Charles Stanford (1823–1886), was an English

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister of the nineteenth century.

Biography

Stanford, son of Joseph Stanford, shoemaker (d. 1862), was born at Green Lane,

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, on 9 March 1823. He was for some time a shoemaker, then a lawyer's clerk, and afterwards a bookseller's assistant. In 1839, at the age of sixteen, he commenced preaching, and in October 1841 entered the Bristol Baptist College. His first pastorate was at Sparrow Hill, Loughborough, where he stayed from 1845 to Christmas 1846. On 7 March 1847 he became minister of the United Presbyterian and Baptist Church at Devizes, Wiltshire, where his congregation gradually increased, and where he on 9 April 1852 opened a new chapel. In May 1858 he was elected co-pastor with Dr

Edward Steane Edward Steane (1798–1882) was a British Baptist minister who founded the Evangelical Alliance. He was pastor in Camberwell. Life Steane was born in March 1798 in Oxford. His father dealt in wines and spirits and the family attended New Road Ba ...

of Denmark Place Chapel,

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, Surrey; and in May 1861, on the retirement of Steane, received the full charge. He remained at Camberwell till his death. In 1860 he visited

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, where, and in the neighbourhood, he collected information for his work ''J. Alleine, his Companions and his Times'', published in 1861. In 1878 Stanford received the degree of D.D. from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, US. He was the president of the

London Baptist Association London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

in 1882. From November 1881 he became almost blind from

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

, but prepared his work for the press with a typewriter. He died at 26 De Crespigny Park,

Denmark Hill Denmark Hill is an area and road in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Southwark. It is a sub-section of the western flank of the Norwood Ridge, centred on the long, curved Ruskin Park slope of the ridge. The road is part of the A215 road, A21 ...

, on 18 March 1886, and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery on 24 March. He was twice married.

Publications

In addition to many sermons and devotional treatises, he published: * ''Power in Weakness: Memorials of W. Rhodes of Damersham'', 1858; 3rd edit. 1870. * * ''Home and Church: a Chapter in Family Life at Old Maze Pond'', 1871. * ''Philip Doddridge, D.D.'', 1880 (''Men Worth Knowing'' series). * ''A Memorial of the Rev. E. Steane'', 1882. * ''The Wit and Humour of Life; being Familiar Talks with Young Christians'', 1886.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanford, Charles 1823 births 1886 deaths Clergy from Northampton 19th-century English Baptist ministers Burials at West Norwood Cemetery