In 1850 he removed to Wigan, where his work among the Lancashire colliers came to the notice of the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, who made him his domestic chaplain.
Huntington was active in Manchester during the cotton famine, and his 'Church's Work in our Large Towns' (1863) gave him a high reputation.
A mission conducted there in 1877 by ritualist clergy under Huntington's auspices led to controversy in which William Basil Jones, Bishop of St. David's, took part (cf.
[2] Besides the work mentioned, Huntington published sermons, addresses, articles in magazines, and three volumes exhibiting some power in describing character, viz.
'Autobiography of John Brown, Cordwainer' (1867), of which he represented himself as editor and which went into five editions; the 'Autobiography of an Alms-Bag' (1885) which depicts some local figures, and his 'Random Recollections' (1895) which contains attractive sketches of friends and neighbours.