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NEWS AND EVENTS
Local History. New publication.
December 2022.
The Wesley Historical Society are
pleased to welcome Dr David Ceri Jones as their new President.
It is a great honour to
have been recently elected as the new President of the Wesley Historical
Society, having served the society as editor of its
Proceedings
since 2011.
Do you have a query? See the "Frequently Asked Questions" on the
About Us
page.
FEATURE ARTICLE
CAMP MEETINGS
One of the principal characteristics of the Primitive Methodist Connexion was their holding of Camp Meetings, or open air prayer and preaching days. It was this that precipitated the expulsion from the Wesleyan Connexion of the leaders of what was to be the Primitive Methodist movement. The charge brought against Hugh Bourne was that 'you have a tendency to set up other than ordinary worship.'
Troughstones Hill, near Biddulph. Camp Meeting held
July 9 1809.
(The hill so called because of its unusual
profile resembling a trough).
At the end of last year I heard a lecture where the
speaker sought to link Camp Meeting sites with established sacred places.
The speaker asserted that 'the architectural setting of most early Methodist
worship was nature itself- the grass for its floor, the trees for its
columns, the sky its roof and a rock or a hillock for its pulpit (1),' but
tried to create a link with ancient holy places.
My perception was that the hearers were
unconvinced with the sacred space link. Undoubtedly in certain locations in
the choosing of a prominent hilltop site was often one that coincided with a
peak that had existing sacred associations. Two examples might be The Wrekin
in Shropshire or Beacon Hill Woodhouse Eaves in Leicestershire. However for
the most part it appeared to be a destination that only needed a simple
instruction to find it.
The illustration above is of a hilltop near Biddulph
which I am not aware had earlier sacred associations, but was conveniently
located, easily understood, and owned by a farmer sympathetic to the cause.
Moreso because the unusual configuration of the rocks meant that the hearers
were sheltered from winds and so could hear. It was the public utility of
the site that counted.
Two sample local papers were examined to
shed further light. Typically The Teesdale Mercury reported on Barnard
Castle Camp Meetings simply in a field on the Darlington Road, and the
Epworth Bells, on Epworth camp meetings reporting on a recreation ground
'Thurlow' in Epworth itself. These supported the assumption that it was the
utility of the location not the sacred associations that counted.
At the end of July I will be attending a
Camp Meeting. It will not be a day of preaching and praying, more of an open
air service special. The location - an easily accessible and readily located
piece of land, in 2023 with car parking!
David Leese
_____________________________
(1) Dolbey, George W.,
The Architectural Expression of Methodism: the
first hundred years (London,
Epworth
Press, 1964, p22.
The Education Acts from 1870 onwards made increasing provision to support denominational schools, which were predominantly Anglican, by taxation. Nonconformists considered this to be unfair as they would have to pay taxes to fund a religious education with which they disagreed. Particularly after 1902 they launched a Passive Resistance movement which gained popular and political support across the country. Some who refused to pay were imprisoned, many had good seized by bailiffs. The nonconformist opposition was led by Baptist pastor John Clifford, and it is suggested that the 1902 Education act was one of the reasons why Balfour's conservative government lost the 1906 general election.
The
postcard cartoon illustrated above seeks to make fun of the ambiguous
position of some churches which whilst themselves accepting taxpayers' money
opposed the principle.
It is
thought the first high profile objector was Harvey Adams China Manufacturer
of Longton, who in 1872 was acclaimed as 'the school rate martyr of the
Potteries.' He challenged the principle in court. The Methodist New
Connexion March magazine of that year recognised his action but was less
than fulsome in the commentary- 'Mr. Harvey Adams of Fenton, a member of our
own denomination - refused to pay the school rate assigning conscientious
objections to denominational education.' He was though in good company
because the Birmingham Town Council refused to levy a rate.
There are many examples in later years, for example
Joseph Bottomley, Photographer
and Wesleyan local preacher of Epworth, annually refused to pay the rate,
had the same picture seized by bailiffs, and annually bought it back for
himself in auction. He was satisfied he had made his point.
David Leese.
The following book is now available exclusively via Amazon (search in 'books' under 'Field, Methodism in Great Britain and Ireland')., £13.99 (paperback) or £14.99 (hardback)
FIELD, Clive Douglas: Methodism in Great Britain and Ireland: A Select Bibliography of Published Local Histories, Oxford: Wesley Historical Society and Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History, 2022, xvii + 389p.,
'Methodism has been a dominant force in the religious landscape of Great
Britain and Ireland since its emergence in the eighteenth century. Its
development has been richly documented in terms of the careers and
achievements of the Wesleys and other connexional leaders. Yet it was at the
local level that the 'lived experience' (social as well as spiritual) of
Methodism was most evidenced, through the members and adherents of
individual societies and chapels and in Methodist schools and colleges. This
volume offers the first systematic bibliography of local histories of
Methodism. It cannot be comprehensive (for, at its peak, there must have
been at least 17,000 chapels and other preaching places in the British
Isles) but it does list around 4,000 of the most important publications on
local Methodism from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. They are
arranged topographically, according to current civil administrative units,
and with a cumulative index of place names.'