Rowland Hill

Rowland Hill (1744-1823) was the 6th son of Sir Rowland Hill of Hawkstone Park, Shropshire. Sir Richard Hill (1732-1808) was his elder brother and influenced Rowland toward spiritual concerns at an early age.  After receiving his early education at Shrewsbury and Eton, he entered St. John’s College, Cambridge, in 1764. He graduated in 1769 and wanted to take orders in the church, but was refused by six bishops because of his irregular preaching habits. He was finally ordained in 1773 by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and took a curacy at Kingston, Somerset. He continued to preach as an evangelist, and as a result was turned down for the priesthood. He became immensely popular among the people, however, and a chapel was erected for him in Wotton, Gloucestershire, and another in 1783 in London (Surrey Chapel), which became his preaching home for the rest of his life. He published his Village Dialogues in 1810 and was a promoter of many of the evangelistic endeavors of the day, such as being first chairman of the committee for the Religious Tract Society as well as a member of the British and Foreign Bible Society and the London Missionary Society.