Stow on the Wold Methodist Church

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Stow-on-the-Wold-4.qxp_Layout 1 20/04/2020 10:59 Page i

Stow-on-the-Wold Methodist Church

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Stow-on-the-Wold Methodist Church

A History

Words by Design

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Copyright Š Words by Design 2019 First published 2019 by

www.wordsbydesign.co.uk The right of Tony Gray to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or a license permitting restricted copying.

In the UK such licenses are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE. ISBN: 978-1-909075-86-3

Permissions: Copyright information is given on the actual images where required. Special mention must be made of the images reproduced on pages v and 27, reproduced with permission from the Oxfordshire History Centre. Other images are owned by the author, Stow Methodist Church, B&R Developments, or are available in the public domain. All reasonable attempts have been made to contact the copyright owners of other images used in this book. Please contact the publishers if you have any further information on these images.

Further copies of this book, as well as details of other publications and services, are available from www.wordsbydesign.co.uk

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work builds on the work of others, and the relevant books and articles are listed in the bibliography. We greatly appreciate the work of those authors who have built up a considerable picture of the history of Stow-on-the-Wold Methodist Church.

Special thanks go to the Oxfordshire History Centre and the Oxfordshire Centre for Methodism and Church History (where staff have been incredibly helpful and patient at both centres of research) and B&R Developments.

This book is dedicated to the memory and vision of Joe Rice.

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CONTENTS The Town of Stow New Churches Arrive Building Begins Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 2013 Bicentenary Development Ministers of the Church Memorial Stones List of Ministers 1868-1923 Data from the Records

1 15 25 29 35 39 49 55 65 71

Appendix 1: A Short Glossary of Methodist Terms Appendix 2: Methodists, their History and their Distinctives End Notes Bibliography

93 97 105 107

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1896 map of Stow-on-the-Wold, showing the hill-top position and intersection of roads

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THE TOWN OF STOW In his short introduction to the history and life of Stow, Harold Bagust wrote: In many ways it is surprising that our ancestors bothered to create a town on such an inhospitable hilltop site. Its position gave rise to the saying that it lacked the four elements of life: NO EARTH (being built on almost solid rock there is less than five inches of soil in places); NO FIRE (with such shallow depth of soil on the hill afforestation was limited, therefore little wood was available for burning); NO WATER (all water had to be brought up to the town, either from the wells or from Lower Swell); NO AIR (for there was said to be only wind): ‘Stow-on-the-Wold’ where the Wind Blows Cold’ is a couplet well known in these parts.1 Situated in the heart of the Cotswolds, Stow sits at the junction of six important roads, and for centuries has been a centre of activity in the local countryside.

Standing at about 800 feet above sea level, nestled between the valleys of the Dickler and Evenlode, Stow retained its significance for generations. Natural features gave Stow such a position of importance – being elevated made it secure against threats, and a nearby supply of water made it immediately attractive for living in. There have been settlers in Stow since Neolithic times, with people trading goods to travellers following the Cotswold Way through the village. The settlement was developed during the Bronze Age – the stone circle at Great Rollright still gives a dramatic illustration

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Detail from 1753 road map Faringdon – Burford – Stow-on-the-Wold – Chipping Campden

of the lives of ancient people who lived in the area. The Iron Age saw the construction of a hill fort at Stow, as farming developed and agriculture took control of the land.

In about 100 BC a Belgic tribe, the Dubonni, infiltrated the whole area of the Cotswolds, dominating the region as they used it for their own agricultural purposes. They managed to agree a settlement with the later Roman invaders after the arrival of Claudius in 43 AD, allowing a peaceful occupation which offered the local residents protection. Cirencester, to the southwest of Stow, was a centre of power for the Romans in the west of England, and from here they extended their road-building programme across the rest of the country – including, of course, the Fosse Way (the Roman road from Exeter to Lincoln, which cuts across the west of Stow). This was built to create a direct link to the Midlands, running along the tops of hills, and with posting stations established along what now became a favoured route of travellers and merchants, Stow was bound to become a popular resting point.

Local commerce was powered by agriculture, stock rearing, arable farming, and wool and woollen cloth – these were to grow considerably during the Roman period. As the Romans withdrew in the fifth century, and the Anglo-Saxons took over the centralwest of England, much remained the same – Stow was still a focal point for farmers and agriculture in the area, as farming methods were developed and extended, and 2

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Aerial view of Stow taken in 2016 by RickS on www.phantompilots.com 3

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Route of the Fosse Way

remained a way-point along the Fosse Way. The other great change during this period was the establishment of Christianity. There is a record for a grant of land being given for religious buildings in Stow in 708 AD, but the first reference to a church building does not appear until 986.

During the medieval period, Stow and its surrounding land was under the ownership and guidance of the Abbey of Evesham. The Domesday Book survey records a church 4

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Extract from the Domesday Book showing the entry for Maugesbury, just to the east of Stow, under the control of Evesham Abbey

building in Stow, as well as a priest’s house. The established church, St Edward’s, and its priest would have been central to the farming community’s life in Stow. Under the guidance of Evesham Abbey, the church was responsible for not only the spiritual well-being of the community at Stow, but also its financial and material success – so in that sense, religion has always been a central part of these Cotswold communities.

Whilst the abbey wished to ensure it was receiving the supplies it required from its land, part-and-parcel of this was making sure the tenants were working and productive. This, combined with the growing traffic of people and commodities through Stow along the various routes, naturally led to the establishment of an official and thriving market every Thursday. In 1107 the Abbot of Evesham successfully appealed to Henry I to recognise the market. Centuries later permission was also granted for two annual fairs (in 1330, and then in 1476).

The recognition of the market was key to the success of Stow – it was no longer just a place where some farmers lived, but quickly became a thriving urban settlement, attracting traders, professional people, officials etc. And the fairs, much larger and more significant than a weekly market, would attract traders from across the country, from port towns, and perhaps even from overseas – selling their own goods, but also keen to buy wool from the famous sheep that crowded the Cotswold hills and whose wool was sought after nationally and internationally. The fairs at Stow became so significant in the lives of locals that some official records use the fair to date events 5

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© Evesham Abbey Trust

Artist’s recreation of Evesham Abbey and the surrounding area. The Abbey was demolished after the abolition of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII, but until then held enormous power in the area

– and locals would use it to establish ages and time periods, such as saying, “She was 70 last Stow fair”! The square was, of course, the focus for the markets and fairs, and Sheep Street is said to have acquired its name due to its use as an overflow for the numerous sheep in the town during these festivals.

The sixteenth century saw one of the greatest changes that was to affect Stow – Henry VIII’s reformation of the church took ownership of the countryside away from 6

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the abbeys, and so Stow was now administered by lay people. With this also came a massive change in religious practice, such that people could now hear and read their religion for themselves. The period also saw a dramatic increase in trade and commerce, as the world grew bigger (with the discovery of the New World), and cities grew and demanded more resources.

With its relative proximity to London, Stow was one of many towns providing goods for the city, but also providing a place where some of London’s rich could buy country estates and expand their small empires. As the sixteenth century progressed, the archetypical Cotswold-stone houses were being built in the town to replace older wooden structures, and important public buildings were built or developed. The criss-cross of roads through Stow, including the Fosse Way which had been diverted to come through the market square, caused a crowding of buildings and people, and a proliferation of pubs and inns.

The Civil War Charles came to the throne in 1625, but relations between the king and Parliament gradually deteriorated with clashes about foreign policy. Many Puritan Protestants (conservative Protestants who felt the Reformation had not gone far enough) disliked Charles’ religious policies (suspecting him of having Catholic sympathies). Charles also revived old laws and taxes without Parliament’s agreement, and when Parliament complained in 1629 the king dismissed them, ruling without them for eleven years.

However, the development of war with Scotland forced Charles to recall Parliament. The king needed finance for the campaign, but Parliament sent him instead the Grand Remonstrance (1641), a list of 204 complaints about the way he was running the country. In the wake of this Charles

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tried to arrest the five leaders of Parliament, but he failed and civil war broke out.

Parliament generally had the support of the south-east of England, the merchant class, the capital city of London, and the navy. Forces loyal to the king were eventually worn down, and after Oliver Cromwell set up the New Model Army, Parliament went on to win decisive victories at Marston Moor (1644) and Naseby (1645).

Charles surrendered in 1646 in Newark (see ‘The Decisive Battle’ below on page 10). Failing a second time to defeat Parliament during the Second Civil War in 1648, the king was put on trial for treason and he was subsequently executed in 1649.

Although England became a republic for the following eleven years, presided over by Oliver Cromwell, the Civil War did not achieve any permanent change in the balance of power between king and Parliament. Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660 and continued, as his father had done, trying to rule without Parliament.

England struggled with Civil War and other pressures during the seventeenth century.

As a community, people in Stow may have been less religiously fervent than they once were, but they prided themselves in looking after their own affairs and probably leaned towards a less establishment form of religion than others in the country might have done.

The Civil War was, in part, about religious commitments, and the Cotswolds were to play a significant role in the unfolding drama. Due to its location along significant roads, and also because it was nestled between a number of large country estates which offered resources in terms of men and supplies, Stow and its environs took on greater significance. King Charles I established his headquarters in Oxford in 1642, 8

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Charles I

Oliver Cromwell

and the royalists sought to take control of the whole south-west of central England.

In both that year and 1643, Stow had its fair share of troops passing through the town and staying, en route to or returning from significant battles. In 1645 the King himself is said to have stayed at the King’s Arms, ‘the best inn between London and Worcester’.

On 21st March 1646 the decisive battle of the Civil War was fought out at Stow. Sir Jacob Astley, the governor of Worcester, commanded the king’s troops who were ultimately surrounded by Parliamentarians on the hills north of Stow. Outnumbered, they retreated to the town where fighting continued until they surrendered, with some 1,600 prisoners housed in the parish church overnight.

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The Decisive Battle By the spring of 1646, the Royalist cause was desperate. Only a few isolated garrisons held out against Parliament and all but the most stubborn were finally laying down their arms.

Colonel John Birch captured Hereford in mid-December 1645, Chester fell to Sir William Brereton in February 1646, and Lichfield early in March. While the New Model Army steadily conquered the west, Lord Leven and the Covenanters laid siege to the stronghold of Newark. The last Royalist army to take the field was a force of 3,000 troops raised from Wales and the Midlands by Lord Astley – the 700 cavalry were mostly survivors of veteran cavalier regiments, and the foot soldiers were experienced troops released from local garrisons or from those which had surrendered. In mid-March 1646, Astley marched from Bridgnorth to Worcester, intending to join forces with the King and 1,500 cavalry stationed at the Royalist capital, Oxford. Colonel Thomas Morgan and Colonel John Birch joined forces at Gloucester on 15 March and marched with 2,300 Parliamentarians to block Astley’s advance. Meanwhile, Sir William Brereton was cautiously approaching from Lichfield to join Morgan and Birch with a further 1,000 cavalry from Cheshire and the Midlands.

Avoiding the Parliamentarian garrison at Evesham, Astley outmanoeuvred his pursuers and crossed the River Avon by setting up a bridge of boats near Bidford. He marched into the Cotswolds where his progress was delayed by Parliamentarian skirmishers, though Morgan was reluctant to commit to a full-scale attack until Brereton’s forces came up.

Having marched his troops 25 miles without resting, Astley halted at the village of Donnington, about two miles from Stow-on-the-Wold, during the evening of 20 March. During the night, Brereton’s cavalry finally joined up with Morgan.

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The battle marker and the cross in the market square with its descriptive plaque

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Realising that he could not avoid battle, Astley drew up his army on a steep hillside to the north of Stow. The Parliamentarians formed up facing them.

The final battle of the English Civil War began at dawn on 21 March 1646. The two armies were conventionally deployed with foot in the centre and horse on the flanks, the Parliamentarians outnumbering the Royalists. Lord Astley commanded the Royalist centre, with Sir Charles Lucas on the right flank and Sir William Vaughan on the left. Sir William Brereton commanded the Parliamentarian right flank, with Colonel Birch in the centre and Colonel Morgan on the left.

