John Beverley
Beverley, originally from Lincolnshire, entered Westminster School and became a King’s Scholar in 1644. In 1645 he was elected to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was admitted as a student on 30 June, becoming a scholar the same year, and formally matriculated. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1649 and his Master of Arts in 1651. Beverley served as a Fellow of Trinity College from 1649 to about 1653, working there as a tutor around 1651-52. After spending some time in Scotland he came to Rothwell where Beverley and a group of around 30 dissenters formed and united in church fellowship on the congregational plan, and entered into a covenant with each other to "walk together in gospel faith and order, as a particular church in the performance of all duties towards God, towards each other, and towards all men". On 22nd October 1656, Beverley became the first pastor of the Independent Congregation at Rothwell. He died shortly after the formation of the church on 2 June 1658.

Thomas Browning
Second minister, and some 60+ years before the church had a building to call home, Browning ministered to the congregation for around 23 years. He died on 9th May 1685 aged 52 years old. His death was recorded in the first church book with the words "Mr Thomas Browning, Pastor of this Church, was gathered to his Father's house in peace, in an evil, persecuting day, May 9th 1685 having served his Lord in this house with much pains and many tears, with much presence and success, about 23 years". Browning is buried in the Holy Trinity Church.

Richard Davis 
Originally from Cardiganshire, Richard Davis began his career as a schoolmaster in London. He was, ordained as minister of the Congregational church at Rothwell in 3rd February 1689. His ministry there provoked much controversy among Dissenters. He was accused of teaching Antinomian doctrine, whilst his use of 'revivalistic' methods in preaching and his extensive employment of lay itinerants, were repugnant to the more academic of his fellow ministers. His insistence on 'congregational' church-government and his hostility to 'a Presbyterian classis' greatly influenced English Congregationalists in their decision to abandon the ' Union ' of 1690 between Presbyterians and Independents. He died on 10 September 1714. His gravestone states he died on 11 September, aged 56.

Mattias Maurice
Born the son of a tailor at Llanddewi-Velfrey, Pembrokeshire in 1684, Mattias became a member of Henllan Amgoed congregation, then went to Carmarthen, to prepare himself for the ministry. Early in 1713 he became minister at Olney (Buckinghamshire), and was called to Rothwell to assist Richard Davis on 22nd August 1714, succeeding him on 26th September that same year.

A prolific writer and translator throughout his ministry. The most popular of his writings was Social Religion Exemplify'd, 1759, which had gone through seven editions by 1860. Mathias Maurice died at Rothwell on 1 September 1738.

Jonathan Sanderson
Born in 1718 his father, Jonathan senior, was a grocer of respectable means in Stannington, Northumberland. Sanderson eschewed an apprenticeship and continued his nonconformist learning under the tutelage of Rev. Wadsworth. In due course, he attended an independent academy in London from 1737 and from then went to Rothwell on 16th February 1740. He was ordained on 3rd June 1741. He married Mary Hobson on 11th June 1742 and they had one child that died in infancy. Sanderson died of consumption in April 1747.

Moses Gregson
Educated at the Tenter Alley Academy, in Moorfields, London by virtue of a Trotman grant in 1742. Gregson ministered at Rothwell for over 40 years. His son, Abraham, was also educated at Tenter from 1773 after it had relocated to Hoxton in 1762, with the Presbyterian Fund Board paying £12 for Gregson’s support at Hoxton up to Midsummer 1778. Ordained at Rothwell on 20 April 1748, Gregson died in 1789 having retired from the ministry in Rothwell. His will was proven by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in 1789.

John Wood
After beginning his residency as assistant to Moses Greyson, Wood eventually took over from him and served this church for a twenty year period over the turn of the century, resigning on 11th March 1811.

Walter Scott
Scott was another long serving minister in Rothwell with a stable and successful 20 year period. He eventually resigned his post to accept a tutorship at Airedale College in Yorkshire.

Thomas Galsworthy
Having studied at Airedale College, Gallsworthy was ordained on October 4th 1837 as the pastor at Rothwell. He left Rothwell after just four years. It is likely that he went to Rotherham, as he was married at West Melton on 23rd November 1850 to Sarah Johnson of Wath-on-Thames. He eventually went to Thornbury but after a 7 year tenure, it seem there was some dissatisfaction with him which led to his resignation. Galsworthy died on 17th June 1888 in Alfreton where he had served for the previous 17 years.

Richard Jessop
Another minister of which not much is known. Church records give us the dates of his ministry, but aside from that, we have little information about his 15 year tenure. We do have evidence of him marrying William Bassett and Elizabeth Sibutt on 22nd Feb 1847 from the Nonconformist of March 10 of the same year.

Evan Lewis
Evan Lewis was very active in the temperance movement in Northampton during his tenure, giving numerous speeches and lectures including his published works "A Plea for the People, or the force and fate of England's Juggernaut". In his speech at the 5th annual Temperance Union in Wellingborough in Sept 1861 he "thought the people of Northampton to be stiff and stubborn".

James Hoyle
Born near Rochdale in 1835, Rev. Hoyle served Rothwell and Hull. His final calling in the UK was at Somerset from where he departed the UK to accept an invitation to minister in Cape Town in December 1881. On 9th October 1883 he was thrown from his carriage during a journey to Roedelbloem. He never regained consciousness and was buried at Mowbray, Cape Town, leaving behind a wife, 2 daughters and a son.

