William Walsham How
Encyclopedia
William Walsham How was an English
bishop
.
The son of a Shrewsbury
solicitor
, How was educated at Shrewsbury School
, Wadham College, Oxford
and University College, Durham
. He was ordained in 1846, and for upwards of thirty years was actively engaged in parish work at Whittington in Shropshire and Oswestry
(rural dean, 1860). He refused preferment on several occasions, but his energy and success made him well known, and in 1879 he became a suffragan bishop in London, under the title of bishop of Bedford
, his province being the East End
.
There he became the inspiring influence of a revival of church work. He founded the East London Church Fund, and enlisted a large band of enthusiastic helpers, his popularity among all classes being immense. He was particularly fond of children, and was commonly called the children's bishop.
In 1888 he was made bishop of Wakefield
, and in the north of England he continued to do valuable work. His sermons were straightforward, earnest and attractive; and besides publishing several volumes of these, he wrote a good deal of verse, including such well-known hymns as Who is this so weak and helpless, Lord, Thy children guide and keep and For All the Saints
.
In 1863-1868 he brought out a Commentary on the Four Gospels and he also wrote a manual for the Holy Communion. Published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge during the 1890s under the title "Holy Communion, Preparation and Companion...together with the Collects, Epistles and Gospels" this book was widely distributed and many copies still survive today. In the movement for infusing new spiritual life into the church services, especially among the poor, How was a great force. He was much helped in his earlier work by his wife, Frances A Douglas (d. 1887).
For end of paragraph 2. When he came to East London in 1879 "he found great need of women's help for the poor in the huge parishes of his diocese". He then planned to establish a Deaconess Community and applied to the (West) London Diocesan Deaconess Institution. LDDI sent its Sr Louisa in autumn 1880 and the East London Diocesan Deaconess Institution was founded at Sutton Place, Hackney. Deaconess Sisters worked in various East London parishes and eventually the Institution became the All Saints Deaconess Home at Meynell Crescent (1894/5-1924). A few of the remaining Sisters joined the London Diocesan Deaconess Institution which continued work in the East End for a few years. [Source: Archives of the (Deaconess) Community of St Andrew which had developed from the LDDI.]
and in Hymns Ancient and Modern, Revised
with a several others
See his Life by his son, FD How (1898).
Bishop How burnt a copy of Thomas Hardy's
novel Jude the Obscure
. The burning took place during the summer and Hardy
, noted for his thrift, was said to have been outraged that the bishop wasted the firewood rather than waiting until the winter when the fire would be needed anyway. However, as "the Bishop of Wakefield announced that he had thrown "such garbage" onto his fire", and this is recorded as happening in May (when it might have been cold in Wakefield), the firewood may not have been needed for burning the book only, but for warming his house.
's 1979 Broadway
play The Elephant Man
. In a 1982 TV adaptation he was played by William Hutt
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
.
The son of a Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
, How was educated at Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
, Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
and University College, Durham
University College, Durham
University College, commonly known as Castle, is a college of the University of Durham in England. Centred around Durham Castle on Palace Green, it was founded in 1832 and is the oldest of Durham's colleges. As with all of Durham's colleges, it is, independently of the University, a listed body...
. He was ordained in 1846, and for upwards of thirty years was actively engaged in parish work at Whittington in Shropshire and Oswestry
Oswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....
(rural dean, 1860). He refused preferment on several occasions, but his energy and success made him well known, and in 1879 he became a suffragan bishop in London, under the title of bishop of Bedford
Bishop of Bedford
The Bishop of Bedford is an episcopal title used by a Church of England suffragan bishop who, under the direction of the Diocesan Bishop of St Albans, oversees 150 parishes in Luton and Bedfordshire....
, his province being the East End
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
.
There he became the inspiring influence of a revival of church work. He founded the East London Church Fund, and enlisted a large band of enthusiastic helpers, his popularity among all classes being immense. He was particularly fond of children, and was commonly called the children's bishop.
