A Short History (Published 1909)
There
is at this time no up to date history of Independent Methodism
available there is a short history on the Connexion web site
www.imcgb.org.uk and below we reproduce the Independent Methodist
section from A NEW HISTORY OF METHODISM - TOWNSEND, WORKMAN and EAYRES Published in 1909. This can be viewed in full on the Rewlach web site www.rewlach.org.uk
When reading it, it should be remembered that it was published in 1909 so references to numbers of members and the location of the book room etc, were as at 1909 (Ed)
THE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCHES
In 1796 the Methodist society at Warrington was peculiarly placed and circumstanced. It was a society apart and largely self-contained. There was no resident minister. Northwich, the circuit town, was twenty-five miles distant, and there were few Methodist societies in the neighbourhood. As a consequence the society was almost entirely dependent on its own officials for its government and edification. Yet the society made no complaint of its isolation. Indeed it was well content with things as they were and long had been. One special feature of the society's life was the regular holding of cottage-meetings - meetings like the famous one in Aldersgate Street at which the heart of John Wesley was 'strangely warmed.' But, in the year 1796 aforesaid, proposals reached the society from the official authorities to the effect that a minister should be placed at Warrington, and that the cottage-meetings should cease. The former proposal was waived, and not carried out until fifteen years later, but the discontinuance of the cottage-meetings was pressed and enforced. One meeting, however, disregarded the mandate and, as a consequence, was no longer regarded as forming part of the society. It continued to meet and make provision for its own sustenance and growth.
As yet the cottage-church was without a name or any specially distinctive feature calling for one. It was reserved for Peter Phillips (1778-1853), a godly chairmaker of Warrington, to mould its character and guide its future. He was a youth of nineteen, when, in 1797, he first comes before us. Events had driven him to the study of the Christian ministry in the light of the New Testament. The result of his examination, we are told, made him a convinced unbeliever in a separate and salaried ministry. By its previous history, the cottage-church was prepared to take the impress of his views, which ever since have been distinctive of the Independent Methodists. He preached his first sermon in the summer of 1801 ; and, as his memorial tablet records, for more than fifty years he continued to preach the gospel, travelling for that purpose more than thirty thousand miles, and preaching upwards of six thousand times.
Soon a name for the new denomination was forthcoming. Some members of the Society of Friends resident in the neighbourhood were drawn by natural affinity to this offshoot of Methodism. In the lethargy and decline which had come upon their society, they could not but admire a zeal that recalled the heroic times of their own early history. Some of the Friends were led to throw in their lot with Peter Phillips and his church. The union resulted in an interesting interchange of qualities. The Methodists adopted the Quaker's plainness of dress and speech; the Quakers learned to sing as heartily as the Methodists themselves. Outsiders were quick to fasten on the two factors of this unusual combination and, by a sure instinct, struck out the two names 'Quaker Methodists' and 'Singing Quakers.' The former name took, as it deserved to do, and one cannot but regret its disappearance from the muster-roll of the Churches.
The time came when disconnected societies of various origin, after consultation in Manchester, agreed to unite on a federal basis. The name Independent Methodists was taken, and an annual Conference instituted, that of 1806 being reckoned as the first. It seems certain that some of the societies that were parties to this agreement had an earlier origin than the church at Warrington; but it is due to the continuity, the prominence, and the clear and open history of that church that, with its old Friars Green Chapel, reminiscent of Lorenzo Dow and the pioneers of Total Abstinence, that it came to be regarded as the mother-church of Independent Methodism. It is also a tribute to the cumulative influence of a long and useful life that Peter Phillips is looked upon as the founder of the denomination - an honour to which, while living, he preferred no claim.
In 1833 the associated societies, while reserving the right to retain their local names, agreed to style themselves, The United Churches of Christ. In 1841 the title United Free Gospel Churches was tried; but it failed to satisfy many who wished to associate themselves with the great Methodist family in name as well as in spirit. By a unanimous vote, taken in 1898, the generic name Independent Methodist Churches was resumed. The denomination, now numbering 9,614 members, is recognized as one of the branches of Methodism. As such it has its representative at the Methodist Ecumenical Conferences, on the Methodist Concerted Action Committee, and its numerical returns are included in the annual statistics of Methodism. It has its Book-Room at Warrington, its denominational magazine, its hymnal, and its foreign missions in India. During late years efforts have been made with encouraging results to strengthen the Methodist or connexional element in the denomination.
