Memoir of Joseph Hardcastle

Front matter

THE LIBRARY

OF

*v

Chapter I. 1752—1786

MANY years have elapsed since the death of Joseph Hardcastle. His course is finished ; but his memory is embalmed in the recollection of those to whom the history of Christian missions is a subject of interest, and the progress of the Redeemer's kingdom an object of hope.

The memorial of such a man is valuable, not so much to commemorate the graces of his character, ar to show by his example how possible it is to combine diligence in business with fervour of spirit and the active service of God.

JOSEPH HARDCASTLE was born at Leeds on the 7th of December, 1752. He was descended from a family originally settled at Hardcastle, near Masharn, in Yorkshire. In that neighbourhood they continued for several generations to inherit property. The beautiful estate of Hackfall was often referred to by Mr. Hard- B 2

4 PURITAN DESCENT.

castle, as at one time in the possession of his family ; but to him belonged a nobler boast than a descent from those "who call their lands after their own names." He was sprung from ancestors endowed with a better and more enduring substance, of many of whom it may be truly said, " that their names are written in heaven ; " of some, pre-eminently, " that to them it was given, on behalf of Christ, not only to believe, but also to suffer for his sake." Amongst these was the Reverend Thomas Hardcastle, the friend of Henry, son of the fourth Lord Fairfax. Thomas Hardcastle is described by Calamy as a man of good abilities and a bold spirit, fearing no danger, but of great moderation and Catholicism. He was Vicar of Bramham, near Tadcaster, at the period of the restoration of Charles the Second. That ill-advised and profligate monarch, forgetful of his solemn oath and most sacred promises, in an evil hour and in reality with a view of paving the way for the introduction of Popery, was induced to pass the Act of Uniformity, by virtue of which more than two thousand clergymen were deprived of their livings, and ejected from the Church of England. Of this number was Thomas Hardcastle.

He was born at Barwick-upon-Holm, in Yorkshire, and was trained up under Mr. Jackson, of Barwick, a learned divine. The first years of his ministry were spent in his own county, where he mentions, in a

REV. THOMAS HARDCASTLE. 5

preface to one of his works, that he had many friends at Pontefract, Hull, Beverley, York, &c., to whom his labours had been useful. He also writes : — " For several years I had the happiness to be chaplain to the Lady Barwick, of Toulston, in Yorkshire, and must own myself to be much obliged, and no less to the Right Hon. the Lord Henry Fairfax, her son-in-law, and my constant and faithful friend in my sufferings for Christ."

After his ejection neither his character as a scholar, nor his blameless life, were sufficient to protect him from the violence of persecution. He was several times a prisoner in York, Leeds, Chester, London, and Bristol for resolutely continuing to exercise that sacred calling, which he derived not from man, and of which he could not be divested by human oppression.*

A proof of the catholic spirit attributed to him appears in the following extract from his writings : — "To conclude, this is no point of controversy, but rather an effectual means to reconcile differences. Those that cannot now join together in prayer will, in a little while, if they be true saints, sit together praising God,

* A very interesting notice of the labours and sufferings of Thomas Hardcastle appeared in the year 1847, in a volume entitled " Broadmead Records," published under the superintendence of a Baptist Antiquarian Society. The book is valuable as a record of the sufferings which Nonconformists endured after the Restoration, and of the way in which public functionaries interfered in these matters.

6 BROADMEAD CHURCH.

rejoicing in and loving one another in a larger measure than they ever loved their most dear relations or intimate friends upon earth. The shortness of time there is to differ in, the absolute necessity and incomparable excellence and sweetness of mutual love here and full communion hereafter, I desire may sway with me to watch over my own heart, that I stand not at a distance in spirit from any saint of God upon the account either of apprehension or injury. As for the former, I do not know that I was ever under a temptation to love any one less for his true conscience, though not of my size."

