Memoirs of the Rev. Samuel Parr
Ch XVIII. 1820-1824
Samuel Parr to William Roscoe, 11 November 1818
“Now, dear sir, I shall so far confide in your most
valuable and long-tried good-will towards me, as to state some particulars, in
which I am much interested. You know that I am exceedingly intent upon the
decoration of my village-church, and that I have expended upon it large sums of
my own, and have sometimes troubled you and my other friends for contributions
to it. Whatever share may be assigned to whim or singularity, in this
solicitude for the ornaments of a place of worship, I shall without difficulty
gain credit from a man of your discernment, when I tell you that my exertions
have been accompanied by very favourable effects on the minds, and on the
manners, and on the morals of my parishioners. They hear from me, not mystical
or controversial, but plain, earnest, practical discourses. They hear them with
greater pleasure, because the house of worship is endeared to them by the
improvements I have made in it. In 1794, I put up a costly and beautiful
painted window, of three compartments, at the east end of my church. They
delighted me and my flock. They attracted the notice of neighbours and of
strangers. They produced, for the
artist, some lucrative employment, at Oxford and at other places.
This window was, on the 11th of ![]()
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this month, shattered to
pieces by a violent hurricane. Never shall I enter into the church with a
composed mind till the window is restored; and I have determined to restore it.
I shall have, in one compartment, “the Transfiguration;” in the
middle, “the Crucifixion;” and in the third, “the
Ascension.”1 Without scrutinising the faith
of men of taste, I am sure that they would have been charmed with the picture
of the Crucifixion, which was lately destroyed. I hope that you will like the
substitution of “the Transfiguration” and “the
Ascension” for the two large figures of Peter and
Paul. But I think it somehow unkind, and even
heterodox, to turn the two apostolical worthies out of church; and, therefore,
I shall put smaller figures of them into two windows. I have agreed to give
150l. for the eastern window, and 24l. for the two side windows; and I calculate the
incidental expenses at 10l. or 12l. I feel very little difficulty in expressing my earnest hope that
you will favour me with a contribution. Like other ecclesiastical zealots, I am
a sturdy beggar in the cause of the church; and I hope that, in spite of all
their heretical prejudices, Mr. Martin,
Mr. Shepherd, and Dr. Crompton, will, upon this occasion, make
their peace with the hierarchy, and show their good-will to me, by contributing
to the restoration of the window. If they should raise any objection, upon the
score of doctrine or discipline; I must desire you to undertake the office of
disputant, and to beat down their impious cavils. If you cannot convince, you
may at least persuade; and per-
1 A different arrangement was afterwards made.
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suasion will be satisfactory to me, as a true member of
the priesthood, if it be accompanied with some pecuniary advantage to the
mother-church. I am, &c.—
Peter Crompton (1767-1833)
Of Eton House near Liverpool; the son of a Derby banker, he was a physician and
unsuccessful radical candidate for Parliament.
Francis Eginton (1736 c.-1805)
Maker of stained-glass windows in Birmingham; he began in the employ of Matthew Boulton
and later was an associate of the architects James and Samuel Wyatt.
Thomas Martin (1769-1850)
Educated at Hackney College, he was a Liverpool merchant and pamphleteer who was a member
of William Roscoe's circle. He married a sister of Roscoe's botanical friend, Sir James
Edward Smith.
William Shepherd (1768-1847)
Educated at the dissenting academies at Daventry and the New College, Hackney, he was a
Unitarian minister and schoolmaster at Gateacre near Liverpool, a political radical, and
member of William Roscoe's literary circle.
