John Wogan Festing (13 August 1837 in Stourton, England – 28 December 1902) was an English clergyman who was

Bishop of St Albans The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop of Bedford, and three ...

from 1890 to 1902.John Wogan Festing (I9521)
PhpGedView.

Life

Festing was the son of Richard Grindall Festing, of Westminster, and Eliza Mammatt, daughter of Edward Mammatt. He was born in 1837 at Brook House in Stourton, Somerset (now in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

) and educated at King's School, Bruton and

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. His younger brother was Major-General

Edward R. Festing Major-General Edward Robert Festing (10 August 1839 – 16 May 1912), English army officer, chemist, and first Director of the Science Museum in London.

(1839–1912), a

Royal Engineer The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...

who became the first Director of the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...

in London. Festing received a BA degree from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

in 1860. He was ordained deacon in 1860, and priest the following year, and subsequently served as curate of Christ Church,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

, from 1860–73. In 1873, he became vicar of St Luke's Church, Berwick Street, close to Seven Dials, a parish regarded at the time as demanding due to its poor neighbourhood. After five years, he was on 19 May 1878 appointed vicar of Christ Church,

Albany Street Albany Street is a road in London running from Marylebone Road to Gloucester Gate following the east side of Regent's Park. It is about three-quarters of a mile in length. History The street was laid out during the 1820s, and takes its name ...

, a large parish responsible for several church schools. In 1887, he became rural dean of St Pancras. On 26 June 1888, he became

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of t ...

Brondesbury Brondesbury (), which includes Brondesbury Park, is an area in the London Borough of Brent, in London, England. The area is traditionally part of the Ancient Parish and subsequent Municipal Borough of Willesden, one of the areas that merged t ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

. His final clerical appointment was as Lord Bishop of St Albans on 24 June 1890, to which he was recommended by Dr.

Henry Liddon Henry Parry Liddon (1829–1890), also known as H. P. Liddon, was an English theologian. From 1870 to 1882, he was Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford. Biography The son of a naval capta ...

, a fellow high churchman. Festing was not well known, and the appointment was unexpected, and apparently not one he himself had wished, as he regarded himself as a poor preacher. The diocese had been created in 1877, had only had one bishop, and was not well established. It covered a large area in the two counties of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and Hertfordshire, had a comparably small income, and there was no residence. In a contemporary obituary, he was described as a ″businesslike and energetic Bishop of a very difficult diocese″, who was a "diligent student of theological science" and a ″quiet and sympathetic friend to his clergy″. Festing received a DD degree in 1890. He was President of the

Universities' Mission to Central Africa The Universities' Mission to Central Africa (c.1857 - 1965) was a missionary society established by members of the Anglican Church within the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, and Dublin. It was firmly in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of ...

(1892–1902). Festing was unmarried, and his house was kept for him by his sister. In early October 1902 he was reported to have been seized by

angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstr ...

, and he died at his residence two months later on 28 December 1902. He was buried at

St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...

in Hertfordshire.

References

1837 births 1902 deaths People educated at King's School, Bruton People educated at King's College School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Bishops of St Albans 19th-century Church of England bishops 20th-century Church of England bishops Burials at St Albans Cathedral John {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub