Methodism in my native village [microform] : or, short biographical sketches extending over a century

Preface

HE following pages have been written as the result of the gathering which took place at the village of Cheddleton, on the occasion of the Centenary Celebration. Many incidents were remembered and related which greatly interested the large number of people then assembled. The writer was earnestly requested by several ministers and other friends to gather up these incidents, and put them in a permanent form. An opinion was expressed that a historical sketch of Methodism at Cheddleton would be of use in other villages. The work has been “ a labour of love ; ” and I here most willingly express

PREFACE.

my thanks to those friends who have so cheerfully assisted in giving information for the accomplishment of my task.

I may also mention another interesting fact which has had something to do with the writing of this little hook. My oid and much-esteemed friend, the Rev. Thomas Champness, has been much interested in these stories of Methodism in the village, and has very kindly undertaken to put them through the Press. The great movement he has originated in connection with the villages of England, and the wonderful results already achieved, make it clear he has been led by the good providence of God, to establish an evangelistic agency which numbers over one hundred evangelists. These young men are scattered over the country ; also in India, China, and Africa.

One very important and interesting fact is, that The Joyful News movement is carried on under Mr. Champness’s personal management. The large amount of money required for this work is raised entirely by voluntary contributions, and the profits

PREFACE.

from the sale of The Joyful News and other religious literature.

I have a grateful sense of personal obligation to him for the very kind interest he has taken in these sketches, and my wish and prayer is, that this little book may, in some humble way, help him in the great work in which he is engaged. I am quite persuaded this effort will not bear the criticisms of the learned ; it is only a very simple record of the work of Methodism in a very small, out-of-the-way village, which has affected the lives and destinies of a large number of people, and the results of which will not be known till the heavens are no more.

If only a few derive encouragement and help from this narrative, the object for which it has been written will be attained.

T. W.

Holmrook,

Altrincham, 1891.

CHAPTER i

“ How soft the music of those village bells,

Falling at intervals upon the ear In cadence sweet ! now dying all away,

Now pealing loud again, and louder still,

Clear and sonorous as the gale comes on.

Cowper.

HE village of Cheddleton is situated in North Staffordshire, three miles distant from the town of Leek, and about seven miles from the Potteries.

The old turnpike road from Manchester to London runs directly through the village, and in the olden times a great deal of interest was excited by the arrival of the stage-coach, as it drove up to the Red Lion Inn. A journey to London in those days was quite an event in a man’s life, taking some four days to reach the metropolis, whereas the great journey can now be taken from Manchester to London in four hours and a quarter. As the village is approached from Leek by the high-road, the most striking object in the landscape is the old Parish Church, with its square battlemented tower, which stands out conspicuously on the top of a hill, and with several rows of small houses, has a pretty and picturesque appearance. In the valley below the church, run the river Churnet and the North Staffordshire Canal. In the church tower there was a peal of three bells. On the summer morning the sound of those bells was most melodious in my young ears. The ding, dong, bell, as it reverberated along the valley, had a musical charm which to me was perfectly delightful.

The village is small, with a population of not more than some three hundred inhabitants. The only places of worship are the Parish Church and a small Wesleyan Chapel. Fifty years ago, the church had only a very small congregation — the clergyman, clerk, churchwarden, organist, and

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the sexton or grave-digger, frequently constituted the greater part of the worshippers ; since that time a great change has taken place in the church and its surroundings. In the interior, new oaken pews, oaken screens with carved tracery work, a beautiful organ, etc., have been introduced. Outside, the churchyard has been enlarged, stone walls built around, and costly gates erected, and a much larger congregation also tells of the quickened life of the Church of England.

In the year 1853, the Hev. J. B. Dyson published a little book, containing a history of Methodism in the Leek Circuit ; from this book I learn that Methodism was introduced into the village about the year 1788 or 1789; the exact date cannot be ascertained, but the following record has been left of the visit of a local preacher : “ At one time, being called to preach out of doors at a small country village of the name of Cheddleton, a great number of people were collected together in order to prevent his preaching, or to do him a personal injury. On this occasion he manifested much of the spirit of his Great Master ; for he and his friends, when returning home, kneeled down and prayed fervently to God for their persecutors, that the Lord would 1 open their blind eyes/ and give them to know ‘ the day of their visitation.’ ” After this, it is said that out-door preaching was continued in the village for some years.

