The Reverend John Allen Wedgwood (1796 – 19 July 1882), normally known as Allen Wedgwood was
rector of
Maer Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
.
Life
Wedgwood was the fifth of six children and the fourth and youngest son of
John Wedgwood, the horticulturist, of
Etruria, Staffordshire
Etruria is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.
History Home of Wedgwood
Etruria was the fourth and penultimate site for the Wedgwood pottery business. Josiah Wedgwood, who was previously based in Burslem, opened his new works ...
and Cote House,
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, and his wife Louisa Jane Allen, daughter of
John Bartlett Allen of
Cresselly
Jeffreyston (also known as ''Jeffreston'') is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire.
Jeffreyston lies on the B4586 road about northwest of the main A477 St Clears to Pembroke road; the nearest town is Tenby about to the southeas ...
,
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...
. His paternal grandfather had been the potter
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indu ...
who died the year prior to his birth, and the
Josiah Wedgwood & Sons pottery company that he had founded gave the family considerable wealth.
He was educated at
Westminster School
Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
.
[ He was ordained as a ]deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
in 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, ...
in 1821[ and a ]priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
in 1822.[ He was admitted to ]Downing College
Downing College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, ...
, 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 ...
in 1824 as a ten-year man.[
On 29 January 1839, he officiated at the wedding of his cousins ]Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
and Emma Wedgwood
Emma Darwin (; 2 May 1808 – 2 October 1896) was an English woman who was the cousin marriage, wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin. They were married on 29 January 1839 and were the parents of ten children, seven of whom survived to adulth ...
in 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 ...
ceremony arranged to also suit the Unitarians in St Peter's Church at Maer Hall
upright=1.35, Maer Hall
Maer Hall is a large Grade II listed 17th-century country house in Maer, Staffordshire, set in a park which is listed Grade II in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens
The large stone-built country house and ...
.[ Some years later, aged he also officiated at the funeral of Charles' brother ]Erasmus Alvey Darwin
Erasmus Alvey Darwin (29 December 1804 – 26 August 1881), nicknamed ''Eras'' or ''Ras'', was the older brother of Charles Darwin, born five years earlier. They were brought up at the family home, The Mount House, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, E ...
in 1881.[ He himself died the year after in Winchcomb, ]Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
.
References
[ Janet Browne. Charles Darwin biographies]