William Walsham How

William Walsham How, born on this date in 1823, was a priest in the Church of England and eventually Bishop of Wakefield (though he resisted being named a bishop for some years).  He had originally planned to enter the legal profession, but changed his mind while in college at Oxford and went on to divinity school at Durham University.

He was ordained in 1846, and served as rector of Whittington for twenty-eight years (1851-1879).  His first book of poetry was published anonymously, and was updated and enlarged in 1886. His collected hymns, 54 in number, were also published separately.  

He was chair of the committee that produced Church Hymns (1871) for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and that volume became the second-most widely-used hymnal in the UK (after our old friend Hymns Ancient & Modern). He was also one of the editors for The Children's Hymn Book (1881).

Since Bishop How's birthday falls on the third Sunday in Advent this year I tried to find a text with some connection to the season, so here we have the second stanza about the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38), which is usually read during Advent though it also has a separate feast day on March 25 - nine months before Christmas.

Jesus! Name of wondrous love!
Name all other names above!
Unto which must every knee
Bow in deep humility.

Jesus! Name decreed of old,
To the maiden mother told,
Kneeling in her lowly cell,
By the angel Gabriel.

Jesus! Name of mercy mild,
Given to the holy Child
When the cup of human woe
First he tasted here below.

Jesus! Name of priceless worth
To your people here on earth!
Jesus! Name of wondrous love!
Human Name of God above!

William Walsham How, 1854; alt.
Tune: ST. BEES (7.7.7.7.)
John Bacchus Dykes, 1862

In 1898 How's son Frederick Douglas How published a memoir of the bishop.  Perhaps not surprisingly, he writes thusly of his father's hymns: "Among the good hymn-writers Bishop Walsham How takes his place without challenge."  Though How wrote fewer hymns than several of his Victorian contemporaries, a good proportion of them are still being sung, so this assessment is not without merit.



Seven Years Ago: William Walsham How

Five Years Ago: Edwin O. Excell

One Year Ago: William Walsham How

William Walsham How

William Walsham How was born today in 1823 in Shrewsbury. In his later years he was Bishop of Wakefield (1889-1897), and was known in his time as the 'omnibus bishop' because he was often seen riding public transportation.  Throughout his life he always identified with the poor and downtrodden, and avoided his own career advancement for many years.

He was ordained in the Church of England in 1846.  His writings included a Commentary on the Four Gospels (beginning in 1863) and a popular manual, Holy Communion: Preparation and Companion (1854)

Some of his views on religion were quite ecumenical.  As a writer of hymns, he first collaborated with the Congregational minister Thomas Baker Morell, with whom he compiled a collection titled Psalms and Hymns (1854).  Some years later he was the chair of the committee that produced Church Hymns (1871) for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.  This book, for which Arthur Sullivan was the musical editor, was for many years the second-most popular hymnal in England, after Hymns Ancient and Modern.  Some years later, How would collaborate with Sullivan again when they  produced a hymn for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria which was sung throughout Great Britain on Sunday, June 20, 1897.

How wrote about fifty hymns in total, the most famous being  For all the saints.  We have seen several others here over the years (click on his tag below this entry). According to the calendar it may not quite be winter yet but this hymn seems appropriate for many parts of the country this week.

Winter reigneth o'er the land,
Freezing with its icy breath;
Dead and bare the tall trees stand;
All is chill and drear as death.

Sunny days are past and gone:
So the years go, speeding fast,
Onward ever, each new one
Swifter speeding than the last.

But the sleeping earth shall wake,
And the flowers shall burst in bloom,
And all nature rising break
Glorious from its wintry tomb.

So, Lord, after slumber blest
Comes a bright awakening,
And our flesh in hope shall rest
Of a never-fading Spring. 

William Walsham How, 1871
Tune: HALLE (7.7.7.7.)
The Psalmist, 1830

Bishop How died on August 10, 1897 while vacationing in Ireland, and was buried in Whittington, where he has been rector for nearly thirty years (1851-1879, during which time most of his hymns were written).  

How currently appears on Broadway, as a character in the revival of Bernard Pomerance's play The Elephant Man, where he is portrayed by actor Anthony Heald.  Apparently How had some contact with Joseph Merrick when he was Suffragan Bishop of Bedford in East London, which is dramatized in the play.



Six Years Ago: William Walsham How

The Confession of Saint Peter

In many liturgical churches, January 18 marks the Confession of Saint Peter, which commemorates the apostle's declaration of the Godhood of Jesus, as told in Matthew 16:13-20. This is apparently the first time that the followers of Jesus realized exactly who they had been following.

