Henry Soames (1785 – 21 October 1860) was an English clergyman and ecclesiastical historian.

Life

Soames was born in 1785, to Nathaniel Soames, shoemaker of

Ludgate Street Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London, England. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. The ar ...

, London, he was educated at St. Paul's School and went to

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

, matriculating on 21 February 1803. He graduated B.A. in 1807, M.A. in 1810. He held the post of assistant to the high master of St. Paul's School from 1809 to 1814, and took holy orders. In 1812, he was made rector of

Shelley, Essex Shelley is a partly rural village and partly residential conurbation in the Ongar civil parish of the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. The former civil parish of Shelley focused on the parish church and the manor house of Shelley Hall ...

, and at this time, or later, rector of the neighbouring parish of Little Laver. From 1831 to 1839, he was vicar of Brent with

Furneaux Pelham Furneux Pelham or Furneaux Pelham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The village is one of the Pelhams, part of an early medieval larger swathe of land known as Pelham including Brent Pelham to the north and Stocking Pel ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. In 1839, he became rector of

Stapleford Tawney Stapleford Tawney is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. Stapleford Tawney is approximately west-southwest from Chipping Ongar and southwest from the county town of Chelmsford. History Historically Stap ...

with

Theydon Mount Theydon Mount is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the county of Essex, England. The village is notable for the Grade I listed Elizabethan mansion, Hill Hall. History The name "Theydon" is thought to mean 'valley wh ...

, Essex, where he remained till his death. He was

Bampton lecturer The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have sometimes been biennial ...

in 1830, and was appointed chancellor of

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

by Bishop

Charles James Blomfield Charles James Blomfield (29 May 1786 – 5 August 1857) was a British divine and classicist, and a Church of England bishop for 32 years. Early life and education Charles James Blomfield was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, the eldest son (an ...

in 1842. He died in

, on 21 October 1860.

Works

Soames's major work in English church history addressed the Anglo-Saxon times and the sixteenth century. His works include, but are not limited to: * ''A vindication of the Church and clergy of England from the misrepresentations of the

Edinburgh Review The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929. ''Edinburgh Review'', ...

'' (with Henry Brougham Brougham and Vaux, Baron), London, C. & J. Rivington, 1823. * ''The History of the Reformation of the Church of England'', 4 vols. 1826–8. * ''Reasons for opposing the Romish claims'', London : C.J.G. & F. Rivington, 1829. * ''An Inquiry into the Doctrines of the Anglo-Saxon Church'',

Bampton Lectures The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have sometimes been biennial ...

Oxford, 1830. * ''The substance of a speech delivered before the archdeacon and clergy of Essex at Brentwood on Thursday, April 25, 1833, upon the bill now before Parliament, respecting the Church of Ireland'', London, Roake and Varty, 1833. * ''The Anglo-Saxon Church: its History, Revenues, and General Character'', London, 1835; 4th edit., revised, augmented, and corrected, 1856. * ''Elizabethan Religious History'', London, 1839. * ''The Romish reaction and its present operation on the Church of England'', London, John. W. Parker, 1843. (with Mrs Dixon Mary Ann; W H Dixon) * ''The evils of innovation: a sermon preached at Romford, at the visitation of the Venerable Hugh Chambres Jones, M.A., archdeacon of Essex, on Monday, May 29, 1843, by Henry Soames'', * ''Mosheim's Institutes of Ecclesiastical History. … Edited, with additions, by James Murdock and H. Soames'', 1841. This edition of the work of the Lutheran

Johann Lorenz von Mosheim Johann Lorenz von Mosheim or Johann Lorenz Mosheim (9 October 1693 – 9 September 1755) was a German Lutheran church historian. Biography He was born at Lübeck on 9 October 1693 or 1694. After studying at the '' gymnasium'' of Lübeck, he ent ...

was re-edited in 1845, 1850, and finally by Bishop

William Stubbs William Stubbs (21 June 182522 April 1901) was an English historian and Anglican bishop. He was Regius Professor of History (Oxford), Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford between 1866 and 1884. He was Bishop of Ches ...

in 3 vols. in 1863. * ''The Latin Church during Anglo-Saxon Times'', London, 1848. This work was criticised by John David Chambers in ''Anglo-Saxonica; or Animadversions on some positions … maintained, &c. by H. Soames'', London, London, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1848. * ''The Romish Decalogue'', London, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1852.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soames, Henry 1785 births 1860 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English historians British historians of religion Chancellors of St Paul's Cathedral English male non-fiction writers People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford People from Furneux Pelham People from Epping Forest District