re

testified on arrival at Dover their sorrow, and were admitted to the Church; these Reconnaissances' are valuable as giving us the autograph signatures and place of origin of no less than one hundred and seventy-seven refugees. Lastly, we have the 'Actes' of the Church of Canterbury, which during 1693 and 1694, throw considerable light on the Church at Dover. I am indebted for permission to use these to Mr. F. W. Cross, of Canterbury, in whose keeping the originals now are.

It has been a difficult question how best to utilize the abundance of material which these authorities provide. Two courses were open to me: one to write the story of the Church, using the materials at my disposal; the other to allow the documents to tell their own story, simply arranging them in what seemed the best order, and weaving them together with what information might be gleaned from other sources. Seeing, however, that one of the objects of our Society is to preserve and make available for students the actual records of our ancestors, I have chosen the latter course, and in the following paper I shall give verbatim the documents preserved to us. I am the more drawn to this decision by a feeling that any tampering with the actual language used by those to whom the records are due, would rob them of much both of their charm and of their utility.

The foundation of the Dover church then is, without doubt, due to the dispersal of that of Guînes. As it was formally established on August 1st, 1685, the exodus from France, which was the cause of its foundation, must have been going on for some considerable time previous to this date, and may, in the Picardy district at all events, be dated from the appointment of Claude le Tonnelier de Breteuil to the see of Boulogne, in 1681. We know from other sources that at least for two years before the issue of the Edict of Revocation (October, 1685), the zeal of this prelate had burned fiercely against those of the faith.1

By 1685, a sufficient company must have been gathered at Dover to make it possible to constitute a church; the story of its foundation is told in the Minute book of the Consistoire:

NOSTRE AIDE ET COMMENCEMENT SOIT AU NOM DE DIEU, QUY A FAIT LE CIEL ET LA TERRE, Amen.

A Douure, le 1 Juillet, 1685.

La Prouidence de Dieu ayant conduit au milieu de nous le 1 Huguenot Family of Minet: p. 19,

S Salomon de le Becque, cy deuant ministre en l'église de Prouuille ou ce receuilloit celle d'Amiens, pour exercer son ministere en l'église francoise de ce lieu, en vertu de la vocation quy luy en a esté adressées, ses exercises pub estants interrompus depuis quelques années, nous auons esté obligés pour en procurer le rétablissement de recourir au bon plais de sa majesté quy a eu la bonté de nous faire expédier le Breuet dont suit icy la coppie.

JAMES R.

DAUID LECANDEL.
ISAAC DE LA CROIX.
SIMON CONIET.

Trusty and well-beloued we gred you well, and have thought fit hereby to signify our will and pleasure to you that you permit such of the French nation as inhabit in and about Dover to make use of the French church built there in ye time of our Royal father, King Charles the first of blessed memory, prouided they make use of the seruice of the church of England according to the rubrick, and as it is used by the French congregation at the Sauoye here: wherein if they faile we do authorise and require you, or the mayor and juratts of our said town, to shut up the church dores and suffer them to meet no more, and for so doing this shall be y' warrant, and so we bid you farewell.

Giuen at our Court at Whitehall, the 30th day of July, 1685,2 in yo first yeare of our reigne,

COLONELL STRODE.

By his Majties com'and.

Du 9 Aoust, 1685.

Sunderland.

Le sieur Salomon Delebecque aiant consenty de nous donner son ministere suiuant les conditions dont nous sommes conuenu, scauoir qu'il se contenteroit de la contribution vollontaire et anuelle a laquelle les particuliers ce taxeroient, sa vocation luy a esté confirmé; en consequence de quoy nous luy auons

1 Dept. Somme; Arr. Doullens.

2 This date is 30 days later than that of the minute in which it is recited. The date of the warrant is the same as in the copy to be found in the Tanner MSS., and in the State Papers, Dom., Entry Books (Eccl. War.) v. 57, p. 3, and must, therefore, be taken as correct; moreover it is confirmed by the accounts, where we are again told it was July 30. We must, then, assume that the minute is wrongly dated, and that it should be August 1st. One is loth to begin by accusing the records of the Church of inaccuracy, but I can see no other explanation.

