Basil Woodd

Woodd, Basil , M.A., was born at Richmond in Surrey, Aug. 5, 1760. The influences of his home and of his widowed mother were most salutary, and produced the best results. As a boy he studied under the Rev. T. Clarke, of Chesham Bois, and at seventeen he entered Trinity College, Oxford. Taking Holy Orders in 1783, he was chosen lecturer of St. Peter's Cornhill, in 1784; morning preacher at Bentinck Chapel, Marylebone in 1785, and Rector of Drayton Beauchamp, Buckinghamshire, in 1808. Bentinck Chapel being a proprietary chapel, he purchased the lease in 1793, and held the Incumbency, together with the Rectory of Drayton, from 1808 to his death on April 12, 1831. He took a deep interest in the great religious societies, and in the anti-slavery movement. His prose works were not numerous or important. He is associated with hymnody through the publication of the following:—
(l) The Psalms of David.....Adapted to the Services of the Church of England, &c, 1794. 2nd edition, 1800. (2.) The Psalms of David and other portions of the Sacred Scriptures arranged according to the Order of the Church of England, for every Sunday in the Year, &c, London: Printed and sold by Watts and Bridgewater, n.d. circa 1810-20. The Preface is signed "B. W." (3.) A New Metrical Version of the Psalms of David; with an Appendix of select Psalms and Hymns, adapted to the service of the United Church of England and Ireland ... .By the Rev. Basil Woodd, M.A., &c, London: Printed and sold by E. Bridgwater, 1821. Dedicated to the Bishop of Durham. A portion of the preface of No. 2 was repeated; but the preface as a whole, was more historical than the preceding. With the exception of 4 hymns, and 4 doxologies at the end, this collection is a reprint of No. 2, with a new title-page, a dedication, and an enlarged preface.
Very few of Basil Woodd's hymns and paraphrases of the psalms are now in common use. The best known is "Hail, Thou Source of every blessing". The rest include:—
1. Blest be Jehovah, mighty Lord. Ps. cxliv. 1794.
2. Holy Ghost inspire our praises. Whitsuntide, circa 1810-20.
3. In Thee, O Lord, I trust, My hope is in Thy Name. Ps. xxxi. 1794.
4. Lord of glory and salvation. Praise, circa 1810-20.
A short Memoir of the Rev. Basil Woodd, M.A. By the Rev. S. G. Wilks, M.A., was published by Hatchard & Son, London, 1831.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)