William Sully Unwin (born 1862) was an English clergyman and amateur

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

. He won the

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders w ...

at Henley Royal Regatta and the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the Saturday three to four weeks before the S ...

in 1884 and 1885, and rowed for

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 ...

in the

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

in the 1885 and 1886 races. Unwin was born at

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, the son of William Unwin and his wife Elizabeth. His father was a tutor at

living at Park Town in 1881. He was of the non-collegiate

St Catherine's Society, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is the newest college admitting both undergraduate and graduate students. Traci ...

and rowed for Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1884 he won the OUBC Sculls, the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley and the Wingfield Sculls. He won the same three races in 1885, and was also bow in the winning Oxford boat in the

. In 1886, he was in the Boat Race again but lost the Wingfield Sculls to F I Pitman, whom he had beaten in the previous year. Unwin became a clergyman and in 1895 was in Kewick where he attempted to establish a rowing club. Later he had a living in Norfolk. In 1933 he was active in establishing the

Council for the Preservation of Rural England CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Council for the Protection of Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Forme ...

in Norfolk.Norfolk Voice 75 Years of CPRE Norfolk
/ref> Unwin married Mary Frances Sully at Bridgwater in 1905.

References

1862 births English male rowers People from Rotherham Year of death missing 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests {{England-rowing-bio-stub

See also

References