The Havergal Trust is the first organization ever to compile and publish the complete works of Frances Ridley Havergal.
Our Story
This work was led by David Chalkley, who first started in 1998 when he ran across some of Frances’ works in a library while doing research on something else. The works caught his attention and he wanted to find more.
He started making thirteen sets of photocopies of the works that he found: one to keep for himself and 12 to give away to university libraries and other organizations.
The stacks of photocopies started to get pretty tall, and David realized that he needed to learn to use a computer and put out a serious edition of the work.
He made two trips to England, visited the British Library, and made countless high-quality photocopies of the items that Frances’ family donated to the Worcester Council Records office, including Frances’ manuscript papers and every page of Frances’ last Bible.
Over the years, the Lord enabled him to learn the use of a computer and coordinate the efforts of many people who contributed to the work. It was a labor of love for him and countless volunteers who continued working without pay when David’s own money ran out.
Now, the work is nearing completion and is ready to be published in its entirety.
The Havergal Trust is proceeding forward in faith to make these valuable works readily available again to the larger body of Christ.
We pray they will bless you as much as they have blessed us.
What we stand for
Accuracy and Completeness
You can count on books from the Havergal Trust to be as faithful to the original versions as they can possibly be. We do not update the language for the modern reader. We do not change the Bible version that Frances used. The edition has been carefully proofread, and where possible, we have referred to Frances’ own handwritten manuscript copies to resolve any doubts or conflicts between versions or wording. While every effort has been made to faithfully reproduce Frances’ works in their entirety, it may be possible that there are still aspects in the text that reflect human error. If these are found, they represent an oversight that we wish to correct and not an intentional departure from the original text.
Faithfulness to God’s Word
We at the Havergal Trust are not just historians or literary critics. We are Christians who believe the Bible is the word of God, and we strive to lift up and honor Jesus Christ in all that we say and do.
Love
It is our desire to walk in love towards other believers and “those who are without,” that every act of our lives would be consistent with the behavior of heaven. We want the works of Frances Ridley Havergal to bless the body of Christ in this generation with great richness. There is gold in Frances’ works. It will do your soul good.
Still want to know more?
Read more about the Havergal Trust in David Chalkley’s statement here.