18th-Century Anglican Itinerant Priest’s Manuscript Sermon Book & Preaching Register (c. 1749–1770s) – Cheshire / Northern England

Short Description:
Offered here is an exceptional mid-18th-century handwritten sermon manuscript and preaching log belonging to an itinerant Anglican priest active primarily in Cheshire and surrounding northern England. The volume contains:

• A full-length sermon written in a clear mid-Georgian hand

• Numerous closing prayers, blessings, and theological reflections

• A preaching register documenting where and when the sermon was delivered between 1749 and the 1770s

• References to locations in and around Cheshire, York, Bishopthorpe, and other northern parishes

• Several leaves showing ink transfer consistent with age

• Original period binding

• Approximately mid-18th-century paper and iron-gall ink

• This was single-handedly written by the itinerant preacher (Unfortunately the name is unknown)

This is not merely a devotional notebook; it is a working clergy volume that would have been carried from parish to parish, chapel to chapel, as the priest preached throughout the region. Items like this seldom survive intact, and even fewer remain with their original preaching records.

This type of item appeals strongly to:

• Collectors of 18th-century manuscripts

Handwritten sermon books were common working tools of clergy but were rarely preserved. Surviving examples provide a direct insight into personal theology, preaching style, and ecclesiastical life before mass-printed sermons.

• Historians of the Church of England

The notebook reveals how rural and itinerant clergy functioned: re-using sermons, traveling between parishes, and keeping careful records of each delivery.

• Students of English religious life and Georgian social history

The content reflects Anglican concerns of the era — Christian calling, moral instruction, repentance, and salvation — giving a primary-source window into the 1740s–1770s.

• Genealogists & local historians (Cheshire, York, northern counties)

Because the preaching register lists multiple towns and dates, it provides traceable context about clerical movement in the region.

• Collectors of rare devotional or theological manuscripts

This is a genuine pre-Industrial, pre-Victorian religious artefact, wholly written by hand, with no modern reproduction.

England in the Mid-18th Century:

This manuscript was produced during a period of significant religious and social change in England:

• The Church of England was the dominant religious institution, but it faced competition from Methodism, which was spreading rapidly through itinerant preachers such as John Wesley and George Whitefield. Anglican priests often intensified their own itinerant work in the face of this growing movement.

• Rural clergy frequently served multiple chapels and parish outposts — particularly, in this case, Cheshire, Yorkshire, and other northern counties — making sermon reuse and careful date-location logs essential.

• The era of George II and early George III saw major cultural developments: rising literacy, expanding road networks, and increasing parish reorganization. It was a busy and evolving time for clergy tasked with ministering to scattered communities.

• Sermons were central to Anglican worship, and manuscript sermons like this one were key tools for priests long before printed sermon collections became commonplace or affordable.

Owning this book is owning a piece of that world: a working artefact from the everyday life of a Georgian clergyman.

Condition

• Original period binding

• Manuscript pages in iron-gall ink

• Some ink offsetting and age toning

• All writing legible

• Cover and spine has cracking and scratching.

• NO foxing

This is a fantastically rare find, in such a well preserved condition!

Dimensions:

• Weight - 285g
• Height - 19.5cm
• Width - 12.5cm
• Thickness - 1.5cm