Thomas Binney
Encyclopedia
The Rev. Dr. Thomas Binney (1798–1874) was an English
Congregationalist
divine of the 19th century, popularly known as the 'Archbishop of Nonconformity'. He was noted for sermons and writings in defence of the principles of Nonconformity
, for devotional verse, and for involvement in the cause of anti-slavery.
.
In 1829, after short pastorates at Bedford
(New Meeting) and Newport, Isle of Wight
, he accepted a call to the historic King's Weigh House
Chapel, London
in succession to the elder John Clayton. Here he became very popular, and it was found necessary to build a much larger chapel on Fish Street Hill, to which the congregation removed. Its eminent members included Samuel Morley MP
.
Thomas Binney laid the foundation stone of the new chapel himself, in 1834. An address delivered on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone, published with an appendix containing a strong attack on the influence of the Church of England
, gave rise to a long and bitter controversy. Throughout his career Binney was a vigorous opponent of the state church principle, though he maintained friendly relations with many of the dignitaries of the Established Church. From 1865 to 1869 Llewelyn David Bevan
assisted Binney at King's Weigh House Chapel.
His liberality of view and breadth of ecclesiastical sympathy entitle him to rank, on questions of Nonconformity
, among the most distinguished of the school of Richard Baxter
. Indeed, he became known as 'the Archbishop of Nonconformity'.
Thomas Binney was an active member of the British and Foreign Anti-slavery Society
formed in 1839, which became Anti-Slavery International in 1990. A painting at the National Portrait Gallery in London
shows 'The 1840 Anti-slavery Convention (the first World Anti-slavery Convention) identifying many of its key participants, with Thomas Clarkson
introducing the event chaired by the Rev. Thomas Binney. In 1853, when the African-American abolitionist Samuel Ringgold Ward
came to Britain to raise funds for the Anti-slavery Society of Canada, a time when there was a vast influx of escaped slaves from the United States seeking refuge in the British colony, he brought letters of introduction to Thomas Binney, planning to seek help initially from fellow Congregationalist's in London such as Binney, James Sherman
and Josiah Conder. Thomas Binney later became the biographer of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton
, a leading parliamentary abolitionist.
He continued to discharge the duties of the ministry until 1869, when he resigned. In 1845 he paid a visit to Canada
and the United States
, and in 1857-1859 to the Australia
n colonies. The University of Aberdeen
conferred the LL.D. degree on him in 1852, and he was twice chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales
.
Binney pioneered changes to the forms of service in Nonconformist churches, and gave a special impulse to congregational psalmody by the publication of a book entitled The Service of Song in the House of the Lord. Of numerous other works the best-known is his Is it Possible to Make the Best of Both Worlds?, an expansion of a lecture delivered to young men in Exeter Hall, which attained a circulation of 30,000 copies within a year of its publication. He wrote much devotional verse, including the well-known hymn Eternal Light! Eternal Light!
Binney preached his last sermon in November 1873. After some months of suffering, he died on 24 February 1874. Dean Stanley
assisted at his funeral service in Abney Park Cemetery
, Stoke Newington
, London, where today his monument, a tall pink granite obelisk, can still be seen near to that of William Booth
, close to Church Street.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Congregationalist
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
divine of the 19th century, popularly known as the 'Archbishop of Nonconformity'. He was noted for sermons and writings in defence of the principles of Nonconformity
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
, for devotional verse, and for involvement in the cause of anti-slavery.
Biography
Binney was born of Presbyterian parents at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1798, and educated at an ordinary day school. After spending seven years in the employment of a bookseller he entered the theological school at Wymondley, Herts, later incorporated in New College, HampsteadNew College London
New College London was founded as a Congregationalist college in 1850.-Predecessor institutions:...
.
In 1829, after short pastorates at Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
(New Meeting) and Newport, Isle of Wight
Newport, Isle of Wight
Newport is a civil parish and a county town of the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. Newport has a population of 23,957 according to the 2001 census...
, he accepted a call to the historic King's Weigh House
King's Weigh House
The King's Weigh House today serves as the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile and was formerly the name of a Congregational Church in London.-History:...
