Philip Doddridge
Encyclopedia
Philip Doddridge DD
(London, 26 June 1702 – Lisbon
, Portugal
, 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist leader, educator, and hymnwriter.
, Middlesex
, who resigned his living after the Act of Uniformity
of 1662 and became a nonconformist minister, and a great-nephew of the judge and MP Sir John Doddridge (1555–1628). Philip's mother, Monica, considered to have been the greater influence on him, was the orphan daughter of the Rev. John Bauman, a Lutheran clergyman who had fled from Prague
to escape religious persecution
. In England, Rev. John Bowerman (as he became known) had held for some time the mastership of the grammar school
at Kingston upon Thames
. Before Philip could read, his mother began to teach him the history of the Old
and New Testament
from blue Dutch chimney-tiles on the chimney place of their sitting room.
In his youth, Philip Doddridge was educated first by a tutor employed by his parent then boarded at a private school in London. In 1712, he then attended the grammar school
at Kingston-upon-Thames studying under Rev Daniel Mayo where his grandfather had worked.
His mother died when he was only 8 years old on 12 April 1711. Four years later his father died on 17 July 1715. He then had a guardian named Downes who moved him to another private school at St Albans
where he was much influenced by the Presbyterian minister Samuel Clarke
(not to be confused with Samuel Clarke
, (1599–1683), the English clergyman and Puritan
biographer).
, and his second wife, Elizabeth Brindley. The marriage was at Upton upon Severn where Mercy's family lived. They had nine children. The first, Elizabeth or Tetsey (1731–1736), died just before her fifth birthday and was buried under the altar of the Doddridge Chapel, Northampton. Four children survived to adulthood.
in Leicestershire
. Here he was taught by John Jennings
, whom Doddridge briefly succeeded in 1723. Later that year, at a general meeting of Nonconformist ministers, Philip Doddridge was chosen to conduct the academy being newly established a few miles away at Market Harborough
, later known as the Daventry Academy
. In the same year, he received an invitation to be pastor to an independent congregation at Northampton
, which he also accepted. Here his popularity as a preacher is said to have been chiefly due to his "high susceptibility, joined with physical advantages and perfect sincerity." His sermons were mostly practical in character, and his aim was to cultivate in his hearers a spiritual and devotional frame of mind.
Throughout the 1730s and 1740s Philip Doddridge continued his academic and pastoral work, and developed close relations with numerous early religious revivalists and independents, through extensive visits and correspondence. Through this approach he helped establish and maintain a circle of influential independent religious thinkers and writers, including Dr Isaac Watts
. He also became a prolific author and hymnwriter. In 1736 both the universities at Aberdeen gave him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. However, these multifarious labours led to so many engagements and bulky correspondence that it interfered seriously both with his preaching and academic duties (he had some 200 students to whom he lectured on philosophy and theology, in the mathematical or Spinozistic style).
Doddridge was a prolific writer. His The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul was translated into seven languages. Charles Spurgeon
referred to The Rise and Progress as "that holy book". Reading this book led William Wilberforce
, the anti-slave trade campaigner, to become a Christian. Besides a New Testament commentary and other theological works, Doddridge also wrote over 400 hymns. Most of the hymns were written as summaries of his sermons and were to help the congregation express their response to the truths they were being taught.
. He was buried in a cemetery attached to the British Factory in Lisbon where his grave and tomb may still be seen.
Philip Doddridge worked towards a united Nonconformist body that would have wide appeal, retaining highly cultured elements without alienating those less educated.
His best known work, The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul (1745), dedicated to Isaac Watts
, was often reprinted and became widely influential. It is said to best illustrate his religious genius, and has been widely translated. His other well-known works include: The Family Expositor (6 vols., 1739–1756); Life of Colonel Gardiner (1747); and a Course of Lectures on Pneumatology, Ethics and Divinity (1763). Doddridge also published several courses of sermons on particular topics.
Many of his hymns, such as O God of Bethel, by whose hand, continue to be used to this day across the English-speaking world.
