Thomas Haydock
Encyclopedia
Thomas Haydock born of one of the oldest English Catholic Recusant families, was a schoolmaster and publisher. His dedication to making religious books available to fellow Catholics suffering under the English Penal Laws came at great personal cost. He is best remembered for publishing an edition of the Douay Bible with extended commentary, compiled chiefly by his brother George Leo Haydock
. Originally published in 1811 and still in print, it is one of the most enduring contributions to Catholic biblical studies.
section of Lancashire
in northern England. This is an area that was slow to accept the new Protestant religion. Speaking of Lancashire, Lord Burghley, advisor to Queen Elizabeth I complained, The Papists every where are growen so confident, that they contempne Magistrats and their authoritie. In later centuries Lancashire would retain a small but determined Catholic population supported by families of the landed gentry, sometimes hosting secret Masses in their homes. The Haydocks were among the most prominent of these families and became legendary in their service to the Catholic Recusant movement. During the Elizabethan persecution, Father George Haydock (1556–1584), a "seminary priest
", suffered martyrdom. He was beatified in 1987, earning the title “Blessed.” Early in the 18th century, Father Cuthbert Haydock (1684–1763) said secret Masses in a chapel hidden in the attic of Lane End House, Mawdesley, the home of his sister and brother-in-law.
Thomas Haydock was part of a unique generation whose combined contributions to this family tradition would be extraordinary. His father was a namesake of Blessed George Haydock. His two brothers both became priests. Older brother James (1765–1809) died caring for the sick of his congregation during a typhus epidemic. Younger brother George Leo (1774–1849), in addition to his work on the Bible, spent his career pastoring poor rural missions. A sister, Margaret (1767? - 1854), joined the Augustinian nuns
, taking the name Sister Stanislaus.
, France, where he joined his brother, George. This institution was established for Catholic exiles in the 16th century to provide secondary education and preparation for the priesthood. His studies were interrupted in 1793, when the French revolutionary government declared war with England, closed the English College, and imprisoned some of its pro-England students. Both Haydock brothers managed to elude the authorities and escape back to England.
Continuing his pursuit of ordination, Thomas next went to the English College, Lisbon
. His superiors there did not feel he had a priestly vocation and sent him home in 1795. Undeterred, he went to the new seminary established at Crook Hall, Durham
with his brother George in 1796. Again, his vocation was questioned. Described as “easy going” (see also the “Tragic Personal Life” section below), he seems to have been judged by his superiors as constitutionally unsuited for the risks and hardships of the Catholic priesthood in Penal Period England. The eloquence and dedication Thomas expresses in his letters certainly support his sincerity; and his three attempts at the priesthood show his tenacity. However, against the wishes of his older and recently ordained brother James, he was finally persuaded to leave the seminary. Family friend and former Douay professor Benedict Rayment (1764–1842), who would later serve as editor of some of Haydock’s published works, remarked that of the three Haydock brothers seeking the priesthood, ‘’Thomas would have been the best’’.
to begin his secular career. He opened a language school that proved successful. However, his love of literature drew him to publishing. Despite the Penal Laws it was possible by Haydock’s time for Catholic publishers to work openly in England. In addition, the market for Catholic works was increasing in the Manchester area due to Irish immigration. Haydock’s first known works appeared in 1799: a new edition of The Garden of the Soul, a popular prayer book by Richard Challoner
(1691–1781), and Letter on Papal Supremacy to the Rev. Geo. Bruning (author not stated). By 1831, more than forty books are known to have appeared with Haydock’s imprint. Contemporary advertisements indicate other works whose actual publication cannot be verified. Since many of Haydock’s books were small and cheaply bound, some may not have survived and now be lost to history.
Haydock’s works were mostly devotional, e.g., The Imitation of Christ (1800), A Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1807), and Pious Reflections for Every Day in the Month (1811). Haydock sometimes collaborated with former Douay associates. In one case Father Thomas Penswick (1772–1836), a former classmate, translated The Love of Jesus in the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar (1801) from the French of Henry-Mary Boudon. (Ironically, Penswick, who later became Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, would have a disagreement with Thomas’ brother George, resulting in the latter’s temporary suspension from his priestly functions.) Haydock also published controversial works such as The Biblicals Routed! or, the Able and Spirited Defence of the Roman Catholic Religion, by Patrick Spence (1827), and a work of poetry, The Nymphs of Drumkerin; or, Love and Scalteen!! A Humerous Poem by H. I. Comus, (1827).
