William Boyd Carpenter (26 March 1841,

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 ...

– 26 October 1918,

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) was a

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cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

who became

Bishop of Ripon The Bishop of Ripon is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. The bishop is one of the area bishops of the Diocese of Leeds in the Province of York. The area bishop of Ripon has oversight of ...

and

Royal Chaplain A royal chapel is a chapel associated with a monarch, a royal court, or in a royal palace. A royal chapel may also be a Chapel (music), body of clergy or musicians serving at a royal court or employed by a monarch. Commonwealth countries Both ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

Background

William Boyd Carpenter was the second son of

the Revd The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

Henry Carpenter,

perpetual curate Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly du ...

St Michael's Church, Aigburth St Michael's Church, also known as St Michael-in-the-Hamlet Church, is in St. Michael's Church Road, St Michael's Hamlet, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I list ...

, who married (marriage licence 1837 in Derry) Hester Boyd, of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, sister of Dr

Archibald Boyd Archibald Boyd (1803 – 11 July 1883) was Dean of Exeter in the Church of England. Life Born in 1803 in Derry, Ireland, Boyd was the son of Archibald Boyd, treasurer of Derry. After being educated at the diocesan college in that city, proce ...

Dean of Exeter The Dean of Exeter is the head of the Chapter of Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, England. The chapter was established by William Briwere, Bishop of Exeter (1224–44) who set up the offices of dean and chancellor of Exeter Cathedral ...

.David Morris
'Bishop Boyd Carpenter: Sheep or Shepherd in the Eugenics Movement?'
, ''The Galton Institute Newsletter'', 55, June 2005 Carpenter was the uncle of Mrs Henry Williams of Moor Park House,

Beckwithshaw Beckwithshaw is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England about south-west of Harrogate. History Beckwithshaw takes its name from the now smaller settlement of Beckwith, to the east. The suffix "shaw" ...

, North Yorkshire. In 1897 he consecrated St Michaels and All Angels Church at Beckwithshaw, after she and her husband had funded its construction. He was an advocate for the poor and against the caste system in India, stating during a religious lecture at the University of Oxford that ''"we must show fierce scorn against the hateful laws of caste and proclaim the natural equality of all men"''

Education and career

Educated at the

Liverpool Institute The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys was an all-boys grammar school in the English port city of Liverpool. The school had its origins in 1825 but occupied different premises while the money was found to build a dedicated building on ...

, before going up to St Catharine's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, Boyd Carpenter was appointed

Hulsean Lecturer The Hulsean Lectures were established from an endowment made by John Hulse to the University of Cambridge in 1790. At present, they consist of a series of four to eight lectures given by a university graduate on some branch of Christian theology. ...

at Cambridge in 1878. He held several

curacies 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 ...

, was

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of Christ Church,

Lancaster Gate Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens. It consists of two long terraces of houses overlooking the park, with a wide gap between them openi ...

, from 1879 to 1884,

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

in 1882–84, and after 1884

. In 1887 he was appointed

Bampton Lecturer The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and in 1895 Pastoral Lecturer on

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at Cambridge. In June 1901, he received an honorary

doctorate 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 ra ...

from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. During his time in Ripon, he moved from his original

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 ...

leanings to a broad church outlook. In 1904 and 1913 he visited the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and delivered the Noble lectures at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He was Chaplain-in-Ordinary to

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

, and

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

. He resigned his

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

in 1911 on the grounds of ill-health and became a Canon and

Sub-Dean {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019 A sub-dean is a person who acts as an assistant to a dean either in church circuit as a priest or minister or an academic institution. They are, however, not a vice-dean. A vice-dean is a person who can deputize a de ...

. Boyd Carpenter served as

Clerk of the Closet The College of Chaplains of the Ecclesiastical Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom is under the Clerk of the Closet, an office dating from 1437. It is normally held by a diocesan bishop, who may, however, remain in office after leavi ...

from 1903 to 1918.

Publications

His publications include:H. D. A. Major
‘Carpenter, William Boyd (1841–1918)’
rev. H. C. G. Matthew, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 14 April 2009 * ''Commentary on Revelation'' (1879) * ''Permanent Elements of Religion'' (Bampton lectures, 1889) * ''Popular History of the Church of England'' (1900) * ''Witness to the Influence of Christ'' (1905) * ''Some Pages of my Life'' (1911) * ''Life's Tangled Thread'' (1912) * ''The Apology of Experience'' (1913) * ''The Burning Bush and Other Sermons. '' (1893)

Family

In 1864 Carpenter married his first wife, Harriet Charlotte, daughter of the Rev. J. W. Peers, of Chislehampton. They had four sons and four daughters, including: * Henry John Boyd-Carpenter (1865–1923), colonial official in Egypt, where he was Chief Inspector to the Ministry of Public Instruction, then Inspector General of Schools; who married in

Epperstone Epperstone is an English village and civil parish in mid-Nottinghamshire, located near Lowdham and Calverton. It had a population (including Gonalston) of 589 at the time of the 2011 Census. Many inhabitants commute to work or school in Notting ...

on 16 December 1902 Ethel Ley, daughter of Sir Francis Ley, 1st Baronet, of Epperstone Manor, Nottinghamshire. * William Boyd-Carpenter (1869–1954). * Annie Boyd-Carpenter (1870-1927) married the Rt. Rev. Francis Wentworth-Sheilds, Bishop of Armidale. * Sir Archibald Boyd Boyd-Carpenter (1873–1937),

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP, father of John Archibald Boyd-Carpenter, Baron Boyd-Carpenter (1908–1998), also a Conservative MP. Harriet died in 1887 and in 1883 Carpenter married secondly, Annie Maude, daughter of publisher W. W. Gardner, with whom he had a son and three daughters.Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'', 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 344. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition.Armorial Families, A. C. Fox-Davies, T. C. & E. C. Jack (Edinburgh), 1895, p. 837 The composer Stephen Oliver (1950–1992), through his mother (Charlotte) Hester Girdlestone born 1911, granddaughter of Carpenter), and his nephew, the comedian

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

(b. 1977), are descendants. Carpenter Knight

References

Sources

External links

Bibliographic directory of William Boyd Carpenter
from

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...

* *
"Bishop Boyd Carpenter: Sheep or Shepherd in the Eugenics Movement?"
by David Morris, ''

Galton Institute The Adelphi Genetics Forum is a non-profit learned society based in the United Kingdom. Its aims are "to promote the public understanding of human heredity and to facilitate informed debate about the ethical issues raised by advances in reproductive ...

Newsletter'' Issue 55 (June 2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, William Boyd 1841 births 1918 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Bishops of Ripon (modern diocese)

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Canons of Westminster Canons of Windsor Clerks of the Closet English religious writers Honorary Chaplains to the Queen Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Parapsychologists 20th-century Church of England bishops 21st-century Church of England bishops