Morgan led the initial Parliamentarian attack on the left but was twice thrown back when Lucas counter-attacked. A fierce struggle developed in the centre with neither side prevailing.

The battle was decided by Sir William Brereton’s cavalry on the Parliamentarian right flank. Outnumbered nearly two-toone, Vaughan’s cavalry were unable to withstand Brereton’s attack and were routed. Brereton then turned against the flank of Astley’s infantry in the centre. When Lucas’ cavalry also broke and fled, Astley withdrew his infantry into Stow-on-theWold where, after fighting through the streets and a gallant stand in the market square, he finally ordered his men to lay down their arms. The defeat of the last Royalist field armies was followed by the gradual surrender of remaining garrisons around the country. After the surrender of Exeter and Barnstaple to General Fairfax in April 1646, the New Model Army marched to besiege the Royalist capital Oxford. As the Parliamentarians approached, King Charles escaped from the city disguised as a servant and made his way to Newark in Nottinghamshire, where he surrendered to the Scottish army with the intention of exploiting divisions between the Scots and the English Parliament.

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The eighteenth century saw a period of consolidation and growth for the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, and Stow. New farming techniques were being tried and introduced, and whilst the industrial revolution did not immediately impact the town and its surrounding areas, the draw of the cities and factories inevitably affected the goods and services that the local population could offer. Stow and other local towns may not have built the large mills that other centres developed, but there were plenty employed with skills that supplied those urban centres, and many others used as outworkers, still spinning and weaving in their own homes. Similarly, trades such as woodwork and stone masonry were in high demand, and as the English road network improved (and raised revenue through turnpikes), Stow saw an increased amount of through-traffic.

Shops proliferated, more inns and pubs were established, and houses of significance and standing were built. With the success of spas at Bath and Cheltenham, Stow even attempted to establish itself as a spa-town, with the waters from St Edward’s Well.

St Edward’s Well Built on the site of an earlier Saxon church, St Edward’s Church dates primarily back to the eleventh century but features later additions from the fifteenth century. The tower, completed in 1447, is 88 feet high and reportedly houses the loudest bells, eight in all, in Gloucestershire.

The current clock was made in 1926, but a clock with chimes has existed there since 1580.

The well of the same name is situated in private woodlands on the east (right) of the A429 as it climbs up the hill to Stow from the south. Very little remains to be seen. It was described in the 1920s as ‘much in need of repair’, which remains true today! The surroundings of the well were once a landscaped garden, all now heavily wooded and overgrown. The well’s dedication is most likely to be to the martyred Saxon king, although there are two other alternatives: St Edward the Confessor, or a local hermit martyred at Puckle church in 946.

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The site of the proposed spa in Stow that never quite took off!

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NEW CHURCHES ARRIVE Religion in England followed a traditional path for much of the two millennia since the birth of Christ. When Christianity was established in the country, its rules and traditions and the forms it presented itself in followed pretty much the same pattern, guided by the established church with its headquarters in Rome – what we now know as the Roman Catholic Church. In the sixteenth century, the Reformation brought about huge changes in religious practise across Europe, and on British shores the changes were also ushered in by Henry VIII’s desire to remarry.

The Church of England was born, and Protestantism took hold in England, Wales, and Scotland. Parish churches across the land became part of the Anglican church, following a set of rules and beliefs set down in the Book of Common Prayer.

St Edward’s Church, Stow-on-the-Wold

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The Prayer Book The Prayer Book (officially, ‘The Book of Common Prayer’) contains all the key doctrines and instructions for worship in the Church of England. During the period of Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth, the Book of Common Prayer was outlawed and replaced with a ‘Directory for Publique Worship’. However, once Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, the Book of Common Prayer was restored and, along with that, came calls for its revision.

However, in its wake were to come many other forms of Christian belief. New denominations sprung up, driven by men and women who believed that they were more loyal to the original vision of the church of New Testament times – that how they acted out their faith and what they believed was closer to the early church, more faithful to the disciples, and closer to Jesus himself. In Britain, these groups who broke away from the Church of England were known as the ‘dissenters’.

Who were the Dissenters?

English Dissenters were Christians who separated from the Church of England in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Dissenters opposed state interference in religious matters, and founded their own churches, educational establishments, and communities; some emigrated to the New World. They originally agitated for a wide-reaching Protestant Reformation of the Established Church, and triumphed briefly under Oliver Cromwell.

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Stow had an early exposure to these dissenters. John Wesley, the ‘father’ of Methodism, visited Stow in 1767, preaching probably in the market square.

Unfortunately his appraisal of the inhabitants of the town was not positive: “I preached at Stow to a very dull, quiet congregation”!

It is probable that Wesley was staying at Stanley (on the outskirts of Stroud) on the occasion of his preaching at Stow.

He developed a friendship with the Parker family who lived in Stanley and were converted upon his first visit to the town. Thereafter he would stay with the Parkers when he was in the area, referring to it as ‘home’ on one occasion on March 20th 1764:

John Wesley, father of Methodism

I preached at Painswick. We rode home over the bleak mountains (the Cotswolds) to Stanley, where an earnest congregation was waiting.

There was a tradition in the Parker family that Mr Parker, the close friend of John Wesley, would drive the preacher to Stow and other places from their home in Stanley.

However it happened, and whatever Wesley’s perception of the congregation on his visit to Stow, his preaching must have made something of an impression. As Methodism grew, Stow was for a while a popular location for travelling ‘Wesleyan Preachers’ to visit, preaching and exhorting the faithful. Some walked from as far away as Witney to preach in Stow, initially at the existing Baptist Chapel at the kind 17

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https://wellcomeimages.org

permission of Reverend W Wilkins, the Stow Baptist Minister at the time. An official Methodist group was later formed, and half a century later they were able to raise enough funding to build the chapel on ground between Sheep Street and Digbeth Street.2

When forbidden to preach from the pulpits of parish churches, Wesley began open-air preaching 18

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Who was John Wesley?

John Wesley (1703-91) was the 15th child in a Lincolnshire family. He was educated in Oxford, where in 1725 he had his religious conversions and as a result of which he intended to make religion his life. With his brother Charles, John led a group of students in Oxford who became known as the ‘holy club’ due to their persistent study, prayer, fasting, and visiting of the sick. This was later to be known as Methodism, due to their disciplined method of Christian living.

In 1735 their father died and the brothers went as missionaries to Georgia, where they met and were influenced by German Moravians. After returning to England, John experienced another conversion when his heart ‘was strangely warmed’ at a Moravian meeting in London. At the time John was listening to Martin Luther’s exposition of the Letter to the Romans, from the New Testament, and this experience thrust him on into his mission.

Wesley’s stress was on justification by faith (taken from Luther) and the requirement for a personal experience of this in the individual believer’s life. His preaching led to revival in London, Bristol, and elsewhere.

The established church thought that his preaching was unnecessary, and so the ‘Methodists’ had to initially preach in the open air as the official church buildings were closed to them. Methodism focuses around the God of love – the fact that everyone can and must be saved by the grace of God drove its practitioners into preaching to everyone that they could, wherever they could: Wesley himself travelled 4,000 miles each year on horseback in the course of his preaching.

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Yet Wesley was not preaching a ‘cheap’ grace – where people just say they believe in God, and then that’s it, they do nothing else. Conversion involved justification (being made right with God) and sanctification (being made holy).

Wesley believed that this regeneration is the progressive on-going work of the Holy Spirit, although entire perfection never comes in this life – this was in contrast to the doctrine of perfectionism, the idea that people may become completely holy in this life on earth, with which Wesley has often been accused.

Wesley highlighted that theology was no mere academic exercise. He based his religion on a relationship with a loving God, a relationship that drove him and others into evangelism, education, production of literature, provision of Sunday Schools, and social concern. In many ways, Methodism was theology ‘at the coal face’. The foundations of the abundant love of God, and the importance of personal justification by faith alone, led to dramatic changes in the way people led their lives.

This new dissenting sect spread rapidly, having a moral effect on society at large through its youth, women’s organisations and Sunday schools. It supported social reforms on slavery and prisons. It influenced the trade union and socialist movements, while remaining firm in its support for the central government. It is now the basis of a worldwide association with over 70 million followers and part of the wider evangelical Christian movement.

Sunday schools were an important source of social stability and favoured by employers because they encouraged working people to be disciplined. Journals and magazines of the era remarked:

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The teachers bestow their labour gratis… the children are taught to read and write and to be diligent and industrious, to behave with respect to their superiors… to avoid lying, stealing and speaking vain words and to be true and just in all their dealings.

Sunday is for the working man more than a day of rest and devotion but an opportunity; they are real fields of mental activity.

On the loyalty of Methodist societies: “they are uncontaminated with the spirit of insubordination and violence”; about their mission, it was reported: “we proclaim loudly and earnestly… for the Lord and the King… meddle not with them that are given to change.”

1884 map of Stow-on-the-Wold. Sheep Street, the site for the church, is towards the bottom left.

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Chapels (and the building of them) were one of the central features of Methodism.

One historian has written, “It is indeed almost impossible to exaggerate the part it played in the lives of its adherents.”3 Of course, it was the preaching and work of John Wesley which was the central fact of Methodism, and the chapels were built because there were vast numbers of people wishing to follow his teaching.

In a study of village Methodist chapels in the eastern Cotswolds, Pauline Ashbridge has carefully examined the histories of these chapels and who attended them. Whilst Stow-on-the-Wold was not part of her study, the conclusions she draws can surely apply to this neighbouring circuit. She explores who turned to the chapels, and why.

The ‘who?’ in this part of the Cotswolds and Midlands is answered quite easily through a study of chapel and circuit records. ... Primitive Methodist trustees, preachers and baptisms were mainly from agricultural labouring families, but with a higher (though still minority) proportion of non-labourers (usually tradesmen) in some areas. Wesleyan baptisms included fewer labouring families than the Primitives, and remained predominantly tradesmen, skilled, shopkeeper and farming families, with a few professional families. But the proportion of agricultural labourers to other occupations is higher in Wesleyan baptism records than among their trustees and local preachers....

Does the evidence in the 23 villages say anything about the ‘why?’ of this great wave of turning to Methodism by small tradesmen, agricultural labourers, shopkeepers, other skilled people, farmers, corn merchants and millers, and some professional people?

The excitement and enthusiasm at an 1863 Primitive Methodist open air summer meeting at Hook Norton is described in what is probably an impartial press report.

Most came for the fun of the occasion, and only a minority to hear preaching “told in such a manner that they could not be misunderstood... hymns sung so heartily... the prayers so ardently uttered, and the exhortations so energetically delivered... well calculated to cheer the hearts of the believing listener, and to gladden the countenance of the Christian looker-on.” ...

The Methodist ministers and local preachers in this area were therefore (not at all unexpectedly) preaching the need for people to change their behaviour (repent of their sins) and follow the teachings of the gospel. ... From preaching evidence it seems likely, therefore, that the tradesmen, shopkeepers, skilled workers, agricultural labourers, 22

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farmers and professional people in this area who turned to Methodism (or were born into it) and built, attended, ran and preached in the chapels, did so for the same kind of reasons that Wesley’s masses had been converted. They wished to change their own and/or others’ behaviour (repent of sin) and seek salvation (and moral guidance) through the teachings of scripture. ...

People turned to Methodism because it spoke to them more directly and relevantly than the Established Church of the day, and fulfilled a probably perceived need for spiritual guidelines. Wesley’s was an open congregation engaging with the wider world of sinners; there was no sense of exclusive social or religious community, and all were welcome.

Many of the new adherents it drew in had not previously been attending any church.

The village chapels, Wesleyan, Primitive and Reform, were the local congregations’ ‘place of their own’ where all could be welcomed. A sense of place helps define a group’s existence, significance and purpose. ...

