Samuel John Stone


Samuel John Stone was an English poet, hymnodist, and a priest in the Church of England.

Life and career

Stone was born on 25 April 1839 at his father's rectory in the parish of Whitmore, Staffordshire. His father, William, was a Hebrew scholar and a botanist alongside his clerical work, who had published various works including a six volume religious epic and various compilations of hymns. Samuel had one sister, Sarah, who was born two years after him. When Samuel was 13 the family moved to London where his father had obtained a curacy.
Following his schooling at Charterhouse he went up to Pembroke College, Oxford, gaining a BA in 1862 and being awarded an MA in 1872. He served a curacy in Windsor, Berkshire from 1862, then at St. Paul's, Haggerston from 1870, where, in 1874 he became the vicar. He remained at Haggerston for twenty years before taking up his final post at All Hallows' London Wall also in London.
Stone died on 19 November 1900.
He is chiefly remembered for his hymn The Church's One Foundation.

Poems