Introduction

Biography

Wreford trained for the Uni­ta­ri­an min­is­try at Man­ches­ter Col­lege, York.

In 1826, he suc­ceed­ed James Yates as co-pas­tor to John Kent­ish at the New Meet­ing in Birm­ing­ham. In 1831, his voice failed, and he with­drew from the min­is­try.

In con­junc­tion with Hugh Hut­ton, he op­ened a school at Edg­bas­ton, Birm­ing­ham. In 1837, he con­trib­ut­ed 55 hymns to John Rel­ly Beard’s Col­lect­ion of Hymns for Pub­lic and Pri­vate Wor­ship. Wre­ford al­so wrote sev­er­al vol­umes of verse, main­ly de­vo­tion­al.

During this time, he wrote a num­ber of un­pub­lished hymn tunes and an­thems.

Wreford spent the lat­ter years of his life in re­tire­ment in Bris­tol.

Works

• A trans­la­tion of Cel­ler­ier’s Dis­course on the Au­then­ti­ci­ty and Di­vine Ori­gin of the Old Tes­ta­ment, 1830
• Sketch of the His­to­ry of Pres­by­ter­ian Non­con­for­mi­ty in Birm­ing­ham, 1832
• Lays of Loy­al­ty, 1837 (in ce­le­bra­tion of Queen Vic­tor­ia’s ac­ces­sion)