The significance of these village chapels today, as history, is that they were built and used as part of the lives of many people. Those lives, and links between local and national Methodism, impacted in diverse ways on situations and events far beyond this small corner of the Cotswolds and Midlands.4

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With the permission of the Oxfordshire Centre for Methodism

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Detail from a map showing Methodist churches and circuits. To the left of Stow is Winchcomb.

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BUILDING BEGINS The spread of Methodism within the area of the Cotswolds was greatly assisted by the enthusiasm of a group of believers at Winchcombe (a town to the north-east of Cheltenham), and their efforts to spread the ministry of the Methodist movement. A century ago, when researching the growth of Methodism in Cheltenham and beyond, Bancroft Judge wrote: The Methodism of Winchcombe and the surrounding villages seems to have been very vigorous in these early days, fostered no doubt by the frequent visits of John Wesley himself to the neighbourhood.5 People travelled from far and wide to visit the congregation based at Winchcombe, often bringing meals with them so that they could attend both morning and afternoon services, before returning to their homes in outlying villages and towns. One of these visitors, a woman called Nellie Bateman, was involved in the formation of the society at Stow-on-the-Wold.6 The present Methodist Chapel was begun by the same Mr Collett whose house the congregation had already been meeting in. In 1809-10, together with a Mr Ashley (also of Stow), he started building work which was eventually completed in 1814.7 The church was originally part of the Witney Circuit, then Chipping Norton Circuit (1851), and then its own as Stow-on-the-Wold Circuit.

Half a century later, the Methodist Church perceived a need for the chapel to be enlarged, and with the generosity of local benefactors, more land was acquired and the church appointed KW Ladd as architects. On 19th May 1868 the foundation stone was officially laid, apparently containing,

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coins of the realm, a copy of the Circuit Plan, hymns, a copy of the ‘Watchman’ and ‘Recorder’ newspapers, together with the names of the Trustees, Ministers, and the Previous Minutes signed by the Circuit Minister, the Reverend Joseph Mole.8 It was then that the tower and front porch were added and the front wall altered, using part of the front garden for the extra land required.

In 1873, British Methodists carried out the first national survey of their church, and in that year Stow-on-the-Wold reportedly had 216 ‘sittings’ – that is, members of the church.9

The tower added in 1868 26

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The chapel, taken in 1888

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1903 map of Stow-on-the-Wold and the surrounding area

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NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES According to the history of Stow written by Joan Johnson, a group of Mormons arrived in Stow towards the end of the nineteenth century, preaching their alternative version of Christianity. Having travelled directly from their church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City, USA, their intention was to stay in Stow until they had successfully made some converts (although why they chose Stow as a mission ground remains unclear).

Apparently the Methodist Minister, of all the town’s religious leaders, was the most concerned at the arrival of the Mormons. Nevertheless, his preaching did not stop their persistence… although they had packed up and left by the end of the century!10

Mormon preaching in Victorian Britain 29

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Methodist Central Hall, London

The change from the nineteenth to the twentieth century was an important event for Methodism, as it was for the whole of society. The Wesleyan Methodist Historic Roll is a set of 50 bound volumes housed at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London.

It contains the names, sometimes with addresses, of over one million individuals who donated a guinea each to the Wesleyan Methodist Million Guinea Fund between the years 1899 and 1904 (the value would be equivalent to just under ÂŁ100 today).

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The Wesleyan Methodists wanted to raise the money in order to celebrate in a grand way the centenary of the death of their founder John Wesley (1703-1791). The fund was used to purchase land and to build Methodist Central Hall in London, and also to further the Wesleyan cause both at home and abroad.

Donations to the fund were limited to one guinea per member, but additional amounts could be given by making payments ‘in Memoriam’ for loved ones who had died or who had moved away from home. All donors were required to write their names and addresses on specially prepared forms which had been distributed to all Wesleyan Circuits and Chapels in Great Britain and overseas. These forms, collated and sequenced by District, then Circuit within District, form the Historic Roll. There is an entry for the Stow Mission at Stow-on-the-Wold (there are also lists for Bledington and Kingham, which both come under the ‘Stowe Mission’ umbrella) [‘Stowe’ with an ‘e’ spelt as such in the original]. It gives us some idea of the people who were worshipping at the church at the time, who felt able to donate a guinea to the fund, and whose names are kept in perpetuity because of their donation: Joseph Foster Helen Foster Lilly Rosamond Kelly Thomas Mobbs Mary A Mobbs Mary Ann Foster Mobbs Charles Alcock Mary Alcock Ellen Mary Alcock Henry Teague Alice Teague Theophilus A H Teague Ernest E H Teague Olive Grace Annie Teague Cecil Lionel H Teague Annie Teague

Bourton-on-the-Water Bourton-on-the-Water Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Moreton-in-Marsh Moreton-in-Marsh Moreton-in-Marsh Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold

In Memoriam 31

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John Teague Mary Teague Emma Jane Cook Frederick Cook Hellen Wincott Joseph William Brown Fanny French G Rose Harriett Alice Rose John ?

Jabez Roff Thomas Butler John Summersbee Clara Summersbee William Walton Evelyn Laura Nellie Eardley F Ernest G Arthurs Kathleen Elizabeth Eardley John Clifford

Tibberton? Gloucester Tibberton? Gloucester Oddington Oddington Late of Chipping Norton

In Memoriam In Memoriam

Stow-on-the-Wold Icomb Hawling?

Oddington Stow-on-the-Wold Maugersbury Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Late of Stow-on-the-Wold In Memoriam Stow-on-the-Wold (Wesley House) Stow-on-the-Wold Wesley House, Stow-on-the-Wold Oddington

At some point a house on the Evesham Road, ‘Everest’, was presented to the Methodist Church as the minister’s manse, although subsequently it was sold and a new manse was built in Lower Park Street.

In 1940 the national Methodist Church took an inventory of all the buildings that it owned or that were part of a church. The resulting report was published by the Department for Chapel Affairs in 1947, following a resolution passed by The Methodist Conference in 1940. It is a comprehensive list of all Methodist buildings as at 1st July 1940 and includes an indication of the character of the structure, the sort of seating and the extent of the buildings. The information for Stow was as follows:

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Section: Structure: Seating accom: Type of seating: School halls: Other rooms:

Wesleyan Stone 155 Pews 1 1

The gallery within the church was removed in 1969, in early 1970 the shop with its flat above were built on the site of the garden, and further redecoration of the church occurred in 1975-6 when the pews were restored, as was the church clock in 1977. In 1979 the building had to be treated for the ravages of woodworm. (All of this is documented in the data referred to in pages 71ff.)

In 1985, proposals to move the communion rail forward, to create more space, were discussed. In August the new kitchen was added, enclosing the backyard. In 1988, the centre front steps were altered and the remaining garden removed. The tower was strengthened in 1990, and in 1996 it became necessary to dismantle the pulpit and move the organ in order to repair the floor and seal the walls. After much discussion and prayer the new layout and services were agreed and carried out, with the maximum use of existing timber. The most recent changes to the chapel occurred when the schoolroom and facilities were refurbished.11 With dwindling membership, the decision was taken to close the church on 26th November 2014. However, the previous year was an occasion for celebration‌.

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Sheep Street side of the church building 34

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2013 BICENTENARY Each year the Methodist Conference has a President and Vice President. 2013 saw the bicentenary of the Methodist Church based at Stow, and as such there were appropriate celebrations. The following account and photographs are taken from the then Presidents blog: Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold Circuit Bicentenary On Sunday September 14th I was in Chipping Norton School where the Chipping Norton and Stowe on the Wold Circuit were celebrating their bicentenary. I think this must be an unusual event and it was a privilege to be part of it.

Members of the circuit were joined by ministers who had served there including Revd Ronald Frost, who had been in the circuit in 1945. Friends from other parts of the country joined us along with the Mayor and other community representatives.

The singing was led by a combined Circuit and Church choir and the hymns included one specially written for the occasion by one of the choir members (see overleaf). We enjoyed it so much, we sang it twice!

Each church in the circuit has been challenged to begin something new for mission in this bicentenary year and they are rising to the challenge.

Among the many documents that I have signed this year are the authorisations for lay people to preside at communion. As I signed them I prayed for each person so it was especially significant for me to be invited by the Chair of District to present the authorisation to one of the Circuit Local Preachers.

We celebrated 200 years and looked forward in faith and in hope to the next 200!

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Unfortunately the President’s hopes for another 200 years of Methodism in Stow were not to be. The official Stow Methodist church website (now closed) had the following report of the service: Built in 1814, this year sees the bicentenary of the founding of this Church in Stow. A weekend of celebrations were held on 12th-13th of July.

On Saturday the 12th friends of this church and circuit members gathered in for a coffee morning and later in the evening, a fine entertaining concert was offered by CHAOS, Chipping Norton Amateur Operatic Society. The church was packed with an enthralled audience.

A Circuit Service, highlighting the Bicentenary Celebrations was held at 5.00pm on the 13th; Rev Peter Hancock, Chair of the District preached. At the end of the service, a special bicentenary cake was cut by Jane Hancock, wife of the Chair. Several past members and ministers attended the service.

Bicentenary Hymn for Stow (written and sung by Graham Simms) Now our church has reached 200 We are here to celebrate May you all enjoy this service I guess someone has baked the cake Peter Hancock is our chairman We thank him for his help today I’m sure his talk will reassure us He has a very special way.

Opposite: Bicentenary Celebrations (clockwise from top left) Front of the church prepared for the celebrations, Revd Soba Sinnathamby, Superintendent Minister, Bicentenary Service congregation, and Revd Peter Hancock and some members of the circuit 37

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Now it’s time to thank our preachers So many of them have passed this way Our thoughts are with the ones in heaven We bless them on this special day.

We thank our superintendent Soba For his efforts at this time We hope today will give him pleasure And all the helpers down the line.

Thanks to Martha for her playing And all the singers here today It’s nice to see the church sides bulging On this very special day.

At Stow we’ve seen so many changes Both at this church and in the square May the love that’s kept us going Be with the churches everywhere.

Many thanks to those who travelled From many places around the globe May this day be full of pleasure Happy memories on the road.

The final service at Stow Methodist Church was held on 26th November 2014.

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DEVELOPMENT Eventually the church building was bought at auction by the developers, B&R. The auctioneers released this notice: Hayman-Joyce Auctioneers in the Cotswolds are pleased to report there was a large turnout when they offered The Stow-on-the-Wold Methodist Church for the sale by public auction on Wednesday 7th October.

The church was built in 1814 and extended with the addition of the tower and porch in 1868. It has marvellous potential located in a prime location in Stow-on-the-Wold. It was a unique opportunity – the church is over 200 years old and this is the first time it has been offered for sale. The auction was held at the premises and after spirited bidding the property sold for £390,000.

Tom Hayman-Joyce the auctioneer said he was very pleased with the result as were the sellers, The Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes.

The successful bidders B&R Developments Ltd of Chipping Norton are excited to have secured the property. They are planning to convert the church into five apartments.

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Above: The outside of the church building in 2014 prior to development Opposite: The sanctuary prior to conversion (note the memorial plaques on the walls)

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Above: scaffolding up for work on the roof Opposite: completed flats

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The completed project 48

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MINISTERS OF THE CHURCH A full list of the ministers who have served at Stow (see page 65) is a fairly lengthy one. In all probability, any of them would have proved interesting to look into, but a brief study of the lives of just a few of them provides some insight into the worlds of Methodist Ministers and their journey to Stow, and their lives after leaving the Cotswolds.

John Skerratt In the second half of the nineteenth century, John Skerratt was listed as the Minister of Stow Methodist Church from 1872 to 1874. Married to Laura, it is interesting to notice that their daughter Rosa Ann was baptised at the church on 25th May 1873, having been born the month before, on 9th April. His son John was also born in Stow, in 1875, but by the time of the birth of his second daughter, Laura, the family were living in Bideford in Devon.

