Hymnbook to be relaunched

The book is an almost identical replica of the original version of the hymnal, which is on display in the Chapter House at the Cathedral, together with a gold necklace worn by Mrs Alexander and gifted to the Cathedral's 'Alexander Collection' after the hymn-writer's death.

Born in Dublin in 1818, Cecil Frances' father, Major John Humphreys, from Norfolk, had enlisted in the Royal Marines in 1798 at the age of 18 and saw active service in the Napoleonic Wars, and was wounded when he later served in the West Indies.

In 1833 he was appointed as agent to the Marquess of Abercorn at Baronscourt near Newtownstewart, and the family was moved to Strabane, where they lived at Miltown House, and it was here that Cecil Frances wrote many of her famous hymns, including 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' and 'There is a Green Hill Far Away'.

It was while she was living at Miltown House that Cecil Frances met the then young Curate William Alexander and agreed to marry him, despite the fact that he was six years younger than her.

Married on October 15, 1850, the couple honeymooned at Baronscourt and set up their new home at Derg Lodge, in the Parish of Termonamongan, near Killeter, where their first child, Jocelyn, was born in 1852.

In 1855 William was appointed to the parish of Upper Fahan on the shores of Lough Swilly, and not long after, in May, the couple's second child, John, was born, followed two years later by their third child, Eleanor.

It was in 1860 that William and his family moved to the Parish of Camus in Strabane, where their fourth child Dorothea was born there, and in 1867, following the sudden death of Bishop Higgins, William was appointed as Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, necessitating another move to the City, where they took up residence in the Bishop's Palace.

Throughout all the upheaval, Cecil Frances continued to write and publish hymns and poems, but in 1895 she became seriously ill and died on October 12, in her 77th year.

The new edition of the hymnal has been reproduced as closely as possible to the original version, but some of the typeface is slightly different in places. However, the layout and design is identical to the original.