1814–1878

Introduction

portrait
National Portrait Gallery

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Born: Ju­ly 15, 1814, Yate­ley, Hamp­shire, Eng­land.

Died: Jan­ua­ry 2, 1878, Edg­bas­ton, War­wick­shire, Eng­land.

Buried: Red­nal Ro­man Ca­tho­lic Ce­me­te­ry, War­wick­shire, Eng­land.

Biography

Edward was the son of Ro­bert Clarke Cas­wall (per­pe­tu­al cur­ate of Yate­ley, and lat­er vi­car of West Lav­ing­ton, Wilt­shire). His mo­ther was a niece of Tho­mas Bur­gess, Bi­shop of St. Da­vid and lat­er of Sal­is­bu­ry.

Caswall at­tend­ed Chig­well Gram­mar School in Es­sex; Marl­bo­rough School; and Brase­nose Col­lege, Ox­ford (gra­du­at­ed with hon­ors, 1836).

Before leav­ing Ox­ford, he pub­lished, un­der the pseu­do­nym of Scrib­ler­us Re­di­vi­vus, The Art of Pluck, in imi­ta­tion of Ar­is­to­tle, a sa­tire on the ways of the care­less col­lege stu­dent.

In 1838, Cas­wall was or­dained a dea­con, and 1839 an Ang­li­can priest. In 1840, he be­came per­pe­tu­al cur­ate at Strat­ford-sub-Cas­tle near Sal­is­bu­ry.

By 1847, he had switched to Ro­man Ca­tho­li­cism and went to the Ora­to­ry of St. Phil­ip Ne­ri at Edg­bas­ton, where he did most of his hymn work.

Caswall is best re­mem­bered as a trans­lat­or of an­cient hymns, though he al­so wrote orig­in­al lyr­ics.

Works

Sources

Lyrics

Translations