John Skerratt was the son of James and Ann, born in Crewe. Prior to coming to Stow, the 1871 national census reveals that John and Laura were working in Rugely, Staffordshire, where John was also listed as a ‘Wesleyan Minister’ (according to Methodist records, he had entered the ministry in 1863). The 1872 Methodist Circuit Minutes make a reference to John and that he shall, “change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit” (as Stow and Chipping Norton were in the same circuit). There is also mention of John in the Circuit Minutes for the fact that he received a special grant from Methodist funds for ‘severe personal affliction’ – whatever the affliction was has not been recorded, but it was obvious

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that there was something that affected him which required extra funding. Perhaps it was this ‘affliction’ that led to his premature death before he even reached the age of 50.

In 1881 the growing family, now with three children, was living at 21 Roman Road, Colchester, where John also served as the Methodist Minister. John and Laura were living in some comfort with the aid of a domestic servant, but sadly John died just seven years later, in 1888, aged just 47.

The Methodist Recorder printed a tribute to Rev Skerratt and, whilst alluding to his illness and sudden death, provided no detail: THE LATE REV J SKERRATT. Many of the friends of this deceased minister having expressed their wish to possess some permanent record of his life and ministry, the following brief account is given. The Rev John Skerratt was born in 1840, and, having early given his heart to God, he soon became engaged in Christian labour. In the year 1861 he offered himself for the ministry, and was accepted by the Conference for foreign work. There being no room at Richmond, Mr Skerratt was deprived of the advantages of an institution training but this loss was to a large extent made up by the instruction which he received from the late Rev Dr Kessen, in whose house he spent two very happy and profitable years. At the Conference of 1863 Mr Skerratt was appointed to Madras; but his missionary career was a short one, failing health necessitating his return to England after three years. For more than twenty years longer, however, he made full proof of his ministry in English circuits, winning not only the affection of his congregations, but also the esteem of his colleagues. The letters received since his death show the high value put upon his labours both by ministers and the laity, and abundantly prove that he was a true pastor. In this special department of ministerial labour he excelled; because he delighted in it, and carried it out systematically. In his last circuit, between the Conference of 1887 and the district meeting of 1888, his pocketbook showed a record of over 1,000 visits. As a preacher he was judicious and faithful in his exposition of the Word, as a superintendent, while seeking to live peaceably with all men, he was firm in the administration of discipline and as a colleague both loyal to his seniors and kind and sympathetic towards his younger brethren. The Rev David A Hay writes: “I feel that I have lost a very dear friend in Mr Skerratt. I was struck from 50

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the first with his genial spirit and brotherly kindness, and with the wonderful way in which he could light up with a smile, under the most depressing and discouraging experience. He never allowed himself to be disheartened by difficulties, and he would patiently await results from the most unpromising soils. Mr Skerratt was a preacher whose sermons were much appreciated by many. Only a day since I met with one who said that his preaching first roused serious thoughts which issued in conversion. Of all the brethren I have ever travelled with I never had a colleague more genial and truly brotherly in spirit.” The Rev Alfred W Bishop writes, “Of Mr Skerratt I shall always have the most pleasing recollections. I proved him to be a sympathetic and considerate superintendent. With regard to his preaching only about the time of his illness several people in the circuit (Cinderford) spoke of it in the highest terms.” The Rev RJ Eland writes, “I think of Mr Skerratt’s kindness to me in the Bideford days, of his consistent Christian life at home and abroad, and of his faithfulness as a minister.” Mr Skerratt’s death was sudden and unexpected. He left home for the Swansea District meeting in the best of health, but on his return complained of feeling unwell. No danger, however, was apprehended, and although unfavourable symptoms set in he continued up to the last not only to manifest interest in his work, but also to perform the various duties of his office. He preached at Aberystwyth in the morning of May 27, the chairman of the district occupying the pulpit at night; and as late as June 12 (the day before his death) he held a leaders’ meeting. But the end was at hand, and on June 13, in the forty-eighth year of his age and the twenty-fifth of his ministry, he passed peacefully away, his hope in God. John Skerratt’s obituary was published in the Methodist Conference Minutes for 1888: John Skerratt; who was born near Crewe in 1840. He was of Methodist parentage, his father having been a useful Local-Preacher for forty years. When about seventeen years of age he was brought to God at Holyhead under the ministry of the Rev John M Bamford, and forth with began to work for God. Accepted as a candidate for the Ministry in 1861, he, after studying for two years under Dr Kessen, was sent out to Madras.

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years, to relinquish a work he greatly loved, and he returned to England with his physical and nervous vigour permanently weakened. As a preacher, he was judicious and faithful in his exposition of the Word; as a Superintendent, while seeking to live peaceably with all men, he was firm in the administration of discipline; and as a colleague, loyal, kind and sympathetic. In house to house visitation he was systematic and conscientious.

Between the Conference of 1887 and the District Meeting of 1888, his pocket-book showed a record of over one thousand visits. His ministerial work was often temporarily interrupted by bodily weakness, preventing the full recognition of his abilities, and of his upright character and devout spirit. After a short but severe illness, he suddenly finished his course at Aberystwith (sic), on June 13th, 1888, in the forty-eighth year of his age, and the twenty-fifth of his ministry.

William Henry Lockhart At the time of the 1911 national census, the central Methodist records list one William Henry Lockhart as the minister of Stow Methodist Church. He is also listed at the church for the following year, 1912, and in both entries he is assisted by a second minister.

William Henry Lockhart was born in 1857, son to Charles and Elizabeth, living in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. Charles had been born in London, but had moved to Dunstable where by the time of the 1871 census he was living with his wife and (by then) three children, working as a draper. Unfortunately the eldest son, Arthur, although also listed as working as a draper, was suffering from epilepsy. The Lockhart’s second child was a daughter, Emma Lily, and their third was William. It was a sizeable household (and presumably business), because living with the family at the same address were six apprentice or assistant drapers, as well as a cook and a housemaid. Charles Lockhart was doing well, with his business having been clearly positioned on Dunstable’s High Street since 1840. In fact, the name continued to be well known in the area for decades to come – Kelly’s Directory of 1894 lists the shop in the High Street, and a 1904 publication, ‘Dunstable and Its Surroundings’, lists ‘Charles Lockhart and Sons’ as the place to buy silk, tailoring, home furnishings, carpets etc.

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It is clear that the whole family was familiar with nonconformity. Charles Draper (as well as his own father, Charles Senior), were listed as benefactors for the building of the Methodist Chapel in Whipsnade, also in Bedfordshire, constructed in 1878. So William Lockhart was not an innovator in terms of religion – his own belief, and then his own profession, followed in the line of his family’s own spiritual background and commitment.

The 1881 census does not reveal a great deal about the progression of William’s life, although by now he was clearly committed to his path of religious service. Living in St Neots, a small town in Huntingdonshire, the 24-year-old William was recorded as simply a visitor at another house, although his profession is clearly spelt out: ‘Wesleyan Minister of St Neots Circuit’. In 1883 William married Eliza.

By the time of the 1901 census, William was living with his wife Eliza, their six children, and a servant, in a house called ‘Summerfield’ in the town of Sutton-leMarsh, Lincolnshire. Listed as a ‘Minister of the Wesleyan Methodist Church’, William must have had his hands full with such a growing family and a demanding job!

By the time of the 1911 census, William was the Methodist Minister for Stow-on-theWold, although living at the Methodist manse in Chipping Norton (presumably because both churches were linked in the same circuit). At the age of 54, he was sharing the home with his wife Eliza, two of their children Gladys and Reginald (aged 19 and 18 respectively), and a female domestic servant, Eliza Guy. Gladys was already an Elementary School Teacher, and Reginald was listed as a student.

The death of William Henry Lockhart was reported in the 1921 minutes of the Methodist Conference, the same year as he passed: William H Lockhart: born in Dunstable, June 23, 1856. He had the unspeakable advantage of a godly parentage, and early in life he decided for Christ. He began to preach at the age of seventeen, and two years later was accepted for the Ministry. After three years at Headingly he was appointed in 1879 to Edinburgh. For the most part his ministry was exercised in country circuits. He was faithful, devoted, and indefatigable, and did excellent work wherever his sphere of labour might be. As a preacher he was thoughtful, earnest, and acceptable, always deeply and profoundly reverent. He also 53

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possessed considerable musical talents, which he turned to the best account in the service of his Master. He cherished a high ideal of life and duty, and sought to attain it. He was an excellent pastor, greatly beloved in the homes of the people, and tender and sympathetic in his ministry to the suffering and the bereaved. He was a student to the end, and cultivated an openness of mind to which his wide range of reading bore witness.

In 1915 he had a serious breakdown, and next year became a Supernumerary in Dunstable. He preached frequently and took pastoral oversight of our Church at Waterlow Road. On July 10, 1921, he conducted the morning service at Waterlow Road; afterward feeling faint he went into the house of one of our leaders to rest awhile. The doctor was sent for, but he passed quietly away a few minutes after. The end, though sudden, was just what he had desired, and it found him fully prepared for the higher service of his Lord.

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MEMORIAL STONES The church building at Stow was adorned with a number of memorial stones, dedicated to benefactors and ministers of the Methodist Church. As part of the renovation, these have since been removed. The details, and the history associated with the people they name, is preserved here for the future.

John Farmer In affectionate remembrance of John Farmer, who was a member of the Wesleyan Society for more than forty years and also many years a class-leader and local preacher.

He died in the faith and hope of the Gospel, February 16th 1859, aged 66 years.

‘Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.’

Also of Ann, his wife she died December 14th 1866, aged 69 years.

It is not clear exactly when this stone was erected, but John Farmer was remembered fondly enough to have his contribution to the Methodist Church recorded in this permanent way. Already in 1830, Pigot’s Directory of Gloucestershire recorded a tailor

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by the name of John Farmer living at Stow. The 1841 census for Stow-on-the-Wold recorded John Farmer, aged 45, living with a 70-year-old woman, Sarah, presumably his widowed mother. He was listed as a tailor, and later the same year a marriage took place at St Mary’s parish church, Cheltenham, between John Farmer (a tailor) and Ann Rimall.

In the 1851 census, for some reason John is listed as a visitor at the home of William Nibble in nearby Enstone (whilst his wife Ann, ‘Tailor’s Wife’, is registered at their home address). Nevertheless, the 1853 poll book lists John on the electoral register, living in Market Place, Stow – by this time already quite a prestigious place to live, and only possible if he had the financial wherewithal to afford such an address (which he must have had, in order to have been able to financially assist the church). With 56

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John Farmer’s entry in the 1830 edition of Pigot’s Directory for Gloucestershire

Ann at home on Market Place in 1851 are also living two lodgers – it seems that the couple did not have children, but had the space to take in paying lodgers.

Charles Lodge Sacred to the memory of Charles Lodge, (of Canborough House) who departed this life December 5th 1873 aged 77 years also of Sarah his wife, who fell aseep (sic) in Jesus, March 26th 1876, aged 74 years Members of The Wesleyan Society upwards of fifty years.

Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath, the Christian’s native air: his watch-word at the gates of death: he enters heaven with prayer.

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Charles Lodge was born in Hawling, Gloucestershire, in 1796, to Edmund and Mary, one of ten children.

In 1851 Charles was living in Aston Blank, Stow-on-the-Wold, with his wife Sarah and daughter Ann. He was working as a farmer of 210 acres, with at least nine men working for him – so he was doing well. Ten years later he was retired, living in Lower Swell (one mile to the west of Stow) in the Farm House. By 1871 the couple were on their own – Ann has left home – living in Ganborough House, Longborough, Gloucestershire (two-and-a-half miles north of Stow). The impressive nature of his memorial stone at the Methodist Church indicates both his success, and the probability Charles Lodge’s gravestone 58

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that he donated some of his income to support the work of the church. The probate record for Charles explains that he had been living in Longborough, ‘but late of Stowon-the-Wold’. Ganborough House remains a Grade II listed building to this day, built in the eighteenth century with dressed limestone and a slate roof.

