Christopher Newman Hall
Encyclopedia
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
and known in later life as a 'Dissenter's Bishop', was one of the most celebrated nineteenth century English
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...
Nonconformist divines. He was active in social causes; supporting Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and abolition
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
cause, and arranging for influential Nonconformists to meet Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
. Come to Jesus, first published in 1848 also contributed to his becoming a household name throughout Britain, the USA and further afield - by the end of the century the book had been translated into about forty languages and sold four million copies worldwide.
Early life and the Albion Chapel
Christopher Newman Hall's father was John Vine Hall (1774-1860), proprietor and printer of the Maidstone Journal, and the author of a popular evangelical work called The Sinner's Friend. Christopher's first university degree was a London University BA in theology obtained at Highbury College, Middlesex in 1841. The following year he began his pastoral work at a Congregational chapel, the Albion Chapel, Albion Street, HullKingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. In 1843 he travelled through Scotland with a companion, where he found himself debating slavery with two American ladies who were slave owners themselves .
At Hull, Newman Hall engaged actively in social causes, including support for Chartism
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
and temperance reform
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
. To promote the latter cause he wrote The Scriptural Claims of Teetotalism, whilst his thoughts on Chartism and political causes, being influenced by the weekly Christian Socialist written by Charles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
, Frederick Maurice and Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes was an English lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. It had a lesser-known sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford .- Biography :Hughes was the second son of John Hughes, editor of...
, was brought together in a small pamphlet entitled Divine Socialism, or The Man Christ Jesus. In 1846 Christopher Newman Hall married his first wife, Charlotte, only daughter of Dr William Gordon FLS
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a zoological journal, as well as botanical and biological journals...
, both of Hull. During the twelve years of his ministry at Albion Chapel, the membership increased greatly, necessitating a branch chapel. A school was also opened. His popularity led to invitations to preach at many of Yorkshire's Free Churches in Beverley, Selby, Leeds, Huddersfield, Filey, HarRogate, York, and Ripon.
Surrey Chapel
In 1854 Newman Hall succeeded the Rev. James ShermanJames 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...
as pastor of the celebrated Surrey Chapel
Surrey Chapel
The Surrey Chapel was an independent Methodist and Congregational church established in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London on 8 June 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill. His work was continued in 1833 by the Congregational pastor Rev. James Sherman, and in 1854 by Rev. Newman Hall. The chapel's design...
in London, which was founded in 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill (preacher)
Rowland Hill A.M. , was a popular English preacher, enthusiastic evangelical and an influential advocate of small-pox vaccination. He was founder and resident pastor of a wholly independent chapel, the Surrey Chapel, London; chairman of the Religious Tract Society; and a keen supporter of the...
and by now had numerous foundations and charities associated with it. Whilst ministering at the chapel, Newman Hall won a scholarship to study law in his spare time; he was awarded an LLB degree in 1856.
Abolition & American Civil War
During the 1860s, dissenting from the British government's position, Newman Hall passionately supported the north in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He disapproved of secession by southern states. England should side with the North, he wrote, particularly because emancipation of the slaves
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
is just. He felt so strongly that he published one of his few non-theological books: The American War. A Lecture delivered in London, October 20, 1862. Newman Hall visited the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, and published a passionate anti-slavery speech co-authored by Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late 19th century...
.
At the Great Union and Emancipation Meeting at Exeter Hall
Exeter Hall
Exeter Hall was a hall on the north side of The Strand, London, England. It was erected between 1829 and 1831 on the site of Exeter Exchange, to designs by John Peter Gandy, the brother of the visionary architect Joseph Michael Gandy...
, London, on 29 January 1863 in support of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
, the crowning speech of the evening was given by Christopher Newman Hall. The meeting was a huge success, showing support for abolition
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
in the United States of America, and reported by Harper's Weekly to have been one of the largest and most enthusiastic meetings ever held in London; its overspill of people who could not get into the packed meeting itself, was formed into three large, ancillary, open-air meetings. Subsequently Newman Hall made extensive tours in the United States. At Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, he was invited to open Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
with prayer, and in the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
he delivered an address on international relations.
Christ Church, Hawkstone Hall and Lincoln Memorial Tower
George Collison
George Collison was an English Congregationalist and educator associated with Hackney Academy or Hackney College, which became part of New College London - itself part of the University of London.-Early life:...
