Joseph Milner (1744–1797), an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

evangelical

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

, has a reputation particularly for his work on ''The History of the Church of Christ'' (1794–1809).

Life

He was born at

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and educated at

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physica ...

and

Catharine Hall, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre ...

. On graduation he went to

Thorp Arch, West Yorkshire Thorp Arch is a village and civil parish near Wetherby in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. Governance Thorp Arch is in the Wetherby ward of Leeds City Council and Elmet and Rothwell parliamentary constituenc ...

as assistant in a school kept by Christopher Atkinson, the vicar of the parish, received holy orders, and became Atkinson's curate. At Thorp Arch he made a lifelong friendship with the son of the vicar, Miles Atkinson, who subsequently became a leader of the evangelical party and vicar of St Paul's, Leeds. Still in deacon's orders Milner left Thorp Arch to become headmaster of

Hull Grammar School Hull Grammar School was a secondary school in Hull, England, founded around 1330 and endowed in 1479 by the prelate John Alcock. In 1988, as part of a restructure by the Local Education Authority, the site was renamed William Gee School. In 19 ...

. There his pupils included

William Dealtry William Dealtry (1775–1847) was an English clergyman of evangelical views, who became archdeacon of Surrey and a Fellow of the Royal Society. Life He was the younger son of an old Yorkshire family, from whom he inherited at his father's death a ...

Samuel Marsden Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society. He played a leading role in bringing Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden w ...

, George Pryme,

Thomas Perronet Thompson Thomas Perronet Thompson (15 March 1783 – 6 September 1869) was a British Parliamentarian, a governor of Sierra Leone and a radical reformer. He became prominent in 1830s and 1840s as a leading activist in the Anti-Corn Law League. He speci ...

, and Peter William Watson. Milner was in 1768 elected afternoon lecturer at

Holy Trinity Church, Hull Hull Minster is the Anglican minster and the parish church of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The church was called Holy Trinity Church until 13 May 2017 when it became Hull Minster. History The transepts date ...

. He now paid for the education of his brother

Isaac Milner Isaac Milner (11 January 1750 – 1 April 1820) was a mathematician, an inventor, the President of Queens' College, Cambridge and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. He was instrumental in the 1785 religious conversion of William Wilberforce a ...

. In 1770 he became a follower of the rising evangelical school, suspected of

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 ...

, and the nature of his congregation at the High Church changed. He also undertook the charge of

North Ferriby North Ferriby is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Haltemprice area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. History Humber Estuary "The archaeology of the intertidal wetlands of the Humber Estuary is of internatio ...

. Hull became a centre of evangelicalism. Milner's chief friends were the Rev. James Stillingfleet (1741–1826) of Hotham, and the Rev. William Richardson of

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 ...

, who both shared his religious views. In 1792 he had a severe attack of fever; in 1797 the mayor and corporation offered him the living of Holy Trinity, mainly through the efforts 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 ...

, but Milner fell ill and died on 15 November 1797. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church, and a monument to his memory was erected in it.

Works

Milner's major work was the ''History of the Church of Christ'' (London, 1794–1809). He lived to complete the first three volumes, and two more were added by his brother,

(1750–1820), dean of Carlisle, who re-edited the whole work in 1810. John Scott (1777–1834) published a new continuation in three volumes (1826, 1829, and 1831).

Samuel Roffey Maitland Samuel Roffey Maitland (1792–1866) was an English historian and miscellaneous writer on religious topics. He was qualified as an Anglican priest, and worked also as a librarian, barrister and editor. Early life Maitland was born in London at K ...

criticised Milner's history on the

Waldenses The Waldensians, also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi, or Vaudois, are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the Poor of Lyon in the l ...

(1832); the Rev. John King defended Milner, but Maitland published ''Strictures on Milner's Church History'' (1834). A controversy ensued, and the Milner's work had a new edition, published by the Rev. Thomas Grantham in 1847. Other works published by Milner in his lifetime were:
''Gibbon's Account of Christianity considered, with some Strictures on Hume's Dialogues on Natural Religion''
1781. *''Some Remarkable Passages in the Life of William Howard, who died at North Ferriby on 2 March 1784'', 1785. *''Essays on several Religious Subjects, chiefly tending to illustrate the Scripture Doctrine of the Influence of the Holy Spirit'', 1789. He published essays and numerous sermons. He also edited, with William Richardson, the ''Posthumous Works'' of

Thomas Adam Thomas Adam (25 February 1701 – 31 March 1784) was a Church of England clergyman and religious writer. Biography He was born at Leeds, West Yorkshire on 25 February 1701: his father Henry Adam was a solicitor and town clerk of the Leeds Corpor ...

(1786). After Milner's death many of his sermons were found, and these were published in four volumes under the title of ''Practical Sermons'', (1800) with a memoir by the editor, Isaac Milner; and ''the second'' (1809), edited by the Rev. W. Richardson. These two were later republished together. A third volume (1823) was edited by the Rev. John Fawcett, and a fourth (1830), ''On the Epistles to the Seven Churches, the Millennium, the Church Triumphant, and the 130th Psalm'', by Edward Bickersteth. In 1855 Milner's ''Essentials of Christianity, theoretically and practically considered'', which had been left in manuscript, and had been revised by his brother, was edited for the

Religious Tract Society The Religious Tract Society was a British evangelical Christian organization founded in 1799 and known for publishing a variety of popular religious and quasi-religious texts in the 19th century. The society engaged in charity as well as commerc ...

by Mary Milner, the orphan niece of whom Joseph Milner had taken charge, and writer of her uncle Isaac's ''Life''.

Notes

Attribution: * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Milner, Joseph 1744 births 1797 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests 18th-century English male writers 18th-century English non-fiction writers 18th-century evangelicals Clergy from Leeds English Evangelical writers English male non-fiction writers English religious writers Evangelical Anglicans Heads of schools in Yorkshire People educated at Leeds Grammar School