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was accused of saying "all parsons should go to hell" but he denied this libel, although he did write that "parsons were wicked men" who were to his mind "worse than highwaymen". Sirgood replied to his landlord, a magistrate and a member of parliament, advising the man that the fewer properties he owned, the more he would be free from "care, anxiety and responsibillity". Various sources contend that the bolshie evangelist had "socialistic" tendencies but the
Dependents appear to have been a spiritual movement rather than a political one. Sirgood it seems had his "eyes set firmly on another world". However, his followers lived in an extremely temperate manner and practised a type of
308:, commenting once "even the professors will acknowledge that this is the last time or the latter days". Early Dependant Hymns do convey some sense of the imminence of Christ's return. Whatever their beliefs, by means of co-operation the Dependents were able to open their first chapel at Loxwood in 1861. Although Sirgood was a married man he did not encourage his followers to marry and very many Dependants remained "free for Christ's sake". They also became notorious for their communal living and in later years for pacifism. Although the Peculiar People practised
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following of his own. In a 1942 article Donald
Macandrew asserted that Sirgood received inspiration from heaven when he began to "ask the Lord" for guidance. Sometime in 1850 the Lord answered him "in a dream" and told him about "certain remote places in Sussex" where he might find a following. The next morning he and his wife shut up shop and the couple took turns pushing each other in a "wheelbarrow" on the 41-mile trek from London to
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When John
Sirgood died on 19 October 1885 at Lords Hill Cottage Loxwood, his sect had about two thousand followers. The man who arrived penniless in a wheelbarrow in 1850 left £575, 5s, 6d (£51,000 in 2017) in his will. In keeping with Dependent practise the money was passed to a member of the sect;
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For many years
Sirgood spent weeks at a time in Sussex and elsewhere but still retained links with south London where his father George died at Kennington in October 1865. He was still based at Clapham and can be found in the 1867 Post Office Directory and 1875 electoral records. Sirgood continued to
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on 17 March 1845 and worked as a shoemaker out of 9 Market Place, Bromells Rd, Clapham. Witnessing the growing popularity of the
Peculiar People (that reached its peak circa 1850), Sirgood grew disillusioned with the response to his own preaching; his ambition and fervour made him "long" for a rural
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owners would not have let him use their lands or premises. His evangelism appealed mainly to the poor labourers, small farmers and tradesmen, attracted by
Sirgood's obvious ability as a preacher. Shortly after his arrival a small religious group of 4 or 5 people began to meet in his cottage every
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but action by others resulted in evictions and the sackings of servant girls and labourers. Notice was served on
Sirgood by his landlord who informed him that unless he discontinued the "unlawful meetings" he would be prosecuted "without difficulty according to law". Macandrew records that Sirgood
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on 21 August 1821 into a family of weavers. His father George
Sirgood (1789–1865) married Sarah Emmery (1796–1851) on 25 February 1816 in Hilperton, Wiltshire. Sirgood had three brothers, Joseph, Robert and William and a sister Mary. Sirgood is a fairly uncommon spelling of the name (more usually
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one of
Sirgood's first disciples the elder stalwart Henry Piper. Only a handful of Dependents remained alive by the 1990s, living at "The Retreat" in Spy Lane Loxwood near their first Chapel. In the little burial ground is the final (unmarked) resting place of the Dependent "Saint" John Sirgood.
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Sirgood was overtly critical of the
Anglican Church, and the inequality of 19th-century society in general, which led to his movement being harassed by the gentry and threatened by outraged parish authorities. Church efforts to stop Sirgood were thwarted by the repeal of the
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Sirgood was originally a fundamentalist preacher with the Peculiar People in Southwark. He evangelized on Clapham Common and around south London, preaching during the winter in "private houses". He married Harriet Coxhead (1811 - 1876) from Godalming in Surrey at
243:
Following closely in the footsteps of Banyard and Bridges, Sirgood began his own mission in fields and barns on common lands near the Surrey/Sussex border. He did this in an area outside the control of the large estates whose
312:, Sirgood "would not make faith-healing part of his creed". However, it is claimed that on one occasion the preacher "raised the dead" and that he and the 'elders' had "prodigious gifts" for healing.
