Viney, Richard (fl. 1738–1744)

Viney was a London tailor with business contacts in Germany and proficiency in German. He was an early member of the Fetter Lane society, and interpreted for Peter Bohler in London. Viney joined JW in visiting the Moravians in Germany in 1738. He stayed after JW returned, and aligned himself with the Moravians. Viney returned to England in 1739 and gave leadership to the Moravian continuation of the Fetter Lane society. In 1742 he became master of the Moravian school in London, which soon moved to Broad Oaks, Essex. In early 1743 he went to Yorkshire to give guidance to Benjamin Ingham's former societies, but came afoul of Spanenberg later that year and was excommunicated. For about a year Viney swung his loyalties to the Methodists, plying his trade as a tailor and staymaker, while working for JW in various capacities, including that of bookbinder (his diary for 1744 is a mine of information on early Methodism). But his Moravian tendencies remained, leading JW not to trust him, and by 1745 he had moved to Halifax and apparently rejoined the Moravians (though details of his life after 1744 are very sketchy). See DEB, 1145; and Vickers, Dictionary, 364–65.