. The trustees were faced with the prospect of raising all of the funds needed to buy a new lease on Surrey Chapel, or moving elsewhere. Surrey Chapel on Blackfriars Road was by then a popular religious, educational, and music venue with many associated foundations and charities, but was too small to house all of these. To provide sufficient space, a local temperance hall in Waterloo Road had been leased, and duly renamed Hawkstone Hall - the country seat of relatives of Rev. Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill (preacher)
Rowland Hill A.M. , was a popular English preacher, enthusiastic evangelical and an influential advocate of small-pox vaccination. He was founder and resident pastor of a wholly independent chapel, the Surrey Chapel, London; chairman of the Religious Tract Society; and a keen supporter of the...
. Were a more spacious site found for an entirely new chapel, the trustees might provide on-site facilities for some of the foundations and perhaps acquire a freehold. Costly though this would be, Newman Hall was undaunted by this challenge. Through weekly offertories and donations, and fund-raising in America, he led a campaign to raise sufficient money and loans. A grand building project emerged at the junction of the Kennington
Kennington Road
Kennington Road is a long straight road, approximately a mile in length, in the London Borough of Lambeth in London, England, running south from Westminster Bridge Road to Kennington Park Road....
and Westminster Bridge Road
Westminster Bridge Road
Westminster Bridge Road is a short, but busy, road in London, England. It runs on an east-west axis and passes through the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark....
s on the site of a former Orphan Asylum. It comprised a large new chapel, Christ Church
Christ Church, Lambeth
Christ Church, Lambeth, was founded by the Rev Dr Christopher Newman Hall in the 1870s as a Congregational chapel forming part of a complex of new mission buildings, including the Lincoln Tower and a new premises for Hawkstone Hall...
, adjoined by a large lecture hall and school building to which the name Hawkstone Hall was transferred, and an international monument to Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
- the Lincoln Memorial Tower
Lincoln Memorial Tower
The Lincoln Memorial Tower or Lincoln Tower is a Gothic revival tower in London, housing small meeting rooms, that was opened in 1876 in memory of Abraham Lincoln, and paid for partly by Americans. Once part of a complex of nineteenth century philanthropic institutions sited alongside a...
. The whole complex was initially designed by the architect E.C. Robins FRIBA in 1873, and then enlarged and modified by Paull & Bickerdike. Within four years of the new complex being opened by Samuel Morley MP
Samuel Morley (MP)
Samuel Morley , was an English woollen manufacturer, philanthropist, dissenter , abolitionist, political radical, and statesman.-Introduction:...
in 1876, the total cost of about £60,000 was cleared.
Later Life, Memorial & Legacy
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in the USA. Newman Hall became involved in W E Forster's
William Edward Forster
William Edward Forster PC, FRS was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman.-Early life:...
educational bill and met with Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
personally. At a service conducted by Rev Henry Allon
Henry Allon
Henry Allon , English Nonconformist divine, was born on 13 October 1818 at Welton, Elloughton-cum-Brough, near Hull, in Yorkshire.Under Methodist influence Henry Allon decided to enter the ministry, but, developing Congregational ideas, was trained at Cheshunt College, Hertfordshire and became...
at Christ Church, on Easter Monday 1880, Newman Hall married his second wife, Miss Harriet Knipe - daughter of Henry Knipe, barrister-at-law and J.P. His first marriage had ended in a controversial divorce case which had eventually led to a decree nisi
Decree nisi
A decree nisi is a court order that does not have any force until such time that a particular condition is met, such as a subsequent petition to the court or the passage of a specified period of time....
in February 1880 - a time when divorce was rare. Neither marriage was followed by children. In 1892 he received a second Doctorate of Divinity degree - from Edinburgh University
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
.
In 1892 Newman Hall resigned as pastor at Christ Church
Christ Church, Lambeth
Christ Church, Lambeth, was founded by the Rev Dr Christopher Newman Hall in the 1870s as a Congregational chapel forming part of a complex of new mission buildings, including the Lincoln Tower and a new premises for Hawkstone Hall...
whilst continuing with his interests in social and evangelical work. Non-party, but broadly Liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
in his political views, few preachers of any denomination have exercised so far-reaching an influence. Towards the end of his life he completed an autobiography, in which he set out his philosophy in these words: The Christian Church, as tribunes of the people should be ever ready to plead the people's cause...Christians should be in the forefront of the battle of philanthropy. By this time he had many books to his name, including two books on travel The Land of the Forum and Vatican, and From Liverpool to St. Louis, and a book of poetry entitled Pilgrim Songs in Cloud and Sunshine.
Christopher Newman Hall is buried with his father John Vine Hall (d.1860), and wife Harriet (d.1922), in a polished red coffin tomb at 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...
, the garden cemetery founded in 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...
in 1840 by Congregationalists as a model for non-denominational burial.