John Mason (poet)
Encyclopedia
John Mason was an English clergyman, poet and influential hymn-writer, a Calvinist and millennial preacher.
and Wellingborough
, Northamptonshire
. He was educated first at Strixton
in Northamptonshire, and was admitted a sizar of Clare Hall, Cambridge
, on 16 May 1661, graduated B.A. in 1664, and M.A. in 1668. After acting as curate at Isham
in Northamptonshire, he was presented on 21 October 1668 to become vicar of the village of Stantonbury
in Buckinghamshire
(then virtually deserted, having no vicarage, and he may really have been chaplain to Sir John Wittewronge); he left for the rectory of Water Stratford
in the same county on 28 January 1674, by the widow of Sir Peter Temple.
Under the influence of James Wrexham, a puritan preacher at Haversham
, formerly vicar of Kimble Magna and of Woburn
, Mason's thoughts turned to the prospect of the millennium, and he constantly suffered from pains in the head. He was sensitive to noise, and retired to an empty house, where even the sound of his own footsteps and his low voice when he prayed caused him pain. He was liable to vivid and terrifying dreams, and subject to visual hallucination. His wife died in February 1687; in 1690 he preached a sermon on the parable of the ten virgins
, an attempt to interpret apocalyptic passages of scripture in the light of recent events. The sermon, repeated in other places, made some stir, and was published in the following year. About the same time he ceased to administer the sacrament in his church, and preached on no other subject than that of the personal reign of Christ on earth, which he announced as about to begin in Water Stratford. His teaching attracted some believers , to whom he expounded an extreme form of predestination
doctrine. An encampment of his followers was formed on the plot of ground south of the village, called the 'Holy Ground,' where a rough life in common was carried out. Noisy meetings took place in barns and cottages, and dancing and singing was kept up day and night in the parsonage. He described to a crowd from a window in his house on Sunday, 22 April 1694, a vision of the Saviour, which he had experienced, he said, on Easter Monday, 16 April. From that time he used no more prayers, with the exception of the last clause of the Lord's Prayer
, but announced that his work was accomplished, as the reign on earth had already begun. He died of a quinsy in the following month, and was buried in the church of Water Stratford on 22 May 1694. The belief in the coming millennium, and in the immortality of their prophet, was firmly rooted in the minds of his followers; and some refused to credit his death. The succeeding rector, Isaac Rushworth, had the body exhumed, and exhibited to the crowd, but many remained unconvinced, and had finally to be ejected from the 'Holy Ground.' Meetings in a house in the village continued for sixteen years afterwards.
. Some of his lines were known to Alexander Pope
and John Wesley
, and Isaac Watts
borrowed freely from them. Hymns by him are found in early eighteenth-century collections, and were later adapted.
His published works include:
, Northamptonshire, at Dunmow
, Essex
, and at Spaldwick
, Huntingdonshire
, successively. He died at Spaldwick in 1723, and was father of John Mason (1706–1763). William (born October 1681) was B.A. of King's College, Cambridge, in 1704, instituted to the vicarage of Mentmore-with-Ledburne, Buckinghamshire, on 23 December 1706, and was also rector of Bonsall
, Derbyshire
, from 1736 to 1739. He died on 29 March 1744, and was buried at Mentmore. An elder daughter, Martha, was born at Stantonbury.
Life
He belonged to a clerical family living in the neighbourhood of KetteringKettering
Kettering is a market town in the Borough of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. It is situated about from London. Kettering is mainly situated on the west side of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene which meets at Wellingborough...
and Wellingborough
Wellingborough
Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. He was educated first at Strixton
Strixton
Strixton is a small village in Eastern Northamptonshire that borders the main A509 road between Wellingborough and Milton Keynes.The village borders Grendon and Wollaston...
in Northamptonshire, and was admitted a sizar of Clare Hall, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
, on 16 May 1661, graduated B.A. in 1664, and M.A. in 1668. After acting as curate at Isham
Isham
Isham is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is on the A509 road, three miles south of Kettering and a mile to the west of Burton Latimer. The River Ise is to the east of the village. Administratively, it forms part of the borough of Wellingborough...
in Northamptonshire, he was presented on 21 October 1668 to become vicar of the village of Stantonbury
Stantonbury
Stantonbury is a district of Milton Keynes, ceremonial Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the northern edge, between Great Linford and Wolverton...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
(then virtually deserted, having no vicarage, and he may really have been chaplain to Sir John Wittewronge); he left for the rectory of Water Stratford
Water Stratford
Water Stratford is a village and civil parish on the River Great Ouse in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about west of Buckingham, near the boundary with Oxfordshire.-Manor:...
in the same county on 28 January 1674, by the widow of Sir Peter Temple.
Under the influence of James Wrexham, a puritan preacher at Haversham
Haversham
Haversham is a village in the Borough of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated just north of Milton Keynes near Wolverton and lies between Newport Pagnell and Stony Stratford. Haversham-cum-Little Linford is a civil parish in the Borough of Milton Keynes.The village has two...