donné une lettre d'enuoy adressé a Monseigneur de Cantorbury pour le supplyer de l'approuuer et de luy conférer les ordres du St. ministere selon les loix de l'église Anglicane.1

Comme sa Majesté nous ordonne par son Breuet du 30 Juillet derer de nous Conformer à la Pratique de l'église de la Sauoye ou il y a un consistoire formé, et que d'ailleur cet usage est conforme à la Parolle de Dieu quy ordonne que toutte chose se face honnestement et par ordre en son église; les chefs de famille extraordinairement assemblés cejourdhuy dimanche quinziesme Nouembre 1685, present Monsieur Robert Jacob, Majeur de cette ville, pour procedder a la nomination et élection d'anciens conformement aux susdittes ordonces: ont esté élus pour exercer cette charge les Srs Isaac de la Croix,

1 The 'lettre d'enuoy' will be found in the Tanner MSS., preserved in the Bodleian Library, and is as follows:

"A Monseigneur,

Monseigneur l'Archeuesque de Cantorbery,
en son hostel,

A Lambeth.

Monseigneur, Le Sieur Salomon de le Becque qui sera nostre pasteur souz votr. bon plaisir, vous rendra cette lettre d. notr. part, par laquelle nous prenons la liberté de vous supplier tres humblement que, veue la permission que sa Majte. a eu la bonté de nous faire expédier pour prescher en l'église Francoise de cette ville selon la lithurgie Anglicane. Il vous plaira, Monseigneur, fauoriser de votre Protection et de votre Saincte Bénédiction l'établissement dudit Sieur au milieu de nous pour la consolation des families ( ? isolées) de France quy se sont icy retirées, et quy pourront s'y retirer cy-apres.

Il vient se présenter devant vous pour rendre ses tres humbles soumissions, et pour recevoir de votre Grandeur le Pouvoir d'exercer le St. ministere en cette église. Mais, Monseigneur, comme nostre église n'a pas encore tous les moyens de faire un entier subsistance pour le ministre, et que nous sommes bien persuadez de votre grand charité par les preuves manifestes que vous en donnez aux églises Francoises nouuellement establies en votre diocese, qu'il vous plaise nous pardonner si nous implorons le secours de cette libérale charité en vous supplyant tres humblement de nous en faire sentir les fauorables effets par quelques petites gratifications quy nous aydroient fort a l'établissement de l'église, et a la subsistance de notre pasteur.

Nous sommes, avec un profond respect, Monseigneur, Vostr. hum. & tres obysst. seruitrs. les chefs de famille de l'église francois, receuillis a Douvres, et pour tous.

ISAAC DE LA FORCE.
ISAAC DE LA CROIX.

A Douvres, le 25e Aoust, 1685.

ROBT. JACOB.
ABRAHAM STOCK.

(Tanner MS. xcii, 103.) Two of the names appended to this letter do not appear in any other document connected with the founding of the Church; Stock was a name we find in the third church; de la Force is a common Guînes

name.

Charles Johnson, Dauid Lecandel, et Simon Cogniet: Lesquelles sont agréez et ont esté admis à cette charge auec promesse de s'en bien aquitter.

SIMON CONIET.

DAUID LECANDEL.

S. DE LE BECQUE.
ISAAC DE LA CROIX.

Du 22 ditto.

Nostre consistoire ayant besoin d'une personne de piété et d'experience pour dresser les actes de nos régistres et pour receuoir les deniers des pauures et les administrer, comme aussy receuoir les deniers du ministère, nous auons jetté les yeux sur le Sr Isaac de la Croix, l'un des anciens, pour faire ces differentes fonctions: lesquelles charges luy ayant presentée il les a vollont acceptez, moiennant qu'il fust accompagné de l'un des frere antiens pour faire la collecte des deniers du ministere.

ISAAC DE LA CROIX. S. DE LE BECQUE.
DAUID LECANDEL. SIMON CONIET.

