Jonathan Holt Titcomb
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Holt Titcomb was an English
clergyman, and the first Anglican
bishop
of Rangoon
.
on 29 July, 1819, and educated at Brompton
in 1826, and at Clapham
from 1827 to 1830. In 1831, he moved to King's College School
, from where he went in 1834 to Thomas Jarrett
to be prepared for university. He entered Peterhouse, Cambridge
, in 1837, read for mathematical honours, and at the end of his first year gained a college scholarship. He graduated B.A.
(junior optime) in 1841, and M.A. in 1845, and was created D.D. honoris causa in 1877.
, Ireland
, as tutor
to her nephew, Pierce Butler. He was ordained on 25 September 1842, and acted as curate
at Downpatrick. In February 1844, he became curate of St. Mark's church, Kennington
, London, and in April 1845 perpetual curate
of St. Andrew-the-Less, a large parish
in Cambridge
where a portion of the population were of the most disreputable and degraded character. He married, in May 1845, Sarah Holt, eldest daughter of John Wood of Southport
. They would have two sons, and eight daughters, four of whom died in the bishop's lifetime.
Titcomb very soon made himself popular, and had large congregations attending his church; he instituted Sunday school
s and district visitors, and became a very successful open-air preacher. He resigned his living in June 1859, and moved to South Kensington
, London. For nearly three years he acted as secretary to the Christian Vernacular Education Society for India.
In April 1861, Titcomb was presented to the vicarage of St. Stephen's, South Lambeth, where a new district church had been erected. From 1870 to 1876 he acted as rural dean of Clapham
, Surrey
, and in 1874 was made an honorary canon
of Winchester Cathedral
. His London engagements were also numerous: he was a member of the Eclectic Society
and of the Prophetical Society, where he read papers; he lectured at the Christian Evidence Society
, and argued with atheists at Bradlaugh's Hall of Science
.
His wife died on 25 January 1876, aged 52. The Earl of Onslow
, who had witnessed the success of his ministry in South Lambeth, gave him the living of Woking
, Surrey, in March 1876. In the following year he was appointed the first bishop of the newly formed diocese of Yangon
, also known as Rangoon in British Burma
, and consecrated in Westminster Abbey
on 21 December 1877.
, consecrated a missionary church at Toungoo, ordained to the diaconate Tamil
and Karen
converts, paid seven visits to Moulmein resulting in the appointment of a chaplain there, and baptised and confirmed numerous Tamils, Karens, Burmese
, Chinese
, Eurasian
s and Telugu
s.
On 17 February 1881 he fell over a cliff in the Karen hills, and was so injured that he was ultimately obliged to return to England, where on 3 March 1882 he resigned his bishopric. An account of some portion of his career as a bishop is given in his autobiography Personal Recollections of British Burma, and its Church Mission Work in 1878–9 (London, 1880).
His son, William Holt Yates Titcomb
, was a figurative oil painter, particularly known for his depictions of Cornish fisherfolk.
his coadjutor for the supervision of the English chaplains in Northern and Central Europe, extending over ten nations. After eight long continental journeys (1884–1886) his strength failed, and he accepted the vicarage of St. Peter's, Brockley
, Kent
.
He died at St. Leonard's-on-Sea on 2 April 1887, aged 67, and was interred at Brompton Cemetery
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
clergyman, and the first Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Rangoon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
.
Education
Jonathan Holt Titcomb was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 29 July, 1819, and educated at Brompton
Brompton, Kensington
Brompton is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is roughly defined by a triangle formed by the Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road/Brompton Road and Walton Street/Fulham Road.-Development:...
in 1826, and at Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
from 1827 to 1830. In 1831, he moved to King's College School
King's College School
King's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is an independent school for day pupils in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to...
, from where he went in 1834 to Thomas Jarrett
Thomas Jarrett
Thomas Jarrett, DD, was an English churchman and orientalist.-Life:He was educated at St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1827 as thirty-fourth wrangler, and seventh in the first class of the classical tripos...
to be prepared for university. He entered Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
, in 1837, read for mathematical honours, and at the end of his first year gained a college scholarship. He graduated B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(junior optime) in 1841, and M.A. in 1845, and was created D.D. honoris causa in 1877.
Curate and vicar
In 1842 he took up residence in the house of Lady Harriet Forde of Hollymount, near DownpatrickDownpatrick
Downpatrick is a medium-sized town about 33 km south of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the county town of Down with a rich history and strong connection to Saint Patrick. It had a population of 10,316 at the 2001 Census...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, as tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
to her nephew, Pierce Butler. He was ordained on 25 September 1842, and acted as curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at Downpatrick. In February 1844, he became curate of St. Mark's church, Kennington
Kennington
Kennington is a district of South London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark....
, London, and in April 1845 perpetual curate
Perpetual curate
A Perpetual Curate was a clergyman of the Church of England officiating as parish priest in a small or sparsely peopled parish or districtAs noted below the term perpetual was not to be understood literally but was used to indicate he was not a curate but the parish priest and of higher...
of St. Andrew-the-Less, a large parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
where a portion of the population were of the most disreputable and degraded character. He married, in May 1845, Sarah Holt, eldest daughter of John Wood of Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
. They would have two sons, and eight daughters, four of whom died in the bishop's lifetime.
