Rise of Methodism in Yorkshire--Mr. Ingham--Count
Zinzendorff--M. Delamotte--Mr. Okeley--Mr. Rogers--Letters
from Mr. Whitefield--United Brethren--Mr. Batty--Lady Betty
Hastings--Ledstone-hall--Mr. Ingham’s marriage with Lady
Margaret Hastings--Count Zinzendorff visits Yorkshire--Moravian
settlement at Fulneck--John Nelson--Mr. Whitefield’s Letter
to Mr. Ingham--Mr. Grimshaw--Lord and Lady Huntingdon
visit Ledstone-hall--Mr. Charles Wesley--Mr. Graves--Lady
Huntingdon encourages John Nelson--Persecution--Provincial
Magistrates--John Nelson taken to prison--Liberated by the
influence of Lady Huntingdon--Lord Sunderland--Letter from Lady
Huntingdon to Mr. Ingham--The Vicar of Colne--Mr. Grimshaw’s
Opinions--Moravian Nobles--John Cennick--Mr. Ingham leaves the
Moravians--John Allen.
More than one hundred years have elapsed since the rise of Methodism
in Yorkshire. The chief instrument in the revival of religion in that
county was the Rev. Benjamin Ingham, brother-in-law to the Countess
of Huntingdon, and one of the original band of Methodists at Oxford.
This amiable and exemplary man was born at Osset, in the parish of
Dewsbury, in the county of York, June the 11th, 1712. Being intended
for the Church, he received a liberal education at Batley School, from
whence he removed to Queen’s College, Oxford, where he soon attracted
the notice and acquired the respect of his superiors. Two years after
his residence at the University, he began to associate with the
Messrs. Wesley and others, who were at this time noted for a variety
of particular observances and devotional exercises, which gained them
the name of _Methodists_. Soon after, Mr. Whitefield, then a youth
about 19, joined himself to the society, of which he was destined to
be the great Apollos. At that time they were fourteen or fifteen in
number, all collegians, of one heart and mind. From these very small
beginnings what a great increase has been given!
On the 1st of July, 1734, Mr. Ingham returned from Oxford to Osset, and
began to keep religious meetings at his mother’s house; in a little
time several of the neighbours attended, and within the space of six
months a considerable number of persons assembled, many of whom were
brought under a concern for their souls. This was the commencement of
the awakening in Yorkshire.
Mr. Ingham was admitted into holy orders, June, 1735, in Christ
Church, by Dr. John Potter, then Bishop of Oxford; and on that very
day commenced his public ministry, by preaching his first sermon to
the prisoners in Oxford Castle. On the 4th of the same month he left
the University for London, and was accompanied thither by Mr. Gambold.
He read prayers and preached for the first time in Christ Church, and
afterwards in St. Sepulchre’s, where his labours were attended with the
happiest effects. His zeal and diligence advanced with the extension of
his sphere: far beyond the precincts of London he published the Gospel,
preaching in many of the surrounding villages with singular success, so
that great numbers in these places carried with them into eternity the
grateful recollection of his ministry.
In consequence of a pressing request for his assistance in preaching
from Mr. Wesley, he embarked for Georgia, in America, on the 14th of
October, 1735, accompanied by Mr. Charles Wesley and Mr. Delamotte,
the son of a merchant in London.[135] During the voyage they employed
their time, with scrupulous exactness and laborious diligence, in acts
of devotion, in the study of the Scriptures, and in the instruction of
those who were willing to learn. There were on board the vessel several
Germans, who were missionaries from the Church of the United Brethren,
under the direction of David Nitchman, a Moravian bishop, for whom Mr.
Ingham conceived a great regard during the voyage. The first attempt
made by the Brethren was for the establishment of a school-house for
Indian children of the Greek nation living in their neighbourhood,
about five miles from the town of Savannah. Many Indians residing there
in one place, gave the missionaries an opportunity to preach the glad
tidings, that unto them also was born a Saviour, who had redeemed them,
and purchased for them freedom from sin and eternal salvation. In Mr.
Ingham the Brethren found an able assistant. He went and lived among
the Indians for some time, and proved very serviceable in regulating
and promoting the aim of the schools. Having succeeded in his attempt
to learn the language, he composed an Indian grammar for the use of the
colony; but he was soon called away to England, where he arrived the
latter end of the year 1736.
With a view to profit by the example and advice of the Moravian
Brethren, he determined to visit Germany, where, at Hernhuth in
particular, he expected to meet with many who had long trodden the
paths of holiness, and who would rejoice to be the helpers of his
joy. Accordingly, he embarked at Gravesend in the month of June,
1738, and landed at Rotterdam. On his journey through Holland and
Germany, he found many followers of the Lord Jesus, who treated
him with the greatest hospitality. At Marienbourn he met with
Count Zinzendorff,[136] Count de Solmes, and several other eminent
Moravians, who all encouraged him to proceed without wavering in the
glorious cause in which he was engaged. At Hernhuth, where he stayed
a fortnight, he was exceedingly strengthened and comforted by the
Christian conversation of the Brethren. Towards the end of the year
he returned to England, when he found the work of Methodism had been
making rapid advances all over the kingdom.
On Mr. Ingham’s return to Osset, his native place, he renewed his
labours, and preached in all the churches and chapels about Wakefield,
Leeds, and Halifax; and the Lord was pleased marvellously to display
the unsearchable riches and adorable sovereignty of divine grace in the
assemblies of his people. Such awful reverence, such glorious concern
of mind, and such solemnity under the word, was seldom before witnessed
in that part of the vineyard.