Mr. Thomas Hardcastle referred to the great Dr. Owen and to Mr. Collins (formerly chaplain to General Monk), as " the most loving friends he had in London." By the strong recommendation of the former, he finally accepted the urgent call of the Church at Broadmead to become their minister, " for there," said Dr. Owen, " is your work/' * After a ministry of seven years, during which he twice suffered imprisonment, he rested from his labours at Broadmead, near Bristol, on the 29th July, 1679.t

* " A little before I received your letter I had been with Dr. Owen and Mr. Collins, who are the most loving friends I have in London. Dr. Owen used this expression to me : — ' Good Mr. Hardcastle, by that love that I bear to you, let me beg of you to go to Bristol, for there is your work.' " — Broadmead Records.

f The following account of Mr. Thomas Hardcastle is extracted from the Church-book of Broadraead Meeting, Bristol :

FAMILY CONNEXIONS. 7

Thomas, Benjamin, and John Hardcastle were the three children of the Rev. Thomas Hardcastle's only surviving son. Of these, Thomas Hardcastle continued in Yorkshire, and his tombstone, with those of his sons and grandsons, and their wives, are to be found in the burial-ground of Mill Hill Chapel, Leeds. Frederick and Jane Hardcastle, his great-grandchildren, reside at Halifax, and are in possession of the original portrait of their ancestor — the Rev. Thomas Hardcastle, the ejected minister.

The Dowager Marchioness of Conyngham, widow of the first Marquis of Conyngham, and her deceased brother, the well-known banker, Joseph Denisou, M.P.

— " He was a champion for the Lord, very courageous in his work and sufferings. His zeal provoked many before he came to Bristol, after he had thrown off conformity. He suffered about eight months' imprisonment in York Castle; and then, because he would not give bond to preach no more, as some ministers— his fellow- prisoners — did, to get free, he was carried thence out of his county eighty miles, to Chester Castle, and there he was kept fifteen months more, close prisoner ; and then, by an order from the King, he was released without bonds, and came to London, and there he was baptized. After that he was taken up for preaching, and, by the Conventicle Act, was six months prisoner in London. Then, being called by this Church to be their pastor, for the defence of the Gospel, was twice imprisoned at Bristol — two six months, still preaching as soon as ever he came forth ; and so continued till his death, having been our pastor for seven years and a-quarter. He was seven times imprisoned for Christ and a good conscience after he left off conformity." — Broadmead Records.

8 INTRODUCTION TO LONDON.

for Surrey, were the only grandchildren of John Hardcastle.

Benjamin, the other grandson of the Rev. Thomas Hardcastle, resided at Great Woodhouse, near Leeds, and had two sons, the younger of whom — Nathaniel — established himself in London, where he became an eminent Russia merchant; whilst his elder brother, John, continued to reside at Leeds, and married Miss Snowden, the granddaughter of Mr. Lee, of New Grange Hall, by whom he had two sons, who survived him — John, who settled in New Brunswick, in America, and Joseph, whose course is now to be traced.

In 1766, in the fourteenth year of his age, Joseph Hardcastle left Leeds to reside with his uncle in London, who, having no family, was desirous of adopting his nephew. In the subsequent pursuit of his studies, it appears he evinced the same energy that ever afterwards distinguished him. As a young man, his attractive manners, fine, intelligent countenance, and engaging disposition secured the affection of all who knew him. While he stedfastly shunned the dissipation of youth, he entered with zest into every innocent amusement and recreation, and was remarkable for the cheerfulness of his spirits, and a pleasant flow of playful, unoffending humour.

It is not known at what time, or by what means, he was led to the Saviour; but it is certain that, at a very early age, the Lord was pleased to make it manifest

EARLY DAYS AND STUDIES. 9

that, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, he had learned that lesson which flesh and blood cannot teach, and which the pride of human wisdom too often despises. He had been taught that the " natural heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ; " but he was also led to see the untold glory of that finished righteousness wrought out by Christ, of which all His disciples are made partakers by faith.

Near the close of his earthly life, addressing his children, he said : — " He has drawn me with the cords of mercy from my earliest days. He gave me very early impressions of religion, and enabled me to devote myself to Him in early life; and this God is my God, for ever and ever. I said to Him, when a young man, Thou shalt guide me by thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory ."

