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The Blackburn Standard
Wednesday, June 06, 1838
Burnley
we announced about ten months ago, that a house had been hired at a place called Hack Gate, in the chapelry of Burnley, for the purpose of divine worship according to the ritual of the Church of England; and we subsequently stated that a subscription had been commenced, and other measures adopted to forward the erection of a church, "in this remote and incivilized tract," as it is termed by the learned Historian of Whalley. We are now happy to add that the fund is rapidly augmenting, and that, ere long, the "hired house" will be superseded, not, perhaps by so splendid and magnificent a temple as that which succeeded St Paul's, in the capital of Christendom, but by a neat and commodious Church, in which the hardy inhabitants, who have too long been suffered to wander on the mountains, as sheep without a shepherd, may worship the GOD of their fathers in "a more excellent way," as we think than even those who have attended some place of worship in that neighbourhood, have hitherto done. In the meanwhile divine service, with a few exceptions, has been regularly performed every Sunday, in the house alluded to; and on Sunday afternoon, a sermon was preached by the REV WiLLIAM MERCER, B.A., Curate of Burnley, which was followed by a collection towards defraying the incidental expenses. The weather being on the whole not unfavourable - the preacher very popular - and the object praiseworthy and of good report - great numbers of persons went from Burnley and Colne, (the village of Hack Gate being nearly equi-distant from both towns), and the house was crowded to overflow. The sermon was very appropriate; and when our readers are informed that Hack Gate is one of the highest villages in the counties of Lancaster and York, they will deem the text, even literally speaking, equally apposite. It was from Isaiah, xx. verse, 6, "In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined." That the preacher laboured not in vain, may be inferred from the fact that the very handsome sum of £14.10s. was realized at the close of the service, notwithstanding the inhabitants are in very indigent circumstances, being mostly hand-loom weavers, and those who came from the neighbouring towns had contributed liberally towards the proposed church. We think, we ought to add, for the encouragement of those individuals at a distance, who have the means and the will to promote the erection of the new Church, that its completion is ardently desired by the poor villagers, who have subscribed to the best of their ability, and that "the house" has hitherto, been exceedingly well attended - proofs of their anxiety to enjoy the privileges of a regular ministry, and the ordinances of our truly Apostolical Church. Before any endeavours were made by the National Church to give the people the opportunity of public worship, various sectarians had tried, but without success; and for aught that could be done for these poor people by any dissenting denomination, they might have perished for lack of that knowledge which leadeth unto eternal life.
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Mel
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It struck me as being quite a bare church.
