Wm. SMITH & SON, 
 
 SOUTHERN COUNTIES LIBRARY, 
 
 37-39, LONDON ST., READING.
 
 BISHOP LOVELACE T. STAMER
 
 Vko&rjHf?e GUXtOoeX, &J"m*^&,
 
 A MEMOIR OF 
 
 BISHOP SIR LOVELACE 
 TOMLINSON STAMER 
 
 BARONET, D.D. 
 
 BY 
 
 F. D. HOW 
 
 AUTHOR OF " BISHOP WALSHAM HOW 
 "BISHOP JOHN SELWYN" 
 
 ETC. ETC. 
 
 WITH TWO PORTRAITS 
 
 LONDON 
 
 HUTCHINSON AND CO, 
 
 PATERNOSTER ROW 
 
 1910
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. CHILDHOOD . . I 
 
 II. RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE . . .12 
 
 III. EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK . . . 34 
 
 IV. MARRIAGE, PRESENTATION TO STOKE-UPON-TRENT, 
 
 ETC. . . ... 59 
 
 V. EARLY YEARS AT STOKE-UPON-TRENT . . 66 
 
 VI. EARLY YEARS AT STOKE (continued) . . 79 
 
 VII. EARLY YEARS AT STOKE (continued). EDUCATION 93 
 
 VIII. THE NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE COAL AND IRONSTONE 
 
 WORKERS' PERMANENT RELIEF SOCIETY . 119 
 
 IX. TEMPERANCE AND OTHER SOCIAL CAUSES . .130 
 X. FOREIGN MISSIONS . . . . 146 
 
 XI. STOKE CHURCH CONGRESS. APPOINTMENT AS 
 
 ARCHDEACON . . 154 
 
 XII. THE BURIALS BILL, ETC. . . .168 
 
 XIII. APPOINTMENT TO BE BISHOP-SUFFRAGAN OF 
 
 SHREWSBURY . . . . 177 
 
 XIV. STOKE RECTORY ACT . ... 202 
 XV. STOKE CURATES . . . .219 
 
 2065838
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PACK 
 
 XVI. DEPARTURE FROM STOKE . . . 230 
 
 XVII. LIFE AND WORK IN SHREWSBURY . . . 249 
 
 XVIII. SHREWSBURY (continued). . . . 264 
 
 XIX. EDGMOND . . . .281 
 
 XX. THE LAST YEARS . ... 304
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TT will be seen that the greatest work achieved 
 
 by Bishop Stamer was accomplished during the 
 thirty-four years that he was Rector of Stoke-upon- 
 Trent. 
 
 In dealing with this period I have ventured to 
 separate the various great causes especially of 
 Social Reform to which he devoted himself, 
 giving some account of each one by itself, rather 
 than treating them piecemeal as they severally 
 claimed his attention from year to year. In this 
 way I hope that reference to any special portion of 
 his work will be more easily made. 
 
 I wish to express my thanks to all who have so 
 efficiently helped me, especially to the members of 
 the Bishop's family for the generous confidence 
 with which they have placed many documents and 
 letters at my disposal. 
 
 I have also to thank a large number of persons
 
 PREFACE 
 
 who have been good enough to send me letters 
 written by Bishop Stamer. It has only been 
 possible to print a few of these, but their perusal 
 has greatly helped me to gain a true idea of the 
 affectionate and saintly character of their writer. 
 
 F. D. HOW 
 
 February jth, 1910
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 BISHOP OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 CHILDHOOD 
 
 A T half-past four o'clock in the morning of 
 Sunday, October i8th, 1829, a son was born 
 to Lovelace Stamer and Caroline his wife, at 
 Ingram's Lodgings in the City of York. The 
 child's father was a captain in the Fourth Dragoon 
 Guards, and son of Sir William Stamer, the first 
 Baronet, of Dublin. His mother was the daughter 
 of John Tomlinson, solicitor, of Hanley in Stafford- 
 shire, and so the baby received the names of Love- 
 lace Tomlinson, the sponsors at his baptism being 
 Major Norcliffe Norcliffe, Miss Stamer, and his 
 two grandfathers. 
 
 It was no doubt due to the inherited qualities of 
 his Irish and English forefathers that the child, 
 who was afterwards to become Bishop of Shrews-
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 bury, owed the sterling worth of character which 
 showed itself from his earliest years. From the 
 first he was looked upon as one in whom absolute 
 trust could be placed, and a passion for hard work 
 kept him always in the forefront of his contem- 
 poraries. Industry, perseverance, and trustworthi- 
 ness alone might have made him a man useful and 
 respected in no small degree ; but to these qualities 
 were added a quickness of decision, a hopefulness, 
 and beyond all a geniality which enabled him to 
 perform the work which is described in the pages 
 of this memoir. These latter qualities he inherited 
 from the long series of Irish ancestors from whom 
 he sprang. 
 
 And it was a long line, dating back to the year 
 1619, when a William Stamer, of Rettendean Hall, 
 in Essex, came into possession of large estates in 
 county Fermanagh, and settled there. 
 
 This man's son, also William, espoused the cause 
 of Cromwell, and became a Lieutenant-General in 
 his army. He was succeeded by Colonel George 
 Stamer, who also served in the Cromwellian forces, 
 and became High Sheriff of Clare, in which county 
 the family had received a considerable estate called 
 Carnelly. Of this the gallant Colonel was deprived 
 in 1690. 
 
 Two generations later it is interesting to notice
 
 CHILDHOOD 
 
 the introduction of the name Lovelace by the 
 marriage of Thomas Stamer, of Ennis, county Clare, 
 with Catherine Lovelace, of Ballybride, county 
 Roscommon. To them was born William, Lord 
 Mayor of Dublin in 1809 and 1810, who was noted 
 for a profuse Irish hospitality of a rather regardless 
 kind, and for commanding a regiment of Dublin 
 Yeomanry during the Irish rebellion. For one or 
 other, or both, of these things he was created a 
 baronet. To those who care for antiquities it will 
 be interesting to find that tombs of the Stamer 
 family are still to be seen in Ireland, notably in 
 the cloisters of Quin Abbey, where a memorial to 
 John Stamer states that he " lived and died an 
 honest man." 
 
 When the subject of this memoir was nearly 
 nine months old his father resigned his commission 
 in the Dragoon Guards, and set out with his wife 
 and baby on the grand tour. They took two years 
 and a half in the process, and few children of that 
 age can have had such a restless existence, though a 
 considerable stay, amounting in some cases to six 
 months, was made at Munich, Venice, Florence, and 
 Rome. 
 
 There exists an interesting diary of the tour kept 
 by Mrs. Stamer, and from it can be gleaned an 
 idea of the difference in time, trouble, and ex- 
 
 3
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 pense incurred in foreign travel in those days as 
 compared with modern times. Thus we read, 
 "Tuesday, July I3th, 1830. Sailed from London 
 to Margate in the Dart steam packet. Day lovely, 
 and we arrived at Margate in seven hours and a half 
 without having suffered the least inconvenience." 
 Imagine a traveller to-day starting for Paris by 
 going down the river to Margate, and arriving there 
 considerably later than he would now reach Paris, 
 and then recording that he suffered no incon- 
 venience ! A note to the above entry states that 
 the accommodation on board the packet was very 
 good and every attention paid, and continues, 
 " Carriages not being taken in the Margate packet, 
 we sent ours with our travelling servant from 
 London direct to Ostend. Fare 6 6s. for the 
 carriage, passenger 2." 
 
 The first experience of the party in a foreign 
 town was unfortunate, for at their hotel in Ostend 
 it is stated that the " charges were considerably 
 more than at Margate, and we were not able to 
 touch a thing set before us. May all our friends 
 avoid this hotel ! " It is fair to state that through- 
 out the rest of the tour there was seldom occasion 
 to make such serious complaint. Of all these 
 matters, however, the baby must have been 
 supremely unconscious, and he seems to have taken 
 
 4
 
 CHILDHOOD 
 
 kindly to the life of a tourist. The first occasion 
 on which he is mentioned in the diary is at Ghent, 
 on Sunday, July i8th, when an entry occurs to 
 this effect : " To-day dear Baby attained the age of 
 nine months. He bears travelling wonderfully, and 
 is not like the same child he was in London. The 
 change has done him good, at all events." 
 
 Further references to his appearance and welfare 
 occur from time to time, showing that baby- 
 worship is much the same all the world over. Just 
 one entry may be given. It was made at Liege, on 
 August 2 1st, and runs thus : " Madame la Baronne 
 de something came to see dear Baby in my absence, 
 and pronounced him the loveliest child she had 
 ever seen. At every place we stop at he excites the 
 greatest attention, and everybody is delighted with 
 him. Travelling seems to agree with him wonder- 
 fully." 
 
 A perusal of the diary from which these extracts 
 are given shows that the future bishop was blessed 
 with a mother of real piety and more than common 
 cultivation of mind. Many passages might be 
 quoted in proof of this, but one is all that space 
 will allow. There are many expressions of gratitude 
 to God for His goodness and for the beauties re- 
 vealed here on earth, all of which point to the 
 writer's religious feeling. When Venice is reached 
 
 5
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 a fine passage occurs which shows a mind distinctly 
 above that of the ordinary tourist : " Full of antici- 
 pation left Padua for Venice long thought of, long 
 cherished Venice ! . . . Surprise and admiration 
 alternately assailed us. As yet I can only speak 
 generally of the effect produced upon my mind, as 
 I have merely seen what lies on our way to the 
 hotel. But of the splendour that has been I have 
 seen enough to make me deplore that that splendour 
 no longer exists, nor will it ever again be ! Venice 
 ought to be a free state. Lying singly and alone 
 on the bosom of the wave, no foreign power ought 
 to have dominion over her, and I feel that I hate 
 Austria for the yoke with which poor Venice is 
 bound. I would not have Venice ' Queen of the 
 Ocean ' No England must have the supremacy, 
 but I would have Venice free, and second to Eng- 
 land alone. They should be sisters, and as sisters 
 peculiarly placed they should aid each other, but 
 none should have lordship over them." 
 
 It is useful to read such a passage as this, that 
 some idea may be obtained of the mother upon 
 whose care Lovelace Tomlinson Stamer depended 
 in his earliest years. He was not yet four years old 
 when the family returned to England, and shortly 
 afterwards his only brother, William John Alexander, 
 was born at Cliffville. 
 
 6
 
 CHILDHOOD 
 
 Cliffville was a large house on a hill overlooking 
 Stoke-on-Trent, and was the residence and property 
 of the Tomlinsons. At this house, one day to be 
 his home, the future bishop spent by far the greater 
 part of his childhood, being thus closely connected 
 from his earliest years with the place that was to 
 be the scene of his longest and in many ways most 
 important work. His father purchased a place 
 called Beauchamp, on the Dublin side of Bray, but 
 the young Lovelace was not a great deal there, and 
 after his mother's death, in 1872, he sold the 
 property. 
 
 At the age of eight he was sent to Mr. Fleming's 
 school, at Bootle. There is still preserved a packet 
 of old yellow letters written during Lovelace 
 Stamer's years at this school. Some are from his 
 grandfather Tomlinson to his grandmother, who, 
 during a visit to Liverpool, took occasion to visit 
 him at school. These letters exhibit the greatest 
 affection and interest, and are just what might be 
 expected from the fact that Cliffville had become 
 such a real home to the small boy. Thus in a letter 
 dated " Cliffville, Thursday morning, i8th October, 
 1838," Mr. Tomlinson wrote as follows : " Give my 
 dearest love to Lovelace and tell him that his 
 uncle and myself shall drink his good health in 
 a bumper at Dinner, with our sincerest wishes 
 
 7
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 for many happy returns of his Birthday, and 
 that he will not forget (what I am so anxious 
 for him to attain) to be both a Gentleman and 
 a Scholar." 
 
 The other letters in the packet are from Love- 
 lace himself to his mother and grandparents. The 
 handwriting is extraordinarily good for a boy of 
 his age, and it will be seen from the following 
 extracts that his education was already in advance 
 of that of most children of eight and nine years. 
 There is, too, evidence of a certain serious habit of 
 mind, which grew with his growth, and, being 
 highly developed by the time he was a Cambridge 
 undergraduate, remained with him always. In 
 these letters, however, there is a delightful mixture 
 of childishness which makes them very pleasant 
 reading. Here are one or two examples : 
 
 "Booth, 5 April, [1838?] 
 My most beloved Mama, 
 
 I thank you very much for the most kind 
 letter I received from you. I now write to you 
 according to your desire what I shall want. Lindley's 
 French Phrases, and Lebrethon's French Grammar. 
 Give my most affectionate love to all my aunts for 
 me. I hope that poor Matilda is better, and that 
 you don't feel the loss you said of. Give my most
 
 affectionate love to dear Papa. I know the rules 
 perfectly well. Believe me your affectionate Son, 
 
 L. T. STAMER." 
 
 " Sea View, Booth, September 4^, 1838. 
 Dear Grandmama, 
 
 Tell Grandpapa that my class is learning * As 
 in praesenti ' in Latin Grammar, Ellis' Latin Exer- 
 cises, and Valpy's Latin Delectus, all which lessons 
 we must carefflly [sic] perform. If not, we write 
 them out several times. . . . Please to send me 
 some peaches and bun loaf. 
 
 P.S. I received your kind letter to-day, for 
 which I thank you. I am sorry that you should 
 have reason to complain of my silence. I shall 
 endeavour to fulfill your wishes in future by 
 writing oftener. 
 
 I remain, dear Grandpapa, 
 
 Your affectionate Grandson, 
 
 L. T. STAMER." 
 
 " Sea View, Bootle, November ^rd, 1838. 
 My dear Grandpapa, 
 
 I hope you are well. I thank you very much 
 for the half-crown that you sent me as a present 
 on my Birthday. . . . 
 
 9
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 A letter from Mama brought very good news, 
 both Papa and Mama are returning instead of 
 going to Paris for the winter. . . . 
 
 Give my best love to Uncle and Grandmama, 
 tell her that I am very much obliged for the 
 sponge cakes and preserved peaches. I hope you 
 are well. Mr. Wilson lectures on Chemistry. The 
 last was on Bromine. The name is derived from 
 the Greek word Bromos, signifying a bad smell. 
 Iodine is very important for removing swellings 
 in the glands, and if you should have any swellings 
 you should get some of it. It resembles small dark 
 coloured slate, it was first discovered by Courtois. 
 Fluorine is much stronger than Bromine and is very 
 little known. Please to tell Mama to bring me a 
 whip when she comes to see me. The Christmas 
 Holydays are very near, I think it will be the twelfth 
 of December. I hope you will be ready to see 
 me. . . . 
 
 Tell Mama to bring Willy [his little brother] 
 to Bootle. He will like it very much and see the 
 
 Irish packets. 
 
 I remain, dear Grandpapa, 
 
 Your affect, grandson 
 
 L. T. STAMER." 
 
 A really extraordinary letter from a child who 
 
 10
 
 CHILDHOOD 
 
 had only just passed his ninth birthday ! The last 
 part comes as a real relief after the precocious 
 dissertation on chemicals. In another letter of the 
 same period, written to his mother, he asks to have 
 some " Barnbracks " sent to him. These are cakes 
 made with currants and raisins. It is possible that 
 the first half of the word may be " barm," the 
 second half, " brack," means, in Irish, " speckled." 
 These little symptoms of an ordinary small boy's 
 disposition take away from the slightly priggish 
 style of some of the letters. 
 
 From Mr. Fleming's school at Bootle he proceeded, 
 while still very young, to the English Institution at 
 Mannheim. This was a private tutor's establish- 
 ment for English boys and was kept by a Mr. H. 
 Lovell. There he remained until he was twelve 
 years old, receiving on his departure a quaint little 
 fat book, bound in black and gold, with the title, 
 " Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis en Grece." An 
 inscription tells that at Easter, 1842, it was " pre- 
 sented to Master Lovelace Stamer as a slight testi- 
 monial of entire approval of his exertions in every 
 branch of his studies, particularly in Greek." It 
 was not, however, for the knowledge of Greek so 
 much as for that of German that he was chiefly in- 
 debted to his sojourn at Mannheim, as will be seen 
 when mention is made of his career at Rugby.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 TN 1843 Stamer went to Rugby, of which Dr. 
 A. C. Tait, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 was headmaster. His house was Highton's, exactly- 
 opposite the School House. This house did not 
 rank very high at that time, the discipline being 
 decidedly slack. It may be assumed that Highton's 
 gained more advantage from the arrival of a boy 
 of Stamer's sterling character, than Stamer did 
 from being at Highton's. However, the manly and 
 honourable standard which has always been a chief 
 characteristic of Rugby School had its due influence 
 in fostering the good qualities and disposition 
 Stamer brought with him. One or two old school- 
 fellows survive to give some account of him at this 
 period. 
 
 As to his personal appearance, one says, " He 
 had always very bright eyes." Another writes, 
 " Stamer was then, as always, a charming personality 
 ingenui vultus 'puer, ingenuique pudoris." This 
 same school friend adds, " His influence in Highton's 
 
 12
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 House was altogether for good, and the remem- 
 brance of it continued after he was gone. I was 
 at Highton's for four more years after this." 
 
 Mr. F. Scrivens, a contemporary at Rugby, re- 
 members the advantage it was to Stamer to have 
 lived for some years in Germany. His recollections 
 must be quoted. 
 
 " At Rugby the late Bishop was a most energetic 
 boy, great in school work and great in sports. He 
 was a most genial and good-natured chap. I was 
 in the little study with him for some years, and I 
 think I never saw him angry. One conspicuous 
 evidence of his good-nature was this. He had been 
 at a school in Germany and so was familiar with 
 the language. German was just beginning to be 
 taught in the school, and we all hated it. When it 
 got to be known that Stamer was ' up ' in it, our 
 study was beset by boys, even from the other 
 boarding-houses, coming for ' construes ' of their 
 German lessons. I used to think it a great nuisance ; 
 but I think Stamer never once refused. He would 
 pretend to be angry and say, ' What an everlasting 
 bother you fellows are with your " construes," ' but 
 it always ended with, ' Oh, well, squat down, and 
 I'll see what I can do for you ! ' 
 
 At the school examinations of Christmas, 1844, 
 he was in the Lower Fifth, and was placed in the 
 
 13
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 First Class in Modern Languages. Some idea can 
 be obtained of his industry from two facts. In 
 the first place he won " Form prizes " as he rose in 
 the school. These usually fall to the lot of the 
 steady workers, while prizes for special subjects are 
 frequently won by more brilliant if less persevering 
 competitors. It is interesting to notice this point, 
 for the quality of steady industry marked him out 
 through all his life as one of those quiet thorough 
 workers on whom the well-being of both Church 
 and State depends, far more than upon those whose 
 gifts are of a more flashy and temporarily attractive 
 kind. 
 
 The other fact which points to his industry at 
 Rugby is to be found in the School Examinations 
 List of Christmas, 1846, where his name appears in 
 all four extra subjects. It was allowed, but not 
 ordered, that every boy should take up any or all 
 of four subjects in addition to the ordinary Form 
 Examination. Stamer, then in the Fifth Form, 
 took all four, and appeared in the first class in 
 Divinity and History, in the first class in Modern 
 Languages, and in the second class of each of the 
 other two, viz. Classics and Mathematics. 
 
 In 1847 he had reached the Sixth Form and 
 appeared at the head of the second class in Divinity 
 and History, and as one of three to obtain a first 
 
 14
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 class in Modern Languages, the other two being 
 Goschen, afterwards Lord Goschen, and Parry, 
 afterwards Bishop of Dover and a lifelong friend. 
 
 Of other notable men who were in the Sixth 
 Form at Rugby with Stamer, mention may be made 
 of A. J. Butler, afterwards Headmaster of Hailey- 
 bury, who did not long survive the Bishop of 
 Shrewsbury; Lushington, who was afterwards Sir 
 Godfrey Lushington and Permanent Under Secre- 
 tary at the Home Office ; and Jex Blake, now Dean 
 of Wells. 
 
 At the end of 1848 Stamer left Rugby. He had 
 inspired both masters and boys with respect for 
 his character and capabilities, and had made several 
 warm friendships. Beneath a quiet demeanour and 
 a sobriety of conduct, inherited from his mother's 
 family, there was a warm Irish heart which en- 
 deared him to many. It does not seem clear 
 whether his nickname of " Sam " was originally 
 given him at Rugby or at Cambridge, but no one 
 who looks back on his own school and college days 
 can imagine any but a real good fellow getting a 
 nickname of that description. An abbreviated 
 Christian name especially when it belongs not at 
 all to the man on whom it is bestowed is in- 
 variably a term of affection. 
 
 The judgment of his schoolfellows is well summed 
 
 15
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 up by one who writes : " Never was a more cheery 
 genial companion, or one more trusted and re- 
 spected for absolute straightforwardness than he 
 was at Rugby. Ready to do his best in whatever he 
 was engaged, his kindly, generous nature, with an 
 unfailing hopefulness of disposition, made him 
 most popular amongst his fellows, whilst in matters 
 affecting the tone and morals of his house he might 
 be depended upon to be on the right side, without 
 a trace of priggishness for which Rugby in the 
 forties had the credit, and not entirely without 
 reason." 
 