1

The church was now organized, but before proceeding with its history let us pause for a moment over the names of those who, as the records show, took part in its foundation. The most important of these, from the influential position he held, was Robert Jacob, presumably a foreign protestant, or he would not be found taking so active a part in the Dover church at its first foundation. One must assume from the office he held that he had been in Dover for some considerable time, but I cannot directly connect him with the earlier church, though the name Jacob does appear there twice. What is specially interesting to note for our present purpose is, that he was Mayor of Dover in this year, 1685, and again in 1688, and 1711.2 Seeing the very active part Mr. Jacob took in the affairs of the young church (he became an ancien in 1692, and signs almost every minute of the Consistoire during his term of office), one is led to infer that the foreigners were well looked on in Dover, and in establishing their worship had the countenance and approval of those in authority in the town.

The name of Charles Johnson, one of the first anciens, does not occur again in the minutes; the only instance to be found of his acting in this office is that he signs a letter to the

1 Jacob was a common Guînes name, and the family was connected with the de la Croix, Isaac Jacob having married Anne de la Croix, sister of Isaac de la Croix (Guines Reg., p. 30). I cannot, however, connect the Guines family with Robert Jacob. Robert Jacob's wife was Marie de la Pierre.

2Mayors of Dover, from 1558 to 1890' J. B. Jones, Dover, 1890.

Archbishop of Canterbury in 1686, and a petition in 1688. One link may connect him with the earlier church; a Robert Johnson appears in the Registers of the fourth Church, whose wife was Marie Wallop, and this latter name is one frequently found in the earlier registers.1

The third church had been closed in 1661, but though its regular services ceased, several French families continued to reside in Dover. This we learn from Isaac Minet, who says, En l'année 1674 moy ledit Minet estoit a Douvres pour apprendre la langue, ayt esté a laditte église ou un ministre francois estoit, précepteur des enfans de Cheur Oxenden de Wingham, préchoit quatre fois l'an, y ayant alors plusieurs Francois habitant audit Douvre."2

One of these families must certainly have been that of Lecandel. We find Pierre (mar. Ester du Mont), Jacques (mar. Anne de Haze), and Antoine (mar. Jenne Duwellen), all sons of Pierre Lecandel, mentioned in the records of the earlier church; the David whose name occurs in the minute of 1685 just cited, was a son of the younger Pierre.

Of Simon Coniet I know nothing, but Isaac de la Croix connects us with Guînes: born in 1644, a merchant at Calais and a diacre receveur' of the Church of Guînes, he must have come over at the time of the Revocation, though his name does not appear among the Reconnaissances. Delebecque was another well known Calais name, allied by marriage with the de la Croix; Solomon was a member of this family, being a son of Louis Delebecque, who is twice mentioned in Isaac Minet's narrative as among those who were persecuted in 1685.* Not only then was the church, with whose history we are now concerned partly founded upon the third Dover Church,

1 I find the name as early as 1645 in the Registers of St. James', Dover, and from that date down to 1672 there are many instances of its occurrence.

2 These services must have been held at some risk, seeing that they were not, apparently, licensed; no mention of them occurs in a list of Licences for Non-conformist Preachers and Teachers, and for Places to be used as Meeting houses' in 1672. (Record Office; S. P., Dom.; Car. II; Bundle 321.) An account of the prosecution and conviction of certain persons for 'keeping and attending unlawful conventicles' at Dover, in 1682, will be found in the Tanner MSS., xxxv, 54.

*See Guînes Reg. pp. 14, 93, 103, for his two marriages and the death of his first wife, Margueritte Casé.

Huguenot Family of Minet, pp. 36, 56.

The church itself, distinctly claimed to be the continuation of the third church; for in the Registers, after the last entry of the former church, dated 1661, we find written "Icy suivent les baptistaires qui se sont celebres en La mesme Eglise francoise restablie en l'an 1685, sous le ministere du Sr. Salomon De le becque." The same claim is repeated in the record of marriages, where, between entries of 1660 and 1685 we find, Continuation des Enregistrements des Maryages Celebres en cette Eglise Francoise de Douure'.