Hugh Farmer
Encyclopedia
Hugh Farmer was an English Dissenter and theologian.
He was educated at the Dissenting Academy
in Northampton
under Philip Doddridge
, and became pastor of a congregation at Walthamstow
, Essex
. In 1701 he became preacher and one of the Tuesday lecturers at Salters' Hall
, London. He was a believer in miracles, but wrote against the existence of supernatural evil. He viewed the devil as allegorical.
hamlet called the Isle, within the parish of St. Chad
, Shrewsbury
. His mother was a daughter of Hugh Owen of Bronycludwr, Merionethshire
, one of the nonconformists of 1662
. Farmer was at school at Llanegryn, Merionethshire, and then under Charles Owen, at Warrington
. In 1731 he entered Doddridge's academy at Northampton
; to his tutor's preaching and his reading of the sermons of Joseph Boyse
he attributed his religious impressions. On leaving the academy (1736) he became assistant to David Some of Market Harborough
(d. May 1737).
Early in 1737 he took charge of a struggling congregation at Walthamstow
, founded by Samuel Slater, a minister ejected from St. James's, Bury St Edmunds. He at first lodged in London, only five miles away, but was then received into the family of William Snell, a chancery solicitor
, and friend of Doddridge. Farmer made an increase in the congregation. In July, Doddridge, who had been asked to find a minister for the independent congregation
at Taunton
, applied to Farmer, who declined the overture; he explained that he was not Calvinistic enough for Taunton, the liberal element in the congregation having seceded with Thomas Amory
. At Walthamstow was William Coward
(d. 1738), a benefactor to dissenting causes.
In 1740 a new meeting-house was built for Farmer on a piece of ground given by Snell. Farmer's preaching drew a distinguished congregation; Andrew Kippis
remembered dozens of coaches in at the meeting-house door. He continued to reside with the Snells as a permanent guest, and spent most of his income in books. In 1759 his congregation relieved him of some duties by appointing as afternoon preacher Ebenezer Radcliffe, who remained his colleague till 1777. Thomas Belsham
was invited to succeed him, but declined.
Farmer then prepared his treatise on the temptation (preface dated 23 June 1761). Soon afterwards he accepted the post of afternoon preacher at Salters' Hall
, vacated by the promotion of Francis Spilsbury to the pastorate; this was a presbyterian congregation
, but Farmer never ceased to be an independent. Except for that of James Fordyce
of Monkwell Street, his was the largest afternoon congregation among the presbyterians of London. In 1762 he was elected a trustee of Dr. Williams's
foundations; he was also elected a trustee of the Coward Trust. About the same time he was chosen one of the preachers at the "merchants' lecture" on Tuesday mornings at Salters' Hall.
Farmer resigned his Sunday lectureship at Salters' Hall in 1772; he delivered the charge at the ordination of Thomas Tayler at Carter Lane in 1778, but declined to print it; he resigned the merchants' lectureship in 1780. At the same time he resigned the pastorate at Walthamstow, but continued to preach in the morning until a successor was appointed. In 1782 he resigned his place on the Coward Trust, but was re-elected later.
His health was then failing, and he usually wintered at Bath. He overcame two severe attacks of the stone
, but in 1785 was threatened with blindness (his father had been blind for six years before his death). An operation restored to him the use of his eyes, and his last days were devoted to study. He died on 5 February 1787, and was buried in the parish churchyard at Walthamstow
, in the same grave with his friend Snell.
He never married. His elder brother, John, a strict Calvinist and a good scholar, became (30 December 1730) assistant to Richard Rawlin at Fetter Lane
, and afterwards (28 March 1739) colleague with Edward Bentley at Coggeshall
, Essex
; he published a volume of sermons (1756), and succeeded Joseph Priestley
at Needham Market
, Suffolk
(1758). He became deranged; Hugh, with whom he was not on good terms, then covertly provided for his wants.
He exercised an influence on liberal dissent. He was the champion of the divine sovereignty, both as excluding from the physical world the operation of any other invisible agents, and as authorising the production of ‘new phænomena’ which remove ‘the inconveniences of governing by fixed and general laws.’ Farmer maintained that the proof of the divinity of a doctrine is the fact that its enunciation has been followed by a miracle. Farmer's positions were adopted by the rationalising section of dissenters; but in the long run his strong assertions of the fixity of natural law
overcame his argument for miracles.
