Dr Simpson was born on 25 March
1687. In 1736 Henry Raine
appointed him the first Treasurer or Chairman of his schools, and the
only known portrait of Dr Simpson hangs in the headteacher's study at
Raines Foundation School - we are grateful to the school, and to the
foundation governors who own the picture, for their help and permission
to reproduce it here. 
A speedy appointment was made, of Herbert Mayo DD, who is not to be confused with Dr Henry Mayo,
the
more-famous Dissenting Minister of Nightingale Lane chapel around the
same period. They were probably distantly related, for the Mayos were a
large, well-connected family, producing a number of eminent men -
originally from Ireland, but Herbert
Mayo's branch came from Herefordshire, where he was born in 1720. A
Fellow of
Brasenose, he was ordained in 1844 and served his title at Chalgrove
with Berrick Salome in Oxford diocese (a post in which his brother
William followed him five years later - he later became Rector of
Wooton Rivers, in Wiltshire, a Brasenose living in Wiltshire, where he
died advanced in years) before further curacies in
Stratford-le-Bow, Whitechapel and
Spitalfields. From May to July 1764 he was Rector of All Saints Middleton Cheney,
in Northamptonshire (a well-endowed Brasenose living in Peterborough diocese) but
resigned this 'more eminent' post to
return to work in London, serving at St George-in-the-East from 1764
until his
death in 1802. (From 1799 he was also the absentee incumbent of
Tolesbury in Essex, then in London diocese, which produced an estimated
annual income of £180.) He was buried at the church on 13 January 1802.
His wife Mary, daughter of William Paggen, a surgeon from Eltham, lived until 1824. They had two
daughters, Rebecca and Jane, and two sons, Charles, who was ordained
(he assisted his father here from time to time - see below) and became the first professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, and
Paggen-William, who was a physician,
as were other family members (including another Herbert, a physiologist
and surgeon who in the 1840s wrote about clairvoyance and vampirism). | His rectitude, steadiness, and liberality of principle, his perfect command of temper and self-government, the firmness of his attachments, and placability of his resentments, the sincerity and openness of his manners, and, above all, the extensiveness, impartiality, and œconomy of his benevolence, are qualities which, it is hoped, have not vainly shed their lustre, though amidst a licentious and a fastidious age. But, not to diverge too far into general panegyrick, it is meant to enlarge upon this exemplary character, with regard to its most appropriate excellence, as it exhibits a singular specimen of the good effects resulting to society from a plain and vigorous understanding, actuated by right principles, and applied to practicable and beneficial objects. Unambitious of celebrity, and incapable of affectation, he made it his chief aim to be useful; and in that aim he most perfectly succeeded..... [and so on] |
The
other obituary, was written by 'a London curate' (who had worked with him?) and
is more
informative. It describes him - in a phrase more often used now
than in those days - as a good
parish priest,
conscientious and with plenty of previous experience; he served as a
magistrate; his conduct of worship was rubrically careful and
correct
(pointing ahead fifty years to Bryan King's time!); his
preaching was
initially somewhat mannered; he was held in particular regard by
the black seafaring community, with whom he had many contacts (one was
Anne Clossen, a 15-year old slave whom he baptized, and who left her
master and secured employment with a local surgeon at the excellent
rate of £7 a year); a Tory in politics, he
was ecumenical in spirit, at least towards the 'mainstream'
denominations; and he was fond of puns!
Lecturers
From
the start, the parish appointed a Lecturer - an ordained preacher,
chosen by the Vestry meeting and supported by the voluntary
contributions of the congregation. At the first Vestry meeting, with
190 vestrymen plus various officers present, they discussed whether to
vote by the traditional means of 'coming up to scratch' (on a parchment
roll) or holding a ballot; they opted for the former, and proceeeded to
elect Charles Huxley (1729-33)
by 117 votes to 94 for the other candidate, John Wilkinson. Huxley, a
fellow of Brasenose, was from an old Cheshire family - his father was a
merchant in Macclesfield; he died in post at the age of 34.
Richard King was
Lecturer during the 1740s, and also Curate of St Mary-at-Hill and
Chaplain in Ordinary. He preached to the Clothworkers Company, and at
Lamb's Chapel near Cripplegate, and was Lord Mayor's Chaplain in 1751.
Among his published sermons was one 'before the several Associations of
the Order of Antigallicans' in 1751, on Ps 122.6 (O pray for the peace of Jerusalem....)