 What Stamer's masters thought of him at Rugby 
 can be seen from two letters which have been 
 preserved. They were both written at the time 
 of his leaving school. 
 
 The first is from his Housemaster : 
 
 " Rugby , December 28, 1848. 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I cannot part with your son without ex- 
 pressing the very great satisfaction which I have 
 uniformly had both in his excellent conduct and 
 persevering industry. His talents are very good 
 and I look forward to his gaining considerable dis- 
 tinction at Cambridge. We shall always have the 
 greatest pleasure in seeing him when he is able to 
 
 16
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 pay us a visit, and shall watch his future career 
 with great interest. 
 
 I remain, my dear sir, 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 H. HlGHTON. 
 
 Sir Lovelace Stamer, Bart." 
 
 The other is from the Headmaster : 
 
 " Elmdon, Nr. Birmingham, 
 
 2%tb December, 1848. 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I must write to you at the close of your son's 
 Rugby life to say how entirely satisfied I am with 
 all that I have seen of him. There is no one in the 
 6th Form in whom I feel more entire confidence, 
 and he has always appeared anxious to improve. 
 His name appears in a very creditable place in the 
 Class List. With kind regards to Lady Stamer and 
 
 your son, 
 
 I remain, my dear Sir, 
 
 Yrs. faithfully, 
 
 A. C. TAIT." 
 
 With these letters Stamer's Rugby career may 
 fitly be left. 
 
 c 17
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 It should be noted that throughout these years 
 he spent the holidays, as a rule, with the Tomlinsons 
 at Cliffville. There are those still living at Stoke- 
 on-Trent who can remember him as a Rugby boy, 
 driving down with the family on Sundays and 
 marching up the parish church swinging a silver- 
 headed cane. 
 
 In 1849 he proceeded to Trinity, Cambridge, 
 and a letter exists which is interesting, both on 
 account of its reference to Mr. Cotton, a Rugby 
 master, who was afterwards Headmaster of Marl- 
 borough, and subsequently Bishop of Calcutta, and 
 also as showing that Stamer's character stood so 
 high that a special point was stretched on his behalf 
 when he was entering Trinity. The letter runs as 
 follows : 
 
 " Inn. Coll. Cambridge, 
 
 20th April, 1 849. 
 My dear Fisher, 
 
 When Mr. Stamer's certificate arrived, I 
 replied that my side was at present full, and recom- 
 mended application to Atkinson. Now the fact is 
 that until all the three sides are full the Master 
 will not permit any one tutor to admit a super- 
 numerary ; but after that time he will admit on 
 each side some three or four who are very highly 
 recommended. After I had declined admitting Mr. 
 
 18
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 Stamer, I wrote to Mr. Cotton, of Rugby, to know 
 what his opinion was, and that is in so many points 
 favourable that with the help of your letters I 
 incline to think I could ask the Master to admit 
 him as one of the select few on my own side in June. 
 The matter had therefore better rest for the present 
 on that footing. I will, in any case, have Mr. 
 Stamer admitted, and I will, if possible, admit him 
 on my own side. 
 
 Believe me, yours very truly, 
 
 W. H. THOMPSON." 
 
 The October term saw Stamer established at 
 Trinity, and his career at Cambridge was to have 
 in several ways a great influence on his future life. 
 It was there that he made a close friend of J. P. 
 Langley, of St. John's College, who had, indeed, 
 been at Rugby with him, but had not in those days 
 been more than an acquaintance. This friendship 
 led to a very interesting period of work when, 
 early in his ministry, he was curate of Turvey, in 
 Bedfordshire, as will be seen later on, and it was 
 also one of those lifelong friendships which have 
 proved so valuable to many men who have been 
 called to positions of great and anxious responsi- 
 bility. 
 
 It was at Cambridge, too, that Lovelace Stamer 
 
 19
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 first made friends with William D. Dent (to whom 
 he always referred in after years as " W. D. D."), 
 a friendship which he valued for its own sake, but 
 still more on account of all to which it led. It 
 quickly resulted in the closest intimacy of all his 
 life so far as friendship was concerned for he 
 came to know William Dent's brother Joseph, and 
 in a few years' time it led to his marriage with their 
 sister, Ellen Isabel, all of which things shall be set 
 out in due order. 
 
 One matter may be mentioned here, and it is a 
 little sad to have to say that in his subsequent life 
 there is no further occasion to relate anything of 
 the kind. He took up rowing, and it was the one 
 solitary period in which he allowed himself to in- 
 dulge in any form of sport, or, it might almost be 
 said, recreation. With his strong build and deter- 
 mination of character it is not surprising to find 
 that he became an excellent oar, and rowed in the 
 First Trinity Boat. 
 
 Not to deviate from the truth by so much as a 
 hair's breadth, it should be recorded that when 
 on visits to the home of his friend Langley, at 
 Olney, he hunted once or twice with Lord South- 
 ampton's hounds. There is a tradition, too, 
 founded on the existence of an ancient fishing-rod, 
 that he used occasionally to try to capture trout 
 
 20
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 when at his parents' home near Bray. But such 
 excursions into the field of sport were very rare, 
 and seem to have been entirely forsaken from the 
 time that he took Holy Orders. 
 
 There is not much to be gathered of Stamer's 
 life at Cambridge. One little glimpse is obtained 
 in a letter written by him to Archdeacon Sherwen 
 as lately as 1903. In that he speaks of visiting the 
 grave of Bishop Harvey Goodwin, at Crosthwaite, 
 and says, " I went back in thought to the time 
 when he was minister of St. Edward's, Cambridge, 
 and when, with other friends, I made my way 
 from Trinity Chapel to the Church just in time 
 for the sermon, listening to it often standing by 
 the Font." 
 
 The last part of his time he " kept " in what 
 went by the name of " Little Trinity " in Jesus 
 Lane a name given on account of the number of 
 Trinity men who lodged there. The hints that are 
 to be found occur either in the diaries of his friend, 
 Mr. J. P. Langley, or in letters written to his future 
 brother-in-law Joseph Dent, a bundle of which has 
 fortunately been preserved. 
 
 From the diaries all that can be gathered is that 
 the two friends read together, walked together, 
 sculled together, and occasionally visited Rugby 
 together. 
 
 21
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 From the letters far more is learnt. They reveal 
 a man old for his years, full of deep thoughts con- 
 cerning the spiritual and temporal welfare not only 
 of himself, but of his friends. They show him to 
 have taken an intelligent interest in the politics, 
 both civil and ecclesiastical, of his day, while at 
 the same time they allow glimpses of a keen enjoy- 
 ment of social gatherings and other matters which 
 usually count for much in the life of an under- 
 graduate. Through all the letters there runs the 
 current of lovingkindness, which went so far to- 
 wards the perfecting of his character throughout his 
 life. The one impression to be gleaned from the 
 letters which is not altogether satisfactory, is that 
 in spite of his friends, and in spite of his successful 
 oarsmanship, he was never absolutely happy in or 
 satisfied with his Cambridge life. But one or two 
 of the letters shall be given to speak for them- 
 selves. 
 
 " Btautbamp, Bray, Co. Dublin, 
 
 Dec. $ist, 1851. 
 My dear Dent, 
 
 My best wishes to you and W. D. [William 
 Dent] that you may both have a happy New Year, 
 and many of them. I don't exactly know how 
 
 22
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 things have been going with you, but I do not 
 fancy that I shall be doing wrong if I hope that 
 every successive year may find you happier and 
 jollier than the preceding. . . . 
 
 Well, I find that W. D. has been ' filing an 
 information J against me for geologising ! I am 
 aware he has a very poor opinion of me when he 
 sees me even cutting the boats to pursue my 
 newly adopted study. But it affords me great 
 amusement, and I would advise anybody else who 
 is in want of a gentlemanly occupation (not- 
 withstanding the chance of soiling one's fingers) 
 to engage in geological investigation. I hear you 
 laugh ! 
 
 By the way, do you remember what we were about 
 this very time last year, 11.45 p.m., December 3ist ? 
 How old Mac. hung out supper, and his guests were 
 Blomfield and Baldry, Cresswell and you and I ? 
 Just about this time Blomfield opened the window, 
 and we heard the Bells of St. Mary's ring the old 
 year out. How refreshing it is to think over old 
 times ! There are no Bells in this country, and not 
 a single cheering sound greets my ear at this mo- 
 ment ; but yet I feel great pleasure from the recol- 
 lections of last year, and almost fancy I hear those 
 old Bells ringing now. Ah ! and do you remember 
 you and I were strangers to each other then ? 
 
 23
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Well, never mind, we're none the worse friends 
 for that now, eh ? ... 
 
 
 
 I hope W. D. gave you a correct account of 
 our T. B. C. [Trinity Boat Club] supper. He will, 
 I am sure, testify that it was not ' that scene of 
 drunkenness and debauchery ' which you imagine. 
 You ask about the Bachelor's Ball. ... I am 
 thinking of going to it, as I have got to know some 
 people who are likely to be there. 
 
 I really must draw this epistle to a conclusion, 
 which has far transgressed the limit I had assigned 
 to it at the beginning. I won't flatter you by saying 
 how irresistibly I was led on by the extreme plea- 
 sure of holding a little chat with you. My best 
 love to W. D. and with my best wishes, 
 
 Believe me, 
 
 Yr. very sincere friend, 
 
 L. T. STAMER." 
 
 " Beauchamp, Jan. 29^, 1852. 
 My dear Dent, 
 
 
 
 Many thanks for your kind encouragement 
 to me to read hard this year ; you could not prove 
 
 24
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 yourself my friend in a greater degree than by 
 urging me on to exertion in this particular. You 
 know well that I don't want any to fix my interests 
 on the Boats ; but I regret to say I have been very 
 idle last Term, and a word of advice comes most 
 seasonably from you. . . . 
 
 I am glad to hear you have had some gaiety 
 this Winter, I do not imagine it will do you any 
 harm. Whatever may have been the extent to 
 which I dissipated towards the end of Term, this 
 I know, that I have had more than an equivalent 
 amount of seclusion since I came here. However, 
 I have profited by it, and I can show a good share 
 of Classical reading got through in the time. I do 
 wish you could have dropped in upon us unex- 
 pectedly I'll answer for it you would have got a 
 hearty welcome. . . . 
 
 I assure you I am the best of friends with 
 
 . I feel that he is still a mere child, and 
 
 tho' he often vexes me, yet I am only too happy 
 to forget it all, hoping that I may be of service 
 to him. And, indeed, he bears my advice very 
 well. 
 
 Adieu, and with best regard to W. D. D., 
 
 Believe me, yr. very sincere friend, 
 
 L. T. STAMER."
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 "22 Promenade Villas, Cheltenham, 
 
 June 29^, 1852. 
 My dear Dent, 
 
 I conclude that you are once more settled 
 at home after your wanderings abroad. . . . 
 
 I will not put your modest feelings to the blush 
 by repeating all I have been told as to the improving 
 effect of a more enlarged acquaintance with the 
 world upon you. This I know, that however in- 
 formed a man's mind may be previously, or how- 
 ever refined his manners, an insight into foreign 
 life and manners and scenes cannot fail to have a 
 most beneficial influence. 
 
 You allude in your Letter to having criticized 
 in an impartial spirit the wonderful and unaccount- 
 able Roman Catholic religion. I am sure you will 
 bear me out when I say that no one can go into 
 countries where it is the State religion, and not feel 
 more and more from experience its degrading 
 tendency ; nor return home without having his 
 Protestant feelings deeper and deeper rooted in 
 his heart. 
 
 I shall not be sorry when my Cambridge life is 
 over. I wanted you or some good angel to keep 
 me straight last term, and to prevent me from 
 belying by any inconsistencies what I am wont to 
 speak of as the proper line of conduct. I did not 
 
 26
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 know it before, but I fear I am easily led away. I 
 trust that when I leave College I shall subside to a 
 more consistent level. . . . 
 
 I do trust the country will return a Parliament 
 favourable to Lord Derby. It's the last time we 
 shall have it in our power to enjoy a Conservative 
 Government. If Lord Derby goes out, why then 
 we shall have Lord John and Cobden shaking hands, 
 and then good-bye to our old institutions. You see 
 it's not so much a question of cheap bread or the 
 contrary ; the most enthusiastic protectionists are 
 giving up the idea of imposing a duty on corn. It 
 would be impossible. The great secret in support- 
 ing Lord Derby is that he will support the Church ; 
 and, tell me, what is more in need of it at this very 
 time ? * Les sages entendent a un demi mot,' and 
 you will see what I mean already if you are not too 
 tired to give it a thought. . . . 
 
 Believe me, 
 Your's very faithfully and sincerely, 
 
 L. T. STAMER." 
 
 The first part of this letter is rather remarkable 
 in view of the fact that the writer's experience of 
 foreign parts lay in the days of his childhood, and 
 that, with the exception of a few days in Paris on 
 his honeymoon, he never afterwards went abroad. 
 
 27
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 This letter, with several others, was written from 
 the house in Cheltenham which had been taken 
 by his father and mother as a change from their 
 home at Beauchamp. 
 
 " 22 Promenade Villas, Cheltenham, 
 
 August ist, 1852. 
 My dear Dent, 
 
 I agree with you what a melancholy fact it 
 is that Elections cost so much money, and that 
 landed Proprietors should exercise such an undue 
 influence over their Tenants. You could not have 
 a more glaring case of family or territorial influence 
 than in this very Town and in the County of 
 Gloucester itself. Here they have, ever since they 
 received the franchise, been subject to the nominee 
 of Lord Fitzhardinge. ' How does his Lordship 
 benefit you ? ' say I. ' Why, he keeps his hounds 
 here,' is the reply ; and so the Earl's Staghounds 
 send a representative to the High Court of Parlia- 
 ment. Well, so far we agree in deploring the de- 
 graded state of the elective franchise ; we differ 
 on the means of correcting it, although I can pro- 
 pose none, nor have heard any yet proposed to 
 meet the exigency save what I see contained in 
 advanced education and the growing independence 
 
 28
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 of the times. The stringent clauses of the Bribery- 
 Act show into what interminable ramifications the 
 evil is known to have crept. But I think our best 
 men have given it as their opinion that the Ballot 
 would be no efficient remedy. Dismissing as un- 
 worthy of a moment's consideration the cry that it 
 is " un-English " (as though that would be any 
 argument against it if it were a good sound measure), 
 look at the effects of secret voting in the characters 
 of the French and Germans, and the Americans ; 
 does it give any degree of uprightness and integrity 
 to their elections which is not procured by our own, 
 bad as they are ? Would not the system of pro- 
 tecting the voter from the rancour of the opposite 
 party occasion, wherever there was the tendency to 
 it, duplicity and underhand dealing to an untold 
 extent ? These and many others are the evils which 
 suggest themselves to my mind as likely to ensue 
 upon the adoption of such a course evils we allow 
 to exist in the present system. Is it not, then, a 
 question of which is the least objectionable of the 
 two ? 
 
 Far more nearly do we consent in our view of 
 the Church. I really feel with you that it lies with 
 her ministers to uphold her in her Apostolic purity, 
 and guard her against the errors of the Church of 
 Rome : and further that they can do more of 
 
 29
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 themselves to improve and guide her sons than all 
 the legal enactments that could be devised. But 
 still, so long as the Church and State of this 
 kingdom are united (and I trust they may never be 
 dissolved), so long do I think it to be wished for 
 that we should have those in power who will lend 
 their assistance to support the Church from with- 
 out. Such a man I consider Lord Derby, without 
 examining into his motives, which may be, and I 
 trust are, sincere, notwithstanding all that is said 
 to the contrary. 
 
 You speak of schools being the stronghold of a 
 clergyman in his parish ; of course, then, the more 
 power he has over these, and the more they are 
 under his control, the better he will be able to use 
 them to his purpose of gaining a place in the hearts 
 of every family in his parish. Now we know Lord 
 Derby did, before the close of last session, bring 
 forward and carry a Bill which, when it comes into 
 operation, will throw the schools far more under 
 the superintendence of the Rector. He also holds 
 forth promises of better things still, and I cannot 
 say I look without some fears upon the cry which 
 has been going all through England this last month 
 about Church rates, which the Whigs will endeavour 
 to abolish, and the present Ministry will do their 
 best to maintain. So desirable do I look upon it 
 
 30
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 that the Government of this country should look 
 with a favourable eye upon its religion. 
 
 You say W. D. has told you that I am going to 
 take orders : so it is, and I have long purposed 
 doing so. But I have no intention of going to 
 Wells after leaving Cambridge : here we agree 
 entirely, for I have all along looked upon it as an 
 unnecessary course to pursue. . . . 
 
 No : my plan will be to get some good judicious 
 man Blunt, for example, whom I know personally 
 and who is my model man to lay down for me a 
 course of reading which I shall be well able to 
 pursue alone, and I trust that my own religious 
 feelings together with a deep sense of the responsi- 
 bility of taking Holy Orders will lead me to re- 
 nounce without a sigh save that I ever indulged 
 in them the pleasures and wanton gratifications 
 of my College life. If I am mistaken in myself 
 and if I find that my measure of self-denial is so 
 small and sense of duty so weak as not of themselves 
 to be equal to this, I would not for any prospect, 
 however great, allow myself to be ordained. Such 
 are my views on this subject. 
 
 I shall indeed be glad to see you again : I look 
 forward to returning to Cambridge about the 
 
 31
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 1st of October in order to have a good fortnight's 
 reading before the men come up, and to get into 
 regular habits. You may indeed look forward to a 
 very hearty shake of the hand. . . . 
 
 Believe me, ever yr. very sincere friend, 
 
 LOVELACE T. STAMER. 
 
 P.S. You gave me a very well-merited rebuke 
 for my signature of ' Yrs. faithfully ' : must I say 
 it, that it arose from a fear that you might think 
 me too free if I subscribed myself more as I felt ? ' 
 
 Surely this is a very remarkable letter to have 
 been written by one undergraduate to another. 
 It is full of deep thoughts and of religious feeling, 
 and gives evidence of a foresight as to matters of 
 social policy which was one of the future bishop's 
 chief characteristics. Lest such a letter should 
 leave an impression of a young man of a too austere 
 disposition, it is pleasant to be able to quote one 
 who knew him well at that period, and who says : 
 " My recollection of him is of one with a boyish 
 spirit almost, and such enthusiasm that he carried 
 people away with him and never saw a gloomy side. 
 This, too, with intense earnestness." 
 
 In 1853, Stamer took his degree of Bachelor of 
 Arts. The Cambridge lists have been preserved in 
 
 32
 
 RUGBY AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
 a book of newspaper cuttings that was made by his 
 mother. In these lists he appears on January 29th 
 of that year among the Questionists, not Candidates 
 for Honours, in the First-Class of the Ordinary 
 Degree, and on March 24th in the Second-Class of 
 the Classical Tripos. 
 
 33
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 OOON after taking his degree, Lovelace Tom- 
 linson Starrier was ordained to the curacy of 
 Clay Cross, which lies four or five miles south of 
 Chesterfield in Derbyshire. Even in those days it 
 was not a very small parish, and he was the only 
 curate. The Vicar, Mr. Oldham, was very fre- 
 quently absent, and it was an unfortunate start for 
 a young deacon with such strong views as to clerical 
 duty as were held by Stamer. It is no matter of 
 surprise to find that he could not stand it for long. 
 A passage in a letter to his friend, Joseph Dent 
 (whom, by the way, he had by this time learnt to 
 address as " My dear Joe "), gives an idea of his 
 reasons for leaving his first curacy so soon. The 
 letter is written from Leamington on April yth, 
 1854, anc ^ contains the following passage : " And 
 now you may like to know how I got here. In the 
 middle of Oldham's absence at Cambridge I 
 
 34
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 regularly broke down, and for some ten days was 
 very far from well, although I had to take my duty 
 as usual. This led the doctor to write to O. to say 
 that on his return I must be set free to take rest and 
 change of air. O. wrote to me thereupon assuring 
 me that on his return I should be free for five or six 
 weeks, and that, if I found the work at Clay Cross 
 too much for me, I was at liberty to go at the end 
 of my year ! I may be mistaken, but it looks very 
 much as if he wanted a curate only to enable him to 
 keep his terms at Cambridge ! Well, I came down 
 here on March 22nd, and have been employing the 
 time in reading for Priest's Orders. Last week I 
 spent a few days at Rugby, and to-morrow I go to 
 stay with Langley, and help him through Passion 
 week. 
 
 " Since I came here I have had three offers of 
 Curacies. The most important from Reigate : but 
 I hardly know what to make out of my not having 
 heard from them for ten days. I should accept it 
 certainly, if I can understand my position with the 
 Vicar." 
 
 The negotiations with Reigate came to nothing ; 
 the visit to his old friend Langley, who was curate 
 to his father at Olney, was duly paid, and was 
 fraught with most important results, for it was 
 from there that he visited the neighbouring village 
 
 35
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of Turvey, and found a curacy awaiting him that 
 was quite after his own heart. 
 
