William Hammond

6 January 1719—19 August 1783

WILLIAM HAMMOND, B.A., b. at Battle, Sussex, Jan. 6, 1719, and educated at St. John’s College, Cambridge. In 1743, he joined the Calvinistic Methodists, and in 1745, the Moravian Brethren. He d. in London, Aug. 19, 1783 and was buried in the Moravian burial ground, Sloane Street, Chelsea. He left an autobiography in Greek, which remains unpublished. His original hymns, together with his translations from the Latin, were published in his Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs [1745].

A few of his original hymns from scriptural fidelity and earnestness have attained to a foremost position amongst English hymns. These include, “Awake, and sing the song,” and “Lord, we have come before Thee now.” His translations of Latin hymns were amongst the earliest published after those contained in the Primers and other devotional works of 16th and 17th centuries. They are of merit, and worthy of attention. Greater use might also be made of his original compositions.

by John Julian
A Dictionary of Hymnology (1892)

Featured Hymns:

What good news the angels bring

Collections of Hymns:

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs (1745): PDF

Related Resources:

Josiah Miller, “William Hammond,” Singers and Songs of the Church (London : Longmans, Green & Co., 1869), p. 200: Archive.org

Edwin Hatfield, “William Hammond,” The Poets of the Church (NY: A.D.F. Randolph & Company, 1884), pp. 289-291: Archive.org

Samuel Duffield, “Lord, we come before thee now,” English Hymns: Their Authors and History, 3rd ed., rev. (NY: Funk & Wagnalls, 1888), p. 342: Archive.org

John Julian, “William Hammond,” A Dictionary of Hymnology (London: J. Murray, 1892), p. 483: Google Books