Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Bedford, Arthur
BEDFORD, ARTHUR (1668–1745), miscellaneous writer, was born at Tiddenham in Gloucestershire 8 Sept. 1668. At the age of sixteen he proceeded to Brasenose College, Oxford, graduated B.A. in February 1687-8, M.A. in July 1691, and was ordained in 1688. After acting as curate to Dr. Read of St. Nicholas Church, Bristol, he was presented by the corporation of that town to the Temple Church in 1692 (in Barrett s 'History of Bristol' 1672 is an obvious error for 1692). He remained there for eight years, and was presented by Joseph Langton to the private living of Newton St. Loe in Somerset (Preface to Scripture Chron. pp. 1, 2). Here Bedford spent twenty-four years, was made chaplain to Wriothesly, Duke of Bedford, and occupied himself with many important questions. He joined Collier and the other pamphleteers in their crusade against the stage, and issued a series of tracts, of which one became notorious, viz., 'A Serious Remonstrance in behalf of the Christian Religion against the Horrid Blasphemies and Impieties which are still used in the English Playhouses' (1719). This curious work cites a number of scripture texts travestied, and 7,000 immoral sentiments collected from the English dramatists, especially those of the last four years. The great variety of the quotations shows that the author had carefully studied the dramatists he condemned. Bedford also gave his attention to church music; his aim was to promote a purer and simpler style of religious music. He published 'The Temple Musick' (Bristol, 1706), 'The Great Abuses of Music' (1711), and 'The Excellency of Divine Music' (1733). Soon after removing to Newton he projected a work on chronology, on a suggestion in the preface to Archbishop Ussher's 'Annals' that astronomy might simplify ancient chronology, but he suppressed his papers for the time on hearing that Sir Isaac Newton promised a work on the same subject. In 1724 he was appointed chaplain to the hospital of the Haberdashers' Company at Hoxton, and he resumed the subject of chronology by publishing in 1728 'Animadversions on Sir I. Newton's book entitled "The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms amended,"' and again in 1741 'Scripture Chronology demonstrated by Astronomical Considerations.' These theories were fully discussed in the 'Republick of Letters' (ii., iii., vi.). Bedford's views were afterwards superseded by the work of Hales.
In 1730 Bedford returned to the attack against the stage by preaching a sermon at St. Botolph's, Aldgate, against the newly erected playhouse in Goodman's Fields, which was very lucrative to Odell the proprietor, and was associated with the fame of Garrick. Whatever the effect of the sermon, the theatre was demolished in 1746 (Gough, Brit. Topography, i. 688). Throughout his career Bedford published numerous sermons on doctrinal questions, and was appointed late in life chaplain to Frederick, Prince of Wales. He was also an oriental scholar. He assisted in preparing the Arabic psalter and New Testament for the poor Christians in Asia (letter relative to this work from Bedford to Sir Hans Sloane, preserved in the Sloane MS. No. 4037). Another production of his versatile mind is the 'Horæ Mathematicæ Vacuæ, a treatise on Golden and Ecliptic Numbers' (1743), written as a pastime during an attack of sciatica; the manuscript of this work was preserved in Sion College Library. He met his death from making observations on the comet of the year (13 Aug. 1745), and was buried in the ground behind the hospital at Hoxton, where he had resided for twenty-one years (Aske's Burial Register}.
[Gent. Mag. xv. 502; Barrett's History of Bristol; Republick of Letters, ii., iii., vi.; Ellis's Shoreditch; Watt's Bibl. Brit.; Brit.Mus. Cat.; Eawl. MSS. (Bodleian Library).]
Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p.21
N.B.— f.e. stands for from end and l.l. for last line
| Page | Col. | Line | |
| 109 | ii | 4 | Bedford, Arthur: for Tiddenham read Tidenham |
| 15 | for in 1692 . . . and was read (according to the minutes of the corporation) in April 1693. He held the benefice till 1713, though he seems to have been non-resident from 1701, when he was |