Matthew Bridges (14 July 1800 – 6 October 1894) was a British-Canadian

hymnodist 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 traditionally ...

Life

Bridges was born in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England on 14 July 1800, the youngest son of John Bridges of

Maldon, Essex Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced i ...

and brother of the Rev Charles Bridges, a priest of the Church of England. He matriculated at

Magdalen Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

in 1831. Matthew Bridges' career as an author began with his poem ''Jerusalem Regained'' at the age of 25 in 1825. Although in his early life Bridges (who was raised in a Church of England environment) was skeptical of Roman Catholicism as evidenced by his 1828 book ''The Roman Empire Under Constantine the Great'', the influence of John Henry Cardinal Newman led him to convert to Roman Catholicism in 1848 at the age of 48, a faith to which he adhered for the remaining four-and-a-half decades of his life. Later in life, Bridges lived for a time in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, but returned to England and died in

Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 13,258 in 2021, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has ...

, Devon on 6 October 1894 at the age of 94. He is buried there in the cemetery of the Convent of the Assumption.

Works

Some of the more popular hymns written by Bridges include: * Behold the Lamb of God! O Thou for sinners slain. This hymn is included in the 1861 edition of the

Hymns Ancient and Modern ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' is a hymnal in common use within the Church of England, a result of the efforts of the Oxford Movement. The hymnal was first published in 1861. The organization publishing it has now been formed into a charitabl ...

. *

Crown Him with Many Crowns "Crown Him with Many Crowns" is an 1851 hymn with lyrics written by Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring and sung to the tune 'Diademata' by Sir George Job Elvey. The hymn appears in many hymnals. The full twelve verses of the song (which has t ...

* Man of sorrows, wrapt in grief * My God, accept my heart this day

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Matt 1800 births 1894 deaths English Christian hymnwriters English hymnwriters Writers from Essex English emigrants to Canada Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism