Thomas Wilson (philanthropist)

Last updated
Thomas Wilson
Born11 November 1764
Died17 June 1843
OccupationCongregational benefactor
ChildrenJoshua Wilson (1795–1874)

Thomas Wilson (11 November 1764 – 17 June 1843) was a Congregational benefactor of chapels and educational institutions and founder member of the Council of University College London from 1825.

Contents

Life

He was born in Cheapside, the son of Thomas Wilson (1731–1794), a ribbon manufacturer, and his wife Mary Remington, daughter of John Remington of Coventry. He was educated at Newington Green, at Cockburn's Academy. [1] Wilson went into partnership with his father in 1785, having served as his apprentice. [1]

In 1798 Wilson gave up the business. At the time he was living in Artillery Place, near Finsbury Square. [2] In 1819 he lived in Maida Vale, [3] and in 1823 in Highbury Place. [4] From 1829 to 1842 he lived at 45 Burton Street, St Pancras. [5] He was ultimately a man of considerable wealth, with Remington family money after the death in 1813 of an uncle on his mother's side. [1]

Wilson was a lay preacher from 1804, [6] and preached on a monthly basis at the London Female Penitentiary, a charity refuge. [7] He was present at Peterloo in 1819 and supported parliamentary reform. [6]

Interests

Wilson promoted many causes, principally educational and theological. He was a director of the London Missionary Society; and in 1837 he became one of the founders of the Metropolitan Chapel Fund Association. [6]

Chapels

Wilson built, at his own expense, new Congregational chapels in London and elsewhere.

Rev. James Stratten, 1824 engraving James Stratten Fry.png
Rev. James Stratten, 1824 engraving
Claremont Chapel, around 1828 Claremont Chapel c.1828.jpg
Claremont Chapel, around 1828
Craven Chapel Craven Chapel Foubert's Place.gif
Craven Chapel

Works

Family

Wilson married in 1791 Elizabeth Clegg, daughter of the Manchester timber merchant Arthur Clegg. Their children included the barrister Joshua Wilson (1795–1874). [1] Joshua was his father's biographer, and was involved in forming the Congregational Union of England and Wales. Dr Williams's Library in London houses the Thomas and Joshua Wilson collection of papers. [23]

The Rev. John Addison Coombs, 1839 engraving John Addison Coombs Reynolds.jpg
The Rev. John Addison Coombs, 1839 engraving

John Remington Mills was Wilson's nephew. He was the son of Samuel Mills of Russell Square and Mary Wilson, sister of Thomas Wilson. [27] [28]

Legacy

A memorial to Wilson stands in Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington, London. [29] It is in the Yew Walk. [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Watts</span> English hymnwriter and theologian (1674–1748)

Isaac Watts was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", "Joy to the World", and "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past". He is recognised as the "Godfather of English Hymnody"; many of his hymns remain in use today and have been translated into numerous languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abney Park Cemetery</span> One of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries in London, England

Abney Park cemetery is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries in London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Allon</span>

Henry Allon (1818–1892) was an English Nonconformist divine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Missionary Society</span> Religious concentration in the Congregationalist and Anglican Churches

The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational missions in Oceania, Africa, and the Americas, although there were also Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and various other Protestants involved. It now forms part of the Council for World Mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Collison</span>

George Collison (1772–1847) was an English Congregationalist and educator associated with Hackney Academy or Hackney College, which became part of New College London—itself part of the University of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Reed (minister)</span>

Andrew Reed was an English Congregational minister and hymnwriter, who became a prominent philanthropist and social reformer. He was the father of Sir Charles Reed and grandfather of Talbot Baines Reed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Fletcher (minister)</span>

Alexander Fletcher (1787–1860), the Children's Friend, was a Scottish kirk minister, and later an Independent (Congregational) divine in England. Author of numerous devotional works, and founder of the Finsbury Chapel in London, he was widely acknowledged as the pioneer of preaching to audiences of children and attracting large crowds of young people to nonconformist chapels through specially designed events and services as well as through Sunday schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Morison (pastor)</span>

