INVASION OF AN ANCIENT STRONGHOLD
I know a man whom the President of the United States (Mr. Cleveland) complimented when I presented him as a member of the Arbitration Committee. He said to me: ‘Mr. Carnegie, tell me about that man; are such men common among the democracy, among the working men, of Britain?’ I replied: ‘Yes, Mr. President; I think I know Scotch working men, and many of them are just as able.’ ‘Well,’ said he, that man made a better speech, and he is an abler man, than—’ And then he enumerated two or three Baronets and Sirs. That man was John Wilson, who has just been elected member for Durham. ‘We should run a man with a record like his for the Presidency, and all the Lords and Dukes could not hold the candle to him in a real Republic.’”
Nathaniel West’s soul rejoiced as he entered in his journal on December 10th, 1824: “Praise the Lord for what He has done at Durham!” The ancient place had been “opened” that year by Thomas Oliver, who had just been called into the work by Sunderland, his native circuit. The “invasion” was not done without opposition, but the people flocked to the house which had been secured as a preaching-place, and “a number were converted, and some backsliders were healed.” Susan Dixon is named as one of the converts, and she became a mother to the young in Israel. Some of these young people were pillars in the church when Mr. Oliver returned to superintend Durham Circuit in 1840. Probably it was in 1825 that a chapel was built, after many difficulties, in “Silver Street Lane.” There was no more laborious collector then than Susan Dixon, who “obtained regular subscriptions amounting to pennies and halfpennies a week.”
A far other scene was witnessed in the historic city on the afternoon of October 22nd, 1860, when the foundation-stone of the Jubilee Chapel was laid. Headed by William Clemitson and Edward Rust, a procession started from the Mayor’s chamber. Sir William Atherton (then Solicitor General) and Mr. John Bramwell (Recorder of Durham), had conspicuous places in the procession, and were followed by a number of ministers of various denominations, by officials of the Durham Circuit, and by a multitude of others. The ceremony was performed by the member of Queen Victoria’s Government named, who was also one of the representatives of the city in Parliament, in the presence of about two thousand people. On May 19th, 1861, the congregation worshipping in a small chapel in a back lane in Silver Street, “a wretchedly bad situation, the passage to which was bad also,” entered into possession of a new sanctuary on the North Road, capacious, attractive, and comfortable, and entered also upon a larger sphere of work for God and humanity. But in the humbler place, in the unsavoury back lane, the Cowards, the Liddells, and others—families prominent for two or three generations—had seen “signs and wonders wrought in the name of Jesus.” In it grace fashioned men whose ministry in the local and itinerant ranks have been widely known. Thomas Southron was arrested and harnessed there; Charles Simpson, too, but he died after having travelled little more than six years. Silver Street had the honour of having the District Meeting held there in 1858, and it was said “there was great joy in the city” thereat. At the annual assembly sixteen years afterwards in the Jubilee Chapel, when Henry Yooll and William Welford had finished their probation, and were ordained, striking evidence was given of the advance which had been made in the District. The District Meeting of 1905 in the same city was another high occasion.
But up to the building of the Jubilee Chapel the numerical prosperity of the country places in the circuit was comparatively greater than the progress made in the city; indeed, the outside societies rallied to the help of the city society in the building of the chapel. That Durham had caused anxiety in the early days is apparent from John Petty’s exclamation, uttered in an exalted mood: “Durham shall live, and not die!” Thomas Butterwick, in his glowing account of the Kelloe revival in 1843, says :—“We are looking for the glory of God in the city of Durham; and however unlikely it may be that our expectation will be realised, we will, nevertheless, stay our faith on the power of the Almighty, and on His willingness to save citizens the most obdurate.” One of the most powerful examples of how Durham could be moved occurred in the early seventies, when John Taylor was superintendent. Revival services were conducted by Miss Hyde in Jubilee Chapel, and precisely the same scenes were witnessed as had taken place at Middle Rainton. The chapel was crowded every night, people travelling from all the country round, and many were converted. It was such a season as had never been experienced in the city before. Students from the University attended the services nightly. Men and women fell down as if dead. Some ran along the pew tops with perfect facility; others walked about as if in a hypnotised condition. When Mr. Taylor went to Durham he determined to make things move; they did move after a fashion which even that ardent soul could not have conjectured.
In later years, Durham city has had men of distinction associated with it. John Coward, J.P., is a link with the beginnings of Primitive Methodism in the city, and during his life he has been connected with almost all the institutions the Connexion has fostered, and has received the highest honours. Thomas Shipley, an energetic local preacher and politician for over fifty years, died in 1902. James Hall, converted at Darlington in 1825 under John Flesher, and at one time manager of the Durham N.E.R. goods station, took an interest for years in everything affecting the weal of Zion. Then the Wheeler family: the father, a lover of books, and his five sons zealous in good works. Three of the sons—John, William, and Robert—became travelling preachers. All have gone. William’s death, which occurred in August, 1907, called forth some of the finest tributes ever bestowed upon any man, and the manly, cultured, kindly, modest spirit was worthy of them all. Henry is an able local preacher in the Ripon Circuit, and George, the eldest, is a useful official at Whitley Bay. James Bell, who was cut down in the fulness of his powers in 1907, was born at Seghill, and was nurtured by godly parents. He went down the pit when he was only nine and a half years old; but his pit work was of short duration, and his success in the clothing business into which he embarked was such that when he died he was one of the chiefs in the large firm of Hepworth and Company, Leeds. Converted at Bishop Auckland in 1882, he was thereafter an enthusiastic servant of his Lord, and his election in 1903 to the Vice-Presidency at the. Newcastle Conference was well merited. That John Wilson, M.P., John Johnson, M.P., and other noteworthy men are to be found in Jubilee Church to-day is a pledge of strength.