Private religious meetings greatly multiplied, and many, very many, had
an inflamed desire to live to Him who died for them and rose again. Of
such a season as this it may be well said, “I have heard thee in a time
accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold,
now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Such proceedings soon roused the envy and enmity of the clergy; and by
an order made at the Visitation, held at Wakefield, June 6th, 1739,
Mr. Ingham was prohibited from preaching in any of the churches in
the diocese of York. He immediately began to preach in the fields,
barns, dwellings, and houses; and such was the power attending his
ministrations, that there were societies formed in FORTY
different places.
Whilst the knowledge of the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ was thus winning its way in Yorkshire, the same glorious cause
was spreading with astonishing rapidity in Bedfordshire, through the
instrumentality of Mr. Francis Okeley and the Rev. Jacob Rogers,
a clergyman of the Church of England who had been preaching the
long-exploded doctrines of the Reformation with great zeal and success.
Thither Mr. Ingham immediately repaired, and found among the awakened,
persons not much concerned about hearing the word, but truly in earnest
to experience the power of it in their hearts. During his stay he
preached and expounded several times, in St. Paul’s church, to vast
multitudes, who heard him with an extraordinary degree of attention.
The number of converts daily increasing, they were formed into
societies, and, by the advice of Mr. Ingham, placed under the care
of the Moravian ministers, who were about this time invited into
Bedfordshire by Mr. Rogers. This led the way for the settlement of the
United Brethren at Bedford, which was formed in the year 1745. A chapel
was built for the preaching of the Gospel, and consecrated in the
year 1751. The ministers residing at Bedford preached also at several
places in the neighbourhood, particularly at Risely, where a chapel was
erected, which proved a signal blessing to many.
Concerning Mr. Rogers, Mr. Whitefield writes thus:--
“Mr. Rogers, like me, has lately been thrust out of the
synagogues for speaking of justification by faith and the new
birth; and has commenced as field preacher. Once he was shut
up in prison for a short time; but thousands flocked to hear
him, and God blessed him more and more. I believe we are the
first professed ministers of the Church of England that were so
soon, without cause, excluded every pulpit. Whether our reverend
brethren can justify such conduct, the last day will determine.”
Hearing of the amazing success attending his ministry, and the
continued determined opposition of the High Church clergy, Mr.
Whitefield, before he left America, wrote to Mr. Rogers the following
letter:--
“Philadelphia, Nov. 10, 1739.
“My dear brother Rogers--Before I left England I heard of your
progress in Leicestershire and Nottingham. I then rejoiced, yea,
and I do now rejoice, that God hath sent you into his vineyard.
I wish you all imaginable success, with my whole heart. The
next news I hear from England I suppose will inform me of your
suffering as well as preaching for Christ. But I am persuaded
a prospect of suffering does not damp, but excite, the zeal of
my dear fellow-labourer. He lives in a place where honest John
Bunyan was a prisoner of the Lord for twelve years. And oh!
what sweet communion did he enjoy in Bedford gaol! I really
believe a minister will learn more by one month’s confinement
than by a year’s study. Press on then, my dear brother, press
on, and faint not; speak till you can speak no more. Wait upon
the Lord and you shall renew your strength. Though sometimes
faint, yet still pursue. Up and be doing, and the Lord be with
you. See how the fields are white, everywhere ready to harvest.
See how our Lord’s sheep are scattered abroad, having few, too
few true shepherds. I beseech you go on, and point out to them
the Redeemer’s good pastures. Say not, Wherewithal shall I feed
them? The great Shepherd shall furnish you with food enough
and to spare. Give of your loaves, and ye shall take up of the
fragments that remain. To him that hath shall be given. Satan,
no doubt, will resist you; he will bid you, out of a false
humility, to hold your peace; but let my friend speak out boldly
as he ought to speak. The Holy Spirit will give him utterance,
and apply the word to the hearers. If prayers may water the good
seed, you may depend on mine. Remember the dear Bedford people.
O let them not forget your poor weak brother in Christ,
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”
Mr. Rogers returned with Mr. Ingham to Yorkshire, and afterwards
they visited Nottingham, where their ministry was greatly owned. The
benediction of the Spirit of God seemed to rest in a peculiar manner
on the labours of those apostolic witnesses wherever they itinerated,
preaching the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ; and
very many on those occasions have been called, by their ministrations,
to the knowledge of his grace and faith.
After some time Mr. Ingham entered into close communion with the
Church of the United Brethren. In the month of November, 1739, he was
visited by Mr. Wm. Delamotte and the Rev. John Toeltschig, a Moravian
minister, who had been in Georgia with Mr. Ingham and Mr. Wesley, and
afterwards accompanied them to Germany. This was the first entrance of
the Moravians into Yorkshire. Others of the Brethren were soon invited,
who laboured for Mr. Ingham with considerable success: and in a little
time the number of lay preachers considerably increased.
Amongst the most eminent were three brothers, Mr. William Batty,
Mr. Christopher Batty, and Mr. Lawrence Batty, of Catherine
Hall, Cambridge, sons of Mr. Giles Batty, a man of considerable
respectability, who resided at Newby Cote, near Settle, in Craven. Some
notice of each of these brothers will be found in the note below.[137]
They were active labourers in the vineyard, and they had the
satisfaction of witnessing the happy progress of the Gospel through
the circle in which they moved, and the rapid increase of those who
attended their ministry. They were instrumental in changing many of the
outcasts of society into useful members; civilizing even savages, and
filling those lips with prayer and praise that had been accustomed
only to oaths and imprecations. Societies were formed in SIXTY
different places, and were visited every month. Thus the seed sown
sprang up and flourished, bearing the rich fruits of every grace and
virtue.
