| Notes |
- In the will of Betsey Blockley (18 Jan 1834), we have "Christopher Bassett of Countesthorpe the same County (Leicester) Grazier and Richard Bassett of Cosby in the aforesaid County Farmer and Grazier". These are most likely the brothers listed above (#196B4 & #196B5).
1851 British Census of 256 Pelham Sreet, St. Ann, Nottingham St. Mary, Nottingham
Richard Bassett 32 M Head Countesthorpe, Leicester Draper & Mercer?
Lydia 22 F Sister Countesthorpe, Leicester
Frances Hall 18 F Cousin Peatling, Leicester
1 servant, 4 assistants & 2 apprentices
(This Richard has not yet been placed. Since he is listed with his cousin, Frances Hall, he must be a son of William, Richard, Christopher or Joseph Bassett).
1861 British Census of 35 Mapperly Road, St. Ann, St. Mary, Nottinghamshire
Richard Bassett 41 Head Countesthorpe, Leicester Draper
Elizabeth 38 Wife Pannell, Yorkshire
Marsha Eliza 8 Daughter Nottingham
Emily Agnes 4 Daughter Nottingham
2 Visitors & 2 servants
1841 British Census of Blaby, Leicester
Christopher Bassett 40 M Farmer Born in County
Mary 40 F Not born in County
Mary 15 F Born in County
Sarah 8 F Born in County
John 6 M Born in County
Joseph 4 M Born in County
1851 British Census of Countesthorpe, Leicestershire
Christopher Bassett 54 M Head Countesthorpe, Leicester Maltser & Farmer
Mary 50 F Wife Newnham Lodge, Warwick
Mary Mayne 20 F Daughter Countesthorpe, Leicester
William Thomas 21 M Son Countesthorpe, Leicester
Christopher 19 M Son Countesthorpe, Leicester
John Charles 16 M Son Countesthorpe, Leicester
Joseph Henry 14 M Son Countesthorpe, Leciester
& 3 servants
1861 British Census of 3 Cosby Rd., Countesthorpe. Leicestershire
Christopher Bassett 64 M Head Countesthorpe, Leicester Farmer *
Mary 60 F Wife Countesthorpe, Leicester
Christopher 29 M Son Countesthorpe, Leicester
Joseph Henry 23 M Son Countesthorpe, Leicester
Sarah Moore 20 F Servant Countesthorpe, Leicester Kitchen Maid
Ann Hinckley 10 F Servant Weldon, Northampton
(* Employs 14 Boys)
The Baptist Magazine
Memoir of Mr. Christopher Bassett
By the Rev. J. P. Mursell, of Leicester
The word “Thorpe”, which sometimes occurs as attached to places, and that not infrequently in the county of Leicester, is Saxon in its origin, but is often the appendage to some prefix which it is not easy to trace. There is, however, not far from the central town of the county, a considerable lordship that bears the name of Ullesthorpe, on which local history throws a little light, since it tells of a distinguished person or family bearing the name of Ullah, resident there as a feudal lord some ten centuries ago, from whom, as some supposed, sprung the name of the district. At no great remove from this vicinity, and somewhat nearer the county town, we become acquainted with the names of Bruntinghsthorpe, and Countesthorpe, and others, on whose distinctive prefixed local story (so far as the writer is aware) shed no light. They owe their origin most probably to the fierce conflicts and sudden seizures and transitions of property and power which characterized and harassed the feudal times.
There are names and homes familiar to those of us who reside in Leicestershire that seem to be indigenous to its very soil – lands and family ties which pass in succession along a line which change and death appear to sanctify, but which they are powerless to destroy. Such are those of Humphrey, Orton, and Bassett in the vicinity of Countesthorpe, the birthplace of the esteemed but now lamented friend who is the subject of this brief affectionate tributary notice.