Samuel Partlow To the memory of Samuel Partlow, who departed this life September 15th 1878, aged 90 years.

He was a member of the Wesleyan Society for sixty years.

“And died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people.”

When Samuel died, the probate record for his estate (valued at under £800 – not an inconsiderable sum for 1878) read as follows: The Will of Samuel Partlow late of Stow-on-theWold in the County of Gloucester Cordwainer who died 22 September 1878 at Stow-on-theWold was proved at Gloucester by William Walton of Stow-on-the-Wold Tailor the surviving Executor.

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listed a number of times in the directory of the day, Pigot’s Directory, under ‘Boot and Shoe Makers’ – in 1830, 1842, and 1844, as well as in the 1852 and 1859 editions of Slater’s Directory. The electoral register for 1832 shows that he was living in Sheep Street. There is a record for an 1819 marriage between Samuel Partlow and Sarah Price, and also a record in 1839 for a marriage between Samuel Partlow (a widowed shoemaker) and Sarah Pinchin (it is not clear which is the correct match). In 1851 he was listed in the census with his wife Sarah, and his profession was entered as a cordwainer. However, by 1861 he was living with his new wife Sophia, Sarah presumably having passed away, and by 1871, aged 81, he was on his own but still in Sheep Street – albeit with a housekeeper, presumably helping him out.

Rev Henry Badger In loving memory of the Rev Henry Badger, who died at Stow after a long and painful illness on the 24th December 1877, in the 63rd year of his age and 41st of his ministry.

He was for fifteen years a missionary in Sierra Leone, West Africa, where he laboured hard in the Master’s cause.

He was esteemed as a faithful servant of the Most High, an affectionate pastor and a true friend, his career was marked throughout by strict conscientiousness, and a high sense of duty, he looked forward to death without fear trusting firmly in the merits of the Redeemer until the lamp of life went out, and his spirit returned to God who gave it.

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The Library of Rhodes University has a copy of a diary that Henry Badger kept whilst he was in Sierra Leone, between 1837 and 1840. The diary contains an outline of his daily activities as a missionary and of the progress of the mission, as well as his personal feelings, religious state of mind, problems and achievements.

For example, one entry reads: Today I have visited one family and this afternoon rode to Murray Town, preached and gave tickets to the small society, I think I have not laboured in vain.

Similarly, the Library at the School of Oriental and African Studies holds a journal written by Henry Badger between the years 1840 and 1848, whilst he served as a missionary. As well as recording his missionary activity, the journal includes a pen and ink drawing of the interior of the Wesleyan Missionary Chapel at Bathurst, Gambia, where for a time Henry served as Colonial Chaplain. A copy of a sermon he preached in Freetown on 8th February 1847, on the text of Romans 10.13-15 and on the occasion of the anniversary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, was published by the Wesleyan Mission Press.

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Leone in 1837, Henry married twice whilst serving as a missionary in Africa (both women sadly passing away whilst they were abroad), and a third time in 1856 to Hannah.

Three Wesleyan missionaries stayed for longer than average. Thomas Dove and Henry Badger arrived in Freetown in 1837. Dove served until 1845. Badger to 1847: both lost their wives there. Dove’s great achievement was founding a High School and a Training Institution at King Tom’s Point, a former naval depot which he acquired and adapted. The need for African ministers was urgent, given the swift turnover of missionaries, and, for thirty years, the institution trained teachers and catechists, a few of whom went onto ordination. … Dove also set up a printing press and produced a monthly religious newspaper. Badger remarried Mrs AL Gordon, a teacher who had moved to Freetown following eleven years on St Kitts in the Caribbean, at first with her missionary husband and for another ten years after she was widowed. There were as yet no Wesleyan women missionaries other than those who accompanied their husbands and her reason for coming to Freetown remains to be unearthed, She was devoted to the education of African women, a cause in which her marriage gave her extra influence, both in Sierra Leone and then when Badger was transferred to The Gambia, where she died in 1851.12 Together with the Rev Thomas Dove, Henry Badger is considered one of the principal architects of the Methodist Mission in Sierra Leone, and as such there stand to this day the Dove Memorial Methodist Churches in Regent, Waterloo, Gloucester and the Badger Memorial Methodist Church at Hastings, Kossoh Town. Badger took over the running of a training college in 1844 and established its general regulations and practices.13 In the course of his lifetime he had seven children in total and, as well as serving overseas, lived in Evesham (Worcestershire), Holmfirth (Yorkshire), Ludlow (Shropshire), and then in Stow. At a time in history when few people travelled far, thanks to his work in the Methodist Church, Henry Badger was incredibly well travelled.

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The end of his life was to be in Stow-on-the-Wold, where his experience of a largely unknown wider world must have fascinated and inspired the local congregation.

Henry is listed as the Minister for 1875, following the work of John Skerratt, and his obituary was printed in the 1878 Conference Minutes.

Henry Badger: who was born at Bilston on the 6th of October, 1815. He had but little religious instruction in youth, but was very early the subject of the strivings of the Holy Spirit, which resulted in the consecration of his heart and life to God. He became a Local Preacher in the Walsall Circuit; and the voice of the Church, according with his own deep conviction, led him to offer himself for the full work of the ministry. Being accepted by the Conference, he was appointed to Sierra Leone, and laboured for fifteen years in that unhealthy clime. The Missionary Committee showed its appreciation of his character and services by making him General Superintendent during the last five years of his residence there. Twice, in seasons of emergency, he undertook, in addition to his own work, the duties of Colonial Chaplain, for which more than five hundred pounds was received by him – a sum which, with characteristic generosity, he presented to the Missionary Society. After labouring in eleven Circuits at home he became Supernumerary at Stow-on-the-Wold.

During the last year or two of his life he suffered greatly; but he bore his sickness with Christian fortitude, and his end was triumphant, some of his last words being: ‘He is a covenant-keeping God – Jesus! Jesus!’ Mr Badger possessed considerable vigour of mind; and his ministry, both at home and in the mission field, was highly acceptable and useful. His sermons were lucid and original expositions of Divine truth, and were delivered with much earnestness. He had a high sense of honour, and ever recognised the necessity of rendering to the Master whole-hearted service. Severe affliction in his family tended to ripen his character, and made him tender and sympathetic in visitation of the sick. His catholic spirit made him greatly beloved by members of other Churches. He entered into rest on the 24th of December, 1877, in the sixty-third year of his age, and the forty-first of his ministry.14

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LIST OF MINISTERS 1868-1923 The extracts in the following information are taken from Conference Minutes.15 1868

John Stembridge

Born in Leeds in 1832, converted as a young man, and began ministry in 1861. “His chief aim was to win souls for Jesus, and his ministry was fruitful in conversions.”

Died in 1900.

1869-1871

Joseph Milligan

Born in Leigh, Lancashire, in 1833, into a Methodist family. “He will long be remembered in the homes of the people, especially by the children, who loved him, and by the sick and sorrowful, to whom he was a wise and sympathetic friend.” Died in 1910.

1872-1874

John Skerratt

See longer section on page 49.

1875

Henry Badger

See longer section on page 60.

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1876

Joseph Payne

Born in Burton-Latimer in 1814, accepted into the Ministry in 1836, and “by steady industry and the cultivation of personal religion, he became a useful Methodist minister. Himself the fruit of village evangelism, he gave himself to the villages of his Circuits a full measure of his ministrations.” Died in 1886.

1877

George Smith

1878-1879

John Thomas

Born in St Austell in 1820, entered the Ministry in 1846, and served in west and southern Africa for 21 years: “Though in perils oft, yet he was most fearless, firm and faithful in dealing with the heathen chiefs and natives; while for their well-being in many ways he was ‘in labours more abundant,’ and so was much beloved.” Died in 1890.

1880-1882

Charles W. Rawlings

Born in Shrewsbury in 1842 into a church family, he entered the ministry in 1863 when he studied for two years at Didsbury (the Methodist training college). “He was beloved by all who knew him. Kindly, and unassuming, his real piety and keen erudition, his thoughtful expositions of the Word of God, accompanied by persuasive and powerful appeals, commended him to the differing congregations among whom he was called to minister.” Died in 1921.

1883

John Hugill

Born in Abeford in 1816 into a Methodist home, accepted into the ministry in 1842, “he was specially successful in village work, which he greatly loved. He was most energetic in chapel-building, in several instances securing sites in spite of immense

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difficulties, and transforming opponents into helpers by his genial and patient wisdom.” Died in 1898.

1884

John Preston

Born in Clitheroe in 1829, entered the ministry in 1854, and spent 21 years in China: “the work involved great personal peril and much trial of faith. … Failure of health compelled him to retire from China, and for eighteen years he travelled in English circuits.” Died in 1908.

1885

George Hooper

Born in Bromsgrove in 1850 in a Methodist home: “His preaching was fervent and often very impressive. As a pastor he excelled. He was greatly respected and beloved because of his zealous interest in the religious welfare of the churches to which he ministered.” He died in 1925.

1886

Thomas Peers

Born in Seacombe in 1836, he became a lawyer before he became a Minister in 1860, training in Richmond before going as a missionary to India. However, he had to return to England as “his physical constitution was unsuited to the Indian climate.” Back in the UK “he was loyal to evangelical doctrine” and “his social instincts made pastoral work a pleasure to him.” He died in 1910.

1887-1888

William Good

1889-1891

James Langley

Born in Kingston Langley (near Chippenham) in 1834, accepted as a candidate for the ministry in 1858, training in Richmond before serving in South Africa for 20 years.

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missionary spirit never died down, and he repeatedly sought opportunity of returning to his loved work.” He died in 1910.

1892-1893

Daniel Eva

Born near Tavistock in 1838 to a preacher, he entered the ministry when he was 21 and set off for South Africa. “In his pioneer work among the natives of Zululand and Pondoland he endured many privations and dangers, and often barely escaped with his life.” He returned to work in England in 1879, although his own son also went as a missionary to Africa. He died in 1909.

1893

John Harries, Joseph Birkbeck

Joseph Birkbeck was born in Westmorland in 1862. He entered the ministry in 1889, “a man of strong yet tender personality and of deep convictions. … Possessed of a pleasing voice and manner and gifted with ready utterance, his message was received with great acceptance and profit.” He died in 1930.

1894

John Harries, William Charles Poles, Joseph Birkbeck

1895

Edwin O Coleman, William Charles Poles, Joseph Birkbeck

1896-1897

Arthur A Southerns, William Charles Poles, Walter Platt

Arthur A Southerns was born in Lichfield in 1837. Influenced by his father, a local preacher, he went to Gambia as a missionary in 1862, but returned to England due to health problems. “In all his circuits he was much beloved, and by his Gospel preaching, his transparent sincerity, his fervent piety, and his great kindliness of heart he did much good, and exercised a gracious influence.” He died in 1922.

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1898

Arthur A Southerns, Walter Platt

1899-1901

W Attfield Leach, Henry W Pring

1902

Thomas Bramfitt, W Bell Johnson

1903

Thomas Bramfitt, Thomas Ewbank

1904

Elijah H Sumner, Thomas Ewbank

1905

Elijah H Sumner, C Wilfred Lancaster

1906

John W Faraday, T Kilby Champness

John Faraday was born in 1854 and worked as a journalist before helping at a children’s home, taking children to Canada. This led him into working as a missionary, and after training at Richmond he served in South Africa for eight years before his wife’s health meant they had to return to England. “He was a preacher of exceptional ability, and gloried in the message he had to deliver. … During the war he threw himself wholeheartedly into work for the soldiers at home, and many were grateful for the encouragement and blessing received through him.” He died in 1934.

1907

John W Faraday, Donald Stuart

1908

John W Faraday, A Stanley Burton

1909

Stephen Cooper, A Stanley Burton

1910

William H Lockhart, A Stanley Burton

William Lockhart – see separate section on page 52.

