English Baptist minister and hymnist. He was the son of a Baptist minister, John Beddome. Initially apprenticed to a surgeon in Bristol, he is a largely forgotten 18th Century English Baptist preacher, remembered today only as a minor hymn-writer. For over half a century he served as pastor of the Baptist church meeting at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire. In 1739 he joined the Baptist church in Prescott Street, London, and at the call of his church devoted himself to the work of Christian ministry. In 1740 he began to preach at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire and became one of the most highly respected Baptist ministers in western England, known for his literary attainments. In 1752, he wrote A Scriptural Exposition of the Baptist Catechism, by Way of Question and Answer. In 1770, Beddome received an MA degree from Providence College, Rhode Island. For long time he wrote a hymn each week to be sung after his Sunday sermon. Though his hymns were not originally intended for publication, he allowed 13 of them to be included in the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans, and 36 in Rippon's Selection. In 1817, a posthumous collection of his hymns was published as Hymns Adapted to Public Worship or Family Devotion, containing 830 pieces.
English Baptist minister and hymnist. He was the son of a Baptist minister, John Beddome. Initially apprenticed to a surgeon in Bristol, he is a largely forgotten 18th Century English Baptist preacher, remembered today only as a minor hymn-writer. For over half a century he served as pastor of the Baptist church meeting at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire. In 1739 he joined the Baptist church in Prescott Street, London, and at the call of his church devoted himself to the work of Christian ministry. In 1740 he began to preach at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire and became one of the most highly respected Baptist ministers in western England, known for his literary attainments. In 1752, he wrote A Scriptural Exposition of the Baptist Catechism, by Way of Question and Answer. In 1770, Beddome received an MA degree from Providence College, Rhode Island. For long time he wrote a hymn each week to be sung after his Sunday sermon. Though his hymns were not originally intended for publication, he allowed 13 of them to be included in the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans, and 36 in Rippon's Selection. In 1817, a posthumous collection of his hymns was published as Hymns Adapted to Public Worship or Family Devotion, containing 830 pieces.
Gravesite Details
Benjamin Beddome is buried in the Baptist Cemetery in Bourton on the Water. The photo (which I took) shows a gravestone standing alone in the middle of a glade of trees. This is where the old Baptist meeting house once stood.
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