Pioneer Methodist in West Somerset. Born at Tintagel, Cornwall, he sat under the ministry of the Rev. George Thom(p)son of St. Gennys. He moved to Somerset, living at Dragon House, Bilbrook, on the Bristol Channel coast. In 1792 he joined the small Methodist society at Carhampton, which then had only four members and was the first in the Somerset part of Exmoor, attached to the extensive Taunton Circuit. Its first Quarterly Meeting was held at Dragon House in 1798 and the house became a centre of Methodist activity. (It was built in 1714, reputedly using timbers from a ship wrecked on the nearby shore, and still exists as a hotel and restaurant.) A memorial tablet to Symons in Washford Methodist Church (built 1821) records that he 'filled the most important offices of the church with zeal and fidelity'. A window commemorates both him and his son William (1791-1882).

Entry written by: PWG
Category: Person
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