Benjamin Beddome (23 January 1717 – 3 September 1795) was an English

Particular Baptist Reformed Baptists, also called Particular Baptists, or Calvinist Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation belief teached by John Calvin). The name "Reformed Baptist" dates from the latter part of the 20th century ...

minister and hymn writer.

Early life

Beddome was born in

Henley-in-Arden Henley-in-Arden (also known as simply Henley) is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. The town takes its last name from the former Forest of Arden. Henley is known for its variety of historic ...

, Warwickshire, England, the son of Baptist minister John Beddome and Rachel Brandon. The family later moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, where Beddome was apprenticed to a surgeon. At the end of his apprenticeship, he decided instead to pursue theological education with the intention of becoming a Christian minister. He studied initially under Bernard Foskett at the Baptist college in Bristol, where he became friends with John Ash. He later moved to complete his education at Moorfields Academy in London. He was baptized at the Baptist church in Prescott Street,

Goodman's Fields Two 18th century theatres bearing the name Goodman's Fields Theatre were located on Alie Street, Whitechapel, London. The first opened on 31 October 1727 in a small shop by Thomas Odell, deputy Licenser of Plays. The first play performed was G ...

, in 1739.

Career

In 1740 he became the pastor of the Baptist church in

Bourton-on-the-Water Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village had a population of 3,296 at the 2011 census. Much of the village ...

, Gloucestershire, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1743. He continued in this ministry for fifty-five years. He became well known as a preacher.

John Rippon John Rippon (29 April 1751 – 17 December 1836) was an English Baptist minister. In 1787 he published an important hymnal, ''A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, Intended to Be an Appendix to Dr. Watts’ Psalms and Hymns'', commonly ...

commented that, "though his voice was low, his delivery was forcible and demanded attention." He was a leading figure in the Midland Baptist Association.

Personal

He married Elizabeth Boswell (1732–1784), daughter of a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in the church in Bourton, on 11 December 1749. They had three sons, John, Benjamin and Foskett. In 1770, Beddome received an M.A. degree from

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. He died in Bourton aged 78, and was buried in the graveyard of the Baptist church.

Works

Beddome was prolific as hymn writer, composing more than 800 hymns during his lifetime. They were written to be sung after his weekly Sunday sermon each week: relating to its content, they were not originally intended for publication. Beddome allowed 13 of his hymms to be included in the ''Bristol Baptist Collection'' of Ash & Evans, and 36 in Rippon's ''Selection''. In 1818, a posthumous collection of 830 of his hymns was published as ''Hymns Adapted to Public Worship or Family Devotion''. A number of Beddome's hymns are also included in the

Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music which developed in New England and perpetuated in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a historically important shape notes, shape-note tunebook printed in ...

. Robert Hall wrote:

The man of taste will be gratified with the beauty and original turns of thought which many of them exhibit, while the experimental Christian will often perceive the most secret movements of his soul strikingly delineated, and sentiments portrayed which will find their echo in every heart.

In 1752, Beddome wrote ''A Scriptural Exposition of the Baptist Catechism, by Way of Question and Answer'', which was reprinted in 1776. Three volumes of his sermons were printed posthumously.

References

External links

Hymns by Benjamin Beddome

Blog dedicated to Beddome
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beddome, Benjamin 1717 births 1795 deaths Baptist hymnwriters English hymnwriters People from Henley-in-Arden 18th-century English Baptist ministers Musicians from Gloucestershire People from Bourton-on-the-Water English Calvinist and Reformed ministers English evangelicals