1911

William H Lockhart, Eardley B Stringer

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1912

W Titcombe Pullen, Eardley B Stringer

W Titcombe Pullen was born in Newbury in 1854. He began training in Richmond in 1876, before travelling to the Gambia in West Africa as a missionary where he became unwell, suffering “severe pain to the end of his life.” However, “he was an eager evangelist, and keen on all forms of aggressive Christian work.” He died in 1930.

1913

W Titcombe Pullen, John E Clennell

1914

W Titcombe Pullen, A Ernest Follows

1915-1916

Thomas Pinfield, A Ernest Follows

1917

W Arthur Williams, A Ernest Follows

W Arthur Williams was born in Taunton in 1877, began training in Didsbury in 1901, and “served the Methodist Church with deep fidelity and acceptance. He was a practical and evangelical preacher, a wise counsellor, and a loyal friend.” He died in 1951.

1918

W Arthur Williams, John W Thompson

1919

W Arthur Williams, John C Mitchell

1920

W Arthur Williams, Arthur W Harper

1921

W Arthur Williams, Robert Flenley

1922-1923

James Wolfendale, Robert Flenley

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DATA FROM THE RECORDS Conference Minutes The annual Methodist Conference (for more on which see the appendices) minutes provide valuable records of what was happening in Methodism across the British Isles and beyond. As well as recording what happened at the yearly meetings held in London, they also contain data on the churches around the country, who was working as minister where, as well as obituaries of Methodist ministers who had passed away that year (see above in pages 65ff).

Across the years, the entries for Stow show its relationship with Chipping Norton, and the person responsible for the church in that year. The following extract shows this information from 1858 through to 1890. (The number refers to the number of the church as it appeared in the full list of churches across the land. Chipping Norton was the circuit it belonged to, followed by the stations – see the appendices for definitions of these terms.)

1858 93 Chipping Norton, Edward Branston, Jakeh Oats (Stow-on-the-Wold), Henry Beeson (Stourton).

1859 93 Chipping Norton, Charles B Ritchie (Stow-on-the-Wold), James Greenland (Stourton).

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1860 95 Chipping Norton, George F Driver, Charles B Ritchie (Stow-on-the-Wold), William R Dalby (Stourton).

1870 120 Stow-on-the-Wold, Joseph Milligan, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit. Samuel Wesley, Buckley Yates (Farringdon).

1871 121 Stow-on-the-Wold, Joseph Milligan, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

1872 123 Stow-on-the-Wold, John Skerratt (see separate entry on John Skerratt on page 49), who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit. Samuel Wesley, John Tesseyman (Farringdon).

1873 128 Stow-on-the-Wold, John Skerratt, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

1874 129 Stow-on-the-Wold, John Skerratt, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

1876 137 Stow-on-the-Wold, Joseph Payne, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

1879 154 Stow-on-the-Wold, John Thomas, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

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1883 162 Stow-on-the-Wold, John Hugill, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

1884 162 Stow-on-the-Wold, John Preston, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

1885 168 Stow-on-the-Wold, George Hooper, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

1890 174 Stow-on-the-Wold, James Langley, who shall change on two Sundays in every quarter with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

1891 174 Stow-on-the-Wold, James Langley, who shall change on two Sundays in every quarter with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

Special grant of £20 1895 177 Chipping Norton, Edwin O Coleman, William Charles Poles (Stow-on-the- Wold), Joseph Birkbeck (Shipston-on-Stour).

Special grant of £20 1898 183 Stow Mission, Frederick C Moseley (Stow-on-the-Wold), who shall change on two Sundays in every quarter with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit.

Special grant of £20

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1899 180 Stow Mission, Charles Ryder Smith, B.A. (Stow-on-the-Wold), who shall change on two Sundays in every quarter with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit, and act under the direction of the Chairman of the District.

1990 175 Stow Mission, Allworth Eardley (Stow-on-the-Wold] who shall change on two Sundays in every quarter with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Gicmi, and act under the direction of the Chairman of the District.

Special grant of £20 Methodist Magazine and Circuit Minutes The Wesleyan Methodist Magazine was a monthly Methodist magazine published between 1778 and 1969. Founded by John Wesley as the Arminian Magazine, it was retitled the Methodist Magazine in 1798 and as the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine in 1822. The co-writer with Wesley of early editions was Thomas Olivers. Each circuit had a different approach to the minutes that were taken, and records vary across regions. They are kept in a variety of locations, and depending on the time and place, record a variety of information.

In the following information, the station first mentioned is the head of the circuit, the first minister named is the Superintendent.

Methodist Magazine 1865 Stations of the Wesleyan-Methodist Ministers, and Preachers on Trial, for 1865-66 Oxford District 109 Chipping Norton, Isaac Davies, Joseph Mole (Stow-on-the-Wold), Joseph Little (B), (Shipston-on-Stour); John T Morley, Supernumerary

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Methodist Magazine 1867 Stations of the Wesleyan-Methodist Ministers, and Preachers on Trial, for 1867-68 114 Chipping Norton, Isaac Davies, Joseph Mole (Stow-on-the-Wold), Joseph Bacon; John T Morley, Supernumerary (p.826) 1865 Circuit Minutes Chipping Norton 423 Members in Society Yearly collection ÂŁ6 10s 6d Congregation collection 5 0 0 Meetings and subs 0 17 7 Grants 60 0 0 1866 Circuit Minutes 113 Chipping Norton, Isaac Davies, Joseph Mole (Stow-on-the-Wold), Joseph Bacon; John T Morley, Supernumerary Chipping Norton 372 Members in Society Yearly collection ÂŁ6 10s 6d Congregation collection 5 0 0 Meetings and subs 1 6 0 Grants 60 0 0 1867 Circuit Minutes 114 Chipping Norton, Isaac Davies, Joseph Mole (Stow-on-the-Wold), Joseph Bacon; John T Morley, Supernumerary 1868 Circuit Minutes 116 Chipping Norton, William Jackson (a), Arthur R Humphreys; John T Morley, Supernumerary 75

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117 Stow-on-the-Wold, John Stembridge, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit Chipping Norton 355 Members in Society Yearly collection £6 10s 6d Congregation collection 5 0 0 Meetings and subs Grants 1869 Circuit Minutes 118 Chipping Norton, Thomas Rigby, John P Yates; John T Morley, Supernumerary 119 Stow-on-the-Wold, Joseph Milligan, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit Chipping Norton 270 Members in Society Yearly collection £3 0s 0d Congregation collection 3 0 4 Meetings and subs 3 13 3 Grants 14 0 0 Stow-on-the-Wold 71 Members in Society Yearly collection £1 5s 0d Congregation collection 1 19 5 Meetings and subs 0 8 7 Grants 45 0 0 1870 Circuit Minutes 119 Chipping Norton, Thomas Rigby, John P Yates; John T Morley, Supernumerary 120 Stow-on-the-Wold, Joseph Milligan, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit Chipping Norton 264 Members in Society Yearly collection £3 0s 0d 76

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Congregation collection 3 5 0 Meetings and subs 1 5 6 Grants 23 0 0 Stow-on-the-Wold 70 Members in Society Yearly collection £1 5s 0d Congregation collection 1 16 6 Meetings and subs 0 7 6 Grants 45 0 0 1871 Circuit Minutes 120 Chipping Norton, William Holdsworth, John Burnett 121 Stow-on-the-Wold, Joseph Milligan, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit Chipping Norton 261 Members in Society Yearly collection £3 5s 0d Congregation collection 3 10 0 Meetings and subs 0 10 0 Grants 23 0 0 Stow-on-the-Wold 66 Members in Society Yearly collection £1 5s 0d Congregation collection 1 17 9 Meetings and subs 0 6 9 Grants 45 16 8 1872 Circuit Minutes 122 Chipping Norton, Alfred Beresford, Ralph Green 123 Stow-on-the-Wold, John Skerratt, who shall change on one Sunday in every six weeks with the Ministers of the Chipping Norton Circuit Chipping Norton 172 Members in Society Yearly collection £2 7s 6d Total contributions, including yearly collection 5 10 6 77

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Grants 20 0 0 Stow-on-the-Wold 66 Members in Society Yearly collection ÂŁ1 5s 0d Total contributions, including yearly collection 3 11 6 Grants 45 10 11 1873 128 Stow-on-the-Wold a. Stow-on-the-Wold, 216; Bledington, 105; Kingham, 70, Westcote, 60 [chapels connexionally settled 4, sittings 451) b. Oddington, 25 [chapels connexionally settled 1, sittings 25) 1881 159 Stow-on-the-Wold a. Stow-on-the-Wold, 216; Bledington, 105; Kingham, 150, Westcote, 60 [chapels connexionally settled 4, sittings 531) 1891 174 Stow-on-the-Wold a. Stow-on-the-Wold, 216; Bledington, 135; Kingham, 113, Westcote, 60 [chapels connexionally settled 4, sittings 524) b. Oddington, 30; Moreton-in-Marsh, 20 [chapels connexionally settled 2, sittings 50)

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Baptismal Returns Baptism Register 1868-1923 relating to Stow-on-the-Wold Mission Circuit. This data has been converted into the following graph, showing the total number of baptisms per year:

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Statistical Returns National returns showing number of church members.

1901 172 Stow Mission a. Stow-on-the-Wold, 182; Bledington, 123; Kingham, 129; Westcote, 75 [chapels connexionally settled 4, sittings 509) b. Oddington, 30 1911 157 Stow Mission a. Stow-on-the-Wold, 182; Bledington, 123; Kingham, 129; Westcote, 75; Oddington 100; Upper Slaughter, 90 [chapels connexionally settled 6, sittings 699) 1931 161 Chipping Norton and Stow a. ‌ [linked with all the others under Chipping Norton] ‌ Stow-on-the-Wold, 182; Bledington, 123; Kingham, 129; Westcote, 75; Oddington, 100; Upper Slaughter, 90 1973 church stg 120 school stg 49 classrooms 1 church opened 1865

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Minutes of Leaders Meetings These minutes deal with the organisation of the church and its events. The majority of the notes deal with appointments, giving thanks, organisation of meetings, plans for the coming months etc. The following is only a snapshot, but a recurring issue throughout the second half of the twentieth century was falling numbers.

14.4.1915 “It was decided to remove Mrs Florence King’s name from the Class Book on the grounds of her having ‘ceased to meet’. Mrs Medcroft’s name was mentioned by the Chairman, and it was decided to let the name remain in the hope that she might attend more regularly.”

18.1.1939 (Chairman Rev HAH Barley Supt) “Miss Hoare (the Temperance Secretary) stated that the numbers on the Temperance Roll was 13 and 3 members of the Order of Christian Citizenship.”

1.10.1952 (Chairman Pastor W Marsh) “In a discussion on how to get new members, house to house visitation was mentioned. It was also decided that we invite the Shipston-on-Stour Choir.”

May 1956 A discussion of posters to announce preachers, a prayer circle and a mission from 211 June, using two men from Cliff College… but in the 1 August meeting, “Much disappointment was felt about the results of the mission. The meetings were not supported by our own members. The mission did not take the form expected and it was felt that the evangelists did not do enough visitation or undertake the open air work that was expected.”

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10.12.1957 Collections for the year had been £128.0.6, expenditure had been £96.10.3, balance to the Trust was £31.10.3.

24.11.1959 “United services with Baptist friends had been restarted.”

27.11.1961 Discussion of plans for 150th Chapel Anniversary in 1964.

25.2.1963 Plans for March, “When we are to have a visit from Rev Derrick Greeves, Central Hall, Westminster, who will give an illustrated lecture on his recent visit to the Holy Land.

Tea and biscuits to be provided.”

Membership – 18 30.11.1970 “The position with regard to the Church was reviewed. Membership had dropped from 22 to 17, from removals, only 15 being active members. Financial position. Current Account over drawn £20.9.1. Deposit Account £334.10.6.

Trustees Minutes Book The Trust dealt with all the building issues associated with the Methodist Church, and so also many financial issues. There is discussion of the rental of the school room to various organisations throughout these minutes, and also appointment of trustees, fabric, renovations, accounts, hymn books, other appointments, etc.

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Oxfordshire History Centre

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Trustees Minute Book from December 1860 83

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Trust Accounts 1860-1 Income Sep 1860 Dec 2 Mar Jun Sep

Mr Joshua Blackwell in a/c with Trustees of Wesley Chapel

£

s

d

Balance in hand Seat rents Seat rents Seat rents Seat rents

1 1 1 1 1

15 8 6 5 9

0 6 9 0 0

7

4

3

1

6 10 3 13 10 10 5 16 10 19

0 0 6 11 0 0 0 3 0 7

4

3

Total Expenditure Dec 30 Feb 9 Mar 1 25 June 24 June Sep 16 30 Dec 9 Total

Balance of a/c for gas fittings as per bill Cash to Quarter Board Coals 3 cwt Gas bill Quarter Board Quarter Board Gravel for chapel front Gas bill Quarter Board Cash balance paid to Mr Parton

1

7

1868 “Resolved first that the pews in the centre of the chapel be let at 1/3 per sitting, and those at sides at 1/11. Resolved second that the cushions be uniform in colour (crimson). Resolved third that the pews be numbered.”

(Pew rents were a source of additional income in many churches where worshippers rented seats in order of social precedence. This was a practice followed by Methodists from the early 1800s through to the 1930s when the practice died.)

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12 Jan 1869 Resolved that “the chapel be registered for the solemnisation of marriage.”

1 Oct 1894 Discussed introducing heating and hot water to the building, as well as a salaried choir master (at no more than £5 per year)!

July 1907 List of Trustees Thomas Mace George Coleman Henry League Thomas Massey John Thomas Summersbee George Seal Thomas Mobbs Edwin Webb Blackwell James Vanner Early James Rise Joseph William Brown Joseph Harris Frederick Treweeke

Chipping Norton Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Carlisle Witney, Oxon Oxford Launton Bledington Mill Larsdon, Oxon

Solicitor Gardener Gentn Engine Fitter Builder Carrier Molder Iron Monger Manufacturer Retired PO Clerk Farmer Miller Farmer

20.1.1909 Discussion that the “present school premises are inadequate to meet the requirements of our work… also a desire having been expressed to procure a minister’s house… to issue a circular appealing to Friends in the Circuit and District for the removal of present debt.”

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26.1.1916 “It was also unanimously agreed to insure the Chapel, School and Cottages adjoining against Air Raids up to the total value of the fire policies.”

1917 Meetings are concerned about the insurance for the clock-winder, a dangerous profession, and also ongoing discussions about the state of the organ and repairs to the church building and its roof. The Trust is responsible for the upkeep and renting of the School Room and the cottages linked to the chapel (one of these was in Park Street).

1933 Discussion of raising funds for a new hall and also a caretaker’s cottage.

26.1.1938 “Mr Carne reported that on Sunday last, he was called out by the Police to see some damage to the Chapel railings, by a lad from the aerodrome. A letter was also read from the guardian of the lad asking that the Trustees take a lenient view of the case and that he would pay all expenses for repair.”

3.2.1943 The Chapel receives a gift from the Estate of Joseph Albert Mansell (d. 24.6.41) of approximately £1,525 (see later on page 91).

There is discussion of the cottage in Park Street (a Miss Hoare is a constant feature in the Minutes as the tenant of this property – for example, on 7.4.1947 she agreed to a rent rise to pay 7/6 per week rental for the property), and also a house on the Evesham Road (in 1952 this house was offered as accommodation for a supernumerary minister in recognition of their services).

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28.3.1955 Discussion of selling the Evesham Road property in order to raise money to build a manse. Apparently the property next door to the chapel is also derelict.

1956-7 Plans for a new house are considered, and by 1957 the manse is being fitted out with carpets and curtains (at a total cost of ÂŁ25).

1960 Discussion that the houses bequeathed to Stow Methodist Church by Albert Mansell had been sold in order to raise money to build the new manse, but the Quarterly Circuit had not paid rent for the manse and therefore the investment had not been generating an ongoing income for the church.

1964-5 Discussion of the house in Digbeth Street which was sold in 1965.

In the 1970s, the manse was let out to external tenants when a full-time minister was not living there.

In 1977 the Trust was changed into the Methodist Church Council.

1978 Heavy traffic caused a marble plaque to fall from the church wall, and the local Parish Council became involved in the issue.

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1985 As on many occasions, there was discussion of renovation of the church and building issues that needed to be resolved. Methodist House, Lower Park Street, was to be sold off.

Note that from 1916 onwards the demands for a renewed organ warranted their own committee and minute book!

Class Books (On classes see below on page 101.) The centrally published class record books contained a lengthy introduction about the history and purposes of Methodist Classes, including ‘Cautions and Directions addressed to Class Leaders’, extracted from a pamphlet on the same subject by Rev James Woods. The introduction also gives a list of attendance codes for those coming to the classes: A – absence D – distance (on a journey) B – business S – sickness And then there were codes for the attendees’ ‘state’: q – doubtful a – penitent, seeking salvation but not professing to enjoy faith o – state of justification b – meets in a band And of course information on their ‘station’: m – married s – single w – widow(er)

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The Stow-on-the-Wold Class Register Book starts in 1891, beginning with John H Dodd (the class leader), and then lists the person’s name, their residence and their attendance record, with sometimes information about their donations to the church.

The first class recorded included: Israel Bishop Eliz G Walford George Hawkin Mary Watkins Mary Hooper George Hardeam Eliz Simms

Church Street High Street High Street Bank End East Street High Street High Street

Preaching Notices (1928ff) These were a week-by-week literal record of the notices that the preacher read out each week. So it would include the services that Sunday (and who was leading them and what the theme or text might be), any mid-week services, the church services the forthcoming Sunday, and then any other church meetings or events that were imminent. These might include a ‘Women’s Bible Class’, ‘Combined Bible Reading and Prayer Meeting’, ‘Junior Wesley Guild’, a ‘Missionary Lecture on Africa’ .. etc.

Temperance Register (1891ff) In the nineteenth century Methodism identified itself with the 'total abstinence' temperance movement. This was at a time when social evils such as poverty and domestic violence were greatly exacerbated by drunkenness, and so many chapels had temperance meetings. The beginning of the register for these meetings at STow included wording which each attendee had to agree to: Hereby agree to abstain from all intoxicating liquors as beverages; and will endeavour to promote the objectives of this Society.

It then lists in date order attendees giving name, age, whether they were abstaining or non-abstaining, their profession and their residence. The first entries in the register are: 89

Oxfordshire History Centre

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Temperance Society Record Book 90

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1891 1895

James Langley Wesleyan Minister John F Summersbee Joiner Frederick George Gregg 20 Art Photographer

Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold Park St, Stow

Also in the records are Sunday School Registers (1927ff – simply a list of names); Account Books (1895-1942 – basic two column accounts with income and expenditure); Stewards Records (1906-1914 – listing weekly giving in the church); Visitors Book (1980-2001 – people who visited the church from all over the world); Minutes of Church Meetings (1996-2002 – the main information here being attendance records – 1995 (22), 1999 (16), 2000 (14), 2002 (16)); and various receipts and bills for work done on the church (including the purchase of ¼ acre of surplus land at the rear of the church which the council sold to Stow Methodist Church for £110).

Copy of the Will of Joseph Albert Mansell (15.3.1940) Joseph Albert Mansell donated a large part of his estate to the Methodist Church in Stow-on-the-Wold. Mansell left the majority of his estate to five interested parties: • • • • •

Stow Methodist Church Stow Baptist Church Bourton-on-the-Water Cottage Hospital St Edward’s Church (Anglican), Stow Methodist Home Mission

His property interests included a farm and 113 acres in Upper Oddington; four houses in Well Lane, Stow; two houses in Pits, Stow; two houses in Evesham Road, Stow; four houses in Swell; a house in Black Walls, Stow; and a house in Park Street, Stow.

The Methodist Church was bequeathed the farm and its land in Upper Oddington, as well as the two houses in Evesham Road, Stow. These were to be sold off and the proceeds used for the ongoing work of the church. (The London Gazette of 19th May 1942 gave notice for anyone wishing to claim against Joseph’s estate, which according to probate was worth £8554 7s 4d.)

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Probate registry entry for Joseph Albert Mansell

Electoral Registers for Joseph Albert Mansell, showing two of the different addresses he owned and lived at over the years 92

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APPENDIX 1 A SHORT GLOSSARY OF METHODIST TERMS Circuit The circuit is normally a group of churches served by a team of ministers.

Occasionally there are circuits with only one minister. A minister will have pastoral charge of one or more churches, but will preach and lead worship in different local churches in the circuit, along with local preachers. The arrangements for leading worship in a circuit are drawn up in a quarterly plan.

The circuit is led by the superintendent minister who presides over the circuit staff (both lay and ordained) and the circuit meeting, and with lay and ordained colleagues facilitates and encourages mission throughout the circuit. He or she is also responsible for drawing up the plan and arranging the gathering of information about activities (e.g. baptisms, weddings, and funerals) and about membership statistics in the circuit. When a pastoral charge consists of only one local church, it is called a station.

Conference The Methodist Conference meets annually in June or July.

It first met in 1744 under John Wesley, who gathered together his assistants (both ordained ministers and itinerant lay preachers) to confer together about ‘what to teach, how to teach, and what to do, i.e. how to regulate our doctrine, discipline and practice.’ The contemporary Conference is a gathering of representatives from each Methodist district, along with some who have been elected by the Conference and some ex-officio members and representatives of the Youth Assembly.

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There is a mixture of lay people, ordained presbyters and deacons. Presbyters and deacons also have their own separate gatherings before the main, decision-making session.

The Conference is the body that agrees policy for the Methodist Church.

Connexion Methodists belong to local churches or ecumenical partnerships, but also feel part of a larger connected community, the Connexion.

This sense of being connected makes a difference to how the Methodist Church as a whole is structured. At its heart is an understanding of the Christian community as the ‘body of Christ’. Just as a human body contains different limbs and organs that depend on each other, so Methodists believe that they should be close and caring enough to feel each other’s pain and delight, to put the good of the whole body before our own individual needs. The promise of mutual support is a perceived strength of Methodism.

If someone becomes a member of the Methodist Church, a pastoral visitor is responsible for visiting them and offering spiritual support, encouragement and challenge.

When ministers or deacons are ordained in the Methodist Church, they are also ‘received into full Connexion.’

In the Methodist Church decisions are made as openly as possible, giving opportunities for all to contribute. It is important for all views to be heard and taken seriously, especially where Christians disagree.

District A regional group of churches or charges, supervised by a district superintendent.

Home Missioner A home missioner is a layperson who is commissioned to share their faith through ministries of love, justice and service at home.

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Membership Roll The permanent record of the membership of a local Methodist church. The membership roll includes the names and addresses of all baptised persons who have come into membership by confession of faith, or by transfer. It includes all members whose names have not been removed because of death, transfer, withdrawal or removal for cause.

Minister The term which, in its broadest usage in Methodism, applies to all persons who accept Christ as Saviour who are baptised, and who participate in Christ’s ministry of grace through outreach and service in the world. It is the Methodist conviction that all persons in Christ are called to work for the building up of the church through worship, fellowship and service to the world. In a more limited sense, the word minister is used to refer to those persons who serve the church through full-time work. In its most specific usage, minister is used as a synonym for pastor.

Missionary A lay or clergy person selected and commissioned to serve in the work of the Methodist Church or related denominations abroad. Missionaries are selected, assigned, and directed in their work by the national church.