CAPTURING THE NEW COLLIERIES
Mary Porteus was in the Sunderland Circuit when Durham and several adjacent collieries were made into a distinct station in 1838, and she, with George Tindall as superintendent, was sent there. The collieries were mostly new ones, the roads were excessively bad in winter time, and after twelve months’ labour her health completely failed, and she retired from the work she had been so successfully engaged in for fourteen years. Many glorious revivals had taken place, however, during the year. Take the outbreak at Coxhoe as a specimen. When the colliery was first opened there, the Primitives very soon got a cottage to preach in, and started a society. A noted sinner went into the service one Sunday morning. The man, unwashed, unkempt, seated himself behind the door, became serious during the service, and lingered behind the congregation at the close. “We are going to hold a class-meeting, will ye stop?” This from the leader to the prodigal, who answered: “Aa think aa will.” Before the members the man declared that he intended henceforth to serve God; and when he went home, he went straight to a drawer, drew out a pack of cards, and cast them into the fire. Not a word had he spoken to his wife, who, when she saw what her husband did, instantly threw a shovelful of coals on the fire, burying the cards, and exclaimed: “Aye, man; hoo’s this come te pass? He told her he had been at the “Ranters’ meeting,” and that he was going back again. She went with him in the evening, and in the fellowship meeting she said: “The Lord bless ye for what ye’ve done for ma canny man.” The conversion of this couple made a stir in the new village, for the man was the leader of a company of sword-dancers. His mates went to chapel, most of them were converted, and numbers more were brought to the Lord. The swords used for dancing were sold (to be converted into “gully” knives) for the purpose of purchasing Bibles and hymn books. Since that upheaval, there were other visitations of gracious seasons, notably in the autumn of 1857, when James A. Bastow and his helpers directed large numbers of penitents to the Saviour, and the converting work went on, there and in other parts of the circuit, for weeks.
On or about 1839, a new colliery was started at Kelloe, and a society existed there almost from the commencement of the village. In three years the population grew to 1,500. The society had sustained a godly character, and a flourishing Sunday School, with Thomas W. Elliot as superintendent, was doing well in the religious training of the young. But sinners were not getting converted at the public services, and the members got troubled about the matter. Increased private prayer was agreed upon, and the time-honoured method of singing, praying, and exhorting in the streets was employed. The people were aroused, and conversions followed. Every family in Kelloe was visited, and prayed with. The arm of the Lord was made bare in a remarkable manner. Night after night, the cries of stricken souls were heard by a merciful God, and songs of deliverance followed. As many as twenty-three souls professed conversion in a single night, and from December 8th, 1842, to January 23rd, 1843, 216 persons, some of whom had been notoriously wicked hitherto, had publicly declared that they would live a new life. About sixty boys and girls were included in the total, and most of them belonged to the Sunday School. The change produced in the village was astonishing.
As is known in the county, Haswell was shorn of its strength by the closing of the pit in 1896. Shotton, Haswell Moor, and Haswell Terrace were also much affected by that cessation of work. The latter society had 106 members when that untoward event occurred, and in its dark days it owes much to the fidelity of John Smith and his associates. Shotton has been saved by the re-opening of the pit there six years ago, after being closed about a quarter of a century. In a measure this has helped the contiguous places. Haswell Moor has become the abode of old miners. While John Richardson was in the Thornley Circuit—1897-1903—the colliery properties were sold. Unfortunately, the Primitive Methodist chapels at Haswell Terrace, Haswell Moor, and Shotton were held simply on colliery lease, and were disposed of with the rest of the estates. Shotton and Haswell Terrace Chapels were bought back by the societies. About a hundred of the houses at Haswell Moor were purchased as “Homes for Aged Miners,” when that movement began, with John Wilson, M.P., and Canon Moore Ede (now Dean of Worcester) at its head. This philanthropic organisation also bought the little chapel, and the offer of Mr. Richardson to supply preachers for the services was accepted.
But we are in front of our story. It was the early revivals in the Durham collieries we were dealing with, and the upheaval at Haswell was one of the most remarkable. This transpired a few years after the formation of the Durham Circuit in 1838. Wesleyans, as well as Primitives, shared the heavenly baptism, among the converts of the former being Peter Mackenzie, the notable Wesleyan minister. From Haswell as a centre the mighty impulse affected a large area, and its effects remain until this day. Men were saved from their lower habits who became saviours of their fellows in almost every part of the county. Such were the Reavleys, the Jeffersons, the Thompsons, Hepple, Brown, and many more. Haswell society was a good nursery for the church for many years after. Edward Brown, lifted out of vice, taught to read by William Parker and others, became an earnest, manly Christian, and a fervent local preacher. John Reavley, an upright, holy man, so powerful in prayer that when wayward men were asked to go to chapel they would reply that they were afraid of John Reavley’s prayers. Two of his sons—Matthew and Joseph—are serving faithfully in the ministry, and the Reavleys are now numbered among the most devoted families in Primitive Methodism. Haswell was the church of the Featonby brothers in their younger days. Newark—“Newrick”—full of wit and humour of the wise and acceptable kind, and singular in his picturesque style has been more vividly remembered than his thoughtful brother Jacob. During the troubles of 1844 he left the Primitives and joined the Wesleyans. He had been a local preacher fifty-five years when he died, and his popularity during his lifetime, not only in the colliery districts, but in Sunderland, North and South Shields, and Newcastle, was exceedingly great. Possessing a good vocabulary, into which he often threw the pitman’s vernacular with effect, coupled with a ready utterance, and breathing an intense earnestness in every part of the service, he at once attracted the attention of his hearers, and kept it to the end. He described himself as “a queer compound of nature and grace.” Jacob was known as “the Bishop,” a calm, thoughtful, dignified man, and an excellent preacher. His attachment to the people of his early choice was lifelong, and his work was beneficent. George Featonby, grandfather of G. F. Johnson and G. Featonby, was a fine man, an ideal class-leader. Peter Burt worked with Peter Mackenzie in Haswell Colliery, and his illustrious son, the Right Hon. Thomas Burt, began his pit life there as a trapper boy when ten years of age.
THE MEMBER FOR MID-DURHAM
Of other prominent men at Haswell, William Hepple and George Thompson stand out with impressive distinctness. The latter took a leading place in Hetton in after days. It was at Haswell many years ago that John Wilson was converted. This society was influential because it was distinguished for its evangelistic fervour. Ten days would be spent in “the upper room,” seeking preparation, by an outpouring of the Holy Ghost, for a camp meeting or revival service. The members kept a list in their minds of the most unlikely men in the village whom they sought to save. They would watch and pray and use every opportunity for the conversion of the men they carried in their hearts. Thus it was in the case of Robert Richardson’s conversion. He was amazingly ignorant, never went to a place of worship, but he found mercy. One night he heard Thomas Bell, an evangelist, preach on the Crucifixion of Christ, and the scene was depicted in impassioned language. Robert’s indignation against the Jews rose to white heat. Shortly afterwards a Jewish pedlar called at his house, and the irate miner chased him out of the village. Yet this man, concerning whom many amusing anecdotes are told, became a useful local preacher; and when John Wilson, after he returned from America, heard of Richardson being a local preacher, at once said: “Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.”
As John Wilson’s name has been freely mentioned, some words will be expected regarding a man who holds so high a place in the county, in the country, and, above all, in the regard of his fellows. Said Mr. Andrew Carnegie, in a speech at Dundee, in 1890:—
This same man has impressed the House of Commons, and admittedly holds a place in that distinguished assembly which hundreds of his fellow legislators, notwithstanding all their advantages of birth and education, would be proud to occupy. Indeed, his first speech in the House drew a warm eulogy from no less an authority than Sir Erskine May, who declared to a journalist: “Wilson is the most eloquent man who has come into the house this session”; and added, “He must be a local preacher.” The surmise was quite correct, of course.
John Wilson—County Alderman John Wilson, ex-Chairman of Durham County Council, member of Parliament for Mid-Durham, and the leading official of one of the greatest trade unions in the country—has “burst his birth’s invidious bar,” and “fought his way up.” And it has been fighting. How fierce the struggle has been few know. Born at Greatham, near Hartlepool, in 1837, left an orphan when very young, working in Ludworth Pit at twelve, living for a few years with a family called Stabler (whose boy he had rescued from death) a hewer at seventeen, off to sea at nineteen, back to the pits in three and a half years, going to America in the last year of the Civil War, where he spent three years as a working miner, and returning to Haswell, where he was brought to consecration through the agency of William Hepple at a class-meeting in a humble dwelling-house. He had been married a few years when he was converted, and was fully thirty years of age, but he applied himself with thoroughness and self-sacrifice to acquire knowledge, his “study” being a corner in the bedroom of a pitman’s cottage. He also carried an old grammar with him down the pit, and as opportunity afforded he looked at it by the light of his Davy lamp. A local preacher nine months after his dedication, he used, as a further means of promoting his own culture, to help any young man who was wishful to educate himself. In 1869 and 1870, when the spirit of trades unionism began to spread, John Wilson saw in it the possibilities of the social redemption of his class, and he threw himself into the movement. The story of the conflict is one of sacrifice and tragedy. John Wilson had the distinguished honour of being the first victim in the later movement. For his loyalty to unionism he was refused work at Haswell. Hunted from place to place, he at last got “set on” at Wheatley Hill, but after a few years he was again cast adrift, in 1882 he was appointed treasurer of the Durham Miners’ Union he had done so much to form, and he took up his residence in Durham city. Eventually, in 1895, four years after his election for Mid-Durham, he rose to the high position of corresponding secretary of the Union, and the coalowners have for years as freely shown their confidence in his integrity as have the miners for a very much longer period. Of his personal heroism in time of peril, he has again and again given proof. It has occurred that the man who pleaded one night on the floor of the House of Commons for measures for securing the further safety of the miners, was the next night, so to speak, at the head of a rescue party in the wrecked ways of a pit, after an explosion, battling with the fatal fumes to reach his stricken or entombed fellows. This he did so recently as February, 1909, at West Stanley, in company with his able colleague, John Johnson, M.P. There is no vulgar display about John Wilson; he is too strong a man to indulge in such a weakness. Since the hour John Wilson gave his life to the Lord in the Haswell cottage, whether he has been exalted or abased, he has been a loyal and zealous servant of Jesus Christ, Many families removed from Haswell after the stoppage of the colliery, and that a society continued to exist there is due to the loyalty of men like R. Stephenson, T. Clough, and P. Featonby, the leader of the choir.