The preachers were exposed to very severe and bitter persecutions ; they were assailed with rotten eggs, clods, and any filth and missiles that came to hand. I was told by my mother, that on one occasion the preacher had taken his stand opposite the church, and the people, finding they could not silence him in any other way, set the church bells ringing. Evil, however, was not altogether triumphant. There was a gentleman standing on the outskirts of the congregation, listening to the earnest words of the preacher, and, when the bells began to ring, he exclaimed with great earnestness, as he smote the ground with his walking-stick, “ Downreet, lads, this is too bad ! this is too bad ! this is not fair play ! ” and shortly afterwards he invited the preachers to bis house, and was a kind and hospitable friend to them so long as he lived. This gentleman was the father of the late much-esteemed John Hambleton.

This early friend to the Methodist preachers found his way into the kingdom of God ; and he

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and his excellent wife were greatly esteemed for their generous hospitality to all who came under the shelter of their Christian home. It was stated by one who was present during Mr. Hambleton’s last illness, that on the last night of his life, when he was crossing over to the city of God, sweet and heavenly melody was heard, in the room where the good man was passing away.

In 1792, a circumstance occurred which has proved to be of the utmost importance, and which has probably affected the future of the village for generations to come. Mr. Robert Cooper, then a young man, came to reside there, and he immediately opened his house for preaching. The services were probably held in one of the four cottages which stand on the turnpike road, between the Red Lion and the Grange Farm. My mother informed me that the congregations worshipping in this cottage were often greatly annoyed and bitterly persecuted. It was customary to fasten the door from the outside, and then to get on the roof from the back of the house, and stop up the chimney, and in this way fill the house with smoke and soot, and so bring the service to a close. On one occasion a strong rope was fastened to the handle of the door on the outside, and a hen was forced down the chimney ; as it came down in a state of alarm, it spread the soot over the congregation, blackened their faces, and spoiled their clean linen, rendering the atmosphere almost suffocating. Notwithstanding the cruel persecutions to which they were exposed, the work went on, and people were converted. A little society was formed, and they realised the blessedness of those who were 11 persecuted for righteousness’ sake.”

Among those who worshipped at this cottage was my maternal grandmother, who was induced to go and hear the Methodists. She was greatly impressed with what she heard. My grandfather was an honest and steady-going Churchman, but altogether ignorant of the nature of experimental religion ; he was greatly scandalised by the conduct of his wife, who persisted in her determination to go to the Methodist meetings. He remonstrated with her about the discredit she was bringing upon the family by her stubborn determination to mix with these despised people. She reasoned with him about the folly and wrong of condemning a people he knew so little about, and assured him, there was nothing in their preaching but could

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be proved to be in complete harmony with the Scriptures ; and if so, they would prove right, and their persecutors in the wrong ; and as we must all answer for ourselves at the judgment day, would it not be better to go and hear them for himself 1 Still, he could not look upon them in any other light than as “ wolves in sheep’s clothing.” At the same time, his wife’s words impressed him so much, he thought he would hear them ; but he was not prepared to show himself in the congregation; and he resolved to go by stealth, after the people were settled at the service, and the blind drawn down, and he would listen outside. As he listened, he was surprised to find the sermon so full of Scripture, and every point in the discourse confirmed by a direct appeal to God’s Word. My grandfather came to the conclusion, if these people were right, he was wrong ; he became uneasy and restless, but not so concerned as to come boldly out, and join them in their Sunday services. He was invited by one of the friends to go over to Leek, and hear one of the travelling preachers. He did so, and got into a corner of the chapel, where he thought nobody would know him. The preacher took for his text, “ For the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand ? ” The text and sermon went home like a nail fastened in a sure place ; he was led to the Saviour, and in the end died in peace, resting on the world’s Redeemer.