One of Haydock’s more notable works appeared in 1806. Entitled The Divine Office for the Use of the Laity, it appeared in two small volumes and was edited by Father Benedict Rayment q.v.. This work includes the Ordinary of the Mass
and the daily Propers in parallel Latin and English columns. (Although the now familiar English title Missal
for such books did not come into common use until somewhat after Haydock’s time, this parallel Latin-English format for the congregation to follow the Mass actually goes back to the 18th century in books titled Divine Office. Maintaining national loyalty in the face of persecution, the Ordinary of the Mass in Haydock’s edition dutifully calls for the officiating priest to say after the Last Gospel, Lord, save George our King. This is a reference to George III, ironically an opponent of ongoing efforts to liberalize the Penal Laws.
The Doway or Douay Bible (Douay-Rheims Bible) was the standard translation for English speaking Catholics. It was originally translated from the Latin Vulgate in the 16th century chiefly by Gregory Martin
, one of the first professors at the English Catholic College
affiliated to the university of Douai
. It was revised and newly annotated in the 18th century by Richard Challoner q.v., a scholar from university of Douai
. Shortly after Challoner’s death, Father Bernard MacMahon (1736?-1816) published further revisions of the Douay-Rheims Bible. A large new edition of the Bible complete with an extended commentary seems a daunting project for a publisher of Haydock’s limited means. He may have been encouraged by the success of a similar Protestant effort: the self-interpreting Bible of John Brown
(Theologian, 1722–1787), first published in 1778 and frequently reprinted. The contemporary controversy swirling around efforts to repeal the Penal Laws and the place of Biblical exegetics in that controversy were certainly major encouraging factors for the proposed new Bible. In any case, Haydock’s great enthusiasm for the Catholic cause was sufficient to overcome all obstacles.
Haydock’s old friend Father Benedict Rayment at first offered to compile the commentary for the new Bible, but soon withdrew. Haydock then enlisted his brother George, by now ordained and a pastor of the mission at Ugthorpe
, for the project. Father Haydock used the standard Challoner-MacMahon text. His extended commentary was partly original and partly compiled from writings during the Patristic and later eras. Catholics believed the Bible, properly interpreted by the Church, could be used to combat Protestant attempts to dismantle the authority of Rome. As Father Haydock states in his Preface: To obviate the misinterpretations of the many heretical works which disgrace the Scripture, and deluge this unhappy country, has been one main design of the present undertaking.
Production of the Bible would be delayed well beyond the original 1807 projected date. Thomas went to Dublin to settle some business affairs and to open a new establishment. He did not return to Manchester until 1810. In a peculiar turn of events, a competing Catholic Manchester publisher, Oswald Syers, had begun publishing his own Douay Bible in March 1811. Embarrassed by his delay, Haydock had to move quickly to begin his own edition four months later. Syers finished his edition first, by 1813. However, Haydock’s more impressive edition, completed in 1814, quickly overtook it in popularity.
As were many editions of the Bible at the time, Haydock’s was published and sold by subscription, a few leaves at a time, in fortnightly “numbers.” Subscribers would accumulate the numbers and ultimately have the completed Bible bound. As the Bible progressed, new general title pages were issued in 1811, 1812, and 1813, showing variously Thomas Haydock’s Manchester or Dublin locations. For his brother George, annotating the entire Bible under a demanding production schedule while continuing his pastoral duties at Ugthorpe proved too great a task. Therefore, Father Rayment was again called on, and this time persuaded to assist. He compiled the New Testament portion of the commentary with the assistance of colleagues. Pressure to meet deadlines was the likely cause of some errors. However, given Haydock’s limited resources, his Bible must be considered a remarkable achievement. It was produced in impressive large folio with full page plates, and dedicated To that enlightened body of men, the Catholics of the United Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland, in admiration of the steady zeal with which they have kept the deposit of faith bequeathed them by their forefathers, and handed down, without interruption or adulteration to their grateful posterity. The Bible received an enthusiastic welcome from English and Irish Catholics. At least 1,500 copies of the first edition were sold.
(1777–1860) wrote in August 1817 that Haydock was living in Dublin, “low in the world.” In 1818 he was arrested for debt and served four months in prison.
