Albert Frederick Bayly (1910-1984; SEE biographies), English congressional minister, was in the forefront of those who began to write hymns in twentieth-century language. Bayly wrote these words in May, 1947, inspired by the Triple Jubilee of the church missionary Society.

In the original text there were six stanzas, culminating hope of eternal salvation in the last stanza.

There has been one slight change in SDAH stanza 4, line 3. Originally it read “Until the day this warring world rejoices”; this was changed to” Until the tired, warring world.”

 NORTHBROOK was composed by Reginald Sparshott Thatcher, who was on March 11, 1888, at Midsomer Norton, a town near the small Somerset coalfield, near Bath, England. He was an organ scholar at the Royal College of Music and at Worcester College, Oxford, earning the D. Mus, degree. His entire career was a music master, teaching at Clifton College, Royal Naval College, Charterhouse School, and Harrow School.  In 1928 he was president of the Music-Masters association.  Retiring to surrey in 1955, he died there May 6, 1957.  

For about 100 years, 1850 to 1950 the “public schools” in England exerted a sizable influence on the style of the hymn tunes.  The schools were, in fact not public but private boarding schools, run by the church (usually Anglican) for 200 to 1000 children (mostly boys), aged 13 to 18.  The disciple was severe and the rules harshly enforced, much the same as military training.  In contrast with the daily grind, the relaxed atmosphere at compulsory morning and evening prayer in the chapel was a welcome relief.  Under the direction of a creative music master, and with a good organ in a room that acoustically was itself a musical instrument, the singing soared!  Five hundred boys singing in unison a sweeping melody, with an inspiring organ accompaniment—this impetus made many music teachers at “public schools” compose tunes in that style, and some even edited their own hymnals.  NORTHBROOK is from the Clarendon hymn book, 1936, one of the best of these schoolbooks, created for charterhouse school.  Other tunes in SDAH that have come from this tradition are No.247, COME, MY WAY (also known as THE CALL); No.41, GONFALON ROYAL; No. 351, THORNBURY; No. 480, REPTON; and No. 360, CUDDESDON.