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King's Son, Or, a Memoir of Billy Bray

Frederick William Bourne

Billy Bray, was an unconventional Cornish preacher. He was born in 1794 in the village of Twelveheads, Cornwall, England. After leaving school Billy Bray worked as a miner in Cornwall and Devon; during this time he was a drunkard and was prone to riotous behaviour. In 1823 he had a close escape from a mining accident, and later said that he was converted in November of that year through reading John Bunyan. He became attached to a group of Methodists known as the Bible Christians, and became a well-known but unconventional preacher; his sermons being enlivened by spontaneous outbursts of singing and dancing. He also raised enough funds to build three new Methodist chapels. Billy Bray died in 1868 and is buried at the parish church of Saint Michael and All Angels in Baldhu where his grave is marked by a granite obelisk. This Biography, by F. W. Bourne, relies heavily on Billy Bray's own writings. It is read on location in the villages and chapels where the events took place. - Summary by Wikipedia edited by Alan Chant