John Darwall
Illustration — First page of an autograph manuscript of a tune by John Darwall for Psalm 1, in the metrical version by Tate and Brady. John Darwall (1731–1789) was an English clergyman and hymnodist. John Darwall was born in the village of Haughton in Staffordshire, Darwall was educated at Manchester Grammar School and at Brasenose College, Oxford (which he entered at the age of 15), graduating in 1756.
John Darwall

John Darwall · This file has been provided by the British Library from its digital collections. Links to the British Library's website may be broken as the library recovers from a October 2023 cyber attack, and will · Public domain
- Born
- 1731
- Died
- 1789
- Nationality
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Occupation
- composer · hymnwriter · poet · church musician · parson
- Education
- Brasenose College
In this article
Son
He then became curate and later vicar of St Matthew's Parish in Walsall. In 1766 he married Mary Whateley (1738–1825), his second wife, a published poet who ran a printing press and also wrote hymns. He died on 18 December 1789 at Walsall in the West Midlands. He was buried at the Bath Street Burial Grounds. He is probably best known for his setting of Psalm 148, known as DARWALL'S 148th, which is most often sung to the words "Rejoice the Lord is King" (from Charles Wesley's Moral and Sacred Poems of 1744) and to "Ye holy angels bright" (from Richard Baxter's Poetical Fragments of 1681). It was first sung at the inauguration of a new organ in 1773. Darwall also wrote many tunes for the New Version of Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady, as well as poetry published in The Gentleman's Magazine.
Darwall's son, also John, was vicar in 1796 and Lecturer of St John's Chapel, Deritend, Birmingham.
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article John Darwall, revision 1330286715 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1..shropshire-cc.gov.uk. John Darwall (1731–1789).
- 2.Hymntime.com. John Darwall.
- 3.Street Names of Walsall, volume 1 of the series Street Names of Walsall Metropolitan Borough. Based on the original unpublished work by W.F. Blay with additional research by Walsall Local History Centre. Published by Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council's Walsall Local History Centre, 1992. .
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