Rev. John Mason Neale, D.D. (24 Jan 1818 – 6 Aug 1866)

On Wednesday, I gave a campus ministry talk on the influence of J.M. Neale, adapted from my recent research. Below is the handout I distributed to the students.

---

Born to Cornelius and Susanna Good Neale; named for Puritan cleric and hymn writer John Mason (1645–94). Cornelius was ordained a Church of England priest in 1822 and died in 1823. J.M. married Sarah Webster in 1842; three children: Agnes Neale, Vincent Neale, Mary Sackville (Neale) Lawson.

Cofounder of Cambridge Camden Society, later the Ecclesiological Society; from 1841-1866 co-editor (with Benjamin Webb) of its journal, The Ecclesiologist.

In 1846, he became warden of Sackville College, an almshouse in East Grinstead, but was inhibited by the local bishop from 1848-1860 for his “Puseyite” tendencies. In 1855, he founded the Society of St. Margaret, a women’s religious order that trained nuns to minister to the poor, which, after relocating to East Grinstead in 1856; his daughter Agnes was later its Mother Superior.

Died in 1866 at Sackville College, and buried 10 Aug 1866 in St. Swithun Churchyard, East Grinstead, West Sussex, England.

Hymns

A great and mighty wonder All glory, laud, and honor Alleluia, song of gladness, Art thou weary, art thou languid Brief life is here our portion Christ is made the sure foundation Christian! Dost Thou See Them Come, ye faithful, raise the strain Draw nigh and take the Body of the Lord Fierce was the wild billow For thee, O dear, dear country Good Christian men, rejoice Holy Father, thou hast taught me Jerusalem the golden, Jesus, name all names above Jesus, the very thought is sweet Lift up, lift up your voices now Now that the daylight fills the sky

O come, O come, Emmanuel O happy band of pilgrims O Lord of hosts, Whose glory fills O sons and daughters, let us sing O thou who by a star didst guide O Thou, Who through this holy week O what their joy and their glory must be O wondrous type! O vision fair Of the Father's love begotten Safe home, safe home in port That Easter day with joy was bright The day is past and over The day of Resurrection The day, O Lord, is spent The Royal Banners forward go The world is very evil To the name that brings salvation

References

• “J.M. Neale,” Hymnary.org, URL: https://hymnary.org/person/Neale_JM
• J.M. Neale, A Few Words to Church Builders (Cambridge: Cambridge Camden Society, 1841), URL: https://archive.org/details/fewwordstochurch00camb
• J.M. Neale and Benjamin Webb, The Symbolism of Churches and Church Ornaments (London: T.W. Greene, 1843), URL: https://archive.org/details/symbolismchurch00webbgoog
• Eleanor A. Towle, John Mason Neale, DD: A Memoir (London: Longmans, Green, 1907), URL: https://archive.org/details/johnmasonnealeme00towl
• James F. White, The Cambridge Movement: the Ecclesiologists and the Gothic Revival. (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1962).
• Barry A. Orford, “Music and Hymnody” in Stewart J. Brown, James Pereiro, and Peter Nockles, eds., The Oxford Handbook of the Oxford Movement (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), 376-386.
• J. West, “Neale’s Hymnal Noted and its Impact on Twentieth-Century American Hymnody,” The Hymn, 69, 3 (Summer 2018): 14-24.
• J. West, “How Cambridge and John Mason Neale Continued the Oxford Movement,” Forward in Christ 11, 4 (October 2018): 18-20, URL: http://bit.ly/FIC-Neale-2018