When reading it, it should be remembered that it was published in 1909 so references to numbers of members and the location of the book room etc, were as at 1909 (Ed)
THE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCHES
In 1796 the Methodist society at Warrington was peculiarly placed and circumstanced. It was a society apart and largely self-contained. There was no resident minister. Northwich, the circuit town, was twenty-five miles distant, and there were few Methodist societies in the neighbourhood. As a consequence the society was almost entirely dependent on its own officials for its government and edification. Yet the society made no complaint of its isolation. Indeed it was well content with things as they were and long had been. One special feature of the society's life was the regular holding of cottage-meetings - meetings like the famous one in Aldersgate Street at which the heart of John Wesley was 'strangely warmed.' But, in the year 1796 aforesaid, proposals reached the society from the official authorities to the effect that a minister should be placed at Warrington, and that the cottage-meetings should cease. The former proposal was waived, and not carried out until fifteen years later, but the discontinuance of the cottage-meetings was pressed and enforced. One meeting, however, disregarded the mandate and, as a consequence, was no longer regarded as forming part of the society. It continued to meet and make provision for its own sustenance and growth.
As yet the cottage-church was without a name or any specially distinctive feature calling for one. It was reserved for Peter Phillips (1778-1853), a godly chairmaker of Warrington, to mould its character and guide its future. He was a youth of nineteen, when, in 1797, he first comes before us. Events had driven him to the study of the Christian ministry in the light of the New Testament. The result of his examination, we are told, made him a convinced unbeliever in a separate and salaried ministry. By its previous history, the cottage-church was prepared to take the impress of his views, which ever since have been distinctive of the Independent Methodists. He preached his first sermon in the summer of 1801 ; and, as his memorial tablet records, for more than fifty years he continued to preach the gospel, travelling for that purpose more than thirty thousand miles, and preaching upwards of six thousand times.
Soon a name for the new denomination was forthcoming. Some members of the Society of Friends resident in the neighbourhood were drawn by natural affinity to this offshoot of Methodism. In the lethargy and decline which had come upon their society, they could not but admire a zeal that recalled the heroic times of their own early history. Some of the Friends were led to throw in their lot with Peter Phillips and his church. The union resulted in an interesting interchange of qualities. The Methodists adopted the Quaker's plainness of dress and speech; the Quakers learned to sing as heartily as the Methodists themselves. Outsiders were quick to fasten on the two factors of this unusual combination and, by a sure instinct, struck out the two names 'Quaker Methodists' and 'Singing Quakers.' The former name took, as it deserved to do, and one cannot but regret its disappearance from the muster-roll of the Churches.
The time came when disconnected societies of various origin, after consultation in Manchester, agreed to unite on a federal basis. The name Independent Methodists was taken, and an annual Conference instituted, that of 1806 being reckoned as the first. It seems certain that some of the societies that were parties to this agreement had an earlier origin than the church at Warrington; but it is due to the continuity, the prominence, and the clear and open history of that church that, with its old Friars Green Chapel, reminiscent of Lorenzo Dow and the pioneers of Total Abstinence, that it came to be regarded as the mother-church of Independent Methodism. It is also a tribute to the cumulative influence of a long and useful life that Peter Phillips is looked upon as the founder of the denomination - an honour to which, while living, he preferred no claim.
In 1833 the associated societies, while reserving the right to retain their local names, agreed to style themselves, The United Churches of Christ. In 1841 the title United Free Gospel Churches was tried; but it failed to satisfy many who wished to associate themselves with the great Methodist family in name as well as in spirit. By a unanimous vote, taken in 1898, the generic name Independent Methodist Churches was resumed. The denomination, now numbering 9,614 members, is recognized as one of the branches of Methodism. As such it has its representative at the Methodist Ecumenical Conferences, on the Methodist Concerted Action Committee, and its numerical returns are included in the annual statistics of Methodism. It has its Book-Room at Warrington, its denominational magazine, its hymnal, and its foreign missions in India. During late years efforts have been made with encouraging results to strengthen the Methodist or connexional element in the denomination.
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