Thomas Tregenna Biddulph (1763–1838) was an English cleric, a leading

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 ...

in the

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

area. He particularly opposed the evangelical secession around George Baring (1781–1854), the "western Schism".

Life

He was the only son of the Rev. Thomas Biddulph by his first wife, Martha, daughter and coheir of Rev. John Tregenna, rector of

Mawgan Mawgan and Meugan (also Meigant) (Latin: ''Mauganus'') are names referring to either one or two Brythonic saints who flourished in the 5th or 6th century. __NOTOC__ Both names are widely attested in place-names and church dedications, Mawgan in C ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, and was born at

Claines Claines is a village to the north of Worcester in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is located on the east bank of the River Severn. Claines is situated in the heart of Worcestershire on the A449 between Worcester and Kidderminster. It ...

, Worcestershire, 5 July 1763; his father became in 1770 the vicar of

Padstow Padstow (; ) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary, approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...

in Cornwall. He was educated at Truro grammar school, and aged 17 matriculated at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

(23 November 1780). He took his degrees of B.A. and M.A. in 1784 and 1787, respectively. Biddulph was ordained deacon by John Ross,

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

, 26 September 1785, was licensed to the curacy of Padstow, and preached his first sermon in its church. After holding numerous curacies he became the incumbent of

Bengeworth Bengeworth is a locality in the civil parish of Evesham, in the Wychavon district, in the county of Worcestershire, England. In 1887 it had a population of 1,311. Today it has a school and an Anglican church. History Bengeworth was an early ha ...

near

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

in 1793. He retained this living for ten years, but mostly resided in Bristol, and it was as the incumbent from 1799 to 1838 of St. James's, Bristol, that his reputation as a preacher and a parish priest was acquired. With ideas that were at first unpopular in Bristol, in time Biddulph became accepted. He died at St. James's Square, Bristol, 19 May 1838, and was buried 29 May. His monument in St James' Church Bristol was carved by

Edward Hodges Baily Edward Hodges Baily (10 March 1788 – 22 May 1867; sometimes misspelled Bailey) was a prolific British sculptor responsible for numerous public monuments, portrait busts, statues and exhibition pieces as well as works in silver. He carved friez ...

. He shared Hutchinsonian views with

William Romaine William Romaine (1714 at Hartlepool – 1795), evangelical divine of the Church of England, was author of works once highly thought of by the evangelicals, the trilogy ''The Life, the Walk, and the Triumph of Faith''. Early life Romaine was born ...

Works

A lengthy catalogue of Biddulph's writings is in ''Bibliotheca Cornubiensis''. All his works were of evangelical doctrine and theology; he engaged in controversy with John Hey, Richard Warner, and Richard Mant. A periodical called at first ''Zion's Trumpet'', then known for many years under as ''The Christian Guardian'',' was set up him in 1798. Among his other works, Biddulph authored, ''The Theology of the Early Patriarchs, Illustrated by an Appeal to Subsequent Parts of the Holy Scriptures'' (1825).

Family

Biddulph's wife Rachel, daughter of Zachariah Shrapnel, whom he married at Bradford, Wiltshire, 19 February 1789. His brother-in-law was Lt.-Gen.

Henry Shrapnel Lieutenant-General Henry Scrope Shrapnel (3 June 1761 – 13 March 1842) was a British Army officer whose name has entered the English language as the inventor of the shrapnel shell. Biography Henry Shrapnel was born at Midway Manor in Bradfo ...

, inventor of the

shrapnel shell Shrapnel shells were anti-personnel artillery munitions that carried many individual bullets close to a target area and then ejected them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike targets individually. They relied almost ...

. He died at St. James's Square, Bristol, 10 August 1828.

Notes

External links

Online Books page
Attribution < {{DEFAULTSORT:Biddulph, Thomas Tregenna 1763 births 1838 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests English evangelicals English theologians English people of Cornish descent People educated at Truro Cathedral School 19th-century English Anglican priests