In a previous article I wrote about the Discover DeCrypt project to restore St Mary de Crypt church in Southgate Street. I am pleased that this project is now complete and the building back open to the public.

When I attended the service of celebration to mark its opening, I was struck by the importance of one of its key features. The pulpit is the same one from which the famous evangelist George Whitefield preached his first sermon.

Whitefield is less well-known in Gloucester than he is in the United States. As a former pupil of The Crypt School, I was always aware of Whitefield, as one of the school’s houses is named after him. But I didn’t realise just how important he was.

He preached an estimated 18,000 times to 10 million listeners

Born at the Bell Inn in Southgate Street in 1714, Whitefield attended The Crypt School and was one of the founders of the Methodist movement. In 1738 he went to America and helped to spread ‘The Great Awakening’ (a religious revival) across the country. He has been described as “probably the most famous religious figure of the eighteenth century”. In his lifetime, it is estimated that he preached 18,000 times to perhaps 10 million listeners, often in the open air. His powerful voice mesmerised audiences, often made up of tens of thousands of people, and was said to have, literally, driven some people mad!

He founded an orphanage in Georgia, USA and has a county in that state named after him. Here in Gloucester, the former United Reformed Church opposite Gloucester Park was built in 1870 on land reputed to be the site of his last open air sermon in the city, to mark the centenary of his death. An image of Whitefield preaching to a crowd is carved in stone above the doors.

2020 will mark the 250th anniversary of his death. The Discover DeCrypt project is one way in which his legacy has been protected and knowledge of his life and work will be spread, but perhaps this anniversary can be our prompt to ensure he gets the recognition he deserves in his home city.