The British and Foreign Unitarian Association was the major Unitarian body in Britain from 1825. The BFUA was founded as an amalgamation of three older societies: the Unitarian Book Society for literature (1791), The Unitarian Fund for mission work (1806), and the Unitarian Association for civil rights (1818 or 1819). Its offices were shared with the Sunday School Association at Essex Street, on the site of England's first Unitarian church. In 1928 the BFUA became part of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, still the

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

for British Unitarianism, which has its headquarters,

Essex Hall Essex Street Chapel, also known as Essex Church, is a Unitarianism, Unitarian place of worship in London. It was the first church in England set up with nontrinitarian, this doctrine, and was established when English Dissenters, Dissenters still f ...

, in the same place in

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

Dates

The British and Foreign Unitarian Association was founded on 26 May 1825, at a meeting chaired by Thomas Gibson, father of Thomas Field Gibson. This was the same day as the American Unitarian Association was formed. (The AUA is one of two bodies that merged in 1961 to form the

Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, both P ...

.) ''The History of Essex Hall'', written in 1959 by Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary (i.e. chief executive) of the General Assembly for its first twenty years, claims this was entirely coincidental.

Publishing

Under the impetus of Theophilus Lindsey, the first minister of the Essex Street Chapel, and his colleague

John Disney John Disney may refer to: * John Disney (antiquarian) (1779–1857), English barrister * John Disney (ornithologist) (1919–2014), Australian ornithologist * John Disney (priest) (1677–1730), English clergyman * John Disney (Unitarian) John ...

, in 1791 the "first organized denominational Unitarian society" was formed, with the cumbersome name of The Unitarian Society for promoting Christian Knowledge and the Practice of Virtue by the Distribution of Books. The earliest notable publication was Thomas Belsham's ''The New Testament in an Improved Version Upon the Basis of Archbishop Newcome's New Translation'' (1808), which was continued by the British and Foreign Unitarian Association. At the end of 1826 the Association acquired the ''

Monthly Repository The ''Monthly Repository'' was a British monthly Unitarian periodical which ran between 1806 and 1838. In terms of editorial policy on theology, the ''Repository'' was largely concerned with rational dissent. Considered as a political journal, it ...

'' magazine, formerly edited by

Robert Aspland Robert Aspland (13 January 1782 – 30 December 1845) was an English Unitarian minister, editor and activist. To be distinguished from his son Robert Brook Aspland (1805-1869). Life Aspland was the son of Robert Aspland and his second wife, Ha ...

. The Association contracted the French historian

Gaston Bonet-Maury Amy Gaston Charles Auguste Bonet-Maury (2 January 1842, Paris – 20 June 1919, Paris) was a French Protestant historian. He studied at the University of Strasbourg, graduating 1867, then was a Protestant pastor at Dordrecht, 1869–1872; followe ...

to write a history of French radical Protestantism. In March 1876 Robert Spears resigned from the Association in objection to proposals to publish the works of

Theodore Parker Theodore Parker (August 24, 1810 – May 10, 1860) was an American transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and abolitionist, his words and popular quotations would later inspire speeches by Abraham Lincol ...

. Spears started the ''Christian Life'' as a rival magazine to the London ''Inquirer'', becoming the voice of conservative late Biblical Unitarianism with

Samuel Sharpe Samuel Sharpe, or Sharp (1801 – 23 May 1832), also known as Sam Sharpe, was an enslaved Jamaican who was the leader of the widespread 1831–32 Baptist War slave rebellion (also known as the Christmas Rebellion) in Jamaica. He was proclaim ...

, till the two publications were merged in July 1929, and ran for a short time as ''The Inquirer and Christian Life''. Another magazine, the Unitarian Herald, ran from 1861 to 1889.

Mission work

The Unitarian Fund "for the Promotion of Unitarianism by means of Popular Preaching" was founded in 1806, largely by laypeople. It gave money to congregations that needed it and employed Richard Wright as an itinerant missionary. Foreign Secretaries of the Association included Sir

John Bowring Sir John Bowring , or Phraya Siamanukulkij Siammitrmahayot, , , group=note (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, traveller, writer, literary translator, polyglot and the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. He was a ...

, till 1832, then

Edward Tagart Edward Tagart (8 October 1804 – 12 October 1858) was an English Unitarian divine. Biography Tagart was born at Bristol and educated there and at Bath Grammar School (King Edward's School, Bath). In 1820 he entered the dissenting theological ...

Civil rights

It took about 150 years from the Great Ejection of 1662 to the passage of the

Doctrine of the Trinity Act 1813 The Act 53 Geo 3 c 160, sometimes called the Doctrine of the Trinity Act 1813, the Trinitarian Act 1812, the Unitarian Relief Act, the Trinity Act, the Unitarian Toleration Bill, or Mr William Smith's Bill (after Whig politician William Smith), ...

, which granted toleration for Unitarian worship; the so-called

Act of Toleration 1689 The Toleration Act 1688 (1 Will & Mary c 18), also referred to as the Act of Toleration, was an Act of the Parliament of England. Passed in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, it received royal assent on 24 May 1689. The Act allowed for f ...

had only worked to the favour of those Protestant dissenters who accepted the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. This victory for Unitarians—largely pushed forward in Parliament by William Smith, and thus known sometimes under his name, or as the ''Unitarian Relief Act (Trinity Act)'' or ''The Unitarian Toleration Bill''—did not grant them full

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

while the oppressive Corporation Act and Test Act remained. The Association for the Protection of the Civil Rights of Unitarians was established in 1819.

People associated with it

Presidents and Chairmen of Annual Meeting

* 1829 Thomas Gibson, father of Thomas Field Gibson (also 1844 and 1845) *

John Ashton Yates John Ashton Yates (21 June 1781 – 1 November 1863) was a British Whig politician and railroad investor. Early life He was a son of Elizabeth (née Ashton) Bostock Yates and John Yates, a prominent Unitarian minister who served at Kaye Stre ...

, also 1856 * 1850 Thomas Field Gibson * 1869–70

* 1898-99 Herford Brook (1830–1903) * 1918

Richard Durning Holt Sir Richard Durning Holt, Baronet, JP (13 November 1868 – 22 March 1941) was a British Liberal Party politician and businessman with interests in shipping. Background and education Holt was born on 13 November 1868 at Edge Lane, in West Derb ...

* 1921

Charles Sydney Jones Sir Charles Sydney Jones (7 February 1872 – 16 February 1947) was an English shipowner and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. Family and education Jones was the son of Charles William Jones, a shipowner The Times, 7 December 1923 p ...

Secretaries

* 1834 James Yates (1789–1871) * 1835-1842

* 1842-1858

(1804–1858) * 1859-1868

Robert Brook Aspland Robert Brook Aspland (19 January 1805 – 21 June 1869) was an English Unitarian minister and editor. To be distinguished from his father Robert Aspland (1782-1845). Life The son of Robert Aspland, he was born at Newport, Isle of Wight, 19 Januar ...

, son of

* 1869-1876 Robert Spears * 1892-1921

William Copeland Bowie William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

(1855–1936)

Notable members

Samuel Bache Samuel Bache (24 December 1804 – 7 January 1876) was an English Unitarian minister. Life He was born at Bridgnorth, Shropshire, where his father, Joshua Tilt Bache (d. 28 October 1837, aged 63), was a grocer. His mother was Margaret Silves ...

References

Bibliography

External links

UK Parliamentary Papers, The Unitarian Association Marriage Law Petitioning Papers