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Sir Culling Eardley Eardley, 3rd Baronet (born Smith; 21 April 1805 – 21 May 1863) was a British Christian campaigner for
religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
and for the Protestant cause, one of the founders of the Evangelical Alliance.


Early life

Born in London, his father, Sir Culling Smith, 2nd Baronet (1768–1829), was of
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
extraction and his mother, Charlotte Elizabeth (d. 15 Sept 1826) was the daughter of
Sampson Eardley, 1st Baron Eardley Sampson Eardley, 1st Baron Eardley, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (born Sampson Gideon; 10 October 1744 – 25 December 1824) was a British banker and Tories (British political party), Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons of the U ...
, and hence the granddaughter of Jewish
financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...
Sampson Gideon. Though the title Baron Eardley had not survived, Charlotte Elizabeth was heiress to much of the Eardley estate. Smith attended
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
and
Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...
where, though he passed his BA examinations, he never graduated, having become a convinced
evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
. He succeeded to his baronetcy on his father's death in 1829 and married Isabella Carr (died 1 May 1860) in 1832. They had one son, Eardley Gideon Culling Eardley (1838–1875), and two daughters. He inherited Bedwell Park, Hertfordshire from his father. From his cousin William Thomas Eardley-Twisleton-Fiennes, 15th Baron Saye and Sele he inherited Belvedere,
Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north ...
, Kent and the Eardley estates in 1847 and changed his name from Smith to Eardley by royal licence.He served as
High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...
in 1838.


Politics and campaigning

An instinctive campaigner with an interest in reform of the
poor law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...
s, Eardley was briefly Whig Member of Parliament for
Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...
from
1830 It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. Events January–March * January 11 – LaGrange College (later the University of North Alabama) ...
to
1831 Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti-slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Kyoto estab ...
. Though he stood again, unsuccessfully, in the 1837 general election, his principal driver was his religious faith. Eardley was raised in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and despite his subsequent convictions, in particular his condemnation of State religion, remained a member. His beliefs were closely related to
Congregationalism Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...
, though he never left the
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 ...
church. In 1839 he became chairman and treasurer of the Evangelical Voluntary Church Association, which campaigned for
disestablishment The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular s ...
. When the Association was dissolved in 1844, Eardley became chairman of the Anti-Maynooth Committee and Conference which campaigned, without success, against the Maynooth Grant. In 1845/ 6, with evangelists Ridley Haim Herschell and Edward Steane, he became, one of the founders, and first chairman, of the Evangelical Alliance. He attempted to return to politics to create a platform for his campaigning zeal, fighting
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
in 1846, against
Thomas Babington Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was an English historian, poet, and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster General between 184 ...
who supported Maynooth, and the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...
in 1848. However Eardley and the Evangelical Alliance had become interested in campaigning internationally for
freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
. In 1852 he campaigned on behalf of the Tuscan
prisoners of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...
Francesco Madiai and Rosa Madiai.John Wolffe, 'Eardley , Sir Culling Eardley, third baronet (1805–1863)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 30 July 2014
They had been imprisoned when they announced that they had become Protestants causing such international interest that Lord Palmerston had offered to pay their legal fees. He established an influential international network that included
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
, Christian Charles Josias Bunsen and
Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the th ...
. He was treasurer of the
London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...
from 1844 to 1863, and of a fund for relief of Lebanese Christians after the 1861 massacres. He worked hard to maintain broad friendly relationships with all creeds and strove to improve relationships between the Church of England and nonconformists. In 1844, he gave financial support to Ridley Haim Herschell's Trinity Chappel in Edgware Road, London. However, he was a particularly strong supporter of those who felt themselves excluded from the Church of England by the practices of the Anglo Catholics. From 1850 to 1853, he sponsored, and gave financial support, to the construction of an evangelical church at Furrough Cross, Babbacombe, defying
Henry Phillpotts Henry Phillpotts (6 May 177818 September 1869), often called "Henry of Exeter", was the Anglican Bishop of Exeter from 1830 to 1869. He was one of England's longest serving bishops since the 14th century. Life Early life Henry Phillpotts ...
Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...
. He also built a church on his Erith estate. He was also a prominent supporter of
Giacinto Achilli Giovanni Giacinto Achilli (; ''c.'' 1803 – ''c.'' 1860) was an Italian Roman Catholic Dominican friar and Jesuit conspiracy theories, anti-Jesuit who was discharged from priesthood and imprisoned by the Roman Inquisition after being accused o ...
's, ultimately discredited, evangelical campaign in Britain. In July 1854 Eardley was a founder member and chairman of the Turkish Missions Aid Society, an evangelical charity set up to support missionary work among Armenian Christians in Turkey. The charity is known today as Embrace the Middle East.Hatton, Jean (2003). ''The Light Bearers''. p. 33. Monarch Books.


Personal life

Mostly resident at Bedwell, he lived at Belvedere from 1848 to 1858 and also had a house at Frognel,
Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...
in the 1850s. He suffered from poor health in later life and died, aged 58, at Bedwell from an adverse reaction to a smallpox vaccination.


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *


References


Further reading

* * * *


Obituaries

*''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 22 May 1863 *''The Record'' agazine of Oriel College, Oxford 22 May 1863 *''Evangelical Christendom'', 17 (1863), 257–60


External links

*
Belvedere
at Bexley Council website {{DEFAULTSORT:Eardley, Culling Eardley 1805 births 1863 deaths Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom History of Christianity in the United Kingdom English Anglicans English people of French descent English people of Portuguese-Jewish descent High sheriffs of Lincolnshire Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1830–1831 Culling Smith Eardley family