Christopher Wordsworth (30 October 180720 March 1885) was an English intellectual and a bishop of 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, ...

Life

Wordsworth was born in London, the youngest son of Christopher Wordsworth, Master of Trinity, who was the youngest brother of the poet

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

. Thus, Wordsworth was a nephew of the celebrated poet. Wordsworth was the younger brother of the classical scholar John Wordsworth and Charles Wordsworth, Bishop of Saint Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. He was educated at

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and Trinity, Cambridge. Like his brother Charles, he was distinguished as an athlete as well as for scholarship. He won the

Chancellor's Gold Medal The Chancellor's Gold Medal is annual award for poetry open to undergraduates at the University of Cambridge, paralleling Oxford University's Newdigate Prize. It was first presented by Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh ...

for poetry in 1827 and 1828. He became senior classic, and was elected a fellow and tutor of Trinity in 1830; shortly afterwards he took holy orders. He went for a tour in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in 1832–1833, and published various works on its

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, the most famous of which is "Wordsworth's" ''Greece'' (1839). In 1836 he became Public Orator at Cambridge, and in the same year was appointed Headmaster of Harrow, a post he resigned in 1844. In 1844

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

appointed him as a Canon of

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

"Studies in Familiar Hymns: First Series" by Dr. Louis Benson 1903 (1844–1869). He was Vicar of Stanford in the Vale, Berkshire (1850–1869) and Archdeacon of Westminster (1864–1869). In 1869

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

appointed him

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

which he retained until his death in 1885. His

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

to the See of Lincoln was confirmed at

St Mary-le-Bow The Church of St Mary-le-Bow () is a Church of England parish church in the City of London, England. Located on Cheapside, one of the city's oldest thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080, by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Rebuilt s ...

on 22 February 1869 (whereby he legally became Bishop of Lincoln) and he was ordained and consecrated a bishop at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

on 24 February by

Archibald Campbell Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) is an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was born ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

; George Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand; and six other prelates. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, he was a man of fine character, with a high ideal of ecclesiastical duty, and he spent his money generously on church objects. He is buried near the Shrine of St Hugh in

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...

Works

As a scholar he is best known for his edition of the ''Greek New Testament'' (1856–1860), and the ''Old Testament'' (1864–1870), with commentaries; but his writings were many in number, and included a volume of devotional verse, ''The Holy Year'' (1862), ''Church History up to A.D. 451'' (1881–1883), and ''Memoirs'' of his uncle, William Wordsworth (1851), to whom he was

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film rights, film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially ...

. His ''Inscriptiones Pompeianae'' (1837) was an important contribution to epigraphy. He also wrote several hymns (Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard contains seven) of which perhaps the best known is the Easter hymn 'Alleluia, Alleluia, hearts to heaven and voices raise'. His daughter

Elizabeth Wordsworth Dame Elizabeth Wordsworth (22 June 1840 – 30 November 1932) was founding Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and she funded and founded St Hugh's College. She was also an author, sometimes writing under the name Grant Lloyd. Life Word ...

worked as his research assistant for his publications and as his secretary, before becoming founding Principal of

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The ...

. With William Cooke, a Canon of Chester, Wordsworth edited for the Henry Bradshaw Society the early 15th-century ''Ordinale Sarum'' of Clement Maydeston, but the work did not appear in print until 1901, several years after the death of both editors.Book list
at henrybradshawsociety.org, accessed 9 December 2013

Books

''Athens and Attica,''
1836
''Inscriptiones Pompeianae: or, Specimens and facsimiles of ancient inscriptions discovered on the walls of buildings at Pompeii,''
1837
''Greece, Pictorial, Descriptive, and Historical,''
1839
''Theophilus Anglicanus: or, Manual of instruction on the Church and the Anglican branch of it,''
1843
''On the Canon of the Scriptures,''
1848
''Lectures on the Apocalypse,''
1849 * ''Memoirs of William Wordsworth'', 1851 * ''Commentary on the Whole Bible'', 1856–70
''The Holy Year; or Hymns for Sundays and Holydays Throughout the Year, and for Other Occasions,''
1863 * ''Church History'', 1881–83 * ''The New Testament ... in the Original Greek: With Notes by C. Wordsworth.

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

an Index to the Introductions and Notes, by John Twycross'', 2 volumesScrivener, ''A plain introduction to the criticism of the New Testament'' (1861) at p. 150 notes: "John Twycross, of the Charter House, re-collated the whole manuscript in 1858". The death of Rev. John Twycross MA Dublin aged 72 is recorded in ''The Gentleman's magazine'', Volume 224 (1868), p. 260 * ''Ordinale Sarum, sive Directorium Sacerdotum (Liber quem Pica Sarum vulgo vocitat clerus)'' ( Henry Bradshaw Society, 1901), ed., with William Cooke

Hymns

* Alleluia! Alleluia! Hearts to Heaven and Voices Raise * Arm These Thy Soldiers, Mighty Lord * Father of All, from Land and Sea * Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost * Hallelujah! Christ Is Risen * Hark! the Sound of Holy Voices * Heav'nly Father, Send Thy Blessing * Holy, Holy, Holy Lord * Lord, Be Thy Word My Rule * O Day of Rest and Gladness * O Lord of Heaven and Earth and Sea * O Lord, Our Strength in Weakness * See, the Conqueror Mounts in Triumph (set by

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918), was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is ...

as "Rustington" in 1897) * Sing, O Sing, This Blessed Morn * Songs of Thankfulness and Praise * The Day Is Gently Sinking to a Close * The Grave Itself a Garden Is * Thine for ever! Thine for ever!

Family

In 1838 Wordsworth married Susanna Hartley Frere (d. 1884) and they had seven children. The elder son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1843–1911), was

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

, founder of Bishop Wordsworth's School,

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, and author of ''Fragments of Early Latin'' (1874); their eldest daughter, Dame Elizabeth (1840–1932), was the first principal (in 1879) of

and the founder (in 1886) of

St Hugh's College St Hugh's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a ...

. His daughter Dora married Edward Tucker Leeke, Canon and sub-dean of

. His younger son

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

(1848–1938) was a noted liturgical scholar. His ''Life'', by J. H. Overton and Elizabeth Wordsworth, was published in 1888.

References

Attribution

* *

External links

Christopher Wordsworth
* Overton, John Henry and Elizabeth Wordsworth. ''Christopher Wordsworth: Bishop of Lincoln, 1807-1885''. London: Rivingtons, 1888. At

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wordsworth, Christopher 1807 births 1885 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Cambridge University Orators Bishops of Lincoln Archdeacons of Westminster Canons of Westminster Head Masters of Harrow School People educated at Winchester College Anglican clergy from London

19th-century Anglican theologians Anglican hymnwriters Burials at Lincoln Cathedral