 Turning to the diaries of the Rev. J. P. Langley, 
 it is seen that Stamer came to Olney on April 8th, 
 and that on the 9th and nth the two friends visited 
 Turvey together. Mr. Russell was at that time 
 Curate-in-Charge of the parish and wanted help. 
 It did not take long to induce Stamer to accept 
 the offer of the curacy, and he may be said to have 
 been as fortunate in this second venture as he was 
 unlucky in his first. 
 
 But meantime he was fulfilling his promise of 
 helping his friend Langley, and the latter remem- 
 bers vividly their riding together on the Good 
 Friday morning of that year to take service in the 
 church at Hardmead. Things were very primitive 
 in many country places in those days, and it was 
 not long before this occasion that Mr. Langley 
 went to this same church on a Sunday morning 
 and preached to seven people and two starlings ! 
 It was the custom in those days to preach in 
 a gown, and Mr. Langley proceeded to exchange 
 his surplice for the gown which hung all ready 
 to hand on the door of the reading - desk. In 
 the meantime, the clerk below said, " Let us 
 read to the praise and glory of God hymn 
 
 No. ," which he did with such expedition 
 
 36
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 that he had finished almost before the preacher 
 was ready. 
 
 On the day that the two young clergymen 
 visited this church together there was likely to have 
 been no sermon at all, for just as they were riding 
 across a big grass field Stamer's sermon fell out of 
 his pocket ! Fortunately his companion was riding 
 behind him and saw it. 
 
 Very different to the primitive state of things 
 described above was the model parish of Turvey, 
 where the Rev. L. T. Stamer took up his work 
 almost at once. He was certainly resident there 
 in a couple of months' time from the date of his 
 visit to Olney. The time of his arrival was an 
 important one to the place, for it was just then that 
 the restoration of the large and handsome parish 
 church had been completed from the plans of Mr. 
 (afterwards Sir Gilbert) Scott, and the cottages in 
 the three main streets were for the most part re- 
 built to the great improvement of the health and 
 sanitation of the place. These matters and others 
 of less importance were due to the public-spirited 
 generosity of the two main landowners, Mr. 
 Charles Longuet Higgins of Turvey Abbey and his 
 connection Mr. Thomas Charles Higgins of Turvey 
 House. To those who have read Dean Burgon's 
 ' Twelve Good Men," it will be no surprise to 
 
 37
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 learn that the church life of the parish was already 
 vigorous, fostered as it was by the former of those 
 two worthies who figures in that book as the 
 " good layman," and who was known to all lead- 
 ing Churchmen a generation or so ago as the 
 first of the High-Church laymen who have since 
 become such an important factor in ecclesiastical 
 affairs. 
 
 Mr. Russell, too, the Curate-in-Charge, and 
 afterwards Vicar, of Turvey, was a man under 
 whom it was a privilege to work, so that it is clear 
 that the new curate began his life there under the 
 most favourable circumstances. 
 
 The future bishop's own feelings about it are 
 summarised in a letter written by him to Mrs. 
 Russell in prospect of her husband's death in June, 
 1876. In this he says : " I could do no more than 
 send you a telegram, assuring you of my loving, 
 grateful remembrance of your dear husband. . . . 
 If the end has not come when you receive this, 
 repeat to him the assurance of my love, and tell him 
 how thankful I am that it was my lot to be under 
 his guidance at Turvey. You know how truly 
 happy I was there. Those two years were the least 
 anxious, and so, in one respect, the happiest of my 
 life." 
 
 It is no wonder that they were happy years ! If 
 
 38
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 intercourse with dear and high-minded friends, 
 if natural surroundings of special beauty, if a 
 people who loved and welcomed his ministry, 
 if an atmosphere combining strenuous work with 
 hallowed peace if these things count for happi- 
 ness in a young man's life, then no wonder he was 
 happy ! 
 
 It is well to try to realise in some detail where and 
 how he lived. Turvey may rightly claim to be one 
 of the prettiest villages in the Midlands. It lies 
 north-west by west of the town of Bedford, and is 
 only separated by the river Ouse from the extreme 
 north-east corner of Buckinghamshire. In those 
 days it was usually reached by coach from Bedford 
 or Northampton, though, as has been seen, Stamer 
 and his friend Langley rode over from the latter's 
 home at Olney. Nowadays, a railway passes within a 
 mile and a half of the village, but has, fortunately, 
 been reluctant to disturb the peace and seclusion 
 of the place by a nearer approach. Even the railway, 
 now that it has come, is not of the ordinary noisy 
 hurrying kind, but wanders on from village to 
 village between the two above-mentioned towns, 
 bearing its rustic passengers in a train which has 
 the unique distinction of having its engine in the 
 middle ! 
 
 Before reaching the village itself the scenery 
 
 39
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 becomes charming, owing to the fact that the two 
 parks of Turvey Abbey and Turvey House stand 
 one at either end, and give a special beauty to the 
 approach, whether from east or west. Then the 
 gabled houses, ranking from the Abbey down 
 to the merest cottage, are unusually picturesque, 
 one of the most noticeable being the present 
 post office, which was once a famous coaching 
 inn, and rejoiced in the name of "The Tinker 
 of Turvey." 
 
 At the west end of the main street the Church 
 is conspicuous and impressive, and just beyond is 
 the old " Three Fishes " Inn, and the bridge across 
 the quiet Ouse. There is nothing startling in the 
 beauty of the place ; the visitor just carries away 
 with him a vision of old-world houses, of gables 
 and gardens, of trees, of a sweet, slow stream, and 
 of a noble house of God dominating and hallowing 
 it all. 
 
 No doubt all this helped to endear the place to 
 Mr. Stamer, but there were, as has been hinted, 
 other causes working to the same end. In the first 
 place, Olney, the home of his friend Langley, was 
 only some four miles away, and frequent intercourse 
 was possible. Besides, from time to time there 
 would be old Rugby or Cambridge friends staying 
 
 there, who would make a point of coming over to 
 
 40
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 see " Sam " at Turvey, either at Box Cottage, 
 opposite Abbey Square, where he lived at first, or 
 at the Cot, a delightfully retired little house, with 
 a nice garden, to which he subsequently moved. 
 Two incidents connected with this latter residence 
 are noted in Mr. Langley's diaries. It was here 
 that a party of three friends who had walked from 
 Olney in pouring rain, took refuge, and arrayed 
 themselves in suits from what is described as his 
 " capacious wardrobe." It was here, too, that his 
 friend Langley came to visit him when he was 
 recovering from small-pox the one remaining in the 
 garden, and the other talking from the window. 
 It was fortunate that he got home to his own house 
 before becoming seriously ill, for he had been with 
 Langley to Northampton, and then slept the night 
 at Olney. In the morning a rash appeared on 
 his forehead, and he returned to Turvey just in 
 time. 
 
 Then there was the highly valued privilege of the 
 friendship of Mr. Charles Longuet Higgins and Mrs. 
 Higgins. Seldom has any parish the privilege of 
 possessing such a Squire and Lord of the Manor. 
 A gifted musician, Mr. Higgins played the organ 
 at all services in the church ; devoted to the welfare 
 of the people, especially of the young, he presided 
 over the Sunday School ; liberal to a fault, he spent 
 
 41
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 his fortune on the beautifying of the church and 
 the building of spacious schoolrooms. It was a 
 great matter for the young curate, just seeking 
 priest's orders, to come under the influence of such 
 a man, and to win his warm friendship. How warm 
 his friendship with the family remained, even after 
 his departure, can be seen from letters received by 
 him from Mrs. Higgins after her husband's death, 
 which occurred in 1885. These letters are full of 
 expressions of affection and esteem, and again and 
 again such passages occur as, " It is indeed a long 
 time since you visited Turvey. Oh ! if you could 
 in the spring, or better still, in early summer, come 
 and see us all again, how many would rejoice to 
 welcome you." And, " I cannot tell you the great 
 pleasure it gave me to receive your kind letter ! 
 It was a ray of light ! " 
 
 There is also in existence a number of letters from 
 Mr. Charles L. Higgins, of various dates between 
 the years 1855 and 1880, which go to prove the 
 staunch friendship which existed between him and 
 the young curate of Turvey. These letters are full 
 of expressions of religious feeling, as, for example, 
 where he writes to Mr. Stamer in the parish to 
 which he removed, and says, " We think and talk 
 much of you, with a kind wish and hope that you 
 may both be good and do good, and have good. And 
 
 42
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 I think it will be so with you, for I know that you 
 look for strength and help in your work where you 
 will be sure to find it." The last letter of all, 
 written from Turvey Abbey on May yth, 1880, 
 is in a different strain, and tells how, even 
 after the lapse of twenty-four years, the name 
 of Stamer was still beloved in the place. He 
 writes : " When it was made known that you 
 could not preach for us this Whitsuntide, there 
 was a long, low, uneasy, mournful, stomach-ache- 
 like, continuously sustained, uncomfortable wail 
 sent forth, which reached from Picts' Hill to the 
 Bridge ! " 
 
 Lastly, there were the cottagers in the village, 
 his relations with whom may be summed up in the 
 words of one who knew both them and him, and 
 who writes, " He took to them and they took to 
 him." There are very few of them alive now 
 to tell how they loved and valued him. " He 
 preached so plain " " He made himself so very 
 nice, he did " such are the kind of recollections 
 which fall from the lips of such as can recall him. 
 One very old woman tells how he used to sit and 
 chat with his watch in his hand, with the chain 
 wound round his fingers, so as not to be tempted to 
 give too large a share of his time to his favourites ! 
 Years after he had left the parish, Mr. Munby, 
 
 43
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 who became Vicar of Turvey, found that " no 
 name of any clergyman whatever, except Legh 
 Richmond (the well-known popular preacher, and 
 the author of " Annals of the Poor "), was so often 
 on the people's lips as his." Mr. Munby further says : 
 " His excellent ministry had its beginning amongst 
 those lace-making people, and they had all his 
 earliest affection as a minister of Christ, and he 
 loved them to the last. He came several times to 
 Turvey during the time that I was there. In 1870 
 I persuaded him to come and preach in the Church 
 for the Additional Curates Society, and afterwards 
 he came and spoke most efficiently in the large 
 schoolroom at one of our early meetings of the 
 Church of England Temperance Society. When- 
 ever he came, the simple announcement of his 
 coming was sure to bring everybody who remem- 
 bered him to hear his cheery voice again, and to 
 shake him by the hand. I do not think he ever came 
 anywhere near Bedfordshire but he found his way 
 to Turvey, and when once he was there, he left out 
 nobody. Once I said to him, when, after a round 
 of village calls he appeared at the Rectory, * I hope 
 
 you'll have time to go and see the B s.' His 
 
 answer was, * Munby, I've been to everybody in 
 the place that I know except two, and those I am 
 going to see on my way to the station.' For many 
 
 44
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 years he kept up this link with the place by sending 
 presents, usually at Christmas time. These were 
 at one time pretty articles of his famous Stafford- 
 shire pottery ; latterly, they were mostly small 
 books or picture post cards, but always with some 
 excellent and kindly message, and always directed 
 by his own hand." 
 
 There were, at the time that he lived at Turvey, 
 a thousand inhabitants of the parish, a number 
 which has decreased since. It remains to say a 
 word about the faithfulness of his ministry to them. 
 There was, as may be supposed, already a certain 
 amount of religious feeling in the place, partly the 
 result of the influence of Legh Richmond, and 
 partly of that of Mr. Russell and Mr. Charles 
 Longuet Higgins. Curious little reminiscences of 
 the first-named cropped up from time to time. It 
 is, for instance, still told in Turvey how an old 
 woman administered a rebuke to Mr. Stamer. A 
 little boy had been misbehaving, and the curate 
 remarked that he wanted a good thrashing. " Nay," 
 said the old woman, " what he wants is the grace 
 of God." 
 
 But although Turvey was by no means a neglected 
 or godless place, it is impossible that some at 
 least of the people could have failed to be lifted 
 higher in their spiritual life by the presence of 
 
 45
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 one who not only gave himself affectionately and 
 whole-heartedly to their service, but was himself 
 striving with might and main to make himself more 
 fit from day to day to be a minister of Christ. 
 
 For evidence of this it is only necessary to turn 
 to the letters he wrote at this time to his bosom 
 friend Joseph Dent. 
 
 Thus, writing from Turvey on April 8th, 1855, 
 he says : " I am glad at the arrival of Easter ; I 
 hardly know why, though. Another Lent has passed 
 away, and I have not spent it as I could wish. But 
 I can fancy with what far holier joy I should have 
 hailed this day if, during the weeks that are passed, 
 I had humbled myself more on account of sin, 
 following Christ more closely in His daily path of 
 self-denial, till on Good Friday I had nailed * the 
 old man ' to His Cross. Then, I think, I should 
 have risen more truly on Easter wings, and joined 
 with better heart in the sacrifice of praise 
 and thanksgiving to Christ for His finished 
 work. . . . Yet I fear that, should I be spared 
 to enter upon Lent again, I shall be no better 
 than before ! How short-lived are religious im- 
 pressions wont to be unless the plant be watered 
 with God's Holy Spirit, not occasionally, if, indeed, 
 this could be, but constantly, every hour, every 
 minute." 
 
 46
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 Later on in the same letter, he refers to a gift 
 made to the Church in these words : " I believe a 
 loving heart will be ever bringing love-tokens to its 
 Heavenly Father, and I doubt not that He graciously 
 accepts them as such. I cordially detest that 
 utilitarian, narrow-minded view, which will approve 
 of nothing till it first has discovered some advantage 
 to be gained. ' Cui bono ? ' Faith and love do not 
 ask such a question." 
 
 Certainly his whole life was in entire accord with 
 the sentiment he here expresses, for his generosity 
 was as unbounded as his affection, and to neither 
 was there ever set a utilitarian limit ! 
 
 On April 2Oth of the same year there is a sugges- 
 tion in a letter written to the same friend of some 
 position which his relatives hoped he might soon 
 occupy. This was, no doubt, the living of Stoke-on- 
 Trent, though it seems to have been early days to 
 have considered such a step. Here is what he says 
 about it : "I really must set in earnest to work to 
 read for Priest's Orders ; and not only to read but 
 to think seriously about it, and to pray for God's 
 blessing on the step. It may lead to some change in 
 my position ; my friends seem to have something 
 in their eye for me when I am in full orders, though 
 they have not told me what it is. It would be a 
 great question whether I would leave Turvey at 
 
 47
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 present ; I am so happy here, thank God. I only 
 wish I could be as good and thankful and earnest 
 as I ought to be." 
 
 This occurs in the course of a long letter, towards 
 the close of which he apologises for writing at such 
 length about his own spiritual affairs ; " but," he 
 says, " my dear Joe, you are the only living creature 
 I can unbosom my heart to, and speak of the things 
 which lie deepest ; and it does me good now and 
 then to give utterance to the workings of my 
 mind. If I had a wife after my own heart, I can 
 fancy what comfort I should have in unreserved 
 converse. I really don't think I would have a 
 single secret. She should read my heart from end 
 to end. Meanwhile, dear Joe, you must kindly act 
 her part." 
 
 But this duty was not to fall on his friend's 
 shoulders for long. 
 
 By this time the Rev. Joseph Dent had become 
 Vicar of Hunsingore, in which parish was situated 
 Ribstone Hall, where his father and sister lived. 
 Lovelace Stamer had already paid him visits there, 
 and had become a friend of his family. In the 
 autumn of 1855 a visit to Ribstone was planned 
 for a few days after Christmas. It was then that 
 the curate of Turvey made up his mind that if he 
 could obtain her father's consent, he would ask his 
 
 48
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 friend's sister to be his wife ; a project which was 
 successfully carried out. 
 
 Before, however, giving any details of this event, 
 a number of letters written in the summer and early 
 autumn must be mentioned, which contain matters 
 of interest. In one letter he lets fall an expression 
 in support of a custom of which the death-warrant 
 was soon to be signed. " I believe," he says, 
 "the gown to be the proper dress for the pulpit, 
 where the minister becomes ' Doctor,' and should 
 therefore assume the badge of his academical 
 degree." 
 
 The next letter, written on September 24th, 
 gives the first news of a serious outbreak of scarlet 
 fever in Turvey, during which Stamer worked hard 
 to relieve the sufferers, constituting himself a kind of 
 clerical relieving officer, and raising a fund from 
 which he could supply the sick with many comforts. 
 An account he gives of the funeral of a child 
 who died of the fever reveals a very tender and 
 almost poetic side to his character. " A poor little 
 girl," he writes, " of seven years old, who was in our 
 Sunday School in good health yesterday week, I 
 buried yesterday morning. I appointed eight o'clock 
 for the funeral. It was such a glorious, bright 
 morning ; the dew lay fresh and sparkling on the 
 grass, the birds sang cheerily, and everything spoke 
 E 49
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of life and health and vigour. A strange contrast 
 with the poor little one, lying cold and still in her 
 last resting-place ! Yet she had woke to a brighter 
 morning than even this I tell you of. There is to 
 be no more night for her : no more death, nor 
 sorrow, nor crying. Cannot one join heart and soul 
 in thanks to God for having removed from this 
 world of sin and sorrow one who has not been 
 corrupted by its temptations, nor hardened by its 
 selfishness ? " 
 
 From this same letter it can be gathered that 
 efforts were made to tempt him to undertake work 
 abroad, the suggestion coming apparently from 
 those who had known him at Rugby. He speaks 
 of having received a letter from Mr. Bradley, a 
 Rugby master, who was afterwards Headmaster 
 of Marlborough and then Dean of Westminster, 
 and goes on thus : " First India and now the Crimea ! 
 Does it not look as though God was giving me oppor- 
 tunities of a more extended sphere of usefulness 
 which I am declining ? And am I justified in doing 
 so ? There's the question. You will see by my 
 answer that I at least try to justify myself. Yet 
 I hope I am not seeking ease : there is much to be 
 done here, and I work hard to do it. What do you 
 say? " Soon afterwards he refers to " a cheery 
 letter from Bradley in answer to mine to him. He 
 
 50
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 quite approves of my view of matters, and thinks 
 my duty lies here for the present. I must try to 
 discharge it more and more faithfully every day 
 I live." 
 
 Mr. Bradley had also written to Mr. Langley 
 on the subject, and from this letter it can be 
 gathered that another old Rugbeian, who was serving 
 as an Army Chaplain in the Crimea, had inspired the 
 hope that others from the school might join in the 
 work. Mr. Bradley wrote : " Hayward, that noble 
 fellow who has been working as Chaplain in the 
 Crimea, returns next month to the Army, and is 
 at present sincerely anxious to find good men to 
 go there. He says he was never so happy or half 
 so useful, and it is, of course, a noble field. While 
 we were talking over the kind of men, someone 
 suggested Stamer. I have not the least notion 
 whether Stamer could or would go, but I confess 
 I could think of no one more fitted for the work. . . . 
 This is written in such haste that it may look as if 
 I were ordering him out, which is, of course, absurd. 
 It's only, you'll understand, a purely hypothetical 
 suggestion." 
 
 In a charming letter in answer to Stamer's 
 decision to stay on and work at Turvey, Mr. Bradley 
 said : " God forbid that I should say a word in 
 answer. I only suggested it in case you were
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 for any reason likely to be loose on the world 
 for a time ; even then I felt some scruple at 
 proposing to anyone a perilous task while I sit here 
 at ease." 
 
 To those who knew Dr. Bradley afterwards this 
 extract will commend itself as thoroughly charac- 
 teristic. 
 
 The subject of his life as a bachelor crops up 
 continually in Stamer's letters at this period. 
 Generally he laments that he is not married, but 
 sometimes he takes another view, as when he says, 
 " You will see from all this (referring to visits from 
 various friends) that I have been far from being 
 lonely, yet I am such an excitable fellow that I 
 almost think solitude is best for me. When I return 
 to my old bachelor habits I must endeavour to read 
 a good deal." 
 
 In a letter of November yth of the same year 
 there is a great deal that gives an insight into the 
 anxiety with which he was always watching his own 
 work and his personal fitness for it, an anxiety 
 which it may be feared is not common among men 
 so young as he was at this time. 
 
 Such passages as the following are remark- 
 able : 
 
 " So intricate is the machinery of the human 
 heart, with all its host of motives and desires 
 
 52
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 running into one another, or counter to one another, 
 that the wonder to me is that I do not oftener make 
 mistakes than I really do. But then I remember 
 that God the Holy Spirit is working with me and 
 by me, and I try to look more to Him. And I have 
 lately had a lesson that we are poor judges of the 
 hearts of others ; that when we fancy that the seed 
 sown has missed, lo ! suddenly it discovers itself 
 a healthy, hopeful plant in fullest bloom ; and that 
 ' more grows in a garden than the gardener ever 
 sowed.' " 
 
 Again, later, " I had an attentive congregation, 
 with many men and farm lads, and only wished that 
 my own heart and soul were more earnestly set upon 
 the great work of winning souls to Christ. I think 
 too much of what I do as duty done for so and so. 
 Whereas it is Christ's commission we bear, and His 
 work we are engaged in. I want to learn to regard 
 our Master as a living person, and not the dull 
 abstraction which our cold, sinful hearts are wont 
 to think of. But all this can never be, without closer 
 communion with Him : I must try to pray more ! 
 Prayer is a powerful lever, if we would only use it. 
 How often have I begun to keep the hours of prayer, 
 and with much profit, I believe, while it lasted. But 
 one thing interfered and then another, and now I 
 have dropped it altogether. Alas ! that I should
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 have to say so. And then, as for writing sermons, 
 in consequence of these inward deficiencies I bring 
 to them a heart unwarmed by zeal in our Saviour's 
 cause, and ignorant of the wants, the hopes, the 
 fears, the motives of those I am to address. What 
 can be expected from homilies composed after the 
 fashion of themes at school ? I am sure I dare hope 
 for nothing from them, and can only feel deeply 
 humbled and condemned when I think of the many 
 opportunities which I have for saying a word in 
 season, and fail to improve. But I won't pain you 
 with any further confession of my own delin- 
 quencies. Excuse my having dwelt on them so long : 
 but it does me good to look myself straight in the 
 face now and then." 
 