We must now speak of Mr. Ingham’s marriage, and first of his wife’s
family.
The Lady Betty Hastings was a woman of singular excellence. Her
maternal grandfather was Sir John Lewis, of Ledstone, in the county
of York, Bart., one moiety and more of whose very large estate came
to her by inheritance; and her father was Theophilus, seventh Earl of
Huntingdon. Her countenance united in it something great and something
condescending; an ingenuous temper, a quickness of understanding, a
benevolent spirit, a flexibility of nature, a devout frame, and a
solemn sense of sacred things, were observable in her infancy, and her
footsteps slipped not in the dangerous ascent of life; so that she was
not only free from every stain of vice in her early days, but superior
to the world and its vain and trifling amusements. Though the splendour
of her birth was great, it was eclipsed by her shining qualities: she
was agreeable in her person, polite and amiable in her manners, and
charming in conversation. Her singular accomplishments in early life
were celebrated by one of the ingenious authors of “The Tatler,” under
the name of “Aspasia.”[138]
Lady Betty’s active life commenced soon after the death of her brother,
George,[139] Earl of Huntingdon, when her excellent virtues shone out,
by what has been the eclipse of virtue in others, the accession of
a large fortune. Her Ladyship spent the greater part of her life at
Ledstone House, where almost every eye beheld her with wonder. Such was
the superiority of her understanding, that in matters of high moment
hundreds would ask counsel of her, who were themselves well qualified
to give it to others: for she was blessed with a rectitude of judgment,
and could readily penetrate through perplexities, unravel them, and
mark out the wisest and safest conduct, having ever for her ground the
interests of truth, fidelity, honour, and religion. Her aim was the
glory of God, and the good of all men; keeping all her capacities, all
her powers, and all her fortune continually upon the stretch for the
benefit of her fellow-creatures; weeping with them that weep, rejoicing
with them that rejoice; given to hospitality, distributing to the
necessities of the saints, and to others that were less so; and having
joy at the conversion of a sinner.
Lady Anne, Lady Frances, Lady Catherine, and Lady Margaret Hastings,
were the daughters of the same noble Earl, by his second wife, Frances,
daughter and sole heiress to Francis Leveson Fowler, of Harnage-Grange,
in the county of Salop, Esq., by Anne his wife, second daughter to
Peter Venables, Baron of Kinderton, in Cheshire, and widow of Thomas
Needham, Viscount Kilmorey, in Ireland. At this period, when Mr.
Ingham commenced his public ministry in Yorkshire, the Ladies Hastings
were on a visit to Ledstone Hall, and from motives of curiosity were
first induced to hear him preach in a neighbouring parish. He was then
invited to preach in Ledstone Church, and from that period became a
constant visitor at the hall.
Under the ministry of Mr. Ingham, the Lord met these exalted females
with all the blessings of his grace. They heard him with pleasure,
and drank in, like thirsty travellers, the refreshing streams of
consolation; they made an open profession of the faith, and exhibited a
bright example of female excellence to the world. The higher ranks of
mankind were, by their acquaintance, some of them charmed into the love
of virtue; while others found their virtues heightened and improved.
As to the lower sort, they were guided by their wisdom; and, if they
wanted it, were cherished by their boundless generosity. If in one
grace more than another they resembled their Divine Master, it was in
meekness and humility. Here they were a pattern to all, especially to
those of their own rank and station. They were amiably condescending
to all their inferiors, even to the poorest, and more especially to
the pious poor, and would enter the meanest cottage, with pleasure, to
converse and join in religious exercises with the people of God. With
these excellent women Mr. Ingham soon became a great favourite. On
the death of Lady Betty Hastings, December the 22nd, 1739, her noble
sisters removed to Donnington Park, in Leicestershire, as Ledstone
Hall then became the property of her Ladyship’s brother, the Earl of
Huntingdon. Lady Betty was interred with great funeral solemnity in the
family vault at Ledstone, near her grandfather, Sir John Lewis. She was
a pattern to succeeding ages of all that is good and all that is great.
In short, scarce any age has afforded a greater blessing to many, or
a brighter example to all. Her Ladyship was in the 57th year of her
age.[140]
Lady Margaret had nearly attained her forty-second year, and was
twelve years older than Mr. Ingham. She had many accomplishments,
which recommended her to all who had the happiness of knowing her; but
the greatest glory that shone in her was that of religion, in which
she was not only sincere, but excelled. To this lady Mr. Ingham was
united, November 12, 1741, at the residence of her brother, the Earl
of Huntingdon, in London: and he continued to the last moments of his
life to express the highest veneration and regard for her, and showed a
particular regard and esteem for her noble relatives, several of whom
honoured him with a most intimate friendship.
About this period Nicholas Lewis, Count of Zinzendorff, again visited
England, and, travelling through Yorkshire, remained some time with
Mr. Ingham. At this time there were several thousand persons in the
different societies which he had established; and by his advice they
committed themselves to the care of those ministers whom the Count
had sent to assist Mr. Ingham, promising withal still to continue in
communion with the Church of England. The ministers who had the care of
these societies lived then at Smith House, and preached in many parts
of the country with much zeal and success. Not long after, however,
many persons having requested to be received into the congregation of
United Brethren, which could not well be refused to such as did not
belong to the Established Church, or had before separated from it, the
Count advised them to take a place near Pudsey, where the Brethren from
Germany, with such of the English as were desirous of living with them,
might build a particular congregation-place.
Accordingly, the ministers to whom Mr. Ingham had committed the care
of his extensive societies, soon after removed to Pudsey, where they
erected several houses and a chapel on a piece of land which Mr.
