The Divided Sabbath remarks concerning the Crystal Palace now erecting at Sydenham

"The Divided Sabbath" by William Jowett is a religious pamphlet written in the mid-19th century. The work critiques the proposed opening of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham on Sundays, arguing against the division of the Sabbath into a day partly devoted to worship and partly to worldly amusement. Jowett's earnest appeal reflects the values of the Victorian era, particularly concerning religious observance and moral standards. In this pamphlet, Jowett presents a compelling argument against the informal encouragement to spend Sundays at the Crystal Palace after church services. He warns that this “divided Sabbath” would lead to moral decay, as the populace would be enticed to abandon true worship in favor of recreational diversions. He critiques the idea that a portion of the Sabbath could still be sanctified by attending church in the morning while allowing the afternoon to be used for pleasure. Stressing the spiritual and social implications, he urges the nation to uphold the sanctity of the Sabbath in its entirety, presenting family prayer and genuine worship as the true pathway to national welfare and spiritual rejuvenation. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

William Jowett was a missionary and author, in 1813 becoming the first Anglican cleric to volunteer for the overseas service of the Church Missionary Society. A leader of the Evangelicals at Cambridge, he worked in Malta, Ottoman Syria, and Ottoman Palestine, and in later life was clerical secretary of the Society and a parish priest in Clapham, South London.