The Sherry Business and Religion

The history of Sherry is full of surprises, unusual deeds and minor events which all add up to some sort of importance. They are all inter-related, but there was one particular event, not well known or much looked into, which rocked a city where the Catholic majority lived together with a (largely English) Protestant minority who shared interests in the wine business.

It all started in the mid XIX century, when sales were buoyant. England was demanding more and more wine, sales were rocketing, and to its credit, Jerez got its first railway line in 1854, to the Trocadero quay (opposite Cadiz) via El Puerto de Santa Maria. The new railway station meant a great boost to business: it reduced transport costs and eliminated the interminable queues of bullock carts clogging the roads.

At this time, the British colony was suffering an outbreak of cholera, thanks to the vice consul Charles Peter Gordon (of the “Spanish Gordons”). His father was a prominent businessman, and a Catholic to his very marrow. He had as few as possible dealings with Protestant ministers and disliked his compatriot “heretics”. As British Vice-Consul, however, he was obliged to provide a place for them to worship, but this he roundly denied them. It was at this time that a scandal erupted which became the talk of the British Community. The matter reached Parliament and almost became a diplomatic incident between Britain and Spain. A Conservative member of Parliament , Sir Robert Peel, raised the matter in the Commons of the lack of freedom of Protestant British subjects to practice their faith in Spain, alluding negatively to Gordon.

The magazine Revista Jerezana reported “It appears to have come to the attention of the mayor that in the home of Mr Charles Harman Furlong, at C/Santamaria, 11, Protestant religious ceremonies are taking place”. The mayor passed this on to Gordon, asking him to ensure this stopped, according to Spanish rules, also advising Furlong.

The Protestants were not intimidated, and replied in a letter to Gordon that as British subjects they were surprised to be accused of breaking Spanish laws. They went on to say that they had come together at the house to attend a service by the Reverend William Cooke, British Chaplain at El Puerto de Santa Maria and Jerez. It was requested that Gordon provide them with somewhere to come together under English protection where they could quietly observe the rites of the Anglican Church. They demanded an immediate reply addressed to the house of Charles Furlong, and all those who had been present at the service signed the letter: William Cooke, Samuel Carter, Richard Ivison, Charles Furlong, Edward Collier, AM Stringer and C Noble.

Gordon replied that Spanish laws were very strict, and prohibited religious observance other than that of the Catholic Church under penalty of prison.

Meanwhile, in the House of Commons, Keel let rip at Gordon: “For example”, he said, “our Vice Consul in Seville is a Roman Catholic; nevertheless his drawing room is open to British residents in that city. Another Consul has installed a chapel for the celebration of Anglican services. Despite these examples, however, Vice Consul Gordon forbids our citizens (700 of them in the south of Spain) either to enter his house or to exercise their religion under the British flag”.

In 1861 Gordon was relieved of his duties which, ironically, were given to Furlong. But Gordon was a stubborn man. He kept the British arms above his door, he continued to use the official seal, and kept all the official consular archives. Furlong complained to London, writing: “Everyone in Jerez knows that Mr Gordon is using all his - not inconsiderable – influence at the Spanish Court to frustrate the intentions of the British Government. This was corroborated in a mysterious, black-edged letter with an illegible signature sent from the consulate.

Gordon continued with his attacks on his successor, discrediting him whenever possible. He accused Furlong of being a liberal, a distributor of Protestant bibles and pamphlets, and that he had allowed Protestants who were not English to meet under his roof to attend Anglican services. After Gordon was fired, Furlong continued in the job till 1868.

Furlong had interests in the Sherry exporter Matthiesen Furlong & Co, an important bodega, and unique in that it was in an old Jesuit convent, abandoned after the expulsion of the order. He was now faced with rumours from London that he had used illegal procedures in the production of wine, something which was confirmed by Walter J Buck, a naturalist and head of the big exporter Sandeman. Furlong retired back to England, and Buck took his place. In his time, the chapel Recreo de las Cadenas was used to hold Protestant services.

The spread of the Protestants, considered by Catholics as socialists, masons and enemies of the nation, continued. Jose Luis Jimenez has come across the figure of the Rev Joseph Viliesid, first pastor and founder of the Evangelical Congregation in Jerez in 1872. Along with his wife, Raquel Ben-Olier, he erected the first Church in the Calle Arguelles and two congregation halls in the Calle Mundo Nuevo in July 1874. As no willing Jerez architect could be found, a technician from Cadiz undertook the work.

Jorge Mundt, another ex-consul, ex Diez Hermanos, walking round a bodega said, “The proprietors of these bodegas are Catholics, and expect absolutely catholic conduct of all their staff. If I am a Protestant, what am I doing working here?”

(From Diario de Jerez 12.5.13)