Interpretations of history have always been open to debate, and the study of Baptist history is no exception. Outlining the work of early Baptist historians Thomas Crosby, Joseph Ivimey and Adam Taylor, B.R. White claimed that while they helped preserve historical records, Baptist historians in England sometimes saw ‘their task as that of defending their co-religionists and influencing denominational policy’. White claimed that it was not until the work of W.T. Whitley that ‘English Baptist history began to be studied in any systematic way and by modern methods’. Since Dr White’s own book, The English Baptists of the Seventeenth Century was first published in 1983 (and later revised and expanded in 1996), there have been and will continue to be debates over various aspects of Baptist history.
In this issue of the Baptist Quarterly readers are invited to consider different interpretations of the Baptist story. In the first article David Lytle looks again at the revisionist work of Matthew C. Bingham. While noting Bingham’s work appreciatively, he suggests that some reconsideration of certain conclusions made by Bingham is in order. In the second article Nathan Sherman takes a look at the Baptist congregation in Wapping. Said to be one of the oldest Baptist congregations, Sherman examines sources that shed new light on what he claims has hitherto been considered ‘murky beginnings’. The third article by Stephen Kent adds to his previous research on Thomas Tillam by examining Tillam’s changing views on divorce and polygamy.
In addition to these articles, this issue of the Quarterly includes book reviews and a regular feature of news from the Angus library. Readers may find the ‘From the Angus … ’ article especially interesting, as it focuses on the way early Baptists stood firm in the face of persecution. Finally, we have included notices about the formation of a new BHS Publications Group, and a reminder of the upcoming conference on ‘Baptist Spirituality’ to be held in Oxford on 14–16 July 2025. Please also note the change of email address for contacting the Editors of the Baptist Quarterly, as this now comes under the suite of email addresses which sit alongside our refreshed Society website. If you have not visited our Society website recently, please take a look at www.baptisthistory.org.uk.