Ingham had bought, and generously presented to them for that purpose.
This settlement was called _Grace Hill_. Mr. Ingham was expected
at Pudsey on the 10th of May, 1746, to lay the foundation-stone of
the chapel and other buildings, but being unexpectedly detained in
Lancashire, where he had been preaching, this office was performed by
Mr. Toeltschig. By degrees several persons came to reside with the
United Brethren, and a congregation-place was erected near the chapel,
which was called, at first, _Lamb’s Hill_, and now Fulneck. It was
consecrated by the Moravians, May the 22nd, 1748.
The societies in Yorkshire and Bedfordshire, chiefly collected by the
labours of Mr. Ingham and Mr. Rogers, which were placed under the
care of the United Brethren, were still considered in communion with
the Church of England, and only in union with the Moravian Church.
But being greatly disturbed by frequent mobs, they were compelled to
license their chapels, and call themselves the Protestant Church of the
United Brethren, or _Unitas Fratrum_. The Count sent a protest
against this, which was deposited in the archives of the Archbishop
at Lambeth; but little notice being taken of it, he was unable to do
anything more in the affair.
A very singular character was raised up about this time, whose labours
tended, in a wonderful degree, to enlarge the pale of Methodism in
Yorkshire. John Nelson, a native of Birstal, near Leeds, whose business
led him to reside some years in London, being employed in the building
of Somerset House, was amongst the number of those who frequently heard
Mr. Whitefield and Mr. Wesley preach in the open air in Moorfields,
Kennington-common, and other places. In the memoirs of his life,
written by himself, he gives an account of his hearing Mr. Wesley the
first time, which was out of doors, in Moorfields. He says--
“As soon as he got upon his stand, he stroked back his hair, and
turned his face towards where I stood, and I thought fixed his
eyes upon me. His countenance struck such an awful dread upon
me, before I heard him speak, that it made my heart beat like
the pendulum of a clock; and when he did speak, I thought his
whole discourse was aimed at me.”
After he had been made partaker of the grace of God in truth, it was
impressed upon his mind that he must return to his native place: he
longed to impart to his friends and relations the grace of which he had
been made the blessed recipient: and thus he was brought, unawares, to
quote, explain, compare, and enforce several parts of Scripture. This
he did, at first, sitting in his house, till the company increased so
as the house could not contain them. He then stood at the door, which
he was commonly obliged to do in the evening, as soon as he came from
work. This may give the reader an idea of the way and manner in which
many of the first race of Methodist preachers were called to the work
of preaching the Gospel. For some time Mr. Nelson’s friends and his
nearest relations opposed him and were ashamed of him; but he was
steadfast and immovable, and abounded in the work of the Lord.
These proceedings coming to the ears of Mr. Ingham, he came to Birstal,
enquired into the facts, and talked with Nelson himself, in the closest
manner, concerning his knowledge and spiritual experience. Several
persons being present, Mr. Ingham said, “Before you all, I give John
leave to exhort in all my societies.” Then, taking him by the hand,
added, “John, God hath given you great honour, in that he hath made use
of you to call sinners to repentance; and I desire you to exhort in all
my societies as often as you can.”
A mightier instrument was raised up in the person of the Rev. William
Grimshaw, rector of Haworth, near Bradford, who about this time
commenced his apostolic ministry, the influence of which soon extended
beyond the bounds of his parish, and was felt all over Yorkshire and
some of the surrounding counties. Haworth is one of those obscure
places which, like the fishing towns of Galilee favoured with our
Lord’s presence, owe all their celebrity to the Gospel. The name of
Haworth would scarcely be known at a distance, were it not connected
with the name of Grimshaw. The bleak and barren face of the adjacent
country was no improper emblem of the state of the inhabitants, who, in
general, had little more sense of religion than their cattle, and were
wild and uncultivated, like the rocks and mountains which surrounded
them. But, by the blessing of God upon Mr. Grimshaw’s ministry, this
desert soon became a fruitful field--a garden of the Lord, producing
many trees of righteousness planted by the Lord himself, and the barren
wilderness rejoiced and blossomed like the rose.
The tenor and energy of Mr. Grimshaw’s preaching could not fail of
being talked of, and bringing, out of curiosity, many hundreds to
Haworth church, where the Lord met them with the blessings of his
grace; so that when the rage for novelty had subsided, the church
still continued crowded, many of the congregation coming from a great
distance, and this for twenty years together. Indeed, nothing but the
faithful preaching of the Gospel of the grace of God will draw souls
heartily together, or, according to the prophet’s language, “as doves
to their windows.” His heart was engaged, he was pressed in spirit, he
spoke with earnestness and authority, as one who was well assured of
the truth and importance of his message. Nor did he long speak in vain.
A power from on high applied to the heart what he could only declare to
the ear. An impression, similar to what he himself felt, began to be
felt by some, and in a short space by many of his hearers. The effects
were soon visible. An effectual door was now opened, and adversaries
were not wanting. But a growing number who approved and prized his
ministry were soon distinguished, not only by a change in their views
and sentiments, but in their tempers and conduct. Sin was, in many
instances, forsaken and discountenanced, the drunkard became sober,
the idle industrious, profaneness gave place to prayer, and riot to
decorum.
There are four hamlets in the parish of Haworth, and as in them there
were persons whom age, sickness, distance, or prejudice prevented
from attending at church, he considered them all as belonging to his
charge, and was unwilling that any of them should perish in ignorance.
He therefore went to those who could not, or would not, come to him,
teaching and exhorting them from house to house, and preaching in a
more public way in the houses where he was invited.