Near to Haswell is the village of Sherburn Hill, with its beautiful surroundings. This is where Joseph Hall, of Murton Colliery, was twice-born, and he lovingly lingers over every episode and every sterling man connected with the early days of Primitive Methodism there. Fifty and three years ago Joseph was grandly saved, and rich has been his service for his Lord. William Robson raised a choir, which drew the people to the double-roomed cottage that had been secured from the late Lord Durham, and a revival followed, whole families being converted, the Mortons, the Suggetts, the Liddells, the Coxs, the Smiths, Pratt, Ritchie, and Hepburn, afterwards doing conspicuous service at home and In Australia. After the revival, a chapel was built, which has since been enlarged; and the long and patient labours of T. Robson (son of William), J. Hall, J. Liddell, Robert Errington (Thornley circuit steward), his wife (widely known in her younger days as Miss Sims, the evangelist), and others have been and still are fruitful.
Pittington figures prominently in the pioneer period. That the first missionaries drew large companies is evident from the journal of William Lister, who records that on February 5th, 1832, people thronged the room, round the windows, and round the door. Before the present chapel was built in 1842, services were held in the cottage of John Turnbull, who died at Edmondsley many years ago. Edward Dixon, who had been society steward for fifty-four years, died September 24th, 1899; James Scott and James Guy (leading singer for forty-six years) were also much esteemed. The society suffered a great depletion when the colliery stopped. J. W. Hall, now of Moorsley, remembers when there were as many as ten local preachers at Pittington. John Blakemoor, who stands alone now, was, together with W. Heppell and J. Haswell, of Langley Park, presented with an illuminated address in December, 1907. At a service conducted by Peter Clarke in the village, an athletic youth named James Cuthbertson was deeply impressed, and subsequently gave himself fully to the Lord. He entered the Wesleyan ministry, travelled in some of the best circuits in Methodism with much success, was chairman of the Carlisle District, wrote voluminously, settled in Monkseaton after superannuating, and though now approaching four-score years of age, moves about with facility, preaches with the vigour of a young man, and employs his pen daily. In 1908 he produced a story, “The Maid of Monkseaton,” which deals with the early monks from Iona, and which has had a popular reception.
GENERAL PROGRESS
At Carrville, Sacriston, Edmondsley, Framwellgate Moor, Leamside, Bearpark, New Brancepeth, and Neville’s Cross trophies have been won for the Master. Bearpark suffered a severe loss in 1908 by the death of George Gardiner, a local preacher of repute, a splendid Sunday School superintendent, and junior circuit steward of Durham Circuit. The senior steward is J. Oliver, the bearer of an honoured name. Edmondsley is where John Moffatt ordered the devil out of the chapel. It was a time of revival power in the circuit, hut Edmondsley was hard to move. Mr. Moffatt’s action—for the devil in this case meant a band of young men— created a sensation. The converting work, however, began the next night, and went on for weeks, some of the expelled young men being among the saved. Gilesgate Moor occupies no insignificant place in the story of Durham Circuit. The “old chapel” was formed out of two miners’ cottages, and in that humble structure, in the days when Martin Cuthbert—father of the respected ministers, William and Martin Cuthbert—worshipped in it, services of power and glory were experienced. The awakening of George Thompson, who said he had had a vision of the Day of Judgment, was a notable event. The beautiful life of Jane Preston, who died in 1872, had a blessed influence upon the place. Mrs. Fawcett, who died in 1905, aged eighty-five, and Mrs. Usher, the nonagenarian, who joined the society in 1851, are spoken of with deep respect.
Seasons of power have been experienced at Sacriston. One such took place in the closing seventies, when William Welford conducted services for three weeks, walking the four miles from Durham and back each day. The final cricket match of the season with Kimblesworth, concluding with a dinner in the Blue Bell Inn, was abandoned, because, as the Sacriston secretary wrote to the Kimblesworth Club, “the Ranters have had a revival, and nearly all our chaps have got converted and will not play.” Langley Park is new, but it is now one of the largest collieries in the North of England, and the society started there about thirty years ago has grown with exceptional rapidity. A chapel of no mean dimensions was built in 1883, when William Baitey was superintendent. This has just been transformed into a Sunday School, the foundation-stone of a new church to seat 450 persons having been laid on Whit-Monday, 1908, under inspiring circumstances. In this work the society has the experienced guidance of Emerson Phillipson and his talented son, J. W. F. Phillipson, architect.
