This research looks at the emergence of the Primitive Methodist Connexion in the period 1800-1812, from a revival at Harriseahead, Staffordshire. It examines the ‘creation narrative’ the Connexion told about its beginnings, posing two questions: How influential was the first chronicler and founder of the community, Hugh Bourne, on subsequent accounts? Can a fuller story be told which places Primitive Methodist origins and Bourne’s early influences in a wider context? Use is made of contemporaneous material published by Bourne and William Clowes, the Connexion’s other recognised founder, their surviving MSS, extant records of the Burslem Wesleyan Circuit and Chester District, New Connexion, Wesleyan and Independent Methodist connexional records, as well as parish registers and later published accounts. An outline of Primitive Methodist historiography is given in the introductory chapter. Primitive Methodist origins are then re-examined in four phases. In the years 1797-1800, a context is set of division in Burslem Wesleyanism brought about by the emergence of the Methodist New Connexion. The formative years of Lorenzo Dow, John Riles and William Edward Miller are surveyed, and the influences they brought to bear on later events identified. In 1800-1804, when the revival gathered pace, the role of Daniel Shubotham, Bourne’s cousin, is re-assessed. Changes in the Burslem Wesleyan Circuit in 1805-1807 included the arrival of Miller and Riles, and the visit of American maverick evangelist Dow, and the impact on the revival of the resultant changing dynamics are explored. The aftermath of the revivalists holding a camp meeting on 31 May 1807 was a Wesleyan ban and a circuit dispute, causing rifts between Bourne, Shubotham and Clowes. This delicate subject for Primitive Methodist historiography is re-examined, as is the likely role of Superintendent John Riles, and the question of whether in 1808-1812 a linking of the camp meeting Methodists with the New Connexion was ever likely. In conclusion, three key influences upon Hugh Bourne in the emergence of Primitive Methodism are identified. Firstly the Methodist New Connexion gave a context for Bourne’s early ministry in a weakened circuit, and for the emergence later of a separate revivalist community. Secondly, Shubotham’s spirituality was influential for Bourne despite the fissure between them. Lastly, the ‘self-superintending’ ministry of Dow inspired Bourne to continue to hold camp meetings and divided him from Shubotham and Clowes. These second two factors are to be found in Bourne’s writings, but the dominance of his first full-length published account led to the forging of the Primitive Methodist creation narrative at an early stage. Attention to all three factors enables a contextually richer story to emerge.

This thesis has two overarching aims. The first aim is to understand the origins and development of temperance and abstinence in British Methodism, particularly through the theology that informed what may broadly be called the Methodist teetotal movement in its period of greatest popularity from 1830 until 1919. The second is to consider the downfall of this movement in the period from 1945 until 1974, when the Methodist Connexion adopted the view that each Methodist “must consider his personal attitude to all drugs in relation to his Christian vocation”. The need for the study arises from the relative dearth of historical investigation regarding Methodism and abstinence. Representations of Methodism and abstinence tend either to be partisan or to lack wider understanding of the abstinence movement, or the theology of Methodism. Methodologically, this thesis attempts to hold together historical and theological considerations; it is important to consider both the socio-economic contexts in which diverse abstinence and teetotal movements arose and the theological motivations that drove British Methodist belief and practice. Regarding the origins and development of temperance and abstinence in British Methodism, it is proposed in this thesis that the Bible Christians were the first organised Methodist abstainers, and that their practice was likely to have been influenced by John Wesley's theologies of sanctification, holiness and Christian perfection. The thesis is an attempt to counter the Bible Christian’s diminished historical significance, as well as to investigate the likely impact of the theological underpinnings for their abstinence. Regarding the downfall of temperance and abstinence in British Methodism in the period from 1945 until 1974, this thesis will propose that a loss of focus upon holiness as a catalyst for abstinence was detrimental to the growth and continuation of the teetotal movement throughout Methodism after World War Two. It will highlight the general rejection of this focus on encouraged abstinence in the second half of the twentieth century, acknowledging the changes and disagreement within British Methodism to which this dismissal led. Concluding comments allude to the need for a renewed witness within British Methodism to societal and theological imperatives for both temperance and abstinence.