England Nonconformists Methodists (National Institute)

History and Beliefs
The Methodists are the largest and have the most complex history of all the Nonconformist groups, with many splinter groups holding different tenets. Many of these later reunited with the main Methodist Church. The name is derived from the nickname given to the Wesleys’ Holy Club at Oxford University that lived by a method.

When the brothers John (1703-1791) and Charles Wesley (1707-1788) and George Whitefield started preaching in the mid-18th century it was within the Church of England and they did not want to break away from the established church. They wanted to enliven it so that members really lived their religion, and did not just attend services on Sundays. Predictably some Anglicans found this a refreshing trend whilst others thought it threatened the status quo, and the group was obliged to secede in order to thrive. Methodism is not very different theologically from evangelical Anglicanism.

One difference that should be noted is that ministers preached in different places on a circuit each week, and they were regularly transferred around the country. The circuit was named after its chief town, but the actual meetings were held locally in houses and barns licensed (or perhaps not) for this purpose, with the minister doing the travelling. There were 341 circuits in 1851 and the constant change of responsibility for the registers led to problems. Some ministers took their registers with them wherever they went, whilst others left them for the next one to continue. Thus one book may contain records of people in several different areas of the country, and researchers must be aware of this.

There were differences within the Methodist movement:


 * The Wesleyan Methodists led, of-course, by the Wesleys are Arminians, believing that salvation is open to all.


 * George Whitefield was a Calvinist, believing that only the elect, pre-ordained few would be saved, thus his group are the Calvinistic Methodists. Selina, the Countess of Huntingdon was a very dedicated member of this group who evangelized the aristocracy, financed many chapels and ministers, and founded a theological college, hence these groups may be called Calvinistic Methodist (Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion). The Calvinistic Methodists were particularly successful in Wales, and Cole gives information on Selina and her college and records.


 * After John Wesley died Methodism began to fragment, in large part due to the rigidity of the rules on governance and holding of meetings. Some of the new offshoots and later amalgamations that will be encountered are:


 * Methodist New Connexion formed in 1797 by Alexander Kilham with emphasis on lay participation.
 * Quaker Methodists in 1802 did not believe in the necessity of ministers.
 * Independent Methodists wanted to hold cottage meetings from 1805, see history by Mathews.
 * Band Room Methodists led by John Broadhurst in 1806 wanted the freedom to hold fellowship classes.
 * Primitive Methodists were an early Pentecostal-type started in 1812 from a meeting in 1807 and were led by Hugh Bourne and William Clowes.
 * Bible Christians emerged in 1815 under William O’Bryan who wanted the freedom to evangelize. They remained largely in the west country
 * The Tent Preachers under George Pocock used non-Methodist preachers.
 * Protestant Methodists began in 1827 from a ‘squabble over an organ in Leeds’ (Blount) and were led by Matthew Johnson.
 * Arminian Methodists, under Henry Breedon, believed that faith was cognitive acceptance.
 * Wesleyan Methodist Association formed in 1834 or 1836 (according to which source you refer to) with the leader being Samuel Warren.
 * The Reformers under James Everett in 1844.
 * United Methodist Free Churches was the first attempt at a union of previous splinter groups, founded in 1857 from agitation beginning in 1849.
 * Wesleyan Reform Union also in 1857 or 1859, who are the ones currently known as Wesleyans.
 * Salvation Army is not a branch of Methodism like the others, but deserves mention here as it was formed in 1861 by a former Methodist minister. William Booth had first been in the Wesleyan Reform movement and later in the Methodist New Connexion.
 * United Methodist Church formed by mergers in 1907.
 * Further mergers in 1932 created what is the current Methodist Church which had nearly 1,346,00 members in 1988.

Wesley originally targetted the spiritual needs of the poor, and this continued as the focus throughout the 19th century when Methodism gained immense support from the middle classes. The Primitive Methodists tended to flourish in rural areas and the crowded, poorer parts of the cities. Preaching was originally organized in the open air with ministers touring a circuit. Later the differences between the splinter groups were patched up and 1907 saw the formation of the United Methodist Church, with the Primitive Methodists and Wesleyan Methodists joining the union in 1932. The Independent Methodists remained separate.

Methodists are administered by the annual Assembly and beneath it are the semi-annual Synods of the Districts. At a lower level the Circuits or Stations held various quarterly meetings, including one for Local Preachers and another for general administration. A group of officers supervised the building as well as spiritual and temporal affairs for each local church of chapel.

All of these have left Minutes and other records, the top two tiers being kept centrally at Methodist Archives and the lower two by local chapels or perhaps now in County Record Offices.

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