Norman Glass
Born on 4th December 1832, Norman was minister at Rothwell for a short time, having accepted the invitation to Rothwell in February 1870, leaving Basingstoke. He was a great writer and orator throughout his life, giving many lectures and writing multiple papers and books, including his The Early History of the Independent Church at Rothwell, first printed in 1871. He died in Blackpool 1893 aged 61.

William Tidd Matson
William Matson was called to the ministry at Rothwell in last 1873, where he remained servicing the community for six years. A confirmation service in January of 1874 was reported in the Northampton Mercury on Saturday 17th January 1874. Throughout the ministry of Tidd Matson church attendance was significantly high. Matson was a prolific writer of poetry, having published at least three volumes, including his best known, The Poetical Works of William Tidd Matson.

Edwin William Wilson
Rev. Edwin Wilson arrived in Rothwell from Wolverton, Buckinghamshire giving his last sermon there on 6th Oct 1880. Giving many lectures whilst at Wolverton, he continued this practice in Rothwell throughout his seven year tenure, including his Jubilee sermon on 19th June 1887 for which he chose  Lev. XXV, v. 10, and spoke of the being thankful for progress having been made to avoid calamities and dangers such as great wars, pestilence and national commercial panics. In his recognition service Wilson made reference to the welcome he had received in Rothwell, commenting that he had met Greeks and Jews but no Barbarians. It was during the ministry of Wilson that John Sturman departed for China with a tea being held in recognition. it was during this team that Sturman was presented with a framed testimonial and a purse containing 10 guineas.

Henry Butler
Henry Butler, was another long serving minister of the church, having served the congregation for five years after arriving from Birmingham. He preached his first sermon at Rothwell on Dec 31st 1892. As with many of these pre-20th century ministers most of the information comes from newspapers of the day, highlighting events or circumstances pertinent to the people of the day. At the service on 22 Aug 1897, Rev. Butler announced that he would be preaching his last at Rothwell on 26th Sep 1897.

John Slater Richards
Hailing from Blackburn, Lancashire Rev John Slater trained at the Lancashire Independent College, studying under the son of Rev Walter Scott who served Rothwell between 1813 & 1833, graduating in 1898. Rothwell was his first parish and he served here from 23rd Jan 1898, organising meetings to support passive resistance to the Education Act in 1903, which abolished elected School Boards and created the LEAs which many Congregationalists believed would mean they were paying taxes to support the teaching of the established church, and going on to become President of the Northamptonshire Congregational Association in 1911 (alongside the secretary of the day, Rev H J L Matson, son of William Tidd Matson) until being called to the pastorate at New Road Congregational Church in Bury in January of 1915. Richards served during a rich time for the church, raising funds for the building of the schoolrooms and a complete restoration of the church, a refresh of the pews, the erection of the choir vestry and improvements to the church approach. The sermon preached by Richards on accepting the role in Bury was reported in the Midland Mail on 22 January 1915. Richards died in July 1935.

Charles Leslie Atkins
Atkins born in the 1880s in Hansworth, Birmingham grew up in the Westminster Road Congregational Church. After leaving school he served a clerkship with a local jewellery manufacturer. In 1906 he entered Western College, Bristol, matriculating in 1910. He subsequently passed the intermediate exam for a BA (theology) in 1914. At the start of WWI he worked, through the YMCA, at Salisbury Plain, Bournemouth and then, later, in France. Joining Rothwell in July 1915 where he enjoyed ardent support during his 5 year tenure, before accepting the invitation from the Clarendon Park Congregational Church in Leicester in January 1920, departing in April of that year.

Bernard Clifford Plowright
Born in 1885 at Rawmarsh, Sheffield, Plowright studied at the Congregational College, Caterham Valley, before undertaking 3 years at Edinburgh University, Plowright, took his theological studies at the United College in Bradford. He undertook a stint with the YMCA during the war and the having been pastor at the Salem Congregational Church in York since returning from the trenches in 1915, accepted the invitation to minister at Rothwell in November 1920. The son of a Rev. J & Mrs Plowright, he married the daughter of Rev J & Mrs Poynton in 1912. Plowright retired from the ministry in Beckenham to Southend in 1961 where he had been a prominent radio broadcaster, Why Not Free Love? … Broadcast, etc. (1944)  as well as author (For groupers only; being a judgment concerning the Oxford groups and contained in letters to Duncan Hyde, undergraduate, sometime joyous pagan and a recent convert at a house-party). He died in 1967.

William Henry Sansom
Born in Oxfordshire, one of three brothers, all of whom became ministers, Sansom's first pastorate was at Rothwell. He was an in-demand minister, with Rothwell having waited 12 months for him to complete his studies at Cambridge, from which he had matriculated in 1921. In 1928 he rejected an invitation to Wolverhampton, preferring to remain in Rothwell to continue the work he and his sister had begun. He did eventually left Rothwell for London Road, Leicester in 1929, marrying Ada Hopper, a local teacher at Alderman Newton's Secondary School, at the George Street Congregational Church, Oxford on 14th Jan 1931.