Lant Carpenter
Encyclopedia
Lant Carpenter, Dr. was an English
educator and Unitarian
minister.
Lant Carpenter was born in Kidderminster
, the third son of George Carpenter and his wife Mary (Hooke).
He was christened on 2 September 1780 in Kidderminster. After some months at a dissenting academy at Northampton
, Carpenter transferred to the University of Glasgow
and then joined the ministry. After a short time as assistant master at a Unitarian school near Birmingham
, in 1802 he was appointed librarian at the Liverpool Athenaeum
.
In 1805 he became pastor
of a chapel in Exeter
. He moved to Bristol
in 1817, to take up a post as minister at the Unitarian chapel in Lewin's Mead
. At both Bristol and Exeter he was also engaged in school work, among his Bristol pupils being Harriet
and James Martineau
, Samuel Greg
, and the Westminster Review
s John Bowring
.
Lant Carpenter did much to broaden the spirit of English Unitarianism. He believed in the essential lawfulness of the creation: this meant that natural causes were the explanation of the world as we find it. The rite of baptism
seemed to him a superstition and he substituted for it a form of infant dedication.
His health, undermined by his constant labours, broke down in 1839 and he was ordered to travel. He was drowned on 5 or 6 April 1840, having been washed overboard from the steamer in which he was travelling from Livorno
to Marseille
. His body washed ashore about two months later near the Porto d'Anzio
and was buried on the beach.
. Anna was christened on 11 May 1787 in Bromsgrove
, Worcester.
Their marriage had the following issue:
1) Mary Carpenter
was born on 3 April 1807 in Exeter
. She died on 14 June 1877 and was buried in Arno's Vale, Bristol. Mary was founder of the ragged school
movement.
2) Anna Carpenter, born 17 September 1808.
3) Susan Carpenter, born 19 April 1811.
4) William Benjamin Carpenter
was born on 29 October 1813 in Exeter. He died on 19 November 1885 in London, and was buried in Highgate Cemetery
.
5) Russell Lant Carpenter
was born in 1816 in Kidderminster and was christened in Devon
shire. He died in 1892.
6) Philip Pearsall Carpenter was born on 4 November 1819 in Bristol, Somerset, England. He died on 24 May 1877 in Montreal
, Canada
, of typhoid fever. He was an ordained minister and a noted conchologist.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
educator and Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
minister.
Lant Carpenter was born in Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
, the third son of George Carpenter and his wife Mary (Hooke).
He was christened on 2 September 1780 in Kidderminster. After some months at a dissenting academy at Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, Carpenter transferred to the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
and then joined the ministry. After a short time as assistant master at a Unitarian school near Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, in 1802 he was appointed librarian at the Liverpool Athenaeum
Liverpool Athenaeum
The Athenaeum originated as a gentlemen's club in Liverpool, England. It has been in continuous use since the end of the 18th century. The club was founded to ensure the up-to-date provision of newspapers and pamphlets, and to create a library for the use of the merchants and professional...
.
In 1805 he became pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of a chapel in Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. He moved to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in 1817, to take up a post as minister at the Unitarian chapel in Lewin's Mead
Lewin's Mead Unitarian meeting house
The Lewin's Mead Unitarian meeting house is a former Unitarian Chapel built in 1788–1791 on Lewin's Mead in Bristol, England.Designed in the Neoclassical style by William Blackburn, the Chapel was constructed on the site of a previous chapel, built in 1705...
. At both Bristol and Exeter he was also engaged in school work, among his Bristol pupils being Harriet
Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau was an English social theorist and Whig writer, often cited as the first female sociologist....
and James Martineau
James Martineau
James Martineau was an English religious philosopher influential in the history of Unitarianism. For 45 years he was Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Political Economy in Manchester New College, the principal training college for British Unitarianism.-Early life:He was born in Norwich,...
, Samuel Greg
Samuel Greg (junior)
Samuel Greg was an English industrialist and philanthropist.Born in Manchester, the son of the elder Samuel Greg, the creator of Quarry Bank Mill, he was brother to William Rathbone Greg and Robert Hyde Greg. Influenced by the religious beliefs of his mother Hannah, he attended a Unitarian school...
, and the Westminster Review
Westminster Review
The Westminster Review was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal until 1828....
s John Bowring
John Bowring
Sir John Bowring, KCB was an English political economist, traveller, miscellaneous writer, polyglot, and the 4th Governor of Hong Kong.- Early life :...
.
Lant Carpenter did much to broaden the spirit of English Unitarianism. He believed in the essential lawfulness of the creation: this meant that natural causes were the explanation of the world as we find it. The rite of baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
seemed to him a superstition and he substituted for it a form of infant dedication.
His health, undermined by his constant labours, broke down in 1839 and he was ordered to travel. He was drowned on 5 or 6 April 1840, having been washed overboard from the steamer in which he was travelling from Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
to Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
. His body washed ashore about two months later near the Porto d'Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
and was buried on the beach.
Family
Lant Carpenter married Anna or Hannah Penn, daughter of John Penn and Mary, in 1806 in WorcesterWorcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
. Anna was christened on 11 May 1787 in Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...
, Worcester.
Their marriage had the following issue:
1) Mary Carpenter
Mary Carpenter
Mary Carpenter was an English educational and social reformer. The daughter of a Unitarian minister, she founded a ragged school and reformatories, bringing previously unavailable educational opportunities to poor children and young offenders in Bristol.She published articles and books on her work...
was born on 3 April 1807 in Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. She died on 14 June 1877 and was buried in Arno's Vale, Bristol. Mary was founder of the ragged school
Ragged school
Ragged Schools were charitable schools dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century England. The schools were developed in working class districts of the rapidly expanding industrial towns...
movement.
2) Anna Carpenter, born 17 September 1808.
3) Susan Carpenter, born 19 April 1811.
4) William Benjamin Carpenter
William Benjamin Carpenter
William Benjamin Carpenter MD CB FRS was an English physician, invertebrate zoologist and physiologist. He was instrumental in the early stages of the unified University of London.-Life:...
was born on 29 October 1813 in Exeter. He died on 19 November 1885 in London, and was buried in Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a cemetery located in north London, England. It is designated Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. It is divided into two parts, named the East and West cemetery....
.
5) Russell Lant Carpenter
Russell Lant Carpenter
Russell Lant Carpenter , an Unitarianism minister who carried on the works of his father, Dr. Lant Carpenter and wrote his biography. He was a brother of the social reformer Mary Carpenter....
was born in 1816 in Kidderminster and was christened in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
shire. He died in 1892.
6) Philip Pearsall Carpenter was born on 4 November 1819 in Bristol, Somerset, England. He died on 24 May 1877 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, of typhoid fever. He was an ordained minister and a noted conchologist.
- ;;;;;; "The wise and active conquer difficulties
- ;;;;;; By daring to attempt them. Sloth and Folly
- ;;;;;; shiver and shrink at the sight of toil and danger
- ;;;;;; And make the impossibilities they fear."
- ;;;;;; By daring to attempt them. Sloth and Folly
- ; Lant Carpenter, about 1800, from page 14, Memoirs of the Life of Rev. Lant Carpenter, LL.D