Today's hymn is by the Anglican hymnwriter (and eventually Bishop) William Walsham How, and first appeared in Church Hymns (1871), a hymnal produced by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (still in existence today). How was also the chair of the committee that compiled this hymnal.


“Thou art the Christ, O Lord,
The Son of God most high!”
For ever be adored
That name in earth and sky,
In which, though mortal strength may fail,
The saints of God at last prevail!

Oh,great was Peter blest
With blessedness unpriced,
Who, taught of God, confessed
The Godhead in the Christ!
For of thy Church, Lord, thou didst own
Thy saint a true foundation stone.

Thrice was he put to shame,
Thrice did the dauntless fall;
But, oh, that look that came
From out the judgment hall!
It pierced and broke his fearful heart,
And foiled the Tempter’s sifting art.

Thrice fallen, thrice restored!
The bitter lesson learnt,
That heart for thee, O Lord,
With triple ardor burnt.
The cross he took he laid not down,
Until he grasped the martyr’s crown.

Oh, bright triumphant faith!
Oh, courage void of fears!
Oh, love most strong in death!
Oh, penitential tears!
May all these keep us lest we fall,
And make us go where thou shalt call.

William Walsham How, 1871; alt.

Tune: BEVAN (6.6.6.6.8.8.)
John Goss, 1853

There are not many hymns written specifically for this day, but the theme certainly suggests several general hymns which could be sung.

John Ellerton

Anglican priest John Ellerton(December 16, 1826 - June 15, 1893) is one of my favorite hymnwriters, not only for his several familiar hymns that are still sung today, but for the forgotten ones that still retain some value for us. His total output was around eighty, including both original texts and translations.

He was also a well-loved clergyman who served in several churches and was known for his devotion to social causes and the everyday life of his parishioners. His hymns are straightforward, using simple language rather than obscure doctrine. Historian John Julian wrote of Ellerton's texts in his monumental Dictionary of Hymnology:

Ordinary facts in sacred history and in daily life are lifted above the commonplace rhymes with which they are usually associated, thereby rendering the hymns bearable to the cultered and instructive to the devout.

As we have seen, hymns were written for many more occasions and purposes than those to which our modern hymnals sometimes limit themselves. This particular hymn by Ellerton, which was first published in Church Hymns (1871), one of the hymnals he helped compile, is designated for “Wednesday,” and used for midweek services. The first phrase comes from the familiar passage Matthew 18:20: For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them, and the overall theme of the hymn is our commonplace lives, from the perspective of the middle of the work week (when fewer people were probably in attendance at services). Since Ellerton's birthday falls on a Wednesday this year, this hymn seems especially appropriate.

Thou in whose Name the two or three
Are met today to meet with thee,
Fulfill to us thine own sure word,
And be thou here thyself, O Lord.

Today our week, but now begun,
Already half its course hath run;
To thee are known its toils and snares,
To thee its trials and its snares.

Thou by whose grace alone we live,
Our oft-repeated sins forgive;
Be thou our counsel, strength, and stay
Through all the perils of the way.

Give thankful hearts thy gifts to share;
Give steadfast wills thy cross to bear;
And when life's working days are past
Give rest with all thy saints at last.

John Ellerton, 1871
Tune: HESPERUS (L.M.)
Henry Baker, 1854

Click on Ellerton's name below to bring up the several other hymns we've already seen here. He's probably one of the most often used writers here at C.W.S.

One Year Ago: John Ellerton

Whose Glories Now We Sing

OK, here we go -- the previously unrevealed Number Seven on the top ten list I submitted to the survey at Semicolon. Numbers 82 - 100 have been counted down thus far, and I feel fairly certain that this one will yet make the list. It's also on the list submitted by Leland (he ranked it at Number Six), so at least two of us voted for it. However, like many other hymns presented here, it won't be quite the way you remember it.

Crown thee with many crowns,
The Lamb upon the throne;
Hark how the heav'nly anthem drowns
All music but its own;
Our souls awake to sing
Sweet praises unto thee,
To hail thee, voices echoing
Through all eternity.

Crown thee the Child of God
Before the worlds began,
Who know'st the paths that we have trod,
According to God's plan;
Who ev'ry grief hath known
That wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for thine own
That all in thee may rest.

Crown thee the God of life
Who triumphed o'er the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife
For those thou cam'st to save;
Whose glories now we sing,
Who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring,
And lives that death may die.

Crown thee the God of years,
The Potentate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres,
Ineffably sublime;
Glass'd in a sea of light,
Whose everlasting waves
Reflect thy throne -- the Infinite!
Who lives and loves and saves,.

