Apart from being a Baptist minister, James Carvath was also a man of literary and artistic tastes who made every effort to share his passions with others.

He moved to Bourne from Willingham, Cambridgeshire, in 1894 as a supply minister to the Baptist Church in West Street but his intended brief stay became permanent when the pastorate fell vacant. The Rev G H Bennett, who was then minister, moved to Louth, Lincolnshire, and he subsequently accepted an invitation from church officials to succeed him in 1898 and remained in office for the next 16 years.

The Rev James Carvath was a forceful and attractive preacher and his ministry showed great promise but was eventually marred by internal troubles and he left amid some controversy. The exact circumstances of his surprise resignation are not known and no details can be found in the church records but his departure was abrupt and was no doubt caused by a long running dispute over his terms of service with the deacons, two of them in particular who were never publicly named but with whom there was obviously a great deal of animosity. He made the announcement during an evening service on Sunday  21st June 1914 before a large congregation, taking for his text the words Strengthen the things that remain. Mr Carvath said that one deacon had contacted him during the week urging him not to resign but he had decided to go, partly for private and personal reasons, and in the greater part because of recent occurrences for which the church was not responsible although nothing had been done to prevent a repetition in the future. He went on:

It should be more generally known that the minister of this church is appointed according to a trust deed for a period of three to five years. He is called by the church, appointed by the church, and his engagement should be terminated by the church and not by any individual, or by any two or three electing to act together. The church, at the end of the first term of five years, unanimously re-invited me, and again at the termination of my second term, and yet during the 15 years I have been here, I have three times been given notice to leave by one member acting on behalf of another. I ask you on behalf of my successor, whoever he may be, to make the repetition of that or anything like it, impossible. Let it be know that, as a church, you cannot condone an incident of that sort. It is so contrary to the fundamental principles of Free Church and government, so destructive to the minister's peace of mind, and so inimical to his work.

I shall from now, cease to be the pastor of this church but I shall not cease to be a minister of Jesus Christ and I shall exercise my ministry as opportunities present themselves. Again, I thank those of you who have given me your confidence, who have enriched me by your friendship, co-operated with me in Christ's service, and who have taught me lessons I cannot forget  wherever I may go and however long I may live. May the kind and gracious God reward you. The condition of the church here is not by any means what it ought to be and it is a striking illustration of the law laid down by St Paul in the well known words "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap", and it proves that what applies to a man applies equally to a community. What this church is today is the outcome of what it has been and what it has done in the past. The harvest it is now reaping is a seed it sowed in days long since gone by and the only way to obviate a worse harvest is indicated by the text "Strengthen the things that remain".

The pastor then invited questions and Mr William Pryke expressed regret on behalf of the congregation that he was leaving and that he would not be occupying the pulpit in the future. "But it is customary to bid farewell to a minister who has served for so many years and I cannot understand why such a service has not been arranged in this instance", he said. These remarks were greeted with loud applause from the congregation and Mr Carvath replied with some emotion: "I can tell you that there will be no farewell service and I will give you two guesses as to the names of the two people who have arranged this."

James Carvath's activities in Bourne were by no means confined to his religious work for he had great literary taste. Although an amateur, he was an expert of a high order on books and purchased large quantities, always confining his acquisitions to rare or special volumes. He was frequently in demand in an advisory capacity when libraries were offered for sale and was often called on to catalogue their contents. He combined this knowledge of books with an expert’s opinion on antiques and object’s d’art, particularly furniture and old china. His literary tastes also led him to assume the role of lecturer and there was always something fresh to be gained from him on these public occasions. 

He was also interested in politics and a few months after his arrival in Bourne, while addressing a Free Church gathering, he remarked: “Dame Rumour says that I am a Conservative but Dame Rumour may well be wrong”, a point that was proved when he became a prominent worker and speaker for Liberalism during the 1906 general election campaign for the Stamford constituency. He was again in the forefront of the fight for Liberalism in the 1910 elections and his passion for the cause continued until old age and poor health forced his retirement from the fight shortly before his death. 

James Carvath suffered indifferent health for more than two years and underwent a serious operation at Peterborough Infirmary. He made a remarkable recovery from the surgery and there were strong hopes that a permanent benefit would result but he was again taken ill and confined to his bed at his home in North Road, Bourne, where he died on Wednesday 28th August 1929 at the age of 74. 

His last public appearance had been at a meeting of the Board of Guardians on July 11th and a meeting of the Charity trustees the following evening. Both organisations were close to his heart for he played a prominent role in the life of the town. He was first elected a guardian 30 years before when he was returned with Mr R A Gardner and the Rev T H Parker, then the Congregational minister in Bourne, subsequently serving as chairman of the House Committee and as their representative on the Lincolnshire Joint Vagrancy Committee where he gained a reputation as a man with a sense of humour through his periodic reports to the board.  

Ten years later, in 1909, he was elected a member of Bourne Urban District Council on his first nomination and was subsequently returned at every election until his last term in office expired in 1929 when he stood down because of ill health. He was chairman of the council from 1923-24 and served on most of the authority’s important committees. Education was among his many interests in the public sphere and he became one of the managers of the Bourne Council School and was later appointed their vice-chairman. 

When the grammar school scheme for the town was approved by the Board of Education [later the Ministry of Education], he was appointed by Bourne UDC as one of the governors.   

Mr Carvath and his wife Florence, who died on 9th August 1933, aged 73, had three sons and three daughters but their second son, Ewart, died in the Great War of 1914-18 after being taken prisoner by the Turks and is remembered on the town’s war memorial. 

This was a severe blow to the couple from which neither of them fully recovered. They are buried in the same grave in the town cemetery.

 

See also     Annie Carvath     The Baptist Church 

 

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