Henry Moore (1732–1802) was an English Unitarian minister and hymn-writer.

Life

The son of Henry Moore, minister of Treville Street presbyterian congregation,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, he was born at Plymouth on 30 March 1732. His mother was the daughter of William Bellew, of Stockleigh Court,

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 ...

. His schoolmaster was John Bedford, later vicar of St. Charles the Martyr, Plymouth. In 1749 he entered

Philip Doddridge Philip Doddridge D.D. (26 June 1702 – 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist (specifically, Congregationalist) minister, educator, and hymnwriter. Early life Philip Doddridge was born in London, the last of the twenty children ...

dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, Protestants who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of educatio ...

, then at

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, and, after Doddridge's death moved on 9 November 1752 to the

Daventry Academy Daventry Academy was a dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters. It moved to many locations, but was most associated with Daventry, where its most famous pupil was Joseph Priestley. It had a high reputation, ...

under Caleb Ashworth. Here he was a fellow-student with

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, Unitarian, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher, English Separatist, separatist theologian, Linguist, grammarian, multi-subject educator and Classical libera ...

. In 1755 or 1756, he became minister of a small Presbyterian congregation at

Dulverton Dulverton is a town and civil parish in west Somerset, England, near the border with Devon. The town had a population of 1,408 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the hamlets of Battleton and Ashwick which is located approximately north w ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, but moved in 1757 to the Presbyterian congregation at

Modbury Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish council has ...

, Devon. He was at this time an

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

. It was not until 6 July 1768 that he was ordained at Plymouth. His congregation at Modbury went over to

Methodism 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 ...

. Around the end of 1787 he moved to the Presbyterian congregation at

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; ) is an ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. Th ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. He seems to have retired from active duty before 1792, when Thomas Morgan, one of the founders of the Western Unitarian Society, is described as minister at Liskeard. Shortly before his death he became paralysed, when an edition of his poems by subscription was projected by

John Aikin John Aikin (15 January 1747 – 7 December 1822) was an English medical doctor and surgeon. Later in life he devoted himself wholly to biography and writing in periodicals. Life He was born at Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire, England, son of ...

, but it was not published until some years after his death. He died unmarried at Liskeard on 2 November 1802.

Works

He wrote much devotional verse. Priestley, who thought highly of Moore as an

exegete Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

, secured him as a contributor to the ''Commentaries and Essays'', 1785–99, 2 vols., of the

Society for Promoting the Knowledge of the Scriptures The Society for Promoting the Knowledge of the Scriptures was a group founded in 1783 in London, with a definite but rather constrained plan for Biblical interpretation. While in practical terms it was mainly concerned with promoting Unitarian vie ...

; the second volume is largely occupied with Moore's interpretations of passages in the Old Testament, commended by

Alexander Geddes Alexander Geddes (14 September 1737 – 26 February 1802) was a Scottish Catholic theologian and scholar. He translated a major part of the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible into English. Translations and commentaries Geddes was born at ...

. In 1789, Priestley then applied to Moore, through

Michael Dodson Michael Dodson (1732–1799) was an English lawyer and writer on religious subjects. Life The only son of Joseph Dodson, dissenting minister at Marlborough, Wiltshire, he was born there in September 1732. He was educated at Marlborough Grammar S ...

, to take part in a projected version of the Bible. He published: * ‘An Essay on Fundamentals,’ &c., 1759, (allows just two: that Christ is a king, and that his kingdom is not of this world). * ‘A Word to Mr. Madan,’ &c., 1781, (anon.); two editions same year: in reply to the ''Thelyphthora'' of

Martin Madan Martin Madan (1726 – 2 May 1790) was an English barrister, clergyman and writer, known for his contribution to Methodist music, 'The Lock Hospital Collection,' and later controversial views on marriage expressed in his book ''Thelyphthora''. ...

. * ‘Private Life: A Moral Rhapsody,’ &c., Plymouth, 1795. Posthumous was: * ‘Lyrical and Miscellaneous Poems,’ &c., 1803, 1806, (edited by Aikin). One of his pieces is in

Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne, (27 November 1812 – 4 May 1895) was an English lawyer and politician. He served twice as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. Background and education Palmer was born at Mixbury in Oxfordshire, where ...

's hymnal, the ''Book of Praise'', 1863; others are in older Unitarian collections. A hymn, ‘Amidst a world of hopes and fears,’ which appears with the initials ‘H. M.,’ has been ascribed to him, but is by Hannah Merivale.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Henry 1732 births 1802 deaths English Unitarians English hymnwriters