Another year is ended

Alfred Ainger was an English clergyman, scholar, and writer who completed his education at Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving his B.A. in 1860 and his M.A. in 1865. His early ministry commenced in 1860 when he assumed the curacy of Alrewas in Staffordshire. He later worked as an Assistant Master at the Sheffield Collegiate School beginning in 1864, and in 1866 he was appointed Reader at the Temple Church in London, a position that established his repute in the capital.

During his time at Alrewas, Ainger composed the hymn "Another year is ended" for the parish's 1862 Harvest Festival. Originally written in five eight-line stanzas, the text expressed gratitude for the annual harvest and God's ongoing providence. When the piece was later selected for inclusion in Edward Harland's hymnal (No. 216), two of the stanzas were condensed into a single verse, creating a revised four-stanza version. While the hymn did not attain widespread use in standard collections, it remains a notable example of local nineteenth-century Anglican festival poetry.