Fr Charles Sidney de Vere Beauclerk
SJ (1 January 1855 – 22 November 1934) was a Jesuit priest who attempted to turn the town of
Holywell
Holywell may refer to:
* Holywell, Flintshire, Wales
* Holywell, Swords, Ireland
* Holywell, Bedfordshire, England
* Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England
* Holywell, Cornwall, England
* Holywell, Dorset, England
* Holywell, Eastbourne, East Susse ...
into the "Lourdes of Wales".
[Eric Rowan & Carolyn Stewart, ''An Elusive Tradition: Art and Society in Wales, 1870–1950'', University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 2002. pp.37; 225] He was also notable for his connection to the novelist
Frederick Rolfe
Frederick William Rolfe (surname pronounced ), better known as Baron Corvo (Italian for "Crow"), and also calling himself Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), was an English writer, artist, ph ...
, and for his involvement in the
Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship
The Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship contends that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. While historians and literary scholars overwhelmingly reject alternative authorship candidate ...
.
Early life
Beauclerk was the third child of Charles Beauclerk, a Fellow of
Gonville and Caius College
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...
, Cambridge, and Joaquina Zamora, daughter of Don J M Zamora, Chief Magistrate of Cuba. Beauclerk (pronounced ''bo-clair'') was a male line great-grandson of
Topham Beauclerk
Topham Beauclerk ( ; 22 December 1739 – 11 March 1780) was a celebrated wit and a friend of Dr Johnson and Horace Walpole.
Life
Topham Beauclerk was born on 22 December 1739, the only son of Lord Sidney Beauclerk and a great-grandson of King ...
, and consequently direct descendant of
Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans
Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, KG (8 May 167010 May 1726) was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by his mistress Nell Gwyn.
Biography
On 21 December 1676, a warrant was passed for "a grant to Charles Beauclerc, the K ...
, illegitimate son of
Charles II and
Nell Gwyn. He was also descended from
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford and
Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough
Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, (22 November 170620 October 1758), styled as The Honourable Charles Spencer between 1706 and 1729 and as The Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733, was a British soldier, nobleman, and politician fr ...
. Educated at
Beaumont College
Beaumont College was between 1861 and 1967 a public school in Old Windsor in Berkshire. Founded and run by the Society of Jesus, it offered a Roman Catholic public school education in rural surroundings, while lying, like the neighbouring Eto ...
, he became a Jesuit in 1875 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1888. One of his brothers, Henry Beauclerk, also became a Jesuit, serving as a missionary in British Guiana (now Guyana), and another brother, Robert Beauclerk, joined the Jesuits but left before completing his seminary training.
Holywell
![Treffynnon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Treffynnon.JPG)
Beauclerk was Parish Priest at
Holywell
Holywell may refer to:
* Holywell, Flintshire, Wales
* Holywell, Swords, Ireland
* Holywell, Bedfordshire, England
* Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England
* Holywell, Cornwall, England
* Holywell, Dorset, England
* Holywell, Eastbourne, East Susse ...
in North Wales from 1890 to 1898. Holywell was named from
St Winefride's Well
St Winefride's Well ( cy, Ffynnon Wenffrewi) is a well located in the town of Holywell, Flintshire, in Wales. It claims to be the oldest continually visited pilgrimage site in Great Britain and is a grade I listed building and scheduled ancien ...
, a
holy well
A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...
surrounded by a
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
. The well has been known since at least the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
period, and has been a site of
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
since about 660 when
Saint Winefride was
behead
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...
ed there. At the time of Beauclerk's arrival the town was in a state of apparently "terminal decay", with
industrial decline
Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry.
There are different interpre ...
and poor housing. Beauclerk intended to restore Holywell to its former status as a centre of Catholic pilgrimage, aspiring to "purify it with literature and art".
He developed the Holywell processions, and promoted the events through a journal, the ''Holywell Record'', bringing in a significant number of pilgrims. He was assisted by Father Fletcher who established the
Guild of Our Lady of Ransom
The Guild of Our Lady of Ransom is a charity, founded in 1877, which supports projects and initiatives in the Catholic Church in England and Wales, through its grant programme and network of members.
History
In 1886, the Catholic priest, The R ...
in the town and predicted that Holywell would become the "centre for the conversion of England" to Catholicism. Beauclerk also believed that this would soon occur. He promoted a beautification programme for the town, including church rebuilding and public decorative schemes. He also commissioned Catholic religious art, most notably a statue of Jesus as
The Sacred Heart, which was transported through the town in a massive procession.
