Who we are

The Congregational Memorial Hall Trust was founded in 1872 to create a memorial to those Christian ministers who were forced out of their positions in the Church of England following the Act of Uniformity in 1662. The fund established by the Trust was used to create the Congregational Library and encourage and assist Biblical studies. Since 1872 the Library has occupied a number of sites in London and until recently was lodged with Dr Williams’s Library in Gordon Square, London, who managed the Congregational Library collections on behalf of the Trust. A search for a new home for our collections continues.

Welcome to our website. We hope you’ll find it useful, inspiring and informative. If you have any questions, please contact us.

News

Portrait Exhibition

A unique opportunity to view an outstanding collection of portraits of famous non-conformists and their patrons. See the exhibition at The Basement at Bunyan from 15th November to 2 December 2023

2023 Congregational Lecture

Dr Michael Davies will give a Lecture entitled ‘John Bunyan, Congregational Person’. The lecture will take place at Bunyan Meeting, Mill Street, Bedford, MK40 3EU on Thursday 23rd November 2023 at 5:30pm. The lecture will be streamed live and can be viewed via the following link. www.bunyanmeeting.co.uk/live Dr Davies teaches early modern English literature at […]

George Whitefield and Nonconformity

At the Friends’ event on 22 November 2022 Dr Digby James spoke about the life and mission of George Whitefield, illustrating his lecture with pictures and photographs. Friends who would like to see a film of the lecture can do so by going to View filmed events in the Friends of the Library drop down […]

Looking after your church history

Interested in looking after your Church history – see our guidance here.

More about the Reformation and Non-conformity

The way that Non-conformity grew out of the Reformation and influenced more than three hundred years of British and global history is often hidden from the national narrative.

From John Owen, born in 1616, who lived through the turbulent years of the Civil War, to the great non-conformists of the 19th century, who ministered when dissent from the Established Church was itself a bar to education and public office, and into the early 20th century, with its terrible wars and upheavals, they shaped the world in which we live now. Read more

The Congregational Library