The Reverend George Maddeys

These articles are often inspired by donations of new material (letters, books, photographs etc.) to Forncett History Group and this story is one such example. We were recently gifted the Baptist Church Book from the Forncett End Tabernacle  which contains beautiful hand-written reports of the activities of this small chapel from 1860 to 1906. The book was previously owned by Dorothy Burroughes (née Pymer) and was given to us by her granddaughter. The story of the non-conformists in Norfolk's rural communities tends to be somewhat overlooked, so this book is an important record.

After her father, Ernest Pymer, was killed fighting in WWI, Dorothy Pymer and her mother lived at Ashdell House in Tabernacle Lane with Dorothy's grandfather, Chellis Humphreys. The family worshipped at the Tabernacle and Dorothy played the organ there.

In the mid-1700s the early Methodists were subjected to considerable persecution and, although supported initially by John Wesley, the chapel in Tabernacle Lane struggled. In 1791 the Methodist congregation was joined by the Baptists, and finally, in 1814, the chapel and its associated cottages were bought by the Baptists, who later built a School House alongside the chapel. A postcard, that was also part of the recent gift, shows the chapel, schoolhouse and cottages.

Most of the entries in the Baptist Church Book were written by George Maddeys who was the pastor at the Tabernacle from 1855 until his retirement (aged 80) in 1876. Revd. Maddeys was born near Yarmouth in 1796 and for the early part of his life he was a shoemaker. However, by 1841 he had become a Baptist minister working in Northampton and he came to Forncett after the previous minister, Joseph King, died.

George Maddeys made a significant impact on Forncett and the wider community. There were three cottages (see photo above) owned by the Baptists: George and his wife, Elizabeth, lived in the one nearest the lane. Revd. Maddeys writes that in 1867 "after suffering much annoyance from the Trustees" he called a church meeting and proposed that he took over all three cottages and the associated mortgage. This was agreed, whereupon Revd. Maddeys sold the other two cottages to his neighbour, John Dunn, and wrote a new Trust Deed leaving his cottage to the church after his departure. 

George Maddeys appears to have been a popular minister as evidenced by a report in the Norfolk News in June 1860 when 200 people sat down for tea at the Tabernacle. 

Although he was formally the Baptist minister for Forncett, Revd. Maddeys appears to have identified considerable potential for non-conformist worship in other local villages. Another report in the Norfolk News reported that in 1858 he fitted up "amidst much persecution" a barn in Moulton to be used for religious worship. Very soon the crowds assembling were so great as to render the accommodation for Sunday services entirely inadequate. The scale of this enthusiastic support was such that when a "tea meeting" was held in Moulton on 14th June 1860 "upwards of 700 sat down to tea in a spacious tent procured from Norwich" and in the evening, serious attention was given to an earnest address by Revd. Maddeys.

Norfolk News - 16th June 1860

George Maddeys' final action, on the 20th anniversary of his arrival in Forncett, was to propose to his parishioners that the Chapel should undergo major renovation by adding a brick skin to the clay lump structure. This was funded by personal contributions, Revd. Maddeys starting the fund with a sum of £5. In the end a total of £54 5s 7¾d was raised and the work cost £54 6s 1½d. The following year, in March 1876, George Maddeys, who was then in his 81st year, retired having given twenty years' service to his congregation. 

With particular thanks to Alison Pentland for donating the material that inspired this article.