Charles Simeon

Much has been written about the life, conversion and ministry of Charles Simeon (1759-1836), Vicar of Holy Trinity Cambridge for 54 years from 1782 until his death. Simeon, a contemporary of John Wesley, William Wilberforce and a founder member of the Church Mission Society, was described by John Stott as ‘one of the greatest and most persuasive preachers the Church of England has ever known’. Perhaps less has been written about his patronage trust which continues to this day.

Simeon and a number of his contemporaries were concerned to ensure gospel ministry flourished in the Church of England. Partly as a result of Simeon’s ministry and influence in Cambridge and beyond, a considerable number of men were ordained but they then found it difficult to find livings. Many of the bishops and private patrons would not appoint them because of their emphasis on personal faith.

Until 1898 advowsons (the right to present a vicar to a parish) were bought and sold like other ‘property’. John Thornton of Clapham, purchased a number of advowsons including that of St Mary Woolnoth in the City of London to which he presented John Newton as vicar. Thornton set up a trust for his livings, one of which was St Peter’s Colchester, and asked Simeon to be one of the three trustees. Simeon’s first experience of appointing to a living as a Trustee was in 1813; in a letter to Mrs Wilberforce written the following year he implies it is not an easy task! In 1824 the ‘Thornton Trust’ was dissolved and the advowsons transferred to Simeon’s Trustees.

Edward Simeon, Charles’s third brother and a Director of the Bank of England, died in 1812 leaving Charles a legacy of £15,000. Thus financially secure, Charles was in a position to purchase advowsons. He was further helped in this by financial gifts from many others.

Some of the early purchases Simeon made include St Mary’s, Cheltenham and St Giles, Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1817 and St Peter’s, Ruddington (1822). Other early acquisitions include All Saints, Sudbury (1827), Holy Trinity, Ripon (1828), St Giles, Northampton (1833) and just months before his death, Simeon purchased Beverley Minster, outbidding the Duke of Northumberland. A number of advowsons were gifted or bequeathed to Simeon including Drypool given in 1823 by William Wilberforce.

Simeon was concerned to establish ‘spheres of influence’ and to this end he and those who followed were strategic about the advowsons acquired. These included the advowsons of churches in the new industrial centres such as Bradford (purchased by the Trustees in 1854) and Sheffield (purchased in 1882, patronage is shared with the Burgess Trust) as well as in places such as Bath and Cheltenham.

Simeon and his trustees put the needs of the parish foremost when making decisions about who to appoint to livings. Unlike many other patrons of the time their motivation was spiritual, seeking to appoint men who were not only able but the most appropriate for the parish, the ‘sphere of influence’.

In 1833 Simeon presented his solemn charge to his Trustees. This continues to underpin the work of the Trustees though it has been re-interpreted somewhat as now both women and men are appointed to Simeon livings. It is read each time a Trustee is appointed.

On 28 January 1836 Simeon’s Trust Deed was signed, listing 21 advowsons. The Trustees in 1836 were Charles Simeon, the Ven Hodgson, the Revd W Carus Wilson and the Revd William Carus. Later that year, Simeon appointed the Revd John Venn as a Trustee.

Simeon died on 13 November 1836 and he is remembered by the Church of England on 13 November.

The current Simeon’s Trustees are responsible for the patronage (or a share of the patronage) in over 160 livings in most dioceses throughout England. They are guided in their work by current Church of England legislation including the Patronage (Benefices) Measure 1986 and, of course, Simeon’s Charge.

Simeon's Trustees is a Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England in 1960 No 672240 and since 2006 has been registered (No 1115214) with the Charity Commission.

Click here to view the on-line exhibition on Simeon produced by King's College Cambridge

Ridley Hall, Cambridge has a large collection of Charles Simeon's papers including his annotated Bible and his Book of Psalms as well as many letters, sermons and other documents. For more information click here.

Simeon’s Charge to his Trustees

By longstanding tradition Simeon’s Charge is read at the first meeting after the appointment of a new Trustee. It dates from 1833 and has continued to guide our ministry to the present day. It is, however, an original text of its own time and in one aspect has to be reinterpreted in our day. It was written in exclusively male language at a time when women could not be admitted to the ordained ministry of the Church of England. Women have now been admitted to all three orders of bishops, priests and deacons and Simeon’s Trustees are wholly committed to the appointment of both male and female candidates to any benefice, unless it has taken the necessary formal steps to require the appointment of a male candidate. We are also committed to the appointment of both male and female Trustees. As Simeon’s words are read today references to Trustees and clergy expressed in male language should be understood as applying to both men and women without distinction.’

“‘IN THE NAME AND IN THE PRESENCE OF ALMIGHTY GOD I give the following Charge to all my Trustees and to all who shall succeed them in the Trust to the remotest ages. I implore them for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and I charge them also before that adorable Saviour who will call them into Judgment for their execution of the Trust:

‘First, that they be very careful, whenever they shall be called upon to fill up a vacancy in this Trust, which they must invariably do within three months of a vacancy occurring, that they elect no one who is not a truly pious and devoted man, a man of God in deed and in truth, who with his piety combines a solid judgment and a perfectly independent mind. I place this first, because a failure in this one particular would utterly defeat, and that in perpetuity too, all that I have sought to do for God and for immortal souls.

‘Secondly, that, when they shall be called upon to appoint to a living, they consult nothing but the welfare of the people for whom they are to provide, and whose eternal interests have been confided in them. They must on no account be influenced by any solicitation of the great and powerful, or by any partiality towards any one on account of the largeness of his family or the smallness of his income. They must be particularly on their guard against petitions from the parishes to be provided for, whether in behalf of a Curate that has laboured among them, or of any other individual. They must examine carefully, and judge as before God, how far any person possesses the qualifications suited to the particular Parish, and by that consideration alone must they be determined in their appointment of him.’

Signed by me this 18th day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty three.’”

— Charles Simeon

Collect for 13 November

This is the date on which the life of Charles Simeon is celebrated in the Anglican Calendar. The collect is:

“Eternal God, who raised up Charles Simeon to preach the good news of Jesus Christ and inspire your people in service and mission, grant that we with all your Church may worship the Saviour, turn in sorrow from our sins and walk in the way of holiness; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”

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The History of Simeon's Trustees

Charles Simeon

Simeon’s Charge to his Trustees

Collect for 13 November

FURTHER READING ON THE LIFE AND WORK OF CHARLES SIMEON

Memoirs

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