Stephen Herbert Wynn Hughes-Games (1862–1923) was an English chaplain, theologian and poet with strong ties to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. Hughes-Games was born on 21 March 1862 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, the second son of ten children born to

Joshua Hughes-Games Joshua Hughes-Games born Joshua Jones (1831–1904) was an Anglican priest, the Archdeacon of Man from 1886 until 1894. Born in 1831, he changed his surname to Hughes-Games to receive an inheritance, and matriculated at Lincoln College, Oxford in ...

and his wife, Mary Helena Yates.''Claare ny Gael''
13 November 2016, presented by Robert Corteen Carswell on

Manx Radio Manx Radio (legally Radio Manx Ltd.) ( gv, Radio Vannin) is the national commercial radio station for the Isle of Man. It began broadcasting on 29 June 1964, almost ten years before commercial radio was licensed in the United Kingdom. The Isle of ...

He attended

King William's College King William's College (nicknamed KWC or King Bill's; gv, Colleish Ree Illiam) is an independent school for pupils aged 3 to 18, located near Castletown on the Isle of Man. It is a member of the International Baccalaureate and Headmasters' and ...

, where his father had been principal since 1866. He then attended

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

, achieving his

Honour Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ' ...

in 1883, before returning to the Isle of Man to be lecturer in the Sodor and Man Theological College and

Curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Kirk Andreas Andreas ( or ; gv, Skeerey Andreas) is one of the seventeen parishes of the Isle of Man. It is located in the north of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) in the sheading of Ayre. The main settlement in the parish in th ...

, under his father,'Death of the Rev Stephen Hughes-Games' in ''Isle of Man Examiner'', 18 May 1923
/ref> between 1887 and 88.
by Frances Coakley, ''A Manx Note Book'' (accessed 18 November 2016) It was in February 1887 that Hughes-Games’ sister, Louise Elizabeth Wynn, married the Speaker of the House of Keys and leading Manx antiquarian, historian, linguist and folklorist, A. W. Moore. In 1888 he became Domestic Chaplain to Bishop of Sodor and Man and the Diocesan Inspector of Schools for

Sodor and Man The Diocese of Sodor and Man is a diocese of the Church of England. Originally much larger, today it covers just the Isle of Man and its adjacent islets. Today, the bishop's office is in Douglas and the cathedral is in Peel. The diocese is ''not ...

, but in 1889 he became principal of the

Bishop Wilson Theological College, Isle of Man Bishop Wilson Theological College was founded as a theological college in 1879 to train Anglican clergy to serve in the Church of England. It was named after Thomas Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man between 1697 and 1755, located in part of Bishopsc ...

. The College was based in Bishopscourt, a place which featured in one of Hughes-Games' poems:

:O fair green lawns, by rippling water lined, :O'erwatched by tower and fane and ivied walls, :How softly on you now the evening falls :And wakes your leaf-crowned aisles with whispering wind!

In 1890 he moved to London to become Curate of St. Giles, Cripplegate, before moving to become curate of

Croydon Parish Church Croydon Minster is the parish and civic church of the London Borough of Croydon. There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Minster being the most prominent. It is Grade I listed. Six Archbishops of Canterbury are bur ...

in 1893, the same year in which he obtained by MA from 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 ...

. It was also in 1893 that he got married, on 27 April at

St John's, Notting Hill St John's Notting Hill is a Victorian Anglican church built in 1845 in Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill, London,

, London.''Isle of Man Times'', 3 Jun 1893
/ref> He was to go on to have two sons. For his wedding day Hughes-Games composed a wedding hymn, which began with the following stanza: Cmglee St Johns Notting Hill

:O love that lit with glory :Fair Eden long ago – :O love, the star and story :Of life above, below, :Thy light it sprung from heaven, :It flashed in fulness down, :God born, God-blessed, God given, :Of all God's gifts the crown!

After three years in Croydon, Hughes-Games moved to become Vicar of

Doddington, Kent Doddington is a village and civil parish in the district of Swale in Kent, England. The Syndale Valley shelters the central part in the Kent Downs Area of outstanding natural beauty. Today the village is notable for Doddington Place Gardens, for ...

in 1896. By 1901 Hughes-Games was Vicar of St. Mary's Birkenhead. In 1904 Hughes-Games published a collection of poetry, ''Thekla, and Other Poems'', which was judged to be 'worthy of deep admiration' at his death nearly twenty years later. His poem 'In memoriam:

T. E. Brown Thomas Edward Brown (5 May 183029 October 1897), commonly referred to as T. E. Brown, was a late-Victorian scholar, schoolmaster, poet, and theologian from the Isle of Man. Having achieved a double first at Christ Church, Oxford, and electio ...

' was selected by

William Cubbon William Cubbon M.A. (28 May 1865 – 1 January 1955) was a Manx nationalist, antiquarian, author, businessman and librarian who was the first secretary of the Manx Museum, later becoming Director of the Museum.''Isle of Man Examiner Yearbook ...

for inclusion in his ''A Book of Manx Poetry'', published in 1913, and included the striking

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

:'In memoriam: T. E. Brown'
by Stephen Hughes-Games, in ''A Book of Manx Poetry'' ed. by William Cubbon, Douglas: Brown & Sons Ltd., 1913

:Poet and Patriot, strong, :Tender and wise, :All notes were in thy song, :Mirth in thine eyes.

Hughes-Games moved to St. Lawrence, Thanet, in 1906, and in around 1908 he moved to a new position in

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

, Bristol. It was here that he died on 16 May 1923.

References

External links

''Thekla, and Other Poems'', by Stephen Hughes-Games, London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1904
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes-Games, Stephen 1862 births Clergy from Liverpool Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Manx poets 1923 deaths People educated at King William's College