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THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY

OF THE

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH

BY THE

RBY-. H. B. I KENDALL, »tA.

Vol. I,

224575

EDWIN DALTON: 48—50 ALDERSGATE STREET, E.G.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT.

HE Author hereby sincerely thanks those many friends who have
materially assisted in the preparation of this work by giving
information or supplying illustrations. His acknowledgments are
especially due to the Revs. J. W. Chappel, J. T. Gooderidge, and
Sydney A. Barron for the labour they cheerfully undertook in making
researches into the early history of our Church in Staffordshire,
Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, respectively, and for the loan of
portraits and documents.

H. B. K.

» » '« •

THE LIBRARY *

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
fRO-VO, UTAH

INTRODUCTOKY.

N an important document recently discovered, and never, up to this time,
quoted, William Clowes passes certain strictures on the first official
History of the Primitive Methodist Church. " I must confess," he says,
" though I never said so to anybody in my life, that I did not approve
of its being drawn up in the way it was." To William Clowes, the history of the
Primitive Methodist Church began when the Camp Meeting Methodists and the
Clowesites came together in 1811 to form one united Church. He furthermore
maintained that Hugh Bourne, William Clowes, James Steele, James Nixon, and
Thomas Woodnorth, should be recognised and honoured as the real founders of our
Church.

As though to confirm the view of Clowes, the historical preamble to the Deed Poll
of the Primitive Methodist Connexion — its document of highest official authority —
sets forth the origin of the Connexion, and finds it in the fusion of the Clowesites
and Camp Meeting Methodists. Having mentioned the societies at Ramsor, Wootton,
Stanley, and Tunstall, this carefully-drawn legal instrument proceeds : —

"And the said several societies and classes, together with other congregations,
societies, and classes, in several parts of England, were afterwards closely united
and connected, and the whole thereof under the care of the said Hugh Bourne,
James Bourne, William Clowes, and James -teele, were formed into one general
community or Connexion, known and distinguished by the title or denomination
of ' The Primitive Methodist Connexion.' "

Undoubtedly, then, William Clowes is right in his main contention, viz., that the
Primitive Methodist Church began in 1811, and, therefore, that the proper history of
the Church must also begin with that date. It is an anachronism to speak of
Primitive Methodism before 1811. Any incidents which took place prior to the
union effected in this memorable year, must be regarded as incidents and episodes
belonging to a revivalistic movement, or series of revivalistic movements, locally
differentiated, proceeding on early or primitive Methodist lines, partaking, therefore,
of the nature of a survival, reaction, or return to an earlier type of aggressive agency,
and finally converging and coalescing in one general community or Connexion.

2 INTRODUCTORY.

All this may appear very obvious when stated, and to amount to little more than
a question of words. But words, unless carefully chosen and kept in their right place,
have a way of confusing thought and raising a false issue. The view of Clowes,
endorsed as it is by the Deed Poll, as to the origin and foundership of the Connexion,
may be plain as a pikestaff wlien pointed out, but had this very obvious truth been
always kept in mind, it would have made impossible much useless discussion as to
whether this or that event which occurred anywhere between 1799 and 1811, is to be
regarded as the beginning of Primitive Methodism — whether it be the conversion of
Hugh Bourne in 1799; the conversation-sermon, and revival at Harriseahead in 1800;
'the camp-meeting Avithout a name' in the same year; Mow-Cop camp-meeting in 1807 ;
or the taking over of Stanley class in 1810. All these events, important as they
were, belong to the preparatory movement, and not the denominational period.
Another result would have followed : disputes as to who was the true founder of
the Connexion would soon have had the heart taken out of them. For "Who was
the one founder of the Connexion?" is seen to be a question quite beside the mark, as
soon as we recognise the true state of facts. How could there be but one founder
when there must have l)een as many founders as there were heads and leaders of
the various revivalistic agencies which in 1811 became, as the Deed Poll puts it,
"closely united and connected " ? Who was the founder of the Camp Meeting Methodists ;
or of tlie Dovvites at Rizley, or of the Clowesites? are questions relevant enough.
But who was the founder of the Primitive Methodist Connexion 1 is like asking. What
was the name of Isaac's son ? or What did they call Solomon's wife ? The enquirer
must reshape his question, or stand down. We have had founders in the plural, but
no one man can lay exclusive claim to that distinction, as Clowes knew, as the
Deed Poll deponeth, and as this history, we hope, will clearly show.

And now we fear that, like Dr. Faustus when he preached his too moving sermon
in the market-place, we have proved our point too much. We have laboured to make
clear the fact that Primitive Methodist history, properly so called, begins in 1811 ; and
yet, straightway, we shall proceed to dwell with some minuteness and care on men who
lived and events that happened in the twelve years previous to 1811. And it should,
moreover, be admitted that we shall do this despite the opinion and judgment of
William Clowes himself, as recorded in the document aforesaid, recently brought to
light. In the strictures passed upon the first "History" of 1823, he expresses the
opinion that in drawing up that History, there was no need to write of events so far
back as the conversion of Hugh Bourne, or of the Tunstall revival in which Clowes
himself was converted. We cannot go with him in this opinion. On the contrary,
we make bold to say — and the truth of the statement is not loss assured because
expressed in a paradoxical form — The most important part of the history of Primitive
Methodism relates to what occurred in 1800 — 11, when, as yet, there was no Primitive
Methodism. AVilliam Clowes lived in the pre-evolutionary days, before the advent
of the relative spirit by which our methods of waiting history and biography have
been largely modified. Under the influence of this pervasive spirit, neither man nor
institution can now be regarded as a true " absolute " — separate and self-contained,
independent of what went before and unrelated to what is around. It is felt that

INTRODUCTORY. 3

that subject — be it individual or institutional — cannot properly be understood unless
we know something of its parentage and antecedents as well as of the contemporary
forces which have gone to shape and modify it. Thus history has become largely
biological, and biography the analysis of a product as well as the telling of a human
story. True ; there is danger that too much may be yielded to the exacting
demands of the relative spirit — as we can see in such a work as Buckle's " History
of Civilisation," — yet, within limits, its claims are just and reasonable, ^o one can
ignore the sources and streams of the Jordan because they do not bear that name
until their confluence ; neither do men begin to write of the Oxford Movement by
describing the publication of the "Tracts for the Times." The "movement," as its
originators and abettors loved to call it, had been some seven years in progress before
that " portentous birth of time," and the explanation of that movement must be sought
in the character and aims of the three men who gave it its inspiration, impulse, and
direction. To understand the confluent stream, you must survey its tributaries and
trace them to their source. To understand movements, you must know something of
the men who gave them their momenta and direction.

It is such considerations as these that induce — yea, that compel us— to include within
the scope of this history a survey of the formative period prior to 1811, and especially
to consider the training of Hugh Bourne and William Clowes, and how they acted
upon the movements of their time, and were, in their turn, re-acted upon by those
movements. Let the reader not begrudge the space needful for dealing at all
satisfactorily with so difficult and necessary a task.

BOOK I.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

CHAPTER I.
THE HARRISEAHEAD REVIVALISTS.
Hugh Bourne's Conversion.

||UGH BOURNE first saw the light at Fordhays Farm, in the parish of
Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, April 3rd, 1772; his second birth took
place in the summer of 1799. For the first sixteen years of his life —
that is to say, during the ])eriod when the deepest and most permanent
impressions are made — Hugh Bourne lived on a solitary moorland farm. The
farmstead is still standing, though it has been raised, and its roof is no longer
thatched. Those who knew the original building well have left us a description
of it which might almost seem to

have been
Heights."

might
taken from

" Wuthering

" As a residence, there could hardly
be anything more bleak, desolate, and
lonely. In the whole neighbourhood
of this moorland there were only some
two or three other houses, and beyond
these was the wide stretch of the moor.
There was no road, public or private,
not even a foot-road to the house or
anywhere near it, and to complete the
isolation and loneliness, the only access
to the house was over a wide brook upon
a plank, and often for weeks together,
'the family saw no one beyond their
own circle, and of the great outside
world they knew but very little.""^

If the bleak Yorkshire fells are needed
to account for the sombre genius of the
Bronte sisters, so it needs Fordhays Farm
fidly to account for Hugh Bourne. To
the very last his moorland origin stood
confessed. His native environment had its counter[)art in his strong, rugged nature,
and especially in that bashfulness which was so marked a feature of the man. Nor
need we wonder at this ; for he must have had a temperament sanguine indeed to have
* "Memorial of the Centenary of Hugh Bourne," 1872, p. 11.

HUGH BOURNE.
From "History of Counexion," pub. 1823.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

enabled him to overcome the steady pressure and influence of such an environment as
that amid which the most plastic years of life were passed. But he was also
constitutionally shy and serious, and it was inevitable that a timidity inborn and ingrained

should be deepened by the solitary aspects of his early
life. To such an extent was this the case that he became,
to use his own words, "so bashful as is seldom seen."
We cannot but admire that, handicapped as he was by
this temperamental thorn in the flesh, in its very despite
this diffident moorland youth of few words eventually
got so far and did so much. After all, he must have had
considerable reserves of doggedness and moral courage
to draw upon, and there must have been rigorous self-
discipline and the habit of reliance.

" But, perhaps," it may be said, " even Fordhays had
its compensations. When the plank over the brook .
was crossed, and you entered the farm-kitchen, there
might be enough light and cheerfulness within to make
up for the gloom without and to people its solitude. It
might be the abode of piety — of 'plain living and high
thinking.'" Scarcely; for the master of Fordhays —
Joseph Bourne, farmer, wheelwright, and timber-dealer
— was no good liver, though his days were long in
the land.* He was passionate, a drunkard and dissolute,
a derider of Methodism and dissent, and yet withal a stiff"
Churchman. Sometimes in his convivial moments he
would boast- that " he had a bishop and two parsons at home " (alluding to his wife
and sons) ; but if so, the parsons had to do their priest's office in the attic or anywhere
they could out of sight and hearing of the violent and churlish man. All the time,
Joseph Bourne had an angel in the house had he but known it — a thrifty, long-suffering
woman who did her best to keep together the gear he did his worst to scatter. She,
and not he, the husband, was the true stay and band of the house. Partly to save
expense, a'nd partly from the love of the work, she taught her children to read as
she sat busy at the spinning-wheel. Ellen Steel — let us give her maiden name so
that two of that surname may honourably figure in the history of our Church— early
taught her lad to fear God and walk righteously, though she could not bring him
into the joy and peace of assurance, and, indeed, did not herself enter therein until
Hugh, her son, showed her the way.

Hugh Bourne's own papers reveal that as a child he was uncommonly serious, and
knew something of gloom and even of terror. Early might it have been said of him :

" Shades of the prison-house begin to close
Upon the growing boy."

But he kept his sorrows and struggles to himself, hiding them even from his mother.

HUGH BOURNE.

(From an old Circuit Plan) .

Circa, 1848.

" This side-view portrait struck us

as an exceedingly good one, and

worthy of being published in a

more permanent form." —

Rev. J. Wood, D.D.

* He lived to be nearly a hundred years of age.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

FORDH AYS FARM AS IT WAS. HUGH BOURNES BIRTHPLACE.

FORDHAYS FARM AS IT IS (BACK VIEW).

10 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUIICII.

Of this period he afterwards wrote pathetically : —

" Oh, that I had had some one to take me by the hand and instruct me in the
mystery of faith and the nature of a free, full, and present salvation ! How happy
would it have been for me ! . . . . Rut like Bunyan's Pilgrim, I had to make
my way alone. The Lord neither gave me guide nor companion in the way to the
Cross. I was painfully convinced of sin when I was but a small boy, and this
without the aid or knowledge of any man : and during my twenty sorrowful years
I went through much moral and religious readings."

This period in Hugh Bourne's life left its mark upon him to the end. Familiar to
all is that peculiarity in his character and ministry — -his constant practice of taking
kindly notice of children. He did this not merely to please their parents, or because
he himself was, as the phrase goes, " fond of children." He did it on principle ;
because, as he knew from his own experience, they had affinities with the Kingdom ')f
God, and rightly belonged that Kingdom. So it was his invariable custom to preach
short, simple sermons to the children, and to insist upon others doing the same. There
lay behind this practice of his, as its sufficient reason and justification, his own
experience when as a child he walked in darkness and had no light. What sore travail
might have been missed, and how much earlier might he have been won for the Church,
had some good soul but broken in upon his solitude and led him, child as he was, into
tlie fold of Christ ! So, as he had suffered when a child from the wrong ideas or
indifference of others, he was determined to do his part to save other children, who
might even now be before him, from the like experience.

We shall see, when we come to consider Hugh Bourne as author and editor, what he
did in this same period towards self-culture. If we refer to his reading now it is only
because by reading, and by reading alone, he was led into the light. It was not by the
means of grace as ordinarily understood, or by the living voice of preacher, teacher, or
friend that a new direction was given to his life. His conversion was not directly
traceable to any living personal influence Avhatever. On the contrary, the influence
exerted upon him by the lives of many around was rather such as to perplex him and
hinder his progress. If ever there was a conversion brought about through the
instrumentality of books it was in the case of Hugh Bourne. All that men did for him
was to lend him the books for which he asked. They neither chose his reading for him,
nor asked the question Philip put to the eunuch : " Understandest thou what thou
readest ? "

In 1799 he found rich spoil in a volume of varied contents borrowed of a Methodist
neighbour. Between the covers of this book were the Life of Fletcher of Madeley,
Jane Cooper's " Letters," the lives of T. Taylor and John Haine, early Methodist
preachers, AUeine's " Alarm to the Unconverted," a Treatise on the Articles and
Homilies of the Church of England, etc. — truly a library in a volume. Amongst the
seimons of Wesley was the one on the Trinity (1 John v. 7), which made it clear ta
him that he had been pursuing a search foredoomed to failure in trying to find a perfect
form of religion, perfectly expressed. He was now "delivered from laying stress on
opinions," and " found that the religion of the heart was alike in all." How much
Hugh Bourne felt himself indebted to Wesley's broad Catholic teaching may be inferred

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

from the fact that he has incorporated a weighty paragraph from this sermon in the
first History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion, published in 1823. That quotation
rightly stands where it does in the History since, but for it, he might have continued to
hold aloof from any and every organised religious society. On this ground, Wesley's
sermon on the Trinity, and particularly the excerpt given by Hugh Bourne, may be
viewed in the light of a document belonging to our sources, and for this reason might
quite properly have had insertion here.

In the early part of this same year — 1799 — he

" Read the books of the first Quakers — great examples of patient suffering,
zealous for open-air worship, mighty in faith. They would exercise faith even
in silence, until they moved whole neighbourhoods by so doing. I was much
edified in reading of the faith, patience, and suflferings of the primitive

Quakers I was enabled to see a little more clearly into the mystery

and power of faith, — truly their trials of faith were great."

BIDDULPH MOOR.

Next, sundry volumes of the " Arminian Magazine " — eldest of our religious serials —
fell in his way ; and now, for the first time, he learned that the Arminians, whom he
had once thought of seeking out in the West of England, were the same people as the
Methodists at his very doors ! After this we can quite believe him when he avers that
he " knew but little of the Methodists," and that on account of the conduct of certain
inconsistent professors in his neighbourhood, he had gone the length of " thinking the
Methodists a fallen people." Assuredly, he much needed at this juncture the offices of
a candid and well-informed friend.

As Wesley had broken down Ijarriers and prepared the way for communion, so

PKLMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

John Fletcher was instrumentally the means of completing the work — of ending the
twenty long years of conflict and giving him sure-grounded peace. It will be well to
let Hugh Bourne describe in his own naiv^e way that experience which Avas at once the
end of a dreary journey, shot by only occasional gleams of brightness, and the
beginning of a new and fuller life.

" One Sunday morning (in the spring of 1799) in my father's house at Bemersley,
1 sat reading in Mr. Fletchers 'Letters on the Spiritual Manifestation of the Son
of God,' and realised the blessing named in John xiv. 21, where Christ says, 'I will
love him, and will manifest Myself to him ' ; and He manifested Himself to me,
and I was born again in an instant ! yea, passed from death unto life. The naughty
was taken out of my heart and the good put in. In an instant I had power over
sin, which I had not before ; and I was filled with joy and love and glory which

BEMERSLEY FARM, THE HOME OF THE BOURNES.

made a full amends for the twenty years' suffering. The Bible looked new ; creation
looked new ; and I felt a love to all mankind ; and my desire was that friends and
enemies and all the world, if possible, might be saved."

Hugh Bourne could, one thinks, have written a good article on "Books that have
Influenced me." And, indeed, from his own incidental references to his indebtedness to
books, we have endeavoured to put together such a chapter. Well might he believe in
the power of the Press, who w^as himself a living witness of its power, and humbly
follow the example of Wesley in making use of the Press as an instrument in advancing
the Kingdom of God.

It seems the most natural thing in the world to find reprinted in the Magazine

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 13

for 1822 the six letters of Fletcher, in which Bourne maintains the thesis — regarded as
" unscriptural, enthusiastical, and dangerous" hy some — "That the Son of God, for
purposes worthy of His wisdom, manifests Himself sooner or later to His sincere
followers in a spiritual manner which the world knows not of." Soon, we shall
find John xiv. 21, the very heart and centre of the written account of his own
conversion he drew up for the edification of others, and the text of his first conversation-
sermon.

Elsewhere we have written — "Hugh Bourne was the child oi primitive Methodism."
This is no question-begging phrase. We use it without prejudice or thought of any
ulterior argumentative advantage to be gained thereby. As the dictum stands it is-
historically and psychologically true, and further reflection only serves to deepen our
conviction of its truth ; only, the statement needs to be somewhat enlarged. Huo-h
I>ourne ^vas the child of primitive Methodism, but there was also a strain of primitive
Quakerism in his blood. He was the product of Methodism, but not of the Methodism
of his own day. He knew but little, and could know but little of that. The Methodism
of which he was the product, the Methodism he was to do his best to revive and make
a living force, was the Methodism of John jN"elson, and of the other early preachers
whose lives he had read. As w^e have shown, Methodism reached him first of all
through the media of books. Very illuminating are his own words written of a time
two or three years subsequent to his conversion : — " As my information had been
mainly acquired by reading it was chiefly primitive — I may say unconsciously primitive."
The remark shows acuteness of self-discrimination ; Methodism of the early type was at
first imbibed unconsciously. Presently it became his set deliberate purpose to revive it,
and he found himself in association with others of like mind and purpose, and an active
participant in a movement which locally was afterwards to differentiate itself. But>
a word as to the Quaker element in Hugh Bourne's Methodism : the reading of the
large volumes containing the annals of the first race of Quakers left its mark— its
indelible mark upon him, and to a certain extent upon the denomination he helped to
found. To his somewhat narrow, intense, sombre nature there was much in the
primitive Quakerism of George Fox — with its mystic sympathies, its openness to receive
and be guided by impressions and dreams ; with its tendency to give a severe and
ascetic interpretation to the injunction, "be not conformed to this world" — there was
much in all this that was congenial to Hugh Bourne, and to which he readily responded.
The law that stood so long on the statute-book requiring travelling-preachers to wear
their hair in its natural form, witnesses to the influence which Quakerism in its least
vital and attractive form exerted upon our fathers. But though its lower workings
might be seen in enactments prescribing the mode of wearing the hair or the cut of the
coat, its higher workings wrought results of much more permanent value. In truth,
primitive Methodism and primitive Quakerism made a good blend, one which England at
the turn of the century was all the better for having offered to it.

After his conversion, Hugh Bourne was still in some perplexity as to what Church
he should join ; for that it Avas his duty to join some Church he was quite convinced.
The question in debate within his own mind was whether he should cast in his lot with
the Methodists or Quakers. It may even be that he was in a worse strait than the

PKIMITIYE METHODIST CHURCH.

BIDDULPH PARISH CHUPvCH.

STANDLET FIELDS FARM, RESIDENCE OF FARMER BIRCHENOUGH.

SOUECES AND ORIGIN.

Apostle, and that lie had likewise drawings to the Quaker-Jklethodists, who formed
a kind of tertium quid. With each of these he had affinities and sympathy. There is
no evidence that he ever seriously thought of making his home in the Established
Church, though up to the time of his conversion he and his mother regularly attended
the Sunday morning service at Biddidph parish church. He seems to have had some
weeks of hesitancy. He felt himself " in a dilemma " ; that is the phrase he uses to
express the difficulty he experienced in- making up his mind, and he resolved to take no
decisive step until the Lord should make known His will.

Deliverance from his perplexities was brought about in an odd and unexpected way.
Of lovefeasts, Hugh Bourne had read in Wesley's Life, and was wishful to see one for
himself. But, in his innocence and unfamiliarity with Methodist procedure, he did not
know that the ticket he took from the minister's hand was not only a passport to the
lovefeast to be held at Burslem on the wake-Monday, but actually made him a member
of the Church. But farmer Birchenough, in whose house the travelling-preacher was
writing the tickets, knew. He, shrewd man, harped upon the value of the ticket as

an open-sesame to the lovefeast, but was
discreetly silent as to its higher value. He
doubtless wished to put an end once for all
to Hugh Bourne's dubieties and hesitancies,
and to commit him to a definitive course by
a little well-meant guile. Next day, Hugh
liourne learned the truth, but resolved upon
now going through with the business and
attending the lovefeast, since if it Avere not
the Lord's will that he should be a Methodist,
he could still draw back. The superintendent
— the Rev. John Brettell — led that Burslem
lovefeast, and so much was Hugh Bourne's
heart stirred that, despite his timidity, he
was near rising to speak, and at the close he
gratefully acknowledged that God had indeed
made known His will. " I was," says he,
" heart and hand a Methodist." The next
Sabbath, June, 1799, Hugh Bourne and his
mother both joined the class at Ridgway.
Thus by a singular coincidence Hugh Bourne was both made a member of the Church
and nine years afterwards dismembered without at the time being privy to the fact.

REV. JOHN BRETTELL.

MOW COP— THE ]\IOUXT OF BEGINNINGS.

By the beginning of 1800, Hugh Bourne had become his own master, and business
affairs required him to be much in the neighbourhood of Mow— that place of memories.

PRIMITIVE MKTHODIST CHUKCH.

KIDGWAY-HALL FARM.

A VIEW OF MOW COP.
(From an old print.)

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 17

He had speculated in timber at Dales Green between Harrisealiead and Mow Cop, and,
naturally, he had to be on the spot to take over and prove his purchase.

As Mow now becomes for a time the chief centre of interest, a word as to this
rugged district and its, then, equally rugged inhabitants will not be out of place. The
moorlands and heights of North Staffordshire are part of the Pennine range which
like a spine runs down from the Cheviots to the Peak of Derbyshire. Mow is a spur
or outlier of that range to which Cross Fell and Ingieborough also belong, and forms
the south-western extremity of the range. On the north-west, the ridge of Mow
presents a somewhat steep and abrupt face to the plain of Cheshire, but on the
Staffordshire side its descent is more gradual, and it sinks in terraces into the valley
of the Trent — the great central plain of England. As its name signifies, Mow Cop
is the highest point of the south-westernmost ridge of the aforesaid Pennine range,
which here, as if to make the very most of its proportions, thrusts itself up some
1091 feet above the level of the sea and attains almost to the dignity of a mountain.*
The traveller on the London and North Western Eailway between Manchester and
London, must surely have lifted his eyes from his newspaper to notice the extended
ridge, bordering the counties of Cheshire and Stafford, and crowned by the picturesque
structure known as the Tower, which, though erected only in 1754, not unsuccessfully
puts on the aspect of hoary antiquity. This is Mow Cop.

We cannot but think that Primitive Methodism was happy in the locale of its
origin, and that there was something even of prophetic significance in what the
Northumbrians call its "calf-yard" — the place of its nativity. The north-midland
county of Staffordshire here epitomises many of the physical and industrial features
^ amongst which so much of the success of the denomination was to be won. The
wealth and population of Staffordshire aggregate round its two coal-fields. The northern
one, where the coal-measures which run through Lancashire and Cheshire end in the
hilly district of the county, is the chief centre of the manufacture of earthenware.
Here, too, are moorland shepherds, and miners, and iron-workers as well as the still
more numerous potters. The southern coal-field, separated from the northern one by
the purely agricultural valley of the Trent, is given up to ironworks and hardware
manufactures, and is known to everybody as the Black Country. Candid friends of
our Church will tell us that right along the course of our history we have worked
amongst peasants and potters, pitmen and puddlers. If so, we have been true to our
origin, for we began among these classes of workers and, the physical geography of
Stafford and the industrial life of its crowded population being what they were, we
could not well have begun among any other ; nor could we have begun our work
among any sections of the community that more needed a rousing evangelism.

* Though " Mow," we are told, was formerly written " Mole," we need not infer that the name
was given in irony or to express a fancied resemblance to a mole-hill, though such a derivation i§
possible enough. Mow may be the slightly disguised Celtic "Meol" or "Mel," a bare chalk-hill,
or it may, more probably, be the Saxon " Mow,' a stack or heap, as in barley-mow ; and as " Cop "
is the good old word for the top, summit, or crest, Mow-Cop will be no hybrid compound, but
a pure Saxon double designation denoting the highest point of the ridge.

PKIMITIYE METHODIST CHUHCH.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

c 2

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

The Mow Cop of a century ago was very different from the Mow Cop of to-day.
It requires an effort of the imagination to picture it as it would appear to Hugh Bourne
in 1800, when his lot was cast there. It was a region rugged and bleak, dotted here
and there with a few grey roughly-built cottages, that might have been the outcrop
of the rocky ground, so well did they correspond in form and hue with their
environment. And the morals and manners of the people who lived in these cottages
and wrought the quarries or won coal in the adjacent pits, were in keeping with the physical
aspects and conditions amid which their lives were spent, being rough and rude. But
they were worse than rough and rude ; for those who lived nearer those days speak of the
district as though it were an enclave of heathendom. One biographer of Bourne records
his opinion that the Kidsgrove and Harriseahcad colliers were quite as ignorant and

KIDSGROVE COLLIERY.

debased as the Kingswood colliers of Wesley's and Whitefield's day. Drunkenness,
cock-fighting, bull-baiting, poaching, pugilism, midnight marauding, and profanity were
rife. Crimes of violence were common enough to give the stranger, or even the belated
native who was compelled to cross the mountain, an unpleasant feeling of uneasines?,
and he walked warily, as one who knew he ran some risk. It was, indeed, one of the
dark places of the land ; for, with the exception of one small chapel of ease (New
Chapel — where Brindley, the great canal engineer, lies buried), there was no place
of worship to be seen for miles on the Staffordshire side of Mow. Here, however, it
ought to be observed, lest a wrong impression be made, that, bad as the people
of Mow were, they were not, after all, " sinners above all that dwelt " in England at
the opening of the nineteenth century. Though special attention, like a searchlight,

SOURCES AND OKIGIN.

NEW CHAPEL CHURCH.
(Brindley's Grave is tlie Monument on the left).

has been turned on this particular corner of North Staffordshire, with the result of
disclosing sad spiritual destitution and deplorable morals, yet the light only needed
to be concentrated elsewhere with equal intensity, in order to reveal a spiritual

destitution just as great and
morals not one whit better. Of
this abundant evidence could be
mven were this but the time and
place to give it. Let us think
of Mow as one of many similar

MOW COP CHAPEL (siDE VIEW).

The foreground is past the

site of the first Camp Meeting of 1807.

benighted districts that in 1 800
sorely needed evangelising.

But what conspicuous
changes the years have brought !
In few parts of England is a

MOW COP CHAPEL (INTERIOR).

PRIMITIVE MLTHODTST CUUKCII.

more striking contrast between the state of things prevaiHng in 1800 and 1900 afforded!
than in the neiglibourhood of Mow. Ironworks and other industries now give
steady and remunerative employment to an increased population. The conditions of
material well-being are everywhere to be seen. On hill -and in dale neat cottages
abound — the homes of thrifty, self-respecting, and God-fearing men and women, and
the country is dotted with sanctuaries and Sunday-schools — at once the sign, cause, and
effect of the improvement the century has witnessed. No wonder that one of ourselves-
should have broken out into a jingle : —

" Upon the mossy brow
Of the venerable Mow
There stands a chapel now,
Upon a hill."

THE CHRISTMAS-DAY CONVERSATION-SERMON.

Eut we revert to 1800 and to Mow as Hugh Bourne looked upon it in the early part
of that year. His first feeling was not " What a fine field of usefulness is here ! " but
rather " Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar ! "
He recalled with a twinge of self-condemnation how at Ridgway he had thought the
means of grace all too scanty. But now, as if to punish him for his undervaluing of

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

opportunities, there was an absolute famine of the Word of Life. In this mood Mow
was to him as the hill Mizar, the hill of longing and of wistful memories. With this
regret for what he had lost, there was mingled the more acute feeling of fear for himself
lest he should succumb to the dearth of means and the evil examples all around him.
He wished the timber were all won and he free to return to more congenial surroundings.
But, instead of loosing him, providence proceeded to tie him more tightly to this barren
spot by a double cord of business engagements. First he was asked to undertake the
woodwork of a mountain farm, and then to do the same for Stonetrough Colliery, nor
did he see how he could, with any show of reason, refuse either contract.

It is with the beginnings of the Christian life in the renewed heart of the individual
as it is with fire and water. The fire needs fuel to feed it and air to fan it, so that it

STONETIIOUGH COLLIERY.
Showing shops where Hugh Bourne worked.

may gather strength and subdue other material to its own nature ; and the water must
be let flow so that it may find its way and keep itself fresh by running, and join with
kindred drops and streams. Should it be hindered of its way, the fire will die down,
and the water, perchance, turn into a noisome puddle. In like manner, the new life in
Christ must seek to express itself or it will soon be repressed. So it was well for
Hugh Bourne that soon the instinct, so elemental in the Christian life, to tell to others
what he himself had experienced, began to force its way through the regret and fear for
his own spiritual safety, and even to master that morbid shyness which kept him from
having any dealings, save unavoidable business ones, with the hill-dwellers so different
from himself.

24 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

. As yet — and we would emphasise tlie fact — we are a long way from the first conscious
efforts in Church-founding or proselytising. We have not even reached the stage when
testimony is borne to what is regarded as primitive Methodism as against a Methodism
not primitive. This stage will be reached by-and-by. At, present we have to do with
something more primitive than primitive Methodism, viz., the primal instinct and
impulse of the renewed soul such as prompted Andrew to bring his brother to Jesus.
As that incident, so true to the elemental, abiding facts of the Christian life, stands on
the first page of the Church's beginnings, so we are glad that the first incident which
after Hugh Bourne's conversion can distinctly be related to the chain of causes and
effects which leJ to the formation of our own Church, irresistibly reminds us of
Andrew's deed. Better so than that something more showy or cataclysmic marked our
beginning. Better the tiny streamlet trickling from the heart moved with compassion
than the breaking forth of the waters of strife.

The story of how the shy moorland carpenter spent the Christmas Day of 1800 has
often been told, but it must be told once more ; for it is entirely honourable to Hugh
Bourne and to the denomination that claims him as one of its founders. Moreover
that incident stands as an object-lesson pointing out the way of hope for the conversion
of the world — each man seeking to save his brother. Individual reproduction is the
law of the Christian life. With that law Primitive Methodism is accordant, and in
obedience to that law it had its birth.

Workers in wood naturally have frequent business relations with workers in iron.
So Hugh Bourne, the carpenter, was occasionally found at the village smithy. On one
of these visits he so far broke through his habitual reserve and bashfulness as to broach
the subject of experimental religion, and finished by putting into the hands of Thomas
Maxfield, the smith, a written account of his own conversion."^ This would probably
be in the autumn of 1800, as the MS. bears the date August 17th.

Now, the smith had a crony who was a man of some note in the neighbourhood, not,
however, because of his virtues, for he was a ringleader in wickedness, a champion
boxer, an adept rabbit-snarer, a card-player and hard drinker. There was something
Titanic about Daniel Shubotham. When his vehement temper was on him he could do
nothing by halves, but did it, as it were, with both hands. But these hot fits were apt
to be succeeded by what, in comparison, looked like cold ones. There were intervals of
listlessness and inactivity between his outbursts of energy. Because when he willed he
willed strongly, Daniel was a man to l^e reckoned with, but the fitful character of his
energising was in danger of giving his life the appearance of a jiatch-work discontinuity.
Daniel's father had been a man of some position and property, and had given his son
what would be considered at the time a very fair education, and had started him with
hopeful prospects. But Daniel had squandered all but a remnant of his patrimony, and
was now reduced to the level of a working miner.

At the time of which we write Daniel Shubotham was intermittently under conviction
of sin. It was brought about in this wise. One evening he and others were, by
invitation, making a night of it with a moorland farmer. When inflamed with his
potations Daniel surpassed himself in profanity. His oaths were loud and deep and

* See page 13.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN". 25

various ; so much so that the farmer-host, himself a proficient in profanity, was shocked,
and administered a severe rebuke. Quoth he : " Thou art the worst curser and swearer,
Dan, I ever heard in my life ! I am quite ashamed of thee ! " Daniel was cowed and
in silence sat self-condemned ; and from that time the habit of profane swearing,
which he had worn as a garment, seemed to have fallen from him. Bouts of drinking
alternated with seasons of poignant conviction. When the latter were upon him he
would throw down his pick, and, to seek distraction and comfort, make his way to the
smithy, where he would sit on the smithy hearth, kicking his heels and talking as he
listed. On one such " idle day " Daniel's splenetic humour led him to rail against his
cousin, Hugh Bourne. " What a timid, bashful fellow he was ; no company for any
one ; and he had no comfort of his life." " Aye, lad ! but he's a safe mon ! " was the
smith's quick retort ; for he had read Hugh Bourne's written statement, and knew the
real worth of the man. These few words in the vernacular, spoken on the impulse of
the moment, produced a startling effect on Daniel as though a finger had pressed
a secret spring. " I'll be a safe man, for I'll go and join him," cries Daniel, leaping
to his feet from the smithy hearth on which he had been ensconced. Maxfield,
astonished at the effect of his own words, would have recalled them, or at least have
discounted their influence ; for he feared lest Daniel should make good his threat and
he should lose his boon companion. But the words had gone home and done their
work. The kinsmen, so dissimilar, did come together. Daniel lost no chance of
having speech with his cousin ; and often would the two forgather, and the one be
seen squatting, miner-like, " on his hunkers," hearing and asking the other questions
concerning the deep things of God. But all these conversations were but preparatory,
leading up to the memorable meeting on Christmas Day morning of 1800, which
meeting we will let Hugh Bourne describe in his own words. Only, let the reader note
(as accordant with what has already been said of the primitive sources of Hugh Bourne's
present enjoyed experience) the reference to the reading from the book of Kobert
Barclay, the Quaker ; the written statement of his conversion put into his interlocutor's
hand ; and, above all, the conversation-sermon on the text — " I will love him, and will
manifest Myself to him." The scribe who had been made a disciple to the kingdom of
heaven brought out of his treasure things new and old."^

" Christmas Day^ Thursday^ December 25th^ 1800. Last night I lay down in
sorrow, and this morning I arose in sorrow ; the main cause of my grief was my
kinsman not being born of God. My natural timidity pressed upon me, so that it
was a task to go ; but my mouth had been opened before the Lord, and to have
drawn back would have been awful : so off I set, taking with me a book written by
E. Barclay, the Quaker ; and I took the written account of my own conversion and
experience. It was a sorrowful journey ; but I found Daniel waiting for me, so
my introduction was easy. Having never prayed in public, and judging myself
not capable of it, I did not pray with the family ; but, knowing him to be hindered
by an erroneous notion, read him a piece out of Barclay, with which he declared
himself satisfied : so the way was open. Next followed a little general conversation.
I then rose up to go, requesting him to accompany me a little way. I was full of

* Matthew xiii. 52.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

sorrow ; but so soon as we were in a suitable place, I set to preaching the gospel to
him with all my might ; and, taking up John xiv. 21, where the words of Jesus
Christ are, 'I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him,' I told him that
Jesus Christ must be manifested to him, or else he would never be born again, and
then he could not go to heaven : and, being all the time in deep sorrow, I laid open
the gospel of Jesus Christ, showing him of being justified by faith, and having.

THEOLDMAN OFMOW-

# ^COP*
%%•••' DALES

•green

STONtTROUCH
• colliery-

HARRISEAHEAD

KIDSGROVE

NEW^t
CHAPEL.

BEMERSLEY
\ y^ BROWN
RIDGEWAY ^ED&E

NORTON-oNTMF
MOORS

peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ ; and I dwelt very fully on' the
manifestation of Jesus Christ unto him. At parting I put into his hands the full
account of my own conversion and experience. I then took leave, but parted from
him in sorrow, fearing he did not take sufficient notice, and I passed the day in

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

sorrow. But God's thoughts were not as my thoughts, for Daniel afterwards told
me that when I was talking to him that morning, every word went through him."

One could fain linger on that scene in the miner's cottage, and on the walk and talk
by the way, when one humble soul brought to another sorely needing it the true-
Christmas message — the manifestation of the Christ. And one could linger all the
more willingly upon it, remembering that just then, the year 1800 — perhaps the
gloomiest year of the fast-dying century, was itself fleeting away with its grisly
attendant shapes of war, famine, and tumult, into the " dark backward and abysm of
time." It would be easy, under the stress of the notion of the dignity of history, to-

HARRISEAHEAD VILLAGE.

The second building from the left-hand side is the Chapel built by Bourne,
and now used as Wesleyan Sunday Schools.

cavil at the introduction of such an incident into this book and grudge the space-
devoted to its narration. But events are trivial or important as they are or are not-
related to what is of abiding significance. Adjudged by this standard the Christmas-
day conversation-sermon at Harriseahead was not trivial. That incident was the
beginning of beginnings — a runlet which fed the stream itself destined to be a tributary
of the broad river tending to the sea. Humanly speaking, the revival at Harriseahead
and much else came of that incident. Meanwhile, let sticklers for the dignity of
history ponder what good Cotton Mather has said : — " A little man may do a great deal
of harm ; and pray, why may not a little man do a great deal of good 1 It is possible-
that ' the wisdom of a poor man ' may start a proposal which may ' save a city ' —
a nation ! A single hair, appHed to a flyer that has other wheels depending on it, ma3r
eradicate an oak, or pull down a house."

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

The Harriseahead Kevivalists and Some of Their Methods.
In the good old town of Driffield, in Yorkshire, there is a clear chalk-stream which
bears, and doubtless for more than a thousand years has borne, the name of " Water-
forlorns " — the issuing forth of the water. AYe think of -this graphic and appropriate
nam.e as we take note of the revival of religion that followed and was largely the result
of Daniel Shubotham's conversion. In that morally dry and sterile region, God's
prophetic Word had its fulfilment : — " In the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert." Now and onwards Mow Cop was to be, in a double sense, the
birthplace of streams. In a natural sense it had long been so ; for on Mow, as on any
other part of England's " Great Divide," the presence of running water is distinctly felt.

THE WATER-FORLORNS, DRIFFIELD.

*' A tricklet here at the bottom of a crag, or a trickle there from the top of it, is always
making one think whether this is one of the sources of the Trent, or rootlets of Mersey,
or beginnings of distant Severn.""' Thoughts similar to these, though relating to higher
things, occur to us as we watch the progress of the revival that " broke out " at
Harriseahead like a stream from the well-head. That time of revival may belong to
" the day of small things," but the small things are beginnings which, like the rills
trickling down the sides of Mow, are destined to last and go far. Knowing what they
will become we cannot " despise the day of small things." Mow has had its part to
play in the wondrous hydraulics of Grace as well as Nature. It may be but a coincidence,
but whether or not, it is worth noting that Primitive Methodism and the river Trent
* Euskin : ' Prseterita' i. ix. The quotation is adapted.

SOURCES AND OIUGIN.

'W^ii.-^' ' - 1

THE MOW COP SOURCE OF THE TRENT.
The stream rises under the wall shown at bottom of right-hand corner of illustration-

are_inseparably associated ; for both have their head-waters near Mow Cop** (as any
good map will show), and in its early progress Primitive Methodism followed the course "^
of the Trent.

Daniel Shubotham Avas soundly converted. He escaped the snares his old companions

THE JUNCTION OP THE TWO STREAMS FORMING THE TRENT.

* One of the sources of the Trent is on Mow, under the wall shown in our first picture,
other is on Biddulph Moor. These come together near the Abbey Farm, Milton.

The

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

set for him, and began at once in his turn to capture others for Christ. He was not
the man to do anything by halves, and soon his conversion and the change it had
wrought in him, became the talk of the country-side. Daniel's zeal acted as a stimulus to
the shrinking piety of Hugh Bourne. The two colleagues were soon joined by another
•collier, who was'to do yeoman service. This recruit, whose name was Matthias Bayley,
had been converted, as Hugh Bourne is careful to inform us, through the instrumentality
of Thomas Allen, the only open-air preacher on the Burslem plan. The moorland
-carpenter and the two colliers became like a threefold cord.

• " H. Bourne's timidity stood in his way. But Daniel would not allow this to
be a reasonable objection, H. Bourne had talked to him to purpose, and why not

CONGLETON EARLY IN THE 1'JTH CENTUKY.

to others. And he saw no reason for talking in a doubting, hesitating^way about
religion. Daniel and Matthias spoke and spared not. And their plain, strong way
was NEW (sic) to H. Bourne. In that one conversation H. B. was fully brought out
of his former way. He saw at once the excellence of Daniel and Matthias' way,
•and fully entered into it; and in that respect fully entered on a new course.
And from that hour to the present, H. Bourne has laboured with all the diligence
in his power to promote that course ; and, through the mercy of God, it has great
root in the Connexion."— (H. B. in Magazine, 1836, pp. 178, 9).

"And, really, in a short time, we were like two flames of fire. I had never
in my life noticed anything that equalled this— it really was primitive Methodism
Indeed."— (Early Journal.)

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 31

No wonder that a revival broke out which soon changed the face of things in
Harriseahead and neighbourhood. One trophy of the revival was a collier who
had been the first of a newly-organised gang of poachers ; and the gang was
broken up. Not only was Harriseahead " moralised " (to use Hugh Bourne's
expression), but from this point as a centre the revival spread, until by the time of
Congleton May Fair (1801), much of the country lying on the slopes and under the
shadow of Mow, as well as Mow itself, felt the influence of the evangel. It reached
the colliers in the vale of Kidsgrove, over whom Hugh Bourne felt called upon to
exercise some degree of oversight. He not only visited them in their homes but
established a society class. For him the revival meant more work and more care. He
could not escape responsibility ; for his reputation as " a safe man," and one gifted with
book-learning, naturally led his colleagues to rely on his judgment and look to him for
guidance. " We had," says he, " to establish order and maintain discipline, keep up the
converting work, and promote piety."

Historically, the revival at Harriseahead in the opening year of the 19th century
merits close attention. We may think that if we know one revival we know all
revivals, and may ask, " What, then, was there about this Harriseahead revival that
makes it unlike any other within our knowledge and experience 1 " Well, it had its
own peculiar features and its special meaning. It set a type. It moved on early
Methodist lines ; and yet for a time it was unattached, or but slenderly attached, to the
official Methodism of the locality. Indeed, some of the features it presented, and the
methods of carrying it on most in favour were, to say the least, not the ordinary
conventional ones in use and repute at the time in official circles.

One of the methods of evangelism mainly relied on and most successful in results
was Conversation-preaching — we need the word to mark off the thing. What Hugh
Bourne had done on Christmas Day everybody seems to have been expected to do.
Never, perhaps, was a revival carried on with less preaching of a formal pulpit kind,
and yet preaching was everywhere going on. The preacher was always ready, and his
congregation never far to seek. On the pit-heaps, in the " delf," by the wayside, the
new converts talked religion. They did it both by impulse and on principle ; not in
a general abstract kind of way, but in the way of direct personal appeal. " All at it ;
always at it," seems to have been the watchword of the time. So characteristic of
the Harriseahead proceedings was this button-holing Conversation-preaching that the
revivalists might have been called Conversation-preaching Methodists.

Soon after the revival began, a weekly cottage prayer meeting was established at
Jane Hall's — for long the only Methodist at Harriseahead. At the first meeting held
here, Hugh Bourne " l)roke through splendidly." He had attempted to pray at Ridgway
the previous Sunday, but the result was not encouraging. From this time, he notes,
" he was fitted to be a public praying labourer." The prayer meetings thus instituted
were not of the ordinary kind. Here, again, everybody was expected to take part, and
liveliness was the characteristic. " The people got to be, in a great measure, Israelitish,"
says Hugh Bourne, which we find, being interpreted, means — noisyish. He quotes
Ezra iii. 12, 13: "And all the people shouted with a great shout .... and
the noise was heard afar off." This was strictly true of the " Israelitish " prayer

PiaMITlVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

meetings held at Jane Hall's, for Hugh Bourne tells how, the door of a house on Mow
Cop happening to stand open, Eljzal^eth Baddeley, a miner's wife, who was given to the
use of profane language, distinctly heard the sound of prayer and praise coming from
Harriseahead a mile and a half off, and was convinced of sin and set out for heaven.
The praying company were exercising with all their hearts and minds, and with all
their voices striving to "get into faith." H. B. says drily: "Any one that could
distinguish his or her own voice must have had a pretty good ear ! " Yet it would be
wrong to describe these lively meetings as lawless. That they could not well be if
Hugh Bourne had anything to do with them. "Our rules," says he, " were strict."
Every one must keep out of sin, and none were allowed to use improper expressions,"^

OLD JANE hall's HOUSE, HARKISEAHEAD.

and the meeting was not to continue beyond the hour or the hour and a half at the
longest, lest they should be unfitted for their morrow's labours, and their good be evil
spoken of. To the stringency of this last regulation we owe a homely saying of Daniel
Shubotham, which for years men kept in mind, and is likely to be recalled as often as
the history of camp meetings shall be written. One night when the allotted hour and
a quarter seemed all too short, and the praying labourers rose from their knees Avith an
appetite for more prayer, and expostulatory voices were heard — " Would that the
meeting had gone on longer ! Why did you break it up so soon 1 " — then it was that
Daniel, prophet-like, spoke "words of wider reference than he himself knew at the time.
Wishful to mollify those who felt as though they had been put off with short-commons,

* " H. Bourne showed them a sermon of Mr. Wesley's, that disallows fondling expressions as
' dear Lord,' ' sweet Lord.' So these were put away, and sound and clear expressions were
cultivated." — Magazine, 1836.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

he promised they should have their fill some one day. " You shall have," said he,
" a meeting upon Mow some Sunday and have a whole day's praying, and then you'll
he satisfied." Daniel's proposal was novel, yet seemed eminently suitable. So acceptable
was it to the people that it was repeated the next Sunday. The twice-given assurance
did not fall on heedless ears, but " the people began to take it up, and months and
years after they conceived that the first proposal of a day's meeting was providential."

Another fixed and favourite idea of Hugh Bourne's was "variety in class leading."
He maintained that this method of multiple leadership also was quite in accordance
with the practice of early Methodism, and he refers for corroboration to Wesley's
expressed views in the Minutes of 1744. We are not sure whether, in his view, the
ideal class would not have been one in which every member should take his or her
turn at "leading" Be this as it may, he believed in variety in class leading, and, as
far as lay in his power, practised it too. The class which Hugh Bourne first joined at
Ridgway was conducted on these lines, and when Daniel Shubotham was made leader

JOSEPH POINTON's HOUSE ON THE SIDE OF MOW COP.

of the Harriseahead class, he would not consent to act unless he were assisted. So
Hugh Bourne, Matthias Bayley, and T. Cotton would lead in turn, and sometimes
others. When a class was formed at Norton the same course of procedure w^as adopted,
and we infer that the class at Kidsgrove was similarly conducted.

To this same revival time — the time of beginnings— belongs also what is known as

"The Camp Meeting without a Xame."

So far, Hugh Bourne had never, to use his own quaint phrase, " stood up in the pulpit
way," though he had, despite his shyness, become an adept in talking salvation-sermons.
But in the Midsummer of 1801 he was pressed to preach. It was thought a man who
knew so much and had done so much could do still more. Reluctantly he consented.
The service was to be held at Joseph Pointon's house on the Cheshire side of Mow,
where there was a small Sunday morning class and a fortnightly preaching service.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

It was arranged that Hugh Bourne should preach on July 11th, advantage being taken
of its being an " off" Sunday on the plan. He himself had wished that the service might
be held out of doors ; but Joseph Pointon was no believer in open-air worship, and vetoed
the proposal. But held in the open air the service was, after all ; for the fame of the
revival, and the announcement that the man was going to preach who, according to
Thomas Maxfield had driven Daniel Shiibotham crazy, drew such a number of people
together from far and near that the house could not hold them. " Then ifs like to
be out of doors," said good Joseph Pointon. The words, in his use of them, simply
expressed a physical necessity ; but to us, who see them in the light of after events,
the words convey the hint of a moral necessity as well. There was a needs-be for
out-of-door religious services, not so much because chapels were always full, as because

■-.,««r^i

'."V^M"*-^"'

HUGH BOUKNE PKEACHING HIS FIRST SEKMON.

they were so often nearly empty. So we have here, in Joseph Pointon's " Then it's
like to be out of doors," another of those homely sayings in the vernacular which the
reader of our history occasionally meets with as he passes along — sayings in which he
cannot but find a deeper meaning than may have been felt at the time even by those
who first uttered them. Two, at least, of these voces populi we have already noted,
and others will challenge attention as we follow our narrative.

7,1 Hugh Bourne stood up and took for his text Heb. xi. 7, which speaks of the faith
of Noah. He preached with his left hand before his face — fingers outspread — like
one who looks forth from a barred window. The attitude was very characteristic of
the man when conversing or addressing an audience, and was noted as a peculiarity
to the end. Behind this fleshy screen did diffidence entrench itself, not suffering the

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

searching glance of men to get within its guard.* Hugh Bourne tells us he was "soon
at a loss " in preaching, but recovered himself somewhat when he bethought him of
speaking before many as though he were addressing but one. Exhausted with the
nervous strain of this effort he withdrew for rest, but soon returned to join in the
exercises of prayer and exhortation which followed the sermon.

Assuming as we do the fact of the importance of this first open-air service on
Mow Cop, we must be careful lest we emphasise its importance in the wrong place.
We shall be wrong if we magnify it as the first camp meeting or celebrate it as the
birthday of Primitive Methodism. And yet men have fallen into this double error,
and may fall into it again. This may be shown by a concrete case. In a twelve-page

POINTON S FARM, AND FIELD OF FIRST CAMP MEETING.
With Mow Cop Chapel in the distance.

pamphlet published in 1854, now lying before us, the anonymous author, in a truculent
and scornful fashion, repudiates the claim of William Clowes to be regarded as a
founder of our Church simply on the ground that when the founding took place

* " Occasionally in preaching, almost constantly in conversation, his open left hand — elbow of that
arm resting the while in the palm of the right hand — Avas put up like a shutter before his face and
eyes, but unlike a shutter in this respect that he could watch, through the interstices formed by the
fingers being spread out a little, the effect of his words upon the person or persons with whom he
was conversing, without their being able to obtain any satisfactory view of his countenance. In
this posture, the left shoulder (that of the " shutter " arm) keeping up a kind of , motion like that
of a perpendicular piston in action, he would express his thoughts in terse and suitable phrase." —
Rev. J. Wenn's MSi^.

1) 2

36 PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

William Clowes was not Methodistically born ; that is to say, the repudiation of
William Clowes' right to be called a founder can be made good only by antedating the
origin of the Connexion by some ten years and five months, and the establishment of
camp meetings by close upon six years. Then, by a daring adaptation of the sublime
question which the Eternal is represented as putting to Job out of the whirlwind, the
pamphleteer pictures Hugh Bourne demanding of William Clowes : " Where wast thou
when I laid the foundations of English camp meetings on Mow Cop in 1801 ?" And
we are left to imagine how, when he hears this demand, William Clowes is covered
with shame and confusion, and buries his face in his mantle. All this is very amusing
though smacking of irreverence, and the foolish pamphlet is only unearthed for a
moment in order to point the lesson — How history can be perverted by the misreading
of the plainest facts when looked at through partisan eyes. And now, to earth again
with the exhumed pamphlet !

In sober truth, the service in Joseph Pointon's field, so far as Hugh Bourne's part
in it was concerned, was but a halting exhortation, by the veriest chance delivered out
of doors. Wherein then lies its significance'? for it must be confessed that, looking
back upon it in after years, Hugh Bourne regards it as of outstanding importance.
To him, July 12th, 1801, was " this great Sabbath"; " this extraordinary^ day"; " it may
be called a camp meeting without a name." And, in a sense, Hugh Bourne is right, as
he so often is. Though, only proleptically — in the light of subsequent developments —
could it with any shadow of propriety be called a camp-meeting, yet it was of
importance, from the influence it exerted upon the mind of Hugh Bourne in leading
him to develop on principle what others had struck out casually. It suggested
a modification of field-preaching, in harmony with Hugh Bourne's ruling idea of
variety, and the co-operation of the many in evangelistic work. In this respect it
was in close analogy with the other methods adopted by the Harriseahead revivalists, to
which reference has been made — conversation-preaching, the participation of all in
prayer meetings, variety in class leading. The fine saying of Moses — "Would God
that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put His spirit upon
them ! " seems to have been the ideal they were instinctively groping after ; and
this is the ideal we must still set in front of all our work and steadily pursue and
contend for, whatever may be the changes a hundred years may have brought about
in our methods. How Hugh Bourne came to regard this camp meeting without a name
is shown by the following remarks concerning it, made in the retrospect : —

" Mr. Whitefield, Mr. Wesley, and others practised field-preaching ; but here on
Mow Cop the Lord caused open-air worship to be commenced on a broader
foundation." . . . " On this day, July 12bh, 1801, the Lord enlarged our ideas.
He, in His mercy, opened out a dispensation of sacred and divine worship,
consisting of a text and sermon, accompanied with a camp meeting movement,
jjerformed or carried on by more persons than one ; and this order of proceeding
exhibited a newness or enlargement in Methodism. In the union of jjreaching
and praying services, the Lord, in His providence, set forth an example for holding
future camp meetings."

Within three weeks after the holding of the out-door service on Mow Cop, a

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 37

deputation of the Harriseahead miners waited upon Hugh Bourne with a project for
building a new chapel, for which Daniel Shubotham had promised a corner of his
garden as site. They themselves promised to do what they could towards the erection.
Hugh Bourne looked upon the proposal favourably and undertook, for his part, to
provide the timber necessary for the building. It is clear that none concerned were
much versed in chapel building, or quite knew the right way to go about the work.
The miners, probably as the result of their former thriftless and dissipated habits, were
poor, and after digging out the foundations were at the end of their resources, which
were muscular rather than monetary. It seemed as though, once more, the parable in
the gospel of the man who " layeth the foundation and is not a))le to finish " was about
to be enacted. To save the situation, Hugh Bourne was again appealed to, with the
result that he had to shoulder the responsibility and bear the chief expense of seeing
the business through. " Materials had to be brought from a great distance, and the
roads in general were not good, and in some parts very bad ; and there was no one to
lay on a hand, or advance a single pound, and it was difficult at times to get materials
carried." Worse was to follow — one of the gables was blown down and the roof fell
in. " I hope the Lord will have mercy on any one who has to pass through such
scenes of trouble," is the prayerful comment of Hugh Bourne on this, his first,
experience of chapel building.

Bat the movement, such as has been described, was not to be allowed to go on
without check or conflict. Hitherto the work in the Harriseahead district had met
with opposition springing only from the unregenerate human heart, just as is the case
when the gospel is making its way in a region as yet unchristianised ; but we have
now reached a period at which, describing it in his Journals, Hugh Bourne has to
record how the views and practices he favoured came in conflict with views and
practices of a different cast and type. The revival at Harriseahead was brought to
a stand, we are told, mainly through the influence of two Goldenhill potters* who
began to attend the meetings. The Moorland carpenter and the Goldenhill potters
were quite at issue. They claimed to be old standards in Methodism, and regarded
Hugh Bourne and his coadjutors as innovators, as men who "were in a new way,
a new cause, and new proceedings." He, on the other hand, believed himself to be
moving on the lines of primitive Methodism, and saw in them the representatives of
modern Methodism. Hugh Bourne expresses his sense of the contrariety or divergence
between himself and them very clearly when he says : " Modern Methodism, by these
two potters, said we were all wrong and should soon ruin all by our proceedings." Now,
the potters it seems, could mould men as well as clay, for they succeeded for a time in
impressing their views on both Daniel Shubotham and Matthias Bayley, and, as we

* Goldenhill is a village three miles from Mow. Since the above paragraph was written we have
come across a passage in the Magazine for 1836, in which Bourne still more strongly puts the fact
of the controversy thus early showing itself . He says : "When the Lord began to own their labours
. . . there was soon an outcry made, that they were going on in a NEW {sic) course. This outcry
was raised by Methodists who came from a distance, and who called themselves ' old standards.' But
Hugh Bourne and his fellows were not conscious of any new course, any more than were Mr. Wesley
and his fellows at Oxford."— p. 174.

38 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

have said, the revival received a check, until the two miners, seeing how they were
being manipulated and turned, " laid hands on the potters, and got rid of them by passing
them on to Newchapel village, where they soon ruined the cause, and then forsook
the place .... and Daniel and Matthias learned a lesson which for years they did
not forget."

We are not attempting to judge between Hugh Bourne and the potters, and to decide
who were the innovators and who inquired for the old paths. The former naturally
looked upon the two latter very much as Paul looked upon Hymenseus and Alexander,
the coppersmith, who did him much evil. But, doubtless, the two potters stood not
alone ; they were types and representatives — very unworthy ones, it may be — but they
loere representatives. They had their point of view, and had something to say for
taking their stand where, and viewing things as, they did. On a small scale they
precipitated a conflict between divergent views and practices which was going on
elsewhere on a much wider scale.

We believe the history of Primitive Methodism as hitherto written, so far as that
history claims to have to do with the yeasty formative period of the first decade of the
nineteenth century, has not sufficiently taken account of the fact that what was going
on in North Staffordshire was but part of a larger movement, similar in character
though marked by minor local differences. To be rightly understood and appraised,
the Harriseahead Revivalism must not be isolated as though it were a Melchizedekian
movement, with no traceable lineage or relationships. If the differences that showed
themselves at Harriseahead were nothing but a petty local squabble, it were foolish
to recall them. If the case stood on the calendar as " The Goldenhill Potters v. Hugh
Bourne," then the affair might be left to the local historian, or, better still, be clean
forgotten, as so many Church bickerings deservedly have been. But Hugh Bourne
maintained that it was much more than that ; it was no local, or temporary, or personal
squabble. To him it stands docketed "Modern v. primitive Methodism." The claim
involved in the very title of the case at once lifts it into importance, and requires
a change of venue. It belongs of right to the history of the Church at the beginning
of the nineteenth century. Let us, therefore, take a wider survey, and inquire what
ground there is for concluding that the description "Modern v. primitive Methodism"
does truly express the bearings of the case.

Methodism — Modern and Primitive.

We have just used the words primitive and modern Methodism. Is the use of these
terms in their application to the religious life of the opening years of the nineteenth
century defensible 1 Such is our opinion. These terms do not express a merely verbal,
and therefore false, antithesis. They are not simply question-begging epithets. They
were terms in current use, and they represented real distinctions.

And first of all, as a descrip'tive term, " primitive " Methodism was in use years
before it was assumed as a denominational title. In 1792, a twopenny tract was issued
by G. Whitfield at the Chapel, City Road, entitled " Sufferings of the Primitive
Methodists at AVednesbury." This tract has nothing to do with the sufferings of the

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 39

early missionaries of our Church as, but for the date upon it, we might suppose to be
the case; but it narrates the sufferings undergone by the Methodists in 1743. Here,
plainly, the word " primitive " refers to those who came first in order of time, and is
used in its primary chronological sense.

But here is the title of another book in which the word "primitive" is evidently
used in a secondary and derived sense : " Primitive Methodism Defended : showing
what means have been used to make a Division among the Methodists and to separate
them from the English Church, 1795." That the non-holding of preaching services in
church hours, or, still more, dependence upon the clergy of the Church of England
for the reception of the sacrament was one form of primitive Methodism which was
departed from— and rightly departed from — by modern Methodism, will not of course
be denied. It was just this defection — as it was deemed — from primitive practice
which was made the ground of the secession of the Primitive Wesleyans in 1816.

But the word "primitive" may stand for something else besides an attitude of
subserviency to the Church of England and dependence upon its most sacred ordinance,
as it does in the fervent ejaculation of a writer in the Methodist Magazine for 1802,
who has been describing the revival resulting from the holding of camp meetings in
America : "What cannot the Methodist do through grace"? Glory be to God ! primitive
Methodism shines in this country and through America." INTeedless to say, it was in
this sense Hugh Bourne was constantly using the term in describing the events of the
period we are considering. He does this when he says : —

"I never knew a'Burslem circuit travelling preacher perform what Mr. Wesley
calls ' field-preaching ' all the time I was a member. . . . This then was and is
modern not primitive Methodism, and I think there is a broad difference between
the two."

Now though the phrase " modern Methodism " may not so frequently be met with in
the literature of the time, yet in the very fervour with which a writer will avow his
wish or determination to revive or maintain primitive Methodism, there is the tacit
acknowledgment that some change of to'Ue or modification in practice has taken place, result-
ing in what naturally and for the sake of distinction might be called modern Methodism.
Of course what may be called "the opposition" habitually use the term as might be
expected. It was to them an organised entity to be feared and withstood. But even
members of the government (to keep to our parliamentary figure) will betray their
knowledge of the existence of the said entity. For example, Mr. Entwisle writes in
a private letter of 1807 : —

" The doctrines preached by Messrs. Wesley, Grimshaw, &c., in the beginning,
accompanied with the power of the Holy Ghost, did wonders. And the same
truths are now equally important, equally necessary, and may be equally
efficacious. Primitive Methodism I admire ; and I think I come nearer than ever
to that standard."*

A few weeks after Hugh Bourne had preached in the open air beside Joseph Pointon's
* The Life of Jabez Bunting, I).D., vol. i. p. 290.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

KEV. JOS. ENTWISLE.

liouse, Jabez Bunting, then a young man of
twenty-two, but wise and already influential
beyond his years, entered upon the third year
of his probation in the adjoining Macclesfield
Circuit — a fact in itself interesting and sug-
<;estive. It is more than likely that Hugh
Bourne, who lost no opportunity of hearing
the ministers of both the Burslem and Maccles-
field Circuits, would occasionally hear Bunting
on his visits to one of the preaching places
not far from Bemersley. Bunting was already
taking a keen and watchful interest in the
"crystallisation of Methodism." His biographer
sheds light on the conflicting diversities of
Methodist life of which we have already seen
the signs in Burslem Circuit.

" Mr. Lomas and Mr. Reece corresponded
with each other, and with my Father, as to
certain movements at Leeds and Manchester,
on the part of the 'Revivalists'; a class
which, about this period, again occasioned
considerable uneasiness to the Fathers of
the Connexion, and to the more intelligent
and pious of the junior Preachers. William
Bramwell, a man eminent for holiness, and
for the gifts which, rightfully used, insure
ministerial success, openly espoused the
cause of this party, until their conduct
ended in a miserable schism."*

Bramwell's biographer is somewhat reticent
about the Leeds episode, but what he does say
is significant : —

" Mr. Bramwell was, at this period, in
danger of thinking that his brethren in
the ministry who could not enter into all
his plans of usefulness were opposed to

revivals ; he therefore yielded himself to gloomy forebodings, similar to those
which distressed the mind of Elijah. . . . He for a time yielded to the
temptation that the glory of God had departed from Methodism, and that it was
his duty to separate from his brethren." t

JABEZ BUNTING.

The earliest portrait in existence.

* The Life of J. Bunting, D.D., vol. i. p. 147. The date is 1803.

t Memoir of Wifliam Bramwell by the Rev. Thomas Harris, pp. Ill, 112. Bramwell was at
Leeds 1801-2 with John Barber and Richard Reece as colleagues.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

EEV. W. BEAMWELL.

The painful experience glanced at in
the preceding quotation is also referred to
by William Dawson in the funeral sermon
he preached on the occasion of Bramwell's
death. In a highly rhetorical passage of
this sermon Bramwell is once more likened
to Elijah, who in a fit of depression betook
himself to the wilderness, where his
solicitous brethren find him. When they
put the question: "What doest thou
here, brother?"

"He might have answered with great
propriety, "I have been very jealous
for the Lord God of Hosts. I fear a
criminal love of the world is rivalling
Jesus Christ in the heart of His
Church, and therefore I thought my
best course was to retire, and try
what can be done by me in any other
way." But when his brethren softened
down the distorted features of the detested object, which his trembling
hand, at the instigation of his jealous heart, had drawn ; when they took off the
deep shades with which he had overcharged its countenance ; when they drew the
picture of the monster division ; when they proved that, in the present state of the
Methodist Body, the evils of a schism and division would be much greater than
the evils which he lamented and deplored — and he then saw, in some measure, as
they did ; conviction, like a voice behind him, cried out, " This is the way, walk
thou in it." He listened ; he obeyed ; he retraced his steps ; he returned to his
work ; filled his station with credit to himself, and profit to the Church ; and lived
and died in union with his brethren." *

We may be sure that any cause Bramwell openly espoused would, in his judgment,
be in harmony with primitive Methodism, though in conscientiously taking the line he
did it is likely enough he may have fallen into some imprudences, crossed the inclinations
of the majority, or even have infringed some recognised written or unwritten regulations
of the Church. However this may have been, it is clear that he suffered greatly in the
clash and impact of opposing ideals and tendencies, and was pained by not meeting
with the sympathy and co-operation he desired. In a private letter of November, 1802,
he laments : —

" I have not the help I want ; I say sometimes, ' Woe is me ! for I am a man
beset with opposition from all the powers of hell.' You would be surprised to see
what plans I have discovered to prevent the general crush."!

Why do we dwell on these things and press the distinction between primitive and
modern Methodism *? It is in no contentious spirit ; with no desire to stir into flame

* Life. p. 113. t Oj9. cit. p. 116.

42 PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHUllCH.

the embers of strife that, left alone, would soon go black out. Our purpose is rather
eirenic ; to make it clear that revivalism of the early Methodist type such as Hugh
Bourne and his fellow-workers were carrying on, was not confined to Mow Cop and its
vicinity, but, allowing for local differences, was contemporaneously to be met with
among the Eand-room Methodists of Manchester, the Independent Methodists of
Macclesfield, the Quaker Methodists of Warrington, the Magic Methodists of Delamere
Forest, the Tent Methodists of Bristol (1820), the Eevivalists of Leeds. The development
and crystallisation of Methodism that took place after the death of Wesley and the
Plan of Pacification of 1795 was no process superintended by Fate, or due to accident
or the working of natural law, but was a process directed and controlled by some of
the wisest heads of those concerned for the future of Methodism. In this period of
transition for Methodism, an ethos was acquired and a form assumed that involved the
discountenancing and rejection of the methods of revivalism, although these were very
largely the survival or revival of methods that characterised Methodism in its primitive
and heroic period.

The two types of Methodism were at that day regarded as incompatible; and modern
Methodism, in the person of its leaders, made its election and acted accordingly —
thinking to serve the best interests of the Church by so doing. We have already
shown what some of the heads of houses thought of Leeds revivalism and Eevivalists.
To illustrate still further what was the consistent attitude and policy of the influential
leaders of Methodism with regard to the recrudescence of old-time methods of
evangelisation, we give two quotations from contemporary letters — and private letters
help us to the knowledge of the real thoughts of men, as official documents cannot.
In 1803 Mr. Lomas writes to Mr. Bunting : —

" Divisions in the Church of Christ are awful ; and I would do all I could,
with a good conscience, to prevent them : but I think the time is come for the
Methodist preachers to bestir themselves, and to do all they can for the honour
of the religion of Christ, as taught and enforced among themselves. I think
they must now ' arise or be for ever fallen.' " *

Then Bunting, writing confidentially to Marsden in December of the same year, lays
down the guiding principle : —

"All persons enthusiastically or schismatically disposed are dangerous in our
Connexion to its peace and permanency ; and the more pious in their general
character, the more dangerous." t

Does the reader ask — " And what is the bearing of all this on the beginnings of the
camp meeting movement ? " The answer is — " Much, every way." If — and the if implies
no doubt, but is simply basal of inference — if what Hugh Bourne honestly believed was
agreeable to Methodism in her pristine and palmy state, was just as honestly regarded
by others as part and parcel of that troublesome Revivalism, which for the safety of
Methodism must be discountenanced and disallowed, then separation sooner or later was
inevitable — unless, indeed, one yielded to the other; and as neither was made of
yielding stuff the inevitable happened — the earthen pipkin and iron pot clashed
together — with what results we do not need to be told.

* Life of J. Bunting, B.D., p. 148. f Op. cit. p. 219.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

The view we have endeavoured to set forth in this section — which may be summed
up as the frank recognition of the working incompatibility between the two types of
Methodism we have called modern and primitive — explains much that would else be
inexplicable. For instance, most biographers of Hugh Bourne or those who have
touched upon the history of the period 1800 — 7 are puzzled to understand why Hugh
Bourne was never put on the plan ; why he and his co-workers were so severely let
alone ; and how it was that, only after considerable delay, and by dint of importunity,
the Burslem circuit authorities were prevailed upon to take over Harriseahead chapel
and authorise Hugh Bourne to gather into classes the fruits of the revival. But surely,
after what has been said, the reason is neither recondite nor far to seek. If Hugh
Bourne's proceedings were regarded as of a piece with the proceedings of the Revivalists
at Leeds and elsewhere, then the reason of the action or inaction of the authorities lies
on the surface and it needed no prophet to foretell what would happen.

The Conversion of William Clowes.
The interdependence of events is seen in the fact that the conversion of William
Clowes was the indirect result of that Revivalism which was endemic at the beginning of

the century. By this statement
more is meant than that
Clowes was converted dur-
ing a revival : for the said
revival can be distinctly traced
to the influence propagated by
the Stockport Revivalists whom
J. Clark, at his own expense,
brought over to the September
Lovefeast at Congleton in
1804. In his first History of
the Connexion * Hugh Bourne
refers to these people as
revivalists, and by thus
typographically distinguish-
ing them, he evidently in-
tended to convey the impres-
sion that they were a well-
known band who had been
made a link in the chain of
events. Hugh Bourne and
many of the Staffordshire
Methodists were present at
the Lovefeast. The services
partook largely the character
of what we should now call
"a Holiness Convention." The

From the steel portrait of W. Clowes that formed the frontispiece
to the minutes of 1819.

* 1823 ; the name is also so printed in the edition of 1835.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECH.

Revivalists " spoke much of being sanctified wholly." In prayer and testimony and
conversation the distinction of Methodism as 'the doctrine of heart-holiness' was
made emphatic and pressed home. The Staffordshire -men were quickened and
instructed. They were led to probe themselves with questions similar to those
which by Wesley's direction were to be put to his helpers on the occasion of their
being received: — "Have you faith in Christ? Are you going on to perfection"?
Do you expect to be perfected in love in this life? Are you groaning after it?'"^
The effect of all this was marked ; for the next night a most remarkable prayer meeting
was held at Harriseahead, at which " there was an extraordinary outpouring of the
Holy Spirit " ; and to the visit of the Stockport Revivalists Hugh Bourne attributes
the origin of the second revival w^hich was by no means confined to Harriseahead :
"since their first coming many have obtained clean hearts, and the work has been
great among sinners, and it has almost spread through the circuit."

DANE VALLEY, CONGLETON.

A second visit of the Stockport men to Congleton on Christm.as Day, 1804, gave a
still further impetus to the revival in its double aspect, and the work of grace amongst
both saints and sinners rolled on. A Lovefeast at Harriseahead followed quickly the
one at Congleton, and thi& is of special interest to us because Mr. James Steele, whose
name stands on the Deed Poll of the Connexion, was present and took a leading
part. Hugh Bourne speaks of this meeting in enthusiastic terms. He tells how
the chapel was packed with people and "twenty souls prayed into liberty." He had
evidently caught the spirit of the Revivalists, and it is curious how naturally
the word seems to drop from his pen, and how important a matter it seemed to him

* Minutes of Several Conversations, &c., from the year 1744 to 1780. p. 34.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

JAMES STEELE, TUNSTALL.
(From an old print.)

that James Steele should have been drawn
consentingly into the movement. He
writes : —

"Mr. Steele and others from Tun-
stall were converted into Revivalists.
It was a mighty revivalist move, and
the Lord enabled those from Tunstall
to carry an increase of the revival
fire and revival work to that place.
The mighty outpouring of the Holy
Ghost in Harriseahead chapel, in Sep-
tember, had reached Tunstall, and
had made a gracious move ; but on
this Christmas occasion it increased
to a gracious outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. The Tunstall deadness, which
had been proverbial for years, was
done away, and Tunstall rose into
revival notice, insomuch that shortly
after this great Lovefeast, William
Clowes, Thomas Woodnorth, James
Nixon, William Morris, and others
were brought to God, and became
useful evangelists."

As William Clowes steps on the scene we experience something like a feeling of
relief; just such a feeling probably as the portrait-painter will have when at last a
bafflingly difficult subject is bowed out and another takes his place, whose facial lines and
expression and natural pose can more easily be caught and transferred to the canvas.
Mr. Gladstone, in comparing two men, both great, but very diversely great, once wrote —
"The constitution of Dr. Dollinger's mind was simple, that of Xewman's complex."
We recall these words and the distinction drawn as we think of our founders ; the
constitution of Clowes' mind was simple, that of Hugh Bourne's complex. This radical
diflference between the two men can only be noted here. Meanwhile, in passing, we
may remark it is not at all surprising, that a distinguished journalist who seems to
have taken all knowledge for his province and who is a candid friend of our Church,
should have admitted that William Clowes he thought he knew, but he was not sure
that he had got to the true inwardness of Hugh Bourne. We judge that every one
who has made a careful study of the mechanism and movements of Hugh Bourne's
mind would have to make a similar confession.

Though no completer contrasts than Bourne and Clowes presented can well be
imagined, their lives had certain points of coincidence.- Both were true Staffordshire
men— scions of families long rooted in that county. If, as has been repeatedly said,
Bourne had Norman blood in his veins and came of a stock that once held considerable
landed estates, so, on his mother's side, Clowes claimed kinship with a family of con-
sideration that any one might be proud to belong. His mother was born Ann Wedgwood,
and belonged to the family which did so much to extend and improve the ceramic art.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

Who does not know the famous " Wedgwood " ware 1 Through his mother, Clowes
could claim relationship with Josiah Wedgwood, the founder of Etruria, the bearer, by

royal grant and the good pleasure of Queen
Charlotte, of the title of "the Queen's
Potter," the promoter of roads and muni-
ficent patron of the Grand Junction Canal,
by which Trent and Mersey and Severn
were linked together. Clowes' grand-
father, Aaron Wedgwood, in partnership
with his brother-in-law, Mr. William Littler,
made costly experiments to improve the
white stone-ware of the district, and after-
wards won the distinction of producing
the first china-ware at Longton, near
Stoke-on-Trent.

The Clowes family had to be content
with the reflected glory of their house, for
nothing more substantial fell in their way
as the result of their connections on the
spindle-side. If Clowes could record
with pardonable pride, how some of his
forbears, in 1740, built the largest house
in Burslem, "The Big House" — and, he
might have added, owned also "Ivy House,"
to which Josiah Wedgwood brought his
newly-wedded bride — he himself first saw
the light — March 12th, 1780 — in a workman's cottage in an obscure court, neat probably,
thanks to the housewife, and at that time covered with flowers, yet a dwelling humble
enough. Now, whether a child be born in a big house or a little one is really a matter
of small concernment, as many a wise saying testifies. But in this case, as in so many
others, the small house was part of a long, quiet domestic tragedy, just as it was in
the Bourne household — a tragedy in which it falls to the lot of wife and child quietly
to sufl'er what the husband and father, as the evil genius of the family, brings on or will
not avert. Samuel Clowes never got to be more than a working potter, nor ever
seriously strove to give his wife the position due to her. He was indolent and
dissipated, and though he had been religiously inclined in early life, he was turned
aside by the reading of a pernicious book and by yielding to temptation, and underwent
no change until his last illness.

Mrs. Clowes was a woman of good parts and amiable character, who bravely set
herself to supply as best she could the deficiencies of her home. She had been
brought up in the belief and practice of the Church of England, nor did she enter
upon the rest of faith until after her son's conversion. And here another interesting
parallel may be observed between the personal and family experience of Clowes and
Bourne. Each pressed into the kingdom of God before the mother to whom each

CLOWES HOUSE AS IT IS NOW, BURSLEM.

PRIMITIVE Mfc:THODIST CHURCH

owed so much ; soon each had the comfort of welcoming his beloved parent into the joy

and peace of that kingdom ; and each had well-grounded hopes, at the long last,

that the father, though late,
and while drawing near to
the very margin of the grave,
had truly repented and found
mercy.

Still one other parallel be-
tween the two remains to be
noticed. After that is pointed
out, then, any comparison
drawn between our two chief
founders would yield contrasts
rather than resemblances. This
last point of coincidence be-
tween the youthful experience
of Bourne and Clowes has in
it instruction for the Church
of to-day. It blazons the
lesson — Shepherd the young !
Whatever you do for the full-
grown flocks, look after the
lambs. The story of the
shadowed and perplexed child-
hood of Hugh Bourne has
already been told, and the
biography of Clowes yields
the same lesson. At ten years
of age, he tells us, being at
a prayer meeting, he wept

bitterly, under the clear conviction of the sin of disobedience ; and later, during

a revival at Burslem he adds : —

" My convictions were such, that had an experienced Christian taken me by the
hand, I have no doubt that I should at that time have been converted ; but being
young, I passed unnoticed, and soon lost those convictions." — JournaU, p. 12.

The story of Clowes' life for the first twenty years, when, to use his own words, he
was " in the wild olive-tree which is w^ild by nature," is edifying as a warning rather
than as an example. It is just the old familiar story of a youth, who is richly endowed
by nature, with abounding vitality and strong in social qualities, giving the reins to his
lower propensities. And what wonder ! His education was meagre in the extreme,
and he had no intellectual interests. He was not inspired and directed by parental
example and counsel, or restrained by wisely administered home discipline. Besides, the
world seemed fair ; pleasure allured, and youthful passion went forth to welcome it.

CLOWES HOUSE, BURSLEM, AS IT WAS

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

When a mere child of ten years of age, he was apprenticed to his uncle, Joseph
Wedgwood, of the Church Works Pottery. He soon became so expert at his trade
that he could easily make up the twenty-one dozen plates which formed his daily tale
of work. But what he could do was not always done ; work was sometimes ne^^lected for
play, and then deception was resorted to in order to save him from censure or punishment.
Next, he was apprenticed to Mr. Mear in order that he might acquire skill in another

branch of the potter's art-

-" turning.

In this he soon became so proficient that, as

OVEN-HOUSE, OR HOVEL.

THROWER, WITH THE OLD POTTERS WHEEL.

a reward and encouragement, he was paid for all work done beyond what was due to
his master. Whether he were saint or sinner, William Clowes was always a clever
workman.

But his great accomplishment was dancing, for which he had a perfect passion. He
became a prize- dancer, and " pride and vanity so inflated his heart " that he challenged
all England to compete with him. But his favourite amusement reacted unfavourably
upon his morals. It took him into questionable places and bad company. " Associated

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

LEEK OLD TOWN HALL.

with dancing was visiting public assembly rooms, where banquetings, gambling, and
fighting ranked among the sins of my youth."
To this black catalogue must be added drunken-
ness and profanity. What a scene that is which
Clowes describes himself as taking part in at
Leek in North Staffordshire during wake-week !
We see Clowes (who has now a young wife) and
his set holding a mock prayer meeting in the
sanded parlour of the public-house. Their deep
potations that have been going on for hours have
brought them to this pitch of recklessness and
profanity. This "extravagance of impiety" is

CO.K.t^-J^.t.

LEEK MAEKET-PLACE FKOM THE NORTH.

too much even for the not very squeamish tipplers who witnessed it, and the bacchanals
are turned into the streets only to make their way to the Market Cross, there to finish
their burlesque of sacred things. By Tuesday morning all their money is spent, but
not their ardour to drink strong drink. One of their number pawns his watch ; others
borrow two guineas of a recruiting-sergeant of the 55th Regiment, and one guinea of
a sergeant of the Royal Artillery, who advance the money on mortgage of their persons ;
for if the money is not returned by Saturday night the recruiting-sergeants will foreclose
and the borrowers will belong to His Majesty's forces. With their pockets thus
stran<^ely replenished the orgie goes on until Thursday, and then " each one of us retired
to his home." Whether the money-lending recruiting-sergeants got back their loan

we are not told.

Between the close of his apprenticeship and his conversion Clowes flitted from place

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

to place like a restless spirit — sometimes with his wife and sometimes from her and his
mother-in-law. In 1803 he is in Hull working at a new Pottery, and able to earn, if
the will is there, his pound a day. But whatever he earns it is put into a bag with

BARTON FROM WATERSIDE ROAD ONE HUNDRED TEAKS AGO.

holes, and he cannot keep out of debt. It was the time when the press-gang was
unusually active, and when the sight of it, or the merest rumour of its approach, was
enough to spread consternation. Taking advantage of this [feeling Clowes and his
companions determine to play a practical joke upon the inhabitants of the quiet town of
Barton-on-Humber. Attired
in appropriate costume, and
accompanied by fiddlers and
hornpipe dancers, they take
a boat and cross the broad

W JtF

THE MARKET-PLACE.

BARTON FROM BEACON HILL 100 TEARS AGO.

river, and making the public-
house their base of opera-
tions, they sally out to
frighten His Majesty's
Clowes, in his un-
E 2

lieges

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

regenerate days, .was something of a dandy, and he tells us how he was dressed on this
occasion : — " I wore a coat and pantaloons of the best superfine, mounted with yellow
buttons, which were made according to the orders that pride led me to give the tailor
when I first came to Hull." Parenthetically, we may observe that imagination refuses.

to conceive the time when Hugh
Bourne could have been " hail fellow
well met " to those seated at the
ale-bench, or when he with zest
"tripped the light fantastic toe," or
when he might have been seen
dressed in a coat and pantaloons of
the best superfine, with yellow
buttons, made by a fashionable
tailor — and not paid for. And yet
it was Clowes, and not Bourne, who
was afterwards the stififer on the
dress question. We take note of
these contrasts and what they imply,
and pass on.

The culmination of what may be
called " the rake's progress " was
reached soon after the Barton
exploit. By what looked like the
retributive irony of providence,
Clowes was to make closer acquaint-
ance with the press-gang. He was
a noted bruiser, and one day was
fighting in a drunken brawl which
had originated in the " Dog and
Duck " public-house, where certain
A piiEss-GANG AT WORK. officcrs of thc prcss-gaug were

quartered. Some of these watched the fight with evident interest, but when it was
over they claimed the combatants for His Majesty's Honourable Corps of Marines.
While being escorted by the poHce, Clowes made a bolt for it, running down Grimsby
Lane into Market Street, finally taking refuge in his master's china-shop. But for the
intervention and appeals of the keeper of the tavern where the captain lodged,
and of his own master, Clowes would undoubtedly have been pressed as a marine.
The captain let the brawlers off, warning them "never to be out after nine o'clock
at night." But thoroughly frightened, Clowes was off by nine o'clock next morning.
He left Hull and his debts behind him, and tramped to Tunstall, paving the way
with good intentions.

These dark passages in Clowes' unregenerate life are referred to with reluctance — with
no thought of dishonouring the memory or sullying the reputation of one to whom our
Church owes so much. The passages in question could not be omitted from any history

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

5;^

of the Connexion worthy of the name ; for, while they may serve to throw some
light on the events, the manners and morals of the time, especially of the class which
Clowes in the years to come was most mightily to influence and to which he himself
belonged, they are referred
to mainly here for the same
reason that Clowes himself
referred to them in his
Journal — to magnify the
grace of God in him. He
showed how in his case sin
had abounded, and did it
relentlessly as though reso-
lute not to omit the least
detail or soften the darkest
colours of the condemnatory
picture ; and he did this in
order to show more triumph-
antly that " where sin had
abounded, grace did much
more abound." His fervid
evangelism had a great "But
I obtained mercy" at the
back of it. Did any one
in the liey-day of Clowes'
folly and wickedness think
and speak of him as " the
graceless potter " 1 The
judgment was a natural
one and in a sense just ;
but in a higher sense it
was vastly wide of the truth ; for even when he ran to excess in riot and evil-doing
grace was abounding to him, the chief of sinners, just as it was to the Tinker of
Elstow before him, ere the tempest wdthin his soul had been turned to calm. Indeed,
in reading Clowes' experiences in these early years of his life, one is irresistibly
reniinded of Bunyan. Like him, paroxysms of passion were succeeded by paroxysms
of conviction. Like him he made resolutions and even took vows on God's Holy Word
to amend his ways ; and like him both resolutions and vows were broken by the gusts
of temptation like a web of gossamer.

So it was with him on his return from Hull. He was as ' a limed soul struggling to
be free.' Here is a Bunyan-like account of the experience which antedated his
conversion : —

" Under feelings of terror, I prayed that if God would carry me in safety to my
native place, I would then serve Him ; but no sooner had He preserved me safe to
my journey's end, than among my old companions my promises were forgotten in

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

acts of rebellion. Before my conversion to God, the internahniisery of which I was
the victim was in many instances almost insupportable. Sometimes I used to walk
in solitary and unfrequented places, wishing that I was a bird or a beast, or
anything else that was not account-
able to the tribunal of heaven.
Sometimes in sleep in the night
I have been agitated with terrible
dreams, and, starting up, I haA^e
been afraid of looking out of my
bed, supposing the room to be
full of devils and damned spirits.
Occasionally I have broken out
in strong perspiration, and wished
for the light of day, in order that
I might drown my distressing

GEIMSBT LANE, HULL.

convictions with

strong drink, and in

singing thedrun kard's

song, Avhich begins

with the words : —

' Come push the grog

about— strong beer

drowns all our

sorrows.'

i " Well I remember how conscience used to lash me when 1 used to sing this song,,

and with what power and force those words were occasionally applied to my soul :
' For all these things God will bring thee to Judgment.' "

His anguish of soul became known to a friend, who took him to the House of God.
Shortly afterwards he gained admission to a lovefeast (in a way we need not stop to-
describe) and, as if to better Hugh Bourne's innocency about the Burslem Lovefeast,
when he saw the bread and water being carried round, he thought in his simplicity
" This must be the sacrament of the Lord's Supper." Thus thinking, he had an access-
of terror, for he was fresh from reading the passage which solemnly warns against
eating the bread or drinking the cup of the Lord unworthily. This, the unpardonable-
sin as he deemed it to be, he feared he was in danger of committing. The next
morning he attended a prayer meeting, and while all was excitement and noise around
him he wrestled as one alone with his Maker until he felt the bands which long had
held him breaking. " What is this ?" asked he of himself. This, he said " is what the
Methodists mean by being converted : yes, this is it — God is converting my soul.
In an agony of prayer I believed God would save me — then I believed he was saving.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

me — then I believed he had saved me, and it was so." This notable event took place
January 20th, 1805, some three weeks after the memorable lovefeast at Harriseahead
before described.

Clowes' conversion was clear and convincing. Its catastrophic character was quite in
keeping with the fervid nature of him who experienced it. His profiting soon appeared
to all. His old associates, who had reckoned on soon welcoming him back to their
fellowship, were both astonished and angry when they saw him taking long forward
steps in his new-found path, and had to admit that they had lost him for good and all.
His debts in Hull and StafiPordshire were paid. He withdrew from the volunteer corps,

officered by his master, much to the chagrin
of the latter. He joined the class of Mr,
James Steele, associated himself with the
people of God, and made each Sabbath a day
of unremitting yet gladsome toil. He threw
open his house for the holding of prayer
meetings, lovefeasts, and class meetings. The
practical side of religion was not overlooked.
He drew up strict rules for holy living, began
to reprove sin, took part in efforts to suppress
Sabbath breaking, and became an active member
of a Tract and Bible Mission, and as such
walked many miles and did real evangelistic
work in the homes of the people. The members
of this society, apostle-like, went two and two
on their mission. Clowes' colleague was his
like-minded friend, James Nixon, and, together,
they visited the part around Alsager Heath and
Lawton Saltworks in Cheshire, which was the
district assigned them.
And so for Clowes the former internecine conflict — the sad duality of the 7th
Romans was overcome, and his life could now flow evenly on in blessed simplicity and
singleness. And here for a time we leave him.

JAMES NIXON.

56 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

CHAPTER II.

THE CAMP MEETING METHODISTS.
The Abeyant Period.
UR class tickets have long familiarised us with the statement — " First Camp

Meeting held, May 31, 1807." Yet it was as far back as 1801 when
Daniel Shubotham made his twice-repeated promise to give the Harrisea-
head converts a day's praying on Mow Cop. What is the explanation of
this long delay 1 It is scarcely consistent with the assumption that there were many
during those six intervening years consumed with longing to have a camp meeting, or
surely they would have found a way to have one. If any were eager Hugh Bourne
would be the most eager. But a careful reading of his Journals kept at the time,
as contradistinguished from the historic and autobiographical memoranda WTitten much
later, does not leave the impression that even Hugh Bourne was possessed with
the camp meeting idea so fully as we might suppose. The idea was there, and there as
a cherished idea, but it was not so dominant or charged with such driving power as it
afterwards got to be. The fact is, from 1801 to 1807 the Harriseahead Revivalists—
and Bourne chief among them — were being led a step at a time, and the establishment
of camp meetings was the outcome of a kind of evolutionary process. Still, we need
farther explanation with regard to this abeyant period, and as Hugh Bourne's is the only
explanation forthcoming, let this be briefly summarised. He says, with reason, that
the day's praying should have been arranged for, if at all, before the society and chapel
at Harriseahead were taken over late in 1802, for after that, the plan with its two
services a Sabbath —which says he " was overdoing it " — interposed an effectual barrier.
Moreover, the redoubtable Daniel had veered round again, and was now in 1802 opposed
to open-air worship. In this same year, and right on into 1807, the Methodist magazines
contained stirring accounts of camp meetings on an elaborate scale which were being held
in various parts of America and were attended by vast throngs who camped for two or
three days together in the forest. The reading of these accounts increased the desire
for a camp meeting, so that Hugh Bourne intimates that from 1802 to 1804 the burden
of the Harriseahead people's prayer was " Lord, give us a camp meeting ! " But in
September of the latter year, the second revival breaking out gave them ample employ-
ment. The time was all too short for the work to be done ; minds and hearts were full.
Then the revival received a check ; nor does Hugh Bourne hesitate to say from what
quarter the check came. It was, he affirms, " modern " Methodism that quenched it.
Even in the first official History it stands on record : —

"Early in the year 1806, owing, as it was thought, to some steps taken by the
under (^.e., the second) travelling preacher, the revival at Harriseahead made a

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

pause, which was cause of grief to many, and the more so as upwards of twelve
months elapsed without a single conversion taking place. During this interval,
many wished the day's meeting upon Mow to be held, hoping it would be a means
to increase or revive religion."

In his journals, Bourne felt free to write more frankly. Nor is there any reason
at this day why Mr. Miller's name should not be mentioned, for he was an able
and eminently worthy man. Clowes was much attached to him, and has recorded

. • an interesting interview he had with him
at Leeds after Primitive Methodism had
gained firm footing. Mr. Miller had his
own views of Revivalism such as we have
described it — or rather he shared the
views of the leading ministers of his
Church in regard to it — and when he
came to the Burslem circuit, late in 1805,
he made those view^s known and impressed
them on the societies. This is what is
meant when Hugh Bourne, evidently re-
cognising the marked ability of Mr. Miller,
writes : —

" Mr. Miller could do what no other
preacher had been able to effect. He
could talk on revivalism as no other
travelling preacher had been able to
do, and by so doing he could get hold
of the people's minds, and bend them
to his own views."

Daniel Shubotham— for whom, one thinks, Reuben Shufflebotham * would have
been a fitter name, so impressionable and variable of mood was he— came under Mr.
Miller's quiet but strong influence. He was induced to take the charge of the class at
Harriseahead entirely into his own hands, for Mr. Miller did not believe in variety in
•class meeting ; so that here, as in other places, variety gave way to uniformity. Daniel
furthermore hinted that the prayer meetings too were " to be put in a different way by
Mr. Miller." Hugh Bourne expostulated, but Daniel " had no ears to hear ; neither
liad others: so the Lord might have said as in Jer. xii. 10— 'Many pastors have
destroyed my vineyard.' The preachers had made Daniel so unprimitive, that he was
opposed to open-air worship."

So revivalism, or as Hugh Bourne and those who were with him would have called
it, primitive Methodism, suffered a reverse at the hands of modern Methodism; "and
it became a serious inquiry. Would not a camp meeting again raise the cause ? " — shall
we not, in short, re-introduce the old tactics in our campaign against sin. Thus we
have now reached the point at which the Harriseahead Revivalists who, with

REV. ROBT. MILLER,

* This, it turns out, was his real name, though by local usage it was shortened to Shubotham.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

fluctuating fortunes, have been at work since 1800, will try to retrieve the day by
giving body and actuality to what has long been before their minds as an ideal of
religious enjoyment and a promising method of usefulness. The Revivalists of these
parts will soon be difi'erentiated as the Camp Meeting Methodists.

Lorenzo Dow and the American Factor.

What precipitated their resolve to have a camp meeting as well as pray for one, was
a visit of Lorenzo Dow to the neighbourhood. We have not time to write Dow's

strange biography, or to describe what had
been the influence of his occasional visits to
this part of the country — where his fore-
fathers had lived — in fanning the revivalistic
flame ; nor shall we attempt a sketch of the
personal appearance and dress of the man,
wdiich may best be judged of by the aid of
the engraver. Suffice it to say — in words
used elsewhere : — " It was the presence and
writings and personal influence of Lorenzo
Dow — unattached Methodist — whom no Con-
ference or Bishop could hold or bind — a
veritable comet in the religious world— who
rushed flashing from America to England
and Ireland and back again thrice over,
astonishing and bewildering men — who had
a record of labours and privations almost
without parallel ; whom many thought more than half madman and the rest knave,
while others beheld in him more than half prophet and the latest apostle and
discerner of spirits, and who hence was at once reviled and praised, shunned and
followed, persecuted and kindly entreated ; it was through Lorenzo Dow— surely one
of the strangest earthen vessels that ever God condescended to use and honour, that
the Camp Meeting movement was precipitated."*

We need not nervously set about trying to eliminate the Dow-factor from the origin
of the English Camp Meetings, as though the admission of any indebtedness to him
would detract from the originality of Bourne. There are few perfectly original things-
in this world ; and, as Dr. Clifl'ord says : " It is little, vain-glorious souls who are
afraid of citing the works of others, lest somebody should presume to think they
themselves are not absolutely original. Really capable minds, instead of shrinking
from quotation, delight in it." Men and movements are very largely but multiplex
quotations from other men and other movements, and the function of biography, and
yet more the function of history, is to discover such quotations and trace them to their
source. In this sense. Bourne himself and the first and succeeding camp meetings
were quotations. John Wilkes once said that Hugh Bourne made him think of

LORENZO DOW.

* Quoted from the author's smaller History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion, p. 21.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 59

George Fox, the Quaker ; * a certain Deist, fresh from a discussion with him, remarked
"that he had just seen Lorenzo Dow's brother." There was a measure of truth in
both observations, which were like the attaching of quotation marks to a human life.
Undoubtedly, because of the influence he exerted on Bourne and others, Lorenzo Dow
was one factor amongst several, of which Mow Cop Camp Meeting was the joint
resultant. This and only this is meant by the statement : "If there had been no Dow,
there would have been no Mow." The few grains which, when added to the heap
already in the scale, make the balance even, must not have all the credit for the
equipoise gained.

While some would minimise our indebtedness to Lorenzo Dow in order, possibly,
to magnify Hugh Bourne and the leaders of the Camp Meeting movement, others,
apparently for the very opposite reason, would seem to have an interest in emphasising
and exaggerating the fact of that indebtedness. To be able to prove a real connection
between Dow and Mow Cop seems to be thought quite sufficient to compromise the
latter, because Dow was a religious irregular, an itinerant evangelist, who broke bounds
and made the world his parish, and "communicated his own spirit of self-superintendence
to the leaders of the movement."! But one cannot but reflect — and the reflection brings
with it a certain measure of relief and satisfaction — that all the terms here used of
Lorenzo Dow could have been employed, and were employed, to describe John Wesley, to
say nothing of Martin Luther. Those, therefore, who owe more than they can tell to
the " irregularities," and world-parish outlook, and " spirit of self-superintendence of
John Wesley," may be counted upon to look with complacency and appreciative
intercut upon our indebtedness to " the erratic American." There was nothing in
Lorenzo Dow we are aware of that should make us anxious to repudiate any obligation
we may be under to him. We acknowledge our debt, though it is not a large one,
and we have heavier liabilities elsewhere. Still it is a debt of honour and not of
dishonour. ;

On the eve of his second departure to America, April, 1807, Lorenzo Dow paid a
flying visit to Harriseahead, where Hugh Bourne saw and heard him for the first time.
Dow spoke largely of camp meetings, observing : —

" That occasionally something of a Pentecostal power attended them ; and that,
for a considerable time in America, as much good had been done, and as many souls
brought to God, at the Camp Meetings as at all the meetings put together."

The same day Dow spoke at Burslem, and the next morning at five and nine o'clock
he preached farewell sermons at Congleton, so abundantly did he labour down to the
last moment. On each occasion Hugh Bourne was one of his auditory. Clowes, too,
tells us how he walked the nine miles from Tunstall to be present at the five o'clock
service, that he saw the two Bournes there, and noticed that Hugh bought some books
of Dow. These were "An Account of the Origin and Progress of Camp Meetings and

* John Wilkes was the legal adviser employed in the preparation of the Deed Poll.
t The late Dr. Gregory, as quoted in Methodist Times.

J It is a fact of some interest and significance that Lorenzo Dow preached in the Wesle3^an
Chapel, Tunstall, for the Primitive Methodists in 1818. See engraving of handbill.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Tttiista)il Sunday School.

seeMons

WILL &E PREACHED

Tf^e ^lethodist Chapel, Tumlally
(Iti Sunday, Aug, 16, 1818,'

BY LOREJVZO pOW^

(From Am^i^) :,

When a Cdilectioa will tie mad« after ea^ Se£i&o% tor
^e support of tlm |j3stft(itioii«.

Aficmoon service at half p^t t*roi^-^Evening Service at ^,

KUMBElt OF SCHCItA|^,r,

BOYS. ' j • ^jBt?.

In Writing .. 80 | In Wi^i|ifig 79f^
Reading.^. 133

213

Rekding 134>Total 4^0

207

The friends of the old Met^ist Connexion hiiying generously
offered the use of their ChapeU^y^^.\3?htch a more numerous cwigre-
gationaiay be accom«xodated, t!te Managegsijof the School respect-
fully solicit the attendance und suppdtit of ^ frteeds on the above
•occasion.

Printi^d hy 31 TiegorthA» Burslem.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. (jl

the Method of conducting them," written by himself, and " A Defence of Camp
Meetings," by Rev. G. K. Jennings, M.A. Familiar as Bourne already Avas with camp-
meeting literature, the reading of these pamphlets gave him new light, and decided him
upon trying to introduce camp meetings into Staffordshire. The time and place were
fixed upon, and the details thought out.

To Counteract the Wake.

The wake or annual feast of Norton-on-the-Moors would be held in August. These
feasts or wakes were quite a feature of the lower social life of England at the beginning
of the century, and as such, and because we shall often meet with references to them
as we proceed with our narrative, a word or two with respect to them will not be out
of place. As the word " wake " suggests, their origin was distinctly ecclesiastical, and,
unlike the more modern statutes or hirings with which they sometimes became blended,
that origin goes back to the far distant past. The wake was really at first a Feast of
Dedication, commemorating the opening of the parish church for worship, which would
take place on the festival day of the patron-saint of the church. At the first institution
of the parish feast, the vigil or wake of the saint, on the eve of the day devoted to him
or her, would be duly observed, and then would follow the feast, lasting several days,
and, at the beginning, often held in the churchyard. So the annual return of the wake
was a double anniversary — of the dedication of the church and of the patron-saint to
whom it was dedicated. But in the long course of time the feast became secularised,
and then almost paganised. The Church and Saint's Festival degenerated into a satanic
revel — a time of licence — an annual saturnalia. We know how Clowes kept the wake
at Leek before his conversion — the " high old time," as modern roysterers might term
it, he and his companions fancied they enjoyed while there. To many the local wake
held out the prospect of such deplorable goings on as these. But after his conversion
how different his attitude ! Knowing that while the Tunstall wake was on, he Avould,
as a young convert, be exposed to peculiar temptations, he shut himself up in his room
during the day, and read and fasted and prayed, and then at nigh't, when the carnival
was at its worst, he went forth to warn and rebuke. Bad as the wakes were in North
Staffordshire at this time, they were quite as bad in other parts of England during the
early part of the century. The author of " Tom Brown's School Days " has written as
favourably as he can of the " veasts " in the vale of the White Horse, in Hefts. ; but he
is forced to admit that the picture drawn by his friend, Charles Kingsley, in " Yeast,"
of the low vice and nameless abominations that went on in the booths and amongst the
shows of the village feast or wake, is all too true to life. At these recurring vanity-fairs
many a youth and maiden were ensnared and ruined body and soul. At such times the
devil seemed to have it all his own way, and the pious onlooker might have exclaimed,
"This is your hour and the power of darkness."

It seemed necessary to say thus much, once for all, about the old-time wakes, because
a century has wrought many changes. The social perils of one age are not those of
another. From some parts the wake has vanished altogether, and where it survives it
often is but the shadow of its former self. What we have now to fear is the football
field, the racecourse, and the betting-ring rather than the wake. But we want to make

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

it clear that Bourne and his coadjutors were not fighting chimseras or wind-mills, hut
veritable early nineteenth century devils when they seriously set about to counteract
the evils of the wake, and fell back on the camp meeting as the best means to do it-
We emphasise the fact that the first-planned camp meeting " went for " the wake. As
those who cared for public morals, and felt they were in special trust for the young and
frail and inexperienced, they might well await the annual recurrence of the wake with
apprehension. The wake justified the camp meeting regarded both as a defensive and
aggressive instrumentality. Furthermore, the Norton Camp Meeting laid down the
principle and furnished the example that was to be largely followed in the early history
of our Church. This principle, illustrated by example both at Norton and at the
second Mow Cop Camp Meeting, as well as at the one on the Wrekin, was that evil
must be sought out and met on its own ejround. Time and again shall we see this

VIEW OF MACCLESFIELD FROM BUXTON ROAU EARLY IN NINETEENTH CENTURY.

From an old print.

principle acted upon as we proceed. Enough here to state it, and to point out the
significance of the fact that in the very first number of the Connexional Magazine
published in 1819, there is an article on "Camp Meetings at the Times of Wakes," in
which Hugh Bourne quaintly says : " Camp meetings at wakes have a peculiar beauty
and propriety " — yes ; the beauty of treating serious evils seriously, and of coming to
closest quarters with them.

Mow Cop Camp Meeting.
But why was the camp meeting first sketched and determined upon, not also the
first to be actually held 1 The answer is found in the strange variations — oscillations

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 63

we may even call them — of Daniel Shubotham's mind. He, too, had come under the
influence of Lorenzo Dow, having heard him at Macclesfield, and now was all for camp
meetings. So that when Hugh Bourne attended the class meeting at Harriseahead,
in order to lay his Norton project before the members and secure their concurrence and
help, he met with much encouragement. " Norton 1 Yes : by all means. You may
rely upon us. But why not, in the meantime, have that day's praying on Mow, which
has been our dream for these six years past 1 " Why not, indeed ! It were feasible
enough, but for that double appointment on the plan, thirteen Sundays a quarter,
which like a dam bars the way ! Hereupon Daniel took up the plan and examined
it closely. Said he : "Thomas Cotton is planned in this chapel on May 31st. Thafs
the camp meeting ;" which homely utterance must be added to the other vernacular
sayings we have already noted. It is strange how Daniel by virtue of his mere mass
and bulk should have to be reckoned with at every turn, notwithstanding- his
tergiversations. He might be as easy to move as a rocking-stone, but he was formidable
enough when he did move. After Daniel's ipse dixit the little company fell on their
knees and devoutly prayed for the success of the two camp meetings.

The words of Daniel Shubotham might serve to express the feelings of thousands of
our people with respect to Mow Cop camp meeting— " That's the camp meeting."
It has the pre-eminence, and is likely to keep it, because, as the joint offspring of the
eighteenth century field-preachings and American camp meetings, it was the first
English camp meeting of the new century worthy of the name of which we have any
record. Moreover its site was happily chosen — on the Cheshire side of Mow, in the
same field and hard by the spot where Hugh Bourne had his open-air service (" It's
like to be out-of-doors"). With Mow Cop for its site, sentiment has something to
attach itself to, and imagination something to work upon, more so than in the case
even of Norton which, historically, was of much greater moment. Mount Zion
appealed all the more strongly to the imagination of the devout Jew because of its
physical eminence and because it was "beautiful for situation." Alumni of a certain
northern university think all the more tenderly and proudly of their Alma Mater, as
they recall her incomparable situation so appropriately set forth in the legend on her
seal — "Her foundation is in the holy mountains." So no more ideal situation for the
holding of the first English Camp Meeting than Mow Cop's " bleak and frowning
summit " can well be conceived ; and if it be in contemplation to commemorate the
centenary of the establishment of camp meetings by the striking of a medal, no apter
legend to place round its periphery could be chosen than these same words — " Her
foundation is in the holy mountains." One can but wonder that Mow has not inspired
verses worthier the theme. The subject is there, awaiting the poet's advent, but he
tarries long. Meanwhile rhymesters give us of their poor best, and we have to rest
content with such a stanza as this : —

" On the great mountain called Mow Cop
God did His Majesty displa}' ;
A cloud of glor}^ then rose up
To shine unto the perfect day."

The morning of the 31st May broke cloudy and unpromising, and many, no doubt.

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

as they looked out from their door, concluded that no camp meeting would be held that
day. Amongst these was Hugh Bourne, who intimates that the Harriseahead people had
agreed that the holding of the meetings should depend on the weather's being
favourable, and hence, he and others were somewhat late on the ground. Whether
Clowes was aware of this understanding we are not told. He had stayed overnight
with Daniel Shubotham in order to make an early start, and the unpropitious weather
did not deter him from making his way to the rendezvous at an early hour. At six
o'clock he found a small group singing under the lee of a wall. He threw himself
heartily into the prayer meeting with which the day's proceedings were opened, and did
not slacken his labours until nightfall. Shortly after six o'clock the clouds lifted and the
day became more favourable. Soon, from various points, the people streamed to the
field, which was a few yards from the dividing-line of the two counties, and, the better

FIRST CAMP MEETING ON MOW COP, MAY 31ST, 1807.

to guide" them to the spot, at the suggestion of one Taylor, of Tunstall, Capt. Edward
Anderson improvised " a sort of flag" to serve as a signal. Many who made their way
up the steeps of Mow came from a considerable distance ; for Lorenzo Dow's recent
visit to the neighbourhood had aroused much interest in the camp meetings which he
often so graphically described, so that when the news circulated that one of these novel
meetings was actually going to be held on Mow, curiosity was stirred, and many came
from Macclesfield, Congleton, Warrington, Knutsford, and other places where Dow had
laboured and revivals had been going on.

As the day wore on, the multitude increased to such an extent that Hugh Bourne feels
justified in describing it as "immense," "prodigious," and says that it presented a "sublime
and magnificent spectacle." Even during the morning a second and third stand of
stones were pitched in sheltered positions, and in the afternoon yet a fourth was found

SOURCES AND OKIGIN. 65

necessary in order to reach the vast assemblage, so that simultaneously " four preachers
were dealing out their lives at every stroke."

Yet these four preachers, multiplied we know not how many times over, are all but
unknown to us, despite the fact that Mow Cop Camp Meeting has been so often
described. Hugh Bourne published an account of it at the time which was widely
circulated, and he also refers to it at length in his History. Clowes, too, describes it
in his Journal, and his description has been incorporated by Mr. Petty in his
Connexional History. Successive writers have copied these accounts without being
able to supplement them. We are thankful for the information we have but we would
gladly have had more. Especially could we have wished to know the names, " persuasion"
and antecedents of those who took a leading part in this memorable gathering. But
names are sparingly given, and the distinction is not always drawn between those who
preached and those who laboured in the " permanent praying companies which did not
break up for preaching." It is clear, too, from Hugh Bourne's words that many gave a
word of exhortation who were not officially recognised as local preachers : —

" At the first camp meeting, there were abundance of local preachers and praying
labourers of the Old Methodist Connexion. These came from Macclesfield,
Congleton, and many other places. From Tunstall there was a considerable
number who were not preachers, but who laboured diligently, among whom were
William Clowes and James Nixon. There were also several preachers of the
Independent Methodists."

Two others, we may be quite certain were present to do their part — Thomas Cotton,
none the less active because he was not in the Harriseahead pulpit, and James Bourne,
calm, self-possessed, practical, reliable, ever ready to do his best without fee or reward,
whether under or away from the eyes of men, who will be spared to be present "in age
and feebleness extreme " at the Jubilee Camp Meeting on this same spot. Curiously
enough we cannot be sure that Hugh Bourne was amongst the public speakers of the
day."^ We see him moving about the ground. Returning from the first stand he found
a company praying with a man in distress. He got as near to the circle as he could and
fain would have lingered, but " other matters called him away." Probably his organis-
ing bent found sufficient employment in directing and overseeing the proceedings. This
is all the more likely from the fact that this huge camp meeting was not conducted
according to a plan drawn up beforehand. "It was" we are told, "like Judges xxi. 25
— ^Every man did that which was right in his own eyes." When men were wanted to
address the people, men were forthcoming. The stringent rules afterwards in force
as to how long a man should speak and what should be the staple of his discourse, do
not seem to have been applied at Mow Cop first camp meeting. The result was an
extraordinary variety marked the public utterances of the day. The various speakers
assuredly succeeded, amongst them, in sounding the entire gamut of hortatory and
edificatory speech ; for there were exhortations, readings, the recital of experience, and
the telling of anecdotes ; nor was there wanting an example of the conveyance of truth
through the medium of verse.

* " Brother H. B. was not there when we began the meeting in the morning, and I do not know
that he preached at all that day." — Clowes MSS.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

For instance, at ten o'clock, Clowes rose and began by narrating his Christian
experience. He explained the reason of his presence and the motive urging him to
take an active part in the day's proceedings, and he closed with an impassioned and
powerful exhortation. Concerning the poet of the camp meeting, who was also its

flag-hoister, a word or two may be per-
mitted. Captain Edward Anderson's
biography reads like a romance. His
father was a farmer on the Yorkshire
Wolds, and the youth's first business in
life was tending his father's sheep. But
the shepherd-lad early took to sea and
poetry, for he had the knack of rhyming,
and even wrote a poem called "The Sailor,"
which is said to have achieved a certain
measure of popularity and to have run
through several editions . D uring his sea-far-
ing life he had many adventures and hair-
breadth escapes. He suffered shipwreck
at various times, was captured by French
privateers, and, like Clowes, fell into the
hands of the press-gang. But after all
his sufferings and hazards he at last found
safe anchorage. Lost to his friends, he
one week-night wandered into Pitt Street
Chapel, Liverpool ; he heard his brother,
wuomhedid not recognise at the time, preach
a moving sermon from the story of the
Prodigal Son. He united with the Metho-
dists of Pitt Street, of which circuit his
brother was a minister, and afterwards settled in Hull where, on Clowes' entry into
that town, he joined the society in Mill Street. His name stood on the prayer-leader's
plan ; he was an anti-slavery advocate, a temperance reformer, and, to the extent of his
powers, a favourer and promoter of all that w\as good. He died in 1843, and his body
lies near the porch of the parish church of Kilham, his native place. On the Sunday
before the holding of Norton camp meeting, August 16th, a camp meeting, attended
by a vast concourse of people, was held at the secluded village of Langtoft-on-the- Wolds,
near Driffield, in Yorkshire. During the day, allusions were made by the speakers not
only to American camp meetings, but to those just held in Staffordshire. Though
nothing permanent remained as the result of the Langtoft services, yet the fact of a
camp meeting on such a scale being held in this part of England at this early date is
worth chronicling — the more so, as, but for the meeting on Mow^, it might never have
been held at all. As Kilham is only a few miles distant from Langtoft, are w^e wrong
in surmising that Captain Edward Anderson who, on May 31st, at Mow Cop Camp
Meeting, told the story of his life in verse interspersed with sentences of exhortation,

CAPTAIN E. Anderson's tombstone,

KILHAM CHURCHYARD.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

had something ^to do with the inception and carrying out of the great camp meeting
at Langtoft-on-the-Wolds in August ?

Spiritual and individuaHstic as were the aims of the promoters of the first camp
meeting, there were some of the speakers from the waggons that day who, beino-
far-travelled men, naturally could not refrain from dwelling, for purposes of edification
on experiences they had gone through and events they had taken part in in those days
of " sturt and strife," and who by so doing imported a deeper meaning into the day's
proceedings. Listening to these speakers, their stay-at-home auditory would find their
horizon insensibly widening, and dimly perceive that to set down or set aside that

KILHAM CHURCH.

The Tomb of Captain E. Anderson and his brother is the second from the Porch on your

left hand as you enter the Porch.

camp meeting as being nothing more than a faddist's freak or a glorified gigantic
religious picnic, was a conclusion forbidden not only by the condition of their own souls
that day, which was also the condition of multitudes of people in these parts, but that
it was a conclusion yet more sternly forbidden by the condition of the sorely distracted
and disjointed world they were hearing about. And we, coming across these allusions
to current or recent events in the reports of that first camp meeting left to us, do not
scout them as irrelevancies, but welcome them as timely and significant of much. For
our founders and fathers being men of imperfect education and contracted outlook, so

F 2

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

far as world affairs were concerned and jet, being above all, men of such single purpose
that they could have said "this one thing we do," they have not left us in their scanty
journals many allusions to contemporary national or world events. They did the work
that was before them, and saw not or recked not of the far-reaching references and
influences of their work. But this does not absolve us from the necessity of constantly
reminding ourselves what kind of a world it was into which they were thrust when they
began their long day's work. Rightly regarded, those humble camp meeting stands
were no more to be scoffed at than a park of artillery with unlimbered guns, for they
marked the bringing up of fresh supports in the war of amelioration.

Yielding to such thoughts as these, we can appreciate the statement that one of the

LANGTOFT-ON-THE-WOLI)S.

speakers at Mow Camp Meeting — an Irish lawyer and a convert of Lorenzo Dow — gave
vivid details of the horrors of the late rebellion in Ireland he himself had witnessed,
and in which to his own spiritual enrichment he had lost his worldly all. We can see
the pertinence of his applications — " that we should praise God for our privileges as
English Christians, improve them to the glory of God, and pity and pray for the poor
and spiritually degraded Irish."

Largely autobiographic too was the address of another speaker— an ex-officer in the
British army and ex-Leist who had recently been arrested and soundly converted under
the instrumentality of Lorenzo Dow at Macclesfield. Though no name is given we know
that this man was Eleazar Hathorn alias "Eleazar of the wooden leg"; for he had lost
a limb in Spain. Him we shall meet with again. " He had," says Hugh Bourne,

SOURCES AND OKIGIN.

with a rhetorical exaggeration rather unusual to him, "seen death flying in every
direction, and men falling slain on every side. He had walked in blood, over fields
covered with mountains of dying and dead. He showed the happiness of our land, and
the gratitude we owed to God for its exemption from being the seat of war."

So this day of labour and of blessing lapsed. At six o'clock there was but one stand,
and towards the end the work was carried on by praying companies. At seven, Hugli
Bourne tells us — and how characteristic this is— a work broke out amongst the children,
some half-dozen of whom were converted, forming the last, though by no means the least,
spoil of the day. We can picture W. Clowes, as exhausted with his incessant labours
extending from six in the morning until eight at night, he left the field, feeling inex-
pressibly thankful as he reflected— " Myriads of saints and angels will everlastingly
laud the Eternal Majesty on account of the day's praying on Mow Cop."

Camp Meetings and the Conventicle Act.
It was not so much the holding of Mow Cop Camp Meeting that gave ofi'ence
and roused opposition, as the fact that its success encouraged its supporters to
arrange at once for the holding of a second and third. Had it stood alone — without

a successor, like the one at Langtoft, its
contemporary, it would have been a nine
days' wonder — nothing more. The first was
borne with because it was expected it would
also be the last. Such an impression might
have been justified in 1801 ; it was quite
erroneous now. Then, opponents might have
said : — " Let them have their fling and you will
hear no more of camp meetings. They will tire
of them as a child of the toy for which it has
clamoured." But what might have been true in
1801 was not true in 1807. The movement had
acquired momentum ; all the greater because it
" had been let hitherto," and now that the pro-
pulsion given by Lorenzo Dow had been added,
the movement was not to spend itself in one big
eff'ort, as some who had neither understanding
of the times nor of men thought it would.
A conversation reported to have taken place between Hugh Bourne and his superin-
tendent, Mr. Riles, before Mow Cop Camp Meeting, lets us see into the minds of both
the promoters and the opponents of camp meetings. In Walford's "Life of Hugh
Bourne," that conversation is made a foot-note, but it is too significant to be left in that
obscurity, as though it had no bearing on the course of events. If that brief talk did
not shape events it certainly throws light on them.
Mr. R. — ■" The forthcoming meeting will do hurt."
H. B.— " It will not do hurt."

Mr. R.— " Well, one meeting Avill ' satisfy ' all people."
H. B.— " Very well, then, we'll leave it as that meeting leaves it."
Mr. R._"Very well."

EEV. JOHN RILES.

70 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

Unless we are much mistaken, this very laconic dialogue discloses ready to our hand
a clue worth following. Mr. Thomas Church has too hastily drawn a double inference
from Mr. Eiles' sentence. He concludes that " the official representative of the
Wesleyan Conference not only sanctioned officially the holding of England's first camp
meeting," but, more than that — " his words conveyed a willingness on his part for camp
meetings to be continued, should the first prove successful in its design." * We, on the
contrary, take Mr. Riles' meaning to be that, as there was not likely to be a second camp
meeting, this one should be tolerated — " sanctioned " is too strong a term. He saw no
long series, no extended vista of camp meetings opening out before him. One, he
thought, would satisfy all, opponents and favourers alike. " All people " included
Bourne himself ; therefore he would interpret Hugh Bourne's somewhat enigmatical
atterance by his own thought. The forthcoming meeting would, at its finish, leave
Hugh Bourne so satisfied with having had his own way that he would be quite willing
to settle down, and avoid the trouble inseparable from organising further meetings, and
the pain and discomfort of running counter to the wishes of the Methodist authorities.
One camp meeting was to be suffered because it would have no successor, and there
would be an end of it; and we are not sure whether Mr. Riles would not read acquiescence
in this view of the matter into Hugh Bourne's reply. As to Bourne, whether there was
to be a second camp meeting or not, was to be determined by the event. If that
meeting: left him " satisfied " that there had been more of the whim and will of man in
camp meetings than he had suspected — well and good : he would desist. But if by its
success and manifest tokens of the divine favour the impression were deepened that
camp meetings " should not die but live," then, in God's name, he would stand by them.

How, then, to use Bourne's phrase, did Mow Camp Meeting " leave it " ? " The
propriety and utility of camp meetings appeared to every one." Adjudged by the
criteria of numbers, good order and decorum, and spiritual results, there could be no
doubt as to its success. " Pious people were of opinion that more good w^as done at
that camp meeting than had been done at all the preachings and meetings held at
Harriseahead and Mow during the preceding twelve months." Its promoters were fully
satisfied it was of God, and were resolved to continue this method of doing good.
A public announcement to this effect was made on the camp-ground, and the penny
pamphlet which was at once published and circulated by thousands, not only described
the first camp meeting, but also advertised the second and third, and laid down certain
regulations for the due ordering of the same.

This public advertising could not fail to be construed into a declaration of war — as
tantamount to throwing down the gage of battle. The first camp meeting had been but
" loathly allowed." Now, the permissive era was to give place to the prohibitive.

* Thomas Church: History of the Primitive Methodists, 1870, p. 121. H Bourne writing in 1836
on this conversation, recognises its importance. " It would seem Mr. Riles in his zeal, was not fully
aware of the import of his own words ; for he, being the agent of the Conference in that circuit,
did hereby in effect not only give the Conference sanction (as far as he was concerned) to that
meeting, but to leaving the Camp Meeting cause or system, on the same footing as that meeting
should leave it. Neither was H. B. at the time aware either of his own words, or of those of
Mr. ^."—Magazine, 1836, p. 303.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 71

Henceforward the opposition to camp meetings became more pronounced, organised, and
olficial in character ; so much so, that some who in heart sympathised with this new
mode of evangehsm, and had even countenanced and aided the first effort of the kind,
now wavered and drew back. Handbills in opposition to camp meetings were published
by the preachers of the Burslem and Macclesfield Circuits. This was fair and above-
board ; but there also crept forth from some quarter or other a handbill announcing that
no camp meeting would be held. But it was bill against bill. A counter-placard drawn
up and signed by H. and J. Bourne, D. Shubotham, M. Bayley, and T. Cotton soon
appeared, declaring that the arrangements already made held good, and that the camp
meetings most assuredly would be held. How fared it with Hugh Bourne and the rest
as the storm thus gathered? We shall be deceived if we regard him as absolutely
tremorless — composed and comfortable as the storm hurtled around him. He was not
so devoid of sensitiveness.* Indeed, there was one moment when the thought took
him like a vice — " Put out a bill to say there will be no camp meeting, and be at peace."
But that moment was not, we may be sure, the moment when his eye first caught sight
of the unauthorised poster, minus the printer's imprint, but rather the moment when by
staring handbill it was brought home to him that the highest local authorities of his
Church had declared against him. ■

After what has been said of the working incompatibility between modern and
primitive Methodism, and the inevitability of a collision between them sooner or later
taking place, we need not now stay to account for the opposition of official Methodism
to camp meetings, much- less to denounce it. However unwise and unfortunate we may
now think it to have been, regarded from the standpoint taken at the time, it is quite
understandable, and one may even say, natural. So here for the time we may leave it,
always remembering whether it be referred to or not, that the opposition is there to be
felt and reckoned with, like a strong head-wdnd, in the teeth of which the camp-meeting
movement has to make its way.

There was, however, opposition to be encountered and provided against of quite another
kind — of a kind, indeed, we find it hard to estimate the nature and gravity of, since it
owed its being and force to the more intolerant laws under which Dissenters and
Nonconformists then lived and in the shadow of which they had to do their work.
True, there was the Toleration Act ; but the Conventicle and Five Mile Acts were not
yet repealed. They still stood on the Statute Book and could be invoked and set in
motion to harass and injure. It was a time, too, when the growing influence of Dissent
and Methodism was the cause of uneasiness and offence to many. Under the stimulus
of this composite feeling, the provisions of the Toleration Act were very closely scanned,
with the result, that the highest legal authority in the realm — Lord Ellenborough —
presiding over the Court of Queen's Bench, threw doubt on the meaning and effect of
the existing laws. What though a dissenter had got his licence as a preacher and
. teacher, it now began to be questioned whether that licence availed him anything,
unless it could be proved that he was the minister of a separate and particular

* There is one place in his Journals, written some little time after this, where something very
much like a moan escapes him, that he who would like above all things to live at peace with all men
seems cruelly fated to be always witnessing and contending.

72 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

congregation — nay more, unless it could also be proved that he had been duly ordained
by those authorised and competent to convey the grace of orders and confer legal status.
But if the position of regular pastors and ministers of dissenting churches was thus called
in question and made insecure, the position of lay preachers, and those "irregulars"
who, like Bourne, carried on religious services in the open-air was rendered doubly
precarious. There can be little doubt, with the strong disposition felt in certain
quarters to strain the existing laws so as to make them bear hardly on dissenters, that not
only the speakers at the first camp meeting but all those who attended and took part in
it, might have been pounced upon and subjected to fine, and, in default of payment, to
imprisonment, had any one bold and bad enough to take the needful trouble been
forthcoming. That this is no extravagant fancy is clear from the provisions of the
Toleration Act itself, and is established })y such facts as these : ^90 were recovered
from persons found at a prayer meeting, and another man was fined £20 for offering

iAc

/fij?2.

up public prayer to the Almighty.* Again, on Sunday, the 14th June, 1812, the
ancestor of an influential Primitive Methodist family now resident in ISTantwich, Crewe,
and Willaston, was made to feel the weight of the obnoxious laws. George Wood had
taken his stand on a bank in the open air of the town of Audlem with a view to the holding
of a religious service when he was assaulted and stopped by an attorney named Groom,
acting under an alleged warrant which he never showed. Wood, on appearing before
the Bench, was convicted in the penalty of X20, and, being unable or unwilling to pay
the fine, he suffered the distraint of his goods. Fortunately he appealed to a higher
Court, and the judges of the Chester Assizes awarded him £200 damages. The
mortified defendant appealed to the King's Bench, but the verdict of the lower court

* Houlder's "Short History of the Free Churches," p. 144.1

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

was sustained."* Tims, locally, even as late as 1812 the Conventicle Act had power to
annoy, and what the trend of the time was is clearly shown by Lord Sidmouth's bill for
checking the facilities with which persons entered the dissenting ministry. This bill was
brought in in 1811, the birth-year of Primitive Methodism. Lord Sidmouth complained
that " cobblers, tailors, pig-drivers, and chimney-sweeps " had assumed the sacred office.
The clause requiring the signatures of six respectable householders of the village
belonging to the applicant's denomination might seem a harmless condition, but it was
shrewdly suspected that the true billet of the bill, and especially this clause of it, was
the suppression of local preachers and the extirpation of village dissent. The
Nonconformists were up in arms ; and historians do not fail to note the fact that, for the
first time, the Wesley ans took a leading part in a political struggle, joining heart and soul
in the resistance which was organised to the bill. On the day of its second reading there

THE LATE MR. JOHN WOOD.

THE LATE MR. THOMAS WOOD.

were lodged against it no less than 336 petitions — so bulky that they impeded the
movenients of "my lords." The bill had to be dropped, but its dropping was the
immediate raising of the Protestant Society for the Protection of Religious Liberty, of
which John Wilkes, who had to do with the preparation of the Deed Poll of our
T^ Church, was the secretary. The year 1812 saw the obnoxious Conventicle and Five
Mile Acts wiped off the Statute Book.

We have said thus much in order to place the second camp meeting in its proper
historic setting. That being done, certain special features of that camp meeting,
which might easily be passed over as due to nothing but the personal idiosyncrasies
of Hugh Bourne, are seen to have been the outcome of prudent foresight, and are full
of significance. They have the Conventicle Act at the back of them. When we are
told that it began to be whispered Hugh Bourne was a political ringleader, and
most likely a traitor ; that if he got his deserts he would be brought to justice and
mulcted in heavy damages, or clapped in priso^hi, we can see, in the light of what has
been said, that these rumours were of sinister import. When, further, we are told how
it was noised abroad that a man of standing and influence in the neighbourhood —

* " Religious Intolerance in Cheshire in 1812." Reprinted from the Crewe and Nantwich Chronicle,
May 28th, 1887. Also "The Story -of an Old Case of Persecution Retold," by Rev. T. Home,
Aldersgate Primitive Methodist Magazine, 1899, p. 195.

74^

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

a deistic master-potter named Stephenson— was threatening to crush camp meetings and
get the leaders of them punished by means of the Conventicle Act, we can understand
Hugh Bourne's movements. We can see he was not " friijhted with false fire," or
indulging a whim, but simply taking precautionary measures when, having secured the
promise of the ground from a freeholder, he trudged to Lichfield and back in
order to get the ground licensed for worship. He was told, however, that the licence
could not be granted unless a building were erected on the site. Accordingly, at an
expense to himself of some thirty pounds, he got a wooden tabernacle erected, together
with two smaller tents. W. Clowes assisted him in the purchase of crockery ; a stock
of provisions for the expected strangers was laid in ; then he got a preacher's licence for

AUDLEM.

himself from Stafford, and, having done all he could, he finished by affixing a public
notice on a board, warning all and sundry that the ground and erections being duly
licensed for worship, any one disturbing the worshippers would render himself liable
to penalty.

Mow Cop second camp meeting was held on July 19th. As its design was to
counteract the wake of the ancient parish of Wolstanton, which included Tunstall and
district, it lasted three days. We need not describe the services further than to say that
like those of the first camp meeting they were largely carried on by auxiliaries from

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 75

a distance. Clowes was present, but tells us he " laboured little." James Nixon,
however, was not only on the ground but threw himself heart and soul into the
services: " I was, with many others," says Clowes, "greatly struck with the solemnity
and power which attended his ministrations."

Camp meeting No. 2 was, as we have seen, organised with a view to probable
oi)position of a quasi-legal kind. Its elaborate preparations were of the nature of
a defence, as much so as are the parapets and stockades of a fort ; and it is chiefly
memorable to us from the way in which the threatened opposition showed itself and did
little more than that. All eyes were fixed on the master-potter — the champion of order
and the Conventicle Act, who "breathed out threatenings." On that July Sunday
afternoon, he endeavoured to make his threatenings good. Attended by one or two
others, whose names, fortunately for themselves, have not transpired, Mr. Stephenson
rode on the ground just at the time penitents were being prayed with at one of the
praying companies. Not succeeding in breaking up the company by riding through it,
he asked for the person in charge, and was directed to Hugh Bourne. Mr. Hugh Bourne
had retired behind the hill and, because of the labour he had to perform, he had not yet
endued his Sunday garments, so that he did not look much like the generalissimo of the
forces. The two met — the representative of the Conventicle Act and the champion
of camp meetings. Mr. S. was heated and spoke in a high tone ; but H. B., on the
contrary, conversed with him "coolly and at large." The minister's licence was
demanded and at once produced ; then the licence for the buildings was asked for.
That, he was told, was at home, but should be sent for if necessary. Upon this, Mr.
S. went away, riding past the congregation. " Then," we are told, " the Lord interposed,
and struck such a terror in him, that he stopped his horse and sent for H. B.,
and seemed conscious of being in the wrong." Very probably ; for as he rode off, in all
likelihood his eye caught sight of the minatory board warning all would-be disturbers
of a lawful assembly. Anyhow, his mood was changed. He was now more reasonable,
and deist though he was, disposed to argue from the Scriptures as a common standard
of authority. So he took his final leave, invoking a " God bless you " upon the
bystanders, and the people present cried "God bless him." He who had come on the
ground like a lion left it like a lamb.

We have referred to this instance of unsuccessful opposition because it was the first
of its kind, though not the last by any means. And yet we may be permitted to doubt
whether, if the opposition had only been more thorough and persistent, the existing
laws might not have been so strained as in the result to make H. B's. two licences not
worth the parchment they were written on — insufficient for his own protection, still less
sufficing to screen the other speakers and praying labourers who had no licence. It
must have been under the influence of the suspicion that after all, his proposed safe-
guards might prove worthless, that H. B. shouted to the people who were disquieted
by the manufacturer's bluster and threats: "Whoever is fined for attending the
meeting I will pay." By these words of reassurance he sought to stay the beginning
of panic.

The attempt to put down camp meetings under legal cover had in this case
ignominiously failed — and this was, so far, well. It was rightly argued : " If a man of

7()

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

%i4i'>t^

ORIGINAL LICENCE FOE PREACHING -ROOM.

SOURCES AND OKIGIN. 77

standing and substance like this, who ought to know the law if any one knows it, and
how far it will ]et him go — if he has done his best, or his worst, and has failed, then it
is not likely that any one else who may be bold enough to try conclusions with the
camp meeting Methodists will fare any better. We may safely go. We run no risks."
Considerations of this kind would induce many to attend camp meetings who might
have been intimidated and kept away by the successful imposition of fines.

Camp Meetings and Conterence. Norton, the Proclaimed Camp Meeting.

Between the second and fourth camp meetings, what H. B. calls " a small camp
meeting," was held at Brown Edge, two miles from Norton, on August 16th (the very
day on which Langtoft Camp Meeting was held) ; but as this was really nothing more
than a couple of open-air services held morning and evening we need not linger upon
it, though it may by courtesy be called the third camp meeting.

Norton Camp Meeting bespeaks our careful attention in many regards. It had been
arranged for long before the Conference of 1807 met at Liverpool. Until the Conference
pronounced, the opposition of the ministers and the greater part of the officialdom of
the circuit, though hard to withstand, might be partly discounted, and, therefore, more
easily braved, by its being regarded as local, and as not representing the deliberate, final
judgment of Methodism. In such circumstances, a silent appeal might be made to
a higher tribunal, and the hope cherished that the local judgment might not obtain the
endorsement of the supreme court. In vain ; the Conference pronounced and pronounced
adversely. The fateful words have often been written, but they must be written
once more.

Q. — " What is the judgment of the Conference concerning what are called Camp
Meetings ? "

A. — " It is our judgment that, even supposing such meetings to be allowable in
America, they are highly improper in England, and likely to be productive of
considerable mischief ; and we disclaim all connection with them."

Compared with some fulminations of the Church, this Conference minute was
mildness itself. If camp meetings were really so very bad — too bad to be let live —
then one thinks the minute might very properly have been made more stringent, and
have been couched in stronger terms. It reads more like a recommendation than an
anathema ; its attitude to camp meetings is negative rather than positive, and that
attitude is taken up more from expediency than on principle. For it is conceded —
grudgingly, we grant — that camp meetings may " do good," and therefore be allowed
in America, while in England they will be highly improper and must be disallowed.
Hence it is reasonable to infer, that it is not camp meetings in themselves that are
objected to, so much as the temper and habit from which they are supposed to spring —
the self-willedness and ecclesiastical do-as-we-likeness which, in the thought of many,
had come to be associated with Revivalism of which, probably, it was regarded as the
latest and most flagrant manifestation. We do not condemn the Conference. It had
a perfect right to take its own course ; but we claim the liberty of expressing an

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

opinion whether the direction
taken was according to precedent,
or the genius of Methodism. The
Minute of Conference marked a
deliberate departure from the
primitive poHcy and practice of
Methodism. Several times during
the course of his marvellous

QUEEN STREET, BURSLEM.

itineraries, Wesley had preached

at Burslem in the open-air — the

last time so recently as 1790, only

seventeen years before. " I was

obliged to preach abroad," says

he, " such were the multitudes of

the people. Surely the people

of this place were highly favoured.

Mercy embraced them on every side." The Conference minute, too, is in striking

contrast with Wesley's farewell address to the preachers of the Chester Circuit given

that same year — 1790.

