Thomas Pelham Dale (1821–1892) was an English

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

ritualist A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

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 ...

, most notable for being prosecuted and imprisoned for ritualist practices.

Biography

Thomas Pelham Dale was born at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

on 3 April 1821 and grew up in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He was the eldest son of

Thomas Dale Sir Thomas Dale ( 157019 August 1619) was an English soldier and colonial administrator who served as deputy-governor of the Colony of Virginia in 1611 and again from 1614 to 1616. Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour ...

(1797-1870) and his wife Emily Jane Richardson. After attending

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, in 1841 he went up to

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

and graduated in 1845. He was elected as a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of his college. Dale was ordained

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 1845 and

in 1846. He was appointed

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of the Camden Chapel,

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. In 1847 he became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

St Vedast Foster Lane Saint Vedast Foster Lane or Saint Vedast-alias-Foster, a church in Foster Lane, in the City of London, is dedicated to Vedast, St. Vedast (Foster is an Anglicisation of the name "Vaast", as the saint is known in continental Europe), a French sain ...

in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. With scholarly interests that were scientific as well as theological, Dale was librarian of

Sion College Sion College, in London, is an institution founded by royal charter in 1630 as a college, guild of parochial clergy and almshouse, under the 1623 will of Thomas White (benefactor), Thomas White, vicar of St Dunstan's in the West. The clergy who ...

in the City of London from 1851 to 1856. In 1861, with Bishop Tait, Elizabeth Ferard (see 18 July in Church of England calendar) and two other women, Dale founded the North London Deaconess Institution based in King's Cross. Originally an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

, Dale came to believe that

ritualism A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

was specifically appropriate to deal with the nature of secularism and forces hostile to Christianity of the time. He began to use

eucharistic The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; amo ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

1873. Opposition to Dale crystallised around his ritualism, especially after he offered ''

locum tenens A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

'' ministry in 1875 to the congregation of St Alban the Martyr,

Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...

, whilst the Revd

Alexander Heriot Mackonochie Alexander Heriot Mackonochie (11 August 1825 – 15 December 1887) was a Church of England mission priest known as "the martyr of St Alban's" on account of his prosecution and forced resignation for ritualism, ritualist practices. Early lif ...

was suspended for ritualist practices. In 1876 he was prosecuted under the

Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 ( 37 & 38 Vict. c. 85) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Archbishop of Canterbury Archibald Campbell Tait, to limit what he perceived as the growing ri ...

. He was supported by the

English Church Union The Church Union is an Anglo-Catholic advocacy group within the Church of England. History The organisation was founded as the Church of England Protection Society on 12 May 1859 to challenge the authority of the English civil courts to determi ...

in his prosecution by the

Church Association The Church Association was an English evangelical Anglican organisation founded in 1865. It was particularly active in opposition to Anglo-Catholicism, ritualism, and the Oxford Movement. Founded in 1865 by Richard P. Blakeney, the association st ...

. In the same year, he joined the

Society of the Holy Cross The Society of the Holy Cross (SSC; ) is an international Anglo-Catholicism, Anglo-Catholic society of male priests with members in the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement, who live under a common rule of life that informs t ...

. In December 1878 he recommenced all his former practices and another judgment against him from

Lord Penzance James Plaisted Wilde, 1st Baron Penzance, (12 July 1816 – 9 December 1899) was a noted British judge and rose breeder who was also a proponent of the Baconian theory that the works usually attributed to William Shakespeare were in fact writte ...

in the

Court of Arches The Arches Court or Court of Arches, presided over by the Dean of Arches, is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England covering the Province of Canterbury. Its equivalent in the Province of York is the Chancery Court. It takes its name fr ...

was obtained in 1880. Two days later Dale was arrested and imprisoned in

Holloway prison HM Prison Holloway was a British prison security categories, closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, ...

. Dale's imprisonment drew great sympathy from all but his most die-hard opponents. Such imprisonments did more than anything else to turn public opinion against

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creat ...

's attempt to put down Ritualism by law. Soon after his release Dale was presented to the living of

Sausthorpe Sausthorpe is a small village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, east of Horncastle and north-west of Spilsby. It lies on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds – a designated Area of Outstanding Na ...

-cum- Aswardby, near

Spilsby Spilsby is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town is adjacent to the main A16 road (England), A16, east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, north-east of Boston ...

, in 1881. He died on 19 April 1892 (on the eleventh anniversary of the death of Disraeli (one of the architects of the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874) and was buried in

churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

Family

Dale married Mary Francis in 1847. Their children included: *The Revd

Thomas Francis Dale Thomas Francis Dale (1848–1923) was an English army chaplain, known as an author on fox hunting and polo. Life He was the son of the Rev. Pelham Dale and his wife Mary Francis, and was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, Merchant ...

, born 1848. *The Revd Arthur Murray Dale (1850–1927), Anglican cleric who became a Roman Catholic. He married Mary Boscawen, daughter of

Evelyn Boscawen, 6th Viscount Falmouth Evelyn Boscawen, 6th Viscount Falmouth (18 March 1819 – 6 November 1889), was a Horse breeding, breeder of Horse racing, race horses and the winner of many British Classic Races, classic races. Personal life His parents were the Reverend Th ...

. *Charles Lawford Dale, born 1852, army officer *Mary Caroline Dale, born 1854 *Helen Annette Dale, born 1856 *Emily Frances Dale, born 1859 *Clare Elizabeth Dale, born 1861

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dale, T. Pelham 1821 births 1892 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Anglo-Catholic clergy English Anglo-Catholics Trials in England