Henry Kemble Southwell (20 November 1860 – 9 March 1937) was the third

Bishop of Lewes The Bishop of Lewes is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Lewes, the county town of East Sussex East Sussex i ...

from 1920 until 1926.

Biography

Born in 1860, and educated at

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey Londo ...

and Magdalen College, Oxford, he held

curacies 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 ...

at Ellesmere, Shropshire, St Clement's in Bournemouth and St Nicolas in Guildford; then incumbencies at

Chetton Chetton is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 census the parish had a population of 349. It is about to the West of Wolverhampton in West Midlands and South of Telford. The parish church has a fine se ...

, Shropshire and Bodmin before becoming a Canon Residentiary of

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of ...

. He was appointed chaplain to the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, in 1904 and served throughout the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the Army Chaplains' Department. He was appointed Assistant Chaplain-General, and became a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the

1916 Birthday Honours The 1916 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

for services in the field. Already Archdeacon of Lewes and a Canon Residentiary of

since 1911, he was also appointed to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in 1920 and held the suffragan See of Lewes office for six years. He resigned his Archdeaconry in 1923, his See in 1926, and his canonry in 1935. At his death, he was

Canon Precentor According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

of Chichester Cathedral and Provost of

Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...

, and had been an

Assistant Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's seat ...

since 1930; he died on 9 March 1937 in Chichester, aged 76, his son having predeceased him during the First World War. A fund initiated after his death yielded enough contributions to provide a memorial, which can be seen at St Cuthman

Whitehawk Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was original ...

in Brighton. Southwell was a very prominent Freemason, initiated in the

Apollo University Lodge Apollo University Lodge No 357 is a Masonic Lodge based at the University of Oxford aimed at past and present members of the university. It was consecrated in 1819, and its members have met continuously since then. University of Oxford Membershi ...

, Oxford, in 1880. He was appointed as Grand Chaplain of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

in 1913.

References

1860 births People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford 20th-century Church of England bishops Bishops of Lewes Archdeacons of Lewes 1937 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George {{churchofEngland-bishop-stub