Anthony Wilson Thorold
Encyclopedia
Anthony Wilson Thorold was an Anglican
Bishop of Winchester
in the Victorian era
. The son of a Church of England
priest, he also served as Bishop of Rochester
. It was in that role that he traveled throughout North America and met with important leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While he wrote a number of devotional books, he is best remembered for having recruited Isabella Gilmore
to revive the female diaconate
in the Anglican Communion
.
(1734–1815). He married Henrietta Greene and followed his father into a career in the Church of England
. He served as vicar of St Giles in the Fields
, Curzon Chapel, and St Pancras
. His wife died in 1859 and he married secondly to Emily Labouchere, sister of the MP Henry Labouchere
. They had three children: Algar Labouchere Thorold (1866–1936), Dorothy, and Sybil (later Countess de la Bédoyère). His descendants through Sybil include his grandson Michael de la Bédoyère
and his great-great-grandson, the historian Guy de la Bédoyère
. His second wife died in 1877, the same year he was made Bishop of Rochester
. Thorold's cousin, Edward Trollope
, was made suffragan bishop
for Nottingham also that same year.
's houses', near which was pointed out Mr. Taylor [presumably John Taylor], a very important and able ruler in the body". Thorold went on to the Great Salt Lake
and noted "There is a bathing station here, and almost all the company, gentlemen and ladies, bathed in the sea, which, from the quantity of salt, it is quite impossible to sink". He traveled on and even reached Alaska
before returning home.
, to revive the female diaconate
in his diocese. Her initial reluctance, based on her lack of theological training and her lack of knowledge of the Deaconess Order, was worn down by Thorold. At the end of October 1886, she felt she received a calling during Morning Prayer. She later wrote, "it was just as if God’s voice had called me, and the intense rest and joy were beyond words." Gilmore and Bishop Thorold proceeded to plan for an Order of Deaconesses for the Church of England
where the women were to be “a curiously effective combination of nurse, social worker and amateur policemen”. In 1887, Gilmore was ordained a deaconess and a training house for other woman was put in place, later to be named Gilmore House in her honor. In her nearly 20 years of service, she reestablished the female deaconate in the Anglican Communion
.
in 1891, where he would live out his days. A prayer survives from this time that is attributed to "Bishop A. W. Thorold, D.D., Lord Bishop of Winchester, England",
Unlike his cousin, Bishop Edward Trollope, Thorold performed little serious scholarship. He did write a number of devotional books, among them The Yoke of Christ (Isbister, London 1884), The Gospel of Christ (Isbister 1884), and The Claim of Christ on the Young (Isbister, London 1891. Shortly after his death in 1895, C. H. Simpkinson wrote The Life and Work of Bishop Thorold, published by Isbister in 1896. It contained many quotes from Thorold's correspondence and also accounts of his travels.
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
in the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. The son of a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
priest, he also served as Bishop of Rochester
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
. It was in that role that he traveled throughout North America and met with important leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While he wrote a number of devotional books, he is best remembered for having recruited Isabella Gilmore
Isabella Gilmore
Isabella Gilmore was an English churchwoman who oversaw the revival of the Deaconess Order in the Anglican Communion. Isabella served actively in the poorest parishes in South London for almost two decades and she is remembered with a commemoration in the Calendar of saints in some parts of the...
to revive the female diaconate
Deaconess
Deaconess is a non-clerical order in some Christian denominations which sees to the care of women in the community. That word comes from a Greek word diakonos as well as deacon, which means a servant or helper and occurs frequently in the Christian New Testament of the Bible. Deaconesses trace...
in the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
.
Early life
Thorold was the second son of the Reverend Edward Thorold and his wife Mary (nee Wilson), and grandson of Sir John Thorold, 9th BaronetThorold Baronets
There have been four Baronetcies created for members of the Thorold family of Lincolnshire, two in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of Great Britain. One creation is extant as of 2008....
(1734–1815). He married Henrietta Greene and followed his father into a career in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. He served as vicar of St Giles in the Fields
St Giles in the Fields
St Giles in the Fields, Holborn, is a church in the London Borough of Camden, in the West End. It is close to the Centre Point office tower and the Tottenham Court Road tube station. The church is part of the Diocese of London within the Church of England...
, Curzon Chapel, and St Pancras
St Pancras New Church
St Pancras Parish Church, sometimes referred to as St Pancras New Church to distinguish it from St Pancras Old Church, is a 19th century Greek Revival church in London, England.-Location:...