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because they believed themselves dependant on God for everything. Sirgood led both himself and his followers out of poverty by means of dissidence, dissent and Christ's Combination Stores....
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284:, possibly because an 'obscure Sussex joke' made by their opponents and neighbours stuck to them, or because Sirgood relentlessly promoted Cocoa drinking in place of alcohol. In his
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that Sirgood finally left London and settled permanently at Loxwood. In the 1881 census he is listed as a 'draper' lodging in a cottage with William Hamshire at Lord's Hill Common.
304:. There is little evidence of Sirgood's actual teachings, although the influence of men like Aitken, Bridges and Banyard must have shaped his thought; he seems to have been a
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Sunday and on sometimes on weekdays. They held their services under the guidance of "Brother John" and these early disciples became known as "elders or stalwarts".
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supposedly written by Sirgood (whose name the learned gentleman did manage to spell correctly). The book was said to be "in imitation of the Mormonites" but
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wrote in Sept 1904 that Blunt gave no account of who supplied him with his erroneous information; no trace has yet been found of a
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south London in the mid 19th Century, which is where John Sirgood settled sometime during the 1840s. He became a disciple of
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The Sussex Cokelers: A Curious Sect By Donald MacAndrew from Sussex County Magazine Volume 16 1942
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229:. This unusual mode of transport was necessary because Sirgood "couldn't afford the train fare".
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in London from c.1837 and the man Sirgood called his 'father in Gospel'.
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521:"Man, Myth & Magic The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Mythology Vol 4"
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329:. It was following the death of his wife Harriet in 1876, aged 66, at
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Bebbington, David W.; Dix, Kenneth; Ruston, Alan (4 February 2015).
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grow 'his flock' and saw the building of many Chapels and Stores in
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Quite early in their history the Society of Dependants acquired the
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Routledge Revivals - New Views of Co-operation Chapt 5 by Mick Reed
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Dependant Brethren of Sussex and Surrey: A History of the Cokelers
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in the 'Stores' and farms they established. This working class
444:"Southend-on-Sea: and District History Notes J W Burrows 1909"
208:(1800–1873) whose 'Christian Society' provided a source for
165:(1868). Census records reveal his father and a branch of the
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It was through Bridges that Sirgood came into contact with
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spelt Cokelers as 'Coglers' and 'Coplers' and refers to a
636:. Sussex County Magazine Volume 16 p.436. Archived from
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John Sirgood's Way, the Story of the Loxwood Dependants
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Ludus Patronymicus, the Etymology of curious surnames
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161:Sargood or Sergood) and appears on page 97 of the
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233:The Society of Dependants a.k.a. The Cokelers
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537:The English Village - History and Traditions
691:. Petworth, Sussex, England: Window Press.
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204:. Both Bridges and Banyard owed a debt to
196:, a populist sect originally known as the
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17:
177:(1802 - 1874) a hat block maker based in
1398:Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon
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534:Wainwright, Martin (31 October 2011).
634:"The Sussex Cokelers: A Curious Sect"
7:
1449:English Christian religious leaders
1002:St Leonards-on-Sea (Sonrise Church)
1377:Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion
298:Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton
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266:religious sect called themselves
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1469:People from Chichester District
670:Sirgood A River of Living Water
608:Protestant Non Conformist Texts
579:"Dictionary of Sects Blunt p88"
402:Yeo, Stephen (4 October 2016).
430:"Welcome to Horsham - Loxwood"
1:
1454:19th-century Christian clergy
272:"Where competition is defied"
829:Hastings (Wellington Square)
200:that was primarily based in
129:(1821–1885) was a Christian
1176:Hastings (Robertson Street)
892:Brighton (Montpelier Place)
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391:Cokelers by Mick Reed 2007
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1250:Reformed Church of France
1143:Lewes (Free Presbyterian)
1038:Brighton (Dorset Gardens)
632:Donald MacAndrew (1942).
458:"Methodist Personalities"
152:John Sirgood was born in
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1403:William Huntington S.S.
1061:Brighton (Bristol Road)
819:Eastbourne (Grove Road)
687:Jerrome, Peter (1998).
668:Cochrane, John (2021).
834:Haywards Heath (Jireh)
486:"Pastfinders Cokelers"
181:who was leader of the
1382:Society of Dependants
672:. UK: Rectory Press.