He was zealous in the pursuit of knowledge, for the acquisition of which his habits of early rising afforded great facilities. In after life his library was stored with the works of the best English authors, and his correspondence shows how fully he appreciated their productions. Of theology he was always a diligent student, and was well read in the Puritan divines, such as Charnock, Bates, Flavel, and Boston ; but it was in the writings of Howe and Owen that he especially delighted.

By principle and practice, as well as by family de-

10 CHURCH IN BURY-STREET.

scent, he was a consistent Nonconformist.* But no man was ever more distinguished by largeness of heart, absence of bigotry, and dislike of party spirit. He loved and honoured the image of his Saviour in all his

* During his residence in London, and for some years afterwards, he was a member of the Church in Bury-street, St. Maryaxe, to which his uncle, Mr. Nathaniel Hardcastle, belonged, and which was then under the pastoral care of Dr. Savage, and afterwards of Mr. Beck. This Church was, in the earlier periods of Nonconformity, one of the most distinguished in London, and was peculiarly remarkable for the eminence of its ministers. Of these, there were no less than eight of the ejected ministers, of whom the first was Dr. Caryl, of Exeter College, Oxford, Preacher to the Society of Lincoln's-inn, and the well-known commentator on Job, who, after he was ejected from St. Magnus, London Bridge, continued to be the pastor of the Church in Bury-street, till the year 1673, when he was succeeded by the celebrated Dr. Owen, previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, who had also, as his assistant, the Rev. Robert Ferguson, who was ejected from Godmersham, in Kent. In 1683 Dr. Owen was succeeded by the Rev. David Clarkson, sometime Fellow and Tutor of Clare Hall, Cambridge, who had been ejected from Mortlake, in Surrey. He was followed by the Rev. Isaac Loeff, in 1686, who had been Fellow and Tutor of Peterhouse, Cambridge. From 1687 to 1702 the Rev. Isaac Chaucer was the minister of the same church. This man of God had been silenced by Archbishop Laud for refusing to read the "Book of Sports," and was afterwards ejected, in 1662, from Woodborough, Wilts. The Rev. Edward Terry, formerly Fellow of University College, Oxford, and ejected from Great Greenford, was the last of the ejected ministers who presided over the chapel before the celebrated Dr. Isaac Watts, the first pastor who had not enjoyed a living, or been educated at either University.

CLERICAL FRIENDS. 11

servants j and throughout his life some of his most intimate and long-cherished friends were members of the Church of England. He attended the ministry of those excellent clergymen, — Mr. Romaine, Mr. Newton, Dr. Conyers, Rector of St. Paul's, Deptford; Mr. Foster, Mr. Bentley, Vicar of Camberwell; Mr. Thomas Scott, of the Lock, and others, who at that period faithfully preached the great doctrines of grace, when these were cast out and rejected by the majority of their associates.

Long before the occurrence of those great political events which seemed to rouse the Christian Church at large, as from a state of torpor, he was accustomed much to ponder the promised glory of the latter days, and it was doubtless this which induced him to cultivate the friendship of the excellent Mr. Latrobe, and to be present at the Meetings of the Moravian brethren, where he heard of the transactions of their missionaries, and of their efforts to publish the Gospel of salvation.

At this period he probably little thought of the position he was afterwards himself to occupy, but, doubtless, it was in such society, as well as in his more active engagements, and in the retirement of his closet, that God was fitting him for "the post of high importance, and for the difficult duties " to which he was called by the force of circumstances, and in which he became so much connected with that great movement

12 'MARRIAGE.

in the Church of Christ which distinguished the close of the eighteenth century.

In 1777, he entered on a new era of his life, having in that year, by his marriage with Anne, the daughter of John Corshie, Esq., of Bury St. Edmund's, formed a connexion which, to his latest hour, was a source of unclouded happiness and joy. Mrs. Hardcastle belonged to a family remarkable for their hereditary attachment to the Gospel, for which some of them in the time of persecution were confessors. Of this family was Dr. Thomas Goodwin, one of the distinguished members of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, and some time President of Magdalen College, Oxford. In the evil days of the second Charles, Mr. Cumberland, one of Mrs. Hardcastle's maternal ancestors, was accustomed, at much personal risk, to protect and entertain some of the proscribed Nonconformist ministers, as well as to afford facilities for exercising beneath his roof their sacred calling as preachers of the Word.* Her great-grandfather, Thomas Corsbie, of Ash well Thorpe, in Norfolk, left Scotland, his native country, during the heat of the

* In a letter, dated West Stow Hall, February 21, 1839, the late Mrs. Corsbie wrote, — " I know the room well where Mr. Cumberland permitted the good people to meet as if dining together, with the minister seated near a closet that had a trap door, to secure him should the spies enter. Some of the Cumberlands were imprisoned in Ipswich gaol for their love to the truth."

