Cecil Frances Alexander, née Humphreys (1818-1895; see SDAH 93), used to drive into Londonderry past a grass-covered hill that reminded her of the hill of Calvary, which was probably a small hillock outside old Jerusalem. She had decided to make the Apostles’ Creed comprehensible to children, so she rewrote each article in simple language and published it in her Hymns for Little Children,1848. With the picture of this hill in mind, perhaps, she simplified and amplified article 4 of the creed, which reads: “Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.” However, even in her simple language there was ambiguity, for the second line, which quotes from Hebrews 13:12, “without the gate,” prompted a small child to ask her what was meant by a hill not having a city wall; the child did not understand that without in this case meant “outside,” so she changed it to that. Alexander also wrote SDAH 93, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”; SDAH 149, “Once in Royal David’s City”; and SDAH 285, “Jesus Calls Us.” 

HORSLEY is named after the composer. It appeared first in William Horsley’s Twenty-four Psalm Tunes and Eight Chants, 1844, but it first carried this name in the Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1868.  William Horsley was born in London on November 15, 1774, and studied music and composition. In 1794 he was appointed organist at Ely Chapel, Holborn; in 1798 he was assistant organist at the Royal Asylum for Female Orphans in Lambeth. From 1802 to 1812 he was organist there, during which time he composed this tune for the girls. He was one of the founders of the London Philharmonic Society and became an intimate friend of Mendelssohn’s. He received a B.Mus. from Oxford in 1800 and died in Kennington, London, June 12, 1858.