Doddridge's academy evolved into New College, Hampstead
, later known as New College London
, a centre for training Congregational and then United Reformed Church
ministers. (Not connected with Royal Holloway, University of London
, also a constituent college of the University of London
and briefly known as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College when those two colleges merged in the 1970s.) The library of the college, which held a large collection of his manuscripts, was transferred to Dr Williams's Library
in 1976.
in 1972. The interior has galleries and box pews and a memorial to Doddridge.
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
(London, 26 June 1702 – Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist leader, educator, and hymnwriter.
Early life
Philip Doddridge was born in London in an unknown location the last of the twenty children of Daniel Doddridge (d 1715), a dealer in oils and pickles. His father was a son of John Doddridge (1621–1689), rector of SheppertonShepperton
Shepperton is a town in the borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England. To the south it is bounded by the river Thames at Desborough Island and is bisected by the M3 motorway...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, who resigned his living after the Act of Uniformity
Act of Uniformity 1662
The Act of Uniformity was an Act of the Parliament of England, 13&14 Ch.2 c. 4 ,The '16 Charles II c. 2' nomenclature is reference to the statute book of the numbered year of the reign of the named King in the stated chapter...
of 1662 and became a nonconformist minister, and a great-nephew of the judge and MP Sir John Doddridge (1555–1628). Philip's mother, Monica, considered to have been the greater influence on him, was the orphan daughter of the Rev. John Bauman, a Lutheran clergyman who had fled from Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
to escape religious persecution
Religious persecution
Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or lack thereof....
. In England, Rev. John Bowerman (as he became known) had held for some time the mastership of the 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...
at Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
. Before Philip could read, his mother began to teach him the history of the Old
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
from blue Dutch chimney-tiles on the chimney place of their sitting room.
In his youth, Philip Doddridge was educated first by a tutor employed by his parent then boarded at a private school in London. In 1712, he then attended the 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...
at Kingston-upon-Thames studying under Rev Daniel Mayo where his grandfather had worked.
His mother died when he was only 8 years old on 12 April 1711. Four years later his father died on 17 July 1715. He then had a guardian named Downes who moved him to another private school at St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
where he was much influenced by the Presbyterian minister Samuel Clarke
Samuel Clarke (congregationalist)
Samuel Clarke was an English Nonconformist pastor and theological writer, known for his collection Promises of Scripture. He is not to be confused with his near contemporary Samuel Clarke , also a clergyman but an Anglican.-Life:...
(not to be confused with Samuel Clarke
Samuel Clarke (minister)
Samuel Clarke was an English clergyman and significant Puritan biographer.-Life:He was born 10 October 1599 at Wolston, Warwickshire, the son of Hugh Clarke , who was vicar of Wolston for forty years. Clarke was educated by his father till he was thirteen; then at the free school in Coventry; and...
, (1599–1683), the English clergyman and Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
biographer).
Marriage
On 22 December 1730 he married Mercy Maris (1709–1790), daughter of Richard Maris, a baker and maltster of WorcesterWorcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, and his second wife, Elizabeth Brindley. The marriage was at Upton upon Severn where Mercy's family lived. They had nine children. The first, Elizabeth or Tetsey (1731–1736), died just before her fifth birthday and was buried under the altar of the Doddridge Chapel, Northampton. Four children survived to adulthood.
Contribution to education and religious life
With independent religious leanings, Philip Doddridge declined offers which would have led him into the Anglican ministry or a career in law; and in 1719 chose instead to enter the Dissenting academy at KibworthKibworth
Kibworth is an area of the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, that contains two civil parishes—the villages of Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth Harcourt . According to the 2001 census, Kibworth Beauchamp has a population of 3,798, and Kibworth Harcourt has a population of 990. The two...
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
. Here he was taught by John Jennings
John Jennings (tutor)
John Jennings was an English Nonconformist minister and tutor of an early dissenting academy at Kibworth, Leicestershire, the original institution that became Daventry Academy...
, whom Doddridge briefly succeeded in 1723. Later that year, at a general meeting of Nonconformist ministers, Philip Doddridge was chosen to conduct the academy being newly established a few miles away at 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...
, later known as the Daventry Academy
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...
. In the same year, he received an invitation to be pastor to an independent congregation 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...
