Richard William Jelf (25 January 179819 September 1871) was the fourth Principal of

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King' ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and Christ Church, Oxford, and was subsequently made a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

. He served as

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

of Christ Church, Oxford, and

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the office holder/ or boss in any school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in ...

of King's College, London, from 1844 to 1868.

Early life

He was the second son of Sir James Jelf, of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east of t ...

, and brother of

William Edward Jelf William Edward Jelf (1811–1875) was an English churchman and academic, known as a classical scholar. Life Born 3 April 1811, he was fifth son of Sir James Jelf of Gloucester, and brother of Richard William Jelf. He was educated at Eton College ...

. He was educated at Eton, where he began a lifelong friendship with

Edward Bouverie Pusey Edward Bouverie Pusey (; 22 August 180016 September 1882) was an English Anglican cleric, for more than fifty years Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. He was one of the leading figures in the Oxford Movement. Early years ...

, and in December 1816 matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. (with a second class in classics) in 1820, and M.A. in 1823, B.D. 1831, D.D. 1839.

Career

In 1820 he was elected fellow of Oriel College, took holy orders in 1821, and became one of the tutors in 1823 after receiving his M.A. Jelf became was master of the schools in 1824, and classical examiner in 1825. After being for a short time private tutor to Sir George Nugent, Jelf was in 1826 appointed preceptor to

Prince George of Cumberland en, George Frederick Alexander Charles Ernest Augustus , house = Hanover , religion = Protestant , father = Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover , mother = Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , birth_date = 27 May 1819 , ...

. This post he filled for thirteen years, residing much at

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

before his pupil's father became king of Hanover (in 1837). In 1830 he was appointed canon of Christ Church, as well as married. Jelf never was prominent

Tractarian The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of ...

, but both

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and ...

and his friend Pusey addressed to him their letters on the interpretation of the

Thirty-nine Articles The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...

, advocated in

Tract 90 ''Remarks on Certain Passages in the Thirty-Nine Articles'', better known as Tract 90, was a theological pamphlet written by the English theologian and churchman John Henry Newman and published in 1841. It is the most famous and the most controvers ...

of the ''

Tracts for the Times The Tracts for the Times were a series of 90 theological publications, varying in length from a few pages to book-length, produced by members of the English Oxford Movement, an Anglo-Catholic revival group, from 1833 to 1841. There were about a d ...

'', in 1841. In 1842 he preached a sermon before the university, published as ''Via Media; or the Church of England our providential path between Romanism and Dissent''. In 1847 he was appointed one of the six doctors to examine and report on Pusey's sermon, with the result that Pusey was suspended from preaching for two years. In 1844 Jelf succeeded Bishop John Lonsdale as principal of King's College, London, which had been founded in 1829 as in response to the theological controversies surrounding the secular

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

in 1826. There Jelf remained for twenty-four years, founding the theological department. When F. D. Maurice, the professor of theology, published his ''Theological Essays'' in 1853, Jelf condemned his views, and the council deprived Maurice of his professorship, although Maurice would be unanimously elected the Knightbridge professorship at Cambridge in 1866. Jelf also served as proctor in convocation for the chapter of Christ Church, and also sub-almoner to the queen. After resigning in 1868 the principalship of King's College, Jelf lived in the house attached to his canonry at Oxford, where he died on 19 September 1871.

Works

Jelf preached the

Bampton lectures The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial. ...

at Oxford in 1844, his subject being ''An Inquiry into the means of Grace, their mutual connection and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England''. He published a volume of ''Sermons Doctrinal and Practical'', London, 1835; and ''Suggestions respecting the Neglect of the Hebrew Language as a qualification for Holy Orders'', London, 1832. He also edited Bishop

John Jewel John Jewel (''alias'' Jewell) (24 May 1522 – 23 September 1571) of Devon, England was Bishop of Salisbury from 1559 to 1571. Life He was the youngest son of John Jewel of Bowden in the parish of Berry Narbor in Devon, by his wife Alice Bel ...

's ''Works'', Oxford, 1848, 8 vols., and left behind him a series of ''Lectures on the Thirty-nine Articles'', which were edited after his death, 1873, by his son-in-law, the Rev. J. R. King.

Legacy

The Jelf Medal was established at King's College London in his memory; it is awarded to the student who, in the view of the

, has most distinguished him or herself during their undergraduate career at the College.

Family

Jelf married in 1830 Emmy, countess Schlippenbach, lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of Cumberland; he had seven children, including

George Edward Jelf George Edward Jelf (1834–1908) was an English churchman and Master of Charterhouse. Life The eldest son of seven children of Richard William Jelf and Emmy, Countess of Schlippenbach, lady-in-waiting to Frederica, Duchess of Cumberland, he was b ...

, canon of Rochester, Sir Arthur Richard Jelf, and Colonel

Richard Henry Jelf Colonel Richard Henry Jelf (2 February 1844 – 26 April 1913) was a British army officer and commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Early life Jelf was born in Oxford, the third and youngest son of the Reverend Doctor Richard Wil ...

. His grandsons were

Wilfrid Jelf Colonel Wilfrid Wykeham Jelf, (22 July 1880 – 17 October 1933) was a Canadian-born British Army officer and cricketer who played for Leicestershire in 1911. He fought in the South African War and First World War. Early life and education ...

and

Henry Jelf Henry Francis Donhoff Jelf (27 August 1877 – 18 April 1944) was a Royal Navy officer and a cricketer who played for Derbyshire in 1910 and 1911. Jelf was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, the son of Richard Henry Jelf, an army officer, and his ...

, both first-class cricketers and military officers.

References

External links

Correspondence at the National Archives

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 Frank T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jelf, Richard William 1798 births 1871 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford Principals of King's College London