| For more than forty years Mr.
Smythe maintained a very efficient ministry and proof of
the esteem in which he was held is abundantly evident in
the large number of friends he made wherever his lot was
cast. His preaching was always of an interesting and
edifying character and he was most assiduous in all his
preparation for public duties. Preaching was to him
always delightful work and his real pleasure in it was
apparent to all who listened to him. It is not possible to say which of his
pastorates was the most successful. He did excellent work
in all of them but he used to speak with much
appreciation of the years he spent in the busy town of
Bolton and also those amid the quieter scenes of
Berkhamsted where the memories he left behind him are
still fragrant.
In the ministerial circle Mr.
Smythe was always a brotherly man. His warm affection and
cheerful spirit and his hearty appreciation, especially
of the work that the younger men were doing, made him a
welcome visitor at all times. He was in great request as
a preacher after his withdrawal from pastoral
responsibility and there were very few Sundays on which
he was not engaged in the work he loved. "His works
do follow him," (R.G.)"
- Worstead
(Norfolk) 1858-1866 -
no information currently available.
York 1867-1872 -
courtesy of Fiona Hodgson - " ...
[there is] a booklet "A Short
History of Baptists in York" that
was written and researched by one of our congregation ...
it contains a list of his sources.  Rev. James Francis Smythe of Norfolk started
his ministry in York on 13 January 1867.
- The foundation stone for the
church building in Priory Street - which we still
use - was laid on 23 January 1867 and took 18
months to complete. It seems that without a
church building, the congregation met in a
lecture hall in the city. The decision to build a
church had been taken in about 1863."
The image is adapted from a picture in
this booklet and is based on a watercolour drawing taken
from the architectural drawings dating from this era.
- R. R. Darslay, writer of the above
history, describes matters as follows:
-
- "It was reported in 1869
that the church had looked for showers of
blessing and found only drops...[the founding
church secretary left the church in 1870]...
matters became directed at the minister, the Rev.
Smythe, though what matters were discussed are
primly omitted from the Minute books. In 1871 he
resigned and was asked to leave at his
convenience. He departed in 1872."
- Canterbury
c. 1873-1875/6 - no
records currently available.
- Claremont
Chapel, Bolton, Lancashire (1876-1883)
- From Claremont
Baptist Church, Bolton
Centenary Programme 1969
"During the
ministry of J.F. Smythe (1876-1882), a determined effort
was made to clear off the balance of the chapel debt, and
eventually after a grand bazaar held in the Albert Hall
(Bolton) and opened by the Mayor in November 1873 the
final amount was paid. But now there was an eagerness to
build again, but at this time for the friends who had
been working over at Farnworth. The first we hear about
Baptist work in Farnworth is the mention of a proposal in
the deacons' minutes in 1873 for the establishment of a
preaching station in the town. During the years that
followed, the movement gathered momentum and quite a few
friends from Claremont worked over in that town. The
friends at Farnworth had little or no funds but began the
work of building a mission chapel in Carlton Street,
believing that in time that the money would be duly
provided. The chapel cost £600 and nearly the whole
amount had to be raised after its erection in 1880. A
loan was obtained from the Baptist Building Fund, which
was repaid by Claremont on condition that the friends at
Carlton Street relieved them from further responsibility
as to the general working expenses of the mission.
Eventually, in August 1886, at their own request, 44
members were transferred from Claremont to form a
separate church and Mr. R. A. Burrows from Manchester
College became their first minister.
While these events were
taking place in Farnworth in the early 1880s, there
seemed to be a recession in the life of Claremont. The
amount which had to be raised to free Farnworth was
rather a heavy drain upon the church at the time and at
the deacons' meeting of 22nd August 1882 a minute was
entered which read as follows:
| "That having
fully considered the Church Finances we are of
the opinion that our only course is to give
notice to our Pastor that at the close of the
present year we shall cease to pay a fixed salary
and offer him the seat rents instead." |
It is rather sad to read
about this and to learn that at the end of the year Mr.
Smythe left; and there then followed an interregnum of
about nine months, during which the church was shocked at
the secession of 31 members who left to form the church
which we now know as Zion Baptist ..."
- Berkhamsted,
Hertfordshire (1883-1896)
- From "Baptists of
Berkhamsted" by Owen E. Wright -
Berkhamsted Baptist Church 1990.
"In 1882 The Rev. J.F. Smythe of
Claremont Chapel, Bolton accepted a call to the pastorate
and he removed to Berkhamsted with his wife and daughter,
Mary Ella, in January 1883. The renovation of the church
was undertaken soon after the settlement of Mr. Smythe.
During the restoration, services were held with the
Congregational Church. To mark the re-opening, a meeting
was held in the schoolroom, following a social tea. Music
was supplied by the choir under their conductor, Mr. D.
Osborn with Miss K. Cook as organist. The final cost of
the work was £137,
defrayed by a bazaar and concert in the schoolroom and
generous gifts from the friends. It was agreed in 1884 to
call the place of worship not High Street Chapel but
Claremont Chapel, a name Mr. Smythe evidently liked.
