Record

MS666 - Church books of Retford Congregational Church, Retford, Nottinghamshire, 1842-1908

Document Reference	MS 666
Title	Church books of Retford Congregational Church, Retford, Nottinghamshire, 1842-1908
Date	1842-1908
Extent	3 volumes and 1 file
Abstract	The church books include minutes of church meetings, accounts, and records of burials and baptisms.
Level	Fonds
Access Conditions	Accessible to all readers.
Admin History	In 1808, the Independent dissenters of Retford bought a chapel in Union Street that had been erected by the Countess of Huntingdon's sect in 1798. The Independents opened a schoolroom on the site in 1809. A new chapel was opened on Carolgate on 18 April 1851 following the sale of the Union Street Chapel to the Wesleyan Reformers. The chapel was in a Romanesque style and was built in brick and stone. The new chapel could seat 350 and featured a schoolroom and library. In 1877, an infants' schoolroom was added and the chapel and organ were enlarged. The Independent congregation at Retford became known as Congregationalists in the nineteenth century and the church was part of the Congregational Union of England and Wales by 1868. The last marriage register known to have been kept by the church dates from 1963. Retford Congregational Church is mentioned in a 1970 trade directory for the town but no subsequent references have been found. The church did not join the United Reformed Church in 1972, and may have already closed by then.
Custodial History	The books were acquired by the University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in November 1996.
Description	The collection comprises three church books containing minutes of church meetings, rolls of church members, a few items of correspondence and accounts, and some newspaper cuttings and advertising bills. The volumes cover the period 1842-1859 and 1868-1908. Records of baptisms, marriages and burials involving church members are included in the volumes covering the period 1868-1908.
MgtGroup	Religious records
MgtSubGroup	Congregational
Arrangement	The church books are in chronological order. Some items were found loose in the volumes and the numbering reflects which volume they are from.
Language	English
Term	Congregationalism - England - Nottinghamshire - History
Term	Dissenters, religious - England - Nottinghamshire - History
FindingAids	Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham. In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus: Typescript catalogue, 3 pp Online: Available on the Manuscripts Online Catalogue, accessible from the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections.
Copyright	Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).
ReprodnNote	Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.
Condition	Good
Related Material	Nottinghamshire Archives holds further marriage registers, 1938-1961 and 1963 (NC/IR 2)