Beauclerk's assertions about conversion and his attempts to dominate the public space with Catholic imagery caused a backlash from Protestants, especially nonconformists. The heart from his Sacred Heart statue was removed.
However, the increase in the number of pilgrims coming to the town was beneficial to local traders, a fact which mollified criticism.
Rolfe
![Fr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Fr._Rolfe_III.JPG)
In April 1895, the writer
Frederick Rolfe
Frederick William Rolfe (surname pronounced ), better known as Baron Corvo (Italian for "Crow"), and also calling himself Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), was an English writer, artist, ph ...
, then using the pseudonym "Mr Austin", arrived in Holywell and was engaged by Beauclerk to paint some new banners for use in the town's regular Catholic processions. Beauclerk allowed Rolfe to set up his studio in an unused schoolroom, and Rolfe took over as editor and chief writer for the ''Holywell Record''. However, it was not long before Rolfe's relations with the parish priest began to deteriorate, and broke down altogether when Beauclerk rejected his request to be paid a hefty sum for painting the banners. Eventually Rolfe had to agree to a small fee of £50, but he used his control of the ''Holywell Record'' to attack Beauclerk relentlessly. By early 1897 Rolfe was drawing his every Holywell acquaintance into his feud with Beauclerk. Eventually the priest's position became untenable and the Jesuit Provincial decided to transfer him.
Beauclerk later recognised versions of himself in Rolfe's 1904 novel ''
Hadrian the Seventh
''Hadrian the Seventh: A Romance'' (sometimes called ''Hadrian VII'') is a 1904 novel by the English novelist Frederick Rolfe, who wrote under the pseudonym "Baron Corvo".
Rolfe's best-known work, this novel of extreme wish-fulfilment developed o ...
'', in several characters. One is referred to as "that detestable and deceitful Blackcote" (p. 15), "a hare-brained and degenerate priest" (p. 30). There is also "Fr St Albans", the Jesuit General (p. 274), and "the bad priest" (p. 324). However, Beauclerk had the generosity to write and congratulate Rolfe when it was published.
After Beauclerk left, Holywell's capacity to attract pilgrims declined.
Later life
![Turning de Vere into Shakespeare](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Turning_de_Vere_into_Shakespeare.jpg)
After he left Holywell, Beauclerk served at several other Jesuit houses: the community of retired Jesuits at
Boscombe
Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth, England. Historically in Hampshire, but today in Dorset, it is located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne.
Originally a sparsely inhabited area of heathland, from around 1865 B ...
in Bournemouth;
Manresa House at Roehampton, Surrey; chaplain of the Services College in Malta; and finally the Jesuit church in
Accrington in Lancashire.
In his later years his personal hobby was the accumulation of evidence to prove that his ancestor
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was the true author of Shakespeare's plays, an idea first suggested in 1920 by
J. Thomas Looney. He was the first person to propose that de Vere was the subject of the
Ashbourne portrait, an idea he passed to Looney's follower
Percy Allen.
[Percy Allen, ''The Life Story of Edward de Vere as "William Shakespeare"'', Palmer, 1932, pp.319-28.] According to Allen, Beauclerk created composite images by merging the established Welbeck portrait of de Vere with various known and alleged portraits of Shakespeare. In addition to the Ashbourne portrait, Beauclerk applied his method to the
Grafton, Felton and
Droeshout portraits. Allen believed that Beauclerk's method "shows them all to be portraits of the same man - Edward de Vere".
References
Further reading
* Benkovitz, Miriam, ''Frederick Rolfe: Baron Corvo'', Hamish Hamilton, 1977, pp. 73–104.
* Symons, A J A, ''The Quest for Corvo'', Cassell, 1934, Chapter Seven 'The Nowt of Holywell'. The 1952 Folio Society of ''The Quest'' has a new appendix entitled 'Rolfe at Holywell', with the full text of many of Rolfe's letters to Beauclerk.
* Symons, Julian, 'The Battle of Holywell: A Story of Baron Corvo', in ''The Saturday Book'', Volume V, 1945, pp. 215–234.
* Weeks, Donald, ''Corvo'', Michael Joseph, 1971, pp. 123–171.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauclerk, Charles Sidney
1855 births
1934 deaths
20th-century English Jesuits
19th-century English Jesuits
Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship
People educated at Beaumont College
Shakespeare authorship theorists
Charles
People from Holywell, Flintshire