The Cambridge Apostles, 1820-1914: Liberalism, Imagination, and Friendship in British Intellectual and Professional Life 1st Edition
by W.C. Lubenow
Queer Places:
University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
University of Cambridge, 4 Mill Ln, Cambridge CB2 1RZ
Wymondham Abbey Church, Church St, Wymondham NR18 0PH, United Kingdom
Theyre Townsend Smith (1798 – May 4, 1852) was born in 1798, the son of a gentleman of London or Middlesex named Thomas or Richard Smith, and was the brother of the writer and philosopher William Henry Smith and the sculptor Selina Weigall. Originally raised as a Presbyterian, he began his higher education as a student at the University of Glasgow between 1821 and 1823. During his time in Scotland, his reading of Richard Hooker convinced him that episcopacy was the true scriptural form of church government, prompting him to conform to the established Church of England and pursue a clerical career. He subsequently entered Queens' College, Cambridge, matriculating in June 1823, and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in 1827 and a Master of Arts in 1830.
Following his ordination, Smith served in various pastoral roles, including curacies in Huntingdonshire and Essex. His intellectual abilities and distinct preaching style brought him wider recognition, leading to his appointment as assistant preacher at the Temple in London, a post he held from 1835 to 1845. Cementing his reputation as an astute theologian, he was selected to serve as the Hulsean Lecturer at Cambridge for the years 1838 to 1841, delivering influential series of lectures that later appeared in print. Alongside his academic and preaching commitments, he published several theological works, including Sermons preached at the Temple Church and before the University of Cambridge, his published Hulsean Lectures, Remarks on the Influence of Tractarianism in promoting Secessions to the Church of Rome, and The Sacrifice of the Death of Christ. He was also known to be associated with the intellectual circles of his day, like the Cambridge Apostles.
In his personal life, Smith married Rebecca Williams, the second daughter of Thomas Williams of Coate, Oxfordshire. Professionally, his career continued to advance through high-profile ecclesiastical appointments. In 1846, he became the rector of Newhaven in Sussex. It was during his tenure there in March 1848 that King Louis-Philippe of France, having been deposed during the French Revolution of 1848, landed in England and was personally received by Smith upon his arrival at Newhaven. Shortly after this notable event, Thomas Turton, the Bishop of Ely, who held deep admiration for Smith's published lectures, collated him to the vicarage of Wymondham in Norfolk in 1848. His standing within the Church of England was further recognized in 1850 when he was appointed an Honorary Canon of Norwich. Smith's promising career was cut short when he died on May 4, 1852, at Wymondham, leaving behind a legacy as a dedicated divine, scholar, and eloquent preacher.
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The Cambridge Apostles, 1820-1914: Liberalism, Imagination, and Friendship in British Intellectual and Professional Life 1st Edition by W.C. Lubenow |
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