Posthumously (with the ‘Memoirs,’ 1804) were printed:
Farmer's will instructed his executors, on pain of losing their legacies, to burn all his manuscripts; he had nearly completed a volume on the demonology of the ancients. He supplied Samuel Palmer
with some details of Hugh Owen for the Nonconformist's Memorial (1775). Six of his letters to Isaac Toms of Hadleigh, Suffolk, are printed with the ‘Memoirs.’
He was educated at the Dissenting Academy
Dissenting academies
The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and nonconformist seminaries run by dissenters. They formed a significant part of England’s educational systems from the mid-seventeenth to nineteenth centuries....
in Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
under Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge DD was an English Nonconformist leader, educator, and hymnwriter.-Early life:...
, and became pastor of a congregation at Walthamstow
Walthamstow
Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. In 1701 he became preacher and one of the Tuesday lecturers at Salters' Hall
Worshipful Company of Salters
The Worshipful Company of Salters is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, 9th in order of precedence. The Company originated as the Guild of Corpus Christi, which was granted a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1559...
, London. He was a believer in miracles, but wrote against the existence of supernatural evil. He viewed the devil as allegorical.
Life
A younger son of William and Mary Farmer, he was born on 20 January 1714 at the Isle Gate farm in a ShropshireShropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
hamlet called the Isle, within the parish of St. Chad
St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury
St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury occupies a prominent position in the county town of Shropshire. The current church building was built in 1792, and with its distinctive round shape and high tower it is a well-known landmark in the town. It faces The Quarry area of parkland, which slopes down to the...
, Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
. His mother was a daughter of Hugh Owen of Bronycludwr, Merionethshire
Merionethshire
Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
, one of the nonconformists of 1662
Great Ejection
The Great Ejection followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England. Two thousand Puritan ministers left their positions as Church of England clergy, following the changes after the restoration to power of Charles II....
. Farmer was at school at Llanegryn, Merionethshire, and then under Charles Owen, at Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
. In 1731 he entered Doddridge's academy at Northampton
Daventry Academy
Daventry Academy was a dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters. It moved to many locations, but was most associated with Daventry, where its most famous pupil was Joseph Priestley...
; to his tutor's preaching and his reading of the sermons of Joseph Boyse
Joseph Boyse
Joseph Boyse was an English presbyterian minister in Ireland, and controversialist.-Early life:Boyse was born at Leeds, England on 14 January 1660, one of sixteen children of Matthew Boyse, a Puritan, formerly elder of the church at Rowley, New England, and afterwards a resident for about eighteen...
he attributed his religious impressions. On leaving the academy (1736) he became assistant to David Some of Market Harborough
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
(d. May 1737).
Early in 1737 he took charge of a struggling congregation at Walthamstow
Walthamstow
Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
, founded by Samuel Slater, a minister ejected from St. James's, Bury St Edmunds. He at first lodged in London, only five miles away, but was then received into the family of William Snell, a chancery solicitor
Inns of Chancery
The Inns of Chancery or Hospida Cancellarie were a group of buildings and legal institutions in London initially attached to the Inns of Court and used as offices for the clerks of chancery, from which they drew their name...
, and friend of Doddridge. Farmer made an increase in the congregation. In July, Doddridge, who had been asked to find a minister for the independent congregation
Independent (religion)
In English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political...
at Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
, applied to Farmer, who declined the overture; he explained that he was not Calvinistic enough for Taunton, the liberal element in the congregation having seceded with Thomas Amory
Thomas Amory (tutor)
Thomas Amory D.D. was an English dissenting tutor and minister and poet from Taunton.-Biography:His father was a grocer and his mother a sister of Henry Grove. He was at school under Chadwick, a local dissenting minister, and learned French at Exeter under André de Majendie, a refugee minister...
. At Walthamstow was William Coward
William Coward (merchant)
William Coward was a London merchant in the Jamaica trade, remembered for his support of Dissenters, particularly his educational philanthropy.-Life:...
(d. 1738), a benefactor to dissenting causes.
