William Jay (1769-1853), Dissenting minister

Sitter in 5 portraits
Jay began training with his father as a stonemason and worked with him on alterations to Fonthill House, but in 1785 he entered Cornelius Winter's school at Marlborough. Winter's theological training concentrated on practical evangelism, and his students were expected to preach in the surrounding villages. By the time Jay was twenty-one he had preached nearly a thousand times. In 1791, Jay was ordained pastor of Argyle Independent Chapel at Bath; he remained there for sixty-two years. He was popular and one of the most fashionable preachers of his day. He attracted hearers of every religious denomination and of every rank, and he gained a reputation as a brilliant pulpit orator and an earnest religious author.