Joseph Mendham
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Joseph Mendham (1769–1856) was an English clergyman and controversialist.


Life

He was the eldest son of Robert Mendham, a merchant in
Walbrook Walbrook is a Ward of the City of London and a minor street in its vicinity. The ward is named after a River Walbrook, river of the same name. The ward of Walbrook contains two of the City's most notable landmarks: the Bank of England and the ...
, London, who died at Highgate, Middlesex, 7 April 1810, aged 77, leaving a widow, who died there on 11 October 1812, at the age of 78. He matriculated at
St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...
, on 27 January 1789, and graduated B.A. 1792, M.A. 1795. In 1793 he was ordained a deacon 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, ...
, and in 1794 priest. Early in 1795, Mendham accepted the curacy of
Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...
,
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
. His sole preferment seems to have been the incumbency of Hill Chapel in Arden, Warwickshire, to which he was licensed on 22 August 1836. In this district of Warwickshire the rest of his life was spent, and he died at Sutton Coldfield on 1 November 1856, aged 87.


Works

Mendham studied the points of controversy between
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and its
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
opponents. He wrote: * ‘An Exposition of the Lord's Prayer,’ 1803. * ‘Clavis Apostolica, or a Key to the Apostolic Writings,’ 1821. This originally appeared in the '' Christian Observer'' for 1807. * ‘Episcopal Oath of Allegiance to the Pope.’ By Catholicus 822 * ‘Taxatio Papalis, being an Account of the Tax-books of Rome.’ By Emancipatus, 1825; 2nd edit., as ‘Spiritual Venality of Rome,’ 1836. Preface signed Joseph Mendham. * ‘Account of Indexes, Prohibitory and Expurgatory, of the Church of Rome,’ 1826; 2nd edit., as ‘Literary Policy of the Church of Rome exhibited,’ 1830; Supplement, 1836; Additional Supplement, 1843; whole work, 1844. * ‘Some Account of Discussion on Infallibility at Cherry Street Chapel, Birmingham, 30 Sept. and 1 Oct. 1830.’ By a Plain Man, 1830. * Watson's ‘Important Considerations,’ 1601; edited, with preface and notes, by Rev. J. Mendham, 1831. * ‘Life and Pontificate of Saint Pius the Fifth,’ 1832; 2nd ed., with Supplement, 1844. * ‘On the Proposed Papal Cathedral in Birmingham; three Letters between Catholicus Protestans endhamand a Birmingham Catholic,’ 1834. * ‘Address to Inhabitants of Sutton Coldfield on Introduction of Popery into that Parish,’ 1834. * ‘Memoirs of Council of Trent,’ 1834; Supplement thereto, 1836. * ‘Index Librorum Prohibitorum a Sixto V Papa,’ 1835. *
The spiritual venality of Rome : Taxe sacre penitentiarie apostolice; preceded by a historical and critical account of the taxae cancellariae apostolicae and taxae sacrae poenitentiariae apostolicae of the United Church and Court of modern Rome
‘ 1836 * ‘Venal Indulgences and Pardons of the Church of Rome,’ 1839 (a correction of an error in this volume is given in Hist. MSS. Comm. 12th Rep. App. ix. p. 165). * ‘Index of Prohibited Books by command of the present Pope Gregory XVI,’ 1840. * ‘Remarks on some parts of the Rev. T. L. Green's Second Letter to Archdeacon Hodson,’ 1840. * ‘Modern Evasions of Christianity,’ 1840. * ‘Services of Church of England vindicated against certain Popular Objections,’ 1841. * ‘Cardinal Allen's Admonition,’ 1588; reprinted, with a preface, by Eupator, 1812. * ‘Acta Concilii Tridentini … a Gabriele Cardinale Paleotto descripta,’ edited by J. Mendham, 1842. Minutes to the Council of Trent by Gabriele Paleotto. * ‘Additions to three Minor Works: I. “Spiritual Venality;” II. “Venal Indulgences;” III. “Index by Pope Gregory,”’ 1848. * ‘Declaration of the Fathers of the Councell of Trent’ n attendance at heretical services edited by Eupator, 1850. He contributed to '' Notes and Queries'', the '' Protestant Journal'', and ''Christian Observer''. Articles by him in the '' Church of England Quarterly Review'' were printed separately. Mendham collected a library of controversial theology. This came to his nephew, the Rev. John Mendham, on whose death his widow, Sophia, placed the books at the disposal of Charles Hastings Collette, solicitor in Lincoln's Inn Fields, by whom a selection was made and presented to the Incorporated Law Society in Chancery Lane, London. These are described in a printed catalogue dated 1871, and in a supplement which was issued in 1874. It contained many sermons and pamphlets by him. This Mendham Collection has since 1985 been on loan to Canterbury Cathedral Library and the University of Kent. In July 2012 the Law Society removed some of the most valuable books with the intention of selling them to raise funds. An auction sale took place at
Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
in London on 5 June 2013, when 106 out of the total of 142 lots were sold at a total price of £1,180,875. The Revd. Joseph Mendham bequeathed manuscripts concerned with the
Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...
to the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
..


Family

On 15 December 1795 he married Maria, second daughter of the Rev. John Riland, rector of Sutton Coldfield (died 1822), by his wife Ann, daughter of Thomas Hudson of
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...
. His wife, who was born in 1772, died in 1841. Their only son, the Rev. Robert Riland Mendham, matriculated at
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 ...
, 12 November 1816, aged 18, took the degrees of B.A. 1820, M.A. 1824, and died at Sutton Coldfield 15 June 1857. Their daughter, Ann Maria Mendham, died 1872. Both were unmarried.


Sources

* , cliv, 500 pp.


Notes


Attribution


External links

* . * , also published in . {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendham, Joseph 1769 births 1856 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford