Robert Hawker

Portrait of Dr Robert Hawker, the most famous Vicar of the Charles Church

Robert Hawker (1753–1827) was an Anglican priest in Devon, vicar of Charles Church, Plymouth. Called "Star of the West" for his popular preaching, he was known as an evangelical and author.<ref name=SI>Template:Cite web</ref> The Cornish poet Robert Stephen Hawker was his grandson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Hawker was born in Exeter in 1753 to Jacob Hawker, a surgeon in Exeter. He was married aged 19 to Anna Rains,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> They had eight children altogether.<ref name=SI />

Hawker studied medicine in Plymouth under Samuel White of Bretonside, and joined the Royal Marines as assistant surgeon. In 1778 he entered Magdalen College, Oxford.

He served as a curate in Plymouth and then became vicar there in 1784, serving until his death in 1827.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He preached in London every year and launched an early Sunday School hymn book; he also published the “Poor Man” series of commentaries at a low price, so that anyone could afford to buy them.<ref name=SI />

Partial List of Works by Robert Hawker

• Sermons on the Divinity of Christ. London, 1792.
• Sermons on the Divinity and Operations of the Holy Ghost. Bath, 1794.
• An Appeal to the People of England on the . . . French Revolution. 1794.
• Paracelsus, or Conflations for a Dying Hour, from a review of the evidences of the renewed life. London, 1797. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Zion's Pilgrim. Falmouth, 1801. <ref name=OLRHS>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Zion's Warrior, or the Christian Soldier's Manual. 1802.
• The Sailor Pilgrim. 2nd edition. London [1806?].
• Life and Writings of the Rev. Henry Tanner of Exeter. London, 1807.
• The Poor Man's Morning Portion, being a selection of a verses of Scripture, with short observations, for every day in the year. 2nd edition. London, 1809. <ref name=OLRHS />
• The Poor Man's Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures. London: J. Nisbet, 1812. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• The Poor Man's Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures. London: Ebenezer Palmer, 1828. <ref>Google Books</ref>
• The Poor Man's Evening Portion. 4th ed. 1819. <ref name=OLRHS />
• The Poor Man's Commentary on the New Testament. 4 vols., London, 1816.
• Visits to and from Jesus upon the most interesting occasions, and in the most hallowed moments of life. London, 1816.
• Lectures on the Person, Godhead, and Ministry of the Holy Ghost. Plymouth [1817].
• The Poor Man's Commentary on the Old Testament. 6 vols., London, 1822.
• The Portrait of an English Bishop of the Sixteenth Century. 2nd edition, London, 1829.
• Life of Dr. T. Goodwin. 1838.
• A Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament. new edition, London, 1844.<ref>Google Books</ref>
• A Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament. new edition, London, 1846.<ref>Google Books</ref>

His collected Works was published in 10 volumes in 1831.

External links

• Template:Cite web
• Template:Cite web
• Template:Librivox author
• Robert Hawker entry in the online Dictionary of National Biography, volume XXV, p. 216.

Further reading

• Comb, George (1827) A Tribute of Respect to Departed Greatness: being the substance of a sermon, delivered on occasion of the decease of the Rev. Robert Hawker, D.D. Vicar of Charles, Plymouth, at Soho Chapel, Oxford Street, London, Lord's day evening, 15 April 1827. London: Ebenezer Palmer
• Mutter, George (1827) Zion's Faithful Priest: a sermon, occasioned by the death of the late Rev. Robert Hawker, D.D. Vicar of Charles, Plymouth: delivered on Sunday evening, 22 April 1827, at the Broadway Church, St. Margaret's, Westminster / by the Rev. George Mutter, A.M. minister of Broadway Church. London: Ebenezer Palmer
• Palmer, Ebenezer (1826) Prospectus of a handsome, uniform edition of the works of the Rev. Robert Hawker. London: printed for E. Palmer
• Williams, John, minister of Stroud (1831) Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Rev. Robert Hawker, D.D., late Vicar of Charles, Plymouth. London: E. Justins & Son, printers