Thomas Pelham Dale (1821–1892) was an English

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

ritualist Ritualism, in the history of Christianity, refers to an emphasis on the rituals and liturgical ceremonies of the church. Specifically, the Christian ritual of Holy Communion. In the Anglican church in the 19th century, the role of ritual became ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, most notable for being prosecuted and imprisoned for ritualist practices.

Biography

Thomas Pelham Dale was born at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

on 3 April 1821 and grew up in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He was the eldest son of

Thomas Dale Sir Thomas Dale ( 1570 − 19 August 1619) was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in ...

(1797-1870) and his wife Emily Jane Richardson. After attending

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, in 1841 he went up to

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

and graduated in 1845. He was elected as a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of his college. Dale was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1845 and

in 1846. He was appointed

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 ...

of the Camden Chapel,

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. In 1847 he became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

St Vedast Foster Lane Saint Vedast Foster Lane or Saint Vedast-alias-Foster, a church in Foster Lane, in the City of London, is dedicated to St. Vedast (Foster is an Anglicisation of the name "Vaast", as the saint is known in continental Europe), a French saint whose ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

. With scholarly interests that were scientific as well as theological, Dale was librarian of

Sion College Sion College, in London, is an institution founded by Royal Charter in 1630 as a college, guild of parochial clergy and almshouse, under the 1623 will of Thomas White, vicar of St Dunstan's in the West. The clergy who benefit by the foundation ...

in the City of London from 1851 to 1856. In 1861, with Bishop Tait, Elizabeth Ferard (see 18 July in Church of England calendar) and two other women, Dale founded the North London Deaconess Institution based in King's Cross. Originally an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

, Dale came to believe that

ritualism Ritualism, in the history of Christianity, refers to an emphasis on the rituals and liturgical ceremonies of the church. Specifically, the Christian ritual of Holy Communion. In the Church of England, Anglican church in the 19th century, the rol ...

was specifically appropriate to deal with the nature of secularism and forces hostile to Christianity of the time. He began to use

eucharistic The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this w ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

1873. Opposition to Dale crystallised around his ritualism, especially after he offered ''

locum tenens A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

'' ministry in 1875 to the congregation of St Alban the Martyr,

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

, whilst the Revd

Alexander Heriot Mackonochie Alexander Heriot Mackonochie (11 August 1825 – 15 December 1887) was a Church of England mission priest known as "the martyr of St Alban's" on account of his prosecution and forced resignation for ritualist practices. Early life Mackonochi ...

was suspended for ritualist practices. In 1876 he was prosecuted under the

Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict c 85) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Archbishop of Canterbury Archibald Campbell Tait, to limit what he perceived as the growing ritual ...

. He was supported by the

English Church Union The Church Union is an Anglo-Catholic advocacy group within the Church of England. The organisation was founded as the Church of England Protection Society on 12 May 1859 to challenge the authority of the English civil courts to determine questio ...

in his prosecution by the

Church Association The Church Association was an English evangelical Anglican organisation founded in 1865. It was particularly active in opposition to Anglo-Catholicism, ritualism, and the Oxford Movement. Founded in 1865 by Richard P. Blakeney, the association st ...

. In the same year, he joined the

Society of the Holy Cross The Society of the Holy Cross (SSC; la, Societas Sanctae Crucis) is an international Anglo-Catholic society of male priests with members in the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement, who live under a common rule of life that i ...

. In December 1878 he recommenced all his former practices and another judgment against him from

Lord Penzance James Plaisted Wilde, 1st Baron Penzance, (12 July 1816 – 9 December 1899) was a noted United Kingdom, British judge and rose breeder who was also a proponent of the Baconian theory that the works usually attributed to William Shakespeare were ...

in the

Court of Arches The Arches Court, presided over by the Dean of Arches, is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England covering the Province of Canterbury. Its equivalent in the Province of York is the Chancery Court. It takes its name from the street-level ...

was obtained in 1880. Two days later Dale was arrested and imprisoned in

Holloway prison HM Prison Holloway was a closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, until its closure in 2016. Hist ...

. Dale's imprisonment drew great sympathy from all but his most die-hard opponents. Such imprisonments did more than anything else to turn public opinion against

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

's attempt to put down Ritualism by law. Soon after his release Dale was presented to the living of

Sausthorpe Sausthorpe is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Lindsey Non-metropolitan district, district of Lincolnshire, England, east of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Horncastle and north-west of Spilsby. It lies on the ...

-cum-

Aswardby Aswardby (pronounced "as-ard-bee") is a village situated north-west from Spilsby, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies north of the A158 road, A158 and west of the A16 road (England), A16 roads. It is in the civil par ...

, near

Spilsby Spilsby is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town is adjacent to the main A16, east of the county town of Lincoln, north-east of Boston and north-west of Skegness. It ...

, in 1881. He died on 19 April 1892 (on the eleventh anniversary of the death of Disraeli (one of the architects of the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874) and was buried in

churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

Family

Dale married Mary Francis in 1847. Their children included: *The Revd

Thomas Francis Dale Thomas Francis Dale (1848–1923) was an English army chaplain, known as an author on fox hunting and polo. Life He was the son of the Rev. Pelham Dale and his wife Mary Francis, and was educated at Merchant Taylors' School. He matriculated ...

, born 1848. *The Revd Arthur Murray Dale (1850–1927), Anglican cleric who became a Roman Catholic. He married Mary Boscawen, daughter of

Evelyn Boscawen, 6th Viscount Falmouth Evelyn Boscawen, 6th Viscount Falmouth (18 March 1819 – 6 November 1889), was a breeder of race horses and the winner of many classic races. Personal life His parents were the Reverend Hon John Evelyn Boscawen, Canon of Canterbury, (1790� ...

. *Charles Lawford Dale, born 1852, army officer *Mary Caroline Dale, born 1854 *Helen Annette Dale, born 1856 *Emily Frances Dale, born 1859 *Clare Elizabeth Dale, born 1861

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dale, T. Pelham 1821 births 1892 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Anglo-Catholic clergy English Anglo-Catholics Trials in England