MRS. HARDCASTLE'S *FAMILY. 13

cruel persecutions of the Covenanters ; he was a man of deep piety and energy of character, and the estimation in which he was held appears from the sermon preached on the occasion of his funeral from the text, 2 Sam. iii. 38. Her grandmother was burnt to death. Mr. Whitfield announced from the pulpit that a " sister had ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire." The last act of her life was to secure, by a codicil to her will, an annuity to the servant whose neglect had caused her death, knowing that what had happened must prevent her obtaining any place of trust again.

The mother of Mrs. Hardcastle was the daughter of Samuel Cumberland and Anne English, his wife. Shewas an intimate friend of Mr. Whitfield, and co-operated with him and the Countess of Huntingdon for the furtherance of the Gospel, and the revival of religion amongst the old Nonconformists, who had greatly fallen from the zeal and love of their forefathers. Mrs. Corsbie built, or largely contributed to the erection of chapels in Norfolk and Suffolk, and persevered in promoting the preaching of the truth in places where the ignorant inhabitants manifested their opposition by assailing their benefactors with insult, in some instances amounting to positive violence.

A good wife is a gift from the Lord, and Mr. Hardcastle was in this respect pre-eminently favoured. She was, indeed, as her husband declared in his last illness, " a help meet for him in all his pilgrimage." Her

14 " NOT SLOTHFUL IN BUSINESS."

cheering sympathies sustained him in every toil ; while the placid sweetness of her temper, contributed to maintain that joyous tone of peaceful serenity which always distinguished their domestic circle. As a mother, those might best speak her surpassing excellences, who were the daily and happy witnesses of her bright exhibition of the maternal character, with all its selfdenying, tender, and ever-watchful solicitude. "Her children rose up, and called her blessed ; her husband, also, and he praised her."

It is unnecessary minutely to follow Mr. Hardcastle through his commercial history. Let it suffice to state, that from the beginning to the close of his lengthened career, amidst all his varied and extensive engagements, he maintained a character for spotless integrity and unsullied honour. To him, from the veiy outset, belonged the reputation of the English merchant of the old school ; and years only served to augment that weight of character which belonged to him on the Exchange, as well as in the Missionary and other religious Societies. He was remarkable for a happy combination of prudence and decision. No important proceeding in business was adopted until it had been maturely pondered. But when his mind was once made up, he acted with promptitude and energy, and then awaited the event with unruffled tranquillity. It appears from the tenour of his private correspondence with his family, how cautiously he shunned the

HOME LIFE. 15

entanglements of dangerous speculation, how careful he was lest he should be found "hastening to be rich/' and how truly the words of the wisest of men applied to his case — " A good man ordereth his affairs with discretion." Although the larger portion of his fortune was probably acquired by his own exertions, no man was ever less indebted to those sudden turns of success the world calls chance. It was his study, in the fear of God, so to direct his transactions that his mind should not be overcharged with care and anxiety, that he might not, on the one hand, be interrupted in the enjoyment of his domestic tranquillity, or, on the other, prevented from giving his undivided energies to those great objects of Christian benevolence which he delighted to advance.

The following sketch, drawn by Mr. Townsend, was peculiarly descriptive : — From the busy scenes of the day "he returned with renewed delight to enjoy and bless his family. It is only at home we see our friends in the undress of human life, and are enabled to form a full and correct estimate of their principles, character, and temper. To the honour of religion, Mr. Hardcastle bore the nearest and most scrupulous inspection with advantage. I have met him at the gate, or on the steps of his hospitable mansion, on his return from the great metropolis, and have noticed his countenance beaming with the placid and cheerful smile of disinterested friendship, free from that corroding care, and those agitated feelings, with which too many return from business." He is also described as having been " used to stand on 'Change, the centre of the most cheerful group there, very refined in his mirth, but very witty."

