Violet Spiller Hay (17 July 1873 – 28 June 1969) was a

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...

teacher and

hymnist 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 ...

. She was one of the first teachers of Christian Science in the United Kingdom and the religion's first teacher in South Africa.Women of History: Violet Hay
The Mary Baker Eddy Library

Biography

Violet Hay was born Caroline Violet Spiller in 1873 in Dundrum, near

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in Ireland, the daughter of Matilda Lucy ''née'' Stirling (1851-1931) and Lt. Col. Duncan Christopher Oliver Spiller (1843-1923), an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. She developed an interest in Christian Science in 1896 and was among those who were present for the first public meetings of the

First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

held in the Portman Rooms on

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder James Baker. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises. The street is ...

. After a short period at

The First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in the United States, she caught a glimpse of

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (née Baker; July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author, who in 1879 founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, the ''Mother Church'' of the Christian Science movement. She also founded ''The C ...

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

, where Eddy was living at the time. Hay wrote of this brief encounter in her reminiscence 'My brief glimpses of Mrs. Eddy' (1946). She returned to the United Kingdom and began her work on behalf of Christian Science in 1901 when she was involved in setting up the first Church of Christ, Scientist in London. By 1903 she held a 'Primary' class certificate and in 1907 a 'Normal' class certificate from the Christian Science Board of Education which allowed her to become a registered teacher.Violet Hay, C.S.B.
Longyear Museum website The 1915 edition of ''

The Christian Science Journal ''The Christian Science Journal'' is an official monthly publication of the Church of Christ, Scientist through the Christian Science Publishing Society, founded in 1883 by Mary Baker Eddy.Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

in South Africa, where she taught a number of classes. In South Africa on 26 April 1915 she married Commander the Hon. Sereld Mordaunt Alan Josslyn Hay R.N. (1878-1939), son of

Charles Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll Major General Charles Gordon Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll, (7 February 1852 – 8 July 1927), styled Lord Kilmarnock until 1891, was a Scottish soldier and Conservative politician. Early life Hay was the eldest surviving son of eight children born ...

. During her time on the Committee on Publication for Cape Province, Hay was successful in having a clause included in proposed legislation that protected the work of Christian Science in South Africa. In 1917 she wrote a letter to a Cape Town newspaper in which she put forward an energetic defence of her faith. On her and her husband's subsequent return to London in about 1921 Hay was on the London committee and after on the Boston committee formed by the Christian Science Board of Directors to revise the ''Christian Science Hymnal''. Seven of her hymns including 'The Airman's Song of Praise' (No. 136) can be found in the 1932 edition. Hay chaired the Christian Science Hymnal Revision Committee in London (1928-1932), following which she became a member of the Final Hymnal Revision Committee until 1955. Violet Spiller Hay died in

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

Bathford Bathford (pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable) is a village and civil parish east of Bath, England. The parish, which includes Warleigh, has a population of 1,759 and extends over . History The ancient charter ''Codex Diploma ...

near

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in 1969. Violet Spiller Hay (1873-1969)
-

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

DatabaseEngland & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Caroline Violet Hay (1969): Ancestry.com
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Violet Spiller 1873 births 1969 deaths Writers from Dublin (city) Converts to Christian Science from Anglicanism British Christian Scientists British women hymnwriters British women poets 20th-century hymnwriters