Henry Francis Lyte moved to All-Saints Church in Brixham, Devon in
1824, where he became chairman of the schools committee,
established the first Sunday school in the Torbay area and created
a Sailors' Sunday School. The primary object of both schools was to
provide education for children and seamen for whom other schooling
was almost impossible. He organised an Annual Treat for the
800-1000 Sunday school children, which included a short religious
service followed by tea and sports in the field. Shortly after
Lyte's arrival in Brixham, he attracted such large crowds that the
church had to be enlarged. Lyte was an expert flute player, spoke
Latin, Greek, and French; enjoyed discussing literature; and was
knowledgeable about wild flowers. At his Brixham home, Berry Head
House, a former military hospital, Lyte created a magnificent
library largely of theology and old English poetry, described in
his obituary as one of the most extensive and valuable in the West
of England. Nevertheless, Lyte was also able to identify with his
parish of fishermen, visiting their homes and their ships in
harbour, supplying every vessel with a Bible, and compiling songs
and a manual of devotions for use at sea. A friend of Samuel
Wilberforce, he also opposed slavery, organising an 1833 petition
to Parliament requesting it be abolished in Great Britain. In poor
health throughout his life, Lyte suffered various respiratory
illnesses including asthma and bronchitis, and by the 1840s, he was
spending much of his time in the warmer climates of France and
Italy. Lyte spent the summer of 1847 at Berry Head, writing his
best known hymn, Abide With Me. After one final sermon to his
congregation he left again for Italy, and died at Nice on 20
November 1847. Other well-known hymns include Praise, my Soul, the
King of Heaven and Pleasant are Thy Courts Above.
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