1821–1877

Introduction

Born: May 27, 1821, Bel­mont House (now called the Bruns­wick House), Vaux­hall, Sur­rey, Eng­land.

Died: Feb­ru­ary 12, 1877, Monk­land, He­re­ford­shire, Eng­land. His friend John El­ler­ton re­port­ed that Bak­er’s dy­ing words were from his fa­mous hymn:

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

Buried: All Saints Church, Monk­land, He­re­ford­shire, Eng­land.

portrait

Biography

Baker was the son of Vice Ad­mi­ral Hen­ry Lo­raine Bak­er.

He at­tend­ed Tri­ni­ty Col­lege, Cam­bridge, was or­dained in 1844, and be­came as­sist­ant cur­ate at Great Hock­es­ley, near Col­ches­ter, Es­sex.

In 1851, he be­came vi­car of Monk­land Pri­ory Church in He­re­ford­shire, where he served most of his life.

Upon his fa­ther’s death in 1859, Bak­er as­sumed the fa­mi­ly bar­on­et­cy.

From 1860–77, he was ed­it­or-in-chief of the An­gli­can Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, and con­tri­but­ed hymns, tunes, and trans­la­tions. This his­to­ric hym­nal sold 60 mill­ion co­pies.

Sources

Lyrics

Music

Translations