He was the son of Edward Simms and born at Oldswinford, Worcestershire. He studied organ from an early age with his uncles at Stourbridge, and when ten assisted his uncle James Simms at Bromsgrove Parish Church. He went to London in 1810, and studied under
Thomas Adams, and
Friedrich Kalkbrenner. In Coventry he established the Coventry Choral Society around 1836. He had many pupils of distinction, including the novelist
George Eliot, and it is to him that reference is made in
Middlemarch, as the teacher of Rosamond Vincy. He composed numerous pieces, but published very little. He died in Coventry on 15 January 1893. ==Appointments==