Thomas Dale (22 August 1797 – 14 May 1870) was a British priest 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, ...

who was the Dean of Rochester for a brief period in 1870. He was also a poet and theologian.

Life

Dale was born in

Pentonville Pentonville is an area in North London, located in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the London Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient p ...

and educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

and

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

. Until 1826 Dale was a

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 ...

at St Michael, Cornhill, and then began a long association with St Bride, Fleet Street. He was also evening lecturer at

St Sepulchre-without-Newgate Holy Sepulchre London, formerly and in some official uses Saint Sepulchre-without-Newgate, is the largest Anglican parish church in the City of London. It stands on the north side of Holborn Viaduct across a crossroads from the Old Bailey, and i ...

before being appointed the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

of St Matthew's

Denmark Hill Denmark Hill is an area and road in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. It is a sub-section of the western flank of the Norwood Ridge, centred on the long, curved Ruskin Park slope of the ridge. The road is part of ...

. He served as Professor of English at

London University 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 degr ...

from 1828 to 1830. This was the first professorial appointment in the subject of English in England. As 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 ...

and "Christian ideologue" he found the university secular to the point of being "godless", clashed in particular with his colleague Thomas Hewitt Key, and resigned, to be succeeded by Alexander Blair. He then founded a school in

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 ...

, where

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

was among his pupils. In 1835, he became vicar of St. Bride, Fleet Street; and in 1836, professor of English literature at King’s College London, before resigning in 1839. Dale grave

Dale became a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in 1843, holding the stall of Caddington Minor and an honorary canon. In 1846 he became

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of St Pancras' Church and was also the Golden Lecturer at

St Margaret Lothbury St Margaret Lothbury is a Church of England parish church on Lothbury in the City of London; it spans the boundary between Coleman Street Ward and Broad Street Ward. Recorded since the 12th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of ...

. While at St Pancras', William Brown Galloway was his curate. Dale is credited with founding St Mark's Church in St Mark's Square. His last position before becoming the dean in Rochester was at St Therfield Therfield.

Family

Dale married Emily Jane Richardson (1803 - 1849) on 22 November 1819 in London. They had at least nine children, the eldest of whom Thomas Pelham Dale became an

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 priest who was prosecuted and imprisoned for ritualist practices.

Death

Thomas Dale died on 14 May 1870 and is buried on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

, close to the grave of Catherine Dickens, which may not be coincidental given the Dickens' connection with Rochester. There is an inscription on the grave in remembrance of his wife Emily Jane, though she is buried in the vaults of

St Pancras New Church St Pancras Church is a Greek Revival church in St Pancras, London, built in 1819–22 to the designs of William Inwood, William and Henry William Inwood. The church is one of the most important 19th-century churches in England and is a Grade I ...

. Dale, being convinced of the danger of interment in crowded centres, had put aside his strong desire to be placed beside her in death and given the weight of his influence to the sealing up of the vaults of the Church. It was said that from Dean Dale's grave in

, may be seen many of the churches he caused to be built.Dale, T., DALE, Helen Pelham, & Wesley, John. (1894). The Life and Letters of Thomas Pelham Dale ... Edited by his daughter, Helen Pelham Dale. P.98

Works

* ''The widow of the city of Naïn: and other poems'', 1819 * ''The Tragedies of Sophocles'' (translator), 1824 * ''An introductory lecture upon the study of theology and of the Greek testament delivered at the opening of the Theological Institution, Saturday, Nov. 21st, 1829'' * ''The poetical works of the Rev. Thomas Dale, M.A.'', 1836

References

External links

* 1797 births People educated at Christ's Hospital Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Deans of Rochester 1870 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery {{ChurchofEngland-dean-stub