On the Pastor's first
anniversary the Rev. Charles Spurgeon and Miss Marianna
Farningham took part in the services. A change in the
appointment of deacons was agreed. Six were to be elected
for a period of three years but two were to retire
annually. Messrs. John Sills and J. Gower were elected to
serve for three years. Messrs. John Sanders and Charles
Norris to serve for two years, and Messrs. William King
and George Barnes for one year ... [pp41/42 then outlines a variety
of church business and development over a two year period
and the elections of various persons to sundry positions] ... At a church meeting on 13th
November 1895 the Pastor read a letter in which he stated
his intention to resign the pastorate at the request of
seven and twenty disaffected members as soon as another
sphere of Christian service became available. He resigned
in April 1896 and removed to Small Heath Church,
Birmingham with Mrs. Smythe and the Misses Emily,
Kate and Fanny
[Frances], his daughters. Miss Helen
Smythe removed to Long Buckby. (No mention here, now, of Mary
Ella Smythe (marriage 1886 Lancashire) nor of Mabel
Smythe.
The Hemel Hempstead
Advertiser and Times reported on the resignation of
Mr. Smythe and his removal. Mention was made of his
connection with the Mechanics'
Institute,
and his Presidency of it. He had been Chaplain of the
Workhouse, Governor of the Dispensary and Vice President
of the Soup Kitchen. For thirteen years he had been a
Scripture Examiner in the Board School and an Examiner
associated with the Herts. Sunday School Union for ten
years, and President of the Union in 1895. His eloquence
in the pulpit was widely known and he would be greatly
missed by the townspeople generally, irrespective of
religious differences.
A large number attended
a meeting in the schoolroom to bid farewell to Mr. Smythe
and family. Mr. C. Norris presided and Mr John Sanders,
in the name of the church and the townspeople, presented
a purse containing thirty pounds, wishing him God's speed
and success in his future ministry. After a reply from
Mr. Smythe, Dr. Fry the Headmaster of Berkhamsted School
gave a short address."
| Site
Notes Dr.
Thomas Fry was followed as Headmaster at
Berkhamsted by Charles Greene - father of the
celebrated writer, Graham Greene,
born in Berkhamsted and educated at the school. Francis Sydney
Smythe, celebrated
explorer,
photographer and mountaineer, was also educated at Berkhamsted.
- The
school at Ayot St. Peter - nearby.
- In 1874 the school was
officially inspected and the quality of
the teaching was praised by the
inspector. Between 1876 and 1879 the
school was enlarged to accommodate 65
pupils. In 1881 the
teacher was Miss Mary Smythe, who was living in the
schoolhouse with her widowed
mother of the same name.
|
NB
reference to Mechanics'
Institute
- qv Mather & Platt zones on this
site - Salford/Manchester/Bolton, Lancs - By a strange
co-incidence, it is remotely possible that James Smythe
operated in the same spheres as John Wormald and the
Taylor and Mather families of this place and era. John
Wormald's youngest daughter (Babs Wormald, born 1901)
later gave birth to the child who was to marrry James
Francis Smythe's great grandson, Dicky Drew-Smythe (qv).
Additionally, a William Taylor
wrote "Baptists in Bolton".
James
Francis Smythe was minister at Claremont during the
Cotton Strike of 1877 and would have been more than aware
of the issues and the work of various industrialist
managers and mediators such as Sir William Mather of
Mather & Platt, the Engineers.
Also from Claremont
Baptist Church, Bolton
Centenary Programme 1969 (p5) - ['somewhat' patronisingly] "What sort of life did
these early Claremonters lead in those days? Quite a
number must have been rather a rough and ready lot of
folk. The church was situated fairly close to the cotton
mills and many of the cotton operatives probably lived
close by. We know from Dr. Ballard's report in 1871 that
there was quite a shocking rate of infant mortality
amongst the textile workers, and he attributed this to
early marriage, intemperance and ignorance on the part of
mothers who were mostly illiterate and had gone to work
far too early in life to have been able to learn the
rudiments of home nursing and elementary domestic
management, with the result that children did not always
have the care and attention which they should have had.
In addition there was terrible overcrowding in the town
centre and sanitation was very bad, the Croal for a long
time past being a glorified sewer ..."
- Small
Heath, Birmingham 1896-1899
- From the 1948 75th
Anniversary Souvenir publication.
"The Rev. J. F.
Smythe from Berkhamsted became pastor in 1896. The
experience which the incoming minister had gained in
several important churches was found to be invaluable.
After the great efforts
that had been put forth during preceding years, a time of
rest and consolidation was necessary and the
ministrations of Mr. Smythe were of untold help at this
stage of the Church's career. It made heavy claims upon
him and these he manfully met until he felt, after a
period of three years, that ill-health made resignation
advisable ... from 1899 to 1902 the pastorate was vacant
..."
James Francis Smythe
retired in 1899 and died in 1902 at Moseley in
Birmingham. After retirement he continued to preach as a
guest preacher. It is assumed that he is buried in the
Birmingham area. It is not yet known whether he was
survived by his wife, Elizabeth; she was, however, alive
at the point of the 1901 Census, taken in March of that
year.
- 1881
Census (Smyth(e) search) chuckle page
|
James Francis Smythe -
his pastorates and career ...
Oil Portrait