William Kirkpatrick Riland Bedford (1826–1905) was an English clergyman and author, known as an antiquary and genealogist, and also as a cricketer.

William Kirkpatrick Riland Bedford Silvy

Life

Born at

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

rectory on 12 July 1826, he was eldest of five sons of William Riland Bedford the rector, by his wife Grace Campbell, daughter of Charles Sharpe of Hoddam,

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

;

Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe (1781?–1851) was a Scottish antiquary and artist. Life He was the second son of Charles Sharpe (originally Charles Kirkpatrick) of Hoddam, Dumfriesshire, by Eleonora, youngest daughter of John Renton of Lamerton, bor ...

was his mother's brother. After education at Sutton Coldfield grammar school, Bedford won a Queen's scholarship at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

in 1840, and qualified for a studentship at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. An attack of

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

made him miss that chance, and on 6 June 1844 he matriculated as a commoner at

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

. In 1847 he was secretary of the

Oxford Union Society The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

when

Lord Dufferin Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (21 June 182612 February 1902) was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society. In his youth he was a popular figure in the court of Queen Vict ...

was president. He graduated B.A. in 1848 and proceeded M.A. in 1852. In 1849 Bedford was ordained to the curacy of Southwell,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, and in 1850 he succeeded his uncle, Dr. Williamson, as rector of Sutton Coldfield. He held the post for 42 years, and 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. ...

for 25. He commissioned the house that eventually became the core of

Good Hope Hospital Good Hope Hospital is a teaching hospital in the Sutton Coldfield area of Birmingham, England. Covering north Birmingham and south east Staffordshire, it is managed by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospit ...

for his son, W.C. Riland Bedford. Bedford died at

Cricklewood Cricklewood is an area of London, England, which spans the boundaries of three London boroughs: Barnet to the east, Brent to the west and Camden to the south-east. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north- ...

on 23 January 1905; his ashes were buried after cremation at

Golders Green Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...

Works

Bedford wrote on the antiquities of Sutton Coldfield in ''Three Hundred Years of a Family Living, being a History of the Rilands of Sutton Coldfield'' (1889), and ''The Manor of Sutton, Feudal and Municipal'' (1901). He was a frequent contributor to ''

Notes and Queries ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to " English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inne ...

''. From 1878 to 1902 he was chaplain of the

order of St. John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

, and in his capacity of official genealogist he compiled works dealing with the history and regulations of the Knights Hospitallers, including ''Malta and the Knights'' (1870; 2nd edit. 1894), ''Notes on the Old Hospitals of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem'' (1881), and a history of the English Hospitallers (1902) in collaboration with R. Holbeche. Other publications were: a ''Memoir'' of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, his uncle, written from family papers (1888); ''The Blazon of Episcopacy'' (1858; 2nd edit. 1897); and ''Outcomes of Old Oxford'' (1899).

Sport

Bedford was a keen cricketer in the early days of the game. On 20 July 1856 he founded the

Free Foresters Free Foresters Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club, established in 1856 for players from the Midland counties of England. It is a 'wandering' (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. The Free Foresters were founded by the Rev. Willi ...

, an amateur wandering club with headquarters at Sutton Coldfield, and he recorded the fortunes of the club in his ''Annals of the Free Foresters from 1856'' (1895). He was also an

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...

, and attended the meetings of the Woodmen of Arden at Meriden,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, winning the Arden medal on 16 July 1857. In 1885 he published ''Records of the Woodmen of Arden from 1785'', and contributed to the volume ''Archery'' in the Badminton series (1894).

Family

Bedford married: # on 18 September 1851, Maria Amy, youngest daughter of Joseph Houson (died 1890) of Southwell, Nottinghamshire; # in 1900, Margaret, daughter of Denis Browne. There were seven sons and three daughters of the first marriage.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, William Kirkpatrick Riland 1826 births 1905 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests English antiquarians English cricketers