William Chatterton Dix

Born: June 14, 1837, Bristol, England.

Died:  September 9, 1898, Cheddar, Somerset, England.

Buried: Parish church, Cheddar, Somerset, England.

    Dix’ father, a surgeon, wrote a biography of poet Thomas Chatterton, and gave his son his middle name in his honor. Young William attended the Bristol Grammar School. Later, he managed a marine insurance company in Glasgow, Scotland, but his heart was in the poetry of worship. He wrote more than 40 hymns over the course of his life. His works include:

Hymns

  1. Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!
  2. As with Gladness, Men of Old
  3. Come unto Me, Ye Weary
  4. Cross Is on Thy Brow, The
  5. God Cometh, Let the Heart Prepare
  6. How Long, O Lord, How Long, We Ask
  7. In Our Work and in Our Play
  8. In the Hollow of Thine Hand
  9. Joy Fills Our Inmost Hearts Today!
  10. Lift Up Your Songs, Ye Angel Choirs
  11. Lift Up Your Songs, Ye Thankful
  12. Like Silver Lamps in a Distant Shrine
  13. Now in Numbers Softly Flowing
  14. Now, My Soul, Rehearse the Story
  15. Now, O Father, We Adore Thee
  16. O Christ, Thou Son of Mary
  17. O Cross Which Only Canst Allay
  18. O Thou, the Eternal Son of God
  19. On the Waters Dark and Drear
  20. Only One Prayer Today
  21. Sitting at Receipt of Custom
  22. Stars Above Our Head, The
  23. To Thee, O Lord, Our Hearts We Raise
  24. What Child Is This?
  25. When the Shades of Night Are Falling
  26. Within the Temple's Hallowed Courts