William Gadsby (1773–1844) was an English

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

pastor. In addition to pastoring, Gadsby planted churches, and was an early leader of the Strict and Particular Baptist movement in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Although he was not formally educated, Gadsby was regarded by his contemporaries as an excellent

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

and pastor who championed the cause of

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

and opposed the established Elizabethan Church. In 1805 he became pastor of Black Lane Chapel, Strict Baptist church in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, and held that position until he died.

Early life

William was born to John and Martha Gadsby at

Attleborough, Warwickshire Attleborough is an area of Nuneaton, Warwickshire. It is about a mile south-east of the town centre. It is historically an ancient village that dates to before 1150. Owned by Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester and given by him to the N ...

on or around 3 January 1773. He was born into poverty and only briefly attended Nuneaton church school, starting work as a ribbon weaver at age 13. By age 17 he had forgotten how to read. His conversion to Christianity was also at this age: "But when the Lord was graciously pleased to quicken my soul, being then just 17 years of age, and showed me something of what sin really was, I really feared it then, and a turn in my mind took place of a very different kind... I was then solemnly and blessedly led to believe in God's free mercy and pardon." He joined the Cow Lane Baptist Church in Coventry where he was baptized on 29 December 1793.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gadsby, William 1773 births 19th-century English Baptist ministers Christian hymnwriters 1844 deaths English hymnwriters

Early life

See also

References