Anna Laetitia Waring

Who was Anna Laetitia Waring?

Anna Letitia Waring was a Welsh poet and hymn-writer.

She was born at Plas-y-Felin, Neath, the daughter of Elijah Waring. Her family were Quakers, but she became an Anglican and was baptised into the Church of England in 1842, at Winchester. Literary interests were fostered by members of her family as her uncle Samuel Miller Waring and her father Elijah both published works of literature. Following in her family's footsteps, it seems natural that 'verse-writing was always a pleasant diversion to her.' She learned Hebrew in order to study the Old Testament in the original.

In 1850, Anna published her first work, Hymns and Meditations. Her best-known hymns include "Father, I know that all my life", "Go not far from me, O my Strength", and "My heart is resting, O my God". She became involved in philanthropic work, particularly as a supporter of the Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society. According to her friend, Mary S. Talbot, Waring 'visited in the prisons of Bridewell, and at Horfield, Bristol, for many years. To one who spoke to her of the painfulness of such work she answered, "It is like watching by a filthy gutter to pick out a jewel here and there, as the foul stream flows by".'