The Reverend Isaac Williams (1802–1865) was a prominent member of the

Oxford Movement 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 ...

(or "Tractarians"), a student and disciple of

John Keble John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, was named after him. Early life Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in Fairford, Glouces ...

and, like the other members of the movement, associated with Oxford University. A prolific writer, Williams wrote poetry and prose including the well known Tract: ''"On Reserve in Communicating Religious"''.

Life

Williams was the son of a Welsh Chancery barrister who spent much of his time in London. The Williams family had a home, Cwmcynfelin, in

Llangorwen Llangorwen is a village located in the county of Ceredigion, Mid-Wales. Close to Clarach Bay and a mile north of Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the histor ...

, Cardiganshire, from which Isaac would walk to Oxford and other destinations. He is associated with the establishment there of a distinct parish separated from that of Llanbadarn Fawr. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, where as an undergraduate he gained the Latin verse prize and thus came to the notice of John Keble. In 1829 he was ordained as curate of Windrush, a Gloucestershire village not far from John Keble's home at Fairford. He then returned to Oxford to assist

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and ...

, a leading member of the Tractarians, as his curate at St Mary's Church, Oxford. In spite of a poor degree he was elected as a fellow and tutor at his Oxford college. In 1836, he served as curate of the chapel at Littlemore. In 1841, he was suggested as John Keble's successor as the

Professor of Poetry The Professor of Poetry is an academic appointment at the University of Oxford. The chair was created in 1708 by an endowment from the estate of Henry Birkhead. The professorship carries an obligation to lecture, but is in effect a part-time p ...

at Oxford. Due to the furore raised by Newman's

Tract XC ''Remarks on Certain Passages in the Thirty-Nine Articles'', better known as Tract 90, was a theological pamphlet written by the English theologian and churchman John Henry Newman and published in 1841. It is the most famous and the most controver ...

, and Williams' association with the Oxford Movement, the election became a referendum on Tractarianism, the beliefs and writings of the Movement. Williams in Tract LXXX, "On Reserve in Communicating Religious Knowledge" had espoused a distinctly Catholic position. The controversy created became so heated that Williams withdrew his name and

James Garbett James Garbett (1802-1879) was a British academic and Anglican cleric who became the Archdeacon of Chichester. He was a Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. He was an Evangelical and an opponent of the Oxford Movement. He was the anti-Tractarian ...

was given the position.Chadwick, Owen, The Victorian Church, Vol 1, Oxford: Oxford, 1966. In 1842 Williams married Miss Caroline Champernowne and the couple moved to Bisley, where he worked as a curate to Thomas Keble. In 1846 he became seriously ill and, although he recovered, he was left practically incapacitated and unable to continue active work in the parish. He therefore moved to Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire, where his brother-in-law, Sir George Prevost, a fellow Tractarian, was the vicar. He lived there until his death in 1865.

Writings

* ''The Cathedral, or, The Catholic and Apostolic Church in England''. (Oxford : John Henry Parker, 1838) * ''The Baptistery, or the way of eternal life / by the author of "The cathedral."'' (Oxford : J.H. Parker ; London : Rivingtons, 1842-1844)

References

Isaac Williams
at

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...

External links

Papers at Lambeth Palace Library
1802 births 1865 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford People from Aberystwyth Welsh Anglo-Catholics Anglo-Catholic writers Anglican poets Tractarians {{Christianity-bio-stub