"Fellow labourers, wherever there is an open door enter in and preach the
Gospel ; if it be to two or three, under a hedge or a tree ; preach the Gospel— go
out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor
and the maimed, and the halt and the blind; and the servant said, 'Lord, it is
done as Thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.' He then lifted up his hands,
and with tears flowing down his cheeks, repeated, ' And yet there is room ! ' "
If " Conference is the living Wesley," his views and practices must have undergone

a great change during the short course of seventeen years. But even Dr. Bunting is

witness that there are times when it is both right and expedient to take to the streets

and lanes and fields and commons to preach the gospel : —

" When a superintendent told the Conference that the Warrenites had got all
the chaijels in his Circuit which were not upon the model deed. Dr. Bunting nobly
told him to go out into the streets and lanes and fields and commons and preach
the doctrines that our fathers preached, and in the way they preached them, and
we should soon have as good chapels or better ones, or as big chapels or bigger."*

Dr. Bunting did speak nobly when he tendered such advice as this. Would that
a voice equally potent had been raised in the Conference of 1807 in defence of camp
meetings as an agency for reaching those whom no chapels, however good or big, could
entice within their walls. If the "irregularity" of going into the open was justifiable

* Dr. Gregory : " Sidelights on the Conflicts of Methodism," p. 574.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

ill 1849 under the circumstances, then, a fortiori, it was still more justifiable as things
were in the country in the earlier years of the century. However, it is not the
unwisdom of the minute of Conference on which we care to dwell. Rather do we
press the fact of the inconsistency of that minute with the views, and methods
characteristic of Methodism in its early heroic days. It is this fact — for fact it is, and
no mere private opinion — on which the historian of the Free Churches has fastened ;
and we are quite content to leave the matter where he has left it : —

"The Primitive Methodists were established because the Conference, proving
more conservative than Wesley himself, and forgetting the origin of their existence,
set itself against the general practice of field preaching."*

If the Conference pronouncement had to be no mere hrutum fulmen, it was the
Burslem Circuit which must feel its effects. That circuit was the storm-centre of
the camp meeting movement, and within its limits the issue between the promoters of
the movement and the Conference would have to be decided. The circuit preachers

on their return from the
Conference, took such a view
of the action of Confer-
ence and of their duty in
relation to it, that they could
not allow the minute to
remain a dead letter. The

BURSLEM IN 1800, SHOWING TOWN HALL.

officials of
circuit were got
together and
required to
declare them-
selves against
camp meetings.
This prompt
and decided
action on the

part of the burslem wesletan chapel.

ministers had its natural effect. William Clowes was absent from Norton Camj)
Meeting, and was not seen at another for a period of thirteen months. For a time even
James Bourne wavered : and then, one can well imagine Hugh Bourne would feel
himself a terribly lonely man wdth a heavy burthen to bear. He had reached at one

* Skeats' "A History of the Free Churches of England," 1868, p. 621.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

and the same time the culminating point of his responsibility and the nadir of his
loneliness. Had he, too, lost heart at this juncture the movement must have collapsed.
But H. B. remained firm, and very soon his brother became convinced that it was his
duty to stand by camp meetings, being, it would appear, largely brought to this
conviction by a remarkable dream. This is all the more noteworthy because he was
matter-of-fact, and we seldom hear of his dreaming dreams. Now he was ready to
share the expense and labour involved in successfully carrying through another camp
meeting of the American type — a type not destined to take root in England — with its
booths and tents, its provision for worshippers, and lasting three days. All eyes were
directed to the forthcoming Korton Camp Meeting — and with good reason. It was the
crucial gathering ; for it would decide whether camp meetings could go on living and

NORTON.

justify their survival, even in the state of outlawry created by Conference proscription.
Had the movement given way at this point, just where the pressure was the strongest,
and the power of resistance apparently the feeblest, then it would have mattered little
that Captain Anderson had hoisted the flag of out-door evangelism on Mow Cop. The
contest seemed a very unequal one. If ib were not exactly " Athanasius contra mundum "
it was Hugh Bourne flying in the face of the Wesleyan Conference and of his own
circuit authorities. But he tells us how he had read that " General Councils may err,
and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God," and was led to believe
that this was just such an instance of aberration on the part of a grave and reverend
assembly as Article XXI of the Church of England had recognised as possible. Thinking

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 81

thus, he stiffened his will, and was emboldened to carry through what he had determined
as though he were right and the whole Methodist Conference wrono-. Moreover he
believed the Conference had been misled by giving heed to hearsay reports and
" H. and J. Bourne knew that the Lord could turn the minds of the Conference
or carry on the camp meetings by other means." *

The morniug of August 23rd, 1807, broke unfavourably, and in other respects than
weather the conditions were depressing. Not that the assembly was disappointingly
small ; rather was it unexpectedly large, and the labourers few in proportion to the
multitude gathered together. Many, no doubt, were absent who but for the Conference
edict would have been present, and whose presence would have stamped it as a local
Methodist gathering. But, probably, the edict brought together more than it kept
away. Those to whom the interdict did not apply, or for whom it had no terrors
would come out of curiosity to see what all the stir was about, and wherein lay the
harm of such meetings. The promoters of the camp meeting had not looked further
than the holding of a series of meetings of modest dimensions, yet sufficing with their
praying companies to keep the young from being drawn away by the enticements of the
wake, and, behold ! a multitude brought together from far and near, and only four or
five available for labour ! Besides Hugh Bourne and his brother, there were James Nixon
" about as difficult to be persuaded from pursuing what he deemed a proper course as
Hugh Bourne himself," t a man from Knutsford, and another from Macclesfield. Later
in the day Thomas Cotton would render good service, but he had to fulfil his appointments
at Kidsgrove morning and afternoon. One can imagine Hugh Bourne's surveying the
slender forces at his disposal and the work cut out for them, and the depression that
would come upon him as he recognised how disproportionate they were in numbers and
physical strength to the task before them. But help came unexpectedly. A stranger
to the conductors of the meeting came upon the field and made his way to the centre.
The stranger proved to be Paul Johnson, a physician from Dublin, staunch friend of
Lorenzo Dow, whom his professional skill had saved from what seemed imminent death.
He had laboured too with Dow in the recent revivals in Lancashire and Cheshire and
consequently would be known to many on the ground. He was '' much in the Quaker
way," and had come to the camp meeting by " impression," though at some sacrifice,
and was moved to take a prominent part in the meetings. Being an excellent speaker,
with a fine resonant voice which filled the field, he quite captivated the potters. His
coming at that moment was regarded as exceedingly opportune; it was even looked upon
as ''an extraordinary interposition of Divine Providence," and turned the feeling of
depression into one of hopefulness and confidence. They were satisfied that camp
meetings were of the Lord, and taught by experience how faithless had been their
fears, they resolved hereafter to trust less than ever in an arm of flesh.

The camp meeting went on until Tuesday evening, though on the latter day with
diminished numbers, and marred by the appearance on the field of Daniel Shubotham
to play the part of a protester ! Henceforward Daniel will be absent from this history.
Soon the tents were struck and the tabernacle taken down, and Norton Camp Meeting,
fourth in order but first in historical importance, was a thing of the past. It had

* Bourne's "History," 1835, p. 23. f Patty's "History," p. 31.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

answered its immediate purpose — not one member was " drawn away by the vanities of
the wake." More than this — " from that important moment the English camp meetings
were established on an immovable foundation, and could never afterwards be shaken."

The "Shedding" of Hugh Bourne.
From Norton Camp Meeting follows in true historical sequence the expulsion, or, as
it might more correctly be called, the dropping or shedding of Hugh Bourne. It was
the next natural step to take after what had already been done. If camp meetings
were proscribed, the man who more than any other was responsible for their forfeited
existence, could not long be tolerated ; if they were proclaimed un-Methodistic, he, their

NORTON CHURCH.
Where Hugh Bourne's parents are buried.

chief author and abettor, must soon be denied the character of true Methodist. And
yet, one thinks, the authorities were not precipitate in their action ; for the guillotine
did not fall until June 27th, 1808^ten months after the holding of Norton Camp
Meeting, so there was no indecent haste in making Hugh Bourne pay the penalty of his
contumacy. But even during those ten months of respite he was not suffered to live
under the illusion that the passing of the Conference minute had made no difference,
and that things would continue on the old footing. True ; opposition may be said to
have spent its force at Norton, and after that time to have quickly moderated, yet,
Bourne tells us, " tha^minute of Conference continued to be pressed," and the brothers
" were made to feel the force of it in a variety of ways." Whatever unpleasant form

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

this pressure took, its indirect result was for the furtherance of the gospel. If it availed
to close some accustomed doors, mediately it brought about the finding of fresh openings
for evangelistic activity. The line of least resistance taken coincided largely with the
line of most usefulness. Where they found themselves free to labour was just the spot
where labour was most needed. Neglected neighbourhoods were missioned ; open-air
services were held and cottage prayer meetings established ; the scantiness of religious
ordinances here and there was supplemented. In addition to all this, conversation-
preaching and family visitation went on continually. These, not the least effective
methods of evangelisation, were under no ban, and could be followed anywhere.
Moreover, when the vernal equinox of the new year — 1808 — was passed, the Camp

THE WREKIN.

Meeting Methodists, as they now began to be called, acting in conformity with their
name, organised a series of camp meetings.

The first of the series, opening what may be called the camp meeting season, was
held May 1st, 1808, on the singular isolated hill or mountain in Shropshire — the
Wrekin, not far from Madeley, where John Fletcher lived and laboured. What made
them pitch upon a distant mountain, 1320 feet high, for their camp meeting, was not the
strangeness or the picturesqueness of the site, though in these respects the spot chosen
was quite as remarkable as Mow Cop itself. What took them so far afield* was the
knowledge that on this first Sunday in May, as had been the custom time out of mind,

* The Wrekin is fort}" miles from Bemersle3\

84 PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

a vast multitude of people would come together to spend the day in unhallowed pleasure.
True to their principle of coming to close quarters with vice and profanity, they resolved
not to let this annual desecration both of the Lord's Day and of the Lord's mountain
pass without protest. They would bear witness to the truth that "the heights of the
hills are His also," and would see to it that the heights of old Wrekin should for once
give back other echoes than those with which bad " old use and wont " had made them
familiar in the long succession of years. So the sounds of praise and prayer and
exhortation vied and struggled for the mastery with the sounds of revelry, lewdness,
and profanity. Finally, and appropriately, they distributed their " Rules for Holy
Living," and left the mountain and the results with God.

Three other camp meetings were held during what we have called the ten months
of respite. These were Bug Lawton, in Cheshire, May 15th ; a small one at Wootton,
May 22nd; and the third Mow Camp Meeting, May 29th. These need not detain
us from considering what is of much more importance — the formal exclusion of Hugh
Bourne from the Wesleyan Methodist Society by the Burslem Circuit Quarterly Meeting
of June 27th, 1808. The blow was in some measure anticipated. He tells us that as
he was on his return journey from "a religious excursion" into Cheshire and Lancashire,
it was painfully borne in upon his mind that he would soon be put out of the Old
Methodist communion, and that he would be more useful out than in. He did not rest
passive under the impression, but strove and argued against it. Such an event was
most unlikely, he reasoned, — he being a trustee, having been a considerable giver to
the cause, a raiser up of societies, and "vehemently attached to Methodism." These
were the grounds he went upon in this inward debate, and with such considerations
he sought to get rid of the impression, and because of its intrinsic unlikelihood
ventured to conclude it had not a Divine source. Nevertheless the impression persisted,
nor had he any peace until he let it sink into his mind and gave it credence, and yielded
as with a " Be it as the Lord will." On reaching home he found rumours flying about
that his expulsion was intended. Whatever explanation may be offered of this mental
conflict, one obvious advantage resulted from it : he had reckoned with the event
beforehand, so that its happening found him calm and prepared.

What was the charge or complaint preferred against Hugh Bourne by the Burslem
Quarterly Meeting 1 No doubt the impression has largely obtained that a clear, definitive
issue was raised — that of H. B.'s insubordination to a circuit prohibition based on a
Conference resolution. But there is no evidence for this. On the contrary, there is
evidence that much lower ground was taken. In the Clowes' MSS. it is distinctly
stated by Clowes himself : —

" I was at the Quarter Day at Burslem when H, B. was put out of Society as
a private member, and the charge that was brought against him was for not
attending his class. The leader said he had not been at his class for a long time,,
and they put him away."

Thus, what nearly all biographers of Hugh Bourne and Connexional historians had
surmised, is now established — that the ostensible ground of Hugh Bourne's dismember-
ment was not incorrigible complicity with camp meetings, or any breach of ordinary

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 85

discipline, much less any allegation of immorality or wrong-doing, but the fact of
infrequent attendance at his class. He himself has admitted the truth of the charge,
and explained why it was true. How could he be present at Norton Class on the
Sunday morning when, as a rule, he w^as pursuing his evangelistic labours miles away ?
Yet, in his absence, without being apprised of what was going to be done, or being
allowed to plead anything in extenuation, he was dropped. The Circuit Steward,
Mr. Walker, we are told, spoke up on behalf of fairness to an absent man who, after
all, was more than a private member. Whether any one else did so we are not told.

Does the new evidence available permit us to regard the action of the authorities
more favourably 1 Scarcely. There were two questions involved in the unchurching of.
Hugh Bourne — the question of fact and of right ; whether he had or had not attended
his class ; and whether the fact of non-attendance, supposing it proved, was a sufficient
ground for expulsion. If, when the fact was proved that H. B. had not been at his
class for some time — and if his leader were present it would not take long to prove
that — it were then agreed to rule out all questions of why and wherefore, all con-
siderations explanatory and exculpatory, and determine the issue on the simple matter
of fact — then all that can be said is that such mode of procedure would have been
the veriest travesty of justice, although one can easily see that such an easy method
of barring out troublesome discussion and getting rid of a troublesome man would
have its obvious advantages. If this were the course really taken — a thing in itself
hardly credible — then such a statement as the subjoined is quite beside the mark : —

"As he, Mr. Bourne, definitely rejected the authority of the Leaders and Local
Preachers' Meeting they not unnaturally or ungraciously felt driven to disown
all responsibility for his acts."*

This view, we say, is irrelevant — it does not fit the facts — unless the question of the
Tightness or wrongness of the pre-occupation which kept Hugh Bourne from his class
were duly considered and adjudicated upon. Doubtless this was the course pursued,
and the decision reached was adverse, as we know. This being so, the "natural" and
"gracious" course, surely, would have been to make H. B.'s "irregularities," and
Revivalistic methods, and especially his persistence in pushing camp meetings, the
gravamen of the charge against him and, if sustained, the ground of the disciplinary
measures taken. This, we admit (thus agreeing with Dr. Gregory, who wrote according
to the evidence available at the time) would have been the natural and logical sequence
of the clash between Conference and Camp Meetings which was only part of the bigger
clash between primitive and modern Methodism. That this was the real, though not
the alleged ground of Hugh Bourne's expulsion may be regarded as confirmed by the
President of the Quarterly Meeting himself. Soon after his expulsion Hugh Bourne
met Mr. J. Riles in the street, and on inquiring of him the reason of that expulsion,
was told " that he had a tendency to set up other than the ordinary worship."

The best feature of this unhappy episode was the way the victim bore it. On the
evening of this fateful day he called upon W. Clowes, and the two attended a meeting
of the Tract Mission. But it was not from Clowes' lips he learned the news of

* The late Dr. B. Qvq^ovj.

S6 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

his expulsion. Clowes was freshly arrived from the Quarterly Meeting, and one might
reasonably conclude the treatment his friend had received would be the thought
uppermost in his mind and the one topic of conversation. .His silence is significant,
and makes us wonder as to its cause. Was the subject too painful to broach ? If so,
we get a glimpse of one of the small tragedies of life. It is not always that "out of
the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh." Next day, when the news reached
him that he had been put out of the Methodist Society, Bourne simply said, "The
Lord's will be done," and was thankful that he had been forewarned and prepared for
the blow. He was neither disconsolate nor angry; fomented no division; paid his
arrears of class money, and went on with his work as though nothing had happened.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 87

CHAPTER III.

RAMSOR FOURTH CAMP MEETING AND AFTER.

Clowes, a Methodist Local Preacher.

ROM the time of the Conference declaration against camp meetings to
September 4th, 1809 — the date of the first Ramsor Camp Meeting — the
story of Clowes' life belongs to Burslem Methodism, and therefore need not
be told here in detail. After the official action taken in 1807 he could not
have been a Methodist and an out-and-out Camp Meetinger without compromising himself,
and it is clear to us that as yet he was liot prepared to incur the penalty of exclusion
from the society he loved. Still, even during this period of fifteen months, he has
more than an incidental connection with this narrative. Clowes kept up his friendship
with various members of the Camp Meeting brotherhood — notably with Hugh Bourne,
with whom he had frequent intercourse. Often Bourne looked in upon his friend, and
long and profitable talks ensued. Clowes notes it as an oddity in his visitor that he
would invariably, as though on principle, decline all hospitality ; he would neither bite
nor sup, nor, however late the hour might be, would he accept the oflfer of bed or
" squab," but insist upon returning to his own home at Bemersley, At such times the
staple of their talk was the deep things of God. Theirs was no caucus, no hole-and-
corner meeting. They did not forgather to canvass church affairs, but to seek after
mutual edification. Nor, do we find from Hugh Bourne's Journals, that in the give
and take of their nocturnal intercourse it was Bourne who was principally the giver
and Clowes the receiver ; that to the elder discij)le naturally fell the role of teacher,
inspirer, leader, while the younger was quite content to sit at his feet. It were a
mistake so to conclude ; for the records show that often the younger disciple left his
impress on the elder. Thus early did Clowes' atmosphere tell. The animation and
readiness of his speech, coupled with the fact of his rich and growing experience, gave
him, almost from the beginning, an ascendency over colder and less vocal natures.

Sometimes, too, Hugh Bourne would lead Clowes' class, and together they made
several excursions into Lancashire and Cheshire. But although all this betokens
considerable sympathy with the aims and methods of the Camp Meeting Methodists, yet
this sympathy and his friendship and company-keeping with Bourne and others like-minded
were without prejudice to his standing and expectations as a Methodist. His name
did not stand on any of their written plans — drawn up for the sake of convenience —
as did the names of Thomas Cotton and James Nixon. It is reasonable to conclude
that to Clowes the idea of the Church as an organisation making claims and conferring
privileges appealed more strongly than it did to Bourne. To the latter the Church
was more an ideal thing, and even the Methodism to which he had expressed himself

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

as vehemently attached was also an ideal. It was Methodism as it had been and as
it ought to be again, rather than the particular Methodism of the Burslem Circuit
or of the Annual Conference that attracted Hugh Bourne. There are certain entries
in his Journals bearing out these views. He records a conversation he had with
James Nixon soon after his expulsion : —

''''Friday, July 8th, 1808. — I went to Tunstall. J. Nixon discoursed with me about
being out of the Society. I said, I ought to have had an opportunity to have
answered for myself. He said, I should endeavour to come in again. I said, I had
left it to the Lord. He said, / should have more jwivileges. I said, as it was I should
have the privilege of doing the Lord's will. He said, if I did that I should be

a happy man ; nevertheless, he thought T ought to talk with about it, to

prevent him acting hastily another time. We then talked of the deep things
of religion."

KAMSOR COMMON.
The Site of the First Camp Meeting.

If James Nixon thought that Hugh Bourne missed many privileges by being outside
the Methodist pale and hence should endeavour to get inside once more, we may fairly
infer that William Clowes would still more decidedly be of this opinion ; for hitherto
his adhesion to camp meetings had not been so close and continuous as Nixon's. This
inference is confirmed by a statement Bourne makes in his "History," to which
Clowes takes no exception, though he does challenge some other statements made in
the same book : —

" Notwithstanding his (W. Clowes') being put off the preachers' plan, his

SOUKCES AND ORIGIN. 89

attachment to the Old Methodist Society was strong, and he occasionally gave
it as his oj^inion that H. B. would have more privileges, and might be more useful,
if he were in the Old Society. But, in this, W. Clowes soon found cause to change
his opinion."*

It is just here, no doubt, we find the explanation of the fact that after Mow Cop
■second camp meeting W. Clowes was not present at another for a period of fifteen
months ; or to put it in another way — out of seventeen camp meetings held from
May 31st, 1807, until the establishment of Primitive Methodism in 1811, Clowes was
present at five only. There is nothing specially puzzling in the fact as thus stated, if
we remember that Clowes' " time " as a founder of Primitive Methodism " was not yet
come." He was a convinced and ardent Methodist, who, at the same time, believed in
camp meetings. His belief went a long way. It cemented rather than dissolved the
friendship he had formed with the promoters of the movement. It emboldened him to
speak up in defence of camp meetings when he heard their utility called in question
or the motives of their promoters impugned. The Conference pronouncement had
made a dijBference ; but it neither suppressed his convictions nor tied his tongue, though
for a time it did avail to keep him from actively participating in what was disallowed,
since participation would have meant severance from the Church he loved. This we
take to be the meaning of Clowes' statement in regard to the second camp meeting
on Mow : —

" I laboured but little at this meeting, but I felt equally interested in its success,
and defended it with all my might against its opponents."

This period of fifteen months in which William Clowes held aloof from camp
meetings, while at the same time he held fellowship with camp meetingers, forms
a short chapter this history cannot afford to omit. It bears witness to the fact that
Clowes, at any rate, is not chargeable with holding low views of the Church, or lightly
esteeming its privileges. If, after this interval of suspense and struggle, during which
he, too, felt the pressure of the Conference pronouncement, Clowes did after all put to
hazard what was so dear to him, and whole-heartedly throw himself into the new
movement, it is a valuable tribute to the character and urgency of the movement itself;
while at the same time it furnishes a guarantee that when the time shall come for the
movement to organise itself into a denomination, the claims of the Church as against
unchecked individualism will be safeguarded. The union of the Clowesites and Camp
Meeting Methodists was to form an amalgam from which neither the Tunstall nor the
Bemersley ingredient could be spared.

W. Clowes has left it in waiting that he was present at all the Ramsor Camp
Meetings, the first of the series being held on September 4th, 1809. The second, held
five weeks afterwards, is noteworthy to us, because at it Clowes preached from his first
text. Exhortations, indeed, he had been in the habit of giving — powerful, effective,
and acceptable to the people, like the one delivered at Mow Cop first camp meeting — -
but, still, from a homiletic point of view these were nothing more than exhortations,
because wanting the formality of a previously-announced text, and essentially hortatory
in character, consisting of appeals based on the elemental evangelic facts and declarations

* "History," etc., Ed. 1835, p. 35.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

of Scripture, as confirmed by personal experience. Perhaps this form of public address
best suited Clowes' modest estimate of the range within which his own powers as yet
could safely and efficiently work, while he deemed it more in keeping with his standing —
that of a recognised exhorter who had not yet attained to the dignity of the plan. After-
considerable research the facts are still obscure. Probably usage has changed, and the
exhorter and local preacher of that time might be separated by a sharper line than now
obtains. But, however this may have been, it is certain that Clowes had received some
kind of official authorisation to speak in public. Either he had a " note to accompany "
an accredited local preacher, or he was empowered to fill a vacancy that might occur, or-
to conduct cottage services. It is equally certain that when at Ramsor Moor Camp

RAMSOR COMMON.
Eamsor Second Camp Meeting. New Chapel in background.

Meeting Clowes ventured to announce as his text, " He that hath the Son hath life," he-
had at the time no part whatever in what some one has called " the plan-etary heavens."'
He did not figure there even as a modest asterisk, much less had he the honour of"
having his name, or the initials of his name, emblazoned thereon. So it was something
of an event when on October 9th, 1809, the Methodist class-leader and exhorter preached
his first sermon. He did so well, we are told, that " the people encouraged him to go
forward." Soon after this — precisely how soon we know not* — he was required to-

* W. Garner, in his " Life of Clowes," gives October 9th as the date of the trial sermon. But
that is, of course, an error, as October 9th was the date of the Ramsor Camp Meeting. " Very
shortly after this," says Clowes, '• I was called upon to preach a trial sermon"

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

91.

REV. JONATHAN EDMONDSON.

preach his trial-sermon at Tunstall before the superintendent of the Burslem Circuit.

At the close of the service the Rev. Jonathan Edmondson
observed — "You have done very well; but you will kilL
yourself." The non-predictive part of this sentence had
weight as coming from one who in the pulpit was said to-
be "judicious, pithy, and practical," and who was the
author of sermons once widely known.

It has often been noted as singular that Clowes' trial
sermon, the indispensable step to plan-promotion, should
have followed hot-foot on his active participation in the
Ramsor Camp Meeting. It is singular, and remains so--
after all attempts at explanation. Assuming — what it-
seems unreasonable not to assume — that at the time of
the trial sermon the superintendent was privy to Clowes'
proceedings at Ramsor, we cannot but recall how different
was the treatment meted out to Hugh Bourne after Norton
Camp Meeting. He certainly was not rewarded as Clowes-
was by being invited to "go up higher." In his case the-
utmost that can be said is that "sentence" against what was regarded as "an evil work
was not executed speedily." The fact is — and herein lies the best available and most
concise explanation of the diverse treatment of the two men, and of much besides —
Clowes was persona grata to the authorities of the Burslem Circuit and Bourne was
not. The former, as we have seen, was attached, not only outwardly, but by true
inward affection, to Methodism in the concrete ; and up to this time the attachment
w^as mutual. He stood well with both ministers and people, and was in a measure-
popular and successful. And yet, so far as the available evidence goes, the promotion
which should have followed the trial sermon was no great one, and was tardily entered
upon. We have, in facsimile, a Methodist Plan of the Burslem Circuit for the quarter
August 6th — October 29th, 1809, on which after the names of the preachers follows-
the note : —

"N'.B.— W. Clowes, Wedgwood, W. E. to be employed occasionally."*

Of course, being without a figure, no appointments are given to Clowes on this plan.
More than this : Herod, while evidently unacquainted with this plan, states that
identically the same note stands on the plan for the succeeding quarter, November 5th,
1809 — January 28th, 1810. If it be unreasonable to suppose that after having had his
figure with appointments given him, W. Clowes was afterwards reduced to the third
part of an N.B., we are shut up to the conclusion that if W. C. ever were a local
preacher on "full plan," it could only have been for two quarters, February 4th —
July 29th, 1810, and before the plan for the second quarter had been worked out
Clowes' plan was taken from him. The fact thus elicited is startling, but the evidence
for it is strong. Was Clowes' complicity in Ramsor Camp Meeting after all not known
when he preached his trial sermon, and does the evidence point to the fact that the-
authorities were dubious about him, and yet reluctant to take more drastic measures ?

* Given by Thomas Church : " Popular Sketches of Primitive Methodism," 1830, p. 34.

•92

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Omitting the third Kamsor Camp Meeting, May 21st, 1809, we come to the crucial
fourth one of June 3rd, 1810. Prior to this meeting, there would seem to have been
a conflict going on in Clowes' mind as to whether he should take an active part in it or
not. Various considerations and opposing motives presented themselves. He wanted

to attend, but, again in short his mind lay balanced between "yea" and "nay" until,

harassed by the suspense and anxious to end it, he made known his perplexities to
Hugh Bourne and James Crawfoot. The latter had, since November, 1809, been
•employed as an itinerant evangelist, but, though he had gifts of no ordinary kind, they
were not of the camp meeting order, and hence he seldom took part in such
services. Ramsor fourth camp meeting, however, was to be an exception. Thus
taken into counsel, Hugh Bourne " thought it would be better for Clowes not to
attend." There is no sign here of any wish to compromise his friend wdth the
authorities, and detach him from old Methodism. On the contrary, he recognised the
delicacy of W. Clowes' position and sympathised with it. But when the appeal was
made to Crawfoot, the " old man of the Forest " was ready with an answer that at once
made the balance dip. Said he, " 'Tis better to obey God than man." After this
conference, his doubts being resolved and his mind made up, Clowes went with his
friends to the camp meeting, which, on various grounds, is of note in our history. It
was the first held after the refusal of the Burslem Circuit to take over the Stanley
■Society of ten members, and, therefore, was the first camp meeting held by the Camp
Meeting Methodists after they became a distinct community. Then, too, it was the
only camp meeting at which Crawfoot and the popular Mrs. Dunnell were present
together. If, apart from Hugh Bourne, Crawfoot was the first itinerant preacher of the
camp meeting community, Mrs. Dunnell cannot well be denied the distinction of
having been its first female jireacher. She wrought some good, but in the end the

mischief and trouble she wrought outweighed the good,
and she was not numbered amongst the first Primitive
Methodists. To a woman in every way worthier than
Mrs. Dunnell, was reserved the honour of being file-leader
of the goodly array of female travelling preachers. We
anticipate a little, but let it be noted here that Sarah
Kirkland, of Mercaston, afterwards known as Mrs.
Harrison, was, as Bourne tells us, "the first female
taken out to labour as a travelling preacher in the
Primitive Methodist Connexion. She travelled several
years, and was the means of raising the character of
female travelling preachers very high."

Ramsor and its neighbourhood, including Wootton-
under-Weaver, Lexhead, Kingsley, and Farley, was from
a very early date a favourite and fruitful field of
missionary labour, at first as auxiliary to Wesleyan
Methodism, and then, after the Stanley episode, conducted on independent lines.
Here and hereabout were the substantial homes of several families, whose hospitality
was freely bestowed, and greatly appreciated by the missionaries as repeated references

DAVID BUXTON.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

93.

in the Journals of Bourne and Clowes serve to show. We are continually meeting
with the names of the Heatons of Farley, the Sergeants of Kingsley, the Buxtons,
the Critchelowa, the Dreacotts, the Salts of Wootton, and, above all, the Brothers-
Horobin.

It was Francis Horobin who, on Hugh Bourne's first visit to Ramsor in May,
1808, pointed out half a dozen spiritually destitute villages, and promised help —
a promise which he fully honoured. Of James Horobin, Bourne writes : — November '2^tliy
1810. "This man and his wife have been, and are abundantly kind to me and the-
cause of God. Oh, may God reward them ; " and of the Buxtons, in the same month —
"At Wootton, I felt a love to David Buxton almost beyond measure. Well, in.
heaven our love will be perfect."

WOOTTON PARK FARM.
The Home of David Buxton.

Who Joseph Salt was and what his relation to the Wootton Society have faithfully
been put down for us by H. Bourne in his Journals under date September 18th, 1808 : —

"Mr. Joseph Salt, a respectable farmer, of Wootton, was fully brought to God
under Thomas Cotton's ministry. Before this, Mr. Salt had been awakened by
a pious young female. [Why this periphrase, O Venerable Founder ? Was not
the "pious young female" one Mrs. Samuel Evans, better known as "Dinah
Morris " ?] Our Wootton people met in the Lexhead and Kamsor class ; but
when it was judged proper to have a class at Wootton, Mr. J. Salt was made-
leader, and Mrs. Salt was a mother in Israel."

•=94

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

If Mrs. Salt was a mother in Israel, Elizabeth Salt seems to have been a fair
daughter of Zion, of whom there were a good many hereabouts, as the Journals testify.

Writing just after the September, 1811, plan was "out,"
and like a general casting about' in his mind to see how
many effective troops he could bring into the field,
Bourne writes : —

" There are seventeen preachers on this plan, and
three at Ramsor. One is raised up at Rocester, and
two will shortly be raised up at Cannock Wood.
And I suppose the Lord will raise up some women —
Hannah Heaton, Dorothy Buxton, Sarah Scott, and
Sarah Mace. Elizabeth Salt at Wootton bids fair
to be useful. So there are nearly thirty in view,
as Samuel Simcock has begun."

Clowes, who was in these parts in 1810, bears a similar
testimony to the heads of these house-churches.

JOSEPH SALT.

" We did not limit the preaching to one place, but
preached from house to house. We found the houses
of Brother Crichley (Critchelow) and Brother Buxton
very convenient ; in the house of the latter five souls
were converted to God. In this house I held a love-
feast, which began at eleven o'clock in the forenoon,
being most suitable for the country people residing
here. No sooner did the meeting commence than
tears and bursts of joy took place throughout the
lovefeast : great freedom was experienced in speaking
of the glorious things pertaining to the Kingdom,
and several, in giving expression to their religious
feelings, declared that God had made me. His un-
worthy servant, an honoured instrument in His hands
in the salvation of their souls. At the termination
of the meeting, Francis Dricott (Dreacott,)"^ a
local preacher, prayed that the Lord would keep me humble, and save me
from thinking too highly of myself. I felt thankful for the sentiment of the
prayer, and responded to it from my heart. Amen and Amen. I was aware that
' God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble,' and that the devil's
object is to inflate the hearts of preachers of the gospel with spiritual pride. Alas !
how many have been thus deceived, and have said to their fellow-labourers:
' Stand thou by ; I am holier than thou.' " (Clowes' Journals, 100-1).

For long the Sunday services were held alternately at Lexhead, the home of the
Horobins, and at Wootton Park Farm, the home of the Buxtons, and on the death
of David Buxton were transferred to George Critchelow's- home, where they were

GEORGE CRITCHELOW.

* Proper names are frequently mis-spelled in Clowes' Journals. He evidently had few
documents to rely upon, and had to trust to his memorj^ The form " Draycott " also occurs.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

LEXHEAD FARM.
The Home of James Horobin.

^^^0Ji:^'^'

^%0^^^'

GEOEGE CRITCHELOW S HOUSE, RAMSOR.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

continued until the new chapel was built, while the Ramsor week-evening services-
were held at the house of James Horobin up to the time of his death some
forty years ago. Ramsor Circuit has had a long and creditable history. Though
Cheadle and part of Leek Circuits have been carved out of it, it is still some
twenty-five miles long and sixteen wide. Singular to say, through the greater part of
its long history the village which gives its name to this historic circuit, was without
its chapel ; but the difficulties in the way of the accomplishment of this have at last
been surmounted and now a neat chapel, opened 1890, ornaments the village.

As of old the Word of
the Lord sounded forth from
Thessalonica, so from Ramsor
by means of tliis camp meeting,
still further advances were
made. Before the same month
of June was over both Bourne
and Clowes, with Mrs. Dunnell,
under the direction of the
former, were labouring at
Boylestone, Rodsley, and
H oiling ton in Derbyshire,
where societies were formed
with the prospect of still
further extension. Ramsor, too,
was one of the links in " the
chain of circumstances " which
led Hugh Bourne to pay a visit
to Wyrley Bank and Cannock
Wood in South Staffordshire.
In response to a pressing
invitation from Mr. David
Buxton, a native of Stanton
near Ramsor, Hugh Bourne
walked thirty-four miles
through the rain to Wyrley
Bank, arriving there on July
27th, 1810. It was during
this evangelistic tour that
Bourne met with John Benton,
who was afterwards for several years a successful pioneer missionary. Bourne calls him
" an extraordinary man," and he was such if for no other reason than that his sincere
piety and zeal were able to triumph over all the disadvantages of illiteracy and natural
defects. He had "little grammar and not much command of language," and hence he
did not escape reproach and scoffs from both professors and profane. Said a local preacher
to him one day after hearing him try to preach at Cannock Common : — " You are

RAMSOR CHAPEL.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

bringing a scandal on the cause of Christ, you have had no learning, you do not
imderstand grammar." Benton's most effective answer was given some time after. He
was preaching on a Good Friday afternoon from the text, "It is finished." The room
was crowded with colliers, and he had got but half-way through his discourse when
a large part of the congregation became strangely affected : —

" Some groaned, others shrieked ; some fell from their seats ; and the whole
assembly was thrown into consternation : he therefore closed the Bible, and went
from his stand to pray for mourners ; and when passing down among the people
he saw his friend, the local preacher, standing and looking on with amazement
Said Benton to him, ' This is grammar ! ' "

WYRLET BANK.

Where Clowes, Turner, and Steele stood and missioned in 1813. This place is now
a considerable village and better known as Cheslyn Hay.

Tlie reply that came was almost identical in form with that of the astonished witnesses
of Christ's wonder-working power : " We never saw it in this fasliion." Now, though
Benton, with his " little grammar and not much command of language," was far from being
an Apollos, he was like him in that he needed fuller spiritual instruction. He could
and did rouse the sinner ; but he was at a loss what to do with him when he was
roused. He could not complete the Avork he had so well begun. He had still to learn
the secret : how to impart true evangelical peace. So Bourne conversed much with him

Together they Avent to Essington Wood to meet a number of

on such high themes

98 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

inquirers whom Benton had gathered into a kind of class. Bourne " spoke to the
people and the Lord made bare His arm ; six souls were immediately set at liberty ;
and Benton entered fully into the knowledge of a present salvation. His usefulness
after this was greater than it had been before, and it kept increasing." Induced by
what he heard, Benton resolved to attend the fifth Ramsor Camp Meeting to be held
on May 26th, 1811. His experience there gave the finishing-touches to his spiritual
education, and completed his equipment. Says he : — "At this meeting I received such
a baptism of the Holy Spirit as I never experienced before ; and I felt from this day it
was my duty to be given up to the work of the ministry." So for a time we leave
Wyrley Bank and Cannock Wood, where already can be discerned the germ of Darlaston
Circuit in the Black Country ; and we leave John Benton saying, " Here am I, send
me ; " and ready to take the place of James Crawfoot, soon to be vacant by his
retirement.

But to return to Ramsor fourth camp meeting, and what we owe to it. Perhaps its
chief indirect result was that it gave William Clowes to the movement. Nor must we,
in any balancing of accounts as between James Crawfoot and the Primitive Methodist
Connexion, omit to place as a considerable item on the credit side, the fact that but for
him William Clowes could not well have been what he now must be— a conspicuous
figure in this history. Clowes' expulsion was the direct, swift, retributive result of his
share in that day's proceedings ; and it was the brave, sharp, knot-cutting words of
Crawfoot that decided his action. Let the credit item be allowed.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 99

CHAPTER IV.

CLOWES' EXPULSION.

T the June, 1810, Quarterly Meeting of the Burslem Circuit WiUiam Clowes'
plan was witliheld. That is the bare simple fact, soon told — a fact we need
not labour, since no one disputes it or its cause. We have no circumstantial
account of that Board's proceedings except the short account given by
Clowes himself, which, on account of its importance, we will reproduce here, as well
as one or two items from Bourne's Journals which suggest that it was a time of
confusion and trial. These incidental allusions will prepare us for the fuller narrative : —

'"''June 18th. — I stopped with Clowes all night. He has been at Stoke-upon-Trent,
and the Lord has made him very useful there ; but the preachers at Burslem are
raising up war against him.

''''July 8th. — There is much confusion at Burslem. Mr. E rails hard, and many

of the local preachers.

" Wednesday 11th. — I worked at home, and in the evening went to see Clowes. He
is going on well, but they have put him out of the plan, and are seeking occasion
against him. Nevertheless, he preached at Stoke Chapel last Sunday night.

0 Lord, bless him.

^'' July 16th. — Clowes came to our house, and I spent some time with him, and
went with him to Kidsgrove, where he preached from Malachi iii. 6. I stopped
with him at Tunstall all night. The local preachers are ashamed of their conduct
towards Clowes in putting him out of the plan. O Lord, stand by him and
strengthen him, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen."

And now for the fuller account given by Clowes in his Jouvnah : —

"About this time, much uneasiness began to show itself among certain parties
in the Burslem Circuit on account of the camp meetings, and my attending them.
Accordingly, in the June quarter of 1810, my name was omitted on the prea.chers'
plan. This proceeding excited a strong ferment throughout the country, especially'
amongst religious persons of different denominations, who in strong terms expressed
their disapprobation of the preachers in carrying a measure of such an unconstitu-
tional and intolerant character ; hence, invitations from all parts of the country
flowed in upon me, soliciting me to preach, and offering me every encouragement
in the name of the Lord. The travelling preachers in the Methodist New Connexion
urged me to preach for them. I preached once in their chapel, and one soul was
set at liberty. One of the official persons invited me to join their body ; but

1 observed I could do nothing as yet, but wait to lay my case fully before the
Lord, for Him to direct me in my providential way."

But this was not the end : only the beginning. More stringent measures were to
follow. Possibly, had W. Clowes forsworn his old camp meeting companions and

100

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUllCH.

become mute as a Trappist monk, instead of exhorting whenever and wherever he
could during the next three months, he might have been forgiven and reinstated.
It is much more likely, however, that the inevitable happened ; that what we have
l,ong foreseen would take place, did take place; that the authorities deemed that the
time had come to purge the Church of the virus of Revivalism before the whole body
should be infected with the distemper, and now that a change of preachers had taken
place and a strict disciplinarian was at the head of affairs, the time was thought
opportune for effecting the purgation. It was this wider question, we will charitably

■REfERENCES.

I TUN5TALL CHURCH l5.PRin.nETH. CHAPtL;l«l£

2. THE VICARACit. 16. .■-■..• I5£0-I534-I8fe0-

3 6REEN6ATt5(nDRi) 17. ~ - - SCHOOL: I5M-IV6-

4. SWAN I NN . I S.JOHN H ANDCXI\S HOUSt AND SHOP.

5. HEATHS WORKS I9.POT.W0RK5 BOURNE.NIXON &C«
6 B0DEN5HOUSEiWAREH0U5E.2O.jAt1Eb N1X0N5HOUSE
7. DEANS House. £I . JAMES STEEIS H0U5E
a. JOSEPH SMITHS HOUSE. 2Z- CLOWES HOUSE.

9 SMITH'S STABLES. tS. E M'EVOYS HOUSE.

10 THE WINDMILL
1 1. WE3LEYAN chapel: 1759.
ll« . - . 8UILTI555.
12 • - •3CH00LI8I6.
13. OLD MANOR MOUSE
14 D? DAVENPORTS HOUSE

PLAN OF TUNSTALL, 1811.

continue to believe, that was really at the bottomTof the Tunstall troubles and not the
single question of camp meetings. To our founders, Primitive Methodism meant more
than camp meetings, and to those who exercised discipline on our founders, camp
meetings were only the last most pronounced symptom of that Revivalism, the very
name of which was as distasteful to many at the beginning of the nineteenth century
as the word Enthusiasm had been to the opponents of the evangelical revival in the
century preceding. Such at any rate is our view, and that view is confirmed by the

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

101

local Methodist historian who lived on the spot through all these stirring times, and
in 1843 gave his version of the occurrences when old age should, one supposes, have
brought something of the philosophic mind. This writer makes no reference to camp
meetings, but he does say : —

"It was very evident their purpose was to form a party upon what they called
the simplicity and uniformity of primitive Methodism ; they maintained that
Methodism had lost its original character, and its members were conforming to
the world in spirit, manners, dress," etc.

We do not know that any serious exception need be taken to this way of stating the
case. If the recovery of " the simplicity and uniformity of primitive Methodism " were
indeed the prime aim of our founders, then they cherished no unworthy purpose. Nor
was their purpose a futile one though worthy, for all reformations and revolutions have
gone the way they took — by the way of the recovery of the past. Has not John Morley
somewhere noted — "Simplicity is the key-word to every revolution with a moral core'"?
That generalisation the history of both Wesleyan Methodism and Primitive Methodism
illustrates. These remarks, while they may have kept us from hearing the conclusion
of Clowes' narrative of his " unchurching," may perhaps serve to remind us of the
larger meanings and issues involved. Clowes proceeds : —

" At the September visitation my quarterly ticket as a member of Society was
withheld. When Mr. Aikenhead, the travelling preacher, came to Kidsgrove to
preach and renew the tickets, as the leader of the
class I gave him my class-paper to call over the
names as usual ; but in calling over the names he
passed by my name, which stood first on the paper,
and called over the rest in order. In speaking to
the people, he rebuked them for their liveliness in
their way of worshipjjing and praising God ; and
remarked, he supposed they acted as they had been
taught. The night following, the same preacher,
who was in a great measure a stranger, having but
recently come into the circuit, preached in Tunstall
and afterwards called a leaders' meeting. I stopped
at the meeting in my official character, and ventured
to inquire of it what I had done amiss that my
ticket had been withheld by the preacher, and my
name left off the preachers' plan ; for no charge had
been officially brought against me. I therefore
wished to know the reason of such singular proceedings. I was then told my
name was left off the plan because I attended camp meetings, contrary to the
Methodist discipline, and that I could not be a preacher or leader amongst them
unless I promised not to attend such meetings any more. I told the members of
the meeting that I would promise to attend every appointment on the plan which
should be put down for me, and to attend all the means of grace and ordinances
of the Church ; but to promise not to attend any more camp meetings, that I could
not conscientiously do, for God had greatly blessed me in these meetings, which
were calculated for great usefulness ; and my motive for assisting in them was

EEV. JOHN AIKEXHEAl).
("The strict disciplinarian.")

102

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

simply to glorify God, and bring sinners to the knowledge of the truth as it is
in Jesus. I was then told that I was no longer with them ; that the matter was
settled. I therefore immediately delivered up my class-papers to the meeting,
and became unchurched.

'Of my Eden dispossessed,
The world was all before me where to choose
My place of rest, and Providence my guide.'"

The Clowesites.

The expulsion of Clowes meant virtually the withdrawal of many more. Attraction
is a fact in psychology as well as in physics. Some men can never move alone ;
whatever their fortunes may be they draw others along with them. Clowes was one

of such men. " Of his Eden dispossessed"
he could not leave its gates unattended.
Clowes was the leader of two classes — one at
Kidsgrove, the other at Tunstall. To some of
his members he was as a "father in the
Gospel," while to all he had been a faithful
instructor and guide. During the following
week a goodly number of these waited upon
him at his house. Distressed at what had
happened, they expressed their unwillingness
that the ties binding them together should
be severed, and pleaded that he should
still continue to be their leader. Though
touched by this proof of their attachment,
he pointed out to them that he had now no
right in them or claim upon them, being as
one ecclesiastically dead, and he besought
them to choose other leaders, and to leave
him to the watchful care of God. They
listened, as Ruth listeiied to Naomi, and like her they remained unconvinced and
unpersuaded, meeting each argument and entreaty with her — "Whither thou goest, we
will go : where thou lodgest, we will lodge."

And a lodge — a fold where the little flock of thirty or forty might be sheltered and
tended was ready to hand. How this had come about must now be told, and the
more so, as the story links on to Norton Camp Meeting, and shows how one of
the unexpected results of that gathering was to provide a home — "an asylum where
the camp meeting fathers and revivalists could worship God in their own way."* Being
at Tunstall on the Saturday, ready to take part in the Norton Camp Meeting,
Mrs. Dimnell received a flattering invitation to take the appointments of the
Superintendent in the Wesleyan Chapel, thus allowing herself to be intercepted, as it

WILLIAM CLOWES.
From an Oil Painting in the possession of

Mrs. W. Norman of Hull.

if-

* Walford's " Memoirs of Hugh Bourne.'

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

103

were, en route. True, the Conference was known to be just as much against female
l)reaching as it was against camp meetings, but this time that difficulty was got over.
The news that Mrs. Dimnell had failed him was brought to Hugh Bourne at six o'clock
on the Sunday morning by E. McEvoy, and the news did not tend to raise his spirits
for the day. Later on in the same year, Mrs. Dunnell was again at Tunstall, quite
ready to take the pulpit once more as was desired by some, but this time she found it
shut against her ; for had not the Conference strong views on the subject of female-
preaching li This exclusion of Mrs. Dimnell from the Tunstall pulpit gave great offence
to those whom she had captivated. Among these non-contents were Mr. Joseph Smith
and James Steele. The former was an old gentleman of eccentric habits, who owned
considerable property in Tunstall. He had been bred a Methodist, and for twenty
years or more had preached much in various parts of Cheshire and North Staffordshire;
but on settling down in Tunstall his zeal had lost its fervency. Yet it was in the

TUNSTALL WESLEYAN CHAPEL, 1789.

dining-room of his house that the first Methodist services in Timstall were held, and his
family gave the site for the new chapel, concerning which Wesley wrote, April 29th,
1790 : — "At nine I preached in the new chapel at Tunstall; the most elegant I have
seen since I left Bath." Now Mr. Smith was in such high dudgeon at the treatment of
Mrs. Dunnell that he determined to provide a place for preaching in his own house.
Hugh Bourne, on the condition, which he pressed, that no class or separate society
should be established, fell in with the proposal and procured a licence from the Bishop's
court at Lichfield. So in Mr. Smith's kitchen preaching services, "accompanied by
extended praying services," had been held on a Friday evening since March, 1808.
The plan for these services was drawn up, we are told, by Hugh Bourne ; yet, though
R. Bayley, Thomas Knight, J. Bourne, J. Steele, and others, besides J. Crawfoot and
Mrs. Dunnell, took their turn at preaching here, strange to say neither Bourne nor
W. Clowes had yet officiated. The fact is, whether through his own motion, or as
Clowes asserts, at the instigation of others, the old gentleman, although he liked Clowes

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

personally, would not suffer him to preach on his premises. He might sing and pray,
but the line was drawn at preaching; and bet^ause his friend was excluded, Hugh
Bourne would not plan himself, nor did he preach in the kitchen until November, 1810,
when the embargo had been removed. Mr. Smith was, we have said, eccentric, and he
was somewhat autocratic in his whims. He promulged a sort of Public Worship

JOSEPH smith's house, tunstall.
Tlie Kitchen of the House was Licensed for Preaching, 1808.

Regulation] Act on a small scale, for the due regulation of the prayer meetings carried
on^in his kitchen, and what was more, he took care to be present himself to see
that the regulations were duly enforced. I.oud utterance was prohibited ; the
expressions " my God " and " send fire " interdicted ; and no suppliant was to repeat any

petition more than thrice, whether his petition had
been answered or not. As a material help towards
decorum, a chest of drawers was put on castors, sup-
]:>lied with velvet-covered book-board and swing brass
candlestick, and thus ingeniously converted into
a moval)le pulpit. Each one who gave out hymn or
engaged in prayer Avas required to take his place
1)ehind the sacred desk. Such was the ideal, but,
alas ! like many other ideals it was not fated to be
reached. The " camp-meeting fathers " wanted to wor-
ship God in their own way, and that way was not
Mr. Smith's. On the first evening the new regulations
were to come into force, James Nixon and W. Clowes
were both in turn called upon to conform. The
former stood up and remonstrated, while Clowes, after
FIRST PULPIT, TUNSTALL. striking up a hymn, fell on his knees and repeated

some twenty times the prayer he had first gripped, until " all rose into the faith ; a grand

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 105

•shout of glory followed, and the victory was declared for the faithful." Amid this
-extraordinary scene the old gentleman stood mute and helpless. After this opening
night the dismantled rostrum stood with its back to the wall — a piece of furniture —
nothing more.

On the morrow of Clowes' expulsion, Mr. Smith was greatly excited, and went about
the village making known to all and sundry that ' they had put Billy off the plan ;
"but he could outpreach them all, and he should preach in his kitchen ' : —

" And so it was ; for Mr. Smith's kitchen became our preaching-place till the day
of his death ; and many will have to bless God to all eternity that it became, on
many an occasion now well remembered, 'The house of God, and the gate of
heaven.'" (Clowes' Journals, p. 86.) "Mr. Smith now invited William Clowes
to preach at his house ; and went about to publish it in the neighbourhood. This
was a strengthening to W. Clowes' class, as there was constant preaching at
Mr. Smith's on Friday evenings ; and they began to look upon it as their proper
place of worship." — Bourne's History, 1823, p. 33.

At the time these events happened, or soon afterwards, James Nixon, Thomas
Woodnorth, William INIorris, and Samuel Barber cast in their lot with the little
company meeting in the kitchen, ere long to be known as " Clowesites." In fulfilment
of a promise made at Ramsor fourth camp meeting, Clowes visited Ramsor, and in
company with Bourne and Crawfoot had a turn in Derbyshire, where Mrs. Dunnell was
labouring. Clowes notes that perhaps more good was effected in these parts by house
to house visitation and prayer than by public services. Many of the people seem to
have been as primitive in their notions as the Lycaonians, who thought the gods had
come down in the likeness of men ; for it was currently reported there were two men
going about the country who could convert anybody, and accordingly the services of the
converters were in great demand. Returning for a while to Tunstall to see that all was
well, Clowes made a somewhat extensive excursion into Lancashire. He visited the
family of the Eatons at London Bridge, " the best-ordered family he had ever seen ; "
also Mrs. Richardson, of Warrington, in whose conversion he and Crawfoot had been
instrumental. Mrs. Richardson was a West Indian proprietress, and by the act of
liberating the slaves in whom she had the right of property, she evidenced the reality
of the change wrought in her. But during this mission-tour Clowes made acquaintance
with persecution and discomfort as well as with pleasant interiors. Thus he tells how
one morning he awoke to find his bed Avell sprinkled with snow which had blown in
through a half-broken window. Then followed breakfast on milk and water porridge,
seasoned with the reproaches of a loud-voiced virago, who taunted him with being
*' after nothing but his belly." No wonder he took a solitary Avalk after breakfast, and
had a sharp attack of home-sickness ! But neither Lancashire nor even Derbyshire was
his allotted sphere of labour — that lay nearer his home, to which he returned to find
a serious proposal awaiting him. This was (December, 1810) that he should give
himself wholly to the work of a home missionary. At this time there was depression
in the potting industry, so " that Clowes was Avorking little more than half-time ; yet in
the three or three and a half days to which his labours were restricted, he could still

106 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

earn £1 2s., and trade was "looking up," so that full work in the near future might
reasonably be anticipated. Such were his circumstances, when James Nixon and
Thomas Woodnorth, Clowes' brother-in-law, proposed that -each should give him five
shillings per week that he might be at liberty to open up fresh places and look after
those already visited. After much fasting and prayer, with the full acquiescence of his
wife — whose share in the self-denying arrangement should not be forgotten — Clowes
agreed to the proposal. To the end he felt towards these two as Moses may be supposed
to have felt towards Aaron and Hur when he remembered how they had held up his
hands at Rephidim. He has even recorded his opinion that these two brethren should
be enrolled amongst the founders of the Connexion on the ground of their self-denying
liberality. And certainly, as sobn as the distinction between arch-founders and foimders
is admitted, then James Nixon and Thomas Woodnorth may fairly claim the right to
inclusion among the latter.

In regard to the time of which we are now writing— the beginning of 1811 — two
facts must be kept quite clear and borne in mind, viz. (1), that the Society, with its
headquarters in Mr. Smith's kitchen, was separate and distinct not only from the
Wesleyans, but also from any other organisation ; and (2) that Clowes, as a paid home
missionary, with this kitchen-church as his base of operations, and with the friends
already named as his helpers, missioned and formed societies at several places chiefly in
Staffordshire, so that the Clowesites soon had what might be called a circuit, with
Tunstall as its head.

The Expulsion of James Steele.

Meanwhile, they were not, ecclesiastically, " the piping times of peace " at TunstalL
Sword was handled as well as trowel. There was "heavy war," says H. B., writing in
January. Feeling ran high, and the village — for at this time it was nothing more — was
much moved and divided in opinion. It looks almost as if rage had got the better of

discretion and was striking out wildly when, on April
16th, it deposed James Steele. It was no light matter
to unchurch such a man, and the needs-be for resorting
to that extreme act of discipline should surely have been
well considered beforehand. Abundant evidence is forth-
coming to show that James Steele was no ordinary man.
Local historians and Methodist annalists themselves are
at one in their acknowledgment that he was a man of
sense and unblemished character, and to whom consider-
able deference was paid. They are agreed, too, that he
was a strong man, born to rule and to command, who
wherever he might be, would have to be reckoned with.
They insist upon regarding him as the man of the new
movement. They know there are others who are active^

JAMES STEELE, TUNSTALL.

but as if by one consent they fix their eyes upon him.
In their unacquaintance with our Church phraseology they fall back upon an unusual
and even foreign word, and speak of him as having been the " directeur " of the young

SOUKCES AND ORIGIN.

107

^- k^S

JAMES Steele's house.

denomination until his death in 1827, and that then the reins fell, as a matter of course,
into the hands of Clowes and the Bournes. Strange that the local and outside estimate

of what James Steele was to the Connexion in those
early days should contrast so markedly — so glaringly —
with the accepted Connexional estimate of the part he
played, and the place he should fill, in our history ! If,
locally, he has been over-estimated, Connexionally he
has been under-estimated, or, to speak more accurately,
the materials for estimating him not being easily avail-
able, he has been too much ignored. Though the
work he did may remain, built up into the fabric of
Primitive Methodism, it cannot now, after this lapse
of time, be discriminated from the work of others so
as to enable one to say admiringly, "He did this and
that." Yet the fact remains, he was one of the early
master-builders, yea, one of the founders of the Church
we love.
At the time Mr. James Steele came under discipline he had been connected with
Methodism twenty-four years, and superintendent of a large Sunday school twelve
years ; he was a local preacher, the leader of two large classes, a trustee and chapel
steward. And the reason? What had he done or forborne to do? Well, on Good
Friday W. Clowes had led a powerful lovefeast in Mr. Smith's kitchen, and the rumour
ran that Mr. Steele had been present. Now, as he was the cousin of Mr. Smith and
his bailiff, and in consequence of Mr. Smith's advanced age was much about the house
and frequently conducted family worship, there would have been nothing very surprising

MRS. JAMES STEELE.

108

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

or criminal in his presence there on that occasion — though as a matter of fact he was
not present. However, he was arraigned on the following Tuesday, not indeed on the
specific charge of having been present at the lovefeast, but on the amended and more
general charge of having taken part in the worship in the kitchen. A final knock-down
blow was dealt on the Sunday following, when he was dismissed from his office of
superintendent of the school. A trustee entered the chapel while Mr. Steele was
fulfilling his duties and discharged him from his office. He quietly obeyed the

^'*'' ^ ' ^^^IST' ^"^^t^- i'd ^ 's^U

-4^,, ,, ,., j aliy^-yi^

I^sl*-

WOLSTANTON CHURCH (jAMES STEELE'S BURIAL PLACE).

injunction and withdrew, turning, as he did so, a tender and sympathetic look on
those whom he was leaving. Recovering from their stupefaction, and helped probably
by that parting look to comprehend what the withdrawal meant, a large number of the
teachers and scholars followed their superintendent into the street. Mr. Steele had
now to pass through the same experience as Mr. Clowes before him, and Avith the same
result. His counsel both to the members of his classes and the teachers and scholars of

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

109

m^r;^^

the Sunday school that they should
let him go quietly and alone, fell on
unwilling ears, and was not taken
except by a small minority. There
was a pause, a short period of seeming
hesitancy, while Mr. Steele w^as sur-
veying the situation and making up
his mind what to do ; so that for
a brief while — the space of a few
hours or days at most, there were
the " Steelites " in addition to the
" Clowesites " and Camp Meetingers.
But the period of suspense did not
last long ; for under date Friday,
April 26thy Bourne notes: — "I was
at Tunstall. James Steele preached
in great power. It was a glorious
time. I spent much time in con-
versation . . . there is much con-
fusion." Mr. Steele's adhesion to the
nascent society gave it an element
of strength and, one may even say,
a prestige which was of great value.
But what was gain to the new society
was a serious loss to the Old Methodist
Society ; nor need we be surprised
that hereafter efforts should be made
to entice Mr. Steele back into the
old fold-

The licensed kitchen, it was plain,
could not be stretched to meet the
present enlarged requirements ; but
during the week Mr. John Boden
placed a large room, designed for the
stowage of earthenware, at the service
of the school — and the difficulty was
temporarily met. Here,, on the 28th
April, the first services' were held,
and soon after it was arranged that
the Sunday preaching services should
also be held here, to be conducted
by the brother who was planned in
the kitchen on the Friday evening.

BODEN S HOUSE AND WAREHOUSE, IN WHICH
SERVICES WERE HELD.

110

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Clowes records that " he had the honour and delight, along with Richard Bay ley,
of opening Sunday preaching in Tunstall." Scarcely, however, had the room been
used for services than steps were taken to secure a chapel. This was necessary,
as Mr. Boden's room could not long be at their disposal, and was in its turn
becoming too small. On May 13th a site was fixed upon; on June 11th the Bournes
bought the land, and the "writings were signed;" on July 13th the chapel was
opened by James Crawfoot. The size of the building, we are told, was —

" Sixteen yards long by eight wide, inside, and galleried half way. It was
finished in a plain manner, the walls were not coated, and it had no ceiling.
['To my opinion a place of worship looks better without a ceiling than
with one.' — Journals, July 20th, 1811.] It was much approved of on account
of its plainness and neat appearance. In the erection of it, the house-form was
chosen in preference to the chapel-form, so that, if not wanted, it would just form
four houses, according to the plan on which houses are usually built at Tunstall.
This cautious method was made use of because it could not be known whether
the Connexion would be of any long continuance." — Bourne's History, 1823.

As hereafter the gentlemanly John Flesher was not above taking off his coat when
Sutton Street Chapel, London, was a-building, so we can picture Hugh Bourne, James
Crawfoot, and other of the fathers on June 11th "l)reaking ground," and the first-named
later making window-cases " as the bricklayer wanted them," for this first chapel in the
Connexion. This chapel owed much to the courage and generosity of the brothers,
and was actually their private property until 1834, when it was legally transferred
to trustees for the use of the Connexion.

TUNSTALL FIRST CHAPEL.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. HI

CHAPTER Y.

THE PRIMITIVE METHODISTS, OR THE COMING TOGETHER OF THE

CAMP MEETING METHODISTS AND THE CLOWESITES.

JHURSDAY, May 30, 1811, I ordered Tickets to be printed for the first
time." So writes Hugh Bourne in his Journals. The credit of having
urged and brought about the use, Methodist fashion, of class tickets
mainly belongs to Ramsor Society. The objection that it would cost
money was promptly met by Francis Horobin's offer to bear the expense of printino-,
and after the chiefs had consulted together on the important question involved,
the measure Avas adopted. These class tickets were the sign and seal of the union of
the Camp Meeting Methodists and the Clowesites. Unity amongst the different societies
now drawn together there may have been before this, but this little piece of printed
paper given to each member showed that now union had been consummated and a
lowly denomination, with its name Primitive Methodist already waiting for it, had
unobtrusively slipped into the world. Many thought that this ticket would be the
last as well as the first ; that no more would ever be wanted. But, spite of misgivino-s,
from that day to this, quarter by quarter the ticket has continued to appear.

From the typical examples given of our class tickets, the reader can judge for himself
of the artistic character — or otherwise — of these vouchers of membership, and may
trace the somewhat inconsiderable changes that have taken place in their form or subject-
matter. Did we write the words " inconsiderable changes " ? The words should be
recalled or modified ; for in the course of the years two innovations have been intro-
duced— one in the nature of an addition, the other of an alteration. Not till 1829 —
and then probably without authority — did the ticket bear on its face the reference to
the first Camp Meeting and " the first Class formed in March, 1810." This reference to
Stanley and its class was unfortunate, because seeming to commit the Connexion to a
particular view of its origin, which to say the least rests on a shaky foundation, and
because probably pre-dating by twelve months the birth of our denomination. For the
substitution of the word "Church" for "Connexion" recently made and by authority,
satisfactory as the change is in itself, it is a pity the change was not made quarter of a
century earlier. Perhaps we cannot well get on without the adjective " Connexional,"
but it was high time that " Connexion " — a word so suggestive of a mere mechanical
connexion of parts such as the carpenter may achieve by help of nails or, if he be more
skilful, by use of dovetail and mortise — should be displaced by a higher and more
spiritual vocable.

112

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

MAY, 1811.

But we desire to hear of thee
what thou thinkest : for as con-
cerning this sect, we know that
every where it is spoken against.
Acts xxviii. 22.

H. B.

^ The Lord his God ]
is with him, and the .
shout of a kiog bf
amoDg them. *

Numbers 23. 21.

I'^l^T^'fS^

m ^

I May, 1829. i

1 1

^ Thy throne, O God, is for ever ^

^ and ever. M

m
m

Psalm xlv. 6.

Primitive Methodist Connexion,

First camp meetmg held May 31, 1807
First class formed in March, 1810

August, 182^.

Children's children are the crown of
old men; and the glory of children
are their fathers. Prov. xvij. 6

^^^^^^^^^^Am^^mM^^^^^

©rimiiioe CQetbodlst ^burcb*

First Camp Meeting Held
May 31, 1807.

First Class Formed
March, 1810.

NOVEMBER, I90S.

*' Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind,
live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be
with you."— 2 Cor. xiii. 11.

is at this date a Member of the above Church.

Minister.

SOUKCES AND ORKUN.

113

June.

Jtjly.

Aug.

Sept.

1811

16
2

23
4

7
5

21
2

28
4

4
3

25
6

8
2

1. J. Crowfoot

Timstall, 2 and 6

2. J. Steele

Bagnall 10, Badley Edge 6

3. J. Bourne

4. H. Bourne

Stanly, 2 ; Brown Edge, 6

5. W. Clowes

6. R. Bayley

Ramsor

7. W. Alcock

8. T. Woodnorth

Lax Edge, 2, Gratten 4,

9. E. Macery

10. W. Turner

11. J. Nixon

12. Mattison

13. T. Alcock

1
1

14. T. Hulme

15. J. Marsh

When it happens a preacher does not attend, an endeavour must be made to supply.

If any other person be present whom the congregation wishes tc

) speak, the wish of

the congregation must be complied with.

Cop^ OF THE First Written Plan after the Amalgamation of the Societies,

June — Sept., 1811.

[The spelling of the original as given by
Feet has been preserved. ]

From Primitive Methodism : A Sketch
of the History, Doctrines, etc., of the
Primitive Methodist Connexion, by
Rev. James Peet, 1867.

On the authority of Clowes, we learn that a plan showing fifteen preachers and
eight places was drawn up, to begin on June 2nd, 1811. But if such plan be
extant it has not come in our way, but we are enabled to give what is said to be a copy
of it. What others have called the first written plan, running from September 22nd
to December 15th, has been secured and, notwithstanding its cryptic spelling and other
obvious shortcomings is here given in facsimile. This plan shows seventeen preachers
and the same number of places. By the help of this poor plan we can see what societies
each section brought to the now united body. First of all we are struck with the fact
that the societies of which Hugh Bourne was the acknowledged founder and head havin^y
place on the plan, are a mere salvage. They very inadequately represent the results of
the evangelistic work which the Bournes and their helpers had carried on since 1801
On this plan there are really only two of Bourne's places — Stanley and Ramsor. There
is so little to show for the unflagging and, we might say prodigious, labour of several
years that we must conclude either that the labour had proved very unproductive or
that other Churches had reaped the fruit. Of course the latter alternative gives the
true explanation. It is perfectly clear that if Bourne was cherishing through these
years of itineracy the ambition to become a church-founder he had chosen the wrong
way to gain his end. He had raised up societies at Harriseahead, Norton, Kidsgrove,

114

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Tean, and Kingsley and these had been taken over by the Methodists. How much
work, and at what an expenditure of time and toil, he had put into the societies of
the Quaker or Independent Methodists, and the Society at Kizley that owed its

existence to Lorenzo Dow ! and yet on the plan for September there is nothing to show
for all this labour; though Kizley will be found on the first printed plan — that of
1812. We are quite prepared to learn that James Crawfoot, the missionary whom the

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 115

Bournes engaged, had instructions to counsel those who professed to have received good
under his labours, to join some other Church. In fact, until the middle of 1810 the
Bournes and their hel])ers were like men putting their wheat into other men's barns.
Their labours were auxiliary to those of other Churches, in large part consistino- of
supplying preaching services on alternate weeks, as was the case at Ramsor from 1808 to
1810. The refusal of the Burslem Circuit to take over Stanley on the condition of a
working arrangement of the kind described ; its determination to have all or none,
changed all this. What then ]irecisely was the significance of this Stanley episode ?
The question is a difficult and disputed one and must be faced. If it could be settled
once for all it would be well.

We do not enter into the question of the priority of Stanley class over that of
Clowes which met in Mr. Smith's kitchen. The fact of this priority is not so assured
as many think, but as, from our point of view, nothing of importance hangs on the
fact of such priority, we waive the discussion of dates. We may remark, then, the
importance of the Stanley episode does not lie in the fact that the members of the
society had never helonged to any other Chuixh; since Bourne distinctly says that
Mr. Edmondson put it on the plan ; that it had always been his intention to ofifer
Stanley to the Wesleyans, and that he had only been anticipated in this by a forward
man — one Brindley of Norton. If, then, Stanley were put on the Methodist plan for
ever so short a time and then put off, technically at any rate it was a Methodist Society
" cut off," as Bourne and Clowes were cut off.

Nor, again, does the importance of the Stanley episode turn on the fact that the
ten members composing it were the nucleus of the Primitive Methodist Church. Certain
rather unexpected conclusions will be found to follow from this harmless-looking and
generally accepted thesis. A close examination of Bourne's autograph Journals day by
day from March 14th, 1810, when Mrs. Dunnell preached the first sermon at Stanley,
to May 22nd when the class is found meeting, discloses the fact that between these
respective dates Hugh Bourne had never preached at Stanley nor organised a class.
Neither does his name nor that of his brother occur in the list of ten members
constituting the class of which James Slater was the leader. So that we find ourselves
landed in the strange conclusion that if Stanley class were the nucleus of the Primitive
Methodist Connexion then its reputed founder formed no part of it. Even if he after-
wards joined the Stanley Society (of which there is no evidence), then he joined a
( 'hurch already founded without him. Such is the pretty dilemma we find ourselves
placed in by the acceptance of the current popular view that Stanley was the nucleus
of the Primitive Methodist Connexion. The Rev. W. Garner, both in his "Jubilee
of English Camp Meetings," and his "Life of the Venerable William Clowes," as
also the Rev. John Morton before him, clearly appreciated this dilemma. Says the
former : —

" Either the idea of the Stanley class being the base of the Primitive Methodist
Connexion must be given up, or the foundership of Hugh Bourne be ignored,
or at least doubted. To the former we have no objection ; to the latter we
cannot consent,"

That is to say, Mr. Garner being a sensible man, and finding himself led straight to

116 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

an absurd conclusion by the premise he started from — which in this case was the
assumption that Stanley class was "the base of the Primitive Methodist Connexion" —
will go back on his premise and deny it altogether rather than accept the absurdity
its retention would involve. With Mr. Garner's views we find ourselves in complete
accord : but there still remains the interesting and not unimportant question — " How
would Hugh Bourne have read the facts under discussion '? What would have been
his behaviour to the Stanley-Connexional-nucleus idea and the dilemma it creates ? "
^ow, there exists a preface to the General Minutes of 1832, remarkable on many
grounds, but chiefly so because it enables us to catch Hugh Bourne's point of view
of the period ending in the union of 1811. We omit the first paragraph referring
to the raising up of camp meetings, and the last, which glances at our history
subsequent to 1812: —

"And in His Providence the Primitive Methodist Connexion rose, undesigned
of man. (It did not originate in any split or division from any other community —
footnote.) It was long composed of two members, Hugh and James Bourne, who
continued to expend their property and labours in promoting religion, the fruits
falling into other communities, they not being willing to take further care upon
them.

" They visited new places ; and in one of these, Standley, in Staffordshire, they,
in March, 1810, raised up a class of ten members. These they attempted to join
to the Wesleyans. But their design being frustrated, they, contrary to their in-
clinations, were necessitated to take upon them the care of a religious Connexion.
This caused trial of mind. But the Lord soon manifested His will, and classes
were formed at Ramsor and Wootton, and the work spread in different counties.
And toivards the latter end of the same year, a class at Tunstall joined themT

The two passages we have italicised give us Hugh Bourne's point of view. He
believed that he and his brother were " called of God to stand by camp meetings."
They represented the Camp Meeting movement, disallowed indeed of men but chosen
of God. They embodied and sought to propagate what they deemed to be primitive
Methodism, long before Stanley class was thrown on their hands. Quite naturally,
William Clowes could not take this high ground, and see things as Hugh Bourne saw
them. So in his friendly strictures on the "History" of 1823, he takes exception to
the statement that, towards the close of the year 1810 "a class at Tunstall joined" the
brothers. To him such a way of putting it seemed an upsettal of facts — a picture
quite out of drawing. It was like saying that the mountain had come to Mahomet.
To him it would seem plain as plain could be that, from the close of the year 1810
onwards, everything was moving on Tunstall ; that Tunstall was to be the goal and
centre of the combined movement. But then, Clowes had not Bourne's point of view.
To the latter, the fact that he now found himself at Tunstall, going in and out among
the brethren, was taken as a sign and proof of the advance of the cause he and his
brother had stood by so long and sought to further. They had annexed Tunstall ; they
had not been absorbed by it.

Who shall decide between these two views — if, indeed, they are really divergent and
not reconcilable with each other? For our own part, though strongly holding that.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 117

historically and externally, our Church had its birth in the coming together of the
Camp Meeting Methodists and the Clowesites, we willingly concede that but for the
austere enthusiasm, the ceaseless, dogged labour of Hugh Bourne, there would have
been nothing to come together in 1811 — no materials out of which to build a
denomination. It is to the idiosyncrasies of Hugh Bourne and the course of life
pursued by him during the preceding ten years, we must look to find the true inward-
ness of the movement. If we would understand the true " evangelical succession " of
that movement it is' indispensable we should closely watch the doings of Hugh Bourne,
since he was the link between the past and the present. Moreover, it may be granted
that in the coming together of the sections he played no unimportant part. His
incomings and outgoings amongst the various societies were as the motions of a living
shuttle, weaving them into one homogeneous tissue.

But the question still recurs — Wherein lies the importance of Stanley class? If
it was not the nucleus of Primitive Methodism, what then was it 1 The answer must
be : that the declinature of Stanley by the old Methodist body marked and inaugurated
a more decisive policy towards the camp meeting fathers. Just as Christianity for
a time clung to the skirts of Judaism, and early Methodism to the skirts of the
Establishment until she shook it off, so did the camp meetingers cling to the skirts of
Methodism, and by the same analogy, the time almost sure to come had now arrived
wlien the Mother Church gathered her skirts about her and said, in effect : This kind of
thing has gone on long enough, and must now cease. Henceforth if you get any
people converted it must be on your own ground, and you must look after tliem when
they are converted, and not hand them over to us.* By so determining, the authorities
were simply bringing their procedure into the line of logical consistency with the policy
laid down by the Conference of 1807, and partially followed up to the present by the
•discountenancing of camp meetings, and the dismembering of Bourne, Crawfoot, and
Thomas Cotton. Not even does Bourne find fault with this procedure ; nor do
we, but rather would we suggest that it might have been an advantage if a thorough
understanding of this kind had been arrived at two years earlier; for then. Bourne's
contribution to the amalgamation of 1811 would have been much more considerable than
it actually was.

Thus, as though by the simple pull of a lever, the movement was switched on to an
independent line of action. At a stroke, James Crawfoot became the salaried preacher,
and the Bournes, Thomas Cotton, F. Horobin, and Thomas Knight, the voluntary
preachers of a new Methodist community with its own classes and leaders, its camp
meeting agency, and its regular preaching places, not only at Stanley and Ramsor with
Wootton, but also at Tean, Calden Lowe, and Lask Edge, all of which places stood on
the written plans which the Camp Meeting Methodists drew up for their own use.
Nor must it be thought that this transformation of an unattached and irregular move-
ment into an organised society was brought about by violent rupture and attendant
heart-burnings. It was the result of no " schism " in the proper sense of that much-
abused term; that is to say, there was no riving process, no rending asunder, no "split."

* " At first the societies which Bourne formed were allowed to go under the protection of the
older body."— i?ev. W. F. Slater, M.A.

118 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Rather was it the result of a clear understanding arrived at. like that between
Abraham and Lot — an understanding, on the whole, honourably kept by both sides, not
only at Stanley, but wherever the societies of the Mother Church and the Camp
Meeting Methodists were conterminous. Such is Hugh Bourne's explicit statement
with respect to the societies under his care :—

" There was cleanliness of hands on both sides. They did not take one member
from us, and we did not take one from them — all was pure on both sides. There
were various places at which we had laboured once a fortnight, and they had done
the same ; but these we left without taking a member, and made our leaving as
easy as it could well be ; so in these instances we gave no cause of complaint : nor
can we charge the Wesleyans with wrong in making a law to prevent their
members from attending the camp meetings."

Stanley is a good historic name ; it sounds well, and is familiar to us from being
borne by the noble house of Derby. But the importance of Stanley in our annals was
largely an adventitious and a dwindling one; and by 1814 its name disappears from the
plan. Yet, two of its ten members should have passing mention. One — Samuel
Simcock, was a young man of one-and-twenty when he joined the Stanley class, and in
June, 1817, his course was run; but he lived long enough to become the leader of two
classes, to prove himself a "useful and persevering" local preacher, and to assist in
establishing a Sunday School at Hollington in Derbyshire. It takes time, we are told,
for myths to grow, and so years after Samuel Simcock's demise, his name became
associated with a myth that W. Clowes found it needful to track to its influential
source, and to expose. The myth was to the effect that once upon a time Clowes and
Simcock unaided and alone had held a camp meeting all through a summer's day ; that
Clowes, being "tough as whit-leather," survived, but that Simcock died of that camp
meeting. The obvious moral was — " Be short in your camp meeting exercises or swift
retribution will follow." But it was shrewdly suspected that the particular inference
intended to be drawn from the myth was, that W. Clowes had killed Simcock by
flagrantly violating the regulations for conducting camp meetings. The myth had
grown to such formidable proportions that, at last, in 1833, it invaded Conference, and
there had to be met and exorcised. Fortunately for Clowes, he had been a close reader
of the magazines from the first, and he remembered Samuel Simcock's memoir in the
volume for 1819, wherein it is plainly stated that he did not die of "long preaching,"
but of pulmonary consumption brought on by overheating himself in a journey he took
into Staffordshire to see his mother. It is not every one who attains the posthumous
honour of figuring in a mythical story like this. But Samuel Simcock has much
worthier and more durable claims to be remembered here, as the interesting memoir of
him from the pen of Hugh Bourne bears witness; for we are told: — "He was like
a fine musical instrument — always in tune : a strain of pious conversation flowed from
him in all places and upon all occasions ; and his conduct ornamented the Christian
character in his own neighbourhood." Clowes also adds his testimony to his character :
" With Samuel I was intimately acquainted. With him I often took sweet counsel,
and was refreshed in spirit. I admired his piety and zeal in the good cause." —
Journals^ p. 145.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

119

Mary Slater, to whom Hugh Bourne was first cousin, once removed, outlived all the
other members of the original class at Stanley. Her husband was its leader, and in
their house the class was formed and met. She survived until December 3rd, 1865 ;
and on the day of her interment in Willenhall cemetery, the interest naturally aroused
by this sundering of a link with the past, coupled with the respect felt for the blame-
less character of this " old disciple," resulted in giving a semi-public character to her
obsequies.

We come back again to the September Plan, 1811, of the amalgamated societies; for
the significance of that ink-faded, ill-spelled document is not exhausted after Ramsor

branch — as even already
it may be called — and
Stanley, have had the
recognition their pro-
minent mention in our
Deed Poll demands.
Looking closely at the
places and preachers on
this i)lan and comparing

BADDELEY EDGE CHAPEL,

them with those of the

first yjrinted plan ^f 1812,

we notice that though

John Benton's name has its

place and figure, Wyrley

Bank mission has not yet

been taken over, though

negotiations for its transfer

are now afoot, and by 1812

the names of Cannock and

Cannock Wood will show

they have proved successful. As for the Derbyshire mission, where we know a good

work had for some time been going on in several places — the plan afi'ords no evidence

of the fact, the explanation being that clever and crafty Mrs. Dunn ell had stolen

away the hearts of the people and, much to the grief of some, set up for herself.

But there will be an edaireissement ; her downfall is imminent ; the societies will

return to their first love and allegiance. These matters will be adjusted by the time

the first printed plan appears, and we shall find on its list of places, Hollington,

Boylestone, Rodsley, Boston, and Rocester — all destined to have a history. Another

GREYSTONE FARM.
OLD PREACHING HOUSE, BADDELEY EDGE.

120

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

omission on this plan is noteworthy :— Rizley, in Lancashire, with its twenty members
under the leadership of Thomas Webb, does not figure. Yet this society, which
owed its existence to Lorenzo Dow, had accepted the overseership of Hugh Bourne
and was regarded as
one of his societies;
over it he had ex
pended a considerable
amount of labour and
even money, and he
had a liking for it
and its rather peculiar
ways. It is interest-
ing, as casting a side-
light on the contrasted
tastes and bias of
Clowes and Bourne,
to compare their

BEOWN EDGE P.M.C.

respective comments
on the same proceed-
ings of this Rizley
society.

'' April 2Srd, 1809.
Here each one does
that which is right
in his own eyes.
They stand, sit,
kneel, pray, exhort,
etc., as they are
moved. / was very
fond of this ivayT —
H. Bourne Journals.
" From^Warrington we went down to Rissley, and found a people very singular
in their notions and manner of worship, which we did not at all admire ; neverthe-
less, the Lord made us useful among them, as we proceeded in our straightforward
manner in preaching a present, free, and full salvation." — Clowes' Journals^ p. 76.
Rizley, along with Five Crosses, will be found at the bottom of the first printed plan as
the Lancashire outposts of the denomination.

To the Clowesite section must be assigned the places standing on the 1811 plan not
already named. Authorities are agreed as to the general correctness of this attribution

OLD PKEACHING HOUSE, BROWN EDGE.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

121

though it must be borne in mind there was growingly frequent intercourse and co-opera-
tion between the sections. Unfortunately, the Journals of Clowes are sadly wanting
in just those details of the twelve months' evangelistic labours of Clowes himself and
his colleagues we should like to have. We must do our best with the scant material at
hand to represent to ourselves what was going on. Perhaps the combination-views of
preaching-houses and chapels inserted here and there in the text may help us somewhat
to realise what was the usual order of development in this preparatory period and in the
one immediately to follow. At first, a village or hamlet would be " opened " by a
service out of doors ; or advantage would be taken of the offer of a cottage or room from
some kindly disposed person ; then the services would be held at regular intervals and
the cottage would become the recognised preaching-house. As yet the progress made

LAWTON HEATH.
The highest biiilding on the right hand of picture is the first preaching room.

does not carry us beyond this humble stage. We have not reached the chapel-building
era, but we are close upon it — how close the unpretentious chapels of our Janus-like
pictures serve to show. So, while the chapels anticipate by a year or two what is to
come, they indicate that all this pioneer work has not been, and will not be in vain in
the Lord ; the rude and feeble beginnings are preparing the way for something better ;
the cause will not lack continuity and development. These combination-pictures may
render us another wholesome service : — they may check the swellings of pride as we
look in these days, on the costly, spacious, ornate structures springing up all over our land

122

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCli.

and notice the legend "Primitive Methodist Church" inscribed on their front. Just as
" Primislaus, the first king of Bohemia, kept his country shoes always by him, to
remember from whence he was raised ; and Agathocles by the furniture of his table
confessed, that from a potter he was raised to be the King of Sicily," '"' so here we have
our humble monitors — our reminders of " the rock whence we were hewn, and the hole
of the pit Avhence we were digged."

Some of Clowes' places are in Cheshire, though naturally still more are in Staffordshire,

within comparatively easy reach of
;»i| ^. Tunstall. Among the former are

Lawton Heath ; Roggin Row, in the
near neighbourhood of Buglaw^ton,
where the fourth camp meeting was
held May 14th, 1808; Englesea
Brook, in the graveyard of whose
present chapel lie the mortal re-
mains of Hugh and James Bourne
and Thomas Russell ; and more
distant Coppenhall. These two
places — said to have been missioned
— the former by Thomas Wood-
north,assisted by "old Sarah Smith,"
the latter by William Morris — will
provide the base for future extensive
missionary operations.

Coming now to the Staffordshire
places : it is interesting to find
Talke on the list, thus early begin-
ning its honourable career. "0'
th' hill " indeed it is, and enjoys
the advantages of its situation, for
not only does it command a fine
view of Mow Cop, but there also
stretches out before the eye England's
Vale Royal, which runs through
Cheshire to the sea. But far different
sights than those of the picturesque
or of peaceful industry have occa-
sionall}'^ been witnessed here ; for,
standing as it does in the midst of a populous mining district, colliery disasters on
a large scale have now and again carried sorrow into many a home and made havoc
of the church. We are anticipating a little, but before 1813 is over, Hugh Bourne
will have built at his own expense a chapel here, standing on a site now covered by

ROGGIN ROW, BUGLAWTON, NEAR CONGLETON.
One of the places on the First Plan.

* Bishop Jeremy Taylor.

SOURCES AND OKIGIN.

123

the present school. Some of the forms which he made are still preserved in this
school, which was enlarged in 1857. The present chapel at Talke was erected in
1876 at a cost of more than £2,000.

Clond, with its picturesque name, suggestive of a height that holds commerce with

the skies,
must not be
passed over ;
for it, too, is
on the 1811
plan, and is
a place in-
teresting in
many re-
gards. He
who relishes
a far-reach-
ing prospect

ENGLESEA BROOK CHAPEL.
(Interior.)

Avill, if he can, make his way here ;
for, from its elevation, he can catch
sight of the distant Flintshire hills,
and discern the unmistakable con-
tours of the Shropshire Wrekin, and
on the other side the heights of
Morridge and Weaver. Antiquaries,
too, know the Cloud well ; for in
the grounds of Mr. Abner Dale, a
Primitive Methodist of long stand-
ing and influence, are the famous
Druidical remains known as the Bride
Stones. In the next period we shall
have to tell the story of the building
of Cloud Chapel, but at the time of
which we are writing, the services
were held at Woodhouse Green — a quarter of a mile off, in the big parlour
of a farmhouse wherein the Baptists had been used to worship, until the society
became so reduced that the room was offered to our evangelists. The other

ENGLESEA BKGOK CHAPEI.
(Exterior.)

124

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

places on the plan, not as yet particularised, must be content to be visually
represented through the medium of the engravings interspersed in the text.

Let us now turn for a moment to the seventeen preachers who have their names

on the plan. With some of them,
such as James Nixon and "precious
Thomas Woodnorth" (as in one
place Hugh Bourne calls him) we
have by this time grown familiar.
But there are others on the list
who must have a word for identifi-
cation and remembrance. Amongst
these is Richard Bayley, whom also
we have met with before, as one
who since 1807 had taken his turn
of preaching in Mr. Smith's kitchen.
He shared the fate of William Clowes

in being expelled from the Old
Body, and henceforward he was
resolved on sharing his fortunes
in the new denomination. We
meet with many kindly references
to him in Hugh ^ouTne's Journals;
for Richard Bayley was one of
those " old companions " with
whom his last thoughts were
pre-occupied, and whose shadowy
forms seemed to be hovering

TALKE CHAPEL.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

125

TALKE : THREE OLD FORMS MADE BY HUGH BOURNE.

THE BRIDE-STONES.

126

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

WOODHOUSE GREEN PREACHING-HOUSE.
Services were held in Parlour.

BIDDULPH MOOR ROCKS. TROUGHSTONE HILL.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

127

round. Often, on his return from his long rounds, did Hugh Bourne sKp over to
Biddiilph Moor to refresh himself by a talk with Richard, and they were friends to
the last. No. 6 on the plan was quite a character in his way ; and your local
annalist likes " characters," and is caught by the odd and whimsical. So one local
writer speaks of Bayley as —

" An eccentric old ' Biddle Moor ' man, who used to speak in the broad accent of
that peculiar district. A favourite text of Bayley's was: 'Sonner, tharst bin
weight u'th bolunce un' fund wonting.' Yet the Biddle Moor man was master of
a good deal of rough eloquence in his way. In later years he used to preach in the
first Primitive Methodist Chapel that stood where the Hanley Railway stands. It
was only a small place of one storey, and was built about 1824."*

Pitt's hill chapel and school.
The original preaching-place was on the site of the present Schools.

William and Thomas Alcock, whose names stand on the plan Nos. 7 and 10
respectively, had their homestead at Latheredge, where the first preachers often found
rest and refuge, f William was a protege of Hugh Bourne, and from February 20th,

*' Wedgwood : " Staffordshire— Up and Down the County," pp. 6, 7.

t October 1st, 1819 :— " When I left Tunstall on Tuesday, about three o'clock in the afternoon,
I had forty miles to travel to my Sunday's appointment. I had not walked far before it began to-
rain and become very thick, so that night came on by the time I arrived at the house of Mr. Alcock,
at Ladder-edge. I stayed with him till the morning." — Journal of Sampson Turner. Ladder-edge
is probably the correct form, though Latheredge is the form used by H. Bourne in his Journals.

128

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

1809, when the two first met, the Journals make repeated references to young Alcock.
His first attempt at preaching in the presence of the camp meeting fathers seemed
anything but promising. He made two attempts, and each time became "hard fast"

soon after giving
out his text. Per-
haps the text had
something to do
with his poverty
of ideas and abrupt
faikire of utter-
ance, for the text
was, "He had no-
thing to pay," etc.
On standing up
after prayer to
make yet a third
attempt, William
Maxfield cried,

NORTON GREEN PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL
AND SCHOOLS.

" Tell us your experience." This sen-
sible piece of advice was at once acted
upon with the happiest results. Falling
back upon personal experience, William
got " purchase " for a weighty exhorta-
tion, and even succeeded before he sat
down in gripping his text. Hugh
Bourne remarks: — "Upon the whole
it was a very powerful time. At
night I discoursed much with him
in order to strengthen his hands and
direct him. 0 Lord, bless him. I
believe he will be a useful man."
A little later, when he had an un-
founded presentiment that his own
life would be short. Bourne writes :
"If it were God's will I should like
to live till F. Horobin and W. Alcock
are fairly yoked in preaching." His

prayer was answered ; his prophecy fulfilled ; his wish gratified. He did live to see
his son in the gospel a useful and laborious preacher of the Word. William Alcock

OI,D PKEACHING-HOUSE; NORTON GREEN.
Here Bourne preached his last sermon.

SOURCES AND OEIGIN.

129

f^ave himself more and more fullv to the work. In 1818 we find his name standing
No. 6 on the Tunstall circuit plan. Then he retired from the ranks and, it is
said, located in Derbyshire, and lived to write a few words on the friend of his
yonth and prime, which found a place in Walford's " Life of Bourne."

Thomas Alcock, his brother, was spared to become one of the oldest local preachers
of the Connexion, and was honoured by his portrait's appearing in the magazine. That
portrait is here reproduced, and shows a stalwart form and prepossessing countenance.

He was associated with the Society at Talke,
and was " a man of faith and spiritual power,
the memory of whose piety and usefulness is
still fresh and invigorating." *

E. McEvoy and J. Boden have incidentally
been mentioned during the course of this
history ; f and we catch increasingly frequent
glimpses of the former during this time.
On Christmas Day, 1810, he, Clowes, and
James Bourne, on returning to Macclesfield,
were lost ; "so they called at an inn and
had a most extraordinary time, the power
of the Lord came over all."

About the midsummer of 181 1 James Marsh

comes on the scene. Bourne records how Marsh

spoke at Ashmore House, the home of the

Dakin's, in much power and with wisdom,

though he complained of having "a short time."

So this poor scrap of a plan has on it the names of some good and true men. We

have done what little we could to rescue their names from oblivion, and can only regret

that so much of their memorial has been carried down by the time-stream, and is

now irrecoverable.

THOMAS ALCOCK.

Rudimentary Organisation.

July 26th, 1811, and February 13th, 1812, are dates to be noted and remembered in
any history of our origins ; for by the proceedings of those two days the coping-stone
and name-plate were put on the newly-raised fabric of the denomination. On the
former, we were saved from Eree-Gospelism ; on the latter, we got our distinctive
denominational title.

Yet the extant records of the meetings held on these two days are brief and bald as
the first telegraphed summary of some important committee. You have the statement"
of what was done in its most condensed form. All verbiage has been pruned away ;
there is little by way of preface or explanation. Still what little we have suflfices,
especially as we knov/ the proceedings were marked by unanimity, and the conclusions
arrived at nem. con.

* Rev. J. W. Chappell. f pp. 103, 109.

130 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

At the meeting held in Mr. Smith's kitchen on July 26th, two matters were discussed
and settled— minor and incidental by comparison — which may have passing reference.
Apparently by direct questioning, agreement was arrived at that preachers should be
planned where best received and most likely to be useful, and that when planned they
should not be free to pick and choose . .

their appointments, but just go in the
fear of God and fulfil them. Then it
was asked whether friend J. Boden
should be received as a local preacher,
and the answer was " yes " ; and accord-
ingly his name will duly be found on
the September written plan. But the
one weighty piece of business, compared
with which the other were trifles, and
the business which had brought the
fathers together, was the question as to
the relation hereafter to subsist between
preachers and people. Should there be
men set apart to the work, and if so,
how were they to be supported? By
the regular contributions of one or two
as heretofore, or by the collective body ?
In short, the business to be settled
really resolved itself into thp question
whether Primitive Methodism should
be, or should not be, a form of Free-
Tosoelism ^^^^ ^^^^ chapel, on the 1811 plan.

Nor was this question approached in a leisurely, indiff'erent, academic manner. The
men who sat and talked in that kitchen were no doctrinaires, but a number of plain
and very serious men, who had met under tlie impulsion of hard insistent facts, to see
what had best be done. Eveu if the Brothers Bourne could go on providing subsistence-
money for James Crawfoot, there was William Clowes and his maintenance to think of.
For the simple truth was that James Nixon and Thomas Woodnorth had come to the
end of their monetary ability, and, as trade now was, could no longer continue to do as
they had done. Even as it was they had pinched and straitened themselves, and even
wronged their families to keep William Clowes in the mission-field. What then was to
be done 1 Truly a kind of crisis had been reached.

Now, it may seem to us that what wanted doing was obvious enough. But what is
clear to us does not seem to have been so clear to the Primitive fathers. In truth,
a good deal lay at stake that day. There was the danger lest the denomination should
start wrong, and soon find itself swamped in the welter of the lower invertebrate forms
of religious life.* The acceptance of the tenet of Free-Gospelism would have arrested

* "I have no time to write their entomology"! T. P. Buntint]^ on the Band Eoom Methodists.—
Life of Dr. J. Buntinff, p. 276.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 131

its development, and the possibility of such acceptance taking place must be admitted
as having been at least possible. It would have been almost a miracle, considering
Hugh Bourne's training and the company he had been largely thrown amongst during
the previous ten years, if he had altogether escaped the infection of Free-Gospelism.
He had at this time, to put it mildly, no high views of the ministerial office. Even his
most partial biographers admit this, and seek to account for his tendency to undervalue
preaching in comparison with praying, to the fact that he had got a ply in this direction
by listening to some heedless rhetoric of the popular Samuel Bradburn as far back as
July, 1799. Hugh Bourne was generous as we know, and self-denying to a degree, in
order that he might have the more to dispense ; but, at the same time, he was
scrupulous in taking from others for himself, and reluctant to tax others even for the
sake of carrying on the work of God. As time went on, his scrupulosity on this score
grew less, but it may be doubted whether it had altogether gone by 1811. What was
true of Hugh Bourne held good also of James Crawfoot. He was rather deeply tinged
with Quaker Methodism and, along with some better things, left the " hat whim " as
a legacy to our Church.

So, safely to pass this rock ahead, the Tunstall connection was already an advantage,
and there was needed too, not only the pressure arising from the failure of supplies,
but also the good common-sense and Christian principle of the two hundred members
constituting the societies, who pressed to be allowed the privilege of supporting those
who " laboured amongst them in the word and doctrine." It is even affirmed that some
good souls had declined uniting with the societies because such privilege was not
allowed. Yielding then to the double pressure of the popular wish, and the situation
created by the break-down of the financial arrangement hitherto in vogue, the
assembled fathers adopted the principle that they " who preach the Gospel should live
of the Gospel." One can only express surprise that they did not at once fall back upon
the simply sufficient Methodist and early Cliristian plan of receiving week by week the
offerings of the faithful. What loas determined, H. Bourne tells us :—

" It was proposed that the circumstances be mentioned to the people, and what
they voluntarily gave should be collected by proper persons, and paid into
the hands of a steward, and what fell short should be made out by private
subscriptions.

" Question 5. —Who shall be appointed Steward ? This was put upon James
Steele."

Thus a beginning was made ; the principle that the minister can claim support from
the people, and that the people are under obligation to give it, was recognised, though
the principle was fenced, and one may say qualified, by the proviso added at
a subsequent meeting held October 14th, to the effect:

" That all gifts and presents that may be made to the preachers are to be brought

to the steward and entered in the books, and be reckoned towards the weekly

allowance. So these regulations were fixed."

Xor would Hugh Bourne, though fully devoted to the work of the ministry, at

present part with his individual liberty. He would be independent and bear his own

cliarges, and William Alcock, who was largely given up to the work, was of the same

K 2

132

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

mind; so also with John Benton and John Wedgwood when they shall begin their
remarkable labours. But we are still in the day of small and feeble things, as we are
reminded by another regulation made at the supplementary meeting of October 1 4th, at
which Hugh Bourne was not present. It was agreed that James Crawfoot '• be paid
10s. 6d. a week for the support of his family," and W. Clowes, for the reason that his
house was a kind of "pilgrims' inn," and stood him at a higher rent, was to receive 14s.
per week, and at that modest figure it remained for some time.

The Xame ' Primitive Methodists ' is taken.

Sometimes during the course of legal proceedings a piece of paper — terra-cotta as to
colour and a parallelogram as to shape will be put in, and that telegraph-form, with its
brief, curt message, may prove a piece of valuable evidence. So having now reached

'^^ ^.

^x>^

f'^-z/Sty^-^t^t^

//■/at-

the date of February 13th, 1812, we cannot do better than give from Hugh Bourne's
Journals a facsimile of the entry recording what was done on that eventful day. Let
tlie reader's eye for a moment rest on the very curves Hugh Bourne's hand once traced
rather than on the angularities of printed type. Looking at this piece of script our
founder's hand once penned, we are reminded of Paul's words to the Galatians : " See
with how large Jetters I have written unto you with mine own hand." But in this case
the "largeness of the letters" — approaching almost to "roundhand" — was not the result
of defective eyesight, but rather of the writer's clear perception at the moment of
writing that he was chronicling a notable event — and so he was.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. . 13.-

As to the name itself and its apjjropriateness, one or two remarks must suffice. The
right and propriety of taking such a name must, of course, be based on the appropriateness
of the name, duly considering the conditions and circumstances of the time when it was
assumed. Was the name when first adopted an appropriate one ? That is the question
to be approached in the historical spirit, and not the question — so likely when discussed
to wound denominational susceptibilities — whether the name as a differentiating and
descriptive denominational title be appropriate now. Without prejudging this question,
or even expressing at present any opinion upon it, we may suggest it to be quite
conceivable that a negative answer might have to be returned to the latter question,
and an affirmative answer to the former. The fact is, the two questions are quite
distinct, and must be kept distinct. As to the former historical question with which
alone we are now concerned. To us it seems our historians hitherto have taken too
low ground, and too timid and apologetic an attitude. Unless we entirely misread the
facts set forth in this book, the only impression they can make on the candid reader will
be that there was but one name for the new denomination, and that 'Primitive Methodist.'

Briefly to recapitulate : the movement which eventuated in the formation of the new
denomination was akin to, and one form of, the Revivalism which was endemic — one
might say epidemic — during the opening years of the nineteenth century ; this movement
was the avowed, deliberate, enthusiastic endeavour to return to the spirit and practices
of primitive Methodism ; this movement was in many respects counter and antipathetic
to the spirit and policy of the Methodism of the time ; standing thus to each other,
a clash and severance were inevitable, unless, indeed, one or the other should greatly
modify, and so deny, itself ; the inevitable happened, and the ejected discrepant fragment
did not disappear in the void but persisted, and naturally took for its name what was
its raison (Vetre — primitive Methodism. All that the meeting of 1812 did was to turn
what had been a fair and honest description into a title, and to write 'primitive' with
a capital P.

To us the gist and crux of the whole matter lies in the admission or non-admission
of the position that primitive Methodism and modern Methodism, as terms implying
contrasted and conflicting ideals and tendencies, aptly describe what we find really
existent and militant in Xorth Staffordshire and Cheshire from 1800 to 1812. If this
be admitted then, though the action of the Wesleyan Conference and the Burslem
Circuit is explained, and in a measure justified, to the same degree is the taking of the
name Primitive Methodist by our fathers also justified. On the other hand, if the fact
of this antithesis — this clash of ideals, of tendencies and practices — be denied, then
conclusions of a directly opposite character will follow. Then the name Primitive
Methodist must be acknowledged to have been a misnomer because based on a groundless
assumption ; but if so, then the Conference and the minor authorities must in turn be
accused of having been both blind and deaf to what was around them — so much so that
they could not tell friends from enemies, or distinguish between what was Methodism
and what was not. It would seem to be a somewhat bold proceeding to conclude that
both the Wesleyan authorities and the primitive fathers were alike the victims of a false
assumption. It were surely more reasonable to believe that neither the one nor the
other was so victimised.

134

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

There is a homely saying which affirms that " You cannot both eat your cake and
have it." This is an old saw the modern representatives of both sides in this historical
episode Avould do well to remember. .On the one hand, we who vigorously defend the
assumption of the name "Primitive Methodist" must be prepared to admit the strength
of the Conference case as viewed from its own standpoint. On the other hand, those
who carp and cavil and gird at the name " Primitive Methodist" must, to be consistent,
accuse the Conference and all concerned of having blundered and muddled the business.
As with our cake, we cannot have it both ways.

A PLAN OF THE PBEACHERS

IN THE SOCIETY OF THE PRIMITIVE METHODISTS

In Tunstall Circuit.

1812.
Tunstall 2 and 6

Norton 2, Brown Edge 6

Stanly 2, Badley Edge 4

Bagnal 2, Badley Edge 4

Butt Lane 2, Talk o' th' Hill 6

Roggin Row 2, Talk o' th' Hill 6

Cloud 10 and 2

Woodhouse Green 10 and 2

Whiston 2, Alton 6

Stanton 2, Swincore G

Englesea Brook 9, Betley 1^ ...

Coppenhall 2, Weston 7

Stoke 101, Cotton Work

Caldon 10, Wooton 2, Rarasor 6

Hollington io,Boylstone 2, Rodsleye

Roston 2, Rocester 6

Cannock 2, Cannock Wood 6 ..

Biddulph Moor 2

Rizley

Five Crosses

MAK.

22 29

APRIL.

5 12 19 26

MAY.

3 10 17 24 .Ml

JUNE.

7 14 21

preachers'

NAMES.

1 J. Crawfoot

2 J. Steel

3 J. Bourne

4 H. Bourne

5 W. Clowes

6 R. Bailey

7 W. Allcock

8 T. Woodnorth

9 E. Mc Evoy
10 J. Nixon

U H. Mattinson

12 T. Allcock.

13 T. Hulme

14 J. Marsh
15

16 J. Boden

17 S. Broad

18 •

19 H. Wood

20 S. Simcock

21 M. Brown

22 J. Buxton

23 W. Morris

6
17
20

23
3
11

5
16

5
11

3
12

S
10
4

8
16
17

20
19
23

7
10

2
12

14
11

4
3

5
19
10

20
16

4
11

3
21

20
5

8
4
12

9
11
23

7
18

6
9

12
16
10

4
1

8
19

18
10
21

19
9
15

8
6

2
12

7
5
16
18

7
6
11

23
12
3

16
5

2
15

19
9

10
7

18
1

20
10

16
4

23
17

7
9

4
13

12
17
9

19
8

18
10

Copy of the First Printed Plan
Feb. 13, 1812, at which the

ORDERED T() BE PRINTED BY THE MEETING HELD

NAME Primitive Methodist was taken.

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 135

Churches have their process of evolution, and the antagonism between the old and
new elements that showed itself in 1800-12 was but an incident in this historical
])rocess. Further stages have since been reached. What took place near a hundred
years ago could not be repeated now. The old antithesis has well-nigh been overcome
by a wider spiritual synthesis, destined to embrace what is valuable and worth preserving
both old and new, and we must adjust our ecclesiastical arrangements to these altered
spiritual conditions.

Meanwhile, the name Primitive Methodist was prepared beforehand for us. We do
not need the story of James Crawfoot's expulsion to accoimt for the assumption of the
name. It was inevitable. Hugh Bourne may have been drowsy at the time the name
was taken, but drowsy or wide-awake it would have been the same. We got our name
very much as John the Baptist got his, and presumably the Divine hand was in both
name-givings. Their neighbours and kinsfolk wanted the promising child to be called
Zacharias ; but the mother said, " Not so ; but he shall be called John." The father
took his writing-tablet and wrote, saying, " His name is John." Kinsfolk and neighbours
might not like the name. They might object that none of his kinsmen had borne such
a name ; but all the same the name was there — waiting, divinely authorised, inevitable.
It had to be ; or rather, it was already.

136

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

CHAPTER VI.

SIDELIGHTS ON THE PERIOD 1800—12.

From the "Journals" of Hugh Bourne and W. Clowes.

HE account of the sources and origin of the Primitive Methodist Church
reached its natural conclusion in the preceding chapter, which left it in
possession of a name and rudimentary organisation. Hence it will he
expected that we shall at once proceed to trace the course of its further
history and development. Before, however, essaying this task, we will linger a little
while over the Journals of Hugh Bourne and William Clowes (but especially of the
former), tempted by the inducement that we are likely by so doing to become better
acquainted both with our founders and the milieu in which they lived and worked.
Many incidental matters that could not but be passed over when following the con-
secutive narrative can now, that we have reached our first convenient halting-place,
be leisurely and profitably regarded. So that however impatient to get on the reader
may be, we would not advise the skipping of this chapter ; the pause does not mean
retardment.

Bourne and Clowes both left Journals, so-called, but only Bourne's are really such,
those of Clowes, published in 1844, being Journals only in name. Clowes took up
the pen as seldom as he could, and when he did take it up, it did not become in his
hands the pen of a ready writer, as the hard, scratchy " hand " he wrote remains to
tell. His Journals are really autobiographic reminiscences written late in life, apparently
from memory and not from written memoranda, so that they are defective in names
and dates, and the right sequence and relation of events are not always preserved.
Unfortunately, the important period between Clowes' coming off the plan and the
amalgamation of 1812 has only fifteen small octavo pages devoted to it. Hence, as
will be inferred, it does not belong to the useful class of works of reference, and is
unfitted by its defects and very qualities to be in itself a sufficient guide to our early
history ; but as supplying collateral information and giving a vivid presentation of
events elsewhere set forth only in a brief form, it has its distinct value. Moreover,
as a work of religious edification it will be found difficult to match it by anything
our literature can show. The style in which the Journals is written is easy and
flowing, sometimes indeed rising into natural eloquence, and the devout, fervid spirit
which breathes in the narrative cannot fail to communicate itself to the reader.

Hugh Bourne's Journals are just such. From the outset of his religious life in 1800
to its close, with but few breaks, he was accustomed to note down in his careful,
methodical way the day's doings — the people met with, the places visited, the thoughts

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 137

that had pre-occupied his mind, even his own significant dreams or those of others are
duly though tersely recorded. Each day the Journal is written up, with no idea the record
will be seen by any other eye than his own, or some items would surely have been
omitted. The psychical no less than the historical value of such a record as this needs
no pointing out. What wonder that the, Journals have been a well-worked quarry,
whence both biographers of Bourne and our Church historians have got their materials
at first or second hand ! for he still remains our chief, and in some cases, our sole
authority for certain periods or events in our earlier history. But though Hugh Bourne's
Journals have been so largely drawn upon they have never been published in their
entirety, and taking into account their voluminousness and intimate character are not
likely to be.

But how to describe the Journals ? To what shall we likan them ? Not, perhaps,
to the Journals of George Fox or John Wesley, though with each of these they have
their points of likeness. Difficult, however, as it may be to class them or find their
fellow, we, who are fresh from the minute reading of the MS. volumes occupied with
the years 1800 — 12, pronounce them to be amongst the strangest human documents
ever penned, and make bold to affirm that both the psychologist and the religious
novelist would find familiarity with their contents of the greatest advantage. Had
Professor James only had access to Hugh Bourne's Journals when writing his "Varieties
of Religious Experience," it is certain he would have enriched his pages with many
a quotation; and should a second "George Eliot" arise, she might, from the materials
lying here, reproduce a picture of lowly religious life in North Staffordshire that
might stand a worthy second to "Adam Bede," which deals with the same time, largely
with the same class, and almost with the same district.

It will be expected we shall make good this our estimate, but to do this is difficult ;
for the Journals of Bourne are as complex as the man who wrote them, and refuse to
be characterised or summed up in a sentence. It is the final impression left on the
reader's mind as the combined, cumulative result of the typical extracts given that
will be nearest the truth, for then, as by a graduated process, the reader gains his
impression in much the same way as he would had he the privilege of perusing the
original Journals themselves.

The Journals of Hugh Bourne are emphatically religious journals, written by one
who felt called to carry on a religious and not a political or social, much less a sectarian
propaganda. The great pre-occupation is religion. There is an exaltation, a dead
earnestness in the writer which makes itself felt. He is bent on one thing ; he is terribly
in earnest to save his own soul and the souls of others. There are few direct allusions
to the state of the country at the time, or any evidence that the sense of the wrongs
and disabilities from which men suffered burned within him and sought expression in
conii)laints or invective. Of course it would have been impossible for Hugh Bourne,
in simply chronicling his own doings and movements during these ten years, not to
have made incidental allusions to the state of things prevailing at the time he wrote,
or not to have crossed the path of some people whom it is interesting, even after the
lapse of a century, to recall. Here, for instance, by recorded dream and prayer and
rumour we get a glimpse and hear the murmur of the tumultuous wider world beyond: —

138

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

'"'' January 17th, 1810. — Clowes went under the transfiguration. He was exercised
about the nation. We led class at Mr. Hitchin's of Alpraham, and had a good
time. 17th. — We came to Thornton. Clowes was exercised about the nation.
Mourning and lamentation and woe are at hand. February 8th. — My brother
James told me that W. Handley, a little time ago, told him that he— W. H. — dreamed
that a person talked with him, and advised him to have but little business on
his hand because that troubles would shortly come. Wm. H. answered that he had
only the farm and looking after Mr. Adderley's colliery ; and as to Stonetrough,

STONETROUGH COLLIERY AND MOUNDS.

when it was a little 'gated,' he should only have to go about once a week. The
person said all business would be at a stand, and that those who had the least
business would do the best, and that all who had much to do with banks would
be hurt, for banks would be broken. The Lord's will be done."

''April 11th, 1810. — ... I went to Warrington, where 1 heard the dreadful news
that there were riots in London. Well, the Most High ruleth ; and the Lord is
still a hiding-place."

We are not allowed to forget that those were the days of imperfect religious toleration,
and that the reactionary tendencies at work were threatening still further to abridge its
privileges. The very month Stanley Class is formed he hears that the Toleration Act
" is about to be broken in part," and that the Methodists are providing against the
gathering storm by proposing to make each preacher the nominal minister of a particular
church. Sometimes the holding of religious service in a particular dwelling-house has
to be put off until a licence can be got, as a precautionary measure against the persecution

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 139

which menaces. At Rodsley the licence has been secured only just in the nick of time,
for the very next day they were to be informed against.

Very significant as to the manners and morals of the time are the frequent references
to the local wakes and their pernicious influence. After spending the day of July 2nd,
1810, at Wootton in visiting, he tells how there was a bear-bait, and how he felt " the
spirit of the wake dash upon him like a flood," as though it were one special, favourite
way in which the time-spirit — "the spirit of the power of the air" — manifested itself
in those days.

" I bore the cross awhile till the cloud broke, and the Spirit said that my desire
should be granted — I felt thankful. At bed-time I wandered towards the alehouse
and met with an [earnest seeker of salvation ; I went into Brown's and she was
fully born again. Tuesday 3rd. — It rained much this afternoon. We prayed for
the Lord to restrain the wake ; and I believe the Lord sent rain and thunder on
Sunday night, and the rain to-day, to stop it. Glory be to His name for ever."

The next year he is at Rocester at the time of the wake, sharing the hospitality of
the Mace family. They plead with God to restrain the wake, and not in vain, for the
bull was sent away from the town, and there were murmurings from the wake-folk
" that there had been no mirth." As Hugh Bourne looks out of the window he learns
a lesson. He sees a number of men in the back-yard busily engaged in "cleansing" a man
who had been fighting. " I watched," says he, " to' see their great zeal ; they appeared
full of life and eagerness ; they appeai^ed as if fighting battles in their own minds : they
seemed to venture all for Satan. If we had as much zeal for heaven we should surely
reach it."

In the pages of those volumes of the Journals with which we have now to do, there
is not a joke, scarcely a gleam of humour, to be found : it were vain to look there for
the graces of literary style. Yet, though the writer is so serious and matter-of-fact,
and puts things down in the plainest, homeliest, and shortest way, we do meet with
occasional ohiter dicta w^orth noting, on account of their quaintness, shrewdness, or
" crusty candour." Some of these comments and by-the-way sayings could not well
be better expressed or put into fewer words, and one cannot but wonder, coming upon
such passages as these, whether after all this plain and rugged style was not deliberately
chosen, and perhaps shall be inclined to conclude that " he could an he would " have
written just as elegantly as others who have succumbed to the temptation to sacrifice
strength and clearness to fine writing. The surmise is partly correct, as one singular
entry in the Journals shows.

November 3rd, 1809. — " John VVhittaker had talked to me about using the best
language, as I had it in my power. He pressed it much. I told him I would

pray about it I prayed this morning, and was led to adopt the way

that he recommended. Appearing to be illiterate when I am not illiterate seemed
to be quite wrong. O Lord, I beseech Thee direct my soul — touch my lips. O Lord,
if Thy will be that I should use fine language ; give me a fine flow of eloquence ;
touch iny lips with a live coal from off the altar. Oh may the love of Jesus flow
from my lips in accents mild as the evening dew, and in beauty as the falling of
the fleecy snow. Oh let the honey distil from my lips."

140 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

From this quotation we infer that the Lord must soon have made known that His
will went counter to John Whittaker's well-meant advice, and that He was against
H. B's. " use of fine language ; " for we read of no more aspirations or efforts that way,
and soon meet with evidence in plenty that the plain and forceful style of writing was
the one contentedly and determinedly chosen. In striking and refreshing contrast with
the poetic diction of the above excerpt, we throw together a few samples, culled from
these early Journals, of H. B.'s forcible way of putting things, and his aptitude at
coining phrases which always remained a characteristic of his style.

"At Kingsley I had a campaign with a Deist. He proposed Universalism-
I said it would not do to go to hell to try if he could not get out again."

" Mr. Kersham preached. He seemed an endeavouring man, and has no objection
to a stir."

" F. H. is become a good steady pilgrim, and has nearly laid all his whims
aside."

" My heart was opened, and the Word (spoken by Crawfoot) seemed to soak into
me like rain."

" Surprise in secret chains his words suspends,

Just so was my attention chained."

" R. H. is still compassed with oddities.

"They rather run wildish. O Lord Jesus, bless and regulate them.

" is buried in shop-keeping."

"We called at Portwood, Stockport. I there saw a number of Dr. Coke's ' History

of the Bible.' It appears to be a badly-written whimsical catchpenny thing

Dr. Coke has written six large quarto volumes to explain the Bible. He is now
writing three more, and Adam Clark is writing a Commentary about as large as
Dr. Coke's, and all to explain the Bible ! So ' they find no end in wand'ring mazes
lost.' O Lord, direct my soul into the plain Bible, through Jesus Christ, Amen."

The last quotation is a good specimen of Hugh Bourne's caustic vein. Very
different is the record of the way in which the old year out and the new year in was
kept at Delamere Forest 1809-10. Here the words seem artlessly to fall into the
simple cadence of poetry.

Sunday, Decertiber 31st, 1809. — " We went to the watch-night and had a good time.
We parted well ivith the old year, and the new year came in joyfully ; and wo
covenanted to be more given to the Lord, and I believe the covenant was ratified
in heaven." Monday, January 1st, 1810. — " We began this year happy in the Lord,
singing and covenanting to serve the Lord unreservedly."

Not many " wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble " appear before us
as we read in these old diurnals — not many whose names figure in the Biograpliical
Dictionaries of the day ; for saints are at a discount there. Yet there were some who
came within sight and touch of Hugh Bourne whose characters was saintly and their
lives beneficent. Amongst these was Mrs. Samuel Evans, the prototype of George Eliot's
immortal "Dinah Morris" and Mrs. Fletcher, the widow of the 'seraphic' Fletcher of
Madeley, whose life continued fragrant to the end, which came in December 9th, 1815.
Hugh Bourne was occasionally at Wellington and Madeley, and he informs us he had

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

141

listened to Mrs. Fletcher. He tells too, how he had
pressed upon a Mrs. Mitton of those parts, to give herself
to labouring for the Lord, but when she set about doing
this in right earnest, and began to pray for the people and
take their burthen upon her, she was for a period of six
weeks plunged into such sore conflict and darkness that in
her distress she twice sought out Mrs. Fletcher and laid
open her strange case before her and got much light and
help from her wise and loving counsel. Here too, duly
noted down in the Journals, is an anecdote of Mrs. Fletcher,
told to Hugh Bourne by Mr. Eli Hanley of Burslem, as
the two were on their way to Eccleshall, hard by the
palace of the Lord Bishop of Lichfield.

"On the way Mr. Hanley told me, that being once at
Madeley, the bargemen sent a request to Mrs. Fletcher
to pray for rain. The Biver Severn is not made navi-
gable througliout, and therefore in time of drought the channel is so shallow that
they cannot work. There had then been a long drought. She related the request
in the congregation, and said, probably some of them were great sinners, and the
Lord was punishing them to humble them. After enlarging a while on this head

MKS. FLETCHER,

MADELEY VILLAGE AND CHURCH.

she said, ' However, we will pray for them.' She then prayed for the Lord to send
rain. The congregation firmly believed the Lord would give rain ; and the next
morning it rained heavily. E. Hanley had to come home and was much wetted."

142 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

It is a pleasing thought to a Primitive Methodist that Hugh Bourne was, as recorded
in his Journals, on intimate terms with Mrs. Samuel Evans, and that once he took part
with her in speaking at a service on Ellaston Green, and that at another time, or times,
he was a guest and probably stayed the night at her home in Derby. George Eliot, as
we all know, since she herself has told us all about it, found the heroine of Adam Bede
in this same Mrs. Evans, her aunt by marriage. The maiden name of Mrs. Evans was
Tomlinson, and she was born at Newbold, in Leicestershire. She became a domestic
servant at Derby, and afterwards found employment in a lace manufactory in Notting-
ham, meanwhile living according to the course of this world and being fond of dress and
pleasure. But she was soundly converted, threw off her gauds and gay apparel, became
Quaker-like in her neatness and, it may be added, Quaker-like too in her philanthropy,
for in her modest way she emulated the example of Mrs. Ery in visiting the 'sick and in
prison.' She caught the contagion of prison-sickness while following her pious labours.
She nerved herself to accompany to the scaffold a frail creature who had killed her own
baby. While still in the fresh beauty of her youth. Miss Tomlinson carried the
evangel to the uplands and into the dales of Derbyshire, thus in the order of providence
preparing the way for the advent of our missionaries in these parts. Two of her
favourite preaching places were Boston Common and Ellaston Green — the former in
Derbyshire, and the latter, just over the river Dove, in Staffordshire. Wootton, so
frequently mentioned in these pages is in Ellaston parish, and Ellaston Green is the
" Hayslope " of " Adam Bede," where George Eliot makes her heroine preach that famous
sermon we have all read ; and, since in those early days Methodism would have none of
camp meetings, we will appropriate that open-air service for Primitive Methodism, the
more so since as we are about to see, Hugh Bourne and she held together what was
practically a camp meeting on Ellaston Green, in 1809. George Eliot's father and
uncles were born at neighbouring Roston Common, and one of the brothers, — Samuel,
an" earnest Methodist, fell in love with the fair young preacheress whom he had heard
at Ashbourne, and wooed and won her. This was in 1804. For some little time they
lived at Roston, removing thence to Derby and afterwards to Wirksworth. Conference
Methodism got to like women-preaching as little as it liked camp meetings ; so when it
was proposed — probably at the suggestion of Jabez Bunting — that Miss Barrett and
Mrs. Mary Evans while allowed to take appointments should be indicated on the plan
by a simple asterisk, Mrs. Evans declined the proposal, and she and her husband joined
the Arminian or Faith Methodists of Derby. But, subsequently, they both returned to
the Church of their youth, and they are both commemorated by tablet in the Chapel at
Wirksworth, where their last days were usefully and honourably spent.

And now let us learn what Hugh Bourne has to say of this remarkable woman and
of his association with her.

Sunday, June 2bth, 1809: — I led the class in the morning at Wootton. . . . We
were informed that Betsy Evans, Samuel Evans' wife from Derby, would speak at
Wootton. He also is a local preacher. She began about two o'clock. Her voice
was low and hoarse at first from having preached so much the week past and
having caught several colds ; but she got well into the Power. She appears to be
very clear in Scripture doctrines and very ready in the Scripture. She seemed to

THE PULPIT FROM WHICH DINAH MORRIS
USED TO PREACH.

DINAH MORRIS,

iimmmM

VVIRKSWORTH CHAPEL, WHERE
DINAH MOJiRIS USED TO WORSHIP AND PREACH.

144 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

speak fully in the Spirit; and from the little I saw of her she seems to be as fully
devoted to God as any woman I ever saw. O Lord, bless and establish her. Her
husband also spoke. He appears to be an excellent man. O my Father, bless and
keep him. My brother James then spoke, and then I went up, so that we occupied
most of the afternoon, and we had, after, a plead with sinners near the ale-house.
We had but little persecution, though it was Wake (time)."

While at Drayton, in Shropshire, on February 12, 1810, he "felt an impression to
go to Derby" to see his friends, and on March 19 and 21, he acted on that impression.
Of his interview with the Evans' on the former date he says little, but of that which
took place two days after he speaks more fully, giving the gist of what must surely
have been imparted after reserve was thawed and the talk had grown close and conti-
dential. Now that ninety years and more have passed there is no need to keep anything
back or thinly to veil names behind initials.

" I came to Derby and had some conversation with Mr. Samuel Evans and his
wife. He is an earnest man. She has been and is an extraordinary woman. She
has been very near Ann Cutler's experience, but she met with great persecution,
especially from Jonathan Edmondson. She lost some ground when entering into
the marriage state. She engaged this (sic) in a cloudy day while under persecution.
1 was much instructed by her conversation. At night I led Mr. Evans' class. It
was a good time. There are many of them strong in grace ; yet there was much
unbelief."

A few words must be given as to the evidence aiforded by the Journals of the close
association of our founders with those other communities of kindred aims and sympathies
standing on the outskirts of Methodism that were struggling into independent existence.
Church-formation seems to go on in much the same way as world-formation, if
what scientists tell us be true. The worlds and Churches to be, at first seem to stand
so close together and partake so much of the same character, as to be almost indis-
tinguishable one from the other. The process of differentiation is a gradual one,
and the attainment of complete separation and independence is the work of time. So
it was, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, in the contiguous counties of
Yorkshire, Lancashire, Staffordshire, and Cheshire. That common movement we call
Revivalism was like the whirling nebulous matter that every now and again throws off
a sphere to go on whirling henceforth on its own account. To this fact we have already
called the reader's attention, and it is forced upon us again as we read these Journals ;
and insistence upon this fact is all the more justifiable, because it has not, we are
persuaded, had the recognition its importance demands. Our founders fraternised
and co-operated with the Revivalists, the Quaker Methodists, and the Independent
Methodists. Tl|?^ helped and were helped by them. The first camp meetings were
largely supported and staffed, as to preachers and praying labourers, by these
same religionists ; and the obligation thus incurred was paid back in full. These
are the facts we cannot but recognise as we read the Journals alike of Bourne
and Clowes.

The origin of the Independent Methodists dates from 1805 ; but it would seem its

SOUKCES AND ORIGIN. 145

first Conference was not held until 1807, for just after the Norton Camp Meeting
Bourne writes : —

" After the meeting I visited Macclesfield again, and was at the house of a friend
who was a member of the Independent Methodists. These Methodists had delegates
from different parts, and were holding a first Conference ; and one of their main
matters was arranging for an interchange of preachers to promote variety."

Bourne was also present at the next Conference, and evidently took part in the
proceedings ; for a discussion having arisen on the subject of the ministry of women
he agreed to draw up answers to certain questions which had been propounded. We
all know, without reading the able brief he prepared, what side he would take in the
controversy which then so heated and divided men. Though he was no " ladies' man "
in the sense usually understood by that phrase, but quite the reverse, he was the
convinced advocate and defender of woman's right to exercise her gifts in the public
ministry of the V^'ord. Mr. Peter Phillips, to whom he read the written statement he
had drawn up, was so struck with the ability shown in his presentation of the case
that he asked and got leave to send it to the press.

Of Peter Phillips, the recognised founder of the Independent Methodists (with
whom were now associated the Quaker Methodists) we get repeated orlimpses
in the Journals. Perhaps the most interesting of these is that which lets

us see a sort of "round table conference" going on
in his house, at which were present besides himself,
Hugh Bourne, Dr. Paul Johnson, the physician of
Lorenzo Dow and hero of Norton Camp Meeting, and
a certain Mr. Sigston. This member of the group we
judge to have been the Methodist schoolmaster of Leeds,
the friend and biographer of Bramwell, and the leading
spirit in the troubles rising out of the organ case
which led, in 1828, to the formation of the Protestant
Methodists. If our surmise be correct this little gather-
ing was a notable one. Its purpose was to consider what
means should be adopted in order to carry on and extend
the revival begun in the district through the agency of
Lorenzo Dow, Dr. Johnson, and the Camp Meetinsers

MR SIGSTON O *

The outcome of the conference was a book. It was

resolved to print and circulate as largely as possible the life of Benjamin Abbot the

American evangelist. In connection with the business of preparing and printino-
tliis book Bourne says : —

" Thursday^ July 28th, 1808. — I set out for Leeds. I took this long journey rather
at the instance of Warrington friends, in order that the extracts to be added in
the life of Abbot might be perfected. I went through Knutsford, Altringham
Manchester, Middleton, Rochdale, Halifax, and Bradford. There are many villages
and many Methodist chapels. When I first stepped into Yorkshire, I kneeled
down and prayed, and I found that the Lord would be with me in Yorkshire."

146

PIUMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

MR. WILLIAM DAWSON.
(Known as "Billy" Dawson.)

He reached Leeds a little before noon the next
day, with sore feet ; heard " Billy " Dawson on the
Sunday, and felt himself fully paid for liis journey
had he done nothing more than hear him ; returned
by coach to Manchester, and walked eighteen miles
to Stockton Heath, where a meeting was to be held
by Dr. Johnson, who did his very best to convert
him to Quakerism but did not succeed. Another
short entry lets us see a conference of another kind,
in which Peter Philli})s and Hugh Bourne take their
part. This time it is confined to these two, and
both are in grim earnest as they confer : —

"October 3rd, 1809. — I had a severe controversy
with Peter Phillips, he having adopted some
of Mr, Law's opinions."

Other prominent members of the Quaker Methodists
were Mr. and Mrs. Eaton of Stockton Heath, and
Mrs. Richardson of Warrington. In the published
memoir of Mrs. Eaton, it is stated she was led into peace through a conversation with
Hugh Bourne. Mrs. Richardson has already been referred to. As her memoirs,
published after her death, which occurred in 1848, show, she became eminent as
a preacheress. One of the few incidents of this period found in Clowes' Journals
relates to this estimable woman : —

" At Stockton Heath I preached, and also at Warrington, at Mrs. Richardson's,
where I had times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Mrs. Richardson
became a speaker amongst us, and was an acceptable labourer in the Lord's
vineyard. At the first establishment of preaching in her house, I was conducting
the religious services one evening, when one of the magistrates came in and
demanded a sight of my licence. I put my hand into my pocket, and handed it
to him. He then said he wanted to see the licence of the house as a place for
preaching. One of the people told him it was above. He said, ' I must have it
down.' The individual replied, 'It is in heaven.' He then began to swear and
order the congregation to disperse ; one man rose to obey the magistrate's order
when Mrs. Richardson exclaimed, ' Sit down, my friend, and be quiet. My house

is ray own ; ' and then she cried out in prayer for God to save Justice L . At

this the magistrate endeavoured to effect his escape, but Mrs. Richardson followed

him into the street, praying aloud for the Lord to have mercy on Justice L ;

to convert Justice L , and make him a Methodist preacher. He then told her

he would send the water engines and blow her windows out ; but she continued
to raise such a storm of prayer about his ears, that he hastened his flight, leaving
the Bible and hymn book in the street, which he had taken from before me whilst
preaching ; he, however, took my licence with him ; but in a few days after I went
to him, accompanied by a friend. When he saw us approaching his house, he came
out with the licence in his hand, and gave it to me saying, 'Your servant, sir.'
He immediately retired into the house, or else I purposed to have given him a
lecture on the impropriety of his conduct." — (Clowes' Journals, pp. 107, 8).

SOURCES AND ORIGIN. 147

Finally, briefest mention must be made of the Band Room Methodists of Manchester,
if for no other reason than to correct the published statement that these secessionists
of 1810 from the Methodists, or the better part of them, were absorbed by the Primitive
Methodists. The statement is not correct, the fact being that the erstwhile Band Room
Methodists merged into the United Free Gospel Churches. The Journals record one
visit paid by Hugh Bourne on October 8th, 1809, to these lively people. He saw
" many bright faces, and praying George's eyes were so bright he could scarce look at
them." But his own keen eyes detected some lightsomeness, and he observes "there
is much antinomianism amongst revivalists."

One thing it is impossible not to feel as we read these Journals in relation to Bourne
and Clowes and their fellow- workers — they lived amid the marvellous and the super-
natural. Wesley chronicles dreams, practised sortilege, and believed in ghosts. Ghosts
indeed, do not figure much, if at all, in these pages, but there are dreams in plenty.
They all dreamed, and told their dreams, and sought the interpretation thereof ; for the
dreams were regarded as full of religious significance, and as having a close bearino- on
the day's work and duty. Faith-healing and exorcism were also articles of belief as was
telepathy — to use the modern term, ^ow and again they are convinced that some one
is just then in need of them, or is praying for them. They believe in the power of the
evil one as working in the children of disobedience, and often it is felt to be a serious
struggle between the malign power and the power which they can exercise through
faith. All alike unfeignedly believe in impressions — suggestive impulses like that
which said to Philip : "Go and join thyself to this chariot." Often Hugh Bourne's
itinerary is modified by its being borne in upon him that he must go yonder and not
there. He has wonderful openings into the meaning of Scripture. Occasionally when
the testimony of the Lord as borne through human lips is rejected, especially by
one who is a professing Christian, the power he had or might have had, is forfeit, and
comes upon him who faithfully testified, leaving the other stripped and bare as a blasted
oak on the heath. So we might go on accumulating evidence to show that to these
fervid Christians the very atmosphere they breathed seemed surcharged with the
supernatural. The strange mystical language they used must not be passed over. They
spoke of " the spirit of burning," of " being sealed with the spirit," of having " solid
weightiness," of being " in the keen cutting power," or " in the binding power," of
"drawing the power," etc., etc. Now it has usually been taken for granted that this
strain in the Christian life of our fathers and founders was due to their intercourse with
James Crawfoot and his influence upon them. This view we confess to having shared,
but closer examination has tended to modify it. It is quite fatal to the view as
unmodified, that W. Clowes quite as much as Hugh Bourne and the rest talked over
their deep experiences, and used mystical language of the purest water before they paid
their first visit to Crawfoot in 1807.

In November, 1809, we find James Crawfoot settled in a small homestead in the
Forest of Delamere near Brinn, where there was a Methodist cause largely raised and
supported by him. He had also begun a monthly service on the Saturday evening at
his own Forest home, at which it was not unusual in the midst of the praying and
conversation-preaching and recital of experience, for persons to pass into a state of

L 2

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

trance and have visions ; hence the frequenters of these services were widely known
as Magic Methodists. As for Crawfoot, he was a Methodist local preacher in the
Xorthwich Circuit when Hugh Bourne, with the cordial co-operation of his brother,
agreed to give him ten shillings a week until Lady Day in order to carrry on evangelistic
labours on the Cheshire and Staffordshire sides on alternate fortnights. The fact that
Crawfoot was in needy circumstances at this time also weighed with Bourne in
making this agreement. Philanthropy joined with evangelistic zeal in sealing the
contract. Crawfoot was fifty years of age when he thus became an itinerant preacher?
and we gather that almost immediately after this his relations with parent Methodism —

TARVIN VILLAGE AND CHURCH.

very much strained already — reached the decisive breaking point. As we have seen,
Crawfoot's genius did not lie in the direction of camp meetings, and he took part in one
only. Sad to say, the Journals of Hugh Bourne set forth the rise, culmination, and
setting of a friendship between him and Crawfoot, and 1813 witnessed the passing of
Crawfoot from Primitive Methodist life. Summoned by H. B. to answer certain
charges at the Quarterly Meeting at Tunstall he failed to appear, and judgment went
by default. We do not know that it is necessary to go fully into these charges.
Probably the fact that during his itineracy Crawfoot had married Hannah Mountford,
the long-time faithful servant of the Bournes, the visionary, and as is most likely, the
person to whom H. B. himself proposed at a class meeting, may have had something to

SOURCES AND ORIGIN.

149

do with the breach, especially when w^e remember that Crawfoot had been understood
to be an admirer of the celibate state, and had instilled his purely theoretic views into
the mind of his patron. Then the failure of his new w^ife's health soon after marriage
led to his omitting occasionally to take his appointments, which was a dereliction of duty
that in Hugh Bourne's eyes hardly any circumstances could extenuate. Probably also
Crawfoot was easy-going and lax in discipline ; somewhat lax of tongue, too, it is to be
feared, and at times carried out of himself by his own popularity. The truth of the
matter would probably be found in an amalgam of all these explanations. So, as we
have said, 1813 saw the passing of Crawfoot from the plan to the regret of some.
"Howbeit a few clave unto him," and it is even said that some small societies called

TARVIN CHURCH. CRAWFOOT S BURIAL-PLACE

themselves after his name as late as 1831. As for Crawfoot, he died suddenly and
triumphantly in 1839, and was buried in Tarvin Churchyard.

We are now ready for the question : Wliat, Connexionally, do we owe to James
Crawfoot ? Along with, and probably as the result of tlie remarkable and in every way
admirable quickened interest now being shown in the men and events of our early
history, there are some signs of the beginning amongst us of what we may call
a Crawfoot cult. But let us eschew extravagance, and praise with discrimination.
We have in another place called Crawfoot " a rustic mystic," and the title is deserved—

150 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

the rusticity as well as the mysticism must be remembered. Our founders were mystics
to begin with ; but Crawfoot modified their mysticism, both for the better and also for
the worse. For the better ; because he helped to make it more altruistic and vicarious ;
so that they became less wrapped up in their own frames and feelings, and more participant
in the spiritual experiences of others. He taught them much concerning the nature of
spiritual conflicts. "To explain and illustrate tliis matter was a main point with
J. Crawfoot. His discourse was that in the exercise of faith we made war against the
enemy of souls, and must expect him to make war in return ; and if that 'could not be
felt, it would be no wrestling." He taught them all that they expressed in the oft-
repeated phrases, " taking the burthen " of others, " exercising faith in 'silence " for
others ; and with this clue in hand a discerning reader may find in our Connexional
magazines for many successive years, plain proof how firm a hold these teachings had
upon the thoughts of its leading minds.

We are still on with the Journals, and in them there is preserved a letter written by
H. Bourne to Miss Ward, in which the writer shows himself the disciple of " the Old
Man of the Forest." One might say he gives us his philosophy of the conflict of
personal atmospheres. The whole letter, of which we give but a part, is remarkably
accordant with to-day's trend of thought.