The late Mr. Christopher Bassett was born at Countesthorpe, October, 1796. In early life he was placed in a draper’s establishment in Leicester, from which, as circumstances rendered it distasteful to him, he was soon removed. After spending some time as an apprentice in his native village, a wider sphere opened out before him in the cultivation of land and its relative pursuits. As he advanced in life there was no agriculturist in the wide circle in which he moved whose judgment was more highly appreciated or whose counsel was more frequently sought in all that related to the calling he so studiously and assiduously pursued; no one thought light of his opinion or had reason to repeat vigilant conformity to his advice. The confidence placed in his judgment, not only as a practiced cultivator of the soil, but as an upright benignant citizen, was indicated among other ways, by the numerous trusts which deceased persons solicitously and confidingly committed to his hands.
Nurtured in early life amid circumstances favourable to the development of youthful piety (for he was the child of a devout, anxious, and judicious mother), he was, in the comparative morning of his days, no stranger to those convictions which favour the observance of Sabbath ordinances, while he was accustomed to refer his deepening religious impressions to the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Vaughan (brother of the judge of that name, and the father of the distinguished clergyman of the Metropolitan Temple Church) who was for many years the vicar of St. Martin’s parch, Leicester, and afternoon preacher at the village of Foston, situate not far from the residence of our esteemed but now departed friend. “Many a time” (he has been heard to say) “have I left that church to go and pray in the fields.”
As his judgment matured and as habits of thoughtful reflection became grafted on his well-balanced mind, he cherished a decided preference for nonconforming principles and worship, and, becoming convinced of the scriptural character of believers’ baptism, was received, in conjunction with his esteemed brother, Mr. Richard Bassett, who still survives him, into communion with the Church at Arnsby, the scene, for so many years, of the ministry of the celebrated Robert Hall, senior, and the birthplace of his still more distinguished son. This favoured spot, with its plain but commodious chapel, formed the centre of a number of villages and hamlets from which, in the absence of other means, the worshippers might bee seen on the Sabbath morning wending their way, by carriage or on foot, to the unpretending but commodious house of prayer; thither indeed, “the tribes went up to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.” Nor was any face for a series of years more familiar to the worshipping and united company than that of the subject of this hasty sketch.
With a countenance always bright and radiant, with a carriage at once self-respectful and unassuming, with a spirit in which native cheerfulness and sacred devotion were most happily combined, and with a heart as tender as it was manly, he moved for years among his companions in the faith of his Divine Lord, diffusing a silent but potent influence, the virtue and the fragrance of which remains to be more fully realized through the separating stroke of death.
Through the kindness of my esteemed friend and brother, the Rev. W. Fish, the present pastor of the church at Arnsby, I have been favoured with the following minute from its records: - “January 3rd, 1838 – Brethren DC. Bassett and William Walker having signified their acceptance of the office devolve4d on them by the suffrages of the church were acknowledged as deasons by its pastor, who then delivered an address on the duties of the deacons and members of a Christian church with regard to each other.” This minute occurred in connection with the pastorate of Mr. Webb, now filling an important position in one of our northern educational institutions.
A small chapel existed at Countesthorpe, the resident village of the deceased as well as of several families which were connected with the Arnsby church and congregation in which it was usual to hold Sabbath evening and occasional week-day worship. As the population of this village increased, and as some of the members of the parent communion resident in this distr4ict were advancing in years, it was deemed expedient to form a distinct church and to realize the superintendence of a resident minister, but the esteemed subject of this hasty memorial retained his connection to the Arnsby fellowship and was a constant attendant on its ministry. In the language of the Rev .Mr. Fish: “His attachment to Arnsby was deep and firm; he loved the very walls of that house of God. He was regular in his worship till the May of 1872, when he was first taken ill. Once after this, and only once, did he come to Arnsby again. It was on the first Sunday in July of that year. He had worshipped with us in the morning, and stayed to the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper at tis close. After the distribution of the elements, he stood up as he wished to say a few words. It was the last time. His words were few and well spoken, uttered with feelings of the deepest emotion, too deep for all he had to say. He felt and we all felt it was a final farewell. Tenderly did he commend the church to God. It was too much for the esteemed veteran; he sat down weeping like a child.”