Pastor The ordained or licensed person who has been appointed to be in charge of a local church or churches. The pastor in this formal sense is the official representative of the Conference and is responsible for serving effectively in the ministry of ‘Word, Sacrament, and Order’ in that appointment. In a less formal sense, pastor is a title synonymous with minister.

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Sacrament Something consecrated or holy. Traditionally, a Christian ordinance manifesting an inward, spiritual grace by an outward, visible sign or symbol. Methodists recognise two sacraments: baptism and Holy Communion.

Sanctuary The main worship room or auditorium in a Methodist church building. The sanctuary for Methodism includes nave, chancel and choir areas.

Superintendency Superintendents are presbyters who (in exercising their ministry) undertake particular responsibilities on behalf of the Conference in particular situations to which they are appointed. The term ‘Superintendent’ evolved in Britain before the death of Wesley as a description of the responsibilities of some of his Assistants (a role which later evolved into what is now known as ordained presbyteral ministry).

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APPENDIX 2 METHODISTS, THEIR HISTORY AND THEIR DISTINCTIVES (taken and adapted from the Methodist website www.methodist.org.uk) A Storm at Sea John and Charles Wesley set out for America in 1735, enthused at the idea of preaching the Gospel to Native American people.

During the voyage the ship was struck by a terrifying storm. John was afraid. He prayed with the English passengers, one of whom brought him a baby to baptise in case they were all about to die.

Shortly afterwards he was at another service with a group of German Moravians when a huge wave engulfed the ship and water poured down into the cabins.

While the English passengers screamed in terror, the Moravians continued singing – men, women and children seemingly untroubled.

Later he asked one of the Moravians if they hadn’t been afraid. He replied that not even the women and children had been afraid. None of them were afraid to die.

John knew that they had something he didn’t, an absolute trust in God. They were prepared to lose their lives because they knew that God was never going to let them go.

John was deeply impressed. His time in America was unsuccessful in many ways, and he and Charles returned home after two years. All the time John was nagged by the thought that he did not have full faith in God… but this was about to change.

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The Conversions Both John and Charles Wesley returned to England deeply dissatisfied with their spiritual state.

Still heavily influenced by the Moravians they met with in London, the Wesleys joined in a ‘Religious Society’, and in May 1738 both underwent a profound spiritual experience. John famously described this in his Journal for 24 May 1738: In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine and saved me from the law of sin and death.

Three days earlier, following his own ‘conversion’, Charles had written a hymn: Where shall my wondering soul begin How shall I all to heaven aspire?

A slave redeemed from death and sin, A brand plucked from eternal fire, How shall I equal triumphs raise, Or sing my great Deliverer’s praise?

Flowing from the complete assurance they felt in God’s love and forgiveness, their faith was lived out in lives that went on to influence millions. Charles went on to write over 6,000 hymns, while John used his organising genius to turn a spontaneous movement into a structured body which became the origin of today’s world-wide Methodist Church.

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The Holy Club Charles and John were both students at Oxford (at Christ Church college), and in 1726 John was elected as Fellow of Lincoln College. Charles, who had been a bit of a lad at the start of his university career, became more serious about his faith, and started a small group nicknamed ‘the Holy Club’, which met for prayer and Bible study. Later, John became a leading light in the group, and in particular stressed the need for combining a deep inward faith with practical service to those in need.

The scholars used to go into the town and the local prison to do charitable work and visit the sick. Other students had a variety of mocking nicknames for the group, including ‘Bible Moths’, ‘Enthusiasts’ and ‘Supererogationists’ (because they did more than most people thought was necessary to be a good Christian), but the one that stuck was ‘Methodists’.

It was in the Holy Club that the Wesley brothers met George Whitefield, who became an important part of the Methodist movement.

Diligence led me into serious thinking. I went to the weekly Sacrament and persuaded two or three young scholars to accompany me, and to observe the method of study prescribed by the Statutes of the University. This gained me the harmless name of Methodist.

Charles Wesley, letter written in later life.

Preaching John Wesley knew George Whitefield from the days of the Holy Club. Whitefield had had a similar conversion experience to the Wesleys a few years earlier, and had gone on to preach in large open-air meetings.

Wesley preached the first of his open-air sermons at Whitefield’s invitation in Bristol in 1739. As an Oxford don and an ordained Church of England minister, Wesley had a reverence for the ‘proper’ places of worship and was uneasy about preaching in the open air. However, since many working class people often felt excluded from the 99

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churches, ‘field preaching’ became a key feature of the Methodist Revival. More and more preachers were trained, and either travelled around like Wesley, or remained ‘local preachers’.

Wesley went on to spend his life travelling the country, preaching to crowds on village greens, at pitheads – wherever he could find people to listen. During his lifetime he travelled an estimated 250,000 miles and preached 40,000 times. His sermons appealed to people’s hearts and minds, and were experienced as deeply personal messages by those who listened. They reached many who felt alienated from the church because of their emphasis on God’s freely-given forgiveness and love for all.

Wesley’s published sermons became and remain the doctrinal standard of the Methodist Church.

Social Justice For the Wesleys, ‘works’ as well as faith were essential to the whole of Christian living, and caring for the poor, for prisoners, for widows and orphans mattered a great deal.

Methodists were not only interested in welfare, they were concerned to remedy social injustice, and John Wesley’s last known letter urged the abolition of ‘that execrable villainy’, slavery. The Wesleys were an influence in prison reform and, inspired by Susanna Wesley, they earned a reputation as pioneers in education.

John Wesley himself wrote, edited or abridged some 400 publications. As well as theology, he wrote about politics, music, marriage, slavery and medicine. Methodists were encouraged to work to their utmost to improve the lives of others. John Wesley exhorted them to, “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”

Wesleyan Theology The assurance of the free grace of God was the experience of the early Methodists, which the Wesleys set in the Christian tradition of ‘Arminianism’, emphasising within human freewill the need for holy living as an outcome of faith leading towards ‘Christian perfection’.

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By contrast the Calvinists (such as George Whitefield) stressed the absolute sovereignty of God and believed in predestination. This implied that some people could never reach God, no matter what they did, as ‘the elect’ had already been chosen. Yet Wesley and the Methodists preached that all can be saved – no-one is beyond the reach of God’s love.

Societies and Classes Wesley formed converts into local societies, originally modelled upon the ‘Religious Societies’ and his Oxford group. They were also subdivided into ‘classes’ which met weekly.

Every year, by horse or carriage, John Wesley travelled the country to visit, encourage and admonish the societies, as well as preaching. Through the societies, members supported one another spiritually and pastorally, and working people and women often found a status otherwise denied to them. Small groups are still important in Methodism today, for nurturing Christian growth in mutual trust and openness.

Wesley insisted that Methodists regularly attend their local parish church as well as Methodist meetings. He did not want Methodism to become a ‘break-away’ movement.

Birth of the Conference As the Methodist societies grew at a fast rate, some way of keeping in touch and organising them was needed. John Wesley held what became an annual conference of Methodist preachers.

In 1784 he made provision for the continuance as a corporate body after his death of the ‘Yearly Conference of the People called Methodists’. He nominated 100 people and declared them to be its members and laid down the method by which their successors were to be appointed.

After his death the leadership passed to the Methodist Conference, and instead of one person exercising leadership for a length of time, the president of the Conference was appointed for one year only, a tradition that continues to this day.

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Today the Methodist Church has a connexional structure rather than a congregational one. This is where the whole church acts and decides together, and where the local church is never independent of the rest of the Connexion. Everyone who becomes a member through confirmation is a member of the Methodist Church as a whole, not just their local church.

The Methodist Church is part of the whole Church of Christ. It claims no superiority or inferiority to any other part of the Church. All those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and accept the obligations to serve him in the life of the Church and the world are welcome as full members of the Methodist Church.

Separation from the Church of England Although Wesley declared, “I live and die a member of the Church of England,” the strength and impact of the movement made a separate Methodist body virtually inevitable. In 1784 Wesley gave legal status to his Conference, which moved towards the legal separation of Methodism from the Anglican Church.

He also ordained ministers for America, where there was a drastic shortage of clergy to administer the sacraments following the War of Independence. The Bishop of London had refused to ordain ministers for this purpose, and Wesley felt he was forced to act. Disputes about the status of the travelling preachers and the administration of the sacraments were resolved by the Plan of Pacification (1795) which was a decisive break with the Church of England.

Primitive Methodism The Primitive Methodists were a major off-shoot of the principal stream of Methodism – the Wesleyan Methodists – in nineteenth century Britain. In the early decades of the nineteenth century there was a growing body of opinion among the Wesleyans that their Connexion was moving in directions which were a distortion of, not to say a betrayal of, what John Wesley had brought to birth in the eighteenth century.

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their self-understanding that they were the true guardians of the original, or primitive, form of Methodism.

The sorts of issues which divided the Primitives and the Wesleyans were these: • The Primitives focused attention on the role of lay people.

• The Wesleyans developed a high doctrine of the Pastoral Office to justify leadership being in the hands of the ministers.

• The Primitives stressed simplicity in their chapels and their worship.

• The Wesleyans were open to cultural enrichment from the Anglican tradition and more ornate buildings.

• The Primitives concentrated their mission on the rural poor.

• The Wesleyans on the more affluent and influential urban classes.

• The Primitives stressed the political implications of their Christian discipleship.

• The Wesleyans were nervous of direct political engagement.

By the end of the nineteenth century these two streams of Methodism realised they had more in common than they might have supposed. So conversations began which led to their being the two principal partners in the union to form the present-day Methodist Church in 1932.

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The restored entrance to the church

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END NOTES 1 Baghurst, 25-26.

2 In 1900 the green triangle formed at the point where Digbeth Street meets Sheep Street was enclosed and presented to the town as a garden by the Lord of the Manor, Henry ChamberlayneChamberlayne.

3 Currie, 44.

4 Ashbridge, 90-92.

5 Bancroft Judge, 67 6 Ibid. 68.

7 The parish register for Stow in 1801 records 255 houses and a total population of 1,198.

8 Baghurst, 125.

9 Returns of Accommodation Provided in Wesleyan Methodist, 1873.

10 Johnson, 130.

11 From the Dictionary of Methodism.

12 Pritchard, 136.

13 Badger is referred to in Farrow, and Findlay and Holdsworth.

14 To those not used to reading such religious words, it must be remembered that the obituaries were often written so as to encourage other Christians, and to help them be inspired by the service and example of ministers who had died. As such they contained less detail about the particulars of the persons life and family, and more praise about their spiritual life and discipleship.

15 Hall’s Circuits and Ministers

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Refitted windows, showing the brickwork in all its glory

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Ashbridge, Pauline, Village Chapels: Some Aspects of Rural Methodism in the East Cotswolds and South Midlands 1800-2000 (Hook Norton: Kershaw Publishing, 2004) Baghurst, Harold, Stow-on-the-Wold: An Illustrated History (Stow-on-the-Wold: Aztec Publishing, 1979) Currie, Robert, Methodism Divided (London, 1968) Farrow, Jill, Native agency in British West Africa: The Development of an Idea 1835-65, with Special Reference to Sierra Leone (Durham University thesis, 1974) Findlay and Holdsworth, The History of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, vol IV (London: Epworth Press,1922) Hall’s Circuits and Ministers 1765 to 1912 (London: Methodist Publishing House, 1913) Hall’s Circuits and Ministers 1913 to 1923 (London: Methodist Publishing House, 1925) Johnson, Joan, Stow-on-the-Wold (Stroud: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1994) Judge, GH Bancroft, The Origin and Progress of Wesleyan Methodism in Cheltenham and District (Wesley Historical Society: 1912) Pritchard, John, Methodists and their Missionary Societies 1760-1900 (London, Routledge 2013) Stow-on-the-Wold: Glimpses of the Past (Stow-on-the-Wold and District Civil Society, 2000) Vickers, John (ed), Dictionary of Methodism (London: Epworth Press, 2000)

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The completed development of Stow-on-the-Wold Methodist Church, 2019

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