Thomas Clark (1775–1859) was a

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

(

cordwainer A cordwainer () is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes. This usage distinction is ...

) and a prolific composer of

West Gallery music West gallery music, also known as Georgian psalmody, refers to the sacred music ( metrical psalms, with a few hymns and anthems) sung and played in Church of England parish churches, as well as nonconformist chapels, from 1700 to around 1850. I ...

, especially for the Nonconformist churches of the South East of England. Sally Drage, writing in the ''

New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the History of music, ...

'', notes that he was 'particularly influential as the composer of early Sunday School collections'. Clark was born in St Peter's parish in Canterbury and baptized on 5 February 1775. He was apprenticed as a shoemaker to his father, William Clark, and became a Freeman of the City of Canterbury in 1796 on completion of his apprenticeship as he was the son of a Freeman. He married Anne Ledger in St George's Church, Canterbury, in November 1806. He took over the family business on his father's death in 1823. He retired from business in about 1842-3. He died in Canterbury on 30 May 1859, aged 84.Tony Singleton, 'Thomas Clark of Canterbury, 1775 - 1859'
West Gallery Music Association
/ref> Clark served as

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

in a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

chapel and took to composing hymn tunes. The best-known of his tunes is ''Cranbrook'': it was originally set to the words "Grace 'tis a charming sound" written by

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 ...

, and published in Clark's first book ''A Sett of Psalm & Hymn Tunes''

805 __NOTOC__ Year 805 ( DCCCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, the 805th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 805th year of the 1st millennium, the 5th year of the 9th century, and the ...

''Cranbrook'' was later used as a tune for the Christmas carol " While shepherds watched their flocks" and is now better known as the tune of the Yorkshire song "

On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at "On Ilkla Mooar Baht 'at" (Standard English: ''On Ilkley Moor without a hat'') is a folk song from Yorkshire, England. It is sung in the Yorkshire dialect, and is considered the official anthem of Yorkshire. It is sung to the hymn tune " Cranb ...

". Two other tunes by Clark were included in the 1933 ''Methodist Hymn Book with Tunes'': they are ''Crediton'' (tune 565), which was first published in Clark's ''Second Set of Psalm Tunes ... with symphonies & an instrumental bass, adapted to the use of country choirs'' . 1807 and ''Warsaw'' (tune 606),. which was first published in his ''Third Set of Psalm & Hymn Tunes''

807 __NOTOC__ Year 807 ( DCCCVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 807th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 807th year of the 1st millennium, the 7th year of the 9th century, and the ...

Publications

(from Tony Singleton's article) *12 sets of ''Psalm & Hymn Tunes'', 1805 to 1821 *Twelve Tunes in Peculiar Metre, ca.1810 *9 sets of ''Psalm Tunes'' from 1805 to ca.1825 (the third set contains a Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis) *Te Deum Laudamus and Jubilate Deo, ca.1808 *Several anthems published singly from ca.1808 onwards *Sacred Gleaner, ca.1826-7 *Congregational Harmonist in 4 volumes from 1828 - ca.1835 (Editor) *Union Harmonist 1841 (Arranger) *The Juvenile Harmonist, 1842 *The Seraphim or Sacred Harmonist, 1842 *The Union Tune Book - revised and enlarged (Editor), ca.1842 *David's Harp (settings for all 150 Psalms) 1844 *British Psalmody, with Alexander Hume, pub.Edinburgh, 1844 *The Union Tune Book, continuation, 1854

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Thomas (composer) 1775 births 1859 deaths English classical composers of church music English Methodists Musicians from Canterbury Shoemakers English male classical composers