Oh, those Ranting Methodists

A sign on a building in Hexham, England

These days Methodists are a mainstream denomination--if anything a bit on the boring side.  Not so 200 years ago when they were an impassioned sect, with itinerant preachers holding "camp meeting" style outdoor services.  They came in for quite a bit of criticism from the Church of England who decried them as "ranters".  They seem to have adopted the insult as a badge of honor.

The local newspaper, the delightfully named Hexham Courant, has kind of a fun feature.  When a historic property is for sale-and in that part of the world most everything has a bit of history to it-the realtor writes up a brief history of the place.  Here is some background on Ranting Methodists

As near as I can figure the property with the bronze plaque was at some point a Reading Room.  It was not clear if it was still in service as such.