Dr P Hately Waddell (1816-1891) was a preacher and popular orator.
Waddell was born in Slammanan and entered the ministry just before the Disruption. In 1843 he joined the Free Church of Scotland but became disillusioned and then formed his own church in Girvan, with a converted fisherman’s cottage as his manse. In 1862 he settled in Glasgow and drew huge crowds to his sermons at the City Halls and around the country. Professor John Stuart Blackie called him “the most eloquent preacher in Scotland.” He was a great enthusiast for the works of Robert Burns attracting large audiences when he lectured on the Bard. He wrote a book about Burns, edited an edition of his works and also translated the Book of Psalms into Lowland Scots, in The Psalms: frae Hebrew intil Scottis (1871).
Waddell’s son, also P Hately Waddell (1854-1922) became a minister in the Church of Scotland.
Reference: Mitchell Library, 920.04BAI
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
City Halls, Free Church of Scotland, ministers, orators, preachers, The Psalms: frae Hebrew intil Scottis