Lowther Clarke
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Henry Lowther Clarke (23 November 1850 – 23 June 1926) was the fourth
Anglican bishop The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglica ...
and first archbishop of Melbourne, Australia.


Early life

Clarke was born at Firbank Vicarage,
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
, England, the son of the Revd William Clarke and his wife Sarah, ''née'' Lowther. He was educated at home and at
Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...
, winning a scholarship which took him to
St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
, graduated BA in 1874 as seventh wrangler and MA in 1877. Clarke was ordained deacon in 1874 and priest in 1875 by William Thomson, the
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
. He was curate of St John's Kingston-on-Hull from 1874 to 1876 before various positions in the north of England during the next 26 years. He was vicar of
Hedon Hedon is a town and civil parish in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of Hull city centre. It lies to the north of the A1033 road at the crossroads of the B1240 and B1362 roads. It is pa ...
from 1876 to 1883, then assistant master at St. Peter's school in York for a year from 1883 to 1884, when he became vicar of St. Martin, Coney-street, York. In 1890 he became vicar of
Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...
, and in 1901 vicar of
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
. He was an honorary canon of
Wakefield Cathedral Wakefield Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, is a co-equal Anglican cathedral with Bradford and Ripon Cathedrals, in the Diocese of Leeds and a seat of the Bishop of Leeds. Originally the pa ...
from 1893, and proctor for the clergy of the Wakefield diocese in the Convocation of York in 1902.


Melbourne

Clarke was approached for nomination as Bishop of Melbourne and announced his acceptance of this in early September 1902. The following month he received the degree
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 ...
(DD) from the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. He was consecrated
Bishop 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 ...
by the Archbishop of Canterbury in
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
, London, on 1 November 1902, and arrived in Melbourne in February 1903. Since the resignation of Bishop Goe the area of the Diocese of Melbourne had been greatly reduced by the formation of new dioceses based in Bendigo, Wangaratta and Gippsland. When Clarke began his ministry he appointed a commission to document the present position and future needs of the diocese and later came to the conclusion that certain parishes had become too large and needed subdividing, that means must be found for a more complete training of the clergy, and that there must be an extension of secondary education by means of church schools. In 1905 Clarke became first Archbishop of Melbourne and Metropolitan of Victoria. He ruled his diocese firmly and refused to allow himself to be allied to any party. Recognising that what may be called the puritanical and the aesthetic types of mind are permanent in human nature, he felt that the safest approach would be found in a middle course, and that no good would be done by straining for uniformity in minor issues. In practice, however, Clarke generally opposed evangelicals, as exemplified by the forced resignation of C. H. Nash. The question of the reunion of the churches was given some consideration, but little progress was made. There was, however, much expansion in the social work of the church, and several successful secondary schools were established, including the Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School, Trinity Grammar School in Kew and
Firbank Grammar School , motto_translation = She conquers who conquers herself , city = Brighton , state = Victoria , zipcode = 3186 , country = Australia , coordinates = ...
in Brighton which Clarke named after his birth place. In 1910 Clarke persuaded the
Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly and ...
to establish the
Melbourne College of Divinity The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in divinity. It is constituted by eleven theological colleges from eight denominations. The University of Divinity is the direct successor of the second oldest ...
to examine for and grant degrees. In March 1920 Clarke went to London to attend the Lambeth Conference and in November resigned as Archbishop of Melbourne.


Later life

Clarke lived in retirement in
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 Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, and kept himself busy with literary work. His published writings include ''History of the Parish of Dewsbury'' (1899), ''Addresses delivered in England and Australia'' (1904), ''The Last Things'' (1910), ''Studies in the English Reformation'' (1912), ''Addresses delivered to the Synod of the Diocese of Melbourne'' (1914), ''The Constitutions of the General Provincial and Diocesan Synods of the Church of England in Australia'' (1918), ''Constitutional Church Government in the Dominions Beyond the Seas'' (1924), an authoritative and comprehensive work; ''Death and the Hereafter'' (1926) and, with W. N. Weech, ''History of Sedbergh School'' (1925). Clarke died on 23 June 1926. He was given the honorary 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 ...
(DD) by both Cambridge and Oxford universities.


Family

Clarke married in 1876 Alice Lovell, daughter of the Revd Canon Kemp. She died suddenly in 1918. Two sons and a daughter survived him when he died in 1926.


Notes


References

* *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Lowther Anglican bishops of Melbourne Anglican archbishops of Melbourne 20th-century Anglican archbishops Religious leaders from Melbourne 1850 births 1926 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge