Author: House, William
Biography:
HOUSE, William (d 1835: Earthen Vessel)
His relatively common name and his relatively obscure sect may account for the shortage of reliable information about William House. A subscription publication, Poems, Sacred to Friendship, Virtue, and Religion (1826), contains almost all of it. The title-page provides his occupation: “Pastor of the Church of Christ, meeting in Enon Chapel, Clement’s Lane, Strand”—the London address that was also his home (in Chapel House) from its completion in 1822 until his death thirteen years later. House was a Particular Baptist who had only “a Sabbath School [for] his college” (Poems). He began his preaching career in Croydon, Surrey, but after 1817 he moved to various modest rented premises in London—Carey St., Chancery Lane; an assembly room at Temple Bar—before the bespoke chapel was constructed for him. The subscription list of 1826 consists mainly of the names of women (Miss or Mrs.); the contents include references to the family of the author, notably to a brother and several sons, some of whom had died young but none of whom appears to have had a parish baptism or burial. There were at least seven sons, one of whom, also William, lived to take on the Chapel after his father died of apoplexy in 1835. The name of his wife and date of marriage are uncertain. House also published two short occasional poems, reviewed in 1833, and a few sermons. (“Past and Present,” The Earthen Vessel and Christian Record and Review 6-7 [1850], 211; Baptist Magazine [1822], 525; Spiritual Magazine 9 [1833], 126)
Other Names:
- W. House