A few extracts from his own letters, written during the early years of his married life, will supply the best description of his character. The first, written after his removal to Peckham, then only a village on the slope of the Surrey hills, and surrounded by open, picturesque country, is addressed to Mr. William Buck, brother of the late eminent Recorder of Leeds, who had married Mrs. Hardcastle's elder'sister, and was a man of fervent piety, and of a spirit congenial with Mr. Hardcastle ; they enjoyed the delightful communion of an unbroken friendship for the long period of forty years, and entered on their eternal rest within three months of each other.

TO WILLIAM BUCK, ESQ.

ft MY DEAR BROTHER, — You will have heard of our removal from town. We have both found the beneficial influence of purer air than the metropolis affords, and are so much in love with trees and fields, with rising grounds, and withdrawing valleys, that it will require a strong motive to induce us to become residents there again Our happiest moments

are not those passed in a crowd ; I receive much greater pleasure in the company of one friend than from the varied intercourse of the day. United in affection, possessing one interest, and pursuing the same objects, we draw our satisfaction from each other, and not coveting the great, much less the gay things of life, we have no room for envy and but little for ambition. Indeed I think that I abound in the blessings of ' the nether spring/ and that all around me is an appeal to my gratitude from the great fountain of every enjoyment ! How cold the heart that such accumulated goodness cannot melt ! How kind and gracious the Being who attracts by his mercies, rather than forces by his terrors ! .... Our brother's newly adopted plan at first surprised us, but now I see no insurmountable objection. Every situation admits of various temptations. A military life must indeed be surrounded with peculiar dangers, and so require greater resolution than may be necessaiy in other occupations, but the persuasion of this frequently furnishes the mind with a corresponding caution ; besides, it is not necessarily connected with sin, and being also of acknowledged service in society, has had the deliberate sanction of the wise and good. It is the province of man in every useful or innocent engagement to honour Him for whom, as well as by whom, the universe was made, and who appears to every considerate mind, to be the End as well as the Author of all things

" With kind love to all friends, I remain, my dear brother,

" Very affectionately yours,

"JOSEPH HARDCASTLE."

While such were Mr. Hardcastle's feelings with regard to the profession of arms, his own simple tastes and inclinations were best gratified by retirement, and the enjoyment and contemplation of the works of God in Creation, his character evincing even in youth that beautiful union of holiness and happiness which made his life so blessed. So he writes to his wife during one of those separations which the residence of her parents in Suffolk rendered occasionally needful : —

"I rise about six in the morning, and ride among the silent valleys, that I may entertain my mind with the charms of nature, and send forth my best wishes to the Fountain of all benevolence for the increase of thy happiness, my love, my prize, and the best treasure I shall ever have below.

" May the Fountain of all blessings be opened and find its way in ten thousand happy springs into thy heart. "Adieu, "J. H."

The death of their firstborn infant son was one of the few trials which clouded the bright morning of

DEATH OF A FIRSTBORN SON. 19

their domestic joy. He thus communicated the event to his father-in-law : —

TO JOHN CORSBIE, ESQ.

" London, September 6, 1779.

"DEAR SIR, — You will sympathize with us when you hear that our dear bahe has bid adieu to this world, and has withdrawn to the invisible regions. It was yesterday that he closed his eyes in death, after a very painful struggle for two or three days before. I think there is no doubt, dictated by reason or Scripture, of the happiness of his present state, and therefore am reconciled to this painful expression of the Divine will. I consider my child, who a few days ago was an object of condescension, to be now looked up to as an exalted happy spirit, more intelligent, pure, and perfect than the most elevated or venerable character to be found among mortal men ; and though no infant could well deserve or possess a greater parental affection than ours did, yet, when I consider the sorrows and snares of life, the dangers and difficulties he would have to combat, I would not recall my babe into this uncertain and sinful life, were it in my power to do it. I only hope the event will be sanctified, to detach my affections from life, abate the eagerness of my pursuit of this world, and strengthen my acquaintance with, and interest in, the world of spirits. I doubt not he spent his Sabbath with God, and has had 'all tears wiped c 2

20 GORDON RIOTS.

away from his eyes/ I know you will be pleased to hear that my dear Nancy is supported in that calm and composed acquiescence to this trying dispensation, which proves her faith and hope to be divine."

