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