Charles Bradley (preacher)
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Charles Bradley (1789–1871) was an English
Anglican priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
who was eminent as a preacher and writer of sermons published between 1818 and 1853.


Early life

Bradley belonged to the evangelical school of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
. He was born in
Halstead Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011Wallingford, where their son Charles, the elder of two sons, passed the greater part of the first twenty-five years of his life. He married, in 1809, Catherine Shepherd of Yattenden, took pupils and edited several school books, one or two of which are still in use. He was, for a time after his marriage, a member of
St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...
, but was ordained on reaching the age of 23, without proceeding to a degree, and in 1812 became curate of
High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
. Here for many years he combined the work of a private tutor with the sole charge of a large parish. Among his pupils were the late Mr.
William Smith O'Brien William Smith O'Brien (; 17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican who, in the course of Ireland's Great Famine (Ireland), Great Famine, had been converted to the cause of Irish nationalism, national i ...
, the leader for a short time of the so-called national party in Ireland; Mr.
Bonamy Price Bonamy Price (22 May 18078 January 1888) was a British political economist. Biography He was born at Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, the son of Frederick Price and his wife Maria Martha Vardon. He lived on the island until age 14. Price left Guern ...
, professor of political economy in the university of Oxford; and Archdeacon Jacob, well known for more than half a century in the diocese and city of Winchester. His powers as a preacher soon attracted attention. He formed the acquaintance of
William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...
, Thomas Scott, the commentator, Daniel Wilson, and others; and a volume of sermons, published in 1818 with a singularly felicitous dedication to
Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming Prime Minister he had been Foreign Secretary, ...
, followed by a second edition in 1820, had a wide circulation. The sixth edition was published in 1824, the eleventh in 1854.


Career as a preacher

In the year 1823 he was presented by Henry Ryder (then bishop of St. Davids, afterwards of Lichfield) to the vicarage of Glasbury in
Brecknockshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1 ...
. Here a volume of sermons was published in 1825, which reached a ninth edition in 1854. He retained the living of Glasbury till his death, but in the year 1829 became the first incumbent of St. James's Chapel at
Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...
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 ...
(now in
Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
), where he resided, with some periods of absence, till 1852. By this time his reputation as a preacher was fully established. His striking face and figure and dignified and impressive delivery added to the effect produced by the substance and style of his sermons, which were prepared and written with unusual care and thought. A volume of sermons published in 1831, followed by two volumes of ‘Practical Sermons’ in 1836 and 1838, by ‘Sacramental Sermons’ in 1842, and ‘Sermons on the Christian Life’ in 1853, had for many years an exceedingly large circulation, and were widely preached in other pulpits than his own, not only in England and Wales, but in Scotland and America. Of late years their sale greatly declined, but the interest taken in them has revived, and a volume of selections was published in 1884. Quite apart from the character of their contents, as enforcing the practical and speculative side of Christianity from the point of view of the earlier leaders of the evangelical party in the church of England, the literary merits of Bradley's sermons will probably give them a lasting place in literature of the kind. No one can read them without being struck by their singular simplicity and force, and at the same time by the sustained dignity and purity of the language.


Personal life

Bradley was the father of a numerous family. By his first wife, who died in 1831, he had thirteen children, of whom twelve survived him. The eldest of six sons was the Rev. C. Bradley of Southgate, well known in educational circles. The 4th,
George Granville Bradley George Granville Bradley (11 December 1821 – 13 March 1903) was an English divine, scholar, and schoolteacher, who was Dean of Westminster (1881–1902). Life Bradley was a son of the preacher Charles Bradley (1789–1871), vicar of Glasb ...
, was dean of Westminster 1881 to 1902, having been previously master of University College, Oxford, and headmaster of Marlborough College. By his second marriage in 1840 with Emma, daughter of Mr. John Linton, he also left a large family, one of whom, F. H. Bradley, fellow of Merton College, Oxford, was the most famous of the British Idealist philosophers, writing on ethics and logic. His youngest son, Andrew Cecil Bradley, who was best known for his writings on Shakespeare, was fellow of Balliol, and professor of English literature at Liverpool. Bradley spent the last period of his life at
Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
, where he died on 16 August 1871, aged 82.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Charles 1789 births 1871 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests People from Halstead