Without intermitting his stated services at home, he went much
abroad. In course of time he established two circuits, which, with
some occasional variation, he usually traced every week, alternately.
One of these he often pleasantly called his idle week, because he
seldom preached more than _twelve_ or _fourteen_ times. His
sermons, in his working or busy week, often exceeded the number of
_twenty-four_, and sometimes amounted to _thirty_![141]
About eight months after Mr. Grimshaw had commenced his successful
ministry at Haworth, he became acquainted, and soon afterwards closely
connected, with Mr. Ingham, and laboured unweariedly to diffuse the
glad tidings of the Gospel amongst his societies. Once, and sometimes
twice, a-year, he preached through the circuit appointed by Mr.
Ingham.[142] It is not easy to ascribe such unwearied diligence, and
all amongst the poor, or at least very obscure people, to any motive
but the real one. Whilst he saw multitudes perishing without hope,
and no one breaking to them the bread of life, he was constrained by
love to pity them, and this notwithstanding the selfish reluctance he
felt within to give up his name to still greater reproach, as well as
his time and strength, to proceed in the work of the ministry. What a
reflection does this afford to that laziness of heart, to call it by no
worse name, which thinks the service of God, after calling it in prayer
before him a perfect freedom, to be a hard burden, and which courts
easy duty and large fees, only for an indulgence to the flesh, and to
hold up a sort of foolish and unmeaning respect in the world!
During this interval the Earl and Countess of Huntingdon, with the
Ladies Hastings, arrived at Ledstone Hall, which had not been visited
by any of the family since the decease of Lady Betty Hastings. In a
few days they were joined by Mr. and Lady Margaret Ingham, and soon
after the apostolic Grimshaw became a guest at the Hall. Much about
the same period Mr. Charles Wesley and Mr. Charles Graves commenced
preaching in Yorkshire with great success. They were accompanied by
Mr. Bennet and Mr. David Taylor, both of whom were preachers for some
time in Mr. Ingham’s Connexion. On visiting Leeds, Mr. Charles Wesley
and Mr. Graves were invited to Ledstone, where there was preaching
twice a day for several successive days. Great crowds attended, and
people flocked from a vast distance to hear the word. The congregation
usually consisted of many thousands, so that the service was repeatedly
performed without the walls, and a succession of sermons, with some
intervals, were preached in the course of the day to the people in
the open air. Those who object to the irregularity of this course
should remember that there was at that time a great dearth of Gospel
knowledge; the people were hungering for the bread of life: they met
together for the Lord’s sake and in his name, and He who dwelleth not
in temples made with hands was pleased to afford them tokens of his
presence and blessing, as if to prove that the souls of men are not to
be sacrificed to formal notions of “regularity” and order.
While Messrs. Ingham and Grimshaw were thus triumphing gloriously in
Yorkshire, their fellow-labourer, Mr. Whitefield, was succeeding in
like manner in London. He often wrote to congratulate Mr. Ingham and
Mr. David Taylor on the opening of new doors for the ministry. “The
ram’s-horns (he says) are sounding about Jericho; surely the towering
walls will at length fall.” These letters are dated in the year 1743.
Lady Huntingdon having heard much of John Nelson, and the surprising
success attending his exhortations, expressed a desire to see and
converse with him. Accompanied by Mr. Ingham and Mr. Graves, her
Ladyship went to Birstal. As Mr. Ingham was expected to preach, they
found a congregation of some thousands assembled, impatiently waiting
their arrival. After a few moments’ repose, Mr. Ingham addressed the
multitude from that passage--“Seek the Lord while he may be found--call
upon him while he is near.” When he had concluded, John Nelson spoke
for about half an hour. The Countess was delighted, and at parting told
him, with her characteristic energy, that God had called him to put his
hand to the plough, and great would be his punishment if he dared to
look back for a moment; adding, with much emphasis, “He that called
you is mighty to save--fear not--press forward--_He will bless your
testimony_.”
Thus encouraged, John Nelson soon began to extend his circuit, and
preach in different parts of the country. The growing stigma of
Methodism exposed him to much suffering and reproach; the clergy were
his bitterest enemies. In some instances, advantage was taken of the
popular cry against the Methodists to break open their doors and
plunder their houses; but greater personal barbarities were exercised
in other places. Some of the preachers received serious injury; others
were held under water till they were nearly dead; and of the women who
attended them, some were so treated by the cowardly and brutal populace
that they never thoroughly recovered. In some places they daubed the
preacher all over with paint; in others, they pelted the people in
the meetings with egg-shells, which they had filled with blood and
stopped with pitch. The progress of Methodism was rather furthered
than impeded by this kind of persecution, for it often rendered the
Methodists objects of curiosity and compassion; and in every instance
the preachers displayed that fearlessness which confidence in God is
sure to inspire, and which, when the madness of the moment was over,
made even their enemies respect them.
These things were sufficiently disgraceful to the nation; but the
conduct of many of the provincial magistrates was far more so, for they
suffered themselves to be so far influenced by passion and popular
feeling, as to commit acts of abominable oppression under the colour
of the law. The vicar of Birstal, which was John Nelson’s home and
head-quarters, thought it justifiable to rid the parish, by any means,
of a man who preached with more zeal and more effect than himself;
and he readily consented to a proposal from the alehouse-keepers that
Nelson should be pressed for a soldier--a custom then too horribly
prevalent, as the pressing of sailors was at a much later period;
for as fast as he made converts, they lost customers. He was pressed
accordingly, and taken before the commissioners at Halifax, where the
vicar was one of the bench; and though persons enough attended to speak
to his character, the commissioners said they had heard enough of him
from the minister of his parish, and could hear nothing more. “So,
gentlemen (said Nelson), I see there is neither law nor justice for a
man that is called a Methodist;” and addressing the vicar by his name
he said, “What do you know of me that is evil? Whom have I defrauded,
or where have I contracted a debt that I cannot pay?” “You have no
visible means of getting your living,” was the reply. He answered, “I
am as able to get my living with my hands as any man of my trade in
England is, and you know it.” But all remonstrances were in vain; he
was marched off to Bradford, and there, by order of the commissioners,
put in the dungeon, where there was not even a stone to sit on.
