John Ellerton

16 December 1826—15 June 1893

The death is announced at Rosemont, Torquay, in his 67th year, of the well-known church hymnologist, Canon JOHN ELLERTON, M.A., formerly some years vicar of St. Michael and All Angels, Crewe Green, Cheshire, and chaplain to Lord Crewe. Canon Ellerton, who graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1849, was in the next year ordained by Dr. Gilbert, Bishop of Chichester, his first curacy being at Eastbourne, near Cobden’s birthplace, Midhurst, Sussex. From 1852 until 1860 he was senior curate to the well-known vicar of Brighton, the late Rev. H.M. Wagner, and lecturer at St. Peter’s, Brighton. On leaving Brighton in 1860 he was presented by Lord Crewe to the vicarage of Crewe Green, which living he held some twelve years. In 1872 he was presented to the rectory of Hinstock, Market Drayton, Salop, where he remained until 1876, when he was presented by the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s Cathedral to the important rectory of Barnes, Surrey. He held this living for eight years, when he resigned, having in the meantime been appointed honorary canon of St. Alban’s, by the present bishop of that diocese, Dr. Festing.

Canon Ellerton, who was much liked during his twelve years residence in Cheshire, was best known to the general public as the editor of Church Hymns Annotated, published by the Christian Knowledge Society in 1881, and as author of Hymns, Original and Translated, published in 1888. He was, likewise, the author of The Holiest Manhood, published by MacMillan’s in 1882, and editor of an extensively circulated Manual of Parochial Work, published by the Christian Knowledge Society in 1880. Some of Canon Ellerton’s own hymns and translations—notably those in Hymns Ancient & Modern—are heard constantly in every church in the kingdom. His hymn, “Lift the strain of high thanksgiving!” will probably be sung as long as the Anglican Church exists.

Manchester Evening News
16 June 1893

The funeral of the REV. JOHN ELLERTON, M.A., Hon. Canon of St. Albans, and late Rector of White Roding, took place at Torquay, on June 20th. One of Canon Ellerton’s own hymns, “God of the living,” was sung after the lesson in the order for the Burial of the Dead, and a choral celebration of the Holy Communion followed. The Vicar was the celebrant, and the music used was Merbecke’s. As a sequence, Canon Ellerton’s hymn, “When the day of toil is o’er,” was sung, and during the Communion the last verse of his fine hymn, “Saviour, again to thy dear name we raise.” After the blessing his well-known funeral hymn, “Now the labourer’s task is o’er,” was feelingly sung by the choir of boys and men, the latter voluntarily attending in strong force. The coffin was then removed from the chancel during the singing of the Nunc Dimittis, and few could help being impressed at that moment, when, with the song of Simeon, all that was left on earth of this great Church poet passed out of the church for the last time.

The six pall bearers represented the chief works in which Canon Ellerton had been engaged: Hymns Ancient & Modern (the Rev. C.W. Bond, in the absence of the Rev. G. Cosby White), Church Hymns (the Rev. R. Brown Borthwick), The Children’s Hymn-Book (the Rev. Herbert Harvey, deputed by the Bishop of Wakefield, who was unable to be present), The Hymnal Companion (the Rev. C.E. Storrs, deputed by the Bishop of Exeter, unable to be present), while Colonel Acton (district officer) represented the S.P.C.K. on whose committees Canon Ellerton has done much work, and Mr. W.M. Moorsom represented the work he had done at Crewe. Arrived at the cemetery the cortège proceeded to the grave while the choir sang another of his hymns— “O shining city of our God.” The grave, which was beautifully lined with moss and white flowers, is situated according to the expressed wish of Canon Ellerton, in one of the sunniest spots of the cemetery. The Vicar took up the service and committed the body to the ground, the choir singing the anthem “I heard a voice from heaven,” and closing the service with yet another of Canon Ellerton’s hymns, “O strength and stay.”

Essex County Chronicle
30 June 1893

Featured Hymns:

The day, thou gavest, Lord is ended

Collections of Hymns:

Hymns for Schools and Bible Classes (1859)

Church Hymns (SPCK)

Words only (1871): Google Books
with Tunes (1874): Archive.org
with Notes and Illustrations (1881): HathiTrust

Children’s Hymn Book (F.C. Brock, 1881): Archive.org

Hymns Original and Translated (1888): Archive.org

see also:

Hymns for Special Services and Festivals (1867): Google Books

A Form for Missionary Meetings (1870): PDF

Sixteen Hymns with Tunes, ed. Borthwick (1870)

Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer: 1870 | 1877 | 1890

Select Hymns for Church and Home, ed. Borthwick (1871): Google Books

Hymns Ancient & Modern (1868–1889)

Related Resources:

John Julian, “John Ellerton,” A Dictionary of Hymnology (London: J. Murray, 1892), pp. 327–328: HathiTrust

Henry Housman, John Ellerton: Being a Collection of His Writings on Hymnology, Together with a Sketch of His Life and Works (1896): Archive.org

Duncan Campbell, “John Ellerton,” Hymns and Hymn Makers (1898), pp. 133–134: Archive.org

Thomas Marjoribanks & Millar Patrick, “John Ellerton,” Handbook to the Church Hymnary with Supplement (Oxford: University Press, 1935), pp. 328–329.

Hugh Martin, “The day thou gavest: John Ellerton (1826–93), the parish priest whose life was devoted to hymns,” They Wrote Our Hymns (1961), pp. 118–125.

A.R. Winnett, “The church congress, 1875, on hymnody,” Bulletin, HSGBI, vol. 8, no. 7 (June 1975), pp. 109–112.

Bernard Braley, “John Ellerton,” Hymnwriters 1 (London: Stainer & Bell, 1987), pp. 142–193.

Alan Luff, rev. Leon Litvack, “John Ellerton,” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (23 Sept. 2004): ODNB

Christopher Idle, ed., “John Ellerton,” Exploring Praise! vol. 2 (Darlington, UK: Praise Trust, 2007), pp. 84–86.

David Pym, “John Ellerton,” Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology: CDH

John Ellerton, Hymnary.org: https://hymnary.org/person/Ellerton_J