Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs The development of Anglican evangelicalism in London 1736-1836 with special reference to the Revd. John Newton Thesis How to cite: Pytches, Peter Norman Lambert (2007). The development of Anglican evangelicalism in London 1736-1836 with special reference to the Revd. John Newton. PhD thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2007 Peter Norman Lambert Pytches https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21954/ou.ro.0000faf0 Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk TITLE The Development of Anglican Evangelicalism in London 1736-1836 with Special Reference to the Revd. John Newton. M Phil Thesis presented to the Department of Religious Studies. The Open University. July 2006. by Peter Norman Lambert Pytches, BD , M A, PhD . ProQuest Number: 13917238 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 13917238 Published by ProQuest LLC(2019). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 o ABSTRACT The thesis begins with a statement of the terms of reference and definition of terms. Consideration is given to the social, cultural, philosophical and religious attitudes and influences of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, particularly in relation to London and the Established Church. Attention is paid to the antecedents and precursors of London Evangelicalism. O • The influence, in London, of George Whitefield and John Wesley is O evaluated, together with that of the Countess of Huntingdon and William Romaine. Early difficulties for Evangelicals in obtaining useful spheres of influence and the importance of lectureships, proprietary chapels, and patronage are highlighted. Specific reference to a few London Evangelicals is made and the influence of evangelical literature mentioned. The continuing Predestinarian 0 controversy is observed. O !x The appointment of John Newton to his incumbency at Woolnoth in 1779, it is argued, marked a decisive stage in the development of London Evangelicalism. Also prominent in this development were Thomas Scott, Josiah Pratt, Basil Wood, Henry Foster and William O Goode and Hannah More (through her writings and London contacts). Special attention is paid to Newton and the Eclectic Society, and the more moderate Calvinism which developed. William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect, his Practical View , theological orientation, and humanitarian concern, are explored. Also Daniel Wilson (Sr) and the Islington Conference are evaluated. The London influence of Charles Simeon is noted. Special attention is paid to the founding of the Religious Tract Society, Church Missionary Society, British and Foreign Bible Society and Church Pastoral Aid Society, the contributions of laity, the May Meetings and the Exeter Hall. The changing outlooks of Evangelical publications is noted and the Millennarian controversy reviewed. Conflicting opinions of the strength and impact of London Evangelicalism are assessed and the calibre of the clergy evalulated. The thesis closes with a summary and the conclusions reached. Acknowledgements Some acknowledgement, however inadequate, of encouragement given and help received is appropriate. First, special thanks are due to the following libraries and institutions for their careful attention and unfailing assistance: Cambridge University Library, Bodleian Library, British Library, Guildhall Library, Lambeth Palace Library and Central Library of the London Borough of Enfield. I am also grateful to the Principals and Librarians of Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and Oak Hill College, London, for kindly granting access to their libraries. I am deeply indebted to Professor John Wolffe, my supervisor, for his constant encouragement, unfailing patience and sensitive guidance. Needless to say, the deficiencies and errors which remain are entirely mine. Finally, I thank my wife, Beryl, who might reasonably have expected fewer encroachments on our life in retirement, who has given loving support and strong inducement to persevere. I also thank my son, Paul, for much help in improving my computer skills. 