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Thomas Haweis (surname pronounced to rhyme with 'pause') was born in Redruth, Cornwall, on 1 January 1734, where he was baptised on 20 February 1734.[1] As a Church of England minister he is one of the leading figures of the 18th century evangelical revival and a key figure in the histories of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, the Free Church of England and the London Missionary Society.
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He was the son of a solicitor, who was able to have him educated at Truro Grammar School, but, after his father's death, his mother was too poor to send him to university and so, after an apprenticeship, he practised for some time as a apothecary and physician. Guided by George Conon, the Master of Truro Grammar School, Haweis was introduced to the doctrines of the evangelical revival.
Sponsored by the Reverend Joseph Jane of St Mary Magdalene Parish Church in Oxford, in 1748 he entered Christ's College. There he organised a prayer group often seen as a successor to the Wesleys' "Holy Club". After graduation, he was ordained into the Church of England by the Bishop of Oxford in 1757 to serve as curate to Joseph Jane.
In 1762, he was appointed to the Lock Hospital, London, under the guidance of the Chaplain, Martin Madan. At this time he met Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon and preached in many of her chapels. Although offered an incumbency in Philadelphia by George Whitefield, he opted instead to become Rector of All Saints, Aldwinkle, in 1764, retaining the living until his death in 1820.
In 1774 he was appointed Chaplain to the Countess of Huntingdon. He insisted that no one other than a Church of England clergyman be allowed to preach in any chapel where he ministered. However, once the chapels forming the Countess of Huntingdon's Connection were forced to register as dissenting chapels, Haweis withdrew from her service.
By her will, the Countess of Huntingdon left management of the Connexion to four trustees. The Principal Trustee appointed was, most unexpectedly, Thomas Haweis, who continued to preside over the Connexion, comprising at that time about 120 chapels, even though he continued as a Church of England priest. He made every effort to ensure the Connexion kept as close to the Church of England as was possible and that only the Book of Common Prayer was used. Many of these chapels became part of the Free Church of England in 1863.[2]
Haweis was also one of the founding fathers of the Missionary Society.
Haweis published several prose works, including:
Haweis' 14 sermons in "Evangelical Principles and Practice" formed part of the standard training materials for Connexion ordinands, akin to John Wesley's 44 sermons.
Haweis' hymns, a few of which are of more than ordinary merit, were published in his "Carmina Christi; or Hymns to the Saviour".[4] This edition consisted of 139 hymns which was enlarged to 256 hymns in 1808. One of the most popular of his hymns is "Behold the Lamb of God". This hymn is included in 'Spiritual Songs' no. 405. It is based on St. John 1:29.[5]
Haweis died in Bath on 11 February 1820 and is buried at Bath Abbey.[6]
One of the unsung heroes of the Evangelical movement, there is only one known biography[7] of Haweis, despite his invaluable work in establishing the future of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, the Free Church of England and the London Missionary Society, although good (albeit short) summaries of his work are given by Bishop Frank Vaughan [8] and by Bishop John Fenwick in their works on the Free Church of England.,[9] upon whose work the text of this article is based.