Hugh Price Hughes (8 February 1847 – 17 November 1902) was a Welsh Protestant clergyman and religious reformer in the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

tradition. He served in multiple leadership roles in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He organised the

West London Methodist Mission The West London Methodist Mission was established in 1887 under the leadership of Hugh Price Hughes, a leading voice in Methodism and in Non-Conformity, and has a long track record as a Methodist ministry and as a spiritual home for "good works". ...

, a key Methodist organisation today. Recognised as one of the greatest orators of his era, Hughes also founded and edited an influential newspaper, the ''Methodist Times'' in 1885. His editorials helped convince Methodists to break their longstanding support for the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and support the more moralistic

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, which other Nonconformist Protestants were already supporting.

Biography

Hughes was born in

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

, and was educated at

Richmond Theological College Richmond Theological College (also called "Richmond College") was a Methodist (Wesleyan) college in Richmond, London. It was a college for training ministers and missionaries between 1843 and 1972. In 1902 the College became a part of the Univers ...

and

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. His sister was the teacher Elizabeth Phillips Hughes. He married Katherine Hughes (née Barrett). In 1885, he founded the ''Methodist Times'', and in 1887 he was appointed Superintendent of the West London Methodist Mission. His wife Katherine organised and led the innovative Sisters of the People, social work volunteers attached to the West London Mission. In 1896, he was elected first president of the National Council of Evangelical Free Churches, an organisation he helped create. In 1898, he was elected President of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference for a year-long term. Hughes rose as the leader of the "

Forward Movement Forward Movement is the name taken by a number of Christian Protestant movements in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and other countries. United Kingdom The term "Forward Movement" is said to have been used for the first time in the mid-18 ...

" in Methodism, which sought to reshape the Methodist Church as the moral and social conscience of Britain. Later, he extended this idea to the Nonconformist Free Churches as a whole. He was concerned that the non-Anglican

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

tradition had become overly focused on individual

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

, and it was time for Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians and

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

to become churches in a fuller sense, taking on responsibility for the salvation of society. These ideas were expressed in his published sermons. In his first book of sermons, entitled ''Social Christianity'', he declared "It is because the spirit of Christ has not been introduced into public life that Europe is in a perilous condition today... My wish is to apply Christianity to every aspect of life." Hughes played a key role in leading Methodists into the

coalition, away from the Conservative leanings of previous Methodist leaders. His activism embodied the concept of the " Nonconformist conscience".J.H.S. Kent, 'Hugh Price Hughes and the Nonconformist Conscience' (1966), pp. 181–205. In ''Essays in Modem English Church History'' As a reformer, Hughes was a leader for temperance and for the repeal of the

Contagious Diseases Acts The Contagious Diseases Acts (CD Acts) were originally passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1864 (27 & 28 Vict. c. 85), with alterations and additions made in 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. 35) and 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 96). In 1862, a com ...

. He was also a strong advocate for public, non-sectarian education and international peace. He strongly supported Gladstone's Irish Home Rule Bills. After the Irish nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell was revealed to have committed adultery with Katherine O'Shea, Hughes declared that English Nonconformists would no longer support the Irish cause if its leader was a proven adulterer. This threat led Gladstone to state that he could not remain as Liberal leader if Parnell continued to lead the Nationalists, thus precipitating the Parnell Split. He died at his home in London following a stroke.

Family

On 20 August 1873, he married Mary Katherine Howard, daughter of the Rev. Alfred Barrett, governor of

; they had two sons and two daughters.

Associated Activists in Social Change

* Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence *

Mark Guy Pearse Mark Guy Pearse (3 January 1842 – 1 January 1930) was a Cornish people, Cornish Methodism, Methodist preacher, lecturer and author who, during the last quarter of the 19th century and the first of the 20th, was a household name throughout Brit ...

Henry Simpson Lunn Sir Henry Simpson Lunn (30 July 1859 – 18 March 1939) was an English humanitarian and religious figure, and also founder of Lunn Poly, one of the UK's largest travel companies. Lunn was born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, elder son of greengro ...

* Charles Albert Berry * Percy William Bunting * John Greener Hallimond. According to "A Countess at the Bowery Mission: The Christian Herald And Signs of Our Times", 20 December 1899, page 987: "Nine years ago, he allimondwas connected with the great West London Mission, England, of which Rev. Hugh Price Hughes is Superintendent." This is repeated in "Great Heart of the Bowery: Leaves from the Life-Story of John G. Hallimond,late Superintendent of the Bowery Mission," Fleming H. Revell, NY: 1925. In the biographical foreword by George H. Sandison of Christian Herald, "Nine years before he came to America he was connected with the great West London Mission, of which Rev. Hugh Price Hughes was Superintendent" (page 13).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Hugh Price 1847 births 1902 deaths Alumni of University College London Methodist theologians Presidents of the Methodist Conference Welsh Methodists People from Carmarthen