Thomas Hardy (minister)

He was an enthusiastic supporter of the British Government during the troubled times of the French Revolution, as was natural to one whose career had benefited from the patronage of Henry Dundas.

He published nothing on Church History, his academic subject, but some of his sermons survive as do pamphlets on Moderation in Religion (meaning support for the established order), the evils of the slave trade, the need for increased stipends for Ministers as well as polemics against the writings of the radical Thomas Paine.

He was born in 1748 in Navitie House in Ballingry,[2] Fife, the son of Rev Henry Hardy, the minister of Culross, and his wife Ann Halkerston.

[3] The influence of Henry Dundas secured him the Professorship of Ecclesiastical History at Edinburgh University, a post he held in conjunction with his Minister's position.

[4] He was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for the year 1793, which sent a loyal letter to the King "to express our zeal for the welfare of our country, and our affectionate regard for a Prince, who is the guardian of liberty, and the father of his people" and promised him, in typical Moderate fashion, that "we (i.e. the Church) shall continue to cherish in the minds of the people loyalty to our gracious Sovereign, veneration for the British constitution, and obedience to the laws".