Robert Hawker out and seek the distressed members of Christ’s body. It was not limited by parish boundaries or denomination but the needs of Christians were met where they were found. One of his earliest passions, whilst still a curate, was to start a Sunday school. The Sunday School movement may have been started when in 1780 Robert Raikes in Gloucester opened the first Sunday School. Children at that time had to work six days a week, leaving little time to study after work in the week. To counter the effects of ignorance and illiteracy the Sunday school movement started. Literacy was
Thomas Raikes (dandy) caricatured by Richard Dighton as ""One of the Rake's of London"". Raikes' journal is notable for containing the memoirs of a man who counted among his friends some of the most influential men of his day, including Beau Brummell, the Duke of Wellington, Baron Alvanley, and Talleyrand. A four-volume 'portion' of the journal was published after his death, in 1856-7, and two volumes of "Private Correspondence with the Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington and other Distinguished Contemporaries" were published, edited by his daughter, in 1861. Raikes married Sophia Maria Bayly on 4 May 1802. Bayly was the daughter of