From laidlaws at hotkey.net.au  Tue Aug 12 13:28:38 2008
From: laidlaws at hotkey.net.au (Doug Laidlaw)
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:28:38 +1000
Subject: [Boykett-announce] Rev. Bunn found - probably.
Message-ID: <200808121328.38129.laidlaws@hotkey.net.au>

From Thomas Boykett's association with the Church of England, I had assumed 
that Rev Bunn to whom he wrote the letter of 1854 was an Anglican clergyman.  
Having learned that Thomas became involved with the Congregational Church, 
the possibility arose that Rev. Bunn was a Congregational minister, and not 
an Anglican one.  Elizabeth Mumford of Bristol informed me that there was a 
family connection between the church at Finsbury and the one at Abergavenny.

A bit like a needle in a haystack, but the industry of Google came to our 
rescue.  Somebody had written a guidebook to Abergavenny in 1845, and it 
mentioned that the current pastor was a Rev. H. Bunn.  The only catch is that 
his second initial is J, not G.  While searching, I came across a posting by 
Elizabeth Guster to a mailing list, saying that the initial might be I.  As I 
have only a typed copy of the letter, I obtained  photocopy of the address 
from the State Library of South Australia.  The letter could be an I, but 
cannot be a J.  Possibly it stands for Jeffrey/Geoffrey.  It doesn't seem to 
be enough to warrant not making the identification.

According to the guidebook, the church is the oldest Dissenting body in 
Monmouthshire.  "Monmouthshire was a strong-hold of Independency in the time 
of Cromwell."  Some "gentlemen of the county were taken prisoners by the 
Royalists..., and tried by Charles I in person at Abergavenny."  In 1685 the 
Duke of Monmouth led a rebellion against James II, which was easily 
suppressed.  He and his colleague Lord Russell were beheaded by Jack Ketch, 
whose name became generic for a hangman, surviving even in Punch and Judy, 
and his followers' trials were the Bloody Assizes of Judge Jeffreys.

Doug.