Methodism in Wales

The Methodist revival began the same way as in England within the Church of England in Wales and at the start also remained as a group within it. However its success meant that Methodists gradually built up their own networks, structures, and even meeting houses (or chapels), which led eventually to the secession of 1811 and the formal establishment of the Calvinistic Methodist Presbyterian Church of Wales  in 1823. 

John Wesley had heard from George Whitefield in March 1739 about a great awakening that was already going on in Wales under the ministry of Howell Harris and others. Whitefield had just returned from his own first visit to Wales across the River Severn from Bristol, where he had met and developed an immediate strong friendship with Harris. John Wesley and George Whitefield were drawn into association with Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland, Welshmen inspired by similar values. Wesley first went to Wales in 1739 at Harris’ invitation and preached to a crowd of around 400 at Devauden, Monmouthshire, on 15 October, 1739.

In 2013 a Bust of Wesley was unveiled on the village Green at  Devauden marking  the anniversary of his first Welsh sermon he preached on the spot after being refused entry to the Parish church. The bust has been funded by donations from people in Devauden and local Methodist churches.

However, the Welsh Methodists at that time embraced the Calvinist doctrine of predestination, believing that Christ died only for the chosen elect. This doctrine was held by the Welsh Methodist leaders and by Whitefield but was energetically rejected by Wesley who preached the Arminian view that the offer of salvation was open to all. Although Harris and Wesley found it possible to work together at first, this basic difference in the interpretation of Scripture increasingly drove a wedge between the two sides of the early Methodist movement. Despite John Wesley’s 35 visits and other occasions when he passed through Wales on journeys to and from Ireland, Wesleyan Methodism had made only a small impact in Wales. Since Wesley did not speak Welsh this impact was almost exclusively on English speakers. His agreement with Harris leaving most of the responsibility for Wales to him meant that by the end of the 18th century Wesley’s followers in Wales numbered only around 600.

We journey to Brecon where Rev Thomas Coke, faher of Methodist World Mission was born.

in 1747 in a house in the High Street, just a stone's throw from the Parish Church of St Mary's Church where Thomas was baptized just a week later.

Little is known about his childhood, except that he was a pupil at Christ College during the headmastership of the Revd David Griffith. In 1764 he went up to Jesus College, Oxford. Thanks to the family prosperity, he went up as a Gentleman Commoner, and seems to have enjoyed the social life of the university. He graduated in 1768, became a Fellow Commoner the next day and his degree (MA) two years later. In 1775 he obtained his doctorate in Civil Law, with support from no less a person than Lord North, who was both Prime Minister and Chancellor of the University at that time.
Meanwhile, in line with his religious upbringing, he embarked on a clerical career. 

In 1770 he was ordained as deacon and in 1772 as priest and was sent as a curate to the parish of South Petherton, in Somerset. In 1770 the vicar of Kingston St Mary, near Taunton.brought together two of his friends, the young Coke and the veteran Methodist leader John Wesley. The meeting would change the direction of both men. Wesley advised Coke to return to his parish, 'doing all the good he could, visiting from house to house, omitting no part of his clerical duty' — in a nutshell, turning it into a Methodist stronghold. Coke did just this. The result a few months later was the ringing out of the church bells to celebrate his being driven from the parish.

Memorial to Thomas Coke

Brecon Cathedral

We continue to Brecon Catherdral to have lunch and view a memorial plaque to Thomas Coke. He had wished to be buried here but died aboard ship on one of his overseas travels and was burried at sea.

The Cathedral has a great cafe "Pilgrims" where we had our Sunday Roast.

Brecon Cathedral was originally founded as a Benedictine Priory in 1093 and become a parish church during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537. The Priory Church of St John the Evangelist became Brecon Cathedral in 1923 (at the creation of the Diocese of Swansea & Brecon, when the Church in Wales became a separate Province of the Anglican Communion from the Church of England). Most of the Cathedral and the other buildings in the Close date from the 14th century. The Thomas Coke memorial is on the north wall

TEXT OF THE THOMAS COKE MEMORIAL, BRECON CATHEDRAL

Sacred to the memory of The Revd. Thomas Coke, LL.D.,

Of Jesus College, Oxford, who was born in this Borough the 9th day of September, A.D. 1747. Was one of the Common Council and in 1770 filled the office of Chief Magistrate with honour to himself and equal benefit to the public. After a zealous ministry of several years in the Established Church, in 1776 he united himself to the Revd. John Wesley, M.A, and preached the Gospel with success in various parts of Great Britain and Ireland. To him were confided the Foreign Missions of the Methodists, in support of which he expended a large part of his fortune, and with unremitting vigour encountered toils and self-denial, which the Christian world beheld with admiration.

