On a trip to St Peter’s Harold Wood we contrived to pass through Olney in order to visit the Cowper and Newton Museum which is part of Historic Houses. (Cowper is pronounced coo-per not cow-per).

Newton and Cowper are perhaps most famous today for the hymns that collaborated in writing. The most famous of those is Amazing Grace. However I am also including here because of Doll’s House of the House itself.

John Newton had been a slave trader when younger until he famously came to faith after praying during a violent storm. Many people will make promises to God in adversity but Newton carried his promise through. This led to him eventually becoming a Christian Minister and hymn writer. There are several biographies of his life, and I have given talks myself occasionally. Newton went on to become the Curate of Olney. Today a Curate is generally seen as a trainee Vicar, but properly speaking someone is a Curate if they have the Cure (care) of Souls in a parish. Often income to the parish (from tithes etc) would go to a Rector (sometimes lay) or elsewhere in which case a Curate was employed to look after the parish. Such was Newton.

Newton persuaded Cowper to move to Olney, to the house which is now the museum. This was in order to be close so that they could continue the writing, and to keep an eye on Olney when he had times of depression. The museum has quite a bit of information about this and it is good to recognise that just as Christians may be troubled by persistent sickness so they may be troubled by sickness of the mind.

The Museum also includes quite a lot of information about the Abolition of the Slave Trade as Newton became a prominent figure in that cause. (Slavery had been illegal in Great Britain for centuries but the international slave trade was a major source of income to the country.)

We visted on a bright sunny day and the garden at the rear, in two main parts, is very pleasant and it is a shame we didn’t have more time to sit and enjoy it. It includes a shed (not the proper word I think) where Olney composed his poetry on bright days.

Beyond the garden was an orchard and aparently Cowper paid the owner so that Cowper and Newton could more easily visit one another. Newton lived in the Rectory next to the Church, the spire of which is visible from the garden.

The Museum includes a model of a Slave Ship cut away. The Doll’s House is on display and I have included the photograph of the front for comparison.

But there is also a miniastures cabinet with explanation of it origin and the details of the rooms.

Visited 6 June 2025