Chapel, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in succession to the elder John Clayton. Here he became very popular, and it was found necessary to build a much larger chapel on Fish Street Hill, to which the congregation removed. Its eminent members included Samuel Morley MP
Samuel Morley (MP)
Samuel Morley , was an English woollen manufacturer, philanthropist, dissenter , abolitionist, political radical, and statesman.-Introduction:...
.
Thomas Binney laid the foundation stone of the new chapel himself, in 1834. An address delivered on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone, published with an appendix containing a strong attack on the influence of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, gave rise to a long and bitter controversy. Throughout his career Binney was a vigorous opponent of the state church principle, though he maintained friendly relations with many of the dignitaries of the Established Church. From 1865 to 1869 Llewelyn David Bevan
Llewelyn David Bevan
Llewelyn David Bevan was a Congregational minister and academic active in Australia.-Early life:Bevan was born in Llanelly, Carmarthen, Wales, son of Hopkin Bevan, actuary, and his wife Eliza, née Davies, a Congregational minister's daughter. Bevan had plans for a legal career, but was converted...
assisted Binney at King's Weigh House Chapel.
His liberality of view and breadth of ecclesiastical sympathy entitle him to rank, on questions of Nonconformity
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
, among the most distinguished of the school of Richard Baxter
Richard Baxter
Richard Baxter was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymn-writer, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he made his reputation by his ministry at Kidderminster, and at around the same time began a long...
. Indeed, he became known as 'the Archbishop of Nonconformity'.
Thomas Binney was an active member of the British and Foreign Anti-slavery Society
Anti-Slavery Society
The Anti-Slavery Society or A.S.S. was the everyday name of two different British organizations.The first was founded in 1823 and was committed to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. Its official name was the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the...
formed in 1839, which became Anti-Slavery International in 1990. A painting at the National Portrait Gallery in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
shows 'The 1840 Anti-slavery Convention (the first World Anti-slavery Convention) identifying many of its key participants, with Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
introducing the event chaired by the Rev. Thomas Binney. In 1853, when the African-American abolitionist Samuel Ringgold Ward
Samuel Ringgold Ward
Samuel Ringgold Ward was an African American who escaped enslavement to become an abolitionist, newspaper editor and Congregational minister....
came to Britain to raise funds for the Anti-slavery Society of Canada, a time when there was a vast influx of escaped slaves from the United States seeking refuge in the British colony, he brought letters of introduction to Thomas Binney, planning to seek help initially from fellow Congregationalist's in London such as Binney, James Sherman
James Sherman (minister)
The Rev. James Sherman , was a Congregationalist and abolitionist; a popular preacher at The Castle Street Chapel in Reading from 1821 to 1836 and the Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars, London from 1836-54. He was successor at the Surrey Chapel to Rowland Hill...
and Josiah Conder. Thomas Binney later became the biographer of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton
Thomas Fowell Buxton
Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet was an English Member of Parliament, brewer, abolitionist and social reformer....
, a leading parliamentary abolitionist.
He continued to discharge the duties of the ministry until 1869, when he resigned. In 1845 he paid a visit to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and in 1857-1859 to the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n colonies. The University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
conferred the LL.D. degree on him in 1852, and he was twice chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Binney pioneered changes to the forms of service in Nonconformist churches, and gave a special impulse to congregational psalmody by the publication of a book entitled The Service of Song in the House of the Lord. Of numerous other works the best-known is his Is it Possible to Make the Best of Both Worlds?, an expansion of a lecture delivered to young men in Exeter Hall, which attained a circulation of 30,000 copies within a year of its publication. He wrote much devotional verse, including the well-known hymn Eternal Light! Eternal Light!
Binney preached his last sermon in November 1873. After some months of suffering, he died on 24 February 1874. Dean Stanley
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley was an English churchman, Dean of Westminster, known as Dean Stanley. His position was that of a Broad Churchman and he was the author of works on Church History.-Life and times:...
assisted at his funeral service in Abney Park Cemetery
Abney Park Cemetery
Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...
, Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, London, where today his monument, a tall pink granite obelisk, can still be seen near to that of William Booth
William Booth
William Booth was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General...
, close to Church Street.
Books
- Binney, Thomas (1831) 'A study for young men or A Sketch of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton', Boston: Crosby & Nichols