Samuel Bourn
Encyclopedia
Samuel Bourn was an English Dissenter
minister.
Bourn was the third Samuel Bourn, as second son of Samuel Bourn the Younger
, and was educated at Stand grammar school and Glasgow University. In 1742 he became dissenting minister of Rivington, Lancashire, where he enjoyed the friendship of Hugh Willoughby, 15th Baron Willoughby of Parham
. In 1754 Bourn moved to Norwich
to assist the presbyterian minister John Taylor, who three years later left for Warrington Academy
.
near Kendal
, and educated at Stand grammar school and Glasgow University, where he studied under Francis Hutcheson
and Robert Simson
. In 1742 he settled in the ministry at Rivington, Lancashire, where he enjoyed the friendship of Hugh, 15th Lord Willoughby of Parham, who lived at Shaw Place, near Rivington, and was the representative of the last of the presbyterian noble families.
Bourn was not ordained till some years after his settlement. He then made a lengthy declaration (printed by Joshua Toulmin
) dealing with the duties of the ministry and allowing no doctrine or duty except those taught in the New Testament
. Bourn lived partly at Leicester Mills, a wooded vale near Rivington, and partly at Bolton
. In 1752 the publication of his first sermon led to overtures from the presbyterian congregation at Norwich, and in 1754, apparently after the death of the senior minister, Peter Finch, Bourn became the colleague of John Taylor. The Norwich presbyterians had laid the first stone of a new meeting-house on 25 February 1754. When Bourn came to them they were worshipping in Little St. Mary's, an ancient edifice, then and still held by trustees for the Walloon or French Protestants. On 12 May 1756 was opened the new building, the Octagon Chapel, Norwich
. Not long after Bourn lost £1,000, which he had risked in his brother Daniel's cotton mill. Among those brought up under his ministry was Sir James Edward Smith
, founder of the Linnean Society.
When in 1757 Taylor left Norwich to fill the divinity chair at Warrington Academy, Bourn obtained as colleagues first John Hoyle, and afterwards Robert Alderson, subsequently a lawyer, and father of Edward Hall Alderson
. When Bourn became incapable of work, Alderson had to discharge the whole duty, and was accordingly ordained on 13 September 1775.
Bourn was a favourite with the local Anglican clergy; Samuel Parr
took him to Cambridge, and spoke of him as a masterly writer, a profound thinker, and an intimate friend. When his health failed, and he was retiring on a property of £60 a year, Isaac Mann, bishop of Cork who was visiting Norwich offered him a sinecure preferment of £300 a year if he chose to conform; Bourn declined.
Bourn died in Norwich on 24 September 1796, and was buried in the graveyard of the Octagon Chapel. Late in life he married, but left no family.
. In one of these sermons Bourn had espoused the doctrine of the annihilation of the wicked, but in London in 1759 he heard Chandler characterise in a sermon the annihilation doctrine as 'utterly inconsistent with the Christian scheme.' Deeming this a personal attack, he tried to draw Chandler into a controversy by a published letter. Like his father, Bourn rested in the Christology of Samuel Clarke
. He was no optimist; he devoted a powerful discourse to the theme that no great improvement in the moral state of mankind is practicable by any means whatsoever (vol. i. 1760, No. 14).
He also engaged in debate with John Mason (1706–1763) over the resurrection of the flesh. Mason's (affirmative) part in the controversy is in his 'Christian Morals,' 2 vols. 1761. Bourn's opposite view is defended in an appendix to his sermons on the Parables.
Dissenter
The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...
minister.
Bourn was the third Samuel Bourn, as second son of Samuel Bourn the Younger
Samuel Bourn the Younger
-Life:He was the second son of Samuel Bourn the elder, born at Calne, Wiltshire. He was taught classics at Bolton, and trained for the ministry in the Manchester dissenting academy of John Chorlton and James Coningham. His first settlement was at Crook, near Kendal, in 1711...
, and was educated at Stand grammar school and Glasgow University. In 1742 he became dissenting minister of Rivington, Lancashire, where he enjoyed the friendship of Hugh Willoughby, 15th Baron Willoughby of Parham
Hugh Willoughby, 15th Baron Willoughby of Parham
Hugh, 15th Baron Willoughby of Parham was an English nobleman and hereditary peer of the House of Lords. He was born in 1713, the eldest son of Charles Willoughby, 14th Baron Willoughby of Parham and Hester, daughter of Henry Davenport of Little Lever and Darcy Lever, near Bolton...
. In 1754 Bourn moved to Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
to assist the presbyterian minister John Taylor, who three years later left for Warrington Academy
Warrington Academy
Warrington Academy, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by those who dissented from the state church in England...
.
