They were placed there again at night, but Mr. Marsden being with me, and seeing him, they walked off without giving abuse. Bellas, of Heights, came to do duty for them. Robert France, of Blakestones, brought me a message, April 24th, from Mr. Smith, vicar of Almondbury, to persist in going, which encouraged me to go again. I stayed at home. Snow fell this day.
Similar entries continue during the next month.
The above quotations show to what length the adherents of the popular parson were prepared to go. Suffice it to say that the influence of the majority was soon felt, and in turn weighed with the patron of the living, and soon the Rev. Lancelot Bellas was safely ensconced in the joys and pleasures of a rural incumbency. Before dismissing the Rev. John Murgatroyd it may be of interest to relate that before taking up his residence in Slaithwaite he was for several years curate of Almondbury. At Slaithwaite he had charge of the old Grammar School, and eked out a livelihood by casual preaching in the neighbourhood. After spending the greater part of his life in Slaithwaite in scholastic and semi-clerical duties, he died in 1806 at the advanced age of 87 years.