Joseph Fawcett (c. 1758 – 24 January 1804) was an 18th-century English Presbyterian minister and poet. Fawcett began his education at Reverend French's school in

Ware Ware may refer to: People * Ware (surname) * William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian Places Canada * Fort Ware, British Columbia United Kingdom * Ware, Devon *Ware, Hertfordshire * Ware, Kent United States * Ware, Elmore County ...

, Hertfordshire and in 1774 entered the

dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, those who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of England's edu ...

at Daventry. At the school, he practiced his preaching on thorn bushes. In 1780 Fawcett was called to be the morning preacher at Marsh Street Presbyterian Chapel in Walthamstow, east of London. His adoption of

Unitarianism Unitarianism (from Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the doctrine of the Trinity which states that there i ...

led to a schism in the congregation and he resigned in 1787. On 23 September 1782, Fawcett married the daughter of his schoolteacher, Charlotte French. In 1785 he began a series of Sunday evening lectures at the Old Jewry meeting house in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. This series established Fawcett as one of the most popular Dissenting preachers of the time. He supposedly drew "the largest and most genteel London audience that ever assembled in a dissenting place of worship". He appealed to a broad audience, including Anglicans, actors such as

Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder sister of Joh ...

and the Kembles.

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

was taken to hear Fawcett by his London friend,

Samuel Nicholson Samuel Nicholson (1743 – December 28, 1811) was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later in the United States Navy. Along with shipwright George Claghorn he oversaw the building of ("Old I ...

. Wordsworth admired his sermons, bur felt that Fawcett was unstable, and is said to have modelled the "Solitary" in his poem "

The Excursion ''The Excursion: Being a portion of The Recluse, a poem'' is a long poem by Romantic poet William Wordsworth and was first published in 1814 (see 1814 in poetry). It was intended to be the second part of ''The Recluse'', an unfinished larger work ...

" after him. In 1795 Fawcett abandoned his preaching and leased a farm called Edge Grove near

Aldenham Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, north-east of Watford and southwest of Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of Hertsmere's 14 conservation areas. The village has eight pre-19th-century listed buil ...

, Hertfordshire. In the late 1790s he published a series of poems opposing Britain's war with France. These were much lauded;

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

wrote that his ''The Art of War'' revealed "a most exuberant imagination ... some parts are very affecting". Fawcett associated with other reformers, such as William Godwin and

William Hazlitt William Hazlitt (10 April 177818 September 1830) was an English essayist, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the English lan ...

. Godwin and Fawcett met in 1778 at Ware and remained friends for their entire lives. Godwin wrote that he was the most important of the "four principal instructors". Hazlitt wrote "with him I passed some of the pleasantest days of my life. The conversation ... of taste and philosophy gave me a delight such as I can never feel again ... he was the person of the most refined and least contracted taste I ever knew". Unlike many of his time, Fawcett was an open

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. Fawcett died in 1804 and was buried in Aldenham churchyard.Ruston, Alan.
Joseph Fawcett
. ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. Oxford University Press (2004). Retrieved on 22 July 2007.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fawcett, Joseph 1750s births 1804 deaths English Presbyterian ministers English Unitarians English republicans People from Aldenham