By the Blessing of God on the Missions to the Negroes in the West Indies, commenced by him 1786, a foundation was laid for the civilization and salvation of the degraded class of human beings. To the Negro race upon their native continent, as well as in the islands of their bondage, his compassions were extended, and he set the first example in modern days of efforts for the spiritual emancipation of Western Africa.

After crossing the Atlantic eighteen times on his visits to the American Continent and the West Indian Colonies in the service of the souls of men, his unwearied spirit was stirred within him to take part in the noble enterprise of evangelizing British India. He sailed in 1813 as the leader of the first Wesleyan Missionaries to Ceylon. But this "burning and shining light" which in the Western World had guided thousands into the paths of peace, had now fulfilled its course, and suddenly, yet rich in evening splendour, sunk into the shadows of mortality.

He died on the voyage the 3rd of May, 1814, and his remains were committed to the great deep, until the sea shall give up her dead. His days were past, but his purposes were not broken off, for the Mission which he had planned was made abundantly to prosper. The same love of Christ which made him long advocate and the pattern of exertions in behalf of foreign lands, constrained him also to works of pious charity at home. Into many neglected districts of England, Wales and Ireland, the means of grace were carried by his private bounty or through his public influence, and his praise is in the Gospel throughout all the Churches.

This monument was erected A.D. 1829, at the expense of the ministers and missionaries with whom he was united, as a record of their respectful gratitude for the disinterested services, the eminent usefulness, and the long, tried, and faithful attachment of their now glorified friend, by the appointment and under direction of

the Revd. T. Roberts, M.A. and the Revd. J. Buckley.

The first Wesleyan preaching housebuilt in North Wales in 1798  was originally built by the Revd James Buckley, itinerant preacher and founder of Buckley's Brewery of Llanelly, South Wales. Buckley's helper at Pentre Llifior was James Gill, an early missionary to Gibraltar. Buckley preached the sermon at a rally prior to the inception of the first Methodist missionary society in 1813.

Tolpuddle

AUGUST 26, 2018 ~ CHIRPY METHODIST ~ EDIT

During the summer we visited the village of Tolpuddle, famous for its  iconic Martyers in the history of trade unionism in west Dorset and beyond. This year Topuddle Methodists celebrate the bicentenary of their orginal chapel which still stands today, with its cobbled floor.

• Following the Enclosures Acts the working and living conditions of agricultural labourers deteriorated, and wages in Dorset were only 9/- (45p) a week. In 1832, George Loveless, and others, tried to get the wages increased, but instead wages were progressively lowered to 6/- (30p).
• The men of Tolpuddle were desperate; alternative sources of work were few, especially in the winter months, and in October 1833 they formed a Friendly Society of Agricultural Workers.
• Although this was a perfectly legal “union”, members were obliged to swear a secret oath of allegiance and this proved to be their downfall. By using laws originally intended for use in the Navy, the local magistrates first posted a caution, and then, on 24th February 1834, the six leading men were arrested and marched to the gaol in Dorchester.
• The outcome of their trial at the Lent Assizes, was predictable, and all were sentenced to seven years transportation. Five were taken to New South Wales, while George Loveless, who had become ill, was later taken to Van Dieman’s Land (Tasmania).
• Eventually, after much lobbying, pardons were obtained, but the six men were not immediately informed. However George Loveless saw an old paper carrying the news of the pardons, and he set about getting a passage home.
• George Loveless, his brother James, Thomas and John Standfield and James Brine, returned to England at various times during 1837, but James Hammett did not return until 1839.

In 1860’s the 1818 Methodist Chapel was replaqced by a new building and over the decades the old Chaple became derelict, until purchased in 2015 by the The Tolpuddle Old Chaple Trust to tell the story of the Maryters and Methodism in the village.

The Methodist Church today

The whole sequence of events was only partly about money. The wealthy land owners and political leaders were afraid that the revolutionary spirit that had led to bloody change in France would spread to Britain.  The result was a clamp down on anyone who seemed to be showing signs of dissent, or was questioning the status quo.

Early Union members, such as the Tolpuddle Six, were frequently subject to discrimination and violence. Non-conformist religious groups, such as the local Methodists, were also targeted because they were critical of the Church of England, and were concerned for the needs of the poorest members of society.

When a Methodist Society was first formed in Tolpuddle the members probably met in one of their homes, and in 1810 the house of Thomas Loveless (George and James’ father) was licensed as a “Dissenters’ meeting house”. While it is not certain, it is thought that the Loveless family, and others in the village, first came to the new Non-Conformist church through the Wesleyan society in Wareham. This is thought to be the cottage that the Loveless family lived in.

