William Henry Draper (19 December 1855 – 9 August 1933) was an English

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 ...

and

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

who composed about sixty hymns. He is most famous for "

All Creatures of Our God and King "All Creatures of Our God and King" is an English Christian hymn by William Henry Draper, based on a poem by St. Francis of Assisi. It was first published in a hymn book in 1919. History The words of the hymn were initially written by St. Fr ...

", his translation of "

Canticle of the Sun The Canticle of the Sun, also known as Canticle of the Creatures and Laudes Creaturarum (Praise of the Creatures), is a religious song composed by Saint Francis of Assisi. It was written in an Umbrian dialect of Italian but has since been t ...

" by

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

.Rev W H Draper
on the Weare Village website, accessed 1 December 2015

Biography

Draper was born in

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

on 19 December 1855, the fifth son of Henry and Lucy Mary Draper. He attended

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

, and went up to

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

as an

exhibitioner An exhibition is a type of historical financial scholarship or bursary awarded in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Purpose An exhibition is historically a small financial award or grant, of lower status than a "scholarship", given to an individu ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1880. He was then

Curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of St Mary's,

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

, and became successively

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Alfreton Alfreton ( or locally ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 8,79 ...

in 1883 and Vicar of the Abbey Church, Shrewsbury in 1889. In 1899, he became Rector of Adel Church, Leeds, a position he retained for twenty-one years. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he also acted as deputy for the Professor of

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, who was absent on war service. In 1918, Draper was appointed as a member of the council for the revision of the Anglican communion service.Obituary notice
on the Weare Village website, accessed 1 December 2015 In 1919, he became

Master of the Temple The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner and Middle Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their English headquarters in the Temple precinct. ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 1930, contending that he had spent too long in one place, he left the Temple to become Vicar of Weare, retiring in 1933 shortly before his death. Throughout his career, he contributed hymns to periodicals such as ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and the '' Church Monthly''. He also wrote a book of ''Poems of the Love of England'', a biography of Sir Nathan Bodington, a survey of the University extension movement in 1923, and ''A Picture of Religion in England'' in 1927. He also developed a scheme for the establishment of church lectures in the universities. He died in

Clifton, Bristol Clifton is an inner suburb of Bristol, England, and the name of one of the city's thirty-five Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells. The easter ...

on 9 August 1933.

Personal life

Draper married Edith, daughter of the High Court judge and Liberal politician

George Denman George Denman (23 December 1819 – 21 September 1896) was an English barrister, High Court judge, and Liberal politician. Early life Denman was born at 50 Russell Square, London, the fourth son of Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman, of Do ...

, in 1883. She died in 1884, shortly after childbirth. He then married Emilie Augusta FitzHerbert Wright in 1889, who died in 1913. In 1920, he took a third wife, Silvia Mary Richards, daughter of the Rev. G. C. Richards who was then

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of Durham and Professor of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Classical Literature Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...

in the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

. In addition to losing two wives, several of Draper's children predeceased him. One daughter, Angela Lucy, died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

in February 1903, and three of his sons died in the First World War.Charlotte Edith Denman and Reverend William Henry Draper
on ThePeerage.com, accessed 30 May 2016 Another daughter married the notable musician Thomas Armstrong.

Well-known hymns

* Come Forth, Ye Sick and Poor * From Homes of Quiet Peace * How Blest the Land Where God Is Known * How Fair Was the Land of God’s People of Old * Hush, All Ye Sounds of War * In Our Day of Thanksgiving * Lord, Through This Holy Week of Our Salvation * Man Shall Not Live by Bread Alone * Rejoice, Ye Angels in the Sky * Righteous Father, We Have Wronged Thee * We Love God’s Acre Round the Church * What Can I Do for England? * Ye Sons of God, Arise

Published hymnals

* ''The Victoria Book of Hymns'' (1897) * ''Hymns for Holy Week'' (London: H. Frowde, 1898) * ''A Memorial Service for Them That Are Fallen Asleep in Christ'' (London: H. Frowde, 1898) * ''The Way of the Cross'' (Oxford: A. R. Mowbray & Co.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, William Henry 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests Church of England hymnwriters 1855 births 1933 deaths People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of Keble College, Oxford People from Kenilworth English male writers Masters of the Temple