"It may probably be that you may bring more glory to God, and more benefit
to mankind, in that line of life than in any other. It will bring you into many
people's company, and give you an opportunity of doing much for God. You must
look unto the power that worketh secretly — the doctrine you were teaching me
when you spoke of Lorenzo. You have the fountain in you ; and if you breathe
your soul, the power will move upon the people you are in company with. This is

all by faith Herein is the excellency of the work of faith, — it will

have its effect upon the people either in silence, or when you are doing your
worldly business. Thus you may work for God at all times, and in all places, and
nothing can hinder you ; and if there be an opening, you may also talk about
religion, and offer a present salvation without money or price. But there is one
point that you should be well acquainted with, and it is nearly, if not quite your
doctrine of two contending powers. As the power of God flows from you upon
others, to enlighten, convince, concert, heal, &c., so the powers of hell from others
wall strike upon you to hurt, wound, slay, &c. Therefore, when this is the case
be not alarmed, nor think you have lost ground, for this is only bearing the burden
of others ; and by faith you will conquer, and they will be very much benefited.
If you do not mind this, you will be harassed and tempted that you have lost
ground, and your faith will be weakened ; therefore, stand fast and conquer
for others.

When in company with covetous persons, I have been tempted to worldly-
mindedness, and in passionate company, to anger and passion ; but I never mind
it, / know it is their spirit ; and if I can conquer it the power of God will mightily
return upon them, and hell will be bound." — Stockton Heath, April 21st, 18T0.

Our next quotation may be regarded as a concrete example of the taking of another's
burden, only in this case the burden is that of a whole city rather than that of a single
person. The quotation affords equal proof of the influence of Crawfoot, in first
inducing and shaping, and then interpreting certain mystical forms of thought and

SOUKCES AND ORIGIN.

feeling. One biographer of Hugh Bourne proifers this passage as a "racy" bit — surely
a most unfortunate description. It may be grim, dantesque, quaint as though just
lifted from the Journals of George Fox — but " racy " ! It is as though one should say
of a band of cut-throats that they had behaved in a most "ridiculous" fashion. It
seems no lightsome matter standing with Hugh Bourne in that cathedral. The "dhn
rehgious light " looks funereal ; the Te Deum sounds like a dirge. We too are glad to

escape, feeling almost persuaded of the
doom hanging over the big steeple-
house and the city that knows noi the
day of its visitation.

"I was at Lichfield, to get a
licence for Mow Meeting, and I
went into the minster. After the
service began, it ran through my
mind, 'Get thee out of this place,
and beware of the woman that
has the golden cup in her hand,
and those that are with her ; their
ways are death : sin no more, lest
a worse thing come upon thee.'
This startled me, as I had before
taken delight in their singing of
the service. I saw much lightness
and sin among the parsons. It
seemed like gross idolatry in them to
spend their time in such a manner :
but then I thought 'The words of
the service are good.' It then struck
me, 'These people draweth nigh
unto me with their lips,' tfec-
I prayed to God that if the im-
pression to go out was from Him,
it might increase, if not, that it
might go away : it increased till
I was quite miserable. I then
thought to go out, and a voice came, 'Escape for thy life,' &c. They
were singing the Te Deum. I took my hat as soon as they had done the
Te Deuni^ and went out, and the burden was removed. It looked as if judgments
hung over that place. I stopped all afternoon m Lichfield, and such a travail of
soul came upon me as I never before experienced, — it was for the city ; I mourned
greatly ; it seemed as if the people had almost sinned out the day of their visitation.
I trembled for the place and people ; O my God, have mercy on them. I asked
James Crawfoot at the Forest about this. He said it was the sign of the times.
It was Jesus Christ travailing in me. I might go twenty times and not have the
same travail. I had found myself willing to die for them. He said something
would turn up, either the gospel would be introduced, or afflictions would come
upon them."

LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL.

152

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Market Hall.

OLD ].ichfij:ld.
St. Mary's Church. Town Hall. " Three Crowns,"

Dr. Johnson's Birth-place.

LICHFIELD EARLY IN 19tH CENTURY.

SOURCES AND OKIGIN. 153

We have intimated that James Crawfoot's influence on our fathers, though undoubtedly
great, was not exclusively for good. He deepened their knowledge of the things of the
spirit, but he was the means of their becoming acquainted with " vision-work," as
Hugh Bourne called it, and this was at the best a very doubtful advantage. To what
extent Crawfoot favoured and was responsible for those singular manifestations which
earned for the frequenters of the Forest Chapel the title of Magic Methodists we cannot
tell ; but there is no evidence that he disapproved of those manifestations. Rather
does the evidence seem to indicate that they were received as tokens of the divine
favour and accepted as helps to faith. It was on their first visit to the Forest in 1807
that Bourne and Clowes got also their first experience of these strange phenomena.
Both note what took place ; but, rather singular to say, it is Hugh Bourne who writes
most critically and distrustfully, and he is at the beginning much less prepossessed in
favour of the Old Man of the Forest and with Forest ways than is Clowes. Here the
matter might end were it not that the Journals clearly show that the time soon came
when "the visionary power" was not confined to the Forest, but was claimed to be
exercised by some of those who were in closest relations with Bourne, and later on with
Clowes. As a rule, they were the most pious and zealous females who had this
experience — such as Hannah Mountford. Frequently do we meet with the entry :
So and so " went into vision." The word "vision " seems fitter than the word trance
to designate the character of the experience professed, because however insensible
to outward things the person under seizure might seem to be, she spoke, on coming out
of her trance, of the revelations vouchsafed. The most common form the revelations
took, was to indicate the true order of precedence enjoyed by the heads of the Church.
The visionary seemed to see projected on the spiritual plane the transfigured forms of
these chiefs. In one hand they bore the trumpet and in the other the cup — the emblems
of their office. They were not seen standing in a horizontal line, but one above the
other, as though mounted on the rungs of an invisible ladder. Great significance was
attached to the position they relatively occupied as seen in the vision, because it served
to reveal their real status and condition in the sight of heaven and their value
to the little society of the faithful on earth. Did the vision show one with his trum[)et
lying on the ground and his cup held crooked 1 then such a one was in a parlous state.
Now, it is easy to see how such visionary power as this claimed to be could be abused
.to flatter, or to minister to envy or detraction. One or two additional remarks on this
strange episode in this preliminary period may be made.

AVhatever view may be taken of this vision-work — whether it be regarded as the
offspring of enthusiasm and delusion, or the result of imposture, or as consisting of
genuine psychical and spiritual experience, or as a mixture of some or all of these —
still we can learn from these diagrams, which profess to be so many bulletins from the
spiritual world, what was the current local estimate of those persons in whom we
are historically interested. Well, Lorenzo Dow is always the leading trumpeter ;
W. Lockwood, of whom we get occasional tidings and glimpses as a noted Wesleyan
preacher in these parts, and who will come before us again very shortly, stands high ;
so does J. Crawfoot. Clowes is always above Hugh Bourne, and James Bourne, humble
soul, is always pretty near the bottom. If this is not the order of precedence in which

154 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

heaven ranged these men, it certainly was the order in which they were ranged by those
who knew and worked with them on earth. JSTor does any one— not even Hugh Bourne — ■
seem disposed to quarrel with the current estimate ; it is accepted and recorded without
demur. Whatever one may think of the vision-work these are facts worth noting.

Hugh Bourne never professed to go into vision himself, though there is abundant
evidence to show that, for a time, he believed l^oth in the genuineness and usefulness
of the manifestations, and once he records his inclination to " seek after the visionary
power." There are signs, too, that as time went on, the movement deteriorated in
character. As the manifestations became more frequent they tended to become more
extravagant and puerile. They reached their height in 1810-11, and after July, 1811,
when the last bulletin was issued we hear no more of them. It only remains to express
tliankfulness that this mysticism run mad did not end in disaster We suspect it was
the downfall of Mrs. Dunnell that ended it ; for with her disappearance the visions
disappeared. The heavily-laden atmosphere was purged of its vapours ; the muddy
waters ran themselves clear. By the time the establishment of the Primitive Methodist
Connexion is completed, in 1812, we seem to hgive got into a less romantic region, but
into one more in keeping with the hard facts and requirements of the time. Hugh
Bourne's native sagacity fully asserts itself, and guided and assisted by the resolute and
level-headed Tunstall men the work of discipline and edification will get all needful
attention.

How is it that in closing Hugh Bourne's early Journals the words of the Ecclesiast
come unbidden to the mind and refuse to quit — " All things are full of labour ; man
cannot utter it " % Perhaps, for one reason, because " labour " is Hugh Bourne's chosen
word to denote what is done for God. He might "work" in the lields, but he "laboured"
in prayer and for souls. Nature might be stingy and reluctant to yield the due returns
of toil, but not so reluctant as the human heart. Our wonder rises as we try to think
of the labour performed by our fathers, even in these preparatory years. As for Bourne,
he was always on the move. Like Wesley he went to and fro in the earth, though, of
course, his movements were confined within much more restricted limits, and were
l)erformed almost exclusively on foot. The miles he walked ! In the Biblical sense
he was the father of them who walk to their appointments. In these days of rapid
and luxurious locomotion it is hard to grasp the truth as to the long weary trudges he
was constantly undertaking in all sorts of weather — trudges varied by occasional
mischances, such as losing the way, or being benighted on unfamiliar roads. No wonder
that, even before this period ends, there are ominous signs that his feet were cruelly
wronged and that retribution would come. And what Hugh Bourne did the rest of
the Camp Meeting fathers were at whiles wont to do, as the following example selected
from the experience of James Bourne will show : —

" Mr. James Bourne has risen early on Saturday morning and worked hard on
the farm at Bemersley till noon, and then set off to walk to Warrington and
sleep — which was thirty-five miles ; then rise early on Sunday and go to Rizley in
Lancashire, preach three times, besides holding other services, return into Cheshire
to sleep ; then start home early on Monday, and go to hoe potatoes in the heigli-
fields in the afternoon ; thus doing near two days' labour on the farm besides an
abundance of work for the Lord on the Sabbath, and about eighty miles' walking
in the space of three days and two nights."*
* Thomas Russell : "• The Two Brothers ; their Love for, and Help to, each other," 1868, pp. 6, 7.

SOUKCES A.ND ORIGIN.

155

WF ^^Si^

■i

''9m "

wi^^.

HB^^* */" ■'

jamp:s boukne.

Here is the record of another hard day's
work, in Avhich the brothers and their
horse were partners : —

''Sunday, July 10th, 1808.— Set off
(from Kingsley) early to Woottori,
about seven miles, to appoint a meeting
for half -past two. I had then about
ten miles to go to Tean, and a hilly
cross-country road. However, the Lord
gave me strength, and I forced my
way ; but was very foot-sore, and quite
a stranger to the road. I arrived
before James Bourne had read his
text ; and the power of the Lord
laid hold on part of the congregation.
J. Bourne had a horse ; so we rode by
turns, and forced our way to Wootton
in due time, and we had a pleasant
meeting. We then set off home (up-
wards of twenty miles) and arrived
late."

Hugh Bourne was a working-man during the greater part of the time covered by
these Journals. He could not live on his private means, and he would not live on the
bounty of others. So we hav« many entries which show — sometimes in an odd way —

ABBEY FARM, MILTON.

156

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

how he combined labouring for the meat which perisheth with the higher kind of
labour. Take the following as samples : —

" I worked at Milton (Abbey Farm, the home of his grandfather), getting the
roof of the barn up, and was kept in peace all the day." " Fasted, read, and worked."
"Haymaking and studying Greek." "Prayed in the barn while shading." "In
the afternoon I was setting up corn after three scythes, and by working quickly
I often got a little time to kneel behind a ' kiver,' which was well for me. I felt
nothing in me that desired anything but God."

His habits were simple, and he was most abstemious that he might the more fully
devote himself to his beloved work. Mr. Thomas Steele, the son of Mr. James Steele
of Timstall, who was in a position to know, confirms this : —

"I know he used frequently to walk forty or fifty miles a day, and that under
circumstances of self-denial, little practised, or even known by most. He used to
put into his pocket two or three hard-boiled eggs, and a little dry bread, in the
morning, and during his journey, he would sit down by a well of water and take
his humble fare, and then travel on in pursuit of his great object of winning
souls." *

THOMAS STEELE,
SON OF JAMES STEELE.

WIFE OF
THOMAS STEELE.
(From^a miniature.)

With the almost patriarchal scene thus called up by Mr. Thomas Steele, of Bourne
sitting by the well, ready, as soon as he has rested and eaten his frugal meal, to address
himself to the long journey which awaits him, we may fittingly end this Book, which
may T)e called our Connexional book Genesis.

* Letter quoted in Walford's " Life," vol. i. p. 210.

BOOK II.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE

AND ENTERPRISE.

INTEODUCTORY.

HE book we now begin will deal with the history of our Church from 1811
to the year 1843, when, following the superannuation of Bourne and
Clowes in 1842, the General Missionary Committee, with its Executive
located in London, was established. The period in question practically
covers the lifetime of one generation just as, singular to say, the next or Middle Period
of our history also does. During these thirty-two years the Connexion underwent great
changes, traversed two serious crises, encountered much opposition, and yet at the end
had a record of progress to show almost without a parallel. What was the ground it
covered in 1811 the first written plans show: in 1843 it had reached almost every county
of England, and some in Wales, had penetrated into Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man,
and the Channel Isles, and had even sent one or two of its missionaries to the United
States. The 200 members it began with in 1811 had by 1843 grown to 85,625.

But the real history of a period like this cannot be confined to a mere chronological
narrative setting forth the facts of geographical extension and numerical growth. Such
a narrative only gives materials for history which after all has mainly to do with the
interaction of causes, and especially with the play and interplay of mind. Let us,
therefore, briefly indicate some of the salient features of the internal and external
History of our Church (other than the progress made during this period), which will
challenge our attention as we proceed.

The chief outstanding feature of the period — that which gives it its distinctive
character, is the part played by leading circuits in the life and work of the Connexion.
In the century's evolution of our Church we have had in turn the flourishing and
energising of the Circuit, the District, the Church ; just as in the order of
Nature, we have " first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." At first
the Connexion was co-extensive with Tunstall Circuit. From 1816 to 1818 there were
two circuits, Tunstall and Derby (the latter being superseded by Nottingham Circuit
in 1817) ; and from 1818 to 1819 there were three — Tunstall, Nottingham, and
Loughborough. Hugh Bourne may be said to have been the chief unifying bond
between the circuits during this rudimentary period. He was appointed superin-
tendent of Tunstall Circuit in 1814, and when the other circuits were formed he kept
on discharging the duties of the office, holding the quarterly meetings and exercising
discipline and oversight in much the same way as does a Presiding Elder of the
Methodist Episcopal Church of the U.S.A. When Hugh Bourne's health failed at the
beginning of 1819 — as well it might, considering the physical and mental strain this
general superintendence involved — there followed {post hoc, though probably not ^rop^er

160 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

hoc) the establishment of Annual Meetings or Conferences constituted on the repre-
sentative principle. The first and not the least important of these, though called only
a Preparatory Meeting, was held at ]*^ottingham in 1819. Thus the memorable year of
Peterloo may conveniently be taken as marking the end of a sub-period of our history.
From this time onwards to 1843 there was little centralisation. The circuits had great
powers of initiative and control, and some of them by boldly and wisely exercising these
powers acquired great influence. Like the tribes of Israel they had the work assigned
them of subjugating the land, and by means of the Circuit Missions, which were so
distinctive a feature of the time, quite remarkable results were achieved — so remarkable
indeed as to start the questions whether we have not lost as well as gained by
centralisation, and whether we should not do well to revert in part to the method
which was crowned with such signal success in the heroic period of our history.

But the period before us was one of striking contrasts. If it may rightly be regarded
as the Heroic Period of our history since, with the slenderest means and appliances and
in 'the face of difficulties neither few nor small so much was accomplished, it may also
with equal truth be regarded as having been the period of the Connexion's Lowliness and
Humiliation. Our fathers must surely have divined what was before them when they
put on the first class-ticket of the Connexion the words : — " For as concerning this
sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against." The words were prophetic, and
might appropriately enough have served as our motto from 1811 to 1843. It was the
*' Ranter " period, for by that opprobrious word we were better known than by the
name that rightly belonged to us. We know nothing of all this. Even our fathers
scarcely came within the range of such experience ; for in the forties the denomination
was emerging from the valley, winning a recognised position and seeking to minister
to the enlarging needs of those whom it had rescued and elevated and gathered into
church fellowship. But their fathers had passed through the valley and tasted of its
humiliation. If, therefore, we would denominationally "see ourselves as others saw
us" then, it can only be done in the historical way. We must seek to catch the
reflection of the current estimate of us and our work found here and there in the
cyclopaedias, and other books and serials of the time. These scant references are all of
the same cast and tone. If they do not speak against they speak as from a higher
elevation downwards. All, whether friendly or otherwise — and quite as much when
they are friendly as when they are unfriendly — take for granted that our work lies
amongst "the ruder of the lower class j""^ "the neglected and the forgotten " f ; that
it is "to labour on the great waste of poverty, ignorance, and crime, whose moral
cultivation is to a considerable extent neglected by others. "J The fact that later on
such statements became traditional and continued to be parroted long after they had
ceased to be wholly correct or pertinent does not alter the fact that once they were
true to the letter. What all men said about our mission and work, though in different
tones and from opposite motives, must have been largely correct. The facts must have
been as stated, and could not well have been otherwise. That we had a dispensation of

* Dr. Evans' " Sketches of all Denominations."
t John Angell James.
X Dr. John Campbell.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 161

the Gospel to the veriest of the poor given unto us as a people was accordant with the
highest probabilities. It must have been so if we had a right to the name we bore.
If we were to make good our claim to have returned to the spirit and methods of early
Methodism it was to be expected that the resemblance would not stop here, but that
we should be found doing as she then did — ministering to the people who were
"perishing for lack of knowledge," exciting the same opprobrium and receiving the
same treatment. If we inherited her spirit it was meet we should enter into her
labours and be requited even as she had been requited.* Even if every line of print
referring to us and our work prior to 1843 had been blotted out, any one might have
known where to find us ; for where else should we be but at the very foundation-beds
of the national life, then so sadly out of course as to threaten ruin to the entire super-
structure ?

As might be expected from what has just been said, the period before us was
distinctively the Period of Persecution. Persecution and the period seem indeed exactly
to coincide, for the last two cases of the imprisonment of our ministers for preaching
the Gospel occurred in 1843. But, though the first period of our history seems sombre
enougli as we write of its humiliation, its poverty and persecution, we must remember
what has been said as to the striking contrasts this period affords. One such contrast
emerges here — the contrast of joy with tribulation. Our fathers were not, any more
than the early Methodists were, men of sad hearts and rueful countenances, and we
cannot bring ourselves to think of them as such. Their souls were "full of music," as
Clowes said his was. Sometimes they might sing to keep their spirits up, and so w^e
may now and again detect a plaintive note in their music. But nevertheless they made
the valley of humiliation resound with their songs, and any one overhearing them
might have made the same comment as did Mr. Greatheart when the shepherd-boy was
heard singing in the valley : —

" Here little, and hereafter bliss,
Is best from age to age."

" Do you hear them ? I will dare to say that these people have a merrier life, and
wear more of that herb called hearts-ease in their bosom, than they that are clad in silk
and velvet." In truth, the period was pre-eminently one of sacred song. Our fathers
sang at their work like Adam Bede ; they sang in prison like Paul and Silas ; and the
strains of their camp-meeting hymns floated in the air, and the echoes of those hymns
have entered into literature, and to-day we are as it were present with William Howitt
•' in the dusk of a summer evening, the moon hanging in the far western sky, the
dark leaves of the brook-side alders rustling in the twilight air, while the chorused
w^ords of ' All is w^ell ! ' — ' All is well ! ' come from the camp ground over the shadowy
waste with an unearthly effect." f Yes, " All was well ! "

* •' While the successors of the Wesley an preachers who formerly sought out colliers and miners
are now faithfully preaching the Gospel to their well-established societies, the Primitive Methodists,
a body already (1842) numbering perhaps 70,000 members, are principally performing the very
work, so far as it is performed at all, which Wesleyan Methodism once accomplished." — Dr. Durbin :
" Observations in Europe."

t " Rural Life in England."

162 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

We shall be ill-advised if we deny or resent or apologise for the statement once so
insistently made, that we were the Church for the neglected and the forgotten. The
estimate, though it looks like a reproach, is really only the obverse of a compliment.
We just turn the medal and lo ! we have something to be glad and thankful for. We
see a new meaning in the Apostle's words : " Let the brother of low degree glory in his
high estate." When men said that our special mission was to the poor, the ignorant,
the degraded, perhaps going the length of intimating that for every Primitive Methodist
won there was one drunkard, or profligate, or criminal the less,* they could only
conclude that our mission was to do this kind of work because they saw us doing it.
They had not, and did not pretend to have, any revelation from heaven as to what our
mission was. What was the characteristic and the glory of our early history can be
learned from others : they are our witnesses. We were down amongst the Luddites
and Levellers, the oppressed and almost despairing agricultural labourers, the miners
struggling for the rights of labour and the dues of citizenship. And so our history is
also partially written in the history of the time.f We helped the nation to tide over its
crises. For all who have written of the period before us have admitted that never was
the nation in a more critical condition. They marvel that revolution was averted, that
the proletariat, the unfranchised, the victims of industrial changes, heavy taxation and
oppressive laws were so patient, and somehow turned aside from unprincipled agitators
and chose the path of peaceful reform. They cannot understand it. It was contrary to
the precedents of history — to what was happening on the Continent. All the omens
were unfavourable, and yet a happy issue was found out of all these national troubles.
Puzzled to account for this they fall back for an explanation on an abstraction — " the
order-loving genius of the Teutonic race ; " but even while they are doing this they slip
in some such qualifying words as " inspired by Christian teaching," words which one
thinks make a considerable difference, and at once start the question : " Who were the
teachers, and how did they bring their teaching practically to bear on the people ? " If
a new ethical spirit and direction were given to the democracy of the time who
more likely to have infused that spirit and given the needful impact and guidance than
that community which tlien, whatever be the case now, everybody affirmed was in closest
touch with the neglected classes ^ If it were not so, then all that need be said is that
there must be a widespread recantation and wholesale eating of words.

* Horace Mann.

t Pairbairn's " Eeligion in History and in the Life of To-day," pp. 14, 15 might be advantageously
referred to in this connection.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

163

CHAPTER I.

CONSOLIDATION AND THE TUNSTALL NON-MISSION LAW.

John Wedgwood.

F we are under the illusion that Primitive Methodism entered at once upon
a career of swift and uninterrupted advance, going forth " conquering and
to conquer," the illusion will be quickly dispelled ; for, in sober truth, the
first few years immediately succeeding 1811 were not marked by any
considerable geographical extension or numerical progress. In a certain way statistics
show this, and a partial explanation of the fact will disclose itself as we proceed with
our narrative. Our Church, like every other, has not been exempt from seasons of
lassitude ; it has had its periods of pause and retardment. So we have yet for a little
while to do with the edification of improvement rather than with the edification
of enlargement ; to chronicle what the Connexion did towards consolidatino- and
equipping itself rather than follow it in a rapid course of conquest.

There is an unaccountable break in Hugh Bourne's Journals from February 13th,
1812, where he records the taking of the denominational name to February 7th, 1813 ;
nor do we get much help from Clowes' Journal because of its lack of chronological
arrangement and the absence of dates. In his History Hugh Bourne briefly sums
up the year thus : " The work kept enlarging [i.e., within the old area], and the

Connexion went on in a kind of regular way without
much variation throughout the year." Reading this, one
is tempted to exclaim, " What ! has the reign of routine
begun tlius early? Day after day does nothing happen
that is startling or worth recording ! " Not so. We
may be sure if they did no more than fulfil their planned
appointments the preachers would find labour enough,
and their days would not pass without incident. In
proof of this we turn to the Journals of our chief
founders where the name of a remarkable man — one of
the men of special type who seem to have been raised up
to do a special work — is first brought before us, and if it
be true that the early part of the year 1813 saw John
Wedgwood, a local preacher on trial, then something was
being done for the future of the Connexion not only in
the Midlands but in the Cheshire region as well.

As a prominent and lasting memorial of his usefulness
in this latter district there stands in Crewe— that town of phenomenally rapid growth—

M 2

JOHN WEDGWOOD.

164

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

a goodly building, bearing on its front the inscription, [, Wedgwood Primitive Methodist

Chapel', 1865.

Diligent inquiry has failed to reward
us with a clear outline of Wedgwood's
early life, as seems to have been the
case with all previous biographers. The
following facts about him, gleaned from
various sources, may, however, be relied
upon. He was a scion of the famous
family to which Clowes also belonged.
As a youth he followed the potting
business, becoming expert and able to
earn good wages as a "thrower." His
father lived "near Tunstall," and had
houses and land, which, by its richness
in minerals, made up for any lack of
amplitude or poverty of soil. Being
the eldest son, John inherited property
which to the end he krew and cared
little about managing either in his own
interests or, as a trustee, in the interests
of others. Still, being in easy worldly
circumstances, he was afterwards enabled
as a missionary to bear his own charges.
Little is known as -to the time and
circumstances of his conversion. We
gather that he occasionally attended the
ministrations of his uncle, who was
a clergyman in Burslem ; but, not being
a bigot, he went to hear other ministers,
and amongst them Mr. Miller, u-nder
whose ministry his heart was touched.
He seems to have occupied a place
midway between Hugh Bourne and
Clowes in relation to sinful pleasures,
having for them neither the utter
distaste of the one nor the relish and
addictedness of the other. It is inter-
esting to know from his own words that
an earlier edition of the same little book
which John Smith, the fervid evangelist
WEDGWOOD MEMORIAL cHArEL, CKEWE. of East Auglla, was SO foud of and

indebted to, had its influence in deepening his conviction, for he writes* :—

* Our engraving is from John Smith's own copy, now in the possession of the Etv. P. B. Paston,
and kindly lent.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PKEDOMINANCE AND ENTEKPPJSE.

165

SEVEN

SERMONS

I. Of the tJnpard<maV!e
Sin agaij»t the HOLY
GHOST: OTjItieSin oato
PeAtb.

: It The Samt% Duty
and Bxerciiie: In tw<»
Barts. Behtg an £s;hor«
tatkm to, and IKreict'ion
^PiaiyjBr.

ni.^he AcceptedTtipe,
' aii4 I>ay of Sa|.mioiu

" Oh ! if I had only been mindful of the humbling power I felt when reading
Russel's ' Seven Sermons ' and the epitaph in Burslem churchyard, I might very
soon have been brought to Christ, and have known the power and felt the blessings
of conversion."

The reading of Paine's " Age of

Reason" dropped another baneful in-
gredient into his cup of bitterness ; then
he fell under the influence of Hyper-
Calvinists and was tortured with doubts
as to whether he were among the elect.
But at last, in 1809, when he was
twenty-one years of age deliverance
came, and when it did come he let all
his little world know about it : —

lY. "yhe Ead <A Time,
and the Beghn^i^ ^t,
Eteraiiy.

V, Joshiia'»Ilaj|pIUtioii
tQ serte the X4>rd.

VI. The Way ^a H^av^if
made Plain.

Vir. The Fiit^rie Sfeitft
of Mai) I .or, a TVeatii^^
Qf the Resnirectloiv

.By ROBERT RUSSEL,

At Wadkwst, in Sussex*

" Oh what a wonderful change !
What words can express it ! 'My
dungeon flamed with light.' I was
just like one let out of prison ! My
heavy burden was gone ! My soul,
before bound with strong chains of
sin and unbelief, was now com-
pletely free ! Almost frantic with
joy, I leaped and shouted aloud,
' Come all ye that fear God, and
I will tell what He hath done for
my soul.' Some supposed that I was
beside myself ; but had I not given
praise to my Great Deliverer might
not the verj^ stones have found
a voice to upbraid me for such
ingratitude 1 " *
Evidence as to the particular Church
he united with — whether even he united
with any — there is none ; but certainly it is a conjecture one likes to think of as true that
the Wedgwood whose name appears with Clowes' in a footnote on the Burslem plans for
1809-10, as authorised to take appointments, may be our John Wedgwood f But we
have more reliable data at hand as to Wedgwood's early labours among the Primitive
Methodists ; for Mrs. Bembridge, writing as late as 1869, records her remembrance
of having, as Sarah Kirkland, heard him preach at Mercaston, her home, about the year
1812. She says: — "We understood that he had met with very much opposition
from his friends when seeking the Lord, but that he stood firm through it all. He
preached at several other villages round us, was well received, and much good was
done." Hugh Bourne also under date, March 12th, 1813, notes that he had called

* Quoted in " Memoir of the Life and Labours of Mr. John Wedgwood," by a Layman (Thos.
Bateman), 1870, p. 44.
t See ante p. 91.

A NEW EDITION, CORRECTSJD.

Prated 4)y and for Ti|»atAs Wn,»oji an4 So^ts,
18H.

166

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECH.

MERCASTON T"IRST PREACHING-PLACE.

at Norton and learned that Wedgwood had " preached with good acceptance." By the

summer of 1813 it is evident the Primitive fathers had learned the value of Wedgwood

as a camp-meeting labourer since Clowes, who is due at a camp meeting on the borders

of Staffordshire, naturally thinks it will be well to secure the company and help of this

new recruit to the cause. He therefore calls at the home of the Wedgwood's on

the Saturday, and finds John quite characteristically praying aloud in his room for the

unconverted members of his family, while

the head of that family is perhaps quite as

characteristically at the door of his son's

chamber bidding him be quiet. The rest had

better be told in Clowes' own words ; to

condense the narrative would but spoil it. It

is a vivid travel-picture relating to the highland

region in the neighbourhood of Leek, and

has this additional interest for us that it was

in a lonely farm-house on this same Morridge

that Joseph Wood, D.D., first General Sunday

MERCASTON CHAPEL.

School Secretary, a President of Conference, and Principal of Manchester College, first
saw the light. We will only add, as we see Wedgwood and Clowes setting out,
that it would have been well, considering where Clowes was going and who was his
companion, if he had taken the precaution of carrying his trusty lantern, his companion
on many a darksome journey.

" John and I soon started for the camp meeting ; we preached to all that we met
with on the road till the day began to wear away. I warned John that we ought

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

167

to hasten on our journey, as we had a large common to pass over. But it was to
no purpose ; John's zeal for souls overcame his prudence ; accordingly, as I had
feared and intimated, we found ourselves utterly lost upon the common in the
approaching darkness of the night. We knew nothing in what direction to

^iiPiP?*^'^

DR. wood's birthplace.

proceed, for we found we were up to the knees in the moss arid ling which grow on
the moor. We tried to grope our way with our sticks ; but after wandering for
some time we. came to the edge of a large sheet of water which is called the
Blackmere of Morridge. I perceived we were now in considerable danger. I there-
fore shouted with all my might, ' Lost ! lost ! lost ! '
Brother Wedgwood wished me to be silent ; for, he said,
if anybody heard us that were evil-disposed they would
have every opportunity to do us mischief. I thought
there was some wisdom in his advice, so I desisted crying
out ' Lost.' We went on in a straight line until we came
to a stone wall, and then we proceeded along until we
came to a gate, over which we climbed, and there Brother
Wedgwood lay down, intending to remain all night, as
he despaired of finding the way till the morning. But
I would not lie down, because the ground was very wet.
I therefore began again to cry, ' Lost ! lost ! lost ! ' and
in a short time, in the distance, we saw a light, and
shortly heard the trampling of feet and the barking of
a dog. I shouted again, but no answer was returned ;
so we began to conclude that enemies were advancing
upon us ; we therefore took to our heels and ran. We
soon reached a wall, over which I climbed, and fell down
a considerable way on the other side, and Wedgwood came
after me. I arose, and as we ran we heard the dog and some persons pursuing.
In a short time we came to another wall ; I tried to get to the top of it, but it gave
way and down came the wall and I together. However, we continued our flight
until a wall or fence of some sort obstructed us again. I got over it ; but on the

Clowes' lantern.

168

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

opposite side there was a deep
ditch ; I therefore endeavoured
to slide down to the bottom,
and was not hurt ; and
onwards we ran, totally
ignorant whither we were
going or what dangers were
awaiting us. At last, when
nearly exhausted, we, on a
sudden, found ourselves in

BLACKMEKE HOUSE.

this deliverance. We were told
by the people that we had
certainly escaped destruction by
miracle, for the precipices and
moss-pits were numerous, and
where we first saw the light
there was a house the inmates
of which bore a very bad

BLACKMERE HOUSE, WITH
MOOR BEHIND.

a farmyard. We hastened to
the farm-house, and having
conversed with the people we
found them to be relations to
my wife. Never did my heart
feel more thankful than for

CANNOCK LANE PREACHING-HOUSE, WHERE
SAMPSON TURNER WAS CONVERTED.

CANNOCK WOOD PREACHING-PLACE.

character ; and as we were
pursued there was no doubt
but that they would have either
robbed or murdered us had they
caught us " (Clowes' Journals^
pp. 112-114).

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 169

And this was how preachers went to their camp-meeting appointments in the Tunstall
Circuit in the period when " things went on in a regular way without much variation ! "

Later in the same year, July 17th, 1813, Hugh Bourne has jotted down that he set
off with John Wedgwood to Cannock Wood for the morrow's camp meeting. They
had a journey of thirty-one miles to do in a swelteringly hot day, and yet, though they
were much fatigued and tried in mind, fearing there would be few people at the camp
meeting, they threw themselves heartily into the prayer meeting of preparation held in
the evening and "came into faith." On the Sunday the services opened at eight
o'clock, being supported by William Clowes, Richard Weston, Samuel Simcock, and
William Hollins, as well as Hugh Bourne and John Wedgwood. At night Clowes
preached at John Linney's, and " had an uncommon time." On Monday the two
restepped the thirty-one miles, and Bourne stopped the night with Wedgwood and
" laboured much with the family ; " not, he trusts, altogether in vain. We have
referred to Cannock Wood the more in this connection because that place was the
home of the Turners, so often tenderly referred to in the Journals of our founders. By

SAMPSON TURNEK. MRS. SAMPSON TURNER (iN OLD AGE).

the time the camp meeting was held, father, mother, two daughters, and a son had
been converted. This son was Sampson Turner, who was to enter the ministry in 1819,
and commence a career of usefulness, which was doubled after his happy marriage with
Mary Edwards, herself a most acceptable preacheress. Sampson Turner became one of
the original members of the Deed-poll, and he and his saintly wife survived " still to
bring forth fruit," rich and mellow, in extreme age.

Rule-making.
Consolidation in its application to Rules is a compound idea with which in the course
of years we have grown familiar. But perhaps the most remarkable instance of rule-
making and rule-consolidation that has ever taken place in our annals was that which
occurred in 1813-14. The members of the new community did not want to be ruleless
or a "law unto themselves." They seemed to fear the "weight of too much liberty,"
and to long for a freedom regulated by law. Thus as had been the case with the
introduction of class-tickets and the payment of the ministry, the movement in the

170

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

direction of rules came from the people themselves. The desire and the demand for
the drawing up of rules and regulations for the whole body found expression at the
March Quarterly Meeting, 1813. Whereupon a committee consisting of James Steele,
E. McEvoy, and Hugh Bourne were instructed to draft a series of regulations and
submit them to the Midsummer Meeting. The committee, however, relinquished the
task as too heavy for it, and the Quarterly Meeting had to content itself with grumbling
that the work assigned had not been done, and to insist that it should at once be taken
in hand. When October came there was no further progress to report ; whereupon
urgency was declared, a draft of the rules was ordered to be prepared immediately and
read by the preachers to every society, and all objections and suggested improvements
to be brought in writing to the next Quarterly Meeting. Thus put upon his mettle,
Hugh Bourne seems to have called up his peculiar law-making ability. With

CLOUD CHAPEL,

characteristic earnestness he set to work upon the draft which unmistakably bears
the marks of his hand. Not content with this, he visited almost every member of the
united societies and made a note of their objections and [suggested amendments. The
result wfis laid before the Quarterly Meeting of January 3rd, 1814, and what remained
after the brethren assembled had worked their editorial will upon it, was ordered to be
printed forthwith and distributed. Of these Rules,;which were from the people, for the
people, and by the people, we feel that Hugh Bourne is perfectly justified in remarking
as he does in his History : —

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

171

" It is probable there never was an instance of rules being made in the way these
were. They were considered as the work of the whole Connexion ; there being
scarce a member but gave his opinion on them before they were completed. And
it is not very often that the making of rules is accompanied with so much prayer
and supplication to Almighty God."

Joint productions of this kind, from kings' speeches downwards, are proverbially
unsatisfactory. Many minds and many fingers often make a botch. But we are bound
to say of these rules so singularly prepared, that they are well drafted, quite remarkable
for their agreement with Scriptural principles, are pervaded by a liberal spirit, and lay
down a broad basis for a democratic Church — in fact, the basis laid down is broader
than we have been quite able to cover. This first draft of Rules remains in part
a something still to be achieved. We have not space to do more than give one
quotation, in which may be seen embedded a sentence from Wesley's sermon on " The
Trinity," which left its abiding influence on Bourne. In this single quotation, however

MR. T. BAYLEY.

MR. ABNER DALE, J. P.

The oldest Member and Ofl5cial of Cloud.

may be caught the spirit — humane, pitiful, brotherly — which breathes through the
whole of the Rules ; and surely it was well and of good omen that this spirit was thus
early recognised as the " right spirit " for Church members to have and cultivate. For
no other spirit would have availed to inspire and upbear those who had to summon to
their fellowship the neglected and outcast of both Church and State.

" It is therefore the business and duty of every member in every station (3) to
have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, without respect of
persons. Putting away all bigotry and narrow-mindedness; not lightly esteeming
others on account of difference in opinion; for 'it is certain that opinion is not
religion, not even right opinion.' And God is no respecter of persons ; but in

172

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

every nation, he that feareth Him and worketh righteousness, is accepted with
Him; and the Highest is kind unto the unthankful, and to the evil. Therefore
walk in wisdom toward them that are without, and honour all men, highly-
esteeming pious people of all denominations ; and endeavour to make this society
a blessing unto all people. ' For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which
is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister and mother.'"

Consolidation : Bricks and Mortar.

The process of consolidation going on at this time quite naturally and of necessity
took a material form, and we have to notice the erection of several chapels ranking

among the first built in the
Connexion. For that reason
they deserve brief mention.
Tunstall and Talke chapels
have already been referred to,
as erected in 1811 and 1813
respectively ; one at Cloud in
the same vicinage was soon
to follow. There is indeed
a tradition that Cloud can
dispute with Tunstall the claim
to priority of erection ; but the
claim must be disallowed, as
the deed which bears the date
May 12th, 1815, specifies that
on the land given by William
Clowes (no relative of the
Founder) the parties " are
building and erecting, etc."
More reliable tradition has
handed down the facts that
Thomas Bayley begged the
money for the chapel in three
days, and that the chapel itself
was built in three weeks.
Cloud shares with Turnditch
the distinction of being the
oldest chapel now in use.
The last deed of Cloud dating
from 1826 has a peculiar
clause : —

"It vests the estate
in Richard Mitchell, James
Shufflebottom, Thomas

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THE PERIOD OF CIKCUIT PREDOMINANCK AND ENTERPRISE.

173

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174 • PillMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

James Bourne " and all such men as do now or shall at any time hereafter

reside at Cloud aforesaid or within one mile thereof, who shall be members of
the Primitive Methodist Connexion, members on trial always excepted."

We now turn once more to the Churnet Valley. At the lowest part of the valley
between the Churnet and far-famed Dove lies Rocester with its dim memories of
Roman occupation and its modern " production of cotton-yarns." When Hugh Bourne
first visited Rocester on March 13th, 1811, in company with Mrs. Dunnell, he
pronounced it " a wicked place ; we had," says he, " no acquaintance ; but the Lord
opened the way." After its formation the feeble society was harassed by sectarian
meddlesomeness. Another denomination had formerly held services in the place, but
had discontinued them. A person from Doveridge belonging to this denomination cast
a jealous eye on the movements of the new society. He got the ear of the cotton
magnate of the place who was over-persuaded to prohibit the holding of services in any
house belonging to him, and to threaten with dismissal any of his workpeople who
should persist in attending the services. The society reduced to straits resorted to
prayer, and in a short time the interdict was removed. But the meddlesome man from
Doveridge drew away a part of the society and got possession of the preaching-room.
Huo-h Bourne himself tells the story,* and it may parenthetically be observed here that
stories of sectarian jealousy and intermeddling of this kind occur with painful
frequency in the early annals of our Church. Opposition from professors as well as
profane had too often to be reckoned with. But some of the Rocester society remained
firm, and amongst them Hannah Woodward, one of the magnate's employees who
before had braved dismissal. Through her instrumentality the daughter of Thomas Mace
with whom she lodged was converted, and soon the whole of the family. The cause
continued to prosper; so much so, that on July 16th, 1813, the deed of a new chapel
was executed. As this deed is unique, being probably the earliest which vests
a chapel in duly appointed trustees, it is reproduced here. On it will be found the
signatures of several persons now familiar to us.

The Derbyshire Outposts.
At this time, 1813-14, a group of Derbyshire hamlets and villages is Primitive
Methodistically the focal point of interest. This district is that which Mrs. Dunnell
helped to mission and to wheedle — for that is not too strong a word for the influence
which that clever but misguided woman exerted upon these honest and hearty
Derbyshire folk. The societies of the Derbyshire Mission were alienated from the
Camp Meeting Methodists for a time, and are not therefore represented on the 1811
plans. But the alienation was but temporary, and on the first printed plan of 1812 we
find Hollington, Boylestone, and Rodsley. It is now tliis region rather than the
Churnet Valley that forms on this side the marches of the denomination. Here are
planted its outposts, and if advance is made it will be in this direction. As we note
the frequent presence of the leaders ; Hugh Bourne organising from Hulland his Tract

* In a note attached to the Memoir of Hannah Woodward in the Magazine for 1836, Hannah
Mountford afterwards removed to the neighbourhood of Hanging Bridge, and became leader of two
classes.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

175

Society Mission, and starting and equipping Sunday Schools here and there amongst
the villages ; as we see enthusiasm rising, catch the hum of preparation, and feel that
the religious atmospheie is full of expectation, we may safely prognosticate that while
a good deal is already going on much more will shortly happen.

Boylestone has been mentioned. Now Boylestone is only a scattered village of some
two hundred souls, and yet the new evangel found here congenial soil and gripped it.
For proof, see that plain, brick chapel with its three windows, the adherents of the new
cause built for themselves as early as 1811 ! No denominational name was inscribed
on its front, for the good reason that as yet there was no denominational name to
inscribe. So "1811" was all the name-plate told, until the primeval chapel was in
1846 superseded by a better one.

To Boylestone also belongs the distinction of having with Hugh Bourne's help begun,
on February 27th, 1814, what was probably the first Sunday School in Primitive

MUGGINTON CHURCHYARD.

Methodism; and when in 1844 the parish clergyman refused to have at the National
School those children who attended the Primitive Methodist Sunday School, these
Boylestone men said: "Very good: then we'll start a day school of our own" —
which they did. To make it a free school N. Tunstall and Messrs. Morley became
responsible for £15 per annum, and Miss Elizabeth Smith of Derby was found willing
to do the work for that sum, supplemented as it was by the gifts in kind of
the appreciative parents. Such an example of public spirit and adherence to principle
it is a pleasure to record.

Rodsley and Hollington are but two small townships in the parish of Longford, yet

176

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

they stand side by side on the plans of this time, and are of some account in our early
annals. It was in a stream near Rodsley — perhaps Shirley Brook — Clowes found the
body of the old man whom, when visiting a few days before, he had urged to go to
the preaching service and warned that before " the next time " came of which the old
man spoke he might be in eternity. The drowning of " old Ned Carter " of Rodsley
in returning from Leek Wake is said to have suggested the drowning scene in " Adam
Bede."

In the neighbourhood of these two places lived and died Hannah Yeomans, one who
deservedly holds a place in the gallery of " The Lowly Heroes and Heroines of Primitive
Methodism." She lived in a one-storied cottage of two rooms, with a lean-to pantry ;
she was a plain, unsophisticated countrywoman, with ruddy face and grey hair ; her
garb was of rustic fashion and texture, and she spoke the dialect of the countryside.
Yet she kept high company, as her prayers so reverently familiar showed ] and her life,
lowly placed though it was, exhaled a fragrance sweet and penetrating as the violet's. It
was through her influence that the vicar of the parish and his lady were brought to the
discovery that there was something in religion Hannah Yeomans had and they had not.
Hannah became Priscilla to this Apollos, whose gifts qualified him for the honourable
position of Chaplain to the House of Commons. But the vicar always remembered
Hannah Yeomans, and counted it a privilege to pay regular visits to the cottage, and
there ." prayer was wont to be made." Hannah rests, we are told, in an obscure grave —
a grave marked by no headstone. More is the pity it should be so. We want some
" Old Mortalities " among us ; not to pick the encroaching obliterating moss from the
enchiselled lettering, but rather to see to it that our lowly saints shall not lack their
stone of remembrance.

Mercaston and Weston-TJnderwood have Mugginton for their parish church ; and in
its ancient graveyard, with its yew-tree, there lies some " bonnie dust." Sarah Bembridge

and William Bembridge, her husband ; William and
Mary Ride ; George Warren, the subject of Rev. J.
Barfoot's " Piety behind the Plough ; " John and
Robert Beeston ; Edmund Fearns — what is mortal of
these lies in Mugginton Churchyard. Of the first-
named, a few words must be said. To the Connexion's
first female preacher — calm, modest, capable, tender;
pioneer missionary to Derby and Nottingham, and
with her husband as true yoke-fellow, one of the
foundation-builders of the powerful Hull Circuit — to
such a woman something more is due than the mere
mention of her name.

Sarah Kirkland was born at Mercaston in 1794.
For some years the Wesleyans held preaching services
in her father, Rowland Kirkland's house. One of
these services she had cause long to remember, for
the preacher, William Bramwell, noticing the presence
JOHN BAiiFooT. of childrcu, made special mention of them in his

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

177

prayers. She was impressed, even to tears, by the prayer of the man of God. But
the impression gradually faded ; for the services were withdrawn, to the grievous
moral detriment of the place. So marked was the deterioration, and so far did it go,

that Mercaston came to be known as " Hell
Green." In 1811, Hugh Bourne visited
Mercaston, and while at Rowland Kirkland's
house, as was his way, he spoke to the girl of
the home as though she too had a soul that
was worth saving. Then at the tea-table
he prayed for each and all. The faded
impressions were revived ; the habit of prayer
resumed ; worldly amusements forgone ; her
maiden finery laid aside ; and before long
she found peace in her own bed-chamber.
She received her first class-ticket at the hands
of William Clowes, and was led by him into
the blessing of full salvation ; was proposed
for the plan in September, 1813 ; took her
first appointment at Sutton-on-the-Hill, and
had as the fruit of her maiden effort a gipsy-
convert belonging to a band just then encamped
in the locality. Often after this, when
Sarah was missioning in the neighbourhood
where the roving band happened to be, it is
said the gipsy-youth would do the work of
a herald for the girl-preacher. Swift-footed,
he would traverse the country-side : "A young
have heard her." — Here he would shortly tell
what the Lord had done for him through her. — " Come and hear her for yourselves."
Prior to this date, however, the Kirkland home had been turned into a house of
mourning, as the following item from Hugh Bourne's Journals shows : —

'"'' July lli-th^ 1813. — At Mercaston. Since I was there last, Rowland Kirkland has

died, and his two sons, of the small-pox They were all three buried in

about a fortnight. Sarah Kirkland thought that the youngest had obtained mercy.
The other was brought into liberty by Mary Hawksley and died happy. The old
man has been a steady pilgrim a long time ; he died proclaiming ' Victory ' to the
last. His death has made a stop in building the Chapel at Mercaston. [There had
been a movement for a Chapel, and Rowland had agreed to provide the site.] How
it will be now is not yet known."

The Mary Hawksley of the foregoing extract was the wife of a soldier away in Spain
at the wars. She had been brought into straits through having to quit her mother's
home for no other reason than that the kind of religion she had adopted they could not
away with. Hugh Bourne once more combined charity with zeal for the furtherance of
the gospel. Recognising Mary's piety and her undeveloped gifts for usefulness, he

SARAH KIRKLAND.

woman is going to preach at

178

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

made her (May, 1813,) a salaried evangelist, working chiefly at first in connection with
the Hulland Tract Mission. Doubtless she is the other preacher referred to by Bourne
in his History.

"Two of the preachers raised up by these means [the visiting and praying
companies] were women. And one of them, a middle-aged woman, laboured
considerably as a travelling preacher. The other a young woman, Sarah Kirkland,
. . . laboured at large as a diligent, laborious travelling preacher for a number
of years with great credit and success. These were the first women-preachers who
laboured regularly in this Connexion."

So let place be yielded to Mary Hawksley as second female-preacher. Soon we shall
have to follow closely the purposeful fruitful movements of Sarah Kirkland.

WESTON-UNDERWOOD, FIRST PREACHING-PLACE.

Weston-Underwood was the home of John Ride, destined to become a laborious
missionary in other parts. John was convinced of sin under Eleazar Hathorn, when
he missioned Weston, and he at once joined the class as one who had " a desire to flee
from the wrath to come and be saved from his sins." One Sunday morning, when
returning through the fields from his class, he found what he had been seeking, and in
the exuberance of his joy he shouted " Glory ! glory ! ! " and flung his hat into the air.
When Sarah Kirkland received her first ticket he too received his. His father became
the leader at Mercaston, and William Ride, jun., the leader at Weston-Underwood.
Hugh Bourne was always on the look-out for fresh promising labourers. So after a full

MR. W. HICKINGBOTHAM.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 179

day's work at Weston-Underwood, Turnditch, and HuUand, on May 18th, 1813, he
puts down : —

" I was much drawn out to pray to the Lord to raise up labourers ; and I trust

He will do it here as in other parts. I think John Wilson, William Warren, and

the two Rides (father and son) ought to labour, even as preachers ; if this be right,

they would form a strong ministry, and there are others who I believe might be

made useful in a public way. John Ride, for one, I think will be a preacher."

William Warren, who is mentioned in the preceding extract, and William

Hickingbotham deserve a permanent place in the history of Derbyshire Primitive

Methodism. Both of them were men of that special type, who, as

we have remarked, were raised up to do the work of evangelists in

this first period. They were men after the type of Wedgwood,

T X ^^\ Benton, and John Oxtoby; but while equally eccentric with these,

they were probably gifted with a greater degree of rugged eloquence.

They were in their element in the street service and on the camp

ground. They knew how to address and handle the crowd ; and

their ready, homely wit, their quaint and sharp sayings, not only

got attention, but were kept in mind, and passed round and handed

down. William Warren was employed extensively to conduct

revival services, and to act as supply for sick preachers as well as

in the ordinary work of a local preacher. It should be added he

was the father of George Warren the exemplar of " Piety Behind the Plough."

The Rev. John Barfoot wrote a sketch of William Hickingbotham under the
appropriate title of "A Diamond in the Rough." There were a good many rough
diamonds in our first period, and it is well there were, for no other kind would have
been of much value. There was a time when William Hickingbotham hated the
Ranters, and loved the brutal sports and ways the Ranters hated. The football match
of those days was a variety of murder, and Hickingbotham referring to his former
addictedness to that bone-breaking amusement was wont to describe it as " Running
after wind blown up in a blether (bladder) tied up in leather." The man who could
throw oif such sentences as these, though couched in the vernacular, was no stolid,
slow-witted, inarticulate rustic. There was in him a spark of Promethean fire, as there
was in Warren and many more of that type, and it would flash out. In short there
was a touch of what we call genius in these men which made their words tell with the
people. Just when Hickingbotham was converted we cannot learn, but it was early in this
period and during his long life of eighty-five years he preached and visited and
reproved at Belper, Wirksworth, Ripley, and the adjacent villages. How he laboured
let the following show. It is the Rev. W. Cutts who speaks : ^

"At a missionary meeting I asked William to state to us what he did the day
before — that is, on Sunday. He rather hesitated, but at length proceeded to say :
' Well, in the first place I came to the chapel at six o'clock, and when I had opened
the door I knelt down and thanked God for the honour of lighting a jire in His
house.' And mark, old William is eighty-two years of age. ' Then, when I had lit

* J. Barfoot's "Diamond in the Rough," pp. 85-6.

N 2

180

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

the fire, I knelt down to pray, and so 1 got two fires lighted at once. After I had
waited twenty minutes I rapped at your shutters to remind you it was time to get
ready to meet the class. At seven I went into old William's to lead the class, and
he came out to the chapel to lead the prayer meeting, and mark, he always holds
the prayer meetings and class meetings one hour. He will call upon the members
twice or thrice each rather than give over within the hour ; ' for,' he says, ' I never
give my master short time, and I will not serve my heavenly Master worse than
my earthly master.' ' Then,' he said, ' I came home and had breakfast, and started
to take my appointment at Turnditch. I went in the morning, for I had some sick
people to visit. Then I had dinner, preached at two o'clock, then had tea, visited
some more of the people, preached again, had a prayer meeting (for he always had

BELPER MARKET-PLACE.
John Benton preached just outside butcher's shop in the centre.

a prayer meeting), had a bit of supper, started home, and when I got to the top of
Shottle, a village two miles from Belper, I jumped and felt young again.' "

John Harrison finished his short but useful course at Mercaston, July 22nd, 1819,
aged 26. Though far gone in consumption, he had on the very day he died attended
a camp meeting at Brailsford. John had received a respectable education and possessed
good parts and considerable natural refinement as the Journals he has left show. When
in 1811 the new community made its entry into these parts, the servants of the
Harrisons, like the rest of the folk thereabout, were talking about the doings and
sayings of the new-comers, and John made up his mind to hear them for himself. An
occasion for doing so soon presented itself ; the preacher, who was John Benton, took

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

181

his stand under a large tree in Hnlland village, and shot forth his arrows. John
Harrison was " pricked to the heart," but his conversion did not take place until some
time after when he listened to William Warren. The youth was wishful to unite
himself at once to the Hulland Society; but because of his youthful appearance, or
from some other unreasonable reason, some of the members were hesitant about
receiving him. But John Wilson the worthy leader was wiser than his flock, as it
was fitting he should be ; he brushed the flimsy objection aside, and John was admitted
to fellowship. Soon his profiting appeared to all, and his call to the ministry came in
1816. He was an acceptable and edifying preacher, and though no son of thunder, like
some of his brethren, there was a quiet intensity about his utterances just as efl'ectivc

HULLAND CHAPEL AND GREEN— THE FIRST OPEN-AIR PREACHING-PLACE,

in its way as their stormier ministrations. Nor did the smallness of his " make," his
youthful appearance, and the general impression he gave of delicacy of constitution,
militate against his acceptability ; rather did they serve to conciliate his hearers and
prepossess them in his favour.

Enough, we think, has now been said to carry the reader along with us to the
conclusion that in 1813-14 these Derbyshire villages were full of vitality and rich
in promise. So thought both our founders.

"We" — who are the "we," Mr. Clowes? — "We opened Mercaston, Hulland,
Turnditch, and Weston-Underwood. At each of these places much good was done
from time to time as we visited them ; indeed, they became much noted in what

182

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

was then called the Connexion" (Journal, 116). "During the spring months of
this year, 1813, the work flourished at Mercaston, Hulland, Turnditch, and Weston-
Underwood ; and a number of zealous, useful, praying labourers were raised up."
(Bourne's History, 1 823).

As to the " we " of Clowes' statement : it must not be overlooked that John Benton
and Eleazar Ha thorn had been and were still in these parts. It was not merely the
Hulland Tract Mission or the powerful ministrations of Clowes when paying his
periodic visits, or both these, that fully serve to explain why there was just now
so much life and movement at this extremity of the Connexion. Have we not seen
Hathorn missioning Weston, and Benton, Hulland ; the former bringing down John
Ride as his quarry and the latter John Harrison?

EEV. T. JACKSON (1).

EEV. T. JACKSON (2).

REV. T. JACKSON (3).

The Advance on Belper.
The fit time had now come for an advance, and the event showed the advance was to
be made on Belper. Mr. Ride, of that town, Herod tells us, being at a lovefeast led by
Benton at Weston-Underwood, invited Benton to mission Belper, promising if this were
done to lend his house for a prayer meeting after the holding of the service in the open
air. On this basis an agreement was arrived at, the day and hour probably being fixed,
and a general plan of operations sketched, which was to include the co-operation of the
village societies. But before the decisive day came Benton, it would seem, quietly
reconnoitred the ground ; for one day, as three youths were sauntering along to Belpe;r
Market Place, loudly talking and indulging in " foolish jesting," a plain man overtook
them, halted, fixed them with his eye, and solemnly addressed them —

" Stop, poor sinners, stop and think
Before you further go ;
Can you sport upon the brink
Of everlasting woe ? "

This w'as Benton. When at close quarters with men he often used this same verse,
just changing the pivotal word of the question so as to make it fit the occasion and the

THE PERIOD OF CmCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 183

particular doings of the person accosted ; and he often used it with such extraordinary
effect as to make one wonder that such large results should follow the use of such
apparently inadequate means. Goliath falls flat, and all we can see to account for his
fall is the slinging of a pebble from the brook. So in this case. The two young men
thus abruptly addressed were indeed "stopped" and turned about, and a new direction
given to their lives by this verse slung at them in Belper streets. Both when "converted"
were to " stablish their brethren," becoming early preachers, and, strange to say, destined
to labour together in these parts. One, who tells the story, was Thomas Jackson (1).
The figure is wanted to distinguish him from Thomas Jackson (2), who entered the
ministry in 1836, and after forty-five years of faithful labour in the Brinkworth District
(lied in London in 1879. His name and worth are handed on by Dr. Jackson, Steward

TUENDITCH CHAPEL.
Built 1816, and still standing.

of the Caledonian Road Circuit. Thomas Jackson (3), of the Working Lads' Institute,
we all know and honour, and he, too, is a Belper boy, with memories going back to
William Hickingbotham. The other youth smitten by Benton's versicular pebble was
WiUiam Allcock (2) ; for if we have had three Thomas Jacksons we have also had two
William Allcocks, who were for a time contemporaries. "^ When Belper, after being
a branch of Tunstall, became at midsummer, 1821, an independent station, Thomas
Jackson (I) was the superintendent, and William Allcock (2) was "called out." He
began his labours, May 27th, in the Peak District by preaching at Winster, Bonsall,
and Bolehill to large congregations in the open air. On June 1st he preached at
Matlock to about a thousand people. Next day he is again at Matlock, when the
constable, who had ordered him down the day before, again appears on the scene just
as he was finishing his sermon, and made such a din by beating his staff on a watering-

* It should be observed that in early documents No. I's name is generally spelled Alcock.

184

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

can, that preacher and people were well-nigh deafened. So they sang a hymn, and the
people pushed the constable away. From June 10th to 23rd Allcock was on the
Ashbourne side. The treatment he and his colleague Wildbur met with while pushing
forward mission work in these parts makes more significant the second resolution

) passed at the First Primitive Methodist Missionary Meetings held at Turnditch and
Belper on July 8th, 1821: — "That it is necessary that our Missionaries carry the
Gospel into the dark and benighted villages in the Peak of Derbyshire." And the
gospel was carried ; for looking forward into the years to come we can see this country
' carved out into circuits — Winster, Belper, Burton-on-Trent, Ripley, Ashbourne, and
Matlock. The reference to this future parcelling out of territory is not the irrelevancy
it perhaps looks ; for though we have not yet got Belper missioned, its first two circuit-
preachers are selected and laid hold of, and the rest will follow.

KING STREET, BELPER. [Ll L.^

Two or three days after the above incident, what we may call the reconnaissance in
force took place. Attended by contingents from Mercaston, Turnditch, and Weston-
Underwood, Benton proceeded to Belper. The bridge over the Derwent was crossed,
and then the band, singing as it went, moved on to the market-place, where in front of
a butcher's shop Benton took his stand and began a service. But the missioners were
not to have it all their own way. Opposition was to show itself at once ingenious and
nasty. Benton was to be surprised from the rear. A ladder was planted at the back
of the premises, and it was proposed to cros? the roof and pour down confusion upon

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

185

the head of unsuspecting Benton beneath. One mounted the ladder carrying a bucket ;
what that bucket held we will not soil our page by telling. But God. would not suffer
his servant, though he had "little grammar and not much command of language," to be
so shamefully mishandled ; for between the eaves and the ladder there occurred a slight
retributive mishap, and there never was witnessed, either before or since, a more
striking example of poetic justice or confirmation of the scripture — " His mischief shall
return upon his own head, and his violent dealings shall come down upon his own
pate."

.The "Ranters."
"The Primitive Methodists were called 'Ranters' first in Belper." Belper was our

LONG ROW, BELPER.
(Showing the House, the second on the left, where the name ' Ranters ' was first given.)

Antioch ; the place where others named us, not the place where we named ourselves.
There are variants of the story of the giving of this name, slightly differing in details,
but agreeing in substance. Other visits of the mission-bands to Belper followed the
one described, and they wrought their effects not only in bringing about conversions
but in stirring up a good deal of excitement. One evening, after a somewhat protracted
meeting, the band passed down the Long Row, singing on its way homeward. " What
religion are these people ? " asked a young woman of Richard Turner, who was standing
at his door looking out on the processioners. "I think they must be the Ranters

186

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

I have read about somewhere," was the answer. Next day th6 factory-girl gave out :
"Those people are called 'Ranters.' Richard Turner says so"; and so, in this foolish
w^ay, the name was given and " caught on." It will be observed that the name was
no more original than was the word "Methodist," when given to the Wesley s and
their Oxford friends. Turner drew on some hazy reminiscences of his reading rather
than on any name-giving faculty that belonged to him. Yet we are told he was rather
proud of his achievement in nomenclature, and that he lived long enough to share
the honour or obloquy of becoming one of the community he had denominated.

The name is an ugly one both in its raucous sound and in what it suggests. We can
aiford to smile at it now ; but right on through the first period of our denominational

BRIDGE OVER THE DERWENT AT BELPER.

history and far on into the second, it was quite another matter. If it be asked :
"Why dwell on all that?" The answer is simple, and we think conclusive. We are
not writing of Primitive Methodism as it is now, when it walks, as it were, in silver
slippers and is on visiting terms with the best denominations, but of Primitive
Methodism as it was regarded in the far past years. As a matter of history we are
met by the facts that the name w^e gave ourselves was disliked by others ; and that the
name others gave us was quite as distasteful to us as ours could be to them. It was
the name which stuck to us like a burr, as we went through the valley-period of our
humiliation. There might be many of our fathers who gloried in the name, and there
might be others who, while they did not wear it as a distinction were yet supremely
indifferent what name was given them. But there were some, who had a degree of
natural refinement and to whom even the suspicion of complieity with what was loud
and vulgar was repellant, who bore the daily cross of passing as " Ranters." For this

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 187

name was as a dirty pellet always handy, for the bigot and the "superior person" to
fling, in the hope that it might stick as a stigma and make the stigmatised wince.
It is but the sober truth to say that, in this early period, there were those who
habitually and on principle, ostentatiously and at every convenient opportunity, in
season and out of season, passed by our rightful appellation in favour of the vulgar
sobriquet. They would use no other if they could help it. This, we repeat, is part
of the history of the time, and as such must be written; and Daniel Isaac's — "The
Ranters have bawled themselves out of breath," is the short summation of this
unpleasant side of the history of the name. But there is another side to that history,
and a compensatory one.

Xext to the strangeness of the fact that the name was so far acquiesced in that
almost a semi-official sanction was given to it by its appearing as an alternative title
on the cover of the Magazine for 1819, and as far on as 1827 on the labels of missionary
boxes in Hull, is the seeming strangeness of the assertion that the name positively
helped on the evangelistic labours of the Connexion — was indeed a factor in its success.
Hugh Bourne distinctly affirms it was so, and others, like George Herod, who were in
a position to know, confirm Bourne's statement ; and indeed when examined in the light
of probability and facts, there is good reason to conclude that the statement is correct.
The word "Ranter" really carried with it no suggestion of religious profession or
propagandism. It was vague enough for rumour to work upon and to give room for
endless surmise. It might mean anything from street-singers to political agitators. It
piqued curiosity ; afforded a new topic. When it was noised that the people called
"Ranters" had come, or w^ere coming, into a town or village, many had very hazy
notions as to who these strange people were or w^hat was their object ; some even
suspected that their designs were political, that they were but Radical Reformers
under a feigned name, and under that impression sought them out.

" The Tunstall Non-Mission Law."

The fuller significance of the missioning of Belper to this history needs to be pointed
out. That significance is not exhausted by the fact that there we got a name we did
not like. Belper was our Antioch in other and more important senses than this. Its
missioning, like the partial evangelising of Antioch by them who were " scattered
abroad," marked an advance ; yet an advance effected irregularly and unofficially, in
disregard rather than in pursuance of, the policy most in favour at headquarters. So
close does the parallel hold, that what Bourne says of Benton and his mission-bands
would equally apply to the scattered evangelists who carried the gospel to the city on
the Orontes —

" But at length a period was put to it (the suspension of missionary labours) by
a few enterprising individuals, who again entered upon missionary labours, and the
Lord set before them an open door, which has already been a blessing to thousands.
It was also attended with a present blessing ; it suffused life, vigour, and zeal into
the societies." — {History, 1835, p. 52).

188 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Moreover, neither the " pillars " of Jerusalem nor of humbler Tunstall were foolish
enough to disavow the unauthorised action of their agents, or decline to take over the
new slice of territory unexpectedly offered them. They had to shift their boundary-
stakes, though they would rather have kept them where they were. The deputy,
Barnabas, when he came to Antioch and " saw the grace of God, was glad : " so no doubt
Bourne, as superintendent, was secretly glad that Benton had disregarded the "Tunstall
]N"on-Mission Law," and that it fell to his lot to take over Belper and incorporate it with
Tunstall Circuit, though some of his brethren did hold that the circuit was already
bigger than they could well look after. This taking over took place —

''September 9th, i^i^,— Belper. Ezekiel xlvii. 15. A good time, but I know not
what to judge of this place. O Lord, direct Thy people. I then took up Belper
and put things in order, and the work soon began to move in other places ; and the
people in Derbyshire disregarded the Tunstall law against missionarying (sic).
And, being superintendent, I had additional labour in taking up new places, but it
was glorious labour."

The parallel might be followed still further ; for after Belper was missioned there
was a pause while, as at Antioch, the work of edification went on until the call came
for a farther advance. In our case the advance was to be to the populous towns and
cities lying just beyond these pleasant valleys and uplands ; where the conditions of the
new industrial world made life harder than here, and the task of evangelisation more
difficult ; where just then the haggard operative was liable to fall a prey to lying
spirits, and in danger of being goaded by misery to acts of desperation.

But what was this " Tunstall Non-Mission Law " we have spoken of 1 Not, perhaps,
a specific law passed at some one quarterly meeting and confirmed at subsequent ones,
so much as it was a prevailing sentiment and steady policy. It was Bourne and Benton
who gave this policy the name of " the non-mission law." To Bourne the phrase meant
that the breaking up of fresh ground was discouraged ; that missionary operations were
suspended for a term of years, and that this policy resulting in, or associated with,
a departure from the true method of holding camp meetings brought about consequences
nothing less than disastrous. It is not likely that this name was given by those who
favoured the policy in question. If they gave it a name at all, the one selected would,
we may be sure, be a more plausible and better-sounding one. It would be a name
suggesting what the policy aimed to do rather than what it left undone. Probably
they would call it " the policy of consolidation," and would be ready to urge and defend
it with many and weighty reasons, and not a few wise saws. " Better do a little well
than attempt much and fail. Before we enclose and break up more ground let us see .
that the ground we have is brought under proper cultivation. Look how wide the I
circuit is, stretching from Boylestone in Derbyshire to Kizley in Lancashire, and from |
Roggin Row in Cheshire to Wyrley Bank ! Our local preachers are all too few for the
work exacted by the plan, and as for the travelling-preachers they cannot be spared for
opening fresh places. They are needed to go the regular rounds, and bring the societies
under discipline, and carry on the work of edification." In short, the consolidators
would appear to have reason and common sense arrayed on their side, as they certainly
had the preponderance of opinion ; for, as a general statement, it may be taken as true

THE PEKIOD OF CIRCUIT PEEDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

189

that this was the policy prevailing until the beginning of 1819 in the Tunstall Circuit.
In harmony with this policy, Clowes' labours were restricted within the prescribed
limits during these years. True, he made an occasional sally — notably one into

Nottinghamshire in 1817, and another into Leicestershire the following year when his

progress was like that of a flame let loose among the dry stubble. He did so much
during these brief missionary excursions that the mere record in his Journals of what
he did leaves the impression on his readers that he must have been a missionary at
large during the whole of this period. Probably we shall be right in concluding that
the part of flaming evangelist would have been much more agreeable to Clowes and
better suited to the man than that of round preacher ; and that had he been freer to
expatiate, the Connexion would have made greater progress than it did in these early
years.

The results of this cry, " Let us consolidate," were distinctly bad, as they invariably

are; for whatever reason and common sense
may say in its favour, experience and history
prove that the policy which postpones
aggression until consolidation is complete
never does anything except undo itself. And
yet, because reason judges itself competent
to pronounce, and experience to the contrary
is limited, Churches are always committing
the mistake of separating what should never
be disjoined. When this is done, and con-
solidation is pursued as an end in itself, a
process of contraction and hardening sets in,
likely to prove as fatal in the result as the
solidifying of a vital organ. Things never
reached such a pass as this in Tunstall
Circuit ; for what we may call intra-aggression
— missioning within the bounds— never
entirely ceased. But it is noteworthy that
the most considerable additions to the' circuit were made in very violation of
the policy advocated, and the great revival in the Midlands we have so soon
to describe, was not begun or carried on Iby Tunstall Circuit. Furthermore, those
features of consolidation previously touched upon were found chiefly on that side'of the
circuit where the spirit of aggression— the true missionary spirit— was most in evidence.
We have no wish to exaggerate ; though we do wish to make the facts clear, and
to press the obvious moral. It is a pure myth that reverses and small increases are
confined to our later history, and that from the beginning it was not so. Even allowing
for Hugh Bourne's anxious temperament, which naturally magnified the evils viewed
through its medium and made him see crises where others saw none, his estimate of
the gravity of the situation is substantially borne out :—

"After some time, it was found that the societies instead of prospering more
[by the suppression of missionary labours] prospered less. It seemed as if the

JOHN Benton's cottage, lower landywood.

190

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

blessing of God was in some degree withdrawn from the societies; and there
appeared so general a weakening that some thought the Connexion would
absolutely break m^:' -{History, 1835, p. 51).
One of those who resisted the imposition of the non-mission law was John Benton

who, as we have seen, after the Ramsor camp meeting of 1810, had resolved to give

himself to the work of evangelisation. Having some houses and land and interest in

a colliery, he was financially independent. In_mi he had carried on mission work

in London with considerable success, and it is said had his pioneer labours only""been

followed up, the Connexion would have gained a permanent footing in London twenty

years earlier than it did. Benton

returned for a time to circuit

work ; but going the round was

not his ideal either for himself

or the Connexion. He pleaded

that "Primitive Methodism should

be" allowed to go through the

nation, as it was raised up to

do." As a sincere advocate of a

forward policy he offered <£3 a

quarter towards a missionary's

salary, and himself refused to

be planned. His offer was

declined, and he declined his

plan. When it was sent after

him, it is said he wrote the

following lines at the back

and returned it : —

GENERAL COLLECTION

HYMNS

ANO

S P I R 1 1 U A h SO n-G s,

V0B,

CAMP MEETING^'

ANX>

EEVIVALS.

" A plan from God I have to mind,
A better plan I cannot find;
If you can, pray let me know.
And round the circuit I will go."

Benton now got a thousand copies

of a small Hymn-book printed at

Warrington, with a view to his

contemplated mission. It was

soon got ready for the press.

He took Hugh Bourne's edition

of Lorenzo Dow's Hymn-book,

omitted one or two hymns, and

supplied two or three others of

his own composing. The latter

are not exactly metrical gems;

they cannot compare with "Hark! listen to the trumpeters," or "The Lord

into His garden came." Yet if one takes them, not as poetry, but as evidence of

Printed for the Editor, by J. G, Br&wi
skinD TO BE man of Joa» bekton.

isia

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

191

Benton's own state of mind when he broke the Tunstall non-mission law, they have
their value. They have the note of sincerity, and, as we read, it somehow does not
seem so strange and unaccountable that the ministrations and words of an unlettered
man like Benton should produce such instantaneous and striking effects. Here are
two stanzas of Hymn 23 : —

1. The Lord gave me a special call

To sound the gospel news;
My soul was willing to obey,

I durst not Him refuse.
The wicked world derided me,

Professors join'd them too,
Por such an unlearn'd man to be,

A preacher would not do.

Photo, by F. Holbrooh, Belper.

STRUTT S MILL.

The Lord makes choice of foolish things

To confound the wise;
Though weak the instrument may be,

The power in Jesus lies.
He called me out to go by faith,

But where I could not tell.
Beseeching sinners to repent,

And 'scape a burning hell.

192

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CIIUKCH.

Benton chose for his mission certain villages in Staffordshire lying on the borders
of the county of Derby. Among these were Warslow, Allstone-Field, Holme End,
Fleet Green, Cow-Head, Mill-Dale, Biggin, Butterton, etc. He was aided in the
mission by Eleazar Hathorn, who took part in the first camp meeting. The fact that
Eleazar had lost a limb was not allowed to be a disqualification, for the loss was more
than made up to him by the kindness of the people, who supplied him with a useful
nag ; so that he may be regarded as having been the first riding preacher — the first
of a favoured few. The mission prospered ; so much so, that we find Hugh Bourne,
as superintendent, requested to take over "Benton's Circuit," as it was called; and so
we have the following entries : —

" October 4th, 1813. — We had Quarter-day, and John Benton joined us. This,
I think, is of the Lord.

" October 13th. — Came to Boylestone, and saw John Benson . . . He gave me
directions for going into his circuit, and spoke of the state of the people."

After the taking over of his circuit Benton and his colleague made a " tour into the
interior of Derbyshire," where some time ago we left them. So by a detour we are

BELPER PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL
AND SCHOOLS, 1903.

PIKST BELPER CHAPEL.

brought back to Belper, only that on our way we have, we trust, explained how Benton
broke the non-mission law and what came of it. As for Belper, the work continued to
prosper. Thomas Jackson (1) tells us that at first the preaching and other services
were held in his father's house, and in the summer months in the garden at its
front. This becoming too small, a large room was rented, which also soon became
inconveniently crowded. Now that there was a pressing call to build, the way to do
so unexpectedly opened. The largest employer of labour in the town and neighbour-
hood was the firm of Strutt, cotton-spinners — a firm of long standing and great influence
(a scion of this family in 1856 was ennobled under the title of Lord Belper). The
Mr. Strutt with whom we have to do showed himself a man of enlightened mind
and public spirit — one of those captains of industry who, in their dealings with our
denomination and other forms of Dissent, contrast most refreshingly with some
of the landed proprietors in various parts of the country. Mr. Strutt had not

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

193

been unobservant of the influence for good which the labours of our people had
exerted upon many of his work-people ; so that when approached for a site for a chapel,
he generously agreed to sell as much as was required at the nominal price of one shillino-
per yard, and also to provide wood and stone at reasonable rates. To save expense,
the wood was drawn on trucks froin Mr. Strutt's timber-yard to the site by willing
hands. This novel mode of conveyance brought many to their doors, and others
anticipating "Mafeking night," belaboured the human teams with bladders tied to
the ends of sticks ! Truly the people of Belper of those days were quite as lively
as the people they nicknamed. In September, 1817, Mr. Clowes called at Belper on
his way from Nottingham and found the Chapel jjrogressing, and he took part in the
opening services. The "writings" were signed April 16, 1818, at Duffield.

194

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

CHAPTER II.
THE MOVE ON DERBY AND NOTTINGHAM.

FTER this " [the opening' of Belper] says Hugh Bourne, " the work spread
to Derby and the adjacent places." But this easy, abstract-method of
writing history, although it is so common, scarcely satisfies us. It is not
enough to know the bare fact that Primitive Methodism got to Derby
and Nottingham, Loughborough and Leicester ; we also want to know who took it
there, and when and under what circumstances ; for if Primitive Methodism did
anything or " spread " anywhere it was no abstraction of which this is affirmed, but
Primitive Methodism as embodied in certain Primitive Methodists who had their own
special features and idiosyncrasies. Who, then, were the Connexion's pioneer workers
in Derby, Nottingham, Loughborough, and Leicester — the first county capitals and
towns of consequence to be entered by the denomination ? What was t-he condition
of these manufacturing centres when our agents first set foot in them 1 How did they
go about their work, and what were the results which followed 1 Such are the questions
awaitino" an answer as clear and complete as the information now attainable will enable
us to o-ive. And yet when told, how simple the facts will seem to be ! just illustrating
as before the natural play of Christian enthusiasm. We have still to do with a movement
dependent much more on individual initiative and enterprise than on official planning
and support.

The Missioning of Derby.
Robert Winfield was a small farmer living at Ambaston, a village seven miles from
Derby. Until 1814 he had been a Methodist local preacher, but having in that year

taken a prominent part in a camp meeting at Mercaston he
had been "dealt with," and was now actively identified
with the new movement, and already beginning to prove
himself a missioner " with a peculiar tact for opening new
places." In Sarah Kirkland he seems to have taken an
interest almost paternal. Not merely did her orphaned
condition appeal to his sympathy, but he seems to have
discovered in her capabilities of service he made it his
business to foster and direct. Winfield, we are told, had
great faith in female preachers ; nor is this surprising, for
his faith was grounded on experience. Mrs. Taft (Mary
Barrett) was one of the most successful female preachers
of her generation, and it was through her instrumentality
that Winfield had been led to Christ. Two future
Wesleyan presidents were amongst her many converts —
Thomas Jackson and Joseph Taylor ; yet, although many

MRH. TAFT.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 195

acknowledged the call of Mrs. Taft and others of the sisterhood to preach the gospel,
there were others who accepted the manifest election of God with ill-grace, doubtful
questionings, or misplaced banter. " God often works by strange instruments," said
William Atherton when preaching a funeral sermon on the occasion of the death of
President Taylor ; " Balaam was converted by the braying of an ass, and Peter by the
crowing of a cock ; and our lamented brother by the preaching of a woman one Good
Friday morning." *

But this convert of Mary Taft did believe in female preaching, and evidently he
believed in Sarah Kirkland. His faith in both was justified, for his own dauo-liter
lived to become a talented and useful preacher, though in another community, and
Sarah Kirkland's progressive steps of usefulness we have to follow. At the invitation
of Mr. Winfield she went, on March 15th, 1815, to conduct a lovefeast at Ambaston.
There were some present at this lovefeast from Chaddesden who pressed her to preach
at that village on her way home. She consented, and in the overflowing congregation
which the novelty of the preacher's sex and youth drew together, were three persons
from Derby, w^ho, under the influence of a powerful service and the preacher's
personality, besought her to visit Derby the following night. To this she agreed, on
the understanding that a suitable room was found for the service. A room is said to
have been hired of a barber, who himself made no pretensions to religion, and hero
Primitive Methodism began in Derby. Soon after this visit a society was formed,
having this room for its meeting-place. A second visit to Chaddesden was the means
of winning another useful adherent to the infant cause at Derby. While Sarah was
conducting a lovefeast, two well-dressed men walking out from Derby, only a mile and
a half distant, inquired the cause of the mild excitement pervading the village. " It's
a young woman holding a Ranter's lovefeast" was the answer they got. They took
their stand by the door and became riveted to the spot, as they heard one after another
testifying to the freedom and power of God's grace. One of these behind-the-door
hearers was Mr. Robert Stone, who kept a spirit-vault in Sadler Gate, then at that time
a locality of ill-repute, Avho was so much impressed by what he had heard, that from
that time he was a changed man. He renounced his trafficking in spirits, and is said to
have become a useful local preacher and a supporter of the cause for many years. In
confirmation of this, two successive plans for the year 1818 are before us. These show :
" 17, R. Stone," with twenty-eight appointments to his credit for the six months.
Eight of these are at Derby, four at Loughborough, and two at Chaddesden, where he
had so blessedly played the eavesdropper. On what small noiseless pivots human
destinies turn ! Only a summer evening's saunter, a brief halt by a cottage door for
curiosity's sake, and there is " a new creation," affecting the whole life of the man,
including his business, domestic, and civic relations !

The next event of consequence in regard to Derby to be noted is that in 1816,
probably soon after the holding of Mercaston Camp Meeting on June 9th, it was made
the head of a second circuit. But it may be asked : " What w^ere the wise men of

* T. P. Bunting in the "Life of Br. Bunting" (I. 125), says that he himself heard William
Atherton use these words "with all possible solemnity." The story, too, is told in Tldinhurgh
Review, July, 1881.

•. . O 2

196 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Tunstall doing to allow such an act of improvidence as this 1 Why, there was not
a society in the proposed new circuit but was of yesterday. All alike had the rawness
and inexperience of youth. Not even Belper went with the new circuit. The chick
had only just chipped its egg and yet it presumes to begin housekeeping — that is the
symbol for it." All this is true, and therefore all the more needing an explanation,
which when found will not be wanting in significance. What if the wise men of
Tunstall allowed Derby to be formed into a circuit fifteen months after the first sermon
had been preached in the barber's room rather than that something worse should follow ?
What that worse alternative was Walford, the biographer of Bourne, tells us bluntly : it
was a possible secession. " It soon appeared there must either be a new circuit or a new
Connexion." The " few enterprising individuals," such as Benton and Eleazar Hathorn,
when, after the Mercaston Camp Meeting, the revival already spreading began to sweep
over Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, were unwilling that they and their converts,
who were of the same mind with them, should be under Tunstall Circuit and its
non-mission law. And never, one thinks, did the wise men of Tunstall manifest
their wisdom more conspicuously than when, instead of resorting to coercive or
repressive measures, they allowed the zealous spirits to have their own way in this
matter. Thus the formation of the Derby Circuit may be regarded as the continuance
and culmination of the mild revolt against the Non-Mission Law, of which the carving
out of Benton's Circuit and the missioning of Belper and other places were also part.
It seems strange that just when we had thought we had done with the conflict between
modern and primitive Methodism the duality should present itself in another form — in
the contrast and conflict between the two opposing ideals of Consolidation and Aggression.
But so it is : by the ever-renewed clash of opposite ideals, each of which contains some
element worth preserving, is progress made.

All our historians, in this following Hugh Bourne, are agreed that the crisis through
which the Connexion passed at this time was rendered more acute by a marked falling
ofi" in the popularity and success of camp meetings, which at the beginning of 1816
began to set in and ever grew more apparent. To Hugh Bourne, so sensitive to
everything likely injuriously to aflect this mode of service, the change was observed
with undisguised apprehension ; and he was not alone in taking an alarmist view of the
situation. He pointed out the symptoms of what he regarded as a dangerous decline,
laid bare the causes, and anxiously sought for a remedy. Now, allowing that Hugh
Bourne was an extremist where camp meetings were concerned, and looked upon
everything ecclesiastical, whether belonging to the remote past or the present, from the
standpoint of a camp-meeting waggon, it must still be granted that a change had indeed
taken place in the character of open-air services. The^ld method of having a number
of short red-hot appeals, interspersed as it were with volleys of prayer — a method so
natural and suitable to times of awakening and revival — had given place to field-
preaching of a niore formal, ambitious, and edificatory kind. Nor is io hard to account
for the change that every one has noted. It was but another form of that dualism
which, as we have just seen, was existing in the rival policies (which ought to have
been allies rather than rivals) of consolidation and aggression. The fact is, the junction
of the Camp Meeting Methodists and the Clowesites was not so close but that

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 197

a moderately keen eye might have detected the seam showing the line of juncture ;
the union had not obliterated all traces of the characteristic features of each segment.
Or to change the figure ; like the river formed of two confluent streams now flowing
along the same bed, but rather side by side than mingling their waters, so that by their
contrasted colour and other signs you may tell the one from the other — so was it with
the stream of double origin we call Primitive Methodism. Indeed, we are not sure
that after ninety years of movement the two types are not yet distinctly observable.
There are still those who pin their faith to " good preaching," and others who think
little of it as a means of usefulness. Any way, it was so in 1816. Some of the
Clowesites could preach, and would preach, whether within brick walls or, as they
would have said, " under the broad canopy of heaven." They had been accustomed to
do their best to give good solid Methodist sermons in chapels, and when they got on
the camp-ground they tried to do the same. Nor would they be stinted for time, but
disdained the conductor's monitory tug behind. Even at Mercaston Camp Meeting
a worthy Clowesite grumbled that he had only one hour allowed him ; but Thomas
Woodnorth reformed, and afterwards became, Bourne tells us, a first-rate camp meeting
labourer. It is not difficult to imagine what results would follow from camp meetings
so conducted. "Variety of religious exercises" would be interfered with. Where so
much time was taken up in preaching there would be little time left for praying.
However true it may have been of Glasgow, camp meetings would not thus "flourish
by the preaching of the Word." Even had Apollos discoursed for an hour at
a Staff'ordshire Camp Meeting he would have been listened to with weariness. The
people missed the old variety, the quick interchange of exhortation and song and
prayer. There would be wandering eyes, and people moving about, and the buzz of
conversation on the outskirts of the crowd ; dwindling companies, too, as the day
wore on. We can conceive what happened as though we had been there and seen it all
from the conductor's or bystander's point of view rather than from the preacher's. In
short, " there were loud complaints from the societies " that camp meetings were on the
down-grade, and Hugh Bourne was pained and saddened. Let us just think of him for
a moment amid these signs of manifest decline. In 1835 he wrote : —

"Perhaps no other Connexion, for the time, has suffered so much, or been so
greatly injured by the long-winded system, as it has been called, the long-preaching
and other long tedious exercises." *

In the preface to the next year's Magazine he remarks : —

"It is found that if a preacher sets forth the Atonement, offers a present
salvation, and preaches in part to the children, he may deliver a good body of
divinity in a minute and a half or two minutes ; and such sermons, in some
instances, produce a better and more lasting effect than sermons do of sixty
minutes long ! " (There's for you, Brother Woodnorth !)

After these extracts, which are perhaps reminiscent of this season of trial, we can
vsympathise with Hugh Bourne as he noted with dismay the swelling of long-windedness
and the decline of the efficiency of camp meetings.

* Preface to the Magazine for 1835.

198

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

It is not for us to pronounce judgments so much as to marshal facts and let the
reader draw his own conclusions ; but it is clear, that if long and good preaching,

according to the canons, had been what was wanted
at the beginning of the last century, then there was
no need or justification of Primitive Methodism.
Simply to have had services outside differing in little
or nothing from those held within places of worship
would have done little for the moral wastes of the
land. Men wanted the bread of life breaking up
small and well moistened with prayer. On the other
hand, it was well the tradition and practice of good
solid Methodist-preaching was not lost in the rush
and fervour of evangelism. The Clowesite section
were the custodians, and in their modest measure the
exemplars, of this tradition. The time would come
when it would be called for.

When things were thus in a bad way light and
help came from the old quarter. Peter Phillips, his
tried friend, put into Hugh Bourne's hand the Journal of Joshua Marsden, in which
he gave an account of a particular camp meeting held near New York. After
studying this account, Bourne " sketched out a plan for conducting camp meetings
with praying services in companies or circles, and sent copies to different places
hoping the system would take." One of these fell into the hands of William Ride,
who thereupon determined to hold the Mercaston Camp Meeting, at which Hugh Bourne
liimself was planned to be present, on this model. The camp meeting duly held
June 9th, 1816, was a notable success. John Ride, who was afterwards to be co-apostle
with Thomas Russell to Berkshire, began to preach at this camp meeting.

PETER PHILLIPS.

" John Benton became like a man let loose, and the Lord, by means of the
Mercaston Camp Meeting, opened out a new line of proceedings ; and it was like
a new founding of the Connexion. From the Mercaston Camp Meeting the Lord
in His mercy set on foot one of the greatest and most extraordinary religious
movements ever known in England."

But let the sequent lines of our History be preserved. John Benton had broken
loose from the Non-Mission Law before this. He did not rush from Mercaston Camp
Meeting to mission Belper : that had already been done. What he did get at Mercaston
was the call to a wider field of service and a baptism for it. Mercaston Camp Meeting
did not begin the mighty revival in the Midlands, but it greatly stimulated it. It
generated enthusiasm and force, and then liberated them, so that Benton and others
sought a wider field and entered on new ground. Thus, as we have seen, one event
that can clearly be traced to Mercaston Camp Meeting was the formation of a new
circuit, of which Derby was the head.

Prom his Journals we learn that Clowes visited Derby during this early period. He
brings in his reference to it just after he has described the missioning of Belper and the

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

199

opening of the chapel there, and Derby is introduced in such a way as to lead one to
suppose that it was visited by him when he made his first visit to Belper in September,
1817, or a little later when he took part in the opening services of the new chapel.
Probably he did visit Derby and neighbourhood on both these occasions ; for it is clear
Clowes has thrown together recollections of visits made at different times and at different
stages of the society's progress. He was there when there were difficulties to perplex J
when friends were few, and homes and hospitable entertainment not too plentiful. He
makes kindly mention of a soldier of the Royal Artillery, who took him to his quarters
in the Armoury. Properly speaking, the Armoury was the central part of the Ordnance

THE GBAVEL PIT, MERCASTON, WHERE THE CAMP MEETINGS WERE HELD.

Depot, completed in 1805. It was a room large enough to contain 15,000 stan^ of
arms, arranged as in the Tower of London, so as to make a fine and impressive show.
On the north and south sides of this central building were the magazines capable of
holding 1,200 barrels of gunpowder. The central part still stands in Ambrose Street,
off Normanton Road, and is now used as a brewery, while the magazine on the south
side has given place to cottages, and that on the north side to shops fronting the
main thoroughfare leading to Normanton. These were Clowes' quarters for the time,
and surely rather strange quarters for a preacher of the gospel of peace. At first, he
confesses, he felt it rather a trial to have to clamber up into one of the bunks lying tier
above tier which had to be his sleeping-place. But says he : "I remembered I was
a missionary, and it behoved me not to demur about little matters of convenience and

200

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

THE ARMOURY, DERBY, AVHERE CLOWES SLEPT.

comfort." We regret the name of Clowes' soldier-friend has not been preserved, for he
rendered good service to the Derby cause, not only by giving the missionaries bed and
board, but by helping in the converting work, and in " the gettmg up of the chapel "

THE OLD BARN, DERBY,

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTEh'PRlSE.

201

in Albion Street. Clowes' other reminiscences of Derby evidently relate to a time
subsequent to this, when the headquarters of the society had been removed from the
godless barber's room to the newly-erected chapel. He speaks of the chapel as crowded
almost to suffocation soon after the opening of the doors. On one such evening the
sight of the chapel-keeper moving about, snuffers in hand, trying to keep the dim
gasj)ing candles from going out altogether in the vitiated atmosphere, was taken
advantage of by certain unruly members of the congregation bent on creating
a disturbance. Clowes cried to God " to still the raging of the enemy." They rose
up and rushed to the door. Had not the chapel-keeper opened the door to let them
pass, the power of God, Clowes thinks, would have arrested the disturbers. As
it was, they fled, but not before the poor chapel-keeper's head was severely cut by
a stone thrown as a Parthian shot by one of the persecutors. The meeting broke
up in confusion, and the stone-thrower was brought up before the mayor and
committed. Clowes records that he also preached at several places in the vicinity
of Derby, such as Willington, Boulton, Chaddesden, Draycott, Windley, Burnaston,
and Normanton. At these places his labours, along with those of his " coadjutors,"
were blessed to the conversion of sinners to God. At ISTormanton, then a suburb now
part of the borough, an old barn was acquired for the services at a rental of
thirty shillings per quarter, which for more than sixty years was to serve
as the home of a society ; but in playful irony the Old Barn was dubbed

and got to be familiarly known as, '' The Cathedral."
An iron Church, with accommodation for two hundred
people, is now in use 23reparatory to the building of
suitable premises, for which ample ground has been
acquired.

The Missioning of ]S"ottingham.

Nottingham w^as entered by our missionaries in the same
unofficia], unostentatious way as Derby. Their coming
was not previously announced by bills displayed in the
windows or on the hoardings. When they made their
actual entry they were not welcomed by the blare of
trumpets and beating of drums, or escorted by excited
sympathisers. They quietly walked into the town and
mingled with the stream of traffic, and made their wny
to some friendly shelter to be ready for their work on
the morrow. We like to think that just in the same
natural, informal way the Apostles and first evangelists
of the cross made their unrecorded entry into many
a town and village of what we now call the nearer
East. And yet, if anything, there was a trifle more of
deliberation and purpose in the missioning of Nottingham
ALBION STREET, than there had been in the case of Derby. We are

FIRST PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL j., 4.-U- ^11 i. £ 4.\^- ■ " ' -i.

IN DERBYSHIRE, NOW COTTAGES. lortunatc lu haviug a lull account 01 this pioneer visit —

202 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

how it was brought about, under what circumstances it was effected, and what were the
results which followed — written by one who played a leading part in the affair. Sarah
Kirkland, late in life, when she was no longer Mrs. Harrison, but had become Mrs.
Bembridge, wrote the account in question of which this is the substance.

It was over the breakfast-table in Mrs. Kirkland's house at Mercaston, where he was
planned to preach, that Robert Winfield broached the subject of the missioning of
Nottingham. As we know, he had a talent for opening fresh places, but in this instance
he proposed that Sarah Kirkland should be the chief missioner. Said he : " If you will
consent to go, my daughter and I will go with you and stand by you." Then followed
discussion ; for the projiosal was a weighty one, and not to be lightly adopted. In the
end it was agreed that the attempt should be made, and that the Christmas Day
ensuing should be the time for making it. The appointed time came, and the trio
found themselves in the famous lace-town. But, surely, Winfield's suggestion that
Sarah should open her commission in Nottingham market-place was made without due
thought. The girl was barely out of her teens ; she was asked to take her stand in the
largest market-place in the kingdom ; it was mid-winter; the year was 1815 — a lawless,
rowdy period, when the people had not become inured, as they have since, to the sight
of young women in plain poke-bonnets singing and exhorting in the streets. No,
Mr. Winfield, the market-place must not be the auditorium, if you please ! Sarah
Kirkland put aside the suggestion as one not to be entertained. The next day (being
Christmas Day, as we suppose) they found out a room in the Narrow Marsh, where
a small band of secessionists, about half a score in number, with a Mr. Storer for their
preacher, had their meeting-place. Here they attended a lovefeast in the afternoon, and
at the close readily got consent for Sarah Kirkland to preach the isame evening. " An
old lady shouted out that she had dreamed of a young woman coming out of Derbyshire,
and told before what kind of a dress she wore.'^ Short as was the notice, the room was
crowded out. The sight of the disappointed people turning away from the door troubled
the mind of a worthy dyer of the name of Sutcliff, who the next day called upon the
preacheress. He was full of regrets for the shortcomings of the preaching room. But
more : it was the holiday season, and his mind was made up that a more commodious
building should be found, even if he had to search the town from end to end and devote
a whole day to the search. Meanwhile, pending the outcome of Mr. Sutcliff's search
for a roomier room, two or three other services were held in the Narrow Marsh under
the same disadvantageous circumstances. The interest already awakened by these
services increased rather than abated, and when the last one was held the names of
twenty-three persons who had received good during Sarah Kirkland's visit were taken
down. Before she left Nottingham Mr. Sutcliff was able to report that he had found
a room in every way suitable. It was the middle room of a disused factory in the
Broad Marsh, large enough to hold a thousand people, and if Sarah Kirkland would
promise to come and open it for worship it should forthwith be got ready. She gave
the required promise, and at the opening services this capacious building was crowded,
and, what was better still, on the authority of Thomas Simmons (one of Nottingham's
representatives to the Preparatory Meeting of 1819), we learn that sixteen persons were
converted on this opening day, of whom no less than ten subsequently became local

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

208

NOTTINGHAM MARKET-PLACE EARLY IN 19tH CENTURY.

preachers. The rest of the story Sarah Kirkland shall be allowed to tell in her
own words : —

"This room was made the birthplace of many souls. The converting work so
broke out that it became the talk of the market people, that if they would go to the

THE FACTORY, BROAD MARSH, NOTTINGHAM,

204

PHIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

room in Broad Marsh they would get converted. .... Now, peraemition
arose, and crackers were let off to annoy the people. These things caused a great
stirTaiid the ^ayor of the town came to hear for himself. John Harrison was the
preacher ; he had a young appearance, and was a powerful preacher. The Mayor
was so well satisfied that he gave orders for protection, and authorised several
young men to keep the peace. One of these was the late David Musson Jackson,
who became Governor of Nottingham House of Correction.""^

The name Isaac gave to the last well his servants dug — Rehoboth {i.e.. Broad places.
Room) would have been a very suitable one to have bestowed on the roomier quarters
which the young society acquired in the Broad Marsh. But that name was to be
reserved for Leeds, and the mother-chapel of Nottingham was to b% known by a still
more familiar Scriptural name. Canaan Street Chapel still stands not twenty yards
from the spot where the now demolished factory stood in the Broad Marsh. The
foundation-stone of the building was laid April 23rd, 1823, by the Mayor (Mr. 0. T.
Oldknow), in the presence of a large congregation. It was opened for divine worship
towards the end of the same year — 1823, the celebrated Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool, being
the preacher. In 1828 a gallery on the two sides and end of the building was put in. But
whence the name of Canaan Street ? Did the chapel name the street, or did the street name
the chapel *? If the latter, then Nottingham was more fortunate than some societies we

ORIGINAL CANAAN STREET CHAPEL, NOTTINGHAM.

know, whose first chapels were planted in courts or lanes or streets with strange and not
very attractive names. The Nottingham early Primitives must have turned the
street, in which their chapel stood, into Canaan Street ; for as to the people who
inhabited this particular district at that time, we shall not be far wrong if we conclude
tliat their thoughts would not be much occupied either with the earthly or the heavenly
Canaan. It is not likely, therefore, that the name, Canaan Street, preceded the
building of the chapel ; nor did it, if the story communicated to the writer by the late
Mr. Thomas Large be true. The story is that the chapel was built in what might be
called a maze of little streets, compared with which the Maze at Hampton Cc»urt is
simplicity itself. At that time there was no road running through into Broad Marsh,
and many people had difficulty in finding the chapel. This was the experience of many
of the delegates who attended the Conference of 1826. Some were bewildered by the
intricacies of the way and lost valuable time in trying to extricate themselves from the

* Letter to Rev. J. Barfoot given in the Primitive Methodist Magazine for 1881, p. 227.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

205

labyrinth. It happened just then that the hymn having for its chorus — " Canaan,
bright Canaan, I'm bound for the land of Canaan," was quite new and popular, being
sung at almost every service. Jl^ow, the late John Garner, then a young man full of
fun and resource, had noticed that the delegates stood much in need of the guiding
hand, and he resolved to supply the need. There, hard by, ready to hand, was
a painter's ladder. This he borrowed and climbed, and then chalked in large staring
Koman capitals the words, " CANAAN STREET " in such a position on the chapel that
they could be seen at a distance over the roofs of the lower buildings. To the delegates
these chalked letters were as the clue of Ariadne which guided Theseus out of the
labyrinth. Before time and weather had obliterated the letters, officers of the corpora-
tion came along to name the new streets, and seeing that this one was named already,
they took it over, and shortly a pair of iron plates with the name cast on them was sent
and fixed.

Primitive Methodism had a good start in Nottingham. From the beginning it took
hold of the people and acquired influence. It was fortunate, too, in securing the
adhesion of several men of standing as well as character. Two of these have just been
named — Thomas Simmons and David Musson Jackson. The latter, like the former,
was one of the fifteen who took part in the Preparatory Meeting. The Rev. John
Barfoot writes of him :

" For very many years he was connected with the choir of Canaan Street Chapel
. . . and the picture of his fine, portly form standing erect in a prominent
part of the singers' gallery by the side of his magnificent double bass violin, which
he manipulated with a gracefulness that could not well be surpassed, is still fresh
in my recollection."

During the many years he was
Governor of the Nottingham House
of Correction, Primitive Methodist
ministers found (without prejudice to
their characters) hospitable entertain-
ment at his residence. It is to be
regretted that owing to his having
during his later years discontinued
attending his class he should have lost
his membership amongst us, though his
attachment to the Church of his youth
experienced no abatement. During the
early stirring times experienced by the
society in the Broad Marsh, another
man who was to become a figure of
considerable note in the Connexion
gave himself whole-heartedly to the
cause. This was Thomas King. He
was a man of more than ordinary
intelligence and education, as may be

THOMAS KING.

206 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

gathered from the fact that he had been looked upon by the Wesleyan Methodists
as one in every way suitable to serve the Church on the foreign mission field.
Born in 1788, Mr. King was at this time a married man, and was induced by his
wife to attend the services in the Broad Marsh. After much thought and prayer
he identified himself with the society, receiving his first ticket at the hands of
Hugh Bourne. In 1819, when the demand for labourers will become urgent, we
shall find anxious discerning eyes directed to Thomas King, and that he will allow
himself to be thrust out into the mission field despite the monetary and other
sacrifices such a step will involve.

8uch then was the manner of our introduction into Nottingham. Yet it is but fair
to state that we have quite a different account of our entry into that town, given by no
less a person than Hugh Bourne himself. He states that being in Nottingham (no date
given) for the purpose of buying Sunday school requisites, he called at the house of
Mr. Weston whose wife was a zealous professor of religion. This Mr. Weston was
brother of Mr. Richard Weston of Lexhead, near Ramsor, at whose instance the call
was made. In the course of conversation Mrs. Weston strongly urged that the
Primitives should visit Nottingham. The request being reported Hugh Bourne goes on
to affirm :

" Richard Weston had a main hand in opening the town of Nottingham. My
visit might have drawn some attention, and was the means of his being sent for ;
but the Lord put on him the main work of opening that town. He laboured
much at his own expense with success. R. Winfield made a good impression in
preaching, and had a peculiar tact for opening new places ; but John Benton was,
for a considerable time, a main staff. He stuck to the mode of bringing talents
into action, as opened out at the Mercaston Camp Meeting, and he had great
success in opening fresh places. Sarah Kirkland was managing and useful ; and
others laboured well."

Now this statement must at all costs be reconciled with the one already given on the
authority of Mrs. Bembridge. It is simply inconceivable that a woman of such
transparent sincerity and candour as she was should lay claim to any honour to whicli
slie was not entitled. Her statement is : "I was the first Primitive that preached at
Nottingham." No words could be clearer or more emphatic. If the interval between
Mrs. Weston's invitation to Nottingham and her brother-in-law's visit were too short to
admit of Sarah Kirkland's (Christmas mission coming in, then it is easier to believe
that Mrs. Weston knew nothing of Sarah Kirkland's visit than that Sarah Kirkland
did not know she had been preceded by Richard Weston. Nottingham was, even in
1815, a considerable town,, but we cannot bring ourselves to believe that Richard
Weston could "open" Nottingham and leave no trace discoverable by his successor. To
us the chief difficulty lies in Hugh Bourne's apparent unacquaintance with the priority
of Sarah Kirkland's visit. That difficulty, however, is a slight one compared with the
difficulties created by the rejection of Sarah Kirkland's own explicit statement. It
may perhaps be said that Hugh Bourne's words " Richard Weston had a main hand in
the opening of Nottingham," may be understood to mean that he was quite aware, as
superintendent, of Sarah Kirkland's visit, but that he attached little importance to it.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

207

But this explanation only makes matters worse ; for it implies that not only did
Hugh Bourne make light of the priority of her visit, but also failed to perceive its
causal connection with all that followed. Better to think Hugh Bourne uninformed
than perverse in his knowledge. In short we come to the conclusion that Nottingham
and Derby alike may safely rest in the belief that Sarah Kirkland was their founder.

This is not written in disparagement of Richard Weston, or to lessen our sense of
obligation to him on account of his self-denying activities. There can be no doubt that
he did labour much in Nottingham, and " at his oivn expense" which is the fact of most
significance for this history just at this point. R. Weston belonged to the Ramsor
district, so prolific of useful men as we have seen. He seems to have joined the
Connexion some time after its formation, if we may judge by the date when references
to him begin to appear in Bourne's Journals. Hence his name stands No. 16 on the
Tunstall jjlan, February — April, 1818 ; but. No. 5 on the Nottingham plan for the same
quarter. Tliere is reason to believe that the few^ appointments assigned him on these
plans by no means represent the work he did, but that like Benton he laboured where

SOUTH VIEW OF NOTTINGHAM.
From the Meadows early in the 19th Century.

and as opportunity offered. As a trustee Richard Weston signs the deed of Dead Lane
Chapel, Loughborough (1818), and is described thereon as a "Dissenting Minister of
Ramsor," which means that he had taken out a licence to preach the Gospel, though
like Benton and Wedgwood and the Bournes he was in receipt of no salary. He
laboured far from his home, and during the week as well as on Sundays, for on
May 31st, 1819, we find him taking part in a week-day camp meeting on Round Hill
near Leicester. These details are given because Richard Weston's may be regarded as
a typical case : " He laboured much at his own expense." The Connexion could not
have spread and rooted itself as it did during this first period of its history had it not
been for the voluntary, unpaid, yet almost continuous agency of men like R. Weston
and women like Mrs. Hannah Taylor, " who was wont to save as much of her earnings
as she could, then go off for weeks as a self- sustained missionary .... and has

208

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

been seen preaching in a Leicestershire village guarded by police, so strong was the
feeling against the Ranter preacheress." "^ The number of such workers, of men and
women who were real ministers, though they would not surrender their independence
and freedom of movement, was much greater than any one would suspect who does not
dig beneath the crust of our official Histories. Our Connexion was indebted for its
early extension and up-building to many whose names it is now difficult or impossible
to recover.

An interesting confirmation of this is supplied by the plans of the period. On these
you will not find the names of any female preachers — not even the names of the female
travelling preachers. You wonder at this and cannot but ask — " What have they done
with Sarah Kirkland and the other godly women who did such good work '? " After
alternately staring at the plan and submitting it to a minute examination, it occurs to
you that they must have had an unusual number of special services and collections in
those far-past days judging by the capital letters so plentifully scattered over the body
of the plan. At once you turn to the references for enlightenment, and turn in vain.
Now quite at fault you resume your inspection, when all at once it flashes upon you
that these Roman capitals mean more than collections or special services — that they
mean the women you are looking for. The key fits. S. K. stands for Sarah Kirkland,
M. H. for Mary Hawksley — the first and second female travelling preachers of the
Connexion. But what particular labourers in the gospel may be indicated by H. P.,
W. A., and T. B. you cannot determine. The fact is as singular as it is indisputable,
and gives rise to reflections as to man's estimate of woman, and as to woman's
estimate of herself in those days — reflections which cannot be put down here; for
we are in danger of forgetting Nottingham in the endeavour to show what manner
of men and women they were who missioned Nottingham and the neighbouring towns
and villages.

1818. {

FEB.

MARCH.

APRIL.

I Names.

PLACES.

8
14

'4%

' H- Bourne

2 ^A/. Clowes

3 J. Bcnloix

4 J. Buxton

5 H. Weston

6 J. Wedgwood

7 W Warren

8 T. Hunt

0 J- Harrivsn
JO R.Win field

Derby 2 and 6
Willflon 2Normanton 6

S K
WA
1

17
31
19

10
19

9T
37 T

TBL

4-2

3$
17

28
31

Noltingham 2^ *"<^ ^

10 S

26
10

loS

JjQughboYoiigh 2 and 6

H P

TART OF THE NOTTINGHAM CIRCUIT PLAN FOR 1818, SHOWING HOW INITIAL LETTERS WERE
USED IN THE CASE OF FEMALE PREACHERS.

Note. — The above places do not follow in this order on the original plan. Not until after 1818
had the circuits their plans on separate sheets. From Februar}', 18 1 7, all the places in the Connexion
were on one plan divided into two parts. The Tunstall part of the above plan had sixty-two places
and sixty local preachers. The second part consisting of the places in Derby, Nottingham, and
Leicester, had on it forty-five places and fifty-one local preachers. There was no week-night pkn.
Week-night appointments were matter of arrangement. The plan, of which a few lines are here
given in facsimile, belonged to Sarah Kirkland, and her name is written on it, though it is not
printed on it.

* Communicated by Rev. S. A. Barron.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

209

Hugh Bourne was at Nottingham on August 11th, 1816, and evidently found the
work in the factory going full blast. He notes down : " I spoke to a great multitude
from Ephesians vi. 19. It was a glorious time; there has been a surprising work at
this place." As a practical man, who carried his carpenter's foot-rule with him in his
pocket wherever he went, he is interested in the workshop as well as the work done in
it. He takes the dimensions of the preaching room even to an inch, and finds it
" contains about two hundred and fifty-three yards six feet. Its length is sixty-eight
feet eight inches ; and its width thirty- three feet three inches."

And now we seem to have reached a point where a pause must be made for the

OLD MILLS IN NOTTINGHAM FOEEST, THE SITE OF THE GREAT CAMP MEETINGS.

From a lithograpli of the original sketch by Mrs. W. Enfield in the permanent collection of the

Nottingham Art Musetim.

purpose of taking in, by a sweeping glance, the general significance of what is going on.
What does it all mean and portend ? This : A combined and general movement on the
Midlands has already begun." The statement takes, it might seem, a form more in
keeping with the chronicling of military operations than the following the course of
a peaceful propaganda. Yet the movement was militant, if not military. Opposition
had to be met and overcome ; it was a campaign that was intended, though a bloodless
one, and the terminology of war best suits its setting forth. We have just seen how the
two bases for this aggressive movement have been secured. Derby and Nottingham are

210

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

the strategic points from which an advance will be made in dilferent directions. From
Derby the base will soon be pushed forward to Loughborough, whence an advance will
be made on Leicester and other places on that side. The advance on Yorkshire and
Lincolnshire will lean on Nottingham as its base. We have seen, too, something of the
men and women — their enlistment and preparatory training — who will be the leaders in
this forward movement. Now they are summoned : the supports are called up. Sarah
Kirkland (travelling preacher since Feb., 1816) leaves Staffordshire and Cheshire, where
she has been labouting, and goes Nottinghamwards, where the campaign will begin in
good earnest by the holding of a great camp meeting in Nottingham Forest on Whit-
,Sunday, 1816, when 12,000 people, it is said, will.be present. John Benton, after
missioning and remissioning for a time on the borders of the old Tunstall Circuit,
experiencing clerical interference at Church Broughton and Abbots Bromley, and

is:!sgsiiis:!55^zs58i:issmi

illlllilO hi III IIIIHl^jT|iiil

ABBOTS BKOMLEY.
The first preacher stood opposite the old house shown in the illustration.

various minor successes in these parts, will also set off into Nottinghamshire, and
John Wedgwood will be summoned to assist. Two other Johns — John Heath and
John Hallsworth — will also be pressed into service, their salary for some quarters being
paid by Benton. John Harrison, too, after beginning (1816) his ministry on the
Tunstall side, will in 1818 proceed into Nottinghamshire and then into Leicestershire.
Besides these, Richard Weston, Robert Winfield, Thomas Jackson, Thomas King, and
of "honourable women not a few," will co-operate. Such is the general plan of
campaign, and if its general outlines be but grasped it will save us from becoming lost
in the multiplicity of detail ; and though we are hurried from town to town and village
to village, and seem to want as many eyes as Argus had, or the power to be in several

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

211

places at once, in order to follow the shifting figures and incessant movement con-
tinually going on, still we need not get confused if we only know what is the general
"idea," and what will be the outcome of it all. The details will fit themselves into
their places.

But before we attempt to describe in anything like detail the course of the great
Revival of 1817-18, it would seem eminently desirable that we should know something
of the condition — industrial, social, and moral — of the counties of Nottingham and
Leicester at the time. It will then appear that, alike in the locality it swept and in its
opportuneness, there was something providential in that Revival which, as Herod truly
says : " Was one of the most remarkable that ever was experienced in the Primitive
Methodist Connexion."

p 2

212 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

CHAPTEK III.

THE LUDDITES AND THE LEVELLERS.

The Background of the Movement in the Midlands, 1817-19.

I HAT the power-loom, spinning-jenny, steam engine, and the Primitive
Methodist Revival are in time closely related is, we believe, not a mere
coincidence. At a grave crisis in the industrial and domestic life of the
nation Primitive Methodism was instituted." *

" The entrance of the Primitives into the town of Nottingham was very seasonable
or properly timed. For, two or three years previous to their visit, a spirit of
dissatisfaction had reigned among the working class, which had proved detrimental
to hundreds. The Luddite party had destroyed machinery to a very great amount." t

The observations just quoted show considerable acuteness, and, we believe, state
a fact it is all important for us at this stage to see the bearings of. To describe the
o-oings and doings of our missionaries from 1817 to 1819, irrespective of the industrial
and social conditions amid which they worked, would be like^ cutting out figures with
a pair of scissors and calling the result a picture. We must have the secular background
or the dramatic — nay, the providential appearance of Primitive Methodism in the
Midland Counties at this juncture will be missed. Besides, our missionaries Avere not
phantoms, or even men and women so phlegmatic or etherealised as to be free from the
human emotions ordinarily experienced by those whose lot is cast in times of crisis and
trial. They were men and women of the people who lived and did their work amid the
daily excitements of the time, and unless we conceive something of all this, the
biooraphical no less than the historical interest of our narrative will suffer.

Here, for example, are two short extracts from contemporary Journah, in which, even
at this distance of time, something of the original emotion under which the words were
written may still be felt :

" Ev'n in our ashes live their wonted fires."

In one of these faded entries we have Hugh Bourne writing on June 10th, 1817, at
one end of the district which more immediately concerns us : —

" Came and spoke at Mercaston. . . . To-day I heard that there was a mob
beyond Belper, and that two men had been slain."

* Rev. J. T. Ecob in the Aldersgate.

t G. Herod : " Biographical Sketches," p. 314.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 213

Sampson Turner writing at the other end of the same district and period, puts down
in his journal :

^''August 17th, 1819. — Bro. T. Jackson (1) and I both spoke at Witteningcroft this
evening. It was now a time of pubHc animosities concerning Radical Reform, and
on our return to town (Macclesfield) at night, we had some difficulty in getting to
our lodgings with safety ; but the Lord preserveth the faithful. Much damage
was done to people's property which was estimated at £2,000. The scene was truly
disheartening to behold — so many excellent windows, casements, shutters and
doors broken to shivers."

Now we want to know what all this social unrest — this popular tumult and violence
means. It means that misery had bred discontent, and that discontent was seeking to
avenge itself. Amongst the many causes of this wide-spread misery must be named
the long war and the legacy it left of crushing debt and national exhaustion ; the
passing in 1815 of the iniquitous Corn Law; the wholesale enclosures of the common
lands that had gone on during the war-time ; the heavy taxation ; the succession of bad
harvests and the dearness of provisions ; the abuses of a corrupt and expensive
government. But over and above this formidable combination of evils there were the
far-reaching effects of the industrial revolution now in full swing. In itself this revolu-
tion was no evil. In the long result it increased the national wealth and tended to the
greater good of the greater number ; but in the meantime, while the transition from
handicraft to machinery was being effected, there M^ere inevitably many innocent
sufferers from the revolutionary changes brought in. The inventions of Hargreaves
and Crompton, with the application of steam, had now largely superseded the spinning-
wheel, and Cartwright's power-loom was displacing the hand-loom. The old domestic
system in which the weaving was done at home or in sheds hard by, was giving place to
the factory-system with its employment of women and even children of tender years,
in many cases brought from a distance.* The old independence, the old leisurely
way of working, were becoming things of the past. Everything had to be timed
to the clang of the factory bell. There was the hurried meal, the rush to the
mill; the long hours of monotonous toil in which the man (perhaps formerly
his own master) seemed to have become as much a machine as the machine he
served. And so the gulf between employers and employed yawned ever wider
and hence J. R. Green dates from this very time "the war of classes, the social
severance between rich and poor," which, as he observes, still forms the great difficulty
in English politics. Men who found themselves flung out of work, or thrust down into
the ever- rising stratum of the wage-earning class were in no mood, even had they
possessed the ability, carefully to analyse the causes of their own distress. Seeing
their own misery reflected in the pinched w^an faces of wife and children, some grew
bitter and took desperate measures. "There" said they, " are the big factories and
the new-fangled machines — so fiendishly clever, that inventive skill, backed by capital
and enterprise, is multiplying all around ! These are at the bottom of the trouble. We
will have our revenge. The hateful machines which take the bread out of our mouths

* The introduction of steam led to the Cotton Mills Act of 1819 which fixed the working age of
children at nine and the working week for them at seventy-two hours !

214

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

and are responsible for low wages and depression of trade shall be smashed, and the
masters shall learn that if the Government does prohibit workmen combining in order
to better their condition it shall not prevent their combining in order to destroy."
Such was the deplorable state of things and the equally deplorable state of mind of
many in the Midland counties in the year 1811, when the Luddite outrages began. In
February of that year, hundreds of stocking-frame makers, owing to trade depression,
were employed to sweep the streets and market-places
of Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester in order to
earn a miserable pittance. The next month hundreds
met in the market-place at Nottingham and came
to the determination to avenge their wrongs ; and
that very night the work of destruction began which
in the course of four or five years was responsible
for murder and the destruction of a thousand

.IT*

nil

LEICESTER MARKET-PLACE (TIME OF GEORGE III.).

frames in the county of Nottingham, and quite as many in the adjoining counties of
Derby and Leicester. The name they gave themselves was in one sense fictitious,
for there was no one leader or general called " Ludd " whom they acknowledged. Some
thirty -five years before, a half-witted lad when told by his father to "square his needles"
had in a fit of passion taken a hammer and beaten them into a heap. The witless but
passionate youth's name was Ludd or Ludlam. Hence, they whose doings were marked
by short-sighted rancour took the not inappropriate name of " Luddites."

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 215

It was difficult to bring the perpetrators of these trade outrages to justice. They were
an organisation as secret as the Ribbonmen or Nihilists, and their confederacy was
cemented by a terrible oath. This Luddite oath we venture to give in order that the
reader may judge what spirit it was of :

" I of my own voluntary will, do declare and solemnly swear that I will

never reveal to any person under the canopy of heaven the names of the persons
who compose the secret committee, their proceedings, meetings, places of abode,
dress, features, connections, or anything else that might lead to discovery of the
same either by word, or deed, or sign, under the penalty of being sent out of the
world by the first brother who shall meet me, and my name and character blotted
out of existence and never to be remembered but with contempt and abhorrence ;
and I further now do swear that I will use my very best endeavour to punish by
death any traitor or traitors, should any rise up amongst us, wherever I can
find him or them ; and though he should fly to the verge of nature I w411 pursue
him with increasing vengeance ; so help me God and bless me to keep this my
oath inviolable." *

Such was the Luddite oath of initiation, and it is not out of place here, for Luddism
did its best to spread what Gospel it had in these parts, and to apply its chosen methods in
dealing with the evils of the time. Primitive Methodism and it have to meet in these
same parts ; therefore let the reader compare their constitutive documents, drawn up
about the same time — the one breathing a spirit, " humane, pitiful, brotherly," with its,
" Endeavour to make this society a blessing unto all people " ; t the other, with its, " so
help me God and bless me," to work havoc, and if need be, to slay my brother.

The Luddites' usual mode of procedure was as follows : — They went about in bands
of from six to sixty in number, each with a black handkerchief over his face, and
otherwise disguised. Each too was armed, and while some kept watch the rest,
provided with hammers and axes, entered the buildings and smashed the frames. Then
when the work of destruction was over, " General Ludd " — that is, the leader for the
time — drew off his men, and at a given signal, usually the firing of a pistol, the band
dispersed to their homes, removing on their way the handkerchief which disguised their
features.

The outrages continuing, a large force of military was drafted into the district ; two
London police magistrates with their officers were sent to assist ; an influential secret
committee well supplied with money was busy ; but still the work of destruction went
on. In 1812 an act was passed making it a capital crime to break a stocking or lace
frame.

The Luddite disturbances were not confined to the Midlands as readers of " Shirley "
and "John Halifax" will know. In 1811-12 they broke out in Cheshire, Lancashire,
and Yorkshire, where machine-smashing and what was scarcely distinguishable from
political pillage went on. In 1813 eight Luddites were hanged at York. The bodies
were given to their friends who showed them in the villages as the bodies of martyrs
and friends of the people. The venerable Thomas Jackson was then the Wesleyan

* " Old Stories Retold" by Walter Thornbury.
t See the first Society Rules, ante pp. 171-2.

216 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

minister at Sowerby Bridge, and he was only just in time to prevent the chapel at
Greetland from being taken possession of for a funeral demonstration and harangue,
previous to the body of the Luddite being buried in the graveyard of the chapel."^

But our concern is with the Midlands, and to them we return. For a night-attack
on Messrs. Heathcote and Boden's factory at Loughborough, six men were hanged in the
Infirmary Square, Leicester, April 7th, 1817. Mr. Heathcote had perfected and
patented his improved twist-lace frame, known as the Loughborough Machine (1809),
which he had brought into extensive use in a factory he built. The attack was made
in the approved fashion by men acting under strict orders armed with pistols and axes.
The employees were, on pain of death, required to lie on the floor face downwards while
the work of devastation proceeded. ISo less than fifty-five machines besides much lace
were destroyed. All the windows were smashed, and John Asher, the watchman, was
shot, though he finally recovered. The midnight attack on Messrs. Heathcote and
Boden's factory was a mad act, regard it in whatever light we may. When the law had
done its work, there were live widows and seventeen orphans left, when there need not
have been one. The mischief wrought was a piece of sheer futility. Its perpetrators
could not even plead that they were doing evil that good might come. There was no
germ of goodness in it that would avail to make anything else better. To render fifty-
five frames so useless that no man could earn any wages by them was a strange method
of raising the rate of wages. For in this particular case the grievance sought to be
avenged was "working under price;" it was not, as the Luddite outrages in Yorkshire
and Lancashire usually were, the work of exasperated men whose labour machinery had
superseded. And yet the leader of this gang of Luddites could fatuously say to the
half-dozen terrified prostrate workpeople whom he had surprised — " If you know of any
frames working under price, if they're one hundred or two hundred miles off, tell us,
and we'll go and break them." N^or was the firm of Heathcote and Boden the chief,
though they were heavy sufferers by this night's work ; it was rather the town of
Loughborough that suffered. For when all was over, Mr. Heathcote in a sense shook
the dust of Loughborough off his feet, and removed his manufactory to Tiverton, which
town he afterwards represented in Parliament. This was a blow to Loughborough from
which it never fully recovered. Up to the night of the raid it had thriven, and the
advent of Mr. Heathcote to the town showed the way to still further prosperity. The
local historian expresses the opinion that but for this Luddite outrage Loughborough
and not Nottingham might have become the seat of the lace trade, and might easily
have doubled its population. As it is, though the hosiery trade still flourishes, the
bobbin lace manufacture has almost died out. There can, too, be little doubt that
night's work was to have a prejudicial effect upon the fortunes of Primitive Methodism
in Loughborough. In a way to be described more particularly hereafter, it increased
the difficulties of the society. "Then Primitive Methodism had gained a footing in
Loughborough by this time *? You have not told us about that ! " Xo : for the good
reason that there is little to tell. Those who could have told us all we want to know
have passed away and left no record. Still, by a process of inference we can

* " Eecollections of My Own Life and Times/' by Thomas Jackson, pp. 136-7.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND P:NTERPRISE. 217

approximately fix the date of its introduction. Loughborough is not found on the
plan, February — April, 1817, nor any place in Leicestershire. By May, 1818, a chapel
had been built, and as early as January of tliat year, when Hugh Bourne paid his
first visit to Loughborough, he found a society already flourishing there. We
judge that in the Midsummer, or at the latest in the early Autumn of 1817, John
Benton missioned Loughborough. So that if any one wants a convenient date-mark
for the introduction of Primitive Methodism into what was to be its third circuit they
may find it at a point midway between the grim scaffold scene at Leicester, April, 1817,
and the one equally grim, at Derby in November of the same year, to be referred to
shortly. The Luddites and Primitive Methodism are closely related in time ; the
vanishing of the one coincided with the entrance of the other. So, though our history-
books are silent, we know as surely as though we had been there and heard it for
ourselves, what the people of Loughborough were talking about in their homes, at the
street corners, in the public-houses and factories. If it be true that for six or seven
years the Luddites had brought in a veritable reign of terror over a large district in
N'ottingham shire and Leicestershire ; if they " had held possession of Loughborough by
armed force in defiance of the magistracy and constabulary;" if they had "even openly
coerced judge and jury sitting in the Assize Court of Nottingham;" * if the factories
built during this time were constructed for defence as well as w^ork, being forts armed
with blunderbusses as well as factories furnished with frames — if all this be true, which
there seems no good reason to doubt; then w^e may be quite certain that Luddism
and the doings and fate of the Luddites would be more than a nine days' wonder. It
would for certain be the long-lasting staple topic of conversation and discussion. The
movements of the gang previous to th« attack on the mill ; the biographies of the
members of the gang ; the incidents of the night-raid and the story of the men's tardy
apprehension ; the drama of the trial, and the part played by judge and counsel,
witnesses and prisoners ; the demeanour of the condemned on the scaffold ; the
industrial problems associated with Luddism, and the bearing of it all on the present
and future prosperity of the town — this was what men were rehearsing and dis-
cussing according to their individual bias, and with varying ability and volubility
when Benton made his entry into Loughborough. It must have been so. To the
public mind thus preoccupied our missionary brought a new topic — a new interest.
"The Ranters are come! What are they like? Who are they really? What do they
do?" Men had now something else to conjecture and talk about besides "General Ludd"
and his doings. Many a group would have its talk broken in upon by the lively hymn
our missionary sang, and would stop and listen. Some w^ould follow and wedge
themselves into the crowd to learn for themselves what the Ranters were like and what
they were after. And some few out of these we know found more than a fresh topic.
Tile word came home with power to their hearts, or the walls of Dead Lane Chapel
would not so soon have been raised. So, though we have no complete story to tell of
the introduction of Primitive Methodism into Loughborough, we can with some measure
of confidence fill in the background of the story. As for Dead Lane Chapel — the

* " Notes and Queries of Leicestershire."

218

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

mother-chapel of Leicestershire Primitive Methodism — though we show its picture here
in advance, we will tell of its builders and its building in the next chapter. In this we
are only putting in the background.

The " Levellers."
" This Luddism was mixed up with the Levelling system." So writes George Herod,
and he gives the year 1816 as the date of the admixture. His statement receives
striking confirmation from a competent writer, who says : " Soon the riots of the
Luddites were lost sight of in the more formidable political riots which marked this
period, and make the social history of 1816 little more than a catalogue of disturbances."
Who the Levellers were, and wherein they differed from the Luddites, will become

DEAD LANE PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, LOUGHBOROUGH.

1818—1837.

clear if a rapid sketch be given of the condition of the country at this time. After the
crowning victory of Waterloo the spirit of disaffection previously existent became more
widespread, bitter, and rampant. Men had expected so much from the peace, and their
condition was worse, and their outlook gloomier than ever. So discontent tended to
become anarchic, and disaffection took more and more a political colour. In the autumn
of 1815 the iniquitous Corn Law Bill, designed to keep the average price of wheat up
to 80s. per quarter, was passed, despite the vehement protestations of the people. Men
were now just in the mood to listen to the devil's gospel, and agitators and public prints
were ready to preach it. Many became the avowed followers of one Dr. Spence, who

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 219

aimed at a general levelling of property. Men began to practise what they heard
preached. What had been after all but trade outrages on a large scale, now became
insurrectionary spurts preluding a "general rising;" for this was what men secretly
talked of and began to prepare for. They even fixed the date of the rising : it was to
be June 9th, 1817 — a date of some interest to us as being approximately the time when
Primitive Methodism entered Loughborough after its successes in Nottinghamshire.
A general rising, too, was what the Government feared, and its hand bore heavily on all
overt acts of disaffection.

But there were many who called themselves " Radical Reformers ; " for sturdy
and sane-minded William Cobbett had fastened upon Parliamentary Reform, and
energetically advocated it as the one thing needful at this crisis. The provinces
followed his lead, and Radical Reform became the watchword. The more excitable
Metropolis, however, got out of hand in November, 1817. After a mass meeting ac
Spa Fields, Islington, shops were pillaged, with the result that the Government took
away the right of public meeting. Hampden Clubs had sprung up all over the country,
being especially numerous in Lancashire, and the stern repressive measures of the
Government exasperated the feeling already bitter enough. Secret drillings on the
moors went on, ostensibly for the purpose of ensuring the orderly management of the
mass-meetings, which again became legal in 1818, "the darkest year of the century."
But the Government believed the intention was to overawe them by a display of force.
The leaders, following the example of Birmingham, resolved upon holding a monster
meeting to demand their political rights in St. Peter's Field, where the Free Trade Hall
now stands. The meeting was held on Monday, August 26tli, 1819. Unarmed, the
operatives of Lancashire, marshalled by Samuel Bamford, streamed to the rendezvous,
where at the centre from open hustings, Orator Hunt, as President, was to harangue
the crowd. The magistrates determined to serve a writ upon him for some frothy talk
he had indulged in "on the butcheries of Waterloo." The constables and yeomanry
were soon wedged in the crowd, and to rescue them the order was given for the
1 5th Hussars to charge. What followed can easily be imagined : the panic fright, the
mad rush, the human welter, the broken limbs and trampled forms. Eleven persons —
men, women, and children — were killed and two hundred wounded. The Sidmouth-
Castlereagh Government approved the action of the magistrates, and caused a medal to
be struck on which the exploit of the now detested yeomanry was commemorated. By
the same Government the repressive measures known as the Six Acts were passed and
stringently enforced. Peterloo — as in mockery it came to be called, as though it were
a contemptible travesty of Waterloo — was a decisive victory for the forces of reaction.
It put an end to the "Levelling system," and opposed a dam against the Radical
Reform Movement, which was not swept away until 1832.

We have anticipated the dying down of the Levelling system in 1819; but in
1817-18 it was still rife in the Midland Counties, and especially in the towns we are
concerned with — Nottingham, Derby, Loughborough, and Leicester. To cope with it
the Government stooped to an odious system of espionage, finding an unscrupulous tool
in one Oliver, who was not only a spy and informer, but what we must go to France to
find the word for — an agent provocateur. He pretended to be a kind of head-centre.

220

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

and ill conversation with his dupes at the " Three Salmons " pubUc-house in ^N'ottingham,
gave it out that the whole country was ready to rise ; that he himself " could raise 70,000
in London. That the peo]ile in London would not be satisfied unless Nottingham was

perfectly secured, for it was the rally in g-
point for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire,
and Leicestershire ; and that if it was
not secured the passage over the Trent
Avould be perfectly stopped to the
Northern forces. That they must proceed
forward to London as soon as they could
raise sufficient men against the Loyalists,
and that Nottingham was to be con-
tinually occupied by Northern forces in
succession." He said further : " London
is now quite ripe ; I am sent down to see
that all is ready ; they can hardly be kept
down in Yorkshire and Lancashire, they
are so anxious to begin."*

And so the infamous creature practised
upon his victims until he got them fairly
within his toils, and another gruesome
scaffold-scene was the end of it all. Here
is the bald entry the annalist gives us,
which, bald as it is, means so much : —

" November 7th, 1817. — Execution

of Jeremiah Brand re th alias John

Coke, William Turner, and Isaac

Ludlam for high treason. These

men were the victims of an odious system of espionage, and the crime for which

they suffered was occasioned and fomented in a great measure by an infamous

man named Oliver, who was employed by the Sidmouth-Castlereagh Government

as an agent or spy in the North Midland districts."

The misguided men were hanged, and afterwards beheaded, in the presence of 7,000

military and a vast concourse at the Old Gaol, Friar Gate, Derby (now gone), amid

striking expressions of popular sympathy.

Such was the state of things in the Northern Midlands during the progress of the
great revival. From the very nature of the case our missionaries were brought into
closest quarters with the prevailing spirit. The gospel of salvation they carried, and
the devil's gospel, which is always in its essence a destructive and " levelling system,"
not only eyed each other at a distance, but closed and grappled. Even if there were
not a particle of direct evidence remaining to show this, we know it must have been so.
Churches of long standing naturally made it their chief solicitude to keep their people
from being "drawn away and enticed" by the lawless spirit abroad. They drew

* " The Date-book of Eemarkable Events connected with Nottingham and its Neighbourhood
1Y50-1850," by J. T. Sutton.

PETERLOO.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

221

a cordon round the fold and tried to isolate their flock. But as yet our missionaries
had no such necessary work to engage them. They themselves were outside the cordon,
and any work they did must be carried on within the infected area. They must go
right in amongst the people wherever they congregated. They might be — probably
they were — Luddites or Levellers or Radical Reformers in the very act of disseminating
their views and trying to make others like themselves. If so, all the better ; the more
need they should go. It was a providential " opening " not to be declined, but
welcomed.

The very name our missionaries bore, and what was most characteristic in their

THE OLD GAOL, FEIAR GATE, DERBY, NOW CONVERTED INTO PRIVATE RESIDENCES.

methods, furthered the needed contact and helped to make it more fruitful. Hugh
Bourne, when referring to the missioning of ^N'ottingham, observes : " The term Ranter
greatly assisted in opening new places. If it was given out for a 'Ranter-preacher' to
preach, the neighbourhood, and often a part of the country, would usually come
together." An old anecdote, that bears on it the stamp of authenticity, afl'ords a striking-
confirmation of Hugh Bourne's remark : —

"Joseph W was a very wicked man, and usually spent the Lord's Day in

wandering from one public-house to another. One day he heard a person say that
the ' Ranters ' were come to Hill. ' Oh ! ' said Joseph, ' it is only the Radicals

222 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

under a feigned name, I will go and hear them.' And so he did, on the next Lord's

Day ; he listened very attentively, and thought he heard very little Radicalism.

The preacher gave out that he should be glad to meet in class as many as would

join him, at a neighbouring house. So, thought Joseph, he will explain his views

more clearly, ' I will go ; I dare say he has some private communication to make

about a general rising.' So in he went ; the preacher sung, prayed, and gave his

experience ; Joseph's eyes began to open, the real object of the preacher was before

him, and his own sins were full in view. A cry burst from him : ' God be merciful

to me a sinner.' God had pity on him, his soul was converted, he joined our society

and became a useful class-leader."*

Fortunately we have one piece of contemporary evidence as to the successful results

of the methods followed by our missionaries in the disturbed period of 1816-19. The

^i-iter — Eev. George Herod — was a i^ottinghamshire youth at the time, and was himself

among the fruits of the great revival, soon after becoming a travelling preacher. He

writes of what he knew, and as his " Biographical Sketches " has long been out of

print, and is now scarce and likely to become more so, we shall for this as well as other

obvious reasons, give the very words of his testimony, so that it may be handed down

as servino- to confirm our contention that Primitive Methodism did a work in the first

period of its history for which the nation had reason to be grateful.

