Eliza Sibbald Alderson (16 August 1818 – 18 March 1889) was an English poet and hymn writer.

Biography

Eliza Sibbald Dykes, sister of the

hymnwriter 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 traditional ...

the Rev. J. B. Dykes, was born at

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, England. Eliza and her brother began composing as children while attending their grandfather's church in Hull. They sometimes collaborated, with Eliza asking John to compose a tune to accompany words she had written. She composed many hymns, a few of which were published under the title “Twelve Hymns”. Two of her most famous begin “And now, beloved Lord, thy soul residing” and “Lord of Glory who has bought us”. She also wrote poetry and painted, contributing paintings, for instance, at a grand bazaar in the

corn exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchanges. Such trade was common in towns ...

in October 1870 alongside those of the better known local artist Louisa Fennell. On 12 September 1850 ,she married William Thompson Alderson, who was chaplain of the West Riding House of Correction (from 1833 to 1876) and 12 years her senior, at Wakefield Parish Church; the ceremony was performed by her ordained brothers, Thomas,

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 ...

of Holy Trinity in Hull, and John Bacchus,

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

. She then went to live with him in his quarters at the prison. This accommodation must have been spacious and commodious inasmuch as ten years later the couple had their six children aged between 8 months and 8 years living with them, plus two of William's sisters, a visitor, and four servants. In 1871, they were still living at the prison with their three sons, one of whom, Charles Sibbald Alderson, had become a banker's clerk. A younger son, Edward, would follow suit by the time he was 20 in 1881. In that same year, at census time, Eliza was staying with her brother Edward and two of her sisters at his bank in

Parliament Street, Hull Parliament Street is a short pedestrianised road in Kingston upon Hull in East Riding of Yorkshire, England, running northwards off Whitefriargate in the centre of the city. It is noted for its eighteenth century buildings and has been descr ...

. In 1886, she composed a hymn specially for the re-opening of Filey church in East Yorkshire after its restoration. She was referred to as John Bacchus Dykes' sister. Her husband had taken a post as curate of Kirkthorpe Church, on the outskirts of Wakefield, in 1880 so that in 1881 they lived in the vicarage there until her death on 18 March 1889. She was buried in nearby Kirkthorpe churchyard.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alderson, Eliza Sibbald Dykes 1818 births 1889 deaths English Christian hymnwriters English hymnwriters 19th-century English poets English women hymnwriters 19th-century English women writers 19th-century English writers Writers from Kingston upon Hull

Biography

See also

References

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