Born: October 3, 1835, Chat­ham, Kent, Eng­land.

Died: 1912, Roth­er­ham, York­shire, Eng­land.

Coster stu­died for the Con­gre­ga­tion­al min­is­try at New Coll­ege, Lon­don. He was or­dained in 1859 at New­port, Es­sex, and held pas­tor­ates in Newport, Es­sex; Barn­sta­ple, De­von; Stroud, Glou­ces­ter­shire; Hull, York­shire; South Nor­wood, Sur­rey; Whit­by, York­shire; and Hessle (near Hull). He was large­ly re­spon­si­ble for found­ing the Vic­to­ria Hos­pi­tal for child­ren in Hull, and the local branch of “The Guild of Brave Poor Things.” He re­tired in 1902 to live at Birk­dale, Lan­ca­shire, and at Ro­ther­ham. In ad­di­tion to ma­ny ser­mons and tracts, he pub­lished:

• Lorrin and Other Po­ems, 1859
• Pastors and Peo­ple, 1869
• Temperance Mel­o­dies and Re­li­gious Hymns, 1869
• The Rhyme of St. Pe­ter’s Fall, 1871
• Allegories, 1878
• Po­ems and Hymns, 1882
• Collected Po­ems, 1890
• Gloria Christi, 1896
• Hessle Hymns, 1901
• When the Stars Ap­pear, 1903
• Beams of Christ’s Glo­ry, 1904

Sources

Hymns

1. Comrades’ Names Are on Our Banner
2. Doest Thou Bow Be­neath the Bur­then
3. From North and South and East and West
4. Going to the Fa­ther
5. King of the Ci­ty Splen­did
6. Lord of the Gra­cious Sun­shine
7. Lord of the Sea! Afar from Land
8. March On, O Soul, with Strength
9. O Friend Di­vine! with Thee Apart
10. Skill and Beau­ty from Thee Live
11. Thou Whose Great Bap­tis­mal Hour
12. We Join with All in Ev­e­ry Place