Low Rigg (1823)



Ireshopeburn preaching place had been closed to the missionaries, but they soon had the choice of other two, as Anthony Race had said they would; and when Batty went to preach at Low Rigg, he found the congregation too large to be accommodated in the house, so he preached in the open-air. Before he had been speaking a quarter of an hour, "a person fell down under the word and cried for mercy. He was carried into the house, and a mighty prayer meeting commenced." A small society was formed that night, and the revival started. The magnitude of it may be gathered from the numerical returns of the branch for 1823. In March, when the revival began, there were 219 members on the roll; 308 were reported in June; in September the number had more than doubled, being 625 and in December, when there were five preachers on the ground, 846 members were reported, having multiplied almost fourfold in nine months. In the following quarters further substantial increases were reported, and Mr. Muschamp might well say to Mr. Batty: "I think all the people in Weardale are going to be Ranters."

‘Northern Primitive Methodism’, by W M Patterson, published in 1909, page 158.

Additional Information

Location unknown. Low Rigg hardly exists so people must have come from all over.


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