Doddridge, Philip

(1702-1751)

   London-born, Non-conformist clergyman, the son of prosperous businessman. He was educated at Kingston-on-Thames and at St. Albans, where he was taught by the Presbyterian minister Samuel Clarke. The Duchess of Bedford heard of him and offered to see him through university after his father died. As a non-conformist he declined, and entered John Jennings' non-conformist academy at Kibworth, Leicestershire, in 1719. He set up a charity school at Northampton in 1737 and was influential in the foundation of the county infirmary in 1743. Never in good health, he died while in Portugal and was buried in the English cemetery at Lisbon. Besides a New Testament commentary and other theological works, he wrote over 400 hymns. Some of his publications: The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, 1745. The Family Expositor, 1739-1756. Some Remarkable Passages in the Life of the honourable Colonel James Gardiner, 1747 (the philanderer referred to in Walter Scott's Waverly). Some of his hymns and poems: "Christ's Resurrection and Ascension," "Hark, the Glad Sound! the Saviour Comes," "Live While You Live," "God of Bethel" (see Logan, John), "Ye Golden Lamps of Heaven, Farewell."

   Sources: A Sacrifice of Praise: An Anthology of Christian Poetry in English from Caedmon to the Mid-Twentieth Century. James H. Trott, ed. Cumberland House Publishing, 1999. A World Treasury of Oral Poetry. Ruth Finnegan, ed. Indiana University Press, 1978. Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Christian History Institute, Philip Doddridge (http://chi.gospelcom.net/DAILYF/2003/10/daily-10-262003.shtml). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Cyber Hymnal (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/index.htm). The National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk). The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.