 Only one more quotation shall be given from 
 this most interesting series of letters from Lovelace 
 Stamer to Joseph Dent. In the course of a letter 
 written from Turvey on February lyth, 1856, he 
 expresses a strong view on the Bill for opening 
 Museums, etc., on Sundays. He says : " You ask 
 about the Sunday question : my own mind is now 
 made up, which it was not before. We have sent 
 up a Petition from Turvey, and I put my name to 
 it in right good earnest. I should indeed be sorry 
 to see the Legislature of this Christian country 
 sanctioning a measure which will do such dishonour 
 
 54
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 to the Lord's Day, the observance of which as time 
 to be devoted especially to the service of God 
 and the concerns of our souls I accept as no less 
 binding upon myself than it was upon the Jews. 
 Indeed, if there ever was a time when the Sunday 
 should be kept clear of any licensed rival to the 
 House of God it is now, when the claims of 
 business are so pressing, when for six days men rise 
 so early and so late take rest, and eat withal the 
 bread of carefulness. 
 
 " But it is argued on philanthropic grounds, and 
 much is said of poor mechanics, who for six days 
 never see the sun or breathe the fresh air of heaven. 
 How can you expect them, it is said, to spend this, 
 their only day of rest, in dull devotional exercises ? 
 It is all very well for your gentle-people or country- 
 folk to go respectably to your Parish Church twice 
 on Sunday, and sit at home the rest of the day, 
 or saunter innocently about your gardens. How 
 can you sympathise with these poor wretches, or give 
 a fair opinion on this question ? I should always 
 suspect these quasi-benevolent arguments. A plain 
 and sufficient answer to them would be, why not 
 legislate for a half-holiday on Saturday ? If these 
 people, as you assert, are overworked, and suffering 
 for want of air and exercise, why should not their 
 employers forego their labour for a certain number 
 
 55
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of hours in every week, instead of taking from the 
 time, scanty enough in all conscience, in which there 
 is some semblance of our recognising God, as a 
 nation ? But it is too much the fashion to be 
 scrupulous in giving to Caesar every jot and tittle 
 to which he can lay claim, but to withhold from 
 God very much of what is rightfully His due. 
 
 " Lastly, it is argued, the Sabbath breakers are 
 many : you never will get the whole population 
 to acknowledge their duty to God, and to go to 
 Church, and no doubt this is much to be deplored. 
 But the evil does not rest here. These idlers on the 
 Sunday, having no better occupation for the time 
 which they do not care to devote to God, frequent 
 the public-houses, and fall into all kinds of wicked- 
 ness and excess. If we offered them other more 
 rational amusements we should avoid these dis- 
 graceful scenes, and there would be less drunkenness, 
 immorality, theft. No doubt, if we could choose 
 between Church and the British Museum, Church 
 is the correct thing : but, as it is, the choice is 
 between the British Museum and the Gin Palace. 
 
 " Now here I answer, in the first place, I do not 
 believe that the men whose tastes lead them to 
 indulge in drink would be very capable of ap- 
 preciating what they would see in the British 
 Museum and the National Gallery. And next, I lay 
 
 56
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL WORK 
 
 it down as a general rule that when two courses 
 are presented to me, both confessedly evil, I must 
 decline both at whatever cost. We hear much 
 about l the lesser of two evils.' St. Paul says of 
 those who would do evil that good may come, 
 * whose damnation is just.' ' 
 
 This passage is of real interest in view of the fact 
 that in all social questions the future bishop was 
 invariably ahead of his age. To those who realise 
 this it would have seemed more than possible that 
 he would have taken the other side in the question. 
 But it has to be remembered that at all times and 
 in everything, he put what he believed to be God's 
 law first, and accepted nothing that was not covered 
 thereby. He never fell into the error, which accounts 
 for so many modern mistakes, of putting what is 
 expedient before what is right. 
 
 Those who have read these copious extracts from 
 Stamer's letters to his special friend will understand 
 the reason of their being given here at such con- 
 siderable length. It is a fortunate matter that they 
 have been preserved. From them, far better than 
 from any other source, it is possible to realise what 
 he was. Others will tell the story of all he did. 
 Others will say what manner of man he seemed to 
 them. These letters picture the very man as he 
 knew himself to be. With the close of his work 
 
 57
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 at Turvey they cease. Perhaps, with the beginning 
 of his married life there was no longer any call for 
 them. However that may be, they are invaluable 
 as giving an insight into a life even then holy and 
 humble and devoted, as it remained to the end.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 MARRIAGE, PRESENTATION TO STOKE- 
 UPON-TRENT, ETC. 
 
 IMMEDIATELY after Christmas, 1855, Mr- 
 Lovelace Stamer went to Ribstone, the home 
 of his friends, the Dents, for a visit, and there are 
 passages in his letters to Mr. Joseph Dent which 
 make it plain that the occasion might be of some 
 greater importance to him than usual. As has 
 been said before, he then made up his mind that 
 if he could succeed in winning her, he would make 
 Miss Dent his wife. He took his great friend into 
 his confidence and told him plainly that he would 
 not prosecute his suit unless Miss Dent's father 
 was willing that he should do so. This matter 
 seems to have been quickly settled to his satisfac- 
 tion, and the engagement took place in the spring 
 of 1856. 
 
 It then became necessary for him to look for a 
 sphere of work where he might obtain a suitable 
 house to which to take his bride. The Bishop of 
 Ely, in whose diocese Turvey was situated, inter- 
 
 59
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 ested himself in the matter, and on August zoth 
 had an interview with Mr. Stamer, in the course of 
 which he offered him the charge of the living of 
 Long Melford, an important place on the borders 
 of Essex and Suffolk with a population at that time 
 of 2600 persons. In offering the post, the bishop 
 used the following words : " I can only say, sir, 
 that as curate of Melford, and residing in that 
 house [the Rectory], you would have a position and 
 eminence which you would not derive from many 
 livings." 
 
 The explanation of these words lies in the fact 
 that the living of Melford was sequestrated, and 
 therefore the curate -in -charge would have the 
 use of the Rectory house. This would be just 
 what Mr. Stamer wanted, but he was apparently 
 reluctant at first to undertake so responsible a 
 position as the sole charge of nearly three thousand 
 souls. The bishop was, however, bent on securing 
 him for the parish, and approached an old friend of 
 Mr. Stamer's, the Rev. L. F. Page, incumbent of 
 Woolpit in the neighbourhood of Melford, with a 
 view to persuading him to reconsider his refusal. 
 " To say the truth," wrote the bishop, " I con- 
 sider him much the best suited of all the candidates 
 to the appointment." 
 
 After some correspondence between Mr. Page 
 
 60
 
 MARRIAGE, PRESENTATION, ETC. 
 
 and Mr. Stamer, the latter wrote to the bishop to 
 withdraw his refusal, and on August zyth received 
 a letter expressing the bishop's pleasure at his 
 decision. But this did not remove all difficulties. 
 There were some tenants of the Rectory house, 
 and delay was caused by the gentleman to whom 
 the living was sequestrated being unable at first to 
 give any assurance to the bishop as to the house 
 being available. In consequence of this the latter 
 wrote to Mr. Stamer on September 23rd suggesting 
 another parish with a less population. This living 
 was also sequestrated, and the house, which the 
 bishop described as " quite a gentleman's residence," 
 was all ready for occupation at any time, " for," 
 said the bishop, " the person lately officiating as 
 curate went out and shot the Squire's game an 
 offence against all propriety and not to be over- 
 looked." 
 
 However, the difficulties at Long Melford were 
 smoothed away, and on October 9th the bishop 
 wrote to give Mr. Stamer permission to officiate 
 in that parish, advising him at the same time to try 
 how things went on before being licensed. Of the 
 next six months there is little to record. The 
 young clergyman who had commended himself 
 so highly by his work and devotion at Turvey was 
 not likely to be less zealous when in a position where 
 
 61
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 the spiritual welfare of the parish depended on 
 himself alone. He made friends with all at Melford, 
 just as he had done at Turvey, among the chief of 
 whom were Captain and Mrs. Bruce of Kentwell 
 Hall, who showed him unvaried kindness and sup- 
 ported him loyally. It is interesting to notice 
 that one of his first public acts at Melford was to 
 preside at a meeting of the Bible Society, which 
 to the end of his life had his cordial support. 
 
 On April i6th, 1857, Mr. Stamer's engagement 
 to Miss Dent, which had lasted just a year, was 
 brought to a happy termination by their marriage. 
 The ceremony took place in the parish church of 
 Hunsingore, close to Ribstone Hall, and was 
 performed by the Rev. Joseph Dent, who was at 
 once the bride's brother and the bridegroom's 
 bosom friend. The newspaper account of the 
 occasion mentions that the bridesmaids were dressed 
 in white muslin with blue cloaks, " and were not 
 the least lovely appendages of the scene," a de- 
 scription which throws a light on the fashions of 
 the Mid-Victorian age. It is interesting to notice 
 among the letters of congratulation on his marriage 
 received by Mr. Stamer one signed " Ever yours, 
 J. B. Lightfoot " (afterwards Bishop of Durham), 
 who was one of the many friends made at Cam- 
 bridge. 
 
 62
 
 MARRIAGE, PRESENTATION, ETC. 
 
 After a short honeymoon, of which a fortnight 
 was spent in Paris, Mr. and Mrs. Stamer went into 
 residence at Long Melford, and the next event of 
 importance was the news of the death of his uncle, 
 Mr. Tomlinson, the Rector of Stoke-upon-Trent, 
 which reached him in the following October. 
 This event altered the whole course of his life, for 
 it was followed by a letter from Mr. F. Tomlinson, 
 the patron of Stoke, offering Mr. Stamer that valu- 
 able and important living. This letter arrived on 
 December 25th, and maybe said to have contained 
 one of the handsomest Christmas presents on 
 record ! 
 
 Not much time was lost in negotiations, for on 
 January zyth the new Rector was instituted to 
 the cure of souls of the parish of Stoke-upon-Trent 
 by Bishop Lonsdale at Eccleshall Castle, which was 
 then the residence of the bishops of Lichfield. It 
 was not, however, till the i6th of March that the 
 move from Long Melford took place, and mean- 
 time an interesting domestic event occurred which 
 was recorded in the newspapers of the day in these 
 words : " On January 29th, at the Rectory House, 
 Long Melford, the wife of the Rev. Lovelace 
 Tomlinson Stamer, Rector of Stoke-upon-Trent, 
 of a daughter." 
 
 On the next day, March lyth, the young Rector, 
 
 63
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 then twenty-eight years of age, was inducted into 
 the possession of all the rights and possessions of 
 the Rectory, which were at that time of great value 
 and importance. To counterbalance this fact, it 
 must be confessed that Stoke would not have been 
 an attractive place of residence to most people even 
 at that time. To Mrs. Stamer, whose life had 
 mainly been spent in a lovely part of Yorkshire, 
 the surroundings must have appeared a little de- 
 pressing, even though the neighbourhood was not 
 so thickly built over as it is at present. Still, even 
 then, the Potteries were of considerable extent, and 
 some of the principal factories were in Stoke. 
 This alone need not have been any drawback, but 
 no one can visit this district without being im- 
 pressed with the gloomy monotony of the rather 
 mean streets and the absence of any buildings of 
 architectural beauty. It is difficult to help feeling, 
 when looking at some exquisite piece of china from 
 Minton's, Copeland's, or some other noted pottery, 
 how strange it is that it should have had its birth 
 and been brought to its perfection of beauty in 
 such surroundings. 
 
 The new rector, however, would have felt none 
 of this. From his earliest years he had spent many 
 happy weeks at Cliff Ville, his grandfather's house 
 close by, and had learnt to love the place. It was, 
 
 64
 
 MARRIAGE, PRESENTATION, ETC. 
 
 in a sense, a home-coming for him, and his affection 
 for the town and people beautified all that was 
 depressing, and dispersed by its warmth the some- 
 times gloomy atmosphere. 
 
 It is true that for some years he had to make his 
 home in what was called the Old Rectory, a house 
 of which the real name was Stoke Hall, it being 
 the Manor House of Penkhull with Boothen, there 
 being no such township as Stoke-upon-Trent at that 
 time. This house was in a very different position 
 from that of Cliff Ville, which was where he had 
 been accustomed to stay as a boy, and lacked the 
 view and fine air which made the latter a desirable 
 residence. 
 
 There, however, Mr. Stamer established himself, 
 his wife, and his baby daughter, and there the 
 three next children (two sons and a daughter) were 
 born. A new chapter must be devoted to the 
 beginnings of his work as Rector of Stoke.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE-UPON-TRENT 
 
 COME description of the new Rector's appear- 
 ance when he arrived at the scene of his 
 labours will help to fill in a picture of the new era 
 of church work which he inaugurated at Stoke-upon- 
 Trent. One who remembers him at that time 
 writes that he was " as fine an Englishman as could 
 be seen. He had a broad head and clear complexion, 
 and wore side whiskers only. He was strong and 
 broad in body, with the limbs of a giant." No 
 wonder that he made an impression upon his new 
 parishioners ! 
 
 It is always said that it is some advantage to a 
 new-comer to have a clean slate upon which to 
 write. In one respect, at all events, this was Mr. 
 Stamer's lot, for his uncle, the former rector, had 
 very seldom officiated in his church. 
 
 Two of the short memoirs which were collected 
 and published by the present Rector of Stoke, 
 
 shortly after the Bishop of Shrewsbury's death, 
 
 66
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE-UPON-TRENT 
 
 give pictures of the state of affairs to which Mr. 
 Stamer (as he then was) succeeded, and these 
 pictures are so graphic that nothing better can be 
 done than to quote them verbatim. 
 
 The first is by Canon Macaulay, an old college 
 friend, who in fulfilment of a dream of Trinity 
 days went to be his first curate. He writes as 
 follows : " The parish, owing to special circum- 
 stances, had for some time lain under a dead weight 
 of disadvantage. There is no need to do more than 
 recall the bare fact without dwelling upon it. To 
 remember it, however, is needful, if we are to 
 appreciate justly the task that lay before ' the New 
 Rector.' The Parish had had no chance to take 
 any step onward in that first stirring of new life 
 which had already begun to touch the Diocese and 
 the Church at large. It is doubtful, indeed, if 
 within the Parish, as it then was, there was any 
 desire for work moulded upon fresh and more 
 vigorous lines. . . . 
 
 " If any still linger in Stoke who can remember 
 * the beginning of things ' under the New Rector, 
 they will admit that he succeeded to a heritage of 
 no small difficulty, requiring no small amount of 
 judgment, tact, and patience. Words of welcome 
 on family grounds, parishioners with kind hearts 
 ready to be friends and to form social ties these 
 
 67
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 things were not wanting. But, withal, there were 
 not wanting also anxious forebodings and timorous 
 doubts in the hearts of the best of friends." 
 
 The other picture is drawn by Mr. Charles 
 Lynam, of Stoke, and has special reference to 
 the parish church and its arrangements. He 
 says : 
 
 " Between the years 1820 and 1830 that ancient 
 relic (the Old Church) disappeared with all the 
 history it told of the Parish and its people, and in 
 its stead the present Church was erected. This, as 
 it left the builders' hands, was considered a perfect 
 type of Church Architecture and Taste, and, it 
 might almost be said also, of Church doctrine then 
 prevalent. In plan it was, as now, a quadrangle 
 without interruption of its floor except by the 
 pillars supporting galleries on the north, south, 
 and west sides. The western gallery accommodated 
 the Sunday School children and the organ and choir 
 in front thereof. . . . 
 
 " In the Chancel there were no seats, but both 
 the galleries and body were filled with pews, some 
 of them at the east end, square shaped with spring 
 cushions to the seats and embroidered linings 
 within the fastening doors. At the west end of 
 the south side were what were known as seats for 
 the poor, which were free : the others being 
 
 68
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE-UPON-TRENT 
 
 appropriated with fixed rents according to their 
 position. . . . 
 
 " The pulpit stood a few feet west of the Chancel 
 arch on the centre line of the Church, and was 
 the feature of the first importance. It was of 
 three storeys in height : first, above the floor, the 
 seat for the Parish Clerk ; then, above this, the 
 reading desk, accommodating two ; and at the 
 top the preacher's place, whence he commanded a 
 sight of almost every seat in the Church ; the 
 Altar, on the other hand, being obstructed from 
 most positions." 
 
 So far, then, as Church life was concerned, Mr. 
 Stamer was met with what must have seemed 
 serious obstacles an apathetic people and a church 
 unsuited for the best kind of worship. But it 
 would have taken more than this to daunt his 
 courage and enthusiasm. It is exceedingly inter- 
 esting to see how, at the outset of what was to prove 
 the most important work of his life, he met his 
 difficulties. He was possessed of three qualities, 
 each of which had its full share in the success that 
 met his efforts. These qualities were wisdom, 
 lovingkindness, and an insatiable appetite for 
 work. It is true that it might naturally be sup- 
 posed that his family connection with the place 
 
 would have proved sufficient to smooth all obstacles 
 
 69
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 from his path. But this was not really the case, and 
 he owed far more to the sterling worth of his own 
 character than to the Tomlinson influence. 
 
 To speak first of his wisdom. In so young a man, 
 and one too with a considerable strain of Irish blood 
 in his veins, the tact and judgment exercised from 
 the very start was wonderful. 
 
 " To give confidence as a friend," says Canon 
 Macaulay, " before alarming as a reformer was 
 certainly the Rector's motto." This is borne out by 
 Mr. Lynam in the following words : " The new 
 Rector's estimate of what was incumbent upon him 
 in relation to the vows of his ordination did not 
 agree with the practice of the past, and his mind 
 was given to change in the direction of additional 
 services of a devotional character, but if ever man 
 lived who possessed a cautious outlook, it was the 
 newly appointed young Rector of Stoke, and no 
 one could be more considerate towards the sus- 
 ceptibilities of others than he. . . . 
 
 " The Rector, whatever his own opinion might 
 be, was never known to force it upon his people 
 against their will. All the circumstances that 
 attended the various changes brought about during 
 one incumbency can hardly be realised at the pre- 
 sent day, but those whose time goes back to the 
 
 periods themselves, and whose memories serve to 
 
 70
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE-UPON-TRENT 
 
 tell of the difficulties, disagreements, differences, 
 and law suits attending the progress of events, 
 know well how it was that the gentle, courteous, 
 and considerate demeanour of the Rector through- 
 out them all won acquiescence and finally accord 
 amongst the congregation and those in authority. 
 It certainly was his broad-mindedness and nervously 
 anxious considerateness for the opinions and feel- 
 ings of others that swayed the churchpeople of 
 Stoke to fall in with the varied wishes of the Rector 
 through many years and on numberless occasions." 
 
 In one particular he showed a wisdom which 
 many new incumbents would do well to imitate. 
 It is recorded of him that in furtherance of such 
 changes in the Church services, etc. as were in his 
 mind, a meeting of the parishioners was called, not 
 only at the time of the first proposed alterations, 
 but at every subsequent occasion of the kind up to 
 the time of his leaving Stoke. 
 
 One change he did indeed make entirely on his 
 own responsibility. It was not long after coming 
 to Stoke that he discarded the black gown in the 
 pulpit for the surplice. He stated that he con- 
 sidered this a matter which concerned himself 
 alone, and it is chiefly interesting as showing how 
 his desire to conform with what was becoming a 
 usual Church custom had in a very few years 
 
 71
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 altered his opinion as expressed in a letter from 
 Turvey which is given in a former chapter. 
 
 But it was not only in matters ecclesiastical or 
 parochial that his wisdom was recognised. It was 
 not long before he was consulted by persons of all 
 sorts in the town. Money troubles, family diffi- 
 culties, matters of local concern, were frequently 
 brought to him for his counsel, and there is no 
 doubt that his reputation for wisdom helped very 
 greatly to make his reforms acceptable. In the 
 services of the Church he at first made little or no 
 change. Thus in his first printed notice of the 
 arrangement of services, which is still in existence, 
 it is to be observed that for a time he adhered to a 
 monthly Celebration only, and that at the midday 
 service. This is a strong example of his cautious 
 beginnings. On the other hand, there was one 
 change which he brought about as quickly as 
 possible. He could not stand the old three-decker 
 blocking the centre of the Church and hiding the 
 Altar from sight. So it was agreed to cut it down 
 to the size of an ordinary pulpit and to place it at 
 the corner of the chancel arch, instead of right in 
 the middle. Canon Macaulay tells a good story 
 of a devout parishioner who could not see the 
 preacher quite so easily from his seat in the gallery, 
 
 and, meeting the curate one day on his rounds, 
 
 72
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE-UPON-TRENT 
 
 assailed him with the words, " Young man, don't 
 you know ' Thy teachers should not be removed into 
 a corner, but thine eyes should see thy teachers ' ? " 
 
 Of the second quality that helped him to win 
 over his people, viz., his lovingkindness, much 
 might be written and much will crop out from 
 time to time in these pages. An Englishman of the 
 truest type, direct, tenacious, and possessed of an 
 abundance of common sense, he was at the same 
 time of such an affectionate disposition that he 
 rapidly became bound up in the family interests 
 of great numbers of his people. Hundreds of 
 letters still exist which he wrote to friends, and in 
 most of them he shows by his inquiries an intimate 
 knowledge of and care for each member of the 
 family down to the youngest child. 
 
 One of the means by which he found his way 
 into the hearts of his people was his interest in the 
 children, an interest which it will be seen led him 
 to devote much time and trouble to the manage- 
 ment of the schools in every place with which he 
 had to do. But from the very first nothing which 
 affected the welfare of his people was too small for 
 him to notice and to help with. Again and again 
 the expression is used, " He was such a father to 
 me." " If one was in trouble merely through 
 losing a servant," said one lady, " one told him all 
 
 73
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 about it as a matter of course, and he did what he 
 could to help." These sort of things are only said 
 of the men with the big hearts, and men of this 
 sort are likely to find opposition melt away before 
 the warmth of their affection. 
 
 The third quality was his extraordinary capacity 
 for work. When it is seen that a man does not care 
 how much labour he personally undertakes, the 
 impression of his earnestness has great influence, 
 and people who may not at first agree with him 
 soon begin to think there must be something in a 
 cause for which a man is willing to give so much. 
 " If you want a thing done do it yourself " seems 
 to have been his ruling motto. He carried it too 
 far in many cases, losing sometimes the gain of 
 interest and co-operation through his unwillingness 
 to let others help him. " Ah ! " said a woman the 
 other day, " he was a one-horse shay, was the 
 Bishop " words which describe him exactly. Plenty 
 of people would have been thankful to lend him 
 a hand, but he would generally rather pull the 
 load alone. This desire naturally led to his over- 
 working himself, and it is possible that had he not 
 taxed his powers so hard they might have lasted 
 even longer than they did. 
 
 With these gifts to enable him to win his way, 
 and with the help and companionship of his old 
 
 74
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE-UPON-TRENT 
 
 friend Mr. Macaulay to back him up, it is not very 
 surprising to find that those who anxiously watched 
 the beginnings of the work of so young a man as 
 Mr. Stamer in so large and difficult a parish as 
 Stoke should have rejoiced at the progress he 
 began at once to make. It is remarkable to find 
 Bishop Lonsdale writing to him on June 2nd, 1858 
 not more than three months after his arrival 
 at Stoke in these words, " I can truly say that 
 I am more and more thankful for your being 
 placed at Stoke." 
 
 It was not till the Advent in his first year in the 
 parish that Mr. Stamer made any great effort to 
 provide extra services in the church. During that 
 season he took great pains to obtain a number of 
 special preachers of eminence on the Wednesday 
 and Friday evenings. The list contains the names, 
 amongst others, of the Bishops of Lichfield and 
 Capetown, Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds, and the 
 Rev. T. L. Claughton, of Kidderminster, afterwards 
 Bishop of St. Albans. 
 
 Canon Macaulay referring to this special effort 
 says, " The recollection dawned upon our memory 
 that the new departure was ' not much accounted 
 of ' in Stoke. They were ' nice gentlemen,' but 
 most of them did not ' preach the Gospel ' ! " 
 
 But even if some were still inclined to scoff a 
 
 75
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 little at anything to which they had not always 
 been accustomed, every one had begun at the end 
 of his first year to grasp the fact that the new 
 Rector was a fearless Christian gentleman, abso- 
 lutely unaffected and straightforward, and deter- 
 mined to do his Master's work with all his strength 
 in love and consideration for others, but at all 
 hazards to do it. 
 
 The experiment of special services and preachers 
 was continued in the following Lent, when an 
 introductory sermon was preached by the Rev. 
 Edward Monro, Perpetual Curate of Harrow 
 Weald. This remarkable man was the author of 
 the well-known " Allegories," and is described on 
 the bills announcing his sermon as " A true Friend 
 of the Working Man." He also had friends among 
 the upper classes, for there are several letters in 
 existence from the Duchess of Sutherland of that 
 period saying that Mr. Monro is going to Trentham 
 and asking the Rector of Stoke to meet him. It 
 shows the anxiety of Mr. Stamer to obtain the 
 most stirring preachers of the day that he should 
 have induced Mr. Monro to come all the way from 
 Harrow to help him in his early efforts to rouse his 
 people from a lethargy in Church matters which 
 had been of long standing. 
 
 It was not long before it was necessary to add 
 
 76
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE-UPON-TRENT 
 
 another member to the staff, thus bringing the 
 number up to three, at which strength it remained 
 for some years. When it is realised that before 
 Sir Lovelace Stamer left the parish seven or eight 
 or even more curates were needed to cope with the 
 work, some idea will be gained of the increase of 
 population and also of organisations which took 
 place in after years. 
 
 Before concluding this chapter mention may be 
 made of an interesting scheme that Mr. Stamer set 
 on foot as early as the beginning of 1859 for the 
 better preservation of the memory of the faithful 
 departed. It was in December 1858 that an old 
 Wesleyan died at the age of eighty-three in Cross 
 Union Street, Stoke. The Rector had visited him 
 frequently and found him so godly that the teacher 
 almost became the taught. To perpetuate this 
 man's memory the first memorial encaustic tile was 
 placed in Stoke Parish Church by the Rector out 
 of " reverence for this aged servant of Christ," to 
 use words written long afterwards by the Bishop of 
 Shrewsbury. 
 
 These tiles became a great feature of the church. 
 They spread like a dado along the north, south, and 
 west walls, and the names include men and women 
 of every degree from bishops down to potters and 
 people in humble circumstances whose example as 
 
 77
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 faithful Christians is thus kept alive. No doubt 
 just at first even this innovation was viewed with 
 some suspicion. To-day the very fact of their 
 having been originated by their dear old Rector 
 would make every inhabitant of Stoke cry " Hands 
 off ! " should any one attempt their removal.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 (Continued) 
 
 I"T might easily be imagined that a young rector, 
 face to face for the first time with a great 
 town parish, would find himself so completely 
 absorbed by the details of parochial organisation, 
 and the many small cares brought daily to his notice, 
 as to be unable to raise his eyes beyond the horizon 
 of his immediate cure. But this was never the case 
 with the new Rector of Stoke. 
 
 Sir Lovelace Stamer, as he may now be called, for 
 he succeeded to the baronetcy in 1860, soon after 
 his arrival at Stoke, had from the first a wide and 
 far-seeing outlook. It will be seen in the course of 
 these pages that he was, as a young man, a long 
 way ahead of his generation in his view of social 
 reforms. But he also had a strong sense of his 
 responsibilities as a minister of the Church of 
 Christ, responsibilities which he felt could never be 
 limited within the boundaries of a parish, or even 
 
 79
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of a diocese. There is a good example of this in the 
 pages of the first numbers of the Stoke Parish 
 Magazine. It was in January, 1859, that he first 
 issued the magazine, feeling, as he says in the preface, 
 that " there is nothing better calculated to keep up 
 a healthy tone in the parish, and to gain support 
 and encouragement for every good work which is 
 being carried on in it, than a perfect publicity on 
 all points connected with the Church, the Schools, 
 the various Associations and Charities, which are 
 set on foot and managed by the Clergy, but for 
 which the funds are mainly provided by the 
 parishioners generally. They have a right to know 
 how their money is spent, and what progress each 
 year reveals as the result, under God's blessing, of 
 the machinery which their liberality keeps going." 
 
 It may be noticed in passing that these words 
 afford in themselves a witness of the fact that he 
 was in advance of his time. Not many clergy in 
 those days were willing to include their parishioners, 
 in any kind of way, in the management of parochial 
 affairs, or to consider that the parson was, in such 
 matters, responsible to his people. Nowadays times 
 are changed, and it would be impossible for the 
 clergy at all events in large parishes to work 
 on any other lines than those laid down in the above 
 quotation. 
 
 80
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 But a perusal of the pages of the first few 
 numbers of the magazine shows at once how 
 wide an outlook was taken by the Rector of Stoke. 
 Again and again a large portion of the space is taken 
 up by accounts of foreign missions and appeals for 
 help. Now it is Capetown, now Columbia, now the 
 new diocese of Brisbane, in which he tries to interest 
 his parishioners. 
 
 How many men in his position would have said, 
 " Let us get things in order in our own parish first, 
 and then it will be time enough to think of others." 
 His was the true idea, that a living and growing 
 Christianity cannot limit itself to supplying local 
 and selfish needs. 
 
 The Parish Magazine, to which reference has 
 been made, proved to be short-lived. At the end of 
 1859 it was given up on account of a lack of support, 
 the Rector finding that a large number of copies 
 were left on his hands each month. Probably the 
 place was not ready for it. People had not yet 
 begun to take a real interest in Church matters. 
 But the fact that it was given up is a little remark- 
 able for two reasons, one, that in after years Sir 
 Lovelace always considered the magazine (which 
 was revived in 1 874) of great importance ; the other, 
 that he was not by any means in the habit of 
 
 relinquishing any project upon which he had once 
 G 81
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 determined. The importance he gave to the 
 matter afterwards was proved by the fact that he 
 nearly always wrote the local portion himself, and 
 was very particular to maintain a high tone both of 
 sentiment and writing. It is said that in his last 
 years, when blindness made him unable to read to 
 any great extent, it was a great pleasure to him to 
 receive magazines from the parishes in which he was 
 interested. These were read aloud to him, and he 
 invariably noticed with approbation what was 
 written in a lofty style, and condemned anything 
 he considered flippant or unworthy. 
 
 It was not long after coming to Stoke that the 
 question of district churches and the position of 
 the curates serving them was brought to the notice 
 of the Rector of the Parish Church. How far was 
 he, as Rector, to give a free hand to those who had 
 charge of distinct portions of the parish, and how 
 far was a curate so appointed to be available, or 
 otherwise, for the parish generally? It may be 
 said here that Sir Lovelace Stamer was in favour of 
 the complete dependence of such curates upon the 
 Rector of the Parish Church. He did not favour 
 the idea of breaking the parish up into independent 
 districts, in which he was in agreement with Dr. 
 Hook when Vicar of Leeds. In 1859 there was a 
 correspondence on the subject between the Bishop 
 
 82
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 of Lichfield and the Rector of Stoke, of which, 
 unfortunately, one letter only exists. This is a 
 letter from Bishop Lonsdale, in which he says with 
 caution, " Thoughtful and experienced men have 
 differed widely on the question whether it be best 
 to divide large parishes into independent districts, 
 or to leave them under care of one incumbent with 
 several curates under him. It is a question which 
 admits, as it seems to me, weighty arguments on both 
 sides." 
 
 The history of the parish of Stoke under Sir 
 Lovelace Stamer, with its ever-increasing staff of 
 curates, is evidence of the opinion he held, but it is 
 striking to find him at so young an age, and so early 
 in his career, engaged in trying to solve this problem, 
 and seeking his Bishop's counsel about it. As to this 
 latter point, however, there is matter for less 
 surprise, for a strong liking, and even affection, 
 seems soon to have sprung up between Bishop 
 Lonsdale and the young Rector. Frequent ex- 
 pressions of trust and lovingkindness occur in the 
 Bishop's letters, and on the occasion of the birth of 
 one of Sir Lovelace's sons, he wrote, " What an old 
 squire said to me many years ago is strictly appli- 
 cable to your case ' There can't be too many of a 
 good breed ! ' Such a passage occurring in a 
 letter of five -and -forty years ago shows pretty 
 
 83
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 well the terms that existed between the correspon- 
 dents. 
 
 The confidence felt in Sir Lovelace Stamer by the 
 Bishop was shown by his appointment, while very 
 young, to the Rural Deanery of Stoke-upon-Trent. 
 In this capacity he soon became a prominent person. 
 In 1866, at the annual meeting of Rural Deans of 
 the Archdeaconry of Staffordshire, held at Eccleshall 
 under the presidency of the Bishop, he read an 
 extremely able paper on the proposed organisation 
 of a Diocesan Synod. His grasp of the difficulties 
 that had to be met, together with his appreciation 
 of and sympathy with the desires of both clergy and 
 laity in the matter, are strongly in evidence in the 
 considerations that he brought to the notice of the 
 meeting. He foresaw the complaint that has so 
 often been made in the years that have elapsed since 
 then, of an imperfect representation of the Clergy, 
 and was strongly in favour of the principle that 
 every priest should be summoned to a Diocesan 
 Synod. He based this opinion partly upon the fact 
 that this was of the essence of every Diocesan Synod 
 from the earliest times, and partly upon no other plan 
 presenting itself which could remedy an imperfect 
 representation of the priesthood. As regards the 
 laity, he suggested that the Churchwardens of every 
 parish should form an electoral body to choose 
 
 84
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 representatives for each deanery, and that to these 
 elected persons should be added all Peers and 
 Members of Parliament who should be Churchmen. 
 This is (as regards the laity) very much the system 
 that has been adopted in many dioceses, and serves 
 to show his clear-sighted appreciation of what was 
 likely to be required. At the same time it is fair 
 to say that he was not extremely enthusiastic in the 
 matter. To his cautious mind it seemed possible 
 that the immediate results of a Synod would not be 
 great, but on the whole he inclined to the opinion 
 that it was worth a trial. 
 
 It may be noted that, when the Lichfield Diocesan 
 Conference was inaugurated in 1868, Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer's suggestions were not considered feasible. 
 A representation only of the clergy was allowed, 
 and of the laity a number of representatives 
 equal to that of the clergy, with the addition of 
 the Lords - Lieutenant, Members of Parliament, 
 all Patrons of Benefices, and the Government 
 Inspectors of Church Schools. 
 
 In the following year (1867) Sir Lovelace Stamer 
 sent the following letter to the Bishop of Lichfield. 
 The letter explains itself, and is interesting as 
 showing his (Sir Lovelace's) position with regard 
 to the ritualistic movement which was gradually 
 coming more and more into evidence. 
 
 85
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 " Cliff Ville, Stoke-upon-Trent, 
 
 Feb. i, 1867. 
 
 My dear Lord, 
 
 At a meeting of the Clergy of this Rural 
 Deanery held yesterday, the question was long and 
 carefully considered whether it would be proper to 
 convey to your Lordship in a formal address our 
 views on the extreme ritualism which has made its 
 appearance, and gained some considerable ground 
 in the Church. 
 
 We concluded not to address your Lordship, for 
 reasons with which I need not trouble you, but I was 
 instructed to make known to you in a private letter 
 what were the feelings of the Clergy present. There 
 was, as your Lordship would expect, a unanimous 
 condemnation of what is known as extreme ritualism, 
 more particularly when it was considered as being 
 avowedly the outward expression of doctrines 
 which we believe to be at variance with the letter and 
 spirit of our formularies. 
 
 In considering how these excesses could be dealt 
 with and restrained, the majority of us were averse 
 either to legal prosecutions or parliamentary inter- 
 ference. We thought that if the Archbishops and 
 Bishops could concur in an address to the clergy of 
 their respective dioceses, similar to the one they 
 
 86
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 agreed upon in 1851, setting forth what in their 
 judgment were the limits of ceremonial revival in 
 divine service, this, while it might fail to influence 
 those who have already committed themselves and 
 their congregations to an advanced ritual, would 
 restrain those who might otherwise follow their 
 example, and at the same time would constrain 
 others, who have neglected the plain directions of 
 our Prayer-book, to repair their omissions and to be 
 more attentive to all the circumstantials of public 
 worship. We were all alike impressed with the 
 extreme difficulty of dealing with these questions 
 which are now agitating the Church, and I feel sure 
 that our prayers will be offered continually to the 
 great Head of the Church that He would endue your 
 Lordship and your Right Reverend Brethren with 
 grace and wisdom to preserve from all deterioration 
 the pure faith which we have inherited, and which 
 we desire to hand on unchanged to the generations 
 which are to follow us. 
 
 Believe me, my dear Lord, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 L. T. STAMER." 
 
 In answer to this Bishop Lonsdale replied that 
 he was heartily glad to know of this strong con- 
 
 87
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 damnation of extreme ritualism, with which con- 
 demnation he entirely agreed. But he added that 
 it appeared to the Bishops that no manifesto on the 
 subject could be drawn up in which they were 
 all prepared to concur. However, he expressed a 
 strong hope that the good sense and right-minded- 
 ness of the great body of the clergy and laity 
 would bring the Church out of the difficulty, since 
 " after all, the ultra-ritualists are an exceeding small 
 section." 
 
 Of other causes and interests not to be classed as 
 parochial there were many which appealed to Sir 
 Lovelace, even in these early years at Stoke. He 
 was exceedingly fond of printed notices, and dis- 
 tributed many of these to give information about 
 any important forthcoming events. He also pre- 
 served those issued by other people when they were 
 of any special interest. All these various notices 
 he fastened into a big scrap-book, which has for- 
 tunately been preserved. From its pages can be 
 gleaned a very fair idea of the rapidity with which, 
 one after another, societies, institutions, and such- 
 like, were taken up by him, and once taken up, were 
 supported with his characteristic vigour and fidelity. 
 Thus, in 1860, he organised Anniversary Services on 
 a weekday in October, on behalf of the North 
 Staffordshire Infirmary. The music was rendered 
 
 88
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 by no less than seven combined choirs, and the 
 preachers were the Bishop of Lichfield and the 
 Rev. T. L. Claughton, afterwards Bishop of St. 
 Albans. 
 
 In 1862 he took up temperance work, and called 
 a meeting in its support, which was addressed by the 
 Rev. R. Twigg, of Wednesbury. In 1863 he began 
 to interest himself in the North Staffordshire Adult 
 Education Society, and arranged its annual tea 
 meeting. In 1864 the Factory Acts Extension Bill, 
 of great importance to Stoke, claimed his attention, 
 and he called a meeting of his Ruridecanal Con- 
 ference to consider it. In 1865 he associated him- 
 self with the Rev. E. J. Edwards, in promoting a 
 Nursing Association for the diocese of Lichfield, 
 with the object of getting properly trained women 
 to nurse in hospitals, parochial districts, and private 
 families. 
 
 On most of these subjects there will be more to 
 be said later on. They are just mentioned here 
 to show how widely his sympathies spread, even in 
 the first years of his work in the parish of Stoke- 
 upon-Trent. 
 
 There was one bit of work which Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer undertook that was non-ecclesiastical, but 
 which he felt to be for the benefit of his parishioners. 
 This was the office of Guardian of the Poor for
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Stoke. With his advanced views on all social ques- 
 tions affecting the welfare of the people, he was 
 doubtless glad of the opportunities thus afforded 
 him. Of his work as a Guardian there is little 
 record, but on one occasion at all events he did not 
 entirely approve of the methods of the Board. 
 It happened in this way. In the year 1866 the 
 Stoke Churchyard became nearly full, and some- 
 thing had to be done in the near future to meet 
 the requirements of the place. With their usual 
 generosity, the Rector of Stoke and the Patron 
 (Colonel Tomlinson) offered two acres of glebe land 
 nearest to the church as a free gift to increase the 
 churchyard, provided only that the inhabitants of 
 the town would fence and drain the land. 
 
 Now the question had arisen at a meeting of the 
 Board of Guardians as to future provision for the 
 burial of paupers, now that the churchyard of 
 Stoke Church was so nearly full. The workhouse 
 was not in the ecclesiastical district of Stoke, and 
 therefore the burials from there could not take 
 place in the ground which had been offered, as that 
 was to be given to the parishioners of Stoke alone. 
 At the meeting Sir Lovelace proposed that a plot 
 of ground near the workhouse should be purchased 
 for the purpose, which proposal was carried. How- 
 ever, at a subsequent meeting the subject was 
 
 90
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 reopened in Sir Lovelace's absence, and a speech 
 was made by one of the Guardians advising the 
 postponement of the whole matter, owing to what 
 he called the " mere enthusiasm " of supposing 
 that the money could be raised to fence and drain 
 the two acres offered in increase of the churchyard. 
 In case this were not done, the offer of the land 
 would be withdrawn, and probably a large cemetery 
 would be provided in concert with Longton and 
 Fenton. As may be imagined, the reading of the 
 report of this speech roused the wrath of the 
 Rector, and he sent a strongly worded letter to the 
 " Staffordshire Advertiser," in which he complained 
 that the Board of Guardians had mixed up with a 
 matter which properly belonged to them to decide 
 another matter with which, as a Board, they had 
 no concern, and also that they had been guilty of a 
 practice, which he observed was far too common in 
 that neighbourhood, of unsettling a question which 
 had once been decided by authority after careful 
 consideration. 
 