The Anti-Gallican
Society
was formed in 1745 to oppose the influx of French goods,
customs and influence - so it was a partly economic, partly
cultural movement, fuelled by prospects of war with France. It had the
support of Theophilus Cibber, son of the Poet Laureate, whose
family were linked with the Danish Church
in Wellclose Square. (In 1778 the Rev Isaac Hunt preached to the AGM of
the Laudable Association of Anti-Gallicans at St George-in-the-East,
possibly on St George's Day, which they kept as a patriotic festival.
The Rev Isaac Hunt senior had been an early settler in Barbados, where
his namesake son practised as a lawyer, but had to flee - with his
Quaker wife -
because of his royalist support; ordained in England, he never achieved
preferment because of what was intriguingly described as too imprudent
generosity on a certain occasion, in which royalty was implicated, and
ended his life in a debtors' prison. He
was the father of the man of letters Leigh Hunt, and
published his juvenile writings.)
Thomas Bankes
is described in his 1780 publication The
Christian's New and Compleat Family Bible, with Apocrypha, or,
Universal Library of Divine Knowledge, illustrated with annotations and
commentaries... the whole forming a compleat body of Christian Divinity,
as being of St Mary Hall, Oxon, Vicar of Dixton,
Monmouthshire, and Assistant Preacher at St George's Middlesex. Aanother source adds and Afternoon Preacher at Sir George Wheeler's Chapel at Spital-square, which makes it likely that it was this rather than another 'St George's Middlesex'; later versions substitute Morning
and Afternoon Preacher at
Hampstead, which would also fit, since another Lecturer was appointed here in 1784. He was a wealthy pluralist, paying his
curate in
Dixton
(straddling the
Welsh border - it later opted into the Church of England) £16 a year to
run the parish in his absence. He also published, from 1787 onwards,
with Edward Warren Blake, Alexander Cook and Thomas Lloyd, A
new, Royal, and Authentic System of Universal Geography Antient and
Modern, containing a genuine history and description of the whole world. It includes images and reports of Captain
Cook's three voyages, and about 200 original engravings [pictured are two of them - A Man of the
Sandwich Islands, and A Man
of Oonalashka], making it the most complete report on the
then-known world. He died in 1805.Samuel Bethell (1784-93) was a relative of Dr Mayo, the Rector [see above]. Both families were from Hereford, where in 1755 Samuel's father, also called Samuel, and incumbent of Dinedor, had married Susanna, daughter of the Revd Charles Mayo - with a marriage settlement involving two plots of land and £140. All these men were members of Brasenose College: Samuel jnr graduated in 1777. He was appointed Lecturer alongside his main job, as curate of Christ Church Spitalfields, and continued until he became Rector of Clayton-cum-Kymer in Sussex (another Brasenose College living) in 1793; he died there in 1803, aged 47, prompting this vapid eulogising from the Gentleman's Magazine, including the claim that he was very dexerous in the management of colloquial argumentation, and an assurance (let the reader understand) that he was not an enthusiast, but a man of rational piety!
| Feb. 7. Aged 78, the Rev. James Blenkarne. Vicar of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, and Chaplain of Guy's Hospital. He was educated at the grammar school of Ashby de la Zouche, in Leicestershire, from whence he proceeded in 1774, with an exhibition to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and graduated B.A. 1778 as 9th Junior Optime, M.A. 1780. His intrinsic worth procured for him a variety of appointments, in each of which be became extensively useful, and from each of which he retired with dignity and honour. The Governors of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in St. Olave's Southwark, appointed him in 1790 to the office of Head Master of that establishment, and after a lengthened service of 33 years they marked their sense of the fidelity with which he had discharged his trust, by permitting him to retire from those laborious duties, with an annual pension of £100. In 1791 he was elected Lecturer of St. Bene't Fink, which function he retained until the parishioners of St. George's in the East chose him to be their Lecturer in 1796. During a continued acquaintance of almost forty years, they looked upon him with increasing affection and esteem; and on his recent retirement from this office they presented him with a valuable silver waiter as a public memorial of their respect. About the same time he received a similar testimonial of a tea and coffee service from the parishioners of St. Helen's, to which church be was instituted in 1799. He was elected Chaplain to Guy's Hospital in 1815. In the several relations of a Minister of the Gospel, a father, a husband, and a friend, he evinced an uniform desire to advance the happiness, and secure the love of all with whom he was connected. His private and social conduct as a man was characterized by a primitive mildness and simplicity, and an unassuming humility of deportment, accompanied with that evenness and chastised cheerfulness of temper, which is the result, and the evidence, of conscious innocence and integrity. |
| They
who aim to mark the limits of knowlege, and the boundaries within which
each branch of science is confined, are doing an essential service to
the cause of truth and religion. They prevent much of that uncertainty
and delusion which disturbs the minds of the people at large; who
without such assistance are "ever learning and never able to come to
the knowledge of the truth."—It will also appear, that in our religious
enquiries (which we pursue for the good purpose of explaining the
Gospel) to indulge conjecture in points not yet revealed, in order to
account for difficulties which arise from the nature of the doctrines
themselves, tends to unsettle the opinions of the world, and not to
improve their faith.—The consequence must be a growing indifference for
religious sentiment, and of course a want of principle in all their
actions.... |
| In
his 93rd year, the Rev. Chas. Mayo, youngest son of the late Rev.
