Edwin Sidney Savage (28 February 1862 — 26 October 1947) was a British priest in the
Church of England and an author.
Born in Port Elizabeth South Africa, Savage was educated at
New College, Eastbourne,
University College London and
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
.
Savage married Jane McEwan, who died on 23 November 1886 following the birth of their only child, Ronald McEwan Hill Savage. He married secondly, in 1889, Sibil Farrar, daughter of
Frederic Farrar,
Dean of Canterbury (1895-1903); they had a son (
Lieutenant Cuthbert Savage, killed in action during
World War I) and four daughters (Enid, Audrey, Rosella and Elflida).
Savage was the
Rector of Hexham from 1898 to 1919, during which time he oversaw the abbey's rebuilding.
After serving with 21 ships during the
First World War as Chief Commissioner of
YMCA in the Mediterranean, Savage was decorated with the Serbian Red Cross Order for services in relief of its civilian population. He also received the
Order of St Sava as well as the honorary military rank of
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
from
King Peter I of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
. He was also honoured with the
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches.
The majori ...
's Golden Cross, whose insignia of a large pectoral cross in repousse gold he later often wore. He also served on the
International Commission to report on the Bulgarian Atrocities.
On the evening of 26 October 1947, Savage was found dead in a smoke-filled room after raising the alarm for a fire in his sitting room at 18 London Road in Bexhill, a town he had been associated with for the previous 20 years. The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death but his cause of death remains in doubt as there was no evidence of burning.
Other achievements:
*Constructor of the Abbey Institute in Gilesgate Hexham, now home to the Hexham Community Centre
*Restorator and conservator of the
Church of St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield
The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, sometimes abbreviated to Great St Bart's, is a medieval church in the Church of England's Diocese of London located in Smithfield within the City of London. The building was founded as an August ...
, during his term as rector (1929–1944)
*Honorary chaplain to the
Worshipful Companies of Butchers and
Makers of Playing Cards
*Honorary canon of
Newcastle Cathedral
Writings
*''A Record of All Works Connected with Hexham Abbey since January 1899 and now in progress'', J. Catherall, Hexham, (1907)
*''Rahere Yesterday and Today & His Priory Church of St. Bartholomew: Its Chequered Story and An Appeal'', London: Waterlow & Sons Limited, (circa 1930)
raheresgarden.com
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, Edwin Sidney
1862 births
People from Penge
1947 deaths
Alumni of University College London
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
Recipients of the Order of St. Sava
YMCA leaders