Hugh
Bourne
was born in Fordhays near Stoke
in 1772. Bourne worked as a carpenter but was also a Methodist
lay-preacher. He developed a reputation as a zealous preacher but
the leadership of the Methodists did not always agree with his radical
ideas. When Bourne refused to accept the leadership's ban on camp
meetings in 1808,
he was expelled from the movement.
Bourne and his 200 or so followers became known as Primitive
Methodists. Bourne adopted the name from a statement that had
been made by John Wesley in 1790: "I
still remain a primitive Methodist." Bourne's followers were
also called Ranters.
Bourne built his first Primitive Methodist
Chapel
in Tunstall in 1811. By 1842 membership had increased to nearly 80,000
with 500 travelling evangelists and more that 1,200 chapels. Bourne
also worked as a missionary in Scotland, Ireland and the USA. Among
his writings is his History of the Primitive
Methodists (1823). Hugh
Bourne died in 1852.
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