Rev. Jabez Tunnicliff (7 February 1809 – 15 June 1865) was a minister of the General Baptist Church in England. He was the founder of the

Band of Hope Hope UK is a United Kingdom Christian charity based in London, England which educates children and young people about drug and alcohol abuse. Local meetings started in 1847 and a formal organisation was established in 1855 with the name The Uni ...

temperance movement.

Life and family

Jabez Tunnicliff was born on 7 February 1809, the second surviving son of John Tunnicliff. Of 22 children, only Jabez, his older brother William, and six of their sisters survived to adulthood. His father was a boot and shoe maker in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

. He was apprenticed at age 13 to learn

japanning Japanning is a type of finish that originated as a European imitation of East Asian lacquerwork. It was first used on furniture, but was later much used on small items in metal. The word originated in the 17th century. American work, with the ...

, and used this skill to support himself as a painter and decorator in some pastoral situations. While still apprenticed, he secretly married Mary Ann, a young lady in the church he attended. Theirs was a good marriage, but their youth made it financially difficult, and this hindered his church work. Jabez Tunnicliff died at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, 15 June 1865. His funeral was the following Sunday at

Burmantofts Burmantofts is an area of 1960s high-rise housing blocks in inner-city east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England adjacent to the city centre and St. James's Hospital. It is a racially diverse area, with sizable Afro-Caribbean and Irish communities, ...

Cemetery, with an estimated 15,000 people present. The ''Leeds Express'' for 25 June 1865 reports that about 1,100 temperance supporters walked through the town following the coffin.

Church work

In 1832, Jabez Tunnicliff was invited to become the minister of Cradley Baptist Church. However, in February 1833 he began to question the Calvinistic teaching, and left in November 1833. In December 1833 he and about 30 others began meeting and formed Cradley Heath Baptist Church. While fundraising for the new building at Cradley Heath, he was asked to become the minister of Longford Baptist Church (between Coventry and Bedworth, Warwickshire), where he had a successful ministry until 1842. He resigned that pastorate with a view to working in America, but was employed by the Baptist Home Mission department in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Band of Hope

During his time at Leeds, Jabez Tunnicliff became an advocate for

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

, and spoke out for this alongside his regular church work. In 1847, after the death of a young man "through intemperance" and in discussion with several other temperance supporters, he proposed a new organisation to promote temperance amongst younger people. There is some dispute as to whether the name given to this organisation; the "

" was coined by him or by Anne Jane Carlisle.

References

Sources

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External links

''The Life and Labours of the Rev. Jabez Tunnicliff, Minister of the Gospel at Call Lane Chapel, Leeds, and Founder of the Band of Hope, obtained from authentic documents, chiefly records made by himself'' by Rev. H. Marles, LRCP, 1865
on Google Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Tunnicliffe, Jabez 1809 births 1865 deaths English Baptist ministers English temperance activists