There were 373 members in the Durham Circuit when it was formed in September, 1838, and in 1843 no fewer than 1,500 members were reported. The agitation produced by the teachings of an expelled minister from another church caused declensions, and the great strike of 1844, the horrors of which acted as a pall upon thousands of homesteads, shattered the societies. In July, 1846, there were only 520 persons on the circuit’s roll. William Lister then became superintendent, and when he left in 1849 the membership had risen to 870. From thence to 1860 the circuit had more than regained its 1843 position, for in the first-named year 1,804 members were reported. The venerable Robert Garnett, speaking of his experience as a minister in the circuit in 1859, says a mighty spiritual force operated on the minds of the people, and there was an ingathering of hundreds of souls into fellowship with God’s people, no fewer than an increase of 800 in the station in three months. Mr. Garnett’s colleagues were William Clemitson, J. Watson, and J. Elstob. The visitation was far-reaching in its influence, and he has no doubt that the building of Durham Jubilee Chapel and the subsequent division of the circuit into several large and important stations can be traced to that great spiritual awakening.
Joseph Spoor began his ministry in Durham Circuit in 1861, and he remained there seven years. An increase of nearly two hundred members was reported during the first three years, then Thornley Circuit was made, leaving the parent circuit with seven hundred members, which number waxed to 850 before Mr. Spoor left, notwithstanding disturbances created by “certain ambitious, pragmatic, disloyal persons.” He was nobly supported by G. Lee, the circuit steward, and most of the officials. Chapels were built at Sherburn and Ferryhill and another was in progress at Shincliffe Colliery, a more spacious one was erected at Low Spennymoor, and preparations were made at Spennymoor itself for a large and costly building. It was in this great station where Mr. Spoor’s health was undermined, and he died at Stockton in the autumn of 1869. A plan of Durham Circuit for the first quarter of 1864 is before us. Covering the region of six stations of to-day—Durham, Thornley, Wingate, Coxhoe, Spennymoor, and Brandon—it bristles with interest. There are thirty-six places in all, and eighty-two local preachers. Chilton and Page Bank are at the bottom, but have no preachers planned to them. Wheatley Hill, Brandon, Langley Park, and many another strong society of the present may be searched for in vain. Fain would we linger over the names of Knox and Reed, of Spennymoor, Featonby of Haswell, Beaney of Thornley, Garnett, Cuthbert, Armstrong, and Liddell, of Coxhoe, and the Moorsley, Trimdon, and Shotton men, but we must forbear.
SOME LIMBS OF DURHAM
As has been intimated, the first slice taken off the ninety or a hundred square miles occupied by Durham Circuit in 1864 was Thornley, with which were the Haswells, Trimdon, Wingate, Coxhoe, and the villages surrounding them. The new station had 692 members. Within this radius men of character, zeal, and faith have laboured. In addition to those already named were W. Adamson, a Hexhamshire man, who was richly blessed; Benjamin Porter, father of J. Fletcher Porter, Orphanage Secretary; J. Spencer, who had immense power with the people; A. Cummings, and R. and T. Hope. “Diamonds in the rough” were converted in the societies, and some of those out of whom local preachers were afterwards made could neither read nor write before they were “ brought in.”
John Waite was the first superintendent of Thornley Circuit, and it bounded forward immediately on its being made an independent station. In three years five village chapels were built, and the membership increased. Thornley and the several places attached to it had contributed £42 2s. 10½d. to the March quarterly meeting of 1864, and the liabilities amounted to £51 12s. 10½d. In June, 1908, Thornley Circuit (excluding Wingate and Coxhoe sections) had 538 members, and a quarterly income, including £22 16s. 34d. balance brought forward, of £93 15s. 9½d. But it has not been uninterrupted sunshine and progress during the forty and four years. It was a time of depression when William Welford entered the station in 1880, and in his five years’ term he walked not less than 8,000 miles in all weathers, visited 10,000 homes, christened over 1,000 infants, and conducted 2,000 services, besides giving many lectures and leading hundreds of open-air processions. There was an immense quarter day debt when Mr. Welford began, “most of the chapels were in poor repair and in arrears; appointments were neglected, and there was a general lack of interest.” Where the pits had been “laid in” for some time, as at Coxhoe, Cassop, Shotton, and Kelloe, the chapels were all but empty during the services. At West Cornforth, indeed, it had been decided to close the chapel. In a short time, however, the dilapidated circuit rose into newness of life, all the properties were put into good repair, congregations increased, arrears were met, including the circuit debt, and seven chapels were rendered debtless. A new chapel and schoolroom were built at Castle Eden Colliery and a school-chapel at Station Town, while land was secured at Quarrington Hill for a new sanctuary. Notwithstanding that Thornley, Wheatley Hill, and Ludworth pits had been “laid in” during the term, in five years there was an increase of 350 members.
