The Non-Conformist Histories of Weedon & Flore are deeply intertwined.

Weedon and Flore congregations met in local barns and similar buildings. By 1797 they paid for and built the current Chapel in Weedon. Flore Non-Conformists would cross Watling Street to attend services, by this time they were recognised as a Congregational Church, and no longer Presbyterian By 1812 the need for a separate Chapel building resulted in what is now the Flore URC School room. Only a few decades later, in the early Victorian period the current Chapel was built, to accommodate the rapidly increasing congregation. There has always been a close connection between the 2 villages and Chapels, and they have always shared one Minister.

In 1972, The Congregational Church and the Presbyterian Church of England joined together to become the United
Reformed Church.

Local Church History

After the defeat of Charles I in the English Civil War, The Church of England was largely stripped of its power. Presbyterian (largely Puritan) Ministers were commonly installed in parish churches. This was the case at both Weedon
and Flore.

In 1660, Charles II was invited back to reign in England. He came having promised to treat Puritan Ministers “tenderly”. This did not last, and in 1662 a new edition of the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer was produced. While much of it met with Presbyterian approval, it had 39 Articles of Religion. These included the affirmation that The King was Head of the Church. Coming so soon after the Civil war, where this was one of the issues for many on the Parliamentarian side, this did not go down well.

In the autumn of 1662, on St Bartholemew’s Day, all ministers, teachers and lecturers were required to sign an act of Conformity, which attested to their support and use of the prayer book.

Nearly a 3rd of Ministers would not sign, and were ejected from their livings, the day before they would traditionally receive their annual stipends. It became an illegal act for these men to preach or minister. The phrase “Non-Conformist” comes from this. In Weedon & Flore both Ministers were ejected. Rev Henry Martyn from Weedon being the most well-known by us today.

“Dissenting” congregations developed as a result of this, made up of folk who yearned for bible based teaching and moral lifestyles.

Initially congregations met in secret, in local woods, but by the time of James II they were allowed to build their own Chapels.

During the 18th Century, largely due to congregations being unconnected to wider oversight they described themselves as “Congregational”, where they looked after themselves and trained Ministers through “Dissenting Academies”, which offered a much broader & higher level of education than the traditional Universities. (Dissenters were barred from entering Universities at that time). Locally, the Academy of Dr Philip Doddridge at Castle Hill in Northampton (which later moved its premises to what is now Daventry URC). The Hebrew inscriptions on memorials inside Weedon Chapel are testament to this.

Weedon and Flore congregations met in local barns and similar buildings. By 1797 they paid for and built the current Chapel in Weedon. Flore Non-Conformists would cross Watling Street to attend services, by this time they were recognised as a Congregational Church, and no longer Presbyterian

By 1812 the need for a separate Chapel building resulted in what is now the Flore URC School room. Only a few decades later, in the early Victorian period the current Chapel was built, to accommodate the rapidly increasing congregation.

There has always been a close connection between the 2 villages and Chapels, and they have always shared one Minister.

In 1972, The Congregational Church and the Presbyterian Church of England joined together to become the United Reformed Church.

In the years following union, The Welsh and Scots Congregational Churches joined, and the Churches of Christ, making us a truly ecumenical group

Our relationship with The church of England has vastly improved over the years, and nowadays we operate as a Christian Partnership, and share ministry and services, having 2 shared services each month, one in the Chapel and one in the Parish Church of All Saints, Flore