Thomas Mozley (1806June 17, 1893), was an English clergyman and writer associated with the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

Early life

Mozley was born at

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

, Lincolnshire, the son of a bookseller and publisher. His brother, James Bowling Mozley, would become known for his own theological works. From

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Gainsborough Queen Elizabeth's High School is a mixed grammar school in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. The school, established in 1983, but with a timeline to 1589, is an amalgamation of the previous Gainsborough High School and Queen Elizabeth's Gr ...

and

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

he progressed to

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

in 1825, where he became the pupil, and subsequently the great friend, of

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

. In 1831 he was ordained, after which he became curate of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, leaving a year later to take over the rectorship of

Moreton Pinkney Moreton Pinkney is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, about north of Brackley. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 371. The villages name means 'Moor farm/settlement'. It was held by the family of Pinchengi ...

. He asked to leave four years later and in 1836 became rector of

Cholderton Cholderton, or more properly West Cholderton, is a village and civil parish in the Bourne Valley of Wiltshire, England. The village is about east of the town of Amesbury. It is on the A338, about south of the A303 trunk road and northeast of ...

, Wiltshire. In September of that year, he married Newman's younger sister Harriet, creating a family connection to his mentor.

Tractarian

From the beginning, Mozley was a strong supporter of the

Tractarian movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

. After contributing for some time to the ''

British Critic The ''British Critic: A New Review'' was a quarterly publication, established in 1793 as a conservative and high-church review journal riding the tide of British reaction against the French Revolution. The headquarters was in London. The journa ...

'', its periodical, Mozley succeeded Newman as editor in July 1841. In 1843 he was on the point of joining the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Newman, however, strongly advised him to take two years to reflect, and Mozley decided to remain an

Anglican 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 th ...

. In 1844 he began to write leading articles for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', and continued to do so regularly for many years. Newman's own conversion to Catholicism in 1845 broke the connection between Mozley and Newman, who stopped their correspondence. In 1847 Mozley resigned his country living and settled in London.

Later life

In 1868 he accepted the living of Plymtree in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. Mozley published his ''Letters From Rome'', from 1869 to 1870, covering the convening of

Vatican I Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. From 1876 to 1880 he was

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

Ottery St Mary Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery", is a town and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about east of Exeter on the B3174. At the 2001 census, the parish, which includes the villages of Metcombe, Fair ...

, Devon. He retired in 1880, and moved to

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, where he died.

Works

Mozley was the author of ''Reminiscences, Chiefly of Oriel, and the Oxford Movement'', published in 1882, which details a history of the Oxford Movement and Mozley's own connection to it. Critical reception of the work has been mixed. Other works were: *''Henry VII, Prince Arthur, and Cardinal Morton, from a Group representing the Adoration of the Three Kings on the Chancel Screen of Plymtree Church'', 1878. *''Reminiscences, chiefly of Towns, Villages, and Schools'', 2 vols., 1885. *''The Word'', 1889. *''The Son'', 1891. *''Letters from Rome on the Occasion of the Œcumenical Council, 1869-1870'', 2 vols., 1891. *''The Creed, or a Philosophy'', 1893, with a short autobiographical preface. Mozley also published a ''Letter to the Rev. Canon Bull'', 1882, and contributed to the ''British Critic'', and other periodicals, besides ''

''.

Notes

References

* * 1806 births 1893 deaths English Anglo-Catholics Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford People from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire 19th-century English Anglican priests People educated at Charterhouse School People educated at Queen Elizabeth's High School Anglo-Catholic clergy {{Anglican-stub