Men of the world, as the phrase is (by which generic term is meant, here, those of whatever temperament or outward position who do not attach supreme and therefore appropriate importance to the culture of personal piety), could not fail to respect and honour the deceased, while enlightened Christians of all denominations held him in unqualified regard; nor can I close this brief but affectionate tribute of Christian esteem more appropriately than in terms which were used when called in company with other esteemed brethren in the ministry, and a multitude of sympathizing friends, to commit the remains of my deceased and valued friend to the silent grave: -
“Were I to consult my feelings on the present occasion, I should take my place among the mourning family and friends, rather than occupy an official and more conspicuous position, since, in the decease of the late Mr. Christopher Bassett, I feel that I have lost not only an intimate acquaintance, but an esteemed and beloved brother and friend. Half a century has rolled away since I first visited this village, and since, therefore, the names of Humphrey, Bassett, and Horton became gradually familiar to me. For many years I was accustomed, on the evening of Shrove Tuesday, to visit it, and to occupy the pulpit for an hour in the old chapel, now superseded by this neat and more commodious house of worship; and, on such occasions, to be the evening guest (in company with others) of our departed and beloved associate. The precious moments spent beneath that hospitable and almost sacred roof, will be hallowed to memory as long as life endures.
“Our departed friend was a man of no ordinary qualities and endowments. His perception was quick; his understanding clear; his judgment sounds; his principles enlightened and fixed; his heart warm and tender. He could be joyous without being frivolous, respectful without being servile, and resolute without being stubborn. He appears to me to combine the moral excellencies of the man with the diviner graces of the Christian, in an admirable and unusual degree. His loss, in the sphere in which he was accustomed to move, will be deeply felt; his memory affectionately cherished; his virtues long fragrant; and none that knew him (who revere revealed truth) can hesitate to cherish the belief that ‘though absent from the body he is present with the Lord.;”
The deceased, who for many years appeared to enjoy robust health, fell a victim to partial paralysis, and after lingering for some time, withheld from the usual exercise of his eminently social qualities, fell asleep in the hands of that adorable and Divine Redeemer, to whom he had habitually and prayerfully committed the keeping of his soul, leaving a mourning widow, who had been his affectionate and faithful companion through a long and happy pilgrimage, with four attached sons and one daughter, to mourn his loss, and to emulate his bright but unostentatious example. His elder brother, Mr. William Bassett, a useful and devoted servant of the Divine Redeemer, preceded him some few years to the “Father’s House” above. In the death we deplore, not only the bereaved family that mourns his loss, the Christian fellowship to which he belonged, the inhabitants of the village in which he resided, but the still far wider circle in which he moved has been deprived of one of its most useful by unobtrusive ornaments.
Some time must elapse before the plaintive tidings of the death of a judicious and affectionate parent can meet the ear of the eldest son of the deceased, who has, for a few years past, been resident in the distant colony of Australia. But sacred associations, maxims of true wisdom and prayerful solicitudes, are independent of the outward accompaniments of our being; they hold their sway and assert their gentle and sacred influences, regardless alike of time and of space. The solemn report will carry its momentous lessons with it. The tear of sorrow, the humble but firm resolve, and the voice form the tomb, are alike regardless of the winged tempest or of the foaming billow. The hallowed review, the heartfelt sigh, the tremulous prayer, the devout purpose (passing by the merely circumstantial accidents of our being), belong to the stricken race, the realm of thought, and the solemnly fleeting generations.
Amidst these pensive and desolating ravages of decay, and the disruption of endearing family ties, who can fail to be impressed with the sublime but characteristic apostrophe of the great John Foster: - “Who is that destroying angel,” he exclaims, “whom the Eternal has appointed to sacrifice all our devoted race, advancing onward over the whole field of Time? He hath smitten the successive crowds of our hosts with death, and to us He now approaches nigh. Some of our friends have trembled and sickened and expired at the signals of His coming; already we hear the thunder of His wings, soon His eye of fire will throw mortal fainting on all our companies, His prodigious form will to us blot out the sun, and His sword seep us all from the earth; for the living know that they must die.”
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Bassett Family Association Database
Abt 1796 - 1876 (80 years)