The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion: A Sect in Action in Eighteenth-Century England

by Alan Harding

Overview

This is the first detailed study of the operation of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, an important group in early Methodism. Alan Harding explores how the Connexion developed locally; the identity of its preachers and their training; the religious and social origins of those who joined its congregations; and the relationship between central direction and local initiative. The book examines the Connexion's attitudes to the Church of England and also to Dissent, to whose revival in the later eighteenth century it made a significant contribution. It considers the Connexion's relationship with other sections of the Revival, and reflects on the doctrinal issues that divided it from Weleyan Methodism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198263692
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/11/2003
Series:	Oxford Theology and Religion Monographs
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	716,873
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 5.70(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Alan Harding was formerly a member of the Senior Civil Service. He is now a parish priest in Hertfordshire.

Table of Contents

Introduction1. The Eighteenth Century Religious Background2. Selina, Countess of Huntingdon: Early Life and the Start of the Connexion3. The Life of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion4. Trevecca College5. Doctrines and Divisions6. The Connexion, the Church of England, and Dissent7. The Connexion in the Last Years of Lady Huntingdon's Life

Editorial Reviews

"This solidly researched book does much to fill in the gap in knowledge of the "other Methodism" in the eighteenth century and how it functioned on the ground. It represents the work of hundreds of hours of painstaking research in archives, reconstructing the story of the connexion from the bottom up."—American Historical Review

From the Publisher