John Gooch Robberds (1789–1854) was an English Unitarian minister in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Life

Robberds was born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

on 18 May 1789; his mother, whose maiden name was Harrell, was from a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

family. John Warden Robberds, the biographer of William Taylor of Norwich, was his second cousin. He was educated at

Norwich grammar school Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private selective day school in the cathedral close, close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the List of the oldest schools in the ...

. In September 1805 Robberds entered Manchester College, then at

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

to study for the Unitarian ministry. His fellow student Joseph Hunter says that Robberds parried the tag ''

De mortuis nil nisi bonum The Latin phrase , "Of the dead nothing but good is to be said." — abbreviated — is a mortuary aphorism indicating that it is socially inappropriate for the living to speak ill of the dead who cannot defend or justify themselves. The ful ...

'', as a plea for reverence to antiquity, by translating it "Of dead things nothing is left but bones". In 1809 Robberds acted as assistant tutor in classics. He began to preach at

Filby Filby is a village and civil parish in the English of Norfolk. The village is located north-west of Great Yarmouth and east of Norwich, between Filby and Ormesby Little Broads. History Filby's name is of mixed Anglo-Saxon and Viking orig ...

, Norfolk, during the summer vacation of 1809. Leaving York at midsummer 1810, he preached for a few months at the

Octagon Chapel, Norwich The Octagon Chapel is a Unitarianism, Unitarian Chapel located in Colegate in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The congregation is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. History The chapel is a grade II* listed bu ...

, and was invited to settle there as colleague to Theophilus Browne; but on 19 December 1810 he was called to Cross Street Chapel, Manchester, in succession to Ralph Harrison, and as colleague to John Grundy. Robberds began his ministry in Manchester in April 1811, where he remained for over 40 years. His colleagues were, from 1825, John Hugh Worthington (1804–1827), the betrothed of

Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist.Hill, Michael R. (2002''Harriet Martineau: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives'' Routledge. She wrote from a sociological, holism, holistic, religious and ...

, and from 1828

William Gaskell William Gaskell (24 July 1805 – 12 June 1884) was an English Unitarian minister, charity worker and pioneer in the education of the working class. The husband of novelist and biographer Elizabeth Gaskell, he was himself a writer and poet, and ...

. For some years Robberds kept a school. In Manchester College he held the offices of secretary (1814–22), and public examiner (1822–40); and on the return of the college from York to Manchester he filled the chairs of Hebrew and Syriac (1840–5) and pastoral theology (1840–52). His friend Edward Holme left him (1847) an estate in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. Robberds was a conciliatory figure in his denomination. He died at 35 Acomb Street, Greenheys, Manchester, on 21 April 1854, and was buried on 26 April in the Rusholme Road cemetery; there was a brass to his memory in Cross Street chapel.

Works

Robberds published sixteen single sermons (1820–1850), tracts and lectures, and a memorial ''Sketch'' prefixed to the posthumous ''Sermons'' (1825, 2 vols.) of Pendlebury Houghton (1758–1824). Posthumous was his ''Christian Festivals and Natural Seasons'', a volume of sermons, with memoir, 1855.

Family

Robberds married, on 31 December 1811, Mary (b. 24 February 1786; d. 10 January 1869), eldest daughter of William Turner of Newcastle upon Tyne. His eldest son was Charles William Robberds, who retired from the ministry in 1869; his second son was John Robberds (1814–92), minister from 1840 to 1866 of Toxteth Park chapel, Liverpool.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Robberds, John Gooch 1789 births 1854 deaths English Unitarians People educated at Norwich School