Church of Latter-Day Saints

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The Church of the Latter-Day Saints:

The church was initially founded as "The Church of Christ" by Joseph Smith on 6th April 1830 in western New York. He later changed the name to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In the 1840s missionaries were sent to Europe to expand the church membership.

The Church of the Latter-Day Saints in Hungerford 

[With thanks to Colin Williams]

The branch in Hungerford was organised on 30th July 1848. It grew out of the larger congregation in Newbury and, in turn, the Ramsbury branch drew its first members from Hungerford.

John Lambourn’s House, 1 Church Street, c.1848: 

The source for this as a meeting place for the Saints in Hungerford comes from a sheaf of handwritten papers known as the Jensen Collection and is held in the LDS Church History Library. There are seven small sheets of paper of notes in pencil that relate to the church in Hungerford and on page 6 it records ‘Bro. Jn. Lambourn residing at 1 Church Street, Hungerford, was President and the Saints held Divine services at his home.’ John Lambourn and his wife Martha were baptised on 4th April 1850 by Thomas Squires and the 1851 census shows that they lived on Church Street where John was a shoemaker. In the 1851 report of the conference held in London on 31st May and 1st June, John Lambourn is listed as Branch President.

Henry Norman’s House, Eddington: 1850-1851:

The June 1850 and December 1851 reports from the London conference lists this address as the meeting place of the Hungerford Branch. The Norman family whose house was used are likely to be the Sarah and Henry Norman of Eddington who were both baptised on 16th July 1848 by Thomas Squires. We can’t be certain exactly where Sarah and Henry’s house was but Eddington in 1851 was a smaller village than it is now with only 68 households recorded in that year’s census. Although, with a congregation of around twenty there were only a few buildings that would have held that many people.

See also:

- James E. Talmage