John Nelson had as high a spirit and as brave a heart as ever
Englishman was blessed with, and he was encouraged by the good offices
of many zealous friends, and the sympathy of some to whom he was a
stranger. A soldier had offered security for him, and an inhabitant of
Bradford, though an enemy to the Methodists, had, from mere feelings
of humanity, offered to give security for him if he might be allowed
to lie in a bed. His friends brought him candles and meat and water,
which they put through a hole in the door, and they sang hymns till
a late hour in the night--they without and he within. A poor fellow
was with him in this miserable place, who might have been starved, if
Nelson’s friends had not brought food for him also. At four in the
morning his wife, who had profited by her husband’s lessons, came to
the prison-door, and, instead of bewailing for him and herself, said to
him through the keyhole:--
“Fear not: the cause is God’s for which you are here, and he
will plead it himself: therefore be not concerned about me and
the children, for he that feeds the young ravens will be mindful
of us. He will give you strength for your day, and after we have
suffered awhile he will perfect that which is lacking in our
souls, and then bring us where the wicked cease from troubling
and where the weary are at rest.”
Early in the morning he was marched under a guard to Leeds; the other
pressed men were ordered to the alehouse, but he was sent to prison,
and there he thought of the poor pilgrims who were arrested in their
progress; for the people came in crowds and looked at him through the
iron grate; some pitied and others reviled him. The gaoler admitted his
friends to see him, and a bed was sent to him by some compassionate
person, when he must otherwise have slept upon damp straw.
On the following day he was marched to York:--
“We were guarded through the city (he says), but it was as if
hell were removed from beneath to meet at my coming. The streets
and windows were filled with people, who shouted and huzzaed
as if I had been one that had laid waste the nation. But the
Lord made my brow like brass, so that I could look upon them as
grasshoppers, and pass through the city as if there had been
none in it but God and myself.”
Lots were cast for him at the guard-house, and when it was thus
determined which captain should have him, he was offered money, which
he refused to take, and for this they bade the serjeant handcuff him
and send him to prison. The handcuffs were not put on, but he was kept
three days in prison, where he preached to the poor reprobates among
whom he was thrown; and, wretches as they were, ignorant of all that
was good, and abandoned to all that was evil, the intrepidity of the
man who reproved them for their blasphemies, and the sound reason
which appeared amidst all the enthusiasm of his discourse, were not
without effect. Strangers brought him food; his wife also followed him
here, and encouraged him to go on and suffer everything bravely for
conscience sake. On the third day a court-martial was held, and he was
guarded to it by a file of musketeers, with their bayonets fixed. When
the court asked “What is this man’s crime?” the answer was, “This is
the Methodist preacher, and he refuses to take money.” Upon which they
turned to him and said, “Sir, you need not find fault with us, for we
must obey our orders, which are to make you act as a soldier; you are
delivered to us, and if you have not justice done you we cannot help
it.” When Nelson plainly told them he would not fight, because it was
against his way of thinking, and when he again refused the money, which
by their bidding was offered to him, they told him that if he ran away
he would be just as liable to suffer as if he had taken it. He replied,
“If I cannot be discharged lawfully, I shall not run away; if I do,
punish me as you please.” He was then sent to his quarters, where his
arms and accoutrements were brought to him and put on. “Why do you gird
me (said he) with these warlike habiliments? I am a man averse to war,
and shall not fight but under the Prince of Peace, the Captain of my
salvation; the weapons he gives me are not carnal like these.” He must
bear these, they told him, till he could get his discharge. To this he
made answer, that he would bear them as a cross, and use them as far as
he could without defiling his conscience, which he would not do for any
man on earth.
There was a spirit in all this which, when it had ceased to excite
ridicule from his comrades, obtained respect. He had as good
opportunities of exhorting and preaching as he could desire; he
distributed also the little books which Mr. Wesley had printed to
explain and vindicate the tenets of the Methodists, and was as actively
employed in the cause to which he had devoted himself as if he had been
his own master. At last the ensign of his company sent for him, and,
accosting him with an execration, swore he would have no preaching and
praying in the regiment. “Then, sir (said John), you ought to have
no swearing nor cursing either, for surely I have as much right to
pray and preach as you have to curse and swear.” Upon this the brutal
ensign swore that he should be flogged for what he had done. “Let God
look to that (was the resolute man’s reply); the cause is his; but if
you do not leave off cursing and swearing, it will be worse with you
than with me.” The ensign then bade the corporal put that fellow into
prison directly; and when the corporal said he must not carry a man
to prison unless he gave in his crime with him, he told him it was
for disobeying orders.[143] To prison, therefore, Nelson was taken,
to his heart’s content, and after eight-and-forty hours’ confinement,
was brought before the major, who asked him what he had been put in
confinement for. “For warning people to flee from the wrath to come (he
replied); and if that be a crime I shall commit it again, unless you
cut my tongue out; for it is better to die than to disobey God.” The
major told him, if that were all, it was no crime; when he had done his
duty he might preach as much as he liked, but he must make no mobs.