. His wife died in 1859 and he married secondly to Emily Labouchere, sister of the MP Henry Labouchere
Henry Labouchere
Henry Du Pré Labouchère was an English politician, writer, publisher and theatre owner in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. He married the actress Henrietta Hodson....
. They had three children: Algar Labouchere Thorold (1866–1936), Dorothy, and Sybil (later Countess de la Bédoyère). His descendants through Sybil include his grandson Michael de la Bédoyère
Michael de la Bédoyère
Count Michael Anthony Maurice de la Bédoyère was an author, editor and journalist.-Life:He was educated at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, and took a first in Modern Greats at Campion Hall, Oxford University. His initial plans to become a Jesuit priest were abandoned. In 1930-1931 he lectured at...
and his great-great-grandson, the historian Guy de la Bédoyère
Guy de la Bédoyère
Guy Martyn Thorold Huchet de la Bédoyère is a British historian, who has published widely on Roman Britain and other subjects, and has appeared regularly on the Channel 4 archaeological television series, Time Team. In 1999 he presented a three-part series called The Romans in Britain for BBC2,...
. His second wife died in 1877, the same year he was made Bishop of Rochester
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
. Thorold's cousin, Edward Trollope
Edward Trollope
Edward Trollope was an antiquary and an Anglican Bishop of Nottingham in the Victorian era.-Life:Trollope was born at Uffington, near Stamford in Lincolnshire, on 15 April 1817, the sixth son of Sir John Trollope, of Casewick Hall, Uffington, and his wife, Anne, the daughter of Henry Thorold of...
, was made suffragan bishop
Suffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...
for Nottingham also that same year.
Travels
Thorold had extensive travels, preaching in the United States in the late 19th century. During that time he visited The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City. He recalled that on 1 September 1884, "We went round the new Mormon Tabernacle, of solid granite, very massively built out of the tithes of the people. It is only one-third finished. Then into the tabernacle now in use, tortoise shape, and capable of holding 7000 people ... we passed the great co-operative store ... and Brigham YoungBrigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
's houses', near which was pointed out Mr. Taylor [presumably John Taylor], a very important and able ruler in the body". Thorold went on to the Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
and noted "There is a bathing station here, and almost all the company, gentlemen and ladies, bathed in the sea, which, from the quantity of salt, it is quite impossible to sink". He traveled on and even reached Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
before returning home.
Female diaconate
In 1886, he recruited Isabella GilmoreIsabella Gilmore
Isabella Gilmore was an English churchwoman who oversaw the revival of the Deaconess Order in the Anglican Communion. Isabella served actively in the poorest parishes in South London for almost two decades and she is remembered with a commemoration in the Calendar of saints in some parts of the...
, to revive the female diaconate
Deaconess
Deaconess is a non-clerical order in some Christian denominations which sees to the care of women in the community. That word comes from a Greek word diakonos as well as deacon, which means a servant or helper and occurs frequently in the Christian New Testament of the Bible. Deaconesses trace...
in his diocese. Her initial reluctance, based on her lack of theological training and her lack of knowledge of the Deaconess Order, was worn down by Thorold. At the end of October 1886, she felt she received a calling during Morning Prayer. She later wrote, "it was just as if God’s voice had called me, and the intense rest and joy were beyond words." Gilmore and Bishop Thorold proceeded to plan for an Order of Deaconesses for the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
where the women were to be “a curiously effective combination of nurse, social worker and amateur policemen”. In 1887, Gilmore was ordained a deaconess and a training house for other woman was put in place, later to be named Gilmore House in her honor. In her nearly 20 years of service, she reestablished the female deaconate in the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
.
Final years and legacy
He was translated to the see of WinchesterBishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
in 1891, where he would live out his days. A prayer survives from this time that is attributed to "Bishop A. W. Thorold, D.D., Lord Bishop of Winchester, England",
Unlike his cousin, Bishop Edward Trollope, Thorold performed little serious scholarship. He did write a number of devotional books, among them The Yoke of Christ (Isbister, London 1884), The Gospel of Christ (Isbister 1884), and The Claim of Christ on the Young (Isbister, London 1891. Shortly after his death in 1895, C. H. Simpkinson wrote The Life and Work of Bishop Thorold, published by Isbister in 1896. It contained many quotes from Thorold's correspondence and also accounts of his travels.
Further reading
- C. H.Simpkinson, The Life and Work of Bishop Thorold, Isbister, London, 1896