John Saul Howson (5 May 1816 – 1885),

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divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

and school master, who served as Dean of

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint ...

and Principal of

Liverpool College Liverpool College is a coeducational day and boarding school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. It was one of the thirteen founding members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, Headmasters' Conference. History Liverpool Coll ...

Early and private life

Howson was born at Giggleswick-on-Craven,

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.His father was head-master of

Giggleswick School Giggleswick School is a public school (English private boarding and day school) in Giggleswick, near Settle, North Yorkshire, England. Early school In 1499, Giggleswick School was founded on half an acre of land leased by the Prior and Co ...

. His nephew George William Saul Howson (1860–1919) was a reforming headmaster of

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

, Holt, Norfolk, between 1900 and his death. After attending the school, he went to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 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 ...

. Graduating BA in 1837 and MA in 1840, he became private tutor at Cambridge to the Marquess of Sligo and the

Marquess of Lorne Duke of Argyll () is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful noble families in Scotland ...

Career

In 1845 Howson, having taken orders, accepted the post of senior classical master at the

under his friend W. J. Conybeare, whom he succeeded as principal in 1849. This post he held until 1865, and it was largely due to his influence that a similar college for girls was established at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. On 2 June 1865, Howson was appointed as Honorary Chaplain of the 1st Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps. In 1866 he left

to become vicar of the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, Wisbech, and in 1867 he was appointed dean of

, where he gave himself vigorously to the work of restoring the crumbling fabric, collecting nearly £100,000 in five years for this purpose His restoration created a great debate and led in part to formation of the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the Victorian restoration, destructive 'restoration' of ancient bu ...

. His sympathies were with the evangelical party, and he stoutly opposed the "Eastward position," but he was by no means narrow. He did much to reintroduce the ministry of women as

deaconesses The ministry of a deaconess is a ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a liturgical role. The word comes from the Greek ...

. The building of the King's School for boys, and the Queen's School for girls (both in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

), was due in a great measure to the active interest which he took in educational matters. Howson's chief literary production was ''The Life and Epistles of St Paul'' (1852) in which he collaborated with Conybeare.

Family

He married the daughter of

John Cropper John Cropper (1797–1874) was an English philanthropist and abolitionist. A businessman, he was known as "''the most generous man in Liverpool''". Business and philanthropy Cropper was renowned for being rich, but also being generous. It is ...

, who survived him by only a few days. He died at

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

on 15 December 1885 and was buried in the cloister garth of Chester. Howson was the father of George Howson (1854–1943) who was Archdeacon of Warrington from 1916 to 1933, and then

Archdeacon of Liverpool The archdeacons in the Diocese of Liverpool are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England in a highly irregular area surrounding the city of Liverpool. They are the archdeacons of Liverpool, of St Helens and Warrington, of Knows ...

from 1933 to 1934; another son James Howson (1856–1934) was

Archdeacon of Craven The Archdeacon of Craven was a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Bradford. The final archdeacon was Paul Slater. As an Archdeacon, they were responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within four area deanerie ...

from 1928 to 1934. His grandson George Howson was the founder and chairman of the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Membership Service in th ...

Poppy Factory The Poppy Factory is a factory in Richmond, London, England, where remembrance wreaths are made. It was founded in 1922 to offer employment opportunities to wounded soldiers returning from the First World War, creating remembrance poppies and ...

References

External links

Bibliographic directory
from

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howson, John Saul 1816 births 1885 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Giggleswick School Deans of Chester Burials at Chester Cathedral Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire 19th-century British Anglican priests 19th-century Anglican theologians