John Morison (1791–1859) was a Scottish Protestant minister in London. He was a longstanding editor of the Evangelical Magazine & Missionary Chronicle, author of theological and biographical subjects, and a Congregational pastor at Trevor Chapel, Knightsbridge, London. He was known for his bold and fervid utterances on the platform, his enthusiastic advocacy of the work of the London Missionary Society, and support for the abolition of slavery in the USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Campbell (19th-century minister)</span> Scottish Congregationalist minister

John Campbell was a Scottish Congregationalist minister at the Moorfields Tabernacle in London. He was the second successor there of George Whitefield, the Calvinistic Methodist. He founded and edited religious magazines and journals, including the Christian Witness and the British Banner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Buzacott</span> British missionary (1800–1864)

Aaron Buzacott the elder was a British missionary, Congregationalist colleague of John Williams, author of ethnographic works and co-translator of the Bible into Cook Islands Māori. Buzacott was a central figure in the South Seas missionary work of the London Missionary Society, and lived on Rarotonga from 1828 to 1857. During his time there, he assisted in the development of the written form of Cook Islands Māori, compiling a primer on English and Cook Islands Maori grammar. Buzacott, along with Williams and other missionary colleagues, contributed to the first translation of the Bible into that language, and translated additional theological texts including lectures from his education in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Harris (college head)</span> English Congregational minister and author

John Harris, English Congregational minister, Christian essayist and author, became the first Principal of New College, St John’s Wood, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surrey Chapel, Southwark</span> Church in London, England

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 Rev. James Sherman, and in 1854 by Rev. Newman Hall. The chapel's design attracted great interest, being circular in plan with a domed roof. When built it was set in open fields, but within a few years it became a new industrial area with a vast population characterised by great poverty amidst pockets of wealth. Recently the site itself has been redeveloped as an office block, and Southwark Underground Station has been built opposite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Halley</span>

Robert Halley was an English Congregational minister and abolitionist. He was noted for his association with the politics of Repeal of the Corn Laws, and became Classical Tutor at Highbury College and Principal of New College, St John's Wood, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Jay (builder)</span>

John Jay (1805–72) was a building contractor and, earlier, a skilled stonemason, who owned a construction company located in the central City of London within Metropolitan London, England, during the 19th century and its period of rapid civic and railway expansion in the middle of the 19th century. Jay's varied body of works included building the Victorian clock tower and city clock of the British Houses of Parliament after the Westminster Palace had been damaged by a fire in 1833. Jay was also responsible for constructing many smaller architectural projects, such as the notable Abney Park Chapel and the Trinity Independent Chapel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Forster Burder</span> English nonconformist minister

Henry Forster Burder, D.D. (1783–1864) was an English nonconformist minister.

John Wallen (1785–1865) was a 19th-century British architect and surveyor. He was the principal quantity surveyor in the City of London during the 1830s. Many of his former students, such as Edward I'Anson went on to have notable careers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Roby</span>

William Roby (1766–1830) was an English Congregational minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Jones (minister)</span>

Thomas Jones was a Welsh Independent minister, known as "the Welsh Poet-Preacher". As a popular preacher he has been compared with William Williams of Wern (1781–1840). His reputation was made, however, by his sermons in English at Bedford Chapel in north London, in a less popular style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Davies (architect)</span> Architect (1796–1865)

John Davies (1796–1865) was an architect who trained in London under George Maddox, an architect who specialised in classical buildings. Davies began to exhibit at the Royal Academy in 1819 and travelled to Italy in 1820–21. He appears to have been a competent artist and Luigi Rossini engraved a drawing by him of the Temples of Paestum. He was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He served as District Surveyor to Tower Hamlets from 1839 until his death in 1865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Blackburn (minister)</span>

