""With this volume the publication of A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain comes to its appointed end. The project of writing it was initiated by the Methodist Conference of 1953, and the lapse of time since then has made it possible to include at appropriate points the results of the continuing research into the origins and nature of Methodism; but 'the chance and changes of this mortal life', which are bound to impinge on the progress of so complex an enterprise, together with the heavy involvement of all the contributors in ecclesiastical, ecumenical and academic affairs, have made this period much longer than the General Editors would have wished."" -- From the Preface