"At this juncture and crisis [industrial and political] the P. Methodist missionaries
brought a counteractive influence to bear upon the masses, and in multitudes of
instances destroyed the baneful virus of infidelity and insubordination. Having been
raised up from among the working classes, and not having received an academical
education and their appearance and dialect being correspondent to those of the
disaffected, they generally gained a patient hearing. Their ma^ner of entering a town
or village also produced great excitement ; in general the missionary was accompanied
with a number of warm-hearted singers, and so soon as they entered the place of
their attack they commenced singing down the street, and continued so doing until
they arrived at a place of rendezvous ; as nearly every town and village have places
where men and youths meet to discuss different subjects, thither the missionaries
would make their way. The Spiritual Songs which Lorenzo Dow had brought from
America with the very lively airs to which they were sung, produced a very wonderful
effect upon multitudes. Had the preacher with his supporters sung a hymn or psalm
in Martin Luther's favourite tune, or one commonly used in a jjlace of worship, it
would have been said — ' Oh, it's some Methodist preacher ; it is nothing new.' But the
course adopted led to a different result. Hundreds, and in some instances thousands,
(and especially on a missionary's first visit to a place) were collected together through
the novelty of lively singing.

"The name by which the preachers were designated — 'Banters' — was of itself a
topic for general conversation, and in some instances for surraisings. For some time J
the people had had for a subject of conversation, Luddisni and the Levelling system ; ^|
and it had not been uncommon to see in the different towns and villages, groups at ^|
the corners of the streets, on a Sabbath morning, discussing political subjects ; but
Banterism was a new topic. Hence the novel name was the means of causing the people
to give the preacher a hearing. The minds of thousands were also excited with dis-

* " Anecdotes and Facts of Primitive Methodism," by Samuel Smith, Primitive Methodist
Itinerant Preacher, 1872.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 223

affection towards government. ■ This commenced in the beginning of the year 1816 ;
and now when the preacher had collected the people in the open-air by lively singing,
they waited in eagerness to hear if he would tell them something new. And when
he commenced his fervent and energetic prayer in behalf of the assembled people,
deploring their wretched and miserable condition as the result of their transgressions,
an influence was often brought on them that caused them to reflect. But especially
when he read out his text, and began to portray the character, conduct, and circum-
stances of his hearers, his word, by the power of the Holy Ghost often reached their
consciences, and many saw the error into which they had fallen, and the danger of
mixing up with infidel and political companions, — and so forsook them, and became
valuable members of society. What thousands were congregated on Nottingham
Forest at the Camp Meeting in 1816, and what numbers there were from both town
and country that felt the glorious effects of gospel truths ! Many, to our knowledge,
became sobered down, and were soon brought into the enjoyment of religion, and
became as zealous (if not more so) for the cause of Christianity, as they had been
for Luddism or the Levelling system.

"We could give a number of circumstances illustrative of the great good which
was the result of Primitive Methodist missionary labours at this period, but let the
following sufiice : At a large village, eight miles south-east of Leicester, the Levelling
system took deep root in the minds of the working classes, and a sub-committee was
formed ; and with their frequent meetings, their correspondence with other places,
their drilling for fighting, and collecting for ammunition, scores of families were so
reduced as to be almost in a state of starvation. A barn belonging to one of the
committee was converted into a store-house for ammunition. Some time before the
general expected rise, one man, possessing an unpleasant feeling against a neighbour
who was a farmer, determined to have revenge, and this he sought by one night
maiming a number of his sheep, — expecting that on the 9th of June, 1817, the general
rise would take place, and that then he would be lawless. However, in this he was dis-
appointed, the general rise did not take place, but he was apprehended for the crime
he had committed, and examined before the magistrates, when he was committed to
Leicester gaol to take his trial at the assizes. His trial lasted a considerable time,
and the jury found him guilty of the offence. His lordship passed the sentence of
death on him. After this his brother felt so indignant against the principal witness,
that he came to the determination that if his brother were hanged he would be
revenged on this man, by waylaying and shooting him. The execution of the sentence
was, however, delayed, and in the interim a Primitive Methodist missionary preached
at a village about two miles from the place where the two brothers had resided ; there
the one who contemplated homicide heard the gospel, and was awakened to a sense

of his situation. The night after, the preacher took his stand in C e,"^ and in his

discourse all the leading men belonging to the Levellers in that village were convinced
of sin, of righteousness, and of a judgment to come ; and such was their concern for
the salvation of their souls that they resolved to hold a prayer meeting in the house
of the father of the man who was under sentence of death. When the time arrived
(not for a Levellers' meeting, but for what was then vulgarly called a Ranters' prayer
meeting), the place was crowded to excess. The meeting was opened with singing,
but when this closed there was not one to be found that could pray. However, the
individual who had decided to be an assassinator recollected that there was in his

* The village of Countesthorpe, Leicester 2nd Circuit, answers to description in the text.

224 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

father's cupboard a large book of prayers for every day in the year. He therefore
brought it out, and as many as could kneel did, and he read a prayer, and then rose
and sang a hymn, and then read another prayer, and in this way they carried on their
meeting for a considerable time. But very soon after, the two principal Levellers
obtained the remission of their sins, by faith in the blood of Christ, and then they
were enabled to pray without a book. Soon after their conversion they became local
preachers, and were zealous champions for the Lord of Hosts. One of them, some years
ago, died triumphant in the faith. He left a son behind, who in his youth obtained
religion, and for some time was a very acceptable local preacher, and then he died
happy in God. The brother of the man under sentence of death is still living, and
is steady to his purpose ; for nearly eight and thirty years he has maintained his
position in society, and on the preachers' plan. His father, who was the proprietor
of the barn or storehouse, was also brought into the enjoyment of religion, and many
years ago he landed safely, we trust, in heaven. The barn which contained ammu-
nition for the Levellers M'as converted into a place of worship, and in it we dispensed
the Word of Life, in our turn, for three years ; a large society existed there, and now
they possess a very neat chapel, and have a large Sunday school. From the society
one travelling preacher has been raised up. The individual that had the sentence
of death passed on him received a commutation of his sentence, and was transported
beyond the seas for the term of his natural life." — Herod, Biograjyhical Sketches.
(Introduction, pp. 12 — 15)."^

* It must be remembered this was written many years ago. Unfortunately and foolishly the
•'Sketches" bear no date; but Herod died August 30th, 1862, and the "Biographical Sketches'*
would be published in the Fifties.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

225

CHAPTER IV.
THE GREAT REVIVAL OF 1817-18.

CLEARER idea of the course and extent of the Revival of 1817-18 will be
gained if, instead of contenting ourselves with mere verbal description or
tabulation, we attempt to show in some such graphic way as tliat adopted in
the text, where the revival operated, and what it did towards the enlarge-
ment of the Connexion. As yet, we must remember, there was but one plan for the
entire Connexion divided into two parts, therefore not only can we pretty accurately
measure the progress made during a given time by ascertaining whether few or many
fresh places have been added to the plan, but by locating these places we can also learn
in what direction or directions the Connexion is extending itself. Thus, comparing the

BLIDWORTH

(huckwall)

BALDERTON

(BULWELLJ

'BRiD&FORD
.5HELFDRD / thdrotom

5C^RRlN&TDN

R/\DGLirrL

3\mnm- /whatton

^^^

TYTHBv ^'™\ <,^-^%n,rm-

BARBTDNf

(kindulton)

HARBY STMHERN

PLACES IN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE AUDEIJ TO THE PLAN IN NINE MONTHS.

plan for February— April, 1818, with the one for the corresponding quarter of the
previous year, we find that it is the ^^ttingham Circuit which has had by far the
largest increase in the number of its preaching places, -and, further, that the great

226

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CIIUKCH.

majority of these new preaching places are in Nottinghamshire. Yet we note that the
names of Loughborough and three or four other places in Leicestershire stand at the
very bottom of the plan, signifying that already in the spring of 1818 the Connexion,
after its successes in Nottinghamshire, is beginning to extend itself in that direction.
None of the places shown on our rough sketch-map, drawn to scale, are to be found on
the February— April 1817 plan, except Bulwell, Hucknall Torkard, and, of course,
Nottingham, which is the base and centre
of the whole movement. The remaining
places serve to register the gains of the
previous nine months' labours. We know
other places besides these were missioned,
but circumstances either prevented Primi-
tive Methodism from rooting itself in them, or
as yet its hold was too slender and uncertain
to justify their names coming on the plnn.
The map, then,
shows that through-
out the year 1817
Primitive Method-
ism was specially

J WHERE

busy in the valley ._ ^^^^^^^gg|iwwM^jiiiiiWH^ primitive methodism

of the Trent from HfeHflHHH^^^K^.^«3L.^^^I commenced

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^■b||whH»||^^^H at bulwell.
Nottingha^i to j^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l^^^^^^^^^H

Newark, in the

vale of Belvoir,
with an extension
to Grantham in
Lincolnshire; and
to the north and
west of Notting-
ham, in ancient
Sherwood Forest, as far as Mansfield, though
its coming on the plan will be deferred for
a time.

Bulwell, Ilkeston, and Hucknall Torkard,
as we have seen, have their place on the
1817 plan, and though they were first
entered in 1816, before the vigorous concerted
movement in Nottinghamshire began, they may still be regarded as the early first-fruits
of that movement. Bulwell was missioned by invitation just as Derby was. Sarah
Kirkland had attended the famous Whit-Sunday Camp Meeting in Nottingham Forest
(June 2nd), when, if we are to believe the liberal estimate given, there were 12,000
persons present at the camp meeting, and 1,500 at the lovefeast in the room in the
Broad Marsh. She was quietly returning to Derby on the following day, and had got

HAMPHILL LANE, BILVVELL.

Where Open- Air Services were held.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 227

some twelve miles on her journey, when she was overtaken by a man on horseback
bearing an urgent message from a Mr. Turner for her to preach at Bulwell, a hosiery
town, some four miles from Nottingham, that same evening. She at once turned back
with the messenger and preached to some hundreds of people from a cart fixed in the
middle of a field. Mr. Turner, it seems, had hoped to get the loan of the Wesleyan
Chapel for the service, but his application to the trustees was unsuccessful, and hence
other arrangements of a rough and ready character had to be improvised. Amongst the
many converts at this service was Mr. Gent, a dyer, who, Herod tells us, fir&t opened
his house for preaching, and then in a few weeks got a large room prepared for worship.
" Within one month from her visit sixty persons joined the Primitive Methodist
■Connexion." Probably the room thus " prepared " was the old barn, which continued
to be the chapel of the society until about the year 1852. Though this date takes
us a little beyond our period, the interesting circumstances which led to the barn's
supersession by a more suitable place of worship may be touched upon."^ It was felt
the time had more than come for a new departure. The old barn, some twelve feet by
thirty, and eight or nine feet to the wall-plates, and looking more like an entry than
s, chapel, had served its day and generation. But the difficulty was to obtain a suitable
site ; for the lord of the manor was also the rector of the parish — an ominous conjunction.
The Rev. W. Brownson was then the superintendent of Nottingham North, with Charles
■J. Boden for his colleague. On these fell the task of interviewing the rector, and on
the society the privilege of praying in the old barn for the success of the mission their
ministers were then discharging. Said the superintendent to his colleague, as the two
were on their way to the rectory: "I have not much faith. You pray while I talk."
Now, a little while before this, Horace Mann, the statistician, had published his report of
the various religious denominations as the result of the census of 1851. In it occurs
that remarkable passage, in which Mann refers to our Church as if it were a kind of
prison-gate mission, and the jackal or lion-provider of the Church of England. This
strange judgment, as we have already seen, has its distinct historic value, glancing back
as it does on the whole of this introductory j^eriod, and showing what some well-
informed people thought of us and our work. That sentence has often afiforded a topic
for animadversion in the days that are gone — and naturally so. But once at least,
handled diplomatically, it served to wring an advantage for the Connexion : it helped to
get a site for Bulwell New Chapel. Mr. Boden had Horace Mann's report with him,
and showed the passage to his superintendent as they went along. "That is just what
we want " was the comment. During the interview the rector, of course, objected that
"the Primitives were opposed to the Church of England." For answer, Mr. Brownson
23roduced the sentence : —

" They prepare peofjle for the more refined worship of the Church of England,
and for every one added to their society the country contains one criminal or
immoral person the less."

* The ^story has been interestingly told by Eev. C. H. Boden in his article, " A Momentous
Mission," Aldersgate Magazine, March, 1902. The writer and the Connexion generally are under
obligation to Mr. Boden for rescuing so many worthy names and deeds from threatening oblivion.

Q 2

228

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

The rector read the sentence thoughtfully, and then remarked : " I was unaware of
this. I will think the matter over." The ministers returned to their company in the
old barn, and when they announced what could not but be regarded as the success of
their mission, we are told that " a great shout of glory went uj)." Gent (not the dyer
aforesaid) stamped his wooden leg and exclaimed, " Glory be to God ! " and the sparkle
in Thorpe's eyes spoke volumes. :Xot many days passed before the rector offered them

the one site he had to give,
which happened to be the one
above all others they desired.
Thanks, perhaps, to Horace
Mann, and still more to the
liberal heart devising liberal
things, the Bulwell friends
were handsomely treated. When
they met the rector's steward
for the purpose of staking out
tlie land required, he, acting on
his liberal instructions, about
doubled the quantity they had
ventured to mark.

Later on in the year Sarah
Ivirkland was again at Bulwell,
for Hugh Bourne, who is evident-
ly there for the first time, notes
in his Journals: —

'"''Tuesday^ August 13th. —
I was at Bulwell : there
has been a strange revival
at this place. Our people
held a camp meeting last
Sunday, and Sarah Kirk-
land spoke yesternight ;
yet there was a huge
multitude."
Although we cannot always
be making it appear by repeated
quotations from his Journals
that Hugh Bourne was quickly on the track of the missionaries, preaching,
advising, "looking after the temporal concerns," adjusting disagreeables, and keeping
a watchful eye on everything — such is the fact to be ever borne in mind. If he is not
there at this moment, he has only just left, or is expected to arrive soon. It is not
more certain that trade follows the flag, or that the representatives of law and order
followed the Roman legionaries, than that Hugh Bourne will follow in the wake of
Sarah Kirkland or John Benton in these parts, or wherever they may be prosecuting
their mission. Two other brief references to Bulwell not only make this plain, but are
of interest on other grounds.

BULWELL CHAPEL.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

229

"J/a?/7^A.^At Bui well. A glorious time. They are doing well here. June 25th.— ^
■> Finished the plan, and brought a heavy luggage for T. Saxton [who has just begun
his labours as a travelling preacher] from Nottingham for Tunstall. I came to
Bulwell — saw Mary Hawkesley and J. Benton. The work is going on well and
rajjidly ; but there is great opposition — in some places by gentlemen, in others by mobs.
O Lord, stand by them. I came to Belper — excessively hot."

We are not to conclude from the references to persecution contained in the italicised
words of Hugh Bourne just quoted, that he himself had encountered persecution at
Bulwell or its neighbourhood. He had no such experience there or thereabout ; nor
had Sarah Kirkland. And yet — and in this lies the significance of the fact — it was in
this part of Nottinghamshire where there was the most disaffection amongst the
operatives and miners. No : Bourne would write that sentence about persecution by
gentlemen and by mobs fresh from hearing Benton tell something of the rough times he
and others had experienced in the vale of Belvoir and the more purely agricultural
parts of the county. It is too soon to generalise on the facts as to the persecution of
our early missionaries ; it is a long dark chapter as yet barely begun. But even at this
point it may be well to advise the reader to note as we pass along, the particular social
and industrial character of the localities where persecution showed itself most bitter.
Let him be on the alert to answer such questions as these : Was persecution at all
conditioned by the avocations of the people, and upon the degree of their subserviency
to the influence emanating from manorial halls and snug rectories'^ Did persecution
instinctively follow the plough, and linger about sleepy cathedral closes, and haunt
steady agricultural towns ? On the other hand did it flee from the sound of the pick
and the whirring of machinery ? Ample material will be forthcoming before we come

to the end of the chapter of persecii-
tion, to enable the reader to answer
these questions for himself. By
that time he may find reason to
conclude that there was a closer
connection between mobs and
gentlemen than Hugh Bourne's
words may seem to imply.

Before the close of this same year
— 1816, and probably also in August
— Sarah Kirkland missioned Ilkeston
in Derbyshire, Avhich at that time
was a place inhabited chiefly by
colliers, and noted, we are told,
for the poverty and the rough-
ness and rudeness of the people.
When we read what Herod has to
say of the manners of the people
in 1816, we cannot but recall that
almost the same words were used
to describe the condition of the

ILKESTON FIRST CHAPEL — NOW TWO COTTAGES.

230

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

natives of ^fow Cop in 1800 l)efore tlie first revival began. He intimates that here
too a stranger passing through the place was in danger of being j)elted with filth or
with language equally foul. But the missionary was favourably received, and her
labours were in the truest sense remunerative. The gospel worked a reformation in
many a life and home, and even when Herod wrote he could state the pleasing fact that
few towns within the same time had made greater progress morally and intellectually
than Ilkeston.

Hucknall Torkard, in whose church rest the remains of Lord Byron, was another of
the places near Nottingham visited by Sarah Kirkland before the close of 1816. At
the time of her visit there existed much destitution amongst the people, and this was
associated with widespread discontent and political excitement. "Levelling" sentiments
found favouring conditions in Hucknall, and flourished as in a hot-bed. All this

HUCKNALL TOKKARD MARKET-PLACE.

The place marked X is where our earliest preaching-place was.

showed the people sorely needed the gospel, and were fit to receive it ; for their
discontent had its justification, and hence showed it might be turned into " divine
discontent," and then they would be ready to Avelcome the gospel of salvation and hoj»e.
Even the "levelling" sentiments that found favour with so many of the people had
been adopted as promising deliverance from present evils ; and they who had given
ear to an imperfect or false gospel might be glad to exchange it for a better one. So
in this manufacturing village, as in so many other places in the Midlands at this time.
Primitive Methodism found and used its opportunity. It did not, in the person of its
missionary, turn aside to seek a more promising field, for the seemingly unfavourable

THE PEKIOU OF CIRCUIT PllEDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

231

THE FIRST PREACHING -IlOUSr, HUCKNALL TORKARD.

conditions showing themselves were really the very whiteness of the field ready unto
harvest. Better Hucknall Torkard, with its destitution and minds saturated with
levelling sentiments, than Tythby (likewise in Notts., and an addition to the 1818 plan)^
as John Harrison describes it after a visit paid in March, 1817.

" I walked four miles to Tithby, intending to preach at two, but when I entered
the village all the people were going to the church, so I had to wait till the service
was concluded. I had a large congregation, but they looked just like what they
were, viz., stiff-necked professors, who had the form of religion, but were without

THE FIRST CLASS MEETING-HOUSE, HUCKNALL TORKARD.

232 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

the power ; ' a fire was kindled round them, but they knew it not ; a flame burned

them, yet they laid it not to heart.' I preached from the words of the Lord—

'The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall

condemn it ; because they repented not at the preaching of Jonas ; and behold

a greater than Jonas is here.' I felt barren in my soul, yet believers rejoiced :

/ could not move these formal 2'>r of essors~-and to all appearance God did not— so I left

them."

But at Hucknall many of the inhabitants were "moved" by Sarah Kirkland's message

and appeals. A society was formed, which had for its first preaching-room the " Seven

Stars " Inn Club-room. This was used only on Sundays. The week-night services were

held occasionally in Mrs. Osborne's cottage, Wood Lane, and also in the open-air.

Then the " Seven Stars " was left, and a barn on the opposite side of the way was

taken. The society grew in numbers until the membership reached between seventy and

eighty. On the formation of the Mansfield Circuit, Hucknall was placed on the Mansfield

plan, and its prosperity continued until 1838, when it suff'ered a serious reverse; the

story of which must be told in another connection."^ Reverting to Nottingham,

Hucknall was as recently as 1901 formed into a circuit out of Nottingham III. It has

now a flourishing society, and possesses valuable church property.

It would not have been surprising if Sarah Kirkland had met with opposition in
missioning both Ilkeston and Hucknall; but there is no hint that she had any such
experience. Nor can we recall an instance during her more than four years of continuous
itinerating in districts difi'ering widely in their industrial character, when she met with
insult or rough treatment. Indeed, this statement might be enlarged so as to apply to
the other devoted female labourers in the first period of the Connexion's history. As
a general rule they were treated civilly, and got a fair hearing. Curiosity — so keen as
for the time to keep under every other feeling; their defencelessness ; their trustful
mien ; their tact and simplicity, and the absence of everything provocative — these may
serve to explain, in part, the immunity which our early female missionaries as a rule
enjoyed in a much greater degree than their colleagues of the sterner and less tactful
sex. There were exceptions to this rule of immunity we know; but where they
occurred we may safely infer we have got down to a very low human seam. The
general statement made holds good for most districts of the . country, and speaks much
for the instinctive chivalry of the people when both the times and manners were rougher
than they are to-day.

An incident of a kind, quite common in Sarah Kirkland's experience, occurred at the
close of her first service at Hucknall Torkard. A stranger was introduced to the
preacher, who had come from Sutton Ashfield. He had heard of the evangelistic
successes of the "Ranters" so called, and had come to see and hear for himself. He
was urgent that Sarah Kirkland should visit Sutton as soon as possible The man's
appearance was all against him ; for his mouth was so contorted as to give a sinister
aspect to his countenance, and probably the disfigurement was also a disablement, and
marred his utterance. However, after some hesitancy, the preacher gave the desired
promise, and the visit was duly paid. A revival followed, and a large society was

* Communicated hv Uev. G. G. Martinda'e.

THE PEKIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPiaSE.

233

formed, which had until 1840 its headquarters in Bedlam Court. In this strangely-
named locality the District Meeting of 1838 held its sittings. We are told that the
barber who pressed Sarah Kirkland to visit Sutton Ashfield became the first and a most
useful member of the new society there. Herod tells a story of the way in which the
barber's malformation arose, which may be taken for what it was worth. When in his
godless state he was much annoyed at the sight of a new Wesleyan Chapel that was
rising up near his shop — so near that people would have to pass his shop to enter it.
One day, as he stood surveying it, just before completion, he broke out into imprecations
— and he was smitten with retribution. He repented and sought forgiveness.

Mansfield was the next place successfully
missioned. Here a good society was raised,
and in a few months a large room was taken
and fitted up with forms and pews. The
society seems to have had a continuous
existence from the time of Sarah Kirkland's
visit, and to have made some progress during
these early years; for at the Nottingham
Quarter Day, March, 1824, the following
somewhat unusual resolution was passed : —
"That Mansfield be a Branch of the
Nottingham Circuit for one quarter on trial.''
Either the period of probation must have been
prolonged, or Mansfield and the adjacent
societies must have reverted to their old
relation to the mother-circuit, since it is not
until 1826 it entered upon its long career of
circuit independence.

Amongst other places said to have been
successfully missioned by Sarah Kirkland
about this time were Cotmanhay, Codnor Park, Kirby, Lambley, Blidworth, Oxton, and
Epperstone. She was the first accredited missionary of the Connexion to set foot
in East Bridgford, a place that on various grounds deserves fuller reference. Yet East
Bridgford is in the Trent Valley, and, therefore, geographically in that part of the
county it fell to Benton's lot to mission, and her visit only by a short time anticipated
his. This village is of note, as having been the home of several persons of consequence
to our history : some became auxiliaries, and greatly helped to extend the revival, while
others became adherents of the cause, and locally, or in the wider sphere of the
ministry, were to become well known. One of the latter was George Herod. East
Bridgford was his boyhood's home, and up to the last he retained a vivid recollection
of Sarah Kirkland's first visit, and of the stir it made in the quiet village. She preached
in a barn, with a gig for a pulpit; and here young Herod heard her as he sat perched
on the big beam that spanned the barn. He had climbed to this point of vantage by
he help of two poles leaning against it, and in this way he had, like Zacchaeus, obviated
the disadvantages of his stature ; for the barn-floor was so packed with people, that

BEDLAM COURT, LORD STREET,

FIRST PREACHING-PLACE, SUTTON-IN-ASHFIELD.

A District Meeting was held here.

234

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Avhen he had squeezed himself among them he could see little else but the heads and
shoulders of those who were bigger than himself. So he turned the beam into a gallery
and the sloping poles into stairs, and from his elevation was able to see and hear
everything. Benton's second visit wa^ paid on a Sunday afternoon, when a powerful
impression was made on the large company assembled in the open air. The minds of
many, hitherto thoughtless or depraved, were stirred into concern ; a revival broke out,
and in the course of a few weeks a society of forty members was established.

Mr. William Lockwood was one of John Benton's hearers that Sunday afternoon.
There is no need for us to write " a Mr. Lockwood," as some of our historians have
done, as though he were an utter stranger to whom we are now introduced for the first

1 ^ i

BBHH

m.A

^^^^^k 1

B5^^

^S^H

. ..WHO ~- -^'^Jj^^^^^

wiKwi*^

STAR LANE, EAST -BRIDGFOED. — WHERE GEORGE IIEROD LIVED.

time. Kather [may we speak of him as the Mr. Lockwood, whom we heard of in the
Staffordshire region in the days gone by ; for is he not the Mr. Lockwood who held
high rank in the heavenly bulletins the visionaries published from time to time 1 William
Lockwood was accepted as a candidate for the Wesleyan ministry in 1800, and as such his
name stands on the Minutes for that year next above the honoured name of Benjamin
Gregory, the father of the able and liberal-minded late editor of the Wesleyan Methodist
Maganne. His first station was Leek, a circuit immediately adjoining Burslem Circuit,
and there is conclusive evidence that Bourne knew Mr. Lockwood so well that he could
speak of him as " his esteemed friend ; " that Lockwood was in these early days a noted
evangelist ; that he believed in camp meetings, and, but for circumstances, might have
led the way in holding them ; and that, even as it was, his known sentiments and
example had kept alive and fed the desire of. the Harriseahead Revivalists to have one
for themselves. The first time we hear of Mr. Lockwood is in February, 1803. Hugh
Bourne has jotted down the notes of a conversation he had with the young preacher

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

235

who liad recently come to the circuit, and who admired the zeal and liveliness of the
Harriseahead society, whereupon —

" I told him Mr. Lockwood had been one who had aided in bringing them into-
that way — it being the way he carried on meetings. He said in his journey hither,,
he slept all night with Mr. Lockwood ; but observed that if he were to exert
himself like Mr. Lockwood there would soon be an end to his life."

Still more to the point is a passage in Hugh Bourne's History as to the influence
unconsciously exerted by Mr. Lockwood in stimulating the desire for camp meetings-
during the abeyant period of 1806 : —

" There was a report that a meeting had been appointed to be held in the
open air, upon one of the hills in the Leek Circuit of the Old Connexion, when.

EAST BRIDGFOKD OLD CHAPEL. —NOW PUBLIC READING ROOM.

a Mr. Lockwood was a travelling preacher there [some years before] ; that it was
to have been carried on with various religious exercises, and to have continued
a whole day ; but that a short time before the day arrived the head -preacher was.
prevailed on to put it aside ; and this was a cause of grief to many, as they believed
it would have been a great means of reviving religion. This had great weight with
the Harriseahead people, as they highly respected Mr. Lockwood on account of his
having been useful to them in their first revival." (" History of the Origin of the
Primitive Methodists," Magazine, 182L)

The last glimpse we get of Mr Lockwood in Bourne's early Journah is in 1810,.
where we have the following entry : —

" September 8th. — I went to Biddulph Moor to hear Mr. William Lockwood. It
was the opening of the chapel ; there was a great congregation, although it rained :
Mr. L. is much in the power. Hannah knew him ; he stands between Mary Dunell
and Clowes ; so now we know the fourth preacher."

236

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

This, it must be granted, is a most singular entry, and suggests a good deal, but it is
quoted here simply to show that Mr. Lockwood was in Staffordshire regarded by the
Camp Meeting Methodists as one iu spirit with themselves ; he was one of the leading
trumpeters, so that if now, in 1817, he should put the trumpet to his Hps, and for
a time throw himself heart and soul into the evangelistic mission of the Primitive
Methodists in these parts, it is just what we might expect from what we know of the
man and his antecedents. His doing so will serve to give continuity to his life and to
our history. Mr. Lockwood is called a M'ell-to-do farmer and Methodist local preacher —
the fact being that, after his appointment to Newark in 1802, he had married a widow,
lady of wealth, and settled down on his wife's estate ; so that in the Minutes of 1803
occurs the entry : " William Lockwood who has desisted from travelling." His lady,

whose maiden name had been
Salthouse, was a thorough-going
evangelical in creed and sent-
iment, a great change having
taken place in her life as the
result of her hearing Rowland
Hill preach in the parish church.
After this she could no longer
continue to worship there, because
(to use her own words) "although
the clergyman preached the
truth he did not know its
power." So she built a chapel at
her own expense, which was the
first Free Church established in
the village. In this building the
\^"esleyans worshipped until the
Reform agitation of 1849, with
which it seems Mr. ' Lockwood
sympathised. Not choosing to join
in this movement the Wesleyans
vacated Lockwood's Chapel and
Iniilt one for themselves. Mr.
W. Lockwood, sen., and his wife,
were by their own wish buried
in the chapel, which was their
own private property. Mr. W.
Lockwood, jun., the son of the i)receding, was a farmer and local preacher of some
repute. For some years he continued to carry on services duly arranged for by
plan, Methodist fashion. This went on until some twenty years ago, when " Lockwood's
Chapel " was acquired for the use of the Connexion, and it is still retained for school
purposes. Not only did Mrs. Lockwood make ])rovision for public worship and the
teachino' of experimental religion in East Bridgford, but through her instrumentality

" LOCKWOOD S CHAPEL.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

237

a day-school was opened, in which free education was given to some fifty or more
children by a schoolmaster paid by herself. Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood would never sit
for their portraits, having, it would seem, an objection to the practice difficult for us
to understand. As a poor substitute for the likeness of this worthy lady her grand-
daughter preserves as a sacred relic the Quaker-bonnet she was accustomed to wear. "'^

This, then, was the Mr. Lockwood who listened to John Benton on his second visit
to East Bridgford, and thus it had come about that the Methodist travelling preacher
we knew in Stafifordshire had become a man of substance, and almost the squire of
the village. As he took part in that afternoon's service he " received a particular
manifestation of the spirit of God." The old evangelistic impulse came upon him with
renewed force. " He possessed," we are told, " good natural talents, was very courageous,

KIXGULTON VILLAGE AND CHUKCH.

and had an independent spirit." These qualities, so essential to a successful missionary,
were to receive a fresh anointing for service on that Sunday afternoon.

If we wished to show how the Revival affected the villages and towns of Nottingham-
shire both at the time and afterwards, and how they in their turn reacted upon the
revival, and contributed their quota to the growth of the Connexion, then East
Bridgford might stand as the type of such villages and towns, and of the interaction
referred to. It is a typical Nottinghamshire village that has just received the evangel
brought by the Primitive Methodist missionaries, and is going to pass it on, or — better

* For some of the facts given in this paragraph I am indebted to Rev. T. W. Gooderidge, who
obtained them from the granddaughter of Mr. W. Lockwood, sen.

238

PELMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

still —to live it. So true is this that, according to the old saying, " From one we may
learn all." Taking our stand here, we can compare the features and results of the
revival in this quiet Nottinghamshire village with what can be observed in other places
in the same district visited by our missionaries, and, for the most part, the comparison
will yield resemblances. There is, however, one striking exception : — the almost total
absence of persecution. In this respect East Bridgford presents a contrast to many
places in the Trent Valley, the Vale of Belvoir, Rutlandshire, and certain parts of
Lincolnshire. Whatever be the explanation, a good deal of persecution attended the
introduction of Primitive
Methodism into these
parts. Indeed, if any
were minded to show
by means of tints on
a map what parts of
England they were in
which our missionaries
met with persecution,
and were

the tint according to the
severity of the persecution
encountered — just as is
done to show the compara-
tive level of a given district
— then the districts in
question would have to
coTGRAVE. be rather heavily shaded,

and there would be some specially dark patches of colour on certain places much
under aristocratic or clerical influence. There was a good deal of this not far
from Bridgford, as we shall see; but in its comparative immunity from persecution
Bridgford compares favourably with many other places, such as Kinoulton. At this
place, while Benton was preaching to hundreds of people gathered from far and near,
•a dangerous bull was loosed and headed for the congregation, but the beast had more
sense than its master, and preferred to take the line of least resistance. On September 1st,
1817, Thomas Jackson (1), who had come to labour in these parts, was shouted out of
the villagej a fortnight after, while preaching at Cropwell Bishop, the parson of the
parish ordered the constable to put him in th« stocks. It so happened that the stocks

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

239

were broken, and the constable said so. " Ought not the parish to be fined for not
having the stocks in proper order?" gaily inquired Jackson. The question irritated
the clergyman, who ordered the constable to detain the preacher in custody all night ;
and the order was obeyed. At Cotgrave all the pots and pans of the neighbourhood
seemed to have been brought into requisition for the purpose of drowning Benton's
voice while preaching. At Bottesford, under the shadow of the stately towers of
Belvoir Castle, Benton met with a rough reception. As soon as he began worship in
the open air the bells of the church were set a ringing, a dog-fight was got up, a big
drum beaten, and various instruments blown and clashed. All this babel of sound and
confusion failing of its purpose, rotten eggs, filth, and stones were flung at the preacher,
who nevertheless stood his ground.

BEI.VOIR CASTLE.

When, some time after, (April 2nd, 1818) John Harrison entered Bottesford, he was
treated in much the same way as Benton had been, save that there is no mention of the
instrumentalists, for the beater of the big drum iiad followed Benton about until he had
got converted, and the band by this time had been broken up. Says Harrison, of
Bottesford : —

" This place may be called ' Little Sodom,' and I should be surprised if God did
not destroy it, was it not for the few righteous souls that are in it. I preached at
night, and met with much annoyance from the sinners of this place by their pelting
us with dirt and rotten eggs in abundance, but I came off scatheless."

240

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Yet in spite of High Church influence, Antinomianism, and mob violence, a flourishing
society was soon gathered. A chapel was erected, and for many years Bottesford has
stood as the head of a station. One of its village chapels — Thornton — has had a strange
eventful history, also belonging to the chapter of persecution, but this, if told at all,
must be told in a later portion of our history.

At Shelf ord, another aristocratic preserve, as we shall see, one after another of our
adherents was evicted for allowing services to be held in his house. At Oakham,
Thomas Jackson was violently opposed, and even injured, and had to stand his trial at
Oakham Castle. So violent was the persecution encountered at this place that
ultimately our missionaries had to be withdrawn. What happened at Newark and

BOTTE.SFORD MARKET CROSS.

Grantham had better be told when we come to deal with the work of Lockwood and
Wedgwood.

After this short survey of the district opened up by Benton, in 1817, so far as regards
persecution, the result arrived at is, that on any proposed map of persecution, scarcely
any place Benton missioned, unless it be Radcliffe and Whatton, would stand on a white
ground. Even Bingham and East Bridgford would show a faint tint. At the former
place a large society was formed ; but it was under adverse conditions. " The church
party through the influence of the clergyman did their utmost to prevent the Primitive
Methodists from having an interest in the place."

It is a relief to turn from such a survey as this to see in these Nottinghamshire
villages a Productive Recruitimj Ground. In this respect East Bridgford is a good

THK PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

241

sample of the rest. On the plan, February — May, 1818, George Herod's name is found
as a local preacher on trial. He was first convinced under Sarah Kirkland, still more
deeply convinced under John Benton, soundly converted through the instrumentality of

MAIN KUAJ), ItATCLIFFE-ON-TEENT.

William Clowes, and in 1819 he began his long and vigorous ministry. He died
August 30th, 1862, his last words being: "I rest, I rest, I rest on His arm," and
is buried in the quiet graveyard of Christ Church, High Harrogate. When

George Herod entered the itinerant ranks the
work was opening out on every side. Labourers
were so urgently needed that such a promising
recruit as he was gladly accepted. He was indeed
no ordinary man, as the books he has left testify.
He had a considerable fund of information, had
quite a remarkable acquaintance with our early
history — although he was not free from bias in
the handling of his copious materials — and he
wrote in a perspicuous and vigorous style. The
official memoir very justly says of him :

"He was one of the first enrolment {sic) of
our successful home missionaries, when that
work was most difficult and hard, and its
temporal remuneration was small, and he
exhausted therein one of the best of consti-
tutions. His preaching was very energetic and
scriptural, and his praying powerful. He was
GEORGE HEROD. ^ sound Methodistlc divine, and has left behind

242 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

him sterling works in theology and history, printed and in manuscript. He
made indelible impressions on every station he occupied as a minister and
superintendent, but the real results of the forty-five years of his Primitive
Methodistic Christian life, and the forty-three of his itinerant ministry, can only
be known in eternity."

George Herod was a married man when he entered
the ministry. He married Miss Elizabeth Parrott, of
East Bridgford. She was for many years an acceptable
preacher, and for upwaids of fifty years a class-leader,
surviving till 1871. Mrs. Herod must be carefully
distinguished from the Miss Parrott whom we shall
soon meet with labouring in Lincolnshire.

Kinoulton has been mentioned as a place where both
Benton and Thomas Jackson encountered considerable
opposition. Probably the soil was found so hard and
stubborn that even hardy Primitive Methodism failed
to take root there. Yet it is a pleasant glimpse we get
of the good which had been effected in that village, as
we read in Thomas Jackson's Journals how, when he was
surrounded by boys who blew horns and shouted and

MRS. HEROD (MISS E. PARROTT). i ,, i i • . n J.^ ^^^ cc t a r\ ^

hustled him out oi the village, "John Garner and
James Bonser — two youths who had just been converted, protected me. Peace
to their shade. Honour to their memory." James Bonser was a Kinoulton lad,
and the churchyard contains many memorials to that family. John Garner was a native
of Kegworth, but was apprenticed to a shoemaker in Kinoulton, and he tells us how
on May 17th, 1817, under a sermon preached by Mr. John Benton, he was truly
awakened to a concern for his eternal welfare and was on the next day enabled to
believe, and in two months and three days began to exhort. The names of both
John Garner and James Bonser are found on the plan, Eebruary~May, 1818, and in
1819 both entered the ministry.

These two village youths — recruits of 1817 — will be heard of again. James Bonser
will thrice suffer imprisonment for preaching the gospel before he retires from the
ministry in 1825. John Garner, too, will have become a prominent man in the
Connexion by 1848, when he will demit the office of General Missionary Secretary,
and, with a constitution broken by the privations and brutal treatment endured in the
earlier years of his ministry, will seek superannuation. He will live to become one of
the original members of the Deed Poll, and to figure no less than six times on the roll
of Presidents ; and though this distinction meant less in former days than it does now,
it yet serves to show the opinion entertained by his brethren of his business capabilities
and their desire to do him honour.

Besides these two, and those before named, there were other village youths won to
the cause during the Revival who were " to endure hardness " and survive to be
veterans. One of the earliest-won of these was James Moss, who tells us he was on
the same Easter Sunday of 1816 both convicted and converted under John Benton at

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

243

Whatton. He will begin his ministry of thirty-nine years in 1819. There was
Thomas Charlton, a Shelf ord youth, who began to travel in 1821, and laboured forty-
one years in the ministry ; also John Oscroft, who on January 4th, 1818, went to hear

JAMES MOSS, AGED 38.

THOMAS CHARLTON.

JOHN OSCEOFT.

our first missionaries at Hucknall Torkard. There the Word took fast hold of him, and
though his companions got him away to a public-house as men carry off a wounded
comrade that he may not fall into the enemy's hands, he was so conscience-stricken

that strong drink proved no anodyne, and he escaped
from his would-be rescuers, and found relief and pardon
while making his way home. He was to become one
of the leading missionaries in South-East Lincoln and
Norfolk. To this roll of names must probably be added
John Coulson, of Calow, near Chesterfield, who, religiously
inclined from childhood, will be drawn into the revival-
movement and become one of the preachers of 1819, and
labour thirty-five years.

The ways and training of the youth of our Churches
were not made matters of such solicitude and study eighty
years ago as they are to-day, and hence there remains
little to tell how these young converts were handled in
the brief time that intervened between their conversion
JOHN couLsoN. and call to the ministry. Fortunately we know the

most — though that is not much — of the most eminent of these youths — John Garner,
There seems to have been within him a spring of fun and frolic which intermittently
became active. Once, his brother tells us, when as a lad of fourteen he was on a visit
to Clifton at wake-time, he passed himself off among the lads, who were playing on the
village green, as a French boy, and succeeded, to his own great enjoyment, in completely
mystifying them. In this early delight in mystification the child was but the father of
the man. Now and again all through life he would mystify his brethren — and no one
likes to be mystified. The faces of the mystified bore witness to the short inward
debate going on as to whether they ought to smile or frown, and it often ended by
their face assuming an air of severity as of one who is about to rebuke a brother for his

R 2

244 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

lightsomenesR. Perhaps later on in life, John Garner's humour might be in danger of
becoming a little too mordant, so leaving a mark on the memory. But on this we need
not dwell : this was not the man in his normal condition. Some of his sallies and
escapades are remembered and recounted to this day, and were we to omit all reference
to them, the John Garner we are writing about would not be the veritable John Garner,
who as a youth no doubt added to the gaiety of some Nottinghamshire villages. Some
of his pranks had a practical purpose at the heart of them, like that one in which, in
his own characteristic way, he dealt with the charge of non-visitation. Eising at an
unearthly hour in the morning, he began his round of visitation by thundering at the
door of the chief complainant. Presently we see the good man of the house with
a guttering candle in his hand, standing half-dazed and shivering in the passage. " Eh,
Mr. Garner, whatever's the matter V " Ma^-ter, sir — matter ! One cannot rest in
one's bed for you and your visiting ! How are you getting on in your soul. Brother

? Let us pray a few words." And then we can see him chuckling as he departs

to pay another surprise-visit.

One safeguard the newly-converted youth of those days had — he was expected to
attend all the means of grace, and encouraged from the first to " exercise " in public
He was not thrust into the background and condemned to silence, and sarcastically
bidden to " tarry in Jericho until his beard was grown." This safeguard it was not
easy for John Garner to make use of. Whether the opposition at Kinoulton, like that
at Oakham, had been so violent as to forbid the establishment of a society, we know
not, but certain it is that at this time there was no society there, though the missionaries
paid occasional visits to the place. He tells us that —

" On the Sabbath I sometimes went twenty miles to hear a sermon by a Primitive
Methodist preacher ; and after 1 had finished my day's labour it was not uncommon
for me to walk eight or ten miles to a meeting, and as no societies were formed
within a considerable distance of my residence, I frequently travelled several miles
to a class meeting."

Widow Garner, like Job, w^as the honoured parent of seven sons and three daughters.
Of these the five eldest sons were away from home at this time following their callings.
William, the sixth, brave lad, was at Clifton doing his best for his mother and the
younger members of the family by working as a " stockinger." Hearing a great deal
about the "Ranters," curiosity led him to go on June 17th, 1818, to a camp meeting
at Stanton, conducted by John Wedgwood. While looking and listening, picture his
astonishment when his own brother John, of whose conversion and recent movements he
knew nothing, came to the front of the waggon and announced his text ! He preached
from the words, " 0 Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself ; but in Me is thine help."
Those who knew John Garner in his prime tell us that he had a magnificent voice, and
what was better still, the power of distinct enunciation, so that his voice carried far,
and his words were audible even to those on the outskirts of a vast camp meeting
assembly. Something of this power must already have shown itself a year after his
conversion; for his brother records that "considering his youth and inexperience he
preached a sermon of wonderful fluency and power," and it made a deep impression on
his mind, which eventually resulted in his conversion. William Garner will begin his

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

245

long and even more distinguished ministry in 1822; and in 1830 James Garner, the
seventh son, will follow, and become in his turn departmental officer. President of
Conference, and theologian. If the ISTottinghamshire Revival of 1817 had done no
more than summon forth from their village obscurity and lowly callings such men as

these, and set them on the road to usefulness
and honour, it was worth the toil and perse-
cution endured.

These names by no means exhaust the list
of those who, being themselves the fruit of
the Revival, were hereafter to scatter the seed
of future harvests in other parts. They might
not be in the field as long as some of those
already named, but as long as they were engaged
they did good work. Jane Brown was one of
these. As early as September 24th, 1818,
Hugh Bourne, when on a visit to Nottingham,
records : — " Jane Brown begins to travel.
I took the opportunity to give her a charge.
I trust she will do well." Yes, she will do
well; perhaps helped in her well-doing by
Hugh Bourne's charge. Her face and name
are both worth remembering, not merely
because she is fair to look upon and will be
the first female to preach in Canaan Street,
but for reasons much more weighty. Mention, too, may be made of Jacob Wilkinson,
who began his life with the century, and entering the ministry in 1822 travelled till
1830, when we miss his name from the Minutes. After his retirement from the
ministry, he was for a time actively associated with Nottingham and the Circuit, as the
Quarterly Minute Books show, and then — he disappears.

Village Saints.
It is not away from the purpose of this History, but quite in keeping with it, to notice
that the gospel our missionaries carried into these towns and villages not only rescued
men and women from vice, but in not a few instances fashioned character to the finest
form and issues. It is just here we touch the root of the matter, so far as Church
history is concerned. Saints are the Church's chief asset, and if it cannot produce
a sufficiency of these it will soon be bankrupt in the estimation of both God and man.
It cannot compound for failure in fine character-building by success in fine chapel-
building, or by success in anything else. Both God and the world are saying : "Never
mind your ecclesiasticism. Bring out your best samples of men and women." Under-
lying the question whether Primitive Methodism can justify itself historically is the
question whether it can justify itself ethically and spiritually. If " wisdom is justified
of her children " so must our Church, like every other, be justified or condemned by
the type of character it brings forth and nourishes. It has always seemed to us that
the true glory of our Church is to be found in the number of saintly souls it has had in

JANE BROWN.

The first female that preached in Canaan Street
Chapel. Her first text wa s John i. ver. 29.

246 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

the lower walks of life ; men and women who in this work-a-day world could win and
even extort the acknowledgment : "These, at any rate, are true to their religion ;" who
in the open, and not under hot-house conditions, could bring forth the fruits of the
Spirit ; saints who held the plough-stilts, or stood at the wash-tub. Thank God ! we
have had, and still have, a goodly number of these, and we have not made enough, or
as much as we shall make, of them ; for it is the usual fate of saints to be passed over
for what is noisy and pretentious. Yet if we only knew it, these "living epistles" are
our credentials — our denominational title-deeds.

There were — thanks to the Eevival — some saints such as these,

" Not too bright or good
Por human nature's daily food,"

in the towns and villages of the Midlands whom our Church can place on its roll.
Dinah Maul and Eliza Richardson, of East Bridgford, may be singled out — ^just as
Hannah Yeomans, of Rodsley, already has been-^as fair samples of the peasant or
artisan saints whom the Revival directly or indirectly gave our Church. " Saints " we
call them, and that without scruple ; for the word wants bringing back into the thick
of the world's business. In the right sense, both these lowly and godly women have
left a local reputation for saintliness of character, and the claim deserves wider
recognition, for as Thomas Arnold has said : " Christianity is ' published ' by the
recognition of its saints. Their lives are no delusion, for they have permanently
affected men, and they are all based, built on Christ, and are in Him the manifestation
of eternal truth among outward things." Dinah was but the wife of a " stockinger,'^
and yet if a plebiscite had been called in the village, where everybody was known to
everybody, to decide the question who was the most out-and-out Christian in East
Bridgford, it is more than likely that Dinah's name, much to her own surprise, would
have come out at the top. Nor Avould the result have been different if the votes had
been counted at the public-house, with the publican sitting as presiding officer. We
have classed Dinah Maul with Hannah Yeomans, of Rodsley, but her piety was of
a stronger and less contemplative type than Hannah's. There was something Amazonian
about her saintliness. Her prominent qualities were those of a leading and ruling
spirit — " an uncommon degree of good sense, patience, decision, force of character " —
so that "she swayed the rest according to her will." She championed the Sunday
morning prayer meetings, and got the preacher there by having first invited him to
breakfast — in this showing her womanly tact as well as zeal. She was strong for the
Sunday evening procession round the village, at which it was usual for the last week's
converts to take a prominent part, so that the procession assumed something of the
character of a triumphal one. We think of Paul's allusion to himself as a willing
captive swelUng the triumphal progress of the victor Christ, as we see Dinah and the
preacher at the head of the procession. They have got last Sabbath's convert between
them — a poor reclaimed drunkard who happened to stray into the service. He, poor
soul, goes along with streaming eyes and hands held aloft, while from Dinah's lips there
comes forth every now and again her favourite ejaculation, " Bless Him ! Bless Him ! "
As the procession moves along, even the innkeepers' wives look on sympathetically as-

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

247

DINAH MAUL AND ELIZA RICHARDSON.

they see one who had been a terror to them when maddened with drink now so
changed. Tradition loves to tell how Dinah used to pray and sing as few could, and
goes on to speak of her as the efficient class-leader and a famous directress of penitents.

When people were in spiritual dis-
tress, still more when life was ebbing,
the word would be, " Send for
Dinah." We need no higher tribute
than this to the reality of her
religious experience and her skill as
a physician of souls. Mark them
whom the dying want to have near
them. In the sincere last moments
of life it is the wise virgins — they
that have oil in their lamps — whose
presence is sought.

Dinah had her successor. Eliza
Richardson, though "born in one
of the four poor labourers' cottages
at the top of Trent Lane," was in the succession of the saints, and how this was
brought about we learn from her own words, dictated a short time before death to her
daughter : —

"I knew the people of God enjoyed something I was destitute of. So I sent for
dear Sister Maul and Sister Burrows. They asked me if I would like to be saved.
I said that was what I wanted. So we all knelt down on my own little hearth-
stone, and then they poured out their souls to God in fervent prayer, and I prayed
also ; and oh, what a weight of sin I felt on my poor back ! But the Lord heard
and answered prayer, and I felt my load of sin was gone."

Eliza Richardson's conversion took place in 1843 — the year after East Bridgford was
made a branch of Nottingham Circuit — and her husband's conversion followed soon
after. The prophetess has her mantle as well as the .prophet, and Dinah's mantle was
taken up by Eliza Richardson. She enjoyed unbroken and intimate friendship with
Dinah until the latter's death, and then carried on her work. Nature had done much
for her ; but grace, the best of developers, quickened and enlarged her natural gifts, so
that her ability as a class-leader and organiser became very marked. In her modest
home hospitality was dispensed to the servants of God, and all that related to the
prosperity of the cause of God lay near the heart of her and her husband, who in
extreme age survives. Both showed themselves stalwarts in suffering willingly for
their principles. Once their feelings were harrowed by the refusal of the clergyman to
read the burial-service over their dead child in the church, bacause it had not been
baptismally regenerated there ! The intolerance of the same clergyman compelled them
to send their children to a neighbouring town for their schooling, which entailed a walk
of three miles each way. Do you say " How hard upon the children ! What a piece of
superfluous severity ! " So one taking short views might have said at the time ; but
now that the fruits of the hardy training have had time to show themselves, it will be

248 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

acknowledged, even by them who had to pass through it, that the training was greatly-
wise. It was better the parents should choose for their children the daily trudge
imposed by conscience than that they should sacrifice their principles to save their
children's legs. The children themselves honour them for the choice they made ; for
a blessing has followed the high-principled choice. One of those little trudgers is
to-day not only a leading Primitive Methodist local preacher in the Nottingham First
Circuit, but is mentioned as a candidate to contest a Parliamentary constituency against
a noble lord of the house of Bentinck. Other instances of firmness in adhering to
principle on the part of Mr. and Mrs. Richardson might be given, but let the one
already cited, with its lesson for our times, suffice. Eliza Richardson, after a consistent
and unbroken membership of fifty years, died in 1893, leaving others to carry on her
good work.

Now, though we have confined ourselves to one village, and to two persons out of
that one village, it must not be thought that East Bridgf ord has given to our Church
no other persons worthy of grateful remembrance, or that other villages in these parts
visited by the Revival were barren of saintly characters. Either supposition would
be utterly wrong. Indeed, as soon as you begin to examine the scanty records yet
remaining, or question those whose memory is most far-reaching, you will find that
almost every village where Primitive Methodism established itself had in its society
some person to whom every one looked up as eminent for goodness, or unflinching
loyalty, or length and activity of service. You turn to the Journals of Hugh Bourne
and you meet with a record like this — one of many similar records — which only whets
your curiosity to know more : —

'■^August 16th, 1818. — Epperstone at 2. Preached from Ruth. Renewed the
tickets. Truly a good time. Miss Lealand, the leader, is a truly pious woman,
and of great talents. I rejoiced to see her."

More and more are we convinced it would be a praiseworthy and pious work to rescue
the memory of such as these from oblivion. It could be done by the fixing of tablets
in our churches, or, still better, by the publication of local works, in which the story
of their lives should be told, not in the conventional way in which the work is usually
done, but by an honest attempt at description of character arid the recital of authentic
facts. Such memorials are not only due to departed worth, but would impress upon us
the continuity of our history, and greatly strengthen Connexional loyalty. There is no
lack of material, and for our own part we must forbear. One other name, however, we
will mention and fit into its place as shortly as possible, because Robert Hutchinson was
connected with these parts, and may well stand as the type of the sure and steady, the
men who year in and year out are at their posts, and, as we once heard it put, are " like
a pump-handle, ready for any one that wants them."

We have referred to the disaster which overtook the Hucknall Torkard Society in
1838. In that year, while Rev. George Herod, a strict disciplinarian, was superintendent
of Mansfield Circuit, a division occurred in the Hucknall Society, most of the divisionists
joining the Selstonites. If it be asked : "And who were the Selstonites ? " we answer:
The Selstonites were dissidents who split off from the Belper Circuit during the
superintendency of Rev. W. Carthy, 1838-9. The occasion of the split was the action

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 249

of the Quarterly Meeting in increasing the modest stipend of the superintendent from
fourteen to sixteen shillings a week, and the fact that the greater number of those who
Avere scandalised at the proposed increase of salary hailed from Selston accounts for the
name the divisionists came to bear.^ The Selstonites dwindled until the feeble remnant

were absorbed in the greater split from Methodism in 1849.
In referring to this secession, the late Dr. Gregory quite truly re-
marks : " It is a mistake to suppose that the younger Methodist
bodies are gifted with unsplittability ; the fact being that the
splitting does not make such a resonant report, nor leave such
a terrible crevasse." Yes. Primitive Methodism has had its splits,
and a good many of them from first to last, but they have been
local ones affecting a branch here at one time and there at
another. They have been splitlets rather than splits. There has
never been one that rived the columnar trunk, or tore off the main
arterial branches — not one that affected and threatened to rend in

REV. W. CARTHY. c*xuv>ixc*i k^x^a,

twain the entire Connexion. The Selston split was not the
first in time or in importance. There was one at Nottingham, it would seem, as early
as 1821. This we learn solely from the Journals of Thomas Charlton, and history has
no more to say about it ; so soon does a vigorous Church recover from her wounds, and,
like I^ature, obliterate by fresh luxuriant growths the marks of former ravage. Then
in 1834, during the superintendency of F. K Jersey, :N'ottingham Circuit passed
through its severest crisis. Feeling ran so high that Mr. Jersey was by a section barred
out from the pulpit of Canaan Street. There were secessions in the societies, though
these for the most part soon died out or were reabsorbed. There was one secession
dating from about 1829 or 1830, which received, no doubt, some impetus from the
Nottingham one of '34, and has proved more permanent than most others ; for the
Independent Primitive Methodists of Bingham and the adjoining villages — a Free Gospel
organisation which uses our Church Hymnal — survive as a memorial of the
troubles of that period. Sometimes splits seem to be a kind of self-pruning, and
that which has been pruned appears to be none the worse for its enforced
amputation, but rather to have gained in vitality by what it has lost in sub-
stance ; so we are told that in 1835 the Nottingham Circuit generally was in
a heilthier condition than before, and that there was an increase of 135 on the year's
working after all vacancies had been filled up, though it is admitted that Canaan Street
had not yet fully recovered from the ordeal through which it had passed. Nor can we
forbear saying that the Selston split may stand as a fair type of most of those that
have occurred, in this one respect at least — it was "much ado about nothing." To
command any respect a split must have a decent justification, or else the report it
makes in its going off, however resonant, will affect the general trend and final result of
things no more than the bursting of our neighbour's pneumatic tyre. So, as we have
said, the Hucknall Torkard divisionists cast in their lot with the Free Gospel Selstonites.

* The Eev. W. Carthy. we believe, published an account of the affair, but our efforts to secure
a copy of the pamphlet have proved unsuccessful.

250

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

The seven members, who alone were left, made a gallant stand against adverse conditions.
They took the club-room of the "Half Moon" inn for their services, and struggled on.
But what could they do ? The feeling in the town, we are told, was against them, and
G. Wood, the superintendent of Mansfield, 1841-2, gave up Hucknall,"^ but not before
appealing to the superintendent of the newly-formed Arnold branch
of Nottingham (1841) to take charge of Connexional interests there.
The appeal was made to the right man. Edward Morton was born
in 1807 at Countesthorpe in Leicestershire, where the Luddites^
barn for the storage of ammunition was turned into a place of
worship. He became the Primitive Methodist Town Missionary
in Nottingham, and laboured indefatigably in furtherance of that
forward ' movement in which William Antliff and John Brownson
were leading spirits — a movement which more than repaired the
losses sustained in 1834, and resulted in the acquisition for the
Connexion in Nottingham of a second good chapel in another part of
the town. This was historic Hockley Chapel, opened by Wesley
and Dr. Coke in 1783; retained, and thus alienated from the Old Body, by the seceders
to the New Connexion in 1797, and made the burial-place of Alexander Kilham, the
founder; recovered in 1817 by the Wesley an Methodists as the result of a Chancery suit,

REV. EDWARD MORTON.

HOCKLEY CHAPEL, NOTTINGHAM.

and in 1839 sold to the Primitive Methodists for the sum of <£2,400. Edward Morton,
by his extensive labours as a town missionary, prepared the way for this notable
advance, and having thus given proof of his powers, he was admitted into the regular
ministry, and in 1841 we find him living at Arnold as Branch Superintendent. He at

* Probably he was in failing health, for he died in 1843.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

251

once took energetic measures to recapture surrendered Hucknall. He missioned the
streets and preached on the green. At the close of the service he inquired for Robert
Hutchinson and WiUiam Allen. The two were on the spot, and responded to the call.
Robert Hutchinson did not fail the missionary in the time of need ; he opened his
house for preaching, and it continued to be the preaching-place for the society until
1848, when, now increased to thirty members, the society migrated to a room in Allen
Street ; and for a period of forty-six years this frame-work knitter, employe and, in
later life, pensioner of Samuel Morley, M.P., of Nottingham, filled and fulfilled the
offices of Leader and Society Steward.

We may seem to have mixed up village saints and Church-splits in strange confusion ;

but there is a closer connection
between these than at first may
appear. The saints are pre-eminently
" the tried," and to have tried men
and women you must have trials, and
of all trials Church-trials are, as Paul
very well knew, the most trying It
is those who have been "tried" that
are to receive the amaranthine crown,
and so the Church should reserve its
choicest laurel- wreaths for those who
stand "faithful amongst the faith-
less ; " who do not desert their post,
but calmly go on with their work
in the midst of discouragements,
unpopularity, and even amid Church
broils and secessions. Church-life
is not all rapture, or such as to evoke
hallelujahs, and fidelity to truth
required us to show that, not so
long after the great Revival, there
were hindrances and reverses, to be
accounted for naturally enough, as
we shall see, but only serving in many
cases to bring out the finest qualities of men. It is not alone of Robert Hutchinson we
are thinking or writing ; he is one of a type, and we shall meet him again and again
under other names and in other places, and to these life-long, tried, and trusty leaders
of local Churches Primitive Methodism owes more than she can tell.

ROBERT Hutchinson's house, in which services were

HELD FROM 1841 TO 1848.

John Wedgwood's Imprisonment.

The labours of Sarah Kirkland and John Benton, chiefly in Nottinghamshire, during
1817, have been described; but John Wedgwood, followed by William Clowes, also
came on the ground, and the part these, along with William Lockwood and others, took
in the work of evangelisation must be glanced at. Car Colston Green was a favourite

252

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

place for the holding of large open-air gatherings. The village stands hard by the
Fosse Way — the famous Roman road that runs diagonally across the country from Bath
to Lincoln. George Herod was present at one of these early gatherings, at which
a thousand persons were computed to be present, and he tells how he saw several
persons — notably a man he knew, some six feet two of stature — fall to the ground
groaning and writhing under the influence of Benton's prayers and preaching. Another
camp meeting, held on the same spot, was attended by some three thousand persons.
This is noteworthy to us as showing Mr. Lockwood now fully committed to the
revival movement, and rendering good service in stemming opposition from fox-hunting
squires and their like-minded spiritual advisers. These gentry were numerous in
the neighbourhood, and they watched the progress of the movement with a dislike they

ROOM, HUCKNALL TORKARD, IN WHICH SERVICES WERE HELD FROM 1848 TO 1859.

took no pains to conceal. On the afternoon of the camp meeting, Colonel Hildyard, of
Flintham Hall, with a number of others, rode up and ordered the assembly to disperse.
The people did not disperse, but if anything drew closer together. When after this the
Colonel threatened to read the Riot Act, Mr. Lockwood bade the people make way, and
so along the living avenue the posse of gentlemen rode right up to the waggon. Having
got them there, Mr. Lockwood gave his high-class hearers " a genteel but very cutting
address," and the party left the ground somewhat discomfited. The moral effect of the
rebuff thus spiritedly administered was distinctly good ; for it was felt that even in
priest-ridden Vale of Belvoir the Ranters could and would stand unabashed before
squires and parsons, and not tamely yield to intimidation.

(•

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

253

But what brought John Wedgwood on tlie scene? His imprisonment at Grantham^
with its associated incidents, stands out distinctly among the incidents of the time, and
it was the holding of a famous camp-lovefeast in June, 1817, that led to the summoning
of Wedgwood into Nottinghamshire, The idea of holding an immense lovefeast in the
open-air had occurred to Mr. John Parrott, sen., when present at the Whit-Sunday
Camp Meeting in Nottingham Forest in the previous year. He had been a Methodist
local preacher, with strong predilections for revivalistic work, and had felt it his duty
to unite with the Primitive Methodists. His name stands No. 21 on the February-May
1818 Plan, and No. 5 on that of 1827, and for a number of years he was actively
identified with thei Nottingham Circuit, but gradually he seems to- have suffered

CAR COLSTON GREEN. **

Commencement of the Green.

a change in his views and sentiments. He became dissatisfied with our discipline,
and pretty frequent entries in the Quarterly Minute Books in the late twenties,
referring to the missing of appointments and other matters, show that he was the
cause of trouble, and prepare us for the following final entry : —

^'1829, June i^^/i.— That Brother Parrott, senior's, name come off the plan
according to his request by the Bingham delegate, because he cannot conscientiously
continue among us."

It is singular that the secretary who penned this minute was Mr. John Parrott, jun.,

254

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

of East Bridgford. The Quarterly Meeting of December 30tli, 1830, resolved : " That
in the opinion of this meeting Bro. Parrott is an eligible person for the itinerant
ministry. That testimonials to that effect be sent to the North Shields Circuit which
has made application for them." John Parrott was clever ; but his litigious propensities

marred his usefulness, and sometimes were the occasion of
trouble, both to himself and to others. He was converted
at the camp-lovefeast which his senior namesake organised.
The site of the novel meeting has been very precisely
given as " Priest Hill," on the eastern side of Katcliife-
on-Trent parish, on the side of the high road between
Nottingham and Newark, where another road crosses the
turnpike — a situation spacious and public. Over and above
the direct spiritual good effected at this great gathering
was the wide interest it was the means of creating. The
people who came together were from all parts of the
country-side. Many, in order to reach Priest Hill, had
walked distances that to us, in these degenerate days of
pedestrianism, would seem well-nigh incredible. The
Teturn of the people to their homes was like the scattering of brands here and
there on the dry prairie ; curiosity, inquiry, • and enthusiasm burst into flame simul-
taneously at various and separate points of the country-side. The result was — and
this is the historical importance of the Priest Hill gathering — John Benton received

KEV. JOHN PARROTT.

'-'"'^m^W-

PRIEST HILL, ratc::liffe-on-trent.
Site of Camp-Lovefeast.

urgent invitations to visit so many different places that it was impossible he could
accept even the half of them, so John Wedgwood, John Heath, and John Hallsworth
were called in to assist, and all entered heartily into the Revival.

Wedgwood must have lost no time in obeying the summons, for from a comparison
of the available data we conclude it would be about the middle of August when he

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

255

was pulled down from the Market Cross of Grantham, whose fine grey steeple of
St. Wolfran's, towering above the rich red roofs, is familiar to all travellers on the
Great Northern Eailway. But there is evidence that even before this date Wedgwood
must have paid more than one visit to the town. On one of these occasions he took
his stand in the open space at the south end of Inner Street; for at the close of the
service Mr. Bayley invited him to dinner, and his house became Wedgwood's home on
his subsequent visits to the town, and the chair in which he was accustomed to sit has

GRANTHAM MARKET-PLACE.
Wedgwood was taken from the steps of the cross to prison.

found an honoured place in the vestry of our Grantham Church. A special sacredness
must surely have attached to the Market Cross and its vicinity in the estimation of the
civic fathers, or else why should that which was allowed at the Town End be sternly
put down when attempted in the Forum ? Any way, as we have seen, on or about the
15th of August Wedgwood was marched off by the constables. It was no silent,
crestfallen man they dragged to the Guildhall. As far as appearances went, the
constables might have been the misdemeanants whom Wedgwood and his friends were

25G

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

escorting to prison ; for out of the heart of the crowd, every moment becoming bigger,

there arose the strains of the
hymn —

" Wicked men I scorn to fear
Though they persecute me here."

The hymn with its note of defiance
was the triumphant finish of their
service. Arrived at the Guildhall,
Wedgwood " had to sit in the
prisoner's chair with a man to guard
him, as though he had been a high-
wayman." As he sat there we may
be sure he had no self-pity, nor need
^oe pity him. He took it all smilingly
and in good heart, and as he cast
his eye towards the door where the
crowd was surging like a rising tide
against a rock, he thought almost
gleefully how his arrest was throwing
Grantham into commotion and how
it would all contribute to the further-
ance of the gospel. His attention,
INNER sTUEET, GRANTHAs:. liowevcr, was , soou rccallcd to his

own fate as decided by the magistrates : John Wedgwood was committed to take

his trial at the next Quarter Sessions, and meanwhile ordered to be detained in custody.
Tidings of what had happened were soon

carried to Mr. Lockwood, who at once put horse

in gig and drove straight to Grantham. The

experience of Wedgwood was repeated in his

case. He took his stand at the Cross and began

a service, but had not got far on in it, before

he too was stopped and hurried before the

magistrates. His mittimus was made out, and in

due course he would have become Wedgwood's

fellow-prisoner; but he had no drawings towards

a prison life. He had his business to attend

to, and had no intention of exchanging the

comforts of his own home for the inside of

a prison if he could honourably avoid it ; so

he entered into his own recognisances to apjjear

at the next Quarter Sessions, and probably did

his best to persuade John Wedgwood to do the

same but in vain. wedgwood's chair in grantham vestry.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

257

JOHN WEDGWOOD.

Wedgwood's imprisoninent deeply moved the Primitive Methodist community : and
little wonder, for there was something in the event and its sequel that appealed to the
imagination, and besides, it must be remembered, it was the first instance of the kind
that had occurred. John Wedgwood was the first Primitive Methodist to undergo jy

imprisonment ; the first of a type of prisoner quite new to
that generation — prisoners who were always genial in the
presence of magistrates whom often they admonished and
bafHed, who prayed with their fellow-prisoners and exhorted
turnkeys as Wedgwood did when in Grantham jail. He
was the first of a goodly company of cheerful confessors for
Primitive Methodism, and as such he merits recognition.
The news of Wedgwood's arrest and commitment naturally
excited much interest and concern at Tunstall where he was
so well known. Thomas Woodnorth's feelings on the occasion
sought poetic expression, as is not unusual when the public
mind is greatly stirred by current events. In such times of
excitement there are always some who drop, or mount, into
poetry. So "precious" Thomas Woodnorth was inspired by the event to write some
one hundred and seventy lines of verse in rhymed couplets in the heroic metre used
by Cowper in " The Task," and by Dry den in his " ^neis." But though Woodnorth's
verse is better than one might reasonably expect, it is mainly of interest to us as
showing what thoughts and feelings were excited in him by the news from Grantham.
The event he celebrated lent itself to poetic treatment. The humble herald of
the Cross takes his stand under the shadow of the Market Cross, surely the very
spot for the delivery of the preacher's message. No fitter place than this town-
centre — this place of public concourse — for the proclamation of the truth that the Cross
should be central and dominant in all our social, business, and corporate life. The
truths the preacher enforces are just those truths the cross of stone has been bearing
silent witness to through all these years, and yet the preacher is dragged down by the
agents of municipal authority who ought to have protected him, and, literally, by the
way of the cross, is haled to prison. How strange ! and yet it is only another short
act in the age-long tragedy : " He came unto His own, and His own received Him not."
Some such thoughts as these seem to have been in Woodnorth's mind, struggling for
expression as he took pen in hand. Though he writes of Grantham, its "belial
throng," and the doings of its " grandees," what has happened there is after all only
an incident — a picture in little — of the great conflict. Grantham's grandees are simply
the tools of Lucifer their captain, who is fighting a losing battle against the Lord and
His anointed.

But Tunstall took a practical as well as poetic interest in Wedgwood's concerns. It
was decided to free William Clowes from his round of circuit engagements for a time,
in order that he might go to .Grantham and learn for himself how it fared with
Wedgwood. If this first imprisonment had had no other result than this, it would
have to be considered historically an event of some importance. To put the fact

* This is a different portrait from the one triven on p. 163.

258

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

strongly : the imprisonment of Wedg\^'ood effected what was tantamount to the
liberation of Clowes. It gave him fuller scope for his superb evangelising gifts. For
a short time he became again a missionary at large. By this rapid visit to the outlying
and promising fields of labour now thrown open, he gained a truer idea of the needs and
possibilities of the Connexion; his own conceptions were enlarged and adjusted to
existing facts. If it be true, as we believe it is, that in Primitive Methodism, over and
above everything else, there survives and energises something of the distinctive spirit
of Clowes, then it was eminently advantageous that just at this juncture the many, to
whom Clowes hitherto had been little more than a name, should have the opportunity of

BUCKMINSTEK HALL.

coming under the influence of his powerful personality. Until they had seen his eye
flash, and had their very souls searched by the thrilling tones of his voice when in
prayer or ministering the Word, they could not be said to know what Primitive
Methodism really was. Good men and women were labouring in these parts ; Hugh
Bourne was threading his way amongst the societies, spending himself in their service ;
Sarah Kirkland, John Benton, John Wedgwood, John Heath, Robert Winfield, Richard
Weston, John Hallsworth, and others were hard at work, but not one of these was
equal to Clowes at his best. This good then came out of Wedgwood's imprisonment ;
it brought Clowes into contact with the great Revival, and that meant for the revival
an added impetus, and for Clowes yet greater zeal and efficiency as an evangelist.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

259

Clowes left Tiinstall on August 29th, and made his way to Nottingham, where he

heard rumours that Wedgwood was now out on bail. Upon this he thought it well

to learn from Mr. Lockwood what had really happened. So he proceeded to East

Bridgford, and was told by Mr. Lockwood that Wedgwood had at last been induced

to follow his (Mr. L.'s) example, and to enter into his own recognisances to appear at

the next Quarter Sessions, or when called upon. Furthermore, Clowes learned that

Wedgwood had preached at East Bridgford on the Friday, and was now gone to

Buckminster, near Grantham, the seat of Sir William Manners, to assist in holdinf^

a camp meeting there. It was Buckminster Camp Meeting, just about to be held, that
brought Wedgwood out of prison. It was not Mr. Lockwood's example or advice
backed by that of the counsel retained for the defence, slowly taking effect that brought
him to the point of giving bail. If he ever did deliberately take the attitude of
*' passive resistance," refusing on principle to give bail because that might seem to
recognise the legality of his arrest, that attitude was overborne by the consideration

that the cause he had at heart was suffering by his not
altogether necessary seclusion. Labourers were scarce
and some anxiety was felt on this score as to the success
of the camp meeting some time since arranged to be held
at Buckminster. Such a consideration as this appealed to
Wedgwood. He was no lawyer or casuist, but unsophisti-
cated, and in some respects simple as a child. He probably
felt that the Lord had suffered him to be put in prison,
and that he must stay there until the Lord saw good to
let him out. Meanwhile, he made himself as comfortable
as he could under the circumstances. Little Sammy Bayley,
aged ten, who had helped to sing him to the Guildhall,
and Sammy's sister, brought him his breakfast the following
morning. Others did the like, so that when a friend was
SAMUEL BAYLEY. about to scud hiui four or five pounds, thinking it might

"''ZlL::V:^Zt^:r' ^^ ^^^^^^ *^ ^^^ ^^ --« ^-^^^ ^e was not in want. So

during his incarceration " I felt," says he, " quite happy
while I prayed and sung and preached to the prisoners." The Muses visited him too,
and he wrote some prison-rhymes^ which found a place in several early editions of the
Small Hymn Book. Perhaps the first verse of ''Wedgwood's jingle," as it has
irreverently been called, will satisfy our readers :—

" At Grantham Cross I did appear,
The constables did then draw near ;
And from the cross they had me down,
But could not take away my crown,"

In this cheerful state of mind Wedgwood was visited, amongst others, by Sarah
Kirkland (then labouring in the Yale of Belvoir). "She found him happy in God,
and rejoicing that he was counted worthy to suffer imprisonment for the truth's sake"
After he had been in durance a little more than a fortnight, he yielded to the solicitations
of Benton, and other of his friends, "to come up to the help of the Lord against the

s 2

MR.

260 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

mighty." He gave the required bond, and was liberated in time to take part in
Buckminster Camp Meeting, August 31st, 1817. Now Clowes, in a sense liberated too,
was at this camp meeting ; for when he had heard all Mr. Lockwood had to tell about
Wedgwood, he borrowed the squire's horse and made for Buckminster, though it would
seem he held a service somewhere on the way. One who was present tells hoM'' he,
with others, had walked fifteen miles — probably from Clipson in Rutlandshire — to be
present at what was the first camp meeting they had ever seen. All the morning the
people kept coming up, until there was a vast concourse. He lovingly recalls the
precise features of that out-door temple which then impressed him : " The meeting was
held in a fine broad green lane, sheltered by a beautiful high thorn hedge, with the
spreading oaks growing thick therein ; under its shade hundreds stood." Henry
Sharman — for he it is who writes of his remembrances — saw Clowes draw near, make
for the centre, and at once throw himself into the service with all his accustomed
abandon. How the faces of Benton and Wedgwood and Heath would broaden and
brighten as they saw Clowes elbowing his way through the crowd to join them ! To
them he was God-sent. Clowes spoke with great power from " Come thou and all thy
house into the ark." Young Sharman never forgot the gracious influence which enabled
him there and then to close with the divine proffer, and to
dedicate himself to the service of God. Though his entry into
the ministry was deferred until 1823, the resolve he made on
the Buckminster camp-ground was faithfully kept. He travelled
with acceptance and success for thirty-six years, beginning his
labours in the Isle of Man and closing them in the Isle of Jersey,
and died at Norwich April 8th, 1877.

A notable thing happened at this Buckminster Camp Meeting.
During the afternoon Sir William Manners' carriage drove up, and
at the close of the service Henry Sharman saw John Benton put
HENRY SHARMAN. j^ig Blblc aud hymu-book into his pocket, get into the carriage,
and drive off. How came it about that Benton was found in such high company — hob-
nobbing with baronets, and having a footman to open the carriage door for him 1 The
fact is, it suited Sir William's purpose to champion the cause of the Primitive Methodists
at this time. He had a grudge against the Grantham " grandees " and burgesses for
rejecting the Parliamentary candidate he favoured, and he meant to be quits with them,
and give them a pin-prick here and a side-wipe there as opportunity might offer. One
such chance now presented itself. He knew all about the arrest of Wedgwood and
Lockwood for preaching at the Cross, and had got a pulpit of stone erected on his own
land near the Guildhall. He was now taking Benton to Grantham to " hansel " this
pulpit, and to preach for the glory of God, as Benton intended, and for the mortification
of the magistrates, as Sir William hoped. It was a strange and unnatural alliance of
motives, from which little permanent good was to be expected. Putting together what
Clowes and Herod tell us of that drive to Grantham, it was certainly a singular one : —

" As they were going along. Sir William asked the preacher whether or not he
and his brethren were inspired men. The preacher replied that his soul was full
of glory. Sir William then said that he should like to hear him preach — would he

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 261

have the goodness to preach to his coachman as they proceeded ? The preacher
replied, that if he would stop the carriage he would preach to the people in the
village through which they were passing, through the carriage window ; but
Sir William declined that proposal, and drew up the window-blinds." — Clowes'
Journals, p. 129.

Benton himself says : —

" I preached to him the fall of man, the restoration by Christ Jesus, repentance
and faith, justification and sanctification, the day of judgment, heaven and hell :
but while I was setting forth these truths, Sir William appeared rather restless
and I have no doubt was very glad when we arrived at Grantham." — Herod's

Sketches.

On nearing the town the carriage was exchanged for a post-chaise, which carried
Benton to the stone pulpit, and a servant of Sir William attended while he ascended
the pulpit and preached to a large and orderly congregation.

Some at least of our fathers seem to have regarded this championing of their cause
by Sir William as a chivalrous and righteous act — something to be proud of and
thankful for. Thomas Woodnorth, for instance, sees no incongruity or violation of
principle in the co-operation of political spite with evangelical zeal. In the poetic
effusion before referred to Sir William figures as a kind of crusader, so that we should
not be surprised to find his cross-legged effigy in the family burial-place. The stone
pulpit was in behalf of the Cross : —

" Lo, Grrantham's famous pulpit made of stoue ;
Fraught with good zeal, witness Sir William's hand,
The Knight of Buckminster, who made a stand
Against the sons of envy in the fight.
To damp their folly and to calm their spite,
That monument he raised to Jesus' name.
To preach the Crucified and spread His fame.
This was an act as brave as e'er was told
By daring warriors, who in crimson rolled
Their dyed garments on the field of blood.

*****

'Twas done for God, this makes the action shine
More bright than sun o'er equinoctial line."

This view of the case will not be endorsed now. Looking back upon the episode
after all these years, one cannot but feel that it would have been better if Benton had
never set foot either in Sir William's carriage or in his pulpit. What did the baronet's
ostentatious patronage of the Primitives for his own ends, and his "pulpit of cut stone,"
do towards the establishment of our cause in Grantham 1 Let us see.

Messrs. Lockwood and Wedgwood duly surrendered on their bail at the Quarter
Sessions, which came on on October 23rd. Counsel was employed on their behalf, and
the jury returned a verdict of " Not guilty," so that the magistrates were beaten,
and found themselves, to their chagrin, saddled with the costs. The result was a signal
triumph, all the more so since Wedgwood had not taken the precaution to procure

262 PKTMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

a preacher's licence before beginning his missionary labours.* There can be little
doubt the magistrates were mortified at the result of the trial, and were somewhat
cowed by the action of their neighbour, the baronet, and the conviction that they
would have to reckon with him as well as with the missionaries. Certain it is that
after the trial meetings were held, occasionally at least, at the Market Cross, without
interference on the part of the authorities. In proof of this we have the following
entry in Hugh Bourne's Journals : —

^^ Sunday, April 26th, 1818. — I got to Grantham in Lincolnshire Camp Meeting.
In the afternoon we stood upon the Market Cross, the place where John Wedgwood
stood when he was taken up. Thus hath God wrought."

Probably the acceptance of Buckminster's " chariots and horses," like Israel's reliance
on Egypt or Assyria, was of little permanent advantage to our cause at Grantham. If
the alliance warded off persecution under legal forms, it did not serve to commend our
work to the people of Grantham, whose suspicions were aroused by the aristocratic
entanglement ; and so, though there is no evidence that the people were either rowdy
or truculent, they did not prove very accessible to the gospel as proclaimed by our
missionaries. Be this as it may, it was not until 1835 that a permanent cause was
established, though before that date several determined attempts were made, as the
official records of the Nottingham Circuit show. In June, 1824, the Circuit Committee
is " authorised and requested " to obtain a missionary and send him to Grantham. The
December Quarterly Meeting of 1825 had the subject of establishing a mission at
Grantham again under consideration, and passed some half-dozen resolutions which
raise expectations that something effective will be done. " Missionary meetings are to
be held at Bingham, Lambley, Barkstone, and Keyworth, and out of the monetary
proceeds of these meetings a mission is to be established. Brother Whitby is to
proceed to Grantham, and is authorised to expend ten pounds in
the fitting up of the room. Grantham, Billingborough, Aslackley,
Edenham, and Rippingale, are together to form the Grantham
Mission, and Brother Brame is appointed to labour on it for three
months." Then in March, 1826, the Quarterly Board authorises
payment for the room, and the balance of the money raised at the
missionary meetings is to be " applied to the support of a mission
attached to the Nottingham Circuit ; " and there, so far as Grantham
entries in the circuit books are concerned, the matter ends.

After many disappointing failures, the set time to favour Grantham
A. woRSNOP. came at last. At Midsummer, in the year of the trouble (1834),
Nottingham made Bottesford a Branch, and placed at its head Abraham Worsnop —
a deeply pious, hard-working, successful minister, who, during his ministry of
forty-three years, is said to have had an aggregate increase on his stations of
twenty-three thousand members. In April, 1835, Bottesford remissioned Grantham.
It was hard uphill work. Their principal preaching-place for twenty-one weeks

* J. Wedgwood took out his licence on September 4th, between his liberation on bail and
the Sessions.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

268

ROBERT PARKS.

was the Market Cross we know so well. But persistence had its reward, and
at length a room was secured, which we take to have been the Old Granary at
the Blue Sheep, standing at the corner of Harleston Koad and Wharfe Road, since
pulled down for the construction of the railway. To assist in the extensive missionary
labours undertaken by the Branch, Robert Parks — a convert during
a recent revival at Barkstone, his native village — began his
missionary labours, July, 1835."^ His first day's work was to
mission Barrowby near Grantham, and Wolsthorpe near Bel voir.
Robert Parks became one of the best-known ministers in the old
Nottingham District (1836-73). He had a clear voice, an imposing
presence, and was an evangelical and popular preacher and platform
speaker. We see him now at the start of his ministry " enduring
hardness ; " for while in this district he met with a good deal of
persecution, travelled long journeys, and preached scores of sermons
in the open air. Bottesford and Grantham owed much to Abraham
Worsnop and Robert Parks. They were well mated ; for the people in their own
homely fashion used to say of them : " Parks shoots the birds, and Worsnop comes
along and picks them up, so that between them and the Lord they make a good bag."
God's blessing was on hard work. Fresh places were missioned, such as South Sutton,
hitherto " destitute of the ministry of reconciliation," and where
they were discharged from their regular preaching-house, and had
another immediately offered them. At Knipton, too, three miles
from Belvoir, they preached three years in the open air before
they could obtain a preaching-place. Then a friend, risking all
consequences, opened her spacious dwelling. So the work went
on until in September, 1835, Bottesford was made a Circuit with
226 members, increased by the next year to 300. As for Grantham,
the cause at last took root. Before the close of the year it had
a flourishing society of seventy members, and we note with interest
that one of the first to join the society was Samuel Bayley, who
carried Wedgwood his breakfast eighteen years before. Progress was now steady but
sure, as is evidenced by the fact that on June 4th, 1837, a commodious chapel was
opened by two good men — John Brownson, one of the tall pillar-
preachers of the old Nottingham District, and John Middleton,
a lover of peace, cheerful, conscientious, plodding, whose carefully
written MS. Journal it is a pleasure to read. Both Brownson
and Middleton were the fruit of Primitive Methodist agency in
Derbyshire — the one hailing from Brailsford near Turnditch, the
other from near Bradwell.

J. Middleton records in his Journal :

"At five I preached on the Market Cross, whence we pro-
cessioned the town to the chapel. The services through the
day were full of spirit and life. God was evidently in our
midst making our hearts glad."

* R. Parks was not pledged until 1836.

JOHN BROWNSON.

J. MIDDLETON.

264

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

No more appropriate ending of the twenty years' story could we have than this.
Grantham Primitive Methodism began at the Market Cross, and, as we have said,
by the way of the Cross was it established. The " pulpit of cut stone " soon
disappears — from history at any rate. Its record is the ephemeral record of Jonah's
gourd. What became of it we cannot tell. Whether it found its way to the local
museum, or was carried off piecemeal for the construction of local piggeries, or was
spirited away in some mysterious manner, history informs us not. Its memorial has
perished. But the twenty-one weeks' open-air preaching, chiefly at the Cross, left
enduring results : and when Bro. John Middleton, just twenty years after John
Wedgwood was pulled down from the Cross, took his stand on the same spot and
preached, and then led the procession chapel-wards, both service and procession must
surely have partaken of a memorial and thanksgiving character.

It only remains to be added that after continuing a Branch of Bottesford for some
years, in 1864 Grantham became an independent circuit.

BKAILSFORD PEIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL.

Clowes' Visit to Nottinghamshire.
Clowes' mission in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire was, as we have seen,
causally as well as chronologically connected with Wedgwood's imprisonment. He
crowded an immense amount of work into the short time at his disposal, sometimes
preaching several times in the course of a day, and occasionally as early as five o'clock
in the morning. Wedgwood was doing the same, profitably filling up the time between
his liberation on bail and the holding of the Quarter Sessions, so that the two evangelists
sometimes crossed each other's path and held joint services, or one would hold a service
in this and another in that part of the same town or village in order to reach the more
people. Then they would separate, each going his own way. Of course, Clowes did
not overlook East Bridgford. Sooner or later all the Primitive fathers are found
there ; for Bridgford was just like one of those quiet villages which, because it
happens to lie in the line of advance, will have billeted in its farm-houses or cottages
the generals of the successive divisions that pass through it, and make it their temporary

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

265

quarters. At Bridgford, Clowes preached — or at lea^t tried to preach — on the green,
but had to desist ; for as was remarked at the time, " the devil and the parson sent two
of their underlings to interrupt the service by blowing big horns." The interruption,
however, had this good result : it induced Mrs. Lockwood, who was present, to place
her chapel at the disposal of the missionary and his congregation. Here the service
was quietly gone through, and, " best of all," Clowes tells us, George Herod, who had
been winged by Sarah Kirkland and brought down by John Benton, was now, through
the instrumentality of Clowes, won for Christ and the Church, which by the time
he enters the ministry will sorely need and profit by his godly discipline. If
Henry Sharman and George Herod had been the sole trophies of Clowes' flying visit
to these parts, the visit was worth making.

Bingham and Ratcliffe were both visited. At Bingham Clowes preached twice in
the market-place, at one of the times to as m.any as two thousand people. At Ratcliffe

SCREVETON CHAPEL, NEWARK.

he met with Wedgwood, and after a service at five o'clock in the morning the two took
their stand in the open air. Clowes preached first, and then set off to another place
four miles off, leaving Wedgwood to finish the service. Clowes remarks, that when lie
had got a mile on his journey he could still hear Wedgwood's voice as he pleaded in
prayer. It is significant in the light of what was to happen, that both Bingham and
Ratcliffe thus early appear to have been honeycombed with Free Gospelism. At
Ratcliffe, Clowes had an unacrimonious discussion with some advocates of an unpaid
ministry, and succeeded in practically converting them ; for they not only extended to
him unstinted hospitality, but sent a liberal contribution to the Nottingham Quarterly
Board. At Bingham, however, it is curious to find he was not so fortunate. He notes
that here one of the leaders of the two classes was a Free Gospeller, and that in the

266

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

end a serious disruption took place in the society, some of the "members joining the
Wesleyans, others going back into the world, while a mere remnant retained their first
fellowship. For Free Gospellers to cease to be Primitive Methodists in order to
become Wesleyans was surely a piece of inconsistency as great as that of the man the
late Rev. Thomas Smith, Governor of Elmfield, used to speak of. He left the Primitives in
dudgeon because the Quarterly Meeting had authorised the purchase of a square of
druggeting to lie at the side of the preacher's bed and keep his feet off the bare boards,
and forthwith joined an opulent Church, whose minister's bedroom was laid throughout
with the best Kidderminster ! But there is some reason to believe that Clowes is
blending with his own early recollections of Bingham events of a painful nature which
occurred some years later — events already sufficiently described. There is no evidence

BINGHAM OLD CHAPEL.

to show that anywhere near 1817 a disruption, having Free Gospelism at its root, ever
took place. The simple fact that it was at Bingham the first Primitive Methodist
Chapel in Nottinghamshire was erected and opened in 1818 by no less a person than
Lorenzo Dow, is sufficient to show that for some time after Clowes' visit a flourishing
society existed at Bingham. At the same time, it is clear that even in 1817 Clowes
was made aware, in an unmistakable and unpleasant manner, of the seed growing secretly
which the years would ripen.

Clowes tells us he also visited Whatton, Sibthorpe, Thurston, Bottesford, Bulwell,
Blidworth, Screveton, Calverton, Oxton, Lambley, and Great Cropwell. At most of
these places something happened worth chronicling, as was usually the case wherever
Clowes went. At Screveton he preached in the open air and joined five to the society.'

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

267

A chapel was erected here in 1840. At Lambley, too, he admitted four to membership^
preached in the open air, and speaks of Mr. G. Turner " as a succourer of many, and of
me also." At Oxton, while he was speaking, a man was arrested as though struck by
a rifle bullet, and would have fallen if friends had not caught him in their arms. This
man afterwards declared it was one word Clowes uttered that produced this extraordinary
effect. From the same meeting another went to his home to pass a night of sleepless
wretchedness. He called upon Clowes the next morning, set him on his journey,
disburdened his mind as they went on, and then they stopped and prayed together
by the roadside until the man found peace in believing. Thus it was wherever Clowes
went : so mightily grew the Word and prospered.

^Newark, " the key of the north," was also one of the gains of the Great Revival, and

NEWARK OLD CASTLE.

as such its name is found on the plan of February- April, 1818. It marked the latest
and farthest acquisition in a direction north-east of Nottingham. Clowes and Wedgwood
both found their way here at the same time, and both preached at the same hour — the
one in Northgate and the other in Millgate. Clowes remarks that his congregation
was not so unruly as Wedgwood's, and that though good was done by the services,
much greater results might have followed had houses only been available for the
holding of prayer meetings after the open-air preachings. As the missionaries had
not the use even of a private dwelling at this time, we infer that Clowes must be speaking
of a very early, if not of the earliest visit to Newark ; and Clowes' reference to the
persecution which afterwards showed itself, tends to confirm this view. Whatever
may be the case now, Newark was in former times stiff" and staunch in its Toryism.

268

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Its ancient castle, in which King John breathed his last, stood and withstood three
sieges during the Civil Wars. The castle was not surrendered to the Parliamentarians
until the war was over ; then it was dismantled, to become the picturesque ruin with
which we are now familiar. It would have been a wonder if a town with such
a history had given the Primitives any other than a rough reception. Newark, that
had kept the forces of the Parliament at bay with its cannon, only acted like itself
when it turned its engines of another kind against Mr. William Lockwood, who
attempted to preach in the market-place a short time after the visit of Clowes.
Mr. Lockwood's purpose had been announced beforehand, so that there had been time
for opposition to organise itself. Accordingly, when he began to preach from his gig
a man turned a garden-hose upon him, and then the fire-engine was brought out and

NEWARK MARKET-PLACE.
In centre of which Lockwood stood and preached when fire-engine was played upon him in 1817.

began to play on the preacher. The instigator of this watery form of persecution was
the clergyman, who seems to have joined to his other offices that of custodian of the
town fire-engine, which was kept on the Church premises. While others worked the
manual-engine, a barber was chief fireman, and turned the hose upon Mr. Lockwood
while the clergyman from the church tower watched the drenching of the intrusive
missionary with evident enjoyment. But there was an unexpected diversion in the
preacher's favour. Some watermen who were standing by thought persecution had
gone far enough, and as Mr. Lockwood, with the water running off his person, shouted,
" You can't quench the fire within," they took out their clasp-knives and cut and hacked
away at the hose until it was rendered useless. The clergyman afterwards brought
an action against the watermen for damages, but was nonsuited. The magistrates

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 269

asked the pertinent question : " Who authorised the taking out of the fire-engine ? "
and when informed, they decided that as the clergyman had called the tune it was fair
he should also pay the piper. But the story does not end here. Retribution of a severer
kind overtook the other chief actor in this incident. The very next occasion the
fire-engine was required was when it was summoned to put out a fire which had broken
out on the barber's premises ; for he was a manufacturer of fireworks as well as
a barber, and while busy with his squibs and crackers an explosion occurred, and he
was blown through the shop window, and died of his burns. This judgment by fire,
following hard upon persecution by water, made a deep impression upon our fathers.
They were not slow to recognise God's hand in the event. John Harrison was at
Newark in 1818, and conducted the first Primitive Methodist lovefeast there on April
12th. It was held under difficulties ; for the persecutors broke the windows and tried
to burst open the door. When the prayer meeting began the preacher went out to
expostulate with the disturbers, and " a pious young woman knelt down in the street
and commenced praying for them, and she brought upon them a powerful influence ;
after this their rage appeared to be appeased." He remarks : " There has been great
opposition against us in this town, but some of the ringleaders have had to suffer."
The pyrotechnist barber was not the only one who sufi"ered ; for having described
his fate, John Harrison goes on to give other instances of retribution on Newark
persecutors : —

" At young man in this place, who had annoyed our people very much, had the
misfortune to have a stone fall on him, which was computed to be more than three
hundredweight, and it crushed him to death. Yesterday another of the ringleaders
forged a ticket in order to gain admittance into the lovefeast [of April 12th before
mentioned], but he was prevented from entering, and I hear to-day he has met
with an accident, and has come home with a broken leg. I hope these things will
be a warning to the enemies of the cross in Newark."

These instances of retribution were far from uncommon, and may be regarded as
typical of the period under consideration. No mere theory of " remarkable coincidences "
would have satisfied our fathers as sufiiciently accounting for them. To these firm
believers in an over-ruling providence, it seemed the most natural and proper thing in
the world, that the God who was on their side should in a sudden and signal manner
vindicate His people, and manifest His displeasure against those who sought to do them
harm and hinder their work. They were on the watch for such instances of retribution,
and carefully noted them when they occurred. Such was the deliberate opinion of our
fathers, and the opinion was shared even by many outsiders ; so that when the great
bell of a village church — set a-ringing to drown the preacher's voice — cracked, the
people said : " If they attempt to ring again to oppose the ' Ranters ' the steeple
will fall."

Primitive Methodism has had a continuous existence in Newark ever since it was
first missioned under the circumstances already described ; but it passed through various
vicissitudes before it became, in 1862, the head of an independent station, with Paul
Daykin and Benjamin Clayton as its ministers. From 1824 to 1832 Newark formed
part of the old Balderton Circuit; then in 1833 Fulbeck, in Lincolnshire, became the

•270 . PRIMITIVE METEIODIST CHURCH.

head of the circuit, and Sleaford became a mission of Fulbeck during the successful
^uperintendency of Rev. Joseph Middleton (1834-6). He records in his MS. Journal : —

" Sunday, April 5th, 1835. — I opened a large schoolroom at Sleaford for public
worship. The attendance both afternoon and evening was pleasing, and I had
good liberty in dispensing the Word. Thank God there is a good prospect of our
obtaining a cause in this wicked town. Mr. Crosby [the missionary put down at
Sleaford] is likely to be very useful here and in the villages round about."

Though it is Newark whose vicissitudes we are following, it is interesting to note
that in the Report of the Fulbeck Circuit to the District Meeting and Conference of
1836, it is stated that many new and populous villages, such as Ancaster, Welbourn,*
Kirkby, Cranwell, Azeby, Navenby, and Faindon, had been opened, and many of the
old places, as Balderton, Newark, Rauceby, and others, which had been low for years,
had been o-reatly revived, and the membership which in September, 1834, was 160 had
Tisen to 300 and upwards. " We have no doubt," continues the Report, " that this
back settlement of the Connexion will yet become fruitful and yield an abundant
liarvest." But, adds the document : " We are sorry to say that we have been, and are
still, much opposed by the ministers of the Establishment, but hitherto the Lord hath
helped us." Yet another change awaited Newark. It became in the early forties
a branch of Sleaford ; for in a document now before us, bearing date November, 1844,
the Rev. Samuel Antliff, the preacher of the Newark Branch, supports the application
of Sleaford that Newark may be transferred as a branch to Nottingham ; which
^ccordinf^ly was done, and as a branch of Nottingham Circuit Newark remained until
1862. In his applicabion Mr. S. Antliff states that Newark has a chapel for which six
pounds annual rent is paid ; that Balderton has a rented room, and pays its way ;
Claypole a rented chapel, and Dodington, Upton, and other places have their public
services in dwelling-houses.

We have thus followed in some detail the fortunes of Newark until it became an
independent station, because the recital may serve to show how complicated the history
of a sino-le circuit may be. Newark is a good example of a circuit that has had its
several aliases during the course of its history.

At Shelf ord, a village near Nottingham, certain events occurred about this time

which must be told in detail. A determined effort was made to oust the Primitives

- irom the village in which they had succeeded in establishing a vigorous society. The

persecution in the last resort took the cruel form of evicting and then levelling the cottages

* Welbourn had in April, 1836, its case of unsuccessful prosecution for open-air preaching. On
pain of losing his farm Mr. Shepherd was reluctantly obliged to withdraw the use of his barn for
public worship. Mr. Middleton then took to the open air, and Major Brown ordered him to desist,
and on refusal sent for ,the constable. Mr. Keyworth, the constable, was a sensible man, and scrupled
taking the preacher into custody. Mr. Middleton, therefore, gave himself up, but preached again the
•same evening. The next morning his friend, the constable, drove him to the Justices' Meeting at
"Sleaford. The case was dismissed, and Major Brown ordered to pay costs. Mr. Middleton returned
-to Welbourn, and preached in the evening from "Pray for them which despitefully use and
persecute you." The whole story is fully and interestingly told in Eev. Joseph Middleton's
MS. Journals.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 271

of those who had had the temerity to lend them for preaching services. But the
persistent, protracted persecution — for it extended over months — using methods worthy
of an Irish eviction agent — was met by a resistance just as determined and dogged as
itself, and in the end more successful. It was a veritable tug of war ; and now that
a similar struggle for principle, though on a more colossal scale, is everywhere going
on, it will be well to recall this episode in the history of village Primitive Methodism.
It has a good many lessons for these times. It shows that some of our village causes
have a history of which we may well be proud ; that they w^ere founded and maintained
at much sacrifice by humble stalwarts. If ;you had talked to them of "the Non-
conformist conscience " or of " political Dissenters " they would not have understood you ;
but their Protestantism and Methodism was so 'dear to them that they clung to it at all

vickerstaff's cottage, shelforu,
Where services used to be held in the cottage on the right-hand side.

costs. The poet bethought him of village Hampdens : so we have had our village
Yickerstaffs and Woodwards —

" . . . . that with dauntless breast
The little tyrant of their fields withstood."

We have had them, and are anxious to keep up the breed, and recent events in the
neighbourhood of Wirksworth and elsewhere show that the breed is not extinct. Over
the whole of this story is broadly written : " Don't forget your village causes. When
tempted to leave them, think what it cost to found such as they." But the story?
Clowes tells it, but he tells it incompletely, as if from partial knowledge or imperfect
recollection. But Clowes was at Shelf ord while the first part of the story was beino-
enacted, and naturally it made a deep impression on him, so that when he came to
write his reminiscences he speaks of little else save that he records how a persecutor

272

PEIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECH.

was " removed by being drowned in the river ; " and he ends his references to Shelford
by this enigmatical sentence : " But I left this place with some hopes ; I resembled
a bark tossed with the tempest and exposed to the yawning gulf."

The completest account we have of the Shelford tug of war is furnished by
a contemporary observer — with every detail duly noted and in its place — so that for
result we have a true story with its proper beginning and end. The writer was John
Parrott, jun., of East Bridgford, and the narrative, though relegated by Mr. Herod
to the foot of his pages and printed in small type,* deserves to be given in extenso here
as an authentic document — the more so as it is written in a lively and graphic style,
giving one a very favourable opinion of the writer's literary ability. Says Parrott : —

STOKE FERRY, RIVER TRENT.

" Directly after the Camp Lovefeast of June, 1817, an opening presented itself in
Shelford — a village in the vicinity, displg^ying some rural beauty, and of some note as
the family burying-place of the Earls of Chesterfield, whose hereditary estate stretches
far away round the village, in which is only one plot of ground, about some half acre,
not belonging to that valuable estate. In this village one Joseph Vickerstaff opened
his door for preaching. His house stood on a strip of waste land by the roadside
leading to Stoke Ferry. Many souls were converted to God beneath its very humble
thatched roof, and a living Church sprang up within this domicile of ' stud and mud,'t
which faced the rather imposing and substantially built parish church. This upstart
(as some designated it) primitive Church gave unpardonable offence to the National

* Herod : " Biographical Sketches," &c., footnote on pp. 347-50.
t " Stud, the upright in a lath and plaster wall." A'V right : " Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial
Enghsh."

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND- ENTERPRISE.

273

Church party, and a very hot persecution followed. As a cover to their real design,
the enclosure of this waste land was determined on — Vickerstaff paying no regard to
threats and entreaties to ' turn out the Ranters.' A regular discharge was then sent to
him, which produced no more effect ; then came an ejectment ; still the services of
religion were continued in his house as usual. Ultimately workmen were sent who
pulled the house down, and the family and their furniture were shown the way into
the street.

" This door shut, another was opened in time for the next religious service. Henry
Fukes welcomed beneath his thatched roof ' the Ark of God,' and all its attendant
blessings, for ' he was a devout man, and feared God with his house.' His domicile was

of the same material and tenure
with that of his friend Vickerstaff,
and it stood in the midst of the
village, adjoining the orchard, and
at the back of the under-steward's
house. Vickerstaff's had been an
eyesore in front of that officer's
house. For a short while the in-
fant cause was allowed a home
herein, and souls were converted,
and the Church prospered and
multiplied. But the unrelenting
spirit of persecution and cruel
hatred to dissent soon raged with
redoubled fury. The banishment
of the people from the village
was determined on. Fukes was
threatened with the fate of Vicker-
staff if he did not 'turn those
noisy people out.' Henry heard
all with respectful calmness with-
out yielding to the intolerant
mandate, or wavering in the face
of the threatened annihilation of
his * stud and mud ' habitation,
where he lived rent-free.

" For a number of years the
Wesleyans had had a society in
this village, whose preaching ser-
vices were held in the house of
Mr. Nathan Bailey, a respectable
farmer of good report. It was now currently said he had received orders to allow no
more preachings on pain of being turned out of his farm. Preaching services ceased in
that house, and were now confined to the National Church and Fukes' cottage, 'made
of unbaken clay and straw-thatched roof.' There, at this period, we often worshipped
with delight, amid saving power, streaming glory, and flowing tears, in the closely
packed congregation inside, and among those standing without on the high road
unable to gain ingress, while the preacher in the nook or the open doorway was
pouring forth in simple eloquence the simple truth of God with all the fervour of

COTTAfiE KEBUILT ON SITE OF
HENRY fukes' HOUSE, SHELFORD.

274

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

a heart full of its saving energy and power. It was not uncommon then to see
numbers present from East Bridgford, Newton, and other adjacent villages and
hamlets ; for the conflict for principle, and the determined retention of the village
by this infant cause of Christ, was noised abroad and brought together sympathisers,
scoffers, and the curious.

"As threats proved powerless on pious Henry Fukes, our modern Obed-Edom,
a regular discharge was sent to him, but with no more effect. Then followed an
ejectment, which was equally unable to make the desired impression ; but one evening
afterwards, on returning from his labour as a husbandman, he found the spoilers had
pulled down his house, and had turned his pious wife and their furniture on to the
high road. God, however, provided them both with shelter and a home in the house
of friends ; and although thus plunged into trouble for some time, in the end they
suffered no loss. He overruled this wrath of man and made it praise Him. No sooner

SITE OF WOODWARDS GARDEN, SHELFOED.

was the house of our Obed-Edom levelled with the ground than another door was
opened for the Ark of God in the house of Matthew Woodward. His was also
' a parish house,' but it stood within a garden, a few paces from the public street,
and was withal a much better fabric. Under its roof we have often worshipped, and
felt it to be the gate of heaven.

" No plea could be urged about improving the village streets by removing this house,
as had been done in the two former cases ; so that the chasing of the Church from
house to house was brought to a standstill. But the persecuting spirit now acted
without a mask — Woodward was threatened and brought before a bench of justices.
Matthew was of unpolished and stern material, and in reply to the threats of these
higher powers, said : ' Mine is a parish house, and if you turn me out of it you must
find me another ; and as soon as I get into that I shall have the preachings there.'
This is said to have given great offence to those sitting professedly to administer

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 275

justice ; and one of them now swore openly. Woodward seized the moment, and
turned it to good account, showed the impropriety and sin of the swearer, and
•contrasted it with the object and practices of himself and fellow- worshippers. This
procured him a hasty dismissal from the council-room, whence he returned home in
triumph. It was then said : ' It is of no use tormenting ourselves with these incorrigible
Kanters— we may pull half the village down and not get them out at last.' ' Then had
the Church rest,' and took root and grew. A change of stewards for the estate about
this time had also a favourable effect. Mr. Hassell commenced his stewardship in the
spirit of religious tolerance much to his credit.

" Subsequently, the society not being able to obtain a plot of land on which to build
a chapel, purchased the waterman's floating chapel at Nottingham, swam it down the
river Trent, drew it into Woodward's garden, and there fitted up the amphibious
sanctuary and worshipped in it. Many efforts had been made to purchase the
fractional part of an acre of land (the only plot in the village not belonging to the
earl's estate), but without effect ; nor could the Primitives secure a piece of it, although
they often tried. At length, however, in answer to continuous and fervent prayer, the
Lord changed the heart of Mr. Girton, the owner of that little freehold. He granted
them an eligible building site, on which they soon erected a neat, suitable, and
substantial brick chapel ; and there it stands, in the very heart of the Earl of
Chesterfield's estate, as a memorable trophy and worthy fruit of prayer, and of
indomitable perseverance in the work of faith and labour of love, for the cause of
Him of whom it is said, ' the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof.' "

Mr. Parrott paints no fancy-picture : his narrative receives incidental and independent
confirmation from the Journals of both Hugh Bourne and John Harrison. Writing on
February 14th, 1818, the former remarks : —

" At Shelford, the man who takes in the preaching is thrown out of employment,
and is likely to be thrown out of the house. O Lord, appear for him and undertake
his cause."

When John Harrison followed some six weeks afterwards, what seemed likely to
happen had become matter of certainty, for on March 30th he writes : —

"I came to Shelford, and in this place I found the family, in whose house we
preach, under trying circumstances ; they had received notice from the Earl of
Chesterfield's steward to quit their house the next week. But in the midst of
difliculties they could say with the prophet : ' Although the fig-tree shall not
blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the labour of the olive shall fail, and
the fields shall yield no meat ; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there
shall be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of
my salvation.' "

Probably Vickerstaff was the humble confessor referred to, for the persecution was
long drawn out ; and this was but its beginning. A good many years had to pass
before the " amphibious " chapel was superseded by the brick building standing on its
own freehold ; for 1840 is given in the official documents as the date of the erection of
Shelford Chapel.

W^e leave Nottinghamshire for a time, glad to know that in the towns and villages
Primitive Methodism has entered there are men and women who in the years to come

T 2

276

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

may be relied upon to do their best for the Church which has done so much for them.
It is almost invidious to select from the number of such, names that even after this lapse
of time occur to the memory. We cannot, however, forbear, as we think of the circuit
town, mentioning the name of James Barker, Mdio was an early member of Nottingham's
famous Circuit Committee, and frequently its secretary, and an able one, as the neat
and carefully written records in the circuit books attest ; also John Spencer, given to

JAMES BARKER.

JOSEPH BAILEY.

DAVIU MUSSON JACKSON.

hospitality, and the frequent entertainer of Hugh Bourne, who often mentions his
name. Mention may also again be made of David Musson Jackson, as long and close
search has at last been rewarded b}'- a discovery of his portrait and the following data : —
He was born February 11th, 1794; made Governor of the House of Correction May
30th, 1833 ; died December 12th, 1862.

As we think of Ilkeston we think of " Friend " Joseph Bailey, as Hugh Bourne with
reason called him, who will sign the Conference Journal of 1853 as President. He will
also become a deed-poll member, and as such attend many Conferences, and by his
intelligence and goodly presence and geniality win many friends.

Thinking of Mansfield, who can forget good Joshua
Rouse, wire-worker, model superintendent, logician, and
an expert and yet sympathetic examiner of probationers,
and a familiar figure at Conferences. So we might go on ;
but duty calls us to another part of the mission-field, and
we must obey.

The Great Revival in Leicestershire, 1818.
The progress made by the Connexion in the years
1817-18 was, geographically, not in one direction only.
It was not the result of a linear but of a centrifugal
movement. The Connexion grew as a tree grows ; it
spread like a series of constantly enlarging water-rings.
If you take Nottingham as your centre you will have
to keep shifting your circumferential line further and
still further back. Progress does not stop in the east
want to follow its course in the west and south. It is

and

JOSHUA ROUSE.

north because

vou

difficult to describe in words an all-round expansion like this, and yet it must be

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 277

conceived if it cannot be written. Tiierefore, although our attentioa must now for
a time be turned to Leicestershire (with Loughborough as a new centre), we must
remember that progress in the direction we have hitherto been following has not
rounded itself off and stopped because we cannot for the time attend to it. Unfortu-
nately, the official documents of Nottingham Circuit prior to 1824 are no longer
available to prove this, and the convenient system of "branches" was not adopted
till 1819 ; yet there is abundant evidence of an incidental though unofficial kind to
show that while Bourne (and for a time Clowes), Benton, Wedgwood, Heath, and other
leaders of the main movement are hard at work in Leicestershire, what may be called
a skirmishing movement is going on in Lincolnshire and elsewhere, which will in due
time prepare the way for an advance on Lincoln, Boston, Sheffield, Chesterfield, Scotter,
Grimsby, Hull, and even more distant Norwich and other places in East Anglia. The
story of this advance, however, belongs to 1819 and onwards. We have still to do
with the Great Revival of 1817-18, and with the Plan of February- April, 1818, which
marks the beginning and course of that Revival. We have already seen how the
places — chiefly in Nottinghamshire — which for the first time stand on this plan, register
the progress of the Revival in these parts ; and we have also seen by whom and under
what circumstances of trial and persecution they were missioned. We have glanced,
too, at what the future had in reserve for some of these gains of the Revival, and have
seen that by 1843 they had become branches, or even circuits, in their own right.

These earliest plans are of considerable historical value, because places were, as
a general rule, added to them chronologically — in the order of their acquisition. Thus
almost at the bottom of the plan which ends April 26th, 1818, we find Loughborough,
followed by Seagrave, Switcherland, and Barrow — places in its vicinity. This, of
course, means that quite recently a footing had been gained in these places. The very
next plan shows that twelve fresh preaching-stations have been added, including such
well-known names as Quorndon, Sileby Syston, and Markfield. Leicester does not occur
on this plan, though it will be found on immediately subsequent ones, so that we can
quite distinctly read such facts as these : Towards the close of 1817, Loughborough,
Seagrave, and Barrow had been reached ; that for a time our missionaries were shy of
entering Leicester, and confined themselves to the evangelisation of the busy villages
round Loughborough, and to that fine well-marked district, so rich in natural beauty,
historic associations, and under-surface wealth known as Charnwood Forest, recently by
the Inclosure Act of 1808 brought under cultivation, and by means of good roads made
accessible to the outside world, and its quarries of granite, slate, and limestone exploited
to the great advantage of the once secluded inhabitants of the district. All this will be
plainer if we give the last and purely Loughborough section of the May-July Plan.

Then for the purpose of comparison, and to deepen and complete the impression thus
gained, we give a document of great historic interest — a Plan of Loughborough Circuit
for 1822. This plan is worth, and will repay, close study. This plan has on it
forty-two places situate in five several counties ; for though the bulk of the places
are naturally in Leicestershire, the counties of Derby, Notts, Northampton, and
Warwick are also represented on the plan by one or more places. What may have
been the precise geographical area covered by this plan we have not calculated, but

278

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECH.

Wt LOVE-FEASTS.

j^ BelgTfcveOct,27. Mt,
Sorrell and Barleston
Wt K""^' ■'• Sheepstread,
2 v^uctrn and Marklield
Nov. 10. Aiisty, Wi^'
^ ston and Hinckh;)',
Nov. 17. Loiighboro',
I aiidSeagravc Nqv. 24.
'; Coimteslhorpe Dec. 1
I Ratby, Dec. 8. Leake
fj^ Dec. J 5. Thurmaston
f, Dec. 15. Mouslcy Dec
> 29. Kejpivorth, and En
■^ derl>>| Jan. 5. Croxton
)^ Jani/vibS. Barrow»Dec.

LOUGHBOROUGH CIRCUIT.

Lord's day Plan of the Preachers,

CALLED

KNOWN ALSO BY THli NAME OF RANtERS.

«'0 I-ord levire tliy Work'^i Ha'bakkuk, iii 2.>

Circuit Committee.

Kichardson, Hand-
ford, Bishoj), Jerram,
C. Jarratt, Attenboro
Simons, Skcviiigton,
Richards and Snow.

Note. Tlie Circuit
Comirettee, meeta at
Qiiornd*p, Nov. 4,h.
Dec. 2 and Jan. 6.

EverJ- person on the
Committee ncgle«titig
to meet, without a
efficient reastn, shall
pay 6d. for each iicg*
lect.

S-

1822 & lS-23.

'I Places &t ticries ol Preaching
^ Loughborough,

1823.'

2&6

2 Sheepshead

Castle Donington
KegworlH

Diseworth

Sutton BoDington
Leake 2, Costock

^ 29_13_1]35J50
8.4 |43|3t3 '35

Hathern

H(^t

7k6

28£6

Walton

1^ Bai-rojr

2&6

H Sileby

Seagrave

ik6

Mountsorrell

2^6

Roadley
Quorodon-

21.^

Woodhouse

44 1171^4 ,139

\6 135|46 |47

35 (29120 124

25 |4L 140 12.0
4ll39~nH28

36t^14Q117 [ 8
6 1 15143 1.17

2&6 ;^9

^^ Leicester 10, Bef^ave 2&:6 ■>^^
I Leicester ' 3^^ 15

:i&6| 1 3

'2i^(i 43

i^ Thurmaston
Syslon

1 J_J2t]26 J40

[7 ^24l52l49

T5"

(>■ |42 1$Q 33

3L| 6 |10

8 1 43 Ip29|r6

31 I17 144
3p l40 I20

135 129

42 |16 |56 I ill

3 1 5 U7 156

24 117 142 |38

38 137
29

30 381 9 1 15

3<2

Queniboro' 2^ Kearshy ()

Croxton 10&2, QutfnitToro"6|38
Ashfordby^ 'Z&tO 4'

3
55

Ansty

Gmoby 2, Rat by ^

2&6
6

fi Bagworth 2, Newbold
Enderby

Mark Held 2, Shaw. Laoe 6

Barleston

2&6

58 1.419138- 1 13
r|5()|l3j33^
3 1 131 10 123

17 135 1 2 I 8

j23

I 6

44 I26 |32

8 |25 l43

33 149

43 I 4 124

86 115 III

37 57 J2P

97 llO

46~]41

11 [30 Jl4 |28

rfe 11

_£

^ ^J_\* 1^7 1 42

2~'p2'J3f

i23"

40 49 |(je

'iQ\8Q 120
49I43 |42

49 126|11L!48

27 118137 m

63 4l|34

Thurleston

2&()

» Wi If ston

Oat by

_2&6

e Countesthorpe

2&«

Hii^ckley
fg Mousley

2&6

6 34,

21
12
50

3Eslia|l8 15_S

19 110130 '[21
9 |191'21 130

14 |50|15L 9

21.. 152|50 |I4

50 l55tl-9 128

22 lr4|4L [27

VVarw.ckshire } Coventry^t

33 121148 138

34 112

67 119

37 1^7

k2 52

13d
12

ISlUS

M 17

3^ [37

.24 119 149
19. 6 130

43 I 6

9 43

lis

15 52

53 57

92 le

33 |p3

27 pv

2s I21"

p 133

58 |14

55- 34

19 I 9

r 130

5 1^6 1 9

2 112 147

67 [34

53 134 l4l

52 27

33 1^2

28 133

P 42

51 [ P

[45"

!2i.l50 |22
150

PREACTtrrii.S.

1 Allcock

2 BcUlK-.ni

3 VVooUey

4 Timms

5 Skeviiigton
0 Handfbrd

7 Bishop

8 Richardson

9 Markhani

10 Goodrich

11 Simpson

12 Sutton;

13 Will ford

14 Ward"

15 Siraqn?

16 Jarratt

17 Richar.ls

18 Sims.
\9 Palnier

20 KendaJl

21 Keni^y

22 Pike

23 Phipps

24 Baile!>£

25 C- Jarratt

26 T. Woolley

27 T. Sutujn

28 Rurley

29 Attenboro

30 Tlioruton

31 Asllc

32 Halfbrd

33 Jetlrevs

34 Kerk^aa.^
.35 Marshall
30 SlciitU

37 Ncal

38 Measures

39 Rowofth

40 Wells

P4 |ll |38

4P 130 158
30 |33 TTOS

28 |22 127

P 28 114

ON TRIAL.

41 Slack

42 Barfoot

43 Webster

44 Garner

45 Bambury

V^ N. B. Quarter day at Leicester, December 9th.— Preachers to meet at 9

■or.lock.

ISAfHAMENTa. — "barlcstoTi, "Nov. 3 Loughborou^hj Nov. 24. Wigston, Dec. 8.

Thurmaston, Dec. 15. Hathern, Dec. 29. Sutio^ Jan. 12.

It is requested that «v€ry Preacher will attend his own appoinlmeots, and if
unable to go he Hiust get it supplied by one whose name is on the Plari.

All Littert t(» be directed to J. Raven, Qucrndon, near Louohberough.
(k Letters of addi^ss to be Post-paid.
I* NoTB< L. Lbvefeast.— S. Sacrament.— T. X'cketa.— P. Prayer meeting.

EXHORTERS.

40 Bears

17 Mitchell

48 Geary

49 Illston
•'iO I.uveday
61 HeydOn
52 J. Hastle

WOMEN.

53 R. Sutton
54- H. Taylor
55 M. Peat
5€ H. Siinptoti

57 A. Geary

58 R. Tatey

aiijaaaagvaoaaa**^ t»nn»mtaaamaiuanmnmtti

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

279

some idea of its extent may be gathered from the fact that what was Loughborough
Circuit in 1822 has been carved into eleven existing circuits ! No wonder our fathers
used the word " circuit " rather than the word " station " in designating their spheres

Loughborough Section of the Nottingham Circuit Plan. ^3^ q^ Hanford

May-July 1818. 4^ j r,^^

45. J. Barker

46. J. Bonser

47. T. Woodward

48. T Mounteny

49. T. King

50. W. Ashby
On Trial.

51. T. Simmons

52. J. Garner

53. G. Herod

54. R. Bishop

55. E. Frier

56. R. Bent

57. P. Richardson

58. J. Slack

59. W. Doughty

60. W. Ward

Notes. — The preachers for Loughboro' are: W. Hind, R. Winfield, R. Weston, T. King,
W Ashby, J. Skevington, representative tu Preparatory Meeting, Sarah Kirkland, R. Stone,
(vid. p. 195), G. Hanford, J. Harrison, W. Dakni. Truly a good plan !

Of the few preachers whose names are given above no less than six became travelling preachers,

of labour ! We need no further evidence to show that the Great Kevival in the
Midlands left its enduring impress on our history, and that Loughborough has good
reason to be ranked among the fruitful mother-circuits of Primitive Methodism : and it
was also one of the earliest circuits formed, for if we exclude Derby — that in a time of
crisis was prematurely made the second circuit, and held that position for a short time
only — then Loughborough takes the third place in the order of circuit formation.
September, 1818, is the date usually assigned for Loughborough's attainment of circuit
independence — and this assignment of date is made on the authority of a passage in
Hugh Bourne's History ; but in his private and contemporary Journals — from which,
in our judgment, there is no appeal — March 23rd is given as the date. On Monday,
the 18th, he comes twenty-one miles from Hucknall Torkard to Loughborough, and

1818.

May,

June.

July,

Places.

Loughborough 2 and 6

50T

Quorndon 2

44T

Quorndon 6

Thrusingt. 2, Segrave 6

42 T

Switcherland 6

Barrow 2

Barrow 6

Sileby 2 and 64

Rai. 104, Qbo. 2, Sys. 64

Markfield 2, S. Lane 64

43T

Hoton 2, Burton 6| ...

44T

Costock 2

Mount Snrrel ...

280 • PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

finds the society " flourishing very much." The next day he holds a quarterly meeting,
and adds : "It was proposed to make Loughborough into a separate circuit." On the
23rd of the same month of March we have the entry : —

" Quarter Day. — Hastened to Nottingham. A deal of business. Temporal
concerns tolerable ; made arrangements for forming a new circuit ; Loughborough
to be the central place."

Then on September 15th Hugh Bourne records his being at Sileby and making the
plan for Loughborough Circuit nearly a week before the Nottingham Quarterly
Meeting, when the work was found to be going on well, but " the temporal concerns "
to be "very bad." Besides, in another passage from a later Journal Hugh Bourne
distinctly says : —

'''' Deceinher 26th, 1818. — Set out for Derby ; then to Ashbourne, came to Leek ;
stayed at Mr. Alcock's, Latheredge. Monday, March 23rd, 1818. — Nottingham
Quarter Day Board formed a new circuit in Leicestershire, and made Lough-
borough its head. Having to superintend the three circuits caused me a deal of
trouble ; and I had a deal of travelling to attend the three quarter days each
quarter ; and the travelling was almost uniformly at my own expense ; but then
I travelled chiefly on foot ; my feet were often sore, but this I endeavoured to
bear patiently. From Nottingham to Tunstall is about fifty-four miles ; from
Loughborough to Tunstall about fifty-five miles ; and from Nottingham to
Loughborough is about sixteen miles. When we became strong it was almost
impossible to prevent improper persons from getting in among us [let this be
carefully noted, for its bearing on after events], and this caused serious troubles ;
but still the converting work went on rapidly, hardly anything could stand before
it. At Nottingham we were blessed with an active leaders' meeting, and I believe
it was long the only leaders' meeting we had in the whole Connexion ; and the
active Nottingham leaders' meeting attended to the general afiairs of the circuit
between quarter days. But in September, 1818, they laid before me an official
statement to say they would still continue to give due attention to the general
affairs of the town of Nottingham ; but it was too heavy upon them, and took up
too much of their time to pay attention to the general affairs of the circuit, and
this part they must therefore give up into my hands. I was quite in a dilemma ;
but at the Quarter Day Meeting, held September 21st and 22nd, 1818, brother
Thomas King and others were formed into a committee to arrange the temporal
concerns ; and with much entreaty and persuasion I prevailed on this committee
to attend to the general concerns of the circuit till the ensuing quarter day. At
the Quarter Day, December 21st, 1818, it was found that the circuit, through the
exertions of the committee, was beginning greatly to recover itself ; and their
attending to general concerns had been so valuable and useful to the circuit, that
every one saw the propriety and necessity of appointing a committee for the like
purpose for the next quarter. This was the origin of the Circuit Committees —
a measure which has since become a permanent part of the discipline of the
Connexion. Nottingham had made Loughborough into a circuit, and others of its
out-stations were becoming large and powerful." "^

* Quoted in Walford's " Life " ; vol. ii pp. 43-4.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCCJIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 281

We have given these extracts from the Journals of Hugh Bourne for various reasons ;
chiefly because they do not in the least bear out the idea that Loughborough was
formed into a circuit in order to relieve Nottingham from embarrassment, occasioned or
heightened by the incompetence of two unnamed preachers who are reflected on in the
History. On the contrary, the extracts rather compel the view that the step was taken
before the embarrassment was felt, and at the initiative of the Loughborough Society.
The step was felt to be a natural one in view of the rapid spread of the Connexion
in the locality, and the desirability of having a nearer centre of management than
]N'ottingham. Even amidst the troubles of the Nottingham September Quarter Day,
Hugh Bourne could thankfully write : " The Lord has brought among these people
some men of talent ; " and Loughborough's bid for circuit independence evidently
commended itself to the judgment of these far-seeing men. Incidentally, the last
extract is interesting, as giving a clear account of the natural way in which Circuit
Committees had their origin. As with other features of our constitution, they were
not the outcome of theorising, but of a business-like endeavour to meet a practical
difficulty. For years the Nottingham Circuit Committee elected quarter by quarter,
wielded considerable power, and, as a general rule, wielded it wisely. The same extract
again brings vividly before us the serious view Hugh Bourne took of his office of general
superintendent, and how strenuously he set himself to discharge the duties of his office
as he understood them. What a real thing his superintendence of the Connexion was
at this time, and how much care and labour it entailed ! As we see him with sore, or
even bleeding feet, arms and back aching under the load of plans and magazines and
school requisites, trudging from place to place to adjust disagreeables, and to deal with
the increasing number of " improper " characters, who crept in to disturb the harmony
and interrupt the true work of the societies — one cannot but admire, and yet be glad for
his sake, that by the end of the year the heavy burthen will be somewhat lightened.
He was a true bishop — overseer ; so much so that the frequency of his visits to a place
or neighbourhood becomes a gauge of the importance of what is happening there.
Where most business is going on there the overseer is sure to be. Applying this
gauge, and with the Journals before us, we gain another piece of evidence as to the
growing importance of Loughborough and the neighbourhood to Primitive Methodism.
Hugh Bourne paid his first visit to Loughborough on January 24th, 1818, and he
revisited the town at shorter and still shorter intervals during the year ; but it is
significant that he did not enter Leicester until September 16th. Between these dates
Hugh Bourne is several times at Segrave, Quorndon, Barrow-on-Soar, Sileby, and
Loughborough — the places which formed the nucleus of the Loughborough Circuit.
A glance at the map will show that these w^ere just the places John Benton, Heath,
and Wedgwood were likely to take in their way when, towards the fall of 1817, they
faced round to begin the self-same work of itinerant evangelisation in Leicestershire
they had been pursuing in Notts and Lincoln. They had no tempting railway facilities
to modify or determine their choice of locality, and they carried their Master's general
commission, so that their itinerant movements were almost as natural as the movement
and direction of flowing water. They simply walked on and lifted up their voice, and
evangelised in street or on village green ; so that when in January, 1818, Hugh Bourne

282

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

came on his first Lougliborougli round, it was to prune and water the new and vigorous
societies planted by others who had moved on, going further into the country to
break up the fallow-ground.

An incidental verification of these views of our origins, so far as they relate to
Barrow-on-Soar, is supplied by the very first article in the first number of the monthly
Magazine, 1819. In the memoir of Elizabeth Ainsworth there given, it is stated that
she, her mother, and two brothers were religiously awakened under a sermon preached
by John Hallsworth at Barrow "about the beginning of the winter" of 1817-18. We
should hardly have expected to meet with John Hallsworth, of Mercaston's name as

BAKROW CHUECH. THE FIRST PREACHING-PLACE WAS JUST OUTSIDE CHURCH GATE.

a pioneer missionary in these parts, as his sphere is supposed to have lain farther east,
and chiefly in Lincolnshire ; but the evidence is indisputable, and all the more
interesting because unexpected. We may safely conclude that ever since John
Hallsworth's visit there has existed a Primitive Methodist Society in good Bishop
Beveridge's place of nativity. Bourne visited it on January 26th, 1818, and under
rather unfavourable circumstances : for in hurriedly passing out of Loughborough he
walked full against a post and hurt himself very much. But this accident did not deter
him from preaching, and he " had a glorious manifestation." The converting work was
still going on in 1821, as the Journal of Robert Bent shows. Bent's name will be
found on the Loughborough Plans in close connection with Bishop, Frier and Pry or

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PKEDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

283

Richardson — a most singular collocation of names. The circuit books show that at this
time R. Bent was receiving salary as a hired local preacher. Bent records in his
Journal how, just as he was finishing preaching at Barrow, a woman fell down and cried
for mercy — and then another, and as soon as they had found deliverance two men cried
earnestly for mercy. '^'

Barrow was for a considerable number of years the residence, as it is now the last
resting-place of John Mayes, one of the worthies of Loughborough Circuit, whose
name deserves to be held in remembrance, not only by Leicestershire Primitive
Methodists, but by a still wider circle of his co-religionists. The introduction of his
name compels a reference to Woodhouse Eaves Camp Meeting. This notable gathering
took place in the twenties, and if tradition counts for anything, Woodhouse Eaves

WOODHOUSE EAVES VILLAGE, CHUKCH ON THE LEFT.

Camp Meeting must take its place amongst the half dozen admittedly greatest camp
meetings of Primitive Methodism. Those who had been there talked of the glories of
that day, and their children still love to tell the story as of something the like of which
was never seen before, and will never be seen again. Traditional estimates are not
always commensurate with the real historic importance of events. Tradition is apt to
be impressed with the big and the grandiose, and has not — and small blame to it —
a very clear perception of the bearing of events. Judged by this severer standard,
Woodhouse Eaves Camp Meeting cannot rank with the first and third Mow Hill, or
with Norton Camp Meetings, though it may well be allowed to take its place along
with Wrekin and Nottingham Forest (1816), Priest Hill and Buckminster Camp

* Primitive Methodist Magazine, vol. ii., 1821, p. 107.

284

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Meetings as having stirred a wide district and led to something. Its site was admirably
chosen, lying as it did within the limits of Charnwood Forest. Its surface was
diversified by rock and bosky dell. Here quarries had been opened in the slate-bedS;
and there the rock thrust itself up into caverned cliff, like the one at the end of the
single village street, that since 1837 has been crowned by its picturesque church and
parsonage. Within half a mile was Beaumanor, the ancient home of the Herricks, and
not far away, in another direction, Bradgate and its spacious park, once the residence of
Lady Jane Grey —

" Most gentle, most unfortunate,
Crowned but to die, who in her chamber sate
Musing with Plato, though the horn was blown,
And every ear and ever}'- heart was won.
And all in green arrav were chasing down the sun,"

WIMDMILL HILL, WOODHOUSE EAVES. (SITE OF CAMP MEETING.)

But why dwell on these things 1 The power to appreciate natural beauty is largely
a taste acquired within the last eighty years, and even if it were not so the bulk of
those who flocked to Woodhouse Eaves Camp Meeting had something else to think of
than the natural beauty and historic associations of their surroundings — though these,
rich as they were, may have tended unconsciously to idealise the tradition of that day's
proceedings which still survives. Scenery cannot save the soul any more than it can
satisfy the hungry stomach. It was a Salvation-meeting that was held at Woodhouse
Eaves ; for our fathers knew both the name and the thing itself long before the
Salvation Army was thought of."^ Some were bursting to declare the good news, and

* Resolution of the Nottingham Quarterly Meeting passed September 23rd, 1839
a Salvation Meeting be planned at Stapleford."

" That

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

285

others came to catch the stimulus, and taste the excitement the presence and impact
of the crowd would afford. If they did not put it clearly to themselves that it was
personal and social salvation they wanted, we may well believe in a dim vague way they
hoped that by attending the Ranters' Camp Meeting that day their lives would somehow
be lightened and brightened.

As things went then, Woodhouse Eaves was a convenient centre for a camp meeting.
It was four miles from Loughborough, eight from Leicester, seven or eight from East
Leake, twelve from Ashby, and eighteen from Nottingham. There were contingents
from all these places present. It must have been a vast multitude that came together
that day. Tradition, disdaining figures, falls back on hyperbole, and as though it were
describing the course of some devastating army that " licks up all that is round about

WOODHOUSE PRESENT CHAPEL.

as the ox licketh up the grass of the field," it goes on to tell how on the day of the
Woodhouse Eaves Camp Meeting the village wells were drunk dry, and the food
supply gave out ! In sober truth, the company that came together on this great field-
day must have been immense. It was not difficult to reach the people in Leicestershire
during these early years : they had the " spirit of hearing," and the villages were fairly
populous, so that it was often true to the letter that " listening thousands gathered
round." Nothing strikes us more than the size of the congregations John Harrison
notes as everywhere listening to him during the three months he spent in Leicestershire
while the Great Revival was in progress ; and though it is easy to over-estimate
numbers, we cannot think of John Harrison as prone to exaggeration of this kind
At Hoteby, on May 12th, he preached to about a thousand people, who " behaved well,"

286 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

and hundreds accompanied him on his way to Leicester. At Queniborough he had
three hundred to hear him at half-past five in the morning. At Thrussington some
hundreds were gathered together in the street. At Coleorton, Sheepshead, Segrave,
Elstone, Whitwick — wherever he went — it was the same ; there were crowds — not
hostile, but curious and eager to see and hear.

The spiritual results of that day's labours it is impossible to tabulate. Three hundred
adherents are said to have been won for Loughborough and its village societies, besides
the willing captives the more distant contingents took back with them, and the gleanings
made by other Churches. John Mayes was one of the substantial gains of Woodhouse
Eaves Camp Meeting. When he fell under the power he was carried to one of the
praying circles, where, we are told, he remained unconscious for a long time, and then
woke up with the language of praise on his lips. When young he worked at a hosiery-
frame ; after his marriage he became a small shopkeeper in Barrow, and such he
■continued until that day in 1866 when the village was in mourning at his burial.
As we read his history* it shows us nothing great, but the greatness of simple goodness

the cumulative greatness of numberless acts of kindness rendered out of pure love to

the deserving poor, and those who " suffered in mind, body, or estate." The w^dow
and the fatherless knew him, and respected him ; so did the hard-worked poorly-paid
ministers of his own Church. He was their very good friend. John Mayes' methods
•of doing others a good turn w^ere sometimes peculiar and ingenious. He seems to have
read to some purpose the Biblical narrative which tells how Yizier Joseph put his
divining cup into his brother's sack, and one might almost imagine this narrative had
prompted him to act on the same lines of surprise with the materials his shop gave
ready to his hand. He would return the widow's money wrapped up in the pound of
sugar or rice her child took home. One day a hard-working local preacher walked two
miles to return two half-crowns he had found, to his amazement, in a packet of oatmeal.
This J. M. had put into his hand the night before, when the local preacher had looked
in on returning from his appointment. Parcels of groceries would sometimes come by
the carrier to distant manses just when and where they were needed. Yet, though
John Mayes dispensed with a liberal hand, and his books might show a fairly long
column of bad debts, his little business prospered. He had friends amongst the
well-to-do and highly placed, who appreciated his character. But all this did not
spoil him : " He was na pricked-eared," as an old local put it. He did not despise the
■queer structure that served for purposes of worship in Barrow,t and when a better one
was a-building he would, when troubled with insomnia, betake himself there in the
small hours to pray. He loved the Church which took him in and sheltered him so
loiter — its sanctuaries, its doctrines and practices, its ministers and literature. And all
this can be traced back to Woodhouse Eaves Camp Meeting. The poet Wordsworth

* See Rev. C. H. Boden's article " A Precious Son of Zion," Aldersgate Magazine, 1900, pp.
670-3, to which we are largely indebted.

t This chapel is said to have consisted of two houses thrown into one hj Mr. William Cayless.
One day in 1818 John Wedgwood being at Barrow took his stand upon a stone by the side of the
•churchyard. The rain fell heavily, and Wedgwood asked if any one would afford him shelter.
Mr. Cayless, a famous cricket player, responded " I will," and his conversion followed.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PEEDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

287

thought the recollections of his visit to Tintern Abbey some years before might have

" had no trivial influence
On that best portion of a good man's life ;
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love."

