Robert Hall (minister)
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The Rev. Robert Hall (2 May 1764 – 21 February 1831) was an English
Life
He was born at
This incessant study at such an early period of life seems to have affected his health. After he left Mr Simmons's school his appearance was so sickly as to awaken fears of the presence of
On 13 August 1780, he was set apart to the ministry, but he still continued his studies at the academy; and in 1781, in accordance with the provisions of an exhibition which he held, he entered King's College, University of Aberdeen, where he took the degree of master of arts in March 1785. He had no rival in any of the classes, distinguishing himself alike in classics, philosophy and mathematics. He there formed the acquaintance of James Mackintosh, who, though a year younger, was a year his senior as a student. While they remained at Aberdeen the two were inseparable, reading together the best Greek authors, especially Plato, and discussing, either during their walks by the sea-shore and the banks of the Don or in their rooms until early morning, the most perplexed questions in philosophy and religion.
Between his last two sessions at Aberdeen, Hall acted as assistant pastor to Dr Evans at
Hall began to suffer from mental derangement in November 1804. He recovered and was able to resume his duties in April 1805, but a recurrence forced him to resign his pastoral office in March 1806. On leaving Cambridge he paid a visit to his relatives in Leicestershire, and then for some time resided at Enderby preaching occasionally in some of the neighbouring villages.
Latterly he ministered to a small congregation in Harvey Lane, Leicester, and at the close of 1806 he accepted a call to be their stated pastor. In the autumn of 1807 he moved from Enderby to Leicester, and in 1808 he married the servant of a brother minister. He had proposed after an almost momentary acquaintance, allegedly in very abrupt and peculiar terms; it seems to have been a successful marriage.
On the death of Dr Ryland, Hall was invited to return to the pastorate of Broadmead chapel, Bristol, and as the peace of the congregation at Leicester had been to some degree disturbed by a controversy regarding several cases of discipline, he resolved to accept the invitation, and removed there in April 1826. He suffered badly from
Works
Hall's first published compositions had a political origin. In 1791 he wrote Christianity consistent with the Love of Freedom, a defense of the political conduct of dissenters against the attacks of John Clayton, gave expression to his hopes of political and social improvements as destined to result from the subversion of old ideas and institutions in the French Revolution. In 1793 he expounded his political sentiments in a longer pamphlet, Apology for the Freedom of the Press. He was unhappy with the pamphlet, and refused to permit publication after the third edition. In a new edition of 1821 he omitted the attack on Bishop Samuel Horsley, and stated that his political opinions had undergone no substantial change.
His other publications while at Cambridge were three sermons: On Modern Infidelity (1801), Reflections on War (1802) (sermon given at Cambridge on 1 June to celebrate the Treaty of Amiens),[2] and Sentiments proper to the present Crisis (1803).
Hall's writings at Leicester embraced various tracts printed for private circulation; a number of contributions to the
Archives
Papers of Robert Hall are held at the Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham.[3]
Notes
- ^ Gregory, Olinthus. Memoirs and Private Correspondence of the Rev. Robert Hall, of Bristol, England. Boston: Griffin and Company, 1888. p. 6
- ^ Lew Rockwell Oct. 28, 2014
- ^ "UoB Calmview5: Search results". calmview.bham.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
References
- Brackney, William H. A Genetic History of Baptist Thought: With Special Reference to Baptists in Britain and North America. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2004.
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hall, Robert". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
External links
- Quotations related to Robert Hall at Wikiquote