Resited John Wesley Centenary Memorial. Gift of Utrick Alexander Ritson J. P. ,1891; Rev. Joseph Bush, Chairman, Newcastle-on-Tyne District; Joseph Baxter Ellis Esq., Mayor.
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Description
Resited John Wesley Centenary Memorial. Gift of Utrick Alexander Ritson J. P. ,1891; Rev. Joseph Bush, Chairman, Newcastle-on-Tyne District; Joseph Baxter Ellis Esq., Mayor. Wesley Square on the quayside in Newcastle upon Tyne includes a memorial obelisk to John Wesley, who first preached on Tyneside in May 1742. It was the generous gift of one of Newcastle’s Methodist businessmen, Utrick A. Ritson (1842-1932). Newcastle was a very important centre for Wesley, on a par with Bristol and London. John and his brother Charles were the founders of the Methodist religious movement. From the 1730’s until his death in London on 3rd March 1791, John Wesley travelled some many thousands of miles around Britain, on horseback and by carriage; he preached several times each day and wrote or edited around 400 publications. He left behind a movement of about 70,000 members. Wesley Memorial A slim obelisk of polished pink granite rises above a grey marble pedestal on which an organic pattern is carved in contrasting black paint. There is a water trough at the base of the east face and a drinking trough attached to the west face, above which is attached a separately carved lion’s head. The memorial obelisk was commissioned on the centenary of Wesley’s death by local Methodists and sited on ground given by the Town Improvement Committee. Unveiled by Utrick Ritson on the 29 October 1891 the monument is English Heritage Grade II listed. The designer is not known. Mr Ritson, said that the drinking fountain was a fitting memorial to one of the most remarkable characters of the eighteenth century. The obelisk was cleaned and re-sited by Eura Conservation in 1992 as part of Tyne and Wear Development Corporation’s regeneration of the river frontage. However, it is no longer connected to a water supply. John Wesley Wesley recorded his first visit to Newcastle in his Journal. The entry for Sunday 30th May 1742 reads: ‘At seven in the morning I walked down to Sandgate, the poorest and most contemptible part of the town, and standing at the end of the street with John Taylor, began to sing the hundredth psalm’. It was a remarkable occurrence because people were not used to outdoor evangelical sermons. He preached again that evening to a large crowd and subsequently visited Tyneside another 50 times over the course of his life, taking a personal interest in the religious and moral lives of its inhabitants. https://www.gravestonepix.com/contents1a/2011/11/john-wesley-memorial-newcastle/?doing_wp_cron=1608661047.8171589374542236328125" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.gravestonepix.com/contents1a/2011/11/john-wesley-memo... -
Owner
Bolckow -
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License
What does this mean? All Rights Reserved (Seek permission to reuse)
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Further information
Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/83226190@N00/2404986183/
Resource type: Image
Added by: Simon Cotterill
Last modified: 1 year ago
Viewed: 219 times
Picture Taken: 2008-02-20T12:28:23 -
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