Joseph Bretland
Encyclopedia
Joseph Bretland was an English dissenting
minister.
tradesman, was born at Exeter 22 May 1742. He was for several years a day scholar at the Exeter grammar school
, and was placed in business in 1757, but shortly after left it for the ministry. For this work he received a special education, his course of study being finished in 1766. From 1770 to 1772 he was minister of the Mint Chapel, and from the latter year until 1790 kept a classical school at Exeter. He resumed his duties at the Mint Chapel in 1789, and continued there until 1793. For three years, 1794-7, he acted as minister at the George's meeting-house in Exeter, and on the establishment in 1799 of an academy in the West of England
for educating ministers among the protestant dissenters, he was appointed one of its tutor
s. This position he retained down to its dissolution in 1805, and he then retired into private life. In 1795 Bretland married Miss Sarah Moffatt. He died at Exeter 8 July 1819. He is described as a believer in the unity of the Deity and in the simple humanity of Jesus Christ, and he is styled a scholar of 'extensive and solid learning.'
's Theological Repository
and in the Monthly Repository
. He composed sermons and prayers for the use of Unitarians, including a 'Liturgy for the Use of the Mint Meeting in Exeter,' 1792. After his death there were printed at Exeter two volumes of 'Sermons by the late Rev. Joseph Bretland, to which are prefixed Memoirs of his Life, by Wm. Benjamin Kennaway, 1820.' He was attached to Priestley, and edited a new edition of his 'Rudiments of English Grammar;' many of his letters are printed in J. T. Rutt's memoirs of Priestley.
Dissenter
The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...
minister.
Life
He was the son of Joseph Bretland, an ExeterExeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
tradesman, was born at Exeter 22 May 1742. He was for several years a day scholar at the Exeter grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
, and was placed in business in 1757, but shortly after left it for the ministry. For this work he received a special education, his course of study being finished in 1766. From 1770 to 1772 he was minister of the Mint Chapel, and from the latter year until 1790 kept a classical school at Exeter. He resumed his duties at the Mint Chapel in 1789, and continued there until 1793. For three years, 1794-7, he acted as minister at the George's meeting-house in Exeter, and on the establishment in 1799 of an academy in the West of England
West of England
The West of England is a loose and locationally unspecific term sometimes given to the area surrounding the city and county of Bristol, England, and also sometimes applied more widely and in other parts of South West England.-Use in the Bristol area:...
for educating ministers among the protestant dissenters, he was appointed one of its tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
s. This position he retained down to its dissolution in 1805, and he then retired into private life. In 1795 Bretland married Miss Sarah Moffatt. He died at Exeter 8 July 1819. He is described as a believer in the unity of the Deity and in the simple humanity of Jesus Christ, and he is styled a scholar of 'extensive and solid learning.'
Works
Many of his theological papers are in Joseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
's Theological Repository
Theological Repository
The Theological Repository was a periodical founded and edited from 1769 to 1771 by the eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley...
and in the Monthly Repository
Monthly Repository
The Monthly Repository was a British monthly Unitarian periodical which ran between 1806 and 1838.The Monthly Repository was established when Robert Aspland bought William Vidler's Universal Theological Magazine and changed the name to the Monthly Repository of Theology and General Literature...
. He composed sermons and prayers for the use of Unitarians, including a 'Liturgy for the Use of the Mint Meeting in Exeter,' 1792. After his death there were printed at Exeter two volumes of 'Sermons by the late Rev. Joseph Bretland, to which are prefixed Memoirs of his Life, by Wm. Benjamin Kennaway, 1820.' He was attached to Priestley, and edited a new edition of his 'Rudiments of English Grammar;' many of his letters are printed in J. T. Rutt's memoirs of Priestley.