“A Circuit Revival!” That was Mr. Welford’s note at the first quarterly meeting. The officials took it up, and with brave hearts and renewed faith went to their work. Open-air services were a great feature. The first week-night procession at Thornley was started by the minister, his wife, and their two little boys. At Kelloe Mr. Welford opened the campaign alone. Of course, the laggards turned out in a shame-faced way after the start had been made, and week by week their courage and numbers grew, as far as eighty people being got to a week-night service. Four bands of Singing Pilgrims were organised, and did immense service in the circuit. Three women were placed on the plan. One of them, Margaret (Maggie) Taylor (sister of Nichol Taylor, the zealous superintendent of Whitley Bay Sunday School), who decided for Christ when she was only ten years of age, did service as an evangelist in the counties of Durham and Northumberland which will never die. In the last seven years of her consecrated labour over seven hundred persons professed conversion. The sweet spirit passed within the veil at Marley Hill, a few days after she had preached in the chapel to a great congregation as one inspired.
The circuit demonstrations and camp meetings were attractive events. “ I heard many mighty sermons from local preachers,” says Mr. Welford; “but I wish to pay a tribute to Mr. John Wilson, M.P. He was one of the best men I was ever yoked with at a camp meeting: so ready, so willing, so untiring, so forceful in prayer, so appropriate and convincing as a preacher, that he was always a great asset for a long hard day.” Joseph Elwin, Richard Stephenson, Robert Garnett, J. Bell, G. Lewins, Henry Booth, and others, were men who could lay hold of the topic of the hour, and their handling of the disastrous occurrences which took place at Seaham, Trimdon Grange, and Tudhoe about that period was impressive. T. K. Upright and J. Forster were Mr. Welford’s helpful colleagues during these strenuous and fruitful years; and, in addition to those already referred to, William Glass (Vice-President of the Leeds Conference), his brother Thomas, Mr. and Mrs. Coates (nee Miss McKinney), T. S. Allison, John Parkin, W. Young, J. Cook, F. Wellock, Benny Robson (the “Billy Bray” of Ludworth), J. Donkin, W. Waggott, Joseph Luxmore, J. Hedley, William Lorrison, and many more were heroes in the fight.
During John Richardson’s ministry in Thornley Circuit (1897-1903), the same company which re-opened Shotton Pit, and so put new life into the large village and other adjacent places, began sinking operations on the coast between Seaham Harbour and Hartlepool, and missions were opened at Easington and Horden. The latter has been a success, and in 1905 a commodious school-hall was built on an excellent site secured by Robert Walton. But far and away the strongest place in the whole region is Wheatley Hill, which, in the summer of 1908, had 186 members, fourteen of them being local preachers. It was here that John Wilson first came into public prominence. One of the youths he helped in his intellectual struggles was Henry Errington, who afterwards became an efficient minister, and died at Morley, aged fifty-three. Hugh Walton, manager of one of the collieries, and to whom the prosperity of the society owes much, is mentioned with reverence. Douglas Hall, who went from Wheatley Hill to the Aged Miners’ Homes, was a saintly man. George Clarke, of Trimdon, another resident at the Homes, was also a fine soul. Services were held at one time in a barn at Wheatley Hill, and, subsequently, two sets of meetings were held simultaneously—one at one end of The village, and another in the Temperance Hall at the other. After heroic toil in the barn, the present chapel was built in 1873, and has since been enlarged to seat four hundred persons. Several hundreds of scholars are in the Sunday School, the C.E. societies are vigorous, there is an efficient choir, the Sunday evening services are crowded, and it is thought another enlargement of The chapel must take place or a new one must be built. Wheatley Hill has passed through all the trying ordeals incident to colliery village life; but since the re-starting .of the pit twenty years ago, it has grown apace, and there is now a population of about 5,000. Remarkable revivals have taken place, and men like Joseph Carey (who had been an “out-of-the-way” Irishman) and M. Usher, who are frequently engaged in evangelistic work, are the fruit thereof. There is Edward Ferry, too, quaint and, devout, who nurtured Carey as a father would his own son, and was aided in this work by James J. Wick. John Dickinson, also, a man of exceptional mental calibre; Peter Lee, the indefatigable; William Snaith, junior circuit steward; T. H. Taylor, the lover of the young folk; William Brown, the veteran, and a host of rising men and women combine to assure the future success of this virile church.
The ministers sent out from the old Thornley Circuit were—William Dinning, John Redhead, William and Martin Cuthbert, J. W. Middlemiss, Henry Errington, and William Booth.
In 1901, when there were twenty places in all, the circuit was divided into three stations—Thornley, Wingate, and Coxhoe. The first had one minister, John Richardson (and had to call out a probationer), 26 local preachers, 535 members, and nine places; Wingate, one minister, T. J. Watson, 19 local preachers, 228 members, and four places; Coxhoe, one minister, R. Fletcher, 24 local preachers, 329 members, and seven places.