My grandmother, who was a strong-minded woman, became a decided Christian, lived for a few years in fellowship with the people of her choice, witnessing a good confession, and then closed her earthly career in peace, with a sure trust in the mercy of God through faith in Christ. She had one son, who left home at an early age, and was apprenticed to a wood-turner at Macclesfield. During the early part of his apprenticeship, he went among the Methodists, and was converted to God. He was a young man of intelligence and superior talents, and soon began to exercise his gifts for the benefit of others. He began to preach, and as a local preacher distinguished himself by his diligent preparations, and the zeal and energy with which he applied himself to the work of preaching Christ’s Gospel. When his mother died, he was of course present at the funeral ; a large number of friends assembled in and near the cottage in which she died, and this devoted son of a good mother seized the opportunity afforded by the presence of

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so many people inside and outside the house, and preached a sermon from the words, “The living know that they shall die.” It was a time of great weeping. The preacher wept, and the people wept ; and the effects of that service lingered in the memories of those present for many years afterwards. One man stated he had often heard of the power of God being felt among the Methodists, but he did not know what it meant until that service. “ But now,” said he, “ I know what it means, for I have felt it for myself My Uncle Bigby, the young man above referred to, removed to Stockport, and for many years held a responsible situation as manager of a large cotton mill. He was highly respected by a large circle of friends, and his services were in great request as a local preacher. His influence for good was widely extended. His declining years were spent in the town of Leek, (three miles only from his native village), where he finished his earthly course and entered into rest.

The influence of Methodism in this village is well seen in the family and descendants of the friend whose life I have briefly noticed. He had a large family of sons and daughters, and it is believed the whole of them were truly Christian people. One son, Mr. John Rigby, of Stockport, was a man widely known, and very highly esteemed for his fine Christian character, and his superior talents. He rose to eminence in the town ; for many years he was a member of the Town Council, a class-leader, a Sunday-school superintendent ; he had also a young men’s class, out of which a number of local preachers were raised up and prepared for their work. John Rigby was one of the most gifted local preachers in the Methodist Connexion. He was always welcome in the pulpits of the largest chapels, and some of his able and eloquent discourses are remembered by people who heard them delivered fifty years ago. He set himself the task of preaching at least one sermon in the open air in every street in Stockport, and it is believed he accomplished this. Mr. James Rigby, brother to the above, was a man of excellent character, but of a more retiring disposition; he held the office of circuit steward in the Stockport South Circuit, and for many years was connected with the work of Methodism in that town.

If we follow the stream of influence as it flows onward in this particular family a little further, we shall see how it happily descends, generation

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after generation, deepening and widening in its flow — children and children’s children ; for at least four generations are found in the way of righteousness. Mr. John Rigby left a son who is worthy of his honoured father, a man of education and great ability, devoting himself to the work of the Lord, as a Sunday-school superintendent and circuit steward, in the circuit that was the scene of his father’s labours. Mr. James Rigby left two sons, both of whom have done much useful work in the Methodist Church. Mr. Samuel Rigby is now the superintendent of the Sunday school connected with Trinity Chapel, Stockport, which is largely supported by his liberality and labours. He has taken a great interest in the poor lads of the town, has had a large class for their instruction and improvement ; has had a constant regard to their temporal advantage, and numerous are the testimonies he has received from grateful hearts in different parts of the country. I might further illustrate my subject from other branches of this family ; but this will suflice to show the widespread influence for good, which has resulted from the labours of the poor, despised, and persecuted Methodists in the little village many years ago.

CHAPTEE II.

* ‘ And He said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground ; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.” — Mark iv. 26, 27.

I EE AT efforts have been made, especially in modern times, to discover the source of those great rivers which, in their majestic progress through the countries of the world, affect mightily the material interests of peoples who live in the lands through which they flow.

If such great interest is attached to the discovery of the spring among the mountains, that forms the little rill which, as it flows on, gathers its tributary streams until it becomes a river of increasing magnitude and power, how much more interesting is it to note the beginnings of religious life in the experience of an individual Christian, or the formation of a Church or religious society in any particular locality, which, though small and feeble

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in its beginnings, gradually grows and develops, until its influence is powerful and far-reaching ! Jesus said, “ The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field : which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest

( among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” Also, “ The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” This appears to be the Divine method in nature, in providence, and in grace. The mighty oak springs from the tiny acorn ; the shepherd boy is raised up to be a mighty monarch ; so in the growth of Christ’s kingdom in the world, the humblest instrumentalities have been used in its establishment and extension. These truths are fully illustrated in our narrative of Methodism in this village.

