Methodism

METHODISM IN SCOTLAND AND IN PERTH

AN ESSAY

By David Cowling
2007

(The complete essay is available in PDF* format by clicking here)

Introduction & Acknowledgements

The story of the development of Methodism in Scotland, even the accounts of John Wesley’s visits to this country in the latter part of the eighteenth century, are a small part of the story of Scotland itself. It is a story however well worth telling, even in summary. The essay that follows is only that – a summary – with a particular emphasis on the Methodist society in the city of Perth.

I have relied on the documents and books listed in the ‘Sources’ section, but have also tried to set the story within a firm context of the contemporary society within which the Methodist story was taking place. This is I believe especially important in looking at John Wesley’s visits to Scotland. There is always a tendency to view these in isolation from the tumultuous times in which they took place. Scotland in the period following the defeat of the Jacobite Rebellion at Culloden in 1746, was not only a country undergoing great change, but it was also to be in many areas of human activity a world leader. This then is the country into which John Wesley first ventured in April 1751.

I owe a particular debt to the late George Davis, of Arbroath, whose short book ‘Wesley in Scotland’ [1999] was an inspiration to me. I have drawn upon it for an understanding of Wesley’s twenty two visits here. Similarly I am grateful to Margaret Batty of Edinburgh, who has both helped me with her knowledge of the early itinerancy, and kindly guided me through the difficulties of trying to say a lot in few words.

DAVID COWLING
Gateside, Fife.
 2007.

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