Life

Fawcett was born at Sleaford, Lincolnshire, on 16 August 1715, the youngest of ten children. He entered Philip Doddridge

Philip Doddridge

Philip Doddridge DD was an English Nonconformist leader, educator, and hymnwriter.-Early life:...

's dissenting academy at 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...

 in 1738. In March 1741 Doddridge sent him to Whitchurch

Whitchurch

Whitchurch can refer to:Towns in the United Kingdom:*Whitchurch, Shropshire*Whitchurch, HampshireVillages in the United Kingdom:*Whitchurch, Bristol*Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire*Whitchurch, Cardiff*Whitchurch, Devon...

 and Chester

Chester

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

 to collect evidence for an alibi in the case of Bryan Connell, then under sentence of death for murder (executed 3 April). In the same year Fawcett became minister of Paul's Meeting, 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....

, where he was ordained on 16 June 1742, forty ministers being present. Doddridge went down to take part in the ordination, and was presented to Fawcett's future wife.

In 1745 Fawcett moved to Kidderminster

Kidderminster

Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...

. Here Doddridge visited him in 1747, and found his ministry prospering: he had 316 catechumen

Catechumen

In ecclesiology, a catechumen , “‘down’” + ἠχή , “‘sound’”) is one receiving instruction from a catechist in the principles of the Christian religion with a view to baptism...

s. He seems to have retained his popularity to the close of his life. He was very zealous in founding country congregations. Some of his notions were unconventional. Job Orton

Job Orton

Job Orton was an English dissenting minister.-Life:He was born at Shrewsbury. He entered the academy of Dr Philip Doddridge at Northampton, became minister of a congregation formed by a fusion of Presbyterians and Independents at High Street Chapel, Shrewsbury , received Presbyterian ordination...

, who retired to Kidderminster in 1766, was scandalised when a drum-major of the Northamptonshire militia was allowed to preach in Fawcett's pulpit.

In July 1780 Fawcett was prostrated by illness; the disease was supposed to be 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 was in reality an ulcer

Ulcer

An ulcer is a sore on the skin or a mucous membrane, accompanied by the disintegration of tissue. Ulcers can result in complete loss of the epidermis and often portions of the dermis and even subcutaneous fat. Ulcers are most common on the skin of the lower extremities and in the gastrointestinal...

. He died in October. His funeral sermon was preached on 18 October by Thomas Tayler of Carter Lane. On his death his congregation divided, the Independents retaining the meeting-house, and an Arian

Arian

Arian may refer to:* Arius, a Christian presbyter in the 3rd and 4th century* a given name in different cultures: Aria, Aryan or Arian...

 secession building a new place of worship.

Works

For the use of his congregations he published abridgments of many 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...

's writings, and edited other religious works.

Between 1756 and 1774 Fawcett published many sermons, the first being ‘The Grand Enquiry,’ &c., 1756. His major pieces were:

• ‘Candid Reflections on the different manner in which the learned and pious have expressed their conceptions concerning the doctrine of the Trinity,’ &c., Shrewsbury, 1777; second edition, enlarged, Shrewsbury, 1778; an ‘appendix’ to the second edition, Shrewsbury, 1780. These were in a letter to a friend, probably Orton. The publication is irenic in design, its main point being the diversity of ways in which the doctrine of the Trinity may be stated. Orton, who saw the manuscript, warned Fawcett that its publication ‘would for ever ruin his reputation among the warm, zealous people.’ It led to a controversy with William Fuller, an independent layman, which was continued by Samuel Palmer after Fawcett's death.
• ‘Observations on the Causes and Cure of … Religious Melancholy,’ &c., Shrewsbury, 1780.

Family

Fawcett's son Samuel was ordained at Beaminster

Beaminster

Beaminster is a small town and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, at the head of the valley of the River Brit. Beaminster is south of Bristol, west of Bournemouth, east of Exeter and northwest of the county town of Dorchester...

, Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

 in 1777; he became a Unitarian, and retired from the ministry, living on his private estate near Bridport

Bridport

Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the River Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre...

. From 1801 to 1816 he was Unitarian minister at Yeovil

Yeovil

Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140...

, where he died on 14 December 1835, aged 81.