Tucked away in our old trunk are a collection of bibles belonging to my great grandmothers’ siblings. Most of the bibles originated from Wesleyan and Methodist Sunday Schools in Brimscombe around the turn of the 20th century, whilst other books were gifts from Brimscombe Men’s Bible Class.
Louie’s and Jack’s are annotated with biblical passages, and Uncle Jack’s contains a carefully pressed clipping related to his time in the trenches in WW1. But today I sought out George’s bible, in which he carefully recorded the dates of birth and deaths for the family within it’s opening pages. Something I hadn’t noticed before was the inscription overleaf stating it was given as a gift to 13 year old George.
1884 from his friend and pastor Henry Arnott
So here we go, curiosity struck again… who was Henry?
A quick search revealed a portrait, and that he was the Vicar of Bussage, but evidently there was more than one string to Henry’s bow. Before his ordination and elevation to the benefice of Bussage, his medical career started at University College, London from where he took up a variety of positions as a surgeon both at Middlesex Hospital and St Thomas’ in London. According to The Lancet, Henry resigned his post in 1876 ‘amidst much regret from those in the profession’, to begin his long service to the Church of England.
The Rev. Henry Arnott took up his post as Vicar of Bussage in 1881 and remained there until 1885. I’m not sure if this means the Radburn family migrated up the valley or if Henry delivered sermons in the other local parishes including Chalford. Evidence of his preaching at Painswick, Prestbury and Frocester, can be found in contemporary newspapers.
In 1885, the Gloucestershire Echo reported the living of Bussage was valued at £92 per annum, including a house. Perhaps happily for Henry, he was being promoted to the rectory of Beckenham in Kent, worth £900 a year. His promotion was in the gift of Beckenham’s retiring rector Rev. Cator, under whom Arnott had served as Curate from 1878 to 1881.
His relationship with the parish of Beckenham was longer lasting than with Bussage. His 1931 obituary in the Citizen records that after 34 years service to Beckenham he was made a honorary canon of Rochester Cathedral in 1905.
That certainly fleshed Henry out for me, it’s always nice to find some interesting characters that have strolled the valleys before!
http://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/biogs/E003785b.htm