John James Raven (1833–1906) was an English cleric and head, known as a writer on

campanology Campanology () is the scientific and musical study of bells. It encompasses the technology of bells – how they are founded, tuned and rung – as well as the history, methods, and traditions of bellringing as an art. It is common to collect t ...

Life

Born on 25 June 1833 at

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hul ...

, he was the eldest son of eight children of John Hardy Raven, rector of Worlington, Suffolk, and his wife Jane Augusta, daughter of John Richman, attorney, of

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

, Hampshire; a younger brother, the Rev. John Hardy Raven (1842–1911), was head of Beccles school. He entered St Catharine's College, Cambridge, on 18 October 1853, and migrated on 17 December following to Emmanuel College (where he was awarded first an Ash exhibition and subsequently a

sizar At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...

ship). He graduated B.A. as a senior optime in the

Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was ...

of 1857, proceeding M.A. in 1860 and D.D. in 1872. In 1857, Raven was appointed second master of Sevenoaks grammar school and was ordained curate of the parish church there. In 1859, he became head of

Bungay grammar school Bungay High School is a mixed-sex secondary school with academy status in the town of Bungay in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It caters for children aged 11 to 18. The school was founded as Bungay Grammar School in 1565 and becam ...

, a post in the gift of Emmanuel College. There he raised money for a new building, which was opened in 1863. From 1866 to 1885 he was head of Yarmouth grammar school. He served for some time as curate of Yarmouth parish church and was from 1881 to 1885 vicar of St. George's in that town. In 1885, he was presented by the Master of Emmanuel to the consolidated vicarage of

Fressingfield Fressingfield is a village in Suffolk, England, east of Diss, Norfolk. In 2015 it had a population of 1021, with one shop (a Mace (shop)), a medical centre, public house, restaurant, primary school, and three churches, with Anglican, Baptist an ...

and rectory of Withersdale in Suffolk, and was admitted on 23 March 1895 (under a dispensation) to the vicarage of

Metfield Metfield is a village in Suffolk, England, but its name is derived from Medefeld or 'Meadow feld' (see ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names''). It is situated close to the border with Norfolk, being approximately 5 miles south eas ...

in the same county. Raven was chosen honorary canon of

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedra ...

in 1888, and rural dean of

Hoxne Hoxne ( ) is a village in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about five miles (8 km) east-southeast of Diss, Norfolk and south of the River Waveney. The parish is irregularly shaped, covering the villages of Hoxne, Cross Street ...

in 1896, and a co-opted member of the County Education Committee on its formation in 1902. He served from 1881 till his death on the committee of the Norfolk and Norwich Archæological Society, which he joined in 1871, was a vice-president of the Suffolk Institute of Archæology, and was elected 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. Soci ...

on 23 April 1891. He died at Fressingfield vicarage on 20 September 1906, and was buried in the churchyard. A reredos was erected to his memory in the church. His pupils at Yarmouth presented him with his portrait by Alfred Lys Baldry (now belonging to his eldest son at Fressingfield), and a tower at Yarmouth school commemorated his successful headship. His fine library of county and bell literature was sold at Fressingfield in November 1906.

Works

While a youth Raven studied the bells of the churches near his home at Worlington and contributed to an ''Ecclesiastical History of Suffolk'' in 1854. He was president of the Norwich Diocesan Association of Ringers, and published books on ''The Church Bells of Cambridgeshire'' (Lowestoft, 1869; 2nd edit. Camb. Antiq. Soc. 1881), ''The Church Bells of Suffolk'' (1890), and ''The Bells of England'' (in the Antiquary's Books series, 1906). He published also ''The History of Suffolk'' (in the '' Popular County Histories'' series, 1895), and ''Mathematics made easy: Lectures on Geometry and Algebra'' (1897). He also compiled the "Early Man" section of the

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...

for Suffolk.

Family

Raven married on 19 March 1860, at Mildenhall parish church, Suffolk, Fanny, youngest daughter of Robert Homer Harris of

Botesdale Botesdale is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. The village is about south west of Diss, south of Norwich and north east of Bury St Edmunds. The village of Rickinghall merges with Botesda ...

, and had, with two daughters, seven sons, of whom three took holy orders.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Raven, John Joseph 1833 births 1906 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Schoolteachers from Lincolnshire British writers Campanologists Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People from Boston, Lincolnshire People from Worlington, Suffolk People from Fressingfield 19th-century musicologists