The following letters refer to Lord George Gordon's riots : —

TO MRS. HARDCASTLE.

" Peckham, Wednesday Evening, June 6, 1780. " Since last Friday, the city has been in the greatest tumult that it has perhaps almost ever experienced, on account of the Two Acts in favour of the Papists, which are petitioned to be repealed. Almost every mass-house and place of worship belonging to the Papists is pulled down, also many private houses inhabited by people of that persuasion. Sir George Savile, who brought in the Bill which is so obnoxious, has had his house demolished, which I am sorry for, because of the goodness of his character. Lord Mansfield's house and furniture, library, and private papers, are all destroyed. The magistracy and military have been called out, who secured a few of the rioters, and confined them in Newgate : the populace, in revenge, have burnt entirely the inside of that new and extensive building, and released all the prisoners in Clerkenwell and other places of confinement. Thus we see the beginning of a tumult ; but where the end may be, we cannot tell : —

GORDON RIOTS. 21

there must be some unknown director to this mob, of considerable importance, but no one can tell whom. They seem to pursue one general plan of putting down Popery ; and hitherto both the persons and habitations of Protestants have been safe : indeed, we have never once heard them in our neighbourhood.

" I am in great hopes a few days will settle the matter, and that the mob will disperse. The Commons, last night, instead of repealing the Act, deferred the consideration of it till to-morrow night; and if they then repeal it, I think the mob will disperse, if not, I am afraid of the consequences.

" I intend to write again by Friday's post, directed to Bury, as I am persuaded you will like to hear how matters go on. In the mean time, I commend thee, my dear, to the blessing and protection of God, wishing thy mind may be filled with impressions of his presence and favour, and thy heart enjoy much of

the comfort of the Gospel

" Yours entirely, "J. II."

TO WM. BUCK, ESQ.

" . . . . The papers will have informed you of everything that has happened till last night, and what then succeeded was still worse than what had been done before. The destroying and burning of the prisons has released such a banditti as perhaps were

22 GORDON RIOTS.

never before let loose, who commit all manner of devastation. From the top of my house, I last night saw the city on fire in several places, particularly the King's Bench, the Fleet, Bridewell, the Toll-house at Blackfriars Bridge, and several private houses, being in the whole about a dozen. To oppose this lawless multitude, the magistrates, it is generally thought, have acted in a very pusillanimous manner, so that now the military have the entire power, and we are under martial law; the commanding officer has therefore a right to act in any manner that appears necessary, and the military have several times fired upon the mob, and I suppose may have killed near forty. Our neighbourhood has been perfectly quiet, for which I think 1 ought to be very thankful ; and I do not apprehend there is much danger, as we have no Papist or other obnoxious inhabitants in the neighbourhood. However, as I know that God rides in the storm, and directs the whirlwind, I desire to consider myself as under His protection, and that nothing can happen but for the best. The military are about in the public streets, and will be all night ; many more regiments are daily coming in, and I suppose the inhabitants of most wards will patrol the streets to-night also. . . "

TO MRS. HARDCASTLE.

"June 12, 1780.

" . . . . As to the tumult, we have had no

GORDON RIOTS. 23

return of it since I wrote, and I do not doubt but that it is effectually quelled here. There are rumours of a riot at Bury, but as I have heard nothing from my friends, I consider it as one of those reports of which thousands are produced daily. We have, however, my love, reason to offer many songs of praise to God, for securing us in His pavilion during the disturbance, and for speaking silence and peace to the tumultuous passions of mankind so soon as He did. Almost every face was gathering paleness, every mind was impressed with terror, but now we are as peaceable and quiet as ever, and may again enjoy ourselves under our own vine. May God always preserve you safe as in the hollow of His hand, and shine upon your spirit with a sense of His peculiar favour/' ....