The hymns of Isaac Watts and the conversion of George Thomson
George Thomson’s dates are 1698–1782.
He was the Anglican vicar of St Gennys, a windswept village in North Cornwall perched atop cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. Though an ordained minister in the Church of England, Thomson had come to St Gennys with little interest, if any, in spiritual matters and was one whose life was characterised by ‘debaucheries’ of various sorts. He was typical of far too many Anglican ministers of that day.