In 1740 a new meeting-house was built for Farmer on a piece of ground given by Snell. Farmer's preaching drew a distinguished congregation; Andrew Kippis
Andrew Kippis
Andrew Kippis was an English nonconformist clergyman and biographer.The son of Robert Kippis, a silk-hosier, he was born at Nottingham. Having gone to school at Sleaford in Lincolnshire he passed at the age of sixteen to the Dissenting academy at Northampton, of which Dr Philip Doddridge was then...
remembered dozens of coaches in at the meeting-house door. He continued to reside with the Snells as a permanent guest, and spent most of his income in books. In 1759 his congregation relieved him of some duties by appointing as afternoon preacher Ebenezer Radcliffe, who remained his colleague till 1777. Thomas Belsham
Thomas Belsham
Thomas Belsham was an English Unitarian minister- Life :Belsham was born in Bedford, England, and was the elder brother of William Belsham, the English political writer and historian. He was educated at the dissenting academy at Daventry, where for seven years he acted as assistant tutor...
was invited to succeed him, but declined.
Farmer then prepared his treatise on the temptation (preface dated 23 June 1761). Soon afterwards he accepted the post of afternoon preacher at Salters' Hall
Worshipful Company of Salters
The Worshipful Company of Salters is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, 9th in order of precedence. The Company originated as the Guild of Corpus Christi, which was granted a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1559...
, vacated by the promotion of Francis Spilsbury to the pastorate; this was a presbyterian congregation
English Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism in England is distinct from Continental and Scottish forms of Presbyterianism. Whereas in Scotland, church government is based on a meeting of delegates, in England the individual congregation is the primary body of government...
, but Farmer never ceased to be an independent. Except for that of James Fordyce
James Fordyce
James Fordyce, DD , was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and poet. He is best known for his collection of sermons published in 1766 as Sermons for Young Women, popularly known as Fordyce's Sermons.-Early life:...
of Monkwell Street, his was the largest afternoon congregation among the presbyterians of London. In 1762 he was elected a trustee of Dr. Williams's
Daniel Williams (theologian)
The Revd. Dr. Daniel Williams was a Welsh Presbyterian benefactor, minister and theologian.-Early ministry:Williams was born in Wrexham, Denbighshire, and was a cousin of Stephen Davies, minister at Banbury...
foundations; he was also elected a trustee of the Coward Trust. About the same time he was chosen one of the preachers at the "merchants' lecture" on Tuesday mornings at Salters' Hall.
Farmer resigned his Sunday lectureship at Salters' Hall in 1772; he delivered the charge at the ordination of Thomas Tayler at Carter Lane in 1778, but declined to print it; he resigned the merchants' lectureship in 1780. At the same time he resigned the pastorate at Walthamstow, but continued to preach in the morning until a successor was appointed. In 1782 he resigned his place on the Coward Trust, but was re-elected later.
His health was then failing, and he usually wintered at Bath. He overcame two severe attacks of the stone
The Stone
The Stone is a not-for-profit experimental music performance space located in the Alphabet City neighborhood in New York City. It was founded in April 2005 by musician John Zorn, who serves as the artistic director.-Location:...
, but in 1785 was threatened with blindness (his father had been blind for six years before his death). An operation restored to him the use of his eyes, and his last days were devoted to study. He died on 5 February 1787, and was buried in the parish churchyard at Walthamstow
St. Mary's Church, Walthamstow
St. Mary’s Church, Walthamstow is in Walthamstow Village, a conservation area in Walthamstow, London. It was founded in the 12th century and is still a working church...
, in the same grave with his friend Snell.
He never married. His elder brother, John, a strict Calvinist and a good scholar, became (30 December 1730) assistant to Richard Rawlin at Fetter Lane
Fetter Lane
Fetter Lane is a street in the ward of Farringdon Without in London England. It runs from Fleet Street in the south to Holborn in the north.The earliest mention of the street is "faitereslane" in 1312. The name occurs with several spellings until it settles down about 1612. There is no agreement...
, and afterwards (28 March 1739) colleague with Edward Bentley at Coggeshall
Coggeshall
Coggeshall is a small market town of 3,919 residents in Essex, England, situated between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road of Stane Street , and intersected by the River Blackwater. It is known for its almost 300 listed buildings and formerly extensive antique trade...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
; he published a volume of sermons (1756), and succeeded Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
at Needham Market
Needham Market
Needham Market is a town in Suffolk, England. It initially grew around the wool combing industry, until the onset of the plague, which swept the town from 1663 to 1665. To prevent the spread of the disease, the town was chained at either end, which succeeded in its task but at the cost of...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
(1758). He became deranged; Hugh, with whom he was not on good terms, then covertly provided for his wants.