The experience did not discourage him from continuing his publishing business. By 1822 he was able to issue the first volume of a new edition of the Bible, a more modest undertaking this time, in a smaller octavo format and without the extended commentary of the folio edition. He had to take on several partners to complete the Bible’s second volume in 1824. This edition had many misprints, including the notable substitution of fornications for fortifications in II Corinthians 10:4. He had no known involvement with an American folio edition of the Haydock Bible published in Philadelphia in 1825.
Circa 1818 Haydock married Mary Lynch or Lynde of Dublin. Unfortunately, tragedy would dog his family life, just as it did his business. Mary died in 1823. Their three children all died young. The name of only one is known: George (1822–1840). Curiously, some books dated 1827 have the imprint, Thomas Haydock & Son. The apparent inconsistency between the publication date and the likely ages of any sons that could have been living at the time is a mystery.
Haydock struggled on with publishing at least until 1831, when he was able to reissue the New Testament portion of his original folio Bible. No dated works after that year are known, although he published undated works that may have appeared later. In 1832 he made an unsuccessful attempt to begin a journal called The Catholic Penny Magazine. At some point, he opened a school in Dublin where he resumed teaching until 1840. He left Dublin probably about that year and moved first to Liverpool
, then to Preston. He could only watch as other publishers enjoyed success with new editions of his Bible: two British editions, one in 1845-48, another ca. 1853, and an American edition in 1852-4. He died at Preston in 1859, aged 87, with an estate valued at “less than 100 Pounds Sterling.” He was buried in the Haydock family grave at Newhouse Chapel, Newsham.
(1917–1963) would take his inaugural oath of office on a copy of a Haydock Bible owned by his mother’s family, the Fitzgeralds. Late in the 20th century, a new series of editions began to appear, prompted by the interest of traditionalist Catholics. They became concerned that modern Catholic exegesis is diluting the Faith that the Haydock family and the Catholic Recusant movement fought so hard to preserve and to hand down without interruption or adulteration to their grateful posterity. The Haydock Bible has reached its bicentennial anniversary in 2011 not only still in print, but also quite at home in the digital age, appearing on CD’s and on-line (see link below). For a detailed history of the many editions of the Haydock Bible and the changes that were made to it over the years, see the related article, George Leo Haydock
.
George Leo Haydock
George Leo Haydock , scion of an ancient English Catholic Recusant family, was a priest, pastor and Bible scholar. His edition of the Douay Bible with extended commentary, originally published in 1811, became the most popular English Catholic Bible of the 19th century on both sides of the Atlantic...
. Originally published in 1811 and still in print, it is one of the most enduring contributions to Catholic biblical studies.
Family background
Haydock was born February 21, 1772 in Cottam, in the FyldeThe Fylde
The Fylde ; Scandinavian: "field") is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east...
section of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
in northern England. This is an area that was slow to accept the new Protestant religion. Speaking of Lancashire, Lord Burghley, advisor to Queen Elizabeth I complained, The Papists every where are growen so confident, that they contempne Magistrats and their authoritie. In later centuries Lancashire would retain a small but determined Catholic population supported by families of the landed gentry, sometimes hosting secret Masses in their homes. The Haydocks were among the most prominent of these families and became legendary in their service to the Catholic Recusant movement. During the Elizabethan persecution, Father George Haydock (1556–1584), a "seminary priest
Seminary priest
Seminary priests were Roman Catholic priests who were trained in English seminaries or houses of study on the European Continent after the introduction of laws forbidding Roman Catholicism in Britain. Such Seminaries included that at Douay, from 1568, and others at Rome from 1579, Valladolid from...
", suffered martyrdom. He was beatified in 1987, earning the title “Blessed.” Early in the 18th century, Father Cuthbert Haydock (1684–1763) said secret Masses in a chapel hidden in the attic of Lane End House, Mawdesley, the home of his sister and brother-in-law.
Thomas Haydock was part of a unique generation whose combined contributions to this family tradition would be extraordinary. His father was a namesake of Blessed George Haydock. His two brothers both became priests. Older brother James (1765–1809) died caring for the sick of his congregation during a typhus epidemic. Younger brother George Leo (1774–1849), in addition to his work on the Bible, spent his career pastoring poor rural missions. A sister, Margaret (1767? - 1854), joined the Augustinian nuns
Augustinian nuns
Augustinian nuns are the most ancient and continuous segment of the Roman Catholic Augustinian religious order under the canons of contemporary historical method. The Augustinian nuns, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , are several Roman Catholic enclosed monastic orders of women living...
