John Ellerton (16 December 1826 – 15 June 1893) was a

hymnodist A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who is traditionally ...

and hymnologist.

Life

He was born in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, England, to George Ellerton, the head of an evangelical family. He was educated at

King William's College King William's College () is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school for pupils aged 3 to 18 near Castletown, Isle of Man, Castletown on the Isle of Man. It is a member of the International Baccalaureate and Hea ...

on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

(B.A. 1849; M.A. 1854), where he came under the influence of F. D. Maurice. He died in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England, aged 66.

Service

Taking orders in 1850, he was curate of

Easebourne Easebourne () is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is half a mile (0.8 km) north of Midhurst, across the River Rother on the A272 and A286 roads. The parish includes the h ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. In 1852, he was in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and lecturer of St. Peter's, Brighton. In 1860, he became chaplain for Lord Crewe and vicar of

Crewe Green Crewe Green is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Weston and Crewe Green, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies 1½ miles to the east of the cen ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, about thirty miles southeast of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. He became chairman of the education committee at the Mechanics Institute for the local Railway Company. Reorganizing the institute, he made it one of the most successful in England. He taught classes in English and Bible history. He also organised one of the first choral associations of the Midlands. In 1872, he became rector of

Hinstock Hinstock is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It appeared in the Domesday Book survey as "Stoche" (from Old English ''stoc'', "dependent settlement"); the present version of its name was created in the mediaeval period by prefi ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

. In 1876, he was transferred to

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People *Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom * Barnes, London, England ** Barnes railway station **Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes High Stree ...

, (then in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

), a western suburb of London. The work among a large population broke him down and he had to go abroad for a year, serving as chaplain at

Pegli Pegli () is a neighbourhood in the west of Genoa, Italy. With other eighteen autonomous municipalities, in 1926 it ceased being independent and was merged into the municipality of Great Genoa, Genoa. With a mild climate and a promenade, Pegli is ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

from 1884 to 1885. After returning, he took a smaller parish in White Roding in 1886, his last. During his final illness, he was given the honorary title of Canon of St. Albans Cathedral.

Published works

Ellerton was best known as a hymnologist, editor, hymn-writer and translator. He published ''Hymns for Schools and Bible Classes'' in Brighton in 1859. He was co-editor with William Walsham How and others of the

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a United Kingdom, UK-based Christians, Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christians, Christian faith in the Un ...

(SPCK) ''Church Hymns'', 1871. His ''Notes and Illustrations of Church Hymns'' were published in the folio edition of 1881.

Hymns

Ellerton wrote or translated eighty-six or more hymns, including * Our day of praise is done * Saviour, again to thy dear name we raise * Shine Thou Upon Us, Lord (music by Harriet Anne Smart) * The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended

References

External links

Basic biographical information

Notes

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellerton, John 1826 births 1893 deaths Christian hymnwriters English hymnwriters Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at King William's College 19th-century English musicians People from Clerkenwell