page_title: John Christmas Beckwith
section_title: Life
hierarchical_section_title: John Christmas Beckwith / Life
caption_attribution_description: English: St Peter Mancroft, Norwich - East end
context_page_description: John Christmas Beckwith was an English organist and composer.
context_section_description: Beckwith was born in Norwich on 25 December 1759, son of Edward Beckwith (1734–1793). His father and uncle were lay clerks at Norwich Cathedral. He was for many years pupil and assistant successively of the organist and composer William Hayes, and his son Philip Hayes, at Magdalen College, Oxford.
  As an organist he took very high rank in his day. He had many pupils, including the organist Zechariah Buck, the composer Stephen Codman,  the singer Thomas Vaughan and the writer on music Edward Taylor, who said of him: "I have never heard Dr. Beckwith's equal upon the organ either in this county or in Germany. … Neither is this my opinion only, but that of every competent judge who has heard him".
  In Norwich, Beckwith was much involved in "musical meetings", usually held in St Peter Mancroft;  they supported charities, some of which he was associated with as a founder.
  In 1794 he was appointed organist of St Peter Mancroft. He took both the Mus. Bac. and Mus. Doc. degrees at Oxford in 1803, and in 1808 succeeded Thomas Garland as organist of Norwich Cathedral.
  Beckwith died of a stroke on 3 June 1809, and was buried at St Peter Mancroft.
caption: Interior of St Peter Mancroft, Norwich
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