 In spite of the speech made at the meeting of the 
 Board of Guardians, the matter was in the end 
 carried through according to the generous proposal 
 of Colonel Tomlinson and Sir Lovelace Stamer. 
 The Stoke Improvement Commissioners approved 
 of the scheme, and determined that the amount 
 
 91
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 needed to drain and fence the land should be pro- 
 vided by a rate if it could not be voluntarily raised, 
 and the addition to the churchyard was consecrated 
 by Bishop Selwyn in 1868, soon after his acceptance 
 of the See of Lichfield. 
 
 92
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE (continued) 
 EDUCATION 
 
 TN spite of all his interests in matters ruridecanal, 
 diocesan, and concerning the Church at large, 
 it must not be thought that the welfare of his 
 parishioners held any but the first place with Sir 
 Lovelace Stamer. His capable mind, ever looking 
 on into the future as well as to the needs of the 
 immediate present, grasped the fact that, if the 
 whole spiritual and social tone of the parish was to 
 be raised, the great hope lay in dealing with the 
 children. In this matter, as in so many others, he 
 was in advance of his age. It is only latterly that 
 this great truth has been generally accepted. Even 
 now there are those who are short-sighted enough 
 to fail to see that work for children to-day, even if 
 costly, will repay itself by the improvement of the 
 next generation. If a God-fearing nation is what 
 is desired, it can best be attained by teaching the 
 children the fear of God. If it be desired to 
 diminish the pauperism of the country it is with 
 
 93
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 the children that the best work can be done, by 
 getting them out of the workhouses that they may 
 start in life with the same chance as more fortunate 
 children. 
 
 More than half a century ago the Rector of Stoke 
 saw clearly that if his work was to be worth anything 
 it was with the children that he must begin. 
 
 When he first arrived at Stoke there was only 
 one school in existence, a building which forms 
 the main block of the present Central Schools. 
 To anyone who is aware of the extent of the district 
 which this school had to serve it will be obvious 
 that numbers of children must have been debarred 
 from regular attendance, owing to the distance from 
 their homes being too great for small children, or 
 indeed for any children in very bad weather. One 
 of Sir Lovelace's first objects was to remedy this. 
 Probably his ideas on the subject would not exactly 
 commend themselves to a modern Education 
 Department, for they were eminently practical, 
 and cared a great deal more for the sound teaching 
 of the children than for showy buildings and 
 apparatus. So it came about that, sooner than 
 waste time, he got possession of two empty cottages, 
 one in Cliff Vale and the other in London Road, 
 and opened them as schools. This latter house 
 was only available for eighteen months, at the end 
 
 94
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 of which time the Rector had notice to quit, 
 on which a printed bill was issued, urging the 
 parents to send their children when possible to the 
 Church School, and promising that a new and much 
 more convenient building should be opened for 
 the purpose on the other side of the canal, as soon 
 after Whitsuntide as possible. Meantime, the same 
 course, though on a larger scale, was followed at 
 Boothen, Mount Pleasant, and the Mount Estate. 
 In these cases the idea of combining a school with 
 a room for services was carried out, two or three 
 contiguous cottages being utilised for the purpose. 
 Thus it will be seen that in a very few years a con- 
 siderable number of subsidiary schools were started 
 with the result that many more children were 
 receiving education. 
 
 It is quite possible that some parents did not 
 altogether appreciate the removal of the admirable 
 excuse for their children's non-attendance at school 
 which they had hitherto been able to offer. There 
 is evidence of this in the fact that on January 8th, 
 1 86 1, the Rector printed a handbill, addressed to 
 the inhabitants of Boothen, in which he exhorted 
 them, in his usual direct and forcible language, 
 to send their children to school. " Understand, 
 then," he said, " that within a very short distance 
 of your own doors there is a Day School for your 
 
 95
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Children under a Certificated Mistress, the charge 
 for attendance at which is only twopence a week for 
 each child. There is also a Sunday School open to 
 all without charge ; and on Sunday and Wednesday 
 evenings there is Divine Service. 
 
 " Be sure that these blessings having been brought 
 so near to you, you will neglect them at your peril. 
 In the great day of account you can never say that 
 you had not a school at hand for the education 
 of your children, or no place wherein to worship 
 God and hear His word." 
 
 It was like him to speak out in this manner, but 
 it may be further said that few clergymen ever had 
 such a right to speak. Stoke owed an immense 
 debt to him in the matter of the education of its 
 children from the first. The work he undertook 
 and carried out single-handed was amazing. He 
 was everything in one to the Church Schools. At 
 one time he kept the books of five blocks of schools 
 the large Central School, and that at Mount 
 Pleasant, Boothen, Cliff Vale, and Berry Hill and 
 furnished the Department with all the returns in 
 connection with them himself It would have been 
 thought by some people that to have done all this 
 was work enough in itself for one man. To Sir 
 Lovelace Stamer it was just one item a most 
 
 important one among many others. And the 
 
 96
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 success of his efforts justified the single-handed 
 venture. During his first twelve years at Stoke 
 there were no Board Schools, and the Church 
 Schools became so popular that the Wesleyans gave 
 their school up, and all the children in the place, 
 who went to school at all, attended the Church 
 Schools only. 
 
 How did he do it ? The answer is "by his 
 personality." He overcame opposition not by 
 killing it by kindness, certainly not by truckling to 
 any man, but by his reputation as a tremendous 
 worker coupled with a geniality towards his fellow- 
 men, simply as fellow-men, which was difficult to 
 resist. Then, again, his far-sighted policy had 
 something to say in the matter. When all the 
 children came to the Church Schools he laid it down 
 as a rule years before it became incorporated 
 into an Education Bill that any parents who liked 
 were at liberty to withdraw their children from 
 religious instruction. 
 
 At the same time he made an immense point of 
 the religious instruction. He was there himself, 
 and he took care that his curates were there. In that, 
 as in everything, he would have the very best he could 
 get and could give. It is not too much to say that 
 to this fact, and to his personal influence, which 
 
 seemed to be felt throughout the school by teachers 
 H 97
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 and by children, whether he was present or absent, 
 the great success of the Central Schools at Stoke 
 was mainly due. 
 
 The Rector's visits to his schools were daily or as 
 nearly so as possible. He personally gave an immense 
 amount of religious instruction. At other times he 
 came, as he was specially fond of doing, to conduct 
 the school prayers, either at the opening or closing 
 of the day. This he liked to call " taking the 
 Children's daily Service." 
 
 It is not very difficult from all that has been said 
 or written on this subject to picture Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer dropping into the Central Schools to see how 
 everything was getting on. The moment his sturdy 
 figure and calmly genial face appeared there would 
 be a general welcome from teachers and children 
 alike, all showing their pleasure by their beaming 
 faces and respectful salutation. He would perhaps 
 carry in his hand an untidy piece of paper, picked 
 up just outside the school door, and would say 
 a word or two about neatness and tidiness, his quick 
 eye at the same time noticing any smallest lack of 
 orderliness, such as a picture or map that did not 
 hang quite straight. He would have a little chat 
 with Mr. Riley, the headmaster, a warm personal 
 friend, and then would go from class to class, 
 
 speaking to every teacher, and keeping himself in 
 
 98
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 touch with their work, and with themselves. Some- 
 times a child would be pointed out to him as guilty 
 of bad behaviour, and he would always add weight 
 by a word or two to the correction which the 
 teacher had administered. 
 
 Mr. Riley remembers his speaking one day to a 
 boy for losing his temper. Sir Lovelace spoke to the 
 lad in the most touching and sympathising way, 
 saying that he himself knew what it was to fail in 
 that respect, and adding that he would remember 
 to pray for the boy when praying for himself. 
 Probably that boy has never forgotten the words 
 then spoken to him so far more efficacious in their 
 tender sympathy than any mere scolding could have 
 been. 
 
 But Sir Lovelace knew, none better, that the 
 children's welfare was not entirely dependent upon 
 the School. He fully understood that if a child 
 was to grow up as he should, and make the use he 
 should of the educational advantages offered him, 
 he must be encouraged in his home. A boy or girl 
 whose parents take no heed of such matters as 
 cleanliness, school-attendance, or decency in speech 
 and conduct, is heavily handicapped. To try to in- 
 spire a right feeling in the matter of their children's 
 welfare the Rector instituted annual gatherings of 
 parents, who were entertained with tea and music, 
 
 99
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 and heard from him a stirring account of all that 
 was being done in the schools for their children. 
 These gatherings were started very soon after Sir 
 Lovelace came to Stoke, and were greatly appre- 
 ciated. 
 
 It is just possible that some people may think 
 that a man with so much upon his mind, with a 
 strong business sense, and with a certain settled 
 determination influencing his actions, set about his 
 work for the children from a real appreciation of 
 the necessity of doing so, as part of a great scheme 
 for the general welfare of the place, but without 
 any or at least without much special liking for 
 or appreciation of children. But this was not the 
 case. Again and again his affection for children is 
 the theme of letters written after his death by those 
 who want to say something of what he had been to 
 them. A working man in Stoke was asked the other 
 day if he remembered when he was a schoolboy 
 seeing Sir Lovelace, and whether he was afraid of 
 him. " Afraid of him ! " was the reply, the meaning 
 being clear from the man's subsequent words, 
 which went to show that it was, perhaps, when a 
 boy that he had best learnt to love the Rector. 
 
 Just one little story may be told here. Mr. 
 Riley, of whom mention has been made, has set it 
 down as follows : 
 
 100
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 " Just about the time the Bishop left Stoke he 
 paid a visit to my house. My youngest little girl, 
 then about three years old, went to the door and 
 managed to open it by climbing on a chair. Her 
 mother was at the moment in the kitchen, and the 
 little one ran to fetch her, saying, ' Oh ! mamma, 
 do come ! There is such a nice old gentleman at 
 the door ! ' After delivering her information the 
 child ran back to the Bishop, who was much amused 
 at hearing her message. On reaching the sitting- 
 room I found the Bishop sitting with the child on 
 his knee. It would be hard to say which enjoyed 
 the situation most. Next morning by post 
 the little girl received a story-book inscribed, 
 t To my little Chatterbox from her friend the 
 Bishop.' " 
 
 To the teachers, too, as well as to the children 
 he was a true friend. He thoroughly sympathised 
 with the arduous and anxious nature of their work. 
 No better example of this fact can be given than 
 the way in which he shared in their trepidation 
 on the approach of examination days. This was 
 specially the case in the old " percentage " days, 
 when the visit of H.M.'s Inspector meant so much 
 to a teacher's reputation. On the eve of such 
 occasions he would invite the principal teachers 
 to Cliff Ville for a few hours' relaxation, or would
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 arrange for them a ramble in the country with tea 
 at a friend's house or a wayside inn. 
 
 In all financial matters he was liberality itself 
 where the schools were concerned. As in most 
 other parochial matters he took the responsibility 
 upon himself. It was seldom that there was any 
 other guarantor than the Rector, and no one ever 
 had any idea of what sums were provided from his 
 private purse. Though Nonconformists made use 
 of the Central Schools, it was practically from 
 Church people only that he received subscriptions, 
 and too much stress cannot be laid upon the 
 generosity he displayed, and his readiness to accept 
 sole responsibility. 
 
 It is not given to every one to receive such a 
 proof of the result of their labours as was given to 
 the Bishop of Shrewsbury when in 1902 a gathering 
 of the old boys of St. Peter's Schools (the Central 
 Church Schools) was organised by Alderman F. 
 Geen, J.P., himself an old boy. 
 
 The Bishop came from Edgmond to preside, 
 and a hundred former scholars were present at the 
 dinner. When it is stated that of these one was 
 at that time Mayor of Stoke, two were aldermen, 
 and four were councillors, some idea will be gained 
 of the way in which the education received at 
 these Church schools trained men to be able to 
 
 102
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 occupy important positions in after life. An 
 address was presented to the Bishop by Mr. Geen 
 on behalf of the former scholars, and in the course 
 of his speech he alluded to " the close personal 
 attention the Bishop always gave to the welfare 
 and life of all scholars, without distinction of class 
 or creed." This was no doubt one of the secrets 
 of the success of the work. Another was the close 
 friendship which existed between him and the 
 teachers, to which in the case of Mr. Riley atten- 
 tion has already been drawn. When the clergyman 
 and the teachers really work hand in hand, with 
 the personal welfare of the scholars thoroughly at 
 heart, the best results are bound to follow. The 
 present writer cannot help remembering a Church 
 school in Shropshire where, fifty years ago, the 
 Rector of the parish (afterwards Bishop Walsham 
 How) worked diligently and devotedly in close 
 friendship and harmony with the master (Mr. H. M. 
 Gwyther). From that school went forth boys who 
 became solicitors, doctors, and railway managers, 
 and one was ordained and gave himself to the 
 mission field. This was just such a case, on a 
 smaller scale, as that of Stoke, and they form with 
 many others the best possible answer to the mis- 
 leading outcry against Church schools. 
 
 Once more it is necessary to point to the width 
 
 103
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of Sir Lovelace Stamer's sympathies. It was just 
 the same in the matter of education as in other 
 things. There have always been many clergy 
 keenly interested in education, but their interest 
 has been largely confined to their Church schools. 
 This was never the case with the Rector of Stoke. 
 It is fortunately possible to quote from a valuable 
 paper which has been written for the purposes of this 
 memoir by Mr. Beach, a retired Assistant Inspector 
 of Schools still resident at Stoke. He writes as 
 follows : 
 
 " There were several groups of Church Schools 
 in Stoke, but I am under the impression that, with 
 the exception of the old Central National School 
 near the Parish Church, all the Church Schools 
 were started by Sir Lovelace himself. He was a 
 frequent visitor to all these schools, as I know from 
 my own personal knowledge, and I may say that 
 he was by no means unknown in the schools of the 
 district. When the first School Board for Stoke 
 was formed after the Act of 1870, Sir Lovelace 
 was its first Chairman, and when it was found that, 
 after all the extension of accommodation in Church 
 Schools, owing to the rapid increase of population 
 the existing schools were crowded, he entered 
 heartily into the schemes for providing adequate 
 accommodation by the building of several groups 
 
 104
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 of Board Schools. In the building and the working 
 of these schools he took an active interest, and his 
 anxiety for their welfare was scarcely less, if less at 
 all, than his anxiety for his own Church Schools. 
 As Chairman of the Board he always worked loyally 
 with his colleagues, some of whom were Non- 
 conformists and Roman Catholics, and in the 
 appointment of officials, whether teachers or other 
 officers, he was devoid of sectarian prejudice, and 
 always seemed anxious to get the best persons 
 irrespective of creed or sect. It is very pleasing 
 to me to remember the amicable relations which 
 existed between Sir Lovelace, the Roman Catholic 
 priest, and the Congregational minister as members 
 of the School Board." 
 
 Taking this intense interest in the welfare of the 
 children, it is not unnatural to find him anxious as 
 to those who were to teach them. The Church 
 Training Colleges for Teachers found him a real 
 friend, and from very early days at Stoke it will be 
 seen that he took a personal share in much that 
 concerned them. As to this it will be well to quote 
 Mr. Beach again : 
 
 " I saw Sir Lovelace for the first time at the 
 Annual Reunion of Saltley College during my 
 first year's residence there. This was in the autumn 
 of 1860. I found from my after knowledge of him 
 
 105
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 that he always took a great interest in the College, 
 in close alliance with the late Lords Lyttelton and 
 Norton. I know also, partly from his own words 
 to me and partly by other means, that he took an 
 equal interest in the Training College for Mistresses 
 at Derby. Not only was he alive to the importance 
 of the training of teachers for Church Schools 
 from a general point of view, but he took a personal 
 interest in the training of young men and women 
 whose early lives were spent in his own parish or its 
 immediate neighbourhood. 
 
 " One schoolmaster, who became an ornament 
 to his profession, told me many years ago that, 
 having been deprived of his parents at an early 
 age, he could not have entered a Training College 
 but for the assistance of Sir Lovelace Stamer. 
 And, while alluding to this matter of assistance, 
 I may also mention cases of families, well known 
 to myself, reduced from comfortable circumstances 
 almost to penury by death or other painful circum- 
 stances, where Sir Lovelace has assisted members 
 of such families to gain a respectable livelihood. 
 Young women, previously educated at secondary 
 schools, have, under these unfortunate circum- 
 stances, been placed at one or other of Sir Love- 
 lace's schools at a small salary. They have had no 
 official qualifications, and consequently could not 
 
 106
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 be recognised by the Board of Education, but they 
 have gained experience, have been encouraged to 
 persevere with their studies, and in due time have 
 become Certificated Teachers, and have had charge 
 of schools as Head Mistresses." 
 
 The practical generosity of such actions as those 
 described by Mr. Beach needs no comment. It 
 was exactly like Sir Lovelace. He knew every one 
 and took any amount of pains to help individuals. 
 He knew exactly whether a young man or woman 
 was likely to succeed as a teacher, and, while in the 
 most kindly and fatherly manner helping them in a 
 time of trouble, provided valuable recruits to the 
 body of Church teachers in Church schools. 
 
 Mr. Beach further remarks (to show Sir Love- 
 lace's interest in Training Colleges) that when 
 towards the close of the Bishop's life he visited 
 him at Penkridge they talked of the first time they 
 met at the Saltley College in 1860. " Ah ! Beach," 
 said the Bishop, " I used to think you were a noisy 
 lot." Mr. Beach replied that in his opinion the 
 blame lay upon the Principal of the College, who 
 was an old pupil of Dr. Arnold at Rugby, and had 
 followed Arnold in allowing his pupils much 
 liberty. Sir Lovelace at once agreed and said that 
 he was aware of the fact. 
 
 In connection with the help that Sir Lovelace 
 107
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Stamer gave to young people pages might be 
 written. In the many letters to clergy and others 
 which the present writer has been privileged to 
 read, it is astonishing to find the intimate know- 
 ledge he possessed of the children of his friends. 
 Sometimes several years had apparently elapsed 
 since any correspondence had occurred, but his 
 inquiries after " Tom's " school career or " Mary's" 
 studies show that he had all the time been bearing 
 them in mind. He never minded how much 
 trouble he took. On one occasion he went all the 
 way up to London on purpose to remonstrate with 
 a girl friend of whom he heard news which made 
 him anxious. Then, again, a clergyman writes to 
 tell how, when his father died at a most critical 
 time in his young days, just, in fact, when he was 
 going to college, Sir Lovelace Stamer showed a 
 true and loving interest in his future, giving proof 
 thereof by sending a present of money to buy 
 books and other necessaries on starting his college 
 life. 
 
 But the most touching story in this connection 
 concerns a little boy, the youngest son of one of 
 Sir Lovelace's many friends. 
 
 One December day, when the boy was just eight 
 years old, Sir Lovelace paid a visit to his home, 
 and found that the little chap was on the very next 
 
 108
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 day to undergo an operation for tubercular disease 
 in one of the bones of his arm. Needless to say the 
 Bishop's (as he then was) warm sympathies were at 
 once aroused, and he begged to have a letter giving 
 him information of the result of the operation 
 and the progress of the patient. A few days later 
 he sent the little chap an affectionate letter and a 
 book called " Morning Light," with his love and 
 blessing. The operation unfortunately had to be 
 followed by a series of further operations in the arm 
 and other parts of the body due to the progress of 
 the same disease. The Bishop's first letter was 
 thereupon followed by many others, the correspon- 
 dence lasting nearly to the end of Sir Lovelace's 
 life. A number of these touching little letters are 
 lying before the present writer : such as (to quote 
 the boy's father) " have survived reading and re- 
 reading, and being carried in a boy's pocket for 
 months together." It is noticeable that the most 
 worn and ragged of the letters is that which the 
 boy received from the Bishop at the time of his 
 confirmation, nearly six years after their friendship 
 began. It is a beautiful little letter, and there is 
 no wonder the boy read and re-read it. One 
 passage may be quoted : " It will be for you, my 
 dear boy, a very solemn yet happy occasion. Solemn, 
 
 because God the Holy Ghost, a Divine Person, is 
 
 109
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 coming to dwell in your heart, and it needs that 
 your heart should be ready to receive Him : and 
 happy, because you have a great token of God's 
 love Who has spared you to receive His gift, and 
 by this token assures you that He desires you to be 
 His child for ever." This last passage refers to 
 the access of health and strength which the boy 
 had received. Some seven or eight books, sent 
 with the Bishop's love and blessing from time to 
 time, will always be among that boy's treasured 
 possessions. 
 
 At least two strictly educational movements 
 require special notice as engaging the attention of 
 the Rector of Stoke in his early years. He was a 
 firm believer in Night Schools. In those days 
 boys left the elementary schools at a much younger 
 age than they do now, and Sir Lovelace did all he 
 knew to induce them to continue their education 
 in the evenings after work was over. The first 
 printed bill on the subject seems to have been 
 issued by him in September, 1863, when he an- 
 nounced that a night school would be held at the 
 Central Schools three evenings in the week under 
 the superintendence of the Clergy of the Parish 
 Church. 
 
