Walter Farquhar Hook
Encyclopedia
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
churchman.
Background
He was the VicarVicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
responsible for the construction of the current Leeds Parish Church
Leeds Parish Church
Leeds Parish Church, or the Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds, in Leeds, West Yorkshire is a large Church of England parish church of major architectural and liturgical significance. It has been designated a grade I listed building by English Heritage...
and for many ecclesiastical and social improvements to the city in the mid-nineteenth century. His achievements, as a High Church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
man and Tractarian
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
in a non-conformist city are remarkable. Later in life he became Dean of Chichester.
Early life
Hook 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 13 March 1798, and educated first at Blundell's School
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...
in Tiverton, then Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, and Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, where he graduated in 1821. On taking Holy Orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
, he served first as a curate at his father's church, St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham
St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham
St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham is a parish church in the Church of England located in Whippingham, Isle of Wight.-History:The chancel of the church was built in 1854 and 1855 by the architect Albert Jenkins Humbert although Prince Albert is thought to have had a guiding hand.The remainder of the...
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, later as vicar at St. Mary's Church, Moseley
St. Mary's Church, Moseley
St. Mary's Church, Moseley is a parish church in the Church of England located in Moseley, Birmingham.-History:St. Mary's Church, Moseley was licensed by the Bishop of Worcester in February 1405, and the 600th anniversary was celebrated in 2005 with a series of special events.The church is medieval...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, and, from December 1828, vicar of the Holy Trinity Church, Coventry
Holy Trinity Church, Coventry
Holy Trinity Church, Coventry is a parish church in the Church of England located in Coventry City Centre, West Midlands, England.Above the chancel arch is probably the most impressive Doom wall-painting now remaining in an English church.-History:...
.
Leeds
His support for the ideals of the Tractarians exposed him to considerable criticism, but his "simple manly character and zealous devotion to parochial work gained him the support of widely divergent classes", according to the 1911 Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
.
This was nowhere better demonstrated than in Leeds, which invited him to be its Vicar in 1837. The city was undergoing rapid expansion as one of the seats of the early industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, much of the commercial drive for which emerged from non-conformists. The established church in the city was a minority denomination – dissenters were even elected as churchwardens (though some became "Churchmen" during their time of office). In 1842 the elections produced a slate of Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
churchwardens [Stephens (1878) pages 118-119].
One of his earliest acts was to arrange for the rebuilding of the church, to be paid by the church rate levied by the city authorities; this was in the face of understandable objections from non-conformists, who objected to a statutory levy which funded a – for Leeds – minority church. Hook went on to drive through the division of Leeds into 21 parishes, each with its own church. He took a cut in his income and moved to a smaller parsonage-–but only on condition that every ground floor seat in all the parish churches in the town should be bought by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners
Ecclesiastical Commissioners
Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title is Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Church of England, and they made extensive changes in how...
, “the floor of every church to be wholly free and unappropriated” (rather than allowing pews to be rented)
He fostered the building and support of some 30 schools. His interest in the education of children was not without controversy - this at a time long before the Education Acts of the late nineteenth century, and at a time that such bills as the "Ten Hour Act" seeking to limit the working hours of children were being considered. Hook's insistence on the necessity of education and the duty of society in this respect, to some extent, went in the face of some of his richest parishioners. Equally, his success in his endeavours and popularity amongst the people of Leeds reflect the fact that he reflected the Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age."Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.The...
- the spirit of the age – by re-establishing the interest of the church in the affairs of the people of the city.
The Parish Church remains as a physical legacy of Hook's work, being an early, important and influential high church Gothic revival design.
Chichester
Hook left Leeds to take up the Deanery of Chichester in 1859, and died and was buried in the city's cathedralChichester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, otherwise called Chichester Cathedral, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in Sussex, England...
in October 1875.
A memorial to Hook was built in the Leeds Parish Church
Leeds Parish Church
Leeds Parish Church, or the Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds, in Leeds, West Yorkshire is a large Church of England parish church of major architectural and liturgical significance. It has been designated a grade I listed building by English Heritage...
, and in 1903 a statue was erected to him in City Square
Leeds City Square
City Square is a paved open area in Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England.In 1897, the Leeds city council of the time wanted to improve the open space near to the Post Office and in 1899 work was completed. The city square was enhanced with the erection of statues, the grandest being the...
, in the company of a select few other leading fathers of the city.
Writings
- 1842: Church Dictionary (often reprinted)
- 1845: Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Biography. 8 vols. 1845-1852
- 1860: Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury. 12 vols. 1860-1876
Sources
- Leodis: Leeds
- Stephens, W. R. W. (1878) The Life and Letters of Walter Farquhar Hook. 2 vols. London: Richard Bentley & Son
- Obituary of Dean Hook, The Times, Thursday, 21 October 1875; p. 8; Issue 28452; col F
Further reading
- Stranks, C. J. (1954) Dean Hook. London: A. R. Mowbray
- Harry Dalton Anglican Resurgence under W.F.Hook in Early Victorian Leeds ISBN0900741600
External links
- The Life and Letters of Walter Farquhar Hook, 1878 book from Windows Live Search Books
- Leeds Parish Church