For Wordsworth put John Mayes ; for Tintern Abbey put Woodhouse Eaves, and the
acknowledgment of indebtedness may stand.

Camp Meetings at Wakes and Lantern-Lighted Services.
The Switcherland of the first quarter's plan for 1818 is probably Swithland, now

THE GEEEN, SEGRAVE.
Where first Open-air Services were held. '

famed for its woods and slate-quarries, and a popular holiday resort. When our
denominational fathers first came this way they found themselves in the midst of most
picturesque scenery. Their eyes rested on some of the oldest rocks in England — the
granite of Mount Sorrel and the compact slate of Swithland and Woodhouse Eaves.
They stood not far from the highest land in the Midlands — Beacon Hill and Bardon
Hill. But though it is interesting, and may help the imagination to know these things,
w^e do not linger, but pass on to Segrave, which, unlike Swithland, has had a permanent
cause ever since it was missioned, before the close of 1817, by some one unknown.
Hugh Bourne visited it on January 28th, 1818, and has noted in his Journals : "They

288 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

are doing well here." John Harrison soon followed ; on Sunday evening, March 3rd, the

chapel was crowded from pulpit to doors The chapel referred to was the private property

of a farmer, and was lent for the occasion ; it was not until 1845 a Connexional chapel

was built at Segrave. As the first article in the Magazine for 1819 recalls Barrow, so

the third article in the same number furnishes an interesting reference to Segrave. The

article in question states that a camp meeting was held at Segrave on November 8th,

during the wake or yearly parish feast, and was continued on the Monday, " when

a novel scene appeared : there were two nearly equal companies ; and they were in

view and within the hearing of each other. One company, or party, was engaged at

cricket-playing ; and the other in the solemn worship of Almighty God. And this

striking scene continued nearly the whole of the day." The purpose of the article is to

show that camp meetings at wakes " have a peculiar beauty and propriety ; " and

Segrave is instanced as a case in point. " Wakes are seasons of much leisure, and

camp meetings by their diversity are well calculated to fill up that leisure." Then the

article closes by laying down rules for providing^ the needful variety. No one but

Hugh Bourne could have written this piece ; and this is said in the full knowledge that

the first eight numbers of the Magazine were " edited by a person at Leicester." The

piece has all the distinctive marks of Bourne's style. What is more, the view taken

of camp meetings, and the enthusiasm shown in relation to them, are still more

characteristic of the man. He had all the tactician's delight in fresh combinations

and movements that gave promise of effective results."^ But of all combinations, the

camp meeting was Hugh Bourne's favourite tactical formation in presence of the enemy,

because it afforded scope, such as no other formation afforded, for variety of

exercises — for setting all to work for a common purpose. Moltke himself did not give

more thought to the strategy of his campaigns than did Hugh Bourne to the ordering

of camp meetings down to their smallest minutiae. The true military tactician must

have in him something of the inventor and the artist. He must be endowed with

a considerable measure of imagination in order to anticipate the chess-like moves of his

opponent, and to provide against them with the forces at his disposal. So do not call

Hugh Bourne a matter-of-fact faddist where camp meetings were concerned. Let us

rather call him a practical idealist — a tactician in camp meetings, who honestly believed

he had come upon the secret of how to deal effectively with the prevalent conditions

of his time — which conditions, be it remembered, may be very different from those

obtaining now. There is the joy of the discoverer in the zest with which he will

publish to the world some idea that has come to him — an idea that has been found to

work well on the camp-ground. Such a glad " Eureka " we have in the same first

volume of the Magazine, in the piece entitled, " On Celebrating Divine Worship in the

Open Air by Candle-light." During the Leicester campaign of 1818, a camp meeting

* " The various movements, ingenuities, and improvements that rise when the vi^ork of God is
proceeding, are admirable. The Conference religious services had a walking prayer meeting, and
a walking preaching; and such things as these may be of service in various instances. The
re-missioning processions have much useful variety, and are considerably improved. And the
minute, or minute and a half, or two minutes' sermons are not among the least of the improvements."
— Hugh Bourne : Preface to the Magazine for 1836.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCL^IT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

289

was held at Hinckley on November 18th. The night was dark, and " a man stood on
a bench holding a lantern to light the preacher." This struck out the thought that
with some improvements it would be easy to hold meetings in the open-air by candle-
light. The experiment was tried on the following Thursday night at Burbage, when
a number of lanterns, tied to sticks, were held aloft in different parts of the congregation
that no building would have held. " The meeting looked brilliant and dazzling, and
the whole had a solemn and striking appearance." There is quite an imaginative glow
about the picture of the American Forest Camp Meetings this lantern-lighted service
calls up before the mind's eye of the writer : —

" The night-scenes at the American Camp Meetings are grand and sublime.
The surrounding darkness ; the lights of numerous lamps and lanterns suspended

PREACHING IN THE OPEN-AIR AT NIGHT WITH THE AID OF LANTERNS.

to the boughs of trees, &c., accompanied by the voice of solemn prayer, powerful
preaching, or sacred singing, together with the solemn appearance of the whole
assembly, present a scene of sublime grandeur that is not often equalled." (p. 15.)

As though by touch of magician's wand we can see and hear it all. Those who say
Hugh Bourne had no imagination will have to reckon with this paragraph. Their
cheap judgment will split on this piece of "imagination all compact."

The happy thought that occurred to somebody at Hinckley that dark November
night "caught on," and many a scene was to be enacted during the years that were to
follow, quite as weird and striking as that chronicled in the first number of the Magazine.
Henceforward mere darkness need not deter preacher or congregation. Here, for
instance, is a rapid glimpse of a lantern-service got from the journal of one who bears
honoured name. John Woolhouse of Hull writes : —

290

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

"September 27th, 1820 : Went to Howden and borrowed a lantern and a chair.
I hung up the lantern against a wall, and began to sing, pray and preach in the
open-air. A large company soon gathered together, and were very serious, except-
ing one or two. I had a good time."

But to return to our immediate subject as suggested by Segrave — the tactical value
of camp meetings, especially as the deliberately designed counteractive of wakes.
What wakes were in those days we have in a previous chapter tried to show,* and there
can be little doubt that Hugh Bourne had good reason for regarding them as a favourite
and formidable device of the devil. Quite as certainly he believed camp meetings on
his model to be the most effective method of counter-attack known to him ; and there is
no lack of evidence to show he was right in both opinions. Camp meetings during the
time of wakes had been held in Staffordshire with most encouraging results, and some

THE GKEEN, BAELESTONE, WHERE OPEN-AIR SERVICES WERE HELD.

with the same specific character and purpose, that were held in Leicestershire, proved
no less successful. Of such, the one held at Barlestone, in the month of September,
stands out historically above the rest, and the reference to it here is relevant because
the article in which it is described is a continuation of the one before referred to m
which Hugh Bourne lays down the principle that " Camp meetings at wakes have
a peculiar beauty and propriety." Of that principle Barlestone is intended to supply
the illustration and confirmation, as it fully answered its purpose in restraining the wake
and also began a considerable revival.

Primitive Methodism was introduced into the village of Barlestone in the June of
this year, but nothing specially remarkable occurred until the holding of this protracted
camp meeting that began on Sunday, September 13th, and continued until the following

* Ante. " To Counteract the Wake." pp. 61-2.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

291

Friday. On the iSunday, Pryor Kichardson and his inseparable companion, Brother
Eishop, took a leading part; on Thursday, Hugh Bourne, K. Culley, and Brother Harcott
were present ; and on Friday — be it noted as a fact of historical interest — no less
a person than Lorenzo Dow was at this Barlestone camp meeting. But after giving due
weight to all these names, it still remains true that the chief labourer at these services
was Ruth Simpson. She was "in labours more abundant." After the Sunday open-air
services were closed an adjournment was made to the house of Brother Sutton, and
when the prayer meeting ended at one o'clock on Tuesday morning, it was found that
sixteen persons professed to have found salvation, and there were still others mourning
on account of sin when they reluctantly retired to their homes. The early volumes of
the denominational Magazine furnish valuable incidental evidence as to the lasting good
accomplished during this wake- week's labours of love ; for they contain the memoirs of
several persons whose conversion is directly attributed to the prayers and exhortations

SEGRAVE. FIRST INDOOR PREACHING PLACE.

of Sister Simpson. After this we are not surprised to come across the following entry
in Hugh Bourne's Journals : —

"Thursday, September 17th. At Barlestone Camp Meeting. A good time. I
spoke from John iii. 3. At night meeting ; some saved. Yesterday I saw Buth
Simpson. She stands up to speak with good acceptance. O Lord, be with her !
She appears to be a gracious young woman. To-day I had much conversation with
her."

All this gives us the highest opinion of Kuth Simpson's cnaracter and ability and
makes us almost resent the fragmentariness of our knowledge concerning her.

The wake camp-meetings of Segrave and Barlestone are representative of numberless
others that took place during this period. That from what we call a tactical point of
view, Barlestone camp meeting was a distinct success is proved by the following
testimony, and in its influence and results Barlestone is also representative of many
others : —

u 2

292 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

" This Camp Meeting was held at the time of the wake or annual parish meeting.
The wake there had been uniformly attended with great improprieties ; and the
camp meetings were intended to prevent these improprieties, and to counteract the
bad effects of the wake. And, through the tender mercy of God, this was
accomplished. Nearly the whole of the inhabitants were constantly engaged in
religious exercises until Thursday in the wake- week : by which means, drunkenness
and quarrelling were almost set aside, families were comfortable, and the village
. was peaceable." *

Neither the wake nor the camp-meeting may have retained just its old influence : the
one has not the power to hurt nor the other the power to heal it once possessed. In
a sense the poet never meant, it is true — "The old order changeth giving place to new."
Battles are not lost or won by employing or misemploying the exact tactics of Marathon
or Agincourt ; but warfare remains, and the study of strategy and tactics is more urgent
than ever. So in the spiritual warfare, methods may and must change : and our success,
as a Church, will depend, not on slavishly imitating the precise methods of Hugh
Bourne or any one else, but in seeking to have his spirit of practical idealism, his
openness to suggestion, his readiness to adapt his methods to suit current conditions and
demands.

In leaving Barlestone it should be added that in the thirties it became a branch of
Leicester Circuit. In the forties it was included within newly -formed Earl Shilton, now
known as Hinckley Circuit. Samuel Antliff began his ministry at Earl Shilton.

Providing for the Succession.

The facts as to the introduction of Primitive Methodism into the border villages of
Leicestershire, and the after-history of the denomination in these villages, suggest the
thought that Carlyle so stoutly insisted on : That history is mainly concerned with
the call of select souls to fulfil their vocation, and must largely occupy itself with the
recital of what these select souls have done for the many. So true is this with regard to
the history of our own Church, that we can best follow that history by marking the
series of select souls ; by following up the succession of men and women of fire, who
had the zeal and the power to kindle other souls, and who, after they had run their
illuminating course, could, lilie the runners in the Greek torch-race, pass their torch on
to others, and so leave the succession sure.

It was not enough that camp meetings were held that stirred Leicestershire villages
into temporary excitement,' and were a nine days' wonder ; nor even, as was the case at
Woodhouse Eaves, that the concourse should be so vast, and the enthusiasm so great, that
the gathering is talked of to this day. It was not enough even that, as at Segrave and
Barlestone, camp meetings were held which exerted a wholesome restraining influence,
and tended to the softening of manners, or brought men and women to lead " godly,
righteous, and sober lives." It was so, and the fact is soon stated, though its
implications are vast. Eor the perpetuity and the spread of the Connexion something
more was wanted, and the present position of the denomination in the county prepares

* Magazine, ^No\. i., pp. 132-3. This is the third piece on Barlestone Camp Meeting in this
volume. As we have seen, services were continued on the Friday.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND P:NTERPRISE. 293

US to find that this " something more " was supplied. It was needful to secure the
future by providing for the [succession of men and women who belonged to the true
order of evangelists ; who could not stay at home to enjoy religious quietism, but must
" run to and fro " to spread knowledge, and to infect others with their own enthusiasm.
Even Woodhouse Eaves did in this way take seizin of the future and provide for the
succession. From the day that John Mayes was illumined to the day he laid down his
torch, and " devout men carried him to his burial " in Barrow Churchyard, there was
not wanting a true witness for God in those parts, or a true propagandist of our Church-
But even more striking examples of this providing for the succession are supplied by
others of these Leicestershire villages, which were opened towards the end of 1817.
Take Quorndon. This place was visited by John Heath, who was a native of Derbyshire,
and thus, by him, we are linked on to the Kevival in Derbyshire of an earlier time.
Heath was a man of only slender abilities, but he was very much in earnest to explain
and enforce the great verities he understood so well by practical experience. He was
a man of much prayer and strong faith, so that we do not wonder at being told
" a particular influence attended his preaching." His health gave way under the strain
of continuous and arduous labour, and in 1820 he was compelled to retire from the
ministry.

With the materials supplied by tradition we can picture to ourselves the appearance
John Heath would present on the day he entered Quorndon in pursuance of his
evangelistic mission, and began the service amid an excitement which grew as the service
continued.

" His face, we are told, was short and broad, with projecting lower jaw, strong
close-set teeth, through which a loud voice finished its natural climaxes with a hiss.
His eyes were strong and piercing. He was a small man, attired in a blue swallow-
tail, corduroy smalls, blue stockings, and well-nailed, w^ell-oiled boots." *

Pryor Richardson, a Rearsby youth, but now a butcher's apprentice at Quorndon,
was one of those who heard him ; and at the lovefeast in the Wesleyan Chapel which
followed, he underwent a remarkable religious experience. He joined the infant society
and became its leading spirit. His zeal and power of utterance soon marked him out
for a local preacher, and he became one of the Connexion's best-known and most
indefatigable labourers in these parts. Pryor Richardson had as bosom friend one
who bore the name of Bishop, and the two, though men of very diff'erent type, were
often companions in travel and associates in missionary labour. The Pryor and the
Bishop got on well together, as is not always the case with the " regulars " and
" seculars " of the Romish Church who bear these names. Pryor Richardson, we take
it, was intense and somewhat narrow in his views. Honest doubt he could not
understand. Anything savouring of scepticism was an offence to him. He believed
as firmly in the devil as did Martin Luther or Parkinson Milson, and often talked of
his wiles, and recounted his own struggles with the great adversary. He was strongly of
the opinion that the hours immediately following conversion were amongst the most

* Eev. C. H. Boden : " Lowly Heroes, etc." " The Nonconformist Prior," Aldersgate Magazine,
1901. pp. 528—30.

294 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

critical of life, for that then Satan employs his subtlest devices. Hence he was
accustomed to take the new convert to his home for the night in order to ensure his
indoctrination and enrolment, and after that he felt much easier in his mind, and had
good ground for his assurance. From all this it will be seen Pryor Eichardson was
what men are accustomed to call an " eccentric." Yes, he was eccentric, as were Crawfoot
and Wedgwood, and Bourne and Hickingbotham. They were all more or less eccentric,
and the denomination they founded was itself a piece of eccentricity in the current
estimate of the world. So Pryor Eichardson ran his course until 1856, when the end
came, and as he was one of those who helped to make and mould Loughborough — itself
a missionary circuit — we may also claim tliat he in his measure was one of the makers
of Primitive Methodism.

But though 1856 carries us some way beyond our first period, Pryor Eichardson's
influence comes down much further than that. At Quorndon in the year 18-32, a camp
meeting was held at which a young man of twenty-two was sorely smitten. For some
weeks he was miserable ; so much so that he had about resolved to throw himself

into the Soar. But one of the camp-meeting preachers
revisited the place, and with the help of preacher and
Pryor Eichardson, the youth struggled into liberty and
joy. Pryor took him home for " confirmation," better
than that bestowed by bishop's hand. After some years
of useful service in the Loughborough Circuit, John
Wightman became town missionary in Nottingham, and
did a work of beneficence in many respects similar
to that done by the well-known and much-respected
Westminster Police Court Missionary, Mr. Thomas
Holmes. He died with startling suddenness in the
house of a lady on whom he had called. " I deem
it a great honour," said she, when condoled with on
account of the shock and inconvenience such an event

JOHN WIGHTMAN. ..-__..

must have involved — " I deem it a great honour that
God should have allowed so good a man to find my home the entrance-gate to heaven."
That was on June 4th, 1882, and we may rest assured that the flame he bore, before he
passed hence, had lighted other torches.

Quorndon was also, until the thirties, the home of Phoebe Smith, who rightly takes
her place among the noble band of women who graced this early period of our history.
She afterwards belonged to the society at Dead Lane, Loughborough, and was "the
religious genius of the church." ^ The mention of Quorndon will at once remind
a privileged circle of the famous " Quorndon hunt" f ; to Primitive Methodists the place

* The phrase is Mr. Tucker's, the Steward of Loughborough Circuit, who is enthusiastic in
speaking of Phoebe Smith's good works and the fragrant memory she has left.

t " Quorn is still the headquarters of the hunt, the horses and hounds being kept here. On
these, it is said, that the late Sir E. Sutton spent ten thousand a year, keeping here and at Oadby,
about 120 horses." Spencer's " Charnwood Forest," p. 46.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

295

will ever be associated with the names of Pryor Richardson, Phoebe Smith and John
Wightman. We may add, the chapel at Quorndon was purchased in 1826.

Illustrations of this "providing for the succession" abound. Almost every pioneer place
in the new Loughborough Circuit furnishes its example. Two others may be instanced.
During his two months' successful labours in these parts, John Harrison — with a young
man out of the Vale of Belvoir named George Herod to assist him — came to Grooby
and preached to about three hundred people. After the service he met those who were
wishful " to give in their names," and ten responded. One of the ten was Mr. Thomas
Sutton, whose name stands No. 12 on the plan of 1823. Mr. Herod, who knew him
well, has recorded this testimony to his character and loyalty : —

" He has been one of the most diligent and laborious local preachers we ever met
with. He is always at his post when health permits ; with him there is no
parleying about long journeys, dark nights or bad weather. We query whether
any local preacher has travelled more miles or preached more sermons the last
thirty-five years than Thomas Sutton. Moreover, his house has been a home for
the preachers more than thirty years." (" Sketches," p. 358).

Thomas Sutton was a frame-smith, and had apprentices
in his house. The Christian atmosphere in which they
lived so influenced some of these youths that they in
their turn became decided Christians and adherents of
their master's church. Michael Billings, a Leicester
local preacher and Sunday school worker of great repute,
was one of such apprentices, and there were others who
for their lasting good came early in life under Thomas
Sutton's quiet but wholesome influence.

Syston, missioned on January 18th, 1818, afi'ords our
final example. By the service on the Green^-to be
described in the next section — John Woolley was arrested
and brought to God. He was a native of Hathern, but
at that time resident at Syston; became a local preacher in
1819, and was called into the ministry in 1822,by his native
circuit. The wear and tear of the ministry was heavy in those days. Many retired
broken in health ; others died early, and John Woolley was one of these ; travelling
only eleven years. His last circuit was Fulbeck, where he died July 20th, 1833, after
labouring there but one week.* The official memoir says of him : "He possessed good
talents, and his piety was of a high order and his conduct remarkably correct."

KEV. JOHN WOOLLEY.

SiLEBY AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE FiRST CONFERENCE.

The reference to the missioning of Syston at once suggests Sileby, the home of
George Hanford, who was the chief missioner on the occasion referred to and became

* Rev. Joseph Middleton preached a funeral-sermon at Pulbeck for Mrs. Sarah Walker,
December 15th, 1835. "Por many years she had been a mother in Israel. It was under her roof
that the late Mr. John Woolley gave up the ghost and went to the immediate and uninterrupted
presence of God." — MS. Journal.

296

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

President of the first Conference at Hull in 1820. Precisely when and under what
circumstances Sileby was first entered we are not informed ; but it already had, in 1818,
a vigorous society, and Hugh Bourne, W. Clowes, J. Wedgwood, and J. Harrison all
visited it during the first six months of the year. On March 20th, Hugh Bourne was
at Sileby " about a chapel," and the chapel must have been erected soon after, for the
second and last number of the Quarterly Magazine (July, 1818) says: "A new chapel
has been opened this quarter at Sileby and another at Queniborough, both in Leicester-
shire." Hence it appears that Sileby must have run Loughborough pretty close for the
honour of having the first chapel in the county. At Sileby, too, the September quarterly
meeting of the young Loughborough Circuit was held. The strength and importance of
this society was no doubt largely owing to George Hanford's connection with it. As a

FIKST PREACHING PLACE, SILEBY.

" lace manufacturer," he must have occupied a fairly good position, and his contributions
to the early Magazines and the prominent part he subsequently took in Connexional affairs
all indicate that he was a man of considerable ability and force of character. He signs as
a trustee of Loughborough new chapel ; is one of the representatives of the Circuit to
the Preparatory Meeting of 1819 ; is Piesident of the first Conference ; is at the second
and fourth Conferences, and though not expressly named, was probably a delegate to the
third, held at Loughborough. He js the second local preacher on the 1823 plan,
delegate to the Nottingham District Meeting in 1825, and then he disappears — whether
as the result of his withdrawal or death there is no evidence to show. Alike in his first
appearance and his disappearance there is a singular, and rather disconcerting, abruptness,
perhaps accounted for by the paucity of our information. We conjecture he belonged
originally to some other Church, and that he transferred himself and his influence to
the Primitives on their first appearance in these parts. When we first meet with him
he is already a leading spirit, the confidant of Hugh Bourne, a practised speaker, and

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 297

possessing both the instinct and the qualifications of an evangelist, as his circumstantial
account of the missioning of Syston gives sufficient proof.

Hanford tells us that on Plough Monday, January 12th, he was accosted by some
mummers fantastically dressed, who hailed from Syston. They looked for money, but
he gave them good advice instead, whereupon they intimated he must be a " Ranter "
by his talk. This led him to ask whether they had any " Ranters " at Syston. " No,"
said they, " and if they ever come there we will kill them." Mr. Hanford's half-formed
resolve to mission Syston, which had been encouraged by consultation with one of the
ministers, slumbered until the Sunday morning, when, under the stimulus of a tragic
incident, it at once matured and took action. A young woman by his side was called
out of the chapel because her father had dropped down dead. " If anything is to be
done in a transitory world like this, it must be done at once : there is no time to be lost.
I will go to Syston this day." So thought — so resolved George Hanford. Twenty-six
persons of varying degrees of courage went with him. At first they stepped out
resolutely and kept well together, but as they got near to the " large, respectable, and
populous village " a hymn was struck up ; " one deserted to the right, another to the
left ; some stopped behind, others ran before ; till they all left but six." The Green
reached, George Hanford and his half-dozen stalwarts found hundreds assembled, and
the service began with praise and prayer. Presently, amid cries of "Make way ! make
way ! " the clergyman, the lawyer, and " a gentleman " — a triumvirate familiar to our
early missionaries — pushed their way to the front, and a colloquy began. Prom the
part he took in this wordy encounter, Mr. Hanford showed that he had other
qualifications for the position of premier President besides evangelistic sympathies and
gifts. It is scarcely too much to say that he taught the clergyman theology, the lawyer
law, and the " gentleman " good manners. With the first he discussed such high
themes as " the forgiveness of sins, the witness of the Spirit, and the sensible perception
of the love of God in the heart." He joined issue with the second on ceitain points of
law relating to the licensing of preachers and places, and wrung from his opponent the
rather damaging admission : " This is a point of the law on which I am now not
fully acquainted." As for number three of the party — if the tradition be correct, which
says that this was farmer Parr who threatened to thrust his stick down the preacher's
throat — by giving him the courtesy-title of a gentleman Mr. Hanford showed an
example of good manners. From words they proceeded to pull the preacher about
a little, while a " local " standing on an eminence cried : " Mr. Hanford, stand firm ! "

and then the three went off — the lawyer, with a curse, muttering : " Oh he

knows the law ! " Mr. Hanford preached, and felt very happy. "Every soul seemed
inspired with courage, and we sang down the street : ' Turn to the Lord and seek
salvation.'" The singing of this hymn was used for the conversion of brother Webster
whose memoir is found in the Magazine of 1823.

Ten days afterwards, Hugh Bourne was the guest of Mr. Hanford, and " conversed
much with him about discipline." Considering that the one was shortly to write
"" A Treatise on Discipline," to which the other, as President of the Conference of 1820,
will give his official imprimatur, the discussion was well-timed and appropriate.

The missioning of Syston led to still farther extension, for, adds George Hanford :

298 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUIICH.

" The signal power of God that rested upon the people that day induced them to give
us pressing invitations to Eearsby, Queniborough, Thurmaston, Leicester, and other
places, at which we now have large societies." To Leicester then, the proud capital of
the county, we must now direct our attention.

Villages versus Towns.

Herod, in referring to the Revival which began in Leicestershire under the labours of
John Benton, Hallsworth and Heath, and after mentioning several places in that county
which profited by the labours of the missionaries, goes on to say : — ^'- But Leicester he
felt reluctant to enter" Why this reluctance?— if indeed it were really felt. Herod's
words should hardly be passed over without remark, coming as they do from one whose
testimony as to matters of fact relating to Primitive Methodism in his own particular
district at this time, we have every reason to regard as trustworthy. Herod's statement
is interesting, not so much because it professes to admit us to the secret workings of
Benton's mind — the play of feeling, the struggle between preferences and dislikes going
on within — which ha'l its effect in shaping the course of the evangelistic movement.
Even so regarded the statement is interesting. But it may do us the farther service of
putting us upon the inquiry whether this " reluctance " to enter upon evangelistic
labour in the larger towns and cities, was not in a sense characteristic of the movement
"^^as a whole up to this time. Had not Primitive Methodism hitherto shown itself to be, <^
in fact and by preference, a rural rather than an urban movement ? The question,
stated thus generally, must be answered in the affirmative. Primitive Methodism was
rural in its origin ; it took kindly and naturally to the villages, and lingered amongst
them lovingly. Village evangelisation became its habit — one might even say its
passion ; so much so that what was its chief distinction and glory had in it the element
of danger : it might fail to respond to the demands of the rapidly growing towns, and
like Reuben of old, continue to sit "amongst the sheepfolds to hear the pipings of the
flock." This temptation — the reluctance to adjust itself to the marvellous changes
brought about in this industrial age — was only tardily overcome. But it has been
overcome, until now the danger lies in an entirely different direction. Formerly the
temptation was to neglect the towns in favour of the villages ; now the temptation is to
abandon the villages and concentrate on the towns.

But when we think of the antithesis between town and country as it presented itself
about 1820, we must remind ourselves that the contrast was not by any means so
striking and glaring eighty years ago as it is to-day. The population of the country,
far less in its aggregate then than now, was much more evenly distributed. It was not
agglomerated and concentrated in what we call " the great centres." The system of
domestic manufacture had not died out, though it was declining, and the whirr of the
spinning-wheel and the rattle of the frame could still be heard as you passed along the
village street. Towns were more rural and villages more town-like than now. The
movement to the large towns had begun, but it had not yet become a rush, leaving the
villages depleted and depressed. Towns had not yet fully entered upon "that process of
abnormal growth which statistics register — a growth so rapid that even the middle-aged
man who spent his boyhood in one of these progressive towns, when he revisits it after

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

299

the lapse of years, almost fails to recognise the once familiar spots. If we take the two
towns in which we are now specially interested — Nottingham and Leicester — we shall
see that eighty years have had the effect of intensifying the contrast between town and
village. In 1801, the population of Nottingham was 28,801, and that of Leicester
17,005; in 1881 it stood at 186,575 for Nottingham and 122,251 for Leicester. Still,
even in the first decades of the nineteenth century the words " town " and " country "
represented strongly marked differences other than that of comparative density of
population. Amongst these differences those that related to religion were perhaps the
most observable. Towns such as Leicester and Northampton, Bristol and Bath, were
the strongholds of evangelical piety, both within and without the fold of the Establish-
ment. This evangelicalism was very orthodox, very respectable, very correct, ambitious
to preserve the proper tone, and quite disposed, in keeping with the spirit bequeathed
from the preceding century, to resent the introduction within its borders of a form of
Christianity that was fervid and demonstrative and unconventional in character, like that
our fathers believed in and practised. Now Mr. Herod, in seeming to explain John Benton's
" reluctance " to enter Leicester, tells us that a Methodist preacher had informed Benton
"that he would be taken up if he made an attempt to preach there." We do not think

LEICESTER ABOUT 1800,

an intimation such as this of what awaited him, would at all have discomposed him or
acted as a deterrent had he really wanted to enter Leicester. Of mob-violence or persecu-
tion veiling itself under legal forms he would have said: "None of these things move me."
But the avowed thorough-going opposition of those who are utterly different from
ourselves does not gall us half so much as the sneers and censure of those with whom
we are in general agreement and sympathy. So when the Methodist minister went on
further to tell Benton how in several stationers' windows in Leicester there was
exhibited a caricature of himself " in the act of preaching, with a red handkerchief
tied round his head, while a multitude of people surrounded him and stared him
in the face " — we are not so certain that he would preserve the same equanimity.
" Boanerges " Benton was not the typical Revivalist preacher of some novelists whom
we see pictured as a man with lungs of leather and forehead of brass, and no nerves or
manners to speak of. Unless we are very much mistaken, he knew his limitations, and
was sensitive to his own defects. We think we see indications that he had a modest,
if not a low, estimate of his own abilities, and wondered how it was that God had
deigned to choose a man like him, with '• no grammar and little language," to carry on

300

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

His work. He knew he was not learned, and that fooHsh caricature in the Leicester
stationers' windows would suggest to him that he had not only to reckon with the open
opposition of the ungodly, but with the disfavour of the truly pious and orthodox, who
did not want him and his irregularities in Leicester, and would let him know that
he was not wanted. What Benton divined, was really in the minds of sincere but
prejudiced men, and the prejudice was allowed to distil in speech, and to drop from
their pens. It was in Leicester, some time after this, that the Rev. Daniel Isaac, " the
Polemic divine," wrote from Leicester in a letter to a friend : " The Ranters have
bawled themselves out of breath in this neighbourhood, and I think are losing

ground They have chanted till the people take no more notice of their

noise than the Quaker's stillness." *

Whether facts and considerations
like the foregoing help to explain
Benton's personal "reluctance" to
enter Leicester, while he continued
to hang on its skirts and to mission
the villages in its neighbourhood,
we shall, of course, never know.
But whether they do or do not, such
considerations, personal to Benton,
do not touch or explain that deeper
denominational reluctance to fasten
and concentrate its strength on the
chief towns which marks the course
taken by Primitive Methodism in
the early years — a reluctance that
was the outcome of habit and of
preference, if not of deliberate
policy. The explanation of this is
what we want to see a little further
into if we can. We have glanced
at the towns regarded in their
religious aspect ; what of the villages
of the same period 1

We have seen that, relatively,
the villages were of far greater
importance eighty years ago than
they are to-day. That fact does in itself go some way towards explaining and justifying
the amount of attention bestowed on their evangelisation. But absolutely, and not
merely relatively, their need was greater than that of the towns ; for they had been
too much neglected by existing religious agencies. Here and there, especially in the
manufacturing villages of the West Riding and other districts, and in East Anglia,
the older Nonconformity might be represented ; but in how many hundreds of villages

* Betty's History, quoted from Everett's " Life of Rev. Daniel Isaac."

RUSSELL SQUARE AND THE LOWER END OF WHARF STREET,
WHERE OPEN-AIR SERVICES WERE HELD.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 301

and hamlets throughout the country was there no Baptist or Congregational Church to
be seen. The evangelical clergy of light and leading were mainly in the towns. The
Church, as by law established, did little for the people of the villages. The Oxford
movement was still in the future. It had not yet pervaded the land, planting in almost
every village a hard-working clergyman resolutely bent on outworking and outgiving
Dissent. Instead of an aggressive, resourceful, ever-active Anglo-Catholicism, there was
absenteeism, or the indifference, incompetence, or worse, of those who had " the cure of
souls." True, numerous Methodist societies kept piety alive, but even many of these
societies had lost somewhat of the old fervour and aggressive spirit, and had not yet
gained the new evangelic and evangelistic fervour. The spiritual need of the villages
was great. A rousing out-door evangelism was called for. The need of the villages
was our Church's opportunity, of which it was not slow to avail itself, and the effort to
supply the need coincided entirely with the desires, the training, the habits, and the
special qualifications of our missionaries, who, with scarce an exception, were village-born
and village-bred.

Let us recall the history of Primitive Methodism so far as we have come, and it will
be admitted that the narrative given, unless it altogether belie the facts, bears out
the view that Primitive Methodism put its chief strength into village work, and had its
reward in so doing. The tide of village evangelisation never reached a higher point in
the districts with which we have been, and shall for some time be, concerned, than in
these years. Since then, indee'd, the wave has somewhat receded. There were villages
and hamlets missioned in these years, and had societies established in them, which were
afterwards abandoned. Does any one point to Derby and Nottingham to prove that
the towns were not neglected 1 True ; but these examples of successful work in the
towns does not invalidate the statement that our Church did, by choice and preference,
put its main strength into the work then most urgently needed — the work of village
evangelisation.

The Entry into Leicester,
John Benton's reluctance to enter Leicester yielded at last under the force of the
assurance that some, at any rate, of the good people of Leicester were anxious that the
Primitives should mission the town, and had preferred their request at the service
recently held at Syston. Whether John Benton had been specially asked for or not we do
not know ; but he was evidently regarded as the best man available for undertaking
this important business. Arrangements were accordingly made for the attempt to be
made on Sunday, March 1st, 1818, which arrangements became matter of common
rumour in Leicester itself and the neighbourhood. Even in taverns and other places
where men congregated and gossiped, the forthcoming invasion was freely discussed,
and opinions condemnatory and otherwise of the Ranters and their proceedings frankly
expressed. In proof of this, we are told that on the eve of this Sabbath, William
Goodrich was at the "Pied Bull" public-house, and heard the news there. As this is
the occasion of our first meeting with a man who afterwards became of note in Leicester
Primitive Methodism, and who left his impress on our early literature, and made
himself felt in our denominational councils, a word or two respecting him may not be

302

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

out of place. But Avliat doest Ihou here, William Goodrich, in the sanded parlour of
the " Pied Bull " ? we may well ask ; for we are told that his father had been for many
years a faithful and acceptable Wesleyan local preacher, and his mother was now a sainted
.spirit ; and yet, despite all this, that surely should have given advantage to virtue and
prepared the way for grace, he had become a constant frequenter of this same tavern called
the ." Pied Bull," and much admired there for his open-handedness, his sprightly talk and
convivial turn. As he was sitting there on this particular Saturday night, his attention
was arrested by a heated discussion two other habitues of the place were carrying on
respecting the merits and demerits of some strange people called " Ranters " who had
recently visited Syston and Ratby. He learned that they visited the villages, singing
lively hymns, preaching sermons in the open-air, and that they drew much people after
them ; furthermore, he learned that they were due at Leicester on the morrow, and his

curiosity was greatly stirred to know
more about these exciting and excit-
able people. He remarks : —

" I began to inquire into the
lives and doctrines of these men,
and I soon learnt enough of them
to induce me to interpose a word
or two in their favour."

Then comes a passage which curiously
reminds one of a certain maid's recog-
nition of Peter by the light of the lire,
and who, looking steadfastly upon him,
said, "This man also was with Him."
But he denied, saying, '"Woman, I
know Him not." So, when William
Goodrich spoke up for the miscalled
people, —

"The landlady turned and
looked at me in a peculiarly
striking manner, exclaiming :
'And you, Goodrich, will be a
Ranter, too, directly ! ' This I
denied with all my power, but
my heart said a different thing. ""^

According to report, and in keeping with the arrangements made, John Benton
entered Leicester on the following day, being Sunday, and with him came a goodly
number of persons from Thurmaston, Syston and the adjacent villages. They came, we
are told, along the Melton-Mowbray turnpike, singing as they came: — "Turn to the

BELGKAVE GATE AND THE OLD CKOSS AS IT IS TO-DAY.

* Quoted in the Memoir of Mr. W. Goodrich by Rev. Robert Parks :
JMagazine," 1872, p. 745-

Primitive Methodist

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 303

Lord and seek salvation." Now, just here, unfortunately, authorities differ in their
statements as to the precise spot chosen by Benton for opening his commission in
Leicester. But William Goodrich, who was there, says — and the Leicester tradition
accords with his view — that Benton and his host made for the old Roman Cross in
Belgrave Gate. * Floating traditions blend with sober records in giving us a vivid
impression of the excitement the advent of the Primitives created in Leicester that day.
The news spread like wildfire — " The ' Ranters ' have come ! " From all points the
people came pouring into Belgrave Gate. At one time, Herod tells us, Benton was
carried off his feet by the surging crowd. In their excitement mfen did strange
things. One ran out half-shaved to see what was to be seen. Another man named
Farmer, climbed a lamp-post to watch the proceedings, and was pierced to the heart and
came down "a new man." "He was a moulder, and shortly after his conversion
a mighty work of God broke out in the foundry, and many of its workmen were brouo-ht
to the Saviour," All accounts agree that Benton's sermon on "Let me die the death
of the righteous, and let my last end be like his," was one of marvellous power ; they
are at one, too, in noticing admiringly the rare quality of Benton's voice. It was
"stentorian," "ringing," "clear as a clarion, and carrying far." Tradition hints that
there was an attempt at opposition— one man beating a drum for the purpose of drowning
the preacher's voice, but he might have been Benton's own drummer beatino- the
" assembly ; " for the only effect of his drum-beating was to assist in makino- the con-
gregation still larger. Meanwhile, as Benton lifted up his voice like a trumpet, William
Goodrich stood there — an islanded soul — in that vast crowd. After he left the " Pied
Bull " he had passed a troubled night, tempered however with resolves to begin to lead
a better life. As he stood there in the gutter, heedless alike of the crowd and of the
falling rain, " the great transaction " was effected within his soul.

This notable service was literally the "opening" of Leicester, so far as Primitive
Methodism was concerned. From that time it was as though the Lord had said :
" Behold, I have set before thee a door opened, which none can shut." Leicester would
now be regarded as belonging to the Loughborough Circuit ; and although the plan for
May-July was issued in the April number of the quarterly Magazine, too early to
admit of Leicester's appearing thereon, yet arrangements would meanwhile be made for
supplying it with preachers resident in the neighbourhood ; and soon and frequently
the leading missionaries would pay their visits. These visits were looked forward to
with high anticipations, and were made the subject of prayer by the new converts so
that we are not surprised to learn that the labours of the missionaries told mightilv for
good in the town. Leicester duly appears on the next plan — that of August-October.

* The main authorities for this site are Memoir of William Goodrich, " Primitive Methodist
Magazine," 1871 ; Herod's " Sketches," p. 298 ; Petty's " History," p. 75 (who cites Rev. J. Brownson
as his authority), and Mr. Thomas Lawrence's " Primitive Methodism in Leicester," p. 5. Other
authorities, amongst which may be named that of Rev. C. H. Boden, name Coal Hill, where the
memorial Clock Tower now stands, as the site of this first service, and instead of "an adjoining
lamp-post," they make Parmer climb the town -pump. As the two sites are separated by no great
distance, the question is not of much practical importance, especially as those who differ in their
opinions as to the site are in substantial agreement as to what actually occurred.

304

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

The name is found twice over
at the very bottom of the plan,
without reference to building or
street, from which we infer that
as yet two public open-air ser-
vices were held simultaneously in
convenient places; while prayer
meetings and class meetings
would be held in the houses of
friends or adherents. Amongst
these regular and occasional
open-air preaching stations were
Belgrave Gate Cross, Orchard
Street, Foundry Square, Frog^
Island, West Bridge, Russell
Square, Coal Hill, Old Hay-
market, Turner Street, &c^

Owing to the regrettable

FOUNDRY SQUARE, FROM ARCHDEACON LANE.
Showing a part of St. Mark's Churcli.

FOUNDRY SQUARE, FROM BELGRAVE G.Aa;E.

absence of dates, the chronology
of the visits of Wedgwood and
Clowes to Leicester is difficult
to trace ; but it is clear that
Wedgwood soon followed Benton.
His first service is said to have
been held in Foundry Square,
near the door of Mr. Bennett, who
is described as "a gardener and
Sunday salesman." But such a
description soon became inappro-
priate, for he ceased to be a
Sunday trader ; his house became
a rendezvous for the young con-
verts ; here the first class was
formed, of which W. Goodrich

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

305

was one of the earliest members, and Mr. Bennett and his wife "got that good which,
they never lost."

William Clowes, as we know, made a missionary tour into Leicestershire in 1818,
although his account of this mission found in the Journal is strangely mixed with

THE OLD HAY MAKKET.
The open space is where the Primitives vised to hold meetings.

1818.

Places.

Leicester 10^ and 6
Leicester 2 and 6

August,

1318

2624

13T

2114

Sept.

6|13

1813
19,14

Oct.

13
26

Preachers.

4. R. Weston

5. J. Wedgwood

13. R. Ciilley

14. J. Skevington
1/. G. Hanford

18. J. Rue

19. T. King
24. R. Bent
26. C.Villiers

Leicester's First Appi:arance at the Bottom of the Plan.
August— October, 1818.

306 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUllCH.

the account of his visit into Nottinghamshire paid the previous year. Clowes' first
experience of Leicester and its people, as recorded in the Journal, must have occurred
before the end of April, and after the first visit of Wedgwood just referred to.* Once
more, as our quotation shows, we find the two labouring conjointly, and once more,
curiously enough, Wedgwood, overwrought, wants to lie down while Clowes will
go on : — t

" On Sunday we proceeded to hold a camp meeting at Croxton Lane Ends, near
Barsby ] here the Word of the Lord prevailed, and many experienced the
converting power. From this place we went onwards to Leicester the same
evening. As we went through the villages thither, we sang the high praises of
our God ; the people flocked after us, and appeared moved with astonishment.
When we arrived in Leicester we were very weary, and it was very late at night.
In the morning, however, we marched forth and hoisted the gospel standard in
Belgrave Gate. It was supposed that about two thousand people gathered
themselves together on this occasion. We both preached ; Wedgwood from Job
xxii. 21, and I from Rev. iii. 20. Just as I was rising to address the congregation,
a person whispered in my ear that an alderman and one of the magistrates were
present ; but I did not feel any fear on that account. I felt my soul impressed
with a consciousness of higher powers — the value of immortal souls, and the
necessity which lay on me to cry aloud and spare not, regardless of the trifling
distinctions of earthly rank and power. The multitude on this occasion were
exceedingly well-behaved ; a deep solemnity reigned over the meeting, and all was
still and quiet as if we had been in a chapel. [Be it noted — one Mr. Richard
Wool house, of Hull, was one of Mr. Clowes' hearers at Belgrave Gate.] We
terminated our proceedings about twelve o'clock, and at half-past one we held
a prayer meeting in Orchard Street, in a friend's house. The gathering together
again was very numerous. Vast numbers stood on the outside, many were
powerfully affbcted, and cried for pardoning mercy, and their cries were not in
vain. It was supposed that about twenty souls found the Lord and rejoiced in
sins forgiven : the prayer meeting continued till six o'clock in the evening. When
I came out of the house I found my clothes were as wet as thatch on a very rainy
day. After partaking of a cup of tea we set out and walked seven miles to Sileby.
We felt ourselves so much exhausted on the way that Wedgwood was inclined to
lie down in a meadow, but I opposed this, as we should have endangered our lives
by such a course. After a good night's rest and breakfast we departed from Sileby,
to walk a distance of seventeen miles : we then took leave of each other, that we
might preach at different places." — Journal, pp. 139-140.

We get one other giimiDse of Clowes at Leicester during this same spring of 1818 ;
for William Goodrich speaks of Clowes' preaching in Orchard Street in the evening, and
Mary Hawksley in the morning of the same day. Orchard Street figures a good deal
during the beginnings of Primitive Methodism in Leicester. In that street Wedgwood

* Our data for this conclusion are these : Herod speaks of Clowes' Leicestershire mission as
a fortnight's one. Probably it occupied a little longer time than that. At the end of the mission
he called at several places in Derbyshire and preached. He mentions, too, the visit he paid to the
widow of Samuel Simoock, who was then near death. Hugh Bourne hears of her death on May 3rd.

t See ante p. 167.

THE PEUIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

307

usually stayed when in the town at the house of Mr. John Cross, to whom spiritually
he had been of service. In ( )rchard Street, too, were three other adherents of the new
cause — Messrs. Pool, Markham, and Andrews — whose houses were thrown open for
the holding of prayer meetings. The first two became leaders of the second and third
society classes, which met in their respective houses, while the last-named is described
as "an eccentric character, but a sterling jewel, who lost his status as a Wesleyan in
consequence of breaking out into bursts of praise during the time of service." '''

John Harrison spent close upon two months on what may be called the Leicestershire
Mission — from May 3rd to June 20th — and from his Journals we get a vivid view of
the eager crowds tliat followed the missionaries, and hung on their words "like a bee
upon a jessamine flower." We cannot condense without defeating our own object,
which is to see the crowds as the writer saw them, and to breathe the very atmosphere
■of this time of refreshing and Revival, when men's sorely-tried souls were stirred by

a new hope. As we read, let us try to take in
what is said of the mere bulk and numerical
strength of the crowds he everywhere met with
in this town of but moderate size, as we must
reckon it to have been, judged by present
standards of populousness. Unless John Harrison
wilfully exaggerated, or we have to credit him
with a fatal incompetence to estimate numbers,
we can come to only one conclusion : that tlie
congregations were quite extraordinary, and that
the people must have been hungering for the
gospel.

" May 7th. — I preached at Wymeswold,

in the street, without much opposition.

May 8th. — I came to Leicester. . . When

I entered the town an influenoe and

thoughts similar to Jonah's came, and

I felt as if I should like to take shipping

and go to Tarshish. But in the midst of

my difficulties and temptations the promises supported me—' In Me is thy

help ' : ' Lo I am with you alway, even to the end of the world.' . . .

I preached at half-past ten on the next morning in Orchard Street, and

stood on a table for a pulpit in the middle of the congregation, which

consisted of several thousand souls. I never preached to such a number

that behaved with such seriousness. At half-past two in the afternoon

I was in the open-air in Horsepool Street, and was favoured with a table

for my stand. It was computed that I had not less than five thousand of

a congregation to hear the Word of Life, although two of our brethren were

preaching in other parts of the town. The people gave great heed to the Word, and

many scores are seeking the Lord. I gave it out that I should preach in Frog

Island at six o'clock in the evening ; and I was again favoured with a table for

WYMESWOLD CHAPEL.

* Letter of William Goodrich, quoted in Bateman's •' Life of Wedgwood," p. 76.

X 2

308 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

a pulpit. When I ascended it, and took a view of my congregation, I was like
Moses — ' I did exceedingly fear and quake ; ' for the number of hearers appeared
to have doubled. I preached with great liberty, and the Lord was present and
precious. It was said that not less than eight thousand were present. Monday
10th. — I preached near the West Bridge to the largest congregation I ever had.
There were many deeply wrought on by the Word and Spirit. When I had
concluded, a woman came to me weeping, and gave me a very pressing invitation
to go and preach where she resided, which was fourteen miles from Leicester.
She said, ' Do come, for we are all sinners.' I told her that was just the class of
persons our Lord came to seek and save. On Tuesday, the 11th, we held a prayer
meeting at one of the friend's houses, when the Lord was pleased to pour His
Spirit out, and many souls found peace. In the evening a stranger was expected
to preach, but I had my fears he would not come, and that I should have to
preach. However, a little before the time a female from Derbyshire came, and we
entreated her to take up the appointment. She complied with the request, and
I never before heard her speak with so much liberty and power."

John Harrison was bashful even before his own Journal ; therefore he does not tell
us that the " female from Derbyshire " was none other than Sarah Kirkland, who, in
less than two months, will become his wedded wife and " a help meet for him ! " Her,
too, still bearing the old name, we welcome this way ; glad to know that she bore her
part in the Leicestershire as she did in the Nottinghamshire Revival.

It will doubtless have struck the reader, as it strikes the writer very forcibly in the
retrospect, that we have heard and seen very little of persecution while we have been
in Leicestershire. True, we heard something like the beating of a drum while Benton
was proclaiming the Gospel at the Cross in Belgrave Gate, and we have met with
allusions in contemporary Journals to "mild stone-throwing," which we take to mean
that stones were sometimes thrown that never seemed to hit any one. We remember,
too, the occasion when " the clergyman, the lawyer, and the gentleman " set out with the
intention of intimidating George Hanford, and retired feeling that they had not perse-
cuted him so much as he had coerced them. The fact is, there was no persecution
experienced in Leicestershire worth speaking of. One swallow does not make a summer,
nor one snow-flake a snow-storm ; neither does a solitary instance or two of horse-play
or outbreak of spite, or bad manners, such as the attempt of the post-boy or farmer
(probably bemused with drink) to drive his horses through a quiet, out-door congregation
— warrant us to write of the persecution met Avith by the Primitives in Leicestershire
in 1818. A chapter under this heading would be as short as the famous chapter
on snakes in Ireland: — "There are no snakes in Ireland." And thus far there was
very little persecution in Leicestershire. How does this absence of the persecuting
spirit from Leicestershire contrast with what we saw In Rutland and in parts of
Nottingham and Lincoln, where it was continually manifesting itself in the most
diversified ways ! The fact is creditable to the county and to be borne in mind.
But as yet the full significance of the fact cannot be dwelt upon ; nor are we at
present yet prepared to attempt an explanation of this extraordinary difference in the
treatment of our pioneer missionaries by neighbouring counties. That explanation must
await the accumulation of facts and be reserved until we have seen how it will fare

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

809

with the propagandists of Primitive Methodism in other parts. We will only again
hazard the opinion that in a very true sense Persecution is "racy of the soil"; that,
in proportion as men are tied to the soil which is not their own freehold, there
are the conditions most likely to be found favourable to the propagation of the
persecuting spirit.

But while persecution as ordinarily and quite properly understood was rarely experi-
enced by our pioneers in Leicestershire, they were not unacquainted with it as manifested
in less tangible and more subtle forms. They could not and did not escape the reproach
of the Cross or the usual fate of those who turn aside from beaten paths. There is
much to be met with in life that is not called persecution that is intrinsically of the
same character, because it is designed to punish — "to let a man know," "to make him
feel " — to deter or to coerce. It can manifest itself in numberless small but unmistak-
able ways — in the supercilious look ; in the voice touched with scorn ; even in the curl
of the lip, or uplifted eyebrow. We see it in the disgust shown by the tepid soul on

any display of enthusiasm ; in the displeasure visited
upon those who dare to violate some of the smaller
conventions whether of social or religious life.

It was probably the dim perception that he would be
leaving the more congenial atmosphere of village-life and
be exposing himself to persecution of this unsubstantial
bodiless kind which, as we have seen, made Benton
reluctant to enter Leicester. Probably there were
[)ersecutors in grain of this kind in the county capital,
and he was surely one of them to whom incidentally we
owe that vindication of our people and of our work by
Robert Hall, that broad-minded Christian man and prince
of preachers — which vindication has become almost
a classical piece amongst us and cannot be omitted from
this history.

Robert Hall was at the time Benton entered Leicester
the minister of Harvey Lane Chapel, to which people from all parts of the country
found their way, breaking their journey here and travelling by a subsequent coach
in order that they might avail themselves of the opportunity of hearing this eminent
divine. Robert Hall, we are told, was on his way to a village where he occasionally
preached on a week evening just at the time Benton was preaching in the open-air.
He stopped and for a time listened attentively to the preacher, whose zeal he admired
as well as the command he evidently had over his congregation. The rest of the story
shall b3 told in the words of George Herod : —

"An individual who had a taste for decorum, felt himself annoyed with street
preaching, and said to Mr. Hall :—

'"What do you think of the "Ranters," sir? Don't you think they ought to be
put down ? '

" ' I don't know enough of their conduct to say that,' was the reply. ' What do
they do ? Do they inculcate antinomianism, or do they exhibit immorality in their
lives 1 '

ROBERT HALL.

•^10 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

" ' Not that I know of ; but they fall into very irregular practices.'

" ' Indeed ! What practices ? '

" ' Why, sir, when they enter a village, they begin to sing hymns, and they go on
singing until they collect a number of people about them, on the village green, or
in some neighbouring field, and then they preach.'

" ' Well ; whether that may be prudent or expedient, or not, depends upon circum-
stances ; but, as yet, I see no criminality.'

" ' But you must admit, Mr. Hall, that it is very irregular.''

" ' And suppose I do admit that, what follows ? Was not our Lord's rebuking the
Scribes and Pharisees, and driving the buyers and sellers out of the temple, veyy
irregular? Was not the course of the apostles and Stephen and of many of the
evangelists, very irregular ? Were not the proceedings of Calvin, Luther and their
fellow-workers in the Reformation very irregular — a complete and shocking
innovation upon all the quiescent doings of the Papists 1 And were not the whole
lives of Whitefield and Wesley very irregular lives, as you view such things ? Yet,
how infinitely is the world indebted to all these ! No, sir, there must be something
widely different from mere irregularity before I condemn.'"

This dialogue shows us Robert Hall in a very favourable light. We see a man,
highly placed and richly endowed, honestly striving to gain an understanding of the
times in order that he may " know what Israel ought to do." At the outset, when
confronted with novel methods of evangelisation, he is studious to keep his mind
dispassionate and free from prejudice. He will not prejudge the case, or condemn
hastily, without the due weighing of evidence. God and time will show. While he
thus puts in a plea for suspension of judgment, he is not prepared on summons to
pronounce off-hand that this work is of God, and these men the servants of the Most
High. Yet he hopes that it may be so, and he will not be surprised if the event
should prove that God is in both the men and their work ; for then this much-discussed
movement would be seen to be quite in line with other so-called " irregular " movements
of the past that were condemned of men but owned of God.

In all this, Robert Hall offers a striking contrast with his fellow-citizen and ministerial
neighbour, Rev. Daniel Isaac, who was resident in Leicester from 1820 to 1822. What
strikes us the most in Daniel Isaac's phillipic against Primitive Methodism is not the
splenetic character or bad taste of the outburst, so much as the confused, and one might
say, cross-eyed view taken of the progress of the body in his neighbourhood. He says
and unsays at the same time and of the same thing. He casts a slur upon camp
meetings (" the Ranters have bawled themselves hoarse "), and then immediately goes
on to reflect on the wisdom of the Primitives in suffering their zeal for camp meetings
to slacken — " They have got chapels, and are neglecting field-preaching. We mean to
take it up^ Here the writer, who begins with a fling at cam.p meetings, ends by
allowing their usefulness, and by preparing us for the historical fact that within a! dozen
years after the Wesleyan Conference had pronounced against camp meetings, the
practice of holding them had been introduced in various parts of the Wesleyan
Connexion ; so that Hugh Bourne could say as early as July, 1818 * : " The utility
of camp meetings has so fully appeared to the wise and good, that our respected friends

* On the cover of the quarterly Magazine, July, 1 818.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 311.

of the old Methodist Connexion have begun to hold them in Nottinghamshire and in
Leicestershire." Furthermore, Hugh Bourne states : " It is understood that in 1820
their Conference adopted such meetings, only requiring them to be called by a different
name."* So that the Conference of 1820 blessed what the Conference of 1807
had banned. It could scarcely be expected that Daniel Isaac would look upon the
movements of Primitive Methodism with the same unbiassed mind as his great
townsman — Robert Hall. Nor did he. Yet we are glad to find him a convert to the
belief in the utility of camp meetings.

Robert Hall convinced himself that the Primitives did not deserve to be "put
down," but rather helped on. He removed to Bristol in 1826, but so long as he
remained in Leicester he continued to be their vindicator, and on one occasion at least
showed his kindliness in a practical way by lending his church for the preaching of
a funeral sermon by one of our missionaries ; he himself attended the service, and
expressed his satisfaction with the sermon he heard.

As for the other interlocutor in the dialogue we have given, he is of no importance
whatever, except as he was one of a type, a representative " man in the pew," one of
the many who professed to be shocked at the " irregularities " practised by our fathers,
and who half frightened, half angry, put their question : " DonH you think they ought
to he put doion ? " We wonder how many of our readers know that the question here
so timidly put was in 1820 proposed in good earnest to a noble lord, high in office, by
a Lincolnshire clergyman. He wrote a letter to the noble lord, in which the latter was
adjured by all that was sacred to put down the " vociferating Ranters " and their
pestilent and seditious camp meetings. This remarkable open letter was printed in the
Christian Remembrancer, and in the columns of the same Christian publication there
appeared a communication from another writer, who observed : —

" That as far as private influence could interfere, it has been exerted on some
occasions to prevent their assemblies {i.e., the camp meetings) ; but it is surely
desirable that the authority of Government also should in some way interfere to
prevent the degradation and debasement of that holy religion, which is so essential
to the present and future welfare of the nation." He would welcome any restraints
"which would defend pure and undefiled religion from the injuries it sustains by
the rude assaults of enthusiasm and fanaticism."

But let us turn from those who merely looked on the Revival — it may be with doubt,
or apprehension, or hostility — to glance again for a moment at the Revival itself, and
at those who were in the midst of it. We can form some idea of the rapid growth of
the Church at Leicester under these revival conditions, from what William Goodrich
tells us of the society classes. Members were added in such numbers, that soon it
became difficult to find experienced leaders. Where were officers to be found for all
these volunteers of the rank-and-file continually pouring in 1 At one time William
Goodrich was the leader of four society classes, the combined strength of which was
297. One of these had belonged to Mr. Pool, who on account of failing health was
obliged to lay down the leadership. When Mr. Goodrich took over this class there

* " History of the Primitive Methodist Connexion," 1823, footnote p. 19.

812 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

were one hundred and seventeen members on its roll. But we cease to be surprised at
the numerical strength of these classes when we are told that, at one service, twelve
or thirteen persons experienced the forgiveness of sin, and at once joined the class.

All those with whose names and doings we have got to be familiar have by this time
been at work in Leicester. Besides Benton, Clowes, S. Kirkland, M. Hawksley,
Harrison, and Wedgwood, who laboured much in Leicestershire in 1818, and whose
converts, we are glad to learn, are almost invariably distinguished for their seriousness
and steadfastness ; we must, in addition, mention Robert Winfield, " whose appear-
ance was singular, and his preaching peculiar, so that he drew large audiences
every night, and the fruit of his ministry was abundant " ; Richard Weston, too,
" Dissenting minister of Ramsor," is much in evidence at Leicester and its vicinity
from this time forward, so that one thinks he must either have removed this way or,
what is more likely, have become a recognised leading labourer in these parts. He has
four appointments at Leicester on the August-October plan. Others who also have
appointments are something more than names, as R. Bent, who becomes a hired local
preacher, J. Skevington, of Loughborough, a member of the Preparatory Committee,
George Hanford, of Sileby, and Thomas King, of Nottingham — two other members of
the same committee. Yes, they are all here, sooner or later, and it was meet that
Hugh Bourne last of all should come to oversee all, and be as it were the visible '* sign
and seal " of the complete establishment of the Leicester Society. One other thing
only was wanting to round off the Great Revival and make it ideally complete, and that
was that Lorenzo Dow should come and give the Revival his blessing. This, too, did
really happen, and what might have seemed a wild chimerical idea became a veritable
historical fact. Let us, because of the interest that attaches to the man and his
appearance in Notts and Leicester at this time, throw into a paragraph a few rough,
rapid notes of our own summarising his movements : —

Dow landed in the Mersey on his third visit to England, July 18th, 1818.
Hugh Bourne at once hastened to Stockton Heath to meet his friend. Dow spoke
at a camp meeting at Tunstall the next day, and at five o'clock on the morning of
the 20th Hugh Bourne had his disagreements with L. Dow, probably because the
latter was travelling with Dorothy Ripley the Quakeress, who had 'crossed the
Atlantic more than a dozen times to preach to the Indians.' The differences, how-
ever, were adjusted, or some working arrangement was hit upon, for we find the
trio — as remarkable a one as was ever brought together — afterwards closely
associated in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Before this, however, be it noted,
Hugh Bourne preached the annual sermons of the Tunstall Primitive Methodist
Sunday School in the Wesleyan Chapel, 'kindly lent for the occasion.'* Next
followed a week or two of labour in Lancashire, and then we find our trio in
Nottingham, where each one preached. The same week Dow visited Basford,
Hucknall, Bulwell, and Lambley. At the last-mentioned place George Herod met
the trio with a vehicle to carry them to East Bridgford. En route Dow preached
at Burton Joyce and Gunthorpe from his vehicle. At East Bridgford he preached
in the open air. At Bingham, September 13th, he and Dorothy opened the new
chapel at Bingham. Thence he left for Leicestershire, visiting Sileby, Ratby, and

See the Handbill of these Services reproduced, ante p. 60.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

313

Ansty, and on the 16th and 18th September, he took part in camp meetings at
Leicester and Barleston. After this he made again for Lancashire and Ireland, to
return in the spring of 1819 to America — never to return."

These notes may have other uses ; but they are mainly designed to show that
Lorenzo Dow in 1818 folloived the track of the Great Revival. He in his rapid
swallow-flight way goes over the same ground M-e have gone over, and touches at some
of the same places we lingered at. He begins with us at Nottingham and ends at
Leicester. As the other preceding workers had poured themselves into this revival
movement, so now he who had something to do with the origination of the Stafifordshire
Camp-meeting Movement also traverses the district where its latest and greatest
successes have been won, and gives to it something of the quality of his strange
personality.

314 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

CHAPTER Y.

SOME EARLY CHAPELS AND THEIR STORY, WITH OTHER
LEICESTERSHIRE MATTERS.

Dead Lane, Loughborough.

EAD LAi^E is ca good example of a Primitive Methodist Chapel which must
have been a busy centre and of considerable note in its time, and yet is
not known even by name to any save the smallest number of Primitive
Methodists of the present day. This is easily to be accounted for from the
fact that, as a building its career was short. Unlike Canaan Street, Nottingham ;
West Street, Hull ; Bethel, Sheffield ; and others that might be named, it was not
destined to preserve its identity through change and improvement in form, and privileged
to become known as one of the historic chapels of the Connexion. Dead Lane had
finished its course by 1837. Could it speak from the grave it might with Jacob say of
itself : " Eew and evil have the days of my life been and have not attained unto the
days of the years of the life" of some favoured structures that yet remain. No con-
temporary picture of Dead Lane is known ; the one appearing on an earlier page of
this book "^ has been put together — created one might even say — from written data,
helped out by the recollections of Mr. John Moore, the only member of the Dead Lane
society who yet survives, and who at eighty-three years of age can vividly recall the old
structure.

"If this be so, why, then," it may be asked, "trouble to resuscitate such a building?
Why not let Dead Lane Chapel remain among the dead and gone edifices of the past 1 "
The answer is : Dead Lane was the head of the third circuit of the Connexion —
a circuit at one time extending into five counties ; it was the first Connexional chapel
built in Leicestershire ; it was built by one member of the Preparatory Meeting, and four
others who attended that meeting were either members or trustees of Dead Lane or
circuit officials; the third Conference of 1821 was held within its walls, and several
district meetings ; Hugh Bourne and the rest of the fathers frequently came here ; such
ministers as S. Atterby, J. Garner, W. (t. Bellham, W. Allcock, T. Sanders, T. King,
J. Brownson, J. Tims, ministered from its pulpit; and last, but not least, item in the
plea for revived remembrance : — it was the home of such saintly souls as Phoebe Smith
and Hannah Taylor, whose piety and good works would consecrate the memory of any
building which sheltered them. We think the plea must be sustained, and that Dead
Lane must be ranked as one of the historic chapels of the first period of the
Connexion.

The site chosen for the new" chapel was in a street which got its ill-omened name,

* See ante p. 218.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 315

tradition says, in the time of the great plague, when at first, perhaps, its victims were
borne along this way, though in quicker and quicker succession, to the churchyard for
burial. The alternative tradition which connects Dead Lane with the former existence
of plague-pits may date from a later stage of the visitation when such pits were dug
here for the wholesale and more expeditious disposal of the dead. In this connection
one cannot but think of another Primitive Methodist chapel which also has a mortuary
suggestiveness about its name. We refer to St. Sepulchre Street, Scarborough, which,
despite its name, has persisted in living and flourishing under improved conditions,
having, as had Dead Lane, a Friends' Meeting House for its near neighbour.

From Hugh Bourne's Journals it is clear that, at the beginning of the, year 1818, the
new society at Loughborough had no chapel, nor had it acquired one even at the date
when it was elevated to the dignity of a circuit-town. Hugh Bourne and John Wedg-
wood "preach abroad" or "in the street"; but meetings are held in "the room," and
Hugh Bourne speaks of being at a prayer meeting " in the coach-yard " which probably
means a room in the coach-yard. This is the state of things prevailing as late as Good
Friday, March 20th. But it is clear also from the Journals that during this time
important business is on foot, and that steps are being taken to supply the need, that
must have been keenly felt, of suitable Connexional property to serve as the head-
quarters of the movement in Leicestershire. Thus, on January 26th, Hugh Bourne
records : " We had a meeting for consultation. They are young at this business " ; and,
on the 30th, he writes : — " We viewed the intended place of the new chapel at
Loughborough."

By the aid of extant documents we are able to supply the facts at the basis of these
allusions. Two plots of land, originally belonging to the Earl of Moira, containing
altogether 382 square yards, were acquired by William North. On January 18th, he
contracted for the consideration of £95 to build — before payment or conveyance —
a chapel or meeting-house for the use of the people called Primitive Methodists. The
course of procedure adopted in this case may not be one with which we are now
familiar, but it was by no means uncommon in the earlier days of chapel enterprise.
Sutton Honington, and other chapels, were acquired in this way.

The William North referred to was one of the famous fifteen of the Nottingham
Preparatory Meeting. He was, therefore, no mere outsider employed in this specific
work, but one of the most substantial members and officials of the Loughborough
Society. The department of Church-work for which he was best fitted, would, we
judge, be that of administration, more especially on its financial side ; accordingly, for
some years his name is found in the circuit books in connection with its business
transactions. Unfortunately, we cannot trace his course beyond the year 1834, as the
scribes of those days, when they did their work, had no eye to the probable requirements
of the historians of these later days.

And now, under the direction of William North, the chapel is nearing completion,
and arrangements must be made for its formal opening ; and nothing will serve the
friends but some one from London shall be b.rought down for the occasion. This we
gather from a most characteristic non-committal entry in Hugh Bourne's Journals : —

^'' April 18th.— Here [at Loughborough] they have got acquaintance with the

316 I'RIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

London Primitive Methodists. One is to come down and assist to open the chapel.
Whether this acquaintance be of the Lord or not the event must determine."
And on April 29th he writes — " Saw W. Jefferson the preacher from London [at
Nottingham.] At night he spoke."

Of course, the W. Jefferson here referred to could not be " the Thomas Binney of
Primitive Methodism," for in 1818 he would have been but thirteen years old. So it
seems we have had two William Jeffersons as well as two William Allcocks and three
Thomas Jacksons, and the same number of John Parrotts. But the real significance of this
entry lies in the quite unexpected evidence it affords of the existence in London at this
time of unattached Primitive Methodists. So that it appears there was something
to show even yet for John Benton's labours in London in 1811.

Next came the appointment of trustees for the newly-opened chapel. We learn that
it was on June 9 th the selection of trustees had to be made ; for John Harrison
records : —

Thursday.- "I came to Loughborough, and preached at night in the chapel. My
mind was much exercised that we could not have a prayer-meeting after the sermon,
on account of a meeting that was called by the leaders and stewards, that the
society might choose trustees for the chapel. But it is well to pay attention to
such things in their season — as saith the apostle — ' Let all things be done decently
and in order.' "

The deed of Dead Lane Chapel, executed 27th May, 1819, supplies us with the
names of the trustees chosen on the night John Harrison was present, and lamented
the supersession of the invariable prayer meeting. The list has its points of interest,
and hence may be given here : —

1. Edward Wells 7. Richard Weston of Ramsor,

2. Pryor Richardson Dissenting Minister

3. William North 8. William Wells

4. John Benton 9. Benjamin Dawson

5. Joseph Skevington 10. George Handford

6. Thomas Attenborough

The deed is in some respects peculiar. It is a deed of Conveyance, a Mortgage Deed,
and Declaration of Trusts, all in one. It contains one proviso, which historically
possesses most significance for us, as it gives the trustees under certain contingencies
the power to sell without having first secured the sanction of any other authority — ■
Conference, of course, as yet there was none. But what were these contingencies 1
Just as the building of the first chapel at Tunstall in the house-form argued a measure
of doubt in the minds of the builders as to the perpetuity of the Connexion, so this
proviso of the Loughborough Chapel Deed remains to show that the men who signed
the deed still felt that all ground for doubt as to the perpetuity of the Connexion had not
been removed. They evidently did not believe that all the talk about " putting down
the ' Ranters ' " meant nothing, and that under no conceivable set or combination of
circumstances could the wish be realised or the threat made good. To us this proviso,
drawn up within three months of the drafting of our constitution, and signed by three
of the shapers of that constitution, is most illuminative as to what was the condition

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 317;

and apparent prospects of this country in the year 1819 — the year to which we have
now come. Let the proviso, with all it suggests, now speak for itself : —

" That in case at any time the laws or statutes of the Realm should prohibit the

religious worship of the said Primitive Methodists, or the use of the said Meeting

House for these purposes ; or in case it should appear to the trustees for the time

being acting in the exercise of the trusts hereby created that there shall be no

occasion for the use of the said Meeting House"— then the trustees are empowered

to sell.

The time came, unfortunately, when the trustees felt themselves driven to use the

powers vested in them, and in 1837 they surrendered the property. This is the

unpleasant fact stated in its barest, shortest form. The story is a painful one ; but it is

a story of misfortune and trial — national and Connexional, as well as local — rather than

a story of wrong-doing or incompetence.

When, in 1819, the deed of Dead Lane was executed, there remained a consolidated
liability of £250 which John Benton undertook to meet, and he thus became mortgagee.
Let it be told to his credit that next to the brothers Bourne, he was in the first years
a financial stay and help to the Connexion. He came to the help of Belper Chapel
and supphed the means for fitting up the Broad Marsh Room in Nottingham. So now
he finances Dead Lane. Meanwhile, and largely as we saw, as the result of the Luddite'
outbreak of 1816, the prosperity of Loughborough declined. The hopes cherished in
the early years of the century that it was destined to become the chief seat of the lace-
trade, and a formidable if not successful rival of Nottingham, were not realised.
Moreover, Loughborough fully shared in the terrible national reaction which followed
on Waterloo. It was. not a large town: in 1821 its population was but 7,494. The
society at Loughborough came within the chilling influence of this wave of depression.
Few in the society were in easy circumstances or able to render anything but insignifi-
cant monetary assistance. Yet again : there is no doubt that the industrial depression
—national and local — in part synchronised with a Connexional one, for it is one of the
outstanding facts of our history that the years 1826-8 formed a crisis for the Connexion ;
and Ave have every reason to believe, that in no part of the Connexion was this crisis
more deeply felt than in Notts and Leicestershire. Men unaccountably disappear —
whether by death or secession we are not told, but " David's seat is empty." William
North disappears : even George Hanford disappears, we know not why or whither.
Now was the time, if ever, one thinks, "to sing the plaintive verses of the old hymn : —

" "Where are those we counted leaders
rilled with zeal and love and truth,
Old professors tall as cedars.
Bright examples to our youth ?
" Some in whom we once delighted,
We shall meet no more below ;
Some, alas, we fear are blighted,
Scarce a single leaf they show/'

The causes of this temporary but general decline will naturally have to be investigated
when we have reached a farther stage. At present the fact of this decline is simply
stated as it served to accentuate the local crisis through which Dead Lane was called

318

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

to pass. As the result of alterations effected in the fabric some twelve years after
erection, and of arrears, the entire indebtedness reached <£450. No evidence is forth,
coming to show that John Benton, as mortgagee, was any other than considerate ; but
though successive ministers, and especially Jonathan Tims,* struggled desperately to
retrieve the situation, the end came at last ; and John Benton was requested to sell the
chapel with all speed. This was done and Dead Lane was demolished ; but the society,
undiminished in numbers, kept together and worked on in lodgings for a few years
until, under the superintend ency of William Jefferson, in 1848, the present Connexional
property in Swan Street was acquired. This takes us into the next period.

Chapels have very varying fortunes. Some seem to be prosperous from the very

beginning. The only changes they know are
changes for the better. Some have had their
little romance of stone or brick ; others have
had their vicissitudes — it may be their tragedy.
The Circuit chest of Loughborough contains
the faded-ink reliquiae of several such stories
of struggle and loss besides the one we have
told of Dead Lane Here, for instance, is
a resolution relating to Sutton Bonington
written in September, 1844, passed at a
Quarterly Meeting, of which Robert Parks
was the president. Though properly it relates
to the next period, it may well be given here,
as it could not have been written except at
the end of a long and wearisome struggle.
The entry comes down to .us like a message
in the bottle desperate mariners flung out to
let it be known that their water-logged vessel
is about to go under. All is lost ! It is
about the most dismal and hopeless resolution
we have come across in a Circuit book :
" That the District Committee be informed that it is the opinion of this meeting
that every effort which the gigantic machinery of Primitive Methodism can put
forth has been brought to bear on Sutton (Bonington) — such as open-air preaching,
revival meetings in the street, band meetings, visiting, etc., for the last three or
four years ; but all has proved inefiectual and abortive."

* Jonathan Tims was called out by the Loughborough Circuit in 1823, and was still further linked
to that Circuit by his marriage with Miss Rachel Tacey, whose name will be found in the list of
women at the bottom of the 1822 Plan. He has been described as "methodical, industrious,
plodding." The mother of John Barfoot was Rachel Tacey's sister.

As a postscript it may be added that since the story of Bead Lane Chapel, as given in the text was
written, a farther reference to Loughborough Circuit and its first chapel has come to light. This is
valuable as establishing beyond doubt the view as to the earlier date and cause of the formation of
the circuit expressed, ante^ p. 281. Hugh Bourne notes on the cover of the quarterly Magazine for
April 1818 : " At Loughborough, in Leicestershire, a chapel has been erected in a central part of the
town. Our friends here have experienced a loss of £25. Their chapel was covered, when a strong
wind arose and blew it down. . . . The work in Leicestershire has been so strong and rapid, that
arrano-ements have been made to form a new circuit, of which Loughborough is intended to be the
head."

SUTTON BONINGTON PRESENT CHAPEL.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

319

And yet this despairing cry was premature. Under the pilotage of Robert Parks the
vessel escaped the fate that threatened. Sutton Bonington Chapel, that in 1844 was in
such financial straits that its loss seemed imminent, was preserved to the Connexion,
and is now debtless. The chapel was built in 1832 under the superintend ency of
Thomas King, at which time there were thirty members in society.

Markfield.

We turn now to Markfield — an ancient village, as its Saxon name — the Field of
the Mark attests — lying seven miles from Leicester, and nine from Loughborough, on
the outskirts of Charnwood Forest, and on the edge of the Leicestershire coal-field.

FIRST PREACHING PLACE, MARKFIELD.

When it was first missioned during the Great Revival, and visited by Benton^
Wedgwood, and the rest, it was given up to agriculture. Now the adjoining mines and
its quarries of syenite, yielding stone in great request for the paving of streets and the
macadamising of roads, give employment to a considerable population.

The Primitives were bidden welcome to the house of Mr. Hugh Lauder, who with
his wife were amongst the first adherents of the society. Mr. Lauder was a stocking-
maker, living in a quaint thatched cottage his own property, which was the preaching
place until 1823 or 1824. One of the earliest members of the society was Mrs. Esther
Read, whose son used to be taken by her to these first cottage preaching services.

320

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

Mr. William Read still survives as the oldest member of the Markfield society..
Subsequently, services were held in the house of a Mr. Webster until, in the early
twenties, a chapel was built, which continued for no long time to be the home of the
society. A trustee named Wildbur, we are told, "got hold of
the writings," took possession of the building, and turned it into
a public-house ! So says tradition ; and it is certain that the
chapel was lost to the Connexion, and perverted to the uses of
a licensed house, though it has now been turned into cottages.

Markfield was the home, though it was not the native place,
of another Wildbur, who no doubt belonged to the same clan as
the appropriating trustee just named. William, of that name, was
originally a Wesley an, and joined our Church in 1818. He was
soon taken out to travel by the Nottingham Circuit, and laboured
both on the home branch and on the Lincolnshire and Norfolk
Missions. Mr. Petty says : " He was a man of feeble powers and of superficial piety."
This severe judgment seems fully justified. Herod also tells us he was a man of weak
abilities, and was " much in the habit of neglecting his appointments." We might
have passed him by without the mention of his name, in harmony with that conception
of writing history which studiously avoids reference to those who cannot be named
without seeming to reflect on their character. But those who marred, as well as those
who made, helped to make the history what it really is. So it was with William

MR, READ.

MARKFIELD OLD CHAPEL; NOW COTTAGES.

Wildbur. He was one of the two alluded to by Hugh Bourne, whose doings and, still
more, whose non-doings led to the establishment of the Nottingham Circuit Committee.
One good thing Wildbur did was the organisation of a society at Ashby-de-la-Zouch,
although it consisted only of some fourteen weeping children. The story is worth
telling, both for Wildbur's own sake, and because it also allows us to watch the
humble beginnings of Ashby, which became the head of a circuit, formed out of
Loughborough, in 1822, the year before Leicester.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

321

Ashby-de-la-Zouch was first visited by John Harrison and a friend on Saturday,
June 16th, 1818. They entered the town singing the usual battle-hymn: "Turn to
the Lord," &c., and soon had hundreds of people after them. They had expected arrest,
but not a dog moved its tongue against them. The people gave great attention to the
Word, and showed the missionaries no little kindness. They left the place as they had
entered it, singing the praises of God, and were attended out of the town by more than
a hundred people, who could not be persuaded to go back until Ke had given a promise
to come again and preach to them. Evidently acting under instructions, Wildbur
visited the place in July, to test whether those who had received good from the
occasional visits of the missionaries were willing to form themselves into a society.
The account of what took place on this visit, as found in the first volume of the
Magazine^ betrays the hand of Hugh Bourne ; and reflects his well-known views with

ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH.

regard to youthful piety, and the practical interest he took in all plans and efforts for
laying hold of the young " for Christ and His Church " : —

" He spoke much at large on the subject [of joining a society], and showed if
there were no prospect of good it would be best to give it up, as there were so
many other places which were anxiously waiting for their coming. He put the
matter upon issue, saying he should go into a friend's house at hand, and if any
came forward to encourage the preaching they would continue to come, if not, they
would decline.

" He went into the house, but neither man nor woman followed : in a few
minutes a few children came in with tears in their eyes, requesting to be taken
into society. The number increased, and fourteen names were at length entered
upon a class-paper. He took the children into a parlour and formed them into

322 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

a circle round him. It was a truly affecting sight to behold fourteen babes in
Christ (and comparatively babes in age), weeping upon their knees, while our
Brother Wildbore was bearing them up in j)rayer before a throne of divine mercy.
Some of our friends from Coleorton were present, and in going away they visited
a family or two, and showed how necessary it was for grown-up people to start for
heaven, since children had started on the heavenly course. Next morning (Monday)
Brother Wildbore assembled his little flock in the open air, and, forming them into
a circle, he prayed with them. Another affecting melting season took place :
adult persons became alarmed for the sake of their immortal interests ; the work
of God broke out immediately, a numerous society was formed in a short time, and
we have the happiness to say, the work still continues to prosper." — Magazine,
■ March 1819, pp. 70-1.

In 1833, while William Antlitf was the superintendent of Ashby Circuit, a chapel
costing £450 and seating 250 persons was erected. At that time its membership stood
at only twenty-four members; by 1845 it had increased to fifty. In 1842 — the end of
our period — the membership of the circuit was 510.

The interesting incident thus recorded must be allowed to stand to the credit of
W. Wildbur. What remains to be told is by no means so creditable. In 1821, while
on the Norfolk Mission, he became dissatisfied with the Nottingham Committee and
made a division in the society at Lynn, carrying off with him some seventy members.
But he proved himself as incapable of ruling as of obeying, and the secession came to
nothing.

"Wildbur" or "Wildbore," as the name is spelled in the extract just given, only
thinly disguises " Wildboar," and seeing the change brought about by the Markfield
bearer of this name, it was, perhaps, natural enough that tradition should so play upon
the name as to remind us of the language in which the Psalmist speaks of the Lord's
vineyard as wasted by the boar out of the wood. But probably tradition may have
been a little hard on Mr. Wildbur. The facts are obscure, but it is likely enough the
chapel was in an embarrassed position and that, on the strength of a proviso similar in
character to that in the Dead Lane deed giving the trustees power to sell, W^ildbur
took over the chapel along with its liabilities. We say the facts are obscure, but they
are capable of being so construed : and it is certain that at a circuit-meeting it was

concluded not to follow up the chapel case. What is much more
difficult to understand is why the society thus put to the street
should have been deserted by the authorities. With such men as
Thomas King (1830-1) at the head of affairs, there must surely
have been some reasons unknown to us for apparently casting the
society adrift in this way. Still, the members were not lost to
the Church of Christ. The bulk of them, we are told, united
themselves with the Arminian or Faith Methodists of Derby —
the community which afforded a temporary home to "Dinah
Morris" and her husband. In 1844 Marktield was revisited by
our people, and in 1842, during the superintendency of Thomas
Webb, a new Connexional Chapel was erected for the congre
rration and the society of forty members.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

323

The regulation establishing District Committees was made in 1828 ; but District
Building Committees, as distinct from these, are first provided for in the Conference
]\[inutes of 1835. We judge the jjropriety of establishing a Committee of such a kind
had been forced on the attention of the authorities by various warning examples of
recklessness and mismanagement. When what has hitherto very largely been an
evangelistic movement, carried on in the open-air or in houses and hired rooms, begins
to consolidate itself ; when it has to acquire property, and to raise and administer funds
for the maintenance and management of such property, — then the time will soon come
when the need will be felt for some central, independent, expert authority to oversee
this important material side of the united societies' work. From an inspection of the
Minute Book of the Nottingham District Building Committee, beginning in 1836, it is
quite clear that some of the societies and circuits were, in Hugh Bourne's phrase,
very young in the business of chapel-building, and much needed the guiding hand.

MAKKFIELD PRESENT CHAPEL.

Occasionally, leave to build would be asked when leave had already been taken ; or
a proposal would be submitted, satisfactory in most respects, save that it contained not even
the most distant allusion to the delicate subject of ways and means. Sometimes, the
Committee would be asked to give its sanction to an application jto build that gave no
information as to the situation, site, or estimated cost of the building proposed to be
erected. We are told that in the time of the South Sea Bubble the public were once asked
to come forward and liberally to subscribe its capital in favour of " A certain project to be
made known afterwards." This was what the IS'ottingham Building Committee of 1842,
composed of T. Morgan, W. Carthy, J. Spencer, J. Barker, and A. Worsnop, at one
of their sederunts were virtually asked to do ; and one can conceive'the quiet satisfaction
with which its secretary transcribed and dispatched the Committee's answer to this
singular application : —

Y 2

324

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

"To the Boston Circuit, October 18th, 1842.
" Dear brethren :— Be so kind as to inform us where you intend building your
chapel. You have not informed us whether it is to be on sea or land, in Lincoln-
shire or Norfolk, &c. Say whether it would not be better to place the pews at
the end, one above another with about nine inches' rise on a boarded floor ; and
say whether one- third of the money cannot be obtained by begging, &c.

" Yours, &c., A. WoRSNOP."
The somewhat important items of information lacking in the application from Boston
Circuit seem to have been supplied without any great loss of time and to have proved

GEOBGE STREET, LEICESTEE, WITH GROUP OF OFFICIALS.
FROM AN OLD PHOTO CIRCA 1866.*

satisfactory ; for at the next meeting of the Committee, held a week after the preceding,
Boston Circuit was informed that sanction was given for the erection of a chapel at
Kerton Skeldyke, in Lincolnshire, to be a solid structure and not a floating chapel.

George Street, Leicester.
Within one year and eight months after John Benton held the first Primitive
Methodist service in Leicester, George Street Chapel was opened for worship by James
Bourne. The chapel was situated at no great distance from Belgrave Gate Cross, where

* On the back row, beginning from the door — George Hefford is No. 4 ; William Goodrich, No. 5 ;
Rev. C. H. Boden, No. 6; and Thomas Mason, No. 8.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 325

Benton took his stand, and in that thickly-populated quarter where our first missionaries
had won their earliest triumphs, so that George Street stood on what Primitive
Methodists must ever regard as classic ground. The opening services of that Christmas
Day of 1819 marked an achievement and a fresh departure. By dint of toil and
God's blessing on faith and prayer, a long-desired object had at last been attained.
The services were also in very truth, for the Church, the " opening " into a fuller life
and into wider possibilities of usefulness. Right through and beyond this first period
of our history, George Street was to be familiarly known in our Zion as the centre of
a remarkably live and aggressive Church. On sentimental grounds, perhaps, we may
regret that it does not still stand on the same site and bear the old name. True, it may
be said to live on in Belgrave Gate Chapel, which is its successor and the inheritor of
its traditions, as well as supplying by its name a closer link with the historic first
service. All this is so, and yet Belgrave Gate is not the same as George Street ; we
cannot claim for Belgrave Gate practical identity with the sanctuary that was such
a figure in the early days. A community such as ours, which in the short space
of some eighty years passed rapidly through all the intermediate stages between
a Revival movement and a fully-equipped Church, changed too fast to leave many
unchanged buildings on which sentiment can fasten. The structures that satisfied
our fathers ; that suited their purpose, and were such only as they had the means to
command, soon became inadequate to enlarged requirements, out of keeping with
ampler resources, and objectionable to a developed and more exacting taste. They
have been superseded — ruthlessly swept away by the march of improvement. Unlike
the older Nonconformist denominations, and yet more unlike the Establishment,
we have not, and from the very nature of the case cannot have, many buildings that
go back even to our not very remote beginnings — which stand where at first they
stood, and have preserved their identity through all the years. That we have few
chapels like West Street, Hull, is only the loss of our gain — the negative condition of
rapid progress and advance in social influence.

Until the erection of George Street, the main centres of our work in Leicester, we
are told, were Orchard Street and a chapel in Millstone Lane, formerly belonging to the
Wesleyan Methodists, in which John Wesley occasionally preached. This fact shows
that the Wesleyans also have gone the way of Connexional progress before us, and that
with them, as with us, out-of-date, disused chapels strew the path traversed. The
structures which served them in the beginning were vacated for better ones. Like
certain crustaceans, they cast their now too-narrow shell and acquired for themselves
one better adapted to their size and growing importance. Sometimes, as at Millstone
Street and Hockley, we came along and found temporary accommodation in what they
had discarded.

One sentimental advantage, however, the poorer of the Free Churches have over
the more opulent ones, or as against the State Establishment. If the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners decide to devote part of their revenue to the building of a district
church ; or a millionaire, out of the abundance of his wealth, decides to do the same-
then a church will rise almost " like an exhalation," or as if called up by the wand of
a magician. But such a building will have no history save that which is preserved in

326 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

the counterfoil of the millionaire's cheque-book, or in the transactions of the Board of
Commissioners. That church has all its history to make. But it is quite otherwise
with the churches built by the poor. They have their history to begin with. Not only
has the building its story, but almost every brick or stone could tell its tale No better
example of the truth of this could be supplied from our history, so far as we have yet
come, than the building of George Street. If Dead Lane had its tragedy, George Street
had its romance ; one might even say (thinking also of the companion instance of
Belper) its touch of sacred comedy. Our local Connexional historian, who naturally is
fully conversant with the traditions centring round old George Street, tells us : —

" Unless the members of our first Society had possessed almost supernatural
energy, courage, and faith, they could not have triumphed over their difficulties as

they did To build the Chapel the members practised much self-denial.

Few of the members were in a position to give any but small sums. Perhaps not
one member was able to give five pounds in aid of the Building Fund. Many of
the bricks were begged. The methods adopted to secure help were certainly
ingenious. Instead of letting out the contract as a whole, an arrangement was
made with the builder, which enabled the trustees to find much of the material
required. When they had enough money to buy a thousand bricks they would
visit a brickmaker and jjlace the order, and having bought one thousand they
would beg another, so making the bricks come at half-price. In this way, probably
all the brick-yards for miles around were visited, and made to contribute some of
the material needed to raise the walls." *

Who does not know the story of how George Street Chapel got some of its windows ?
We have seen Hugh Bourne working at the window-frames of the first Tunstall Chapel,
and the Belper Primitives drawing timber through the streets for their intended chapel,
but at Leicester the time came when their rising chapel wanted windows, and they
had neither windows, wood, nor money to supply them. In this dilemma William

Goodrich and another put their case before Squire Day, of
Thurmaston. He seems to have been a gentleman of a
humorous, if not of a roguish turn, and made a proposal which
no doubt was intended as an ingenious device for at once
saving his pocket and his credit. " There is an ash-tree
lying on my farm. You can have that if you like. Only
you must yourselves drag it to Leicester." The squire for
once had miscalculated. His offer was gladly accepted.
Friends were found in the village willing to lend a helping
hand. The tree was placed on wheels and dragged to Leicester,
some three or four miles distant. But first the tree was made
^ „ ^^ , ■ both pulpit and text, for as it lay in front of Squire Day's house,

One of tne men who drew i r ' j i. j j

the tree. one of the brethren (we presume W. Goodrich) stood upon it

and preached from — " And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees ; every tree,
therefore, which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire."
The ash-tree was sold to a builder for £7, and the money went towards putting in the
windows of George Street Chapel. Mr. Day, we are told, became the mortgagee of the
new chapel, thus showing his good-will.

* Mr. T. Lawrence : " Primitive Methodism in Leicester : Past and Present."

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

327

We can form some idea of the
burthen of anxiety pressing upon
those who were mainly responsi-
ble for the erection when we learn
that, in addition to monetary
anxiety, there was the fear lest
the work done during the day
should be overthrown in the night
by mischievous or unfriendly
hands. To guard against this
danger, the friends took their turn
as night-watchers. Truly George
Street was built in troublous times,
just as were the second temple
and the walls of Jerusalem.
One of these volunteer night-
watchers was John Briggs, one of
the early converts — trophies one

THURMASTON.
The spot on which W. G. preached,

Primitive

Leicester.

penniless

memoir.

THE HOUSE AT THURMASTON,
WHOSE OWNER GAVE THE TREE.

from the tree as pulpit.

might even say — of
Methodist agency in
"From a drivelling,
drunkard," says his
"Christianity raised him to the
position of a respectable tradesman,
and led him in time to the
acquisition of considerable property.
From being an associate of the vile
and abominable, it elevated him to
an honourable status in civil society
and to important offices in the
Church of God." Xot only was
John Briggs an efficient class-leader
and local preacher, but he became
widely known throughout the Mid-
lands as a popular temperance
advocate. He had a fine play of

328 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

humour and great readiness of speech, so that his services were in great request,
and his round ruddy face, and short portly person, became very famihar and welcome
to various congregations and audiences. In 1855 he was elected a permanent member
of Conference, but held that position only a short time, dying at Kuddington, near

Nottingham, August 5th, 1856. John Briggs serves to link
together the two great Midland towns which rightly have had so
much of our attention ; for, some eight years after his conversion,
he removed from Leicester to Nottingham. The infant society at
Old Eadford found in him an efficient leader ; and it was largely
owing to John Briggs that the eiforts of the society to secure
a suitable place of worship were crowned with success. Eight
years later he removed to Ruddington, where also " his services
greatly conduced to the preservation and extension of our Con-
nexional interests, at a most critical and important crisis in their
JOHN BRIGGS. Mstory in that village."

Let the reader receive a few facts, shortly stated, respecting George Street, gleaned
from official documents. The building is stated to have cost £1,500, and to have had
on it after completion a debt of £650. The membership, at the time of erection, is
given as 500. It is said to have been built during the superintendency of "Mr. Richard
Wesson, since deceased." The person evidently referred to is Richard Weston, whom
we have already met with several times ; and this item is interesting as confirming
what was advanced as probable — that even before his name is found on the
Minutes he was still fully given up to the work. Resuming our inspection of the
documents we learn that in 1825 a gallery was erected at the cost of £150. In 1832
two schoolrooms were built at an outlay of £170. In 1838 the chapel roof was raised
at a cost of £100. Finally, in 1846, £180 were spent in painting, repairing and flooring
the chapel.

Now these facts may appear dry indeed, but if we could
only closely question them we might find that these items,
relating to the enlargement or improvement of the fabric, would
also yield their story. And it would not be difficult to get into
the confidence of these items and extract their story. The
first item to wit — that relating to the putting in of the gallery
would say : Yes: I remember the trustees were in some little
difficulty about a loan to meet the expenditure incurred ; but
one night William Goodrich and some others were called in by
a gentleman who was much disturbed by strange noises, in
order that they might investigate the matter. They discovered
and exposed the ghost, which was no ghost, and the gentleman
and his wife, under a feeling of relief tinged with gratitude, william goodkich.
very willingly lent the trustees one hundred pounds, to be repaid by instalments. *
William Goodrich, who is mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, has many

* See the story with all names fully given, told in the Magazine for 1872, p. 748 and Aldersgate,
p. 190.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 329

claims on our remembrance. We have seen him at one time a leader of four strong
classes ; he took an active part in the missionary labours of the Connexion, having, it is
said, while so engaged travelled 28,266 miles and delivered 3,163 sermons; he was an
intelligent man, well versed in the Scriptures, and a most acceptable local preacher. At
the time of his death which took place November 27th, 1871, with him there passed
away the last trustee of the old George Street Chapel. It is also advanced in behalf
of W. Goodrich that for a period of some seven or eight months he acted as Editor of the
first Primitive Methodist monthly Magazine. Let us see how far this claim can be
justified.

The Beginnings of Connexional Literature.
As early as January, 1818, we find Hugh Bourne "planning a small magazine" and
busy writing for it. On March 26th he gets an estimate for the printing from
J. Tregortha, a Burslem tradesman. -There is disappointing delay : it is not until
April 16th he receives at Derby 340 copies, instead of the 2,000 he had expected.
Next day he distributes the Magazines and receives 800 more. On the 18th he carries
three hundred Magazines and some other things seventeen miles to Loughborough.
This Magazine is called "A Methodist Magazine; for April 1818. Conducted by the
Society of people called Primitive Methodists. To be published quarterly." It was
added at the bottom of the title-page : " Price Twopence ; to be sold for ready money
only." This, our first Quarterly, consists of twenty-four pages, six of which are taken
up with the Circuit Plans for the quarter. From the somewhat long " Introductory
Address" with which the Magazine begins, we can form some idea of the purpose sought
to be accomplished by the new venture, and the expectations formed of its probable
success.

" A new channel of usefulness is opening : it appears now to be the will of God
that our body should enter upon a Magazine. And there is so peculiar an opening
of Providence for its commencement, that it may be begun and carried on almost
without any additional burden to the Society. It may, at present, be considered,
simply as an improvement in the mode of publishing the plans ; as it will perform
the same service, and its circulation and disposal will be the same. A Magazine of
this description will be suited to the present state of the body, and if it can be
supported, is likely to be useful in every respect. . . .

"This work is intended to be conducted in a regular series of quarterly numbers;
and so soon as it shall be large enough to form a handsome volume, a supplement
will be published containing an index and a title-page. The numbers may then be
bound and will make a very valuable book ; and in future times, the early volumes
will be valuable indeed, as they will in a great measure show the infant movements
of the body, with the rise of camp-meetings and other important matters. Such are
the views, and such are the prospects with which this Magazine commences."

Yes : but such were not the views and prospects with which this Magazine ended.
The prospectus was one thing; the retrospect quite another. The "handsome volume"
of the quarterly never got itself materialised. The venture was not a success. The
Magazine did not pay, and Hugh Bourne did. A second number tardily made its

330

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

appearance far on in July. This contains the plans of the three circuits for the ensuing
six months, and on its cover there is an intimation that, although the Magazines for the
last quarter have not paid their way, yet " so soon as a proper opening shall appear,
and a sufficient number of subscribers shall be obtained, it will be expedient to under-
take a Magazine on a larger scale." This looks as though the idea of a threepenny
monthly Magazine had already presented itself to Hugh Bourne as something eminently
desirable. Yet in the autograph letter reproduced he allows the credit of the suggestion

' ^Ih.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 331

to " the friends at Leicester," who indeed may well have brought such a proposal before
him on some previous visit, to lie fructifying in his mind until November.

By means of the Journals we are fortunately able to supplement the particulars
contained in the letter. R. Culley was the travelling preacher who voiced the desire
of the friends at Leicester ; and Joseph Skevington w^as that Loughborough steward who
thought " they had acted rightly," and encouraged them to push forward the business.
That night Hugh Bourne wrote a letter to Nottingham on the subject — though
this one was written to R. Stone of Derby ; on the 26th of the same month he and
R. Culley secured two hundred and sixteen subscribers for the intended Magazine.
Finally, on January 11th, 1819, he put the manuscript of the Magazine and the plans
into the hands of the printer. On the Sunday following Hugh Bourne was taken
seriously ill, and was removed to Leicester, whence he was taken by his brother James to
Bemersley. This illness closed the general superintendency of Hugh Bourne, which
had extended over four years ; and one of its minor effects was to render it necessary
that some competent person should see the first number of the new Magazine through
the press and be responsible for the editing of the successive numbers. Who was that
person ? William Goodrich distinctly affirmed that it was he, and Hugh Bourne states
in the preface to the Magazine of 1841 that the first eight numbers were "edited by
a person at Leicester." There is no further mention of Robert Culley in connection
with the Magazine in which he took so practical an interest. It might be interesting
to know why. He is called a travelHng preacher ; and as on the Loughborough Circuit
Plan ending January, 1819, he is planned thirteen Sundays — four of them in Leicester
— he deserves the title, and as given by Hugh Bourne, it was strictly correct.
R. Culley was a travelling preacher as was R. Weston. After this we cannot
trace R. Culley; nor is that surprising if he be the Robert Culley who died at
Shelton, near Nottingham, on January 8th, and whose memoir appears in the first
volume of the Magazine. From the memoir itself we can glean little concerning its
subject. It is one of those factless biographies which tell you nothing, and tantalise
you as you read, and finally leave you with a sense of injury and vexation The most
striking thing in the memoir is one of the dying man's own sayings : — "I have been
lost for two or three days, but found myself in the twenty-third Psalm, verse four, 'Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, etc."
If R. Culley had been compelled by sudden illness to relinquish his work and return
to his home only to die (and his illness is said to have been of short continuance), then
all is clear. With R. Culley gone, who more likely than William Goodrich to undertake
the duties of Editor of the new Magazine ? He was intelligent, a man of considerable
education, a solicitor's clerk, who later in life when he had become less prosperous in
his circumstances, frequently wrote letters for those who were poor scribes. We may
safely conclude, we think, that W. Goodrich was the man we are in search of. All the
internal evidence is accordant with this view. Each number bears the imprint of
"Fowler, High Cross, Leicester." By far the larger part of the matter relates to this
district. On the cover it is advertised that preachers' licences can be obtained from
W. Goodrich, Leicester. His editorship does not nullify the fact that Hugh Bourne
prepared the first number and that there are articles from his pen in subsequent

332 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

numbers. Still, it must be remembered that this venture was after all a private one.
There was as yet no Connexional Magazine or officially appointed editor. There could
not well be, for as yet no court existed with the requisite power of appointment.

This Monthly Magazine met with little better success than the Quarterly one. Its
publication terminated with the August number; but 1820 came to the help of 1819.
At the first Conference Hugh Bourne Avas appointed editor, and he was desired to
complete the first volume. So we have "A Methodist Magazine, published June 1820,
intended as a Substitute for September 1819." It consists mainly of a Treatise on
Discipline and Minutes of the first Annual Meeting. Two other complementary or
substitutionary numbers were issued in August and j^ovember — one from a Burslem
the other from a Derby press — making vol. I. of our Connexional Magazine which
came out to the world under the strange title : — "A Methodist Magazine for the year
1819, conducted by the Camp Meeting Methodists, known by the name of Ranters,
called also Primitive Methodists." Thus did the Magazine struggle into existence.

Here it may be convenient to chronicle certain facts of a kindred character relating
to the changes made in our humble Connexional organs during this first period. At the
beginning of 1825, the Magazine was enlarged by twelve pages, and began to be sold at
fourpence. In 1830, its size was changed from a 12mo. to an 8vo., and it became
a sixpenny Magazine. In the autumn of 1824, a Children's Penny Magazine was
started, which in a few months reached a circulation of between six and seven thousand.
After an interval of some years, a second chapel was acquired for the use of the
denomination in Leicester. It was situated in Alexander Street, but because it stood in
that ancient district in which, centuries before, the Dominicans, or Black Friars, had
established themselves, it was popularly known as " The Friars." The Friars was
a building " with a past." Before its completion it was blown down, and when
completed it was burdened with debt. The Independent Methodists, to whom it
belonged, were not at peace among themselves, and, finding some difficulty in securing
a minister to take the place of the one they had asked to resign, the chapel was sold
to the Primitives. But the usual ill-luck of the building seemed to follow it after its
change of ownership: a temporary gallery justified its character by giving way, though
fortunately the accident does not appear to have resulted in loss of life or limb. The
importance of Alexander Street did not lie in the 'character of the building or in the
strength and influence of the society; for in 1834, we are told, its members were but

forty-three in number and its quarterly income only <£3 6s. It was
not what it was, but what it gave the promise of becoming, that
made the acquisition of the Friars a notable event. It gave the
Connexion a foothold in another part of the town, and provided
the nucleus which time and change would develop into the
powerful Leicester 2nd Circuit. " The Friars " has gone. Like
many another building thereabout it has been demolished to make
room for the Great Central Railway. Yet associated with it were
some good men like William Key, one of its earliest officials, and
long and honourably known in connection with Leicester Primitive
Methodism. Here, too, Elijah Jennings was early won for

W. KEY.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

333

the Connexion, and began his useful course. That course may more fittingly be
traced when we come to deal with a later period of our Connexional history; but
however far the stream m.ay have travelled, and however beneficently it may have
flowed, it broke out in old Alexander Street.

Leicester, too, had its season of trouble culminating in a secession. Its experience
in this respect was curiously parallel to that of Belper, Hucknall, and especially to that
of Xottingham, with which it almost synchronised. And yet, perhaps, the parallel was
not so curious after all, as the several troubles are distinctly traceable to identical
conditions prevailing about this time. Moreover, the conditions were just such as one
would naturally expect to find in a rapidly growing community which is seeking to
settle down and organise itself. The analogue to all this is found in those subtle
physiological changes which explain the crises through which human beings usually
reach adolescence. So our Church had its infantile crises. There was morbific matter
of which it had to be purged ; there were adjustments required to which some could not
adapt themselves. The truest word the Rev. Daniel Isaac wrote about Primitive
Methodism in 1821 was : " They want discipline." Well ; all in good time. They will
get what they want at Leicester as they did at JS'ottingham, only wait a while. George
Herod, the strict disciplinarian, was at Leicester 1833-6, and his hand was felt to be too
heavy for some who were brought under discipline. A secession of some sixty-five
members took place which was known as " the Denmanite split," from the locality
of the building which the divisionists made their headquarters. The date is
approximately fixed by a resolution of the March Quarterly Meeting of the
Loughborough Circuit, 1834: "That we disapprove of any of our preachers going
to preach for the divisionists at Leicester or of any of their preachers coming to preach
for us." That the discipline administered was wholesome may be inferred from two
facts : that some of those who came under it found their way back and became loyal
adherents of the cause ; and that the disciplinarian himself left seventy-three more
members in the Circuit than he had found in 1833 on entering it. George Herod was
followed by Thomas Morgan, whose superintendency of three years was marked by
vigour and material and numerical success. We do not stay to note what he did in
chapel building and improvement, but must point out the significance of the statement
that in 1839 "a third society was raised in the town." We judge the reference is to

the missioning of the York Street district,
and the establishment of a cause there
which, in 1841, resulted in the building
of York Street Chapel. Four names are
closely associated with this forward move-
ment— Messrs. Thomas Stevenson, Thomas
Lawrence, Samuel Cheeney, and Mrs. T.
Lawrence, tlie wife of the second-named
and the mother of our respected African
Missionary Treasurer. Though all were
worthy, fuller reference is due to Mrs.
Lawrence, whose memoir brings before

THOS. MORGAN.

THOS. STEVENSON.

334

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

US a woman of rare excellence, who by her character and service did much for
Leicester Primitive Methodism.* At a time when it meant much to belong to
the sect that was "everywhere spoken against," she, when but a girl, united herself
with the struggling band worshipping in old Alexander Street, and for more than
sixty years she continued loyal to her early choice, dying December 2nd, 1893.

The formation of Leicester Second Circuit in 1852 ; the building of Curzon Street
as an extension or offshoot of George Street in 1860; and the supersession of botli
Alexander Street and York Street, and the building of Nicholas Street in 1873 by the
joint societies, are events which, for the sake of giving a complete view, may well be
foreshadowed here, though the history of these movements belongs to a later period.

The Chartists.

York Street was built in the thick
of the Chartist agitation which, like
Luddism, had misery as well as
political disability at its root. From
this bare statement one might rightly
infer that Church-work, both on its
spiritual and material side, would be
carried on under very difficult and
discouraging conditions. If any one
should wish to know what was the
state of things prevailing in Leicester
and the neighbouring hosiery towns
of Loughborough and Hinckley at
this particular time, let him read
" Thomas Cooper's Life." Cooper
entered Leicester in November, 1840,
to take up journalistic work in con-
nection with the " Leicestershire
Mercury." In the discharge of his
duties as a reporter he was brought
into touch with Chartism, and, by
force of sympathy with the suffering and oppressed, he was soon drawn within the
vortex of the movement. He found broken-spirited men who, after working a whole
week, had only as the net result four and sixpence to live upon, so many were " the
petty and vexatious grindings " of which they were the victims. He tells us " the poor
framework-knitter was worn down till you might have known him by his peculiar
air of misery and dejection if you had met him a hundred miles from Leicester."
Thomas Cooper became a follower of O'Connor and the recognised leader, and in
many cases the succourer, of the starving Chartists of Leicester.

We are concerned with Chartism only so far as it affected Primitive Methodism
for good or ill. That it did affect it the traditional account of the origin of the

* See Memoir by Rev. James Pickett : '• Aldersgate," 1895, pp. 941-2.

YOKK STREET CHAPEL, LEICESTER.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

335

MRS. LAWRENCE.

to the sulferiiiii

hymn — "The Lion of Judah" — remains to show. That story
bears all the marks of authenticity, and it has no point
except as it afforded another example of successful tactics in the
warfare the Church has to wage — another example of generalship
retrieving the drooping fortunes of the day. To us the six points
of the Charter may appear innocent enough ; so much so that one
finds oneself wondering that all the six points together were
able to stir men's minds so deeply ; and yet when we transport
ourselves into the midst of the conditions prevailing in 1840,
we shall cease to wonder at the enthusiasm evoked by the
Charter. It was put forward as a new gospel, and was pro-
claimed as the one thing needful for bringing social salvation
working classes. There was danger lest the Charter should so preoccupy the minds
of men that there would be no room for anything else ; so excite them that even the
supreme concerns of religion would stir but a languid interest. Leicestershire Chartism
had its camp meetings, its hymns, its singing processions, and as our ministers saw their
congregations distracted and their young people drawn away, it looked as though the
Primitives were going to be outdone and beaten by their own weapons. Remember
that Thomas Cooper began, as Joseph Barker ended, a Primitive, and we shall the
better understand the methods of propagandism he adopted : —

"During the summer of 1842," says Cooper,* "I often led the poor stockingers out
into the villages,— sometimes on week-day evenings,— and thus we collected the

villagers of Ansty, and Wigston, and Glenn, and
Countesthorpe, and Earl Shilton, and Hinckley, and
Syston, and Mount Sorrel [all places by this time
familiar to us], and inducted them into some know-
ledge of Chartist principles. One Sunday we devoted
entirely to Mount Sorrel, and I and Beadham stood
on a pulpit of syenite, and addressed the hundreds
that sat around and above us on the stones of a large
quarry. It was a Gwennap—WQ^lQf^ grand Cornish
preaching-place on a small scale. Our singing was
enthusiastic ; and the exhilaration of that Chartist
' camp meeting ' was often spoken of afterwards. No^v
and then, I preached Chartist sermons on Nottingham
Forest, where at that time there was another pulpit
of rock ; but it was seldom I had meetings there,
though I liked the place, the open-air, and the people,
who were proud of their unenclosed 'Forest' — un-
enclosed, now, no longer — but thickly built upon.
"As the poor Leicester stockingers had so little work, they used to crowd the
street, around my shop door, early in the evenings ; and I had to devise some way
of occupying them. Sometimes I would deliver them a speech ; but more generally,
on the fine evenings, we used to form a procession of four or five in a rank, and
troop through the streets . . . chanting 'The Lion of Freedom,' which began as
follows :—

* The " Life of Thomas Cooper," written by himself, 1872, pp. 174-5.

THOMAS COOPER.

336

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECH.

*' ' The Lion of Freedom is come from his den ;
We'll rally around him, again and again :
We'll crown him with laurel, our champion to be :
O'Connor the patriot : for sweet Liberty ! ' "

It will be seen from this that, under the leadership of Thomas Cooper, the Chartist
movement borrowed the tactics of the camp meeting Methodists. The procession that
swept the streets chanting "The Lion of Freedom" produced much excitement, which
William Jefferson marked with anxious eye. Were the Primitives to be beaten on their
own ground and by methods which they had made peculiarly their own 1 Who was
Feargus O'Connor that the streets should ring with his hymned praises? William
Jefferson was much exercised in his mind at the look of things, but' as he lay one

morning mentally canvassing how best to stem and turn
to account the prevailing excitement, a happy thought
struck him : — he would write a hymn in the same measure
as "The Lion of Freedom." The tune could not be beaten
but it might be borrowed, as the Israelites borrowed of
the Egyptians.* "And it shall," said he, as he sprang
from his bed. The hymn was written, and appeared
on the plan. It took. The hymn with its well-known
refrain was sung in the processionary services, and
"The Lion of Judah" was successfully pitted against
"The Lion of Freedom" — Christ against Feargus
O'Connor.

If Thomas Cooper gained such an ascendency over
the pale-faced operatives of Leicester as to be familiarly
known amongst them as " the General," an ex-Primitive
Methodist travelling preacher acquired similar [[ascendency
over the operatives of Loughborough, and, by virtue of
the display of similar qualities. Thomas Cooper and John
Skevington were the two most noted and trusted Leicester-
shire Chartists, and we now refer to the latter because he
has received but scant justice, and deserves Connexional re-
habilitation. John Skevington was the son of that Joseph
Skevington of Loughborough, who was one of the repre-
sentatives of tlie third circuit at the Preparatory Meeting.
Beginning to preach when in his teens, John was known
as " the boy preacher," and would have John Garner as
his contemporary on the Loughborough plan. I^ext, he
became a travelling preacher, and in 1822-3-4 travelled john «kevington.

* Thomas Cooper denied being composer of either w^ords or melody of " The Lion of Freedom."
He says " the song first appeared in the columns of the ' Northern Star,' and was understood to be
the composition of a Welsh female Chartist. A Leicester working man (Valentine Woolley) first set
it to an air (or rather a fragment of the melody of a glee). See letter of Cooper in Appendix to
Gammage's " History of the Chartist Movement." So if the Priniitives borrowed the tune the
Chartists had done the same before them. " The Lion of Judah " is No. 38 in The Mission Hymnal

W. JEFFERSON.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 337

successively at Halifax, Earnsley, and Bradwell. He then ceased "to travel," mainly,
perhaps, because his lameness rendered the work of the regular ministry difficult,
if not impossible. Obviously, his retirement was not due to any decline of zeal,
for, back in his native circuit, he filled the offices of leader and local preacher, and,
as the books show, his services were in frequent requisition for recording minutes and
drafting resolutions of importance for the District Meetings. Unfortunately, however,
he was severed from the Connexion in 1836. Into the details of that severance we do
not enter ; suffice it to say it was led up to by the troubles of Dead Lane — he being trust-
treasu]"er at the time ; further, on reviewing all the circumstances of the case, we are
bound to say, he ought not to have been allowed to leave. In 1837, the year after his
severance, the People's Charter was formulated and adopted, and John Skevington
became a convinced Chartist. For years he had been an ardent " friend of the people."
" From early life," he says, " I advocated the rights of the many." By his ready
command of telling language, his sympathetic nature, and not less, by the sanity of his
judgment, he was fitted to be the leader of those of his fellows who were not equally
endowed. At election times, we are told, though he had no vote, he would mount the
hustings to voice the grievances of the working classes. We say he was a convinced
Chartist, — and he was this to the end ; for, as he was consciously nearing the vero-e
of life, he wrote : — " As an advocate of the principles of the People's Charter, I found
nothing on inspection to condemn in them, nor in my advocacy of the same, but
a firm conviction that though a man may be a Chartist and not a Christian, a man
cannot be a Christian and not a Chartist unless through ignorance.""' In 1839 the first
great Chartist National Convention was held in London, and the historian of the
movement records that : " The democrats of Loughborough sent John Skevington,
another veteran in the Radical cause, to represent them."t His enthusiasm in the cause
of the Charter, and his personal likings, were shown in his naming his son John Feargus
after the idol of the hour. He retained his place in the respect and affections of
the men whose cause he championed, for, in 1848, they commissioned Mr. J. Boden
(the brother of the Eev. C. H. Hoden) to paint his portrait in oils, and this was publicly
presented to him by Thomas Cooper.

Yet, though a democrat, John Skevington was no demagogue. He did not pander
to those below him, or only astutely follow where he seemed to lead. He was
no Physical Force Chartist, but to the end ranged himself on the side of the advocates of
Moral Force. He could, and did, withstand those who hankered after swifter and more
violent methods of obtaining their rights. In proof of this, we are told that, during those
tumultuary days, the men came to him and said : " Skevington, only speak the word
and we Avill tear up every stone in the Market Place." But that word was never
spoken.

* Where J. S. himself speaks the quotations are from a short MS. account of his views and
feelings written when he beheved, rightly, that he had not long to live. The same s^timent is
found in an eight-page tract: ''A Letter by the Eev. John Dudley, and an Answer by John
Skevington," Leicester, 1848.

t Gammage : " History of the Chartist Movement," p. 68.

338 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

After his severance from the Connexion John Skevington did not unite with any-
other Church as did his wife and family. " Still I revere it," are his words when he
writes of the Church in whose ministry he had served. He never drifted into doubt
or infidelity as Thomas Cooper did. He never ceased to fear God or forget to pray.
Yet, as the years went on, it came home to him that he had lost somewhat the fervour
of his first love; that "he had not always served God as earnestly as he had served
men." In his MS. account, he feelingly quotes Hosea ii. 7 — "I will go and return
to my first husband, for then was it better with me than now." And he did return.
In the presentiment of death's stealthy approach, he repented of all his shortcomings
and earnestly sought and found the Lord, and in his recovered joy shouted — " Glory ! "
Then heimweh — homesickness — came upon him, and he desired to be re-united to the
Church of his youth. But alas ! his overtures were coldly received. But another
Church welcomed him, and he died a happy death January 4th, 1850, aged 49.

Now, looking back upon these transactions of John Skevington's life, one cannot
but regret that he was not allowed to retain his status as a local preacher and to die in
full communion with that Church he had never ceased to love, and to which he turned
at last. Because some one blundered, we refuse to be robbed for all time of our
Connexional rights in John Skevington and John Benton. We claim them both.
Had the former been living now, it is not difficult to predict the line he would have
taken. He would have been on the Town or County Council — it may be the colleague
of John Wilson, Thomas Burt (whom also in his own despite, we claim), Charles Fenwick,
H. R. Mansfield — in any case, honoured by his own community as resolutely taking up
the duties of Christian citizenship. We look upon John Skevington and Joseph
. Capper — to be referred to directly — as the first and most striking instances we have so
far met with, of men who may, Connexionally, have been a little before their time, but
who were only carrying out explicitly those principles of Christian Democracy which
from the beginning had been implicit in Primitive Methodism. And this is why we
have at some length recalled the story of his life, and tried to vindicate his memory
and reclaim him for the Connexion. Primitive Methodism began by being neither
avowedly political nor avow^edly non-political, but purely evangelistic; but seminally
it had in it the life-principle of a democratic Church. If it grew at all it was sure to
grow in much the same way as it has grown, or else we must conclude that ail-that it
has done for the elevation of the miner and the manumission of the agricultural lat)Ourer,
has been after all of the nature of a sport or misgrowth rather than a natural, legitimate
development — which is mot to be thought of for a moment. Whether it be an organism
or an institution that is in question, what it is can best be ascertained by marking its
maturer outgrowth — its efflorescence and fruitage, rather than its foliation. Little
wonder, then, that Primitive Methodism should have grown — we speak not of mere
size — to be a bigger, more comprehensive thing than was conceived of by our fathers,
who saw it only in its beginnings, and were not gifted with preternatural insight to
divine the Democratic developments that were wrapped up in those beginnings.

If John Skevington was a little before his time, surely that cannot be said of the
attitude taken by our senior founder with regard to the political and social movements
of the day. His gratitude to that pious monarch George lY. for having signed the

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

339

Act of 1812, his nervous desire that the Connexion should keep on friendly terms with
the Government lest camp meetings should be put down — these feelings surely
culminated and found singular and dramatic expression when Hugh Bourne invaded
the Conference Chapel at Tunstall — which happened to be his own — and demanded
the expulsion of a delegate on the ground that he was a " speeching Radical." And
because Hugh Bourne was master of the situation he had his way. We can easily see
noiVj that this act was as irrelevant and futile as the brandishing of Mrs. Partington's
mop, or, lest that should seem too undignified a comparison — let us say — as futile as
Canute's rebuke at Gainsboro' to the advancing tide.

Who the "speeching Radical" at the Conference of 1821 was, cannot now be
ascertained. It could not well be John Skevington, who was then but nineteen years
of age. But we are not so sure, after all, whether Hugh Bourne had not a hand in the

THAT MAN SHALL NOT BE IN THIS CHAPEL.

keeping out of John Skevington. It may be a mere coincidence, or it may be of such
significance as to furnish a clue, that the resolution which was Loughborough Circuit's
answer to John Skevington's application for redress and reinstatement, was written by
Hugh Bourne himself. But why? Well; if in 1838 Skevington was already
a " veteran Radical,' he must in 1836 have been for some time known as that most
objectionable of characters— a "speeching Radical." Hugh Bourne's assured know-
ledge of this fact, coupled with his well-known views, and his ascendency in Lough-
borough Circuit's councils, may have been largely responsible for the refusal to open
the door for readmission. " The door is shut : it is well ; let it remain shut."

Staffordshire, as well as Leicestershire, had its sturdy Primitive Methodist Chartist,
whose story has recently been told with quite remarkable sympathy and graphic skill

z 2

340 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

by an honoured minister of a sister community who knew Joseph Capper well. * We
shall only presume to borrow one interestiug quotation from this book. To do more
would be unfair to the author, whose book, abounding as it does with information as to
the condition of things in Tunstall and Burslem in the Chartist period, and the
kindliest references to the work of our own Church, should be read for its own sake.
Our single quotation shall introduce us to the Primitive Methodist local preacher,
blacksmith, and Chartist whom "an Old Potter" evidently regards as a hero : —

" Joseph Capper was born near Nantwich, in the year 1788. In early life he came
to Tunstall, and was destined to make it famous in a famous crisis in his country's
history. He had had but little schooling, but he had learned to read his Bible, the
sole lesson-book of so many poor people in that day. It has been said that he was
almost a man of one book. But this one book happened to be the greatest, even as
literature, in our language. Capper seems to liave loved its storied pages, its
sacred counsels, and its revelation of Divine love. Whatever he was, as man and
citizen, as patriot and Christian, he was made so by the teachings of his Bible.
His ordinary speech got its quaintness and unction and force from its pages. His
imagination was stirred and illuminated by its imagery. Neither the schools nor
society had tinctured his strong nature. He was a Bible-made man in every
function and activity of his life. He was made, as the humbler Puritans were
made, without any knowledge, perhaps, of their literature, excepting probably the
" Pilgrim's Progress." He was as stern as the Puritans were in their love of
righteousness and their hatred of tyranny. With less of gloom in the tenets he
held, he had broader conceptions of liberty. Perhaps this was because of the
Methodist leaven which entered early into his life, for we are told he was one of
the first converts in the great Primitive Methodist camp meeting held on Mow Cop
in 1807. He afterwards became a local preacher in the same denomination.
Primitive Methodism at first was a demand for wider liberty in evangelical
methods in preaching out of doors. While it cherished all the fervour of the early
Methodists, it resented the restrictions of what were believed to be the hardening
and narrowing respectability of the parent body of Methodists. Joseph Capper
found in the Primitive Methodist Society an atmosphere in which he could breathe
more freely and a sphere of labour he loved. He travelled many miles on Sundays,
preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was one of the noble band of men in all
the Methodist bodies who made heroic self-sacrifices in carrying the Gospel to
outlying districts, where, but for their labours, it would hardly ever have been
heard, and certainly not heard with the fervour and simplicity with which they
preached it. This habit of life was the reason why, in later days, finding the clergy
among his bitterest political opponents, he so strongly girded at them and told
them to preach for nothing as he did. . . . He was the leading spirit of many
Chartist meetings. His vigour was perennial, and, in spite of advancing years, he
gave himself to the cause which carried the promise of political redemption "
(pp. 143-4 and 146).

Like John Skevington, Joseph Capper was no believer in, much less an advocate of,
violent measures. He was not numbered with the Physical Force Chartists. Yet
a vindictive government was not careful of nice distinctions. It w^as only too glad to

* " When I was a Child." By an Old Potter. Methuen & Co., 1903.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

341

avail itself of any chance that offered to strike a blow at Chartism, regardless of the
particular tenets — moderate or extreme — held by its victims. So Capjper — than whom
" no purer and more loyal patriot lived in the Queen's realms," was pounced upon and
made to suffer. On Monday, the 14th August, 1842, he spoke with Cooper at an
open-air meeting at Hanley, and then went home to his blacksmith's anvil and forge.
Though, doubtless, he heard, during the week, of the wild work going on at Hanley,
and also at Burslem, where maddened men marched along to the strains of —

" The lion of freedom's let loose from his den ;
And we'll rally round him again and again,

to commit arson and pillage ; yet Capper qiiietly and sadly went on with his work.
But on the Sunday evening, after he had taken part in the services of the sanctuary
and family devotions were over, four men broke in upon the peaceful household, and
Joseph Capper was led away. He stood two trials for "sedition, conspiracy and
rioting," and endured two years' imprisonment in Stafford gaol. He came out of prison
broken in health, but unshaken in conviction and unsubdued in spirit, and to be held
in respect and reverence until the end, which came January, 1860. His biographer,
who has so nobly revived his name and vindicated his character, has written this final
word of him : — "I have never met a man who did more to enrich England with simple
ideals of progress, freedom, and goodness. ... He was a citizen who saw the
greatness and glory of his fellow-country must s|)ring from its freedom, its industry,
and its character." Such an estimate as this, unsought, unbiassed, amply justifies us in
placing Joseph Capper side by side with John Skevington as men who exemplified and
illustrated in a troublous time that sane, balanced, humane yet strenuous Christian
democracy which l^rimitive Methodism tended, and yet tends, to foster.

We have briefly outlined the course of events until 1842 so far as Loughborough and
Leicester are concerned ; but nothing has been said as yet of the mission work under-
taken by these two circuits during the sam'e period. For
this rapid survey the year 1819 must be taken as the
starting point. In the February of this year, John Garner
began his labours in the Loughborough — his native —
Circuit, under somewhat unfavourable circumstances ; for
Eobert Winfield, of whom more anon, had just made
a division and the societies were unsettled. John Garner
Avas a valuable acquisition to the ranks of the itinerant
nnnistry, although he was barely twenty years of age.
He brought " a comely person, a cheerful temper, agree-
able manners, a fine voice, ardent zeal, and a vigorous
constitution." Some of these qualities — especially the
cheerful temper and the vigorous constitution, were soon
severely tested. Neither his comely person nor his agree-
able manners availed to save the stripling from being
the victim of persecution of the very worst kind — that
Indeed, his experience of rough usage goes beyond anything

JOUN GARNER.

of personal maltreatment

342

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

we have yet had to chronicle, unless it be the treatment Thomas Jackson (1) met
with at Oakham, of which we have no details. In the case of John Garner, he
himself has left a description of what he passed through at Sow, near Coventry, on
the confines of the Loughborough Circuit, where in May, 1819, he had gone to do
pioneer work. This moving description ranks as a historical document and calls for
preservation. He begins his narrative by saying : —

"At this place (Sow) we had preached several times, but to little purpose, the
inhabitants bein^ vile persecutors, and the parish clergyman conducting himself
towards us in so vile a manner that prudence forbids it being published. No sooner
had I entered the village than stones were flying in every direction. I made haste to

the house of Mr. where a few people were assembled to hear the word of life.

The mob followed me, surrounded the house, broke the windows, and compelled me to

SPOT ON KIVER SOW, AT WALSGRAVE-ON-SOW, NEAK COVENTRY,
Where Eev. J. Garner was ducked in February, 1819.

stop the meeting. Seeing no probability of the persecution abating, I was necessitated
to expose myself to the malicious rage of the wicked, by whom I was furiously driven
out of the village with stones, rotten eggs, sludge, or whatever came first to hand. The
friends who accompanied me seeing the madness of the mob, became afraid, and
endeavoured to effect their escape by taking a footpath. The rebels followed me out of
the village, and some of them seized me ; others propped my mouth open with stones,
while some were engaged in attempting to pour sludge down my throat. The cry was

raised, " Kill the devil ! d him ! " Immediately a man knocked me down, and

after I had been shamefully beaten with the hands and feet of my enemies, and with
divers weapons, I'was dragged to a pond, around which they gathered, hoping soon to

THE PERIOD OF CIECUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 343

be gratified with my death. At this juncture of time I had not even a faint hope of
ever being rescued from them ahve ; hence I committed my body and soul into the
hands of the Lord, and most earnestly wished for death to put an end to my sufferings,
which were almost insupportable. However, ' the thoughts of the Lord are not as our
thoughts, neither are His ways as our ways,' for, contrary to my expectations, He
made a way for my escape. One of the vilest persecutors rescued me from the fury of
his companions ; and some of them pursued my friends, who had at first escaped.
Then the rebels were withdrawn from me. After having walked a few hundred
yards, I perceived a woman much affected, tears were rolling down her cheeks ; she
kindly invited me into her house, and then assisted in washing my head and face.
Being somewhat recovered, through the hospitality of my hostess, I returned, with the
assistance of a friend, to walk to Bell Green, a distance of perhaps two miles, and by
my kind friends at this place I was cordially entertained and taken care of. They lent
me what clothes I wanted ; for my persecutors had also torn my clothes, of a portion
of which they afterwards made a scarecrow. After being carefully nursed at Bell
Green a few days, I was enabled to attend to my usual labour."

We have hitherto met with nothing quite so dark as this picture of the reception
Warwickshire gave our missionaries in the person of John Garner. And yet, dark as
the picture is, its blackness is here and there relieved by gleams of brightness — the
promise of better things to come. Witness the chief persecutor turned into a protector ;
the mother's heart of the woman crying over somebody's bairn as she washes the filth
from his comely face and laves his bruises ; the freely offered shelter with bed and
board and wardrobe. Nor is the picture without its touch of grim humour, as we see
these Warwickshire persecutors, in their severely practical way, making the preacher's
torn garments, useless for anything else, do duty to frighten the blackbirds from their
currant-bushes. When September came, John Garner left this part of the country and
moved off to Tunstall Circuit, as Hugh Bourne and John Wedgwood had done before
him, to take his part in the wonderful revival which will make Cheshire another famous
Connexional centre. ^

Meanwhile, Loughborough Circuit held on tenaciously to this tract of country. In
1820 we find William Jefferson (1) labouring on the Welton branch, and then he passes
from the stations and we know not what becomes of him. But where is Welton?
It may perhaps help us to locate this village which, until 1841, stood as the nominal
head of what began as the Warwickshire Mission, if we say it is a village in
Northamptonshire, lying in what may be called the " Naseby country," midway between
Daventry, whence Charles I. marched to his last fight, and Market Harborough in
Leicestershire. The boundaries of this mission in two counties have been shifting, its
very constituents variable, and its fortunes fluctuating, though never mounting high at
any period. And yet, though villages and even towns of some size, like Daventry and
Lutterworth, have been abandoned, the labour spent on this apparently niggard soil by
good men has not been wholly in vain. Parts of the old circuit still remain under
other names and in other combinations. John Woolley, Robert Bent and W. G. Bellham
were amongst the early workers on the Welton branch. The latter began his labours
there in 1823, and met with a rough reception at Daventry. Cries were raised — "No
bacon preachers ! Church and King for ever ! " They carried him up the street and

344

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

back again — he all the while clinging to the chair on which he had first stood to preach.
Then they " Jonathan Barneyed " him ; that is to say, they treated him much in the
same way as oranges in a bag are treated, when a couple of costermongers roll them
backwards and forwards ; only in this case the bag was represented by a ring of rough
men who, when Mr. Bellham tried to get out at one rim of the circle, pushed him back
to the other, and he was so battered and hustled that at last he fell, and expected

nothing else than that he would part with his life under
the feet of his tormentors. But the Lord mercifully pre-
served him, and he came out of all this " with the loss
of his hat and one lap of his coat;" nor does he omit
to mention that, even here, " the people generally were
sympathetic." A society was formed at Daventry, and here
most frequently the preacher resided, but the society was
never other than feeble. Welton became a circuit in 1824 —
the same year as Leicester — but in 1830 its membership,
through some cause, had sunk to ninety-three, and it was in
contemplation to attach it to Leicester Circuit ; especially
as the young man put down to it was just entering the
ministry, and wished to be under a superintendent rather
than be one himself. But John Brownson was put down
for bare-pastured Welton after all, and did his best ; and
the reason his very natural wishes were overruled is no
doubt to be found in the following letter, which we have pleasure in giving, not only
because it affords evidence of the humane, paternal interest taken in young preachers
by the General Committee of that day, but also because it casts an interesting sidelight
on another honoured name which will come before us — that of John Petty.

W. G. BELLHAM.

" Dear Brethren : — Welton Circuit being united with Leicester Circuit arose
entirely from the difficulty of its present situation, and from Brother Brownson's
reluctance to travel except under a superintendent. But as that reluctance
appears now, in some degree, done away, and as he thinks the circuit not hopeless,
the difficulties are removed. We have therefore put it down as a circuit separate
from Leicester Circuit, and Brother Brownson as preacher.

"Derby Circuit was once reduced to a similar situation, and G. Appleby was
called out to travel in it, and he brought it about, and became a good
superintendent.

"Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, South Wales, was in a manner a complete
wreck. And John Petty was called out and sent to it. He was young, and they
thought him a mere boy. However, he stopped there, and soon began to bring
things about. He laboured there two years and fully brought up the work, and
now he is one of the best superintendents in the Connexion. His being so
appointed at Haverfordwest, made him expert in the office of superintendent.

" And we have no doubt of Brother Brownson's being able, with perseverance, to
bring up the circuit. We believe him to be of a harmonizing turn, and that he will
by degrees succeed in harmonizing the whole circuit. But there is one thing we
wish, and that is that he do not labour beyond his strength so as to injure his

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 345

health ; but that in prayer meetings, after preachings, and at other times, he get
others to labour chiefly, he only conducting the meetings. And, too, he must get
them to be short in their exercises.

" In behalf of the General Committee,
"DAVID PAISLEY,

" Assistant Corresponding Member."
Address : —

"Me. Chambeelain,

" Grocer,

" Market Place,

" Daventry,

" Northamptonshire."

On the "Welton Circuit plan for July-October, 1824, we find both Northampton and
Coventry. The former had only a temporary place on the plan ; it is not found on the
next one, and it was not until ten years later that Northampton became a mission of the
powerful Burland Station with James Hurd as its first missionary. The connection of

Welton with Coventry was longer and closer. The poet tells
us how he

" waited for the train at Coventry :
He hung with grooms and porters on the bridge
To watch the three tall spires ; and there I shaped
The city's ancient legend."

There is a simple Primitive Methodist legend of how W. G. Bellham

once shamefacedly walked these streets. He was a young man of

twenty-six, and his top-coat was very shabby, so he carried it

over his arm in order to hide its imperfections. But thinking

that he had allowed pride to get the better of him, he resolved

JAMES HUKD. ^^ ^^ pcuancc for his weakness. He retraced his steps, put on

the shabby coat, and went over the ground again indifferent to prying eyes. When,

in 1849, Coventry makes its appearance on the stations as an independent circuit, it

will be through the agency, and as part of Tunstall District.

Besides the five counties that are represented on the 1823 plan, Leicester, the offshoot
of j Loughborough, has the credit of breaking ground in a sixth county — Oxfordshire.
Scarcely had it achieved circuit independence for itself, than it commissioned William
Allcock to take his travel-staff and set it up in " the most eligible locality he could
find." He fixed upon Witney, the blanket-town, and the surrounding villages, and,
certainly, if spiritual destitution constitutes eligibility, his choice could not have been
bettered ; for many of the villagers had not heard a sermon for twenty or thirty years,
as though they had been living in Patagonia rather than within easy distance, and
almost in sight of the spires and towers of Oxford's churches and seats of learning. As
we read the story, one cannot but feel that in 1825 some " Oxford Movement" or other
was sorely needed to pierce the gross darkness that covered the people. Before the end
of the year 1824, W. Allcock had W. Shim well to share his toils and privations —
literally privations ; for sometimes food was scarce and they had no roof to shelter them.

346

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Yet they persevered. Some notorious sinners were converted, and ere Christmas-day
came, the two missionaries were able to report 135 members, of whom ten were local
preachers and exhorters. In May of the following year, W. G. Bellham, with three
local preachers, set off one Friday to assist at the first camp meeting ever held in
Oxfordshire. Preaching on their way, they reached Witney, where a mile and a half
out of the town the camp meeting was to be held. The usual processionary service to
the ground took place, which for noise must surely have beaten the record ; for forty
horns, we are told, were blowing at once as they marched on. The whole town was
moved, and hundreds followed the procession. One of the two waggons used as
a preaching-stand was upset by the roughs ; yet, despite turbulence and opposition,
fifteen or sixteen persons were crying for mercy at one time. Next day, one of the

COVENTRY IN 1820.

brethren stood up in the Market Place to preach, while all sorts of missiles — chiefly
rotten eggs — were flying.

