THE BEGINNINGS of METHODISM in LINCOLNSHIRE the Early
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THE BEGINNINGS OF METHODISM IN LINCOLNSHIRE to the Church of England; in some instances, indeed, {such as Grantham and Waddington), that title seems to hove been almost The early history of Methodism in the Wesleys' h~me cou~ty con dictated by the ecclesiastical authorities, witness the phrase, be greatly enriched from the resources of the Lincoln ~ioce~on "called by the court Independents". Occasionally on presentation Archives. The Toleration Act of 1689 allowed for the registration of the certificate to the court "Independent" seems to have been and legal protection of any "Protestants dissenting from t_he written over or above the word "Methodist", as with Church of England" - and the licensing of their pastors. In spite Stollingborough and Swineshead. In other societies a similar of the mobbing of Methodists, John Wesley was reluctant to reluctance took the form of using the language of the Act about utilize this legislation, claiming that the Methodists were not "Protestant Dissenters" while retaining a dual allegiance {as well "Protestants dissenting from the Church of England". Eventually, as they were able) both to their Metho~is~ society and to t~eir however, in order to secure legal protection, he acquiesced in parish church. This, of course, is stohshcolly very confusing. this legal fiction, and increasing numbers of the cotto_ge The huge preponderance of Methodist "cottage meeting~" meeting-places of his societies were registered for worship, registered among these certificates, however, was paralleled rn though the licensing of the preachers was greatly reduced by the 1 the York diocese, where the bound volumes which preserved them vehement opposition of Charles Wesley. were eventually labelled "Methodist certificates", even though Forty years ago, having studied the results of this activity ~n ~he they always included a smaller proportion of certifications from Diocesan Archives in York, I sought to carry out similar other denominations. researches in Lincoln. It so happe ned that at the very time that During the period 1749-1805 Mrs. Varley listed 71 certificates for I first visited the Lincoln Archives, Mrs. Joan Varley, the Baptists, 204 for Independents, and 39 for "Protestant Archivist, was preparing on informative article for The Dissenters", though a large proportion of these lotter two groups Lincolnshire Historian on "Dissenters' Certificates in the Lincoln (as already noted) should be included among the 351 named Diocesan Records", relating their history and analyzing their Methodists. Our own cut-off dote here will be the year of i mportonce in studying denominational distribution. The Lincoln Wesley's death, 1791. The Methodist certificates in Lincolnshire Archives houses over nineteen hundred certificates from almost is for 1758, and none appear to have survived for the yeoi:s five hundred parishes ranging over the years 1740 to 1844. (A 1760-61 1768 while those for 1778-79 were not discovered until further forty-nine were discovered after the publication of the 1957 o~d I hdve been unable to examine them personally. During article in 1949.) There ore three naming Presbyterians, four the 'period 1758-91 I hove identifi~d ~ine groups__ des~ri bing Quakers, and 127 Baptists. Two hundred and fifty ore listed as themelves as "Protestant Dissenters without quoh ficohon as "Independents", 729 as Methodists, 841 simply as Protestant Methodists and no fewer than seventy-three "Independents". Dissenters, while a handful bear no identification at all. Altogether' during this some period there ore certificates from about twice as many Methodists as all the other groups added As in York, in many instances the Faculty Books also contain together. entries of such registrations, as for Horncostle in 1758, Holbeoch in 1759, and Langham Row (Mumby) in 1775; indeed in the We already have a number of books about Methodis_m in major mojoritY. of instances from 1765 onwards there is a duplicate centres in Lincolnshire, and pamphlets and articles about copy {sometimes with major variations, as in Langham) in the Methodist beginnings in many of its villages. Most of the~, Faculty Books, though the facts assembled below ore token from unfortunately, were written without reference to the membership the primary source, the certificates themselves. lists of the Grimsby and Horncostle circuits {1769-1824) and the Stewards' books for the Horncostle circuit ( 1782-98), or even to The evidence of eighteenth-century Methodist membership lists the doted list of seventy-seven Methodist chapels built by 1811, and Conference Minutes, however, show that many of the as recorded by William Myles, in the 4th edition of his signatories describing themselves as "Independents" were in fact Methodists seeking legal protection without allowing their Chronolo icol His tor of the Peo le called Methodists ( 1813, pp. 433-4 - useful though imperfect. Relatively unknown, however, accepted nickname to be associated with