Corporate History

A HISTORY OF HYMNS ANCIENT & MODERN LTD

In 1858, two clergymen were in conversation during a journey on the old Great Western Railway and concluded that the Church of England needed a corporate hymn book, moulded from the various small high church collections available. One of them, Francis Murray, enlisted the help of Sir Henry Baker and, before long, in 1861 the first edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern was published by a committee, called the Proprietors, chaired by Sir Henry.The first music editor was William Monk who was said to have coined the phrase 'Ancient and Modern'. Over 170 million copies later, the works of Baker and Monk survive in the year 2000 publication of A&M, Common Praise.

In 1975 the Proprietors formed a company limited by guarantee, and a registered charity, with the objects of promoting, mainly through publishing, the advancement of religion and supporting charities and institutions connected with, or sympathetic to the ideals of, the Church of England.

In 1981 the company decided to publish and distribute its own hymn books,where previously they had been agented through a printing and distribution company. With a team of three, Gordon Knights, established a business at St Mary’s Plain in the heart of Norwich. The first year’s turnover was in the order of £200,000. The success of the early years was helped by the New Standard edition of A&M and an arrangement to publish the New English Hymnal, both successful in their own parts of the church. The Canterbury Press Norwich imprint was used for the first time in 1986.

Following the objects of the charity but recognising a need to secure jobs by growth, the company acquired Church Times and the Hart Advertising charity agency by the end of the eighties.

During the early nineties, Religious and Moral Education Press was purchased to supply the schools' R.E. market, in 1997 SCM Press was purchased to provide academic theology titles.

As of 2001, Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd is operating as a group with 54 staff in East Anglia and London and a twenty-fold increase in turnover. Its two subsidiaries are SCM-Canterbury Press Ltd for book publishing,and G.J.Palmer & Sons Ltd for newspapers and agency advertising.

The story, started in 1861, goes on and in its 143rd year the A&M Group is consolidating and developing its business activities so that it can, in turn, further fulfil its charitable objects.

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