Christopher Bassett (1753 – 8 February 1784) was a Welsh

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

cleric.

Life

Bassett was born in

Aberthaw Aberthaw () is an area containing the villages of East Aberthaw and West Aberthaw, on the coast of South Wales about west of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry. It is the location of Aberthaw Cement Works, Aberthaw Lime Works, and Aberthaw Power S ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

to Christopher and Alice Bassett, both followers of

Howell Harris Howell Harris (; 23 January 1714 – 21 July 1773) was a Calvinistic Methodists, Calvinistic Methodist evangelist. He was one of the main leaders of the Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century, along with Daniel Rowland (preacher), Daniel Ro ...

(one of the leaders of the

Welsh Methodist revival The Welsh Methodist revival was an evangelical revival that revitalised Christianity in Wales during the 18th century. Methodist preachers such as Daniel Rowland, William Williams and Howell Harris were heavily influential in the movement. The ...

). After studying at

Cowbridge Grammar School Cowbridge Grammar School was one of the best-known schools in Wales until its closure in 1974. It was replaced by Cowbridge Comprehensive School. Founded in the 17th century by Sir John Stradling, 1st Baronet, Sir John Stradling and refounde ...

, Bassett went to

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, matriculating in 1768. He obtained a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree in 1772, adding a M.A. degree in 1775. He was ordained by

Richard Terrick Richard Terrick (baptised 20 July 1710 – 31 March 1777) was a Church of England clergyman who served as Bishop of Peterborough 1757–1764 and Bishop of London 1764–1777. Life Terrick was born in York, the eldest son of Samuel Terrick, rec ...

, the

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

, and was a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

under

William Romaine William Romaine (1714 at Hartlepool – 1795), evangelical divine of the Church of England, was author of works once highly thought of by the evangelicals, the trilogy ''The Life, the Walk, and the Triumph of Faith''. Early life Romaine was born ...

St Ann Blackfriars St Ann Blackfriars was a church in the City of London, in what is now Ireland Yard in the ward of Farringdon Within. The church began as a medieval parish chapel, dedicated to St Ann, within the church of the Dominicans (the order after whom ...

in London. However, health problems caused him to return to Wales, where he became successively curate at St. Fagans and Porthkerry in

, establishing Methodist societies in both places, and preaching to Methodists throughout

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. He travelled to his sister's house in

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 ...

in 1783 when his health worsened, and he died there of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

on 8 February 1784. He was buried at

St Athan St Athan () is a village and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier church was dated t ...

, Glamorgan. Tributes were paid to him by

William Williams, Pantycelyn William Williams, Pantycelyn (c. 11 February 1717 – 11 January 1791), also known as William Williams, Williams Pantycelyn or simply Pantycelyn, was generally seen as Wales's premier hymnist. He is also rated among the great literary figures o ...

and others, and David Jones of Llangan, wrote a short biography titled Llythyr oddiwrth Dafydd ab Ioan y Pererin at Ioan ab Gwilim y Prydydd...'', published at Trevecka in 1784.

References

1753 births 1784 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford 18th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in England 18th-century Welsh Methodist ministers {{UK-Christian-clergy-stub