Thomas Hughes

Hughes, Thomas, M.A., born at Donington Priory, near Newbury, Berks, Oct. 20, 1823, and educated at Rugby, and at Oriel College, Oxford (B.A. 1845), and called to the Bar, 1848. From 1865 to 1868 he was M.P. for Lambeth, and from 1868 to 1874 for Frome. Appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1869. He has published several popular works, including Tom Brown's School Days, 1856; The Scouring of the White Horse, 1858; Tom Brown at Oxford, 1861, and others. His hymn:—

"0 God of Truth whose Living Word," Truth, 9 stanzas of 4 lines, was given to the Hon. Mrs. Norton for insertion in Lays of the Sanctuary, 1859, p. 98, a collection published for a charitable purpose. It is a hymn of great force, and seems to gather up and embody the distinctive thoughts and feelings which have animated his life. It was probably suggested by Maurice's sermon on "The Word of God conquering by Sacrifice," in Doctrine of Sacrifice. It is usually given in an abridged form, as in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871 (6 stanzas), or W. G. Border's Congregational Hymns, 1884 (7 stanzas). He died in March, 1896.

[Rev. W. Garrett Horder]

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)