Crown thee the God of peace,
Whose pow'r a sceptre sways
From pole to pole that wars may cease,
Absorbed in prayer and praise;
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For thou dost live in me;
Thy praise shall never, never fail
Throughout eternity.

Crown thee the God of heav'n,
Enthroned in worlds above;
Crown thee the One to whom is giv'n
The wondrous name of Love;
Crown thee with many crowns
As thrones before thee fall;
We crown thee, Christ, with many crowns,
Who rulest over all.

Matthew Bridges, 1851 and Godfrey Thring, 1874; alt.
Tune: DIADEMATA (S.M.D.)
George Job Elvey, 1868

This is a composite version of this hymn that merges verses by two different writers. The original version in six verses was by Matthew Bridges, published in the second edition of his collection Hymns for the Heart (1851). Bridges was originally an Anglican, but converted to Roman Catholicism as a young man. It may be for that reason that Godfrey Thring was asked some years later to revise the hymn. He wrote a number of other verses, which first appeared in Church Hymns (1874) and Thring's own Church of England Hymnbook (1882). Since that time many different hymnals have used verses from both versions, always beginning with Bridges' first verse (Thring's opening verse began Crown him with crowns of gold), though there are still hymnals which use only Bridges' verses. Most modern hymnals (nearly all of which still include this hymn, as you'd probably guess) use only four or five verses, but we wanted at least six.

George Elvey composed DIADEMATA, certainly one reason for the continued popularity of this hymn, for the Bridges text in the 1868 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern.

Now the Queen of Seasons

Come, ye faithful, raise the strain
Of triumphant gladness;
God hath brought forth Israel
Into joy from sadness;
Loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke
Jacob’s sons and daughters,
Led them with unmoistened foot
Through the Red Sea waters.

’Tis the spring of souls today;
Christ has burst the prison,
And from three days’ sleep in death
As a sun hath risen;
All the winter of our sins,
Long and cold, is flying
From thy light, to whom we give
Laud and praise undying.

Now the queen of seasons, bright
With the day of splendor,
With the royal feast of feasts,
Comes its joy to render;
Comes to glad Jerusalem,
Who with true affection
Welcomes in unwearied strains
Jesus’ resurrection.

Neither might the gates of death,
Nor the tomb’s cold portal,
Nor the watchers, nor the seal
Hold thee as a mortal;
But today amidst thine own,
Thou didst stand, bestowing
That, thy peace which evermore
Passeth human knowing.

John of Damascus, 6th c.
tr. John Mason Neale, 1859; alt.
Tune: ST. KEVIN (7.6.7.6.D.)
Arthur Sullivan, 1872

There are several different versions of this hymn out there, depending on which hymnal you use. I grew up knowing only three verses; some denominations replaced the last four lines of the first verse with the last four lines of the third verse, thus leaving out the Exodus connection (maybe someone thought it would be confusing) and the "queen of seasons" lines. Some hymnals add a fifth, Trinitarian verse, apparently written by the editors of Hymns Ancient and Modern. The hymnal where I think this tune first appeared with this text, Church Hymns With Tunes (1874), omitted the fourth verse seen above. There are probably other permutations, and definitely many other word or phrase changes that have been made by different editors over the years.

Compare this translation into rhyming verse by John Mason Neale to another English translation (into prose) of the same Greek text by John of Damascus.

All peoples let us sing a song of victory to him who rescued Israel from the bitter slavery of Pharao, and guided them dryshod in the depths of the sea, for he has been glorified.

To-day is the spring of souls, for Christ, shining from the tomb like the sun, has dispelled the foggy winter of our sin. Let us sing to him, for he has been glorified.

The queen of seasons, filled with light, as escort to the brilliant queen of days, delights the chosen people of the Church, which unceasingly praises the risen Christ.

Neither death’s gates, O Christ, nor the seals of the tomb, nor the bolts of the doors stood in your way; but having risen you came to your friends, O Master, giving them the peace which passes all understanding.

Its all there.

Some sources say that the "queen of seasons" is the Eastertide season of the church year, which is probably correct, but others believe that it refers to spring, of the four we usually think of as "seasons." Since Easter can never fall earlier than March 22, Eastertide always happens during spring anyway.

This tune, ST. KEVIN, was probably the most widely used one for its first hundred years or so. It's the kind of tune that congregations tend to know and sing well, but that church musicians often disdain. I don't believe we've sung it at my current church since I've.been there, though the choir sings the text as an anthem during the Easter Vigil with music by a different composer. Since Arthur Sullivan's birthday is coming up in a few weeks, we'll talk about his affinity for Easter tunes at that time (it will still be within the queen of seasons -- either way you define her).

