Chapter 2: Birth and Parenthood

Chapter 2.
Birth And Parentage

Changes in England—The Condition of the Country in 1834—Hard Times—Ignorance and Degradation of the Common People—The Spurgeon Family at Kelvedon—Historical Memories of the Place—Removal of the Family to Colchester—Tollesbury, the Scene of Mr. John Spurgeon's Ministry—Stambourne.

Mr. Spurgeon saw many changes brought about in the social—and political world during his not very long life of fifty-seven years. When, as a very young and newly-married couple, his parents were living at Kelvedon in 1834, the general outlook was depressing rather than encouraging. The prolonged and devastating wars in which the' four Georges had indulged had brought on the inevitable reaction, trade being bad and agriculture depressed. Farmers found it difficult to make both ends meet; for while prices of produce had fallen, the rates and other demands they had to meet had largely increased. In the political and ecclesiastical world there was more commotion than usual; for, finding that the Reform Bill had not altogether answered the expectations of those who had set their hopes extravagantly high, religious equality and the abolition of various abuses were being loudly demanded. Modern philanthropy, as we understand it, had not yet commenced. A large proportion of the common people were in a state of ignorance and degradation. There were a few charity schools in the towns, and here and there a village may have had one; but no one believed, as yet, that it was the duty of the Government to undertake a scheme of national education. Lord Ashley had commenced to fight the battle of the working classes and the oppressed; but he made headway slowly from lack of public sympathy and of friends to second his efforts. When Mr. John Spurgeon married Miss Jarvis and settled in Kelvedon, he chose for his home a very typical Essex village. It is not a large place, the population at present probably not exceeding two thousand souls. Though not hitherto sought out by tourists, as may come to be the case in the future, it is pleasantly situated, and it has a few historical memories which are of some interest to the topographer. After visiting the small, old-fashioned house in which Charles Haddon Spurgeon was born on June 19th, 1834, the tourist may ramble hither and thither and think of some other things which have happened here in the distant past. Anciently the manor was the heritage of Edward the Confessor; but at present the manor of other days is divided into two, one of which seems to be attached to the See of London, while the other belongs to the master of Felix Hall, from whose Park some beautiful scenery of the vale through which the River Blackwater flows may be looked upon. Centuries ago the northern invaders of England chose these rich lands for settlement; and it is said that the massacre of the Danes at the opening of the eleventh century commenced at Kelvedon. The present Bishop of Rochester, who took part in the late great preacher's funeral, is the patron of the living. The church has a tower, Early English pillars and arches, and a later nave-roof, in all of which ecclesiastical archaeologists will find something to interest them.

After the birth of a son and heir, whom they named after his uncle Haddon, Mr. and Mrs. John Spurgeon did not remain long at Kelvedon. In or about April, 1835, they gave up their village home in order to settle at Colchester as a more convenient centre for their business, and where some of their family connections appear to have resided. Hence the statement, which has often been repeated, that the brothers Charles and James Spurgeon went to school together at Kelvedon—one being called Big Chummy and the other Little Chummy—has no foundation in fact. Charles was not a year old when his parents removed to Colchester, and soon after he had completed his first year he went to reside with his paternal grandparents at Stambourne. The way in which the name of Haddon came into the family is thus explained. The father of the pastor of Stambourne was a cheese factor, whose working capital was inadequate, but he was always able to procure a loan from his friend Mr. Haddon, a fellow deacon. While he was a model of liberality, Mr. Haddon was eccentric, and none of his odd ways could be disregarded by those who desired to retain his favour. He would lend his friend £500 at once; but although he would accept of no interest, no excuse availed if the money was not returned on the day agreed upon. The great-grandfather of the late pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle took care that nothing happened to vex his generous co-deacon; and he showed his regard by naming one of his children Haddon. In due time the mother of the future great preacher called her son Charles Haddon. Mr. Spurgeon was really named after a brother of each of his parents—Charles Parker Jarvis, and Haddon Rudkin Spurgeon. The present pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the Rev. J. A. Spurgeon, informs me in a private letter: "The family of Haddon are now in America, and keep up correspondence with my dear father. They still consider 'Haddon Hall' to be rightfully theirs, though lost to the family."

While living at Colchester Mr. John Spurgeon had a congregation at Tollesbury, to which he ministered on Sundays. Tollesbury is approached by a creek of the River Blackwater; the parish also has some thousands of acres of water, so that on this account, and also on account of its saline pastures and oyster-dredging, the place has some rather uncommon characteristics. Mr. John Spurgeon's service at Tollesbury continued for some years, or until the children of the family were big enough to accompany their father in his conveyance on Sunday mornings, the distance being nine miles. Meanwhile, the boy Charles remained at Stambourne until he could run about and had become the precocious child. Later on, it was there that he loved to spend his holidays.