William Josiah Irons (1812–1883) was a priest in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and a

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

writer.

Life

Irons, born at

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon is ...

, Hertfordshire, 12 September 1812, was second son of the Rev. Joseph Irons (1785–1852), by his first wife, Mary Ann, daughter of William Broderick. His mother died in 1828. His father, a popular

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

preacher, born at

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, Al ...

, Hertfordshire, on 5 November 1785, commenced preaching in March 1808 under the auspices of the London Itinerant Society, was ordained an independent minister on 21 May 1814, was stationed at

from 1812 to 1815, and at

Sawston Sawston is a large village in Cambridgeshire in England, situated on the River Cam about south of Cambridge. It has a population of 7,260. History Prehistory Although the current village of Sawston has only existed as anything more than a ha ...

, near

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, from 1815 to 1818, and was minister of Grove Chapel,

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, Surrey, from 1818 until his death at Camberwell on 3 April 1852. William Josiah, after being educated at home, matriculated from

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, on 12 May 1829, and graduated B.A. 1833,

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

1835, BD 1842, and DD 1854. He was curate of St. Mary,

Newington Butts Newington Butts is a former hamlet, now an area of the London Borough of Southwark, that gives its name to a segment of the A3 road running south-west from the Elephant and Castle junction. The road continues as Kennington Park Road leading to ...

, Surrey, from 1835 till 1837, when he was presented to the living of St. Peter's,

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

. He became vicar of

Barkway Barkway is a long-established village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England, about five miles south-east of Royston, 35 miles from London and 15 miles from the centre of Cambridge. The Prime Meridian pa ...

in Hertfordshire in 1838, vicar of Brompton, Middlesex, 17 September 1840,

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

December 1860, rector of Waddingham, Lincolnshire, 6 April 1870, and on 7 June 1872 rector of St. Mary Woolnoth with St. Mary Woolchurch-Haw 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 fr ...

, on the presentation of

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

, the then

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

. In 1870 he was

Bampton lecturer The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial ...

at Oxford, and his published lectures, ''Christianity as taught by St. Paul'', reached a second edition in 1876. He died at 20

Gordon Square Gordon Square is a public park square in Bloomsbury, London, England. It is part of the Bedford Estate and was designed as one of a pair with the nearby Tavistock Square. It is owned by the University of London. History and buildings The sq ...

, London, on 18 June 1883. He married first, in 1839, Ann, eldest daughter of John Melhuish of Upper Tooting, who died 14 July 1853; and secondly, on 28 December 1854, Sarah Albinia Louisa, youngest daughter of Sir

Lancelot Shadwell Sir Lancelot Shadwell (3 May 1779 – 10 August 1850) was a barrister at Lincoln's Inn and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Ripon from 1826 to 1827 before becoming Vice-Chancellor of England in 1827. He supported Jewish emancipation. Life He ...

; she died 15 December 1887.

Works

Irons's chief work is the ''Analysis of Human Responsibility'', 1869, written at the request of the founders of the

Victoria Institute The Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of Great Britain, was founded in 1865, as a response to the publication of ''On the Origin of Species'' and ''Essays and Reviews''. Its stated objective was to defend "the great truths revealed in ...

. There Irons lectured on Darwin's ''Origin of Species'', on Tyndall's ''Fragments of Science'', on Mill's ''Essay on Theism'', and on the ''Unseen Universe''. For the volume of ''Replies to Essays and Reviews'' he wrote, in 1862, ''The Idea of a National Church''. He zealously defended church establishment in a series of works, of which the earliest was a pamphlet called ''The Present Crisis'', published in 1850, and the latest a series of letters entitled ''The Charge of Erastianism''. In 1855 appeared a pamphlet signed ''A. E.'', entitled ''Is the Vicar of Brompton a

Tractarian The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

?'' He was an advocate of free and compulsory education, and suggested an entire modification of the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

. He was one of the editors of the ''Tracts of the Anglican Church'', 1842, and of the ''Literary Churchman''. In the latter he wrote the leading articles from May 1855 to December 1861. He translated the ''Dies Iræ'' of

Thomas of Celano Thomas of Celano ( it, Tommaso da Celano, italic=no; c. 1185 – c. 1265) was an Italian friar of the Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor) as well as a poet and the author of three hagiographies about Francis of Assisi. Life Thomas was born some ...

in the well-known hymn commencing ''Day of wrath! O day of mourning!''. Irons wrote, besides the works mentioned and single sermons and addresses: :# ''On the Whole Doctrine of Final Causes'', 1836. :# ''On the Holy Catholic Church'', parochial lectures, three series, 1837–47. :# ''Our Blessed Lord regarded in his Earthly Relationship'', four sermons, 1844. :# ''Notes of the Church, 1845; third edit''. 1846. :# ''The Theory of Development examined'', 1846. :# ''Fifty-two Propositions: A Letter to the Rev. Dr. Hampden'', 1848. :# ''The Christian Servant's Book'', 1849. :# ''The Judgments on Baptismal Regeneration'', 1850. :# ''The Preaching of Christ'', 1853. :# ''The Miracles of Christ'', a series of sermons, 1859. :# ''The Bible and its Interpreters'', 1865; 2nd edit., 1869. :# ''On Miracles and Prophecy'', 1867. :# ''The Sacred Life of Jesus Christ. Taken in Order from the Gospels'', 1867. :# ''The Sacred Words of Jesus Christ. Taken in Order from the Gospels'', 1868. :# ''Considerations on taking Holy Orders'', 1872. :# ''The Church of all Ages'', 1875. :# ''Psalms and Hymns for the Church'', 1875; another edit., 1883. :# ''Occasional Sermons'', chiefly preached at St. Paul's, seven parts, 1876.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Irons, William Josiah Anglicanism English Anglicans 1812 births 1883 deaths People from Hoddesdon Members of the London School Board People from Camberwell