And then, wishing that all men were like him, he dismissed him to his
quarters.
Lady Huntingdon exerted all her influence to obtain his discharge.
By means of her acquaintance with Judith, Dowager Countess of
Sunderland,[144] she obtained an interview with her step-son, Charles,
fourth Earl of Sunderland, afterwards Duke of Marlborough, who had a
short time before been promoted to the rank of brigadier-general of
his Majesty’s forces. On a faithful representation of the case, his
Lordship assured Lady Huntingdon that those for whom she had interested
herself should be set at liberty in a few days. This intelligence was
communicated to Nelson by Mr. Charles Wesley, while her Ladyship wrote
to inform Mr. Ingham, who had taken an active part in procuring his
enlargement, of the success of her application.
On the 28th of July, John Nelson was set at liberty, and the day after
his release from captivity he preached at Newcastle. His companion,
Thomas Beard, who had been pressed for the same reason, would probably
have been discharged also, but the consequences of his cruel and
illegal impressment had cost him his life. He was seized with a
fever, the effect of fatigue and agitation of mind; after venesection
ill-performed, the lancet wound in his arm festered and mortified--the
limb was amputated, and he died soon after the amputation.
For a few years during Lord Huntingdon’s life, Ledstone Hall was
visited every summer, and on these occasions there was always frequent
preaching at the church. Mr. Ingham’s societies increased rapidly,
and spread not only through all parts of Yorkshire, but also into
Lancashire, Lincolnshire, and Cheshire. General meetings of the
preachers and exhorters in the Connexion were held frequently, and
plans were formed for the better regulation of the societies, and a
more general diffusion of divine truth in places that had not been
visited before. Lady Huntingdon and Lady Margaret Ingham attended
several of these meetings. The assemblies were exceedingly numerous,
and there was always preaching in the open air. Mr. Grimshaw invariably
attended these meetings, and always preached, never troubling himself
to ask the consent of the minister of the parish, or caring whether he
liked it not. The providence of God favoured him in these attempts;
for though unsupported by great patronage, and unsolicitous to obtain
it, and though he went far beyond all his contemporaries in this
novel, and, to some, offensive method, by which envy, jealousy, and
displeasure were excited against him; yet he was not restrained, nor
have we heard that he met with any serious or determined marks of
disapprobation from his superiors in the Church. It is most probable
they imagined him so determined, intrepid, and undaunted, that it would
be a vain task to attempt to restrain or oppose him in his career. But
he sometimes met with opposition from those who hated to be reformed.
He was once disturbed by a set of rioters, when preaching at Colne,
in Lancashire, to which place he was accompanied by Mr. Ingham and
Mr. Batty, both of whom had been there several times, and had been
successful in establishing a small society.
After they had commenced the meeting with singing a hymn, the Rev.
George White, the vicar of Colne and Marsden, rushed furiously into
the house with a staff in his hand, attended by the constable and a
mob collected from the lowest and most depraved people of the town.
Mr. White sprang towards Mr. Batty, with intent to strike him, which
Mr. Ingham perceiving, pulled him on one side, and retired into an
adjoining room. The vicar and constable threatened the master of
the house with the stocks, and attempted to take him away by force;
but upon his demanding of the constable his authority for acting
in this manner, they desisted, but succeeded in driving the people
away. They then insisted that Mr. Ingham and Mr. Grimshaw should sign
a paper, promising not to preach in Colne parish during one whole
year, under the penalty of fifty pounds. The refusing to comply with
so unreasonable a demand, and remonstrating against such scandalous
and disgraceful proceedings on the part of a clergyman, the mob was
ordered by the vicar, whom they styled “Captain-General,” to lead
their prisoners towards Colne, and on the way they beat and abused
every friend who attempted to speak to them. Several times the mob
proposed that Mr. Grimshaw and Mr. Ingham should sign the paper not
to preach for six months, then two, and lastly, if they would promise
upon their word and honour, they should be set at liberty. But when it
was understood that Mr. Grimshaw, Mr. Ingham, and Mr. Batty refused to
comply with any terms, they were violently dragged along the road, the
mob flourishing their clubs over their heads, menacing and annoying.
They were pelted with mud and dirt, and Mr. Ingham’s coat was torn, and
hanging on the ground; thus they were conducted to the Swan Inn, to
remain there till dismissed at Mr. White’s pleasure.
On another occasion Mr. Wesley accompanied Mr. Grimshaw to Roughlee,
where they were joined by Mr. Batty and Mr. Colbeck, two of Mr.
Ingham’s preachers. Mr. Wesley preached, but before he had got half
through his discourse a great mob from Colne came pouring down the
hill like a torrent. After exchanging a few words with their captain,
who, stated that he was a deputy-constable, to prevent any contest,
Mr. Wesley, Mr. Grimshaw, Mr. Batty, and Mr. Colbeck, went with him
to Barrowford, about two miles distant, as he required. They were
escorted there by a drunken rabble, armed with clubs and staves, who
behaved in a very troublesome and riotous manner, and uttered oaths and
imprecations the entire time. On being brought before the magistrate,
he demanded a promise from Mr. Wesley and his friends that they would
preach no more at Roughlee, but this Mr. Wesley stoutly refused. When
Mr. Wesley attempted to leave the house the mob immediately followed
and beat him to the ground. Mr. Grimshaw, in attempting to make his
escape, was tossed to and fro with the utmost violence, and covered
with dirt and mire of every sort. Those who accompanied them were not
allowed to depart without the most savage treatment: they were made to
run for their lives, amidst showers of stones and dirt, without any
regard to age or sex. Some were trampled in the mire, others dragged
by the hair along the road, and many beaten with clubs without mercy.