Views
"Never raise a difficulty without being able to solve it" was his frequent advice to young preachers. He censured Joseph Priestley's publications. Conservative in his views, he was keenly alive to the thorny places of doctrinal systems, and avoided them. His recommendation was "Sell all your commentators and buy Grotius", an echo of a remark which he had heard in Doddridge's classroom, but without Doddridge's qualification.He exercised an influence on liberal dissent. He was the champion of the divine sovereignty, both as excluding from the physical world the operation of any other invisible agents, and as authorising the production of ‘new phænomena’ which remove ‘the inconveniences of governing by fixed and general laws.’ Farmer maintained that the proof of the divinity of a doctrine is the fact that its enunciation has been followed by a miracle. Farmer's positions were adopted by the rationalising section of dissenters; but in the long run his strong assertions of the fixity of natural law
Natural law
Natural law, or the law of nature , is any system of law which is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. Natural law is contrasted with the positive law Natural...
overcame his argument for miracles.
Works
Farmer published:- The Duty of Thanksgiving, &c. 1746, (a sermon, 9 October, on the battle of CullodenBattle of CullodenThe Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
). - Inquiry into the Nature and Design of our Lord's Temptation in the Wilderness (1761). This went through three editions in Farmer's lifetime; the fourth (1805) was edited by Jeremiah JoyceJeremiah Joyce-Life:He was born 24 February 1763 at Mildred's Court London. He became a glazier, but on the death of his father he used his inheritance to study for the Unitarian ministry, where he became proficient in mathematics and Latin...
; a fifth appeared in 1822. John Mason of Cheshunt claimed Farmer's theory as his own, but Farmer showed (in his 2nd edit. 1764) a radical distinction between them. - Dissertation on the Miracles (1771); 2nd edit. 1804, edited by Joyce; 3rd edit. 1810. A German translation appeared at Berlin, 1777.
- An Examination of the late Mr. Le Moine's Treatise on Miracles, 1772 (occasioned by a series of attacks in the London MagazineLondon MagazineThe London Magazine is a historied publication of arts, literature and miscellaneous interests. Its history ranges nearly three centuries and several reincarnations, publishing the likes of William Wordsworth, William S...
, charging him with plagiarising from Abraham Le Moine). - Essay on the Demoniacs of the New Testament (1775); 2nd edit. 1779; 3rd edit. 1805, edited by Joyce, with the Inquiry; 4th edit. (called the third), 1818. A German translation appeared at Berlin, 1776.
- Letters to the Rev. Dr. Worthington, &c., 1778 (reply to ‘An Impartial Inquiry into the case of the Gospel Demoniacs,’ 1777, by Richard Worthington, M.D.).
- The General Prevalence of the Worship of Human Spirits in the ancient Heathen Nations (1783).
Posthumously (with the ‘Memoirs,’ 1804) were printed:
- ‘A Reply’ to John FellJohn Fell (tutor)John Fell was an English congregationalist minister and classical tutor.-Life:...
, on the General Prevalence; and - nine extracts from ‘An Essay on the Case of Balaam,’ from a transcript made by Michael DodsonMichael Dodson-Life:The only son of Joseph Dodson, dissenting minister at Marlborough, Wiltshire, he was born there in September 1732. He was educated at Marlborough grammar school, and then, in accordance with the advice of Sir Michael Foster, justice of the king's bench, was entered at the Middle Temple 31...
.
Farmer's will instructed his executors, on pain of losing their legacies, to burn all his manuscripts; he had nearly completed a volume on the demonology of the ancients. He supplied Samuel Palmer
Samuel Palmer (biographer)
-Life:He was born at Bedford, was educated at Bedford grammar school, and then studied for the ministry at Daventry Academy under Caleb Ashworth....
with some details of Hugh Owen for the Nonconformist's Memorial (1775). Six of his letters to Isaac Toms of Hadleigh, Suffolk, are printed with the ‘Memoirs.’