Charles Vince (1823–1874) was a noted and popular Baptist minister in Birmingham, England, at the Graham Street chapel from 1852 to 1874. [1] He was one of the religious leaders developing Birmingham's Civic Gospel, with his predecessor at the chapel George Dawson, and Henry William Crosskey. [2]
Vince was born in Farnham, Surrey, into a Congregationalist background: his father was a carpenter and builder. He attended a local school, run by a nephew of William Cobbett, became an apprentice to Mason & Jackson, the firm for which his father worked, and joined the local Mechanics' Institute. After a Baptist conversion, he entered Stepney College in 1848. He was then assigned to the Mount Zion Chapel, in Graham Street, Birmingham. [3] [4] [5] He has been described as a "charismatic preacher". [6]
As a figure of the Birmingham "civic renaissance" (or " civic gospel"), a movement promoted by Dawson's supporters, Vince spoke for causes including the Reform League, the National Education League, and the Liberal Association. He was also personally popular as a minister. [7] He defended the radicalism of George Edmonds in an 1868 funeral sermon for him. [8]
Vince was an influential participant in Birmingham's social institutions, and a member of Birmingham's first school board. He died on 22 October 1874, at age 51, and was buried at Key Hill Cemetery, Hockley. [3] [9]
Vince left a widow and seven children. [11] They included Charles Anthony Vince (born 1855), an academic, head of Mill Hill School, Liberal Unionist and local historian of Birmingham; [12] and James Herbert Vince. [13] The fourth son, W. B. Vince, was a solicitor and worked for the Birmingham Post before dying young. [14]
Charles Vince (1823–1874) was a noted and popular Baptist minister in Birmingham, England, at the Graham Street chapel from 1852 to 1874. [1] He was one of the religious leaders developing Birmingham's Civic Gospel, with his predecessor at the chapel George Dawson, and Henry William Crosskey. [2]
Vince was born in Farnham, Surrey, into a Congregationalist background: his father was a carpenter and builder. He attended a local school, run by a nephew of William Cobbett, became an apprentice to Mason & Jackson, the firm for which his father worked, and joined the local Mechanics' Institute. After a Baptist conversion, he entered Stepney College in 1848. He was then assigned to the Mount Zion Chapel, in Graham Street, Birmingham. [3] [4] [5] He has been described as a "charismatic preacher". [6]
As a figure of the Birmingham "civic renaissance" (or " civic gospel"), a movement promoted by Dawson's supporters, Vince spoke for causes including the Reform League, the National Education League, and the Liberal Association. He was also personally popular as a minister. [7] He defended the radicalism of George Edmonds in an 1868 funeral sermon for him. [8]
Vince was an influential participant in Birmingham's social institutions, and a member of Birmingham's first school board. He died on 22 October 1874, at age 51, and was buried at Key Hill Cemetery, Hockley. [3] [9]
Vince left a widow and seven children. [11] They included Charles Anthony Vince (born 1855), an academic, head of Mill Hill School, Liberal Unionist and local historian of Birmingham; [12] and James Herbert Vince. [13] The fourth son, W. B. Vince, was a solicitor and worked for the Birmingham Post before dying young. [14]