Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Reverend Thomas Hincks (1855 - 1869)
Minister at Mill Hill
Early life
Thomas Hincks was born July 15th, 1818, into a large Unitarian family. His grandfather, Thomas Dix Hincks was a Presbyterian minister in Ireland, and his uncle Sir Francis Hincks was prime minister of Canada. From 1833 to 1839, he attended the Unitarian Manchester New College in York where he trained to be a minister, and his first post was in Cork, from 1839.
Impact on Mill Hill
His success as a minister was rapid, and he held ministries in Dublin, Warrington, Exeter, and Sheffield, before joining Mill Hill Chapel in Leeds in 1855. While in Leeds, Hincks gave lectures to the Old Scholars Society (which he organised), arranged a museum for the Leeds Literary and Philosophy Society, published Mill Hill Chapel Records bi-monthly, and published many hymns.
As well as being a minister, Hincks was fascinated by Zoology and was also a naturalist – he studied two marine animal groups: the Hydrozoa and the Bryozoa.
In 1868, Hincks suffered permanent loss of his voice, and retired from the ministry in 1869. After retirement, Hincks continued with his research, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1872. He also continued with voluntary work with the Unitarian Church, and actively supported the advancement of Science.
Hincks died in 1899, and was buried, by his own request, near Leeds.