John Blackburn (1792–1855) was an English Congregationalist minister, for many years at Claremont Chapel, London. He was a prominent, conservative leader of the Congregational movement.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Clement, Mark. "Wilson, Thomas (1764–1843)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29694.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. Whelan, Timothy D. (2009). Baptist Autographs in the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, 1741-1845. Mercer University Press. p. 469. ISBN   978-0-88146-144-2.
  3. 1 2 "James Stratten, Biographical Sketches. Brownings' Correspondence". www.browningscorrespondence.com.
  4. 1 2 "Married". Baldwin's London Weekly Journal. 18 January 1823. p. 1.
  5. Survey of London. Vol. XXIV. London County Council [etc.] 1952. p. 93.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Pope, Robert (21 November 2013). T&T Clark Companion to Nonconformity. T&T Clark. p. 708. ISBN   978-0-567-65538-7.
  7. Congregational union of England and Wales (1868). The Christian's penny magazine, and friend of the people [ed. by J. Campbell and F.S. Williams]. p. 21.
  8. College, Highbury (1827). Report of the Committee of Highbury College with a List of the Subscribers, Etc. p. 15.
  9. Smith, Thomas (1833). A Topographical and Historical Account of the Parish of St. Mary-le-Bone: Comprising a Copious Description of Its Public Buildings, Antiquities, Schools, Charitable Endowments, Sources of Public Amusement, &c. with Biographical Notices of Eminent Persons. Illustrated with Six Views and a Map. J. Smith. p. 126.
  10. "Lost Hospitals of London: Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital". ezitis.myzen.co.uk.
  11. The Post Office London Directory. Kelly's Directories Limited. 1847. p. 390.
  12. Mitton, Geraldine Edith (1902). Hampstead and Marylebone. DigiCat. p. 28.
  13. London Missionary Society (1896). Register of Missionaries, Deputations, Etc., from 1796 to 1896. London Missionary Society. p. 34.
  14. Brownell, Kenneth Gordon (1982). "Voluntary saints : English Congregationalism and the voluntary principle, 1825-1962" (PDF). research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk. University of St Andrews. p. 322.
  15. London Missionary Society (1896). Register of Missionaries, Deputations, Etc., from 1796 to 1896. London Missionary Society. p. 76.
  16. Dieleman, Karen (2 October 2012). Religious Imaginaries: The Liturgical and Poetic Practices of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, and Adelaide Procter. Ohio University Press. ISBN   978-0-8214-4434-4.
  17. "Paddington Chapel (Congregational), London Metropolitan Archives". search.lma.gov.uk.
  18. Historic England. "Claremont Hall and attached forecourt walls, railings and gatepiers (1208261)". National Heritage List for England .
  19. 1 2 "Pentonville Road, British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk.
  20. Howard Colvin (1978). A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840. John Murray. p. 43. ISBN   0-7195-3328-7.
  21. "Marshall Street Area, British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk.
  22. Wilson, Thomas (1808). Select hymns. A supplement to Dr. Watts's Psalms and hymns. [The preface signed: T. W. i.e. Thomas Wilson.] ... Second edition, revised. W. Baynes.
  23. "CollectionsOnline, Thomas Wilson and Joshua Wilson, Letters and other papers relating to Congregational Churches in England and Wales, addressed for the most part to Thomas Wilson and his son Joshua Wilson, arranged under counties, or in groups of counties". collections.dwl.ac.uk.
  24. French, James Branwhite (1883). Walks in Abney park, with life-photographs of ministers whose names are found there. p. 87.
  25. "Deaths". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette Daily Telegrams. 14 December 1878. p. 2.
  26. Manchester city news (1878). City news notes and queries [afterw.] Manchester notes and queries. Ed. by J.H. Nodal. Vol.1-8 [issued in 33 pt. Wanting pt.1,5]. p. 307.
  27. Burke, Bernard (1879). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. Harrison. p. 1101.
  28. "The Late Mr. J. R. Mills". Christian World. 5 December 1879. p. 7.
  29. Meller, Hugh; Parsons, Brian (1 July 2011). London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer. The History Press. p. 124. ISBN   978-0-7524-9690-0.
  30. French, James Branwhite (1883). Walks in Abney park, with life-photographs of ministers whose names are found there. p. 80.

Further reading