Charles was born in Reading in 1759 and educated at Cambridge University )where he spent the rest of his life).
He became a fellow of King’s College in 1782 and was ordained priest the following year, when he became vicar of Holy Trinity Church nearby.
He had evangelical leanings as a boy but it was whilst preparing for holy communion on his entrance to College that he became aware of the redeeming love of God, an experience he regarded as the turning point in his life.
Many of the parishioners of Holy Trinity Church did not welcome him, since he had been appointed through his own family links, but his patent care and love for them all overcame their antipathy and his preaching greatly increased the congregation.
He had carved on the inside of the pulpit in Holy Trinity Church, where only the preacher could see, the words from John 12.21, when some Greeks came to Philip, saying ‘Sir, we would see Jesus,' as a constant reminder to him that people came not to gaze on a great preacher or to admire his eloquence, but to seek Jesus.
Charles became a leading Evangelical influence in the Church and was one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society. He also set up the Simeon Trust which made appointments to parishes of fellow Evangelicals. He remained vicar of Holy Trinity until his death on this day in the year 1836.
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