Through the Glass family Wingate has been made known throughout the Connexion. Prosperous in business, their devotion to the cause of God and their open-handed liberality are a household word. Wingate Chapel and Sunday Schools are witnesses to the generosity of William Glass; and when he was elected to the Vice-Presidency of the Conference, gratification was felt in every northern society. Members of the second generation of the Glass family are walking in the ways of their forerunners. Wingate Sunday School has a record to be proud of. In 1907, Maggie Luxmore, who had won two silver medals and several book prizes previously, carried off the gold medal awarded by the Connexion for the best paper on “The Early Life of Joseph,” in the senior scholars’ division. Her sister, in 1906, won the gold medal in the teachers’ examination. During 1908 over £1,500 was spent in the extension and improvement of Wingate Chapel.
Trimdon, at which a society was formed as early as 1823, has been recognised as one of the successful spheres of operation in the locality. The colliery has a vigorous society and over half-a-dozen local preachers. Castle Eden has had a chequered career; nevertheless, the place has been held by a faithful band. At Station Town, John Bell, before he removed to Murton, was one of the originators of a church which has become important in the village, a new chapel having been recently erected in place of one destroyed by fire. In June, 1908, there were 295 members in the circuit, and the quarterly income was £50 12s. 11d.
John Ward, converted under William Dryden, in 1822, near Ebchester, has been named as the founder of the Coxhoe society. Edward Cairns attributes his conversion and connection with the church of which he is a minister to the example of his mother and the influence of a Sunday School teacher at Coxhoe, when he was a scholar in that school. Undoubtedly the arrival of Robert Garnett in the village was an event of the first importance so far as Primitive Methodism at Coxhoe was concerned. After nine years’ labour in the ministry, failing health caused him to retire, and since 1861 he has made Coxhoe his home. A man of intellectual power and of refined tastes, he threw himself into all the interests of the church, and a new and better chapel was soon built. The membership rose from thirty-six to 120, and notwithstanding serious trade reverses, Coxhoe to-day has a fine working church at the head of the circuit, since the formation of which Robert Garnett has been steward. By the death of John William Raine not long ago, a severe loss was sustained by the whole circuit.
Trimdon Grange, Kelloe, and West Cornforth are strong societies, and have faithful officers and members. Quarrington Hill also has a good record, and from whence some have passed away whose names are as ointment poured forth. Cassop can tell of wonders of grace, and bears a good witness for the Master. A new and promising cause has been opened at Bowburn.
When Coxhoe Circuit was formed in 1901 the membership was 326, and the quarterly income £44 6s. 2d. In June, 1908, there were 408 members, and the quarter’s income was £65 15s. 7d.
MORE LIMBS OF DURHAM
The expansion of Spennymoor, Tudhoe, and the adjacent places has been on a large scale. In 1853 the Tudhoe Ironworks were established, and the colliery commenced in 1866, ten years later the same company opening Croxdale. Great numbers of people flocked into the neighbourhood, and the churches at Mount Pleasant and Spennymoor grew amazingly. Though the works were closed in 1901, the societies were not greatly affected in consequence. Spennymoor was made a branch of Durham Circuit in 1868, with 352 members, whose contributions to the quarter day amounted to £26 16s. 4d. William Bowe was superintendent of the branch, and it was such a success that in two years it became an independent station, its first superintendent being Henry Pratt, sen. Another year saw a second preacher—J. Carr—on the ground. Joseph Cook was the first steward, and the progress was nothing short of astounding.
The first services were held in one of the cottages at Whitworth Pit, Spennymoor, and in 1855 George Street Chapel was built, in which a great revival took place in 1862, amongst the converts being most of the large family of William Reed. His son Robert is now in Chicago, and William and John became travelling preachers. The chapel becoming too small, the present sanctuary in Rosa Street was erected in 1867, which has since been extensively improved; and this powerful church, at the head of a powerful station, had its birth in a modest pit cottage. A widow—Mrs. Burnett—who is nearly ninety years of age, was a member of the old Whitworth Pit society. William Benson, whose widow is still at the front, was another of the original band. His son, a very able local preacher, resides in Glasgow. David Knox, another of the early and enthusiastic members, lives at Ashington. Ralph, William, and John Parker, too, the former grandfather of John Williams, superintendent of the Allendale Circuit; John Pratt, survived by two sons, George and John, the former being at Redcar; James Beckwith and his son James also strove nobly for the faith, and the former’s grandson James is treasurer of the Spennymoor trust; John Reavley, father of Matthew and John, was also a leading man at George Street Chapel at one time; George Cheesman, Henry Lowery, William Thompson, John Dent, Wales Mason, John Newman, Thomas Gibson, and Matthew Reavley (the three last still alive) did yeoman service. And at the present time the chiefs of Spennymoor society are among the leaders of the public life of the town. During the thirteen years of its existence as an Urban Council, three Primitive Methodists have occupied the chair at different times—Councillors P. Knox, G. Rhymer, and J. Reavley. In the Coronation year (1902) every office of any importance in the town was occupied by a Primitive Methodist. The Inspector of Police, Joseph Elliott, was then a class-leader, and since his retirement, six years ago, has been more actively engaged in religious work.
