Thomas Stevens FSA (19 September 1841''Wiltshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813–1916'' – 22 August 1920) was an Anglican bishop, the first

Bishop of Barking The Bishop of Barking is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford, in the Province of Canterbury. The Barking area comprises the east London boroughs of London Borough of Barking ...

. Stevens was born in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, the son of Thomas Ogden Stevens and his wife, Harriet Wansbrough. He was educated at

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...

and

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

. He received the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

from Magdalene College, Cambridge in May 1901. He was consecrated a bishop on 17 February 1901, at St Margaret's, Westminster, by

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

. His first post was as an Assistant Master at

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

. He then held incumbencies at St Luke, Victoria Docks,

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

and finally (before his elevation to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

)

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 John's, Stratford. He was appointed Suffragan Bishop of Barking in February 1901.

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

, Saturday, Feb 02, 1901; pg. 9; Issue 36368; col D ''Ecclesiastical intelligence''
"The King has been pleased to approve the appointment of The Ven T. Stevens,

Archdeacon of Essex The Archdeacon of West Ham is a senior ecclesiastical officer – in charge of the Archdeaconry of West Ham – in the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford. The current archdeacon is Mike Power (priest), Mike Power. Brief history Historically ...

to be Bishop Suffragan of Barking in the Diocese of St Albans" He married Anne Elisabeth Bertram, granddaughter of Sir George Clement Bertram,

Bailiff of Jersey The Bailiff of Jersey () has several roles: * Chief judge * President of the States of Jersey, States Assembly, carrying out functions of a presiding officer * Civic head of the Bailiwick of Jersey * Guardian of the constitution * President of t ...

. Retiring in 1919, he died in

Wymondham Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. It lies on the River Tiffey, south-west of Norwich and just off the A11 road (England), A11 road to London. The pari ...

in 1920."Obituary – Bishop Stevens". ''

'' Tuesday, Aug 24, 1920; pg. 13; Issue 42497; col F Stevens was a very active

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, initiated as a student in 1861 in Cambridge's Isaac Newton University Lodge. He became Provincial Grand Chaplain for Essex in 1885, and then in 1896 became the joint Grand Chaplain of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

, serving jointly with the

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's cathedra, seat is in the Llandaff Cathedral, Cathedral Chu ...

( Richard Lewis), and succeeding the

Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness The Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness was an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle, in the Province of York, England. The See was created by Order in Council on 6 April 1889 (under the Suffragans Nominati ...

, the Rt Revd Henry Ware.

References

1841 births 1920 deaths People educated at Shrewsbury School People educated at Sherborne School Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Archdeacons of Essex Bishops of Barking Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Members of Isaac Newton University Lodge {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub