The Rev. William Jay (6 May 176927 December 1853) was an English nonconformist

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

who preached for sixty years at Argyle Chapel in

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 ...

. He was an eminent English Congregationalist minister of Regency England.

Early life

William Jay was born at Tisbury in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. He adopted his father's trade of stonemason and worked with him on alterations to Fonthill House, but gave it up in 1785 in order to enter the Rev. Cornelius Winter's school at

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

. Before he was twenty-one he had preached nearly a thousand times, and in 1788 he had for a while occupied

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his solu ...

's pulpit at the

Surrey Chapel The Surrey Chapel (1783–1881) was an independent Methodist and Congregational church established in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London on 8 June 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill. His work was continued in 1833 by the Congregational pastor R ...

in Southwark, London. Wishing to have time for self-education or scholarly interests, he accepted the pastorate of

Christian Malford Christian Malford is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. The village lies about northeast of the town of Chippenham. The Bristol Avon forms most of the northern and eastern boundaries of the parish. The hamlets of Th ...

near

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...

where he remained about two years. This was followed by one year at Hope Chapel, Clifton.

Life as a preacher and writer

On 30 January 1791 Jay was called to the ministry of the Independent or Congregationalist chapel with which he became connected, Argyle Chapel in

. Here he followed revivalist principles by preaching to people regardless of religious denomination or social rank; attracting note as a populist pulpit orator, religious author and scholar, and a counselor.

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford, Westminster and I ...

praised his oratorical skills. William Jay's connection with Argyle Chapel came to an end in January 1853. He died on 27 December following in Bath. Amongst the best-known of his works are his ''Morning and Evening Exercises''; ''The Christian Contemplated''; ''The Domestic Ministers Assistant''; and his ''Discourses''. He also wrote a ''Life of Rev. Cornelius Winter'', ''Memoirs of Rev. John Clarke'' and ''Female Scripture Characters'', along with ''Jay's Works'' (first published in the early 1840s, and again in 1856, followed by a new edition in 1876).

Family

One of William Jay's sons, also William Jay (1792/3–1837), became an architect, continuing the family's interest in stonemasonry and building design. William Jay's eldest daughter, Anne, married Robert Bolton and, among their thirteen children was William Jay Bolton, who became an early artisan of stained glass in America.

Notes

References

* Jay, William (1854; reprinted 1974) ''The Autobiography of William Jay'' (repro. ed. : Edinburgh, Banner of Truth, 1974) *Wilson, S. (1854) ''The Rev. William Jay: a memoir by the Rev. S. S. Wilson''. London: Binns & Goodwin 1854 *Silvester, James (1900) ''Two Famous Preachers of Bath: brief biographies of William Jay and William Connor Magee''. London: C. J. Thynne * Sherman, James (1854) ''Ministerial Qualifications and Success:a sermon preached at Argyle Chapel, Bath, on Sunday evening, January 6, 1854, on the decease of the Rev. William Jay''. London: Ward & Co * Attribution: *

External links

Architecture by Jay's son in America

Life of William Jay, a dissertation

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, William 1769 births 1853 deaths People from Tisbury, Wiltshire English Christian religious leaders English Congregationalist ministers 18th-century English Christian clergy 19th-century British Christian clergy