The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul

January 25 is set aside in many churches to commemorate the Conversion of St. Paul. In Acts 26:9-20, Paul (formerly Saul) relates how a blinding light from heaven changed him from a fierce persecutor of Christians t0 a follower of Jesus' teachings.

Author John Ellerton dated the writing of this hymn to February 28, 1871, and it first appeared later that year in Church Hymns.

We sing the glorious conquest,
Before Damascus’ gate,
When Saul, the church’s spoiler,
Came breathing threats and hate;
God's light shone down from heaven
And broke across the path;
God's glory pierced and blinded
The zealot in his wrath.

O Voice, that spoke within him
The calm, reproving word!
O Love, that sought and held him
A captive of his Lord!
Help us to know your presence
That we, in every hour,
In all that may confront us,
Will trust your hidden power.

Your grace by ways mysterious
The wrath of foes can bind;
And in those least expected,
A chosen saint can find.
In us you seek disciples
To share your cross and crown,
And give you final service
In glory at your throne.

John Ellerton, 1871; alt.
Tune MUNICH (7.6.7.6.D.)
Neuvermehrtes Gesangbuch, 1693
harm. Felix Mendelssohn, 1847

This is an extensive revision that appeared in the Episcopal Hymnal 1982. While Ellerton's hymns are frequently sung with minimal changes, the original text of this hymn is more problematic, containing some fairly impenetrable syntax for modern worshippers. (I think it would take so much time to sort out the second half of the third verse that you'd miss singing the whole last verse!)

John Ellerton

Hymnwriter and hymnologist John Ellerton was born in Middlesex on December 16, 1826. He attended Trinity College at Cambridge University and was ordained in 1850.

He began to write and translate hymns, editing his first hymnal, Hymns for Schools and Bible Classes in 1859. He refused to register copyrights on his hymns, saying that if they were "counted worthy to contribute to Christ's praise in the congregation, one ought to feel very thankful and humble."
He was on the committee (with Saturday's Bishop W.W. How) that produced Church Hymns in 1871 for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and wrote the companion notes for that hymnal which were published in 1881. Later, he joined the Hymns Ancient and Modern editors for their revised volumes of 1875 and 1889. He was widely consulted for his hymnic knowledge by other editors and compilers.

His enthusiasm for the subject was evident in his letters. Writing to Godfrey Thring, who was wrapping up work on A Church of England Hymn-Book in 1879, he first disparages a hymn of his own that they were discussing, saying that it was "very bad." He continues:

"Don't be angry with me for not doing an Easter Eucharistic Hymn; I always use (and rejoice in) At the Lamb's high feast we sing, but even without that I could not add a mediocre one to the stock of really fine Easter hymns we possess. Don't you like the rough force too of Luther's Christ Jesus lay in death's strong bands? I do think that is so full of Easter life and joy and strength."

I think that if Ellerton was alive today he might be writing a hymn blog.

He wrote and translated at least eighty-six hymns. Following his death in 1893, Henry Housman, a former curate of his published John Ellerton: Being a Collection of His Writings on Hymnology (1896).

I like his hymns very much; we have already seen a number of them over the last year. This is probably his most popular one in England, and has consistently ranked at or near the top in various polls there.

The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended,
The shadows fall at thy behest;
To thee our morning hymns ascended,
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.

We thank thee that thy church, unsleeping,
While earth rolls onward into light,
Through all the world its watch is keeping,
And rests not now by day or night.

As o’er each continent and island
The dawn leads on another day,
The voice of prayer is never silent,
Nor dies the strain of praise away.

So be it, God; thy Word shall never,
Like earth’s proud empires, pass away:
Thy mercy stands, and grows forever,
Till all thy creatures own thy sway.

John Ellerton, 1870; alt.
Tune: ST. CLEMENT (9.8.9.8.)
Clement C. Scholefield, 1874

"The voice of prayer is never silent,/Nor dies the strain of praise away" is one of my favorite phrases in any hymn -- the world keeps turning and every hour there are people praying and praising.even while we are asleep.

Clement Cotterill Scholefield was a friend of Arthur Sullivan, the musical editor of Church Hymns, where this tune first appeared. In recent years, some Sullivan scholars have suggested that this tune was actually by Sullivan, and that as a gift he allowed Scholefield to claim credit for the tune. It's true that Sullivan re-harmonized several of the tunes in Church Hymns, and may have done so for ST. CLEMENT, but the theory that the whole tune is his doesn't really account for the three other tunes credited to Scholefield in Church Hymns. It was probably Sullivan who named the tune, though; Scholefield would have had to be quite the egotist otherwise.