Cotherstone Congregational Church History

COTHERSTONE:
Cotherstone Congregational Church History up to 1868.

The chapel was erected about 1748. The successive ministers have been-

• 1748. Rev. JOHN WARDEN (Glasgow).
• 1764. Rev. JAMES SHIELDS (Edinburgh).
• 1769. Rev. LUKE PRATTMAN (from Hopton). Rev. Dr. Simpson, Hoxton, was introduced into the ministry by Mr. Prattman.
• Rev. A. CARNESON, from Annan, afterwards Parkhead.
• 1812. Rev. LUKE PRATTMAN became minister of Barnard Castle, after which Cotherstone became connected with that place.

The following information on Andrew Carnson was suggested for inclusion by Andrew's 4x great grandchild:
The best summary is in Transactions of the Congregational History Society, Vol V (written in 1911) (Edited by T. G. Crippen). On pages 29-31 of that book it states that Mr Prattman built a chapel at Barnard Castle in 1813. From 1805 Rev Carnson ran the chapel at Cotherstone alongside Mr Prattman for four years, after which Rev Carnson ran it singlehandedly until he became too frail to do so (another source says he resigned in 1834 due to old age.) - He died in1840 aged 88. Meanwhile Mr Prattman had worked in Surrey before returning to Barnard Castle. Rev John Harrison took aver from Rev Carnson. The record states that Mr Harrison was from Greasborough, near Rotherham and had been an assistant of Mr Prattman. Rev Harrison moved to Northwich, Cheshire, in 1844, and then to Isleworth. He died in Bassingbourne 1872. From 1855 to 1856 Mr Henry Oakley, a schoolmaster, ran the churches at both Cotherstone and Barnard Castle but most of the time post Carnson two ministers were responsible for working jointly for both chapels/churches. Rev Carnson had also preached at Kintyre for four years, and was ordained while at Annan, in 1794 and then moved to Parkhead in Cumberland for 9 years before going to Cotherstone.
Other sources say that Andrew Carnson followed John Owen's teachings and then became a dissenting minister of the Congregational persuasion prior to that, including while at Parkhead, he was described as a dissenting minister who had a congregation comprising of a mixture of Quakers and Calvinists.

See also The English Presbyterian Messenger (Andrew appears to have been a Presbyterian originally)