3 O CONTENTS 1 SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS 7 2 ANTECEDENTS AND PRECURSORS 20 3 THE ORIGINS AND BIRTH OF ANGLICAN EVANGELICLISM IN LONDON (1736-1779) 62 Whitefield and the Wesleys 62 Selina Countess of Huntingdon 86 o William Romaine 96 The Earlier Predestinarian Dispute 104 o Evangelical Responses to Exclusion from London Incumbencies 110 Henry Venn’s Pervasive Influence 121 4 THE PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT AND MATURITY (1780-1813) 124 John Newton, his Circle and the Eclectic Society 126 Hannah More and her Writings 170 William Wilberforce, the Clapham Group and his Q > . ‘Practical View’ 180 The Church Missionary Society 197 Evangelicals and Dissent -Two Interdenominational Societies 208 The Religious Tract Society 208 The British and Foreign Bible Society 210 The Continuing Predestinarian Debate 217 Private Patronage, John Thornton and the 1792 Clapham Appointment 226 4 O 5 THE PHASE OF EXPANSION AND ACCEPTANCE (1814-1836) 231 Simeon’s Continuing Influence 231 Later Notable London Evangelicals 233 Josiah Pratt 233 William Dealtry 234 Edward Bickersteth 236 Daniel Wilson (Sr) and the Islington Conference 242 o ) Frederick Sandoz and the Church Pastoral Aid Society 249 Charities, Societies, May Meetings and the ‘Exeter Hall’ 257 Evangelical Publications 262 Millenarianism 265 The Strength and Impact of Evangelicalism in the Nineteenth Century 273 The Calibre of London Evangelical Clergy 282 0 6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 284 o Bibliography 291 O ABBREVIATIONS SOURCE LOCATIONS BL Bodleian Library, Oxford. C&NM Cowper and Newton Museum, Olney. CUL Cambridge University Library. GL Guildhall Library, London. LPL Lambeth Palace Library, London. RHL Ridley Hall Library, Cambridge. WORKS OF REFERENCE DBI Dictionary o f Biblical Interpretation, Coggins, RJ and Houlden, JL (eds) (1990). DEB Blackwell Dictionary of Evangelical Biography, Lewis, DM, (ed.) (Oxford, 1995). DECH Dictionary o f English Church History, Ollard, SL and Crosse, G, (eds) (London, 1948). DNB Dictionary o f National Biography (Compact Edition), Williams, E, (ed.) (Oxford, 1975). EB Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ashmore, HS (ed.), (London, 1963). EDT Evangelical Dictionary o f Theology, Elwell, WA, (ed.) (Basingstoke, 1985). HTCBH The History Today Companion to British History, Gardiner, J, and Wenbom, N, (eds) (Leicester, 1988). NDCT A Dictionary o f Christian Theology, Richardson, A, and Bowden, J, (eds) (London, 1983). NDT New Dictionary o f Theology, Ferguson, FB and Wright, DF, (eds) (Leicester, 1988). NIDCC The New International Dictionary o f the Christian Church, Douglas, JD, (ed) (Grand Rapids, 1978). OC An Outline o f Christianity, Peake, AS and Parsons, AG, (eds) (n.d.). OCBH The Oxford Companion to British History, Cannon, J, (ed.) (Oxford, 1997). ODCC The Oxford Dictionary o f the Christian Church, Cross, FL and Livingstone, EA, (eds) (Oxford, 1997). ODNB The Oxford Dictionary o f National Biography (Oxford, 2004). PD A Protestant Dictionary, Wright, CHH and Neill, C, (eds) (1904). -7- o THESIS 1. TERMS OF REFERENCE AND DEFINITIONS The title of this thesis immediately raises two matters requiring clarification. First, what is meant by ‘Anglican Evangelicalism’ in relation to the period under review? Second, in what sense is the term o ‘London’ to be understood? The words ‘Anglican’ and ‘Evangelicalism’ are both used in a variety of ways today, some of which would have been unintelligible in this period. Again, London is not only a vastly greater geographical area today but, even in the 18th and 19th centuries, the term ‘London’ conveyed different meanings. ‘Anglican Evangelicalism’ O It is usually, and correctly, understood that Methodism played an integral part in what has come to be known as ‘the evangelical revival’ of the 18th and 19th centuries. As is well known, John Wesley (1703-1791) and George Whitefield (1714-1770) were the leaders of the so-called O -8- o Methodist movement. Both were ordained as ministers of the Church of England and neither ever renounced his Anglican orders. The term ‘Methodists’ had already been applied derisively to Charles Wesley (1707-1788) and his group of serious and zealous fellow Christian students at Oxford, also known as the Holy Club. Charles himself ascribed this to the group’s ‘strict conformity to the method of study prescribed by the statutes of the university.’1 However, it was not until o after John Wesley’s Aldersgate Street experience of 1738, after which he said ‘I felt my heart strangely warmed’, that what came to be called the Methodist movement became widely known, through the preaching of John Wesley and Whitefield. However the