 The other movement to which he gave warm 
 support was the formation of the North Staflord- 
 
 110
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 shire Adult Education Society. This Society 
 appears to have been started about the year 1859, 
 and its object was to foster the work of Night 
 Schools and similar efforts in North Staffordshire. 
 Pupils from such schools were examined annually 
 and prizes were given as a stimulus, while full reports 
 were issued of the number of successful candidates, 
 and so forth. Pecuniary grants were also made to 
 teachers in these schools so far as the funds of the 
 society allowed. From the annual reports which 
 are to be found in the big scrap-book before men- 
 tioned, it does not seem that the movement spread 
 very widely. It was most keenly supported in the 
 neighbourhoods of Stoke and Leek. After four 
 years' work the numbers presented for examination 
 were about 130, which in four more years increased 
 to 170, at which point they remained for some time. 
 Sir Lovelace threw much of his influence into the 
 scale on behalf of the Society, and usually presided 
 at the annual meetings. 
 
 While on the subject of education it should be 
 mentioned that a little later (1875 and 1876) he 
 was keenly interested in promoting University 
 Extension lectures in Stoke. Here he was met with 
 disappointment,' for the attendance in the second 
 year was too small to admit of continuing the 
 effort. This was all the more disappointing as he 
 
 in
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 had secured admirable lecturers and the subjects 
 treated were of an interesting kind, such as English 
 Literature, Political Economy, etc. Among the 
 lecturers was Mr. Arthur Lyttelton, afterwards 
 Bishop of Southampton, and among Sir Lovelace's 
 papers is a letter from Mr. Gladstone regretting 
 his inability to preside at his nephew's lecture. 
 As further evidence of the eminent men whom the 
 Rector of Stoke approached in order to further 
 the success of the scheme it is recorded that on 
 one occasion Professor James Stuart gave away 
 the prizes, the Bishop of Lichfield (Dr. Selwyn) 
 being in the Chair. 
 
 What is so striking in all this is the fact that with 
 all the time and energy that it must have taken to 
 promote these and many other large matters the 
 personal and individual care of his parishioners never 
 for one moment suffered. He was an indefatigable 
 visitor, and would have been annoyed to think that 
 there was any one in his parish about whom he did 
 not know at least something. If any one suffered 
 it was his family. He had at the end of 1863 re- 
 moved to Cliff Ville, and there was soon a goodly 
 number of small children in his home. Of them 
 he was able to see comparatively little. From early 
 morning to late evening he was entirely absorbed 
 by his parish, and by the claims of the various 
 
 112
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 societies and agencies in the work of which he took 
 such a leading part. Then there were his letters. 
 These, as must always be the case in such a life, 
 increased in number year by year. Then there 
 were his sermons and speeches to be prepared. 
 What time was there for all these ? He found an 
 answer to that question by sitting up till the small 
 hours of the morning. It was seldom that he went 
 to bed till two or three o'clock. This also in one 
 way helped to rob his family of some of the pleasures 
 of his society, for he got into a habit of sleeping 
 in his chair after dinner until prayer time came, 
 after which he would once more settle down to his 
 writing. In connection with this habit of sitting 
 up late a friend tells how he once remonstrated 
 with Sir Lovelace about it, who replied that he had 
 formerly been in the habit of lying awake for some 
 hours after going to bed, and that he thought he 
 might just as well be up and at work, as he always 
 had plenty to do. There is also an amusing story 
 told of an occasion when he was to preach in Lich- 
 field Cathedral and stayed with Canon Lonsdale 
 for the occasion. Of course, he had had no time to 
 finish writing his sermon and sat up all night at 
 work upon it. Now Canon Lonsdale was a very 
 early riser, and Sir Lovelace Stamer used to tell how 
 he suddenly remembered this and was overcome 
 i 113
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 with terror lest they should meet on the stairs, the 
 one coming down, the other just going up to bed ! 
 It was only a man of Sir Lovelace's vigorous 
 constitution and powerful frame who could stand 
 such a life. At all events, in the prime of his life 
 he must have had nerves of iron. 
 
 There is one word that occurs in almost every de- 
 scription of him from every kind of source, and that 
 is " genial." How few people with the strain of such 
 unceasing work and the weight of so much responsi- 
 bility on their own shoulders would be able to be 
 continually genial in their intercourse with their 
 fellow-men ! But he had a smile and a hearty greet- 
 ing for all. Many a man walking down a street in 
 Stoke would first be aware of the Rector's approach 
 by finding an arm thrust through his and hearing a 
 cheery, " Well, how are you ? " But with it all there 
 was no forgetfulness of his office. His was a saintly 
 geniality. When their ways separated his good-bye 
 was as often as not in the apostolic words, " The 
 Lord be with you." 
 
 It must, however, be stated that the Celtic blood 
 in his veins not seldom betrayed him into a hasti- 
 ness of temper. He was sometimes impatient if 
 his orders were not carried out promptly and to 
 the letter. His gardener used to say that he did not 
 often come into the garden except to administer a 
 
 114
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 scolding. Then, perhaps, there would be hot 
 words used on either side, and notices to leave were 
 given by both parties. In a very short time, however, 
 the little cloud would have passed away, and Sir 
 Lovelace would say, " All this is very silly. We 
 were both in the wrong," and so the matter would 
 be forgotten and forgiven almost as soon as it had 
 occurred. 
 
 It is very truly said by one who knew Sir Lovelace 
 well that his hastiness was hardly to be regretted, 
 " as it helped to show more strongly his kindness of 
 heart, and the complete absence of anything like 
 malice or venom in his disposition. It was mar- 
 vellous to hear of the kindly and friendly greeting 
 which would take place with some one with whom 
 only a few hours before he had had an angry 
 passage of arms. He assuredly did not let the sun 
 go down upon his wrath." 
 
 In this he resembled closely his friend, Bishop 
 John Selwyn, for neither man could endure the 
 thought of entertaining bitter feelings in his heart 
 against any one, and each of them made haste to 
 remove the sting of angry words by any means in 
 his power. The friend quoted above adds that 
 Sir Lovelace was well aware of the hastiness of his 
 temper, and obviously as years went on controlled 
 it more and more. That it sometimes flashed out 
 
 "5
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 even in his latter years is recalled in a letter, in the 
 course of which the writer says : " I well remember 
 his righteous scorn blazing out when I asked him 
 what he thought about a certain Ecclesiastic, high 
 in authority, whose action had by no means com- 
 mended itself to him. It was a sort of quick 
 volcano with a good deal of Celtic element in it, 
 but soon over. That was the dear old Bishop all 
 over ! No malice : no uncharitableness." 
 
 Every one in Stoke, indeed in the whole district, 
 soon got to know and understand Sir Lovelace. 
 If his quick temper got the upper hand for a time, 
 every one, rich and poor alike, knew that an apology 
 and in some cases a compensation would quickly 
 follow. The old sexton of the parish church put 
 this into words in a thoroughly characteristic 
 fashion. He had had a severe scolding from the 
 Rector, who told him he ought to give more time 
 to the churchyard, and waxed very warm in the 
 course of what he said. The sexton describing the 
 incident afterwards said, " If that was put into the 
 pot on Sunday without a bit o* bacon it would be a 
 very poor job ! " 
 
 It may not be altogether out of place to say a 
 word or two more here about the hero of the above 
 remark. He was a very shrewd and witty old char- 
 acter, and many of his sayings still survive. Speak- 
 
 116
 
 EARLY YEARS AT STOKE 
 
 ing one day of Sir Lovelace and his dislike to opposi- 
 tion the old man observed, " Aye : when he's up, 
 you must be down ! " 
 
 Again, on the occasion of a parochial gathering 
 Sir Lovelace made a speech mentioning almost all 
 the workers connected with the parish church. 
 The old sexton was standing near to an acquaint- 
 ance, who said, " He hasn't mentioned you ! " 
 " No," was the reply, " he doesn't want to cast a 
 gloom on the proceedings." 
 
 It was very rarely that the Rector of Stoke em- 
 ployed physical force : perhaps the mere sight of 
 his sturdy form and powerful limbs was enough 
 for most people. One instance of his doing so is, 
 however, remembered. It was on a Sunday, and 
 he was on his way home from his Bible class, his 
 robe case being carried by one of the members. 
 They were just passing through a rather low 
 district when they came upon a fight in process. 
 Sir Lovelace at once went up to stop the men, and 
 found that one of the two was an old Sunday- 
 school boy. This fellow seemed ashamed of himself 
 and was persuaded to go home. The other man, 
 however, who had been getting the best of it, began 
 hustling Sir Lovelace. The latter began by saying, 
 " Go away, my good man : go back, I tell you ! " 
 Words, however, were of no use, and then quick as 
 
 117
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 thought the Rector's left arm went back and out 
 there^was a big thud on the man's chest, and down 
 he went. He lay there for a longish time, but at 
 last lifted his head and said, " Is that parson gone ? 
 By gum ! if he'd given me another one he'd have 
 had to bury me ! " 
 
 The next chapters must be devoted to some 
 description of the work that Sir Lovelace Stamer 
 accomplished on behalf of other great causes, 
 mainly of social reform, which he had at heart. 
 
 118
 
 THE NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE COAL AND 
 
 IRONSTONE WORKERS' PERMANENT 
 
 RELIEF SOCIETY 
 
 A LTHOUGH in a man of Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer's disposition his spiritual work always 
 and of necessity kept the first place, it was wonderful 
 how much time and energy he was able to give to 
 schemes for the social betterment of those amongst 
 whom he lived. The fact was that he was extra- 
 ordinarily human, in the sense that he cared whole- 
 heartedly for the welfare of his fellow-men. Mr. 
 C. J. Blagg, a Staffordshire layman who had known 
 him more or less ever since he came to be Rector of 
 Stoke, and whose friendship with him had in later 
 years ripened into intimacy, says, " In thinking of 
 the Bishop [of Shrewsbury] as I knew him, one 
 recalls his remarkable influence over his fellow-men, 
 both lay and clerical, and the genuine affection with 
 which we all regarded him. What was the secret of 
 all this ? I should say it was mainly due to his own 
 exceptional and complete realisation of the brother- 
 
 119
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 hood of man. He might have taken for his motto, 
 ' Homo sum, nihil humani a me alienum puto.' 
 With him this was no mere theory. It was not only 
 the belief of his head, but the warm and genuine 
 feeling of his heart, and this it was that induced 
 that life of strenuous work for others, and that 
 devotion to duty which every one admired, but 
 which so few can emulate." 
 
 No better description could be given of one of 
 the chief forces which governed the life of Sir 
 Lovelace Stamer. It had been there from the first : 
 it was one of the secrets of his success in his early 
 ministry at Turvey and elsewhere. It became more 
 vigorous yet when he returned to the Staffordshire 
 people, among whom he had spent so much of his 
 childhood, as Rector of Stoke. 
 
 It must not be thought that the population 
 round Stoke consisted entirely of potters. Coal- 
 miners and iron-workers were numerous, and the 
 hazardous lives of many of these men appealed 
 strongly to the sympathies of Sir Lovelace Stamer. 
 Early in the sixties a terrible accident occurred at 
 the Hartley Colliery, in the south-east of North- 
 umberland. The whole country was stirred by the 
 disaster, and a large Relief Fund was raised. So 
 large a sum was provided that after doing all that 
 was necessary at the time a surplus remained, which 
 
 1 20
 
 WORKERS' RELIEF SOCIETY 
 
 was used to start a permanent Relief Fund. This 
 was the first of its kind. All that had hitherto 
 existed were benefit clubs, which broke up annually, 
 and were practically useless in the emergency caused 
 by a big disaster. The action thus taken in the 
 North of England no doubt inspired the Rector 
 of Stoke with the idea of following their example 
 when the occasion offered. 
 
 He had not long to wait. On December I3th, 
 1866, there was a terrible explosion at the Talk 
 o' the Hill Colliery, in North Staffordshire. Relief 
 was needed at once for thirty-five widows, eleven 
 parents, four dependents, and seventy children, all 
 of whom were left destitute. Two men came 
 forward at once to raise the necessary fund. One 
 was Sir Lovelace Stamer, and the other Sir Smith 
 Child, who had previously represented North 
 Staffordshire in Parliament. By their joint en- 
 deavours, the large sum of .16,760 was raised, an 
 amount that proved sufficient to meet the require- 
 ments of the case. 
 
 Now it so happened that on the same day as the 
 explosion at the Talk Colliery, an accident occurred 
 at the Oaks Pit in Yorkshire. The double disaster 
 caused the Lord Mayor of London to set on foot 
 a Mansion House Fund for the relief of the sufferers 
 in both places. When, however, it was realised 
 
 121
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 that sufficient money had been raised in Stafford- 
 shire for the immediate relief of the destitute at 
 Talk o' the Hill, the Lord Mayor declined to give 
 them any portion of the Mansion House fund. Sir 
 Lovelace Stamer at once wrote an expostulatory 
 letter, and followed it up by a personal interview 
 with the Lord Mayor, when he explained to him 
 that what they wanted to do in North Stafford was 
 not only to be able to meet immediate requirements, 
 but to start a permanent Miners' Relief Society. 
 On the strength of his representations ^3000 was 
 voted by the Mansion House Committee in aid of 
 the Talk o' the Hill fund. This 3000 formed the 
 nucleus of the North Staffordshire Coal and Iron- 
 stone Workers' Permanent Relief Society, which was 
 started in 1870 and has gone on ever since. 
 
 The first President of the Society was Sir Smith 
 Child, who was succeeded in 1886 by the Marquis 
 of Stafford, who, as Duke of Sutherland, still occu- 
 pies the position. Sir Lovelace Stamer was one of 
 the Trustees, and was Chairman of the Committee 
 from the first until the year of his death, i.e. for 
 some thirty-eight years. During the whole of this 
 time he is said to have only missed one annual and 
 not more than six quarterly meetings. 
 
 The start of the Society was not particularly 
 encouraging. A part of the working was to consist 
 
 122
 
 WORKERS' RELIEF SOCIETY 
 
 in a payment by colliery proprietors of 20 per cent 
 on the deposits of men in their employ, and this 
 may have alarmed the masters, and prevented their 
 recommending the Society to the men at the be- 
 ginning. Anyhow, the scheme was not very heartily 
 taken up either by employers or employees, and 
 for some time it made very little progress, with the 
 result that Sir Smith Child proposed that the 
 Society should be broken up. Fortunately, however, 
 braver counsels prevailed. At the eighth annual 
 meeting, held at the Free Library, Stoke-upon-Trent, 
 on Easter Monday, April 22nd, 1878, Archdeacon 
 Sir Lovelace T. Stamer presiding, the Chairman 
 thus expressed his disappointment at the slow 
 progress the Society was making. He said : " The 
 Committee regret that they are unable to report 
 any progress made by the Society during the past 
 year. The number of Local Agencies has not in- 
 creased, and the number of members has risen in 
 a degree that is scarcely worth recording. This 
 cannot be said to be an encouraging statement, and 
 it is the more disheartening to those who are per- 
 suaded of the value of such a provision against the 
 risks to which the colliers of North Staffordshire 
 are daily exposed, when it is contrasted with the 
 growth of societies similarly constituted, and for 
 the same objects, in other mining districts. 
 
 123
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 " After eight years the North Staffordshire 
 Society has but one thousand members ! " 
 
 However, better days were at hand. By the end of 
 a further period of eight years the membership was 
 5339. This was in 1886, a year noteworthy in the 
 annals of the Society from the fact that it was then 
 that Mr. Frederick Geen commenced his duties 
 as General Secretary to the Society, which position 
 he has fulfilled ever since to the no small advantage 
 of the Society, for it may be said to be largely owing 
 to his well-known grasp of financial affairs that 
 the present position of the Society is one of such 
 absolute solvency that, if all the benefits promised 
 should have to be paid, there would still be a 
 substantial surplus in hand. 
 
 But a little more must be said of the growth of 
 the Society, and of Sir Lovelace Stamer's share in 
 its management. It was at the end of the year 
 1897 that the highest pitch of success was reached. 
 The membership then stood at 9539 a very re- 
 markable figure when it is realised that there were 
 not more than 15,000 or 16,000 miners in the district, 
 and that this was not a charitable society, but 
 strictly contributory. It has been said that one 
 great cause for the number joining was the implicit 
 trust of the miners in Sir Lovelace Stamer. 
 
 Then came a sudden fall. The Workmen's 
 
 124
 
 WORKERS' RELIEF SOCIETY 
 
 Compensation Act came into force on July 1st, 
 1898. In twelve months, over 4000 men withdrew 
 from the Society, content, it may be supposed, with 
 the prospect of relief under the new Act of Par- 
 liament. From that time onwards the numbers 
 stood at about 5000. 
 
 It was in 1904 that the Bishop of Shrewsbury 
 missed attendance at an annual meeting of this 
 Society for the first time in thirty-four years ! Mr. 
 Geen, the Secretary, told the meeting that the 
 Bishop had fully intended to be present, but had 
 that morning telegraphed that the weather would 
 prevent him from coming. He added that no doubt 
 the serious illness from which the Bishop had 
 suffered a few months before, and from which he 
 had not entirely recovered, made it impossible for 
 him to come. He (Mr. Geen) knew that the 
 Bishop's disappointment would be very keen, for 
 there was no meeting he attended with greater 
 pleasure, and he understood the requirements of 
 the members probably better than any other man 
 could do. 
 
 It is worth noticing that for a great many years 
 the annual meetings of the Society were held on 
 Easter Monday. When it is realised how heavy the 
 work of the clergy invariably is for a week previous 
 to that day, it adds a little to the value of the time 
 
 125
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 and trouble which Sir Lovelace Stamer gave so 
 freely to this Society. 
 
 In 1906, when there were almost as many mem- 
 bers as at any time, it was determined to give him 
 some token of the appreciation of the members 
 for all that he had done for them. At the annual 
 meeting the Duke of Sutherland presented him 
 with a fine old English chased spiral silver bowl. 
 Upon it was inscribed the following : " Presented 
 to the Right Rev. Sir Lovelace Tomlinson Stamer, 
 Bart., D.D., Bishop of Shrewsbury, by the members 
 of the North Staffordshire Coal and Ironstone 
 Workers' Permanent Relief Society as a token of 
 their appreciation of his untiring labour on their 
 behalf during the last 30 years. Easter Monday, 
 1896." 
 
 A large proportion of the men subscribed to the 
 gift, and that made the Bishop, as he said in his 
 reply, both proud and grateful. 
 
 At the annual meeting of 1909, held as usual on 
 Easter Monday, the feeling of the members of the 
 Society towards their founder and lifelong friend 
 found further expression. It was the first meeting 
 after the Bishop's death, and the following report 
 was presented. 
 
 " In presenting their Thirty-ninth Annual Report 
 your Committee of Management would point out 
 
 126
 
 WORKERS' RELIEF SOCIETY 
 
 that every previous report issued by the Society 
 since its commencement in 1870 has been signed 
 by the late Chairman, the Right Rev. Sir L. T. 
 Stamer, Bart. The absence of his name from this 
 one will arrest the attention of every one present 
 at this Meeting. To all the Members, as well as the 
 Committee, the death of the late Chairman came 
 as a great shock, notwithstanding the fact that 
 he had gone well beyond the allotted span of 
 life. 
 
 " When it is remembered that he was the 
 originator of the Society, that he devoted so much 
 time and ability to it, that with only one or two 
 exceptions he attended every meeting of the 
 Committee during the long period of thirty-eight 
 years, and that he was only once absent from an 
 Annual Meeting ; it follows that every one con- 
 nected with the Society will feel the loss of his 
 guiding hand in the Society's affairs. Those who 
 have attended the Annual Meetings can never 
 forget the late Chairman's genial disposition, his 
 tact, courtesy, and forbearance towards all." 
 
 The Committee further passed the following 
 resolution : " That the Committee of Management 
 of the North Staffordshire Miners' Permanent 
 Relief Society desire to place upon their minutes 
 
 an expression of their profound grief at the death 
 
 127
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of their beloved Chairman, the Right Rev. Sir L. T. 
 Stamer, Bart., and to state that they and the 
 Members of the Society have lost a sincere friend, 
 whose courtesy and consideration for the well-being 
 of the Miners of North Staffordshire was ever 
 apparent, . . . and that the strong financial position 
 of the Society is mainly due to his untiring efforts 
 and guidance, and that it was because of his per- 
 sonality and the confidence all had in his sound 
 judgment that there had never been any friction 
 or misunderstanding between him and the Com- 
 mittee, or between the Committee and the Members 
 of the Society." 
 
 It was a splendid tribute, and all the more splen- 
 did that it came straight from the hearts of straight- 
 forward, matter-of-fact business men. 
 
 The whole history of this Society throws a fine 
 light upon the life and character of Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer. He was wise beyond his years when, as a 
 parish clergyman not long in orders, he saw the 
 necessity for some such scheme which, involving as it 
 did insurance payments from employers and em- 
 ployed, forestalled by thirty years any attempts of 
 the Government to deal with the question on at all 
 similar lines. He was full of lovingkindness and 
 tactful sympathy, which enabled him to guide the 
 counsels of the Society in ways acceptable to all. 
 
 128
 
 WORKERS' RELIEF SOCIETY 
 
 He was so undaunted by work that he never ceased 
 his labours on the Society's behalf through a long 
 and busy life. Were there nothing else to remind 
 men of the Bishop of Shrewsbury, this Society by 
 itself would be no mean memorial. 
 
