Charles Marriott (Tractarian)
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- For the cricket international please see Charles MarriottCharles Marriott-Life and career:Marriott was one of the best leg break and googly bowlers of the 1920s and 1930s. Born in Lancashire, he went to school at St Columba's in Ireland, coming back to Lancashire to play in his first first-class match in 1919. He then went on to Cambridge, winning blues in 1920 and 1921...
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Charles Marriott (1811–1858) was an Anglican priest, a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and one of the members of the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
. He was responsible for editing more than half of the volumes of their series of translations, the Library of the Fathers
Library of the Fathers
The Library of the Fathers, more properly A library of fathers of the holy Catholic church: anterior to the division of the East and West, was a series of around 50 volumes of the Church Fathers, annotated in English translation, published 1838 to 1881 by John Henry Parker...
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Life
He was born in 1811, the son of a clergyman, John Marriott, who was a friend of Sir Walter Scott. He was educated at home, as his health did not permit him to endure the rigours of a public school. He went up to Balliol College, OxfordBalliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
in 1829, and gained a first in classics and a second in mathematics. He was annoyed at his failure to get a double first, but his physical strength did not permit him to do the study necessary. In 1833, he obtained a fellowship at Oriel College, and became associated with John Henry Newman. In 1839, he became principal of the Chichester Theological College, preparing young men 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...
ministry, but was obliged to resign after two years in poor health.
In 1841, he was elected sub-dean at Oriel College. His return to Oxford coincided with Newman's move to the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. This provoked a backlash in the university against the Oxford Movement, which was already under suspicion of popery. In the absence of any real leader Marriott attempted to fill the gap and steady the group, although it was generally acknowledged that he was a follower rather than a leader by temperament. He became entangled in a vast correspondence with those thrown into confusion by Newman's defection, and did his best to encourage and support the waverers.
Marriott was a nervous man, and very generous of both time and money. The consequence was that he was often distracted from tasks that he alone could do in order to do drudge-work. His early literary promise was undermined by this tendency to grasp at any nearby task, whether it was his to do or not, and he published little of his own.
In 1842, he took over the editing of the Library of the Fathers, and continued to run the project until his death. He was invariably found compiling indexes and other menial tasks connected with this, often with a headache, to the disgust of his friends.
In 1850, he became Vicar of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin
University Church of St Mary the Virgin
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin is the largest of Oxford's parish churches and the centre from which the University of Oxford grew...
, where Newman had once preached. He proved to be a popular and successful vicar, although this led to yet further demands on his time. During the cholera outbreak of 1854, he visited the sick industriously.
In 1855, he was paralysed by a stroke. He was taken to his brother's house at Bradfield
Bradfield, Berkshire
Bradfield is a small village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The parish also includes the now rather larger village of Bradfield Southend, and the hamlet of Tutts Clump....
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, where he lived for three more years, unable to do anything. He died in 1858.
His lasting legacy is the volumes of the Library of the Fathers, which are often the only English translations that have ever been made of most of the works in question. The majority have been reprinted in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, usually known as the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers , is a set of books containing translations of early Christian writings into English. It was published between 1886 and 1900...
series, without the copious notes on which Marriott and his colleagues devoted so much time.