Thomas William Allies (12 February 181317 June 1903) was an English historical writer specializing in religious subjects. He was one of the

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 ...

churchmen who joined 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 ...

in the early period of 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 ...

Life

Allies was born at

Midsomer Norton Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Bath and North East Somerset, England, south-west of Bath, north-east of Wells, north-west of Frome, west of Trowbridge and south-east of Bristol. It has a population of around 13,000. ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and briefly educated at

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...

and then at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, where he was the first winner of the Newcastle Scholarship in 1829, and at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, of which he became a fellow in 1833. In the later 1830s Allies became a

Tractarian 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 ...

supporter, influenced by

William Dodsworth William Dodsworth (1798–1861) was an English cleric of the Church of England, a Tractarian who became a Roman Catholic lay writer. Life Dodsworth received his education at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was admitted in October 1815. He gra ...

. In 1840

Bishop Blomfield Charles James Blomfield (29 May 1786 – 5 August 1857) was a British divine and classicist, and a Church of England bishop for 32 years. Early life and education Charles James Blomfield was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, the eldest son (and ...

of London appointed him his examining chaplain and presented him to the rectory of

Launton Launton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the eastern outskirts of Bicester, Oxfordshire, England. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,204. Manor King Edward the Confessor ...

, Oxfordshire, which he resigned in 1850 on becoming a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. Allies was appointed secretary to the

Catholic Poor School Committee The Catholic Education Service (CES) is an agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW), whose object is the advancement of the Christian religion, primarily through education. History The CES has its roots in the ...

in 1853, a position which he occupied till 1890. Allies raised £50,000 to assist Catholic schools with meeting the needs of education acts.W. B. Owen, "Allies, Thomas William (1813–1903)", rev. G. Martin Murphy, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 11 December 2015
/ref> Allies was a strong influence on his family and after 1883 his daughter

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

was left at home. Inspired by her father she devoted her time to writing about the lives of Catholic saints.Rosemary Mitchell, 'Allies, Mary Helen Agnes (1852–1927)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 10 Dec 2015
/ref> He died in London in 1903 and he was buried beside his wife who had died the year before.

Works

His major work was ''The Formation of Christendom'' (London, 8 vols., 1865-1895). His other writings included (1852); (1850); ''Per Crucem ad Lucem'' (2 vols., 1879). They went through many editions and were translated into several languages.

References

* His autobiography, (1880); * The study by his daughter, Mary H. Allies, ''Thomas Allies, the Story of a Mind'' (London, 1906), which contains a full bibliography of his works. * C.D.A. Leighton, "Thomas Allies, John Henry Newman and Providentialist History." ''History of European Ideas'' 38.2 (2012): 248-265.

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allies, Thomas William 1813 births 1903 deaths 19th-century English historians Christian writers Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism English Roman Catholics People educated at Bristol Grammar School People educated at Eton College People from Midsomer Norton 19th-century English Anglican priests