History
The end of the English civil war saw Puritans in power and culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. England was without a king until 1660 and during this period, known as the Commonwealth, many puritan clergy were instituted as vicars to various parishes. They had not been ordained by a bishop, so when the monarchy was restored again under Charles II, and when the church again required episcopal ordination, the non-ordained clergy presented a problem.
Matters were brought to a head in 1662 upon the introduction of a new prayer book containing a clause requiring such ordination with the alternative of resignation. As the ordination issue was a matter of principle to the puritans. It’s estimated between 800 and 2,000 (most) chose resignation, though many continued to hold worship services in private. This was illegal and these private meetings marked the beginning of the congregational churches.
Philip Lamb (vicar of Bere Regis) was one of the puritan clergy to resign, so can be considered the founder of the congregational church in this parish. There were 73 clergy known to have been ejected from the Church of England in Dorset and the date of "the Great Ejection" was 24th August 1662. He was a zealous minister, preaching at both his home church and Winterborne Kingston. At 21 he laboured in both of these villages until the ban on his preaching. Records show he held a service at Bere at 6am every day of the week. In his farewell sermon he said:
I may not speak from God to you, yet I shall not cease to speak to God for you.
Lamb held a large place in the affections of the people and there was great grief when he was silenced. He continued to preach privately, and undoubtedly it was under his guidance that the congregational church was formed. Later he was forced to move to Morden, and then to Alton Pancras near Cerne Abbas. In 1672 he was granted a licence to be a 'Congregational Teacher' in East Morden. Later, a convenient meeting house in Winterborne Kingston was provided for him (likely the residence of Richard Woolfreys). People flocked to hear his preaching from all parts until persecution drove him to flee to Clapham, London, where he died in 1689 at the age of 66. He was offered £600 a year if he would conform (a princely sum for a salary in those days), but he was not tempted. He was a man of unaffected piety, cheerful temper and engaging personality.
Precise information of the trials and persecutions of the Bere Regis dissenters is not available, as any records kept have long since been lost. It appears that six ministers preached in the village regularly until a Mr Bulstrode settled here in 1670.
The various laws against non-conformity were primarily intended to restrict the Roman Catholic cause, though they fell equally on the different sects. A great deal of secrecy was involved in the early meetings. Matters were eased in 1671 when it became possible to takes out licences for holding non-conformist meetings in private houses.
In the early days after 1662 the private houses of members were used for meetings and no records seem to exist concerning them, but on 10th July 1711 a house called 'Lockyers' was licensed. The house of Mary Batrix/Battricks (a widow) was licensed on 17th January 1721. This house may be the meeting house in Blind Street, which was used from as early as 1743 until 1820 when it reverted to a normal dwelling. In 1813 a dispute of arose and a section of the congregation separated and are said to have built their own chapel which was opened on the 9th July 1813. Seven years later on the 17th July 1820 the two groups were reunited and the Blind Street meeting house is said to have been given up.
What is now the Drax Hall had been the congregational chapel prior to 1783, and existed before 1777. On Isaac Taylor's map of the village of that date the building similar in size and shape to the present Drax Hall is described as a 'Dissenting Meeting House' and the tenant given as V. Rawles. It is difficult to relate the reputed building of a new Chapel in addition to the Blind Street meeting house in 1813 with the fact that the Drax Hall Chapel was already in existence. This chapel is said to have been rebuilt in 1829 during the ministry of Thomas Burgess Barker and the present cast facade probably dates from that time.
The North Street Chapel was held on a life tenure and as some difficulty in renewing the lease was anticipated, consideration was given in 1869 to the possibility of building a new chapel. It was not possible to buy a site in the village, but in 1871 a site in Butt Lane became available. This was purchased from a Wareham tradesman and given to the church by George James Wood of Athelhampton. On this site a Schoolroom was built costing £400, and in 1877 The Manse in Butt Lane was erected costing another £400. The latter sum was provided by J.H. Mundell (owner of what became Bemister's shop). He lived in Bournemouth, but spent most Sundays in Bere Regis as superintendent of the Sunday School.
During this time the North Street Chapel continued in use, but in 1872 the lease had expired on the death of the last life tenant, and after long negotiations the lease was renewed at £5 per annum, which at the time was considered excessive. In addition £35 had been spent on putting the building into a good state of repair. Some time later many members still felt uneasy about the terms of the lease and arrangements were made to convert the Butt Lane schoolroom into a chapel. This work was carried out by Mr Elcock (a builder from Wimborne) for £255 and the new chapel opened on the 9th February 1893. The North Street Chapel was then vacated and converted into the Village Hall that still stands today. The vestry and associated rooms at the north end of the chapel were added in 1939.
Circa 1770 it was said:
The number of hearers in the forenoon does not exceed 50 on average, and in the afternoon from 120-140 though some suppose it may be nearer 200
Mrs Barbara Skinner of London who died in December 1769 left £500 in her will, to be invested for the benefit of the minister's stipend and £200 to be distributed among the 'dissenting poor' of the parish. The communion cup has an inscription:
The gift of John King to the Communicant Dissenters of Bere Regis 1802.