Being in tolerable force, it was deemed a fitting opportunity to "storm Oxford." So
the same evening (May 24th), they entered the city, and Mr. Bellham stood up against
the walls of the City Prison, and the service began in quietude. But presently the
gownsmen came out carrying eggs in their handkerchiefs, which were freely applied.
One student got himself knocked down by an indignant citizen, and a town-and-gown
row ensued. The missionaries were so besmeared with eggs and filth that they " took
a wisp of straw to a pump and cleansed themselves as well as they could." The hardly-
bestead missionaries found welcome shelter and entertainment in the home of a pious

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

347

Baptist family. The attempt on Oxford may be said to have failed, but Witney and
the villages around received the Gospel. In 1826 Witney stands as the head of
a circuit, with John Hallam as its preacher. By 1827, the circuit, with its judicious-

BUTTER CROSS AND TOWN IIALL, WITNEY.
Where Open- Air Services liave been held for many years.

and every way excellent superintendent, was transferred to the Tunstall District, with

which we leave it for the present.

Rugby may be regarded as the heir and representative of Welton Circuit, which
Connexionally deceased in 1841. "Rugby Mission" stands con-
nected with Nottingham Circuit on the list of stations for 1842 ;
and the circumstances which led to our establishment in this
town of Public School fame make an interesting story. As far
back as the beginning of the second decade of the last century,
a blacksmith, named Flavel, lived at Newbold-on-Avon in
Warwickshire. He had a wayward, drunken son, who gave
him much concern. In his solicitude, he was anxious that the
Primitives, of whose doings in Staffordshire and elsewhere he
had heard, should visit Newbold, if haply they might be the
means of rescuing his son from his evil courses. He declared
that should they come, they should have his horse-block

to preach from, and any other help he could give. They did come to Newbold

JOHN HALLAM.

348

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

RUGBY OLD CHAPEL AND MINISTER S HOUSE.
Now turned into three Cottages.

and did preach from the horse-block — but the father " died without the sight."
The son, however, respecting whom he was so soKcitous, got converted, and his
name is found in the list of "Exhorters" on the plans of 1824. He became
a zealous local preacher, and wherever he lived — at Newbold, Coventry, Long
Lawford — made himself useful in the cause. But the years went on, and Rugby
continued to defy attack. The chevaux-de-frise of respectability and churchy

THE PRESENT RUGBY CHAPEL.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

349

exclusiveness had not as yet been partially levelled by the advent of the railway,
and seemed difficult to overcome. W. Flavel saw where the difficulty lay and what
was wanted. So in 1839 he took the decisive step of offering to go and live
at Rugby, in order that his house might serve as the base of operations. He went and

W. FLAVEL.

HY. FLAVEL.

MRS. MARSON.

had his prompt and rich reward, for the first convert was his own son. For years the
names of W. and H. Flavel were on the plan together, and then Henry emigrated
to New Zealand, where he died in the faith. William Flavel's daughter — Mrs. Marson —
still survives as the oldest member of the Rugby Society. After being a mission Rugby
became an independent station in 1881. The first chapel of 1841 was superseded by
the present excellent chapel in 1878, and recently the Sabbath school has been greatly
enlarged.

LUTTERWORTH CAMP MEETING SITE.

550

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Lutterworth and Rugby have had very dissimilar histories. While the latter
accepted the railway in the beginnings of the railway movement, Lutterworth rejected
it. It seems strange that when it was in question to take the London and North
Western via Northampton, landowners and graziers should have fought against the
proposal, on the ground that the smoke of the passing engine would seriously discolour
the wool of the sheep, and that the continuous rush of the locomotive through the
meadows would so disturb the cattle as to interfere with the process of their fattening.
So the line was diverted from the course originally marked out for it by the engineers,
and was made to pass eight miles or so to the left of Lutterworth. Rugby became Dickens'
^' Mugby Junction " — a noted railway centre, while Lutterworth was left to its bovine
sleepiness for a term of years, until the Great Central came along. Lutterworth does
not seem to have taken to Primitive Methodism much more kindly than to the railway.
Its name stands on the Leicester plan of 1827-8 with the letters 0. T. against it ;
which we conjecture to mean "on trial." If so, the trial resulted in failure, for in

MELTON -MOWBKAT.
Showing the Market Place, where the first Open-Air Services were held.

1839, during Mr. Morgan's term as superintendent, another attempt was made to
mission the town. A camp meeting was held near the spot on which Wyclifife's
•exhumed bones were burned, and near " the Swift Avhich was to convey his ashes into
Avon, Avon into Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into the main ocean, so that
the ashes of Wycliffe became the emblem of his doctrine which now is dispersed all
the world over." "^ A society was formed, and in 1841 a chapel built, but the cause
remained feeble, and, after some years, finally flickered out, and Primitive Methodism is
not represented in Lutterworth to-day.

Melton-Mowbray was missioned by Loughborough. Though Wedgwood had preached
at Melton in the open-air in 1818, no permanent society was raised until 1834. In the
July of that year Loughborough sent three local preachers to hold two services in the
open-air, and by the end of the year there was a society of thirty members in the pork-
pie town. There is a record in the Loughborough Circuit books relating to Melton,
which »oes to show that the first General Missionary Committee, established by enact-

* Thomas Puller.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

351

ment of the Conference of 1825, was not quite the dead letter it is sometimes thought
to have been. The Quarterly Meeting of October 1834 resolved: — "That application
be made to the General Missionary Committee for a donation of £10 to assist us in our
mission at Melton." The application was so far successful that a grant of £6 was
obtained. During the year 1835 societies were formed at Nether Broughton, Clawson,
and Frisby, and chapels built at Melton and Scalford. The outlook seemed so
promising that a preacher was put down to Melton-Mowbray, and in 1836 it became
a separate circuit. In 1842 it had 214 members.

The Silencing of John Benton.
Three events happened in 1818, or soon after, that have all the appearance of being

MELTON-MOWBRAY FIRST CHAPEL.
Now private house.

MELTON-MOWBRAT PRESENT CHAPEL.

terminal and prelusive of change. These events are of similar character, and have
their parallel in the retirement of James Crawfoot just after the establishment of
Primitive Methodism in Staffordshire. The reference to these will appropriately close
the present chapter, in which the development of Leicestershire Primitive Methodism
until 1842 has been sketched. These three events are, (1) the retirement of Hugh
Bourne from the office of general superintendent thrcfligh illness, (2) the discontinuance
of John Benton as a labourer in the mission field, and (3) the separation of Robert
Winfield.

The first event has already been touched upon in another connection. Here it is
referred to because it ended the system of giving unification to the Connexion which
had obtained since 1814. Hugh Bourne was now almost wholly given up to Tunstall

352

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Circuit, and though Nottingham had its Circuit Committee, and Leicestershire was not
without its capable officials, there was left " a gap in discipline " which the Preparatory
Meeting of 1819 was intended to supply. As to the separation of R. Winfield,
growing out of his refusal to accept his appointment to Hull — that will more
appropriately be dealt with in our next chapter.

The retirement of Benton must detain us a little while. Had he died, or emigrated,
or seceded, our task would have been a simpler one. But he lived for thirty-eight
years after his retirement ; and yet he became in a sense dead to Primitive Methodism.
This is the fact that needs explanation. We are not specially prepared for this retire-
ment by anything we have met with or observed. We might, possibly, have predicted
the retirement of Crawfoot ; scarcely that of Benton. The event comes upon us
somewhat as a surprise, and we are almost ready to bring in the verdict — Silenced by
the visitation of God.

ROUND HILL CAMP MEETING SITE.

In the month of May, 1818, — two months after the opening of Leicester — a great
camp meeting was held at Round Hill — a popular site for such gatherings. With
characteristic precision Hugh Bourne thus describes the position of Round Hill. "It
is an elevated piece of ground, about three and a half miles from Leicester, and is
situated at the junction of the Roman Fosse Way with the Melton Turnpike Road."
Time and place were favourable for a large gathering ; and there was one. From every
direction people came, on foot and in vehicles of all kinds, until it was computed there
were ten thousand persons present. The meeting was well supported by preachers and
praying labourers. The morning service had been powerful, yet marked by decorum.
At noon the converting work broke out, and the cries for mercy were loud aild
continuous. Benton was in great force ; and as he spoke on " the great day of God's

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

353

wrath," and the feelings of some of the people were much wrought upon, — a panic
ensued. This is how we prefer to state what really occurred. Herod says that
a gentleman's horse that was right in the midst of a mass of people began to rear and
" squeal " ; that some thought the day of judgment in very truth had come ; others that,
like Korah and his crew, the Primitives were offering unhallowed fire, and that the
earth was about to open and swallow them up ; that some fell upon one another in
heaps, while others fled, not daring to glance behind them. It is a strange and, one
cannot but think, an over-coloured picture of what really happened. There was a panic
— that is clear ; and it is the very peculiarity of panic fear that it can give no reasonable
account of itself or of what is done under its influence. We may never know what
the people thought or whether, indeed, they thought at all. But there was panic fear
and confusion, a human welter, danger to life and limb ; and Benton did the only right

COSTOCK FAKM-HOUSE, THE RESIDENCE OF MR. W. WOODROFFE.

thing under the strange unforeseen circumstances. He lifted up his voice and spared
not. He shouted until he seriously injured his larynx — some say, less probably, he
burst a blood-vessel. Whichever it was, it is evident he seriously injured himself;
for on the 25th May, Hugh Bourne, who is at Wyrley, writes : — '' Heard yesterday that
John Benton was still unwell — perhaps dangerously."

Assuming injury to the larynx, the medical prognosis agrees with the evidence
available as to the course of events that followed. Benton lost his voice for a time —
probably for a considerable time. On August 8th, Hugh Bourne called at Costock and
notes — "John Benton's voice is low; he cannot preach." He may not have been able
to speak above a whisper for some months, but he did not permanently lose his voice •
for there is the evidence afl'orded by his own family, and of those still surviving who
in their youth heard him,^that he frequently preached, and that his voice regained

A A

354 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

something of its old power. This evidence is quite sufficient: but it finds additional
confirmation from his signing himself on the deed of Dead Lane as "Dissenting
Minister," whereas, in 1837, he is described as "Farmer."

The former description would seem to imply that, if in 1819 he were not actually
preaching, he had not yet relinquished the purpose of doing so, regarding it still as his
main business in life ; whereas the later description would best be explained by
concluding that in 1837 he had ceased his missionary labours in order to enjoy a restful
eventide. The frequent change of residence that marked the earlier years is also
confirmatory of the view that he was still missioning. Again, there is before us one of
his hymn books, printed by W. Ordoyno, Cross Street, Nottingham, bearing the date
1834, which contains the notification: "These hymns are the private property of John
Benton, having originated from him ; therefore this is to warn all people against printing
them." This piece of evidence, also, fits in with the view that after recovering his voice
Benton resumed his old course of life.

On the other hand, the evidence is equally indisputable that, after July, 1818, John
Benton's name never stood on a Primitive Methodist plan, and that he was never
officially active in our Church. Yet there is not, as far as we know, a shred or particle
of reliable evidence to prove that he fomented a division or set up another community.
He financed Dead Lane fifteen months after his retirement ; its pulpit was open to him ;
and his relations with that Church seem to have been forbearing and friendly to the end.
There is no hint of any breach of friendship with his former colleagues ; on the contrary,
H. Bourne was occasionally his guest.

But the strongest evidence is that supplied by Benton's own family, in that his own
wife and son who both outlived him, died in communion with our Church. John Benton
was married to Miss Elizabeth Woodroffe, December 3rd, 1817, she being then thirty-
seven and he thirty-four years of age. Miss Woodrofi'e was the daughter of a well-to-do
yeoman farmer of Costock, whose social standing rather than his gentle blood is indicated
by the word "Gent." inscribed on his tombstone, and who, if not in circumstances of the
greatest affluence, was yet able to give or bequeath a thousand pounds to his daughter.
His marriage with the staid daughter of such a house has in it a touch of romance. John
Benton might be the first, though certainly not the last, of the early preachers to take
a wife from a good home against the consent of parents or guardians to share the
inevitable privations of his migratory life. In this case we cannot add — to share his
poverty ; for in a worldly sense John Benton was as well ofi' as Elizabeth Woodrofi'e,
thouo-h he was probably less refined in manner and speech, and had still less of the
tincture of learning. She was his convert, won, it may be, about the time when
Louf^hborough was missioned, from which town Costock was not far distant.
Acquaintance speedily ripened into friendship, and friendship into a still warmer
sentiment. But, as was not unnatural, the father disapproved of the match. He was
a staunch, old-fashioned Churchman, accustomed to be waited upon and to have his own
way, and now, that he had turned his three score years and ten, it was not likely he
would readily consent for his daughter who had become necessary to him to be carried
off by an itinerating Primitive Methodist. The old man's refusal to sanction the
marriage was all that was needed to turn what might have seemed a prosaic event into

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

355

a romantic episode. Elizabeth Woodroffe had made up her mind : so she rode on
a pillion behind John Benton to Broughton Siilney where the marriage was solemnised ;
nor have we any reason to believe that either of the contracting parties ever repented
of that day's doings, or that the wife grew tired of the inconveniences incident to their
manner of life. Her husband was ever her hero; "she worshipped the c^round he
trod." Let it be noted that it was after his marriage, and when the shadow of
bereavement rested on his home, that John Benton missioned Leicester; and when
Round Hill camp meeting stopped him he was in the full career of missionary work.
Mrs. Benton, as the saying is, " made a good Primitive." She encouraged her husband
in his work, and herself occasionally conducted house-services. To the end she
exemplified that plainness in dress that characterised the old Primitives. Mrs. Benton
survived her husband some years, dying October 13th, 1862 ; her son, W. J. Woodroffe
Benton, was for some time the steward of Loughborough Circuit, and died (1889) in
communion with our Church. Are the facts thus related compatible with the belief
that John Benton headed a schism or that he even identified himself with some
other community ?

No wonder that Rumour with her many tongues should voice contradictory opinions

respecting the facts of which it had
but a partial knowledge ; that now it
should say that, like W. Lockwood,
John Benton had married a rich wife
and settled down, and then again should
assert that, like Robert Winfield, he
had gone off with some grievance in his
mind and set up for himself. Both
these statements cannot be true together;
and in point of fact neither of them is
true. The only theory that explains all
the facts, so far as diligent research has
recovered them, is that John Benton
ended, as he began, by being an un-
attached Primitive Methodist. When
he had so far regained his voice as to
be able to preach, Primitive Methodism
was fast organising itself. With that
necessary inevitable process John Benton
had little understanding or sympathy.
He reverted more strongly to his old
position ; more than ever he became an
individualist ; and as we watch his
reversion we are reminded of the words
of Dr. R, W. Dale :—

" The Evangelical movement
encouraged what is called an

AA 2

Benton's tomb, barrow-on-soar.

356 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

undenominational temper. It emphasised the vital importance of the Evangelical
creed, but it regarded almost with indifference all forms of Church polity that
were not in apparent and irreconcilable antagonism to that creed. It demanded
as the basis of fellowship a common religious life and common religious belief,
but was satisfied with fellowship of an accidental and precarious kind. It cared
nothing for the Church as the august society of saints. It was the ally of
Individualism."

John Benton was not one who could lend much help in the harmonisation of the ideas
of the Church and the Evangel, which harmonisation was very much needed in 1819.
John Benton did not try to harmonise them. John Wedgwood had something of the
same temperament and cared little for the business side of Church life ; but in 1819 he
was transferred to the Cheshire Mission of Tunstall District, and threw himself heart
and soul into the revival movement. Here he found his true vocation and he ended by
becoming — for a short time at least — a salaried and duly recognised minister. But
John Benton never did adapt himself to the changing conditions. Temperament,
training, habit, all conspired to make and keep him an individualist. Yet, he was too
much an individualist to be able to become an avowed undenominationalist. If he
were any 'ist at all, he continued to be a Primitive Methodist. Such his own people
declared him to be, but they likewise said : "he would not be under any one." He had
once declared he got his plan from God and would take no other. Many John Bentons
would have rendered the crystallisation of Primitive Methodism impossible ; for all that,
he was a good man whom God had remarkably owned, and of whom we may and ought
to speak with respect and gratitude for the pioneer work he did. If perplexed by his
later attitude, let us remember Christ's words : " He that is not" against us is on our
part." John Benton died in peace, February 5th, 1856, and his mortal part lies in the
graveyard of Barrow-on-Soar.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 357

CHAPTER VI.

INTRODUCTION OF PRIMITIVE METHODISM INTO HULL.

General Forecast of Events until 1824.

HE movements of Primitive Methodism necessarily appear more complex, and

hence more difficult to follow, the further we get from its beginnings and

the more widely it extends itself. Still, for some little time to come, we

may proceed with our narrative, having a tolerably clear idea of our

direction and what we are likely to meet with on the way. It may conduce to the

desired clearness if we give a brief outline —which subsequent chapters will fill up — of

the course of events up to and after the Conference of 1824.

Hull was reached in January, 1819, and, at midsummer of the same year, Hull
became the fourth circuit of the Connexion. It looks as though it had been written in
the book of destiny, or were the result of some pre-established harmony, that King
Edward's town on the Hull and Humber should be won for the Connexion. Like the
Trent, Primitive Methodism had been steadily making for the sea through all these
years. It had its source in the Trent country, and like that river, was formed of two
branches which effected their junction at Tunstall. Like the Trent it made its way
through Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire, and when we left it in the
last-named county, it had got as far as Newark. It is a generalised historic fact — so
true and graspable as materially to aid the memory — that up to this time. Primitive
Methodism had done its main work in the country watered by the Trent and its
affluents. Not even excepting Leicester, all the chief towns that we have followed
Primitive Methodism into, stand either on the Trent or on one or other of its tributaries.
The ^onward striving which carried our missionaries as far as Newark, was not likely to
end there, any more than the water which flowed from Biddulph Moor or Mow into
Trent was likely to stand still when it got to Newark. We expect the seaward
movement to continue, and to find our missionaries at Gainsborough, the next
considerable town on Trent, and then at Hull, Barton, and Grimsby. The expectation
is fulfilled to the very letter. Gainsborough was entered late in 1818, and Hull and
Grimsby in 1819 ; and the Preparatory Meeting signalises the approximate completion of
the movement, and shows that the country from Trent-source to the sea had been
traversed. At that meeting the representatives from the four circuits — Tunstall,
Nottingham, Loughborough, and Hull — attempted to give some cohesion and unity to
the various societies which had been established between Mow and Hull on the line of
the Trent.

These and similar facts are chronicled in the Minutes of Conference for 1820 and
still more in those for 1821. It is to these annual Minutes we have now to look to find
the gains of the year registered, just as heretofore we had to look to the circuit plans.

358

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

only now the unit of gain is the circuit instead of a society. At the first Conference of
1820, the Connexion was reported to consist of eight circuits, the additional ones — the
increment on the year's working — being Scotter, Sheffield, Darlaston, and revived
Derby. So that after Hull, we have to glance at the introduction of Primitive
Methodism into these places and neighbourhoods, Scotter, be it remembered, representing
Gainsborough, which was first a branch of Nottingham. Prior to the Timstall Conference
of 1821, several new circuits had been formed, and as the principle of direct circuit
representation to the annual meeting still obtained-

-three delegates from each circuit-

YORKS

NO/?rH

P Crow/e

Sfi//sby

Map OF Scotter DiST. i52[.

there should have been upwards of forty delegates to that Conference. This was the
Conference from which Hugh Bourne got the "speeching Radical" expelled. The delegates
assembled were unable to cope with the difficulties of stationing, and business was
brought to a dead-lock. H. B. had not been appointed a delegate to the Conference
held in his own chapel, and like Achilles had retired sulking to his tent. But his hour
of triumph came. Being brought to a stand, the delegates sent for Hugh Bourne to
help them out of their difficulties. He did so in a way that proved his possession of
statesmanlike qualities. What was tantamount to district meetings were created on the

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 359

spot by the delegates of contiguous circuits resolving themselves into committees and
proceeding to station their preachers by mutual arrangement. The committee-stage
over, the whole meeting made the necessary adjustments. .As early therefore as 1821,
the original system of direct representation of circuits to the annual meeting broke down
under its own weight. It was plain that if circuits continued to be formed as rapidly
as they had been, it vrould soon be impossible — on the score of expense, if for no other
reason — to continue to send three representatives from each circuit. So the arrangement
improvised by Hugh Bourne was henceforth adopted : circuits were grouped into
districts, and the direct representation of circuits was henceforth limited to district
meetings, which court alone was to have authority to send district representatives to the
annual meeting. In 1821, then, circuits were first grouped into districts. But not then or
in either of the two following years was a workable system of grouping hit upon. It was
only in 1824 that the whole Connexion was formed into four districts which should be
empowered to send nine delegates to Conference, irrespective of any addition or loss of
circuit during the year. This was the principle of representation that obtained until
the numerical strength of a district was made the basis of representation — the system
at present in vogue. The four districts created were Tunstall, Nottingham, Hull, and
Sunderland, and out of these all the existing districts have been carved. In order that
facts of the same class may be kept together, how one district was evolved from another
may be shown from the case of Norwich District. In 1824, Norwich, Fakenham, Lynn,
and Cambridge are included amongst the circuits constituting Nottingham District ; in
1825, these circuits, with the addition of Yarmouth and Upwell, form the Norwich
District. Manchester District was formed in 1827 and Brinkworth in 1833, so that at
the close of the period with which we are now dealing — 1842 — the Connexion was
a Heptarchy — a federation of seven districts.

But to return to the important year of 1821 and the district arrangements then
formulated : the new districts created at this time were Scotter and Sheffield. The
former included Grimsby and Lincoln, and it is interesting to note that to these three
circuits the whole of North and Mid Lincolnshire was assigned, with the exception of
Barton, which belonged, as it still belongs, to Hull District. This old Scotter District,
then, may be considered to represent the present Grimsby and Lincoln District, the
creation of recent years. Though the latter was in great part formed out of Hull
District, with which it stood connected so many years, it had, as we shall see, its origin
in the labours of missionaries sent out by Nottingham ; so that its separateness from
Hull is a reversion, and justified historically as well as geographically. Sheffield, too,
with Barnsley as its one circuit, was made a district, showing that pioneer work was
being pushed on in this part which would soon result in Chesterfield, Halifax,
Wakefield, and other towns appearing on the roll of circuits. Nottingham alone stands
without any new circuit to its credit, but some of its many branches will soon become
independent. Tunstall, with Darlaston, Macclesfield and Manchester, attached to form
the Tunstall District, show that the mother-circuit has, in good earnest, resumed the
work of aggression, and Burland, Oakengates and Ramsor are branches almost ripe for
independence. Hull District comprises Pocklington, Brotherton and Hutton Rudby
(soon to be superseded by the better-known Brompton), wherein we may discern the

360

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

promise not only of the present Hull District, but also of Sunderland and the Leeds and
York Districts. From these facts we may gather that, until 1824, we have to watch the
progress of circuit propagation, and even after the country has been allotted among the
four districts — Tunstall, Nottingham, Hull and Sunderland — as though with a view to
the four points of • the compass, we shall find that the relative advance of the several
districts will very largely be conditioned by the work done by the prolific mother-
circuits which do not take rank as districts, of which Scotter and Burland may be taken
as the type.

W. Clowes' Entry into Hull.

Hull may be called the Thessalonica of Primitive Methodism. It was the first sea-port
reached by the accredited agents of the denomination; and though its population, at
the time of their entry, was but 42,000,* yet it was already a mart of nations, and a busy

I » ■ 1 1 1 .- i,^

^s^mmr

^i^K

lii, 1 I. "i

4iiiEi.i... -p^

■hIh&l^iibL^ -

^^^^^ -■

. . ^? ^ .• ar

t ^^

1 .„_.,.. „.-s.:

SOUTH-EAST VIEW OF KINGSTON-ON-HULL.

distributing centre, from which, as from Thessalonica of old, the word of the Lord was
to sound forth, not only in the East Riding of Yorkshire, but also in Northumberland
and Cornwall, Cumberland and Kent, London, both sides of the Solent, and the United
States. Such a record of early missionary achievement on the part of one circuit, is
quite enough in itself to lend perennial interest to the questions relating to the origins
and success of Hull Primitive Methodism. But when to its missionary record there is
added its later and equally remarkable chapel-building record, such questions become
doubly interesting, and almost press for an answer. In their search after causes and
explanations, the thoughts of many thus shape themselves : Hull has long been spoken
of as the "metropolis of Primitive Methodism." You yourself have just called it our
Thessalonica, and elsewhere have likened it to Venice, the city-state, that once set fleets
and armies in motion. We do not deny the fitness of such comparisons ; we only want

* The estimate given needs an explanation. The population of Hull, in 1821, was 28,591. But
it would be incorrect to regard this as the population at that time of the area which now constitutes
Hull. Sculooates, Brypool and part of Sutton are now included in Hull, but this was not the case
in 1821. The area which now constitutes Hull would contain about 42,000 persons in 1821. This
information has been kindly communicated through the Hev. C. G. Honor.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

361

to know the facts which explain, and are supposed to justify, their use. Let us turn
then to the facts, in which, perhaps, lies, latent, the explanation desired.

Primitive Methodism had a good start in Hull, a town which, ever since the
days when King Charles tried in vain to wrest it from his Parliament, had been the
stronghold of evangelical religion and liberal sentiment ; so that the genius loci may be
said to have smiled upon our advent. Moreover, Primitive Methodism went to Hull by
invitation, and found auxiliaries ready to help for a time, while some were even ready
to give'TEemselves permanently to the movement which they had welcomed. These
facts strikingly illustrate, and are best explained by, what was strongly insisted upon in
an earlier part of the history — the prevalence during the earlier years of the nineteenth
century of Kevivalism, which was not so much an organised system as it was an impelling
spirit — a tendency and aspiration. There were some in all the Churches — but more

especially in the mother-Church of
Methodism — who had sympathy with
ardent aggressive evangelism, and
who found neither sufficient scope
nor encouragement in the societies
to which they belonged. So had it
been in Staffordshire ; so was it to
be in Yorkshire — in both Hull and
Leeds. Primitive Methodism grew
out of Revivalism, and as it had
drawn to itself sympathisers and
helpers like Winfield in Derbyshire,
and Lockwood in Notts, so had it
already attracted the attention, and
won the sympathy, of an ardent
band of Revivalists in Hull.

Amongst these were Mr. R. and
Mrs. H. Woolhouse, who had much

woolhouse's factory, hull.

to do in introducing; Primitive

Methodism into Hull. It is said they were both class-leaders in the Wesleyan
Methodist body. Mrs. Woolhouse was evidently a woman of much zeal and of
considerable ability for pubHc labour. Mr. Woolhouse was a sack and sail-cloth manu-
facturer, carrying on business in an old factory, still said to be standing, the end of which
abuts on North Street near Garden Street. The requirements of his business frequently
called him to visit Nottingham and other towns in the Midlands. One such visit was
paid to Nottingham in 1817, when he chanced to meet Mr. R. Winfield in the Market-
place. The latter was quite full of the revival which had begun under Sarah Kirkland's
ministry, and he gave Mr. Woolhouse a pressing invitation to go and hear her. He
went and received much good, and caught the contagion of the revival. He observed
to Mr. Winfield that " he should like the Primitives to visit Hull ; that he and his
wife were class-leaders in the Methodist Connexion; that Mrs. Woolhouse had a great

362

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

desire to preach, but that she had no encouragement from the people at Hull, and that
he believed she would be in her element if she had the privilege of attending such
meetings as those in Broad Marsh." On his return, Mr. Woolhouse told his wife what
he had heard and seen and felt amongst the people (vulgarly) called " Ranters." The
information was deeply interesting to her. Her curiosity was excited to know more,
and she determined to visit Nottingham at the first opportunity. The opportunity
soon presented itself, and before the end of 1817 Mrs. Woolhouse, accompanied by
Miss Healand, went to Nottingham. They engaged lodgings that they might remain
some time, so as to form a correct opinion of the religious movement going on. They
threw themselves heartily into the work, and were abundant in labours. Having seen
a considerable number converted both in town and country, they returned to Hull and
spoke at large respecting the great work the Primitives were carrying on. The classes
led by the Woolhouses experienced the benefit of this visit.

Mr. Herod in his " Sketches" tells us that in the summer of 1818 Miss Healand, in
company with the celebrated Ann Carr, the Revivalist, paid a second visit to
Nottingham. They laboured at camp meetings and at other open-air services, and saw
much good effected. On their return to Hull it is said they commenced to preach both
in town and country, and that great results followed. According to Mr. Herod they
united with the Primitive Methodists, and for two or three years were very successful
in the converting work. Miss Healand was subsequently married to a Wesleyan
minister. As to the other members of this group of preaching and praying women,
Miss Carr and Miss Williams while zealous, were irregular in their movements and, as
we shall see, subsequently made a division in our Leeds societies.

The next stage in the evolution of events was reached when Mrs. Woolhouse
personally appeared before the Nottingham December Quarterly Meeting of 1818, to
urge that a travelling preacher should be sent to Hull. This she did, not only in her
own name, but in the name and on behalf of the other members of the Revivalistic

sisterhood already referred to. Mrs. Woolhouse also asked
that the two young men who accompanied her might be
constituted travelling preachers. This request was granted,
but as John Hutchinson and Samuel Atterby were at that
very time members of the Methodist Church, they had
first of all to be received as members, then made local
preachers, and lastly appointed travelling preachers. This
quick dispatch of the necessary formalities clearly shows
that in December, 1818, there was no Primitive Methodist
Society existent in Hull. Of the two travelling preachers
thus expeditiously made, Samuel Atterby was to render
the more effective service. He was a native of North
Somercotes in Lincolnshire, and was a shoemaker by trade.
He travelled for a considerable number of years with
credit to himself and with advantage to the community
he served. Plain in his mode of preaching, and in his
general habits, he yet knew how to lead souls to Christ. He was distinguished

SAMUEL ATTERBY.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 363

for an even peaceable disposition, largely induced by careful Christian culture ; for he
himself has left it on record that he early formed the resolution that neither men
nor circumstances should disturb the patience of his soul. John Hutchinson also
laboured with acceptance and usefulness for a few years, but trouble of some kind
overtaking him, he severed himself from our Church and joined the New Connexion.

Mrs. Woolhouse was favourably listened to when she pleaded for the sending of
a missionary to Hull, and at a subsequent stage of the proceedings Robert Winfield was
appointed. He was present when the appointment was made, and was understood to
acquiesce and to agree to enter upon his important duties in three weeks' time. But
at this same long Quarterly Meeting, Hugh Bourne preferred a series of charges — of
a vexatious, if not of a serious character — against Eobert Winfield. One of these was
that he had got an edition printed of the "Hymns and Spiritual Songs" Lorenzo Dow
had brought over, and was making merchandise of them. There were other complaints
of a like sort. At the close of the discussion, though each party appeared to be
satisfied, there seems to have been left a sense of [injury rankling in Winfield's memory ;
for a day or two after the meeting he sent a letter to Mr. King declining the mission.
Instead of going to Hull he went into Leicestershire, and, whether intentionally or not,
was the means of that unsettlement of the societies in the Loughborough Circuit
amidst which John Garner began his itinerant labours. He seems to have had the
design of founding a distinct denomination, and was so far successful in carrying out
his purpose, that a community, some thousands strong and employing several travelling
preachers, was the result of his labours. His talented daughter itinerated as preacheress,
and became very popular. But Mr. Winfield's gift for converting sinners was much
greater than his gift for governing saints, and his sect — the "Revivalists" was at last
brought into confusion and disruption. He took refuge with the New Connexion and
remained with them until his death.

The letter of declinature was addressed to Mr. King, and came to hand on the
Friday of the same week in which the appointment had been made. Mr. King
remarks: — "I took his letter to the prayer meeting in the evening, held in the long-
room, and at the close desired the local preachers and class-leaders present to remain,
when I laid Winfield's letter before them, and they decided that some person should go
to Tunstall Quarterly Meeting to be held the following Monday." But who was to go 1
Mr, King could not ; for he had spent four days that week at the Quarterly Meeting ^
and there was work waiting for him to do which was as good as ten shillings a day to
him. So he went in search of some one who could discharge the duty of delegation,
and at eleven o'clock at night he engaged Thomas Simmons, who went to Tunstall and
secured Mr. Clowes as a missionary for Hull in behalf of Nottingham Circuit ; whence
it will appear that Hull Circuit — with all that came of it — was the joint protege of
Nottingham and Tunstall.

Mr. Clowes arrived in Hull on Friday, the 15th January, 1819. If, as was most
likely, Nottingham Quarterly Meeting was held from the 10th to the 15th December,
a month or so Avould intervene between the appointment of Mr. Winfield and the
arrival of Mr. Clowes. Was any one sent to Hull during this month to labour there
until the missionary should arrive ? The answer is that, though no one was officially

364 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

sent, as a matter of fact, Jane Brown went to Hull unofficially, and preached both in
the town and in the adjoining villages, prior to the arrival of Mr. Clowes. She, it
ought to be said, had been appointed by the Nottingham Circuit to labour in South
Lincolnshire. While there she had formed an acquaintanceship with Mr. George
Nicholson, and it was under his escort, and probably at his suggestion, that she made her

way to Hull. The late Mr. John Brown, who was a native of
Hessle, remembered Jane Brown's visit to Hessle ; how she
stood upon his stool while preaching ; and how he accompanied
Mr. Thompson and eight or nine others to Hull on the following
Sunday to hear her preach in the old Penitentiary near High
Flags, Wincolmlee. Moreover, Mr. Clowes recognises, and even
Mr. King does not deny, the priority of Jane Brown's unofficial
labours in Hull. The former records that the first Sabbath he
spent in Hull, Jane Brown preached in the afternoon, while
he, himself, preached morning and night. So let us unite with
Mr. Clowes in giving due recognition to Jane Brown's pioneer,

JOHN BEOWN, o & o r 5

jjui,L. though it may have been unofficial and stop-gap work in Hull,

as we have recognised Sarah Kirkland's pioneer labours in Derby and Nottingham.

The George Nicholson who is mentioned above and became the husband of Jane
Brown, figured very prominently as a revivalist through the greater part of the first half
of the last century. He was a native of North Lincolnshire, belonging to a family that
filled a very good position in life ; but George thought little of worldly prospects, and
preferred preaching to farming. When our Church was providentially called into
existence, he had much sympathy with its spirit and enterprise. Though a Wesleyan
local preacher, he cast in his lot with the Primitives, and in companionship and toil
with kindred spirits — such as John Oxtoby, Eobert Coultas, and others — became
remarkably useful as an itinerant revivalist. There can be no question but that during
his life he saw many hundreds brought to Christ. In the end he was again more
closely identified with the Wesleyan Methodists, but during the Reform agitation of
1850 he joined the Wesleyan Reformers in Louth. In this community he laboured till
the time of his death, which took place about 1856. Mr. Nicholson was the first
person interred in the Louth cemetery.

Mr. Clowes, as we have said, entered Hull on Friday, January 15th, 1819. He had
been three days on his journey, but he is silent as to the route he took, and recounts
no incidents that may have diversified his journey. His thoughts were divided between
the endeared home and friends he had left, and the arduous post of duty that awaited
him. Arrived in Hull, he at once made his way to the residence of Mr. Woolhouse.
What followed, Mr. Clowes shall himself tell us : —

" As soon as I entered the house, Mrs. Woolhouse and John Oxtoby, commonly
called ' Praying Johnny,' fell down upon their knees and returned thanks to God
for my safe arrival. This act of devotion was very encouraging to me, and
became a prelude to greater things. On the very day of my entering into Hull
I preached in the evening in an old factory in North Street. Vast numbers of
people attended, many influenced by curiosity, others with an intention to create

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 365

disturbance, having heard of the arrival of the ' Ranter preacher ' : however, God
was present in my first effort to make known the riches of His mercy, and the
wicked were restrained, so the meeting terminated in peace and quiet. On the
day following, I took a walk down to the pottery by the Humber-side, where
I had worked upwards of fifteen years before, when I was in the old olive tree,
which is wild by nature ; but I found the working of the pottery had been
discontinued. I, however, entered the place, and proceeded to the room in which
I formerly laboured, and kneeled down and praised God for the great change He
had wrought in me. I then returned, and took a walk up and down the streets
and lanes in which I had formerly wrought folly and wickedness. It brought to
my recollection the time and place when captured by the press-gang, and other
circumstances of dissipation and riot. Oh, what gratitude filled my soul when
indulging in the contrast ! — instead of reckless and brutal conduct, throwing the
reins upon my passions, neither fearing God nor regarding man, I am now a sinner,
saved by grace, and a missionary of the cross." — Journal, pp. 146-7.

Mr. Clowes had another reason for thankfulness as he musingly perambulated these
streets : he had honourably paid the debts contracted during the period of his wildness
and excess, and could look any one in the face as he passed along without fearing to
encounter the glance of an unsatisfied creditor. "How majestically he walks!" said
a man who heard him at the Old Factory. "Yes ; and his conduct is as straight as his
walk ! " was the reply of one who knew whereof he affirmed. *

" Praying Johnny " and other Preparers of the Way.

One of .the first and most pressing duties that called for Mr. Clowes' attention on
beginning his Hull ministry, was to meet those who were desirous to be united in
Church-fellowship, to form them into classes, and to bring them under " principles of
discipline in conformity with the general character of the Primitive Methodist
Connexion." Accordingly, at the close of his first Sunday evening's service in the Old
Factory, Samuel Atterby, the newly-made travelling preacher, being present, he formed
two classes, set leaders over them, and appointed a society steward. Again, the
following Tuesday evening, in the same way he formed a society at Hessle, where " the
prospect bore a cheering aspect." Such records as these are worth pondering. Those
gathered in were not the converts of the day, but the fruit of labours of other days.
Where Clowes was, the converting work always went on ; but in this case, it looks as
though the ready-ripe fruit had got to be housed before Clowes could give full proof of
his evangelistic ministry. He had to garner others' fruit before he had time to gather
his own. Another fact of similar import worth following up because of the explanation
it yields is, that John Oxtoby was found waiting to welcome Clowes, and that he
already was known as "Praying Johnny." Where and when had that name been
bestowed? We have not met with John Oxtoby before, and yet his bearing such
a name implies a Christian experience of some length, and of such a character that it
had struck the public mind. It was not "Praying Johnny" who called himself by

* " Eev. William Clowes in Hull. A Souvenir," by Eev. Henry Woodcock.

366 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

that name, we may be sure. It was a section of the religious public, familiar with
Oxtoby's work and ways, which noted the characteristic and marked it by the name.
Now, the explanation of these facts will serve to reconcile the traditionary account of
the state of things existing at the time of Clowes' entry into Hull, with the current
historical account. Tradition tells of fully organised Primitive Methodist Societies
flourishing at the time William Clowes first set foot in Hull : our biographies and
histories write as though he entered on virgin soil, that he began from the very bottom,
and, as though, in this case, we have to do with — that rarest of all things in nature — an
absolute beginning. Thus sharply put, neither of these views as to our origins in Hull
is correct ; the true view will be found in a combination of the truth in each. The late
Mr. John Brown, a native of Hessle, was a thorough-going traditionalist and stoutly
maintained that there was a society at Hessle hefore there was one in Hull. There is
nothing antecedently improbable in this assumed priority; on the contrary, were it
proved it would simply be another illustration of Primitive Methodism's early
predilection for village evangelisation. But the view is untenable. There was no
organised Primitive Methodist Society at Hessle or anywhere else north of the Humber,
prior to William Clowes' arrival as the duly appointed missionary ; but there was
material waiting — asking, one may say — to be organised, and, as we have seen, to this
work of organisation William Clowes immediately addressed himself. It was not
virgin, but prepared soil Clowes entered upon ; but he fenced it round, and wrought in
it, and planted and watered it, until, God giving the increase, it became as the garden
of the Lord for fertility. This view fits all the assured facts. It does not detract from
the honour due to William Clowes, who was not second to any man as a breaker-up of
the fallow ground \ while it redounds, not less but rather more, to the credit of Hull
as compelling us to see in them " a people prepared of the Lord." Instruments of such
preparation were the band of earnest women already named, one of whom — Ann Carr
— was invited by the Hull Quarterly Meeting, of 1820, to enter the itinerant ministry.
By their occasional visits to Nottingham these women found refreshment and such
stimulus as enabled them on their return to persevere in their chosen mode of Christian
service. Yet more avowedly and of set purpose was Jane Brown a preparer of the
way of Clowes, by her three or four weeks' unofficial labours in Hull and the neighbour-
ing villages. John Oxtoby, too, in his own way and measure, was another preparatory
worker. We left him in Mrs. Woolhouse's kitchen, and we will now show how he
came to be there as the welcomer of Clowes, and how he got his name of " Praying
Johnny."

Little Givendale, a hamlet near to Pocklington, claims to be the birthplace of John
Oxtoby, though he was brought up at Warter. He was born in 1767, so that he would
be fifty-two years of age when William Clowes came to Hull. Misled, no doubt,
by some self-accusatory references of Oxtoby's, some accounts allege that he led
a boorish and profane life before his conversion. But so far from this having been the
case, he was a good liver, and so regular a church-goer that when, through sickness of
soul rather than of body, he was missed from his accustomed place, the clergyman called
to see what had kept his model parishioner from church. The clergyman pooh-poohed
the idea that nought ailed Oxtoby but his sins, and promised to send a bottle of wine

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

367

that would soon put him right. Then he read the prayers for the visitation of the sick,
and went his way, having done his poor best to " minister to a mind diseased."

Oxtoby found salvation amongst the Methodists, and soon became a " general family
visitor." At Warter, then a benighted place, he at first met with much opposition in
going from house to house. But nowise deterred by this, he went on visiting and
praying wherever he could gain admittance, until in the end he was everywhere
welcomed. Did he but pass a house without calling, the inmates would cry after him,
asking — "What they had done that he did not call and pray with them." Soon the
people at Warter wanted a chapel, and Oxtoby gave the land required for the purpose,
and ten pounds towards the building fund. And yet he was not a man of means, as
commonly understood. He was only an agricultural labourer ; but, being a bachelor

with few wants, and frugal and thrifty
' in his habits, he was able, even out of

his small wages, to accumulate savings,
and, like Hugh Bourne and John Benton,
be master of his own movements.

Some time after his conversion (which
took place about 1804) Oxtoby obtained
the blessing of entire sanctification. Now
his usefulness was redoubled, and his
efforts to do good took a wider range.
But he must always have a colleague,
and so we find him in association now
with Robert Coultas of Acklam, another
" devoted, antique, and capricious man,"
going on religious excursions as a rustic
evangelist; and then, in 1818, taking
part with George Nicholson — a man of
much larger mental calibre — in a great
[|K, ^, di revival in North Lincolnshire, which no

HHm^ ; -^ doubt prepared the way for the success of

Thomas King and his colleagues in the
immediately following years. Still more
imj)ortant is it for us to know that on leaving Lincolnshire, Oxtoby, still in conjunction
with Nicholson, laboured at North and South Cave, Newbald, Elloughton, and other
villages in the neighbourhood of Hull. Oxtoby must have heard of the Primitives
and their doings when in North Lincolnshire, for they were already at work in the
county, and as near as Gainsborough and Scotter ; and in Hull he was evidently
acquainted with Mrs. Woolhouse and her circle, to say nothing of George Nicholson
and his friend Jane Brown. No more is needed to explain his welcome of Clowes, and
the fact that he at once cast in his lot with the new community and became Clowes'
auxiliary, accompanying him on his mission to Swanland, Elloughton, Brantingham,
Ellakar, and North and South Cave, at three of which villages Oxtoby had recently
laboured in conjunction with George Nicholson.

VILLAGE CHURCH AND ELM-TREE UNDER
WHICH OXTOBY HELD MEETINGS.

368 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

But the man 1 We should Hke to " see him in his habit as he lived," and to know
the man as well as the circumstances of his life. Take, then, a pen-and-ink likeness of
Oxtoby, which, though imperfect, is accurate as far as it goes. Picture to yourself
a man a little below the average height, broad-set, features a little sharp, his garb plain
and unpretentious to a degree, brown coat, small-clothes and gaiters, chocolate necker-
chief, and unclerical hat, his hair seeming to belong to one living in a world where the
coiffeur is unknown, and all the arts of perfumery and adornment have still to be
invented. The marks of care and taste in " outward adorning " are to him symptoms of
worldly pride and vanity, to be shunned, spurned, and denounced.

Intellectually, Oxtoby must be acknowledged to have been a man of slender abilities ;
nor were his obvious deficiencies compensated, as they sometimes are, by a pleasing
manner or natural eloquence. Such a man was not likely to make his mark as
a preacher ; nor indeed was he a '' pulpit preacher " when he became acquainted with
Clowes, but only a "conversation preacher"; and though he soon ventured to use his
talents, such as they were, in the pulpit, yet, beginning so late in life, he never shone in
the pulpit — and it would have been almost a miracle if he had shone. Like his friend,
R. Coultas, he contemned carefully prepared sermons, designating them " paper-pellets,"
and he committed himself to a text, trusting to the Divine Spirit to aid him in what he
should say.

Many are the stories preserved by tradition revealing the mingled simplicity and
shrewdness of Oxtoby 's character. On one occasion Mr. Flesher, inclined to a little
innocent banter, asked Oxtoby "why the results of their preaching were so different.''
" Oh," said John, " thou leads the people to the tree of knowledge, and I leads them to
the tree of life." It is scarcely possible to conceive two good men so dissimilar in all
respects as John Flesher and John Oxtoby. One was a Sevres vase ; the other an
earthenware jug ; but in this case our Connexional Chrysostom met with a retort which
was not wanting in appositeness and point. Another story belongs to the time when
Oxtoby and his friend Nicholson were co-workers in Lincolnshire. One day they were
at Kirton Lindsey, and, while sitting in the house of a friend, Nicholson was singing
in a low key, — "Prone to wander. Lord, I feel.it," etc. "You do not sing, Oxtoby !"
said Nicholson. " No ; and I am not going to sing that," replied Oxtoby ; " if I were to
sing that I should tell the Lord a lee (lie) ! I none feel prone to wander, not I. My
heart is fixed." Pascal, in his "Thoughts," tells us that even a philosopher may argue
a little incoherently if a fly be buzzing at his ears. So small a thing as that may disturb
that sovereign understanding which gives laws to cities and kingdoms. It would seem
we have another illustration of the greatness and weakness of man in the case of Oxtoby,
for there were times when the normal action of his faith was disturbed by small
things. On one occasion, at North Cave, he was seeking to lead a person into a state of
salvation when R. Coultas came near and placed his hand on Oxtoby's shoulder. The
person did not find a conscious pardon. In the evening Oxtoby said : " Brother Coultas,
don't put thy hand on my shoulders any more when I am praying with inquirers : that
person would have been saved but for thee."

Yet there must have been something — nay very much — in Oxtoby to account for
what he achieved and the hold he has on the heart and imagination of our people. Our

THE PERIOD OF CIKCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

369

history affords no better illustration of the striking contrast there may be between the
earthen vessel and the treasure it holds. We are jealous lest we should be so
pre-occupied with the oddity of the vessel as to overlook the preciousness and divinity
of its contents. We may dwell as much as we choose on the commonness of the clay,
the plainness and even grotesqueness of the vessel's pattern, if we only go on to the
Psalmist's blessed " nevertheless,""^ and clearly recognise that this saved agricultural
labourer had in a remarkable degree the gifts of faith and prayer. Were there no other

Jl^k.

;^f^|rii^ J -^i ^^11:,,

Jill lir; ^ ,, \ • ■ ■:-" ij

A STREET IN NOETH CAVE.

incident in Oxtoby's life than that which shows him wrestling and prevailing with
God on behalf of Filey, he would stand confessed a spiritual giant — though it may be an
intellectual weakling. We cannot help but smile at Oxtoby sometimes, but Oxtoby
on Muston Hill is no more a subject for cheap pleasantry than Jacob at Peniel, but
rather a sight to be regarded with silent reverence.

The New Testament recognises the truth that Christ has dispensed
a variety of gifts to His Church. One of these is the gift of faith.
Oxtoby's faith gave reality and life to the doctrines which he pro-
claimed. His creed might consist of but few articles, but these
his faith vivified, so that they no longer lay "bedridden in the
dormitory of the soul." He was, too, a man possessed by the prayer-
spirit. The Rev. Samuel Bottomley, one of our early worthies,
a man of sober speech, and who knew him well, says : " He
generally spent six hours each day upon his knees, pleading
earnestly with God on behalf of himself, the Church, and sinners,
>vhose salvation he most earnestly desired."

"John Oxtoby finished his mortal career, January 19th, 1830,

* Ps. Ixxiii. 22-33. — "Nevertheless I am continually with Thee."

S. BOTTOMLEY.

£B

370

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

at Londesborough, in the house of his sister, where twenty-six years before God had
blessed him with a sense of His pardoning mercy." His remains were interred in the
beautiful churchyard of Warter. A memorial headstone, the cost of which was met
by subscription, was placed over his grave, having on it the following lines written by
the late Rev. W. Howcroft : —

" 'Tis not on marble, nor on gilded page.
To print thy worth— thy charity display !
Por chronicles like these may in an age
Be lost, and in oblivion pass away.
Eternity itself will best unfold
The souls led by thee to th' heav'nly fold."

Through the good offices of the Rev.
W. Hay ton, a service was held at the
grave in 1887, and the stone and grave
piously attended to. *

Hull a Leading Circuit.

So swiftly and satisfactorily did the
cause progress in Hull and neighbourhood,
that at the March Quarterly Meeting
Mr. and Mrs. Harrison were appointed
to labour on the mission as Clowes'
colleagues. At the June Quarterly Meeting
Hull was made into a separate circuit,
as the plan appearing on the opposite
page will show.
Old plans are not history, but they throw considerable light on history : they are
documents pour servir. Given a modicum of knowledge to start with, there is a good
deal to be learned from the study of an old plan like this first one of the Hull Circuit.
For example, we already know something of the Woolhouses, and so we notice that no
less than three members of this family have their place on this first plan. Mrs. Hannah
Woolhouse's name stands, appropriately enough, immediately after that of Sarah
Harrison, whom we knew as Sarah Kirkland. Hannah Woolhouse, therefore, takes rank
as the first local preacher. But Richard Woolhouse, her husband, who seems to have
been more anxious that his wife should preach than that he should preach himself, has
been induced to try his modest gifts, and his name is first of those who are local
preachers on trial. John Woolhouse has his place next after his mother, but in 1821
we miss his name; the fact being that in that year he commenced his labours as
a travelling preacher, and is on the stations for Grimsby. His itinerant course was only
a short one, but while it lasted it seems to have been marked by considerable energy
and success. We have already seen him preaching by the light of a lantern at Howden,

OXTOBT S GRAVE.

* See " Life of Oxtoby," by Eev. G. Shaw.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

371

and in November, 1820, we find him at Knottingley along with Sister Armstrong.
Says he in his Journal : " Having spoken a little on what the damned souls would have
to endure in hell, I sat down for two or three minutes for them to consider whether

they would go to heaven or hell." From this brief record we may gather that John
Woolhouse was a man very much in earnest, and no stickler for stereotyped methods of
conducting religious services. Obviously there is a limit to what the study of old plans

BB 2

372 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

— as a kind of fossilised history — can teach us ; and so we often rise from our study of
them feeling that we would like to know more. They pique our curiosity only to
tantalise us. We would, for example, like to know more about the Woolhouse family,
and how it fared with them in the after years. Hitherto, research in this direction has
been baffled ; but it is just possible that another old plan furnishes a useful clue. On
the Leicester Circuit Plan, for 1827-8, we find, side by side, the names of E. and H.
Woolhouse ; and we cannot but conclude that the earliest befrienders of Primitive
Methodism in Hull had removed to Leicester, with which town we know Kichard
Woolhouse had business connections ; and from the position of the names on the plan
— Nos. 23 and 24 in a list of 55 names — we infer that the removal must have taken
place some considerable time before 1827. There was yet another member of the
Woolhouse family who made herself useful in the early days. Mrs. Woolhouse, junr.,
was a class-leader, and is said to have conducted a class for children at her own residence.
The class was held on Thursday afternoons, at three o'clock, that being the hour when
children were loosed from school.

On the plan are the names of other embryo travelling preachers besides John
Woolhouse and John Oxtoby, such as Samuel Laister and John Hewson. Laister was
a native of historic Ep worth, though at this time at Market Weighton. " He was fully
in the doctrine of a present salvation, and had a great love for the souls of men." At
the September Quarterly Meeting, 1820, he w^as stationed to Leeds with Thomas Nelson
for his colleague ; and at December, Malton becoming a branch of Hull circuit, he was
appointed to labour there. Then we meet with him labouring at Darlington, which in
its turn had also been made into a branch, and here his all too-brief course terminated.
Our plan contains the notification that the Quarterly meeting would be held on
September 13th. Now the "preachers' meeting" of that board brought two of its
members under discipline. One of these was John Oxtoby, upon whom, as yet, the
preaching harness sat uneasily. So the following resolution was recorded: — "That
John Oxtoby be reproved by R. Woolhouse for neglecting his appointments, and that
he have only one or two on the next plan." W. Rickateson also was "to be spoken to
by W. Clowes for long preaching and praying, and for talking about philosophy and
astronomy, etc." Imagination may range at will over this et cetera. All the ologies
may be wrapped up in it. It was not Bro. Rickateson, but another Yorkshire local,
who fell under the same condemnation of introducing astronomy into his discourse.
After he had expatiated at some length on stars and sj^stems, an old steward called
out : — " Let them alone. They'll go reet ; and thee come down and talk to us a bit."

Turning from the preachers to the places on the plan that were within the borough,
we notice that Mill Street stands first, having already superseded the Old Factory in
North Street. But we note, further, that no provision is made for services in Mill
Street until September 19th. The fact is, the growing requirements of the new-born
society and congregation rendered a more commodious building indispensable ; so that
in three months from the time W. Clowes entered Hull, the society was in the
throes of chapel-building, and in September, Mill Street Chapel was opened.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

373

Mill Street Chapel.
A piece of ground at the end of Mill Street, on which some old buildings were
standing, was purchased of Mr. Edward Taylor, Waterhouse Lane, rag-merchant, for
the sum of .£345. Eleven pounds more were spent in clearing the ground for building.
The foundation-stone was laid on Eriday, the 12th April, and of course W. Clowes and
his colleagues took part in the services ; but it was Ann Carr who laid the chief stone,
and who seems to have given the principal address. Some who were present remember
the excitement produced in the neighbourhood by the fact of a woman's preaching in
the open-air, and they tell of the impression her powerful voice, commanding manner,
and her individualising mode of address made on the audience.* The ch^apel was in

MILL STEEET CHAPEL.

an unfinished state when opened, as the pews lacked doors, and the building
throughout was unpainted ; and even when all was done that had to be done, and the
last finishing-touches had been given, there was a studied absence of the attractive and
even the convenient, about the building. Architecturally, our fathers did not aim very
high. They set before them no lofty ideal of what a place of worship should be.
The one problem they cared to solve was this : how to enclose so many cubic feet of
space with weather-tight walls and roof, so that sitting (not lounging) room might be
found for a given number of men and women to hear the everlasting gospel. No

* See " Eeminiscences of the Early Days of Primitive Methodism in Hull," by Jane Garbutt.

374 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

fewer than three sermons were preached on the opening day, which was Friday,
September 10th. The preachers were Thomas King, of Grimsby, W. Braithwaite,
of Scotter, and John Dent ; Messrs. King, Dent and Sarah Harrison occupied the pulpit
on the following Sunday ; while " sisters Carr and Healand each gave an exhortation."
John Harrison remarks of the chapel-opening : " Through all the services we had
humbling and weeping times." Now, it is said, a great revival broke out. Some of
the outcasts of society became reformed characters, and so great was the alarm felt by
some persons about the sinful lives they had led, that it was no unusual thing to continue
the Sabbath evening meeting until midnight. These were " protracted services " indeed !
As the result of this revival a large increase of members was reported at the Quarter-
day following the opening.

The total cost of the Mill Street undertaking is given as £1,604 18s. 9d. To us this
sum may seem to represent an outlay by no means extraordinary ; but we must recollect
that eighty years ago the purchasing power of money was greater than it is to-day ; and
further, that amongst those by whom the work was projected and carried out, there was
only here and there one who had any other source of income than the returns of his
own labour week by week. Amongst the items of expenditure in connection with the
building of the mother-chapel, we find four shillings put down for the hire of four
constables for the night. The item is significant. It suggests that those who came
together to the new chapel opening, were not all models of order and propriety, and it
gives incidental confirmation of the realistic pictures W. Clowes occasionally draws of
the difficulties under which public worship was conducted at the beginning by him and
his colleagues — difficulties arising from the rowdiness of some of the populace. Here
is one picture which may serve as a sample of the rest : —

"On Sunday, 24th February, I preached morning, afternoon, and evening, in Hull.
We had a gracious visit from on high ; but the wicked lifted up their hands against
us, and were very violent and fierce in their conduct, and excited the people to
such a degree, that they imagined the place was about to fall upon us. Alarm and
consternation overwhelmed the multitude in such a manner that they attempted
to make their escape from the place. The scene presented an indescribable picture
at this crisis, — some crying for help, others forcing their way to the door, whilst
some threw up the windows and jumped out ; but, as the building was but one
story high, there were none seriously injured. At the evening service we got the
police to guard the door, to keep out the most furious of the rabble ; and when we
commenced our meeting, they shouted and bellowed on the outside, and threw up
stones and broke the windows. The battle then became very hot, both inside and
outside ; however, 'the battle was turned to the gate'; for many of the jack-tars
who had persecuted us and fired whole broadsides into us, struck their colours, and
came aboard of the ' Ranters' ' ship, to sail with us along to the port of glory. It
became a necessary course likewise (to protect the great number of anxious
inquirers after salvation from the violence of the mob) to apply to the mayor ;
by his exertions in our favour, three of the sons of Belial were imprisoned." —
Journal, pp. 149-150.
After such a description it would be a bold thing to assert that our fathers met with
no persecution at the beginning of their labours in Hull. All that can be affirmed is that,
as distinct from occasional mischievous outbreaks, there was no systematic or official

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

375

persecution. What Thomas Binney says of the Thessalonica of Paul's time, was true
of the Hull of Clowes' time : " Thessalonica was a sea-port, and these ' lewd fellows
of the baser sort' were of the set you always see loafing about docks, quays, and
wharves, — a kind of ' long-shore men,' who can always be hired for a pot of beer and
a shilling."* Kemembering this, and also the educational advance of the people since
1819, and the remarkable softening of manners that has followed, one cannot but wonder
that our fathers did not encounter even greater opposition in Hull than they did encounter.

Their comparative immunity from perse-
cution must in part be put down to the
credit of the town. Hull, on the whole,
was true to itself ; and if there were any
exceptions, the magistrates, acting in
consonance with the noble traditions of
their borough, did not " bear the sword
in vain," but took care that the pioneers
of our Church should not be at the
mercy of any low-bred, drunken fellow,
who thought the " Ranters," as they
were vulgarly called, were fair game
for insult and annoyance.

There were two or three small houses
in Chapel Court contiguous to Mill
Street Chapel, belonging to the trustees,
which at one time were occupied by our
ministers. They were the temporary
and humble residence of many men of
ministerial power and influence. William
Sanderson was the last of his brethren
to live in Chapel Court, but such men
as Suddards and Hewson, Verity and
Hutchinson, had preceded him as
ministerial occupants of the trustees'
property. Here, too, William Clowes
had lived prior to his removal to Spencer
Street. Subsequently, however, they
were let to other people, and, in 1835,
we find one Luke Green became a
tenant at a rent of <£4 5s. per annum.

CLOWES HOUSE, HULL

Crreen was killed by a steam-packet explosion at the South Pier, June 9th, 1837.
By this untoward event several persons were hurried into eternity with awful
suddenness. Mr. Green had removed from Hull a little time before, and had been over to
Hull to attend the camp meeting on the previous day. Fearing he was late he ran to get

* " St. Paul : His Life and Ministry/' p. 222.

376

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

on board, and in a moment or two the explosion occurred by which he was killed on the
spot. From his Journal we learn that W, Clowes had fully intended being on
board the Gainsboro' packet that very morning. Mrs. Clowes had arranged to go by it, and
he intended seeing her off; but he had lingered so long at his devotions the night before,

that he overslept himself, and was thus unable to be at the
pier in proper time to catch the packet. Possibly his drowsi-
ness saved his life. Jacob Dawson, another of our ministers,
was on board when the catastrophe occurred, but escaped with
a slight wound on his arm and the loss of his hat.

Mill Street was not the first chapel built north of the
Humber ; that distinction belongs to North Cave — also found
on this same plan — whose chapel was opened by John Harrison
and his wife and John Woolhouse, on July 26th, 1819. Yet,
though Mill Street just missed this distinction, and cannot claim
to be the oldest Connexional chapel still in actual use, there
is no existing chapel of equal size and importance still

JACOB DAWSON.

THE FIRST CHAPEL, NOETH CAVE.

occupied; and as the prolific mother of chapels, and in the richness of its historic
associations, it admits of no rival. It is such considerations as these that justify
the recording of details which, in the case of a modern structure, would be felt to be
out of keeping with the purpose of this history.

The fact that Mill Street Chapel came to be known about 1849 as West Street has,
no doubt, tended to obscure the identity of the one building. The account of the
structural alterations and improvements which gave the original sanctuary an approach
from another and a better street, belongs to the next period, in which Hull became as

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 377

famous for its enterprise in chapel building, as it was in this first period famous for its
missionary achievements.

Some Hull Workers and Their Work.

We have described the acquisition of Hull's workshop ; a few words must now be
devoted to some of its workers and the work they did. One would naturally expect to
find some of the earliest and best available workers amongst the twenty persons who
composed the original trust of West Street. We find such to be the case, but,
unfortunately, here as elsewhere, some who seem to have been both locally and
Connexionally prominent in the years immediately following 1819, afterwards disappear.
In the absence of information we can only put — "missing" to their names, and wonder
whether death removed them from their posts, or whether they went out from us in
some time of trial and sifting, such as we know was experienced in other parts, and was
responsible for so many disappearances.

Of the thirteen laymen who were trustees of West Street, E. Taylor, Kichard
Jackson, G. Gill, and M. Scafe figure on the first Connexional Committees. What
this means, as a gauge oi Connexional influence, had better be explained here once for
all. In 1822 a General Committee, with one of its two branches located in Hull and
the other in Tunstall, was established. To the Hull branch was also assigned the duty
of administering the Contingent Fund established the same year. The Contingent
Fund, it may be said, was the precursor of what we know familiarly as the S.W.P. and 0.
Fund. This arrangement continued until 1825, when the Hull branch of the General
Committee was abolished, though it was still allowed to manage the Contingent Fund.
This same year, 1825, too, saw the establishment of a General Missionary Committee
at Tunstall, with Auxiliary Committees at ]S"ottingham, Hull, and Sunderland. In
1831 the Contingent Fund became "The Circuits Assistant Sick Preachers' Fund,"
which name of portentous length was shortened into "C.A.S. tr. prs. Fund," and the
executive of this fund was fixed at Tunstall ; so that, with the unimportant exception of
a branch Publishing Committee allowed to Hull, all the Committees as well as the Book-
room were located at Tunstall, which was thus the official centre of the Connexion
until 1843; Hull and the other districts having to be content with their own District
Committees.

For a short space Edward Taylor appears to have been one of the most conspicuous
figures in Hull Primitive Methodism. From him the land on which Mill Street Chapel
stood was bought, and he gave a donation of ten pounds towards its building fund.
His name is found on the first plan next to that of Hannah Woolhouse. We should
take him to have been a man of some worldly substance, plain in his dress, serious and even
severe of aspect, and rigid in his views as to the proprieties demanded of Christian
people; for it was he who was entrusted with the delicate duty of admonishing JohnOxtoby,
and he was set as a watchman by the September Quarterly Meeting of 1820 to prevent,
if possible, the intrusion of worldly fashions into the singers' pew of Mill Street. The
resolution authorising his appointment is too good to be consigned to oblivion, and ran
as follows : — " E. Taylor to take care of the singers' pew, and let none in except those
who appear in plain dress ; men in plain coats and no pantaloons ; women, no frills, no

378 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

bunches of ribbons, and no superfluities whatever. All the preachers and leaders are
requested to get a plain dress as soon as possible, that they may insist upon plainness
in all the society." Edward Taylor's Connexional standing is witnessed to by his being
one of the earliest members of the Hull branch of the General Managing Committee,
and still more by his sharing the honour with William Woolhouse and R. Woolhouse of
being a representative of Hull Circuit at the Preparatory Meeting at Nottingham,
August, 1819, and at the first Conference of 1820 held in Hull.

Even at the risk of keeping some Hull worthies waiting, this would seem to be the
time to refer to the doings of the Nottingham Preparatory Meeting. The reference
need not detain us long, as all those amongst the fifteen representatives of the four
circuits to that meeting, of whom information is available, have already been mentioned,
and as far as possible described. All that need now be done is to give a complete list of
the representatives, and to add a few remarks on the historical importance of the
meeting.

The following is the list of delegates sent from the four Circuits to the Preparatory
Meeting : —

1. TuNSTALL Circuit. 3. Loughborough.

Hugh Bourne. Joseph Skevington.

James Bourne. George Hanford.

William North.

2. Nottingham. William Goodrich.
Thomas King.

Thomas Simmons. " 4. Hull.

W. Guy. William Clowes.

Samuel Bailey. Richard Woolhouse.

James Rudd. Richard Jackson.
D. Musson Jackson.

The meeting, which commenced on August 10th, "and continued by adjournment till
the Saturday evening following," was much more than a Preparatory Meeting. It was
also, as Mr. Petty remarks, "a legislative assembly, and that to an extraordinary
extent." It laid down the basal principles of our Church polity, in harmony with
which the evolution of the denomination has ever since proceeded ; so that this
Nottingham meeting might with strict propriety be regarded as our first and most
important Conference, had not usage decided that it be known as the Preparatory
Meeting. Only in one or two respects has limitation been imposed on what was then
enacted, as, for instance, in the composition of the Quarterly Meeting, which was made
'' the seat of authority, the source whence all power was drawn," as it still remains. The
Quarterly Board had to be composed of " travelling and local preachers, leaders,
stewards, and delegates, and such other pey^sons as the several General Quarterly Meetings
shall think proper" The Circuit Stewards were to be three in number, and the
principal steward was to be the custodian of the books and property of the circuit.
The appointment, and not merely the nomination, of the Society Steward was with the
Leaders' Meeting. The printed proceedings of the Preparatory Meeting are in the form
of question and answer, and the last question asked is: "(43 Q.) Shall a person be

THE PEEIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 379

appointed to attend to the general concerns of the Connexion ? " To which the brief
answer is " Yes." ISTow this affirmative answer might be so construed as to favour the
creation of the office of a General Superintendent of the Connexion, such as Hugh Bourne
had been from December 1814 to 1818; or the appointment of Chairmen of Districts or
Presiding Elders. But even these advances in the direction of episcopal government
were declined in favour of the more Presbyterian form of the appointment of " managing
committees " of various kinds, with their " corresponding members " or secretaries.
Instead of concentrating authority in the hands of one man, or few men, Primitive
Methodism has preferred to take the more democratic line of distributing authority
amongst committees freely elected.

It was at the Preparatory Meeting that the question of delegation to the first Annual
Meeting had to be considered and decided ; and it was decided in the way we all know.
Three delegates were to be sent from each circuit in the proportion of two laymen to
one travelling preacher. This arrangement was arrived at only after considerable
discussion. If any credence is to be given to floating traditions, we must conclude that
what was finally agreed upon was largely due to the suggestion of James Rudd, one of
the Nottingham delegates, who gave as his reason for urging the two-to-one arrangement,
that in another community where the representation was one and one, there had been
some dissension which had not been easily allayed ; that, in fact, despite the flattering
picture of the working of equal representation found in the early cartoon given on the
other page, the minister and the layman did not invariably walk together arm in arm.
On the other hand, it was objected that, if one in every three delegates was to be a travell-
ing preacher, that arrangement would give the travelling preachers a larger numerical
representation in the highest court of the Connexion than they enjoyed in the lower courts.
But the suggestion of James Pudd (if indeed it were his, and not George Hanford's
or William Goodrich's, as some hold) took with the meeting, and was, we are told,
acceptable to Hugh Bourne. When we remember that only two out of the fifteen
delegates to the Preparatory Meeting were travelling preachers, we can only express
surprise that so large a proportion of representation was conceded to the ministerial
element. The delegates to that Nottingham meeting of 1819 were broad-minded and
far-seeing men, and though they did not profess to claim any Scriptural sanction or
divine inspiration for the working arrangement they hit upon, yet the history of our
Church shows that the arrangement has worked well.

The Richard Jackson who went from Hull to the Preparatory Meeting was, until
1828, Connexionally very much to the fore. He came, he tells us, as a volunteer from
the Wesley ans, in May, 1819. He was the principal Steward of Hull Circuit for some
years, and as such from time to time sent to the Magazine short but enthusiastic letters
— veritable war-bulletins — recounting the progress made by the circuit. He was the
corresponding member of the Hull Branch of the General Managing Committee while
it lasted, and then treasurer of the Contingent Fund until we miss his name from the
records.

Thomas Newsam and Thomas Lascelles, among the laymen who were trustees of
Mill Street, survived the longest, and died in communion with our Church. The latter,

380

PEIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

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THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

381

SAMUEL BEECROFT.

CHARLES BEECROFT.

especially, long played a useful part. He filled the offices of local preacher and class-
leader. He plied the trade of a shoemaker, and his house in Bond Street was long
a home for the single preachers. Many a minister, afterwards to grow grey and infirm
in the ranks, would to the end cherish grateful recollections of the hospitable and qniet
abode of Thomas Lascelles.

" The sweet remembrance of the just
Shall flourish when they sleep in dust."

Mrs. Beecroft is referred to by W. Clowes in his Journal as one of his early converts
at the Old Factory, and in the sermon
preached by him on the occasion of her
death, he speaks of her fourteen years'
unbroken connection with our Church ; her
liberality in supporting the cause of God,
the sick, and the poor ; her custom of
devoting half-an-hour twice each week in
praying and singing with her servants and
work-people. Her house was a " Pilgrim's
inn" where Clowes and Oxtoby, and the
early preachers constantly resorted for comfort
and refreshment. The name and family
traditions were worthily continued for many years by her son, Samuel, and her
nephew, Charles Beecroft.

WilHam and Jane Holliday's tombstone stands hard by that of William Clowes' in the
" Primitive-corner " of Hull general Cemetery. For some years they gave themselves
to missionary work, labouring separately, though in contiguous circuits, chiefly in the
Dales of Northern England. In 1828 they settled in Hull, and both became local
preachers and class-leaders. Mrs. Holliday was a noted visitor of the sick and
neglected; and during the visitation of the cholera in 1832, she fearlessly and
unsparingly, by night and by day, tended those who were stricken by this fell disease.
She died in 1838, while her husband survived until 1863.

What Hull Primitive Methodism owes to the various members of the Hodge family it
would be difficult to tabulate, though a better idea of the extent of this indebtedness will
be gained when we reach the chapel-building era. The family came from Kilnsea near
Spurn Point, in Holderness, a district which has suff'ered, and is still suffering, severely
from the inroads of the sea. W. Clowes went on a mission into Holderness — then a most
benighted part of the country — in 1820. ''At Kilnsea," he says, "I preached in the
house of Mr. W. Hodge, who had a large family of children, of whom many were
converted; and some became preachers of the Word. Here I was kindly entertained.'^
He visited one of the lighthouses on the Point, and as he returned by the shore, washed
by the German Ocean, " I saw," says he, ' ' that the ocean had gained upon the land ; the
sea was breaking against a churchyard, and the bones and coffins of the dead were
visible. What an awful sight ! What hath sin done ! " As Clowes passed along that
day he would see Kilnsea Church standing on the edge of the cliff, unroofed and the

382

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

haunt of sea-fowl. Soon the walls and tower, which pious hands had reared centuries
before, fell into the engulfing sea.

Of William Hodge's four sons, John, Samuel, William, and Henry, the first two on
their removal to Hull became actively associated with our cause in another part of the
town. Mrs. Jane Garbutt, a very competent authority, thus tells the story in
her interesting little book of " Keminiscences of the Early Days of Primitive
Methodism " : —

"Previous to the erection of Mill Street Chapel, and in addition to the Old
Factory, the disused Penitentiary in Church Street, Wincolmlee, was rented ; this
was continued by services at six o'clock, and it was still a great medium for the
conversion of sinners, and by means of the classes and other meetings, strengthened
the faith of believers. When it was no longer available for our purpose, the
meetings were held at a house tenanted by Mrs. Harper on the opposite side of
Church Street, a little further down. About this time Mr. John Hodge came to
reside in a commodious house in Church Street, which was offered for our use and

gratefully accepted. Many,
many times has the converting
glory been felt, and the power
of the Holy One has rested on
the ark. A small chapel was
built, either on the site of, or
near, the above-named house.
This was afterwards enlarged,
or rebuilt, with class and
school-rooms and other con-
veniences, in 1846. This was
the second chapel and second
society which Was raised up —
a band of men and women
whose hearts the Lord had
touched, and who ardently
worked for Him. This

society was afterwards re-
moved to Lincoln Street, the
present chapel, named after its benefactor, "The Samuel Hodge Memorial
Chapel." This gentleman (as also his son the lamented Alderman George
Hodge) has since entered into his rest, beloved and esteemed by all those who
knew him. He laboured in our midst as a class-leader and local preacher, and
sustained with commendable efficiency the various offices of the Church."
When the Hodge family resided at Kilnsea, gainsayers who witnessed their hospitality
to the servants of Christ, were used scoffingly to predict that the " bacon-preachers would
soon eat them up." But God's blessing was on the industry and thrift and integrity of the
sons of the household, and they prospered in the world, sufficiently, one thinks, to shut

KILNSEA CHURCH, HOLDEENESS.*

* The view of Kilnsea Church in its dismantled state, here given, is from a sketch taken in 1826,
by Mr. W. Little, of Patrington, afterwards reproduced in Poulson's " History and Antiquities of
Holderness."

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

383

the mouths of all gainsayers ; but the higher they rose in the social scale and the more
affluent their circumstances became, the more did the Church of their choice benefit by
their social and temporal advancement. From the earliest times, the policy of "scattering
their fire " was pursued by our fathers in Hull. Prayer meetings, well supported by
organised praying bands, were held in various parts of the town ; tract distributing
bands were hard at work; a sick visiting association, formed in 1830, by three young
men, Samuel Hays, William Bentley, and John Parrott, afterwards of Leeds, at one time
had 330 members in its ranks ; open-air services were statedly held in the most neglected
and degraded parts of the town, and in these mission services William Hodge, Jun.,
who twice came to occupy the position of chief magistrate of the borough, took an

TOWN HALL, HULL.

active part when a young man. Leadenhall Square was one of the districts thus
missioned, and with good reason it was regarded as one of the most disreputable quarters
of the town. This squalid rookery was cleared away for the purpose of erecting the
present Town Hall. While mayor of the borough, it fell to Mr. Hodge's lot to open
this fine building, which covered the site of his own early missionary labours, and in
which the Conference of 1902 was to be the recipient of such gracious hospitality.

384

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

JOHN SISSONS.

Henry Hodge's name is familiar as ''household words" in the mouths of our people, but
fuller reference to what he did for Hull Primitive Methodism, and the Connexion
generally, will more appropriately be made when we come to speak of Hull chapel
extension, and the educational and missionary movements of the next period.

His friend and relative by marriage, John Sissons, was another
village contribution to Hull Primitive Methodism. North Cave
was his home, where his parents were early adherents of the cause,
and where he was converted during his apprenticeship. About
1832, he came to seek his fortune in the big town, and by dint
of hard work and strict integrity, he became a leading, and at
last, the oldest established tradesman in the old Market Place.
Beyond serving as a guardian of the poor, he did not take an
active part in public life, but gave all his available time to his
Church. He identified himself with Mill Street, and retained
his connection with it until his death, in 1882. He was Circuit
Steward during those early years when the Quarterly Meeting lasted four or five days,
and was of the dimensions of a District Meeting. His house was the home and
gathering-place of the ministers. He was the close friend of John
Flesher and William Clowes, and the latter was accustomed for
many years to spend every Thursday with him in social inter-
course and prayer. Por several years he served as Connexional
auditor, and very frequently represented his district in Conference.
He was a man of intelligence, and, within a limited range, a
considerable reader. He read and re-read Young, and Pollock,
and Milton until his own vocabulary became greatly enriched.
John Sissons was in many respects original — some would say
eccentric — in his ways. He had a rich vein of kindly humour,
and, both from principle and natural bent, was cheerful and william gray.
disposed to look on the brighter side of things. Never would he admit that a service
had been to him wholly barren ; if the sermon had been poor, the hymns had
made up for it all, or the preacher had got near to God in
prayer, or the Scripture lesson had come home to him with
unusual sweetness and force. One of his characteristic
sayings was that he had three reasons for always being found in
his pew on week days as well as Sundays. The first was, that he
went to the house of God for his own profiting ; the second, that
he went to encourage his minister ; and, finally, that he went to
set a good example. He was a firm believer in systematic and
proportionate giving, and had what he called "the Lord's bag."
The worthy poor experienced his bounty, and when he died,
which was a few hours after his return from the week-night service
at West Street, his weekly pensioners had good reason to lament his loss.

Since William Gray began his business life as the apprentice of John Sissons, and
was his trusted assistant, until he commenced business for himself, somewhat late

CHARLES BOWMAN.

THE PERIOD OF CIKCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

385

in life, their names may well be linked together. For some years he was an
instrumentalist in the singers' pew of the mother-chapel, and afterwards a leader and
official of Spring Bank. He was intelligent, considerate of the feelings of others —
a gentleman by nature and grace. All who knew William
Gray will readily acknowledge that he gave dignity and character
to the official life of the Church he adorned.

A man in many respects of a very different type was Charles
Bowman. He was unmistakably eccentric, narrow in many of his
views, blunt, the sworn foe not only of tobacco, but of the
moustache, of musical instruments employed in the service of the
sanctuary, and of everything else which seemed to him to approach
to conformity to the fashions of the world. But he had many
estimable qualities, and it was by virtue of these, and not of his
MRS. J. CHAMBERS ecccntricitics, that he won the regard of his brethren, and was
appointed a permanent member of Conference. He was punctual, untiring in labours,
intensely loyal, and capable of strong attachments, as was evidenced by his profound
reverence and affection for William Clowes. Nor was he without
a grim humour of his own, which made some of his sayings live
in the memories of men. When, in order to keep moving with
the times, it was proposed to bring a harmonium into West Street
chapel, Charles was asked for a subscription. He complied with
the request of the daring collector, and when twitted with his
inconsistency gave as his answer : " Well ; if we are to have the
Devil in the singers' pew, we may as well have him in one piece
as in many."

Brief mention only can be made of other of the early worthies —
of J. Brown of "The Retreat," and John Wallis ; of John
Chambers, originally of Yarmouth, and his wife ; of Mrs. Temperton, who became the
second Mrs. Clowes, and her daughter Charlotte, who was married to John Davison,
the biographer of Clowes ; of the families of the Beckworths,
the Blakestones, the Normans, the Medds, the Southerns, the
Wilsons, the Halls of Sutton, the Charlesworths ; of Clara Chaffer,
who became the wife of Jeremiah Dods worth. Other names of
early workers and supporters of the varied interests of the
Church might be given, and others belonging to a later period
will come before us ; but these will suffice as a sample, and be
enough to indicate that Hull's vigorous church-life and far-reaching
influence were not only due to its succession of able and devoted
ministers, and to the presence in its midst, for so many years,
of the holy Clowes, but were also largely due to a remarkable
band of active Christian workers and capable officials.

In 1825, the society in Mill Street, Hull, being now large and adapted to various
kinds of Christian labour, the friends determined to try to organise a Sunday school.
But at the very threshold of their undertaking they were faced by the question, " W^here

J. CHAMBERS.

W. BLAKESTONE.

386 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

is the school to be taught ? " For a time they were brought to a stand, as no place
suited to their purpose formed any part of the trust premises. But Mr. W. Kodgers
thought he knew of a room in every way adapted to their requirements, and the matter
was put into his hands. He hired the schoolroom of Mr. Ledell, in Roper Street.
Then an appeal was made from the. pulpit for voluntary labour, for subscriptions, and
for books, and in fourteen days from the tirst meeting which was called to consider the
subject, the school was opened with seventy-six scholars. Among the first scholars
M^ere three of Mr. Ledell's children, one of whom was to be one of the heroes of the
" Birkenhead," while George became an official of the church, of a very useful and
meritorious type. Among the first officers of the Sunday School we may name
Messrs. Rodgers, Gill, Newsam, Dry, Locking, Bowman, W. Hodge, and E,. Fisher.
The last laboured long and conscientiously in the school, and passed away in peace from
his toil and sorrow in 1873. Though it was a good step from West Street to Roper
Street, the schoolroom there soon became filled every Sunday. Five years later, the
topmost story of a building in Chapel Street lyas taken. As there was a passage from
Chapel Street to West Street, the room was very conveniently situated, and it, like the
one before it, soon became strait enough. There was at one time a branch Sunday
school in the old town. In 1833, the trustees of the old chapel resolved to build
schoolrooms adjoining the chapel, and to alter the chapel itself. They were encouraged
to take this step, in part, from the fact that the debt had been considerably reduced, as
well as from a desire to meet a felt want. The new schools were opened in the spring
of 1834, and the speedy multiplication of both teachers and scholars showed that the
trustees had not missed the mark they aimed at.

Mill Street Society prospered so greatly, that at length it was deemed desirable to
provide additional accommodation, and, if possible, to provide it in such a locality as
would suit the convenience of those members and adherents who lived on the
Holderness Road, Drypool, the Groves, and other more distant parts of the town.
Hence, in 1841, Mason Street Chapel, built in 1822 for the use of a Calvinistic
congregation, was acquired as a "relief chapel." This made the third chapel possessed
by the denomination in Hull. In January, 1839. a town-mission was established, one
minister being set apart to this work, and the results of the appointment were gratifying.
Subsequently, schools were built behind the Mason Street property, and the growing
interest here led afterwards, as we shall see, to the building of Clowes' Chapel in
Jarratt Street.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 387

CHAPTER VII.

HOME BRANCH OF HULL,

And its First Three Circuits.

|N June, 1820, Hull fell into line with the other Circuits, and divided its
inconveniently wide missions into branches. This was done by a committee
consisting of W. Clowes, J. Verity, S. Laister, and R. Woolhouse. Its
territory was carved into seven branches, of which Hull itself, with its four
preachers, was called the Home Branch ; the labours of fourteen other preachers were
•apportioned amongst the remaining six branches as follows : Pocklington, three ;
Brotherton, two ; Ripon, three ; York, three ; Leeds, two ; Malton, two. At present
we have only to do with the Home Branch, and Pocklington, Brotherton, and Hutton
Rudby, which were the first circuits made from Hull, and along with it constituting
the first Hull District of 182 L

Even after this arrangement was made, the Home Branch covered a wide stretch of
country, including that part of North Lincolnshire represented by the present Barton
'Circuit, the district of Holderness in its widest sense, as including Beverley, and the
fringe at least of the Wolds. At the Conference of 1820, held in Hull, three great
■camp meetings were held on Conference Sunday, instead of one, as is the custom at
present. One of these was held across the Humber, at Barrow, and served as
a rallying centre for Barton, Goxhill, Ferriby, and other villages which had already
received the evangel through the agency of our missionaries. This district became
a stronghold of Primitive Methodism, and long retained a close connection with Hull ;
Barton not becoming an independent station until 1852.

Holderness.
Another of the three Conference camp meetings was held at Keyingham, in
Holderness. This last name, strictly speaking, designates that triangular tract of
<!Ountry which has its apex some few miles to the south of Flamborough, and its base
stretching from Spurn to the mouth of the Hull. The word " Holderness " epitomises
-the physical geography and earliest history of this district: it is the "Promontory of
Hollow Deira." Many of its villages have their names ending in "ea," as Kilnsea,
Hornsea, etc., which tells us that, formerly, the places so named must have stood on
sites largely surrounded by water. Lakes such as Hornsea Mere — the only one of the
kind remaining — would fill up the numerous depressions in what was itself a "hollow"
— a saucer-like depression : hence its name. It was, indeed, an out-of-the-way corner,
-and, in much earlier days, its inhabitants must have been largely shut out from the
larger world, living, as they did, hemmed in between the ocean, the Humber, and the
vast Wold Forests beyond the river Hull. All this remoteness and isolation are things
of the past; but even as late as 1819, a gifted retired Wesleyan minister, who had
■a good house and property in Holderness, proposed that he became a third and unsalaried

cc 2

388

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

minister in order that he might labour in "this dark benighted part." The Rev. Thomas
Galland's words as applied to Holderness were at that time quite correct. It stood very
much in need of Methodism, as he knew, and probably there are few parts of the
country which, more than Holderness, have been dependent on the ministrations of
Methodism. The other branches of Evangelical Nonconformity seem to have left this
corner of the land to the Wesleyan Methodists and ourselves ; and it is but the sober
truth to affirm that our Church, as represented by Tadcaster, Hornsea, and partly by
Hull Circuits, has not played the secondary part in the evangelisation of Holderness-.
John Harrison was the pioneer missionary of Holderness; for as early as April 17th,
1819, he records in his Journal: — "I left Hull, and went into the country, and

KEYINGHAM.

continued for one week. There were many awakened to a sense of their duty
towards God, and several united with us. God has opened our way in a wonderful
manner in this part of Yorkshire [Holderness] ; four barns have been emptied by
their ])roprietors, on purpose for us to preach in them."

So the holding of the Keyingham cam^) meeting was a piece of wise strategy. It
served as a rally for the newly-formed societies, and a further means of spreading
the Gospel through the district. That village subsequently became the head of
a Branch of Hull, and so continued until, in 1841, Patrington, as being more central,
took its place.

As illustrative of the change for the better in the manners and morals of the district,
brought about through the agency of W. Clowes and his co-'workers, the story must be

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

889

KEDON-IN-HOLDERNESS.

told again of the camp meeting held at Preston on Maudlin Sunday and what came of
it. From time immemorial it had been the custom for a football-match to be played on
.St. Magdalene or "Maudlin" Sunday between the villages of Hedon and Preston.
The two villages stood for the respective goals, and the object of each village-team was
to kick the ball through the windows of the first public-house they came to that had not
its windows guarded by shutters. The ball was urged hither and thither, amid the

PRESTON-IN-HOLDERNESS.

390

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

partizan cries of the onlookers of both sexes, and the oaths and shouts of the contestants^
many of whom were bruised and maimed in the struggle, from the fact that some of the
players had their boots tipped with hard leather or steel in order to make their kicks
more telling. Blood flowed freely, and so did strong drink. The whole countryside
was stirred, and vocal with the rival cries of, "Now Preston!" "Now Hedon ! " Preston
Church has been known to empty as the ball drew near, and the parson, after hurrying
through the service, would " stand treat " to the victors. True to their principle of
meeting vice on its own chosen ground, the Hull friends determined to hold a camp
meeting on Knowl Hill on Maudlin Sunday (August), 1820. Preston had been visited
for the first time but a short while before by preachers who were returning from a camp
meeting at Keyingham, and who preached from the cart in which they had ridden.
Some person drew out the linchpin from one of the wheels, by which mischievous act
they were placed in considerable peril. This was but a tame rehearsal of what awaited

the Hull Primitives on Maudlin
Sunday. On this occasion, "a
number of the rabble strove to
the utmost to upset the waggon,
and got under one side of it for
the purpose. The friends did
their best on the opposite side to
prevent it. Between the two
parties, the waggon was for some
time rocked like a cradle, or
tossed like a vessel in a storm.
The wicked, however, failed to
upset it, and the brethren suc-
ceeded in holding a camp meeting
according to their purpose, though
one of the preachers had his coat-
laps torn off, which were thrown
high into the air. Many were
convinced of sin, and a good work
broke out in the neighbourhood.'^
These particulars were given to Mr. Petty by the late Peter Jackson, a popular local
preacher of Preston who was present that day and witnessed all that took place.
Billy Rattle was a ringleader in these football-matches, but he was converted under
Clowes, of whom, and of that day's proceedings, he often spoke.*

Though W. Clowes says nothing in his Journal of this famous camp meeting which

checked and prepared the way for the abolition of these unseemly practices, he visited

Preston a short time afterwards and records an amusing incident which then occurred : —

" At Preston 1 preached in the open-air, from the words : ' If any man thirst, let

him come unto Me and drink ; he that belie veth in Me, as the Scriptures hath said,

out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.' It having been a dry summer,

and there being a great want of rain, an old woman who was standing by when

THE HOUSE FROM WHICH THE FAMOUS FOOTBALL MATCH
STARTED AT HEDON.

* Communicated by Rev. R. Harrison.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

391

THE PLACE WHERE THE CAMP MEETING WAS HELJ» AT rUESTON-IN-HOLDERNESS.

PRESTON-IN-HOLDERNESS, SHOWING OUR CHAPEL AND SCHOOL.

392

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

I delivered my text, when she heard 'rivers of living water mentioned, ran down the
town, and told the people that the waters had broken out against old Pallister's
house, and everybody might have some. On this, the people flocked up to see the
wonder, but they found that the waters that had broken out were ' living waters,'
and at that time they were flowing very freely. Several were under conviction,
and one man, lying on a heap of stones just by, was crying to God with all his
might. We soon had a blessed work in the place, and sixty souls joined in church
fellowship."

The first chapel at Preston was built in 1822, at a cost of £200, and was capable of
seating 174 persons. For several years Preston, Burstwick, and Rimswell Chapels were
a source of great anxiety, especially so as they were not originally Connexional chapels,
but private property. The Hull Quarterly Meeting of 1827 directed that Brother
William Brining " should get Preston and Rimswell Chapels painted without cost to

BEVERLEY MARKET AS IT APPEARED 100 YEARS AGO.

the funds, or, if he painted them himself, paint should be found him." During the
course of its history Preston has sometimes been attached to Patrington, sometimes to
Hull. A Society was formed at Hedon in 1840.

Beverley.

Primitive Methodism was introduced into the ancient town of Beverley in 1820, by
John Verity, who, on the afternoon of August 20th, preached in its spacious market-
place to a very peaceable congregation. Some short time afterwards W. Clowes
preached in the same place to " a huge multitude " ; and though he seems to have
preached under the anticipation of arrest, the service went on without interruption, and
at its close he had the joy of adding six members to the society. William Clowes had
some grounds for his apprehensions. Beverley was just the kind of town in which

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

393

opposition both from the authorities and the freemen might be looked for. Indeed, at
a date subsequent to this, W. Driffield — another of the preachers of the Home Branch —
was forcibly pulled down from his stand while preaching in the street, by constables
acting under the orders of the Mayor, and taken before the magistrates. After examina-
tion, however, he was courteously dismissed.

Cherry Burton, a village some three miles from Beverley, was visited at the same
time by Hull's leading missionary. The infamous Bonner, afterwards Bishop of London,
was presented to the rectory of Cherry Burton in 1530, by the Canons of Beverley.
Here W. Clowes found the people so " callous " that, at the close of the sermon, he
declared his resolve to shake the dust off his feet as a testimony against them, and take
the Gospel to others who would receive it with greater readiness of mind. This

BEVEKLEY. THE UPPER ROOM IN THE FISH SHAMBLES, SHOWING THREE WINDOWS
OVER THE TWO SMALL SHOPS IN CENTRE OF PICTURE.

declaration had a rousing effect upon several. They came forward offering to take in
the preachers and assist the cause ; whereupon the preacher relented, the threatened
interdict was recalled, and Cherry Burton continued to be visited as usual. In 1840
a chapel was built here under the superintendency of George Lamb, capable of seating
seventy-seven ersons, and in 1851, a second and improved building was erected.

Keturning to Beverley, we find as the winter of 1820 drew on, with its cold and
storms, a large upper room near the Fish Shambles was taken. This was effected
mainly through the liberality of two pious widows— Mrs. Copling and Mrs. Rogers—
both Wesleyans, who made themselves responsible for the rent. In this first meeting-
place a chair did duty as a pulpit, which is still preserved as an interesting relic of the

394

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

early times. A plain bench, capable of seating some six persons was all the room
offered in the way of seatage for the whole congregation, yet the people gladly attended
and contentedly stood to hear the word of life. Many more were added to the growing

Church meeting in the unpretentious "upper room,"
and it soon became too small. A more commodious
room was then hired in Turner's Yard. In this
new home the infant church had for a time tO'
contend with a good deal of opposition from the
baser sort of the populace, and even from those
who made pretensions to respectability. One
evening a person entered the room with two-
constables for the purpose of breaking up the
meeting. But, notwithstanding this unseemly
interference, the service of praise and prayer went
on untih the usual time of closing. Mr. John
Jenkinson, however, having been recognised as one
of the worshippers, was summoned on the following
morning before the magistrates of the borough on
a charge of "making a riotous noise." He was
required to find security in a bond of <£20 for
his appearance at the next Quarter Sessions.
When the Sessions came Mr. Jenkinson duly
THE OLD CHAIR. appeared in court ; but it would seem the magistrates

had got a little more light during the interim, and they wisely omitted calling for
the case.

Another instance of magisterial interference is worth recording because it relates to
Captain Robertson, the father of the famous " Robertson, of Brighton," who was Mayor

BEVERLEY CAMP MEETING SITE ON THE WESTWOOU.
(The Beverley minster is shown on the right.)

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PKEDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

395

of Beverley at the time the incident occurred. Beverley has always been famous for its
camp meetings held on the fine stretch of ground known 'as Beverley Westwood. At
one of these historic camp meetings — that of 1824 — William Locking, of Hull, was
deeply convinced of sin, and at this same camp meeting two well-known characters who
were present from no religious motive, by the breaking of the fence on which they sat,
were suddenly thrown into a pond, from which they emerged well soused and bedrabbled,
to the great amusement of the bystanders. Some mock verses were written on this
incident, which now lie before us. It was to another of these great Westwood camp
meetings our people were making their way in the usual style, by singing through the
streets, when they were met in the Old Waste by Captain Robertson. He appeared
to be shocked and made angry by the apparent irregularity of the proceedings, and
peremptorily ordered the singing to be stopped. His behest was obeyed, and the

i^ P ;?j

^F^^ m 3 ifi

i«r.,.ii»w4»j«Mrt««,'~P" \^jt^M'mKHSm!!n.^2mnu:'d&'emsxfam*^^^^i^XM.x^a.fi

'rm

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T»i3r«.^t3?astzr'. iTO.nunfni.K»ii.tn>< «!>' '

i-"-^t: «"»•• -11.5" s~T-*^«-»~-«-''5sr-«

BEVERLEY, FIRST CHAPEL, WEDNESDAY MARKET.

procession moved forward to the camp-ground in comparative silence. We are told
that this was the last instance of opposition on the part of the authorities our people
encountered in Beverley.

On the 1st May, 1825, the new chapel was opened in Wednesday Market by John
Flesher and Thomas King. The cost of the erection was about <£800 — a large sum in
those days to be faced by a new and poor society and ten trustees, who, with one
or two exceptions, were working-men. Only about «£100 was raised towards the
outlay, and the trustees were soon involved in pecuniary difficulties. Many were
the plans devised to reduce the expenses and the liabilities of the trust, and to put
it in a financially sound and workable position. The Quarterly Meeting instructed that
each superintendent should make a collection in his station for the chapel at Beverley,

396

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

JOHN FLESHER.

and forward the proceeds as quickly as possible. Then, the pressure still continuing, it

was arranged that Brother J. Flesher should go on a preaching and collecting tour on

behalf of the chapels at Beverley and Cottingham. Mr. Flesher's commanding presence,

courteous bearing, captivating and suasive conversation, and silvery and often pathetic

pulpit address, always ensured him great pojiular
acceptance. Not forgetting William Sanderson
and others, John Flesher must be pronounced
to have been the most considerable pulpit and
platform orator Primitive Methodism has pro-
duced. No wonder, therefore, he should have
succeeded in obtaining, after all expenses had
been met, some sixty pounds, which were divided
between the two burdened trust-estates. Fortunate-
ly, despite all their struggles, the trustees did
not act .upon the advice given them in high
quarters — to sell the vestry and the land behind
the chapel belonging to them. The retention of
this land was to be of untold advantage to them
in the days to come.

In the Journal of W. Clowes there is one other
entry relating to Beverley of some interest. He
tells us that, on a certain Sunday, probably in

1831, he preached anniversary sermons for Beverley Chapel; that in the morning he had

liberty of soul, but was in partial bondage in the evening; that R. M. Beverley, Esq.,

•a celebrated polemic, was present, and put a half-sovereign in the collection-box ; and

that after the service he took supper with his sister,

who was not ashamed of the cross of Christ. Miss

Beverley was at this period identified with our cause.

8he was both gifted and devout, and devoted her time

and substance to religious and philanthropic purposes,

holding services in her own house and sometimes

preaching in our Beverley chapel. Her brother, mentioned

by W. Clowes, published a pamphlet on the abuses of tin;

Church of England, which excited considerable attention

at the time. In 1830, or a little later, Mr. Fleshei,

at the Hull Quarterly Meeting, recommended for our

ministry a Mr. Carlyle, then of London. Mr. Flesher,

in his effective way, spoke highly of his qualifications,

and the upshot was that Mr. Carlyle was written to

and engaged. Being appointed to preach at Beverley^

he soon made himself known to Miss Beverley and

married her. It was not long before he left our ministry, and though he made

considerable stir in the religious world, we need not pursue his career further.
The society at Beverley struggled on for some years, experiencing the vicissitudes of

K. MACKENZIE BEVERLEY.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 397

alternate adversity and prosperity. At the latter end of 1838 the Hull Circuit was
favoured with much spiritual prosperity. Mr. Clowes remarks: — "Several places
besides Hull were partakers of the soul-saving baptism. Beverley arose in spiritual
power, and extended the borders of its society." In 1868, after much discussion,
deliberation, and prayer, the old chapel was pulled down, and the
present handsome and commodious one, more in harmony with
the progressive spirit of the age, took its place. The foundation-
stone ceremony was the last service of the kind Mr. W. Hodge, of
Hull, was privileged to attend.

Matthew Denton, Francis Rudd, and W. Edmandson should have
honourable mention in any account, however brief, of the early
history of Primitive Methodism in Beverley. The first-named
joined the Church as far back as 1826, and lived to be appointed
in 1886 a Deed Poll Member, and to attend several Conferences
MATTHEW UENTON. j^^ ^^^^ Capacity. In the midst of many difficulties and discourage-
ments, he, as a youth, gave himself assiduously to the cultivation of his mind. It
has been claimed for him that he was the first Primitive Methodist layman to
publish a book. Whether this priority can be established or not, his four volumes of
" Anecdotes — Religious and Moral," attest the range of his reading and his intellectual
activity. Francis Rudd was converted in 1828. "For fifty years he was a class-
leader, and local preacher, very popular, and in oft demand for special services.
His religion was not occasional but habitual." * J. Edmandson joined the society
on coming to Beverley in 1835, and was a pillar of strength in that society until his
• death, which took place October 6th, 1867.

POCKLINGTON CIRCUIT,

We have now reached a point when, in harmony with the design of this work, the
scale of narrative may very properly be reduced. We have traced in detail the formation
of the first four circuits of the Connexion out of which all the rest, in one way or
another, have been formed. No materials exist for writing the history of the many and
oft-changing branches which the leading circuits were forming, but for a time, the
geographical extension of the Connexion on its different sides may be noted by the new
circuits formed. If we cannot go into all the out-fields, white unto harvest, where
labourers are at work, we can, as long as may be needful, take our stand by the gate,
and watch the waggons roll in with their load of golden grain.

Pocklington is, next to Hull, the oldest circuit in the Hull district, and stands on the
stations next to the circuits of the parent-town. The circuit embraces a portion of
countr}'- of unusual ecclesiastical interest. Goodmanham is within the limits of the
Pocklington circuit ; and Godmundingham — " the home of the protection of the gods " —
will ever be famous as the spot where, in A.D. 626, Edwin, king of Korbhumbria, with
his court and people, destroyed the heathen temple and accepted the Christian faith.

* " Piety among the Peasantry : being Sketches of Primitive Methodism on the Yorkshire
Wolds," by the Rev. Henry Woodcock, p. 155.

398

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

At the village of Sancton, two miles from Market Weighton— as Wesleyan Methodists
will remember— the venerable Father Jackson, so called by his admirers, and his two
brothers, Robert and Samuel, were born. Jackson Wray's " Nestleton Magna," we may
be quite certain, was somewhere within the radius of the Pocklington circuit, and
Primitive Methodists should know that Warter stands on its plan, with its memories of
William Sanderson, John Oxtoby, and Thomas Wood, "the little shoemaker," hereafter
of Driffield.

There is a slight conflict of evidence as to the person to whom belongs the honour of
having first missioned Market Weighton and Pocklington. Herod, in his " Sketches,"
claims for Sarah Harrison that she "opened" both these places, as well as Warter,

KANTER CHAPEL LODGING-HOUSE. THE OLD <JHAPEL, MARKET WEIGHTON.

Elvington"^ and Riverbridge, in the early part of May, 1819. But Herod does not quote
Sarah Harrison's own words, or give the precise dates, and, moreover, his bias against,
rather in favour of, Clowes' priority in a given case must be borne in mind. On the
Other hand Clowes' words are perfectly clear and the claim made unmistakable : " The
next day (May 27th,) I made my way to oj^en Market Weighton. I preached in the

* On a large farm at Elvington, resided George and Alexander Bond, who " joined our society at
that village, and became great helps in spreading Primitive Methodism throughout the whole
of the Ouse and Derwent division of the East Riding of Yorkshire. They also rendered great
help to the infant cause in the city of York, by becoming responsible for the rent of the first chapel
we took. They afterwards emigrated to Canada West, and laboured, during life, in connection
with our missionaries in that part of the world." — E-ev. S. Smith, as quoted by Herod in his
" Sketches," p. 330.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

399

market-place to a well-behaved people, who were very courteous and friendly in their
conduct towards me. The good work of God broke out at Market Weighton, and
a lovely society was formed, and the cause still progresses." The last words must be
regarded as anticipative, since a month afterwards he writes : "I again stood up in the
market-place, and cried : ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world.' The presence of the Most High carried the communication to sinners' hearts.
I afterwards formed a society of six members." The Journal contains distinct references
to two other visits, and it is clear from one of these references, that W. Clowes had
come to look upon the market-place as his "pitch." At the September Quarterly
Meeting, Market Weighton is reported as having nineteen members. The meetings,
we are told, were first held in a cottage which has since been converted into a model

MARKET-PLACE. THE SCENE OF CLOWES' FIRST SERMON IN POCKLINGTON.

lodging-house, and the house is known to-day as the " Eanter Chapel Model Lodging-
House," and is inquired for by pedlars under that designation.

Pocklington, on the Derwent, appears to have' been missioned by Sarah Harrison,
and to have been visited some months after by W. Clowes. If the reader will look
back to the first plan of the Hull Circuit, given on p. 371, he will see that on
Sunday, October 3rd, Clowes was planned at South Cave, Newbald and :N'orth Cave.
Now in his Journal he duly describes this day's doings, and then goes on to say :

" I held a prayer-meeting next morning, and good was done. Onwards
I proceeded, and spoke at Kiverbridge, Market Weighton, Melbourne, Seaton,

400

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Bishop Wilton, and Bugthorpe. At the latter place I called at a public-house, and
asked liberty to pray with the family, which was granted ; and I left the inmate.s
weeping. At Bishop Wilton I preached in a croft belonging to Dr. Meggison.
I then made my way to Pockhngton, and preached in the market-place to a vast
multitude ; in the evening I spoke in a barn, the property of Mr. John Moore :
here the prospect of success was very promising. In the neighbourhood of
Pocklington I spoke frequently, and the stir among the people was considerable.
I then directed my attention towards Beilby, Newton, Millington, and other
places, God confirming his word by signs and wonders and mighty deeds " (p. 168).

Through the kindness of Rev. G. Ellis we are enabled to give views taken from old
prints, showing the stepping-stone, formerly in front of the "Black Swan Inn," on

which Clowes stood to address the
people gathered in the old market-place;
also a view of the barn (long since
pulled down to make way for a modern
mansion) in which the night service
was held. As recalling some vanished

outward features, then before the eyes
of Clowes and his hearers, these views
are not without their interest.

During 1820 and 1821 the Hull
Quarterly Board called into the ministry
several men and women whom we shall
shortly have to refer to, such as John
Verity and Samuel Smith, who were
foremost in securing the introduction
of Primitive Methodism into Leeds, and
Thomas Johnstone, who was to become
a troubler of our Israel. It was Samuel
Smith, the second of these, who, in
1821, was placed at the head of the
newly-formed Pocklington Circuit, hav-
ing for his colleagues T. Jackson (1), the
devoted Ann Armstrong, and M. Martell.
But before the year 1821 closed, a young
man, destined to become moie eminent

THE BLACK SWAN PUBLIC-HOUSE. STEPPING-STONE FROM

WHICH CLOWES PREACHED HIS FIRST SERMON AT

POCKLINGTON.

as a preacher than they all, was borrowed from Scotter Circuit, in which he had just
begun his labours. We speak of William Sanderson. As a motherless lad he had
been apprenticed to a worthless tailor and draper, who tried to make up for hi&
thriftlessness by taking a public-house. That boded ill for young Sanderson, who had
already taken a few steps on the primrose path ; and it was well for him that Primitive
Methodism was brought to the neighbourhood, and that Thomas Wood, his companion,
had got religion before him. He attended a camp meeting in the Gravel Pits at
Market Weighton in the summer of 1819, and in February, 1820, he found salvation
in the Warter Wesleyan Chapel, where, at that time, our people worshipped, though

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

401

afterwards they were discharged therefrom. On his way home he shouted through the

street " He has pardoned all my sins ; I am happy." His nights were now given, not

to fiddling and dancing, but to prayer and reading. One December night he was locked
out, and had to pace the streets for hours because he had become engrossed listening

THE BARN, POCKLINGTON, WHERE CLOWES PREACHED.

to some one's reading aloud Kussel's "Seven Sermons."* It was in Pocklington
Circuit William Sanderson tried to preach for the first time, an experience

which he has described in his own inimitable way,
thus: "As soon as i opened my mouth I shut my
eyes, and when I opened my eyes I shut my mouth."
And yet this timid, stumbling novice in the art of
speaking, became second only to John Flesher as
a preacher — if indeed he were second. For such
a competent judge as the late George Race, of Weardale,
regarded him as Primitive Methodism's greatest living
preacher, and would gladly journey to Newcastle to hear
Sanderson when he paid his annual visit to Nelson
Street. Both in speaking and writing his sentences were
pointed and sparkling with brightness. That was a most
apt characterisation passed on his preaching by the aged
sister of John Oxtoby. Passing through the village after
some years of absence, Sanderson and his friends met
the aged woman. "Do you know who this is?" said

W. SANDERSON, AGED 30.

* See ante p. 165 for a facsimile of the title of this book.

402 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

one of the visitors. "Yes," said Betty. "It's Willie; he's come to give us
a ' glister ' " (a brilliant or sparkling sermon, she meant). " Glister " is a good,
expressive word, reminding us of the " white and glistering " transfiguration-raiment
of the Christ. We, whose own boyhood's remembrances go back to the days when
William Sanderson led the devotions by our father's hearth, can see now how well that
word hits off the originality and brightness which impressed us, as we listened to the
prayers of this great and good man. He was superannuated in 1852 ; yet in the thirty-
two years which made up the term of his active ministry, he has recorded with humble
thankfulness that he, with his colleagues in labour, had seen 1330 added to the societies,
and he claims as his children in Christ, W. Lonsdale, J. Holroyd, and C. Kendall.

Brotherton Circuit.

The fact that Brotherton, a large village in the vicinity of Pontefract, was made the
head of Hull's Second Circuit, shows that in the early days a place was frequently
chosen to be the head of a circuit, not because of its size or importance, or even
because of the strength of the cause thereat; but it was chosen as a centre round which
the ministers could conveniently itinerate. Brotherton Circuit, roughly speaking,
included the country lying between, and even beyond, the lower reaches of the Aire
and the Ouse, so that its occupancy gave the promise of a speedy ascent to Leeds and
York, to Wharfedale and Nidderdale, and the other dales watered by the tributaries of
the Ouse. We have said — the country lying between "the lower reaches" of the Aire
and Ouse; not "the lowest reaches." For there lies before. us, as we write, a plan
of the Marshland branch of Scotter Circuit for 1822, which shows that Scotter must
for some time have been hard at work in the marshy country lying in the angle
between Goole on the Ouse, and the Trent. This old plan has on it the names of
twenty-five places, including such well-known ones as Goole, Swinefleet, Thorne, and
Crowle. But, though the Brotherton Circuit did not at first include any of these
places, it did reach as far as Howden ; for in the year 1825 Howden was made a circuit
from Brotherton, and continued such till 1827.

Sarah Harrison reached the geographical limit, in this direction, of her evangelistic
labours when, in May, 1819, she made her way from Pocklington to Ferrybridge. In
connection with her visit here, we have the first mention of Mr. John Bailey, who kept
a boarding-school of some repute in Ferrybridge. Mr. Bailey rendered valuable service
to the cause of Primitive Methodism during this period, as will be evident as we
proceed. It was in Mr. Bailey's schoolroom that Sarah Harrison preached, and as the
result of her labours a revival is said to have broken out. Tidings of this revival
reached earnest souls in Leeds and led to further extension. Next, Mrs. Harrison
proceeded to Brotherton and preached in the open-air to several hundreds of people.
Then we find her at Knottingley where, to secure partial shelter from the cold, she took
her stand under a hedge to preach the Word.

Within two months after Sarah Harrison's visit to this frontier of the Hull Circuit,
William Clowes followed. In his Journal he speaks of his being " aff'ectionately
received" by Mr. Bailey, and notes that on Sunday, July 23rd, he preached at nine

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

403

o'clock in the morning, standing by Mr. Bailey's door ; then he made his"^ way to
Knottingley, and preached in the open-air. On a subsequent visit, while holding
a prayer-meeting in Mr. Bailey's schoolroom, a stone was violently thrown at the door,
and a piece of parchment was blown in, on which was written some foolish words —
which incidents encouraged him to think that the devil felt his power shaken, and that
" the iron sceptre of his enchantment had begun to tremble in his hands." On a third
visit, an attempted wife-murderer was converted one day, and his intended victim the
next. In November, Mr. Bailey accompanied him on his mission to Leeds. In
December, he found the work still "rolling on," and describes how some fantastically-

^^|*^s*K'»«'

KNOTTINGLEY CHAPEL AND SCHOOLROOM, PONTEFEACT CIRCUIT.

Eebiiilt on the Site of probably the oldest Chapel in the Circuit. There were formerly two Societies

in this Village.

dressed men, calling themselves "ploughmen," invaded Mr. Bailey's house, asking for
money, but beat a precipitate retreat wl^en W. Clowes bade them get on their knees and
cry for mercy. His last recorded visit was in March, 1820, when he speaks of having
visited the misions he "had opened," among which are included Ferrybridge and
Brotherton. The claim to having opened these places may perhaps be reconciled with
the statement in Sarah Harrison's Journals, by understanding Clowes to mean by
"opening," the formal establishment and organising of societies.

Brotherton has not stood on the roll of our stations since 1833 ; and, though as

DD 2

404

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

a circuit designation the name may be obsolete, Primitive Methodism has never let go
its hold of the country first missioned by Aire and Ouse in 1819 ; and both Brotherton
and Ferrybridge are to day societies in the Pontefract Circuit, which, since 1834, has
taken Brotherton's place as head of the circuit. It vi^ould be an intricate business
tracing the history of the Brotherton Circuit from the beginning through all its changes.
Given the tract of country already indicated, it would almost seem as though every
possible arrangement had been tried before the present one had been arrived at. This
will appear from the following tabular setting-forth, which the reader can skip if he
choose, although it may have its value as a permanent record illustrative of circuit
evolution. It will be seen that Pontefract and Swinefleet Circuits, with Goole, Selby
and Howden as offshoots of the latter, represent the old Brotherton and Marshland
Circuits. .

MAEKET-PLACE, PONTEFRACT, A.D. 1777.

Circuits as per Conference Minutes.

Years.

1821-2

Brotherton

...

Marshland Branch.

1823-4

. •*

Marshland Circuit.

1825

Howden

Do.

1826

Pontefract

Do.

Tadcaster and Ferrybridge
Union Ct.

Thorne.

1827

Brotherton

Pontefract

Howden

Do.

1828

Do.

Swinefleet

Do.

1829-33

Brotherton and Swinefleet
Union Ct.

...

1834-&e.

Pontefract

Swinefleet.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 405

HUTTON RUDBY ClRCUIT.

The Journals of W. Clowes, as given in the Magazine for 1821, show that the
account of his remarkable mission to the ISTorth Riding of Yorkshire is, in his published
Journal of 1844, chronologically misplaced. This mission was entered upon soon
after the last visit to Brotherton already related. On May 18th, 1820, Clowes left
Hull on a missionary tour, and after preaching at Ripon and several other places in the
vicinity, he, on the 20th July, came to Hutton Rudby, not knowing a soul there, and
bearing no letters of introduction, or having any well-grounded hope, except what his
faith supplied, that he would find friends and a shelter for the night. It is probable
that some of our readers might have a little difficulty in precisely locating Hutton
Rudby, and hence may naturally wonder why a place so little known was made Clowes'
objective. The answer is, that Hutton Rudby is near the small market-town of
Stokesley on the slopes of the Cleveland Hills, and that Clowes pushed his way there
because it seems to have been fixed upon as the base of the purposed mission. And
yet the tract of country to be covered by the mission was so extensive that it might
as well have been called the "North Riding Mission" or " The Yale of York and Cleveland
Mission." As for Hutton itself — it was more than a geographical expression, or
a convenient central point ; one of the very first chapels in these parts was built in the
village, and though it stood as the head of the circuit for one year only, being superseded
by Brompton, there is a society in Hutton Rudby to this day belonging to Stokesley
Circuit.

Several notable incidents occurred during this North Riding Mission, such as the
conversion of Henry Hebbron in his father's barn at Potto ; and the holding of the
famous camp meeting at Scarth Nick — a wild mountain gorge between Swainby and
Osmotherley. There would be a pleasure in recalling these incidents ; but the
circuits now comprised within the tract of country missioned by Clowes, will waive their
natural desire to hear these stories once more, while we take the story of the mission
generally, and use it as proving incontestably that W. Clowes possessed all the
qualifications, to a supreme degree, of a pioneer ; that he could break up the fallow
ground as well as reap what others had sown ; that, in short, he was, as we have heard
it put — "an unmitigated missionary."

But is it necessary to insist on this at this time of day ? We think so. In following
events up to this point we have had occasionally, because of the evidence, to assign the
first opening of certain places to others rather than to Clowes, whom, perhaps, tradition
had credited with the pioneer visit. Herod, too, in his " Sketches," though usually
careful and precise in his statements, does, ag we have hinted before, write with
a certain bias when W. Clowes is in question. Herod had a theory that he — Clowes —
was not adapted to be a leading or pioneer missionary ; but that he did his best work —
which was excellent indeed — when he followed in the track of others. Herod himself
was one of Clowes' converts, and he writes from his heart in saying of Clowes : —

"He was instrumental in bringing many souls to God. We believe no man in
the Connexion was the means of raising up more local and travelling preachers
than he ; and perhaps no one, comparatively successful, ever had fewer backsliders
from among his converts. Perhaps this may be accounted for by the fact of his

406

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

MARKET-PLACE, THIRSK.

living in a great glory, by which he was the means of bringing a larger amount of
the Holy Ghost'upon, and into, the souls of his converts." — (p. 443.)

This is high praise indeed ; yet this eulogy is qualified, in one direction, by its being
preceded by a statement of Herod's theory : —

"But he could sail the best where the ice had been broken for him : and he

ROSEBERRY TOPPING, FROM NEWTON VILLAGE.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

407

generally planned a harbinger to go before him. He visited but few places where
some move had not been made previously to his entrance." — {Ibid.)

But the theory shatters itself against the simple record of what Clowes accomplished
in this brief Hutton Rudby mission. We can see now that, even if hitherto the facts
do seem to lend countenance to Herod's theory, it is because circumstances did not
permit it to be otherwise. Now circumstances have altered, and opportunity is given
for a test-case — a case standing out, clear of all embarrassing side-issues and conflicting
claims put forth on behalf of others. When Clowes went to Hutton Rudby, no one
had gone before to prepare his way ; to break the ice ; to be his harbinger. As far as
we can learn he went uninvited, unannounced, unexpected ; and he went alone. Once
more he would remember "he was a missionary," when at the outset he had no

BROMPTON CHAPEL, BUILT 1821.

friendly shelter except that afforded by a public-house ; though, even then, he acted as
the man of God and talked of spiritual things and prayed with the family. The
country he " opened up " was then, more than now, considered remote and wild, though
beautiful in its wildness. It was just the kind of country, and the work he had to do,
and the conditions under which the work had to be done, were just such as to test his
physical endurance, his patience, his zeal. He had long journeys ; he was drenched to
the skin ; he was benighted when crossing into Bilsdale, and had to climb the steep by
pulling himself up by the ling which clothed its sides. He was ready to drop from
physical exhaustion, and yet he rallied his almost spent powers that he might preach to
the waiting people. He stood up in Thirsk's spacious market-place to speak in the

408

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECH.

name of Jesus, and also in that of Stokesley, under Roseberry Topping, where a drunken
man tried to disturb the service, but " God put a hook in his jaw."

Such were some of the conditions under which Clowes did his work in this district ;
and yet his faith, his tact, his personal magnetism gave him power with men. Houses
and hearts were alike thrown open to him ; and, in the short period of eight weeks, he
created a new circuit— or rather laid the foundations of three circuits and what came
out of them. Here is Clowes' own unadorned statement of what he did on this
mission : —

"After making a plan to direct my colleagues in this mission, in which I opened
many placeS and travelled four hundred miles on foot, my whole expenses
amounting to thirty shillings, I set off for the Hull September Quarter-day, 1820,
travelling by way of Thirsk, Ripon and Leeds."

STOKESLEY.

Hutton Rudby — now Brompton — Circuit, was destined to show too, that W. Clowes
could not only build on his own foundation, but also re-build what others had thrown
down. There lies before us the evidence of this, in an unpublished MS., written in
Clowes' own crabbed hand, in which he simply, yet pathetically, describes his
experiences as a repairer of the breach. Thomas Johnstone, a Hull Circuit preacher,
had resigned because he could not meet certain grave charges that had been preferred
against him ; and, marking his opportunity, had entered the Brompton Circuit and
sought, with some degree of success, to alienate the societies and get hold of the
Hutton Rudby Chapel which had been willed to the Connexion. In this critical state
of affairs the Leeds Conference of 1823 requested the Hull Circuit to send down
W. Clowes to save the circuit from total wreck. So he went down, with what feelings
we can imagine, " to take up the heavy and tedious task, and to gather the people that
had been scattered by T. J. ; and the more so, as they were the children I had begotten

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND IINTERPRISE.

409

in Christ, and gathered together ; for I had before opened all that country." Into
the details of the struggle we shall not enter. Suffice it to say, Brompton Circuit was
saved and soon "regained its feet." For five years, it stood as the first station of the
Sunderland District, and even when Sunderland took that position, Brompton stood
next to it. Guisborough stood on the stations from 1822 to 1826, inclusive ; in 1827
we find "Whitby and Guisborough circuit." We miss it for some years, and then it
re-appears as a branch of Stockton-on-Tees, and becomes an independent station in
1864. Stokesley was a mission of Brompton for a series of years, attaining circuit
independence in 1854.

' Brompton was visited at the earnest entreaty of Thomas Ramshaw, who had been
led to Christ under Clowes' ministrations at Hutton Kudby. Brompton was an old-
time weaving village where the weavers plied their
craft in their own cottages. They could think for
themselves and act an independent part. There
was no persecution at Brompton. At the sound
of Clowes' voice they would leave their looms and
stand at their doors to listen as he preached on the
village green. The society, originally composed of
seven members, flourished, and in 1821 a galleried
chapel and cottage were built. These premises are
still in use, but the seatage has been largely increased
by the taking in of the cottage.

In adjoining Northallerton, Clowes is said to
have preached in the market-place to an orderly
congregation of a thousand people. William Carver,
James Foster, and the few others associated with
them, at first worshipped in a room near a tan-pit ;
after a time a disused theatre was purchased ; now
we have a splendid block of church and school
property with a flourishing society. At Swainby,
Potto, and Osmotherley, too — all places visited by Clowes — we have societies and
Connexional property.

Associated with Brompton Circuit have been many whose names it would be
a pleasure to record. We think of Joseph Wrigley, of Northallerton, and his generous
hospitality to the servants of God; of the saintly Robert Walker, who afterwards
removed to Hendon, Sunderland ; of John Delafield, who lived and died at Appleton
Wiske, and was for sixty-eight years an active and useful local preacher, and who
occasionally conducted successful evangelistic missions in Allendale, Alston Moor,
Shildon, and Middleton-in-Teesdale. The intellectual calibre of the man may be judged
from the statement that amongst the few select books he prized and studied, that fed
his mind and made his sermons " meaty " — were George Steward's " Mediatorial
Sovereignty " and Butler's " Analogy." In his own village he battled for the right of
Nonconformists to bury their own dead ; and in his station he was to the last respected
as "an exemplary official, loyaLto the doctrines, polity, institutions and ministry of his
Church."

JOHN DELAFIELD.

410

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

CHAPTER VI 11.

SCOTTER CIRCUIT AND SCOTTER DISTRICT.

Gainsborough.

ITHERTO, our History has had much to do with the Trent; and it is at
Gainsborough the Trent attains the dignity of a tidal river. This dignity
has its own special drawback, for at times, the tidal wave, like a wall,
sweeps up the Trent, making the vessels rock at their moorings, flooding
the staithes and low-lying lands, and sometimes swamping boats, whose owners have
either not heard or heeded the warning cry — "'War' eagre," i.e., beware of the "eagre."
It is the Trent which has made the history of Gainsborough such as it is. Lincoln
was the port of the Romans : they dug a canal to connect it with the Trent, and at
Torksey, the point of junction, they built a castle for defensive purposes. Gainsborough
was built from the ruins of Torksey, and in such a position as better suited the bolder,
sea-loving genius and habits of the Saxons and Danes. Its position was a strategic
one. It was, and is, the most inland port navigable to sea-going vessels of three-
hundred tons or thereabouts ; and not far from it, too, were the lowermost fords of the
river safely passable under ordinary conditions. Kext to the Thames, it afforded the

best haven for fleets. Here they were comparatively safe from attack, while the
vessels could easily slip down on the ebb-tide and reach the open sea within the twenty-
four hours. Historically Gainsborough was the most northerly town of importance
belonging to the ancient Kingdom of Mercia, and so we have the feeling that when
Primitive Methodism reached Gainsborough, the first stage of its history was rounded
into unity. Primitive Methodism was Mercian in its origin and early progress, and
when it reached Hull, it set foot in a country with a different history, and its course
lay open to ancient Northumbria. Because of its position, Gainsborough has memories

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

411

of our Saxon and Danish forefathers. Sweyn landed here ; Canute was born in the
ancient palace that preoccupied the site of the Old Hall ; and here the captains of his
ships acclaimed him king. Here, too, King Alfred was married to the daughter of the
Ealderman of the Gainas, and later memories are associated with the names of John of
Gaunt and Cromwell.

In 1818, Gainsborough was a busy and, relatively, a much more considerable place
than it is to-day. Its position, not far from inland waterways — such as the canalised
rivers Don and Idle — brought it into touch with Rotherham and Sheffield. In the
Napoleonic war-times tons of shot and shell were weekly shipped at Gainsborough ;
and from it the old bridge at Yauxhall was in 1815-16 conveyed in twenty-seven vessels.

GAINSBOEOUGH HALL.

Thanks to the graphic descriptions of some who spent their boyhood-days in Gains-
borough, eighty years ago, we can picture the old town and the life that went on in it."^
Even yet there are touches of old-time quaintness about it, but in 1818, — what with its
fluted tiles, its yellow-ochred doorsteps, its green outside shutters, and especially the
sight of spars and masts standing out above the corn-fields — it was the most foreign-
looking town in England.

Gainsborough has other memories- making a still more powerful appeal to Free

* See Thomas Mozley's "Reminiscences chiefly of Towns, Villages and Schools, 1885,
Life of Thomas Cooper, Written by Himself." Thomas Miller's " Our Old Town."

The

412

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Churchmen. In its ancient Manor Hall, standing on the site of a still earlier building,
lived the Hickmans who befriended the cause of religious liberty in the days of the
Stuarts. Probably the Separatist Church, founded in 1602, and presided over by John
Smyth would occasionally meet in this historic building. For three or four years this
church served not only Gainsborough, but the villages for miles around. William
Brewster, of Scrooby, and William Bradford, of Austerfield — who became governor and
historian of New Plymouth colony — were members of this Gainsborough Church, and
travelled to Sabbath worship some ten or twelve miles, crossing the river by ferry
where now it is spanned by Weston's famous bridge. For the convenience of the
scattered members, a second church was founded at Scrooby, of which Richard Clyfton
was the pastor and John Robinson the teacher. Puritan sentiments were fermenting

THE TRENT AT EAST FERRY, SHOWING PART OF OWSTON FERRY.

strongly on both sides of the Trent in those days, and fines were levied on the more
prominent leaders— amongst the rest, on Brewster. Desiring for themselves fuller
freedom to worship God these sturdy Puritans made two attempts to reach the coast
of Holland. The first was unsuccessful, but the second, which was made in the spring
of 1609, met with a measure of success. This time the place of embarkation was
a lonely spot on the salt-marshes, somewhere between Grimsby and New Holland. The
men went to the rendezvous by land, and the women and children with their goods
went by water down the Trent and Humber. Each section of the emigrant party, it is
interesting to know, would skirt one of the sides of the early Scotter Circuit — the men
probably taking the most direct line through Kirton, Brigg, Ulceby, and thence to the

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

413

Humber banks."* Ever since the men of the " Mayflower " took their memorable journey
this north Lincolnshire district has been a stronghold of Puritan sentiment. The
author vividly recalls how this fact of Lincolnshire's inveterate proneness to "heresy and
schism" was bitterly dwelt upon in the parochial school of Scotter close upon fifty years
ago. Our teacher proved his allegation up to the hilt. No lack of illustrative
examples ! This exodus of Gainsborough and Scrooby Puritans to the freer air of
Holland, was an instance in point. Was not Epworth, the birthplace of the Wesleys
and of Alexander Kilham, but a few miles away? And, as though that were not
enough for one county, a whole ' army of aliens ' has since then been called into
existence by General Booth, another Lincolnshire man ! Even in 1854, village
Methodist Chapels were as plentiful in the parts of Lindsey and Kesteven as black-
berries in the hedges ; and that our teacher knew right well. Were statistics only

GAINSBOROUGH MARKET-PLACE IN 1838.

available, they would show that scarcely a village in North Lincolnshire but has sent
forth some of its sons to recruit the ranks of the Methodist ministry. JSTo district has
been more fertile for the raising of Primitive Methodist ministers than this, though we
judge the East Eiding of Yorkshire runs it close.

In the light of such facts as these it was a notable event when William Braithwaite
and Thomas Saxton, as missionaries sent out by Nottingham Circuit, entered Gains-
borough on a certain Sunday in December, 1818. They opened their commission in
the approved way by singing along the street as they passed to the market-place.
Thomas Cooper, then a lad of fourteen, was one of the many who ran out to see what

* Their probable course is indicated on the Map of Scotter District given on p. 358.

414 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

the unwonted sounds meant. It was soon evident that these two decently-clad, middle-
aged men were no mendicants singing for coppers.

''They were called "Ranters" by the crowd ;' says Cooper 'but I soon learned
that they termed themselves " Primitive Methodists." ' These men remained in the
town for some weeks, and preached in the open-air, and held meetings in houses ;
and the crowd, young and old, were greatly affected. Soon a society was formed,
and they began regularly to preach in the very small chapel which John Wesley
himself caused to be built, in a small square, in Little Church Lane ; but which
had been occupied as a warehouse for some time. I became a member of the
society, in company with at least a dozen other lads, some of whom were older and
some younger than myself. I cannot describe my anguish and sorrow for sin.
And, apparently, it was an equally serious case with each of the lads. My grief
continued for many weeks, until I could find no delight in my books, or drawing,
or dulcimer, and could read nothing but the Bible, and was getting into secret
places twenty times in a day to pray for the pardon of my sins. Many lowly
earnest preachers came and preached in the little chapel ; and prayer meetings
were prolonged till midnight, often. And many up-grown sinners professed to
find the pardon of their sins. The change of heart and life was real in some.
I remember well an elderly man, an inveterate cock-fighter being humbled, and
becoming a true penitent. This man lived, for many years afterwards, a consistent
Christian life. Nor was his case a solitary one." — "The Life of Thomas Cooper,"
pp. 37-8.

One can only speculate what might have been Thomas Cooper's career had his
connection with Primitive Methodism been more lasting; certainly it would have
" saved him from a thousand snares " and many bitter regrets. But another adherent
was early won to the cause of Primitive Methodism whose connection with it was to
be life-long. This was W. G. Bellham who at this time was a young man of three-and-
twenty, and a Wesleyan local preacher and class leader. Though a native of King's
Lynn, he had removed into Lincolnshire, and, being in Gainsborough, he was induced,
on October 23rd, 1820, to hear a Primitive Methodist preacher for the first time. He
has himself told us what he thought of the preacher and the service. " I thought," he
says, " I never saw so much of God in a man before ; he was all love ; and every word
he uttered was to my soul like honey dropping from the honeycomb. I felt so happy
in my own soul, that I thought I could live and die with this people." And he did
live and die with this people. After a struggle, he honourably resigned his offices and
membership with the Wesley ans, united himself with the Primitives, and in May, 1821,
began his labours as a travelling preacher in the Scotter Circuit. The first four years
of Mr. Bellham's whole-hearted and successful ministry were spent on the Scotter,
Loughborough and Welton stations ; the remaining twenty-eight chiefly on the stations
of the Norwich District, where we shall meet him again. He died at Ramsgate,
January 24th, 1854.

The name of George Rex, and equally that of his excellent wife, is closely associated
with the early history of Primitive Methodism in Gainsborough and Retford. He
came to the former town soon after the formation of the Scotter Circuit, and took his
share in the long journeys which fell to the lot of local preachers, travelling — chiefly

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

415

GEO. KEX.

on foot — to Messingham, Austerfield, Epworth, Ferry and other places. When
Gainsborough became a separate Branch he was one of its leading officials.
Largely through his instrumentality a chapel was erected in Spring Gardens, and
a Sabbath school established. George Rex, too, it is said, was the first person in
Gainsborough to sign the total abstinence pledge. About 1847
Mr. Rex removed to Retford and became of great service to the
Carol Gate Society and to the Circuit generally, sustaining
many important offices and often being sent to represent his
Circuit at the District Meeting.

While residing in Gainsborough Mr. Rex had a house built
for himself which he called "Joppa." He was probably led to
give it this name from the fact that he was of the same occupation
as Simon the tanner who lodged Peter in his house hard by the
"^ seashore at Joppa. In the Gainsborough " Joppa " many of the
servants • of God through the years found rest and hospitable
entertainment. But if the story we took down from the lips
of the venerable Sampson Turner be true, the parallel between the two tanners'
houses holds still further. At Joppa " Simon Peter " had his didactic vision ; at
Gainsborough Sampson Turner and his colleagues were troubled in the night-watches
by what they firmly believed to be ghostly visitants. Such a story might of course be
easily omitted ; just as an expurgated edition of Wesley's Journal might be published
in which all references to ghosts and the supernatural might be left out — and some
might think the book improved by the omissions. But we prefer Wesley's Journal
just as he left it — ghosts and all. Its historic value as a picture of life and
a chronicle of the times is depreciated in proportion as it is tampered with. l!Tow,
we who knew the fathers, also know that some, even of the most hard-headed of them,
such as Thomas Southron and John Sharpe, would occasionally in their confidential
moments, allude to certain experienced in their lives which in all seriousness and good-
faith they credited to the occasional impingement of the supernatural on the ordinary
natural round of life. And so this one story, linked as it is with
George Rex and his "Joppa," may stand to testify to our fathers'
belief in one segment of the supernatural that has been cut off
from our circle of thought ; and to suggest that they may have
had apprehensions, and whispered confidences, and wrestlings that
we who claim to be their emancipated children know little of.
We neither justify nor condemn their beliefs ; we only want to
know what the beliefs were that lurked at the back of their
minds. It was on January 5th, 1874, that Sampson Turner drew
forth his recollections of the past and spoke as follows : —

MKS. REX.

"It was in the years 1835-6 I travelled in Scotter, having
come there from Oldham. We lived at Kirton, and I had
William Sanderson and Abimelech Coulson for colleagues. We preached at
Gainsborough, twelve miles from Kirton, and lodged there at the house of
George Rex, tanner. The room we slept in was a room over a passage leading

416

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

to the tannery and separated from Rex's room by a wainscot or wooden
partition. This room had a bad reputation. William Parkinson, who travelled
here and went to America but soon left us, had been disturbed. . . . My
turn came. It was Sunday. There was an eclipse of the sun that day, and
I had to preach afternoon and night at Gainsborough. I laboured hard, and
sleep was sweet and sound. But, as the church-clock, which was near,
sounded three, I lying on my face, a great weight as though of a calf came flat
down upon me. I sat up as though a secret spring had been touched, and in the
name of the Blessed Trinity adjured the something — whatever it was — to declare
itself ' Who art thou ? O God, drive away the powers of darkness.' Rex heard
me, inquired what was the matter, struck a light, came in and we searched the
room, but found nothing. He went back and we lay talking some time until

HARDWICK HILL, WHERE EARLY CAMP MEETINGS WERE HELD. THE HOUSE JUST ON THE HILL IS
WHERE MANY OF OUR MINISTERS OFTEN STAYED. *

* When "Poet" Sanders travelled the Scotter Circuit in 1834 he was inspired to write some
lines on this preacher's home, on Hardwick Hill, beginning thus : —

" There is a pleasant Pilgrims' Inn,
By Hardwick Hill you'll find it.
Persons who walk the downward road
Pass on and do not mind it.
This house to many is well known ;
The Lord with bliss hath crowned it.
Comfort and Peace within it reign,
And hills of sand surround it.
The ministers of Christ call there,
Though sinners may despise them,
Yet brother Fish and his dear wife.
Respect and highly prize them," etc., etc.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 417

I became drowsy and began to sink into sleep. Then the ' calf ' fell on me again.
I went through the same form of words and once more Rex came in with the light
but we found nothing. Abimelech Coulson changed his quarters after being
troubled once. As for Sanderson and myself, I don't think we were much troubled
after that."

