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Frederick Denison Maurice
1805 – 1872 |
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Lectures on the Gospel
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There will be a talk on “The Life and Work of Maurice – an Utterly Good Man”, by Alan Freke at The Friends Meeting House in Frenchay, on Thursday 10 November 2005, at 7-30pm. This will include research recently gathered by Alan during a visit to the London sites associated with Maurice.
A special exhibit on Maurice will be on display until 30 November 2005 at the Village Museum
The new “Common Worship” used by the Church of England contains a calendar giving saints’ days, and other commemoration days. This lists the first of April as a commemoration day for “Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest, teacher of the faith, 1872”.
Maurice was probably Frenchay’s most influential resident. He was born in Suffolk in 1805, the son of a Unitarian clergyman, but he came here as a small boy when his father was appointed minister of Frenchay Unitarian Chapel. He lived in Clarendon House until he left as a young man to study law at Cambridge. As he wasn’t an Anglican, he was refused his degree in 1827. However, later, he did become an Anglican, and in 1834 he was ordained.
In 1838, he published a book, “The Kingdom of Christ” which is widely regarded as the greatest theological work of the 19th Century. The book grew out of a series of letters he had written to a Quaker friend about the causes and cures of divisions within the Christian Church. Who that Quaker was isn’t known, but all his life he corresponded with his childhood friend Francis Tuckett of The Old House – so perhaps the mysterious Quaker was him? *
He was much concerned with the role of the Church in social questions, and together with his friend Charles Kingsley, he founded the Christian Socialist Movement.
Soon after his ordination, Maurice became Professor of English Literature and History at King’s College, and Professor of Theology as well! The most concrete expression of his Christian Socialism was probably his founding of two London colleges – Queen’s College for women in 1848, and The Working Men’s College in 1854.
2005 is the bi-Centenary of Maurice’s birth, and we hope to have a bigger display about him in the museum. We have asked the National Portrait Gallery if we might borrow one of their portraits of him (they have four!), and possibly even his death mask! Both Queen’s College and The Working Men’s College are helping us, so watch this space!
(From an article in Frenchay News, April 2004. Reproduced by permission of the author)
*Sadly, recent research suggests that it was not Tuckett.
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