Rev. Henry Foster (c.1743-1814) was an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

clergyman who played a significant part in the religious revival of the late eighteenth century.

Early life

Foster was born near Halifax and educated at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

, an institution known for its supply of members from Northern England. Foster was ordained by the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

before turning 23 and served his entire ministerial career in

London 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 majo ...

. There were few evangelical clergy in London during the late eighteenth century, and it was

William Romaine William Romaine (1714 at Hartlepool – 1795), evangelical divine of the Church of England, was author of works once highly thought of by the evangelicals, the trilogy ''The Life, the Walk, and the Triumph of Faith''. Early life Romaine was born ...

, one of the few who was beneficed in his parish (from 1766), that took the young Foster on as his first assistant curate.

Ministry

Romaine and Foster between them represented an extremely isolated, but strategically important, outpost of the then growing evangelical revival. The Revival was being furthered under the itinerant leadership of

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

George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...

, both of whom had built private chapels in the metropolis (the

Foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

in 1739 and the

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

in 1756 respectively) - but neither of whom had close allies with a parish, until Romaine and Foster. In addition to serving under Romaine, Foster preached regularly at

St Antholin, Budge Row St Antholin, Budge Row, or St Antholin, Watling Street, was a church in the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, following its destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The 17th-century ...

St Swithin, London Stone St Swithin, London Stone, was an Anglican Church in the City of London. It stood on the north side of Cannon Street, between Salters' Hall Court and St Swithin's Lane, which runs north from Cannon Street to King William Street and takes its name f ...

St Peter, Cornhill St Peter upon Cornhill is an Anglican church on the corner of Cornhill and Gracechurch Street in the City of London of medieval, or possibly Roman origin. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt to the designs of Sir ...

Christ Church, Spitalfields Christ Church Spitalfields is an Anglican church built between 1714 and 1729 to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor. On Commercial Street in the East End and in today's Central London it is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, on its western bord ...

, and St Margaret, Lothbury. In 1777, Foster was approached by

Thomas Haweis Thomas Haweis (c.1734–1820), (surname pronounced to rhyme with "pause") was born in Redruth, Cornwall, on 1 January 1734, where he was baptised on 20 February 1734. As a Church of England cleric he was one of the leading figures of the 18th ce ...

to become the permanent minister of a key chapel in the

Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For many years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist M ...

. Although Foster was willing, the scheme for a group of permanent chaplains did not progress. Foster was a founding member of the famous Eclectic Society, present at its first meeting on 16 January 1783.Josiah Pratt, 'Eclectic Notes' (London: J.Nisbet & Co., 1865), p.1 From 1785, Foster was minister of Long Acre Chapel in central London. It was in this role that he took on

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

as an assistant, who was to go on to serve as the first Christian minister in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The final two years of Foster's life were marred by crippling disability which forced him to resign the charge of Long Acre. His funeral sermon was preached at St James, Clerkenwell by Henry Watkins, minister of St Swithin's, where Foster had so frequently preached in the past.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Henry 1814 deaths 1743 births 18th-century English clergy Evangelical Anglican clergy Year of birth uncertain Date of death missing Place of death missing Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford People from Halifax, West Yorkshire English evangelicals