The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Thomas Milville Raven

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(1828–1896) was an English vicar remembered as a theological author and early calotype photographer. Some documents name him as Thomas Melville Raven.

Life

He studied divinity at St David's College in

Lampeter Lampeter (; (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, after Aberystwyth and C ...

(now known as the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

), graduating MA. From 1856, he was experimenting with

calotype Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. Paper texture effects in calotype photography limit the ability of this early process to record low ...

photography and exhibiting photographs of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

, Pau and towns in France. In 1858, he was living in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and joined the Scottish Photographic Society, the more formal rival to the

Edinburgh Photographic Society The Edinburgh Photographic Society is a photographic society based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1861. The society awards medals annually to photographers of excellence. It began in a small back room at 81 South Bridge in rivalr ...

. He was also a member of the Glasgow Photographic Society. He lived at

Waldringfield Waldringfield is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is situated on the bank of the River Deben within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south of the to ...

Rectory in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and is presumed vicar of that parish. In 1863, he moved to

Scruton Scruton is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is west of Northallerton. According to the 2001 census the village had a population of 442, it decreased to 424 at the 2011 census. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the dis ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. In 1867, he became vicar of the nearby village of

Crakehall Crakehall is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, approximately west of Bedale. The village lies along the route of the A684 road, A684 and is split into two parts by Bedale Beck, a tributary of the River Swale ...

also having pastoral duties in Langthorne. In 1864, he was elected a member of the London Photographic Society. In 1869, he was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

his proposer being

Andrew Coventry Andrew Coventry FRSE (1762–1830) was a Scottish agriculturist. He was the first Professor of Agriculture in Great Britain. Life Andrew Coventry, born in February 1762, was eldest son of Rev George Coventry, minister of Stitchell in Roxburghsh ...

. He died on 13 June 1896.

Family

He was married to Eliza. His wife is thought to be the elusive E. Raven referenced in some photographs as their creator. They had one daughter who is thought to have died during their trip to Pau in 1857.

Publications

*''Account of a Photographic Tour from Jersey to the Pyrenees'' (1857)

Photographic Works

see *''Mountain Stream near Cauteret'' (1857) *''Old House in the Market Place,

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Brittany, Breton town and a commune in France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Inst ...

'' (1857) *''Old Trees near Pau'' (1857) *''Path Through the Wood,

Bolton Abbey Bolton Abbey Estate in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England, takes its name from a 12th-century Augustinian monastery of canons regular, now known as Bolton Priory. The priory, which was closed in the 1539 Dissolution of the Monasterie ...

'' (1856) *'' Pierrefitte, Haute Pyrenees'' (1857) *''Porch of the Church at Wolags near Pau'' (1857) *''

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

near Cauteret, Haute Pyrenees'' (1857) - probably the first photograph of an avalanche *''View in Jersey'' (1857) *''View near Bagneres de Bigorre'' (1857) *''View near

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

'' (1857) *''View near Luz'' (1857) *''View near Pierrefitte'' (1857) *''View on the River Rance'' (1857)

References

1828 births 1896 deaths 19th-century Welsh photographers 19th-century Welsh male artists Alumni of the University of Wales Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{UK-reli-bio-stub