Titcomb very soon made himself popular, and had large congregations attending his church; he instituted Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
s and district visitors, and became a very successful open-air preacher. He resigned his living in June 1859, and moved to South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
, London. For nearly three years he acted as secretary to the Christian Vernacular Education Society for India.
In April 1861, Titcomb was presented to the vicarage of St. Stephen's, South Lambeth, where a new district church had been erected. From 1870 to 1876 he acted as rural dean of Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, and in 1874 was made an honorary canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...
. His London engagements were also numerous: he was a member of the Eclectic Society
Eclectic Society (Christian)
The Eclectic Society was founded in 1783 by a number of Anglican clergymen and laymen as a discussion group, and was instrumental in the founding of the Church Missionary Society in 1799.-Origins:...
and of the Prophetical Society, where he read papers; he lectured at the Christian Evidence Society
Christian Evidence Society
The Christian Evidence Society is a UK Christian apologetics organisation founded in 1870. At its financial peak it had slightly over 400 paying members, but this declined to below 300 by 1897...
, and argued with atheists at Bradlaugh's Hall of Science
Charles Bradlaugh
Charles Bradlaugh was a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists of the 19th century. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866.-Early life:...
.
His wife died on 25 January 1876, aged 52. The Earl of Onslow
William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow
William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow GCMG, PC was a British Conservative politician. He held several governmental positions between 1880 and 1905 and was also Governor of New Zealand between 1889 and 1892....
, who had witnessed the success of his ministry in South Lambeth, gave him the living of Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Surrey, in March 1876. In the following year he was appointed the first bishop of the newly formed diocese of Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, also known as Rangoon in British Burma
British rule in Burma
British rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948, from the Anglo-Burmese Wars through the creation of Burma as a province of British India to the establishment of an independently administered colony, and finally independence...
, and consecrated in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
on 21 December 1877.
Bishop of Yangon
He landed in Yangon on 21 February 1878, and during his short career in the country led an active life. He held a confirmation in the Andaman IslandsAndaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
, consecrated a missionary church at Toungoo, ordained to the diaconate Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
and Karen
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
converts, paid seven visits to Moulmein resulting in the appointment of a chaplain there, and baptised and confirmed numerous Tamils, Karens, Burmese
Bamar
The Bamar are the dominant ethnic group of Burma , constituting approximately two-thirds of the population. The Bamar live primarily in the Irrawaddy basin, and speak the Burmese language, which is also the official language of Burma. Bamar customs and identity are closely intertwined with general...
, Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
, Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
s and Telugu
Telugu people
The Telugu people or Telugu Prajalu are an ethnic group of India. They are the native speakers of the Telugu language, the most commonly spoken language in India after Hindi and Bengali...
s.
On 17 February 1881 he fell over a cliff in the Karen hills, and was so injured that he was ultimately obliged to return to England, where on 3 March 1882 he resigned his bishopric. An account of some portion of his career as a bishop is given in his autobiography Personal Recollections of British Burma, and its Church Mission Work in 1878–9 (London, 1880).
His son, William Holt Yates Titcomb
William Holt Yates Titcomb
William Holt Yates Titcomb was an English artist.Titcomb was born in Cambridge, the eighth child and first son of the Rev. Jonathan Holt Titcomb and his wife Sarah....
, was a figurative oil painter, particularly known for his depictions of Cornish fisherfolk.
Later life
After a period of rest, Titcomb was appointed by the bishop of LondonBishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
his coadjutor for the supervision of the English chaplains in Northern and Central Europe, extending over ten nations. After eight long continental journeys (1884–1886) his strength failed, and he accepted the vicarage of St. Peter's, Brockley
Brockley
Brockley is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross.It is covered by the London postcode districts SE4 and SE14.-History:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
He died at St. Leonard's-on-Sea on 2 April 1887, aged 67, and was interred at Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...
.
Works
In addition to addresses, lectures, pastorals, and sermons, he published:- Heads of Prayer for Daily Private Devotion, with an Appendix of Occasional Prayers. (Cambridge, 1830; 4th edit. 1862)
- Bible Studies, or an Inquiry into the Progressive Development of Divine Revelation. (Cambridge, 1851, part 1 only; ²1857)
- Baptism, its Institution, its Privileges, and its Responsibilities. (1866)
- The Real Presence: Remarks in Reply to R. F. Littledale. (1867)
- The Doctrine of the Real Presence in the Lord's Supper. (1868)
- Revelation in Progress from Adam to Malachi: Bible Studies. (1871)
- Cautions for Doubters. (1873; ²1880)
- Church Lessons for Young Churchmen, or Gladius Ecclesiæ (1873), two editions
- The Anglo-Israel Post-Bag (1876), a satire
- Is it not Reasonable? A Dialogue on the Anglo-Israel Controversy (1877)
- Liberationist Fallacies (1877)
- Before the Cross: a Book of Devout Meditation (1878)
- The Bond of Peace: a Message to the Church (1878)
- Short Chapters on Buddhism, past and present (1883)
- A Message to the Nineteenth Century (1887), a work on Anglo-Israelism