Christopher Wordsworth (30 October 180720 March 1885) was an English intellectual and a bishop of the

Anglican Church 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 the ...

Life

The grave of Bishop Christopher Wordsworth, Lincoln Cathedral

Wordsworth was born in London, the youngest son of Christopher Wordsworth, Master of Trinity, who was the youngest brother of the poet

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

. Thus, Wordsworth was a nephew of the celebrated poet. Wordsworth was the younger brother of the classical scholar

John Wordsworth John Wordsworth (1843–1911) was an English Anglican bishop and classical scholar. He was Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford from 1883 to 1885, and Bishop of Salisbury from 1885 to 1911. Life H ...

and

Charles Wordsworth Charles Wordsworth (22 August 1806 – 5 December 1892) was Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane in Scotland. He was a classical scholar, and taught at public schools in England and Scotland. He was a rower, cricketer and athlete and he ...

, Bishop of Saint Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. He was educated at

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

and Trinity, Cambridge. Like his brother Charles, he was distinguished as an athlete as well as for scholarship. He won the

Chancellor's Gold Medal The Chancellor's Gold Medal is a prestigious annual award at Cambridge University for poetry, paralleling Oxford University's Newdigate Prize. It was first presented by Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh during his time as ...

for poetry in 1827 and 1828. He became senior classic, and was elected a fellow and tutor of Trinity in 1830; shortly afterwards he took holy orders. He went for a tour in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

in 1832–1833, and published various works on its

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, the most famous of which is "Wordsworth's" ''Greece'' (1839). In 1836 he became Public Orator at Cambridge, and in the same year was appointed Headmaster of Harrow, a post he resigned in 1844. In 1844

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

appointed him as a Canon of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

"Studies in Familiar Hymns: First Series" by Dr. Louis Benson 1903 (1844–1869). He was Vicar of

Stanford in the Vale Stanford in the Vale is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse about southeast of Faringdon and northwest of Wantage. It is part of the historic county of Berkshire, however since 1974, it has been administered as a part of Oxfo ...

, Berkshire (1850–1869) and

Archdeacon of Westminster The Archdeacon of Westminster is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Chapter of the Royal Peculiar of Westminster Abbey in London. The holder of the post oversees relationships with the twenty-four parishes of which the Dean and Chapter ar ...

(1864–1869). In 1869

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

appointed him

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...

which he retained until his death in 1885. His

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

to the See of Lincoln was

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

at St Mary-le-Bow on 22 February 1869 (whereby he legally became Bishop of Lincoln) and he was ordained and consecrated a bishop at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

on 24 February by

Archibald Campbell Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was bo ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

; George Selwyn,

Bishop of New Zealand The Diocese of Auckland is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area stretching from North Cape down to the Waikato River, across the Hauraki Plains ...

; and six other prelates. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, he was a man of fine character, with a high ideal of ecclesiastical duty, and he spent his money generously on church objects. He is buried near the Shrine of St Hugh in

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

Works

As a scholar he is best known for his edition of the ''Greek New Testament'' (1856–1860), and the ''Old Testament'' (1864–1870), with commentaries; but his writings were many in number, and included a volume of devotional verse, ''The Holy Year'' (1862), ''Church History up to A.D. 451'' (1881–1883), and ''Memoirs'' of his uncle, William Wordsworth (1851), to whom he was

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed wo ...

. His ''Inscriptiones Pompeianae'' (1837) was an important contribution to epigraphy. He also wrote several hymns (Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard contains seven) of which perhaps the best known is the Easter hymn 'Alleluia, Alleluia, hearts to heaven and voices raise'. His daughter

Elizabeth Wordsworth Dame Elizabeth Wordsworth (1840–1932) was founding Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and she funded and founded St Hugh's College. She was also an author, sometimes writing under the name Grant Lloyd. Life Wordsworth was born in 18 ...

worked as his research assistant for his publications and as his secretary, before becoming founding Principal of

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formall ...

