William Josiah Irons
Encyclopedia
William Josiah Irons was a priest
in the Church of England
and a theological
writer.
, Hertfordshire
, September 12, 1812, was second son of the Rev. Joseph Irons (1785–1852), by his first wife, Mary Ann, daughter of William Broderick. His mother died in 1828. His father, a popular evangelical
preacher
, born at Ware, Hertfordshire, on November 5, 1785, commenced preaching in March 1808 under the auspices of the London Itinerant Society, was ordained an independent minister on 21 May 1814, was stationed at Hoddesdon
from 1812 to 1815, and at Sawston
, near Cambridge
, from 1815 to 1818, and was minister of Grove Chapel, Camberwell
, Surrey
, from 1818 until his death at Camberwell on 3 April 1852.
William Josiah, after being educated at home, matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford, on 12 May 1829, and graduated B.A.
1833, M.A. 1835, B.D.
1842, and D.D.
1854. He was curate of St. Mary, Newington Butts
, Surrey, from 1835 till 1837, when he was presented to the living of St. Peter's, Walworth
. He became vicar of Barkway
in Hertfordshire in 1838, vicar of Brompton
, Middlesex
, September 17, 1840, prebendary
of St. Paul's Cathedral December 1860, rector of Waddingham
, Lincolnshire
, 6 April 1870, and on 7 June 1872 rector of St. Mary Woolnoth
with St. Mary Woolchurch-Haw in the city of London
, on the presentation of William Ewart Gladstone
, the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
. In 1870 he was Bampton lecturer
at Oxford
, and his published lectures, Christianity as taught by St. Paul, reached a second edition in 1876. He died at 20 Gordon Square, London
, on 18 June 1883. He married first, in 1839, Ann, eldest daughter of John Melhuish of Upper Tooting, who died 14 July 1853; and secondly, on 28 Dec. 1854, Sarah Albinia Louisa, youngest daughter of Sir Lancelot Shadwell
; she died December 15, 1887.
. There Irons lectured on Darwin's
Origin of Species, on Tyndall's Fragments of Science, on Mill's Essay on Theism, and on the Unseen Universe. For the volume of Replies to Essays and Reviews he wrote, in 1862, The Idea of a National Church. He zealously defended church establishment in a series of works, of which the earliest was a pamphlet called The Present Crisis, published in 1850, and the latest a series of letters entitled The Charge of Erastianism. In 1855 appeared a pamphlet signed A. E., entitled Is the Vicar of Brompton a Tractarian? He was an advocate of free and compulsory education, and suggested an entire modification of the Poor Law
. He was one of the editors of the Tracts of the Anglican Church, 1842, and of the Literary Churchman. In the latter he wrote the leading articles from May 1855 to December 1861. He translated the Dies Iræ of Thomas of Celano
in the well-known hymn commencing Day of wrath! O day of mourning!.
Irons wrote, besides the works mentioned and single sermons and addresses:
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in 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...
and a theological
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
writer.
Life
Irons, born at HoddesdonHoddesdon
Hoddesdon is a town in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. The town grew up as a coaching stop on the route between Cambridge and London. It is located southeast of Hertford, north of Waltham Cross and southwest of Bishop's Stortford. At its height during the 18th...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, September 12, 1812, was second son of the Rev. Joseph Irons (1785–1852), by his first wife, Mary Ann, daughter of William Broderick. His mother died in 1828. His father, a popular evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
, born at Ware, Hertfordshire, on November 5, 1785, commenced preaching in March 1808 under the auspices of the London Itinerant Society, was ordained an independent minister on 21 May 1814, was stationed at Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon is a town in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. The town grew up as a coaching stop on the route between Cambridge and London. It is located southeast of Hertford, north of Waltham Cross and southwest of Bishop's Stortford. At its height during the 18th...
from 1812 to 1815, and at Sawston
Sawston
Sawston is a large village in Cambridgeshire in England, situated on the River Cam seven miles south of Cambridge. It has a population of 7,150...
, near Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, from 1815 to 1818, and was minister of Grove Chapel, Camberwell
Camberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, from 1818 until his death at Camberwell on 3 April 1852.
William Josiah, after being educated at home, matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford, on 12 May 1829, and graduated B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
1833, M.A. 1835, B.D.
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
1842, and D.D.
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....
1854. He was curate of St. Mary, Newington Butts
Newington Butts
Newington Butts is a former village, now an area of the London Borough of Southwark, that gives its name to a segment of the A3 road running south-west from the Elephant and Castle junction...
