Joseph Angus, Regent’s Park College, London, to Thomas Raffles, Liverpool, 29 October 1857.

Coll.  Regents Park.

Oct 29. 1857.

Rev Dear Sir

         You may perhaps have heard of our removal to this place.  We retain our old faith & plans, except that 1/3d of our Students are lay & we so far “symbolize” with New College that we are this session using some of their classes & giving a home in return to some of their Students.  At one End of our Building we have a very admirable room which we are filling up a Library, & therein I am anxious to place a few autographs of good men.  I have placed there of my own Sermons of Henry, Letters of Judson, Pye Smith, Doddridge, &c; & on the walls are original portraits of Howe, Watts, Carey & Booth.  Now the aim of my note is to ask whether out of any duplicate Autographs you may happen to have you can help us to make up a case.  Our friend, Mr Birrell will tell you the House deserves & can give due welcome to such guests;  & for myself can assure them of a cordial welcome.   I picked up sometime ago, the autograph of Doddridge’s Family Expositor from Romans onward in 5 vols.  as he wrote it---ie the earlier volumes--for the Press.  Tho’ unwilling to break the set, for any one else, I w.d most gladly send you one of the volumes in exchange for any duplicate you can spare.  If I ask more than you can give, excuse my boldness

         & Believe me in any case

                                 Yours very respd [respectfully]

                                             Joseph Angus

Rev. D.r Raffles.

Text: ENG. MS. 372, fol. 47e, Raffles Collection, John Rylands University Library of Manchester. For a detailed discussion of the Angus-Raffles Correspondence, see Timothy Whelan,  “Joseph Angus and the Use of Autograph Letters in the Library at Holford House, Regent’s Park College, London,” Baptist Quarterly 40 (2004), 455-76.

References above are to Matthew Henry (1662-1714), a nonconformist divine and author of the immensely popular Exposition of the Old and New Testaments; Adoniram Judson (1788-1850), American Baptist missionary to Burma from 1812-50; John Pye Smith (1774-1851), tutor at Homerton Academy from 1800-50; Philip Doddridge (1702-51), Independent minister at Northampton from 1729-51; John Howe (1630-1705), nonconformist divine; Isaac Watts (1674-1748), famed hymn-writer and Independent minister at Stoke Newington, 1702-48; William Carey (1761-1834), BMS missionary to India, 1793-1834; Abraham Booth (1734-1806), Baptist minister at Little Prescot Street, Goodman’s Fields, London, from 1769-1806.  Most of these portraits are still on display at Regent’s Park College.

Charles Morton Birrell (1810-88) was originally from Scotland.  He was converted through the ministry of William Knibb and trained for the ministry at Stepney Academy in 1832-33.  He served as pastor of the Pembroke Chapel, Liverpool, from 1838-72.  At various times he also served as part-time secretary, as well as one term as President, of the Baptist Union, and was instrumental in the founding of the Baptist Annuity in 1882.

The five MS. volumes of Doddridge’s Family Expositor (see Angus Library, acc. no. F.P.C. D. 9) were published between 1739 and 1756.  They consist of the following studies:  vol. 1--Romans (this volume was bound and displayed by Angus in his library at Holford House, with an identifying note in the hand of his son,  Charles); vol. 2--I Corinthians and a part of II Corinthians (this volume was apparently bound by Raffles); vol. 3--Hebrews; vol. 4--II Peter, I-III John, and Jude; vol. 5—Revelation.