Frederick Hastings (21 July 1838 – 15 January 1937), was an English
Congregational minister and writer.
Hastings was born on 21 July 1838, the son of George and Sarah Hastings. His father was a merchant and shipowner in London, and the son began his active life in his father's office. Later, he joined a
Greek New Testament class started by the pastor of the church he attended, and after a sermon by
Charles Spurgeon at the
Surrey Music Hall he decided to become a minister and entered
Hackney College.
In 1862 he became pastor of the historic Quay Meeting of the Congregational Church at
Woodbridge, Suffolk. After four years there he went out to
New Brunswick as a minister at
Saint John. In 1870 he returned to England to a charge at
Wanstead
Wanstead () is a town in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge, London, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is ...
, where he remained for two years. His next appointment was at
Weston-super-Mare from 1872 to 1881. Then he had seven years at the Institutional Church at Tolmers Square. At the request of Dr.
R. W. Dale he went to Australia in 1889 as minister of a church in
North Adelaide and remained there five years. He came back to London in 1894 to Markham Square,
Chelsea, and preached there till 1903, when he went back to Tolmers Square for 10 years. In 1912 he was appointed to Clifton Church,
Peckham
Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720.
History
"Peckham" is a Saxon p ...
, where he remained for six years, going to
Eastbourne in 1920. In 1932, at the age of 94, he celebrated the 70th anniversary of his induction to the pastorate by preaching in his church.
Mr. Hastings was a traveller in many lands. He returned from Australia via Paraguay and wrote letters which helped to prevent the exodus of
shearer
A shearer is someone who shears, such as a cloth shearer, or a sheep shearer.
Origins of the name include from near Bergen in Norway 1600s weden of that periodas ''Skea'' (pronounced "Skeg" meaning "beard") and Heddle (meaning market place) as mig ...
s and other labourers from Australia. He visited so many countries on his bicycle that he received the sobriquet of "the cycling parson", a name he employed in one of his many books. He claimed to have ridden some 30,000 miles, visiting France, Saxony, the coat of Italy to Rome, and many parts of the Mediterranean coast. After the War he cycled to
Ypres.
Mr. Hastings was an ex-chairman of the London Congregational Union, and for some years served on the
London County Council. He was a delegate representing the Free Churches at the tercentenary of the signing of the
Edict of Nantes. for eight years he was editor of the ''Homilectic Magazine'' and of Nisbet & Co's ''Theological Library''. Sketching, boating, cycling and chess, as well as travel, were the recreations of a long and useful career. His union with his first wife, Emily Brightman, who died in 1925, lasted for 63 years. At the age of 88 he married the widow of Mr W. Wallace Copland, of
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. He had three sons and two daughters.
Selected works
* ''Sundays Spent About the World'', Bristol (1875)
* ''Don't Worry! etc. (Peeps of the worries in varied phases of life.)'', Jarrold & Sons (1896)
* ''The Spins of a Cycling Parson'', Walter Scott Publishing (1903)
* ''Memories of a Million Miles'', National Council of Evangelical Free Churches (1911)
* ''Pages from a Joyous Life'', J. Clarke & Co. (1923)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Frederick
1838 births
1937 deaths
Congregationalist writers
English Congregationalist ministers
Members of London County Council