William Cowper and John Newton
were firm friends and together composed the highly successful Olney Hymns for
parishioners and friends in the Olney.
John Newton is best remembered as the author of Amazing Grace.
Newton was a reformed slave trader and became a powerful
evangelical preacher and leading proponent for the abolition of slavery.
William Cowper was a renowned poet and both Coleridge and Wordsworth favoured his work.
Coleridge called him "the best modern poet".