James Hatley Frere (1779–1866) was an English writer on prophecy and developer of a tactile alphabet system for teaching the blind to read.
On 15 June 1809 he married Merian, second daughter of Matthew Martin, F.R.S., of Poets' Corner, Westminster, by whom he had six sons:[1] Frere met Edward Irving in 1825, and influenced him in the direction of the study of biblical prophecy.
Although useful in enabling uneducated persons to read in a short space of time, Frere's system was found to vitiate pronunciation.
George Stanley Faber and Samuel Roffey Maitland found Frere's biblical studies of some interest.
[3] Aided by a Miss Yates of Fairlawn, Frere was able to have 'The Book of the Prophet Isaiah' printed from embossed metallic plates according to his stereotyping method (London, 1843–9).