Herbert Mayo, D.D., Rector of St. George's-in-the-East, Middlesex. He
was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, and became a probationary
scholar, and eventually Fellow, on that noble foundation, at St. John's
College, Oxford. Here he applied himself with becoming zeal to his
academical studies, and evinced considerable talent in the acquisition
of the knowledge of the Anglo-Saxon language, and was the first who
held that professorship in the University. He was appointed one of the
Whitehall Preachers, and he was, unsolicited, made a Fellow of the
Royal Society, and subsequently was elected a Fellow of the Society of
Antiquaries. In 1825 he succeeded to an old family estate at Cheshunt,
Herts, which he became entitled to as descendant from the Shaw family,
and which had been held under the Crown by Cardinal Wolsey as one of
his princely residences, the Hall, still existing, having been built in
the same style as Wolsey's palace of Hampton Court. |
Robert Farington (10 March 1802 - 17 September 1841)
The third Rector was Robert
Farington
DD FSA (in later life he affected the spelling 'ffarington'), who
died in office. He was from an old Lancashire family; his father,
who died in 1767, had been simultaneously Rector of Warrington and
Vicar of Leigh. He
was the youngest of eight sons, three of whom served with the East
India Company. Another brother Joseph was
'the Royal Academician' - an
indifferent artist, but whose 8-volume diary, when edited and published
in 1923,
proved an intriguing mix of information on mundane domestic routine and
dealings with
the great and the good. Here is an example, mentioning Robert, from volume 5, chapter LXX (1809) [full text here]:
| September
11. — To meet my Brother Robert at Salisbury and with him to proceed on
a tour to Devonshire and Cornwall, I left London between three and four
oClock in the afternoon in the Egham Coach to proceed to Staines, 16
miles, to sleep there and be taken up by the Salisbury Coach on the
following morning having taken a place for that purpose to avoid early
rising. The passengers to Staines were gentlemen easy & agreeable
in intercourse. One of them said he was at Eaton [sic]
School at the time Marquiss Wellesley was there, & was what is
there called "his Fag" viz : "A Junior Boy obeying & serving His
Senior." He remarked the great resemblance which His Lordship bears to
Buonaparte both in person & style of countenance, & in fore
thought, decission [sic], and
energy of character. He said if Spain can be roused Lord Wellesley will
do it; that He is effecting a great alteration in the management of
their affairs, and that a considerable military force is preparing to
be sent to Spain to support such measures as He may recommend. — I arrived at Staines at ½ past 6 oClock, and Slept at the Bush Inn. |
Robert
graduated from Brasenose (MA 1784, and BD & DD 1803 - the archive
of family documents, now held at UCLA, includes a note of 1 July 1803
about his candidancy for the latter degree). He was ordained by the
Bishop of Oxford in 1783, and in 1790 served a curacy at New Windsor,
Berks (in the diocese of Salisbury). In his time here though
he organised repair work on the parish
church and rectory, he was passive - believing it was his duty to
leave things as he found them! - and increasingly reclusive,
spending all day
reading and writing in his study. William
Quekett, who was appointed
curate and Lecturer in 1830, and whose extraordinary story is told here in
connection with Christ Church, Watney Street, said
that, although the Rector promised to seek another curate after the
mix-up over Quekett's appointment, and to help him find his feet
in
the parish, he did absolutely nothing in either case. Quekett claimed
that
his Rector rarely
preached (he had a speech impediment), or even attended services, and
left Quekett to be present in church every day until noon awaiting
funerals and weddings (time which he put to good use in laying plans
for Christ Church). Whenever he went away, he took his plate-chest with
him and had all the locks on his cupboards changed. However, the parish
registers suggest that Farington was more active than his
curate implies, despite his eccentricities: when he was in the parish
he conducted large numbers of baptisms and weddings, though most
years he went away for two or three months at a stretch, and sometimes longer.
