Ann Cutler (1759 – 29 December 1794) was a British hand-loom weaver and Methodist evangelist.

Life

Cutler was born in the Lancashire parish of

Thornley-with-Wheatley Thornley-with-Wheatley is a civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It is entirely rural, with no villages or other substantial settlements. Its population was 320 in 2011, a figure that has not changed much for over a c ...

in 1759. Her parents and schooling are unknown, but she became a hand loom weaver. She came to notice in 1785 when she converted from established Christianity to Methodism by

William Bramwell William Bramwell ( – 13 August 1818) was an English Methodist itinerant preacher who led a successful Christian revival in Yorkshire. Early life Born in Elswick (near Preston), Lancashire, he was raised in a devout Anglican family. In pursui ...

. Cutler was with Hester Rogers one of the first women preachers. Their devotion laid the foundation for friends

Sarah Crosby Sarah Crosby (6 October 1729 – 29 October 1804) was an English Methodist preacher, and is considered to be the first woman to hold this title. Crosby, along with Mary Bosanquet, are the most popular women preachers of Methodism. Scholars suc ...

and

Mary Bosanquet Fletcher Mary Bosanquet Fletcher (; 12 September 1739 – 8 December 1815) was an English preacher credited with persuading John Wesley, a founder of Methodism, to allow women to preach in public. She was born into an affluent family, but after converti ...

to later become Methodist preachers. Cutler had met the Methodist leader,

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

, in 1790 and it was he who had agreed to women preachers.

Martha Thompson Martha Thompson (1731–1820) was an English Methodist. She was a housemaid in London, and was converted to Methodism after hearing John Wesley preach in Moorfields Moorfields was an open space, partly in the City of London, lying adjace ...

teamed up with Ann Cutler and the two evangelists would claim converts in Lancashire who had witnessed Thompson's singing and Cutler's praying. Martha was warned to stay clear of Cutler because of her strength and enthusiasm which Martha's father feared would kill his daughter. Cutler went on to work with Bramwell and they are credited with leading revivals in Derby, Lancashire, Cheshire and Lancashire in the years following Wesley's death in 1791. Her mentor, William Bramwell, had a respect for Cutler. She was known as "Praying Nanny" because of her frequent, loud and at times public prayers. When Bramwell got into difficulty then he would benefit from Cutler's prayer techniques. Cutler never married and was keen to ensure that there was no gossip. When she was returning late at night she would refuse a male escort in order to avoid any suspicion. She died in

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

in 1794 at the age of 35. William Bramwell published a short account of her life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, Ann 1759 births 1794 deaths People from Ribble Valley (district) British weavers Women clergy