From the indisputable evidence of old plans it is clear that the Gainsborough Branch
of 1819, became, in 1820, Scotter Circuit, and that from 1821 to 1823 Scotter stood
at the head of a district. On the plan — May-October, 1821 — there are forty-four
places and six travelling preachers, viz., S. Bailey, W. Womb well W. Curtis
M. Bell, W. G. Bellham, and J. Oxtoby. By March, 1822, Marshland has been made
into a Branch with W. Wombwell and W. G. Bellham as its preachers, and with
twenty-six places, none of which, save Butterwick, are included in the forty-four
places on the Scotter Plan of the preceding year; so that we have a total of
sixty-nine places statedly served with preaching by fifty preachers. Hence the
remarkable fact emerges that, from 1819 to the beginning of 1822, a tract of country
had already been missioned, which in the course of years was to be divided up into
nine circuits, viz., Scotter, Gainsborough, Swinefleet, Goole, Selby, Epworth, Winterton
Crowle, and Scunthorpe. In this enumeration Howden is allowed to Brotherton.
The astonishing progress made in this short time makes us look with the more
interest on the first Gainsborough plan ; for it is certain that much of this proo-ress
must have been due to the pioneer missionaries.

With the first modest sheet before us we note the announcement : "All preaching to
be given up on the 13th of June, as there will be a Camp Meeting on Hard wick Hill
to begin at 10 o'clock, a.m." This camp meeting was duly held, and was so great
a success as to entitle it to rank amongst the historic camp meetino-s of Primitive
Methodism. We note further that there are only seven preachers on the plan, of whom
three are travelling preachers — William Braithwaite, John Manuel and Hannah Parrott.
On the Sundays these are planned at what may be considered a reasonable distance

from Gainsborough, but on the week-days they are planned further a-field as far as

Kirton and Bishop ^N'orton. What little we know of William Braithwaite relates
almost entirely to his pioneer work in the old Scotter Circuit. When we first see him
singing along the streets of Gainsborough he has just emerged out of twilight obscurity •
and when he leaves the Scotter Circuit we are baffled in our attenipts to trace his after
movements. The last time his name occurs in the Minutes of Conference is in 1831
when at the end of the stations, we have this note : " Under the direction of the
General Committee : W. Braithwaite." And yet, despite the paucity of our informa-
tion respecting him, William Braithwaite made his record. If he did nothing else he
fairly earned the distinction of being the apostle of north-west Lincolnshire. As such
the popular tradition of the locality holds him, and loves to recount his doings ; and
as such his name will be handed down to posterity. Scotter Circuit has been favoured
with the labours of many greater men than William Braithwaite — and it does not
forget them ; but it is no disparagement of William Sanderson and the rest, to affirm
that in this region the fondest traditions of the early times gather round William
Braithwaite. How is this 1 Years ago Ave wrote : " Billy " Braithwaite, as he was

B E

418

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

more often called, was an oddity in his way. He travelled a few years, but trading
with a very small capital, and being withal very erratic in his movements, he soon
found himself without a circuit. For some time he had an authorised roving commission.
Like the captain of a privateer, holding letters of marque, he steered his course where
the most spoil was to be taken from the enemy." In the gist of it this statement is
correct enough. William Braithwaite had his oddities, as had the three Johns with
whom* he must be classed — Benton, Wedgwood and Oxtoby. They were all men of
similar type ; men " thrown up," or rather, providentially given, to do rough pioneer
work in a decadent time. Like them, Braithwaite preferred to go where he listed and
do his work in his own way ; like them he had, there is reason to believe, some private

C. KENDALLS BIRTHPLACE, BISHOP NORTON.

means, and therefore could afford to take his way. But though we do not retract the
statement just re- written, there is one phrase of it we must qualify — that which
speaks of his trading with a very small, i.e., intellectual, capital. He must have had
considerable capital of some sort, or he could not have carried on the trade he did.
A preacher is not mainly one who peddles intellectual wares. His capital is his
sanctified personality. It is this which tells ; especially in such times as those in which
these men had to do their work, when the intellectual modes of presenting truth
favoured and fashioned by the schools, would have been about as effective as a razor
would be effective for the backwoodsman's purpose.

What kind of capital William Braithwaite was endowed with, may be gathered from

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 419

certain incidents, in which he bore a leading part, that were connected with the intro-
duction of Primitive Methodism into villages whose names stand on the first plans.
Here is one incident concerning East Stockwith, on the banks of the Trent, which
shows him drawing on the infinite resources of God, and reveals the main secret of his
power. One day a farmer while at work in his field was surprised to hear a voice
raised in expostulation or entreaty. He left his horses and peeped through the hedge.
Instead of seeing two persons as he expected, and being made privy to an ordinary
ignoble human quarrel, he saw but one man on his knees, pleading with an invisible
Power. The tears were running down his cheeks, his eyes were closed, his hands were
clasped, and he was saying : " Thou must give me souls. I cannot preach without
souls. Lord, give me souls or I shall die." Awe-struck, the man withdrew to his
ploughing. When loosed from labour he told his wife of the strange occurrence.
" Why," said she, " he must be the man who has been round saying that he is going to
preach at the sluice-head." " Then let me have my things," said he, " for I'm going to
hear him." That farmer became a member of the first class, a useful official for many
years, and died in the full triumph of faith.

Bishop !N^orton, the birthplace of Charles Kendall, though a long stretch from
Gainsborough was missioned and regularly visited on the week-days, by W. Braith-
waite and his Colleagues. George Smith, a Wesleyan local preacher, had been praying
that the Lord would send some person to arouse the people and spread the doctrines of
the cross ; and when he heard Braithwaite on his first visit to the village, in 1819, he
involuntarily exclaimed : " Bless God, that man's God is my God." We at once recall
W. G. Bellham's similar expression of feeling as he listened to the preacher at Gains-
borough. Taken together, the two incidents suggest that Braithwaite's power with God
meant also power with men ; that the man put men in love with the message ; that he
"so" let his light shine that men were moved to take his God as their God, and his
people as their people. George Smith merits an additional word. As the newly-gathered
flock was without a shepherd, he volunteered his services until a suitable leader
could be found. This arrangement however was not satisfactory to the Wesleyan
authorities, and his name was erased from the official roll. And so what was intended
to be merely &. ^iro tern, arrangement went on for the long space of fifty-one years. For
forty-four years he was a local preacher, and for the same length of time his house was
the home for the preachers, both lay and itinerant, who supplied the village pulpit.
He was a trustee, steward, and treasurer of Bishop Norton chapel, built in 1833, and
he lived to see it enlarged and free of debt. He supported the cause even beyond his
means, as many thought ; since his household of twelve had to subsist on a labourer's
weekly wage. His church loyalty was severely tested, as it often was in Lincolnshire
in those days ; for Sir Montague Chomley, his aristocratic master, by expostulation and
■even by threats of dismissal from his employment, endeavoured to detach him from
Methodism, but without avail. George Smith died January 24th, 1870, aged 84.*

William Braithwaite was not always tender and persuasive ; he often preached

* See his Memoir, Primitive Methodist Magazine^ February, 1872 ; also " Life of Parkinson
Milson " by Rev. George Shaw, pp. 196-7, where stories of his loyalty are given.

E E 2

420

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

"rousing" sermons, and sometimes could denounce as sternly as a prophet of old.
Indeed, the late Robert Ducker, who was a native of Burnham in the Isle of Axholme
and began his long ministry of forty-nine years in Scotter Circuit and Gainsborough
Branch, has written of Braithwaite : "He seemed to me more like one of the old
prophets than a man of his times." This feature of his character comes out in the
story of the missioning of Appleby, in June, 1819. Appleby is a pleasant village of
Winterton Circuit, lying between Brigg and Winterton. The Wesleyans had dis-
continued holding services in the village, probably because of the quiet pressure — not
to be distinguished from persecution- — brought to bear upon the householders by those
of higher social standing. Braithwaite took his stand on the basal stonework of the
old village cross, and began .to sing. While the service was proceeding, the steward of

APPLEBY CHUKCH.

the estate came up, and in an imperious tone ordered the preacher to desist. His order
not being at once obeyed, he tried to pull the preacher down, and not succeeding in his
attempt, he fetched a crowbar from the blacksmith's shop, and, with the help of two
men, began to prize the stones from under the preacher's feet. At last, to save himseli
from falling, Braithwaite had to step on to the road. But when every one deemed him
effectually silenced, after pausing a moment with closed eyes, he shot a glance at the
three persecutors which transfixed them, and said in solemn tones : — " People of
Appleby, mark my words, if any one of these three men die a natural death, then
God never sent me to preach here to-day. They think they have prevented the truth
from being declared to you, but they have not, for God will raise up a cause in this

THE PERIOD OF CIECUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

421

place, and a prosperous one too." This was no splenetic outburst ; for, strange to say,
both the doom foretold and the church-prosperity promised came to pass One day
there was a dinner-party at the Hall, and the steward accompanied some of the guests

to the top of the old church tower, whence a fine view
can be gained of the Humber and the Yorkshire Wolds
on the one hand, and of Broughton Woods and the
Lincolnshire Wolds on the other. Perhaps unduly
stimulated by the wine he had taken at dinner, the
steward clambered up one of the pinnacles. It yielded
under his weight, and he fell from the towpr, and when
the rest had made their way with all speed to the church-
yard, there lay the steward with his neck broken. The
late George Shaw visited the spot in 1855 and he avers
that, though the accident had occurred fifteen years
before, the spot was quite bare as if the grass had been
worn away by the trampling of innumerable feet, though,
JAMES KEiGHTLEY. [ in fact, f cw slght-sccrs visited the spot on which a curse

seemed to rest.* This is not all, Mr. Shaw asked an old man what became of the
other persecutors. One, he was told, was gored by a bull, and the other, a few months
after, was drowned in a shallow dyke. It is all very strange, and we leave it thus,
without venturing an opinion as to whether it were a singular triple coincidence, or
a threefold retribution. As to the facts themselves there can be no reasonable doubt,
and the facts could easily be paralleled by other incidents in our earlier history.

The brighter side of William Braithwaite's prophecy concerning Appleby has been
fulfilled to the letter. God did raise up a prosperous cause in the village, although it
was not until 1894 that a chapel was secured. For more than fifty years services were
held in the cottage of Mr. Richard Keightley and his devoted wife. God's blessing
was upon them and theirs because of their faithful service
and ungrudging hospitality, and they lived to see two of
their sons, James and R. W. Keightley, take an honoured
place in the ministry of their Church.

Brief mention must be made of adjoining Broughton,
if for no other reason than that it was the place of
Parkinson Milson's nativity.

"The house in which my nativity occurred," says
he, " was a portion of what was known as the Old
School House, and was situated near the corner of
the East Wood. The position is remarkably j^leasant,
bounded as it is by the East, North, and West
Woods. The village lies near the fine chain of hills
known as the Wolds, the sides of which wear
a sylvan loveliness, particularly when steeped in the
cloudless splendour of a summer's sun, in its first post-meridian altitudes."

R. W. KEIGHTLEY.

* Aldersgate Magazine, 1895, pp. 130-1.

422

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

HOUSE IN WHICH PARKINSON MILSON WAS BORN.

Broughton was missioned in 1819, and its name is found on the early plans of the
8cotter Circuit. At first, the services were held on the village green and in the cottage
of Mrs. Mally Allgarth. At her death, the society was left with the open-air for its
only sanctuary, until William and Ann Neal proffered the use of their cottage which

continued to be the recognised
preaching-place until the build-
ing of the chapel in 1841.
William Neal touched the lives
of many for good. It was at
a prayer meeting in his house
when, in July, 1843, Parkinson
Milson knelt as a penitent and
" wept much, though he did not
pray audibly." Neal, too, was
the leader of the class with
which, three days after this,
Milson united himself ; so
that he began his Christian
course just as the first period
of Primitive Methodism was
closing. It was amongst these
Broughton Woods he worked
and prayed, and thought out his Sunday sermons, and where he experienced
a remarkable deliverance from death which helped to decide his career. When, one
day busy in the woods he was buried beneath a tree which another tree had
unexpectedly crashed down upon, and William Neal was weeping under the
impression that Milson was
crushed to death, he crept out
from under a big branch whose
fracture had made a small
arch of protection for him,
exclaiming — "I am Thine by
preservation." One of his work-
mates voiced the general feeling
by saying : — " I'll tell thee what,
lad, the Lord wants thee to do
better work than felling trees ;
and if thou does not do it, the
next tree that falls will kill thee
as sure as thou art born." So
Milson himself thought ; and
within the month (June, 1846), he left his woodman's tools for ever, and began his
ministry of flame. As for William and Ann Neal, they both were spared to reach
a patriarchal age, William dying in triumph in 1878, aged 81, and",. Ann surviving

VILLAGE GREEN OF BROUGHTON, WHERE OPEN-AIR SERVICES
WERE FIRST HELD.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

423

three years longer. " They have been devil-fighters all their lives," was Parkinson
Milson's brief and characteristic tribute to their character.

Atkinson Smith put off the harness three years after Parkinson Milson put it on.
He was only fifty years of age when superannuated by the Sunderland Conference of
1849, and yet, as the poet wrote of him : —

" The scars were on thy flesh —
The marks thy body bore ;
The spirit still was strong and fresh,
The clay could fight no more."

Like Parkinson Milson, he was a North Lincolnshire man, being born at Scotterthorpe ;
and though he died at Goxhill, where he settled on his retirement, his remains were
interred in the churchyard of Scotter, his native parish, by his own request. It was
only in 1829, eight years after he became a member of the Church, that Atkinson
Smith showed any indications of what he afterwards came to be. LTp to that time,
religiously he enjoyed little and did little ; but he now experienced a deeper work of

grace which made him ten-
fold more useful than he had
been before. He was borne
into the ministry on the crest
of a revival- wave, which in
the spring of 1830 swept over
the whole of Scotter Circuit.
"It is probable," says his
biographer,

"that the revival which

then took place was one of

the most powerful and

extensive that was ever

experienced in that part

of the county of Lincoln.

The country was baptised.

Nearly every house was a house of prayer. It was truly interesting, as well as

profitable, to take your stand in the streets of some of these villages at the time

when the curtains of evening, like the doors of a sanctuary, were shutting the

people up with God. The voice of praise, sometimes from the family alone, at

others from collected neighbours, could be distinctly heard ascending at the

same moment from many a family hearth. The reformatory power of religion

was soon strikingly manifested. That which civil laws and magisterial authority

had failed to effect, after many a trial, was accomplished by the religion of Christ.

A great number of the pests and plagues of a large neighbourhood were converted

to God ; and several of them, to our knowledge, after having lived for years as

becometh the gospel of Christ, have been gathered to their rest in heaven, and

many others continue in well-doing to this day.

" In all this the village of Messingham appeared to be the most favoured spot.
Hundreds of people journeyed thither to witness the strange things which had
come to pass ; and not unfrequently some returned home new creatures, making

HOUSE IN WHICH PRIMITIVE METHODISM COMMENCED AT
BROUGHTON— W. NEAL's HOUSE.

424

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECH.

the roads and lanes vocal with the song of praise. All classes of society were
excited. On the village-green, in casual intercourse, or among the busy scenes of
the market, the usual topic was the great revival in Scotter Circuit."*

It is a pleasing picture the writer draws of what he himself had seen and known —
a picture which almost involuntarily starts the prayer — " Haste again, ye days of grace ! "
Equally pleasing is the biographer's description of Atkinson Smith's absorption in this
great revival. He was happily circumstanced both for furthering and enjoying it,
being at the time foreman on a large farm at Messingham, occupied by a Wesleyan
local preacher who, like himself, was fully in the spirit of the revival. Master and man
would often take the lead in services held in the large farm -kitchen, in the presence

SCOTTER CHURCH. THE RESTING-PLACE OF ATKINSON SMITH.

of the numerous children and servants who, in patriarchal style, lived under the same
roof. Once, praise and prayer were still going on, with the blinds drawn and the
candles burning, while the sun was already up and climbing the eastern sky. It was
nothing to them that the struggling angel said, "Let me go, the day breaketh." It
might, break and dawn and shine ; they said, " We will not let thee go- except thou
bless us."

When Atkinson Smith travelled in Hull, in 1833, he was known as "the young
sanctification preacher." The description was accurate, fastening as it did upon that
feature of his ministry which distinguished it to the last. The compulsion which gave
this bent to his preaching grew out of a definite outstanding fact in his own experience.
With this behind him, he might have said, "Woe is me if I preach not" the full

* " Life of Atkinson Smith/' by Charles Kendall, 1854,

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

425

privilege of believers. But in seeking the perfecting of saints, he did not forget the
saving of sinners. So far from that, the saving of men became the chief concern and
the main business of his life. His solicitude on this score drove him to his closet and
kept him on his knees for hours together, and urged him to efforts beyond his strength.
" The zeal of God's house " consumed him ; like the lamp which burns with so ardent
a flame that it uses up too fast the oil within the vessel, it is no ideal man but the
actual Atkinson Smith we are depicting, as we may be assured of, if for a moment we
leave general statements and come to particulars supplied by his contemporaries.
"I called upon him one day," says one of his leaders, "and on entering the house,
I heard him in his study in a vehement agony of prayer. Mrs. Smith was in tears ;
she said : ' Oh, brother W., if the Lord does not revive his work soon 1 shall lose my

MES8INGHAM, PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL AND STREET.

husband.' " William Lonsdale, one of his colleagues, a man like-minded with himself,
has written of Atkinson Smith : " He was a man of much fervent prayer. I remember
him saying to me one Friday (I think at Gainsborough), ' Lonsdale, I have prayed two
hours before breakfast every morning this week.' He seemed in a flame of holy zeal
for souls, and the glory of God." Again, George Wakefield, an influential official of
Scotter Circuit, has left it on record: "The influence which accompanied his prayers,
while only young, was extraordinary. Doubtless he and his brother Edward were two
of the mightiest men in prayer ever raised up in these parts."

Enough : it was an incalculable good that such a man as Atkinson Smith was
permitted for nineteen years to fulfil his ministry in the circuits of the old Hull
District. Doubtless, during these years, many a scene must have been witnessed like

426

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

PARKINSON MILSON.

that fondly recalled by one who was present in old Mill Street. Atkinson Smith was
preaching on Ezekiel's vision of the waters which flowed from under the altar.

A powerful influence rested on the congregation, reach-
ing its climax when the preacher recited, with much
feeling, the lines of Richard Jukes : —

'' When first in this river I ventur'd my soul,
The waters of life to my ankles did roll,
But still persevering my Saviour to please,
I soon found the river was up to my knees :
A thousand is measured, and then I go in,
'Tis up to my loins, — 'tis freedom from sin.
And then I go on to prove it a river.
So deep, and so wide, — I swim in't for ever."

"The sun was setting in its splendour, and his full
soul was swimming in the fountain of rich redeeming
love what time he led the praying host into the fulness
and sinners to Calvary." * At the close of his ministry when seeking superannuation,
he could modestly claim that, through the labours of himself and his colleagues, one
thousand two hundred and four had been added to the membership on his various
stations.

What has been said of Atkinson Smith might, with little modification, be said also
of Parkinson Milson. They had both passed through the same crisis of experience,
and lived and preached the same truths ; and in both, the intense spirit " o'er-informed
the tenement of clay." And yet Milson was very human, in the best sense — loving
and loveworthy, intermeddling with knowledge, and possessing considerable imagination
and poetic sensibility. We are apt to forget this, and to think of him merely^ instead
of mainly, as the red-
hot revivalist and
preacher of holiness.
Atkinson Smith and
Milson, along with
Thomas Proctor, John
Smith (1), George
Warner, and others
who have been given
to our Church, must be
classed with William
Bramwell, David
Stoner and Thomas
Collins. Their reputa-
tion will tend to increase WILDSWORTH CHAPEL.

rather than diminish as the years go by ; for, after all, it is the record of saintliness and
usefulness that lasts the longest, and which brightens as it lasts, as though even here

# "

Reminiscences of the Early Days of Primitive Methodism in Hull." By Jane Garbutt.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

427

the promise were beginning to have its fulfilment — " They that turn many to right-
eousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever."

The villages of old Scotter Circuit are full of memories. Here, for example, is
Wildsworth, a little village on the banks of the Trent where, in 1821, a curious little
chapel was built on a piece of waste ground near the river. With this village cause,
the family of Airy, so well known throughout the circuit, was early associated. At
West Ferry and Kir ton Lindsey chapels were built before the close of the year 1819.
It was at Kirton, lying under the brow of the Lincolnshire Wolds, where William
Sanderson, to use his own phrase, " nestled down " after his superannuation. Here he
spent in an almost idyllic manner the remaining twenty-two years of his life, cultivating
his ample garden, enriched as it was with flowers contributed by friends in the various

W. SANDEKSON S COTTAGE, KIRTON.

parts of the country he visited for special services; for, until 1865, it was true of him
as he said, that " his speaking parts were as good as ever, but his going parts were
disabled." Then when the seizure came, it took the form of aphasia, and the once
ready and eloquent man would smilingly look at you, hopelessly lost for the commonest
word. With his garden, a few good books, as long as might be the means of grace,
and not forgotten by his friends, he quietly awaited the summons which came
April 3rd, 1874, only some six weeks before, John Flesher, his closest friend, also
received his call. It was here, or hereabouts, too, that the shattered William Lonsdale,
the Weardale convert of Sanderson, came to die (1863), and where William By water,
ex-Missionary Secretary and famous chapel-builder, spent the closing years of his life,

428

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

though he died in 1869, at Cote Houses, the hospitable home of the Harsleys —
a family which, ever since the time Thomas Harsley's name stood as first local preacher
on the first plan, has been honourably associated with Scotter Circuit.

Keference has been made to Messingham and the great revival of which it was the
centre. Messingham stands next to Scotter on the early plans, and there is an incident
connected with its missioning in 1818 of some interest, at least to the writer. At that
time there lived at the hamlet of Ashby one Thomas Kendall, a cottage-farmer and
carrier v/ho for many years drove his cart every Tuesday to Gainsborough, and
" put up " and dined at the Black Bull hard by the Old Hall. Going to Messingham
one evening on business, he heard that a party of mountebanks was there, an

MESSINGHAM, SHOWING THE TREE UNDER WHICH THE SERVICE WAS HELD.

determined to witness their performance ; but his purpose was frustrated in an
unexpected manner. William Braithwaite was that evening conducting a service at
Messingham, and Thomas was somehow drawn to the place, where he heard part of
the sermon preached, and the old hymn — " Turn to the Lord," etc., sung. We quote
from the memoir of Thomas Kendall as to what followed.

"Conviction for sin seized him while he listened, and it was of so powerful
a nature that he often declared his hair rose up upon his head and displaced his
hat. A similar effect is not unfrequently produced by strong fear. . . . For several
weeks he remained in an awakened state, and then entered into gospel liberty as

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

429

MISS PARROTT,
(Afterwards Mrs. Smith.)

he stood against the doorstead of a barn at Crosby, listening
to a sermon preached by Miss Hannah Parrott, afterwards
Mrs. Smith of Goxhill. This was in the spring of 1819. A class
was soon afterwards formed at Ashby, which he joined. Its
first meeting was at his house. He co-operated with the rest of
the members in the erection of a chapel. This chapel, not being
properly secured to the Connexion, was in a little while sold by
the person on whose land it stood, and the infant society was
scattered. For a time the Primitive Methodists did not preach
at the village. They, however, revisited it ; a society was again
formed, of which Thomas Kendall became a member [afterwards
a leader and chapel steward] until his decease. There was
a revival of religion not long afterwards in the Scotter Circuit.

THOMAS KENDALL S HOUSE, ASHBT.

It reached Ashby, and the cause there was established. A second chapel was built,
of which he became a trustee, and some improvement which he had effected in its
financial state was a source of satisfaction to him on his death-bed."'

Just before he expired, February 22nd, 1854, he spread his attenuated arms and
exclaimed : " Learn to die, my dears ! " As a memento of this dying charge, one of
his sons wrote a verse which was inscribed on his tomb-stone in Bottesford churchyard,
where devout men, headed by William Sanderson, laid him to rest.

'' With daily energy supplied

His task through life he sought :
' Oh, learn to die,' he said, then died,
Himself by Jesus taught."

430

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Thomas Kendall was a plain man of few words, but these sharp and decisive as pistol
shots. He was independent in sentiment and action, prompt, and so true a time-keeper,
that the carrier's punctuality was a proverb in the village. While his character thus
showed something of Puritan ruggedness and austerity, Fanny Dennis, his wife, had
all the vivacity and fluent speech of her Celtic race. Some at least of their eleven
children who survived, must have derived largely from the maternal side ; for, of the

FANNY KENDALL.

BOTTESFOKD CHUKCH.

ten sons, six were at their|father's death preachers of
the gospel. These all began their course as Primitive
Methodists, but three subsequently entered the ministry
of other Churches, while, Charles, Thomas and Dennis
fulfilled a long and useful ministry in the Church of
their youth. Charles carved his record deep in the
Hull District. He was a capable administrator, a good
manager of men, a careful and prayerful superintendent ;
a powerful preacher, with an unusually large vocabulary
at command, from which he knew how to select the
right word, as the books he has left testify. He was
the biographer of Atkinson Smith and William Sander-
son, in conjunction with the latter the originator and
editor of the first series of the " Primitive Pulpit " ; and
in collaboration with his brother Henry, the author
of "Strange Footsteps: or Thoughts on the Providence

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PRB:D0MINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

431

CHAS. KENDALL.

of God," besides being the writer of various pamphlets. He
was elected President of the Conference of 1881, held at Hull,
and died during his term of office, May 5th, 1882. Thomas
Kendall was converted at Gainsborough, and began and ended
his thirty-four years' ministry in his native circuit. By his
genial, kindly disposition and pastoral diligence he endeared
himself to his people. His soul was full of music so that he sang
as well as preached that gospel which he illustrated by his life.
He died at Doncaster January 24th, 1878. Dennis Kendall
began his successful ministry at Swinefleet in 1847. His
ministry of forty-four years was chiefly spent on Circuits in

THE KENDALL MEMORIAL CHAPEL, ASHBY.

the South of England where, as we shall see, he proved
himself an efficient superintendent. How much good resulted
from those two open-air services which shaped the life-course
of the humble village carrier !

A further though not the final stage in this story of village
Primitive Methodism was reached when, in 1885, a removal
was made from the old site in Bottesford Lane to the High
Street of Ashby, and the "Kendall Memorial Chapel" was
•erected at a cost of £1050, and opening services conducted on
four consecutive Sundays by members of the Kendall family.
The cause in the village continues to prosper ; and bearers of

THOS.^ KENDALL.

432

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECH.

the old name are still doing good service, the Nestor of whom is James Kendall who
occupies the old homestead, while Leeson Fetch survives as a veteran official.

Favoured, no doubt, by its more central position, Scotter soon superseded Gains-
borough as titular head of the Branch, and in 1820 was formed into an independent
circuit. It speedily took rank with the leading circuits, becoming strong and aggressive,
and having at the close of this period, 1842, no less than sixteen travelling preachers
labouring on its eight branches, three of which were the distant Norman Isles — Jersey,
Guernsey and Alderney. A new chapel was built as early as 1819, the opening
services being conducted on September 5th, by John Harrison and Hannah Parrott, the
latter being one of the station ministers. Miss Parrott was a woman of excellent
character and abilitie>-^, who was made extensively useful- in the early days. In his

SCOTTEK CHAPEL.

In which the Deed Poll was read and approved.

"The Female Advocate" — which' perhaps still remains the best apologia for female
preaching we have — John Stamp says of Miss Parrott: "She has spiritual children in
the ministry. I am one." As Mrs. Smith, of Goxhill, this pioneer preacher survived
many years, honoured by all who knew her. Scotter Chapel, which with its adjoining
preacher's house was built " on the site of an old duck-pond, given by Mr. E. Ducker,"
was ultimately lost to the Connexion, as so many of the early chapels were. One who
wrote near the time and knew all the persons and circumstances connected with the
alienation of the property, does not hesitate to attribute it to

"a factious movement by a party that had always passed for trustees of the

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

433

Scotter Chapel, and were found in the end to be proprietors, having caused to be
inserted in the deed of conveyance certain clauses empowering them to dispose of
it as they might think proper. The society had contributed towards its erection,
and twice afterwards to its enlargement under deceptive representations. The
proprietors refusing to sell it or lease it to the Connexion, it was abandoned, and
through the gracious interference of Divine Providence, and the sympathies of the
public, a new chapel, in easy circumstances, was soon erected [on Gainsborough
Koad]. Many wondered to see a chapel and two preachers' houses springing up in
the very best part of the village, but the brother of Atkinson Smith and a host of
his old- friends were praying, and the long-tried, earnest, and loyal friends of
Primitive Methodism in Scotter and its neighbourhood were giving ; and what
difficulty, associated with the maintenance and diffusion of God's cause, can stand
before praying and giving 1 " — " Life of Atkinson Smith " (pp. 88-89).

GENERAL VIEW OF SCOTTER.

The old chapel (vacated for the new one in 1849) still stands, though its outward
aspect is not quite the same as when the delegates to the Conference of 1829 carried
on their deliberations within its walls ; for to Scotter belongs the distinction of being
the only rural village at which a Primitive Methodist Conference has been held. We
say " rural village " advisedly, to distinguish it from Tunstall, which was little more
than a manufacturing village when the second Conference, of 1821, was held there.
No clearer proof is needed of the higher ?'o7e played by villages in the early period of
the Connexion's history, or of the standing and influence of Scotter as a circuit at the
close of the last century's third decade. At this time, though Scotter is the head of
a good country station, and is a large, clean village pleasantly situated on its little

434 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

tributary of the Trent ; it is no busy centre, as one may gather from its being unserved
by any railway line, and gives small indication of its former, almost diocesan, importance.
The Conference of 1829 was noteworthy in several respects, and first and chief of all,
because then there appeared various signs not to be mistaken that the Connexion was
at last emerging out of that period of depression and crisis which, like a malignant
shadow, had rested upon it from 1824 to 1828. True; during these four years the
borders of the Connexion were very considerably extended, especially in the North and
West, but this extension was coincident with stationariness or retrogression in other
parts. We have already had occasion to anticipate this painful fact in writing of the
Midlands. And when we turn to the numerical returns for the period, there is proof,
plain enough, that something was wrong. The increase reported for 1825 was only
75, and no returns whatever were issued for 1826 and 1827 ; then when the muster-
roll was again taken in 1828, the membership of the Connexion was found to be 31,610,
or 1,897 less than it had been in 1824, four years before. In addition to this, many of
the circuits were found to be unable to pay their way, and were in debt to their
ministers. The outlook was so dark that many good men — and especially Hugh Bourne
— began seriously to dread that the Connexion was on the down-grade and would
soon cease to be.

To what causes must this period of reverse be attributed ? Mr. Petty has we think
put his finger on two of the main co-operative causes in specifying : First, the too rapid
increase of travelling preachers, rendering it inevitable that a good many unsuitable men
would be employed to the grievous detriment of the circuits. Second : A certain
number of restless, . turbulent spirits crept in from other churches and, turning the
Connexion into a cave of Adullam, ultimately wrought mischief. Both these causes
must be allowed due weight, and a moment's consideration will go to show that in the
case of a denomination like ours, beginning from the ground, increasing and extending
itself so rapidly, and doing its chief work among the poor and less-instructed class, it
was inevitable that the causes already specified would operate, and sooner or later a time
of trial and crisis be reached such as that which was traversed from 1824 to 1828 ; and,
with Mr. Petty, one can but wonder the crisis was traversed with, what must after all
be regarded as, comparatively little loss.

Mr. Petty finds his third cause contributing to the Connexional crisis in " the great
commercial distress " which prevailed at the time in the manufacturing districts. As to
the existence of this distress, with all the social unrest to which it gave rise, there can be
no manner of doubt. But while this is fully admitted, it may be doubted whether, had
the other causes been inoperant, the state of the country would have proved other than
the Church's opportunity. In the time of distress and disorder which obtained in the
Midlands before 1819, when the Luddites were at work and " Levelling " principles were
rife, the Great Kevival took place and, as we have tried to show, men lent a willing ear
to the message of good-will and consolation our fathers brought to them. Again, in
the disappointment which fell upon the people after the passing of the Reform Bill,
Primitive Methodism could more than hold her own during the excitement which
attended the advocacy of the Charter. And further, when, by resorting to drastic
measures, our Church had got rid of the elements which disturbed her peace and

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. ' 435

robbed her of her power with men, then her strength came back to her, and there is no
more fear of issuing numerical returns, and no decrease to report until 1845. And yet,
though the Connexional crisis was over, the state of the country grew worse rather
than better, until, in 1830, publicists and clergymen and men of all schools, were in
dread that a revolution was at hand. Our own deliberate opinion is that Primitive
Methodism was no inconsiderable factor in averting the revolution that so many feared
was coming ; ^' also that she has done her best work when and where, by reason of
unequal laws or industrial changes, social distress has seemed to create difficulties in her
path, whether that path has taken her amongst the operatives, or miners or agricultural
labourers of this our land.

The Scotter Conference stands out in refreshing contrast with some of the Conferences
immediately preceding, especially those of 1824 and 1825 held at Halifax and Sunder-
land respectively. Looking at the state of the Connexion as it then presented itself, and
looking at it by the light of the journals, official documents and letters of the time, we
are again forcibly reminded of Daniel Isaac's dictum, — " They want discipline." Hugh
Bourne was the stern, pitiless prophet of the time. He lifted up his voice, vibrating
with passionate anxiety, in exposing and denouncing the evils that threatened the very
existence of the denomination. There were hot debates in those two early Conferences,
and yet at the end of them, Hugh Bourne found himself in a minority. Many of his
brethren regarded his judgments as harsh, and his proposals more severe than the
occasion, bad as it was, demanded. But in 1826, the situation was if anything worse
than ever, and his sterner counsels prevailed. Though, strange to say, his name never
stands as President of any Conference, his spirit pervades the Minutes of those years
and there is no mistaking his pen. At this time the circuit debts amounted in the
aggregate to some thousand pounds — a widely distributed cause of anxiety and
embarrassment. The preachers on these stations were roughly divided into "useful"
and "running-out preachers." This latter term, evidently of Hugh Bourne's minting,
denominated the preachers who ran the circuits into debt. It was these drones or
inefficients who were aimed at by a regulation of the Nottingham Conference of 1826.
In answer to the question, "How shall the Connexion be preserved ? " it was enacted:
"No circuit, already in debt, shall be allowed to run any further in debt; and no
circuit not now in debt shall be allowed to run in debt." The course taken was
suggested by the self-denying ordinance adopted by the Hull preachers in 1822 when,
faced by a circuit deficit, they proposed to forego &> portion of their quarter's salary,
until, by hard work and the blessing of God, there should be an improvement in the
circuit finances. This temporary bye-law was now made a Connexional statute. " It
was found necessary for all preachers to be put on beginning to make proof of their
ministry." The regulation worked as was expected and desired. In the course of twelve
months thirty of these " runners out " made good their name by quitting the ministry.
The new regulation bore hardly for a time upon some of the " useful preachers " ; so
much so, that a Charitable Fund was started in order partially to recoup them for the

* Eor further illustration of this position see the chapter on '* The Kingdom as Salt," in " Christ's
Kingdom and Church in the Nineteenth Century."

PF 2

436

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECH.

losses they had sustained. In other ways the bands of discipline were tightened. The
system of Circuit and ministers' pledges was begun : the creeping into the societies of

unprincipled men from other Circuits or Churches was
sought to be frustrated : entrance into the ministry was
more carefully guarded. The action of the Conference
of 1826 was a piece of relentless surgery ; but the patient's
condition was too serious for mild treatment. By 1828
the worst was past, and although the returns showed
a decrease of 1907 on the returns of 1824, there was an
actual increase of 1610 on the year, and in nine years
the membership of the Connexion more than doubled /
itself, the rather less than 30,000 members of 1827 —
having by 1 836 become 62,306. No wonder that inspired
by the brightened aspect of affairs in 1829, Hugh Bourne
should write :^" This was allowed to be the best Con-
ference ever held in the Primitive Methodist Connexion
KUTH wATKiNs. . . . and is likely to be remembered with a degree

of satisfaction for years to come and to be spoken of by children yet unborn."

Two notable things were done at the Scotter Conference, both of which showed that
at last the Connexion had come clear out of the shadow of her temporary eclipse :--
the establishment of a mission to the United States, and the presentation and passing
of the Connexional Deed Poll.

The desirability of following the numerous Primitive Methodists who had crossed
the Atlantic had for some time been keenly felt by the authorities of both the Hull
and Tunstall Circuits. The proposal to send missionaries to the United States
emanated from these two circuits, and the enterprise was jointly theirs. The Scotter
Conference gave its sanction to the scheme and commended it to the prayers and
sympathy of our. people in the first Conference address. Pour missionaries, W. Knowles
and Euth Watkins from Tunstall, and W. Summersides
and T. Morris selected by Hull Circuit, sailed for New
York on June 19th, 1829. There is extant an old letter
which brings their departure before us in a realistic way
and shows William Clowes figuring in a new character

that of an energetic man of business. The letter is

addressed to John Flesher, and is written from Manchester.

"Through much fatigue I got the missi(maries to
Liverpool last Wednesday afternoon, sought a vessel,
paid their fare, £24 15s., bought their sea-stores and
bedding, got their luggage to lodgings and from there
to the ship and them on board, according to orders
by nine o'clock the next morning. The ship is called
'The New York.' The wind being against them
they did not sail till the next morning. They cleared william knowles.

the docks about five minutes J)ast eleven, at which went to America, June 19th, 1829.

time they waved their hands and bade me adieu. A good wind and all in good

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

437

spirits, with the exception of Sister Kuth. She sate pensive and wept. You will
observe they all sailed in one vessel, bound for New York. I felt bound with
them in spirit. Brother Flesher ! without a spirit of enterprise there is no
glory."

Such, as brought back by this old letter, was the leave-taking of our first over-sea

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missionaries. Now enthusiasm, when it takes the form of missionary enterprise, is an
admirable thing; but looking back now upon this American mission, one may well
doubt whether it were wise to undertake such a mission. But even granting that
it was, one can easily see now, with the documents before us, that our fathers under-

438

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

MR. ROBERT WALKER,
CANADA.

rated the magnitude of their undertaking, with the result that the mission was but
inadequately equipped both with agents of the right kind and with means. The
handbill which the missionaries took with them for distribution looks as though what
the United States might be was hardly understood. There is a certain insular
simplicity about this bill which surely needed the counter-
active of larger maps.

After the arrival of the party, W. Knowles and Ruth Watkins
began their labours in New York, while the Hull missionaries
proceeded to Philadelphia where, as also at Pottsville, some
ninety miles distant, societies were formed. The United States
mission did not fulfil the sanguine expectations of its promoters
— m^ust indeed, so far as its earlier history is concerned, be
regarded as having been a comparative failure, and at the annual
Conference held at JSTew York, September 16th, 1840, it was —
"Resolved that we consider ourselves from this time distinct
from and unconnected with the English Conference." In harmony
with this resolution the united societies were legally incorporated under the title of
" The American Primitive Methodist Church." The severance, however, was not
final; for, in 1843, overtures were made to the English Conference with the view of
resuming closer connection. The result was the opening of a new page in the history
of Primitive Methodism in the United States which will have to be glanced at when
we come to look at the missionary movements of the next period.

Primitive Methodism was introduced into Canada by loyal and zealous laymen from
the Home-land, and, under the old flag, met with greater success than in the United
States. Mr. William Lawson, who had been a local preacher in Carlisle, began to
preach in the streets of Toronto, then called Little York, in July 1829, just before our
missionaries landed in ISTew York. The first Primitive Methodist class in the Dominion
was organised in September of the same year in the house
of Mr. Lawson, who acted as leader, having that excellent man
— Mr. R. Walker as his assistant. Mr. N. Watkins entered the
country as the first duly appointed missionary, August, 1830.
Two years after, the Conference entrusted the Canadian missions
to the care of Hull Circuit, and with them they continued untij
in 1843, they were taken over by the General Missionary
Committee.

The Deed Poll.
The Scotter Conference of 1829 should also be remembered
as the Deed-poll Conference. Alike in the origin of this legal
instrument, and in the delay which attended its execution, we
may see a reflection of that Connexional crisis of which we have spoken. On
the authority of the late venerable Thomas Bateman we learn that the precarious
tenure on which our places of public worship were held had been so borne in
upon the mind of Hugh Bourne by one painful incident after another that, as early

MR. WM. LAWSON.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 439

as 1823, he had become anxious for the preparation of a Deed of Settlement for the
Connexion similar to that Mr. Wesley secured for the Methodist Societies. He paid
several visits to Burland for consultation with Messrs. T. Bateman and G. Taylor (who
afterwards became one of the twelve original permanent members of Conference), and
sought to interest them in his plans. The proposal of a Deed of Settlement " to
legalise the Connexion and secure its chapels," was brought before the Conference of
1823 at Loughborough, and a committee of five persons appointed "to see after the
execution of the Deed." Nothing, however, seems to have been done, and before the
Deed was really executed several members of this executive committee had disappeared
— another proof of the unsettledness of the times. Again, in 1825, the necessity of the
Deed of Settlement was reaffirmed, and a fresh committee appointed to see after its
execution, consisting of H. and J. Bourne, W. Clowes and James Steele. This
committee seems to have carried out its instructions, for, "an eminent attorney" —
probably Mr. John Ward, of Burslem — was employed to draw up a deed which was
presented to the Conference of 1826, and in the main approved, though various
modifications were ordered to be made. Then we hear no more of the Deed of
Settlement until the Scotter Conference of 1829. What is the explanation of the
delay ? Mr. Bateman is ready with the answer : —

" A first draft was prepared, and the opinion of men learned in the law sought
thereon. But before the end of the year the Connexion was found to be in such
a state that no one could tell whether it would be entirely broken up or not. So
the deed was left in abeyance to await results. When the happy change came
and prosperity returned, the necessity for the deed became more than ever
apparent. It was again taken up and completed by the Committee, and finally
it was examined and passed by the whole Connexion, through and by their
representatives legally elected in Conference assembled at Scotter; . . . and
a Mr. Wilks, of London, very generously undertook to put the matter into legal
form without charge." *

The Mr. Wilks referred to in the preceding extract was a man eminent in his day,
and interesting to us from his family connections and his associations with our Church.
John Wilks was the son of Matthew Wilks, minister of the Tabernacle, and father-in-
law of James Parsons, of York. When the Protestant Society was formed in 1811
for the protection of religious liberty he became its secretary ; and " Wilks and
Liberty " was the battle-cry of his supporters at the contested Parliamentary election
at Boston in 1830, in which he proved successful. Such was the public-spirited man
whose legal eye scanned and weighed every clause in the Deed-Poll. For that he
deserves mention here, and not only for that, but because afterwards he was the adviser
and befriender of Thomas Russell in the time of persecution, giving his professional
services without fee or reward.

The Deed Poll was duly " signed, sealed, and delivered," by Hugh Bourne, James
Bourne, and William Clowes,! on February 5th, 1830, in the presence of John Ward,

* "Observations on, and Explanations of, the Deed Poll of the Primitive Methodist Connexion,"
by Thomas Bateman.

t James Steele, who would have been one of the signatories, died in 1827. See p. 107.

440

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Attorney at Law, Burslem and his clerk, and after enrolment was presented, read and
approved at the Leicester Conference of 1831. This should have been done at the
preceding Conference, but there had been some " delay in London," and the document
did not arrive in time for presentation. It does not belong to the purpose of this
History to analyse the provisions of the Deed Poll, which from first to last was some
eight years in the making. It may, however, be well to place on record the names of
the four ministers and eight laymen standing on the original document as " permanent
members of Conference"; for this and not "Deed Poll Members" is, throughout,
their legal designation.

Hugh Bourne, Eichard Odlin,

James Bourne, George Taylor,

William Clowes, David Bowen,

Sampson Turner, Thomas Sugden,

John Garner, Ralph Waller,

John Hancock, - John Gordon Black.

Grimsby Circuit and its Offshoots.

The history of Primitive Methodism in north-east Lincolnshire has had many
features in common with its history in the north-western part of the county. If

Market Rasen be substituted for Gains-
borough and Grimsby for Scotter, the
course of events relating to the four
circuits has Connexionally been much
the same. Market Rasen began as
a branch of Nottingham ; it soon yielded
the headship to Grimsby, and until it
achieved circuit independence for itself,
continued a branch of Grimsby — the place
to which it had served as a stepping-
stone. In these respects the parallel
between Market Rasen and Gainsborough
seems complete. In other respects the
history of Scotter and Grimsby Circuits
offers a contrast rather than a parallel.
Grimsby has not been such a mother of
circuits as Scotter, nor did it sustain, or help other circuits to sustain, distant missions
in the early period, as did Scotter. Yet Louth (1823), Market Rasen (1854), Tetney
(1868), besides Grimsby, second and third circuits, have been formed directly from it,
and Alford indirectly through Louth (1860).

And yet, though this is no despisable record, Grimsby's distinction as a circuit rests
on other grounds. It is a good example of a circuit-town in which our Church has
conserved its gains. Amongst the towns we have considered, it stands almost alone in
having had no division or serious loss. With very few exceptions, the old families.

GRIME THE PIllATE.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

441

gradually rising in the social scale, have remained with us to the second and third
generations, so that our Church has struck its roots deep into the social and civic life
of the town. Related to the preceding both as cause and effect, it has made a vigorous
attempt to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population, Not only has it planted
its chapels betimes at strategic points, but it has made them so attractive that none of
its own people has cause to be ashamed of them ; and it has made them so commodious
and well-furnished that no one can justly complain of lack of facilities for carrying on
the spiritual and educational work of the Church. We should have some difficulty in
finding .a town which, for its size, has put forth so much well-directed enterprise in
chapel building. In this respect Grimsby leaves little to be desired. It was not until
the middle of the last century was well turned that the need began to press to which
the building of Victoria Street Chapel in 1859 was the response. Since then, Grimsby

LOCK HILL, GRIMSBY.

From which Clowes sailed to Hull, and T. King and oljhers afterwards. A favourite site for

open-air services.

has grown by leaps and bounds, and so has Primitive Methodism in the borough on its
material side, as the views of its many fine chapels, given on a later page, sufficiently
prove. Scotter Circuit had done much of its best work when Grimsby was just about
beginning the work which has given it distinction. The two circuits are almost coeval
and contiguous, yet historically the contrast between them is marked. Scotter shows
what a rural circuit did for the Connexion in the first period ; Grimsby is an object-
lesson as to what Primitive Methodism can do for the towns of even abnormal growth.
We begin, then, with Market Rasen, as it was to this place — already, or in
anticipation, a branch — that Thomas King made his way when he began his ministry
in August, 1819, just after the Nottingham Preparatory Meeting of which he had been

442

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

a lay-member. The success already reported in S cotter Circuit would naturally suggest
the desirability of missioning the adjacent part of the county, and there were good
reasons for making Market Rasen the first objective of the mission. Once more there
had been " preparers of the way." According to Herod, Ann Carr and Miss Healand
had preached at Market Rasen, Caistor, Tealby and Walesby in the summer of 1818.
This may have been the reason why John Harrison, shortly after his appointment to
Hull, spent some ten days in preaching at some of these places. He crossed to
Grimsby by packet on the 18th of May, and walked the twenty miles to Market Rasen
after four o'clock ! jSText day he formed a society of eight members — the nucleus of
the Market Rasen branch and all that was to come out of it. During these ten days

MARKET KASEN MAKKET-PLACE.

John Harrison visited Middle Rasen and Nettleton, but especially Market Rasen and
Caistor, where the most interesting incidents occurred. It was at Market Rasen where
persecution of the rough and rowdy type seems to have played itself out so far as north
Lincolnshire is concerned; for we do not meet with anything further north in the
county quite as bad as the scene witnessed in the market-place on May 25th. There
had been mutterings of the coming storm at the service held in the same place on the
previous Sunday morning. Timid friends, aware of the threatened interference, tried
to dissuade John Harrison from carrying out his announced intention of preaching on
the same spot on the Tuesday evening. But he was not to be intimidated, and taking
his " little Davids " with him, he began the service. One ruffianly fellow soon made

THE PERIOD OE CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

443

himself particularly troublesome. He came up, making a " horrid noise," shook his
fist in the preacher's face, and tried to pull him off his chair ; but another man
constituted himself the preacher's champion and knocked down the persistent disturber.
It was not until he had been knocked down three times in succession that the man at
last desisted and turned upon his assailant. While a set fight was going on between
the two, Mr. Harrison carried his chair a little distance away and proceeded with the
service. When the fight was over, the man with the horrid voice returned and once
more tried to pull the preacher off the chair, but only to meet the same fate as before.
Then, and not till then, did he pick himself up and slink away. During the service
sticks and stones and shot were flung, though without doing much damage. Finally,
the clergyman gave orders for the church-bells to be set a-ringing, a proceeding that led
Mr. Harrison to make some plain observations on the use and misuse of church-bells
and parsons. Despite these annoyances, the vast congregation listened intently and was
deeply impressed.

Caistor also was twice visited by John Harrison during this mission-round. Each
time, be it' noted, he was accompanied by Miss Healand, whose home we judge to have
been in these parts. On their first visit they sent the bellman round to announce that
a service would be held in the middle of the market-place. Their reception was all
that could be desired. The people ran together " as if to a bull-baiting," until some
five-hundred persons were assembled who, while John Harrison preached, were as " still
as though he had been promising them an earthly inheritance on terms of their
obedience that night." Amongst those who listened were three clergymen and
a dissenting minister, the latter acknowledging that open-air services might be
useful to many who would not attend either church or chapel. This was on the
Friday, and on the following Wednesday, May 26 th, a congregation double that of the
former one assembled in the same place to hear the two missionaries. The clergyman
of the place was present to hear and judge for himself, thus showing that he had the
true Beroean spirit and was " more noble " than he of Market Kasen. At the close of
Miss Healand's exhortation he shook her hand, remarking, he thought it an honour to
do so. "I heard," said he, "such an unfavourable account of the 'Ranters,' I thought
I would come and hear for myself, and I must say I heard nothing but the gospel from
your lips. I wish you every blessing."

Naturally it was deemed desirable to follow up the success already gained, and hence
from June 7 th to 11th, we find W. Clowes and J. Harrison in Lincolnshire purposing
to pay another visit to Caistor. But between them and their goal lay other villages
which were anxious to hear the Word of Life from their lips and would not be denied ;
and so they got no nearer than Limber. Here Lord Yarborough's lodge-keeper told
them the villagers had long been expecting them, and they had reluctantly to forego
their main purpose.

The June Quarterly Meeting of Nottingham Circuit almost immediately followed
this short excursion. By this time experience had shown both the desirability of
prosecuting the Market Rasen mission and the impracticability of Hull's undertaking
the work. Clearly the missionary should be located in the midst of his work and not
have to keep crossing and recrossing the Humber and then going twenty miles afoot

444

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

in order to reach it. These considerations would have weight, and the same June
Quarterly Meeting which made Hull a Circuit urged Thomas King to enter the ministry
and probably assigned him the Market Rasen neighbourhood as his sphere of labour.

It is significant of the changes the years have wrought that Thomas King went to the
scene of his future labours on foot. He spent some days at Market Rasen visiting and
preaching, and then did the same among the dwellers in the " moors, wolds, clays and
marshes." While so engaged he ^^ heard of Grimsby, ^^ we are told. There seems
something odd in this way of putting it, as though Grimsby had been an obscure place
in some out-of-the-way corner that he had got to hear of by the merest chance. The
idea suggested is in the main a true one; for the Grimsby of 1819 uns an obscure
place. In days gone by it had been famous. It had its legends of Grime the pirate
and Havelok the Dane. It had been favoured by kings, and given birth to famous
men : but it had fallen from its high estate. Its natural haven had silted up ; it had
no manufactures to export and
no means of forwarding imports.
We can form some idea of the
obscurity into which it had sunk
by the casual references made
to it by those who chanced to

GRIMSBY PEESENT.

GRIMSBY PAST.

know it in its low estate.
Thomas Mozley, speaking of
North Lincolnshire as he
knew it in 1819, intimates
that nobody went there except
on business, or to take the
ferry for Hull, or "to go to the
most dreary of all watering
places near what I remember as the miserable little port of Grimsby." "^ Wilkie
Collins makes one of his characters fly to Grimsby to be in safe hiding. William
Cobbett, in driving from Louth to Barton, changed horses and breakfasted at Grimsby.
Wishing to recall something that happened there he imagines his readers exclaiming —
*' What could you find there to be snatched from everlasting oblivion, except for the
purpose of execration ? " t When Thomas King heard of it, its population was barely
3,000, though that was an improvement on the 982 at which it stood in 1790. In short
the local historian says : " Grimsby was so obscure that it probably owed its place in
maps and topographical dictionaries to its privileges as a parliamentary and municipal
borough." The worst was past and Grimsby's fortunes were on the rise in 1849, when

* Mozley's " Eeminiscences," etc., vol. ii. p. 11.
t Cobbett's " Rural Rides," vol. ii. p. 322. Edition of 1855.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

445

the foundation-stone of tlie Royal Dock was laid by Prince Albert. But even then the
" Times " correspondent on the occasion could write of Grimsby as " one of those places

that few of our readers have heard of, and
a less number have seen, but which I can
best describe as a place which a London
contractor would cart away in three
weeks." What the Church of England
did for it may be gathered from the fact
that so recently as 1828, "it had service
but once a day, and the minister served
Glee also."*

Such was the Grimsby Thomas King
heard the rumour of and determined to
visit. How dififerent is the Grimsby of
All the world knows of its spacious docks,
its famous water-tower, its timber-yards and unrivalled fishing-trade. We can follow

DEANSGATE BKIDGE.
Thomas King entered Grimsby by this road.

to-day we need not stop to point out.

THE OLD MARKET-PLACE, GRIMSBY (SHOWING OLD TOWN HALL).
Thomas King preached here in afternoon of October 31st, 1819, first day of his visit.

all his movements on the day he carried his determination into effect, which was
the last day in October, 1819. He had slept on the Saturday night at Barnoldby,
and left for Grimsby, four miles off, accompanied by two men to show him the way.
But when they were within two miles of the town they left him to enter alone.
Keeping his eye on the tower of the church, he pushed on — for the morning was
cold — and presently the church and adjoining town-hall and] the market-place were
passed ; then Clayton Hall in Baxter Gate (now Victoria street), and tradition says
he drank at the pump then standing only a few minutes' walk from the spot where

* " Grimsby Methodism " etc., by George Lester, p. 45.

446

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

he preached his first sermon. This was on a piece of waste ground not far from where
the present Victoria Street Chapel stands. Thomas King stepped into a wheelbarrow
waiting to be ennobled by serving as a pulpit ; pulled a sevenpenny hymn-book out of
his pocket ; sang, prayed and preached without interruption or the occurrence of any
particular incident, save that the grandmother of George Shaw was present, ready to
become the first convert. The house where she and her husband lived became the
home of Thomas King and many of the early preachers, and served as an occasional
meeting-house.

A second open-air service was held in the " old town " in the afternoon according to
announcement. At its close "Farmer" Holt stepped up to the preacher, warmly

NORTH SIDE, BAXTER GATE EAST, LOOKING WEST.

grasped his hand and invited him as his guest to Old Clee. Incidentally we gather
that this was not the first time Farmer Holt had acted in a Gaius-like way to the
missionaries of the Connexion. Some time before, at his invitation, one such
missionary whom he had heard preach in a certain village, had visited Clee, preached
on the Saturday evening, and next day accompanied by his host had gone to Grimsby
to hold an open-air service. This fact, we may be sure, does not stand alone though
our records may often be silent. It would have been hazardous to affirm of any village
in Lincolnshire at any point between 1818 and 1820 — "No Primitive Methodist has
ever come this way and delivered his message here." Skirmishers preceded the main
body, preaching whenever and wherever they found opportunity — like the unknown
one who anticipated Thomas King at Grimsby and Clee.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 447

When Thomas King reached Clee he found another service awaiting him, and the
congregation already assembling in the farm-kitchen ; but first he was shown by the
thoughtful housewife into the dairy and urged to help himself to anything it contained.
She, good soul, remembered that the dispenser of the bread of life could not himself
dispense with the bread that perisheth. But when, a little while after, Farmer Holt
put his head into the dairy to see how the preacher was faring, he found him on his
knees.

For. a day or two Thomas King occupied the guest-chamber of the farm which for
many years was proverbial for its hospitality. William Holt was one of the makers of
Grimsby Primitive Methodism. His biographer, the Rev. Joel Hodgson, says of him :
" In the day of small things it was no doubt a recommendation of the new society that
Farmer Holt united with it. His social position, force of character, and religious real,

HOUSE OF MR. WILLIAM HOLT, OLD CLEE.
In which Mr. King preached on the first evening after visiting Grimsby.

placed him for many years in the front rank of the local preachers and leading officials
of the Grimsby Circuit." He and Thomas King became fast friends, and were often
companions in travel. Once they walked to Tunstall to attend the Conference of 1821,
and when the sittings were over they walked back again to Grimsby. After this we
can easily credit the statement that after preaching at Grimsby one Sunday evening,
Thomas King supped on bread-and-milk and set off to walk to Nottingham, arriving in
time for the opening of the Quarterly Meeting at ten o'clock next morning. William
Holt lived to see wondrous changes in the position of the Church he helped to found
in Grimsby and the neighbourhood, since he attained the ripe age of eighty-seven years
and died in the triumph of faith.

It was on Wednesday, November 3rd, 1819, the first society was formed in Grimsby.
Thomas King had spent the day in visiting, and at night he preached in a room

448

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

procured by Farmer Holt "up the town." The society formed that night consisted of
eight members of whom W. Holt became the leader. The cold weather had already
begun, so that a shelter was essential, and yet the society had for a time to be content
with a stable, that being the best place obtainable. By September, 1820, however,
a room in a warehouse that stood back of the spot where Thomas King preached his
first sermon was secured. This was afterwards vacated for a disused chapel in Loft
Street, which, undergoing several alterations and enlargements, continued to be the
society's principal place of worship until the building of Victoria Street Chapel in
1859.

The plan of the Grimsby Branch, beginning October, 1st, 1820, with the side-lights

cast on it from other sources, is
instructive. When he made it,
Thomas King had just returned
from the Nottingham Quarterly
Meeting which had reappointed
him to the Grimsby Branch. He
was strong to labour and in a very
hopeful frame of mind ; and indeed
as we follow his incessant move-
ments, and notice his unfailing tact
and courtesy, his buoyancy of spirit
and how he never seemed to spare
himself in labour, he seems to us
to have been one of the most
considerable figures of this early
time, and a veritable missionary
bishop ; so that we are not sur-
prised the Nottingham Quarterly
Meeting of 1828 should have
seriously urged his appointment
as "District Superintendent."
Thomas King's colleagues on the
Branch were George Herod — who
had been appointed some six
months before to assist him in missioning Louth and its neighbourhood — and
Thomas Blades, who after being appointed to Belper in 1835, passed off the stations.
George Herod began his ministry as a married man. An early usage made a distinction
between preachers who could be interchanged between circuits by any Quarterly Meeting,
and those who could only be stationed by the Annual Meeting. The former were really
" hired local preachers," whose tenure of office was very insecure. This, those concerned,
who were chiefly married men, were fully aware of. As is shown by a circular now
before us — of which Herod, S. Cookman, J. Brantfoot {sic), K. Hawcroft, and
J. Hutchinson are the signatories — they convened a meeting of all the " hired local
[)reachers " at York on the 28th May, 1822, for the purpose of discussing their grievances,

FIRST PEEACHING PLACE, GRIMSBY.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

449

which were soon redressed by all preachers heing placed on the same footing of a four
years' probation. Herod, we remember, had married EHzabeth Parrott of East

Bridgford, so that in his appoint-
ment the Grimsby Branch really
acquired two preachers. There is
a touch of pathos in the account of
the way husband and wife went to
their mission : — *

"A friend took care of their
child. There being no railways,
and unable to afford a convey-
ance, they, luggage in hand,
trudged many a weary mile till
they were benighted and knew
not where they were. She sat
down on the luggage and wept
as she thought of her child and
circumstances. Her husband
climbed high ground to look
for a light. One was descried
which they made for. It proved
to be a farm-house where lived
a Wesleyan local preacher who
fed and lodged them for the
night, and afterwards assisted
them in their work. The child
was well-cared for, the mission
a success, several souls being
saved under;^her first sermon on
that missionary journey."
Louth, on its little river Lud, at the foot of the Wolds, was then as now a clean
well-built, municipal town of considerable size and importance, boasting the possession
of one of the noblest spires in England, and an ancient Grammar School where, at the
very time our missionaries entered the town, the brothers Tennyson (whose father was

vicar of adjoining Somersby) were getting their grounding in
the classics. Louth holds second place on the Grimsby plan
of 1820. Thomas King was appointed to
preach twice there, and once at Legbourne, on
its first Sunday. He tells us he entered the
town "with very great concern of mind," for,
though they had a society of "from twenty
to thirty lively souls," the good woman who
had allowed them to preach in her dwelling-
house could do so no longer, so that he had
the task before him of securing a place to
preach in and a home for the preachers. Before he left the town he had succeeded
in securing both.

* See ante, p. 242.

GEIMSBY FIRST CHAPEL, NOW COTTAGES.

J. F. PARRISH.

J. HODGSON.

450

PEIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

LOUTH CHURCH.

Louth prospered so much that in 1823
it became an independent station, and
as such has ever since continued. Its
area comprised not only the pleasant
villages in the undulations of the Wolds,
but also the marsh country extending
from Louth to the sea, with its dikes
broad and deep doing duty for hedges.
It was not until on in the forties that
the Alford part of the circuit stood on
the stations as a Branch. The Rev. Joel
Hodgson who, with J. F. Parrish, Daniel
Moore, Jabez Wood, F. W. Atkin and
a host of ministers, too numerous to
name, is a native of this part of the old
Louth circuit, tells us that in 1835, when
Elizabeth Rowbotham was stationed at
Scotter "first six months" and Louth
"last six months," with J. Wright as
superintendent, each would on alternate
fortnights walk on a Saturday from
Louth to liogsthorpe, some twenty miles,
preaching at night in the kitchen
and taking their Sunday appointments
next day. "Mrs. Sutton, of Addle-
thorpe Cottage, near Hogsthorpe," says
Mr. Hodgson, "a lady of independent
means, entertained the preachers. I
once heard her say, ' she did not care
if they chalked " Ranter " on her
back.' Mrs. Sutton became the wife of
W. Briggs, a young travelling preacher
who settled at Hogsthorpe, then lived
at Leeds and died at Skegness." Mr.
Briggs was in his day a prominent
official.

The early history of Primitive Metho-
dism in Alford affords an illustration
of the influence a domestic servant,
who is a consistent Christian and loyal
to her Church, may set in motion.
One of the members of the Alford

Society was Sarah B -, servant

with Squire Young. Occasionally the
minister called at the Hall to see this

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

451

member of his flock and to leave her magazine. After one or two such visits had been
paid, the squire intimated his desire to see her minister and to show him courtesy for
her sake. This was done ; the courtesy was received and reciprocated. Acquaintance-
ship gradually ripened into the intimacy of Christian fellowship. The result was that,,
in the most natural way, important and far-reaching changes were effected. Alford,
instead of Hogsthorpe, became the preacher's more convenient residence. At that time
houses were difficult to obtain in Alford, but the squire housed the minister in one of
his oWn dwellings. The chapel and other interests of the society were benefited.
Squire Young became a regular contributor to the missionary funds of the Connexion ;

ALFORD CHAPEL (pAST).

broke bread with the humblest in the Alford Chapel, and in a hundred delicately
thoughtful ways befriended the servants of God and the Church they represented.
The story is true ; for the writer has recollections of the squire's benevolent face, and
can recall how his own child-life was enriched by the changes brought about by Sarah

B .

For some years Louth Circuit made but slow progress numerically, so that in 1835
it reported but 204 members to Conference. By 1838, however, the number had risen
to 610. We get some details of this notable advance in a communication "approved

GG 2

452

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

by the Circuit Committee and signed, John Stamp," which appeared in the Connexional
Magazine for 1839 :—

" During the three years that Father Coulson and myself have laboured in this
(the Louth) circuit we have built sixteen chapels, enlarged one, bought another, and
fitted up a large room, and have had an increase of twenty-five local preachers,
and four hundred and sixteen members ; and our last quarter's income was sixty-
five pounds more than the first ; and we have called out three additional travelling

preachers, and have
fitted up a preacher's
house. I have walked
more than ten thousand
miles; have preached up-
wards of one thousand
five hundred sermons ;
and have visited near
six thousand families ;
and through the blessing
of God, 1 feel more strong
to labour than when I
first began, which I
attribute in a great
measure to total abstin-
ence from intoxicating
drinks, and the blessing
of Almighty God."

That part of this roseate
report which relates to
chapel enterprise sets
forth a prosperity largely
fictitious and radically
unsound, as after events
soon showed. Some of
these *' sixteen chapels,"
etc., were built without
money — or what amount-
ed to the same thing —
with other people's
money; some had no title
deeds or legal trustees,
and the inevitable day of
ALFORD CHAPEL (PRESENT). rcckoning soou camc.

It was well for Louth Circuit that at this critical time it had connected with it
some men of substance and tried loyalty such as John Maltby and William Byron.
The latter, especially, did much to relieve the circuit from its embarrassment. In
his unostentatious way Mr. Byron rendered, at various times, many valuable
services to the Connexion. He and Mr. J. Maltby were joint Treasurers of the

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

453

General Missionary Fund from January 1856 to 1862. He was elected a permanent
member of Conference, and at the Yarmouth Conference of 1872 — the last he was
privileged to attend — he and "his excellent lady" received the thanks of the

J. MALTBY.

MRS. BYEON.

WILLIAM BYEON.

Conference inscribed on parchment for their gift of £559 10s. to various Connexional
funds. Amongst all the other services he rendered to the Connexion Mr. Byron's
decisive action in purchasing some of these recklessly built properties must be

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, LOUTH.

regarded as not the least valuable. His prompt action preserved the buildings to the
Connexion and helped the circuit to tide over its difficulties. Still, an unfortunate
experience like this could not fail to react on the genuine spiritual prosperity which had

454

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

been enjoyed; so we find that in 1850 the membership of the circuit had been reduced
to 422. During the next ten years, under the labours of Messrs. Knowles, Campbell,
C. Kendall and their colleagues, steady progress was made. The membership of the
circuit more than doubled itself, and Louth Chapel was rebuilt on a greatly enlarged scale
and provided with schoolrooms, and all else needful for the requirements of a vigorous
working church. In following the history, and giving any estimate of the present standing
of our Church in Louth, there are one or two facts needing to be borne in mind. One is,
the almost inappreciable increase of population which took place during the last
century. Unlike Grimsby, Louth was about as large and important years ago as it is to-
day. A second fact is that, for many years, Louth was a stronghold of Wesleyan

Methodism. In 1848 there were
2,600 members in the circuit,
more than a thousand of them
living in the town. During the
troubles of the "Reform agita-
tion " twelve hundred members
seceded from the parent body,
since which, Louth has been one
of the strongest circuits of the
Methodist Free Churches.

John Stamp.
John Stamp's name is now fairly
before us, and this seems to be
the right time to refer to him
more at length ; since he was
a native of Louth Circuit, as was
also his pious and gifted wife ; he
spent the first three years of his
ministry in Louth Circuit, and
afterwards was closely associated
with Hull Circuit, and was the
main cause of the troubles which
marked the close of the first
period of our history in that town. Though his more active association
with our Church lasted only from 1835 to 1841, he yet filled during those
six years a considerable space in the eye of the Connexion, and was much in the
thoughts of its responsible advisers. He looked upon his appointment by Hull
to its Sheerness Mission, in 1838, as a sentence of banishment on account of
his ardently avowed "Radical teetotalism." For all that he loyally took up his
appointment, and threw himself into the work of evangelisation with his accustomed
enthusiasm and success. All the old revivalistic methods were adopted, and some that
then appeared novel, but are so no longer. " Protracted Meetings " were one of such
novelties recently imported, like camp-meetings, from America. The first meetings of

BUKWELL CHAPEL, LOUTH CIRCUIT.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

455

the kind in the Connexion are said to have been held at Sheerness in July, 1838.
Each day, for near a fortnight, services were held at five in the morning and at three
and seven o'clock ; and at the close it was found that twenty converts were the fruit of
this protracted effort.* By 1839, the 112 members of Sheerness Mission had become
310, and it was formed into an independent station with three ministers. In 1840
it was transferred to Brinkworth District, and its reported membership was 410.
John Stamp affirms that at one time Sheerness employed seven preachers ; but never
more than three appeared on the stations, and the rest must have been called in by
Stamp to assist him. There can be no question that in 1838-40 the northern part of

Kent was the scene of a remark-
able revival, and that Primitive
Methodism reached and made
itself felt in some places in this
lovely county, from which, alas,
it has long since receded. We
have before us an interesting
letter, dated August 18th, 1840,
written from Ashford, by John
Stamp's colleague — Henry Thomas
Marchment. For various reasons it
will be well to quote from this
letter which has never been pub-
lished : —

"It is with the feeling of deep-
toned gratitude to Almighty
God I inform you that in this
town (Ashford) we are doing
well. I came for the first time
a stranger to every one in the
place on Saturday, July 11th,
and on the Sunday preached
three times in the open-air.
I was taken to the " Cage " by
two constables but was soon
liberated, as perhaps you read
in the paper. I continued
persevering, rejoicing that I
should be counted worthy to suffer shame. We have now twenty in society,
and a place to worship in, and good openings in four adjacent villages. On
Sunday I preached five times ; in the open-air at nine, in our room at ten-thirty,
two-thirty and six, and in the open-air at a quarter before eight in the evening,
when about a thousand were present. We are getting some saved and added every

* At the Hull September Quarterly Meeting Brother Summersides, lately returned from the
American Mission, gave an account of Protracted Meetings as conducted in America, and the
propriety of adopting them was discussed. It was, in the end, resolved that a beginning should be
made in October at Barnard Castle,

JOHN STAMP.

456 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECH.

week and the discipline of Primitive Methodism (which I have strictly enforced)
takes well. God is with us. We shall do valiantly." ^

This is a fair picture. Would there were no other ! Then would Primitive Methodism
in Kent have had a less chequered history and its present condition would have been
more prosperous than it is — hopeful though its condition may be as compared with that
of some previous periods. But there is a reverse picture of which the fact that neither
in Ashford — a large market-town, an important railway junction, and the seat of the
South Eastern railway-shops, — nor in its adjacent villages have we any connexional
interest, may be taken as the type.

In the Sheerness Circuit there soon arose troubles — some unpreventable, others plainly
occasioned by mismanagement and the reckless incurring of liabilities there was no
reasonable prospect of discharging. At Eamsgate a chapel was bought for £1100; at
Margate a play-house was turned into a chapel. One of Stamp's colleagues died of
fever ; another proved a failure ; a third assistant — Joseph Eden — was confined nine
weeks in Canterbury jail for refusing at John Stamp's instance to be bound in
a hundred pounds not to sing through the streets of the city. Stamp's own excellent
wife, and also a child, died during these troubles, and he shocked the propriety of some of
his friends by himself preaching her funeral sermon. Finally, on his being removed
to the Canterbury Branch, dissension arose in the Circuit, and Thomas HoUiday came
down to hear and report to the authorities on certain charges which had been
formulated against the superintendent. This report found its way by the usual
channels to the Eeading Conference of 1841, which left John Stamp without a
station. ^

Now the scene shifts to Hull, whither Stamp had made his way. It was alleged
that he had been expelled for his Teetotalism and without being heard, and that the
Connexion was in his debt. These allegations were sounded forth from public platforms
in Hull, received currency in the local "Temperance Pioneer," and the London
"Temperance Weekly Journal," of which latter Jabez Burns, himself an ex-travelling
preacher, was one of the editors, and the friends of justice and temperance were in the
columns of these prints invited to subscribe to a Stamp Defence Fund. John Stamp
himself rushed into print with a "Defence" of sixty-four pages, in which at times the
language used approaches scurrility. Messrs Clowes and Flesher are styled "Pope
William and Pope John," and as for certain laymen who stood by them throughout
this trying time — they are called names which we will not repeat. To John Flesher
was assigned the duty of vindicating the Connexion through the medium of the press —
a duty which it is hardly necessary to say, he discharged in a most satisfactory way.
A secession of some score or more of John Stamp's supporters took place from the Hull
societies. Some of these were well parted with ; while others were good and sincere.
Fetter Lane Chapel and Moxon Street School-room were the first quarters of John
Stamp and his friends, and at the end of the year 1841, a chapel in South Street was

* The letter was written to John Frisken, 33, John Street, Bedford Eow, London. Marchment
afterwards left the Connexion, probably as the result of the Sheerness troubles, and became we believe
a Congregational or Baptist minister.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 457

opened. Here history repeated itself. What had happened at Louth and Sheerness
happened here also and afterwards at Leeds. The wheel went round full cycle and
revival and enthusiasm went under while dissension and embarrassment were upper-
most; and at last South Street Chapel had to be sold Many of those who had left
our Church returned to do good work, and as West Street was crowded, a room was
taken in Nile Street and a school established in Wilberforce Eooms — these the nucleus
of the Thornton Street that was to be. As for Sheerness Mission, it had no local
William Byron to stand by it in the evil day. It was taken again under the fostering
wing of Hull Circuit and in 1843, when the Missions were transferred to the General
Missionary Committee, four Kentish stations were occupied — Sheerness, Ramsgate
and Margate, Maidstone, and Canterbury.

John Stamp was a remarkable man in whatever light we view him ; remarkable for
gifts which ensured success, and equally so for deficiences by which failure in another
direction was no less ensured. He had remarkable declamatory powers. One passage
of impassioned rhetoric in which he denounced intemperance has, one may say, gone,
and is still going, round the world. It was plagiarised to the last letter and comma by
Col; Robert C. Ingersoll, and delivered as though an extemporaneous outburst before
the Supreme Court of the United States. As so given, it electrified that assembly.
It was copied into newspapers, did duty in many a temperance campaign, ran from
press to press all over the American continent ; and yet what made all this sensation
was just a piece of a letter addressed by John Stamp to the Reading Primitive Methodist
Conference of 1841. But John Stamp was more than a rhetorician or Temperance
orator, — he was a doubly-born evangelist ; endowed by nature and qualified by grace to
convince and convert men. This was his call, his forte, his business, and he should
have been kept to it, and kept/ro??i having anything to do with bricks and mortar, and
promissory notes and balance-sheets. Instead of that — and therein lay the tragedy —
he was sent into distant Kent, made superintendent of a station that embraced half
a county, allowed to build chapels, hire rooms and engage a little corps of helpers who
continued, spite of all, to believe in him, so great was his magnetism. In short he was
put into just such a position in which his talent for mismanagement, which was quite
as remarkable as his other talents, could be put out to usury. Even in Louth, with
" Father " Coulson as his superintendent and Messrs Byron and Maltby as circuit
officials, we know what happened. If such things were done in the green tree, what
would be likely to be done in the dry *? The tragedy worked out its own sad inevitable
denouement. And when the catastrophe came John Stamp's gift of declamation swiftly
passed, as it easily can do, into vituperation, and bitter things which it were best if
possible to forget, were spoken and written of the men who had wished him well.
There can be little doubt that at this day our Church would be glad to have a half-dozen
men with the evangelistic gifts of John Stamp ; and one may hope that if it were to be
so blessed, it would have the wisdom to let the evangelist by God's election evangelise.
But we are not so sure that it would ; so prone are we to assume that a man richly
endowed in one direction must necessarily be a man of "all the talents."

The sum and the best that can be said for John Stamp has been said by Rev. Joseph
Odell. Mr. Odell believes in the principle of spiritual heredity and claims to be the

458 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

direct spiritual descendant of John Stamp. The claim, so far as it relates to the
possession of remarkable evangelistic gifts may readily be admitted. Beyond that
the claim must not go, for, certainly, Mr. Odell has not inherited his ancestral hero's
talent for mismanagement as we beg leave to call it. This last and best word for John
Stamp may suitably find place here, since we find ourselves in general agreement with
its writer. It will, however, be necessary to refer to the attitude of our Church to the
new altruistic movement of Total Abstinence which began in this country about 1830 —
a movement of which John Stamp himself was the erratic child as he was one of its
most advanced representatives and spokesmen. These remarks will best come in a
separate section at the close of the present chapter. Meanwhile Mr. Odell shall
speak : —

"The Eev. John Stamp was certainly All Alive. We think him very much
alive still. It is very many years since his name appeared on the list of our
ministers. He forfeited his position we quite believe. He was rash enough for
that. But what was rashness then, appears heroic now. He lived at least fifty
years before his time, and was the victim of a transition period. He blundered
in chapel-building and battled for Temperance, when " Gospel Temperance " was
thought to be rank blasphemy in the Churches. But the great fact about the man
appears to be this : his remarkable talents, his resources of intellectual and
spiritual wealth were of that unique order, that required a definite line of labour —
the line of the evangelist. Instead of that, he found himself in chapel-building
efforts and financial straits. Added to this was an apparent extravagance of
language upon the drinking habits of Christian men, and proposals of a kind
entirely too drastic. These things deprived him of his place amongst us as
a minister. Were he living now, and such as he are needed now, we should see
him the first Evangelist of Primitive Methodism — the man our Churches need.
His portrait is before us. The face is finely classic ; his form and features seem
breathing with life and vital with irrepressible energy. This is a man who could
not die. He is all alive. We have his writings also. They are all alive. How
they stir the readers ! We know of more than one minister who has been made by
them. If the writings prove so potent, what must the preaching have been 1 We
are able to tell. His sermons held people for God and eternity. Hundreds were
converted as he preached. We knew a man — our own Professor of Theology, and
the only college tutor we ever had, who used to drive thirty-three miles one day
and back the next, in order to hear John Stamp preach. In a missionary meeting
in Kent, we mentioned John Stamp's name incidentally in a speech, and all the
old people rose involuntarily as they heard the name of the man who led them to
Christ. This man cannot die . . . His triumphant life was crowned with
a translation rather than a death. His departure took place at his own little
residence, "Teetotal Cottage," Deansgate, Manchester, and he lies buried not far
from our Higher Ardwick Church." *

To return to Grimsby Circuit and its first plan : it is interesting to notice that
Caistor, Middle Easen, Grasby, Usselby, and Holton-le-Moor — all places in the Market
Rasen district — are on this 1820 plan; and further, that Ann Carr's name stands on

* " All Alive ! A Revival Letter by John Stamp, reprinted by Joseph Odell." Primitive
Methodist Book Room.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 459

the plan next after the travelling preachers. As we have seen Market Rasen attained to
Circuit independence in 1854. Grasby is the village of which Charles Tennyson-Turner
was so long the vicar, succeeding to the living on the death of his uncle Turner, whose
name he assumed. In a volume of interesting reminiscences of the Tennyson family
recently published, we are told how the poet, whose fame has been overshadowed by
that of his greater brother, would stand on his lawn on a summer Sunday afternoon
and listen with the keenest interest to an open-air service — doubtless a camp meeting —
that was being held close by ; " though his innate shrinking from publicity used to set
him wondering as the preacher would shout in a stentorian voice — " Now, brethren, let
us count up how many the Lord has saved at this service." * The type of Christianity
from which, in some of its manifestations, the vicar of Grasby might shrink, has kept
on all through the years helping men and women to live and preparing them to die,
exerting, too, a searching wholesome influence on village life, as even the poet himself
would have been the first to grant. One cannot but be impressed with this as we read

the memoir of a Grasby worthy who recently passed away after
forty years' active association with the village society. Mrs. •
Barkworth we are told was "upright, generous, devout, trust-
worthy ; " "a Dorcas indeed."

Tetney, too, which was "Wesley's favourite village in Lincoln-
shire," is also found on the first Grimsby Circuit plan, and
remained associated with that circuit until 1868, when it attained
independence. Here on his farm near the famous "Blow Wells "
— traditionally regarded as bottomless — lived Mr. R. Surfleet,
for many years a stay to the society and a befriender of the
MKs. BARKWORTH. Grlmsby Victoria Street Chapel trust-estate.

Thus the result of our inspection of the first Grimsby Circuit plan goes to show that
already in 1820, we have the cadre of the seven existing circuits with their combined
membership of 3,703. Looking forward just a quarter of a century and examining the
Grimsby plan for 1845, amongst the six places not on the plan of 1820, we find
Cleethorpes which has taken the place of Clee. Yet how small and feeble Cleethorpes
was at its beginning is clear from the fact that it had but one service a Sunday, the
hours of service being 9.30 one Sunday and 2 pm. the next. Cleethorpes' advance as
a watering-place has been almost as rapid as Grimsby's advance as a port. What has
been said of the remarkable material progress made by our Church in Grimsby may
with equal truth be said of Cleethorpes which has now come to be almost the sea-side
suburb of Grimsby.

Amongst the names of the fifty preachers having place on the plan of 1845 there
are several that merit a word of recognition. No. 3 on the list is Elizabeth Lingard,
who was known throughout North Lincolnshire, and had, as John Stamp states,
" spiritual children all around her, and not a few of them preachers and class-leaders."
Then there is Sarah Moody, " whom the Rev. G. Austin once announced as the Rev.

* " Glimpses of Tennyson and some of his Eolations and Priends," by Agnes Grace Wild. In
C. Tennyson-Turner's "Small Tableaux" there is a sonnet entitled —" Fanaticism : a Night Scene in
the Open Air."

460

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Sally Moody," and if goodness and faithfulness entitle a preacher, whether male or
female, to reverence and respect, then Mrs. Moody was worthy of the style and title
thus humorously accorded her. She preached the gospel with great point and force, in
a way calculated to make sinners tremble and saints rejoice, the lukewarm to bestir
themselves and the backsliding to retrace their steps." Such is the testimony to Sarah
Moody borne by a venerable minister who knew her.* There is, as No. 16, Thomas

OLD CLEETHOKPES.

Barkworth who was pronounced by George Shaw to be one of the most gifted preachers
he ever heard. Lower down on the list is the name of Henry Smethurst, born in 1819,

at Newark, and converted when about twenty years of
age at Grimsby. His father had settled at Grimsby after
(from 1820) serving as a travelling preacher for a few
years, travelling successively at Bottesford, Nottingham,
Scotter, Grimsby, and Louth — all circuits that have come
under our notice. His retirement was rendered necessary
by the demands of his large family for which the small
stipend then received was found quite inadequate. By
virtue of his own sterling qualities young Henry gradually
won his way to a good position. He was closely identified
with the town's staple trade and with the social and
corporate life of the borough. He became a member of
the Town Council, an alderman, justice of the peace,
and was for many years chairman of the School Board.

* Rev. Joel Hodgson in " Christian Messengrer."

ALDERMAN H. SMETHURST,

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

461

462

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

For two years in succession he was elected Mayor of the Boroug)i, and on the occasion
both of his election and re-election, he was accompanied by the Corporation to
the Flottergate Chapel. Henry Smethurst was an ardent temperance advocate
in a town which very much needed such advocacy. One of the cherished schemes
of his life was within sight of realisation when he laid the foundation stone of
the present Temperance Hall. When in his prime he was a vigorous gospel and
temperance out-door speaker, a hard-working local preacher, and an "aider and
abettor" of our Church in its efforts at extension both in Grimsby and the adjacent
villages. He died August 7th, 1892, only three days after his faithful wife who had

sympathised with all his efforts to
do good. His fellow-citizens marked
their appreciation of Henry Smethurst's
worth by erecting a marble memorial
in "The People's Park." As the life-
long friend of Henry Smethurst, and
probably the only witnesser of his
conversion still surviving, respectful
mention must be made of the veteran
official — Joseph Eobinson, in whose
society class the writer began his associa-
tion wdth the people of God. To
the roll of Grimsby worthies must
now be added the names of Alderman
J. C. Wright, J. P., J. W. Emmerson
^ and George Shaw, who have just
passed away. Each, like Paul, "served
God from his forefathers," and by
their inherited and ingrained attach-
ment and loyalty to our Church their
lives illustrate that " continuity"
which has been so pleasing a feature
in the history of Grimsby Primitive
Methodism. What each did in his
own way and measure cannot be told
here, but their portraits are given to
recall them to remembrance. Without such officials of the type of Henry Smethurst,
J. W. Emmerson, J. C. Wright, and others like-minded who remain, the goodly
chapels figured on the preceding page could never have been built. In a true sense
these are their monuments.

THE SMETHURST MEMORIAL.

Lincoln Circuit.

There is no one name so definitely and exclusively associated with the introduction
of Primitive Methodism into the ancient city of Lincoln and the parts adjacent as is
the case with most of the circuit towns we have thus far had before us. It was in

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

463

September, 1820, Lincoln was formed into a Circuit, but for some time before this,
Hugh Bourne tells us, it had been familiarly known as "Lincoln Circuit," though only
as yet a branch of K'ottingham. Much of the country around had been traversed by
John Hallsworth and others, for when stationed to the new circuit in 1820, Hallsworth

J. C. WRIGHT.

J. W. EMMERSON.

JOSEPH ROBINSON.

records his thankfulness at finding the position of things so much improved since he
laboured in these same parts years before ; he recalls the fierce persecution he and his
fellow-labourers then endured, and notes the retribution with which former persecutors
had been visited — as notably at Fulbeck, where the ringleader had since lost bis reason
and " had to be shut up in a madhouse," while others had suffered the loss of their
cattle.

Thus Lincoln had probably been entered by our missionaries prior to the famous visit
of William Clowes and John Wedgwood during Clowes' Leicestershire campaign of
1818. We speak of Clowes' mission as "a campaign"; and such he himself evidently
regarded it, if we may judge by the warlike spirit and phraseology of the extract from
his Journal which follows. It is clear he felt himself engaged in a veritable " Holy
War." Having announced a fortnight before that they would " lift up their banners

in that city " ; they proceeded to do so on a spot " between

the Minster and the new Gaol."

" We began the labours of the day about nine in
the morning, and terminated them about nine at
night. About eleven o'clock in the forenoon, the
conflict with the powers of darkness was very hot.
A goat which some sons of Belial procured, was run
in among the congregation with a shout of three
times three, and throwing dust in the air. But we
remained in firm phalanx amid this storm, and
returned upon the legions of the devil a powerful
discharge from the big guns of Sinai, whilst at the
same time we unfurled the ensigns of the cross of
Jesus, inviting the enemy to ground his arms, and
surrender upon the terms of peace and reconciliation
offered in the gospel. Many that day did accept of
offered pardon ; the solemn stillness, and the tears
which stood in the eyes of numbers, were evidently indicative of this. Generally

G. SHAW.

464

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

the work of conversion went on well during the day, and as a division of the grand
army of Emmanuel we that day took the city and we have not been driven out of
it to this day. Hallelujah ! "

William Clowes did not come scatheless out of this spiritual conflict. Some coward
hand threw a stone which cut his face and drew blood. But Clowes meekly bore the
wrong and prayed for his persecutor. The sight of the blood trickling down his cheek
and, still more, the bearing of the preacher under this assault — so Christian in its
calmness and dignity — made a lasting impression on one who was standing by. The
man thus impressed came from Eagle, a place some seven miles from Lincoln, and it is
said he afterwards showed our people great kindness. The next day the missionaries
pushed on to Waddington where a farmer, who had been at Lincoln the day before,

THE OLD NEWPOKT ARCH, NEAR NORTHERN ENTRANCE TO CITY OP LINCOLN.

lent them a waggon from which Lhey preached to "a vast multitude, most of the heads
of the town being present " ; and this was followed by a prayer meeting in the farmer's
house. Wellingore was also visited by Clowes and Wedgwood, but whether just at this
time is not clear. Here a camp-meeting was held amid a good deal of turbulence.
One passage from the Journal is significant : — "I turned my eye upon some of these
Philistines, and God accompanied my glance with an arrow of conviction, and two or
three of the rebels fell into the rear as if utterly powerless, and remained quiet during
the remainder of the meeting." Let these words be noted and remembered.
W. Clowes was quite aware that his eye at times had the power to pierce and quell the
defiant, just as he was aware that under certain conditions his voice had the power to
search and thrill the souls of his hearers, u^

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

465

Information respecting the early history of Primitive Methodism in Lincoln Circuit
is scant ; and what little there is has had to be gleaned from scattered sources. The
first chapel or room in the city occupied by our Church, we are told, was erected in
1819, in Mint Lane, though the building was known as Hungate Chapel. In 1823,
there are no less than six preachers on the stations for Lincoln Circuit, and the
membership for that year is reported as six hundred and sixty-four. By the next year
the preaching staff and the membership have both been reduced by one half. How is
this ^ It looks as though the boundaries of Lincoln Circuit in this early period were

shifting ones and had contracted
^^^ between 1823 and 1824. Nor
must we forget that Balderton
Circuit first appears on the
stations of 1824. But even
allowing for some transference
of territory, there is good reason
to believe that the Connexional
crisis of which we have so often
spoken made itself felt even here ;
for it is certain that some of the
places that were missioned as
early as 1818 and 1819 had to
be remissioned some years after.
In the absence of all numerical
returns from the stations from
1824 to 1829 we cannot tell how
it fared with Lincoln Circuit in
the interim, but in the latter year
it reports two hundred and twenty-
one members.

Many of the Connexion's lead-
ing ministers laboured in the
Lincoln Circuit during the first
period of our history. With all
its drawbacks the old system of
stationing ensured this. Nomatter
that the circuit was wide and
laborious, and the city itself only
chill and unkindly soil for Methodism to work — as are most places where the
cathedral casts its long shadows — still the men of light and leading had to take their
turn. So in 1825 we find William Sanderson here, his circuit extending from
Willingham, near Gainsborough, to Ashby beyond Horncastle, from point to point
a distance of about thirty-five miles, and, he significantly adds : — " I was expected
to superintend."

Robert Atkinson was the superintendent of Lincoln Circuit in the years 1829 and

H H

CASTLE HILL, LINCOLN, WHEBE CLOWES AND WEDGWOOD
PREACHED IN THE OPEN AIR.

466

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

REV. ROBT. ATKINSON.
Aged 37, 1831.

1830. He was a native of Owersby in what the Bible calls the "coasts" of Market
Kasen. He began his ministry in 1820 and died at Thirsk in 1859. "He lacked
imagination and mental opulence '^ says Mr. Petty, but again " he was respected for his
meek and gentle spirit, and his upright and consistent walk;" and the official memoir

of him records that "he was a plain, earnest, faithful
and earnest preacher of the gospel." These solid,
wearing qualities were recognised by his appointment
as a permanent member of Conference in 1856 in the
room of John Garner.

Mary Birks travelled the Lincoln Circuit in 1823 and
again in 1829 as the colleague of Kobert Atkinson. She
laboured in Hull and in several of the stations which,
afterl824, belonged to the Hull District and, as John Stamp
says, she laboured " with credit to herself, and honour
to the Connexion, and died in full triumph shouting
'Victory.'" Physically she was an uncommon woman,
being quite six feet in stature. What she was intellect-
ually and as a minister may be gauged from the fact
that at the December Quarterly Meeting (1829) of the
Hull Circuit, Mary Birk's name was under consideration
as a suitable person to reinforce the staff of the American Mission, and W. Clowes
was deputed to cross over to Grimsby to interview her on the subject. She declined
the proposal. Parenthetically it may be noted that from the same Quarterly Meeting
a letter was sent to Belper to inquire whether W. Bembridge, to whom Sarah Harrison
(whom v,'e knew as Sarah Kirkland) had been united in marriage, would make
a suitable missionary for America, and if so whether both would go. We do not hear
anything more of this proposal. After travelling fifteen years, Mary Birks located at
East Stockwith, and at her death a modest sketch of her life was published by John
Davison, the biographer of Clowes, who, in 1842, was the superintendent of Scotter
Circuit.

During John Garner's superintendency of the Lincoln Circuit in 1835-6, considerable
numerical and some material progress was made. Chapels were built at Horncastle
(1835), and Hogworthingham (1836), and Horncastle was made into a Circuit with two
hundred and two members. Tradition relates how John Garner made Elizabeth —
familiarly known as Betty Swinton — his Circuit Steward and got her to supply his
pulpit in his not infrequent absence from the Circuit for special services ; she invariably
appeared in white and attired in Quaker bonnet, and how, when she did thus officiate
for him, no complaints were made because she was so well received by the people. Betty
was a remarkable woman with a strange history. She had belonged to a gipsy clan and
been addicted to the telling of fortunes. When converted she settled for a while at
Eulbeck, and was made very useful there as a local preacher ; but after her marriage
she and her husband removed to Lincoln.

Without adhering strictly to the order of years short reference may here conveniently
be made to one or two other Lincoln worthies who are still remembered and whose

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

467

" works follow them." Elizabeth Ingleton is still spoken of as a woman mighty in
prayer. She was afflicted with deafness but made no trouble of it, but rather a cause
of thankfulness "seeing there were so many things not worth hearing."

Edward Chapman was a highly valued official of the early days— local preacher, and

JOHN OLIVEE.

E. CHAPMAN. duu^ ULi\ KK. j. bROADBERRY

for many years, the leader of a large class having for a time John Oliver as his
assistant leader. He was a convert of that useful preacheress Ann Tinsley who
travelled in Lincoln Circuit during the second six months of 1828. Of Mr. Chapman
it was observed that "literally as well as spiritually he lived on the hill and often to
avoid strife, declined to descend in the valley." At the time of his death which took
place in 1871, he was the oldest member of the Lincoln First Circuit.

It is fifty-two years ago since Joseph Broadberry left Grantham for Lincoln. He
was emphatically a strong, though cautious, man and made his mark both in the Church
and in the city of his adoption. To him belongs the distinction of having been the
first working-man to climb to the city magisterial bench.

Resuming the chronological thread of our narrative, we have to chronicle the opening
in 1839 of the first Portland Street Chapel, Lincoln. Though this date brings us near

to the close of the first period, we
must take a glance beyond; for in
the case of Lincoln Circuit, as in that
of Grimsby, 1842 gives no fitting
terminal point. In 1844, when Lincoln
Circuit was transferred from Hull to
^^ottingham District, it had only one
hundred and seventy-eight members,
and other indications are not wanting
that our cause in the city at this time,
and for a year or two after, was feeble,
and the circuit generally in a depressed
condition. But during the term of Messrs. J. Hurd and W. Price circuit prospects
gradually brightened. Some of the village interests were revived, especially that
of Metheringham, where a new chapel was built. The employment of a city
missionary to work in the very haunts of vice led to a remarkable moral reformation

H H 2

FIRST PORTLAND PLACE CHAPEL, LINCOLN,
ERECTED 1839.

468

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

W. E. WIDDOWSON.

and redounded to the enlargement" of the Church's borders. The story is interesting
and worth outlining, since it proves that the Gospel fearlessly applied just where
it is most needed is the best curative of the vices which are the curse and almost
the despair of our cities.

It was well known at this time that certain districts of the city had been taken
possession of by the " strange woman whose house inclineth unto
death and her paths unto the dead." There were three quarters
of the city that deservedly lay under this imputation, differing
from one another only in the graduated presence or utter absence
of sham respectability. The authorities must surely have been
very supine to suffer such a reproach to sully the fame of their
fair city. But be this as it may, the state of things weighed
heavily on the heart and conscience of some Christian people.
Already they had attempted something. A Reformatory had been
built at Burton, a suburb of the city, but the class for whom
it was designed showed little disposition to enter its precincts.
At this point a public-spirited Wesleyan — Mr. Warrener — made
a proposal to the effect that, under the direction of our Church
some suitable person should be engaged to preach in the open-air and visit and
work right amongst those whom we euphemistically call "unfortunates," promising
if this were done to bear most of the expense. Whereupon, Jabez Langford,
an unpolished agricultural labourer hailing from the borders of Donnington and
Sleaford Circuits, was engaged and carried on his mission with most gratifying
results. Some remarkable conversions took place. The stigma of ill-fame
which had attached to certain houses ceased, and the Reformatory now went
on with its Christianizing work. Rasen Lane was in one of these cleansed
districts, and here a new Connexional interest was begun which ere long had its centre
in Rasen Lane Chapel, and in 1870 became the head of Lincoln Second Circuit. "It
was so fully recognised that our work had led to the reformation that, although it was
two miles from the Reformatory to Portland Place Chapel, several of the inmates, along
with the matron, used to attend the Sunday morning services." *
Thus, as Hockley Chapel was acquired through the Nottingham
Town-mission, so Rasen Lane grew out of the City-mission of
Lincoln. After labouring for a year or two in Nottingham
District, Jabez Langford was sent out in August, 1854, to
assist John Sharpe, the veteran Australian missionary, and
subsequently left the denomination.

From this time Lincoln Circuit continued to make consider-
able progress. In 1853, at the close of the term of Messrs.
W. Jefferson, W. R. Widdowson and J. Eckersley, it reported
seven hundred and three members. In 1854 Portland Street
Chapel Avas enlarged and a piece of land bought from a Mr.

Bunyan, said to be the lineal, if not the last surviving descendant of John Bunyan ;
and in 1874 the chapel was entirely rebuilt.

* Communicated by Eev. W. E. Widdowson. Tor the reference to Hockley Chapel, see

REV. W. PRICE.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

469

"The Rising of the Temperance Star."

The simplest way of dealing with the allegation that John Stamp was expelled
because of his teetotalism would be flatly to deny it, as John Flesher did. He
maintained — and rightly — that it was not true, and could not possibly be true ; that
in face of the attitude taken by the Connexion as a whole to the Temperance question,
such an allegation was preposterous ; that any one who could believe it would go on
believing it, despite all proofs adduced to the contrary. So let us leave this particular
allegation on one side for a moment, while we consider the gradual advance in the
Temperance sentiment of the Connexion which, beginning about 1830, had by the
middle of the century become very pronounced. Here we have a question of fact
resting on evidence ; and when the evidence shall have been brought forward there

SECOND PORTLAND STREET CHAPEL.

will be no need to trouble much further about the allegation aforesaid. It will have
died of inanition.

The growth of Temperance sentiment through the Nineteenth century was a long,
slow process. It was a growth from "moderation" as the accepted position of the
generality of Christian people, to the acceptance of total abstinence as the right rule
of life. Time was when drunkenness was regarded as being only a sin by excess,
like gluttony or incontinence. But science has changed all that. It has cut the
ground from under the feet of Moderatism, which now stands self -condemned.

470 PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

The most eminent members of the medical faculty have pronounced one after another
that alcohol in all its forms is not only useless but positively harmful ; that it does not
permanently exhilarate, that it does not feed or strengthen ; that it is a poison and as
such ought to be labelled and shelved, and only used homoeopathically, in those very
rare cases where one poison may legitimately be employed to expel a still more deadly
one. So science has reacted on morals. What our fathers might do, in all good
conscience, we cannot permit ourselves in without a sense of condemnation ; for we
know we have no right to sin against our own bodies and souls by imbibing, even in
carefully regulated doses, what science by its high priests declares to be poison. But
these consentient pronouncements of medical science are but of recent date — that is
to say as uttered ex cathedra, by those whom everybody must acknowledge as having
the right to speak, and from whose judgment there can be no appeal.

I^ow the relevancy of all this to the early history of our Church is obvious. There
were a few who were ahead of their time ; who were wiser than the faculty, and had
an inkling of the truth as to the physiological action of alcohol. But they were a small
minority indeed. The great bulk were under the prevailing delusion — a delusion
encouraged by the medical opinion of the time — that the moderate use of intoxicating
drink was innocent, and that beer was as bread. Hence there was no consciousness of
wrong-doing in the habit of moderate drinking. Say we are touching on delicate
ground ! Surely the time has come calmly to look upon the process of evolution that
went on in our own as well as in other Churches, and by so doing justify our fathers,
while at the same time we cannot exalt or take any special credit to ourselves for not
sinning against the light which science, in these last days, is shedding. It is all very
strange when we come across entries from the old Minute Books authorising brewings
for the Quarterly Meeting dinner, or find that men who believed it wrong for a Christian
professor to wear a double-breasted coat, or cried out against the sin of wearing a topping,
should have felt no scruple in being moderate drinkers.* Connexional sentiment
on the drink question surely reached low-water mark when, at the Manchester
Conference of 1827, legislation was brought forward to the effect that the trustees of
chapels should be desired or required "to provide wine for the use of the preachers,
either before preaching, to give them a little spirit for their work, or after preaching to
revive their exhausted energies." Hugh Bourne, who was in advance of the opinion
and practice of the time, strenuously resisted the proposal both on economical and
moral grounds ; and the legislation was rejected. The account of the turning of the
tide deserves a fresh paragraph.

At the Conference held at Leicester in 1831 a notable thing happened — much more

* At the Sheffield Conference of 1837 a charge was brought against W. Clowes for suffering John
Plesher to be appointed a delegate, on the ground that Plesher wore a double-breasted coat. The
charge was based not on the result of an actual inspection of the coat, but of Plesher's portrait,
which we take to have been the identical portrait shown, ante p. 396. It turned out that the
incriminated coat was not a true double-breasted coat but simply one with two rows of buttons.
The charge was withdrawn and John Flesher was permitted to keep his seat as not " guilty of the
crime " imputed. As for the " topping " M'e have this entry in John Harrison's Journal : — " How
alarming to see a preacher in the pulpit with a topping, and a shirt-ruffle shown in his bosom."

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 471

notable, one thinks, than the declaration against "piece-sermonising""^ or the
imposition of a ten-shilling fine for long preaching, which were also memorabilia of this
Conference. Hugh Bourne brought the subject of Temperance before the assembly
and dwelt on it at some length, with the result that "the editor was instructed to
devote a portion of the Magazine to articles on the Temperance Question." It is
probably more than a mere coincidence that within the leaves of the Tun&tall District
reports for the year 1831, there has lain undisturbed until now, a four-page Temperance
tract which was no doubt referred to and quoted by Hugh Bourne during the course of
his deliverance. This tract, issued under the auspices of "The British and Foreign
Temperance Society," founded in 1831, contains a form of Temperance pledge which it
will be well to give. It will be noted that the pledge proposed is what is known as
" the moderate pledge."

" We whose names are subscribed, do voluntarily agree, to abstain entirely from
the use of ardent spirits, except for medicinal purposes ; and although the moderate
use of other liquors is not excluded, yet as the promotion of Temperance in every
form is the specific design of the Society, it is understood that excess in these
necessarily excludes from membership."

We have spoken of the action taken by this Conference in relation to Temperance as
"notable." So Hugh Bourne evidently regarded it. Taking into account the vested
interests, the customs and the opinions obtaining at this time, he says : —

" It might have been deemed almost a miracle for any religious community to

"take up this new Temperance movement. Such miracle was, however, accomplished,

for in May, 1831, the Primitive Methodist Conference, at Hugh Bourne's instance,

took up the self-denying Temperance movement, and made or enacted a law or

rule for the promotion of Temperance."

He calls the years 1831-8 " seven Temperance-law years," and claims that the
twenty-six thousand three hundred and eighty-four increase of these seven years
more than the increase of the seven years immediately preceding them, afibrds a signal
demonstration of God's approval of the new movement which had been accepted by
the Connexion, as evidenced by the Minute of the Conference of 1832, and incorporated
in the Consolidated Minutes of the same year as the permanent expression of
Connexional opinion.

Q. — " What is the opinion of Conference in regard to Temperance Societies 1 "
A. — "We highly approve of them, and recommend them to the attention of our
people in general."

Hugh Bourne's use of numerical returns, in this instance, is employed here only to
show that the advance in Temperance sentiment was incontestable and notorious, or he
could not with any show of reason have made use of the fact to point his moral. We
have already found reason to conclude that the remarkable numerical progress made by
the Connexion after 1829 was largely the result of the preservative measures taken

* "Piece-sermonising" was Hugh Bourne's name for the practice of bringing out a sermon in
numbers as it were ; when a preacher full of matter was unable to finish his discourse and promised
to complete it on his next occupancy of the pulpit.

472

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

during the critical period preceding that year. At the same time it may be readily
conceded that the Temperance movement was another factor in that progress. Its
influence must have been of the most salutary and conservative kind ; and an inspection
of Church-records would go to prove that there was much less wear and tear in the
societies after the inception of the movement, than in the ante-teetotal days when the
antecedents of many of the converts made lapses from the strict line of temperance
perilously easy. In this respect, at least, we do not well to say the former times were
better than these ; for they were not.

As for Hugh Bourne, he became more and more enthusiastic in the cause of
Temperance, until he almost got to believe that he was the father of teetotalism as well
as of English camp meetings. When Mrs. Shafto, of Bavington Hall, asked him if he
had joined the Total Abstinence Society, his answer was : " No ; they have joined me ;
I was a teetotaler before the teetotalers began their society." There is a similar
suggestion conveyed in the following more serious passage in which he speaks of himself
in the third person : " When the total abstinence system rose he had still more cause

to thank God and take courage, as the Lord was then
raising up many to stand much on the same ground he
himself stood on for so many years. And he believes
the teetotal system has been, and is, a great handmaid
to religion " Many of the leading ministers of the
Connexion became pledged abstainers and zealous
advocates of the cause — men like George Lamb, the
brothers Antliff, S. Smith, T. Morgan, and others too
numerous to mention. Laymen too, of whom George
Charlton and George Dodds in the North, and John
Briggs and Eichard Horn in the Midlands, may be taken
as samples, were using their gift of popular address in the
same cause. Even in 1841 the leaven of the new
movement had so far spread in the Connexion that, in
a circular addressed to the stations by the General
Committee, it was but a mild statement of the truth to
say : " It is well known that [our Connexion approves of Teetotalism, and recommends
the prudent advocacy of it."

After Hugh Bourne's superannuation in 1842, Walford, his biographer, tells us : —

" He became a teetotal preacher [sometimes taking as many as a half-dozen texts
for one sermon to show that the Scriptures were full of it] — visiting, writing,
preaching, and lecturing on teetotalism, in different parts of the Connexion. He
had for years been a man of temperance and great self-denial ; and having watched
and witnessed the good effected through the agency of teetotalism in the Primitive
Methodist Connexion, and now being at full liberty to dispose of his labours as he
thought best, and invitations pouring in from different parts of England, he
entered into this field of labour with all his accustomed zeal and activity ; and as
he considered this branch of religious temperance calculated to promote the cause
of religion and the interests of Primitive Methodism, he threw his whole soul into
the work."

THE LATE ALDERMAN GEOEGE
CHAELTON.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

473

GEORGE LAMB.

A letter of Hugh Bourne's, hitherto we believe unpublished, bears witness to this
enthusiasm for "religious temperance." The letter was written in March, 1843, to

Thomas Morgan, and it gives an account of a two
months' tour of visitation amongst various circuits,
chiefly in the JSTorth. In this long letter there is not
a single allusion to camp meetings or processions,
and not a single fling at long preaching or piece-
sermonising. True, it was winter and therefore not
the season for camp meetings ; still, had Hugh Bourne
written a letter as long as this thirty years before, he
could not, we may be sure, have kept camp meetings
out of that letter, even though it were written in the
middle of a seven weeks' frost. This letter of 1843
is alive with all the old passion for reaching men
by the gospel, and he cannot but express his joy that
wherever he goes men are being so reached. But it
is also perfectly clear that new methods of applying
the gospel and furthering the interests of the Church
are now in the ascendant. So he alludes once and again to " Protracted Meetings "
but recently introduced, and to the "golden system," from which system much was
expected, and above all to " religious temperance."

He arrived at York on January 3rd, and the same evening he says : — -

" I had the opportunity of hearing our brother, George Lamb, , and other great
speakers at a great teetotal meeting. A speaker of the name of Whitaker turned
his speech into a religious view. I was much taken with this, as I myself had
before been contemplating teetotalism in a religious view. This meeting was held
in the Concert Koom. I think teetotalism stands high at York."

He preached at Brompton, and " we introduced ' the golden system.'" "Teetotalism,"
he remarks, "is strong here." He had liberty in speaking at a teetotal meeting at
Hartlepool and "felt the presence of God." When he gets to Newcastle he notes : —

" I understand that all the travelling preachers in the Sunderland District are
zealous teetotalers ; and you will be aware that the Lord owns the labours of the
teetotaler. I am told that Sunderland, Berwick, Westgate,
and Newcastle-on-Tyne Circuits are going on powerfully.
The Lord owns the labours of the teetotalers in the con-
version of souls. To Him be glory and dominion for ever
and ever. Amen."

Then before folding his letter he adds a long postscript to say
that he has good news out of Cornwall from Joseph Preston,
who " is a zealous teetotaler " ; and at Durham, where he is
writing, they had a meeting the night before when " teetotalism
was advocated in a religious way " which " gave great satisfaction."
The letter does get finished at last by an interesting reference
to Preston : "I think they will, like our brethren at Preston in
Lancashire, go into the way of holding their own teetotal meetings and holding
them in their own way."

JOSEPH PRESTON.

474

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Hugh Bourne was very impressionable to new ideas which he had the knack of
appropriating and exploiting as though he himself had discovered them. In this, as in
other respects, he presents a striking contrast to William Clowes who could not so
readily throw off the old and put on the new, and modify the convictions and habits of
his prime. Temperance as a specific movement was one of the manifestations of
that altruistic spirit which now in the thirties began to breathe upon society and the
Churches, softening the hard outlines of individualism and beginning its work — now
going on with accelerated rapidity — of blending men together in a conscious community
of interest. Hugh Bourne caught the early fannings of this movement, and, as we
have seen, with the years it got increasing power over him. But Temperance in its
original crude form, as expressed in the " moderate pledges " of' the early societies, was
still largely individualistic and more akin to stoic morals than to Christian ethics. But

Total abstinence was nothing if
not altruistic. While as yet
Science delayed her decision on
the question, men lent a readier
ear to the high teaching of Paul—
that the strong should be considerate
of the weak, and abstain for their
sakes if not for their own. This
was not only Temperance but
" religious Temperance." And
now Science has at last mounted
her rostrum, and pronounced in her
hi gh pontifical way that th e teetotaler
while deserving credit for his self-
sacrificing intentions, has after all
taken the line of enlightened self-
interest and has benefited himself
while seeking to benefit others.

Whence came the new spirit
and how did it find out Hugh
Bourne? The answer is it came from America, via Ireland and Warrington; and it is
impossible not to be struck with the remarkable similarity between the origin of the
camp-meeting movements and the Temperance movement as each afi'ected Hugh Bourne
and our Church. Both these movements were Transatlantic in their origin."^ With both
Irish Quakers and Warrington and Stockton Heath Independent Methodists had much
to do. We became very familiar with the names of Peter Phillips and Thomas Eaton
in dealing with the origin-period of our history. Now these names recur once more ;
for we shall assume that recent historical research has demonstrated that the first Total
Abstinence Society was founded at Stockton Heath in 1830. As Mr. Mounfield iii
his recently published brochure says : —

PROVIDENCE CHArEL.

The Old Independent Methodist Churcli, Stockton Heath,
Warrington.

* " The light of this new movement shone across the Atlantic and enlightened England and
Scotland." — H. Bourne.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

475

" Thomas Eaton was a local manager of the Bridgewater Canal, a member of the
Independent Methodist Church, and a close friend of the founder of that body,
Peter Phillips. . . . The Church to which Thomas Eaton was attached had
been formed in a barn as the result of the preaching of Lorenzo Dow, but a new
building called Providence Chapel had just been erected. In this building on April
4th, 1830, George Harrison Birkett and William Wood [members of the Society of
Friends from Dublin] held their first meeting and formed the first Total Abstinence
Society." *

At Warrington the

battle of the pledges " was fought, having for one of its results

the formation in 1834 of a second
Total Abstinence Society which had
its head-quarters in old Friars Green
Chapel. Here we will quote again : —

" From that time [December,
1830] forward, Friars Green be-
came the scene of a succession of
stirring and historic meetings
which grew in interest and
influence as the years went by.
Peter Phillips and his family
joined in the work and gave the
weight of their influence, and
henceforth the doors of the Church
were ever open to the teachers
and advocates of Total Abstinence.
It became a recognised centre and
witnessed some of the finest efforts
of Joseph Livesey and his eloquent
CO- worker Henry Ander ton. 'Next
to the cock-pit at Preston,' says
Edward Grubb in his ^; Memoirs of
> Henry Anderton, 'the old Friars
Green Chapel deserves to be
associated with his name as one of

the places where he displayed that mighty eloquence that touched all hearts and

filled every eye ' " (p. 29).

It seems, therefore, that the claim of " the seven men of Preston " to have been the
first Total Abstinence Society will have to be surrendered ; though the story of the
origin of the word "tee-total" from Richard Turner's emphatic utterance of the word
"total" has not, as far as w^e are aware, been disproved. It may have been challenged,
but it still holds the field. As now told, however, the true story of the origin of the
Total Abstinence movement should, if anything, prove more interesting to Primitive
Methodists than the story it displaces, since it takes us back to the very neighbourhood
of our origins, and brings us once more in touch with some worthy people who in the

* '• The Beginnings of Total Abstinence. The Warrington Societies of 1830." By Arthur
Mounfield, 59, Fleet Street.

PAGE FROM ROLL BOOK
OF THE STOCKTON HEATH SOCIETY,
COMMENCING DEC. 23RD, 1830.

476 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Connexion's infancy were, in Scripture phrase, its "nursing fathers and mothers." It
was for preaching in Friars Green Chapel that W. Crawfoot got into trouble. It was the
Eatons who helped him financially when he paid his visit to London along with Hugh
Bourne, and theirs was the home Clowes pronounced a " pilgrims' inn " and " the best
ordered family he had ever seen."

"This was like the rising of a new star, and its light was brilliant." Such are Hugh
Bourne's words in speaking of what happened at the Conference of 1831, when the
Temperance movement was recognised as making for righteousness and beneficence.
But this star did not rise in the east but in the west and, if one may say so, it came
and stood over the spot that owed its existence to the visit of the meteoric Lorenzo
Dow.

As still further indications of the spread of Temperance sentiment in the Connexion,
it may be stated that at a great Temperance Conference of ministers, held at Manchester
in 1848, there were present twenty-eight ministers of our Church, a number exceeded
only by the representatives of the Congregation alists and the Baptists, who numbered
forty-seven and twenty-nine respectively.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

477

CHAPTER IX.

THE SHEFFIELD GROUP OF CIRCUITS.

HOUGH we speak of Sheffield Circuit, that name from 1820 onwards for
a year or two, does not so much designate Sheffield with its adjacent towns
and villages as an extensive tract of country which was rapidly evangelised
by our pioneer missionaries. Though there might be extensions into
Nottinghamshire this tract mainly consisted of the northern and eastern parts, of
Derbyshire from Chesterfield to the High Peak, and the West Riding of Yorkshire
from Doncaster to Huddersfield, so that the missionaries here joined hands with tl)ose
who were labouring in Leeds and its neighbourhood. By 1824 this wide area
was broken up and formed into no less than eight important circuits, viz., SheffieLl,
Barnsley, Chesterfield, Halifax, Wakefield, Doncaster, Bradwell, and Huddersfield.
Tlie way in which these important circuits were so quickly formed afi'ords a good

HALIFKy

(152^
HUDDERSFIELD-

WAKEFIELD-

B^RN5LEYl!^^!;

DONCASTER

32^

BRADWELL

SHEFFIELD
fsi9

IS22)
CHESTERFIELD'

478

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

JEREMIAH GILBERT.

illustration of what — borrowing from organic chemistry — we may call the cellular
method of circuit propagation, as distinct from distant circuit missions or branches of
which Hull affords the best type. The third method — that of circuit-division, belongs
to the later era of consolidation — and of this method — multiplication by division — no

Connexional centre offers a better instance
of late years than does Sheffield. It is
therefore not so much with the local extension
and consolidation of our Connexional interests
in Sheffield this chapter has to do, as we
have to show how in little more than four
years an area equal to that of a province
was visited by our missionaries, and the
foundations well and truly laid for others to
build upon.

The process of Circuit propagation that went
on during these years is attempted to be
shown in the accompanying diagram.

Who were these hardy, indefatigable
pioneers ! That name specially belongs to
four persons, each of whom suffered hardship
and imprisonment — Jeremiah Gilbert, William
Taylor, S. Perry, Thomas Holliday. To Jeremiah Gilbert belongs the honour of being
the pioneer of the Connexion in Hallamshire, while to William Taylor was assigned
the task of breaking up the ground in Barnsley and its neighbourhood. Thomas
Holliday was won by Jeremiah Gilbert, so that, although he was quickly pressed
into the service and was inferior to none of his colleagues in efficiency and zeal, yet
priority belongs to them as first in the field.

William Clowes was indirectly concerned in the establishment of the Sheffield
mission. There were two persons present at the March Quarterly Meeting of the
Nottingham Circuit who would not have been there but for his invitation. One of
these was S. Atterby whom the meeting appointed to Retford Mission ; the other was he
who afterwards came to be affectionately known as " Father Coulson." Early in the
century Mr. Coulson had removed from Chesterfield to Sheffield,
and was now desirous that the Primitive Methodists should
begin a mission in this important industrial centre. When on
a business visit to Hull he had brought the subject before William
Clowes who suggested that he should attend the next Quarterly
Meeting and there personally plead the cause he had so much at
heart. The result was that, probably by the appointment of the
Nottingham Circuit Committee, Jeremiah Gilbert was designated to
the mission, and set out for his sphere of toil assured of the helj)
and sympathy of John Coulson, who had now identified himself
with the denomination. Both S. Atterby and Jeremiah Gilbert
seem to have taken Bolsover in Derbyshire, on their way to their

T. HOLLIDAY.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

479

respective missions, and both were shut up in Bolsover Round House for preaching
abroad. Eight days after, Atterby tells us, he was again taken into custody at
Tickhill in Yorkshire. As for Gilbert, the first Sabbath of his ministry was made ever
memorable to him by his experience in the Round House, where he had " neither bed
nor sti'aw," but where " God took possession of him — body, soul, and spirit."

We have a pretty full journal of Jeremiah Gilbert's labour in the mission after May,
1820, by which time it had become a circuit; but precise details of the first nine
months' labours are wanting. One early record in his Journals conveys a vivid idea of
the work that could be crowded into one Sabbath, and by it we gain a glimpse of some
Sheffield localities associated with our humble beginnings in the hardware city : —

" Sunday, May ll^th : — At Sheffield. Preached at six o'clock in the morning, in
Young Street ; a good time. At eight, preached at Water lane, which I suppose

BOLSOVER CASTLE.

to be the wickedest place in Sheffield ; but many appeared to be greatly affected
and came in the evening to the chapel. Preached at half -past ten in the chapel •
and at two administered the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It was a solemn
time. Preached again in the chapel at six, and in the park at eight. It was
a blessed day to many souls.

Eight days after the preceding entry, Jeremiah Gilbert notes that he preached
a funeral sermon in the chapel and afterwards renewed the tickets to three classes.
All this indicates that a considerable society had already been established in Sheffield.
Eut Gilbert was essentially an itinerant missionary and one of the most devoted and
successful the Connexion has ever had. Hence the references to Sheffield are only

480

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

occasional. The greater part of his time was taken up with carrying the gospel to
various towns and villages comprised within the extensive area of the Sheffield Circuit.
He visited amongst other places Rotherham, Greasborough, Bradgate, Clown, Doncaster
and even Retford. . . He does not seem to have had much experience of rough handling
by the mob, but he had rather more than his share of clerical persecution. Many of
the clergymen of the district were bitterly hostile, and did all in their power to prevent

open-air preaching in their parishes.

So zealous were they that sometimes,
when the constables felt their task
distasteful and hung back, the clergy-
man would himself pull the preacher
down. When, at Balber, the con-
stable did lay hands on Jeremiah
Gilbert who thereupon began to sing,
" Wicked men I scorn to fear," etc •
the clergyman tried to put his hand
before the preacher's mouth : but

BOLSOVEll CKOSS.
Where first open-air services were held and where Gilbert was arrested (?)

The first preaching place,
Bolsover, was in this upper
room.

says Gilbert, " I told
him my tongue was
not to be tethered ;
and as the Almighty
had imparted unto
me such a gift as my

tongue, it should be employed in praising Him." And here, perhaps, one should put
in a good word for the old-time parish constable into whose hands oui early missionaries
so often fell. These men were often unwilling agents, hating the work which they were
compelled to undertake. " I had a deal of conversation " says Jeremiah Gilbert " with the
constable on the way to Chesterfield. He wept very much and said, he hoped it would
be the last time he should have a job of that sort ; " and, as they drove along, the
constable confessed that "he was so timid, that he was forced to go and get a glass or
two of ale before he could manage to come and pull me down."

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PKEDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

481

There is one passage in Gilbert's Journal, written in July, 1820, which reminds us of
that noble passage in which Paul enumerates the sufferings he endured on behalf of the
gospel. One item in that heavy account is — " in prisons more frequent." So, quite in
Paul's spirit and manner is Gilbert's statement: "Although within the last fifteen
months I have been taken before magistrates six or seven times for preaching the
gospel, I have never lost anything but pride, shame, unbelief, hardness of heart, fear of
man, love of the world, and prejudice of mind. I have always come out of prison
more pure than I went in."

It is a fair inference from these words that, although Jeremiah Gilbert gives us in
detail only one of his prison experiences, there were several such experiences he might
have given ; and it has always seemed to us that the description of what happened to

ROUND HOUSE, BOLSOVER.

him in the " damp and doleful " prison at Eckington, in Derbyshire is, because of the
cheery spirit it breathes, and the quaint, naive way in which it is written, worthy to be
reckoned with similar narratives in the lives of the early Quakers or Baptists. As
John Garner ^as allowed to speak for himself in describing the sufferings he underwent
at Sow some fourteen months before this, so here we must let Jeremiah Gilbert tell his
own story in his own way. Sow and Eckington make good companion, though
contrasted, pictures. There is here no brutal rabble, only a timid constable that must
prime hmiself with ale for the disagreeable work he has to do, and the inevitable
clergyman in the background : —

" Wednesday, 12th July ;— At Eckington, Derbyshire. Got upon a chair, sung

482

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

and went to prayer, sung again, and gave out a text. Then a constable came and
desired me to come down. I asked him two or three times where his summons
was, and began to preach again as if nothing had been amiss. He then called
out for assistance, but not one would engage to help him. He then got hold of
my coat and pulled me down. I then began to sing : —

' Christ He sits on Zion's hill,' etc.

It caused the people rather to smile to see me take hold of the constable's arm, and
walk with him. He took me to a place which seemed to be as complete a prison as
I had ever seen. The window had strong bars. The door appeared to be full of
great nails. I looked through the bars of the window and there was a great many
people. I exhorted them to flee from the wrath to come ; and those who feared

YOUNG STREET, SHEFFIELD,'
Where Jeremiali Gilbert first preached in the open-air in Sheffield.

the Lord to glorify Him ; and many sang the praises of God without, while I sang
His praises within. After some time the gaoler came and conversed with me.
I persuaded him to go down on his knees in the prison ; and prayed with him.
I afterwards wrote a part of my Journal : and at midnight I prayed and sang
praises to God, and then retired to rest. I had blocked up the window as well as
I could to keep out the cold ; for it was a wet, damp, doleful prison. I had neither
bed nor straw, but lay across some laths, and had a besom for my pillow. It was
afterwards remarked to me that my prison was a deal worse than Derby dungeon ;
but the Lord converted it into a paradise."
Next day, for the second time, Jeremiah Gilbert was driven to Chesterfield to go

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

483

before the justices. He would not walk ; for, as he said, he had to walk quite enough
when he preached the gospel, and when he was taken up for preaching it it was his
intention to ride. There is a tradition that, as the constable was driving along with
his prisoner, he good-naturedly dropped the hint that Gilbert might slip into a wood
they were passing at the time, and make good his escape. But the hint was not
taken ; for Gilbert meant seeing this business through. Whether it be true, as is
sometimes affirmed, that the fox may even get rather to enjoy being hunted, we know
not. But be this as it may, we cannot suppress the feeling that some of our early
missionaries such as W. R. Bellham and Jeremiah Gilbert, rather enjoyed the evident
perplexity of the Justice Shallows of the period to know what to do with their prisoners
when brought before them. They secretly chuckled as they saM^ the magistrate, helped by

mm wm -

» m

! 1

m
m

**
»

■iMl^miH

BP'^mBB

HlliH

PARADISE SQUAKE, SHEFFIELD.
Where the first room was secured for Primitive Methodist Services.

his clerk and the parson, referring to musty precedents, fumbling with law-books and
getting mixed with the statutes of different reigns. So it was at Chesterfield on this
occasion. The magistrate opened his law-book and began to read. "Is that Queen
Elizabeth'?" asked the clergyman who was Gilbert's accuser. "No, Sir, it is King
Charles the Second " was the answer, at which the prisoner put in his word : — " You
must try to get to another place if you please ; turn to King George the Third — the
Fifty-second year of his reign." The interview — for trial in any real sense it was not —
lasted between two and three hours, and at the end magistrate, clergyman, and
constable seemed glad to get rid of the prisoner on any terms, though the formality

II 2

484

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

of imposing a forty pound fine was gone through ! Jeremiah Gilbert at once made his
way back with all speed to Eckington and finished the discourse which had been
interrupted the night before.

However much the history of Primitive Methodism in Sheffield prior to the year
1836 may involve — however much conscientious labour, struggle, and self-sacrifice —
the main facts of its history up to that date can soon be outlined. It is with the
process of circuit ramification, from Sheffield as the original root, that went on in the

GROUP OF OLD OFFICIALS, SHEFFIELD FIRST CIRCUIT.

early years that this chapter has to do. The remarkable extension of our denomination
in the city of Sheffield, the story of its chapel-building enterprise, beginning with the
opening of Bethel Chapel in 1836, and the division and- sub-dLvision of its various
circuits that has gone on in late years, is quite another and a later chapter. It will be
enough to say here, before passing to other places once included in the original Sheffield
Circuit, that for fifteen years after the formation of that Circuit the society in the
town had for long no settled home. " A temporary preaching-room, we are told, was

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 485

secured in Watson's Walk, through the amalgamation with the mission of a small
congregation worshipping there. Better accommodation was afterwards secured in
Paradise Square; Brocco and the Park followed, and finally in Coalpit Lane, now
called Cambridge Street, possession was taken of a chapel previously occupied by the
Baptises; and in 1835, the present Bethel Chapel was commenced, and completed in
the following year, under the superintendency of the Rev. W. Carthy.""^

Xever perhaps did a band of men and women, " poor as to the world," attempt
a more formidable task than did the Sheffield Society when it set about the building of
Bethel Chapel. The audacity of faith could surely go no further, nor could faith
have proved her sincerity by a greater degree of self-sacrifice and cheerful toil, not
wanting in resourcefulness. " The total expenditure, including the purchase of the old
leasehold property, and the erection of the new premises was, we are told, £4,460; the
whole of which was borrowed." In order to keep down expenditure as much as
possible, the trustees undertook to pull down the cottages standing on the intended
site, and to prepare the land for building. In our group of old Bethel officials are
a few of those who took their share in this self-imposed labour. Joseph Hunter is one
of these. His connection with the Sheffield Society began some years before the
erection of the chapel. He and his wife were famous class-leaders, and at one time
had one hundred and thirty members under their joint care whom they carefully
shepherded. Mr. Hunter became a trustee for the new chapel. He helped in the
demolition of the cottages and in the digging out of the foundations, and as he had his
own day's work to do, this extra labour had to be put in before his own work began
or after it was finished. His wife seconded his efforts in her own way. She made
butter of the domestic cream she contrived to save, and gave the proceeds to the chapel-
fund. Like Mrs. Dale, whose portrait is also in the group, and others not represented,
she dressed the bricks of the demolished buildings so that they might be used again.
Edwin Machin and William Wright, two other trustees, are also in this group. They,
too, wheeled barrow and handled spade at the digging out of the foundations. For
some time the former lived in daily expectation of ,a visit from the bailiff because of
his chapel responsibilities, but he lived to see the brighter days that followed the
erection of the chapel in Coalpit Lane, afterwards known as Cambridge Street. An
interesting reference to the opening of this historic building is found in the Journal of
W. Clowes, and with this we leave Sheffield and its workers for the present.

"On June 19th [1836] I accompanied brother J. Flesher to Sheffield, to assist in
the opening of a commodious chapel in Coalpit Lane. Brother Flesher preached in
the morning and evening, and I officiated in the afternoon. The congregations
were very large and respectable, and as I listened in the morning to the beautiful
and powerful reasoning of brother Flesher, and witnessed the effect of his appeals
on the large assembly, I felt humbled in the dust, and wondered how it was that
I had ever been received as a preacher, and been continued such for more than
twenty years. With these views of myself, I fled to the throne of grace, and
implored divine help for the service of the afternoon. The Lord granted my
request, and as I addressed the audience His glory filled the house, and appeared
to be felt by all present. On the morrow as brother Flesher and I journeyed

* Rev. T. Campey.

486

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

homewards, I told him what my feelings and views were as I heard him preaching
on the previous morning ; and to my astonishment, he stated that as he was
hearing me in the afternoon, he had just the contrary views to mine of my
preaching and of his ; and that the fear of spoiling my sermon, were he to pray
after it, induced him to leave the pulpit and retire into the vestry, to prevent my
asking him to pray. Thus the Lord frequently humbles us, to prevent any flesh
from glorying in His presence, and to show us that he who glorieth should glory
in the Lord."

Barnsley.

To revert to the beginnings of the Sheffield Mission : just about the time the
prison-scenes already described were being enacted, William Taylor was sent out as an

additional labourer into this
wide mission-field. He
was a native of Tunstall
and his name had stood on
the Tunstall Circuit Plan.
Slackness of trade in the
Potteries had led him
to obtain employment in
Shetfield, but he had not
as yet taken up his duties
as a local preacher in the
Sheffield Mission. A visit
to his native place, how-
ever, and the faithful
admonishment of a Tun-
stall friend, led him on his
return into Yorkshire to
BETHEL CHAPEL, SHEFFIELD. cngagc heartily in aggressive

Christian work. He soon became the leader of three classes and the missioner of
Hough, Newhill, and other neglected places. When the June Quarterly Meeting of

the new Sheffield Circuit found itself in want of two preachers
to "break up fresh ground," it was but natural that the eyes
of the brethren should turn to William Taylor as a man in
every way likely to make a useful missionary. The officials
had not mistaken their man, nor did they commit an error
of judgment in thrusting him forth in July, 1820, into
the mission-field. Por twenty-nine years William Taylor did
useful work in various parts of the Connexion, dying August
11th, 1849. From his Journal as given in the Magazine we
find him labouring at Barnsley, Penistone, Wakefield, Horbury?
Silkstone, Cudworth, Huddersfield and many other familiar
places in the West Riding. When the Branch Quarterly
Meeting was held at Barnsley in March, 1821, it was found that four hundred persons

WILLIAM TAYLOR.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

487

had been added to the societies during the quarter, and the success of the mission in
this part was so encouraging that, during this same year, Barnsley was made into an
independent station. According to a well- authenticated tradition, it was Mrs. Tamar
Hall (the grandmother of Rev. T. Markwell) who opened her house to the first
Primitive Methodist missionary -in Barnsley, and in this house the first money was
given towards a chapel. Amongst other early befrienders of the cause respectful

FIRST PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, BARNSLEY.

mention should be made of J. Pollard, a local preacher of fifty years' standing, who
died in 1873, and J. Glover. When in 1832 the official addresses of the stations first
have place in the Minutes of Conference,
we find the superintendent preacher of
Barnsley Circuit living in Rymer's-row,
Barebones ! Such eminent men as Dr.
W. Antliff and J. Brownson lived in this
oddly named locality. In 1842 we find
Charles Lace housed in Castlereagh Street.
In the later as well as the earlier period of
its history Barnsley Circuit has continued
to be the fruitful mother of circuits as
the successive formation of such circuits as
Horbury, Clayton West and Hoyland shows.

JOSEPH POLLARD.

JOHN GLOVER.

488

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Halifax and Wakefield.
Another notable missionary was called out by Sheffield Circuit to do pioneer woik in
Halifax and its vicinity. Now, though Thomas Holliday gets only three poor lines in
the Minutes of 1858, which record that his "end was peace," for all that, he was a man
possessed of considerable vigour both of body and mind, and in the early days his
strength and force of character were freely expended in the service of our Church.
Holliday began his labours in the spring of 1821 by preaching at Elland and other
places in the neighbourhood of Halifax. So much success attended his labours in this

district, that he appeared at the
Adjourned Quarterly Meeting at
Barnsley, April 28th, with the
request that another preacher
might be appointed to assist
him in the Halifax Branch. His
request led to the appointment
of a helper called Revel whose
name, however, does not appear
on the stations.

The foundations of Halifax
Circuit were laid in persecution ;
and Thomas Holliday, like
Jeremiah Gilbert and William
Taylor, had his "baptism of
fire." The circumstances were
these. On the 27th May,
Holliday and his colleague
were holding a service in the
Butter Market. While the
former, with closed eyes, was
in the act of prayer, some one
shook him by the arm and bade
him desist. Without heeding
the interruption Holliday con-
tinued and reverently finished
his devotions, and on opening
his eyes found himself face to face with the constable. The preacher readily gave his
name when it was demanded, but expressed his determination to go through with the
service unless prevented by force, and gave some reasons for his determination. What
was alleged' to be a summons was then produced, and Holliday and Revel were led off
to the constable's house. Here, after a time, the constable left them, and in his
absence, Holliday from the window preached on " the New Birth " to the crowd that
had gathered tand which seemed reluctant to disperse when the sermon was over.
"The people seemed much troubled about us," says Mr. Holliday "but we told them
we were happy in the love of God." Then a man, " cursing and swearing," made

WESTGATE CHAPEL, BAKNSLET.

THE PEEIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 489

his way into the house; he threatened to knock the preacher down if he did not
come down, tried to thrust his umbrella down Mr. Holliday's throat, and ended by
dragging the two into a lumber room which did duty as an "inner prison."

Next day. Justice Horton came to what was evidently regarded as Police Court as
well as* prison, and had the two missionaries arraigned before him. When they refused
to find bail to appear at the Bradford sessions, or to give an undertaking not to preach
in the streets of Halifax, the magistrate committed them to Wakefield House of
Correction there to await the sessions. They praised God for counting them worthy to
suffer in His name, and the Justice bade them " cease their blasphemy ! " Next day
the preachers sang the praises of God as they passed through the streets of Halifax
and through the villages on their way to Wakefield. I

Messrs. Holliday and Revel remained in durance only from Tuesday to Saturday
evening, when they were liberated through the interposition of friends who thought
fit to give bail for them. They were liberated just in time to enable them to take
part in one of the largest and most memorable camp meetings ever held in these parts.
Jeremiah Gilbert makes special mention of six camp meetings held in Sheffield Circuit
during 1821. The first was at Wolfstones, near Thong, on April 29th, when ten
thousand people are said to have been present. To get to another held on Heenly
Common on July 29th, Gilbert walked twenty miles, he being at that time on the
Halifax Branch. A third, held on August 5th, on Greetland Moor, was attended by
thousands, amongst whom were many members of the Old ("onnexion who threw them-
selves heartily into the services of the day. This camp meeting was the precursor of
a great revival at Greetland. Others were held during the year on Stain Cross Common
near Barnsley, Heath Common near Wakefield, and Skircoat Moor near Hahfax. But
none of these equalled in magnitude the Sheffield and Barnsley Union Camp Meeting
held on Mexbro' Common, June 3rd. At one time during the day there are said
to have been sixteen praying companies engaged, and the newspapers of the district
reported the number present as upwards of twenty thousand. It is only fair to say
that Hugh Bourne in his History gives the much more moderate estimate of ten
thousand.