One man was forced to leap from a rock ten or twelve feet high into
the river, and when he crawled out, wet and bruised, they threw him in
again, so that he scarcely escaped with his life, but died soon after
from the effects of such ill-treatment.
Whenever the vicar of Colne heard of the arrival of any of the
Methodists in his neighbourhood, it was his usual practice to call the
people together by beat of drum, issue a proclamation at the market
cross, and enlist a mob for the defence of the Church against the
incursions of the Methodists. The following proclamation, a curiosity
of its sort, is transcribed from the voluminous private journals of Mr.
Ingham and Mr. Batty, in their handwriting--journals which contain a
mass of information relative to the spread of religion in the north of
England, of the deepest interest:--
“Notice is hereby given, that if any man be mindful to enlist in
his Majesty’s service, under the command of the Rev. Mr. George
White, Commander-in-Chief, and John Bannister, Lieut.-General,
of his Majesty’s forces for the defence of the Church of
England, and the support of the manufactory in and about Colne,
both which are now in danger, let him repair to the drum-head
at the Cross, where each man shall receive a pint of ale in
advance, and all other proper encouragements.”
Such was the conduct of the then vicar of Colne.[145]
Several new societies were formed in Yorkshire, and some changes were
made in their discipline. On the admission of a member into their
societies he received a ticket, which gave him admission to their
meetings, which were very numerous, consisting of general meetings,
love-feasts, choir-meetings of men, and choir-meetings of women, &c.
&c. Stewards were also appointed, and the societies were constantly
visited by the itinerant preachers, who were a kind of general rulers
or elders. Yorkshire, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Lancashire, with
parts of Cheshire, Derbyshire, and Lincolnshire, were included in their
circuit.
Count Zinzendorff assisted in these regulations, as did his son-in-law,
Joannes de Watteville,[146] a bishop of the Moravian Church. This good
man had been married the preceding year to Henrietta-Benigna-Justina,
eldest daughter of Count Zinzendorff, and after a short visit to the
congregations of the Brethren in England, was to proceed to America.
Lady Margaret Ingham was particularly pleased with the missionary
spirit displayed by the Bishop’s consort, who had accompanied her
father to America in 1741, and was now again about to visit that
continent, full of zeal for the cause of God.
Count Zinzendorff had come to England to watch the cause of the
Moravians in Parliament, and to arrange the affairs of his Church,
by appointing Dr. Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man, to succeed Dr.
Cochins, Dean of the King of Prussia’s Chapel, in its administration.
On a subsequent visit the Count was accompanied by the Countess of
Zinzendorff, Count Reuss, and Agnes-Sophia, Countess of Promnitz. On
their way to Yorkshire they had spent a few days with Lady Huntingdon,
at Donnington Park, and were delighted and edified by the piety and
zeal of the Countess and the Ladies Hastings. The Countess Zinzendorff,
whose maiden name was Erdmurth-Dorothea, Countess Reuss, was a woman
eminently devoted to God, and much esteemed by Lady Huntingdon and Lady
Margaret Ingham. Whilst they remained with Mr. Ingham, the negotiation
between him and the Count, concerning the premises on which the
congregation place is built, was concluded. Mr. Ingham accompanied them
in their visits to the congregations at Pudsey, Gomersal, Mirfield,
Wyke, and Dukenfield, in Cheshire, and preached very frequently to
large congregations in the Brethren’s chapels. On their return to
London, a Provincial Synod was held at Lindsey House, Chelsea, at
which the Rev. John Gambold, rector of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire,
a man greatly esteemed for his piety and learning, and Mr. Ingham’s
contemporary and companion at Oxford, was consecrated a Bishop of the
Church of the Brethren.
Much about the same time, the Rev. John Cennick arrived in Yorkshire,
to assist Mr. Ingham in the great work in which he was engaged. This
good man, whose grandfather had been a Bohemian refugee, had been
preaching for Mr. Whitefield in and about Bristol, especially to the
colliers of Kingswood, and also in Wiltshire, with much blessing, and
endured much persecution in many places, especially at Exeter. After
preaching a considerable time amongst Mr. Ingham’s societies, and
those formed by the united Brethren in Yorkshire and Bedfordshire, he
went over to Germany for a short time, and after his return received
a pressing invitation to visit Ireland, and try to diffuse in that
benighted country the light of the Sun of Righteousness.
No name of professing Protestants in our day has displayed more
fervent zeal for the characteristic principles of Christianity than
the Moravian Brethren. With peculiarities, perhaps, in some respects
exceptionable, yet admitting no such impure ideas as imputed to them
by a Warburton, a Lavington, and the translator of Mosheim, the more
the principles of the Brethren are truly known, and the more intimately
their lives are scrutinized, the more will they be acknowledged among
the few faithful who follow the _Lamb_ in the regeneration.
On their first introduction into England they were led into many
rhapsodies and startling singularities of sentiment and ceremony. Time,
happily, has so pruned the wild luxuriance and the worldly policy of
Moravianism, that it is almost impossible to believe now that Molther
ever taught the doctrines, or Nitschman ever sung the hymns, or
Zinzendorff ever sanctioned the practices in London which Whitefield
and Wesley exposed. Their conduct in many instances did them no credit.
They first alarmed, and then alienated both Watts and Doddridge, as
well as Whitefield and Wesley. Lady Huntingdon seems to have kept
herself more aloof from any connexion with them, and to have early
discovered some of their perilous errors. Charles Wesley was saved
by her means, when she induced him to withdraw from the society in
Fetter-lane; and Mr. Ingham was eventually rescued by the influence she
had over him.