John Blackburn (1792–1855) was an English Congregationalist minister, for many years at Claremont Chapel, London. He was a prominent, conservative leader of the Congregational movement.

Life

He was born to a religious family in the Minories, London. His father John Blackburn (died 1834) made scales, and belonged to a livery company. In early life Blackburn entered the

Baptist College, Stepney The Baptist College, Stepney, was opened in Stepney in the East End of London in 1810 by the Particular Baptists. Its buildings included rooms for tutors and students, a refectory, a library and a chapel. The college relocated to larger premises ...

, but then switched to

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. He worked for the

Irish Evangelical Society Irish Evangelical Society (IES), was an organisation founded in 1814 to promote the Protestant faith in Ireland. It was initially founded in London. Its aim was to support preachers and priests of the Reformed faith outside the established Church o ...

, in

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. He then became pastor at Finchingfield, from 1815. In 1822, Blackburn became minister at the Claremont Chapel, Pentonville Road, London. His congregation included

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, who had had the chapel built, and Hugh Owen. Blackburn was Secretary of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, 1834–1847, and of the Christian Instruction Society. He supported the Church of Ireland; and was an opponent of the British Anti-State Church Association formed in the 1840s, writing against it in the '' Congregational Magazine'', which he edited from 1818 to 1845. The Wyclyffe Society (or Wiclyffe) he founded in the 1840s, a text publication society for the works of

John Wyclif John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of O ...

, did not get further than one volume, edited by Robert Vaughan; and was later disparaged by

Harold Herbert Williams Sir Harold Herbert Williams (25 July 1880 – 24 October 1964) was an English scholar, priest, lawyer, politician, bibliophile, and expert on the works of Jonathan Swift. Williams born in Tokyo, the son of Rev. James Williams, an Anglican missio ...

. The Wyclif Society (1882–1925) printed all Wyclif's works. Blackburn married the second daughter of Robert Smith of Beslyns, Great Bardfield. In 1848, Blackburn was made an inspector of the Congregational chapels in Wales, with

Henry Richard Henry Richard (3 April 1812 – 20 August 1888) was a Congregational minister and Welsh Member of Parliament between 1868–1888. Richard was an advocate of peace and international arbitration, as secretary of the Peace Society for forty year ...

. In 1849, he was in

Maidstone Gaol HM Prison Maidstone is a Category C men's prison, located in Maidstone, Kent, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History Maidstone Prison is one of the oldest penal institutions in the United Kingdom, having been i ...

, as a debtor. On 16 June 1855, John Blackburn died. He was buried in Abney Park.

Works

* ''Reflections on the Moral and Spiritual Claims of the Metropolis'' (1827) * ''The True Character and Probable Results of American Revivals'' (1830) * ''The Stability of the Church of God, Independent of Political Changes'' (1833) * ''The Salvation of Britain Introductory to the Conversion of the World'' (1835) * ''The Evils of Improper Books'' (1838) * ''The Prophecy of Daniel Regarding the Four Great Dynasties'' (1838) * ''The Social Evils of Christendom are Not Sanctioned by the Bible'' (1839) * ''National Warnings: A Sermon, Preached on Behalf of the Distressed Manufacturers'' (1842) * ''The Three Conferences Held by the Opponents of the Maynooth College Endowment Bill in London and Dublin'' (1845) * ''The Mountain-Monarchies Dissolved at the Presence of the Lord. A Lecture on the Recent Revolutions in Europe'' (1849) * ''Nineveh, Its Rise and Ruin; as Illustrated by Ancient Scriptures and Modern Discoveries'' (1852) In "Remarks on Ecclesiastical Architecture as applied to Nonconformist Chapels", published in ''The Congregational Year Book'' (1847), Blackburn was a proponent of the Gothic style, typically shunned at the time by nonconformists. He wrote the introduction to the Wycliffe Society's publication of the works of David Clarkson. He wrote an introduction and appendix to an edition (1838) of John M. Mason's ''The Claims of Episcopacy Refuted'', replying to Bishop John Henry Hobart.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, John 1792 births 1855 deaths English Congregationalist ministers