any apparent disloyalty 5 4 are the small Methodist societies meeting in private homes long occasionally preached against Wesley. He appeared in Edinburgh in before the building of distinct "preaching-houses", of which latter 1780, and in 1782 in Execter, when Wesley's Journal noted (Aug. only a relatively small number appear in these surviving 15, 1782), "part of the society have joined him". The same kind certificates. Even in the Victoria County History of Lincolnshire of thing was apparently happening in 1787 in Lincolnshire. That {published in 1906) this valuable resource was not utilized to same year Saunderson presented two other certificates naming underpin the history of nonconformity in the county. himself as "Preacher", and with some duplicated signatories both from the Halton and Alford Methodist societies. In March 1788 I propose to list the relevant Dissenters' certificates however, he certified his own house at Horncastle for worship b; alphabetically, followed usually by a bare minimum of details Protestant Dissenters, and from that time he seems to have about denominational title, date, and the householder named. disappeared from public view. Modern spellings have been used, and the following abbreviations: I-Independents, PD-Protestant Dissenters, U-unidentified. The Splinte~ religious groups were rife, and there are undoubtedly building was usually described as a house or a dwelling-house, but more hidden away among the Lincolnshire Dissenters' certificates. any varients are noted. The name of the Methodist preacher One other should be mentioned here because of its close links with {"P") is included if he was so described or was a signatory - Methodism, the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, a body which usually the most obvious proof of Methodist allegiance in the it seemed might become another major denomination. This is absence of the title itself. revealed by a certificate entered on Jan. 13 and registered on All certificates using the term "Methodist" are included without Jan. 15, 1785, for "the new building called Lady Huntingdon's Chapel situate at the bottom of a yard belonging to Mr. John question, and if no I or PD precedes the entry it may be assumed Dean on the Causeway in Gainsborough". The signatories were that somewhere the group is identified as Methodist. The s tatus Dean, Thomas Jones, John Fletcher, John Cowley, John Negurs, of all those described as I or PD is scrutinized carefully, of Henry Poole, Henry Ward, Robert Kelvey, and William Booth. which an instance may be given. Thus Alford {I, 1786, at the This chapel was not noted in Seymour's two-volume Life and house of Elizabeth Searl), in spite of Myles's evidence of a Methodist chapel there in 1804, is omitted: there was indeed a Times of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon ( 1840), nor is any chapel of this allegiance listed for Gainsborough in the Religious Census Methodist society existing in Alford in 1786, with twenty-six of 1851. members, but the membership list of the Horncastle Circuit shows that none of their names correspond with those of the five It seems desirable to point out that during the later years of signatories, which was therefore adjudged to be a true Wesley's life Lincolnshire Methodism comprised two circuits, Independent society. centred in Epworth {Lincolnshire West, 1766-75) and Grimsby A special instance for e xclusion is Alford {PD, 1787, "a large (Lincolnshire East, 1766-75), with two offshoots, Gainsborough in building heretofore commonly used as a workshop in the 177 6 from Epworth, and Horncastle from Grimsby in 1786. All occupation of John Jackson", which named "Hugh Saunderson, the preachers named hereafter were officially appointed to one of Preacher"). This is another clear case of a congregation these circuits, only rarely for two successive years in the same circuit, though they would probably return to the area again. It apparently organized along Methodist lines, where three of the six signatories were also listed in the local Methodist membership should be noted that then as now a preacher was stationed from summer to summer, so that an entry for May 1769 would in fact roll, beneath which was the contemporary footnote: "The Society above is but poorly. May God be their help." {The prayer was be made during the stationing year 1768. {Although it would apparently answered, because these duplicated members remained have been possible to add the specific dates of the preparation in Wesley's Society the following year.) The problematic factor a nd acceptance of the certificates, this would have unduly here was Hugh Saunderson, who had been stationed as one of cluttered this summary article, just as it would to have described Wesley's fairly popular but erratic itinerant preachers from 1768 a preacher's stationing as 1768-69). During the years 1758 to to 77, but had then desisted to become a freelance, and 1791 well over a hundred different Methodist preachers served in Lincolnshire, about half the preachers in England at Wesley's death.