As we have before stated, in 1792 Mr. Robert Cooper came to the village. He was a man of God — earnest, devout, consistent, and whole-hearted in his consecration to the service of the Saviour, from the beginning to the end of his Christian career. With him there was no wavering, no half-heartedness, no trimming between Christ and the world, and nothing to create a stumbling-block in the way of others. He was to the little society a tower of strength; and God greatly honoured him. He was the central figure in the little society ; they rallied round him, and looked up to him as their guide, instructor, and friend. His life was one of prayer ; and the same spirit was diffused among the members. He took “ everything to God in prayer.” It is said he never left home on any business, however trivial or commonplace, without asking for the special blessing of God upon the engagement ; the result was, his life was full of rich blessing.

The following interesting incident came to me from an authentic source : “ Being a local preacher of most acceptable and useful talents, he went over the wide circuit in which he lived, and was everywhere welcomed by the congregations. At one place his attention had been drawn to a young lady, with whose appearance and spirit he was much impressed. He thought that she would be a most suitable companion for him as his future wife. He determined, however, to follow his usual practice, and take it to God in prayer. The sub-

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stance of his appeal to God was, that if this lady was intended, in the order of God’s providence, to be his future wife, the next time he saw her she might be clothed in a white dress. He had never seen her dressed in white, but he did not think he was asking too much, in a matter so important, to have this indication given to him of the will of God. The next time he saw the lady was on his next visit to the village to preach, and as he looked round the congregation, he saw her in a white dress. She became his wife, and the result in afterlife showed the wisdom of the step he had taken.

The eldest son of their large family settled in Leek, and was a well-known medical man, much esteemed during a long and useful life ; he was a successful class-leader, and an influential and useful member of the Wesleyan Society. The other sons settled in Manchester when young, and established a business which has grown to very large proportions.

The first member of this firm of merchants was Mr. John Cooper, a good man, and very highly respected; and the one fact which is deeply interesting to the friends in the little village is, that the daughter of the above-named gentleman has become the wife of that distinguished Wesleyan minister, the Rev. Mark Guy Pearse. The only remaining member of the family who is still living is Mr. George Cooper, who carries on the business and resides at Macclesfield ; he has been a member of the Methodist Church from his youth ; he took a lively interest in the building of the Central Hall in Manchester, and contributed some <£1,200 towards the cost of its erection.

About the year 1 7 93, the late Mr. John Hambleton was born. His father had shown great sympathy with the Methodists in their early struggles to establish Methodism in the ' village of Cheddleton, and had opened his hospitable house to them. It is a noteworthy fact that the same house is the home of the preachers still, and has been for at least one hundred years. Mr. John Hambleton was a worthy son of an honoured father. He received a good education in his youth, and was trained by a mother who was one of the excellent of the earth ; she was indeed “ a mother in Israel,” a generous-hearted lady, especially to the poor, and greatly esteemed by all who knew her. After living to a good old age, she died in great peace. Mr. Robert Cooper came from Manchester to preach

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her funeral sermon; the congregation was large, and a very powerful impression was produced. The son, Mr. John Hambleton, attended the Methodist services from his childhood. These services had been removed from the house where Mr. Cooper first lived, to an old boat-builder’s shop, occupied as a workshop during the week, and a place of worship on the Sunday. It had to be cleared out on the Saturday, and the benches put in order for the Sunday services. The situation of the old building was most inconvenient, and scarcely accessible on dark nights, without considerable risk and danger, from its nearness to the canal ; yet the people thankfully availed themselves of the opportunity which this place gave them, of worshipping God, of having “ fellowship one with another,” and so strengthening each other’s hands in all good things. It appears from an old and trustworthy record, now in my possession, that the first Sunday school held in this village was held in the old “ dock-house.” The following circular was printed and circulated through the neighbourhood : — •

“ Sunday School at Cheddleton.