, Surrey, from 1835 till 1837, when he was presented to the living of St. Peter's, Walworth
Walworth
-Places:United Kingdom* Walworth, County DurhamUnited States* Walworth County, South Dakota* Walworth County, Wisconsin* Walworth, New York* Walworth, Wisconsin, a village* Walworth , Wisconsin, a town...
. He became vicar of Barkway
Barkway
Barkway is a long-established village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England, about five miles south-east of Royston,35 miles from London and 15 miles from the centre of Cambridge....
in Hertfordshire in 1838, vicar of Brompton
Brompton, Kensington
Brompton is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is roughly defined by a triangle formed by the Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road/Brompton Road and Walton Street/Fulham Road.-Development:...
, 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...
, September 17, 1840, prebendary
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
of St. Paul's Cathedral December 1860, rector of Waddingham
Waddingham
Waddingham is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 548. It is just off the A15 north of Caenby Corner....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, 6 April 1870, and on 7 June 1872 rector of St. Mary Woolnoth
St Mary Woolnoth
St. Mary Woolnoth is an Anglican church in the City of London, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, located on the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street near the Bank of England.- Early history :...
with St. Mary Woolchurch-Haw in the city of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, on the presentation of William Ewart 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...
, the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. In 1870 he was Bampton lecturer
Bampton Lectures
The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton,. They have taken place since 1780.They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial. They continue to concentrate on Christian theological...
at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, and his published lectures, Christianity as taught by St. Paul, reached a second edition in 1876. He died at 20 Gordon Square, 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...
, on 18 June 1883. He married first, in 1839, Ann, eldest daughter of John Melhuish of Upper Tooting, who died 14 July 1853; and secondly, on 28 Dec. 1854, Sarah Albinia Louisa, youngest daughter of Sir Lancelot Shadwell
Lancelot Shadwell
Sir Lancelot Shadwell was a barrister at Lincoln's Inn and was Member of Parliament for Ripon from 1826 to 1827 before becoming Vice-Chancellor of England in 1827.He supported Jewish emancipation....
; she died December 15, 1887.
Works
Irons's chief work is the Analysis of Human Responsibility, 1869, written at the request of the founders of the Victoria InstituteVictoria Institute
The Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of Great Britain, was founded in 1865, as a response to the publication of On the Origin of Species and Essays and Reviews. Its stated objective was to defend "the great truths revealed in Holy Scripture .....
. There Irons lectured on Darwin's
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
Origin of Species, on Tyndall's Fragments of Science, on Mill's Essay on Theism, and on the Unseen Universe. For the volume of Replies to Essays and Reviews he wrote, in 1862, The Idea of a National Church. He zealously defended church establishment in a series of works, of which the earliest was a pamphlet called The Present Crisis, published in 1850, and the latest a series of letters entitled The Charge of Erastianism. In 1855 appeared a pamphlet signed A. E., entitled Is the Vicar of Brompton a Tractarian? He was an advocate of free and compulsory education, and suggested an entire modification of the Poor Law
Poor Law
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
. He was one of the editors of the Tracts of the Anglican Church, 1842, and of the Literary Churchman. In the latter he wrote the leading articles from May 1855 to December 1861. He translated the Dies Iræ of Thomas of Celano
Thomas of Celano
Thomas of Celano was an Italian friar of the Franciscans , a poet, and the author of three hagiographies about Saint Francis of Assisi.Thomas was from Celano in Abruzzo...
in the well-known hymn commencing Day of wrath! O day of mourning!.
Irons wrote, besides the works mentioned and single sermons and addresses:
-
- On the Whole Doctrine of Final Causes, 1836.
- On the Holy Catholic Church, parochial lectures, three series, 1837–47.
- Our Blessed Lord regarded in his Earthly Relationship, four sermons, 1844.
- Notes of the Church,’ 1845; third edit. 1846.
- The Theory of Development examined, 1846.
- Fifty-two Propositions. A Letter to the Rev. Dr. Hampden, 1848.
- The Christian Servant's Book, 1849.
- The Judgments on Baptismal Regeneration, 1850.
- The Preaching of Christ, 1853.
- The Miracles of Christ, a series of sermons, 1859.
- The Bible and its Interpreters, 1865; 2nd edit., 1869.
- On Miracles and Prophecy, 1867.
- The Sacred Life of Jesus Christ. Taken in Order from the Gospels, 1867.
- The Sacred Words of Jesus Christ. Taken in Order from the Gospels, 1868.
- Considerations on taking Holy Orders, 1872.
- The Church of all Ages, 1875.
- Psalms and Hymns for the Church, 1875; another edit., 1883.
- Occasional Sermons, chiefly preached at St. Paul's, seven parts, 1876.