About Linton Free Church

History

The first mention in Linton of non-conformists (dissenters who felt that the Reformation had not gone far enough within the Church of England) was that of Quakers meeting in 1669 in a meeting house in Market Lane. The original meeting house where our church now stands was built some 19 years later in 1698. The Revd Thomas Hopkins, who oversaw the construction of the existing church building in 1818, said this about the original building:

"In appearance it was rather rough, the shape being like a barn divided into three bays, to be converted into a barn  again if persecution revived. The doors opened outside, the windows were all provided with shutters to prevent their being broken into by persecuting men, the shutters being drawn up with pulleys. As you enter, opposite the doors, stands the pulpit with a large cumbrous sounding board over it"

In Cambridge University Library there is an account of "The History of Linton Congregational Church" by Revd Hopkins and others in which this account is given:

"In front of the pulpit is a long table/pew across the building, capable of holding thirty persons or more, with a large brass chandelier hanging above it. The is a square pew for the squire, lined with green baize and surrounded with curtains, with a devotional table in the centre; other large square pews lined with green baize capable of seating fourteen or fifteen persons, other pews in variety, some long, some square, some three-cornered; it appeared that each one built his pew as he pleased. On the other side of the pulpit, galleries were erected in 1704 and in front of the pulpit was a circular gallery, where singers, like the sons of Asaph, had their place. On the walls were many monumental tablets in memory to worthy men; the Malins, Jacksons, Fords and Taylors, whose voices once filled this house with praise."

In 1972 the United Reformed Church was created, linking the Presbyterian Church of England with the Congregational Church in England and Wales; (of which, our church was a member). Later, in 1981, the Association of Churches of Christ joined followed by the Congregational Union of Scotland in 2000. Its worth noting that the URC is the only protestant denomination to be formed by the uniting together of other protestant denominations rather than by their splitting apart!

The URC is composed of about 1800 local congregations; 150,000 adults and 100,000 children and young people; with 1,000 serving ministers, women and men. Over 400 local churches are united with other denominations, e.g. Methodist, Baptist, Anglican etc. More information can be found about the beliefs of the URC here
 
A Uniting Church

Linton Free Church has a long history of working together with its Christian brothers and sisters in other Linton Churches. In addition to holding united services, each year there is a united 'march of witness' on Good Friday morning. Ecumenical Christmas and Easter cards are also distributed to each family in Linton advertising the various services available from each church over these Christian holidays.