“ A convenient room is now fitting up at

Cheddleton for a Sunday school, where children of all descriptions from five years of age and upwards (except those who are afflicted with any contagious distemper) will be instructed to read, and books and every other necessary found them gratis ; and in a few weeks, as soon as convenience can be made, and they shall, by regular attendance, proficiency in learning, and exemplary conduct, approve themselves worthy of further instruction, they will be taught to write ; and the school will be opened on Sunday, March 1st, 1807 ; and it is requested that all parents and guardians of children, who intend to send their children, will give information of the same to Vfilliam Cress well or Robert Cooper, or attend with their children at eight o’clock on the morning of the day the school is opened. The hours of teaching will be from nine to twelve, and from one to four. The children will be conducted to church on Sunday afternoons as *• often as convenient. Any well-disposed persons who wish to promote this institution by engaging as teachers, are requested to subscribe their names.”

Of this Sunday school at Cheddleton we have but little information. How long it was in active

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operation is not known — probably for several years ; but eventually it was closed, and the village was for some years without a Sunday school. The services which were held in this poor old building were very fruitful of good.

Young Mr. John Hambleton had just returned from school ; he w 7 as probably about fourteen years old ; he attended the services in the old “ dock-house ” — that place became to him the house of God and the gate of heaven. He was led as a sinner to the feet of Jesus, and into the kingdom of God. Henceforth, the current of his life was turned into channels of useful service.

The circuit record is : “ No one of the many worthies of the past to whom this circuit owes so much, has rendered it greater service, or earned a more general and widespread respect than Mr. Hambleton. He was for fifty-seven years a most useful local preacher ; his sermons were characterised by great excellence, and were eminently practical, aiming at the conversion of sinners and the promotion of true godliness. He was an earnest and judicious class-leader for a very long period, having, it is supposed, succeeded Robert Cooper, when he left Cheddleton for Manchester in 1829. He was elected circuit steward when about twenty-five years of age, and filled that office many times down to 1856, the last year of his stewardship.”

Mr. Hambleton was remarkable for his general intelligence, his sound judgment, his clear views, his Christian consistency. His hospitable home was open to all good people, whether Methodists or otherwise; he was a man of broad sympathies and catholic spirit ; he loved and honoured good men of every name ; hence he was widely known and highly respected by all. One little incident may here be told. When it was finally decided that I should leave the village, and go away into the large and busy city, he took me aside into a private room, and there among other words of counsel were the following : “ Thomas, you are about to leave home, and your lot will be cast among strangers. Get among the people of God, and let me advise you never to be niggardly to the cause of God. I never knew any one to prosper in his soul, who was niggardly to God’s cause.” It was a word in season, and one that has followed me through life.

In 1849 the present chapel was erected, and Mr. Hambleton was the chief instrument in this work.

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He gave the land, and subscribed liberally to the building fund. His interest in the sanctuary and public worship of God was deep and abiding. A letter from his wife, the late Mrs. Hambleton, states that frequently on their return home from the house of God, he would plead with great earnestness and power for the salvation of his neighbours, and for the establishment of God’s cause in the village. The end of this good man was in keeping with his blameless and useful life. In his last illness, which was continued for some weeks, he manifested complete resignation to the will of God. I remember distinctly the last hours of his life. I got a letter to say that if I wished to see him alive, I must come without the least loss of time. A coach was sent for, and with hard driving I got to the station, in time to catch the train as it was moving out of the station. My desire was realised; I saw him, and had a few words of recognition. His mind seemed to be dwelling upon the Word of God, with which he had become so familiar. He repeated with great distinctness a beautiful passage from Isa. lxii. : “ Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.” I think the last clear utterance which fell from his lips was very impressive; he said slowly, and with great solemnity, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.” The words seemed to have a meaning and importance I had never seen in them before. In his life he was on the Rock, and in death he found the Almighty and unchangeable Saviour to be all-sufficient. He apparently went into a quiet and peaceful sleep, and without a groan or even a sigh he passed away to the heavenly home.

It is not known exactly how long the services were held in the old boat-builder’s shop, commonly called the “ dock-house,” but certainly that building was occupied as a place of worship and Sunday school for some years. The “ dock-house ” was dangerous because of its nearness to the canal, and it is said that certain members of the congregation, returning from one of the services, accidentally fell into the water, and were with difficulty rescued from their perilous situation. In addition to Mr. Hambleton, there were several others who were brought to God and began their Christian career while attending the services held there.