Durbin, Henry
1719-1799(?)

WM layman, a chemist of Redcliffe Street, Bristol who often entertained John and Charles Wesley. As a young man he joined the Baldwin Street society in 1739 and became a member of the New Room society and a trustee. His letter to John Wesley, 5 August 1743, gave an account of his conversion and spiritual experience. Retaining his association with St Thomas's Church, where he was Senior Warden in 1760, he belonged to the party of 'Old Planners' or 'Church Methodists', who held that preachers should be appointed by the Trustees and the sacraments administered only by ordained clergymen. He was involved in the sacramental controversy of 1794 and 'with many other respectable persons, who had long been highly valued by us' (Pawson) withdrew from the New Room society as a result. He died in December 1799. His second wife, Hester, was the daughter of William Bulgin.

Sources
  • Letter from Durbin to Wesley, 5 August 1743, in Arminian Magazine, 1797, pp.200-2
  • John Pawson, 'A Short Account of Mr. Henry Durbin' in Methodist Magazine, 1799 pp.487-89
  • WHS Proceedings, 2 pp.40-1; 6 p.101n; 19 pp.138-39

See also

Entry written by: CJS
Category: Person
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