George Saxby Penfold (176913 October 1846) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

clergyman,

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of several parishes and active as a visiting preacher. In 1825 the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

awarded him the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

. A pluralist, for much of his life Penfold held the living of more than one benefice at once.

Life

Baptised at

Epsom, Surrey Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. ...

, on 27 November 1769, Penfold was the son of Hugh Penfold, gentleman, of Epsom, and his wife Susan, and was educated at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

, where he matriculated on 13 June 1788, aged eighteen. He graduated BA in 1792 and proceeded to MA by seniority in 1814. On 3 June 1792, Penfold was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

of the Church of England by James Cornwallis, bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, and on 29 May 1796 as a priest by John Douglas, bishop of Salisbury. In February 1797, Penfold gained his first

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

, as Rector of

Pulham Pulham is a village and civil parish in the English counties, county of Dorset in south-west England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale, southeast of Sherborne. In the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census the civil parish had 105 dwelling ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. In 1815, he was also appointed as Vicar of

Goring-by-Sea Goring-by-Sea, commonly referred to simply as Goring, is a neighbourhood of Worthing and former civil parish, now in Worthing district in West Sussex, England. It lies west of West Worthing, about west of Worthing town centre. Historically in ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, and held both of these positions until 1832. By 1823, he was also Minister of the Brunswick Chapel,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, and was becoming popular as a visiting preacher. In May of that year, in its series of "Sketches of Popular Preachers", ''

The European Magazine ''The European Magazine'' (sometimes referred to as ''European Magazine'') was a monthly magazine published in London. Eighty-nine semi-annual volumes were published from 1782 until 1826. It was launched as the ''European Magazine, and London Rev ...

'' published an article on Penfold in which "Criticus" noted his strong and weak points as a speaker,Criticus, "Sketches of Popular Preachers: the Rev. George Saxby Penfold, A. M." in ''The European Magazine, and London Review'', May 1823
pp. 424–425
/ref> including the assertions – On 27 July 1823, Penfold preached a sermon at the

St Pancras New Church St Pancras Church is a Greek Revival church in St Pancras, London, built in 1819–22 to the designs of William and Henry William Inwood. Location The church is on the northern boundary of Bloomsbury, on the south side of Euston Road, at the c ...

for the benefit of the

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

. A broadsheet advertising the sermon was issued. In 1825, Penfold was appointed as the first Rector of the newly built

Christ Church, Marylebone Christ Church, Marylebone, also called Christ Church, Lisson Grove, and Christ Church, Cosway Street, is a Grade II* listed former Church of England church, built in the 1820s in Marylebone in the City of Westminster to designs by Thomas and Phil ...

."Penfold, George Saxby"
theclergydatabase.org.uk, accessed 21 November 2020 In December of the same year, the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

conferred on him the degrees of Bachelor and

. In 1828, Penfold repeated the challenge of establishing a new parish when he was appointed as the first Rector of the newly built Trinity Church, Marylebone. In December 1831, he became Rector of

Kingswinford Kingswinford is a town of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands, situated west-southwest of central Dudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census. The current economic focus ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, and retained both livings until his death. However, during 1832 he resigned as Rector of Pulham and as Vicar of Goring. In August 1846, Penfold conducted his last funeral as Rector of Trinity, the next funeral in the church being his own in October. At the time of his death, he was living at 15,

Dorset Square Dorset Square is a garden square in Marylebone, London. All buildings fronting it are terraced houses and listed, in the mainstream (initial) category. It takes up the site of Lord's (MCC's) Old Cricket Ground, which lasted 23 years until the ...

, Marylebone. He was laid to rest in the

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

of his church in Marylebone.George Saxby Penfold
billiongraves.com, accessed 5 December 2020

Private life

On 12 September 1792, at

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. T ...

, George Saxby Penfold, then of Bray, near

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

, married Sarah Fleming, of

Westminster St James Westminster St James (or St James Piccadilly) was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish followed the building of the Church of St James, Piccadilly, in 1684. After several failed attempts, the ...

. A son called George Saxby Penfold died as an infant and was buried at Epsom on 9 September 1793. A Mr Hugh Penfold from Maidenhead had been buried there in November 1792. In 1839, in the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

, a woman named Elizabeth Ballard was transported for life after cashing a forged cheque for £15 in Penfold's name. At the census of June 1841, Penfold and his wife were living in Dorset Square with eight servants. In his will dated 22 May 1846, Penfold left "to my dear wife Sarah Penfold" £1,000, to be paid to her at once, together with the lease of his house in Dorset Square and all his household effects, carriages, and horses at his houses in Middlesex, Staffordshire, and Yorkshire. He left other bequests to friends and relations. Penfold's widow died in December 1856 and was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

, although she had said in her will of 1853 that she wished to join her husband's remains in Trinity Church.Last Will and Testament of Sarah Saxby Penfold
ancestry.co.uk, accessed 9 December 2020 In fact, no burials took place in the church vault after that of Sir Jonathan Wathen Waller in 1853, which was the last.Burials in Trinity Church, in the Parish of St Marylebone (1829–1853)
Mary Poyyer, 15 Sept. 1829Jonathan Wathen Waller Bart., 7th January 1853
ancestry.co.uk, accessed 10 December 2020 In her will, in the name of Sarah Saxby Penfold, and two codicils, she left most of her estate to a nephew, Captain Frederick Charles Parson, and expressed the wish that he would "take upon himself the surnames and arms of Saxby Penfold".

Notes

External links

*Criticus
"Sketches of Popular Preachers: the Rev. George Saxby Penfold, A. M."
in ''

The European Magazine and London Review ''The European Magazine'' (sometimes referred to as ''European Magazine'') was a monthly magazine published in London. Eighty-nine semi-annual volumes were published from 1782 until 1826. It was launched as the ''European Magazine, and London Rev ...

'', May 1823, pp. 424–425 {{DEFAULTSORT:Penfold, George Saxby 1769 births 1846 deaths Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Doctors of Divinity 18th-century English people 19th-century English Anglican priests English classical scholars People from Epsom