Life
He was born at CrookCrook, Cumbria
Crook is a village and civil parish in the South Lakeland District of the English county of Cumbria, located on the B5284 road between Kendal and Windermere. In the 2001 census the population was 340....
near Kendal
Kendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
, and educated at Stand grammar school and Glasgow University, where he studied under Francis Hutcheson
Francis Hutcheson
Francis Hutcheson may refer to:*Francis Hutcheson *Francis Hutcheson -See also:*Frank Hutchison, blues musician*Francis Hutchinson, British clergyman...
and Robert Simson
Robert Simson
Robert Simson was a Scottish mathematician and professor of mathematics at the University of Glasgow. The pedal line of a triangle is sometimes called the "Simson line" after him.-Life:...
. In 1742 he settled in the ministry at Rivington, Lancashire, where he enjoyed the friendship of Hugh, 15th Lord Willoughby of Parham, who lived at Shaw Place, near Rivington, and was the representative of the last of the presbyterian noble families.
Bourn was not ordained till some years after his settlement. He then made a lengthy declaration (printed by Joshua Toulmin
Joshua Toulmin
Joshua Toulmin of Taunton, England was a noted theologian and a serial Dissenting minister of Presbyterian , Baptist , and then Unitarian congregations...
) dealing with the duties of the ministry and allowing no doctrine or duty except those taught in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. Bourn lived partly at Leicester Mills, a wooded vale near Rivington, and partly at Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
. In 1752 the publication of his first sermon led to overtures from the presbyterian congregation at Norwich, and in 1754, apparently after the death of the senior minister, Peter Finch, Bourn became the colleague of John Taylor. The Norwich presbyterians had laid the first stone of a new meeting-house on 25 February 1754. When Bourn came to them they were worshipping in Little St. Mary's, an ancient edifice, then and still held by trustees for the Walloon or French Protestants. On 12 May 1756 was opened the new building, the Octagon Chapel, Norwich
Octagon Chapel, Norwich
The Octagon Chapel is a Unitarian Chapel located in Colegate in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It is home to a growing liberal religious community, welcoming people of all religious faiths and none. The congregation is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.The chapel...
. Not long after Bourn lost £1,000, which he had risked in his brother Daniel's cotton mill. Among those brought up under his ministry was Sir James Edward Smith
James Edward Smith
Sir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world...
, founder of the Linnean Society.
When in 1757 Taylor left Norwich to fill the divinity chair at Warrington Academy, Bourn obtained as colleagues first John Hoyle, and afterwards Robert Alderson, subsequently a lawyer, and father of Edward Hall Alderson
Edward Hall Alderson
Sir Edward Hall Alderson was an English lawyer and judge whose many judgments on commercial law helped to shape the emerging British capitalism of the Victorian era....
. When Bourn became incapable of work, Alderson had to discharge the whole duty, and was accordingly ordained on 13 September 1775.
Bourn was a favourite with the local Anglican clergy; Samuel Parr
Samuel Parr
Samuel Parr , was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well that Samuel Johnson's, and the resemblances were at a superficial level, Parr being no prose stylist,...
took him to Cambridge, and spoke of him as a masterly writer, a profound thinker, and an intimate friend. When his health failed, and he was retiring on a property of £60 a year, Isaac Mann, bishop of Cork who was visiting Norwich offered him a sinecure preferment of £300 a year if he chose to conform; Bourn declined.
Bourn died in Norwich on 24 September 1796, and was buried in the graveyard of the Octagon Chapel. Late in life he married, but left no family.
Sermons and debates
In 1758 Bourn travelled around to obtain subscriptions for two volumes of sermons. He placed the manuscript in the hands of Samuel ChandlerSamuel Chandler
Samuel Chandler was an English Nonconformist minister.-Life:He was born at Hungerford in Berkshire, where his father was a minister. He was sent to school at Gloucester, where he began a lifelong friendship with Bishop Butler and Archbishop Secker; and he afterwards studied at Leiden...
. In one of these sermons Bourn had espoused the doctrine of the annihilation of the wicked, but in London in 1759 he heard Chandler characterise in a sermon the annihilation doctrine as 'utterly inconsistent with the Christian scheme.' Deeming this a personal attack, he tried to draw Chandler into a controversy by a published letter. Like his father, Bourn rested in the Christology of Samuel Clarke
Samuel Clarke
thumb|right|200px|Samuel ClarkeSamuel Clarke was an English philosopher and Anglican clergyman.-Early life and studies:...
. He was no optimist; he devoted a powerful discourse to the theme that no great improvement in the moral state of mankind is practicable by any means whatsoever (vol. i. 1760, No. 14).
He also engaged in debate with John Mason (1706–1763) over the resurrection of the flesh. Mason's (affirmative) part in the controversy is in his 'Christian Morals,' 2 vols. 1761. Bourn's opposite view is defended in an appendix to his sermons on the Parables.
- The Rise, Progress, Corruption, and Declension of the Christian Religion, sermon, Manchester, 12 May 1752).
- A Letter to the Rev. Samuel Chandler, D.D., concerning the Christian Doctrine of Future Punishment, 1759