Hymn Writers of the Church

Perronet, Edward, an Independent English clergyman, was born in 1726. He was the son of Rev. Vincent Perronet, vicar of Shoreham, who was a friend and supporter of the Wesleys, and lived to be ninety-one years old; and John Wesley makes frequent and affectionate allusions in his Journal to his visits to the white-haired patriarch and saint. Edward Perronet was educated in the Church of England, but became a Wesleyan preacher when quite a young man, and continued such until 1756, when the question arose among the Methodists concerning separation from the Church of England, which the Wesleys strenuously opposed and Perronet as strongly favored and urged. He went so far as to administer the Lord's Supper to the "societies," and wrote a scathing satire on the Church of England titled The Miter, a Satyricall Poem. The Wesleys were much irritated by this production, and succeeded in suppressing and destroying all but about thirty copies. Perronet then joined the Lady Huntingdon Connection, and later became a Dissenter. His home was at Canterbury for several years previous to his death, which occurred January 2, 1792. He was too independent in spirit to call any man master, but he was always loyal and true to Christ.