Here,
in his autobiography My Sayings and Doings (Kegan,
Paul & Trench 1888), Quekett describes
Farington's death in 1841 in some detail, including the discovery of banknotes
pinned
into many of his books, and his will, made in 1822 with pencil
amendments of 1838 found in his pocket-book - which was contested by family
members in the Prerogative
Court.
He was buried, along with other family members, at Broxbourne (where,
incidentally, the News International presses, previously in this
parish, were relocated in 2007) - a tablet there records
the details. The sale of his books took several days:
| Catalogue Of The Valuable And Extensive Theological, Classical, And Miscellaneous Library, Of The Late Rev. Robert Farington ... Which Will Be Sold By Auction By Messrs. Evans, No.93 Pall Mall, On Wednesday, December 15, And Eight Following Days, (Sunday Excepted). |
Other
curates in Farington's time
| Tavistock School for Young Gentlemen - Conducted by the Rev. J. A. Wood, B. A. late of Catherine Hall, Cambridge - Terms - 10 guineas per Annum - Day Boarders 20 - Day Pupils 8 - Subjects of Instruction - The English, French, Latin, and Greek Languages; Ancient and Modern History and Geography; Algebra and Geometry; Arithmetic, Writing. Dancing and Drawing, by the first Masters, at the usual terms. Mr. Wood will have much pleasure, in referring to the Parents of these Young Gentlemen, whom he has now under his tuition. |
Henry
Burgess Whitaker Churton (11 March - 27 May 1842) 
lasted all of nine weeks as Rector, before getting a better job as Preacher of the
Charterhouse. He
was born at Middleton Cheney, the Brasenose college living [All Saints' church pictured] - previously held by Herbert Mayo - where for over 40 years his father Ralph Churton
(1764-1831) was Rector, and also from 1805 Archdeacon of St David's,
and a noted biographer. Henry began his Oxford studies at Balliol
before becoming attached to Brasenose College; he succeeded W.W. Champneys (later Rector of Whitechapel) as curate at
St Ebbe's Oxford, which had become a centre of Evangelical preaching
(Newman, it seems, was suspicious of him). He was tutor at Oxford
to Frederick
W. Robertson, whose Life
and Letters
refer to discussions with Churton at a time when his own theological
views were shifting, and who at Trinity Chapel Brighton became one of
the great humane preachers of the age.
(His brother Thomas Townson Churton was also a fellow of Brasenose and
an Evangelical - and was Bryan King's tutor there.) According to
William
Quekett [see above],
all the Fellows of Brasenose College in
rotation were offered, but declined, the post at St George's, until
just
in time to avoid presentation lapsing to the bishop Churton was
prevailed upon to accept, although he was already in the frame for the
Charterhouse job.
When he read himself in, Quekett handed him, via Mr
Verrall*, the parish clerk, the parochial fees from 18 September
1841 to 27 May 1842 - a total of £284 9s 6d: pictured is a page from the parish
ledger. All he gave me in
return, said Quekett, was the
empty cash box.
(During his brief time here Churton officiated at 54 baptisms and 5
weddings, returning as a visitor to baptize 13 candidates in February
1852). After only two years at the
Charterhouse he became Vicar of Icklesham, near Rye, and later Rural Dean of 'Hastings Second Portion' and a
Prebendary of
Chichester. You can read Churton's account
of two
trips to Palestine here,
described in one review as an elegant and
religious work on the East, slightly but not unpleasantly imbued with
sentimentalism. He also published various sermons. He died at Icklesham in 1891, leaving an estate of £3,573/3/11.
* presumably the son or another descendent of John Verrall, who had been Master of RAINES' SCHOOL for over 35 years
Bryan King (1843-63)
The
last Fellow of Brasenose College to be appointed Rector was Bryan
King - the college later transferred most of their East End
patronage to the Bishop of London in exchange for various country
livings. His story is more fully told in connection with the
Ritualism Riots, and the establishment of the mission led by Charles Lowder. He was born in 1811, and in 1842 married Martha Mary, daughter of
Thomas Fardell DCL, the
Rector of Boothby Pagnell in Lincolnshire,
who conducted services here from time to time when his son-in-law was
under stress. Bryan King was a council
member of the English Church Union (originally founded
as the Church of England Protection Society) and a correspondent of the
Ecclesiological Society (originally the Cambridge Camden Society -
founded at the 'other' university with a focus on 'proper' church
building design rather than on strictly liturgical issues). Worn out by
the riots, he exchanged livings with John Ross Lockhart and became
vicar of Avebury; he retired in 1894 - by which time he was almost
totally deaf, and his curate son ran the parish - and died in 1895.
Curates in Bryan King's time