, which he also accepted. Here his popularity as a preacher is said to have been chiefly due to his "high susceptibility, joined with physical advantages and perfect sincerity." His sermons were mostly practical in character, and his aim was to cultivate in his hearers a spiritual and devotional frame of mind.
Throughout the 1730s and 1740s Philip Doddridge continued his academic and pastoral work, and developed close relations with numerous early religious revivalists and independents, through extensive visits and correspondence. Through this approach he helped establish and maintain a circle of influential independent religious thinkers and writers, including Dr Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
. He also became a prolific author and hymnwriter. In 1736 both the universities at Aberdeen gave him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. However, these multifarious labours led to so many engagements and bulky correspondence that it interfered seriously both with his preaching and academic duties (he had some 200 students to whom he lectured on philosophy and theology, in the mathematical or Spinozistic style).
Doddridge was a prolific writer. His The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul was translated into seven languages. Charles Spurgeon
Charles Spurgeon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a large British Particular Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the "Prince of Preachers"...
referred to The Rise and Progress as "that holy book". Reading this book led William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
, the anti-slave trade campaigner, to become a Christian. Besides a New Testament commentary and other theological works, Doddridge also wrote over 400 hymns. Most of the hymns were written as summaries of his sermons and were to help the congregation express their response to the truths they were being taught.
Death and legacy
In 1751 Philip Doddridge's health, which had never been good, broke down. He sailed for Lisbon on September 30 of that year; the change was unavailing, and he died there of tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. He was buried in a cemetery attached to the British Factory in Lisbon where his grave and tomb may still be seen.
Philip Doddridge worked towards a united Nonconformist body that would have wide appeal, retaining highly cultured elements without alienating those less educated.
His best known work, The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul (1745), dedicated to Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
, was often reprinted and became widely influential. It is said to best illustrate his religious genius, and has been widely translated. His other well-known works include: The Family Expositor (6 vols., 1739–1756); Life of Colonel Gardiner (1747); and a Course of Lectures on Pneumatology, Ethics and Divinity (1763). Doddridge also published several courses of sermons on particular topics.
Many of his hymns, such as O God of Bethel, by whose hand, continue to be used to this day across the English-speaking world.
Doddridge's academy evolved into New College, Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, later known as New College London
New College London
New College London was founded as a Congregationalist college in 1850.-Predecessor institutions:...
, a centre for training Congregational and then United Reformed Church
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
ministers. (Not connected with Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London is a constituent college of the University of London. The college has three faculties, 18 academic departments, and about 8,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 130 different countries...
, also a constituent college of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and briefly known as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College when those two colleges merged in the 1970s.) The library of the college, which held a large collection of his manuscripts, was transferred to Dr Williams's Library
Dr Williams's Library
Dr Williams's Library is a small research library located in Gordon Square in Bloomsbury, London.-History:It was founded using the estate of Dr Daniel Williams as a theological library, intended for the use of ministers of religion, students and others studying theology, religion and...
in 1976.
Castle Hill United Reformed Church
Castle Hill United Reformed Church in Doddridge Street Northampton, England was formerly Congregational, Doddridge and Commercial Street URC. It was the scene of the ministry of Doddridge from 1729-51. The church was founded in 1662, built in 1695 and enlarged 1842. It united with Commercial Street church in 1959 and became a United Reformed ChurchUnited Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
in 1972. The interior has galleries and box pews and a memorial to Doddridge.
See also
- English Dissenter
- Independent (religion)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...
- Congregational churchCongregational churchCongregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
- Parable of the Faithful ServantParable of the Faithful ServantThe Parable of the Faithful Servant is a parable of Jesus found in three out of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament...
- Dr Williams's LibraryDr Williams's LibraryDr Williams's Library is a small research library located in Gordon Square in Bloomsbury, London.-History:It was founded using the estate of Dr Daniel Williams as a theological library, intended for the use of ministers of religion, students and others studying theology, religion and...
Further reading
- Memoirs, by Rev. Job OrtonJob OrtonJob 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...
(1766) - Letters to and from Dr Doddridge, by Rev. Thomas Stedman (1790)
- Correspondence and Diary, in 5 vols., by his grandson, John Doddridge Humphreys (1829)
- Stanford's Philip Doddridge (1880)