William was the son of Gil­bert Heath­cote (Rec­tor of Hurs­ley, Hamp­shire) and Ann Bea­don. He was ed­u­cat­ed at New Coll­ege, Ox­ford (BCL 1840). He was for a while Fel­low and Tu­tor at his col­lege; rector of Compton Bassett; pre­cen­tor of Sal­is­bu­ry Ca­thed­ral; chap­lain to the Bi­shop of Sal­is­bu­ry; and Se­lect Preach­er at Ox­ford. His works in­clude:

• The Psalter Pointed to the Gre­gor­ian Tones
• Pray­ers for Child­ren Es­pe­cial­ly in Pa­roch­i­al Schools, with a Morn­ing and Ev­en­ing Hymn (Ox­ford, Eng­land: 1846)

Sources

Hymns

1. O Father, Who Didst All Things Make