, taking the name Sister Stanislaus.
Attempts to become a priest
After receiving his elementary education at a school established for Catholic students at Mowbreck Hall, Thomas was sent in 1785 to the English College, DouaiEnglish College, Douai
The English College, Douai was a Catholic seminary associated with the University of Douai . It was established in about 1561, and was suppressed in 1793...
, France, where he joined his brother, George. This institution was established for Catholic exiles in the 16th century to provide secondary education and preparation for the priesthood. His studies were interrupted in 1793, when the French revolutionary government declared war with England, closed the English College, and imprisoned some of its pro-England students. Both Haydock brothers managed to elude the authorities and escape back to England.
Continuing his pursuit of ordination, Thomas next went to the English College, Lisbon
English College, Lisbon
The English College, Lisbon was a Roman Catholic seminary that existed from the 17th century to the 20th century.-Early history:...
. His superiors there did not feel he had a priestly vocation and sent him home in 1795. Undeterred, he went to the new seminary established at Crook Hall, Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
with his brother George in 1796. Again, his vocation was questioned. Described as “easy going” (see also the “Tragic Personal Life” section below), he seems to have been judged by his superiors as constitutionally unsuited for the risks and hardships of the Catholic priesthood in Penal Period England. The eloquence and dedication Thomas expresses in his letters certainly support his sincerity; and his three attempts at the priesthood show his tenacity. However, against the wishes of his older and recently ordained brother James, he was finally persuaded to leave the seminary. Family friend and former Douay professor Benedict Rayment (1764–1842), who would later serve as editor of some of Haydock’s published works, remarked that of the three Haydock brothers seeking the priesthood, ‘’Thomas would have been the best’’.
Catholic Publisher
Haydock moved to ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to begin his secular career. He opened a language school that proved successful. However, his love of literature drew him to publishing. Despite the Penal Laws it was possible by Haydock’s time for Catholic publishers to work openly in England. In addition, the market for Catholic works was increasing in the Manchester area due to Irish immigration. Haydock’s first known works appeared in 1799: a new edition of The Garden of the Soul, a popular prayer book by Richard Challoner
Richard Challoner
Richard Challoner was an English Roman Catholic bishop, a leading figure of English Catholicism during the greater part of the 18th century. He is perhaps most famous for his revision of the Douay Rheims translation of the Bible.-Early life:Challoner was born in the Protestant town of Lewes,...
(1691–1781), and Letter on Papal Supremacy to the Rev. Geo. Bruning (author not stated). By 1831, more than forty books are known to have appeared with Haydock’s imprint. Contemporary advertisements indicate other works whose actual publication cannot be verified. Since many of Haydock’s books were small and cheaply bound, some may not have survived and now be lost to history.
Haydock’s works were mostly devotional, e.g., The Imitation of Christ (1800), A Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1807), and Pious Reflections for Every Day in the Month (1811). Haydock sometimes collaborated with former Douay associates. In one case Father Thomas Penswick (1772–1836), a former classmate, translated The Love of Jesus in the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar (1801) from the French of Henry-Mary Boudon. (Ironically, Penswick, who later became Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, would have a disagreement with Thomas’ brother George, resulting in the latter’s temporary suspension from his priestly functions.) Haydock also published controversial works such as The Biblicals Routed! or, the Able and Spirited Defence of the Roman Catholic Religion, by Patrick Spence (1827), and a work of poetry, The Nymphs of Drumkerin; or, Love and Scalteen!! A Humerous Poem by H. I. Comus, (1827).
One of Haydock’s more notable works appeared in 1806. Entitled The Divine Office for the Use of the Laity, it appeared in two small volumes and was edited by Father Benedict Rayment q.v.. This work includes the Ordinary of the Mass
Ordinary of the Mass
The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Eucharist or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed...
and the daily Propers in parallel Latin and English columns. (Although the now familiar English title Missal
Missal
A missal is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year.-History:Before the compilation of such books, several books were used when celebrating Mass...
for such books did not come into common use until somewhat after Haydock’s time, this parallel Latin-English format for the congregation to follow the Mass actually goes back to the 18th century in books titled Divine Office. Maintaining national loyalty in the face of persecution, the Ordinary of the Mass in Haydock’s edition dutifully calls for the officiating priest to say after the Last Gospel, Lord, save George our King. This is a reference to George III, ironically an opponent of ongoing efforts to liberalize the Penal Laws.
