George Nickson (9 May 1864 – 23 February 1949) was an

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 ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. Nickson was born on 9 May 1864 and educated at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

and

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

. He was ordained in 1889. His first post was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () 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 who are as ...

at Holy Trinity,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, after which he was successively

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of St Benedict, Cambridge, St John the Divine

Fairfield, Liverpool Fairfield is an area of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England, encompassing streets between Tuebrook and Kensington and stretching to Old Swan. It consists of a variety of houses; there are some traditional red-brick terraces, larger Victorian vil ...

and St Andrew's

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

before being appointed

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

West Derby West Derby ( ) is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, in the east of the city. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', West Derby achieved significance far earlier tha ...

in 1905. In 1906 he became the first

Suffragan Bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

. In 1911, he was nominated for translation to the post of Bishop of Southwark but a breakdown led to him withdrawing his acceptance of the offer.The Times obituary,25.2.1949. The Times Digital Archive,web 9.3 2013 After his recovery, he was appointed to the see of Bristol, and was enthroned just before War was declared in August 1914. He was one of the most fervent and outspoken supporters of British participation in the War. He was appalled at Germany's aggression and its harsh treatment of Belgian and French civilians. He wrote '...this war is spiritual in character. It is Christianity against a spirit which surely is akin to what is meant by Anti-Christ'Bristol Diocesan Magazine, October 1914 He urged his clergymen to '...do all they can to encourage recruiting...it shames one to read of the vast crowds of able-bodied young men who still flock to the football matches' He vehemently opposed pacifism. Christianity could never be 'a dormant force in the presence of wrong... We are up against the forces of evil and a spirit leased from hell' In 1919, he praised God for victory and hoped that the experience of War would result in better housing and wages and a more equitable distribution of wealth.Bristol Diocesan Magazine, January 1919 By the time he retired in 1933, such ambitions had not been realised as he had hoped. He died on 23 February 1949, aged 84.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nickson, George 1864 births 1949 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Bishops of Jarrow Bishops of Bristol Officers of the Order of St John 20th-century Church of England bishops