Francis Edmund Byng Vanity Fair 18 October 1879

Rev. Francis Edmund Cecil Byng, 5th Earl of Strafford (15 January 1835 – 18 January 1918) was an English

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

minister and member of the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

Background

Byng was born 15 January 1835, third son of George Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford. He was educated at Eton (where he took a Prince Albert Prize for Modern Languages) and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and

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Religious career

After taking

holy orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

, Byng became the rector of Little Casterton,

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

from 1859 to 1862; served as

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 p ...

of Holy Trinity in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

and

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

from 1862 to 1867. He was appointed an honorary chaplain to

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 January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

in 1867 and Chaplain-in-Ordinary in 1872; then served as Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons from 1874 to 1889. In 1867, Byng was appointed vicar of the

high church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

St Peter's Church, Cranley Gardens, by Charles James Freake (who had the

living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...

of the church). He remained vicar of St Peter's, which became fashionable ("His fine presence, his beautiful voice and his high birth made him a favourite of the couples that were going to get married.") through 1889; and kept up a long correspondence with the former

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

of St. Peter's, Sir

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

. In 1889, Bing was elected Grand Chaplain of

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Resignation from office

In 1889 Byng reportedly suddenly resigned all his

benefices A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

and left London, supposedly owing to trouble over a gambling debt (he was said to be "addicted to cards").

Personal life

On 8 June 1859, he married Florence Louisa Miles (1840–1862), daughter of Sir William Miles, 1st Baronet; she died in 1862 giving birth to their second son, Edmund. He succeeded to the

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

dom in May 1899 when his brother, Henry Byng, 4th Earl of Strafford, was decapitated in a

railroading Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

accident, a year after inheriting the title from their childless elder brother,

George Byng, 3rd Earl of Strafford George Henry Charles Byng, 3rd Earl of Strafford (22 February 1830 – 28 March 1898), styled Viscount Enfield between 1860 and 1886, was a Liberal Party (UK), British Liberal politician. Background and education Byng was the eldest son of Geo ...

, the Liberal politician. On 4 August 1866, he married Emily Georgina Kerr, daughter of Admiral Lord Frederick Herbert Kerr; they had eight children of their own. He was succeeded on his death by his second son, (the first, Arthur, having died in infancy) Edmund Byng, 6th Earl of Strafford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strafford, Francis Edmund Cecil Byng, 5th Earl 1835 births 1918 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Ordained peers Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

Chaplains of the House of Commons (UK)