The Haydock Bible
The 1806 Divine Office cited above carries the following announcement of what would become Haydock’s most important work: The Doway Bible and Rhemes Testament, with numerous notes, are now under correction, and will be put to press early in September, 1807.The Doway or Douay Bible (Douay-Rheims Bible) was the standard translation for English speaking Catholics. It was originally translated from the Latin Vulgate in the 16th century chiefly by Gregory Martin
Gregory Martin (scholar)
Gregory Martin was an English Catholic scholar, the translator of the Douai Version of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate....
, one of the first professors at the English Catholic College
English College, Douai
The English College, Douai was a Catholic seminary associated with the University of Douai . It was established in about 1561, and was suppressed in 1793...
affiliated to the university of Douai
University of Douai
The University of Douai is a former university in Douai, France. With a Middle Ages heritage of scholar activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started in 1562. It closed from 1795 to 1808...
. It was revised and newly annotated in the 18th century by Richard Challoner q.v., a scholar from university of Douai
University of Douai
The University of Douai is a former university in Douai, France. With a Middle Ages heritage of scholar activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started in 1562. It closed from 1795 to 1808...
. Shortly after Challoner’s death, Father Bernard MacMahon (1736?-1816) published further revisions of the Douay-Rheims Bible. A large new edition of the Bible complete with an extended commentary seems a daunting project for a publisher of Haydock’s limited means. He may have been encouraged by the success of a similar Protestant effort: the self-interpreting Bible of John Brown
John Brown (theologian)
John Brown of Haddington , was a Scottish divine and author. His works include “The Self-Interpreting Bible”, “The Dictionary of the Bible”, and “A General History of the Christian Church”.-Career:...
(Theologian, 1722–1787), first published in 1778 and frequently reprinted. The contemporary controversy swirling around efforts to repeal the Penal Laws and the place of Biblical exegetics in that controversy were certainly major encouraging factors for the proposed new Bible. In any case, Haydock’s great enthusiasm for the Catholic cause was sufficient to overcome all obstacles.
Haydock’s old friend Father Benedict Rayment at first offered to compile the commentary for the new Bible, but soon withdrew. Haydock then enlisted his brother George, by now ordained and a pastor of the mission at Ugthorpe
Ugthorpe
Ugthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough borough, situated near Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 UK census, Ugthorpe parish had a population of 201.-History:...
, for the project. Father Haydock used the standard Challoner-MacMahon text. His extended commentary was partly original and partly compiled from writings during the Patristic and later eras. Catholics believed the Bible, properly interpreted by the Church, could be used to combat Protestant attempts to dismantle the authority of Rome. As Father Haydock states in his Preface: To obviate the misinterpretations of the many heretical works which disgrace the Scripture, and deluge this unhappy country, has been one main design of the present undertaking.
Production of the Bible would be delayed well beyond the original 1807 projected date. Thomas went to Dublin to settle some business affairs and to open a new establishment. He did not return to Manchester until 1810. In a peculiar turn of events, a competing Catholic Manchester publisher, Oswald Syers, had begun publishing his own Douay Bible in March 1811. Embarrassed by his delay, Haydock had to move quickly to begin his own edition four months later. Syers finished his edition first, by 1813. However, Haydock’s more impressive edition, completed in 1814, quickly overtook it in popularity.
As were many editions of the Bible at the time, Haydock’s was published and sold by subscription, a few leaves at a time, in fortnightly “numbers.” Subscribers would accumulate the numbers and ultimately have the completed Bible bound. As the Bible progressed, new general title pages were issued in 1811, 1812, and 1813, showing variously Thomas Haydock’s Manchester or Dublin locations. For his brother George, annotating the entire Bible under a demanding production schedule while continuing his pastoral duties at Ugthorpe proved too great a task. Therefore, Father Rayment was again called on, and this time persuaded to assist. He compiled the New Testament portion of the commentary with the assistance of colleagues. Pressure to meet deadlines was the likely cause of some errors. However, given Haydock’s limited resources, his Bible must be considered a remarkable achievement. It was produced in impressive large folio with full page plates, and dedicated To that enlightened body of men, the Catholics of the United Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland, in admiration of the steady zeal with which they have kept the deposit of faith bequeathed them by their forefathers, and handed down, without interruption or adulteration to their grateful posterity. The Bible received an enthusiastic welcome from English and Irish Catholics. At least 1,500 copies of the first edition were sold.
