John Edmund Cox (1812–1890), also Edmond, was an English cleric and antiquarian, best known as an editor of the works of

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry' ...

Life

He was the eldest son of John (or George) Cox of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, a furniture maker. In his musical memoirs, Cox wrote about Paganini's 1831 visit to Norwich, lodging with the family. He matriculated at

All Souls' College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

in 1832, aged 19, graduating B.A. in 1836, M.A. 1840, B. & D.D. in 1870. He was ordained deacon in 1836, priest in 1837. His first living was

Aldeby Aldeby is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is bounded to the south by the River Waveney, on the other side of which is Suffolk. The village is about five miles (8 km) by road from Beccles. History The name Alde ...

, from where he moved to St Mary, Southtown,

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

. Elected a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

in 1846, Cox at that time was a curate of

St Giles Cripplegate St Giles-without-Cripplegate is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on Fore Street within the modern Barbican complex. When built it stood without (that is, outside) the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated to S ...

. He was then at

St Dunstan's, Stepney St Dunstan's, Stepney, is an Anglican Church which stands on a site that has been used for Christian worship for over a thousand years. It is located in Stepney High Street, in Stepney, London Borough of Tower Hamlets. History In about AD 952, D ...

, where on 21 February 1847 he preached a sermon "National judgements" on the famine in Ireland: he had published in 1843 a Great Yarmouth sermon under the same title. On this occasion he attributed the higher mortality in West Cork to agrarian and sectarian violence. His views lead Peter Gray to class him as an "ultra-Protestant". Cox was elected to the

Numismatic Society The Royal Numismatic Society (RNS) is a learned society and charity based in London, United Kingdom which promotes research into all branches of numismatics. Its patron was Queen Elizabeth II. Membership Foremost collectors and researchers, b ...

of London in 1847. He became vicar in charge and lecturer of St Helen's, Bishopsgate in 1849. Cox was Grand Chaplain of Freemasons and chaplain to the

Royal Society of Musicians The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a declaration of trust sig ...

, and he chaired the Poor Clergy Relief Society. He died on 27 October 1890.

Works

For the

Parker Society The Parker Society was a text publication society set up in 1841 to produce editions of the works of the early Protestant writers of the English Reformation. It was supported by both the High Church and evangelical wings of the Church of England, an ...

, Cox edited the works of Cranmer in two volumes: *''Writings and Disputations of Thomas Cranmer: Relative to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper'' (1844) *''Miscellaneous Writings and Letters of Thomas Cranmer'' (1846) The editorial work was complicated by forgeries made by Robert Ware. Cox's work followed the scholarship of the edition by Henry Jenkyns of ''The Remains of Thomas Cranmer'' of the 1830s, and was followed by the 1853 edition by Philip Edward Barnes (1815–1860) of the ''Memorials of the Rev. Thomas Cranmer'' by

John Strype John Strype (1 November 1643 – 11 December 1737) was an English clergyman, historian and biographer from London. He became a merchant when settling in Petticoat Lane. In his twenties, he became perpetual curate of Theydon Bois, Essex and lat ...

. Harry Culverwell Porter wrote in a 1966 book review that Cox's edition of Cranmer's works was standard, while the edition of Jenkyns published the original version of the ''

Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ The ''Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ'' is a book by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. It was published in July 1550, and was Cranmer's first full-length book, but at his trial in ...

'', of which Cox gave the later version in Latin. Other works were: *''Bellum Papale'' by

Thomas James Thomas James (c. 1573 – August 1629) was an English librarian and Anglican clergyman, the first librarian of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Life He was born about 1573 at Newport, Isle of Wight. In 1586 he was admitted a scholar of Winchest ...

(1841), editor *''Treatise on the Corruptions of Scripture, Councils and Fathers'' by Thomas James (1843), editor *''A Brief Sketch of the Life of the Late Miss Sarah Martin of Great Yarmouth'' (Yarmouth, 1844) anonymous editor of the memoir of Sarah Martin *

Hermann Olshausen Hermann Olshausen (21 August 1796 – 4 September 1839) was a German theologian. Biography Olshausen was born at Oldeslohe in Holstein. He was educated at the universities of Kiel (1814) and Berlin (1816), where he was influenced by Schleiermach ...

, ''Biblical Commentary on St. Paul's First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians'' (1851), translator *''Musical Recollections of the Last Half-Century'' (1872, 2 vols.). Cox worked as a newspaper music critic, and was a friend of Michael Costa; he was also on good terms with

George Thomas Smart Sir George Thomas Smart (10 May 1776 – 23 February 1867) was an English musician. Smart was born in London, his father being a music-seller. He was a choir-boy at the Chapel Royal, and was educated in music, becoming an expert violinist, orga ...

. In 1849 he was a recently joined member of the

Sacred Harmonic Society The Sacred Harmonic Society (1832-1888) was an amateur musical organization of London. It was organized for the weekly practice of sacred music and the performance of oratorios and other sacred music. Performances It was noted for its performances ...

. In 1859 he took part in the discussion led by the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

on the French government's legislation on

concert pitch Concert pitch is the pitch (music), pitch reference to which a group of musical instruments are musical tuning, tuned for a performance. Concert pitch may vary from musical ensemble, ensemble to ensemble, and has varied widely over music history. ...

. *''Annals of St. Helen's Bishopsgate'' (London, 1876), based mainly on ''The Last Ten Years of the Priory of S. Helen, Bishopsgate'' (1856) by Thomas Hugo. Among his works on

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

were: *''Dr. Ashe's Manual and Lectures'' *''The Ancient Constitutions of the Order'' Cox wrote much for the '' Church of England Quarterly Review'' and ''

North British Review The ''North British Review'' was a Scottish periodical. It was founded in 1844 to act as the organ of the new Free Church of Scotland, the first editor being David Welsh. It was published until 1871; in the last few years of its existence it had a ...

''. He edited the second edition (1845) of

George Townsend George Townsend may refer to: * George Townsend (politician) (1769–1844), U.S. Representative from New York * George Fyler Townsend (1814–1900), translator of the standard English edition of ''Aesop's Fables'' * George Townsend (cricketer) (181 ...

's polemical ''Accusations of History Against the Church of Rome'' (1825).

Family

Cox married in 1844 Emily Clara Pittman, daughter of John Pittman. The barrister Hugh Bertram Cox (1861–1930) was their son. With his sister Clara L. E. Cox, who contributed the footnotes, he edited ''Leaves from the Journals of Sir George Smart'' (1907).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, John Edmund 1812 births 1890 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London English book editors English translators Antiquarians from Norwich Clergy from Norwich 19th-century Anglican theologians