Cecil Frances Alexander



Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander (Early April 1818, Dublin – 12 October 1895) was an Irish poet and hymn-writer.

Life
She was born in Dublin, the daughter of Major John Humphreys and Elizabeth (née Reed). She began writing verse in her childhood. Her religious work was strongly influenced by her contacts with the Oxford Movement and in particular with John Keble, who edited one of her anthologies. By the 1840s she was already known as a hymn writer and her compositions were soon included in Church of Ireland hymnbooks.

Her book, Hymns for Little Children reached its 69th edition before the close of the nineteenth century. Some of her hymns, e.g. "All Things Bright and Beautiful", "There is a Green Hill Far Away" and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's City", are known by many millions of Christians the world over, as is her translation of “Saint Patrick's Breastplate”.

In Strabane in October 1850 she married the Anglican clergyman William Alexander, afterwards Bishop of Derry and Archbishop of Armagh. Her husband also wrote several books of poetry, of which the best known is St. Augustine's Holiday and other Poems.

She was also involved in charitable work. Money from her first publications had helped build the Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, which was founded in 1846 in Strabane. The profits from "Hymns for Little Children" were donated to this school.