|
In the footsteps of
John Wesley 300+ years on....
The thought of trekking 250,000 miles around Britain on horseback is
something likely to deter even the most enthusiastic traveller. Add to
this task the preaching of 40,000 sermons – mostly in the open-air –
often confronting angry protesters as you go, and it’s not a job for
the faint-hearted.
The man who did just this was John Wesley (1703-1791) whose work and
that of his brother Charles led directly to the foundation of the
Methodist Church. Today there are an estimated 70 million Methodists
world-wide (the American Methodist Church, established by Francis
Asbury, has grown into one of the largest Protestant churches in the
USA).
2003 saw the 300th anniversary of Wesley's birth and there were many
events to celebrate this event.
Many of the important places in this charismatic evangelist’s life can
be visited: from Wesley’s birthplace in a lovely Lincolnshire village
to the world’s oldest Methodist Chapel, as well as dozens of his
open-air preaching sites – often in scenic locations. Thanks to
Wesley’s wanderlust, a tour of key Methodist sites could take you from
the south-western tip of England, north into Scotland, via the Black
Country, the Potteries in Central England and through Yorkshire, to
the Scottish Highlands.
A terrifying incident during John Wesley’s childhood was when, aged
five, he had a miraculous escape from a fire at the family home.
Rescued just as the thatched roof was about to collapse, he was
described by his mother, Susanna, as “a brand plucked from the
burning”. A handsome Queen Anne period house, the Old Rectory, was
built on the site and served as home for the remainder of his
childhood. Now open to visitors and containing portraits, period
furniture and memorabilia, it is situated at Epworth, a village in the
Lincolnshire fens, 160 miles north of London.
John returned to Epworth many times – his father had been rector at
St. Andrews Church – and he was once famously denied access to the
church by the parish priest. Defiantly, he conducted his sermon
outside, atop his father’s tomb.
At the age of 17, John went to university at Oxford, becoming an
undergraduate at Christ Church. By 1725 he and his brother were
meeting with other religious students in a Holy Club: the group was
also nick-named the Methodists and this label stuck. In June 2003
there are plans to unveil a Wesley monument at Oxford’s Lincoln
College, to which he was elected a Fellow in 1726.
There was an adventure overseas when the two brothers crossed the
Atlantic to the new colony of Georgia as missionaries. The experience
was a less than happy one, and John returned home in 1737.
The following year, Wesley experienced a kind of conversion. While
staying in a room in London’s Aldersgate Street he said he “felt my
heart strangely warmed”. A flame memorial in the street commemorates
the event and is one of several important sites in London. Wesley’s
Chapel in City Road – the so-called Cathedral of Methodism – and his
house, incorporates the Museum of Methodism. His tomb, and the simple
room in which he died, can also be seen. In Westminster, Methodist
Central Hall, built to mark Wesley’s centenary, hosted the inaugural
United Nations meeting in 1946.
Wesley began his career as a wandering preacher, giving his sermons in
the open-air as most churches forbade him to preach inside. The
Methodists needed some meeting places of their own. The ‘New Room’ in
the city and port of Bristol dates from 1739 and is the oldest
Methodist building in the world.
It is still a place of worship and Wesley also used it as a schoolroom
and a free medicine dispensary for the poor. He maintained a lifelong
interest in medicine, though some of his remedies seem questionable: a
cure for ear ache – “put in a roasted fig as hot as may be”.
Upstairs are the preachers’ rooms, now serving as a small museum whose
artefacts include John’s prayer book, letter-opener and seal and his
riding crop. Outside is a small stable: this was one of three bases
from which Methodist preachers toured the country using a system of
‘circuits’ and schedules.
For the next 50 years, Wesley travelled tirelessly the length and
breadth of Britain, often preaching in the face of violent opposition.
All over the country places are marked out with plaques as his
preaching locations: often a village green, market place or on the
steps of a stone cross. Some are remarkable in their own right, such
as Gwennap Pit near Redruth in Cornwall, a natural amphitheatre from
which hundreds could see and hear him. He returned there 18 times. He
was friends with lexicographer Samuel Johnson and industrialist Josiah
Wedgwood.
The Potteries – now the city of Stoke-on-Trent, 150 miles north-west
of London -- is still home to Wedgwood’s pottery, one of several
porcelain factories with fascinating visitor centres. Just to the
north is a rocky hill called Mow Cop, with its stunning views and mock
castle. This is the birthplace of Primitive Methodism – born at an
open-air meeting which lasted 14 hours. A ceremony marking the
tercentenary is planned for June 8.
Wesley visited Scotland 22 times and preached often in Edinburgh and
Aberdeen as well as venturing deep into the Highlands on a route from
Perth to Inverness. Scotland’s oldest Methodist church, at Dunbar on
the East Coast, was among his favourites and still holds weekly
services.
Thanks to its wide variety of hotels and bed and breakfasts – not to
mention the road and rail networks – it is now a lot easier and more
comfortable to travel around Britain than in Wesley’s day. And
preaching sermons as you go is not compulsory!
Bob Barton
Useful links
The Old Rectory, Epworth:
www.oldrectory63.freeserve.co.uk
Wesley’s Chapel and House, City Road, London:
www.wesleyschapel.org.uk
John Wesley’s Chapel (The New Room), Bristol:
http://wesley.fen.bris.ac.uk/newroom/
VisitBritain
www.visitbritain.com/tourbritain
|
