It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England.

The Olney Hymns () were first published in February 1779, and are the combined work of curate John Newton ( 1725 – 1807 ) and his poet friend, William Cowper ( 1731 – 1800 ).

The Olney Hymns are an illustration of the potent ideologies of the Evangelical movement, to which both men belonged, present in many communities in England at the time.

The Olney Hymns were very popular ; by 1836 there had been 37 recorded editions, and it is likely that many other editions were printed in both Britain and America.

Today around six of the original 348 Olney Hymns regularly feature in modern church worship, the most famous of which is " Amazing Grace ".

The Olney Hymns were, however, written primarily with this poor and under-educated population in mind.

Cowper is best known, not just for his contribution to the Olney Hymns, but as a poet, letter-writer, and translator: his works include The Diverting History of John Gilpin ( 1782 ), The Task ( 1785 ) and his translation of Homer, published in 1791.

The Olney Hymns are in part an expression of Newton and Cowper's personal religious faith and experience, and a reflection of the principal tenets of the Evangelical faith: the inherent sinfulness of man ; religious conversion ; atonement ; activism ; devotion to the Bible ; God's providence ; and the belief in an eternal life after death.

' Amazing Grace ' was not the original title of this hymn: it was originally written as a poem entitled ' Faith's Review and Expectation ' and appears in Book I of the Olney Hymns with the poem's title and ' hymn 41 '.

The Olney Hymns are subdivided into three books: Book I, On Select Texts of Scripture ; Book II, On occasional Subjects ; and, Book III, On the Progress and Changes of the Spiritual Life.

* ' John Newton, William Cowper and others: the Olney Hymns in context ', in Ian Donnachie and Carmen Lavin ( eds.

* Hartley, Lodwick, ' The Worm and the Thorn: A Study of Cowper's " Olney Hymns "', in The Journal of Religion, Vol.

* Wolffe, John, ' Olney Hymns ', in Religion, Exploration and Slavery, ( Milton Keynes: The Open University, 2004 ), pp. 15 – 52

* The Olney Hymns online

* The Victorian Web-The Olney Hymns by John Newton

* Manuscript version of the Olney Hymns at Houghton Library, Harvard University.

** The Olney Hymns, a collection of hymns written there

The resulting volume known as Olney Hymns was not published until 1779 but includes hymns such as " Praise for the Fountain Opened " ( beginning " There is a fountain fill'd with blood ") and " Light Shining out of Darkness " ( beginning " God moves in a mysterious way ") which remain some of Cowper's most familiar verses.

Several of Cowper's hymns, as well as others originally published in the " Olney Hymns ," are today preserved in the Sacred Harp.

* Olney Hymns, 1779, in collaboration with John Newton

: Olney Hymns ( 1779 )--' Light Shining out of Darkness '

: Olney Hymns ( 1779 )--' Walking with God '

It is a popular tourist destination perhaps best known for the Olney Pancake Race and for the Olney Hymns by William Cowper and John Newton.

In 1779, after Newton had left Olney to go to London, Cowper started to write further poetry.

Eventually, in 1764, he was introduced by Thomas Haweis to Lord Dartmouth, who was influential in recommending Newton to the Bishop of Chester, and who suggested him for the living of Olney, Buckinghamshire.

As curate of Olney, Newton was partly sponsored by an evangelical philanthropist, the wealthy Christian merchant John Thornton, who supplemented his stipend of £ 60 a year with £ 200 a year " for hospitality and to help the poor ".

His new enthusiasm for Evangelicalism, his ' Conversion ', his and his move to Olney in 1767 brought him into contact with John Newton.

Cowper left Olney for nearby Weston Underwood in 1786.

However, they were primarily written for immediate and day-to-day use in Newton's ministry of Olney.

" It really made us all look very dumb ", said Buster Olney, then a sportswriter for the New York Times.

** The Olney Theatre Center for the Arts, located there

* Buster Olney, columnist for ESPN The Magazine

Vinton's highest point is on Olney Rd., at an elevation of 1265 ', which affords a good view of the adjacent city of Roanoke, at least for people with houses favorably positioned.

Once all the portions of the line came together on the first day of 1909 ( except for the Northampton & Banbury junction Railway which was taken over the following year ) the SMJR consisted of a main line from Blisworth to Broom and two branches: one from Towcester to Ravenstone Wood Junction, Olney and the other from Towcester to Cockley Brake Junction.

Eventually, from Towcester railway station it was possible to travel four different ways out of the town: to Blisworth ( opened May 1866 ); to Banbury ( opened June 1872 ); to Stratford-upon-Avon ( opened July 1873 ); and finally Olney ( for access to Bedford, opened December 1892 ).

In Olney the main women's race is augmented by races for local schoolchildren and for men.

Senger and San Francisco attorney Warren Olney sent out invitations " for the purpose of forming a ' Sierra Club.

Under instruction from President Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, US Attorney General Richard Olney ( formerly a lawyer for a railroad ) dealt with the strike.

She won the Helen Hayes Award in 1989 for her 1988 performance in Side By Side By Sondheim at the Olney Theatre in Washington.

In modern times, Olney competes with the town of Liberal, Kansas in the United States for the fastest time in either town and winner of the " International Pancake Race ".

As Olney continues to expand, with new housing estates, a secondary-level satellite campus, Ousedale School has opened for students from year 7 to year 11.