Samuel Crowther (9 January 1769 - 28 September 1829) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

priest, most notable as one of the pioneers of the

Church Mission Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

and a member of the first committee of the

Newfoundland School Society The Newfoundland School Society (N.S.S) was established on June 30, 1823, by a merchant named Samuel Codner. Codner first came to Newfoundland in 1788 and periodically traveled back to England where he was influenced by the Evangelical Revival occur ...

(NSS).

Life

He matriculated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

on 26 October 1787 and graduated BA from

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

in 1791, also becoming a Fellow of the latter. He was ordained deacon on 3 June 1792 and priest on 26 May 1793, both times by Edward Smallwell,

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

, followed by a curacy in

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, Essex in 1796. He became vicar (later rector) of the united parish of

Christ Church, Newgate Christ Church Greyfriars, also known as Christ Church Newgate Street, was a church in Newgate Street, opposite St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Established as a monastic church in the thirteenth century, it became a parish church afte ...

and St Leonards Foster Lane in the

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on 17 February 1800, a post he then held until his death. On 11 February 1801 he also became

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate is a Church of England church in the Bishopsgate Without area of the City of London, and also, by virtue of lying outside the city's (now demolished) eastern walls, part of London's East End. Adjoining the build ...

. He is recorded as ministering to Francis Finlay in his final days at nearby

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

before his execution for forgery on 9 February 1803 and at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

whilst

Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...

was a pupil there. Hunt observed Crowther was "worthy of the talents and virtues of his kinsman, though inclining to a mode of faith which is supposed to produce more faith than charity".

Samuel Ajayi Crowther Samuel Ajayi Crowther ( – 31 December 1891) was a Yoruba linguist, clergyman, and the first African Anglican bishop of West Africa. Born in Osogun (in what is now Ado-Awaye, Oyo State, Nigeria), he and his family were captured by Fulani sl ...

took the elder man's first name and surname on his baptism in 1825. The original Crowther died in office after an illness of almost five years and was buried to the north of the communion table in Christ Church - his bust and tomb monument were destroyed in bombing during the Second World War, though an etching of them from the early 1830s survives in the

London Museum London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

collection. His funeral on 6 October was attended by the Lord Mayor-elect and included a sermon by the Revd Daniel Wilson, then vicar of Islington and one of Crowther's fellow NSS committee members.''Morning Herald (London)'', 16 October 1829, page 1

Notes

References

category:1769 births category:1829 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford Fellows of New College, Oxford {{ChurchofEngland-clergy-stub 18th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Anglican priests