Baptist Noel (1798-1873) has been described by the American Evangelical Anglican historian Grayson Carter as a towering figure in nineteenth-century Evangelicalism, but he has been written out of its story because he was a saintly rebel who counted a good conscience more valuable than a good standing. This ultimately led him to abandon his glittering Anglican career and aristocratic family to become a Baptist minister. A Rebel Saint is a comprehensive study of Noel's life, work and thought, correcting the neglect of his remarkable Anglican and Baptist ministries and his many years of prominence in Evangelical life. Philip Hill ably illustrates his influence on issues including the Irvingite controversy, the opposition to the Tractarian movement, and Evangelical ecumenism, and explains his centrality in the establishment of the Evangelical Alliance and the London City Mission. Scholars of Evangelical history will greatly value this account of a pivotal figure, while all will be inspired by his story of sacrifice of fame and fortune for the sake of obeying religious conscience.

Studies in Evangelical History & Thought

Though small in area, the old county of Westmorland was home to numerous nonconformist groups. In this comprehensive account of these movements, reference is made to Quaker origins; to the older Dissent, both Independent and Presbyterian (and thence Unitarian); to the Inghamites and the Sandemanians: to the visits to the county of Fox, Nayler, Ingham, Whitefield, Wesley, and Woolman; to the coming of the Baptists; and to such later developments as Primitive and United Methodism, the Evangelical Union, the Brethren, and the Pentecostals.