Frances Ridley Havergal (1836 - 1879)

Her father was appointed rector of St Nicholas', Worcestershire, when Fanny was five years old. She wrote verses from the age of seven with remarkable fluency. Fanny was just eleven years of age when her mother died, in 1847, necessitating a change – Fanny became a boarder at the Great Campden House, Camden Hill, Kensington, London. Fanny became fluent in French and Italian, and could quote vast tracts of Scripture including the Psalms, Isaiah and the Gospels. It was whilst here that a former member of the staff and friend of Fanny's eldest sister, Miriam, Caroline Cooke led Fanny to Christ. Caroline would also soon become Fanny's step-mother. In 1852, Fanny accompanied her father and Caroline to Germany; studied for more than a year in the Louisenschule at Düsseldorf and in the family of a German pastor at Obercassel. On her return to England, she was confirmed in Worcester Cathedral on 17th July 1853. In 1860, she left Worcester upon her father resigning the Rectory of St Nicholas, and became governess for Miriam's children at Oakhampton for seven years. She then resided at different periods at Leamington Spa, and at Caswell Bay, Swansea, broken by visits to Switzerland, Scotland, and North Wales. Fanny led a quiet life, not enjoying consistent good health. ^[1]

Fanny's hymns praised the love of God and His salvation, and to this object her whole life and all her powers were consecrated. She lived and spoke in every line of her poetry. Her religious views and theological bias were distinctly set forth in her poems, and may be described as mildly Calvinistic, without the dogmatic tenet of severe disapproval. The burden of her writings was a free and full salvation, through the Redeemer's merits, for every sinner who will receive it. Her life was devoted to the proclamation of this truth by personal labours, literary efforts, and earnest interest in foreign missions and the Church Missionary Society. ^[1]

Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose.

Frances' hymns were frequently printed as leaflets and as ornamental cards. They were gathered together from time to time and published: ^[1]

• Ministry of Song, 1869
• Twelve Sacred Songs for Little Singers, 1870
• Under the Surface, 1874
• Loyal Responses, 1878
• Life Mosaic, 1879
• Life Chords, 1880, and
• Life Echoes, 1883

Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne.

Frances passed away from peritonitis – inflammation of the membrane lining the abdominal wall and covering the abdominal organs, often caused by a burst appendix – unmarried, on 3rd June 1879 at Gower Peninsula, Swansea, overlooking Caswell Bay, Glamorgan, Wales. She was just 42 years of age. On 9th June, her worn-out body was buried in the far western corner of the churchyard at St Peter's parish church, Astley, together with her father and near her sister, Maria. ^[2]

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.

Her sisters, Mrs Jane Crane (1817-98), Miss Maria Havergal (1821-87) and Mrs Ellen Shaw (1823-86), saw much of Fanny's work published posthumously. Havergal College, a private girls' school in Toronto, Ontario, was opened in 1894 and is named in Fanny's honour. ^[1]

Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-79)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Wikipedia:_Frances_Ridley_Havergal; accessed 4 Jul 2018
2. ↑ UK FreeBMD Death Index Jun qtr 1879, vol 11a, page 421

• public domain hymns; accessed 23 Jun 2019.

Further reading

• Cook, Faith. Our Hymn Writers and their Hymns. E P Books, Watchmead, Welwyn Garden City UK, 2005. ISBN 978 1 78397 148 0.