Ven. Henry Edward James Bevan FRSL (14 May 1854 – 11 July 1935) was an English

Anglican divine Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

.. Bevan was born in Shrewsbury, son of Henry Bevan, and educated at the

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

. He earned a B.A. in 1878 from St John's College, Cambridge, and an M.A. in 1883 from

Ely Theological College Ely Theological College was a college in Ely, Cambridgeshire, for training clergy in the Church of England. Founded in 1876 by James Woodford, Anglican Bishop of Ely, the college had a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition. Ely's "ritualistic" (i.e. ...

. He became curate at

St Lawrence Jewry St Lawrence Jewry next Guildhall is a Church of England guild church in the City of London on Gresham Street, next to Guildhall. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and rebuilt to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. It is the ...

for five years (1878–83), and Camden Lecturer there. In 1878, he was ordained as a deacon, and as a priest in 1879. He became the first

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of St. Andrew's Stoke Newington and

Gresham Professor of Divinity The Professor of Divinity at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it appointed seven professors; this has since increased to ten and in addition the c ...

in 1888, succeeding

John Burgon John William Burgon (21 August 18134 August 1888) was an English Anglican divine who became the Dean of Chichester Cathedral in 1876. He was known during his lifetime for his poetry and his defence of the historicity and Mosaic authorship of G ...

in the Gresham Professorship, which he held until 1904. In 1895 he became

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 ...

Holy Trinity Sloane Street The Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity with Saint Jude, Upper Chelsea, commonly called Holy Trinity Sloane Street or Holy Trinity Sloane Square, is a Church of England parish church in London, England. It was built in 1888–90 at th ...

, and in 1902 he moved from there to

St Luke's Church, Chelsea The Parish Church of St Luke, Chelsea, is an Anglican church, on Sydney Street, Chelsea, London SW3, just off the King's Road. Ecclesiastically it is in the Deanery of Chelsea, part of the Diocese of London. It was designed by James Savage in 1 ...

, where he was also rector. He was Archdeacon of Middlesex from 1903 to 1930.. He also became in 1903 chaplain to the 1st Middlesex Engineer Volunteers, later redesignated the 2nd London Divisional Royal Engineers of the Territorial Army. From 1894 to 1930 he was Examining Chaplain to the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, serving three incumbent bishops -

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early life ...

(about whom Bevan authored a memoir of Temple's period in London, published 1906), Mandell Creighton and Arthur Winnington-Ingram. Through his mother, Bevan was the grand-nephew of John Smalman, the builder of Quatford Castle in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, which later became his own country residence when he inherited it in 1889. In 1883 he married Charlotte, the second daughter of the 8th

Viscount Molesworth Viscount Molesworth, of Swords in the County of Dublin, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1716 for Robert Molesworth. He was made Lord Molesworth, Baron of Philipstown, of King's County, at the same time, also in the Peerage ...

. Bevan died in July 1935 aged 81. The organist and composer,

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

(1879–1962), whose 'Te Deum in F' (1907) is dedicated to Bevan, was appointed sub-organist at

in 1896, and followed Bevan to

as organist in 1904..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, Henry Edward James Professors of Gresham College Archdeacons of Middlesex 1854 births 1935 deaths People educated at Shrewsbury School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of Ely Theological College Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature