John Marriott (1780–1825) was an English poet and clergyman. Marriott was born at Cottesbach, in 1780, and educated at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

, and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He was the second of two who obtained honours in the schools in 1802, the first year in which there was a public examination for honours at Oxford. He was also Student of Christ Church, and for about two years a

private tutor Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides ...

in the family of the

Duke of Buccleuch Duke of Buccleuch (pronounced ), formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and second suo jure for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Cou ...

. The Duke presented him to the Rectory of

Church Lawford Church Lawford is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire. It is located just under west of the town of Rugby and east of Coventry. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2021 census was 432. The village lies north of the A428 mai ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. This

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

he retained to his death, although his wife's poor health compelled him to reside in

Devonshire Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a ...

, where he was successively curate of St. Lawrence and other parishes in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, and of

Broadclyst Broadclyst is a village and civil parish in the East Devon local government district. It lies approximately 5 miles northeast of the city of Exeter, Devon, England, on the B3181. In 2001 its population was 2,830, reducing at the 2011 Census to 1 ...

, near Exeter, where he died March 31, 1825. His published works include a volume of ''Sermons'' which he issued in 1818, and a posthumous volume of ''Sermons'', published by his sons in 1838. His hymns were never published by himself, nor in book form by any one. His best known hymn is "Thou, whose almighty word", which is usually sung to the tune "Moscow", based on a melody by Italian violinist, Felice de Giardini, who was resident in Russia's capital. Marriott was a close friend of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

who spoke of him in the second canto of ' Marmion' as someone with whom he could talk about poetry.

References

1780 births 1825 deaths 19th-century English poets 19th-century English writers {{England-poet-stub