Crown Street Chapel, Soho. COMPLETED

[Steve C]

I recently accquired the Will of Reverend Thomas Sharp, A M, Minister of Crown Street Chapel Soho of Saint Luke Chelsea , Middlesex.

He died 24th September 1838 aged 46 at 137 Robert Street in the registration district of Kensington and is listed as Difsenting Minister.

If he was actually a practising minister at the time of his death would he have been buried at the chapel?

Does anyone know if the chapel still exists?

Would someone have any ideas where I could access any records?

Many thanks in advance for all contributions.

[jorose]

Presumably "dissenting minister" with an old-style 's'.

http://books.google.co.uk
 - The baptist Magazine, 1830, lists him as Rev. Thomas Sharp, A.M., Woolwich.
The Spiritual magazine; or, Saint's treasury, in 1833, says that the Rev. Thomas Sharp, A.M., late of Union Chapel, Woolwich, has succeeded the late Rev. John Rees, in the office of pastor, over the Church of Christ, at Crown Street Chapel, Soho.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41108
 - has the history of this building. Originally the Greek Church, it was also occupied by French Protestants, and was leased to a group of Calvinists between about 1822 and 1849.  It underwent a series of changes after that and was demolished in 1934 - but some pieces were removed and installed in other churches.

As a non-conformist, Thomas may have been buried at Bunhill Fields.  You should also look at Dr Williams's Library records.  The National Archives holds birth/baptism records for Crown Street, Soho dated from 1819-1837 (RG 4/4301).

Marriages before 1837 for this family may have been in the local Church of England parish, as non-conformist marriages were not recognised by the state until civil registration started (exceptions: Jewish and Quaker marriages).

[Steve C]

Thanks very much jorose the information in your reply is brilliant

I`ve tried putting Difsenting into Wikipedia but is does not recognise the text I tried Google but there is no definate meaning but there are references to Protestant and Presbyterian.......................I`m slightly more confused now

There are leads that I now need to follow up but unfortunately I don`t know where Thomas married ( although I now know that his wife was Eleanor according to the will ) or where he was born , I know he died in 1838 aged 46 so I can do the reverse calculation and safely assume he was born circa 1792 but where???

Thanks again for your help and interest, its much appreciated.

Steve

[jorose]

Dissenters/non-conformists were the way that those who were not members of the Church of England were referred to.  This covers a wide range of different groups - in Cornwall, I have a lot of non-conformist relatives who were Wesleyan Methodist, very popular in the area. There were a lot of Independent chapels not part of any particular group. The history of the church says that those who occupied the church during the time of Thomas Sharp were Calvinists:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism

On IGI, there's a christening at Crown Street Soho for Eliza Akehurst Sharp, daughter of Thomas Sharp and Eleanor Burt, and a variety of earlier baptisms for them.

Timeline seems to be:
1818: first son on IGI, John Burt Sharp, christened at Spa Fields Lady Huntingdons
(http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/LONDON/2000-08/0967392711 - info on Lady Huntingdon)
1820: first child to be christened at  Union Chapel in Woolwich
1832: last child to be christened at Union Chapel in Woolwich
1833: moved to Crown Street Chapel
1834: Eliza christened at Crown Street.

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,311319.0.html - someone here has already found the marriage license from 1816. They married in Whitechapel - you should try and find the original marriage and see who the witnesses are. There's also a suggestion that he came from or around Great Yarmouth.

It's also a good idea to look at other possible family members attending the same church. Many of the independent chapels had quite small congregations. 
For example, also baptised at Spa Fields Lady Huntingdons were:
Children of Francis Sharp and Jane  (1788 and 1791)
Children of James Sharp and Elizabeth (early 1800s)
one child to a John Sharp and Charlotte (1814)
Also christened at Union Chapel in Woolwich - no other Sharps, but some children to David Burt and Am(e)y

David Burt and Amy (nee Ward?) may have married in Ipswich in 1819 - the timing is about right.

Another hint:
Evangelical Magazine and Missionary Chronicle lists an obituary in which it mentions someone who went (perhaps around 1813-ish) to Union Chapel, Woolwich, to hear the 'late Rev Thomas Sharp, MA, from Cheshunt College' preach.

Cheshunt College probably refers to Cheshunt College in Hertfordshire, founded by Countess of Huntingdon. It was a non-conformist theological college. You should check with Hertfordshire archives to see what sort of records might have been kept about students.

Google Books has a book written by Thomas, also! He's listed as 'T. Sharp'.
The Heavenly Sisters; Or, Biographical Sketches of the Lives of Thirty Eminently Pious Females: Partly Extracted from the Works of Gibbons, Germont, and Others, and Partly Original : Designed for the Use of Females in General, and Particularly Recommended for the Use of Ladies' Schools

[Steve C]

Wow jorose    my head is spinning at the moment

I don`t know where you got all that information from but I`m very appreciative, looks like I`m going to be very busy over the weekend trying to research all the helpful details you`ve forwarded in your two replies

Thankyou so much for your keen interest and help. Probably won`t be for a while but I will let you know how I get on and what I`ve found.

Kind regards Steve

[Ossie.London]

Hi there. I've just read all this many years later with great interest. I'm trying to research an ancestor of mine who is mentioned above. John Burt Sharp, son of Rev. Thomas Sharp. I have some of the letters he received and his collection of wax seals. I wonder if you found anything further out about Thomas Sharp and Eleanor Burt? They are as far back as my family tree goes in that direction but family legend has it they were descended from Granville Sharp the abolitionist but I've not managed to make the connection. Anyway thank you both for having dug the above up. It connects a few things for me, especially the Huntingdon connection. I realise this post is now very old but always worth asking.