Ministers who have served the churches in the circuit are unanimous in their praise of the loyal and capable officials in the various societies. Until now, Dr. John Watson speaks with enthusiasm of the time he spent in Spennymoor Circuit, with William Gelley as his fellow-labourer. Luke Stafford went to Spennymoor in 1879, and had an experience which warms his heart until this hour, declaring that, after having been in all kinds of stations in various parts of the Connexion, Spennymoor takes the palm as having had the best class of local preachers. He mentions Stephenson Stobbs, then of Page Bank; Thomas Werritt, of The Boyne; George Rhymer, of Tudhoe Colliery; William Johnson, then circuit steward; Robert and Thomas Pearson, and Thomas Harrison. Spennymoor Circuit was great in evangelistic effort, and had good choirs. Mighty achievements were, therefore, accomplished. The revival of 1886-7, when William Shipley and Ralph Shields were the ministers, was a great uplift. From that station a goodly number of young men have been sent into the ministry— Matthew and Joseph Reavley, John and William Reed, J. Fletcher Porter, George F. Johnson, John Mason (who joined the American Eastern Conference), B. Robinson, Francis Richardson, G. E. Walker, H. Fletcher, Charles Mathison, Mark Pattison, and J. W. Naisbit.
During recent years, John Rogerson has been an outstanding man in the circuit, having previously been an active worker in the Shildon and Bishop Auckland Circuits. A man of culture and refinement, he has taken a leading part in the public life of Spennymoor and district for many years. Spennymoor society was blessed for twenty years with the abundant service of John Walker. Hugh Henderson, the kind and modest native of Garrigill; William Fairley, of Croxdale; and George Barker, who was born in the Brompton Circuit, have each left a good record. Page Bank lost a genuine pillar when Jane Mitchison departed in the winter of 1906; and in the same year Ferryhill Village was the poorer for the death of Mrs. John Reed. In the terrible explosion at Tudhoe Colliery on April 18th, 1882, when thirty-seven men lost their lives, eight members of the Primitive Methodist society and five adherents were among the victims. The members were—Robert Artus (class-leader), Peter Strong, Jonathan Gair, Joseph Faulkner, James Shaw, James Rhymer, John Brown, and George Bowes; and the adherents—Henry Lawson, Joseph Marsh, Thomas Snowdon, J. Smith, and William White. Many other Primitive Methodists than those named belonging to this station have taken a conspicuous part in public affairs as members of Councils and officials in trade unions, such as W. Berriman, R. Wood, M. Minns, A. James, J. Watchman, E. Maughan, M. Hutchinson, R. Willey, W. E. Nicholson, M. Price, W. J. Parker, C. Roe, M. Lawson, D. H. Pearson, and James Robson.
About thirty years after being made an independent station, Spennymoor decided to make a new circuit of Brandon, Langley Moor, and Browney. Daniel McKinley and John G. Bowran were ministers at the time, and the latter became superintendent of the offshoot, which was a success from the start. A new cause was started at Ushaw Moor and another at Broompark, and the young, able, and enterprising minister was loyally supported by Richard Leckenby (whose death caused a gap at Langley Moor), James Tynem, David
A. Pearson, Thomas Gibson, R. C. Maddison, T. Briggs, J. Lawson, and many others. The enthusiasm and push of the superintendent infected all the societies, and the youthful station began its career with a vigour which created a tradition teeming with vitality. It was here, in the midst of his glowing evangelism and abundant services as teacher and pastor—for John G. Bowran knew his people in their homes—that the impulse came upon him to write. In Brandon and its surroundings he found material for his first stories, most of the characters in his “On God’s Lines” being got in that neighbourhood. “I had a great time there,” he says; “the people were a grand lot.”
In June, 1899, the membership of the Spennymoor Circuit was 890, and the quarterly income £128 1s. In the following year 255 members were given to the Brandon Circuit, and in June, 1908, there were 823 members on the Spennymoor roll, the income being £146 16s. 5d.
Brandon had a remarkable Sunday School as far back as 1879. Luke Stafford says of it then : “ I have seen many schools whose management has pleased me, hut, without prejudice or partiality, I give it as my judgment that, among all the schools I have visited, Brandon Colliery was by far the best conducted.”
The first quarterly meeting of the station was held in September, 1899, when the membership was 293, and the quarter’s income £44 9s. 7½d. Last year there were 369 members, and the quarter’s revenue was £53. The church property is valued at over £6,000.
A very few lines will give an idea of the results of the developments and work during the past seventy years in the prolific area we have just been dealing with. The quarter’s income from the 373 members in the sixteen places forming the original Durham Circuit in 1838 was £20 12s. 5d., and Sunderland Circuit added £7 6s. to that amount to meet the total expenditure. In its present circumscribed condition, Durham Station had in June, 1908, 685 members, and a quarter’s revenue of £102 16s. 6½d. The returns of the offshoots for the same date are:—Thornley, 538 and £93 15s. 9½d. (including a balance of £22 10s. 3½d. brought forward); Coxhoe, 408 and £65 15s. 7d.; Wingate, 295 and £50 12s. 11d. ; Spennymoor, 823 and £146 5s. ; Brandon, 369 and £53. In the six stations, therefore, there are 3,118 members, contributing £512 5s. 10d. every quarter, whereas, there were 373 members, sending £20 12s. 5d. to the quarter day, in 1838. And that is but the numerical and financial phase of the ascent.