Methodism in Victorian Oxford
The Oxford Wesleyan Local Preachers’ Book 1830-1902
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxfordshire Record Society
Published:27th Jun '23
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
A study of growth and controversy in Victorian Methodism, through the records of the Local Preachers of the Oxford Wesleyan Circuit. Wesleyan Methodism was the largest Free Church denomination in Victorian Oxfordshire, with a presence in many towns and villages as well as in the city of Oxford and its growing suburbs. Crucial to the nurture and expansion of Methodism were the Local Preachers, lay volunteers who conducted most of the Sunday services in Methodist chapels. The quarterly Preachers' Meetings supervised the recruitment, training, deployment and discipline of these volunteers, and their minutes track the development of the denomination and the fortunes of individual preachers and preaching places across three-quarters of a century. The minutes of the Oxford Wesleyan Circuit Local Preachers' meetings from 1830 to 1902 are presented here in full, with annotations and biographical notes on the preachers. The introduction to the volume sets the scene by discussing the history of Methodism and the place of preaching in the Wesleyan movement. Martin Wellings is Superintendent of the Barnet and Queensbury Circuit of the Methodist Church and former Minister of Wesley Memorial Church, Oxford.
In this meticulous study, Martin Wellings has given us a fascinating glimpse into the activities of local preachers in and around Oxford during the period surveyed. It is erudite, up-to-date, and will particularly help the reader who may have little knowledge of Wesleyan Methodism in the nineteenth century to understand the activities recorded in the Minutes. * JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS HISTORY *
In addition to local historians, all Methodist libraries worldwide should buy this book as one of the few British nineteenth-century Methodist documents in print. Genealogists tracing nineteenth-century Local preachers need to read this book in order to discover what can be found when they delve in the archives. * PROCEEDINGS OF THE WESLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY *
'Ticks all the right boxes'. It raises questions that can be posed with respect to other circuits and parts of the country, some of which relate to the survival of primary source material and others to the expression and vitality of the Christian faith during the Victorian era. In short, it can be thoroughly recommended. * THE LOCAL HISTORIAN *
Martin Wellings has opened up new genres of texts that give insight into the working life of circuits. He is to be highly congratulated on the book which is a significant resource for the study of Methodist history. * THE JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS HISTORY, LITERATURE & CULTURE *
ISBN: 9780902509795
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 1g
368 pages