William Charles Edmund Newbolt (1844–1930) was an English

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 ...

priest and theologian. He was a prominent

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 ...

and headed Ely Theological College in

Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...

, Cambridgeshire, between 1887 and 1890, when he became a canon of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

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Life

Newbolt was born 14 August 1844 in Somerton, a small town in

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_ ...

. His father, also called William, was the rector of the Church of St Michael and All Angels. Newbolt was educated locally and at Uppingham School in

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

. He then studied at

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

, obtaining a third-class degree in '' literae humaniores'' (classics) in 1867. He did not formally study for ordination, but spent a further year in

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 ...

reading before being ordained deacon in 1868 and priest in 1869. While at Oxford, Newbolt was influenced by the Tractarians, also known as 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 ...

'', a group aiming to reform the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

by asserting its Catholic heritage and its links with the early church. He followed the teaching of clerics such as Edward Pusey, Henry Liddon and Edward King. After his ordination, he was a

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 ...

in Wantage, Berkshire, in one of the prominent Tractarian parishes of the day. After marrying in 1870, he became vicar of Dymock, Gloucestershire, on the nomination of Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp, a leading

high-church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originated ...

Anglican; in 1877, Beauchamp's further nomination saw him move to

Malvern Link Malvern Link is an area of Malvern, Worcestershire, England to the north and east of Great Malvern. The centres of Malvern Link and Great Malvern are separated by Link Common, an area of open land that is statutorily protected by the Malvern ...

, Worcestershire. Like Pusey, Liddon, King, and Beauchamp, Newbolt was to become a member of the Council of Keble College, Oxford, founded in memory of

John Keble John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, was named after him. Early life Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in Fairford, Glouces ...

, a prominent Tractarian; Newbolt served from 1901 until his death. The Dean of Worcester, Lord Alwyne Compton, became

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nort ...

in 1886, and in the following year asked Newbolt to become principal of Ely Theological College, which trained clergy in accordance with Tractarian principles. His time at Ely has been described as "the most important work of his life". In 1890, he succeeded Liddon as a canon of

; he remained there until his death on 12 September 1930 in London. He was a noted preacher and took great care of the spiritual welfare of fellow clergy, publishing a number of books of advice, as well as his memoirs (''Years That Are Past'', 1921). His youngest daughter, Sophia Menella Newbolt, married the Scottish organist

Charles Macpherson Charles Macpherson DMus (Durham University, Dunelm) Royal Academy of Music#Prizes and honorary awards, FRAM FRCO (10 May 1870 – 28 May 1927) was a Scottish Organist#Classical and church organists, organist, who served at St Paul's Cathedral. F ...

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newbolt, William 1844 births 1930 deaths People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Staff of Ely Theological College 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English theologians People from Somerton, Somerset 20th-century English theologians English Anglican theologians Tractarians English Anglo-Catholics Anglo-Catholic clergy Anglo-Catholic theologians People from Dymock