Rev. John Wesley (1636–1678) was an English nonconformist minister. He was the grandfather of

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

(founder of

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

Life

John Wesly (his own spelling), Westley, or Wesley was probably born at Bridport, Dorset, although some authorities claim he was born in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, the son of the Rev. Bartholomew Westley and Ann Colley, daughter of Sir Henry Colley of Carbery Castle in

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was educated at Dorchester Grammar School and as a student of

New Inn Hall, Oxford New Inn Hall was one of the earliest medieval halls of the University of Oxford. It was located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford. History Trilleck's Inn The original building on the site was Trilleck's Inn, a medieval hall or hostel for st ...

, where he matriculated on 23 April 1651, and graduated B.A. on 23 January 1655, and M.A. on 4 July 1657. After his appointment as an evangelist, he preached at

Melcombe Regis Melcombe Regis is an area of Weymouth in Dorset, England. Situated on the north shore of Weymouth Harbour and originally part of the waste of Radipole, it seems only to have developed as a significant settlement and seaport in the 13th cen ...

Radipole Radipole is a suburb of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth in Dorset, England. History In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 340. On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Weymouth and Chickerell. It remains a separate ecclesias ...

, and other areas in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. Never episcopally ordained, he was approved by Oliver Cromwell's

Commission of Triers The Commission of Triers was a 38-member administrative commission established by Oliver Cromwell in 1654, during the early months of the Protectorate (1653–58), to assess the suitability of future parish ministers. The triers, and a related set ...

in 1658 and appointed Vicar of

Winterborne Whitechurch Winterborne Whitechurch is a village and civil parish in central Dorset, England, situated in a winterbourne valley on the A354 road on the Dorset Downs southwest of Blandford Forum. As calculated in the 2021 census, Winterborne Whitechurc ...

.The Dorset Page
The Wesley Connection
Retrieved 20 October 2016 The report of his interview in 1661 with

Gilbert Ironside the elder Gilbert Ironside the elder (1588–1671) was Bishop of Bristol. Life He was elder son of Ralph Ironside, rector of Long Bredy and of Winterbourne Abbas and was born at Hawkesbury, near Sodbury, Gloucestershire, on 25 November 1588.Pedigree o ...

, his diocesan, according to Alexander Gordon writing in the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', shows him to have been an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. He was imprisoned for not using the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

'', imprisoned again and ejected in 1662. After the

Conventicle Act 1664 The Conventicle Act 1664 was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of England (16 Cha. 2. c. 4) that forbade conventicles, defined as religious assemblies of more than five people other than an immediate family, outside ...

he continued to preach in small gatherings at Preston and then

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

, until his death at Preston in 1678.

Family

He married a daughter of John White, who was related also to

Thomas Fuller Thomas Fuller (baptised 19 June 1608 – 16 August 1661) was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his ''Worthies of England'', published in 1662, after his death. He was a prolific author, and ...

. White, the "Patriarch of Dorchester", married a sister of

Cornelius Burges Cornelius Burges or Burgess, DD (1589? – 1665), was an English minister. He was active in religious controversy prior to and around the time of the Commonwealth of England and The Protectorate, following the English Civil War. In the years ...

. Westley's eldest son was Timothy (born 1659). Their second son was Rev. Samuel Wesley, a High Church Anglican vicar and the father of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English Anglican cleric and a principal leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It ...

. A younger son, Matthew Wesley, remained a nonconformist, became a London apothecary, and died on 10 June 1737, leaving a son, Matthew, in India; he provided for some of his brother Samuel's daughters.

Notes

Additional sources

* Matthews, A. G., "Calamy Revised", Oxford University Press, 1934, page 521. {{DEFAULTSORT:Westley, John 1636 births 1678 deaths People from Bridport Alumni of New Inn Hall, Oxford Ejected English ministers of 1662 English Presbyterian ministers of the Interregnum (England) John Westley