, formerly vicar of Kimble Magna and of Woburn
Woburn
-Canada:* Woburn, Toronto, Ontario, Canada** Woburn Collegiate Institute* Woburn, Quebec, Canada-England:* Woburn, Bedfordshire** Woburn Abbey** Woburn Safari Park* Woburn Sands, Buckinghamshire* Woburn Place, London* Woburn Square, London...
, Mason's thoughts turned to the prospect of the millennium, and he constantly suffered from pains in the head. He was sensitive to noise, and retired to an empty house, where even the sound of his own footsteps and his low voice when he prayed caused him pain. He was liable to vivid and terrifying dreams, and subject to visual hallucination. His wife died in February 1687; in 1690 he preached a sermon on the parable of the ten virgins
Parable of the Ten Virgins
The Parable of the Ten Virgins, also known as the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, is one of the well known parables of Jesus. It appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament...
, an attempt to interpret apocalyptic passages of scripture in the light of recent events. The sermon, repeated in other places, made some stir, and was published in the following year. About the same time he ceased to administer the sacrament in his church, and preached on no other subject than that of the personal reign of Christ on earth, which he announced as about to begin in Water Stratford. His teaching attracted some believers , to whom he expounded an extreme form of predestination
Predestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
doctrine. An encampment of his followers was formed on the plot of ground south of the village, called the 'Holy Ground,' where a rough life in common was carried out. Noisy meetings took place in barns and cottages, and dancing and singing was kept up day and night in the parsonage. He described to a crowd from a window in his house on Sunday, 22 April 1694, a vision of the Saviour, which he had experienced, he said, on Easter Monday, 16 April. From that time he used no more prayers, with the exception of the last clause of the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
, but announced that his work was accomplished, as the reign on earth had already begun. He died of a quinsy in the following month, and was buried in the church of Water Stratford on 22 May 1694. The belief in the coming millennium, and in the immortality of their prophet, was firmly rooted in the minds of his followers; and some refused to credit his death. The succeeding rector, Isaac Rushworth, had the body exhumed, and exhibited to the crowd, but many remained unconvinced, and had finally to be ejected from the 'Holy Ground.' Meetings in a house in the village continued for sixteen years afterwards.
Works
Mason was one of the earliest writers of hymns used in congregational worship, influenced in style by George HerbertGeorge Herbert
George Herbert was a Welsh born English poet, orator and Anglican priest.Being born into an artistic and wealthy family, he received a good education that led to his holding prominent positions at Cambridge University and Parliament. As a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, Herbert excelled in...
. Some of his lines were known to Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
and John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
, and 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...
borrowed freely from them. Hymns by him are found in early eighteenth-century collections, and were later adapted.
His published works include:
- 'Funeral Sermon for Mrs. Clare Wittewronge,' London, 1671.
- 'Spiritual Songs, or Songs of Praise,' London, 1683, 1685 (with a sacred poem on Dives and Lazarus), 1692, 1701, 1704 (8th edit.), 1708 (10th edit.), 1718 (11th edit.), 1725, 1750 (14th edit.); Booking, 1760 (?); London, 1761 (16th edit.), 1859. All editions but the last published anonymously. The later issues contain also 'Penitential Cries,' by T. Shepherd of Braintree.
- 'The Midnight Cry. Sermon on the Parable of the Ten Virgins,' London, 1691, 1692, 1694 (5th edit.)
- 'Remains, in Two Sermons,' published by T. Shepherd, London, 1698.
- 'Select Remains,' published by his grandson, John Mason, with a recommendation by Isaac Watts, London, 1741, 1742; Boston, 1743; London, 1745, 1767 (5th edit.), 1790; Bridlington, 1791; Booking, 1801 (9th edit.); Leeds, 1804 (12th edit.); London, 1808 (18th edit.), 1812; Wellington, Shropshire, 1822; Scarborough, 1828; London, 1830.
- 'A Little Catechism, with Little Verses and Little Sayings, for Little Children,' London, which had reached an eighth edition in 1755.
Family
The parish register of Water Stratford records the baptisms of four sons and one daughter of John Mason and Mary his wife between 1677 and 1684. John (born 1677) became a dissenting minister at DaventryDaventry
Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...
, Northamptonshire, at Dunmow
Dunmow
Dunmow may refer to:*Great Dunmow, a town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England*Little Dunmow, a village located about 3 miles outside the town of Great Dunmow...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, and at Spaldwick
Spaldwick
Spaldwick is a village in the English county of Cambridgeshire and the district and former county of Huntingdonshire.Spaldwick is located near Catworth west of Huntingdon. It has a school, playgroup, service station, a village shop called number twelve, a church and a pub called The George...
, Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
, successively. He died at Spaldwick in 1723, and was father of John Mason (1706–1763). William (born October 1681) was B.A. of King's College, Cambridge, in 1704, instituted to the vicarage of Mentmore-with-Ledburne, Buckinghamshire, on 23 December 1706, and was also rector of Bonsall
Bonsall, Derbyshire
Bonsall is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales on the edge of the Peak District.-Geography:Bonsall is about from Matlock and about from Derby...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, from 1736 to 1739. He died on 29 March 1744, and was buried at Mentmore. An elder daughter, Martha, was born at Stantonbury.