Alexander Stopford Catcott (1692–1749) was an English churchman from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, and headmaster of Bristol Grammar School from 1722 to 1743 or 1744. He preached in favour of

Hutchinsonian John Hutchinson (1674 – 28 August 1737) was an English theologian and natural philosopher. He was born at Spennithorne, Yorkshire, and served as steward in several families of position, latterly in that of the Duke of Somerset, who ultimately ...

ideas.

Career

He earned a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree but chose not to enter law; rather, he was ordained as deacon and priest, and gave up a fellowship of

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, to take up the position of headmaster at Bristol Grammar School, where he and his predecessor William Goldwin were responsible for increasing enrollment from 20 to 70. From 1743 to his death in 1749 he was the rector of

St Stephen's Church, Bristol St Stephen's Church in St Stephen's Avenue, is the parish church for the city of Bristol, England. It has been designated by Historic England as a grade I listed building. History It was built, on the site of an 11th-century church, in the 14t ...

. His piety was admired by

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

, and he was considered, by a local antiquary, to be "a good poet, profound linguist, well skilled in Hebrew and Scripture philosophy, and a judicious schoolmaster". Catcott also preached at

St Mark's Church, Bristol St Mark's Church is an ancient church on the north-east side of College Green, Bristol, College Green, Bristol, England, built c. 1230. Better known to mediaeval and Tudor historians as the Gaunt's Chapel, it has also been known within Bri ...

, where he was appointed in 1729.

Scientific doctrine

Catcott had been corresponding since 1733 with John Hutchinson, who saw the Old Testament as a repository of scientific as well as divine knowledge. Catcott preached a sermon in

St Mark's Church St. Mark's Church, or variations such as St. Mark Church or with Saint spelled out, may mean: Australia * St Mark's Anglican Church, Warwick, Queensland * St Mark's Church, Darling Point, New South Wales * Old St Mark's Anglican Church, Slacks ...

(also called "Mayor's chapel") on 16 April 1735 (''The Supreme and Inferior Elahim'', published London, 1736); this sermon, preached before Chief Justice

Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, (1 December 16906 March 1764) was an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. He was a close confidant of the Duke of Newcastle, Prime Minister between 1754 and 1 ...

, provoked "the first serious debate about Hutchinsonianism and the scientific evidence contained in the Old Testament". He preached another controversial sermon in August 1735, this one presenting linguistic analysis based on Hutchinson's work. The geologist and theologian Alexander Catcott, also a Hutchinsonian, was his son. One theory of Catcott's, prompted by a challenge made by Hutchinson, attempted to explain the earth's

declination In astronomy, declination (abbreviated dec; symbol ''δ'') is one of the two angles that locate a point on the celestial sphere in the equatorial coordinate system, the other being hour angle. Declination's angle is measured north or south of the ...

and its position in relation to the sun; Catcott proposed that the sun and the moon emitted particles of light that held the earth in equilibrium, eliminating the need for accepting the theory of gravity.

Personal papers

Papers of Alexander Stopford Catcott, including correspondence, manuscripts, newspaper cuttings and maps are held at

Bristol Archives Bristol Archives (formerly Bristol Record Office) was established in 1924. It was the first borough record office in the United Kingdom, since at that time there was only one other local authority record office (Bedfordshire) in existence. It ...

(Ref. 44801)
online catalogue
.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catcott, Alexander Stopford 1692 births 1749 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of St John's College, Oxford