Somerset Walpole
The Right Reverend Somerset Walpole | |
---|---|
Bishop of Edinburgh | |
Church | Scottish Episcopal Church |
Diocese | Edinburgh |
Elected | 1910 |
In office | 1910-1929 |
Predecessor | John Dowden |
Successor | Harry Reid |
Orders | |
Consecration | 24 June 1910 |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Died | 4 March 1929 Edinburgh, Scotland | (aged 74)
Nationality | English |
Denomination | Anglican |
Spouse | Mildred Helen |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
George Henry Somerset Walpole (9 November 1854 – 4 March 1929), known as Somerset Walpole
A moderate
Life and career
Walpole was born in Balderton, Nottinghamshire, the son of the Rev. Robert Seymour Walpole (1820–1910), vicar of St Giles's, Balderton,[2] and Elizabeth, daughter of Reverend Frederick Apthorp, rector of Gumley, Leicestershire. Rev. Robert Seymour Walpole was a son of the classical scholar Robert Walpole, grandson of diplomat Robert Walpole, and great-grandson of Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole.[3]
Walpole's father had been an army officer before taking holy orders, and he envisaged a military career for his son; Walpole was from an early age drawn to the church.
In 1882 Walpole married Mildred Helen (1854–1925), daughter of Charles Foster Barham. They had two sons, the elder of whom was the author Hugh Walpole, and a daughter.[8] Walpole served in Truro until 1882, when he was offered the incumbency of St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Auckland, New Zealand.[2] On Benson's advice he accepted.[9] He held the post concurrently with that of warden of St John's theological college, Auckland.[5]
From 1889 to 1896 Walpole was professor of dogmatic theology in the
In May 1910 the clerical and lay electors of the
Among his achievements as bishop was the completion of St Mary's Cathedral by the construction of two new towers.[2] The Times said of him at the time of his election, "He is a moderate High Churchman, as firm in his beliefs as he is cordial towards those who differ from him, and the diocese to which he goes, and which has not been without its disagreements, will find in him a peaceable and unifying influence." After his death the same paper said, "The Bishop was not only beloved in his own Church, but by his charm of personality and his spirituality had won the esteem of many in other communions in Scotland."[2]
Walpole died suddenly on 4 March 1929, at the age of 74.[13] His funeral was at the cathedral; he was buried in the country churchyard of Dalmahoy, East Lothian,[14] alongside his wife who was buried there in 1925.[15]
Publications
- The Divine Example, 1896
- Joshua, Judges, Ruth (Rivington's Handbooks), 1900–1901
- Vital Religion – or The Personal Knowledge of Christ, 1902
- The People's Psalter, 1903
- Communion and Offering, 1904
- The Mission of the Holy Ghost, 1905
- Personality and Power, 1906
- Church and Empire, 1907 (co-editor with the Rev J Ellison)
- The Kingdom of Heaven: the Paddock Lectures for 1909.
- Gains and Losses, 1911
- Prayer and Communion, 1912
- Life's Chance, 1912
- The Shrine and the Presence, 1913
- The Holy Trinity, 1914
- The Gospel of Hope, 1914
- This Time and its Interpretation, 1915
- Witness, 1916
- Life in the World to come, 1917
- The Sealed Book, 1918
- A Vision of Judgments, 1919
- Prophets and Priests – or Facing the Facts
- The Greatest Service in the World, 1924
- The Devotional study of the Bible, 1925
- The Undiscovered Country and the Way To It, 1925
- Waiting, 1926
- The Great Reality, 1928
- Triumphant love – Studies in the Epistles and Gospels for Holy Week and Easter, 1929
Notes
- ^ Hart-Davis, pp. 4–8
- ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary – Bishop Walpole", The Times, 6 March 1929, p. 21
- ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, pp. 4060-4061
- ^ a b Hart-Davis, pp 4–5
- ^ a b c d "Walpole, Rt Rev George Henry Somerset", Who Was Who, A & C Black 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, retrieved 15 April 2013 (subscription required)
- ^ "Multiple News Items", The Royal Cornwall Gazette Falmouth Packet, Cornish Weekly News, & General Advertiser, 19 July 1878, p. 4
- ^ a b Hart-Davis, p. 5
- ^ Hart-Davis, pp. 8–10
- ^ Hart-Davis, p. 8
- ^ Malden Richard (ed) (1920). Crockford's Clerical Directory for 1920 (51st edn). London: The Field Press. p. 453.
- ^ a b c "New Bishop of Edinburgh", The Times, 4 May 1910, p. 9
- ^ "Ecclesiastical Intelligence", The Times, 8 June 1910, p. 5
- ^ Hart-Davis, p. 304
- ^ "Funerals – The Bishop of Edinburgh", The Times, 8 March 1929, p. 19
- ^ Hart-Davis, p. 261
References
- Hart-Davis, Rupert (1952). Hugh Walpole. London: Macmillan. OCLC 471830199.