The Peculiar People were a Christian group founded by James Banyard in Rochford, Essex, in 1838. Banyard, the impoverished son of a ploughman, was born in the town in January 1800.
He became a dissolute youth with a reputation for drunkenness. He was later jailed for petty acts of smuggling and poaching.
He married his first wife, Susan Garnish, in 1823. His drunkenness worsened and culminated in him losing his money and, it is said, most of his clothes at a fair. Susan demanded that he change his ways or she would leave him.
So he started to attend a Wesleyan Chapel in Rochford. It is believed he soon ‘saw the light’, became a teetotaller and even preached on occasions.
In 1837, Banyard became friendly with William Bridges, who was a visiting Methodist preacher from London. He was so taken by his new friend’s views that he became a born-again Christian, preaching forgiveness in all its forms. But his zeal did not find universal favour with all the chapel members, and he was refused permission to hold his own evening prayer meetings.
Banyard’s strength of character and self-belief resulted in a split among the chapel members. He attracted a group of followers, known as the Banyardites. They strongly believed in spiritual healing and the power of prayer and refused the use of the medical profession.
Banyard and his followers called themselves the ‘Peculiar People’ from phrases in the Bible that appear in both Peter and Deuteronomy. He said the group’s name reflected a translation of ‘God’s cherished personal treasures’. Their form of worship was based on their interpretation of the King James Bible.
In 1843, Banyard married for a second time, to Judith Knapping, and they had seven children. His wife was from a wealthy family and this enabled him to buy a plot of land on which to build the Peculiar People’s first chapel. He became the group’s first elected leader.
Sometime later, Banyard’s son fell seriously ill and he summoned help from a doctor, which caused dissent among his flock, and many left. He continued to preach until he died in 1863.
In 1910, there was a diphtheria outbreak in Essex, which split the followers again into Old Peculiars and New Peculiars, depending on their views on the use of medical care. This split wasn’t healed until the 1930s.
By 1956, members had changed the group’s name to something less divisive, namely the Union of Evangelical Churches. A chapel was built but in the 1980s it was demolished to make way for a housing estate. There were other changes, which included the creation of the Rochford Community Church in 1987. The Union of Evangelical Churches continues in east London and Essex. The original name of the Peculiar People is almost forgotten.
The Oldie September 2023