In 1888 he was made bishop of Wakefield
Bishop of Wakefield
The Bishop of Wakefield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Wakefield in the Province of York.The diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covers Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale...
, and in the north of England he continued to do valuable work. His sermons were straightforward, earnest and attractive; and besides publishing several volumes of these, he wrote a good deal of verse, including such well-known hymns as Who is this so weak and helpless, Lord, Thy children guide and keep and For All the Saints
For all the Saints
"For All the Saints" was written as a processional hymn by the Anglican Bishop William Walsham How. The hymn was first printed in Hymns for Saint's Days, and Other Hymns, by Earl Nelson, 1864.-Tune:...
.
In 1863-1868 he brought out a Commentary on the Four Gospels and he also wrote a manual for the Holy Communion. Published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge during the 1890s under the title "Holy Communion, Preparation and Companion...together with the Collects, Epistles and Gospels" this book was widely distributed and many copies still survive today. In the movement for infusing new spiritual life into the church services, especially among the poor, How was a great force. He was much helped in his earlier work by his wife, Frances A Douglas (d. 1887).
For end of paragraph 2. When he came to East London in 1879 "he found great need of women's help for the poor in the huge parishes of his diocese". He then planned to establish a Deaconess Community and applied to the (West) London Diocesan Deaconess Institution. LDDI sent its Sr Louisa in autumn 1880 and the East London Diocesan Deaconess Institution was founded at Sutton Place, Hackney. Deaconess Sisters worked in various East London parishes and eventually the Institution became the All Saints Deaconess Home at Meynell Crescent (1894/5-1924). A few of the remaining Sisters joined the London Diocesan Deaconess Institution which continued work in the East End for a few years. [Source: Archives of the (Deaconess) Community of St Andrew which had developed from the LDDI.]
Hymns
How is represented in The Church Hymn book 1872 with three hymns:- Jesus! name of wondrous love (n. 794), 1854
- Soldiers of the cross, arise (n. 1212), 1854
- We give thee but thine own (n. 1264), 1854;
and in Hymns Ancient and Modern, Revised
Hymns Ancient and Modern
Hymns Ancient and Modern was a hymnal in common use within the Church of England. Over the years it has grown into a large family of hymnals....
with a several others
- Lord Jesus, when we stand afar (n. 109),
- O Jesu, thou art standing (n. 355),
- O my Saviour, lifted from the earth for me (n. 360),
- It is a thing most wonderful (n. 435),
- For all the Saints, who from their labours rest (n. 527),
- "Thou art the Christ, O Lord" (n. 555),
- To Thee, Our God, we fly (n. 606).
See his Life by his son, FD How (1898).
Bishop How burnt a copy of Thomas Hardy's
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
novel Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure, the last of Thomas Hardy's novels, began as a magazine serial and was first published in book form in 1895. The book was burned publicly by William Walsham How, Bishop of Wakefield, in that same year. Its hero, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man who dreams of becoming a...
. The burning took place during the summer and Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, noted for his thrift, was said to have been outraged that the bishop wasted the firewood rather than waiting until the winter when the fire would be needed anyway. However, as "the Bishop of Wakefield announced that he had thrown "such garbage" onto his fire", and this is recorded as happening in May (when it might have been cold in Wakefield), the firewood may not have been needed for burning the book only, but for warming his house.
Depictions
How appears as a significant character in Bernard PomeranceBernard Pomerance
Bernard Pomerance is an American playwright and poet whose best known work is the play The Elephant Man. Pomerance was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1940. He studied at the University of Chicago and moved to London in 1968....
's 1979 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play The Elephant Man
The Elephant Man (play)
The Elephant Man is a 1977 play by Bernard Pomerance. The production's Broadway debut in 1979 was produced by Richmond Crinkley and Nelle Nugent, and directed by Jack Hofsiss...
. In a 1982 TV adaptation he was played by William Hutt
William Hutt (actor)
William Ian DeWitt Hutt, was a Canadian actor of stage, television and film. Hutt's distinguished career spanned more than fifty years and won him many accolades and awards...
.