In 1816 there was a great spiritual revival in Salisbury, and two young men went from the Wesleyan meeting in nearby Wareham. This gathering of enthusiasts and the curious featured large public meetings, lectures and more intimate study and the locals returned home with “their hearts glowing with sacred fire”. Around the same time the Methodist Church in Weymouth sent preachers to work as missioners in Puddletown and Milborne. In Tolpuddle, according to the historian Rev John Simon, that “success crowned the zeal of their endeavours”.

Every July thousands of people come to Tolpuddle to mark the witness and sacrifice of the Martyrs. The TUC organises a festival in the grounds of the cottages and museum, and a commemorative rally through the village. Wreaths are laid on the grave of William Hammet, and the weekend concludes with the annual Martyrs Service in our Methodist Chapel.

George Loveless

Self-educated and self-reliant, George Loveless was 37 when arrested. He married Elizabeth (Betsy) and by 1834 they had three children, all supported on a ploughman’s wage of nine shillings a week.

After George returned to England, the couple had two further children but Sina aged just four, died during the rough sailing to Canada and was buried at sea.

Loveless was a Methodist lay preacher. He was articulate and wrote eloquently about the Martyrs’ experiences in ‘The Victims of Whiggery’ and ‘The Church Shown Up’. Loveless and four of his fellow Martyrs emigrated to Canada, where he helped to build a Methodist Church at Siloam.

He died in 1874 at the age of 77.

 James Brine

Born in 1813, James was arrested before his 21st birthday. Reputed to have a bright personality, he produced a dramatic account of his experiences as a Martyr.

In Australia he was robbed of all the bedding and clothes allocated by the authorities on his way to his assigned master. On his return to England he married Elizabeth Standfield, daughter of Thomas and sister of John, further strengthening the family bonds, at Greensted Church, Essex. They had 11 children, four born in England, the others in Canada. Brine lived to 90, dying in 1902.

 James Hammett

Born at the end of 1811, he was an outsider: unlike the others, he never wrote about his experiences, had a criminal record and was not a Methodist. He alone returned toTolpuddle as a builder’s labourer. He was not at the fateful initiation, and may have accepted arrest on behalf of his brother, John, who was present. Hammett had been imprisoned in 1829 for allegedly stealing some pieces of iron.

In 1875 the Agricultural Workers Union presented James with an illuminated address and a fine engraved watch. He married three times and had seven children. Before his death in 1891 he moved into Dorchester Workhouse so as not to be a burden on his family. It is said that when he was buried in the Parish Church in Tolpuddle, orders were given that they should be no speeches over the grave. Talk of unions was still feared by those in power.

James Loveless

Five years younger than George, James was born in 1808. Married with two children, he too was a Methodist preacher.

A founder member of the Tolpuddle Union, he was singled out by Squire Frampton as a firebrand as early as 1830 during local riots in Piddletown. Of all the emigrants to Canada he alone did not buy land, opting instead to become sexton of the North Street Methodist Church in London Township, Ontario. He remained so until his death at 65 in February 1873.

 John Standfield

John and his father Thomas along with George and James Loveless worked on the same farm in Tolpuddle. All the families were very close.

After their return from transportation in Australia, John moved with the others to Essex and then to Canada. There he became mayor of East London, where he kept a hotel, ran a shop and founded a choir.

Thomas Standfield

The oldest, Thomas Standfield was 44 in 1834 and married to the Loveless brothers’ sister, Dinniah. By February, 1834 they had five children (with one on the way) of whom John, a fellow Martyr, was the oldest. Thomas was also a Methodist and co-founder of the Tolpuddle Union. Many of their meetings were held in the upstairs room in his cottage.

On moving to Essex, Thomas and his son John went to Fenner’s farm, five miles from the Lovelesses, which had been leased for them by the London Dorchester Committee.They emigrated to Canada two years after the Lovelesses. He died aged 74 in February, 1864. Diana soon followed him. Their graves are next to George and Betsy Loveless in Siloam cemetery.

©- http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/meet-martyrs

After the transportation of their husbands, the wives of the Tolpuddle men had to apply for parochial relief to Squire Frampton and the Justices who had organised their arrest and punishment. In refusing any assistance, Frampton considered that no person should be entitled if they could afford to join a union. “They meant us to suffer for the offences of our husbands” said the women in a letter to supporters. “Tolpuddle have for many years been noticed for tyranny and oppression and cruelty and now the union is broke up here.”