William Chatterton Dix
William Chatterton Dix | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 14 June 1837 |
| Died | 9 September 1898 (aged 61) Cheddar, Somerset, UKGBI |
Resting place | St Andrew's Church |
| Occupations | |
| Spouse |
Juliet Dix (m. 1864) |
| Children | 7, including Gertrude Dix |
| Father | John Dix |
William Chatterton Dix (14 June 1837 – 9 September 1898) was a British hymnwriter, writer of devotional works and high-church Anglican.[1] Dix is known for the hymns As with Gladness Men of Old and Alleluia! Sing to Jesus, and the carol What Child Is This?.[1]
Biography
[edit]Dix was born on 4 June 1837 in Bristol to John Dix (later John Ross Dix), a surgeon, writer and poet, and Susanna Dix (née Moore; 1808–1888).[1][2][3] Born the same year his father published a biography of Thomas Chatterton, Dix was named after the poet.[1][4] The youngest of three siblings, both of Dix's elder sisters were music teachers.[1]
Initially raised in a Nonconformist household, Dix was later baptised into the Church of England at St Thomas the Martyr on 16 July 1844.[1] In 1850, Dix's father abandoned the family and settled permanently in America.[1][2] Educated at Bristol Grammar School, Dix also attended a private school in Frome.[1]
Career
[edit]Upon leaving school Dix first worked as a clerk in his maternal grandfather's soap and candle manufacturing works in Bedminster.[1] Joining the choir at St Raphael's Church, Dix wrote his first collections of hymns Hymns of Love and Joy around 1859 which was later published in 1861.[1]
His original hymns are found in most modern hymn-books.[3] He wrote also felicitous renderings in metrical form of Richard Frederick Littledale's translations from the Greek in his Offices of the Holy Eastern Church; and of John Medows Rodwell's translations of Abyssinian hymns.[5] Some of his carols, such as The Manger Throne, have been very popular.[5] His hymns and carols also include As with Gladness Men of Old, What Child Is This?, To You, O Lord, Our Hearts We Raise and Alleluia! Sing to Jesus.
At the age of 29 he was struck with a near fatal illness and consequently suffered months confined to his bed. During this time he became severely depressed. Yet it is from this period that many of his hymns date.[6][7]
Personal life
[edit]
On 30 June 1864, Dix married Juliet Dix (née Wartnaby: 1837–1913) in Liverpool.[1] The couple had eight children, including the Gertrude Dix, a writer and socialist, the illustrator Hilda Dix Sandford and Frank Dix, a writer, actor and director.[1][8][9][10][11]
On 9 September 1898, Dix died in Cheddar, Somerset aged 61.[1] Dix was buried at St Andrew's Church on 12 September 1898.[1]
Selected works
[edit]Hymns
[edit]- As with Gladness Men of Old
- Alleluia! Sing to Jesus
Carols
[edit]- What Child Is This?
Devotional literature
[edit]- Light. 1882.
- The Risen Life. 1883.
- The Pattern of Life. 1885.
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Giles, Gordon (13 November 2025) [4 October 2008]. "Dix, William Chatterton (1837–1898), hymn writer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/97110. Retrieved 22 July 2026. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- 1 2 Groom, Nick (13 November 2025) [23 September 2004]. "Dix, John (1811–1865), writer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/7693. Retrieved 22 July 2026. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- 1 2 James Moffatt, Handbook to the Church Hymnary, Oxford University Press, 1927
- ↑ Albert Edward Bailey, The Gospel in Hymns, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1950, p. 359
- 1 2 James Moffatt, Handbook to the Church Hymnary, Oxford University Press, 1927, p. 318
- ↑ Robert Guy McCutchan (1937) Our hymnody, a manual of the Methodist hymnal
- ↑ John Telford (1934) The new Methodist hymn-book illustrated in history and experience
- ↑ Brine, Eleanor (9 July 2026). "Dix [married name Nicol], Gertrude Mary (1867–1950), novelist and socialist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382555. Retrieved 22 July 2026. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ Bassett, Troy (15 December 2022). "Author: Gertrude Dix". At the Circulating Library: A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ↑ Rowbotham, Sheila (2016). "Fabianism and Free Love: Gertrude Dix". Rebel Crossings: New Women, Free Lovers, and Radicals in Britain and America. London: Verso. pp. 187–206. ISBN 9781784785901. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ Gray, Sara (2009). "SANDFORD, Hilda Dix". The Dictionary of British Women Artists. Cambridge: The Lutterworth Press. pp. 230–231. ISBN 9780718830847. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
External links
[edit]- Works by or about William Chatterton Dix at the Internet Archive
- Works by William Chatterton Dix at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
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