Joseph Cotton Wigram was a British churchman, archdeacon of Surrey, archdeacon of Winchester and 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...

.

Life

Born at Walthamstow, Wigram was the fifteenth child of Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet

Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet

Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet was a British merchant shipbuilder and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom between 1802 and 1807....

 (1744–1830). He was the brother of Sir Robert Fitzwygram, 2nd Baronet

Sir Robert Fitzwygram, 2nd Baronet

Sir Robert Fitzwygram, 2nd Baronet FRS was a Director of the Bank of England and a Tory politician.Fitzwygram, who began life as Robert Wigram, was the eldest son of Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet, merchant and shipbuilder of Walthamstow. Wigram was interested in the foundation of the London...

, Sir James Wigram, Octavius Wigram

Octavius Wigram

Octavius Wigram was an English business man and ship owner in the City of London, a member of Lloyds and Governor of the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation.-Life:...

, Loftus Wigram

Loftus Wigram

Loftus Tottenham Wigram QC , was a British barrister, businessman and Conservative politician.Wigram was a younger son of Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet, by his second wife Eleanor, daughter of John Watts...

, and George Wigram

George Wigram

George Vicesimus Wigram was an English biblical scholar and theologian.-Early life:He was the 20th child of Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet, a famous and wealthy merchant, and the 14th child of Lady Eleanor Wigram, Robert's 2nd wife...

. He was educated by private tutors, and proceeded to Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

, graduating B.A. as sixth wrangler in 1820, M.A. in 1823, and D.D. in 1860.

He was ordained deacon in 1822, and priest in the year following, and in 1827 was appointed assistant preacher at St. James's, Westminster. In the same year he was also chosen secretary of the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church

National Society for Promoting Religious Education

The National Society for Promoting Religious Education, often just referred to as the National Society, is a Church of England body in England and Wales for the promotion of church schools and Christian education....

, a post which he retained until 1839. On 28 March of that year he was appointed rector of East Tisted

East Tisted

East Tisted is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.8 miles south of Alton on the A32 road.The nearest railway station is 4.7 miles north of the village, at Alton....

 in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, and in 1850 removed to the rectory of St. Mary's, Southampton. On 16 November 1847 he was collated archdeacon of Surrey, and in 1860 was consecrated bishop of Rochester in succession to George Murray

George Murray (bishop of Rochester)

George Murray was a British churchman, Archdeacon of Man, Dean of Worcester, Bishop of Sodor and Man and Bishop of Rochester.-Background and education:...

.

He died in London at 15A Grosvenor Square

Grosvenor Square

Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the exclusive Mayfair district of London, England. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from their surname, "Grosvenor".-History:...

 and was buried on 12 April beside his wife in the parish church of Latton

Latton

Latton may refer to: * Latton, Harlow, a village now situated in Harlow New Town, Essex, England* Latton, Wiltshire, a village near Cricklade in Wiltshire, England...

, Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

. On 12 February 1839, he had married Susan Maria (died 27 June 1864), daughter of Peter Arkwright of Willersley in Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 and granddaughter of Richard Arkwright junior

Richard Arkwright Junior

Richard Arkwright junior , the son of the famous Sir Richard Arkwright of Cromford, Derbyshire, was the financier of Samuel Oldknow of Marple and Mellor and a personal friend. His son Captain Arkwright married Francis Kemble, daughter of the famous theatre manager Stephen Kemble.-Biography:Richard...

. By her he had six sons and three daughters.

Works

Besides sermons and pamphlets, Wigram was the author of:

• ‘Practical Elementary Arithmetic,’ London, 1832.
• ‘Geography of the Holy Land,’ London, 1832; 5th ed. 1855.
• ‘Practical Hints on the Formation and Management of Sunday Schools,’ London, 1833.
• ‘The Cottager's Daily Family Prayers,’ Chelmsford, 1862.

He also selected and arranged ‘Daily Hymns for the Month,’ London, 1866.