By August 1662, under the Act of Uniformity, two Nottingham ministers, John Whitlock and William Reynolds, had been deprived of their living at St Mary's Church, Nottingham. A third minister, John Barret, similarly lost his living at St Peter's. All three men left town to comply with the Five Mile Act 1665. However, they continued to preach in the area, including houses in Nottingham's Bridlesmith Gate and Middle Pavement. This led to the foundation of a permanent chapel in High Pavement in 1690.[2]
By 1735 the congregation had established itself as liberal (in the tradition of English Presbyterianism) and in 1802 as Unitarian. In 1758 the appointment of a new junior minister, Isaac Smithson, caused a schism. The senior minister withdrew to a new chapel in nearby Halifax Place. This schism lasted until 1775 when the two congregations merged. The original chapel was considerably rebuilt in 1805.
In 1864 the congregation opened a daughter church, Christ Church, Peas Hill. This survived until 1932.
The current building was opened in 1876, built to a design of the architect Stuart Colman, of Bristol. It was used as a place of worship for Unitarians until 1982. It was then converted into the Nottingham Lace Museum, but this venture proved financially unviable[citation needed]. The building was then converted to its current use, as a Pitcher and Piano public house.[3] The current congregation, Nottingham Unitarians, affiliated with the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, are now based nearby at 3 Plumptre Street, Nottingham NG1 1JL, a former lace factory where items of lace were finished.[4]
Sunday School
There appears to be some discrepancy about the beginning of the Sunday School. It celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1854, suggesting a start date of 1804 but celebrated its centenary in 1905, giving a start date of 1805.[5] New school rooms were provided in 1805, so this may the cause of the discrepancy. The School was founded by the Rev James Taylor.
Then, happening to go into the Unitarian Church one Sunday evening, when they stood up to sing the second hymn he saw her before him. The light glistened on her lower lip as she sang. She looked as if she had got something, at any rate: some hope in heaven, if not in earth. Her comfort and her life seemed in the after-world. A warm, strong feeling for her came up. She seemed to yearn, as she sang, for the mystery and comfort. He put his hope in her. He longed for the sermon to be over, to speak to her. The throng carried her out just before him.[9]
Archives
The diaries of Samuel Collinson, a local stockbroker and amateur artist, contain a significant number of entries describing the life of the church in the 1850s and 1860s. The diaries are held at Inspire Nottinghamshire Archives.[10]
The archives for the High Pavement Chapel are held at Manuscripts and Special Collections at University of Nottingham.[11]
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