The presence at this camp meeting of the missionaries just released from prison would I
naturally lend additional interest to the proceedings, and the persecution so cheerfully 1
borne by them would make a powerful appeal to the high-spirited and liberty-loving
Yorkshire people. No surer method of winning the people to the new movement could ^
have been found than trying to stop it with the constable's staff. What with the zeal
of the missionaries and the sympathy in their favour aroused by persecution, the
Halifax Branch was almost from the first self-supporting, and in 1822 both Halifax
and Wakefield became independent stations. It should be added that when the
Bradford sessions came on, Messrs. Holliday and Revel duly surrendered themselves and
were honourably acquitted. Finding themselves in Bradford our missionaries began
preaching in the streets with the view of annexing that town, but they were in this
forestalled by the Leeds Circuit.

490

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Halifax.

The first class-meetings of the Halifax society were held in the house of Mrs. Halstead,
and the first meeting-house, now a printing-office approached by outside steps, stood in
John Street. In 1822, Ebenezer chapel was built at a cost of <£2,206, and here, just as
at Sheffield, women as well as men, counted it an honour to give their personal labour,
and assisted in getting out the foundations and clearing the ground for the builders.
The original schoolroom below the chapel, low and dark, and therefore ill-adapted to its
purpose, is now a store for ironmongery ; and in 1884, a fine suite of schools and class-
rooms was erected at a total cost of £4,460. Connected with the chapel is a burial-
ground, wherein lie the ashes of many of the early adherents of the Church.

From the beginning Ebenezer has been a centre of earnest, aggressive work. Four
circuits have resulted from the
missionary enterprise of the
Church, and the old spirit still
lives. Ebenezer has a further
claim to remembrance as havincf
given accommodation to the
fifth Conference— 1824. Of
this, as of the rest of the early
Conferences, it is surprising

EBENEZER CHAPEL, HALIFAX.

FIKST PREACHING PLACE,
HALIFAX.

how little we know. We do
not even know the 'personnel
of some of them. The official
records are meagre in the ex-
treme, and as yet the Minutes
do not give the names of
those Avho attended the preceding Conference. We have no descriptive reports, no
sketches of the principal figures, no piquant notes and comments on the proceed-
ings to help us to realise what went on day by day. The privilege of admission
to the Conference was jealously guarded, as may be gathered from the fact
that, at the Sunderland Conference of 1833, Hugh Bourne demanded that John
Flesher pay down on the table sixpence as a forfeit for proposing that brother As])inall,
ihe superintendent of Sunderland Circuit, should be the Conference door-keeper. Hugh
Eourne went on to speak of the mischief which such an irregularity was likely to

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

491

produce. But his brother, who was in the chair at the time, was of a contrary opinion,
and J. Flesher had his sixpence restored to him.*

The second Conference was attended by about forty delegates ; the third by fifteen ;
tlie fourth by forty-four, and Hugh Bourne, writing shortly before the holding of the
fifth, anticipated that as there were now near seventy circuits, there would probably
assemble at Halifax, on Whit Tuesday, 1824, upwards of seventy delegates. He fore-
shadows the plan, then adopted, of dividing the Connexion into four large districts, so
that an assured basis of representation might be found, and the fluctuations in the
number of delegates, from year to year, be obviated. At the Conference, W. Clowes
preached in the chapel in the morning, and Brother Bowen (probably David Bowen of
Darlaston) in the evening. We read in the Magazine that " a peculiar unction attended
the services of worship ; " but this was a very critical time, and the discussions that
went on in Ebenezer were not only animated but at times acrimonious. As strikingly
confirmatory of what we have more than once said of the crisis now reached, let the
reader take the following from the private Journal of Thomas Bateman. He himself
was not present at Halifax, but writing in September, 1824, he says : —

"Mr. Hugh Bourne came over again for another consultation as to the almost
hopeless state of the Connexion, and the best means to adopt to save it if possible.
Poor man he is nearly heart-broken, and well he may. . . . Some few fancy
that since the last Conference at Halifax they see a rift in the dark cloud. Oh,
that it may prove to be correct. At best the struggle will be sharp and long. I
trow the pruning-knif e will have to be used with an unsparing hand . Many dead
branches will have to be lopped off if the tree must live and thrive."

That this crisis — which nearly broke the heart of Hugh Bourne and the hearts of

JOHN FEARNSIDE.

WILLIAM PARRY.

MRS. HOOSON.

others besides him — was safely overpassed, was not entirely owing to the enforcement
of discipline and the excision of dead branches. It was rendered possible, mainly,
because, up and down the Connexion, there were found a sufficient number of those
who daily were content to be faithful in the local fields of inconspicuous service. It is
right that those who were forgetful of self should not be forgotten by us. Amongst

* Unpublished MS. of W. Clowes in the author's possession.

492

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

the faithful workers at Halifax in the early years let a few be named. John Fearnside,
a deeply pious and successful class-leader
and family visitor; Timothy Schofield, an
"ideal chapel-keeper" and earnest school-
worker ; William Parry who rendered
valuable service for many years ; Mrs, Hooson,
mother of the late Rev. Stewart Hooson,
'•'a saint indeed;" and Mrs. Driver, mother
of Mrs. J. Brierley, a most devoted
woman and liberal supporter of the
Church. Mention too must be made of
W. Gledhill, formerly a missionary in
Canada, who, after his superannuation,

settled down in his native town and rendered much useful service.

That intra-aggressive movement in Halifax itself, out of which resulted the formation

of Halifax second circuit, is an interesting though later story, . and must be told at

a later part when we come to speak of the Bradford and Halifax District.

MRS. DRIVER.

W. GLEDHILL.

HUDDERSFIELD.

William Taylor was, no more than his colleagues, exempt from persecution, in the
form of arrest by the constable and imprisonment. As early as July 16th, 1820, he

OLD MARKET-PLACE, HUDDERSFIELD.
Where Eev. W. Taylor preached Sunday, July 16th, 1820.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

493

found his way to Huddersfield, and there met with Sister Perry, another devoted
labourer in the mission. As usual, they sang along the streets to the market-place and
began to preach. Then " the constable came in a rude manner and took them into
custody," and under his escort they went along singing the hymn consecrated to such
an experience — "Wicked men I scorn to fear." They were thrust into a dirty prison
and locked up for the night. But the day's work was not done. They sang
praises in their cells, and to the people assembled outside — many of whom were weeping
— Taylor spoke concerning the doctrine they preached and for which they suffered.
Some kindly souls "put victuals through the bars." The people lingered near the
prison till midnight, and " cried, shame ! shame ! on the constable for putting us in
with nothing to lie on. The constable then sent two blankets and took sister Perry

thp: first primitive methodist chapel in huddersfield.

Removed from its original site for Railway purposes, and rebuilt in Northumberland Street
from the old material in 1847, precisely as it stood on the old site.

out." Early in the morning a prisoner in an adjoining cell, who had been imprisoned
for house-breaking, cried to Taylor to pray for him, and "himself began to pray like-
wise, and was in sore trouble." The picture is almost a replica of that drawn by
Jeremiah Gilbert of his experience in the damp and doleful prison at Eckington, only
that in this case we have tlie darker detail added, of a gentle woman treated as though
she had been one of the vilest of her sex. Next day the two missionaries were taken
before a magistrate who, after vainly trying to extort the promise that they would not
preach anywhere in the town, dismissed them. Such was the manner of Primitive

494

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

and in 1824, Huddersfield became an independent circuit with Thomas Holliday as its
superintendent.

We get an interesting side4ight on Thomas Holliday's habit of way-side sowing from
an incident told in a local history of Methodism — an incident that must have occurred
when Thomas Holliday was itinerating the district round Huddersfield. This dropping
a word in season as they passed along was a common practice with the first race of
preachers. It was conversation-preaching in its simplest but most difficult form.
Two souls, like two ships, cross each other's path, perhaps never to meet again. To bid
the passing stranger "good day" were not enough. The one sentence possible must be
a message — a rousing inquiry. Some of our fathers were^ adepts at this single-sentence-
preaching, and we suspect that Thomas HolHday was one of these. But the incident !
"Young Squire Brooke was out shooting on Honley Moor and got shot. The plain
and pointed words of Thomas Holliday, — ' Master, you are seeking happiness where it
will never be found,' were well aimed and well meant, and did more execution than all
the sermons he had heard preached." For over forty-five years he was a popular
Wesley an Methodist salvation-preacher, and, as once more confirming the view that
"Like father, like son" is a principle that holds good of spiritual as well as of natural
filiation, we are told that —

" Squire Brooke had a wonderful way of speaking a word in season, and still
more wonderful way of speaking a word at times apparently to many out of
season. The manner and the message roused sympathetic interest, awoke
sleeping memories, and often resulted in sound conversion. To a card-player he
said, ' Young man, you have a mother praying for you.' On journeying through
a village he inquired the way to ' Paradise.' The man said he had lived in that
village forty years and had never heard of such a place. ' What ! never heard of
such a place as "Paradise'"? I am going there.' 'Ah, master, I understand you
now.' .... He never forgot that the word spoken to him on Honley Moor
by the humble yet earnest Thomas Holliday was the means, under God, of his
conversion, and believed that under the same Divine blessing a stray word or
a direct appeal might mean salvation to others." "^
We give portraits of one or two of those who did much to establish and consolidate
Primitive Methodism in Huddersfield. First
must be named its first circuit steward,
Mr. John North, who also was a well-
known Connexional man and filled for
some years the office of Treasurer of the
General Chapel Fund, receiving the thanks
of the Conference of 1862 on his retire-
ment from the office. James. Rayner joined
the society in 1830, and was a member
for the long period of sixty-eight years,
filling the offices of local preacher and
society steward. The brothers Samuel and
Alexander Glendinning were amongst the earliest local preachers and prominent officials.

* History of Methodism in Huddersfield, Holmforth, and Denby Dale, by Rev. Joel Mallinson,
pp. 95, 6.

J. NORTH.

JAMES RAYNER.

THE PERIOD OF CIRClTiT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

495

SAMUEL GLENDINNING.

ALEX. GLENDINNING.

Chesterfield.

The tradition that Primitive Methodism was introduced into Chesterfield by Messrs.
Gilbert and Coulson is undoubtedly authentic ; but no details survive as to the
circumstances which attended its introduction into a place ranking next in importance
to the county-town. The open-air preaching and lively singing of the missionaries
would be sure to create a stir amongst the five-thousand inhabitants of the town, yet no
echo of that stir has come down to us, and tradition is silent as to any persecution
having been met with.

Our records begin with the statement that a cottage in Froggart's Yard was the first

head-quarters of the society. This soon
becoming too small, a remove was made
to an old paint-shop in Silkmill Yard,
which in its turn was superseded by
the first connexional chapel built in 1827,
when Jabez Woolley was superintendent
and the society numbered but thirty
members. As no site could be obtained
within the borough (now greatly enlarged),
the building was planted just outside
the borough boundary, in the parish of
Brampton. Here was rebuilt, in 1866,
Mount Zion Chapel, now standing as the head of Chesterfield Second Circuit. But even
eighteen years before this, Brampton had taken second place, yielding the position of
circuit chapel to a new building erected within the borough proper; for, by 1848, the

accommodation available was inadequate
to the requirements of the society, now
numbering two hundred and thirty-five
members. In that year, therefore, a chapel
was built in Wyatt's Yard, Beetwell Street,
which served until 1881, when the old
School of Industry was bought, and
Holywell Cross Church built under the
superintendency of Rev. John Wenn.

We have not space, neither is it necessary,
to detail what has since been done in
Chesterfield in the way of Church extension.
The ninety-tliree pounds that in 1827
represented all that tha society of thirty
members had been able to raise towards
the eight hundred and three — the cost of
the first chapel, points to the small and
feeble beginnings of Primitive Methodism,
contrasted with its latest develojjments as
set forth in our illustration of its present

FEOGGART'S YARD. chaDCls.

First Preaching Room was in this Yard, Chesterfield.

496

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

The society at Hasland in the Chesterfield Second Circuit has had a long and interest-
ing history which is thus outlined by the competent pen of Dr. G. Booth : —

"The first preaching services at
Hasland were held in Mrs. E.
Widdowson's cottage (my grand-
mother's house, also my own birth-
place), and this was the place of
entertainment for the preachers for
many years. The house became too
small for the number of worshippers,
and, after many anxious deliberations,
two female lay-preachers rented,
cleaned, and caused to be fitted up,
an empty shed formerly used for
storing wool-pack waggons. This was
afterwards turned into a blacksmith's
shop. These two zealous and active
members — Miss S. Webster and Miss
B. Cooper— were destined to fill
a wider sphere of action ; for the
first-named became the wife of the
Bev. G. Booth, and the latter the the old chapel and preacher's house, beetwell
wife of Dr. William AntlifF. The street, chesterfield.

OLD blacksmith S SHOP, HASLAND, WHERE PREACHING SERVICES WERE HELD.

THE PERIOD Ob CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

497

498

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

first chapel was built [1842] during the time when Mr. Booth travelled in the
Chesterfield Circuit. He designed the plans, drew up the specifications, and
laboured thereon with his own hands. As this was the only Nonconformist place
of worship in the village, some years after, increased accommodation was required,
and then the son took up the task and the chapel was enlarged. Again the
sanctuary became too small for the worshippers, and another chapel was erected

[1880] by the side of the old building which was used
as a school-room, etc. Lastly, the handsome Gothic
church now used was erected in a prominent part of
what has now become a populous township [1890].
The intimate connection of the Booth family with the
Primitive Methodist cause in Hasland was kept up by
the laying of a foundation-stone of each of the last-
named structures by the editor of the Hymnal Tune
Books."

It was in Chesterfield the veteran G. W. Armitage,
Dr. S. Antliff and George Booth began their ministry.
The last-named was born at Emley, near Barnsley, in
1805, began to travel in 1832, and died at Winster, April
9th, 1854 ; the twenty-two years of his useful and laborious
ministry all being spent Avithin the limits of the old Nottingham District. He was

BARBAEA COOPEE OF HASLAND.

Chapel:

THK PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

499

a plain, practical preacher, a diligent pastor and a man of deep and unquestioned
piety. Excessive labour broke down a naturally strong constitution and laid it open
to the inroads of disease, and George Booth died at the comparatively early age of
forty-nine years. From certain entries made in his diary we may see something of
his unsparing labour.

" January 3rd^ 1849 : — Visited more than forty families, and prayed with them
when I had an opportunity. . . . January 5th, Walked fourteen miles . I was
not very well ; but I visited a few families, and preached with power. . .
January 6th, Walked twenty miles and rode fifteen. The weather was cold and
frosty, and snow was falling ; but I found the presence of God on the journey.
The Lord brought me safe to East Shilton Circuit, where I saw three persons
converted to God on the Sabbath. . . . January 15th, I was not very well ;
but after visiting a few families and exhorting the othcials to love one another,
I preached at Melton. January 16th, I visited sixty families ; and in every house
prayed with the inmates and exhorted them to serve God."

Thanks to the care and training of a wise mother — the before-named S. Webster of

Hasland — George Booth's only son was
to lind his way to Chesterfield, to make
his mark on the civic life of the town,
and greatly aid in that development of
our Church in this busy centre which
lias gone on in these later years. To Primi-
tive Methodists generally, Dr. Booth is
chiefly known from his connection with
our excellent Hymnals, to which fuller
reference will be given. But in Chester-
field he is known not only as a medical
man in large practice, but as a veteran
educationalist, a magistrate, an alderman
who has passed the chair (Dr. Booth was
Mayor in 1887), and as a loyal Primitive
Methodist, whose musical taste and interest
in Christian education have largely con-
tributed to give to the particular church
he belongs the distinction of having the
largest jSTonconformist Sabbath School in the
town, and the most effective service of praise
in connection with its public worship.
In 1829 the Chesterfield Circuit was
reported as having only two hundred and sixty-six members. In 1842 the
membership stood at four hundred and twenty-one, and by 1863 it had increased
to one thousand and seventy-three. In that year Clay Cross and Bolsover branches
were formed; these gained Circuit independence — the former in 1867, and the

KK 2

DK. GEO. BOOTH.

500

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

latter in 1869. In 1879 the Staveley Circuit was formed. Thus it will be seen
that, including the three Chesterfield Circuits, what was originally part of
Sheffield Circuit, and then one of its branches, has by a process of division
and subdivision become six Circuits. The local historian intimates that "Chester-
field has re-awakened to vigorous life ; especially during the past half-century."
It is gratifying to have to conclude from the facts already cited that the same statement
might be made of Primitive Methodism in the town and district For the future the
omens are favourable ; so much so that the words with which the same local historian
concludes his survey of Chesterfield's past, by a hopeful prognostication for the years to
come, may very well be appropriated by us : — " There is every probability that with
intelligent municipal government, etc., Chesterfield will continue to expand, and in
greater extent and prosperity, thoroughly realise the estimate of the historian who
described Chesterfield as ' Ye fayrest towne in ye Peake countrie ' " *

DONCASTER AND BrADWELL.

Doncaster was within the radius
of Jeremiah Gilbert's missionary
labours. He held a camp meeting
on Ravensfield Common on Juno
2nd, 1820, and another at Doncaster
on July 2nd. Of the latter he
says : — "We had not many people,
nor many preachers; but the Lord
was there." In the Journals of
Messrs. Brooks and Ingham, there
are sundry references not only to
Doncaster but to Balby, Adwick
and other places in the neighbour-
hood, and it is clear from the
reference to Doncaster that, by 1821, there was a society there worshipping in
its own hired room. Doncaster was formed into an independent station in
1823, and in the redistribution of circuits made the next 3^ear, it was included
in the Hull District. Right through the first period Doncaster had a chequered
history. In 1829 its membership had fallen to 129; it lost its circuit independence
and was re-incorporated with Sheffield Circuit ; then it was promoted to be a
branch, and ic was such when John Garner, who had for two years been on the
Sheffield Station, was appointed to take charge of it He found the society in a feeble
and depressed condition : " worship was conducted in a room inconveniently situated
adjoining a public-house." This would be the old dancing-room in Scholes Yard,
Hallgate, which was the second place occupied by the society, the first having been
a cottage in Fishergate. The Sheffield authorities despairing of their ability to carry
the burden much longer, got it transferred to the shoulders of Scotter Circuit which

SCHOLES YARD, HALLGATE, DONCASTER.

Old Dancing Room to the left, front lialf now turned
into cottages.

* " Modern Chesterfield : its Legends, History and Progress.
Jacques, 1903.

By John Pendleton and William

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

501

accepted the resj3onsibility with some misgivings. Under the new arrangement, to
which John Garner was more than a consenting party, a vigorous policy was entered
upon — an additional preacher was called out ! " The appointment was a happy one.
Mr. .Garner and Thomas Kendall, his colleague, laboured together with fervent zeal and
affection, and God blessed them and their combined efforts with abundant success. In
Doncaster, Providence put them in possession of a commodious chapel. The country
places improved rapidly, and in the course of a few months the station in regard to its
numerical, financial and moral strength occupied an honourable position." * The chajiel

thus providentially acquired in
1839, was one in Duke Street,
belonoiiig to the Methodist iN'ew
Connexion, from whom, after some
negotiations, it was purchased.
Duke Street now stands officially
as the head of Doncaster second
station.

It would have been unlike John
Garner if there had been no touch
of originality even in his methods
of conducting the routine work
of the circuit. His biographer
tells us that once, at Balby, John
Garner "preached to himself,"
and thereby largely increased his
after congregations. He had gone
to the village to fulfil a week-
evening appointment, but had not
a single hearer. This, however,
made no difference. He went
on with the service as though the
chapel had been full of people,
and the fact was duly reported
by one who had put his head
within the door while the strange
service was going on. The next time Mr. Garner came to Balby, and many times after,
the curious came in numbers to see and hear the man who " preached to himself."

So marked was the improvement made by Doncaster while under the wing of Scotter
that, in 1853, it was again granted circuit autonomy. At this time it had three
preachers — T. and R. Cheeseman and H. Woodcock, some fifty-six local preachers and
twenty-nine preaching places, amongst which were Mexborough (now the head of
a circuit) and historic Austerfield, and 541 members were reported to the Conference of
1854. Another step in advance was marked by the opening in October, 1854, of Spring

INTERIOR OF DUKE STREET CHAPEL, DONCASTER II.

" Life of John Garner, Sen.," 1856, by W. Garner, p. 77

502

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

Gardens Chapel, justly regarded at the time as one of the best chapels in the Connexion.
Under the successive superintendency of the brothers Cheeseman the circuit continued
to increase in strength and influence. The holding of the Conference of 1858 'at
Doncaster to some extent registered the local progress ,made. Doncaster's first camp
meeting (held soon after the close of the first Conference) with its "not many people,
nor many preachers," was in striking contrast with the thirty-ninth Conference camp
meeting, held on Doncaster race-course, as described in a few pen-strokes by one who

took part : — " Processioning very
large; much excitement, approach-
ing that on the St. Leger day ;
two stands." *

There was one man present that
day who would appreciate the
change the years had brought, and
who himself had been no mean
instrument in bringing about the
change. This was Richard Wads-
worth, who was a delegate to the
Conference held in his own town.
He joined the society in Hallgate
in 1828, and finished his course in
sPKiNG GARDENS CHAPEL, DONCASTER. ^ggy^ ^^ ^^^ ninetieth ycar of his

age. For sixty-five years he was a local preacher, and is said to have walked some
twelve thousand miles in fulfilling his long ministry. He was a class leader sixty-
three years ; attended eight District Meetings and five Conferences as a delegate.
But this record, remarkable though it be, pales before the record of what he did, week
by week and year by year, in visiting the sick and dying. We have read and re-read
his private journal. We read it first from duty; we read it a second time for love.
The reading leaves an impression, distinct and clear, of a man to whom religion
was the main concern of life. Amongst the spiritual children of Richard Wads-
worth are Dr. Re}'nolds Trippett, who after being on the Doncaster
plan in 1845 entered the ministry of the M. E. South, and James ^ £^s^ '\

Shaw, now in our own ministerial ranks.

It has been the good fortune of Doncaster to be chosen by
several veteran ministers as the place wherein to spend the
quiet evening of life. William Leaker, who died September
26th, 1878, was one of these. Two years of his ministry —
1837-8 — were spent in the Doncaster Branch, during which
he married the daughter of George and Martha Harring, of
Warmsworth, whose cottage from a very early date was the
preaching-place and the home of the servants of God. His
declining days were spent in " visiting the aged, the suffering, the poor, and giving
comfort to the sorrowful." He may well be remembered here ; for, when the Balby

JIICHAKD WADSWORTH.

Thomas Bateman's private Journal.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

503

WILLIAM LEAKER.

GEORGE TAYLOR.

Road Chapel could not pay its way and the trustees and superintendent were greatly con-
cerned, Mr. Leaker came to their help. His gifts, amounting to £400, meant self-denial for
him but salvation for the cause. The last one was so opportune and so unostentatiously

and graciously bestowed as to enhance its

value, and the Conference of 1872 quite

properly acknowledged it by a special

resolution. In Doncaster cemetery also lies

the dust of T. Kendall, William Saul, a

native of Doncaster Circuit and son-in-law

of Richard Wadsworth, who after serving

the Church for forty years died at

Doncaster 1 889 ; and J. T. Shepherd, for

forty-one years an able and successful

minister of the Hull District, who died

September 5th, 1897. The name of George
Taylor should be chronicled in connection with the Hatfield Society, Doncaster
second circuit. He was converted through the instrumentality of George Lamb on
his first visit to the place, May, 1834. The society at Hatfield owed, and still owes,
much to the fostering care of Mr. Taylor who, from the time of the opening of the
chapel in 1835 up to the time of his death, was class leader, society steward and
school superintendent.

Bradwell.
Bradwell in the High Peak, though it is one of the oldest circuits in the Manchester
District, genealogically can be claimed by Nottingham. It, like Doncaster and the
rest, was one of the fruits of the Sheffield mission begun by Jeremiah Gilbert. The
first clear, dated reference to Bradwell Primitive Methodism we can find is in a communi-
cation to the Magazine by James Inghatn, describing a camp meeting held there on
October 7th, 1821. The date was late enough for a full day's services in the open-air
in that high region. Indeed, "many expected it would be a wet day," says the
reporter of the proceedings : " But God can answer prayer. It was a fine day, and the
wicked were heard to say — 'See, they can change the weather.'" Ingham is explicit
enough as to this being a pioneer camp meeting : " Six of us [from Sheffield] were there
to hold the meeting, and I believe we had not a member in the town. Well might we
say: "What are these among so many'?" He is equally explicit in giving us to
understand there were quite a score of converts ready to be enrolled as members at the
close of that Michaelmas camp meeting.

The first services were held in the house of George Morton, who became the first
circuit steward ; and a chapel was opened in 1822 by Hugh Bourne. This we learn on
the authority of Joseph Middleton, who tells us that, from the time of the Primitive
Methodists coming to Bradwell, he had generally attended their meetings, and in this
same year, when a youth of . seventeen, joined the society. He soon after entered the
ranks of the ministry, and was followed by his brother, the present governor of Bourne
College. Joseph Hibbs, John Hallam and John Morton, were also sent forth from
this circuit.

504

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Joseph IMiddleton kept a full diary, from which we learn that he was born at Smalldale,
adjoining Bradwell. Quite excusably for a native of this interesting district, he boasts
of the natural wonders to be seen near his birthplace ; — Mam Tor, or the Shivering

FIRST CHAPEL, BRADWELL.

Mountain, of the well which ebbs and flows, of the stream which disappears in
unknown depths, of the natural caverns which, sparkling with crystals and roofed witti
stalactites, look like fairy palaces. It will keej) us in touch with Hugh Bourne's early
friend to know that these very wonders were looked on admiringly and speculated about
by Peter Phillips, w^hen traversing this district on foot to attend the Annual Assembly
of his denomination at Sheffield.

The outside of the first Bradwell chapel may be judged of by our engraving; but

inside, the chapel had its own special distinction, derived
from the riches of the adjoining lead-mines. True, the chapel
had no porch or vestibule ; its seats were movable forms
without backs, and its floor was unboarded. But for all that,
the said floor was out of the common order. According to the
veteran, Rev. Jesse Ashworth — who began his long ministry
here — the ground was covered with what was called "small
feith," or spar from the mines, which sparkled and glistened
with little particles of lead ore ; this was renewed every year.
John Verity travelled on the Bradwell Circuit in 1831, and
he was wont to describe this time-honoured structure in his
own peculiar fashion. "My chapel," said he, "is floored with
sparkling gems and diamonds, the people make no noise treading upon it, coming in or
going out ; if a baby cries, the mother quietens it by putting it down on the floor

DAVID TUTON.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

505

THOMAS BLAIDES.

to play with the diamonds. If I want any one to engage in prayer two or three forms
from me, I take up a handful of gems and throw them at the person's back."*

In this same year — 1822 — another camp meeting of note was held at Bradwell.
Jeremjah Gilbert, who conducted it, tells us that it was held "upon
a very high hill," and that thirty persons were " truly converted
to the Lord." Let the date be remembered, for May 19th, 1822,
was a famous camp meeting Sunday in our annals. At Congleton,
Oakengates, and especially at Oldham, camp meetings on a large
and impressive scale were being held during these very hours
when Jeremiah Gilbert and his band were making the high hills
vocal with praise and prayer.

Bradwell was made a circuit by Sheffield in 1823, and had for
its first preachers Thomas Holliday and J. Hopkinson, whom we
shall meet again in the North Country. John Skevington, the
future Chartist, spent half a year of his short itineracy here, and
Thomas Blaides was one of its early preachers. In 1845, during the superintendency of
that remarkable man, David Tuton, a new chapel was built at Bradw^ell which has
since been enlarged. His two years' ministry in this circuit were very successful, so
much so that he earned for himself the honourable title of the .Apostle of the Peak.
His name and fame still live in the district. We give the portraits of two of the early
worthies of the Bradwell Circuit each of whom served the Church as a local preacher
— John Backing Darwent for nearly fifty years, and Rebecca Edges for more than
that number. What that involved in the early days may be guessed, when we know
that in 1826 the Bradwell Circuit had something like fifty-eight places on its plan, and
covered the ground now occupied by New Mills, Glossop, Marple, Newton and Hyde,
and Buxton stations. New Mills Branch was made a circuit in 1827, and was annexed
to the Manchester District ; and the next year Bradwell itself was transferred from
Nottingham District to Manchester.

There is some significance in this transference. When the Sheffield missionaries

reached these high altitudes, Primitive

Methodism had circuitously returned to

its sources ; for the High Peak is part

of the Pennine range of which Mow Cop

is also a part. The Peak country is

a watershed feeding the Mersey on one

slope, and the Dove, the Derwent and the

Don, tributaries of the Trent, on the other.

Primitive Methodism from Bradwell spilled

over the water-parting somewhat, and

mingled itself with the movement from

Manchester and Stockport. A similar

process went on from Macclesfield on the other side; for from that Cheshire

town now aflame, earnest men and women crossed the ridge to evangelise some

EEBECCA EDGES.

J. B T)AKWP]NT.

*' Eev. Jesse Ashworth, in the Aldersgate for 1899, p. 754.

506

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

of the Derbyshire villages. So the point we have reached marks a stage in the
geographical extension of our Church. When Bradwell Circuit was formed the
Trent basin, and especially that portion of it lying in the county of Derby' was
earmarked for the Connexion. It was formally taken possession of and mapped out •
and what remained to be done in the years that followed, was to divide and sub-
divide the territory into smaller and more easily workable areas.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 507

chaptp:r X.

THE TUNSTALL FORWARD MOVEMENT.
End of the "Non-Mission Law."

|E have liow to chronicle a notable advance on the part of Tunstall Circuit.
In 1819 it fell into line with the newer circuits, and was not a whit behind
any of them in missionary enterprise. Prior to 1819 this could not have
been said ; but from that date a stirring chapter in its history begins.

The facts have already been noted that, in December, 1818, W. Clowes was given
up to the Hull Mission, and that in January, 1819, Hugh Bourne's illness led to his
resignation of the office of General Superintendent. Up to this point the mother
circuit had not materially enlarged its area, or even greatly increased its membership ;
for in December, 1818, the number of members reported was but 690, as compared with
tlie 200 of the year 1811. But during the next fifteen months a remarkable change
for the better took place. An extensive tract of country was missioned, and so
successfully, that one slice of it was deemed ready for circuit independence. An
increase of 1,013 for the fifteen months was reported. A circuit debt of some thirty
pounds was wiped off, and a balance remained available for mission purposes. Better
still, a spirit of enterprise and hopefulness took the place of languor and depression.

Hugh Bourne had diagnosed the disease and applied a remedy to which he attributed
the pleasing change. In his view the decline of the circuit had been coincident with
the decline in camp meetings, and the advance of the circuit had kept step with the
reform in camp-meeting procedure. The lesson of Mercaston Camp Meeting had been
lost; the circuit had fallen into the old groove and stuck there all through the years
1817-1818, when the great revival was going on in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire
and Lincolnshire. But with " the sweeping away of the long and tedious exercises, the
restoring of the praying services, and the bringing of the talents of the people
generally into action," new life and vigour had been infused into the circuit. These
new regulations for the ordering of camp meetings were made at the March Quarterly
Meeting, 1819, and printed on the back of the plan. A camp meeting on the new, or
rather the restored, model was held at Wrine Hill, nine miles from Tunstall, May 23rd,
1819, and, as an event marking a forward movement, an account of it was inserted in
the Magazine. With the signs of circuit improvement everywhere in evidence, Hugh
Bourne's own health rapidly improved. He intimates that it was mental anxiety even
more than labour that broke down his health. He was " wounded to the quick " by
the " camp meeting ruin," brought home to him by the findings of a committee of
inquiry that sat at Alton soon after the December Quarterly Meeting. He does not
hesitate to say that "the Spirit of God was grieved," and that if the system

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Ctmstajfyfa?;it

plan of the Pnackers oftfie Societj/

CAIXFU

PRlMinVE METHODISTS.

Poty ye A-iTtM- th« Uiii of I ic liarv»ii, 'lui hr

U i'-ntl forib Ubwij-^T into bis harvest

PKEACatRS.

5 J ^tt•c!e

2 J. Bourne

3 If B«unip

4 W Clo»et

5 R. Bavley

6 T Wowiuorth

7 J Nuou
g T AlteorV
B H Wood

M. ato»M

.?. irton

1 1 J BuNtOIl, JUB.

16 &- PountaiQ

17 1' fi.urte

18 T. Korodrcd
ly J W«3g«ood
2ij W Worreu
ej W, holliuD
1' D fioxion
•ij K Forsler

?S J LMou

28 J- Kite
••a W.S-lelkr
J WtHoa
.31 J B(»ck
?12 T ToiJor
33 S B.rf&tr
St VV "fMW

aa K, Hstrfem ■-
30 T. Jh>ka»a

40 I , Rf)tlw%

41 T. Web
*2 T. Jaikvn
4$ J, Handcoct
44 J. Hihwortfa

46 .1 Sjins
« EOlpw

48 J lUle
♦<* ,) DuVps
50 S Tjniir
Si »i. Stcntf
£.2 J Heath
53 at. tiarrtson
j4 J. liarUr

S3 J Froggalt

56 3 Bo.im

^7 J JJallsfieW

->8 J GilXioo

S§ J Ejprtoo

^ BroWTOSwnrd
ON ■rnsAi..

61 lR,A»k«*

«2 A. Forster

63 J. LewrtSo

64 W. BHey

65 U Malpas

66 W Psrluer
67" W Ride

08 T Piict
6<) Moiifs northern
TO T Cipwj

IXlinilT>R'9.

71 J. Oorhi'.hipy

72 D. P .ad G. Ui

73 T B,

74 1. H.

75 W. D.

76 H B.

»»*<3[«lrMT-i»y »tTunM^, .Iniieflft— Pre»«?)sr« 10 BWCt it«liie.-~Qi»rt»T-rDe«lliig at -A,lton, June 'i, »* four o'ctaf k.— J^OT^-fcu'rt ti
CanooA'hnc, May 30— At D. K. Vhiku, inae 20.— At Wetton^ in CbMbtre, Jnly 4.— At Hullnnd, July ai.— C C»mp Me^io-.J^-I. Uwf
,fe«t<.— TTifkMs— PPmyer-weeting. ' . , >

C(TOp-n««««y»«rte/o//<>«di^pfo«r,»o«iBar*erf<>»Wi<';)/«m.-^AtTv*»7;M HiiU Way ?.■? — njnl«|,' M»y 30.'— ftg-

rta»odHolliBgt»n, June 13.— MM«le8fl«»jJBne90. " " " , .

•■^y Trcgorthtt. fiiinterf Iw^tinis

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 509

of holding camp meetings with "continuous preachings" had continued another
year, the circuit would have been ruined. While bowed under the stress of such
convictions and forebodings as these, the sight of the havoc caused in Leicestershire by
the secession of R. Winfield came as the last straw, and what seemed like complete
physical collapse followed as the joint result. Hence, at March, Hugh Bourne was left
unplanned ; but reviving prosperity acted like a medicine, and he soon found himself
able to assist his "boys," as some rather contemptuously called his young but willing
labourers. By June, he tells us : " It was found that the circuit was rising out of its
crippled state, and that it had begun to revive in almost every part. During the next
quarter, the regulations began more fully to take effect, and the circuit rose very fast.
The Lord graciously made bare His arm in the conviction and conversion of great
numbers ; the praying services at the camp meetings, and the prayer meetings at the
close of preachings were crowned with very great success."

Such is Hugh Bourne's version of the history of the decline and rise of the Tunstall
Circuit, from 1816 to 1820 — a version which gives a theory of the facts as well as the
facts themselves. There can be no question that the new camp-meeting regulations
were a considerable factor in effecting the improvement which showed itself in an
increase of one hundred per cent, in the membership ■ on the labours of fifteen months.
But Tunstall had annexed a good deal of territory during this same period, and it is in
the policy of expansion by which its borders were enlarged that we shall find the real
explanation of the improvement made. It was not merely the resumption of the pray-
ing companies, but the resumption of missionary labour ; the return to the old-time
method of pushing forward and breaking fresh ground, that had proved so successful in
the origin-period of the Connexion, and was even at that very time carrying Primitive
Methodism from county to county; — in other words, it was the virtual annulling of
the " non-mission law " which was opening for Tunstall a new and eventful chapter of
history. It is only when an army leaves its cantonments and enters upon an active
campaign that the special correspondent finds his work cut out for him. Our difficulty
is that we cannot be with three army-corps at one and the same time. While we
follow the advance of Tunstall, the missionaries of Hull are pushing on to Leeds and
Ninvcastle; and the missionaries of Nottingham are breaking ground in the Eastern
counties. Events that really happened together can only be described in succession.
We must recognise the disability narrative labours under, and make the best of it.

A Recapitulation and Forecast.

In one of his not infrequent historic generalisations, Hugh Bourne gives a useful
retrospect of the ground we have gone over, and an indication of that which has
next to be traversed : —

"Before the year 1819, we never had any opening to spread the work to any
extent from Tunstall. But from Bemersley the work got to Ramsor, Wootton and
Lexhead, and so on to Hollington and Boylestone in Derbyshire, and also to
Mercaston, Turnditch and Hulland ; and from there to Belper. And then from
the camp meeting held at Mercaston, June 9th, 1816, the work by the good hand
of God opened out, and in two years and a half it extended in Derbyshire,

510 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. And this year,
1819, the work in Tunstall Circuit opened out in Cheshire, and a foundation was
laid for what are now Burland and Preston Brook Circuits."

This passage needs little comment or qualification. Note well, for it is very significant,
that Bemersley and Tunstall are distinguished from each other, as though each had its
own particular history, and represented a somewhat different policy. Further, it may
well be that in this passage Hugh Bourne suggests his own dissociation from the non-
mission law. But the third factor in our history must not be forgotten. The extension
to Belper and the Midlands was brought about by Benton, Wedgwood, and the more
active and irregular workers, with whose doings Hugh Bourne undoubtedly sympathised,
though he followed rather than led. Thus qualified, the passage may stand as a useful
summary of our history thus far. We are told that James Steele was in favour of the
reform of camp meetings and had witnessed their worsening with pain and disfavour.
That may well be ; but we have reason to believe that he was a strong believer in the
policy of consolidation. That policy was now happily to be balanced by the policy of
aggression, and of this new policy Wrine Hill Camp Meeting supplies the symbol and
the date-mark. As Mercaston Camp Meeting had presaged and heralded the great
revival in the Midlands, so Wrine Hill, looking out over the Cheshire border,
inaugurated the Cheshire Revival with all that sustained and heroic efi'ort that
succeeded in evangelising the country watered by the Mersey, the Dee, the Ribble, the
Wye and Severn.

In consequence of the extension of Tunstall Circuit during the year 1819, certain
important changes were made. First, as the work had spread so rapidly in what we
call the Black Country, Darlaston was in March, 1820, made the head of a new circuit.
Then, as the result of anxious deliberations, the remaining part of Tunstall Circuit was
divided up into six branches — the Home Branch, Eamsor, Belper, Burton-on-Trent,
Burland and Preston Brook. The circuit had become so unwieldy as to be difficult to
work. Only think of Sampson Turner in the course of two short months having to walk
to his appointments at places so far removed as Cannock, Burton-on-Trent, Macclesfield,
Talke, and Northwich in Cheshire ! It was time some method of economising the time
and strength of the preachers should be devised, and perhaps no better arrangement
could have been hit upon than the system of branches under the general supervision of
the Home Branch, and with frequent interchange of the preachers thereon. Each branch
in its turn became a convenient centre for further advance, and with this end in view
one preacher at least was usually employed in purely mission work — opening fresh
places.

How THE Cheshire Mission became Burland Branch.

We have first to look at the beginning and development of the Cheshire Mission
which, as Thomas Bateman says, "in its grand results has perhaps but seldom been
exceeded." Quite properly it was called a "mission," since it was started, and for
a time carried on, without the direction or supervision of the Tunstall Circuit authorities.
John Wedgwood, the missioner, made his own plan as he went on, going here and

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 511

there as invitations came, or as openings presented themselves. As was the way with
him, he filled the day with labour, often carrying on the meetings until late, and rising
from a short night's rest to hold a five-o'clock morning service. He ate but sparingly,
so that anxious hosts wondered how he could do the work he did on so meagre a dietary
and remonstrated with him — all to no purpose. In short, we have in the Cheshire
mission a repetition of the methods adopted by Benton and Wedgwood at the beginning
of the ^reat Revival in the Midlands.

The Cheshire mission began in a very simple and natural way. In the spring of
1819, the Tunstall Circuit had certain outposts on the Staflfordshire side, including
Englesea Brook, Coppenhall, Leighton, Wood Green, and a few other places.
Mr. George Chesters, who had taken a farm at Wolstanwood, having heard John
Wedgwood preach at Leighton, was desirous that his parents at Ridley Farm, near
Bulkeley, and the other friends he had left there, should have the opportunity of seeing
and hearing this remarkable man. With some difficulty arrangements were made for
John Wedgwood to preach at Bulkeley Four-lane-ends, on Easter Sunday night, 1819.

Wedgwood could not pass Nantwich without bearing
his testimony and delivering his message. Years before
it had driven out John Wesley ;. and though many
trials had been made, our people had as yet gained no
permanent footing in the town. So Wedgwood took his
stand and preached on the Snow Hill near the bridge in
the High Street, and Richard Ikin, who had gone into
Nantwich to spend that Sabbath afternoon at the ale-
bench, was seized with conviction as he listened to the
preacher. When afterwards he found rest, he joined
the Ravensmoor Society, and his name is mentioned here
because he may be regarded as having been the first-
fruits of the Cheshire Mission."

From this point, we are fortunate in having the copious
Journals of Thomas Bateman, of Chorley, by the help

THOMAS BATEMAN. ,.■,.■, e ^^ ^^ ■ i , . \

of which we can lollow the succession and correlation of
•events. But though we have the Journals as a salvage from the wreck of time, little
of a pictorial kind survive-^, so that it is impossible to give, as we should have liked to
do, portraits of some who have strong claims to remembrance.

Thomas Bateman was yet six months from his twentieth birthday at the time of
Wedgwood's visit — a fact we have difficulty in taking in as we read these Journals.
They are written with the sense and gravity often hard to find in a man of forty. He
had been accustomed to attend the services of the Church of England, and had even
taught in its Sabbath school. Occasionally he attended its services still, but he was
more frequently found on the Sabbath morning and afternoon at the Faddiley Wesleyan
Methodist Chapel. But he was neither a communicant-member of the Church of
England nor was his name down in any Methodist class-book.

It was the talk of the country-side this Easter, that "a great gentleman out of the

* Richard Ikin died July, 1822, and Thomas Bateman wrote his memoir in^the Magazine.

512 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Potteries " was going to preach at Bulkeley, and Thomas Bateman was asked by his
friends to go hear him. But there was preaching at Faddiley that night, rather
singular to say, and there was also a little prejudice in Thomas Bateman's mind, and he
declined. But from those who were present at Bulkeley he afterwards got a full
description of the service, which was probably the first held by the Primitive
Methodists in West Cheshire. First-hand reports of what took place in those early
stirring times are too rare and valuable not to be used when available, especially when
penned by so keen an observer as Thomas Bateman. The descriptions he gives of
Wedgwood's public services, and the effects they produced, bear the stamp of actuality,
and out of the shadows of the past bring the events and the people right before us.
Hence we make no apology for quoting freely.

" My special friend and companion C. W. came to tell me about the Bulkeley
meeting. He described the preacher as having a very strange appearance, and his
manner as strange as his look. At the prayer-meeting after the preaching, he said
there was a strange scene — singing, praying, shouting, weeping — many professing to
get converted there and then. This was no strange thing to me. I had seen revivals
before and was often saying : ' Haste again ye days of grace.' He said the
meeting continued very late, and the preacher said he would preach again at the
same place at five next morning. This was considered strange and new. No ; no ;
not very new. Did not Wesley usually preach at five in the morning? Are the
old days and scenes of Methodism going to return ? Why not ? I see no reason
why it should not be so."

He heard John Wedgwood for the first time, April 26th, on Egerton Green,
" standing on something behind a chair, with an Indian handkerchief tied round his
head." He remarks on his " solemn look and manner of giving out the hymn, and his
sermon altogether strange and out of the ordinary way of sermonising " ; and his twice
striking up the verse of a hymn in the course of his sermon. On May 16th, Thomas
Bateman heard Wedgwood nearer home ; for his brother John had succeeded in getting
Wedgwood to preach on Chorley Green. Quotation is here indispensable, because
George Taylor is for the first time brought before us : —

" The meeting was held under a large oak-tree on the north side of the green :
and what a congregation and what a time ! Scores in distress, and among them
my old friend G. Taylor. I spoke to him, and he told me how he felt — very
doubting. I said, ' You don't need to despair. Only believe and yours is heaven.
As I moved in the congregation I felt constrained to speak to some about their
souls. But timidity and prejudice kept me back. The number professing to get
converted that night was not small. Amidst all this I felt an impression steal over
my mind, for the first time, that I should one day become one with this people.
And after all my former purposes I should never join the Wesley an s. This
impression I felt disposed to shake off. Oh, for divine direction ! I would do right
whatever the sacrifice or cost."

But he did not shake ofi" the impression. Almost unwillingly, for he knew that
from a worldly point of view it was not to his advantage, he yielded to what seemed
to be his destiny. If one may put it so, he got into the swim of Primitive Methodism
gradually, like a man who, step by step, goes down a shelving beach into deep waters.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 513

He attended class some time before he would suffer himself to be counted a member.
He took up the same non-committal attitude with regard to the plan. He would be
known on the plan by a mere " star," and not have his name thereon in plain black
and white. But all the time, though he did not realise it, he was being drawn further
and further in, becoming more and more immersed in the movement, until with his
friend George Taylor, he gave himself whole-heartedly to it. And then his friends the
Methodists, with whom he continued on the best of terms till the day of his death,
would have made him a minister — a missionary— anything in reason. But it was too
late. He had taken the irrevocable step, and was not the man to draw back. So with
George Taylor. There was a brief space when he too was undecided vv^hether to join
the Old Body or the new. To each he was greatly indebted. But a repulse from a love-
feast at Nantwich, with the ungracious words : " You cannot enter here ; you are
Clowesites," decided his future once and for all. He joined the society and became its
leader, and remained such to the day of his death in 1837 j he was also steward of
Burland Branch, and then of Burland Circuit, as long as he lived.

''''June 7th. — Yesterday was a day that will not soon be forgotten. Mr. W.
preached again on the green. He took his stand at the side of a brick-kiln at the
south-west corner [he never pitched on the same site twice together]. The
congregation was very large for a place so thinly populated ; much larger than
before ; not less than two thousand being present. Many were in distress, and
many got blessed with a sense of pardon — how many could not be told. The
meeting commenced at ten in the morning and continued until afternoon. There
were several remarkable conversions took place this morning. One especially fell
under my own notice in going round among the mourners. A respectable man
whom I knew, stood looking down on a company of mourners who were down on
the ground crying out for mercy. On speaking to him of the necessity of securing
pardon for sin before it was too late, he said : — 'Before I would demean myself as
these people are doing there 1 would have my hand cut off.' I thought : You had
better bew^are, my friend ; the fire is catching if you come too near. It was not
long before he was on the ground crying earnestly for mercy like the rest.
Mr. Wedgwood went to preach for the Wesleyans at Barbridge at night. I went
there also. This cost me a twenty miles' walk that afternoon."

There were those present at the June Quarterly Meeting of Tunstall Circuit who had
come straight from witnessing such scenes as these; who like Barnabas had "seen the
grace of God and were glad." It was determined that arrangements should be made for
supplying a certain number of places on the Cheshire Mission with preaching. When the
new arrangements began to take effect, John Wedgwood, as was customary with him,
left the work of organising societies to other hands and moved farther north, extending
the mission to Huxley, Burton Hall, Tarvin, etc. He even entered Chester, but not
meeting with much success there, he pushed on into the peninsula of Wirral, opening
the way for what are now the Chester, Wrexham and Buckley circuits.

We cannot follow John Wedgwood any further on his Cheshire mission, full of
incident and successful though that mission continued to be. How he worked and with
what results may be gathered from the samples already given ; but the subsequent
career of so interesting a personality, to whom Primitive Methodism was so greatly

L L

514

I'RIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

indebted, may be briefly outlined. In 1829, probably induced by a change in his
circumstances, he became, by his own request, a recognised travelling preacher for three
years, two and a half of which were spent amongst his old friends of the Burland
Circuit, and six months in Frees Green, one of its off'shoots. This short period over,
he revisited the scenes of his former labours and triumphs in the Midlands and
elsewhere. He was gladdened to find strong churches in many places he helped to
mission, and, in this connection, he makes special mention of Bottesford and Grantham.
Then, as it is the impossible that often happens, in 1840 he married, and for seventeen
years was a householder at Boylestone. But it would be a mistake to suppose that he
was a constant resident of this pleasant Derbyshire village. His wife might be but he was
not. The old instincts and habits were too strong to permit of his settling down in one
place, and he continued to be much from home, visiting among the churches. In 1857
he removed to Crewe, chiefly induced by the greater facilities it aff'orded for travelling.

JOHN WEDGWOOD S HOUSE, BOYLESTONE

Here he found a congenial church and a home in a district where he was well known and
much respected. That respect took tangible and enduring form in the Chapel bearing
his name, figured on a preceding page.* As far as declining strength would permit he
made himself useful, until he quietly passed away, March 20th, 1869, aged 81 years.

When the day of interment came, the funeral cortege had to go fourteen miles to the
place of sepulture which was Brown Knoll Cemetery. Crowds witnessed the setting
out of the long procession of vehicles ; throngs gathered at various points along the
route as well as at the grave — a "new tomb," presented by the trustees of the Cemetery.
Such a funeral as this had never been known in that neighbourhood. It was remarked
that the road taken by the cortege led through the centre of John Wedgwood's mission,
and passed the spot where just fifty years before he had opened his commission in that

* See ante, p. 164.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 515

district, now testifying in this striking way to the genuineness and lasting influence of
his work. One simple incident that took place as the crowd turned away when the
last rites were over, may serve as John Wedgwood's not unworthy elegy. Says his
biogr£\pher : —

"To an old man that tottered away from the grave, and sat down on a stone
wiping eyes that were not dry, we said; 'Well, friend, what makes you look so
sad?' Casting a look towards the grave he had just left, he said : 'Sad ! who can
help looking sad ? '

" ' Why so ? did you know Mr. Wedgwood ? What did he ever do for you ? '

" ' Do ! Why I owe the rise of all my comfort in this life, and all my hopes of
a better to his teaching through Christ.'

'"But why weep ? Ought you not rather to rejoice when the righteous are taken
away from the evil to come? Are there not plenty of preachers left now he is
gone 1 '

" ' Plenty ! but where will you find another like him ? '

" ' Don't despair,' we said, ' if God sees it right to take away His workmen. He
can still carry on His work, rest assured of that : ' so saying, we left him. Oh,
what a cloud of living witnesses ! What a number of such testimonies might
have been collected that day."*

"He was just the man for the work Providence had called him to do." So wrote
one who visited John Wedgwood in his last hours. The verdict is just ; just to the
miin himself, without being unjust to others who were, and could not but be, unlike
him. The same verdict — shall we not rather say, the same encomium — must be
pronounced on Benton, Braithwaite, Oxtoby and others of their type.

John Wedgwood was a preacher on Tunstall circuit plan (No. 19) while he was
prosecuting his Cheshire Mission, and therefore that mission formed a kind of hinter-
land naturally falling to Tunstall. Not only was the circuit enlarged by the addition
of this huge cantle of country, but in other directions its area was being rapidly
enlarged, so that we are quite prepared for the following brief entry in Thomas
Bateman's Journals.

" February 1st, 1820 : — The good work still spreads rapidly. Tunstall Circuit is
become too large, and it is intended to divide it at the next quarter-day. George
Taylor and I have had several consultations as to the best division."

Accordingly, at the March quarterly Meeting the Cheshire Mission became a Branch
of Tunstall Circuit. It had on its first plan thirty- three places, for the most part in
Cheshire, though there were a few in Wales and still more in Shropshire, in which
county there was a splendid prospect if only more labourers had been available. As it
was, the staff of labourers consisted of three travelling preachers — John Garner, John
Piatt, a native of Faddiley, near Burland, and Thomas Brownsword " the boy-preacher "
— and twenty-three local preachers, two of whom were females. In fact, places were
being multiplied faster than preachers, so that most of the places had to be content
with preaching once a day every other Sunday, and once in three or four weeks on the
week-day.

* " Memoir of the Life and Labours of Mr. John Wedgwood/* By a Layman (Thomas Bateman) ,
1870.

LL 2

516 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

So now that Cheshire Mission has become an integral part of Tunstall Circuit it
shares the fortunes of the latter. Its preachers are the same as those who are working

now here, now there — in other parts of the same unit, at the task of still further

enlaro-ing its borders and preparing its branches for circuit independence. Let us
glance at some of these Tunstall preachers, and then go on to look at their pioneer
labours on the various extensions of the Tunstall Circuit.

Some Enlargers of Tunstall Circuit as reflected in T. Bateman's Journals.

The already rapid extension of the Tunstall Circuit created a demand for more

labourers, which could only be met by pressing into service the young and comparatively

inexperienced of both sexes. The critics with a turn for sarcasm,
who complained that the circuit was being worked by boys fresh
from the plough, might just as truly have added — and by
girls fresh from the milk-pail; for some of the most
acceptable and useful workers in these parts during the next
few years were young women scarce out of their teens. True ;
there were in the circuit at this time Thomas Jackson (1),
a seasoned veteran of thirty, and Sampson Turner, quite mature
at twenty-three, and John Garner, no novice though only twenty
years of age. These three we know ; but we now meet with
others for the first time, whose names will frequently recur
as we chronicle the growth and ramifications of the Tunstall
Circuit. To some of these we will introduce the reader.

Now that the Cheshire Mission had become part of the Tunstall Circuit, it was
visited by all the preachers in turn; and even when the Burland Branch had been
formed, there were such frequent interchanges, that almost every quarter saw a fresh
staff of preachers. In his Journals, Thomas Bateman notes the coming and going of
these workers, and sometimes adds a brief characterisation that may be helpful for
identification and remembrance.

After the departure of John Wedgwood the first new-comer was Thomas Webb, who,

"from his appearance, might have been just taken from the plough, like the son of

Shaphat, very earnest and loud, but more methodical in his preaching than John

Wedgwood." Then came on his round Sampson Turner, sedate, practical — "a plain,

good preacher, but not so noisy as some," who looked well after the organising and

due ordering of the societies. Thomas Jackson came along from Preston Brook

way, and it is recorded of him that his tongue was like a pen in the hands of

a ready writer, and that "he had scarcely ever heard a preacher so fluent." The

diarist appears to have been particularly interested in the advent of William

Sanders, the poet. The first impressions were decidedly disappointing : "From the first

look at him you could not well expect either good poetry or ought else worth notice

from him. But who may not have felt agreeable surprise to have music soft, smooth

and sweet from what appeared a rough, unready instrument ? None who had any

mind for rhyming could listen long to him without perceiving poetry in his prose."

A paragraph must be given to Thomas Brownsword, whom our young diarist heard

THE PEKIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

517

WILLIAM SANDERS.

as early as October 29th, 1819. BroM^nsword was then only "a boy, comparatively.
However, I heard him with profit. But I felt terribly ashamed of myself. I believe
I am twenty years old this day ; and for what purpose have I lived '? What good have
I done ? I have purposed much and I fear done but very little. I still feel as bashful

and timid as ever." So wrote this youth of twenty, whose
life was almost to span the century, and who was to crowd
into the more than three score years and ten still remaining
to him an amount of labour truly astonishing, as if to show
that grace is the best discipliner, and hard work healthful,
and friendly to length of days. Thomas Brownsword and
his sister are figures that scarcely stand out in such sharp
relief as they deserve to do, and hence we will recall the
singular, primitive method of his call to the ministry.

Worthy Thomas Woodnorth, while doing duty as a preacher
in these parts fell ill, and, deeming that his preaching days
were over, wanted to get back to his home. So he asked
friend Darlington, of Burland Green, to let his son take him on
horseback as far as Englesea Brook, and bring back some one who could enter into his
work. Accordingly this was done. The preacher named — the son of a small farmer-
innkeeper at Gorsty Hill — happened to be at work in the harvest-field, where young
Darlington found him amongst a number of rough fellows. The message was no
sooner delivered than the youth threw down his sickle, called at his home to change
his clothes, mounted behind young Darlington, and went into Thomas Woodnorth's
preaching-round. Such was Thomas Brownsword's call to the ministry in which, for
a number of years, he did good service. He was soon followed by his sister, Ann
Brownsword, who by her respectable appearance and more than ordinary preaching
talent, was made very useful in opening out the mission in
Cheshire, Staffordshire and other counties. She afterwards
became the wife of Mr. Abraham, of Burslem.

Besides the Brownswords, Englesea Brook sent out other
travelling preachers from its numerous "locals," such as
Thomas Webb and William New^ton, the blind preacher.
Its productiveness in this respect, which, with its geographical
position, almost made it the key to the Cheshire Mission, was
largely owing to Sarah Smith, who kept a dame's school for a
number of years and served God and the Church in her calling.
She used to pray with the children ; take the little ones on
her knee and teach them the old hymns. She began a prayer
meeting on the Sunday evenings, and got the elder children
to pray, and encouraged the more promising among them to exhort ; so that, under her
influence, Englesea Brook came to be a kind of normal school for the training of
evangelists. We suspect Thomas Bateman never had any particular love for " Insti-
tutes," and hence there* may be veiled sarcasm in his suggestion that our first Institute
was at Englesea Brook, and that Sarah Smith was its first principal, as well as its

JOHN SMITH.

518 PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

theological and divinity professor. She did what she could : a professor of divinity
could do no more.*

Two other persons whose careers are of consequence to this history are repeatedly
mentioned in the Journals. John Smith (1) had been a scholar in Thomas Bateman's
Bible-class. He came on the stations in 1824, and until 1829 laboured at Burland,
Chester and other parts of the old Tunstall Circuit, and then moved ofif to East Anglia,
to be written down by his old friend and teacher as " the bishop of Norfolk." John
Ride's appearance in these parts came about in a somewhat singular way. When last
we saw him, he had just begun to preach at Mercaston Camp Meeting. In 1820
he emigrated to the United States, but his wife dying shortly after his arrival, he
soon found his way back to Derbyshire and engaged in evangelistic labours with all
his old ardour. Some of the inhabitants of Ashbourne, not relishing his proceedings,
set a cunning trap for him. A respectable householder offered his doorstep as a stand
for an open-air service, and when the offer was accepted in all good faith, steps
were taken for the issue of a summons against him for having preached on private
premises unlicensed for public worship. Urged on by his friends, John Bide travelled all
night to Bemersley to ask counsel of the Bournes ; and they, at the end of the fortnight,
sent him to Burland with the request that a place might be found him on the Cheshire
Mission — a thing by no means difficult to do, as the Mission's sphere of influence
practically extended from Liverpool to Shrewsbury in one direction, and from Tunstall
Circuit to beyond the borders of Wales on the other. So John Ride went into the
northern part of the Mission, following John Wedgwood and Thomas Brownsword,
opened Wrexham, and found his way to Liverpool, where he was put into Bridewell
for preaching in the open-air, but was soon liberated as the result, it is said, of a letter
of remonstrance addressed to the magistrates by Dr. Adam
Clarke. In this way was John Ride thrust forth into
the ministry. He laboured in these parts until 1823, when
he was stationed successively at Tunstall, Oakengates and
Darlaston, and then he, too, moved off, to become one of
the pioneers of the Brinkworth District. We have, in
the Journals so often referred to, a thumb-nail sketch
of John Ride, taken June, 1822, after the holding of
a love-feast. " Oh, how he did labour ! His zeal
seemed to have no bounds." Here we have the man
as he was to the end.

These then were some of the preachers — most of them
mere striplings to begin with — who pushed forwards the

TOT-IN^ RTDIT

boundaries of Tunstall Circuit in different directions, and

carved it into circuits that became the Tunstall District of 1821 and the larger district
of 1824. And there were others — Sarah Spittle, Ann Stanna, Joseph Preston, of
Bronington in Flint, and William Doughty, a Lincolnshire man, and James Bonser, of
Kinoulton, both of prison-fame, who did their part.

* Sarah Smith's memoir is in the Magazine for 1823. See also the Magazine for 1881, p. 551.
It was Sarah Smith who invited Thomas Woodnorth to " open " Englesea Brook in June, 181 1. See
ante p. 123.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

519

MRS. N. BELCHER.

Darlaston Circuit.

Only six months intervened between Darlaston's coming on the plan and its being
made into an independent station in March, 1820. Like Hull, it shot up rather than
slowly grew to maturity ; and in its case as in that of the town by the Humber, quick
growth did not mean either quick decay or slow death ; for Darlaston Circuit was
destined to become one of the most powerful and procreative circuits
of the Connexion.

By whom, and under what circumstances, this rapid develop-
ment was begun and brought about, are points concerning which
our information is but meagre. What little contemporary
information we have of a reliable character is mostly derived
from the MS. Journal of Sampson Turner, from a statement by
Mr. Petty made also on the authority of S. Turner, and from the
negative and incidental evidence of the Plan of the Tunstall
Circuit given on a preceding page. To these sources must be
added certain jottings communicated by Mr. James Belcher — the
oldest local preacher in the Darlaston Circuit — whose mother's name stands third
on the Koll-book of members for 1827, and who lived a long and honoured life.

Sampson Turner, it will be remembered, lived at Cannock Lane, and was converted in
1812. Cannock Lane, Cannock Wood, Essington Wood, and Walsall Wood are all on
the plan of 1819, and the societies at these places would afford a base for missionary
efforts in the populous district we know as the Black Country. In his Journal,
S. Turner tells us that he and others had missioned Brownhills, Pelsall, Walsall Wood
and other places, and that in the early spring of 1819, he devoted some four days to
missioning Bilston, Wolverhampton, Willenhall and Darlaston.

At Bilston he spoke, '' amid quietness, in a space in the centre of the town," but at
night he was put into a small room in a common lodging-house along with tinkers,
cadgers and chimney-sweeps, and was glad to slink away very early next morning.
When at Wolverhampton he took his stand in the market-place, before he got to the
end of his discourse he was hustled and howled at ; nor did the
mob cease its unfriendly attentions as he made his way to the south-
west end of the town with a gentleman who had rescued him from
his persecutors and invited him to be his guest. As they went
along, the mob followed them, using abusive and menacing
language. At Willenhall he was stoned out of the town, but
found shelter at New Invention, where he met with great civility
and kindness. His brief mission over, he returned to his home
on the Thursday before Easter, and awaited in some suspense
his call either "to missionary" or be a travelling preacher — that
is, either to raise societies where none existed, or visit those already
formed. Through some mischance, there was delay, but at last the official letters
from Tunstall arrived, informing him that he was to be a travelling preacher. He
began his duties on the first Sunday on the plan, and the reader can, if he chooses,

JAMES BELCHER.

520

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

follow No. 50 on his round through the Circuit. On the last Sunday of the
plan, he fulfilled appointments in his own neighbourhood and amongst his own
acquaintance. He says : —

''July 25th: — Preached in the morning at^Essington Wood, in the afternoon at
Cannock Lane, and in the evening at Cannock Wood. This day J. Benton heard
me for the first time. He lost his speech some time before and has never been able
to preach since. There seems to be a greater prospect than ever of a revival of
religion in this neighbourhood. Three preachers have lately joined us, and Darlaston
is put on the plan y

This entry seems to
explain Mr. Petty's state-
ment, made from inform-
ation supplied by the
diarist: that Mr. W.
Carter, being ])resent at
a service at Walsall Wood,
offered the use of his
large room at Darlaston
for services; that some
few weeks after, the offer
was accepted, the large

BLOCKALL, DARLASTON.

room occupied, and that
Messrs W. Carter, Hum-
page, and others joined
the society, and a little
later, Mr. D. Bowen.
This incident must have
happened while S. Turner
was on his round, and it
put a new face on things.
Not only was the revival
spreading, but the acquisi-
tion of the preaching room,

and still more the adhesion of three preachers — men of standing and business ability,
added to those there already were, would seem to justify making Darlaston thus
early the head of a West Midland Circuit, desirable as that arrangement was on the
ground of convenience.

The regulation of the Preparatory Meeting requiring travelling preachers to furnish
their Circuit Committees each month with extracts from their Journals, soon bore fruit
in the Magazine in communications which are like dispatches from the seat of war.

THE BULL STAKE, DARLASTON.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

521

WILLIAM CARTER.

The first reports of this kind relating to Darlaston we meet with, were written by
Thomas Brownsword and James Bonsor, who both began their labours in the circuit
almost immediately after its formation. They tell us of the places they visited —
Bilston, Tipton, Wednesbury, Darlaston, etc., of the open-air services and house prayer-
meetings they held ; of the varying spiritual results which followed. It is a record of
hard and successful evangelistic labour, told in the briefest, barest
way, and quite wanting in those details which would justify
quotation here. But each preacher had an early experience of
legal persecution to report, which varies his ournalistic summary
of work done, and demands our notice.

Thomas Brownsword might be a boy-preacher, but he was
evidently a man in courage ; and he tells his story in such a modest
and even reticent way that Hugh Bourne feels it necessary to
supplement his narrative. On July 8th, T. Brownsword preached
at Round Oak in the morning, and then went to Stourbridge in
Worcestershire, where one of the mission-band preached without
interruption to a large congregation. Brownsword's own turn
came in the evening, when he had about a thousand people before him. He had
sung and prayed and got a short way on in his discourse, when he was taken
into custody by a constable, as was also one of his companions who tried to continue
the service after Brownsword's arrest. The next morning, the brother who had
preached without molestation " stood up " again, and was led off, so that three were
taken before the magistrates, and, because they would not give their word to cease from
preaching in the open-air, they were committed to the County Gaol at Worcester.
Even during their more than a week's imprisonment they cannot be said to have
suspended their work, but only to have carried it on under different conditions. How
it was that our imprisoned preachers of those early days were allowed such facilities of
intercourse with their fellow-prisoners, we know not. But that they often had such
facilities, and made good use of them, is certain. The evidence is too abundant and clear
to admit of doubt. " Praise God ! " writes T. Brownsword, " He was with me, and we
spared not to preach Christ to the poor prisoners. We preached
or exhorted every night. A great reformation appeared among
the prisoners ; those who had been accustomed to curse and
swear and sing, began to read and pray. The Lord was with us
in a powerful manner."

The event created quite a stir in the district. Popular
sentiment was with the preachers in prison, and not with the
magistrates who sent them there. The new denomination,
struggling to gain a footing in these parts and carry on its
beneficent work, shared in the sympathy that was evoked, and
profited by it. It was seen that the Black Country of 1820 was
not the Black Country of Wesley's days, and that Wednesbury
riots were no longer possible. It was determined to use every effort to win
a favourable verdict at the approaching trial. Tunstall Circuit pledged its

DAVID BOWEN.

522 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

assistance. The Dissenting ministers came nobly forward with proffers of help.
Contributions were freely offered; nor was prayer forgotten. On the 11th June,
after suffering ten days' detention, the prisoners were taken to the Shire Hall and —
dismissed.

" The same day in the evening," says Hugh Bourne, " they held a vast meeting
on the race-ground at Worcester. Multitudes flocked in to see and hear those who
had been in prison. There were others also who had gone to attend the trial :
four of the preachers spoke, and hundreds were in tears. This was the
introduction of the Primitive Methodists into Worcester."

James Bonsor had visited Brownsword while in prison ; but his own turn soon came,
and in time he got to be "well known to the police." After a camp-meeting at Bilston
Wake on July 31st, he, with a few to help, went to Wolverhampton to hold an evening
service in the market-place, but he was "interrupted by a policeman and then led away
by a magistrate."- He continued, during the night and morning he was in prison, to pray
with the prisoners and even preach to them. "Many people," says he, "came to visit
me and brought me food. I read them several chapters, and the prisoners wished me to
stay with them ! " The next day at noon he was brought before the magistrates. As
he was wont to do, he argued the case with them, and assured them that as long as
men swore, told lies, broke the Sabbath, and did other bad things, "he meant to preach
as long as the Lord gave him strength ; and as soon as he was at liberty he should
preach again." He was bound in two sureties to appear at the Stafford sessions, and
when the time came duly surrendered. For decency's sake the Justices inflicted
a nominal fine, but as he would not pay it, but told them he thought they should rather
give him something for his trouble, they dismissed him, and — " So I went away ; and
at night preached at Cannock Lane." "^

We are almost tempted to conclude that the persecution undergone by the newly
formed Darlaston Circuit was opportune and a blessing in disguise. It tended to the
furtherance of the Gospel. Not only did it publish the movement and rally popular
sympathy in its favour, but it served also as a wholesome tonic to those who had the
task before them of carrying the old gospel by new methods over a wide district,
stretching from Cannock to Worcester, and from Wolverhampton and Birmingham to
Presteign in Radnorshire. Already Darlaston Circuit was the present West Midland
District in embryo. For a brief while we leave the young circuit just entering
upon its much-needed work, while we look at the extensions Tunstall Circuit was
making in other directions.

Burton-on-Trent.

Burton, in East Staffordshire, with extensions into South Derbyshire, was another
of the branches formed at the important March, 1820, Quarter-day of the Tunstall
Circuit. And yet the head of this new branch has no place on the plan of 1819, given
on the preceding page, though some of the villages not far away had long been visited.
Some of these, with whose names we are familiar, now stand connected with one or

* A view of Cannock Lane preaching-place is given, ante p. 168.

THE PERIOD OF CIKCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 523

another of the Burton Circuits. Such are Tutbury— where the famous fasting-girl
lived in 1810, whom James Crawfoot and Hugh Bourne and W. Clowes all visited
and believed in, — and Church Broughton, — the home of the Salisburys, early befrienders
of the cause, — and, above all, Boylestone. The brewery town, therefore, must have
been opened during 1819, with such a degree of success as to justify the resolve to make
a more determined effort to mission it and the surrounding villages. Sampson Turner
was designated for this work, which he began in May, 1820. He seems to have had
a special interest in Burton, for he spent a week there just before he began his labours
as a travelling preacher. " I preached " says he " to as many as could get into a Baptist
chapel. It seemed to give general satisfaction, and they desired that the ' Ranters '
might come if it were the will of God." Then, on the 5th October, he hears that they
are getting on well at Burton ; and he adds: "I still believe that the Lord will carry on
His work, and that, in spite of all worldly opposition, if believers are faithful;" and on
the 21st of the same month, he justifies his faith by walking twenty miles to Burton
where, he says, "We held a prayer-meeting at night; the house was full, and souls
were crying for mercy. There is at present a very bright prospect at Burton." Then
in March, Burton is made a Branch, and a month after, we find Hugh Bourne spending
three days there, busy with the plans, and preaching in the afternoon of Sunday, April
23rd, in the street, and at night in the room.

In going to his new sphere of labour, S. Turner took Lichfield on his way, and on
Whit Sunday preached on Green Hill among the caravans that were there for a show.
He returned during the week for another service, but such a din was made by the
beating of kettles, tambourines and other noise-producing instruments that were handy,
that he removed to another place nearer the centre of the city and there, standing under
a tree, he finished his sermon in peace. He informs us that a "' blacksmith's penthouse "
was afterwards secured as a place of worship. But not even was the slender footing
furnished by this humble conventicle long retained. Burton Circuit made several
attempts to regain its hold of that city in whose cathedral, as we remember, Hugh
Bourne had a strange experience, but these attempts were not attended with any great
measure of success. In 1836, however, Darlaston and Birmingham Circuits combined
to maintain two missionaries to concentrate their labours on Lichfield and the surround-
ing villages. For a time they preached in the open-air, then an old malt-house in
a back street was rented, and in 1848 a small chapel was opened. Ten years before
this, Lichfield had been made an independent station with the laborious Richard Ward
as its superintendent.

But to come back to Burton and the " missionarying " of Sampson Turner. In
returning from Lichfield in the evening of Whit Sunday, he visited Alrewas and held
a service on the Green. The public-houses emptied, and the news ran that the
"Radical Reformers" had come. A society was formed, out of which, we are told,
several local and travelling preachers were raised up, and the society continues to this
day. At Barton-under-Needwood, he was greeted on his first visit by the ringing of
bells and a general tintinnabulation ; but despite the opposition met with, a footing was .
gained in the place. Accompanied by two friends he went to Tattenhall, and began to \
preach in a large open space not far from a large house, out of which came two persons,

524

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

one of whom — the worse for drink — pulled him off his chair, to the detriment of his
clothes, and ordered the constable to take him in charge. S. Turner and his companions
were kept that night at a public-house but unprovided with a bed, and the next morning
were taken before a magistrate. Our missionary refused to pay the costs the magistrate
imposed, and, being let go, they went to the same place as before and held a service.
Here from S. Turner's Journal is the record of a full Sunday's labours : —

" Early one Sunday morning I preached in the open-air at Tutbury, and then
proceeded to Stretton to preach in the forenoon. On entering the village several
rotten goose-eggs were thrown at me and so besmeared ray clothes that I was
obliged to borrow another person's coat, in which I preached in the street while my
own was rinsed and dried. In the afternoon I preached at Horningham, and in

WOOD MILL CHAPEL.

the evening at Burton-upon-Trent. Persecution raged in several of the places we
visited ; but the word of the Lord ran and was glorified, and many sinners were
converted to God. To Him be all the glory."

It was by labours and amid difficulties such as these, that the Burton Branch was so
extended and established as to justify its being made into a separate station as early as
1822. It belonged to the mother district of Tunstall until 1827, when it was transferred
to Nottingham, and now quite properly has its place next after Loughborough on the
stations of the Nottingham District. We deal here with the missionary period of
Burton-on-Trent's history, rather than with its later development by which it has
become three circuits. Even before this took effect, the arrangement of the circuit

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

525

varied from time to time. For four years Alrewas ranked as a branch, and Uttoxeter also
stood on the stations as such from 1849 bo 1860, when we judge it was transferred to
Ramsor. With a word as to the early chapels of the circuit, we pass on. Boylestone
excepted^ the oldest chapel in the original circuit of which we have any record is
Wood Mill, built in 1823 by G. Parsons, at a cost of sixty pounds ! The deed of this
building, which was non-connexional, is a curious document. The original chapel was
superseded by a Gothic structure, built in 1870, to which a burial-ground is attached;
but the old building still does occasional duty for the holding of tea-meetings. As far
as can be ascertained, the first chapel in Burton was built in 1829, and the shell of it is
still in existence serving as a hardware shop.

SITE OP FIKST CAMF-GROUND, WINSTEE.

Belper Branch Extensions.
As a result of the vigorous mission carried on in the Peak of Derbyshire by Belper
Branch — made such along with the rest in 1820 — many fresh places, in what was then
a secluded and benighted part of the country, were visited, and a number of new
societies established. These, along with the older societies of Hognaston, Kniveton,
and Brassington, were, in 1824, grouped in order to form a new circuit of Avhich
Winster was the head. The very fact that only three out of the twenty places standing
on the first plan of this circuit are found on the Tunstall plan of 1819, shows that the
missionary spirit expressed itself in hard successful work near home, as well as in
passing resolutions at the first missionary meetings at Turnditch and Belper.*

* See ante, p. 184.

526

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

We have already referred in another connection to the missioning of Winster by
W. Alcock in 1821, and little more need now be added except to note the fact that
a chapel was built in 1823 and enlarged in 1833.

Hognaston, already named, was missioned by Belper as early as 1817. It was the
home of Philip Bown, a leader and a local preacher, whose name stands first on the first
plan of the Winster Circuit. It was he who gave the ground for the village chapel,
while another friend, Richard Wheeldon, by his will left £50 for the same purpose.
Philip Bown was a noted evangelist whose fame lingers amongst the Derbyshire hills
to this day. He did a good day's work when, at the direction of the circuit authorities,
he re-missioned a village nine miles from Winster called Monyash. The village is not

MONYASH CHURCH.

large ; — it has not more than four hundred inhabitants. It cannot be said to be
beautiful, though it is not devoid of a certain austere attractiveness. It can, indeed,
lay claim to the possession of an ancient church — restored without being spoiled — and
to a crumbling village cross. There is, too, the druidical circle of Arbor Low in the
neighbourhood, ranking next in importance to Stonehenge. Within the enclosure of Arbor
Low a famous camp meeting with three stands was once held. But to Methodists of
all sections, Monyash will always be associated with the names of John Nelson, M'ho
was pulled down by the clergyman while preaching at the cross ; and of Dr. Bunting,
whose mother, Mary Redfern, got lasting good from hearing a sermon by Richard
Boardman. Mary Redfern never forgot that sermon on " Jabez was more honourable
than his brethren," and gave the name "Jabez " to the future law-giver of Methodism.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCQIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

527

KEV. J. WOOD.

When Richard Boardman preached that sermon, he was
on his way from the Leeds Conference to Bristol, there
to embark as the first Methodist missionary to America.
He travelled across the country — old Methodist-
preacher-fashion — on horseback, with the indispensable
saddle-bags. To all Methodists the story is interesting,
and instructive too, since it shows the vitality and
fecundity of the seed of the Word. It was right and
fitting that in 1869, the Wesleyans should commemorate
Richard Boardman's visit to Monyash and what came
out of it. But to Primitive Methodists the village has an
additional association of interest ; for here Joseph Wood,
Sunday School Union Organiser and General Secretary,
President, and Principal of Manchester College, spent
ten years of the most formative period of his life, only leaving the Whim Farm in 1851
to become a travelling preacher in Hull Circuit.

When Philip Bown took his stand by the
remains of the old cross in the year 1828, both
Wesleyan and Primitive Methodism had died out
of the village. His coming was the means of
opening a fresh and not unworthy chapter in
the history of village Methodism. Among those
who stood listening to him that day, was a burly
young quarryman named Joshua Millington. No
apparent effect seemed to have been produced
in him by the service ; but some time after, being
in the tavern with his companions, the devil inspired
one of them to vent the most
horrible curses and blasphemy,
and by so doing the devil overshot
the mark ; for, as Joseph looked
upon his companion's livid and
3^Qj^, ^.^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ distorted face, he saw depicted

there, sin in its most hideous guise
and hell in its terrors. Alarmed,
he then and there cried out for
mercy ; and when next Philip
Bown came to the cross, and at
the close of the service invited
seekers to follow him into a certain
house, Joshua shrinkingly fol-
lowed, and enrolled himself a
member. We have no space to
write his life further— that has
already been done ; ^' suffice it to

FRONT.
The Whim Farm where Dr, Wood was
brought up.

* " Historic Villages of Methodism." By Rev. J. Wood, D.D., in Aldersgate Magazine, 1897.

528

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

JOSHUA MILLINGTON.

say, he became a champion of the cause, and, for the long period of sixty years,
preached far and wide, in all weathers ; led his class, and lived to a patriarchal
age, honoured for the goodness and usefulness of his life.

With the year 1835, another page was turned in the history of Primitive Methodism
in Monyash. So much had the Winster Circuit prospered under
the labours of its ministers — David Beattie and T. Hobson —
that in this year a third minister was appointed, and special
attention was directed to aggressive Christian work. Monyash
shared in the general prosperity of the station. One evening,
when Mr. Hobson the missionary was sitting in the house of
Mr. Palfreyman where he was to spend the night, a woman rushed
in uttering loud cries. She had been at the service, and sought
relief for her anguished, burdened heart. The little company fell
to prayer, and Mary Critchelow found peace. Her conversion was
speedily followed by that of her husband, their two eldest sons,
and other members of the family. When we know that Daniel
and Mary Critchelow were the parents of seventeen sons and daughters, fifteen of
whom reached maturity, we are not surprised that it was deemed desirable to build
a chapel, which accordingly was done in the same year — 1835. This building served
its purpose until 1888, when a more commodious structure was erected with school
attached. The descendants of this worthy couple are exceedingly numerous, and though
many of these have left their native village, it is pleasing to know our Church in
dififerent parts still reaps the advantage of their loyalty and service. Bakewell, not far
from Haddon Hall and far-famed Chatsworth, is all the better for the conversion of
Daniel and Mary Critchelow ; for it is largely owing to the enterprise and liberality of
Mr. Charles Critchelow, their grandson, that Bakewell has at last, after its chequered
history, a neat and commodious chapel. We allude to an event that happened so
recently as 1895, simply to continue the story which illustrates the far-reaching, ever-
expanding results of village evangelisation.

As Bakewell, which stands on the first plan of Winster Circuit, has been lost and
won several times, so have several other places in the Peak of
Derbyshire. Por example, Plagg, a village not far from Monyash
was first visited in 1821 by preachers from Macclesfield, and
afterwards relinquished. Two years later, Bradwell took it up, but
after a time withdrew. Then Winster Circuit re-missioned
it ; and finally it was incorporated with Buxton Circuit. The
mere physical difficulties of distance, rough and steep roads —
difficulties made harder under wintry conditions — rendered it
almost impossible to serve and conserve some of the village
societies which had been established.

Mainly as the result of these causes, even Buxton, important
a circuit as it now is, was not founded without repeated reverses

and efforts more than once renewed. As to this we will let the late Dr. Wood speak ;
for as a native of the district he was fully conversant with the circuit's early
vicissitudes : —

C. CRITCHELOW.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

529

"Thomas Hobson's first duty was to mission Buxton and Chelmorton. The
former place had been missioned and given up some years before by a neighbour-
ing circuit. Notwithstanding this discouragement conversions took place,
a society was formed, and the work prospered for several years, but again had to
be given up, principally for want of a suitable room for the services, together with
the difficulty of reaching the town owing to its distance (sixteen miles) from most
of the preachers. But some seed remained, and was ready to spring up, when
another and a better effort was made, and Buxton is now the head of a flourishing
circuit, and has the best chapel and society in this part of Derbyshire, and is
supplying its villages with some of the most efficient local preachers in the
Connexion."

SITE OF THE JUBILEE AND ANNUAL CAMP-MEETINGS, WINSTEK.

Precisely similar was the history of the village of Chelmorton now belonging to
Buxton Circuit. It had been a famous place for Methodism. John Bennett had
preached here with marvellous success, and amongst his converts were the forebears
of the Marsdens and the Lomases. But Methodism had died out of the village before
our missionaries from Macclesfield visited it in 1821. A society of twenty members
was soon established, but it had become extinct by 1834, when Thomas Hobson
remissioned it. The years passed, and once more the same work had to be done over
again ; for though Thomas Hobson's mission was not without success since, amon^ his
converts were Mr. and Mrs. Grindy, who became useful local preachers and left
descendants who are giving a good account of themselves in different parts of the

530

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

Connexion — still, in course of time, Primitive Methodism died out of Chelmorton.
Then, yet a third attempt was made. Three devoted local preachers of the
Winster Circuit — Walter Wood (the brother of Dr. Joseph Wood), John Hibbert, and
Henry Prime missioned the village, and the effect of their work, we trust, will
abide.

We allude to these things — Connexional minutiae though some may regard them —
simply to make good one point we think of some historic value. The mission-period of
our history was, it will be admitted, a remarkable one. The enthusiasm of evangelism,
like a tidal wave, rose high and went far. The missionaries of the Connexion found
their way into remote villages, and
startled the villagers as did the
ubiquitous Uhlans in the Franco-
German war, when they drew up in
market-places and on village-greens
to the surprise of the inhabitants.
To take concrete examples ; it was
a great thing for the missionaries
from Macclesfield to climb into the

KNIVETON
PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL.

Peak country and carry the
gospel to Chelmorton ; and
for the missionaries from
Bradwell to cross the Derby-
shire Wye and mission
Monyash. This was the
order of the day all round
Tunstall Circuit in 1 8 1 9-2 1 .
Say that the wave was
somewhat a refluent one ;
that if the missionaries
came they also in some cases retired. That this should be so was to be expected.
In the older parts of the Connexion we hear less of missioning of the old type in the
'Thirties, 'Forties, and 'Fifties, though it was still going on elsewhere ; and because this
was so we think that period a somewhat drab and prosaic one in comparison. But
during this period there was, as we see, a great deal of re-missioning done, and that in
its way was quite as remarj^able and heroic as the missioning at large of the earlier
period. When, by the sure working of change and death, old village-causes had died
out, it would have been the easiest thing in the world to have let them die and not to
have troubled about their resuscitation. Winster might so easily have kept "looking

FARMHOUSE, FIRST PREACHING-PLACE, KNIVETON.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

531

on its own things," and not have minded what had once belonged to Macclesfield or to
Bradwell. But the facts cited prove that it did mind, and in this, Winster Circuit was
not alone during the " drab and prosaic " period. It is well for us now that it was so.
We may have lost ground in the villages, but we should have lost much more if a great
deal of re-missioning had not then gone on of which little record remains. In short ; if
it was a great thing for Macclesfield to mission Peak villages in 1821, it was just as
laudable a deed for Winster to ?^e-mission the said villages in 1834, and repeat the
process still later.

Kniveton and Wirksworth.
Kniveton, a village eight miles south-west of Winster, was missioned as early as
1817 by a zealous band of Primitives from Weston Underwood. In 1827, it was the

tenth place on the plan, with preaching
services appointed for Sunday afternoons
and Friday evenings. In 1832, what
was at the time considered to be one
of the best chapels in that part of
Derbyshire was erected, and some time
later the old Wesleyan chapel was
acquired for school purposes. Kniveton
is of interest from the fact that, though
it is but an inconsiderable village, it was
in the 'Forties made the head of a new
circuit and so continued until 1860,
when the headship of the circuit was
given to Wirksworth, in which town,
through the remarkable exertions of
J. T. Neal, a spacious and comfortable
chapel, with schoolrooms and vestries, had
shortly before been secured. Mr. Neal
is said not only to have secured the
land, superintended the erection, and
seen after the completion and due con-
veyance of the chapel to the Connexion,
but to have also "worked in the quarries
getting the stone, to have begged the leading of all the materials, and often fed the
workmen from his own humble larder."

Apart from the -fact that Wirksworth will always attract attention from its association
with Mrs. Evans — the " Dinah " of " Adam Bede "—who lived and died here, it has
other claims on our regard. Since 1820, when it was first missioned, it seems to have
been favoured with a succession of loyal and sturdy adherents. Joseph and Hannah
Frost opened their house for the first preaching-services as well as for the entertainment
of the ministers. One of the first converts was their daughter, of whom a well- written
memoir from the pen of Philip Bown appeared in the Magazine for 1822. The account
there given of Temperance Frost is not without a certain degree of psychological interest,

MM 2

WlilKSWORTH CHAPEL.

532 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

inasmuch as this young woman of thirty-two was deaf and dumb, and yet seems not
only to have been very intelligent, but to have had quite remarkable power in expressing
her religious emotions to the edification of others.

Ible, which stands on the first plan of the Winster Circuit and is now connected
with Wirksworth, has a chapel with a history. "In the year 1824," says an old
document now before us, " God put it into the hearts of the inhabitants to build an
house for Him. They employed their horses, also on the work ; the stone and lime were
brought together, free of expense ; consequently only a debt of £40 remained when it
was completed." Previous to the erection of this little Bethel, the same document
informs us, a shelter had been provided by W. Buxton who, " when the chilling winds
which sweep over these hills became too severe for the people to endure the open-air
service, opened his house, and a society was formed." Here we have the beginnings :
what of the after history of the little sanctuary *? When Ible was missioned in 1820,
the brothers John and Samuel Rains were amongst the first hearers, and they, along
with Hannah Rains, the wife of John, joined the infant church on the hill "just above
splendid and ever flowing water-springs." John and Hannah were class-leaders and
workers for over thirty years. Ten of their sons were converted
in the early days, and became prominent and valuable ojSicials in
the Nottingham and Manchester Districts. One of these sons was
the late Mr. Samuel Rains, for more than half-a-century a local
preacher and a furtherer of the interests of our Church in the City
of Manchester; another — Henry Rains — is making his presence
felt in the Buxton Circuit ; a third, the late James Rains of Kirk
Ireton, circuit steward of the Ashbourne Station, who kept open
house at Alton Hall for all Primitive Methodists for over thirty
years ; and his children are following in his steps. Yet another
son is John Rains, whose connection with our Church dates from

MR. JOHN RAINS.

1820, and who has filled various official positions to the great
advantage of the Wirksworth Circuit.

The "little church on the hill above the water-springs" is an emblem of the far-
reaching influences for good that have gone forth from our village chapels. It is partly
the design of this book to make this clear by concrete examples, which Derbyshire
is not alone in supplying. We are persuaded that a master-key to the proper under-
standing of our history is put into our hands by the recognition of the great part
played by the villages in founding and extending our Church. It was the villages that
missioned the towns in the first instance ; and right along, and especially till the 'Fifties,
rural Primitive Methodism has been the water-shed and collecting-ground of urban
Primitive Methodism.

Ashbourne.

Though Ashbourne was the last circuit formed in this part of Derbyshire, it yet
includes some of the very oldest societies in the Connexion. Borrowing a term from
geology we may call Ashbourne a conglomerate circuit ; for it holds together and
encloses societies of diverse age and history ; just as the conglomerate boulder has

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

53:

GENERAL VIEW OF BIGGIN.
Showing- Old Farm-house where Preaching Services were held.

PRESENT-DAY CHAPEL, BIGGIN.

534

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

embedded within it water-worn fragments of the oldest rocks. We have told the story
of Hulland and Hollington and Brailsford, and need not tell it over again, so that when
we say these three places form part of the Ashbourne Circuit, it is clear that some

components of the circuit are ninety
years old. There are also within
the limits of the circuit two places
on the borders of Staffordshire,
first missioned by Eleazar Hathorn
and John Benton, which formed
part of the "Circuit" Benton handed
over to Hugh Bourne in 1814. We
refer to Biggin and Mill Dale, to
both of which places there are
repeated references in the early
Journals. Biggin has a chapel
built in 1896, now debtless, and at
Mill Dale, romantically situated at
the end of Dovedale, there is also
a chapel built in 1834. These two places are on the Tuns tall plan of 1819 ; afterwards
they belonged to Kamsor, and, still later, probably to Leek Circuit. Three places that
were component parts of the original Winster Circuit are also on the Ashbourne Circuit
plan — Hognaston, Kirk Ireton, and ex-circuit-town Kniveton. When Ashbourne was
formed in 1890 the old and the new touched each other.

MILL DALE PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL.

STEPPING STONES OF DOVEDALE.

Ashbourne itself must have been missioned early, since its name will be seen on the
Tunstall plan of 1819. Hugh Bourne and the rest of the Tunstall preachers must
have been familiar with this pleasant town. His eye must often have rested on the

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE. 535

*' pride of the Peak," as its citizens call the towering spire of Ashbourne Church. It
was here Hugh Bourne bought the tracts for the Hulland Tract Mission, which he
causally connects with the raising up of the first two female travelling-preachers. Nor
must we forget John Kide's hurried flight from Ashbourne to escape arrest for preaching
from some one's doorstep. It requires an effort to think of John Ride as running away

from anything, but —

" . . . those that fly may fight again,
Which he can never do that's slain,"

and we remember how Paul made a somewhat hasty flight from Damascus before he
began his ministry.

But we have not yet quite done with Belper, for the simple reason that its missionary
energy was not confined to the early years, even to suit the exigencies of a theory. So,

ASHBOURNE CHURCH.

just when the era of consolidation was opening, it renewed its youth and began again.
And yet it is but fair to say, many other circuits would have been glad to do the like,
only they could not. There was no "hinterland" — not any piece of " no-man's land " —
for them to annex. They had got the portion of territory that naturally fell to them,
and so were circumscribed and hemmed in, and, perforce, had to make the best of it.
But, while most other circuits were settling down to the founding of schools and the
building of chapels, and were dividing and sub- dividing themselves in order the better
to consolidate their local interests, Belper Circuit had both the opportunity and the will
to do a little more real mission-work. There was a bit of unopened country lying away
on the borders of Notts, and, by laying hold of this, the geographical hiatus would be
filled up and the borders of Belper Circuit march with those of Chesterfield and
other offshoots of Nottingham. The facts have been succinctly stated by Mr. Petty in
his History, and we reproduce them here, just observing that the "unhappy

536 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

division " referred to was the " Selston split " we have already described as affecting
Hucknall Torkard, where also Edward Morton did such good work.*

" Belper Circuit reported 664 members in 1840 ; but in 1842 it was reduced to 601.
Selston, Normanton, and Portland Eow, having, probably during these two years,
been transferred to another circuit. In the following year they were restored to
Belper Circuit, and with Somercotes and Golden Valley, they formed the nucleus
of a mission station [at first called Somercotes Mission], to which Mr. E. Morton
was appointed in April, 1843. It may be proper to remark, that the three former
places had been greatly injured by an unhappy division, three or four years
previously, and were now almost a wreck. It is to the honour of Mr. John Smith,
of Golden Valley, that we have to record that his fidelity to the Connexion in this
time of trial, and the influence of his respectable character and position, were of
incalculable service. A better day now began to dawn upon these suffering places ;
and Mr. Morton also succeeded in establishing societies at Crich, Swanwick, Green
Hillocks, and other places, where chapels were in due time erected. In 1850, this
mission contained 283 members ; and in the following year was made into an
independent station, now called Ripley Circuit, a. very compact and comfortable
station. It is gratifying to add, that notwithstanding the formation of this station,
Belper Circuit reported 811 members in 1850, 147 more than 1840 " (p. 415).

It should be added that, in 1880, Alfreton Circuit was made from Ripley, which
partition would, one think, tend to make the latter even more comfortable and compact
a station than it had been before.

This account may be supplemented by a few reminiscent jottings communicated by
the present Ripley Circuit Steward — Mr. John Ilenshaw, the worthy successor of the
good men he recalls. At the beginning of its history, the Ripley society worshipped in
a small room in a malt-house reached by steps. Mr. John Smith, mentioned above,
was colliery manager under the Butterley Colliery Company,
and though in a good position was noted for his Christian
simplicity and his devoted labours. He could, and did,
visit every house in Golden Valley, save one. Here he
was refused admission ; but he prayed on the door-step.
As a local-preacher he was in great request for special
services and, on these occasions, often had as his travelling
companion Thomas Hardy of Ironville, who contributed
£100 at the stone-laying of Ironville chapel. Some of
the traditional accounts of John Smith's journeyings as
a local preacher almost pass belief. It is said he has been
known to preach at Derby in the morning, go on to Little
Eaton for the afternoon, and to Belper for the evening

service, reaching home at midnight. When in the Peak j^j^ j^^^^ smith.

district, he would not get home until two o'clock on Monday

morning. On the Sunday mornings when not jireaching he led the class at Selston,
four miles away. Little wonder that such a man was humanly speaking the stay and
saviour of the societies. At his death he was succeeded in the Circuit Stewardship by

* See aw/e, pp. 249-251.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

537

MR. E. COX.

MR. T. C. SMITH.

Mr. Charles Shelton, and subsequently by Mr. Edwin Cox, who is described as a man of
stronf^ evangelical sympathies and " one of the best stewards any circuit could have."

In leavinfy Eelper — for we cannot return to it — we are struck with the continuity of
its history. In that history we do not find two or more clearly defined periods

such as we find elsewhere ; and that is the

reason we have followed up its development.

Primitive Methodism has taken kindly to

the soil and become hereditary in families,

so that its representatives to-day are the

descendants of those who stood by it in

the days gone by, only — for the stock is

a vigorous and prolific one — there are more

of them. Nor is the old sturdy spirit

dead. The fact that Mr. Thomas Charles

Smith — the first " Passive Kesister " who is

a member at Ashlehay in the Wirksworth
Circuit,* and that a retired minister — Eev. W. Sharman — spending the evening of a well-
spent day at Weston-under-Wood, has undergone imprisonment in the same cause, show
that the air of freedom blows over these hills, and that the yeomen of Boylestone,
who began a free day-school as a counter-stroke to clerical intolerance, have their
living representatives. In leaving Belper, we give the portrait of its late worthy Circuit
Steward, who not unfittingly bears the name of Jackson ; and we do so the more readily
because he has interested himself in recovering the fast-perishing memorabiHa of early
Derbyshire Primitive Methodism.

Eamsor, Leek, and Che able.

Still working round the circumference of Tunstall Circuit, we next come to that part

of North Staffordshire which embraces the country lying between the Dove and the

Tean, stretching from Leek and Warslow on the north, to Rocester on the south east,

and taking in the rugged elevations of Morridge and Weaver, and the pleasant valley of

the Churnet. This tract of country was

made a branch of Tunstall Circuit in

1820, arid two years after a circuit, having

Ramshorn or Ramsor, near Weaver, as its

head. We have already described the

very early missioning of this interesting

district, and little more need be added,

especially as the circuit did not greatly

extend its borders. Nor can we wonder

at this w^hen we consider its wide area,

together with the semi-mountainous

character of much of its surface, and
its scattered population. Two internal administrative changes must be chronicled.

* It was^on May 28th, 1903, Mr. Smith, accompanied by his minister, the Eev. J. Dann, appeared
in Belper Court to answer t6 the summons.

REV. W. SHARMAN.

MR. W. JACKSON.

538

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

EEV. EDWARD FOIZEY,

In 1838 Leek — another composite circuit — was partially made from it, and Cheadle
entirely so in 1872. Both these changes, though they tended to reduce its area and
facilitate its working, have still left it one of the widest circuits in the Connexion.
In or about the year 1831, during the superintendency of Edward Foizey, the last

two societies that had clung to James Crawfoot and held
aloof from Primitive Methodism, sought union with the Ramsor
Circuit. The societies were at Waterfall and Caldon, and their
co-lay-pastors were Thomas Mottram and Joseph Bratt. The
event, interesting in itself as the healing of a breach, is still
more so, because it gave to the Connexion Thomas Mottram,
no ordinary man. For one thing, he was the grandson of
Samuel and Elizabeth Evans, better known as Seth and Dinah
Bede, so that he was half-cousin to George Eliot. But Thomas
Mottram scarcely needs this adventitious distinction, though
it is worth noting. The memoir of him, written by his son,
makes one think what treasures of Christian biography are
buried in the old Magazines that might very profitably be brought forth. For
more than half-a-century Thomas Mottram taught in Sunday school, led his class,
climbed the rugged hills, and trudged the lanes of the extensive Ramsor Circuit —
" no journey too long, no night too dismal, no weather too severe," to preach
to the village congregations. He maintained his Free Church principles, took
part in parochial business, and yet had the respect of those who differed from
him in politics and Church government. We have had, and unfortunately shall
have again, to present many Church clergymen in no very pleasing light ; but in
their treatment of Thomas Mottram they are seen at their best. In one case
he was called upon to visit a lady during a long and painful illness, who had three
clergymen among her immediate relatives. One of these was her son, who, on meeting
him there, would say : " Now, Mr. Mottram, just do your
duty, and pray with my dear mother as you would if
I were not here." At his largely-attended and impressive
funeral, Mr. Sargent, the vicar, prayed in the little chapel
at Waterhouses in a way to melt all hearts, gave out at
the grave side the hymn from the Primitive Methodist
Hymn Book, and preached his funeral sermon in the parish
church. Thomas Mottram died 1874, in the eightieth
year of his age. Others of the family remain in the old
homestead to dispense the accustomed hospitality, and to
carry on the father's work.

Macclesfield, Congleton, and Sandbach.
Macclesfield, as also Congleton and Sandbach, are not
on the Tunstall Circuit plan ending April 18th, 1818, but ^^^ thomas mottram.

they are found on that beginning May 2nd, 1819, so that
the date of their missioning may approximately be fixed somewhere between these two

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

539

points. Nor are we left entirely to inference ; for Hugh Bourne distinctly says that
Macclesfield was entered early in the year 1819, and that "Congleton was opened by
the exertions of our Macclesfield friends." When Primitive Methodist missionaries
crossed the hills and opened their commission in these two towns they were but paying
a long-standing debt ; for we do not forget the visits of the Stockport Revivalists to
Congleton which led to the Harriseahead revival, and how the earliest camp meetings
could scarcely have been held but for the help of men from Macclesfield and Knutsford.
So these towns were to feel the warmth of the fire they had helped to kindle.

Hugh Bourne intimates that though a society was soon raised up in Macclesfield, " in
its infant state, it had to contend with many difficulties ; the burden of it was heavy ;

BEECH LANE CHAPEL, MACCLESFIELD.

and the circuit was obliged to make great exertions to keep it on its feet." As
confirming this general statement, S. Turner records a particular experience of his : how
he and T. Clowes went about Macclesfield to beg a little towards the debt incurred in
that place, and got three shillings and sixpence. But the collectors were unfortunate
in their selection of a day; it was August 18th, the day after a destructive Radical
Reform riot in Macclesfield, and eight days before Peterloo, so that, perhaps, all
things considered, they did not do amiss. For some time before this, the society had
the use of " a large room near the old church;" and though in December, Hugh Bourne
speaks rather dubiously of the proposal to build a preaching-room, he notes with

540

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

evident satisfaction that "there is preaching every Sunday night at eight o'clock near
the new church and at Hurdsfield." But, difficulties or no difficulties, the converting
work rolled on in a remarkable manner, as is evident from the space given in the first
volume of the Magazine to the encouraging reports sent in by the preachers who
successively laboured in Macclesfield — T. and Ann Brownsword, John Garner, Thomas
Webb, and others. There was at this time a large and flourishing Sunday School, and,
in order to provide Bibles, Hugh Bourne, in his usual thrifty managing way, bought
twelve Bibles in sheets for thirty-six shillings, and then had every sheet of the twenty-
seven each Bible contained, stitched in stiff paper covers, costing twelve shillings more ;
" so that they got three hundred and eighty-four books for forty -nine shillings, which
would have cost them twenty pounds had they got whole Bibles." Much activity too
was shown in the raising of classes, class-papers being put into the hands of those who

seemed to have in them the
making of leaders. By March
20th, 1820, Thomas Webb could
report that : " the work of the
Lord is in a prosperous way ;
there are one hundred and eighty-
one in society, eight leaders, and
six preachers."

Macclesfield was one of the new
circuits of the Tunstall District
made in 1821 ; but it remained
such only for twelve months.
As yet, it seems, it was not able
to walk alone, and it reverted
to Tunstall, and, though fourteen
long miles away, continued under
its governance until 1834. Then
we have " Macclesfield and Congle-
ton Union Circuit." In 1835 the
two were separated and, as part
of the Tunstall District, have
so remained. Surely something
must have occurred to cripple the young circuit's energies ; for, at the beginning
of its course, its missionary zeal carried it to Flagg and Chelmorton and Burbage
near Buxton ; to Stockport, H. B. tells us, to Congleton and, what was eveti more,
to Manchester ; and there we shall have to follow it as soon as we have skirted
the North Western segment of Tunstall Circuit and noted the advance made in
that direction. From information received, we learn that the first preaching-place
at Congleton was a turning-shop in Canal Street, afterwards perverted into the
"Horse and Jockey" public-house, and now a private dwelling. This room, which
has played so many parts, is doubtless referred to by James Bonsor in his Journal: —

" November 5th, 1820. — At nine renewed the tickets at Congleton to twenty-four

FIRST CHAPEl. AT CONGLETON, BUILT 1822.
DESTROYED SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

541

members. At eleven I preached in the open air. At two, Elizabeth Dakin preached,
and opened the room they have taken. It was a good time. It was full, and the
room above was nearly full. The Lord poured His Spirit down. Sinners were
awakened, and cried for mercy."

The Elizabeth Dakin of the above
extract, was of Ashmore House near the
Cloud. She was one of the early protegees
of Hugh Bourne, who notes in his Journal
the preaching of her first sermon — April
30th, 1814. The initials of her name may
be picked out from those of the rest of
the anonymous sisterhood at the bottom
of the 1819 plan. But in 1835 her name
is first on the list of local preachers
on the plan of the Macclesfield and
Congleton Union Circuit. She con-
tinued for many years a successful
local preacher and, in 1837, was married
to Mr. George Harvey. On their removal
to Oak Farm, Broomhall, in 1845, they
were numbered among the influential
families of the Burlaw d Circuit.

At Congleton we meet with several
leading personages of the Tunstall Circuit
of the early days. Thomas Steele was
one of these. Born in 1801, he was,
like his father, already giving proofs of
strong individuality. He was a trustee
of the first Burslem Chapel [opened
December 24th, 1822, by David Delany]
and in the deed he is designated "preacher." About this time he removed to
Congleton, and had much to do with the strengthening of the cause there and the
building of its first chapel, for which also he was a trustee. The site for this chapel

was given by Mr. John Andrew, sen., a man
of considerable means, who died in 1826
and bequeathed one hundred pounds to our
mission funds — probably the first testamentary
benefaction of the kind. His son, John
Andrew, jun., was, until 1827, one of the
select few who formed the Book Committee,
and the Tunstall General Committee. In
the 'Forties he was twice mayor of Congleton
and, probably before this, left our Church for
MRS. ANDREW. thc Wcslcvaus. As to Thomas Steele, he mr. j. andrew.

FIRST CHAPEL IN BURSLEM,

As it was, now a public-house.

542 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

married for his second wife the sister of John Andrew, the younger, a gifted preacheress
whose name stood on the same plan. He was a man of fine physique and of much
alertness and determination, as his portrait would suggest."^ He is described as having
been a powerful singing-preacher and a noted pioneer worker of the early days.
From 1843 to 1847 he was postmaster of Congleton; but he seems to have had
a passion for evangelistic labour, and, in 1857, he became a colporteur in Buenos Ayres.
His diary — of quite exceptional calligraphy — is without the taint of commercialism,
though it is the diary of a man whose daily business it w^as to sell Bibles. As
a colporteur he did sell more than thirteen hundred copies of the Scriptures in Spanish,
French and Italian, but it is evident he was more anxious to save souls than to sell
Bibles, or rather he pushed the sale of his Bibles that men might "buy the truth."
We get the same impression of him from the record of his unpaid evangelistic labours
in Canada and the Channel Isles. Whenever and wherever the way was open he
endeavoured to rouse the Churches and to promote revivals of religion. Some looked
on him askance and thought him " queer," but yet more appreciated and were profited
by his labours. This was shown when, on leaving for England in 1864, the ministers
assembled at the Ottawa District Meeting (Wesleyan) thanked him by resolution for
his disinterested labours. He felt himself driven by Divine impulsion to engage in
these over-sea labours just as did Lorenzo Dow — of whom he somehow reminds us.
Thomas Steele was a man of more than ordinary education and with special evangelistic
gifts, of whose activity to promote the interests of our Church in the early years
we get glimpses in the Magazines and in unpublished diaries and letters ; and this
is the reason he is referred to here. True ; like his brother-in-law and others
about this time, he left our Church ; precisely when and why we know not. We
suspect that with all his father's ability and with more than his father's push, he
had also inherited a certain masterfulness and impatience of rules and restraints
not self-imposed, and possibly there may have been commercial troubles. Ultimately,
he left the Wesleyans, on the allegement that they had departed from primitive
simplicity. His final relations with our Church were cordial and sympathetic; he
died March 24th, 1885.

Later workers, true and faithful to the end, were Samuel Cakes, of Mow Cop,
Mrs. Brassington, afterwards Mrs. Graham, and James Broad, who preached the last
sermon Hugh Bourne was privileged to listen to, carried his dying message to the
Conference, and preached his funeral sermon at Congleton. Of these the Rev. Charles
Smallman, who knew them well, has said : —

" As it regards Samuel Oakes, I never expect to look upon his like again. . . .
He was, without exception, the best all-round man I ever met with. He was very
pious ; by no means boastful or talkative, but there was very little he could not
do. . . . James Broad was a remarkable worker. He walked thousands of
miles to preach in the Congleton and other circuits. He was in this way the most
remarkable man I ever knew. Jane Brassington was very pious and very useful
as a local preacher. She had the honour of witnessing the first conversion that
took place at Mow on the occasion of the great revival."

* See his portrait and that of his wife, ante p. 156.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

543

ME. SAMUEL OAKES.

MR. JAMES BEOAD.

The great revival referred to in the preceding extract, began soon after Mr. Smallman
entered upon his station at Congleton in 1856. The Mow Cop Society had ineffectually-
agitated to be re-attached to Tunstall Circuit, and were sore in consequence of the
failure* of their efforts. " We want to have sinners converted, and we can get none
converted as we are," was the reason assigned
by Samuel Cakes for the prevailing dissatis-
faction. But a revival came, in which the
Rev. James Shenton and other members of
his family were converted. Not only were
those v/ho were just outside swept into the
Church, but also those apparently afar off —
poachers, whom neither gamekeepers nor
magistrates could tame, and even one who had
just been let out of Knutsford Prison, where
he had been confined for killing his antagonist
in a prize-fight. We refer to this revival because it took place just on the eve of the
great Jubilee Camp Meeting on Mow Cop, and showed that the old evangel could
repeat on the old ground the triumphs of fifty years before.

Mrs. Brassington became the wife of Rev. John Graham, and survived until 1887.
"Jane Graham," says the local annalist, "was a bright, happy Christian, fuU of hope
and joy. She was known as a peace-maker and comforter, and sick-visitor through the
town of Congleton." Her husband was the superintendent of the Tunstall Circuit in
1840. One who knew him well at that time says : —

" John Graham was an earnest and successful soul- winner. This was his aim and
joy in preaching and in family visiting. As a preacher he might not satisfy the
critical, but he had fruit. J. Hallam heard him preach one Sunday at an adjoining
place, when he became somewhat embarrassed in his sermon, but extricated himself
by breaking forth : ' Glory be to God ; we had a number of souls saved when I was
preaching the other Sunday.' " t

Sandbach, in Cheshire, was missioned a little
earlier than Macclesfield and Congleton. On
and between August 9th and September 18th,
1818, Thomas Jackson held half a dozen services
at the Town Cross, amid much excitement and
opposition, which largely showed itself in the
throwing of apples, potatoes, and stones at the
preacher and his congregation. The last date
mentioned was Sandbach Fair, and on that
day he and his friends sang from the Cross to
Scotch Common, where there was to be a bull- eev. john geaham.
baiting. The bull was driven in the direction of the preacher with the view of

MES. JANE GRAHAM.

* Those who are on the look-out for glimpses of the supernatural in our Connexional History maj'-
he interested to know that Mrs. Graham is credited with having had a remarkable dream, by which
she was assured of the death of Hugh Bourne before any one in Congleton knew of the event.

t The late Rev. T. Baron, in the Aldersgate, for 1900, p. 754.

544

PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

dispersing his congregation but, when some two or three hundred yards off, the bull
would persist on kneeling down as if to do obeisance, and the would-be disturbers were
glad to get it away. On the evening of this day a society of seven or eight members
was formed in a cottage. After this, Hugh Bourne paid occasional visits to Sandbach
and other places in the neighbourhood, and on November 22nd he records " there are
twenty in Society." Sandbach appears on the stations as an independent circuit in
1840, and Thomas Jackson lived to take part in the Jubilee Services held at Sandbach
in August, 1868, to commemorate the introduction of Primitive Methodism into
that town.

Preston Brook.
We have now to glance at the missioning of that part of Cheshire, lying contiguous
to the original Burland Circuit which, in 1820, took the name of Preston Brook Branch,
and three years after became an independent station. This tract of country forms the
last section — the last felloe of the big wheel — of Tunstall Circuit as it was before its
partition. It must not be forgotten, however, that some parts of this district had

frequently been visited by
Hugh Bourne and his fellow-
labourers amongst the Camp
Meeting Methodists. Within
this district are Warrington,
the home of Peter Phillips,
the welcomer, and sometime
host of Lorenzo Dow, and early
associate of Hugh Bourne ; at
Warrington, too, is Old Friars
Green Chapel, erected 1802,
for preaching in which James
Crawfoot brought himself
under censure. Historic Dela-
mere Forest is also in this
district, and Bud worth and
Barnton, places that were frequently visited by Hugh Bourne during his early itineraries.
Brynn Chapel, too, with its original inscription : " Primitive Methodist Chapel. Built
1819. Prepare to meet thy God," still preserved in the re-constructed building, is
included within the present North wich Circuit. Brynn Chapel is situate about a mile
from the former residence, long since demolished, of the " old man of the Forest."
A year ago it was re-floored and re-pewed, and now, over and above the historic interest
attaching to the building, it is one of the neatest and most comfortable country chapels
in the Connexion.

But it was not as Primitive Methodists that Bourne and his coadjutors had first
visited these parts. It was;not until 1818-19 that a combined, determined effort was
made to win North-West Cheshire for the new denomination founded in 1811. The
honour of having been the leading pioneer in this aggressive movement belongs to-

liprnjhl

THE HOME OF PETEH PHILLIPS, SHIP YAKD, WARRINGTON

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

545

Thomas Jackson, though there were very soon in the field other of the Tunstall Circuit
preachers. In July, 1869, he took the leading part in a series of Jubilee Services in
celebration of his having, by his missionary labours, laid the foundations of the Preston
Brook Circuit. Two particulars may be noted in connection with this jubilee : W. M.
Salt and T. Spooner, who were amongst the first-fruits of the mission, took a prominent
part in the celebration ; and the jubilee itself was kept at Kuncorn, which, though
missioned by T. Jackson in 1819, was afterwards abandoned. It was remissioned in
1823, but again adverse circumstances led to its abandonment in 1828. Once more it
was remissioned by Mr. B. Turner, who volunteered to do the work without extra cost
to the circuit. He succeeded, as he deserved to do, and in 1838 the first chapel
was erected.

Writino- of the Preston Brook Branch in the first volume of the Magazine^ Hugh

Bourne says : —

" This branch was opened chiefly in 1819 : and, it takes in Delamere Forest,

OLD FKIARS GREEN CHAPEL, WARRINGTON.*

Weaverham, Northwich, Great Budworth, Bartington, Crowton, Kingsley, Norley,
Frodsham, and other places, all in Cheshire. Thomas Jackson and John Hallsworth
held several camp meetings with great effect ; particularly one at Bartington on
Sunday, June 6th."

Now, Sampson Turner was present at this camp meeting, as also at one on the
Sunday preceding, in the same neighbourhood, and he has described both in his
unpublished Journals. The first entry is specially interesting, as affording clear preof

*The valuable views of Peter Phillips' house, and Friars Green Chapel, have only recently been
secured, and we have been allowed to reproduce them by the courtesy of Mr. A. Mounfield, the
editor of the " Independent Methodist."

N N

546 PKIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

that Mrs. M. Richardson, of Warrington, the West Indian proprietress who freed
her slaves, was still associated with our founders in aggressive work. It
shows that W. Clowes' words : " Mrs. Richardson became a speaker amongst us," were
quite true as late as 1819, at least. Indeed, there is every reason to believe that the
initials " M. R.," at the bottom of the plan for that year, are hers, and that she was
a recognised auxiliary preacher, taking regular appointments in the Tunstall Cir(;uit.
The Ann Egerton referred to by S. Turner in his Journal, was another prominent
female preacher in the early times. Her initials will also be found on the plan
amongst the rest.

" Sunday, May 30th, 1819 ~ I was appointed for a camp meeting at Dunkirk
Works, in the vicinity of Northwich, with Brother T. Jackson from Belper, Sister
M. Richardson from Warrington, and Sister A. Egerton from Wood Green. The
meeting was numerously attended by all ranks, it being a novelty in that
neighbourhood to hold such a religious meeting out of doors. I judged there
to be two thousand present at least. Believers were much in the spirit of
their duty, and life and zeal animated the meeting most of the day. I believe
much good was done. To God be all the glory. Another camp meeting was given
out at the above, to be held next Sabbath Day on Bartington Heath. Spoke nine
times this week. May the Word be sent home to every heart.

''''June 6th.— 1 was planned at Weston and Englesea Brook, but by some means
it was supplied another way, as I had to speak in the street at Halford, near
Xorthwich, and then attend the camp meeting that had been given out as above.
Great numbers attended from all parts, and it was very manifest that much good
was done. Much was said about us, and of our eccentric proceedings ; but they
were compelled, in a sense, to acknowledge that we were men of God, for God was
with us. I spoke at Northwich at night in the street. The Lord was present."

To these graphic details of a week's labours, may be added a summary of results
condensed from Thomas Brownsword's Jowmal, inserted in the first volume of the
Magazine.

"In December, 1819, there were forty-five members in society at Delamere
Forest, twenty-two at Weaverham, seventeen at Frodsham, and forty-one at
Preston. In the February following, there were thirty at Crowton, and thirty
at Kingsley. Messrs. Jackson and Hallsworth, and Turner and John Garner, and
T. and A. Brownsword, apptear to have been rendered very useful in this district,
and to have been the means of turning hundreds of souls from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan unto God."

Other events as yet remote, but directly traceable to these pioneer labours, were the
making of Warrington Circuit out of Preston Brook in 1837, and of North wich in
1855. Beyond this date we need not further follow the process of circuit subdivision.
Nor must it be forgotten that Preston Brook was for a time, as will be shown hereafter,
a kind of foster-mother to Liverpool, and that it closely followed Shrewsbury in sending
— April 20th, 1832 — a missionary to Ireland. F. N. Jersey, the agent selected, had
intended to concentrate his efforts on Dublin, but finding on his arrival that the city
was in a state of political ferment, he deemed it prudent to choose another field. He
fixed upon Newry, in the north of Ireland, as his centre, and soon met with a measure

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

547

of success. In 1839, the Lurgan Mission, as it was then called, embraced a considerable
district in the counties of Down and Armagh, some twenty-six Irish miles in length
and fourteen in breadth, and including within its radius four towns and some twenty
villages. In 1842, at the end of the circuit-mission period, the Donoughmore and
Lurgan Mission, as it was now called, was still under the care of Preston Brook, and
had for its ministers J. Judson and Jesse Ashworth.

N N 2

548

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

CHAPTER XI.

CHESTER CIRCUIT.

E have in this chapter to try to show how, from Burland as a centre, Primitive

Methodism reached Chester and the surrounding district, there securely

planting and ramifying itself. From Chester a beginning was even made

in populous Liverpool ; and it also extended itself into Shropshire, forming

the " Shropshire Mission," out of which grew Prees Green Circuit, with its numerous

ofifshoots.

Chester.

To trace the beginnings of Primitive Methodism in the city of Chester, it is necessary
to go back to the time when Burland was still a branch of Tunstall. At first, the
branch was more successful in extending itself in the north-western parts of Cheshire

than it was in Shropshire, and this
from various causes. For one thing, John
Wedgwood had gone in that direction,
and the regular preachers of Tunstall
Circuit soon followed in his track.
Then, as yet, the preachers were too few
to admit of the vigorous prosecution of
the mission in more distant Shropshire.
Yet another and a very sufficient reason
of the earlier success realised in Cheshire,
lay in the number of respectable families
who early identified themselves with the
cause, and became its stay and support.
Messrs. Taylor and Bateman have already
been referred to, and the latter plainly
states of the former and his family, that,
without them and their influence, it is
not easy to see how there ever could
have been a Burland Circuit at all.
There might have been a circuit in these
parts, but that it should get the name
of Burland, was simply owing to the
fact that the Taylor family lived there,
and made any other name out of the
question. But besides these families, there were others of influence, such as Mr. Dean,
of Walk Mills, and Warburton, of Burton Hall, [who opened their houses for

CHESTER TOWN HALL AND MARKET-PLACE.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

549

preaching, and extended hospitality to the preachers. And, farther north, there was
Mr. Ephraim Sadler, of Huxley, and his brother William, of Tiverton. The former,
who was born at Burland in 1773, was for some years a Wesleyan. In June, 1819,
Sampson Turner, while on his long circuit-round, came into John Wedgwood's mission
for some three weeks. Supported by a volunteer helper named Job Gibson, he took
his stand near to Mr. Sadler's farmstead. He was courteously invited to preach in the
farm-yard, and did so, standing on a stout stool planted under the shade of a clump of
elms, and exhorting the people from, "Enter ye in at the strait gate."* Young John
Sadler was convinced at this service, and when a class was formed by Thomas
Brownsword he, together with his father, mother, and other members of the family,
joined the society. S. Turner was at Huxley again on September 22nd, and notes
in his Journal that " many desired that Huxley should be put on the Preachers' Plan
in order that they might have regular supplies, as there are many hearers, and a prospect
of much good being done." The farm-house became the home of the preachers and the
sanctuary of the society, of which Mr. E. Sadler became the first leader. The next step
in advance was taken when in March, 1822, Huxley was made a branch of Burland
Circuit. The branch comprised twenty -five places, including Tarporley, Tiverton,

Wrexham, and Chester ', it had
three travelling-preachers — T. Sugden,
W. Sanders, and Ann Stanna, and
twenty local preachers, with ten auxil-
iaries belonging to Burland Circuit.

Chester had been attacked as early
as December, 1820, but it would not
surrender. A second attempt, however,
Avhich proved more successful, was
made in the spring of 1821. Thomas
Brownsword, having hovered round it
for some time, just as Benton did round
Leicester, preaching in the neighbouring
villages, made a descent on Chester in the
manner and with the results described
in the following historic record : —

^'' Sunday^ March 18th. — I went
to Chester, and at eight o'clock
preached on the Cross to about
five hundred people. Many seemed
much affected. We then went
into Watergate Street, and held
a prayer-meeting in a yard. Here
I gave an exhortation ; it was
a good time. I then went to

ST. Peter's church cross, Chester.

* On September I7th, S. Turner spoke from a table at Hampton Heath in Mr. Davis' croft, and
remarks : " A table or a stool has been my pulpit, and the open air my chapel, most of this summer."

550

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH

Hanbridge, and preached at ten to a large concourse of people. I believe good
was done. I then visited some sick, and while praying, two women were much
affected, and began to cry for mercy. I intended to jjreach in Boughton.
A large company assembled, but the weather was so unfavourable that we were
obliged to divide into companies and go into three houses, and hold prayer-
meetings. I then gave an exhortation. I believe much good was done ; many
were in distress, and some obtained pardon. When we had done in Chester
I went to Tarvin, and preached to a many people."

By this full good day's work Primitive Methodism got foothold in Chester, and it is
worth noting that both IS^antwich and Chester came on the Burland Plan beginning

CASTLE GATES, CHESTER.

April 29th, 1821, together; as the latest additions their names standing at the bottom.
Y Chester's reception of Primitive Methodism was anything but cordial — indeed it was
rough. The rowdy element invaded the preaching-room in King Street, shouted
" Amen," hooted, howled, and sometimes ran up against the worshippers as they left
or went to the services, in a way hardly distinguishable from " assault and battery."
To make matters worse, the disturbers were emboldened in playing their godless pranks
by the chilling response of the magistrates to their appeal for protection : " No ; it
serves you right. Why don't you stop at home, and not come here disturbing the
peace of the city." Matters reached their worst, and began to mend when John Ride
visited the city. We have already accounted for his presence in this region, and

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

551

...,»,.u..U^

observed that he opened Wrexham in March, 1821. On April 21st, soon after
Brownsword's visit to Chester, Ride was present in the room, into which some unruly
spirits, bent on mischief, had thrust themselves. They mocked, with their " Make way
for the parson ! " When the devout sang a hymn they started a song. While the
preacher prayed they shouted. But the preacher, who at times was very mighty in
prayer, rose into faith and prayed, until he prayed some of the ringleaders to their
knees and others out of the building. After this outburst the sky cleared, and the
atmosphere became less thunderous and electric. Thomas Bateman noted the pleasing
change that had taken place, when next he fulfilled his appointments in the city in
October. He was agreeably surprised to find the congregation large and pretty well-
behaved, and that even the rabble

f ""'" "^ ~ "'" '" '^^ in the streets did not insult him

/ 'J in any way as they had done others.

1 "Surely," he adds, "the bitter

," /,^ <, , . "1 persecution will now drop." Two

months later (December 8th) he
found the outlook still brighter.
He rose "a great while before it was
yet day," ate a little dry biscuit,
and walked to the city — a distance
of some eighteen or twenty miles,
and at the close of a day of toil,
he records : — " The work prospers
much in this ancient city now.
Thank God ! After a storm there
comes a calm."

Between these two visits
(October 27) Huxley Branch had
become Chester Branch. Mr.
Ephraim Sadler had now removed
to Saughall near the city, and other
persons of respectability and influ-
ence had become connected with
the society. Hence the change.
But when Burland, two months after, was made a circuit, there still remained the some-
what delicate question : What particular circuit is Chester now a Branch of — Tunstall
or Burland? This was a moot point, especially at Chester. "What! have we, the
Palatine city, just got released from Huxley to be tied to Burland T' We can hear the
fireside debates of those dark December days. The question came before the Tunstall
Quarterly Meeting for settlement, and the fathers very wisely left Chester to choose its
own head. On January 5th, Thomas Bateman walked to Chester to meet the Branch
Committee which met in Bold Place, at the house of Captain Howie, who was master-
gunner at Chester Castle, "and quite a leader among our people." This gentleman
proposed a resolution to the effect that : " As they received ^more favours from Burland

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LICENCE FOR PREACHING -HOUSE, BOUGHTON, CHESTER.

552

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUKCH.

than from Tunstall, they would belong to Buriand." This resolution was seconded by
Mr. E. Sadler, " who seemed to have much influence," and carried nem. con.

Though the King Street room had been the scene of unseemly disturbances and
opposition, it had also been the scene of many manifestations of divine grace. Among
the converts won in this room were Edward Davies, the first Sunday School Super-
intendent, and some whose descendants are numbered with the Church of to-day.
Besides the room in King Street, the house of Thomas Ellis, in Steven Street, Boughton,
was, in 1821, licensed and used as a place of worship. This house-sanctuary was the
precursor of the first chapel in Steam-Mill Street. Thomas Bateman was present at the
opening of this chapel on May 2nd, 1824, and speaks of it as "a plain building and
nothing wasted in useless ornament, though it was a great effort for the society to raise

FOLLY FIELD, WHERE CAMP MEETINGS WERE HELD, CHESTER.

it. I went over several times," he adds, " to assist my friend Mr. M'Millan in collecting
money and in other ways."

A month after this (June 1824), Chester was made a circuit with three travelling
preachers and thirty-eight places, with a good prospect of success, which its history has
not belied.

The Chapel in Steam-Mill Street — which owed much to the liberality of Mr. E. Sadler*

* We are informed that the land for the Chapel was given by Mr. Sadler. He died January 5th,
1853. See a short memoir of him, in the Magazine for 1854, p. 330.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

553

— served the purposes of the Chester Society for a goodly number of years. The
Church had its vicissitudes like other churches. Though we have no evidence that it
was weakened by dissension or rent by secession, it had its seasons of depression and
decline, and it was while it was passing through such an experience that the thought
and purpose of building another chapel came as a sudden inspiration. Open-air mission
services in various parts still continued to be held in the city and its suburbs — the
Castle Gates, Boughton, Machine Bank, and a new suburb called Newtown. After an
unusually successful mission at the latter place, several of the workers retired to the
house of Mr. James Adams, and, after conference, resolved at once to form a committee
to look out for a suitable site in that district for a new erection. The result — a result
Achieved only after much prayer and self-denial — was the erection in 1863 of the first

MACHINE BANK, BOUGHTON, CHESTER.

George Street Chapel, now the Temperance Hall. Among those who constituted
the first committee may be mentioned the names of Hulse, Fletcher, Vernon, Moore,
and Adams. The ambition of the projectors of George Street Chapel did not look
beyond this building. At the time it was looked upon as the ne plus ultra of Primitive
Methodism in Chester. It was thought it would meet all requirements for a long time
to come, if not for ever. But twelve months had scarcely passed before it was found to
be almost ludicrously inadequate to its purpose. The teachers and scholars of its
school were' themselves quite sufficient to fill it, without any other congregation, so that
services had to be held in the chapel and the school at the same time.

554

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

If any one with the mind's eye had seen " finality " written on the front of the
first George Street Chapel, the time came when they saw it no longer. A growing

FIRST PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, CHESTER.

church, like a crustacean, is sure in time to outgrow its accommodation, and to have
to look out for a bigger shell. So it was with the George Street Church. The time
came when its old habitat no longer sufficed, but was felt to bo cramping and inadequate.
Once more the church had to put forth a strenuous effort to provide roomier quarters.

TEMPERANCE HALL, FORMERLY GEORGE STREET CHAPEL, CHESTER.

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

555

556 PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

affording greater facilities for many-sided church work. The result was the erection,
at an outlay of some £7,500, of the present goodly pile of buildings, which already are
felt to be none too large and only provisional. The story of Chester's enterprise in
chapel-building cannot be further told in detail, but it may be summed up in the
statement that we have now three chapels in the city, and one in the suburb of Hoole,
in course of erection, the aggregate cost of these erections being little short of .£16,000.

Regarded Primitive Methodistically, Chester reminds us of Grimsby. True, the
latter was missioned a year earlier than Chester, has more chapels and a larger member-
ship, but in both there has been commendable activity shown in the erection of places
of worship, and in both our Church has a recognised prestige, and wields considerable
local influence. In Chester our adherents are found on the City and Hoole District
Council, the Eoard of Guardians, and associated with every local organisation of
a philanthropic kind. The reason is not far to seek. In Chester, even more markedly
than in Grimsby, Primitive Methodism has become hereditary in families. In some
towns we look and look in vain for the direct descendants of those who were leading
officials fifty years ago. The old families have no living representatives in active
communion with the Church. But in Chester many of the old names are still to be
found on the church-roll, and the new blood is nothing but the old blood enriched, as it
should be, by inheritance and the benison of heaven. Take in proof of this the
following facts : — On the trust deed of George Street are to be found thirteen names
of those who are the children of former trustees and officials. Amongst the officers and
teachers of the school there are children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of
former superintendents, and there is one scholar who is at once the grandchild of the
present superintendent and the fifth in descent from a former superintendent. At the
seventy-fifth anniversary of the school a portrait-group was taken, in which were
included thirteen who figured in the group taken twenty-five years before. It is
this hereditary attachment — this continuity of service, which gives cohesion and
strength to a Church.

Two Conferences have been held in Chester— those of 1866 and 1894. The former
held its sittings in the Music Hall, and it is noteworthy that of the eighty -four
representatives present that year, only one — a layman — was found amongst the one
hundred and ninety-four who assembled at the Conference, held twenty-eight years
after, in George Street Chapel. So true it is, that while the Conference as to its form
and functions may be permanent, its personnel may in less than a generation be almost
entirely changed. It is like a river or waterfall in its permanence ; like a river, too,
in the flux of the particles which compose it. And yet, singular to say, there were
still living in 1894, though in age and feebleness extreme, two men who were not only
coeval with the beginnings of Primitive Methodism in the city and county of Chester,
but active participants in those beginnings. One of them had been among the earliest
missioners of Chester, while the other had been one of its very first travelling-preachers.
John Smith (1), the superintendent of Chester Circuit on its formation in 1825, had
been in his grave forty years in 1894, but Joseph Preston, who spent the first six
months of his ministry in Chester, still survived, though in his ninety-second year,
while Thomas Bateman was two years older. Joseph Preston tells us that he had

THK PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPKISE.

557

REV. JOSEPH PKESTON.

not been at Chester more than six weeks before Biirland Circuit wished to have him in
exchange for another preacher. John Smith, with the letter of application in his hand,
said to his young colleague : " Let us go and pray about it."
They went upstairs and fell on their knees. John Smith began :
" 0 Loi'd, Thou seest they have sent for Joseph to go to Burland.
Don't let him go. Don't let the devil part us : " and they were
not parted. Thomas Bateman spoke at the chief public meeting
of the Chester Conference of 1866, and according to the local
report of the day, " related the difficulties which Primitive
Methodism had to contend with when their system of religious
worship was first introduced into Cheshire nearly fifty years before."
There are many scenes in our history which would form
fitting subjects for the artist's pencil. One such would be the
picture of the two veterans already named, sitting musing in their chairs,']''what
time the seventy-fifth Conference Public Meeting is being held in Chester. In their
clairvoyant vision they see the great congregation, and witness its enthusiasm. The

thought of that Conference, and
where it is being held, carries the
memory back to the toils, struggles,
and successes of the far-back pioneer
days. Vanished forms reappear ;
scenes of which they were part are
re-enacted. Then the mind reverts
to the present, swiftly crossing the
gulf of seventy years, and reverie
passes into the anticipation of the
Master's " Well done ! " and the
last quiet resting-place. In 1894
those two silent figures were the
sole remaining links with the
earliest days of Cheshire and
Shropshire Primitive Methodism —
links soon to be sundered. Both
were born and died within the area
of the old Burland Circuit, which
they lived to see embracing some
fifteen circuits. Both had a long
working day ; their sun took a wide
circuit, but at last it sank to the
horizon amid its own lengthening
shadows :

" Be the day weary, or be the day long,
At lens^th it rinffeth out to evensonsr."

THE BATEMAN MEMORIAL.

558

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHUECII.

From Sea to Sea.

We liave now reached a point when, for a moment, details may be lost sight of, and
a wider survey taken of what has already been accomplished.

In a lecture on Mow Cop, once delivered by James Broad in Mow Cop Chapel, he
referred to the famous Corda
Well, situate not far from
where he stood, that never
ran dry even in the severest
drought of summer. He
stated how the desire took
him to ascertain where the
overflow of this well made
its way. The stream, he
found, soon divided, each

SECOND PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL, BOSTON.

FIRST PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL,
BOSTON.

part taking its own course, turning
mills and making itself generally
useful as it flowed. One streamlet
made its way by Smallwood, to
Sandbach, Wheelock, and Middle-
wich. But the two came together
again at Northwich, and with
other streams " flowed into the
great canal to carry the great boats
and flats to Winsford and other
places, and then they flow on to
Runcorn and help the packets to Liverpool, and there helped to swell the great
ocean whereon merchandise was conveyed to almost every nation under heaven.

" For the little rill keeps running still,
Which first began on Mow Hill,"

All this is a parable ; for the significance of the formation of Preston Brook and
Chester Circuits consists in its showing that Primitive Methodism, which had
its origin hard by Corda W^ell, has now reached the Mersey and the Dee as
it has reached the Humber and the Wash. For, by this time, the missionaries
of Nottingham have reached South-East Lincolnshire, as the Jmirnals of Francis

THE PERIOD OF CIRCUIT PREDOMINANCE AND ENTERPRISE.

559

Birch testify, and have visited Boston, Sutton, Holbeach, Spalding, and Don-
nington. In 1821 Boston became a circuit, and Spalding was made a branch of
Nottingham ; but Boston retained its independence for only one year, and did
not permanently regain it until 1826. Much activity was shown in the building of
chapels. in this district during the following years, twenty-one chapBls being reported to
the Nottingham District Meeting of 1848 by the two circuits of Boston and Donnington.
The mission into this corner of Lincolnshire led the way into Norfolk, as is shown by
the following statement of John Oscroft : —

" When I commenced travelling [in May, 1821,] Boston was then a branch of
Nottingham Circuit. In a fortnight after beginning to travel, I was sent to labour
in that branch. About six weeks afterwards Boston was made a circuit, and
Spalding Branch became a branch of Nottingham Circuit. I was appointed to
labour in this branch with five other preachers, though at this time there was not
sufficient work for two. We therefore opened a mission in the county of Norfolk,
where the work of the Lord spread rapidly, and hundreds were soon converted
to God.'-'

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FIRST WRITTEN PLAN AFTER THE AMALGAMATION OF THE SOCIETIES, JUNE, 1811.

End of Volume I.

Fletcher and Son, Ltd., Printers, Norwich.

DATE DUE

DEMCO 38-297

3119''

3926

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