Personal life
Thomas Haydock had an enthusiasm for publishing, but was seriously lacking in business skills. He had a trustful nature that associates freely exploited, depriving him of profit and forcing him continually to operate on a shoestring. Although his Bible sold well, he lost money to his managers, clerks, and canvassers and was forced heavily into debt to an unscrupulous lender. Former Douay classmate Father (later Bishop) Robert GradwellRobert Gradwell
-Life:Gradwell was born at Clifton-in-the Fylde, Lancashire.He went to the English College, Douai in 1791. The college being suppressed by the French revolutionists, he was confined for some time, and was not allowed to return to England till 1795...
(1777–1860) wrote in August 1817 that Haydock was living in Dublin, “low in the world.” In 1818 he was arrested for debt and served four months in prison.
The experience did not discourage him from continuing his publishing business. By 1822 he was able to issue the first volume of a new edition of the Bible, a more modest undertaking this time, in a smaller octavo format and without the extended commentary of the folio edition. He had to take on several partners to complete the Bible’s second volume in 1824. This edition had many misprints, including the notable substitution of fornications for fortifications in II Corinthians 10:4. He had no known involvement with an American folio edition of the Haydock Bible published in Philadelphia in 1825.
Circa 1818 Haydock married Mary Lynch or Lynde of Dublin. Unfortunately, tragedy would dog his family life, just as it did his business. Mary died in 1823. Their three children all died young. The name of only one is known: George (1822–1840). Curiously, some books dated 1827 have the imprint, Thomas Haydock & Son. The apparent inconsistency between the publication date and the likely ages of any sons that could have been living at the time is a mystery.
Haydock struggled on with publishing at least until 1831, when he was able to reissue the New Testament portion of his original folio Bible. No dated works after that year are known, although he published undated works that may have appeared later. In 1832 he made an unsuccessful attempt to begin a journal called The Catholic Penny Magazine. At some point, he opened a school in Dublin where he resumed teaching until 1840. He left Dublin probably about that year and moved first to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, then to Preston. He could only watch as other publishers enjoyed success with new editions of his Bible: two British editions, one in 1845-48, another ca. 1853, and an American edition in 1852-4. He died at Preston in 1859, aged 87, with an estate valued at “less than 100 Pounds Sterling.” He was buried in the Haydock family grave at Newhouse Chapel, Newsham.
Haydock’s Enduring Legacy
Even with his unflagging optimism, Haydock probably could never have imagined the long-term success the Bible he had first published would achieve. After his death, new editions continued to appear on both sides of the Atlantic, keeping it in print until at least 1910. In 1961, the 150th anniversary of Haydock’s first edition, the first Catholic President of the United States, John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
(1917–1963) would take his inaugural oath of office on a copy of a Haydock Bible owned by his mother’s family, the Fitzgeralds. Late in the 20th century, a new series of editions began to appear, prompted by the interest of traditionalist Catholics. They became concerned that modern Catholic exegesis is diluting the Faith that the Haydock family and the Catholic Recusant movement fought so hard to preserve and to hand down without interruption or adulteration to their grateful posterity. The Haydock Bible has reached its bicentennial anniversary in 2011 not only still in print, but also quite at home in the digital age, appearing on CD’s and on-line (see link below). For a detailed history of the many editions of the Haydock Bible and the changes that were made to it over the years, see the related article, George Leo Haydock
George Leo Haydock
George Leo Haydock , scion of an ancient English Catholic Recusant family, was a priest, pastor and Bible scholar. His edition of the Douay Bible with extended commentary, originally published in 1811, became the most popular English Catholic Bible of the 19th century on both sides of the Atlantic...
.
See also
- Douay-Rheims Bible
- Roman Catholicism in Great BritainRoman Catholicism in Great BritainRoman Catholicism in the United Kingdom refers to the practice of Roman Catholicism in Great Britain and Ireland since the creation of the United Kingdom....
(The 18th century & The Catholic Revival in the 19th century)