William Bull (minister)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

William Bull (1738–1814) was an English independent
minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
.


Life

Bull was born at Irthlingborough, near Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, the third son of John Bull. The children were brought up by their grandfather Francis Bull. Bull learned to read the Hebrew alphabet, studied in William Whiston's ''Mathematics'', and a contributed to Martin's ''Mathematical Magazine''. He left his job, and went to live with his elder brother John, in Bedford. He worked on Latin under the Rev. Samuel Saunderson, and learned Greek with the Rev. James Belsham, pastor of the independent church at
Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is separated from the rest of the urban ...
, who lived in Bedford. In 1759 he was admitted a student of Daventry Academy. He remained a Calvinist, in a less orthodox milieu. In 1764 Bull succeeded Belsham as pastor of the church at Newport Pagnell, and to increase his income took pupils. Among his scholars was Sir John Leach, master of the rolls. Bull formed an acquaintance with the Rev. John Newton of
Olney Olney may refer to: Places Australia * Olney Parish, New South Wales England * Olney, Buckinghamshire, a town near Milton Keynes, England United States * Olney, Alabama * Olney, Georgia - see List of places in Georgia (U.S. state) (I–R) * Ol ...
, resulting in a lifelong relationship and frequent correspondence. Bull occasionally preached at the great house at Olney, where Newton conducted his prayer meetings with the assistance of William Cowper. Later Bull knew Cowper better, and preserved several of Cowper's poems. He also induced Cowper to translate into English verse some of the poems of
Madame Guyon Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Motte-Guyon (Commonly known as Madame Guyon, ; 13 April 1648 – 9 June 1717) was a French mystic accused of advocating Quietism, which was considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church. Madame Guyon was imprisone ...
, printed at Newport Pagnell, with a preface by Bull. At Olney vicarage Bull met Mrs. Wilberforce, aunt of William Wilberforce, and sister to John Thornton. She invited Bull to visit her in London, and there she introduced him to Thornton. About this time the evangelicals projected a new academy as preparation for the ministry. Newton drew up a plan, and a proposal was made for Bull to superintend the arrangements, and thus turn Bull's school into an academy. In 1782 he founded the Newport Pagnell Theological College, also known as the Academy. In 1783 the academy started with two students; it increased its numbers, and continued for many years. Supported mainly by Thornton, it trained about 100 ministers. His acquaintance with Mrs. Wilberforce and the Thorntons also brought Bull into the company of Zachary Macaulay, Mr. Thomas Babington, and their friends Colonel Makelcan and Major Handfield. These were prominent figures in the Clapham Sect. Besides teaching, Bull frequently preached in London; and
Lady Huntingdon Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (24 August 1707 – 17 June 1791) was an English religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the 18th century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales. She founded an e ...
's chapels often invited him. Although he lived a long and busy life, Bull's health was never robust. In the opening of the year 1814 he became weaker, and died on 23 July in the seventy-seventh year of his age. Together with his son Thomas Palmer Bull and his grandson Josiah Bull, the Bull family's ministry to the town spanned 105 years.


Works

Bull was occupied three or four years in writing an ''Exposition of the Book of Psalms''. A tract, ''Seasonable Hints'', was written while on a trip to Ireland, printed at Dublin, and distributed during the journey. Bull contributed to Thornton's edition of
Karl Heinrich von Bogatzky Karl Heinrich von Bogatzky ( Jankowe, Lower Silesia 7 September 1690 – 15 June 1774) was a German hymn writer. Life At first a page at the ducal court of Saxe-Weissenfels, he next studied law and theology at Jena and Halle; but ill health pre ...
's ''Golden Treasury'', published in 1775. ''A Brief Narrative of the Rise and Progress of the Independent Church of Newport'' (1811) was a joint work of Bull and his son Thomas.


Family

In 1768 Bull married a daughter of Thomas Palmer of Bedford.


References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Bull, William 1738 births 1814 deaths People from Irthlingborough 18th-century English mathematicians English Calvinist and Reformed Christians English Christian religious leaders