360:"Sirgood (Biography)"
239:Society of Dependants
111:Society of Dependants
1439:English evangelicals
1066:Eastbourne (Central)
704:Nash, Roger (2021).
492:on 27 December 2018.
378:"Ludus Patronymicus"
75:Lord's Hill Cottage
1464:People from Avening
910:Hastings (Ebenezer)
640:on 4 September 2018
562:"Ontario Newspaper"
286:Dictionary of Sects
260:Christian communism
1434:English Methodists
1186:St Leonards-on-Sea
1133:Hove (Central URC)
874:St Leonards-on-Sea
593:John Sirgood's Way
472:"Sussex Ancestors"
218:St Mary-at-Lambeth
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1081:Plymouth Brethren
809:Brighton (Galeed)
792:Strict/Particular
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331:Hambledon, Surrey
210:Latter Day Saints
169:family living in
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87:Emmanuel Chapel,
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183:Peculiar People
175:William Bridges
158:Gloucestershire
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1271:Spiritualist
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1123:Burgess Hill
1102:Presbyterian
900:Burgess Hill
895:(demolished)
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869:Rye (Bethel)
859:Lower Dicker
849:Jarvis Brook
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642:. Retrieved
638:the original
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285:
281:
276:
271:
267:
251:
242:
214:
197:
187:
166:
162:
151:
134:lay preacher
127:John Sirgood
126:
125:
70:(1885-10-19)
22:John Sirgood
15:
1459:1885 deaths
1444:1821 births
1007:Wivelsfield
977:Crowborough
960:Evangelical
905:Hadlow Down
879:Wivelsfield
644:27 December
323:West Sussex
306:millenarian
198:Banyardites
99:Nationality
1428:Categories
1148:Silverhill
982:Eastbourne
925:Pell Green
780:(including
754:Protestant
346:References
316:Later life
279:soubriquet
268:Dependants
264:Antinomian
212:converts.
171:Kennington
148:Early life
49:1821-08-23
1370:Movements
1313:Ditchling
1292:Unitarian
1207:Blue Idol
1156:Alfriston
1128:Hangleton
1027:Methodist
945:Southover
887:Angmering
814:Broad Oak
804:Angmering
768:Places of
364:Amazon UK
179:Southwark
138:shoemaker
56:Avening,
1336:Northiam
1318:Hastings
1308:Brighton
1282:Brighton
1261:Brighton
1240:Steyning
1212:Brighton
1171:Brighton
1092:Steyning
1071:Worthing
1053:Steyning
1012:Worthing
992:Hastings
950:Uckfield
864:Mayfield
787:Reformed
697:40840447
282:Cokelers
246:Anglican
1323:Horsham
1299:Current
1278:Current
1217:Horsham
1203:Current
1161:Arundel
1119:Current
1034:Current
973:Current
800:Current
783:General
778:Baptist
770:worship
595:(1998).
288:(1873)
223:Loxwood
167:Sirgood
154:Avening
102:British
93:England
89:Loxwood
77:Loxwood
35:Loxwood
1391:People
1332:Former
1257:Former
1236:Former
1222:Ifield
1196:Quaker
1166:Bosham
1152:Former
1088:Former
1057:Former
1048:Selsey
1017:Yapton
920:Newick
883:Former
761:Sussex
712:
695:
676:
615:
544:
412:
327:Surrey
227:Sussex
142:draper
117:Spouse
37:Chapel
1328:Lewes
1227:Lewes
854:Lewes
565:(PDF)
507:(PDF)
337:Death
202:Essex
1110:and
1043:Hove
964:and
844:Hove
790:and
710:ISBN
693:OCLC
674:ISBN
646:2011
613:ISBN
542:ISBN
410:ISBN
325:and
140:and
65:Died
43:Born
935:Rye
759:in
225:in
1430::
785:,
611:.
540:.
408:.
362:.
274:.
156:,
144:.
136:,
91:,
1104:,
794:)
746:e
739:t
732:v
718:.
699:.
682:.
648:.
621:.
581:.
567:.
550:.
523:.
509:.
474:.
460:.
446:.
432:.
418:.
380:.
366:.
51:)
47:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
