Augustus montague Toplady

Augustus Montague Toplady

                   In Venn Ottery we have many things to celebrate!
We have just had our Venn Ottery bible and prayer books restored and returned to the church, this year we also celebrate 250 years since Rev Augustus Montague Toplady was our vicar and we give thanks for the life of  our local boy Harry Wheaton Channon, who died 100 years ago, in WW1.
In June we will be holding a Flower Festival to celebrate these and other interesting moments in Venn Otterys history.
The Rev Toplady, born in Surrey in 1740 was an Anglican cleric, preacher, poet and hymn writer. He is probably most famous for writing 'Rock of Ages'. He was brought up by his mother after his father died , and was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1762. Not long after he went to Somerset and then to the parishes of Harpford and Venn Ottery
Augustus Montague Toplady was instituted as vicar of Harpford, and Rector of Fenn Ottery, as it was then known, on 6th May 1766 when he was a youthful looking bachelor clergyman, only 25 years old. 
Although he was provided with a vicarge in Harpford he chose to lodge in Venn Ottery with  the Salter family who lived at their farmhouse, Minors, close to the church.
He made Venn Ottery his headquarters and sallied forth from there to Harpford, holding morning and evening services at both churches alternately. His services would usually be prayers and preaching, he would generally preach for 40 to 50 minutes.
Funerals would often take place on Sundays and even Christmas day, meaning sextons, bearers and undertakers would have to work on the Sabbath.
Communion was celebrated only 4 times a year.  The churchwardens' accounts for 1766/67/68 show that the wine for these occasions cost the astonishingly  large sum of 18 shillings. It was known if any consecrated wine was left over that the communicants  and the Priest were called upon to reverently eat and drink up, obviously this was observed literally !
Surplices of those days were larger and longer,  than nowadays, with many elaborate folds, which would have kept the laundress busy.  The entry for the cleaning reads ; "2 s 6d paid for washing of the surplices". 
The accounts show that he would order bushels of wheat for the poor in the cold weather from the local farmers. He did this on several occasions naming the needy of the area - sadly quite a long list.

Whilst living here he wrote a diary detailing his readings, preaching and thoughts, as well as day to day life in the valley.
At Christmas of 1767 he writes : " read prayers and preached and administered Holy sacrament here at Fenn Ottery.  Farmer T ( whom I had met at Metcombe only 2 days previous, so drunk that he could not sit on his horse) presented himself at the Lord's table with the rest of the communicants;  but I  passed him by, not daring to administer the symbols of my saviour's body and blood to one who had lately crucified him afresh and given no proof of repentance,  he appeared surprised and abashed". "Lord make this denial of the outward visibal sign, a means of inward and spiritual grace to his soul" !

In January of 1768  "At Fenn Ottery in the afternoon I read prayers and preached to a very full congregation especially considering the quantities  of snow that lies on the ground and the intenseness at the frost which render it almost equally unsafe to walk or ride. I  was surprised to find that I had detained my dear people for 3/4 of an hour and yet when I concluded they seemed unwilling to rise from their seats; not withstanding the unusual  intenseness of the cold."

Another time he writes of a sad tale of William Towning, 19, who was brought before Mr Penney, for breaking into and robbing 30 shillings from farmer Endicott 's house while the family were at church.( Mr Penney lived at Elliotts Farm , (Venn Ottery House) and is quite respected and referred to as constable in the parish documents, so something like the local policeman.) William was to be taken from Penney's to Exeter Jail, when his father arrives, having heard what has happened to his son. The young man, seeing his father, "with a look that too plainly declared the pains of his heart", bursts into tears and along with his father and his guard all take a moment in the Orchard before he is taken away. "Lord if it be consistent with the counsel of thy will, be the comforter and the salvation of this sinner and his afflicted family ".

He describes in his diary, of taking a walk, on the 8th of March 1768, with a friend after lunch, up onto Fenn Ottery  hill, where they could see both towers of his churches. They noticed smoke rising from the village of Harpford, not far from the church. They continued their walk for 3 hours, passing over the Aylesbeare hill and into Metcombe where a farmer asked if they had heard of the fire and as the farmer put it "Sir, your house (Harpford vicarage) is burnt to the ground". After eventually crossing the wooden river bridge to Harpford, he found the vicarage consumed by flames.

During his time at Harpford and Venn Ottery he suffers the symptoms of TB, often mentioning feeling ill and cold. Venn Ottery is often referred to as a damp wet area, so it is easy to imagine that this did not help to improve his health.

During the  Easter of 1768 he suffers with his chest and loses his voice struggling to preach. 
" I  was considerably out of order and experienced something of what it is to have a body without health and a soul without comfort".
Yet a short while later in April 1768 he visits Mr Leigh of Hayne Farm, (Tipton st John ) as he has on other occasions  spending the afternoon in conversation and drinking tea!  "On my way home to Fenn Ottery , especially as I was riding over Tipton bridge,  my soul was in a very comfortable frame"

He left Venn Ottery and Harpford, for Broadhembury, in May of 1768, but returned to  take services to cover for his successor, Rev Luce.
His diary refers to one of his last services at Venn Ottery
" If I might judge from the tears which some shed under the word preached ( and, indeed, I  myself did with great difficulty refrain from weeping,  toward the conclusion), the message of salvation seemed to be attended by power delivering the tidings of peace and salvation to a people of whom I had of lately, the charge and whom I affectionately love in the Lord"
Toplady died in 1778, in London from TB, he was just 38 years old.
The Venn Ottery Church altar window has a dedication to him, erected in 1913.
         Do come along and visit the church and join in the celebrations!