Uxbridge Gallimaufry

		Thomas Beasley grew up in Daventry, and later trained for the Congregational ministry.
		His first pastorate was at Walsall,where he met and married his wife, Phoebe Cox. In 1790
		he accepted an invitation to Old Meeting chapel in Uxbridge, and two years later he and
		Phoebe started the first Sunday School in the town there. Beasley also ran a school for boys,
		at first in his house on the corner of the High Street and Vine Street (where the RBS is today).
		Later the chapel trustees rebuilt their premises at 126 High Street, and Beasley moved in with
		his school. It was called simply Uxbridge School, and was part-day and part-boarding. The
		emblem of the school was a tortoise, and the motto was "Persevere if you are wise".
		Presumably Beasley had the fable of the hare and the tortoise in mind! After Thomas died the
		school was continued by his son, Dr Thomas Beasley. The yard next to 126 High Street is known
		today as Beasley's Yard, and a memorial tablet to the reverend may be seen on the wall of the yard.

		Born in Uxbridge, William Ashton worked as a boy in a grocer's shop, and having learned the trade
		he was able to set up on his own. He ran a very successful business at 15 Windsor Street until his
		retirement in 1920. He was a life-long member of Old Meeting Chapel, and led it through a number of
		crises. He served on the local Board of Health, was a trustee of Uxbridge United Charities, and was a
		magistrate at Uxbridge Court. He was also involved in the Brotherhood movement or PSA. This stood
		for Pleasant Sunday Afternoons, and was a religious meeting for men. Ashton was also elected to
		Uxbridge Council, and as Chairman in 1910 he publicly read the proclamation announcing the
		accession of Kin George V. He lived latterly in Norton Road.

		A native of Aspatria in Cumberland, Mr Bouch trained for the Congregational ministry at Paton College,
		Nottingham. In 1913 he came to Old Meeting church to preach, as they had no minister at the time,
		and made such an impression that he was invited to become the pastor. He accepted, and remained in
		that post for a remarkable 45 years. He went on to be a trustee of Uxbridge United Charities, and to serve
		on the local Joint Hospital Board. He was a long-serving member of Uxbridge Council, and was its
		chairman on three occasions. As such it was Mr Bouch who officially opened Uxbridge Swimming Pool
		on August 1935. For years he lodged with a family in Cleveland Road, but in 1943, at the age of 53, he
		married Dorothy Edwards, a member of his choir and congregation. They lived in Lancaster Road.
		Luther Bouch retired from his ministry in 1958, when he was given the title Minister Emeritus. After his
		death the church trustees re-named their property at 126 High Street "Luther Bouch House."