. With William Cooke, a Canon of Chester, Wordsworth edited for the

Henry Bradshaw Society The Henry Bradshaw Society is a British-based text publication society founded in 1890 for the scholarly editing and publication of rare liturgical texts. Foundation An initial meeting to plan the Henry Bradshaw Society took place in London on 3 ...

the early 15th-century ''Ordinale Sarum'' of Clement Maydeston, but the work did not appear in print until 1901, several years after the death of both editors.Book list
at henrybradshawsociety.org, accessed 9 December 2013

Books

''Athens and Attica,''
1836
''Inscriptiones Pompeianae: or, Specimens and facsimiles of ancient inscriptions discovered on the walls of buildings at Pompeii,''
1837
''Greece, Pictorial, Descriptive, and Historical,''
1839
''Theophilus Anglicanus: or, Manual of instruction on the Church and the Anglican branch of it,''
1843
''On the Canon of the Scriptures,''
1848
''Lectures on the Apocalypse,''
1849 * ''Memoirs of William Wordsworth'', 1851 * ''Commentary on the Whole Bible'', 1856–70
''The Holy Year; or Hymns for Sundays and Holydays Throughout the Year, and for Other Occasions,''
1863 * ''Church History'', 1881–83 * ''The New Testament ... in the Original Greek: With Notes by C. Wordsworth.

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

an Index to the Introductions and Notes, by John Twycross'', 2 volumesScrivener, ''A plain introduction to the criticism of the New Testament'' (1861) at p. 150 notes: "John Twycross, of the Charter House, re-collated the whole manuscript in 1858". The death of Rev. John Twycross MA Dublin aged 72 is recorded in ''The Gentleman's magazine'', Volume 224 (1868), p. 260 * ''Ordinale Sarum, sive Directorium Sacerdotum (Liber quem Pica Sarum vulgo vocitat clerus)'' (

, 1901), ed., with William Cooke

Hymns

* Alleluia! Alleluia! Hearts to Heaven and Voices Raise * Arm These Thy Soldiers, Mighty Lord * Father of All, from Land and Sea * Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost * Hallelujah! Christ Is Risen * Hark! the Sound of Holy Voices * Heav’nly Father, Send Thy Blessing * Holy, Holy, Holy Lord * Lord, Be Thy Word My Rule * O Day of Rest and Gladness * O Lord of Heaven and Earth and Sea * O Lord, Our Strength in Weakness * See, the Conqueror Mounts in Triumph (set by

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is b ...

as "Rustington" in 1897) * Sing, O Sing, This Blessed Morn * Songs of Thankfulness and Praise * The Day Is Gently Sinking to a Close * The Grave Itself a Garden Is * Thine for ever! Thine for ever!

Family

In 1838 Wordsworth married Susanna Hartley Frere (d. 1884) and they had seven children. The elder son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

(1843–1911), was

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

, founder of

Bishop Wordsworth's School Bishop Wordsworth's School is a Church of England boys' grammar school in Salisbury, Wiltshire for boys aged 11 to 18. The school is regularly amongst the top-performing schools in England, and in 2010 was the school with the best results in the ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, and author of ''Fragments of Early Latin'' (1874); their eldest daughter, Dame

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

(1840–1932), was the first principal (in 1879) of

and the founder (in 1886) of St Hugh's College. His daughter Dora married Edward Tucker Leeke, Canon and sub-dean of

. His younger son

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

(1848–1938) was a noted liturgical scholar. His ''Life'', by J. H. Overton and Elizabeth Wordsworth, was published in 1888.

References

Attribution

* *

External links

Christopher Wordsworth
* Overton, John Henry and Elizabeth Wordsworth. ''Christopher Wordsworth: Bishop of Lincoln, 1807-1885''. London: Rivingtons, 1888. At

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wordsworth, Christopher 1807 births 1885 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Cambridge University Orators Bishops of Lincoln Archdeacons of Westminster Canons of Westminster Head Masters of Harrow School People educated at Winchester College Anglican clergy from London

19th-century Anglican theologians