Tompson, Richard (fl. 1740–1760)

A founding member of the Fetter Lane Society in London, Tompson was self-taught, intelligent, and thoughtful, with a strong strain of scepticism. While JW convinced Tompson to stay in the Church of England in 1739, and to align with the Methodist society, Tompson's relationship was marginal. When Tompson learned that JW was preparing Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament for publication, he wrote JW raising questions about the scriptural warrant for the doctrine of original sin. This enquiry sparked an extended correspondence between the two. We know little of Tompson apart from the correspondence, except that he lived in Prince's Square, Ratcliff Highway, London.