William Cowherd
The Reverend William Cowherd | |
---|---|
Born | 1763 Carnforth, England |
Died | (aged 53) Salford, Lancashire, England |
Church | Bible Christian Church |
Congregations served | Parts of Salford Manchester city centre |
Offices held | Christian minister |
William Cowherd (1763 – 24 March 1816)[1] was a Christian minister serving a congregation in the City of Salford, England, immediately west of Manchester, and one of the philosophical forerunners of the Vegetarian Society founded in 1847.[2][3] He was the founder of the Bible Christian Church; Cowherd advocated and encouraged members of his then small group of followers, known as Bible Christians or "Cowherdites", to abstain from the eating of meat as a form of temperance.[1]
Early life
After teaching philology at Beverley Cowherd came to Manchester and became curate to the Rev. John Clowes at St John's Church. Having studied the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, he like Clowes, adopted Swedenborgian doctrine and preached at the Swedenborgian church in Peter Street. He is said to have been the only man to read the Latin writings of Swedenborg in their entirety.[4]
Bible Christian Church
In 1800 Cowherd established a new congregation in Salford, building the chapel at his own expense. His chapel, Christ Church, was located in King Street, Salford, just across the River Irwell from Manchester. Believing that ministers should maintain themselves he conducted a school and practised as a physician from time to time. In 1809 he promulgated the doctrine that people should "eat no more meat till the world endeth" and abstain from alcoholic drinks.[4]
The denomination he founded was known as the Bible Christian Church (not to be confused with Methodist sect of the same name based in the South-west of England). His early ideas and insight into the abstinence from eating meat, provided the basis for early ideas about vegetarianism. The message was preached in the U.S. when 41 members of the Bible Christian Church crossed the Atlantic in 1817.[3]
Cowherd is credited with being an important early advocate for vegetarianism.[3][5] It is noted that he asked his congregation in a sermon preached on 18 January 1809,[6] to refrain from eating meat which culminated in the founding of the Vegetarian Society in 1847.[7]
Death
Cowherd died on 24 March 1816 and was buried in the Christ Church yard with the inscription at his request after Alexander Pope's verse about "He who would save a sinking land": "All feared, none loved, and few understood".[8]
Library
Facts Authentic in Science and Religion towards a new Translation of the Bible which he had compiled was printed after his death. He left his personal library to the chapel and it was transferred to the new Bible Christian Chapel in Cross Lane. According to William Axon "It was at one time a circulating library, accessible to the public upon easy terms, but the books are not such as can be read by those who run." It was a scholar's library, strong in theology (including the London polyglott edition of the Bible, 1657), with some mystical works and books on health from the 17th century and later.[9]
Publications
- Select Hymns for the Use of Bible Christians
- Facts Authentic in Science and Religion: Designed to Illustrate a New Translation of the Bible (Part 1, 1818; Part 2, 1820)
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Gordon, Alexander; Sellers, Ian (25 May 2006). "Cowherd, William (1763–1816), a founder of the Bible Christians (Cowherdites) and vegetarian". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6496. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 15 August 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "History of Vegetarianism - Early Ideas". The Vegetarian Society. Retrieved 8 July 2008.; Gregory, James (2007) Of Victorians and Vegetarians. London: I. B. Tauris pp. 30–35.
- ^ a b c "The Bible Christian Church". International Vegetarian Union.
- ^ a b Axon, W. E. A. (1877) Handbook of the Public Libraries of Manchester and Salford. Manchester: Abel Heywood; pp. 38–40
- ^ Muir, Hugh (17 March 2007). "A Mars Bar a day? No longer an option if you are vegetarian". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
- ^ Antrobus, D., (1997) A Guiltless Feast: The Salford Bible Christian Church and the Rise of Vegetarianism, Salford City Council, Salford
- ^ "Majestas: July 1999". Diocese of Ely. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
- ^ Axon, William (1886). Annals of Manchester. Manchester: John Heywood. p. 149.
- ^ Axon, W. E. A, (1877) Handbook of the Public Libraries of Manchester and Salford. Manchester: Abel Heywood; pp. 41–45
External links
- Vegetarian roots: The extraordinary tale of William Cowherd by Karen Millington, BBC (17 December 2012)
- v
- t
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Veganism | |
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Vegetarianism | |
Lists |
Secular | |
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Religious |
and drink
- Agave syrup
- Chicken fillet roll
- Coconut burger
- Coconut milk
- Fruits
- Grains
- Gelatin substitutes
- Jambon
- Meat alternative
- Miso
- Mochi
- Mock duck
- Nutritional yeast
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- Quinoa
- Quorn
- Seitan
- Soy yogurt
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- Beer
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and events
reports,
journals
- On Abstinence from Eating Animals (3rd century)
- An Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, as a Moral Duty (1802)
- Vegetable Cookery (1812)
- A Vindication of Natural Diet (1813)
- Reasons for not Eating Animal Food (1814)
- Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes (1824)
- Nature's Own Book (1835)
- Fruits and Farinacea (1845)
- The Pleasure Boat (1845)
- The Ethics of Diet (1883)
- What is Vegetarianism? (1886)
- Shelley's Vegetarianism (1891)
- Behind the Scenes in Slaughter-Houses (1892)
- Why I Am a Vegetarian (1895)
- Figs or Pigs? (1896)
- Fifty Years of Food Reform (1898)
- Thirty-nine Reasons Why I Am a Vegetarian (1903)
- The Meat Fetish (1904)
- The New Ethics (1907)
- A Fleshless Diet (1910)
- The Benefits of Vegetarianism (1927)
- Living the Good Life (1954)
- Ten Talents (1968)
- Diet for a Small Planet (1971)
- The Vegetarian Epicure (1972)
- Moosewood Collective Cookbooks (1973)
- The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook (1975)
- Laurel's Kitchen (1976)
- Moosewood Cookbook (1977)
- Fit for Life (1985)
- Diet for a New America (1987)
- The Sexual Politics of Meat (1990)
- Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (1997)
- The China Study (2005)
- Skinny Bitch (2005)
- Livestock's Long Shadow (2006)
- The Bloodless Revolution (2006)
- Eating Animals (2009)
- Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows (2009)
- The Vegan Studies Project (2015)
- Animal (De)liberation (2016)
- The End of Animal Farming (2018)
- Vegetable Kingdom (2020)
- Making a Stand for Animals (2022)
- Meat Atlas (annual)
- The Animals Film (1981)
- Diet for a New America (film) (1991)
- A Cow at My Table (1998)
- Meet Your Meat (2002)
- Post Punk Kitchen (2003–2005)
- Peaceable Kingdom (2004)
- Earthlings (2005)
- A Sacred Duty (2007)
- Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (2010)
- Planeat (2010)
- Forks Over Knives (2011)
- Vegucated (2011)
- Live and Let Live (2013)
- Cowspiracy (2014)
- PlantPure Nation (2015)
- What the Health (2017)
- Carnage (2017)
- Dominion (2018)
- Eating You Alive (2018)
- The Game Changers (2018)
- Maa Ka Doodh (2023)
- You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment (2024)
activists,
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- Cranks (restaurant)
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- InSpiral Lounge
- Lentil as Anything
- Minerva Café
- New Riverside Cafe
- Nix (restaurant)
- Penny Cafeteria
- Pink Peacock
- The Hollow Reed
- The Pitman Vegetarian Hotel