Anne Lutton facts for kids

Anne Lutton (born 16 December 1791 – died 22 August 1881) was an amazing Irish woman. She became a well-known preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist faith in the United Kingdom.

Anne Lutton's Early Life

Anne Lutton was born in 1791 in a place called Moira in County Down, Ireland. She was the youngest of many children. Even though she never went to a regular school, Anne was incredibly smart. She taught herself many different languages! Imagine learning Latin, Greek, Persian, and even Samaritan all by yourself. Her father was also good with languages, so maybe that helped her.

Her Faith Journey

Anne was always a loyal follower of her family's religion. But she also became very interested in Methodism, a different type of Christian faith. She felt a strong spiritual change on April 14, 1815. After this, she became a leader among the Methodists. This was special because she was also confirmed in the Church of Ireland.

Early Methodists actually encouraged women to preach. A famous Methodist leader named John Wesley even told another Irish preacher, Alice Cambridge, to follow her heart if she wanted to preach. However, the church changed its rules in 1803. After that, women were mostly allowed to preach only to other women.

Still, Anne Lutton was very active. Before 1831, she preached in 27 different places in northern Ireland. She gave nearly 160 sermons! She started preaching in 1818. In 1829, she even published a book of her own poems called Poems on Moral and Religious Subjects.

People were so eager to hear Anne preach that large crowds would gather. It's even said that some men would dress up as women just so they could join the groups of women who came to listen to her inspiring talks!

Moving to Bristol

From 1832 onwards, Anne started visiting Bristol in the west of England more and more often. After spending five years leading classes there, she decided to leave Ireland and make Bristol her new home.

Even after moving, Anne continued to write. Her letters, stories, and poems were often published. Sadly, she lost her eyesight in 1863.

Anne Lutton passed away in 1881 in her adopted city of Bristol. She was living at 12 Cotham Road at the time.