200 years ago, on 16 January 1821, a boy was born in the Orphan House in Newcastle-upon-Tyne to a Wesleyan minister, Rev. John Rigg and his wife Annie McMullen. This child went on to be a leading Wesleyan educator, minister, author and editor: Rev. Dr. James Harrison Rigg.
J. H. Rigg was educated, and then taught, at Kingswood School near Bristol, before teaching elsewhere, offering for the Wesleyan ministry in 1845. After twenty years serving in the circuits, he was appointed Principal of the Wesleyan Normal Institute in Westminster, latterly known as Westminster Training College.
According to Pritchard’s Story of Westminster College, Rigg was the only individual even considered for the role. It was under Rigg that Westminster, founded by John Scott seventeen years earlier, became thoroughly established, and began to grow and flourish into the renowned Methodist teaching college it is remembered as. Rigg’s tenure saw the creation of The College Rule, the adaptation of the buildings for modern conveniences (electricity and extended indoor plumbing), and better record-keeping. Within the first five years of Rigg’s tenure, and also following the 1870 Education Act, the Wesleyan Education Committee established a second teacher training institution (Southlands) to meet the increased demand on Westminster’s facilities. Rigg was Principal of Westminster until his retirement in 1903, when he was succeeded by Rev. Dr. H. B. Workman.
In addition to being principal of Westminster, Rigg was heavily involved in both national and Methodist aspects of education. He sat on the inaugural London Board of Education from 1870, and can be seen in the centre of the artwork depicting this.
It was whilst on the Board of Education that Rigg, and the Wesleyan Education Committee, heavily argued against the 1902 (‘Balfour’) Education Act, which Nonconformist educators throughout the country believed would negatively impact them, in favour of Church of England and Catholic schools. Rigg also argued for universal education and un-denominational (state ran) school access in every area, something also championed by the Wesleyan Education Committee, and also accepted policy by the Wesleyan Methodist Church as a whole. It was not until the Education Act of 1944 that the Methodist Church believed that this aim was met – something that featured heavily in the Conference Agendas for 1943 and 1944.
Within the church, Rigg was an establishment figure, Chairman of Districts and twice President of Wesleyan Methodist Conference (1878 and 1892), overseeing reform which is described as making “the union of the various Methodist bodies a clear possibility”. He was also treasurer of the Wesleyan Missionary Society 1881-1909. He published extensively, contributing several letters and articles for The Times and Watchman newspapers, and writing books on topics such as Methodist doctrine (1850), elementary education in Europe (1873), the life of Jabez Bunting (1905), and the leaders of the Oxford Movement (1895). On Wesley, Rigg published The Churchmanship of John Wesley (1869) and The Living Wesley (1875). As well as penning items for publication, Rigg helped establish the London Quarterly Review in 1853, becoming editor from 1883.
J. H. Rigg died in 1909, leaving an extended family. His son was James Rigg (a barrister and contributor to the Dictionary of National Biography); one of his daughters became a renowned headmistress and the other, mother to John Telford (who later edited and published Wesley’s Letters).
Thomas Dobson, Collections and Digitisation Officer at the Centre, is currently working towards a PhD thesis titled, ‘Training to Teach: Westminster College and the development of Higher Education, 1925-63’
Westminster Oxford Research Network 