 129
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 TEMPERANCE AND OTHER SOCIAL CAUSES 
 
 of the earliest of the efforts made by the 
 Rector of Stoke to improve the moral and 
 physical condition of his people was in the cause 
 of Temperance. A potter is generally a thirsty soul. 
 There is a large amount of dust from dried clay in 
 the very air he breathes, and the thirst incited 
 thereby is (or was) usually quenched at the public- 
 house. It is not, then, surprising to find one of the 
 earliest printed handbills preserved in the big scrap- 
 book announcing a Temperance Meeting to be held 
 in the Magistrates' Room at Stoke with the Rector 
 in the chair. This was in 1862. By 1867 there 
 existed a Stoke-upon-Trent Parochial Temperance 
 Society. Probably this was the year of the formation 
 of the Society, for Sir Lovelace Stamer's card of 
 membership as a total abstainer is dated July izth 
 of that year, and it is more than likely that he joined 
 as an original member. But he soon found that in 
 order to keep men from the public-house some other 
 
 130
 
 TEMPERANCE AND OTHER CAUSES 
 
 place of refreshment must be provided for them. 
 He therefore determined to set up a coffee-stall, 
 and gave a bit of glebe land as the site. This proved 
 an immediate success, and in a year's time had to be 
 enlarged. The Parochial Temperance Society had 
 merged into the Church of England Temperance 
 Society, and a committee of that body managed 
 the Coffee Tavern, one of the curates of the parish 
 church keeping the books at first, and the Rector 
 keeping a pretty tight hold on the whole pro- 
 ceeding. 
 
 Somewhere about the year 1884 Sir Lovelace lit 
 upon Mr. Massey, who is still manager of the Coffee 
 Tavern (now rather overgrown and known as " the 
 Institute "), and induced him to undertake the 
 managership. At that time there was only a small 
 living-room with a little shop attached. No cooked 
 meats were sold, and, though it was a permanent 
 building, it did not amount to much more than 
 a coffee-stall. 
 
 Business quickly increased, and in three years' 
 time it developed into a regular restaurant, with 
 catering of all kinds. Success still attended its 
 career, and it became a source of considerable 
 profit. At this time Sir Lovelace Stamer personally 
 examined the accounts every quarter, and he used 
 the profits for various objects, such as the building
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of the old Church Room, and the starting of a 
 second Coffee Tavern. 
 
 But it is not to be imagined that his interest 
 in the place was confined to quarterly financial 
 statements. He was continually in and out, and his 
 genial presence might almost be said to be one of 
 the attractions of the Coffee Tavern. It will be 
 remembered that his home at Cliff Ville was some 
 little way out of the town, and it frequently hap- 
 pened that in the course of visiting his people, or 
 it might be after some such work as addressing the 
 railwaymen or holding a class, he would drop into 
 the Tavern for refreshment. His usual order ran to 
 fourpence, and consisted of a penny cup of tea, a 
 twopenny pork-pie, and a penny Eccles cake. He 
 never allowed the slightest difference to be made 
 between himself and any men or lads who might 
 be having their dinner or tea. He always took 
 the nearest vacant place, without any regard 
 to the cleanliness or otherwise of his neighbours. 
 They still tell many stories of him and his good- 
 fellowship in the Coffee Tavern. It is remembered 
 how he one day got a cup of tea which had been 
 stewing, and remarked, " Tea not very good to-day." 
 The manager hurriedly offered to get him some 
 fresh, but he would not permit it. " No," he said, 
 " I prefer to have the same as every one else." 
 
 132
 
 TEMPERANCE AND OTHER CAUSES 
 
 His close touch with his fellow-men was con- 
 tinually exemplified by the way he would come in 
 with some of the men of his Bible class or others 
 whom he had met in the street, and would stand 
 them coffee and buns, or sometimes they would 
 stand treat for him ! Once, on such an occasion, 
 a boy came in to have some refreshment, and took 
 off his hat. Instantly Sir Lovelace turned to his 
 companions, who, with himself, had their hats on, 
 and said, " There, that little fellow has given us all 
 a lesson in manners ! " 
 
 With all his sense of the dignity of his position, 
 there was never an atom of false pride about him. 
 He would do anything that wanted doing with his 
 own hands and be glad of the chance. He looked 
 in at the Coffee Tavern one day to obtain two loaves 
 of bread to give to some one. The manager offered 
 to send them : " Not a bit of it," said Sir Lovelace, 
 " I'll take them myself. I'm not ashamed of 
 carrying God's good gifts." 
 
 A good many of his most useful talks to men and 
 lads took place in the streets of Stoke. His quick eye 
 would see a man for whom he had been on the 
 look out walking ahead of him. In a trice he would 
 catch him up, and linking his arm into the man's 
 would plunge into what he wanted to say. In this 
 way he often advanced the temperance cause 
 
 133
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 better than by any amount of meetings. In relation 
 to this a good story is told of how he discovered 
 an old man, who was more or less in his employ, 
 at home one evening very drunk. Sir Lovelace was 
 justly angry, and gave the old fellow notice to leave. 
 Next day, as Sir Lovelace was walking along, he saw 
 the man, evidently on the look out for him, and 
 busily wiping his eyes with a large red handkerchief. 
 The situation tickled Sir Lovelace and he said, 
 " Well, my friend, you seem to be in trouble ? ' 
 " Yes, master," said the old man, " I'm sowing in 
 tears this morning." " Well," was the reply, " I 
 suppose we must look over last night, so that when 
 the seeds come up you may reap in joy." And the 
 man was given another chance. 
 
 Another way in which Sir Lovelace Stamer strove 
 to give a helping hand to any of his fellow-men who 
 were down was by his strong support of the North 
 Staffordshire Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society, 
 of which he was a vice-president from its start 
 in 1865. It was owing to his initiative that this 
 movement was supplemented by the formation 
 of an Industrial Home for Discharged Female 
 Prisoners and Friendless Women. As early as 1873 
 he brought forward a motion at the Annual Meeting 
 of the Prisoners Aid Society for the appointing of a 
 committee to establish an industrial home, but it 
 
 134
 
 TEMPERANCE AND OTHER CAUSES 
 
 was not till he had perseveringly worked at it for 
 six years that he had the pleasure of seeing the 
 institution founded. On its formation he became 
 one of the trustees, and took the keenest interest 
 in the work, frequently visiting the Home, and, 
 after his consecration, holding confirmations there 
 from time to time. The last of these that he con- 
 ducted was in 1907, when old age had enfeebled him. 
 On this occasion eight of the inmates received the 
 rite from his hands. For close on thirty years he 
 had been one of the chief, if not absolutely the chief, 
 of the friends of the Home, and what his support 
 had meant may be gathered from the annual report 
 issued after his death. It reads thus : 
 
 " It is while suffering under the sense of a great 
 loss that the Management Committee of the Home 
 present to their friends and supporters the Thirtieth 
 Annual Report. . . . 
 
 " Bishop Stamer, after a life of unequalled 
 service in this great diocese, has passed away from 
 us. One outstanding feature of his varied and self- 
 denying work was his keen devotion to the welfare 
 of the Home. As Chairman of the Management 
 Committee, ever since the death of the late Lord 
 Lichfield, he gave no small share of his very busy 
 life to work for the Home. He loved the place and 
 its inmates, and his work and his prayers have kept
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 things going in storm and sunshine for nearly a 
 quarter of a century [i.e. since he became Chairman]. 
 . . . Every member of the Committee feels deeply 
 and personally the taking away of their head. 
 A friend has gone out of the life of each 
 member." 
 
 It only needs a glance at the bound volumes of 
 the Reports which were in his possession to endorse 
 these words. The pages relating to the work of the 
 Home, and also of the Discharged Prisoners' Aid 
 Society, are marked by his pencil here and there, 
 and give evidence of the time and attention which 
 this wonderful man, with his extraordinary appetite 
 for work, gave to these objects in the midst of a life 
 apparently completely full already. 
 
 It is natural to find that Sir Lovelace Stamer, 
 with so many thousands of souls in his care, was 
 moved to do the utmost in his power for those who 
 were brought low by sickness, as well as for those 
 whose downfall came through sin. Some few years 
 after his arrival at Stoke, Mr. Edwards, then Vicar 
 of Trentham, and Mr. Adam Clarke, Rector of 
 St. James' Longton, observing with sorrow the 
 suffering entailed among the sick poor by their 
 ignorance of the merest elements of nursing, set on 
 foot a movement for training young women to be 
 parochial nurses. The idea at first was to make the 
 
 136
 
 TEMPERANCE AND OTHER CAUSES 
 
 movement diocesan, but afterwards it was found 
 better to limit the area to Staffordshire. The first 
 young woman to finish her training was a Miss 
 Roberts, now Mrs. Mellor, and still a resident in 
 Stoke. Sir Lovelace Stamer, seeing at once the 
 value of a parochial nurse in his parish, engaged her 
 for Stoke, where for more than ten years from 1867 
 she worked single-handed, doing the visiting, the 
 sick cooking, and managing the stock of lending-out 
 things. But " single-handed " is not the right word 
 to use, for the nurse always had the Rector to back 
 her up. Every Friday night he had a list of every 
 patient visited, and talked things over, on which 
 occasions " he was always charming if everything 
 was right ! " He invariably spoke to the nurse of their 
 " work together," and after twenty years wrote to 
 her that he should never forget her long and faithful 
 help, nor that during all those years there never 
 had passed a shadow of a cloud between them. 
 From which it may be gathered that at those 
 Friday night interviews things generally were all 
 right ! 
 
 After Miss Roberts had been at work for ten 
 years an assistant was engaged, and the work has 
 been conducted by two nurses ever since. But the 
 larger movement set on foot by Mr. Edwards and 
 Mr. Adam Clarke developed into a most important 
 
 137
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 affair under the title of the Staffordshire Institu- 
 tion for Nurses, better known as the Nurses' Home 
 at Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent. From the very first 
 it received the fostering care of Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer, and so far as setting it upon a sure founda- 
 tion and ultimately settling it in suitable premises 
 was concerned he may be called the founder. 
 
 No better account of his work in connection 
 with this institution can be given than is contained 
 in a letter from Dr. W. D. Spanton of Hanley, 
 published in the " Staffordshire Sentinel " of 
 November 2nd, 1908. He says : 
 
 " Among the many valuable works in which Sir 
 L. T. Stamer took a deep personal interest, that of 
 the Staffordshire Institution for Nurses occupied 
 a very prominent place. In the year 1872 Bishop 
 Stamer became the founder of this institution. 
 Up to that time there was no provision for trained 
 nurses in North Staffordshire : there was, in fact, 
 a strong prejudice against them. Bishop Stamer 
 set to work, and a start was made with five trained 
 nurses no building was available, as there were no 
 funds ; but permission was granted by the Govern- 
 ors of the North Staffordshire Infirmary to use 
 the Smith Child Wards, which had been recently 
 erected but were not occupied, for the purposes of a 
 Nurses' Home. 
 
 138
 
 TEMPERANCE AND OTHER CAUSES 
 
 " In 1873, under the charge of Miss Harding, 
 this important work began, Sir L. T. Stamer being 
 Secretary, Treasurer, and Chairman of a Committee 
 then constituted. From that time the late Bishop's 
 interest in the work never flagged : he hardly ever 
 missed attending a meeting until recently, when his 
 declining health rendered him less able to take the 
 active part he had done for nearly thirty-five years. 
 At the time of his death he was President, and 
 presided at the last annual meeting in March last. 
 His intense personal interest in the work gradually 
 raised its usefulness to such an extent that there 
 are now about 130 trained nurses employed, 
 besides those undergoing probationary training. 
 In 1876 the present Nurses' Home buildings were 
 erected through his instrumentality and his liberal 
 assistance, so that it has now become one of 
 the most beneficent institutions in the district. 
 I have good reason to know that its success 
 is chiefly attributable to the devoted personal 
 interest taken in it and especially in the well- 
 being of the nurses themselves by our late presi- 
 dent. . . . 
 
 " I should like to add my personal conviction, 
 after a friendship of something like forty-five years' 
 standing, that a more upright man than the late 
 Bishop Stamer never lived, nor one more self-
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 sacrificing in his devotion to the true welfare of 
 those around him." 
 
 The Home was situated exactly opposite to 
 Cliff Ville, so that there was constant intercourse 
 between the two houses, the Bishop and his family 
 being continually in and out of the Home. It was 
 partly due to this fact that Sir Lovelace was able 
 to see so much of the nurses personally. " Many 
 instances are quoted by the older nurses of the 
 Bishop's sympathy and generosity towards those 
 who needed pecuniary or other help. This was 
 given often with the remark that the recipient 
 was not to be told the name of the benefactor. 
 The Bishop never met a nurse in the familiar brown 
 uniform, wearing the badge which he had himself 
 designed, without speaking to her, and when he 
 had personal knowledge of any kind in relation to a 
 particular nurse he would so refer to the circum- 
 stances that she felt herself at once an object of 
 his particular personal care. This kindly interest 
 helped very much to maintain the high moral tone 
 among the nurses." So writes Miss Wolseley-Lewis, 
 the present Lady Superintendent, and adds that 
 up to the last the Bishop kept in constant touch 
 with the Home by letter, and when any points of 
 special interest arose, e.g. a new scheme for 
 
 nurses' bonuses, or a question of enlarging the 
 
 140
 
 TEMPERANCE AND OTHER CAUSES 
 
 disinfecting-room, he would send for her to go 
 and see him that he might learn all particulars, 
 and have plenty of time to consider the matter in 
 detail. 
 
 To this may be added just one fact. From the start 
 of the Institution until the year of his death, Sir 
 Lovelace Stamer wrote each annual re-port himself. 
 When the size of the Institution is considered 
 and for that it is only necessary to observe that in 
 the Report for 1908 the fees earned by the nurses 
 are given as ^5983 175. 2d. it is impossible to help 
 wondering once again how the Rector of Stoke and 
 Bishop Suffragan for the diocese of Lichfield could 
 possibly make the time or find the strength to per- 
 form duties on its behalf which many a man would 
 consider quite sufficient to occupy him by them- 
 selves. In this particular instance it may be said 
 that two motives specially actuated him. One 
 was his extraordinary keenness for the success of 
 any work he had personally set on foot, the other 
 his deep sympathy with his fellow-men, especially 
 those in pain, sickness, or sorrow. 
 
 Although the Nursing Home may be said to have 
 been Sir Lovelace's " pet child," he was almost 
 equally energetic on behalf of the North Stafford- 
 shire Infirmary. In connection with this institu- 
 tion there is evidence of the impression that he 
 
 141
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 made as a very young man of possessing great 
 capabilities, for he was appointed to be a Vice- 
 President of the Infirmary in 1858 immediately 
 after his arrival at Stoke, and without having pre- 
 viously served on the Committee an honour very 
 rarely accorded. 
 
 In 1859 and again in 1860 he presided at the 
 annual meeting of subscribers, and on the latter 
 occasion he urged the adoption of a Hospital 
 Sunday for the whole district. A circular letter 
 signed by him was issued for this purpose in which 
 he made a special point of increasing the interest 
 of all classes in the Institution, and secondly, 
 of the necessity of doing everything possible 
 for " the complete and speedy recovery of the 
 sick." 
 
 Two incidents that occurred in the course of 
 his connection with the Infirmary afford curious 
 examples of two opposite sides of the Bishop's 
 character. When, in quite early days, a memorial 
 to the Committee was presented by the Medical 
 Staff asking for a more adequate building on a 
 healthier site than that occupied by the old hospital 
 in Etruria, Sir Lovelace made up his mind that 
 the demand was a just one. The Committee were 
 sharply divided on the question, and when the 
 
 majority carried a vote in opposition to the building 
 
 142
 
 TEMPERANCE AND OTHER CAUSES 
 
 of a new infirmary, he resigned his membership 
 and took five prominent members of the Committee 
 with him. It was just like him. Having deter- 
 mined on what he believed to be right, he would 
 be a party to nothing else and nothing less. 
 The result of his action was eminently satis- 
 factory. It was not long before he and his 
 followers were reinstated in office, and the project 
 for establishing the present Infirmary was set on 
 foot. 
 
 The other incident occurred in 1876, and this 
 time it was not his boldness that was exemplified, 
 but the remarkable caution which was apparent 
 in him even when quite a young man. The Rev. 
 Walter Sneyd offered to build a chapel for the 
 Infirmary and to endow a chaplain. Services had 
 hitherto been held in a room in the building, and 
 the offer of a chapel for Church of England 
 services gave considerable offence to the Non- 
 conformists, although it would not have injured 
 them in any way, as they could still have had the 
 use of the old room for their services. Still, it was 
 for the undoubted benefit of the Church of Eng- 
 land, and therefore had to be opposed. The Non- 
 conformists threatened that, if the chapel were 
 given, they would withdraw their subscriptions. 
 The.se .amounted to a very small sum indeed, and
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 an offer was made by one gentleman to make good 
 the amount if the chapel were built. Sir Lovelace, 
 however, was so much afraid of disturbing the 
 peaceful working of the Committee, and of raising 
 up a feeling of opposition to the Infirmary among 
 the Nonconformists, that he suggested that the 
 offer of the chapel and endowment should be 
 withdrawn. The gift was therefore lost, and 
 it may be doubted whether in this case Sir 
 Lovelace's broad-mindedness and caution combined 
 did not stand in the way of what would have 
 proved of great benefit to the inmates of the 
 Infirmary. 
 
 As a proof of the consideration and thoughtfulness 
 for others which were such marked characteristics 
 of his disposition, it is interesting to learn that 
 when he found that, owing to the large number of 
 out-patients, many of them had to wait for a long 
 time before being attended to, he suggested that a 
 coffee-stall should be established for their use. This 
 was done, and proved to be not only a comfort to 
 those for whose benefit it was started, but also a 
 source of income to the Infirmary. 
 
 The last occasion on which the Bishop of Shrews- 
 bury performed any public act for the North 
 Staffordshire Infirmary was when, in May, 1904, 
 
 he formally opened the King Edward VII Home 
 
 144
 
 TEMPERANCE AND OTHER CAUSES 
 
 for Nurses, in which the Infirmary Nurses were 
 subsequently accommodated. 
 
 Of the interest that he took in the Salop Infirmary 
 something will be found in the account of his life 
 and work in Shrewsbury.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 FOREIGN MISSIONS 
 
 A LLUSION has already been made to the 
 interest which Sir Lovelace Stamer took in 
 Foreign and Colonial Missions. Further investiga- 
 tion into the story of his life reveals such an as- 
 tonishing amount of work done for these causes 
 that a few pages must be devoted to describing 
 labours which many men would consider to fill up 
 a large portion of their time, but which he under- 
 took cheerfully as a natural part of the duty of a 
 Churchman, and without in any way allowing them 
 to interfere with the vast amount of his parochial, 
 diocesan and social responsibilities. 
 
 The mission to which he was specially devoted 
 was that of Zululand. His interest appears to have 
 been first aroused by the fact that a friend of his 
 Cambridge days Charles F. Mackenzie had been 
 selected to be the first Bishop of the Universities' 
 Mission to Central Africa, and after one year's 
 
 146
 
 FOREIGN MISSIONS 
 
 episcopate had died out there. Bishop Mackenzie 
 had been working for some time as a missionary in 
 the diocese of Natal, and had become deeply 
 interested in the Zulus. 
 
 It was therefore not unnatural that, when Miss 
 Anne Mackenzie conceived the idea of establishing 
 a lasting memorial to her brother by founding a 
 new bishopric in South Africa, Zululand should 
 have been the locality chosen. A fund for the 
 purpose was opened in 1864, and in 1868 so much 
 money had already been received that a committee 
 was appointed to establish a bishopric in Zululand. 
 Of this committee Sir Lovelace Stamer was an 
 original member, becoming vice-chairman in 1877, 
 and chairman (on the death of Bishop Harvey 
 Goodwin) in 1892. 
 
 But he did more than this, for when the first 
 Bishop (Wilkinson) was appointed he became his 
 commissary, a post which brought no light addition 
 to the labours of the Rector of a parish like Stoke. 
 The early history of the diocese may be described 
 as full of troubles, and Sir Lovelace Stamer had 
 a very anxious time. There were attacks made 
 upon the Mission, accusing it of being a trading 
 concern without a licence ! These may have 
 originated in Bishop Wilkinson's policy of buying 
 large tracts of land in the hope of forming mission 
 
 14?
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 stations. There were other difficulties besides, 
 and in 1875 the Bishop returned to England and 
 very shortly resigned his post. At this time, says 
 Mrs. Mackenzie, widow of a subsequent Bishop of 
 Zululand, " poor Miss Mackenzie's heart would 
 have failed had she not been supported by the 
 unfailing sympathy and most real help of this 
 whole - hearted friend [Sir Lovelace Stamer], 
 who assured her that so great a work could not 
 be given up." 
 
 Then came a period of great depression to those 
 who had the welfare of the Mission at heart. The 
 South African Bishops could not find a successor 
 to Bishop Wilkinson, and in 1877 Miss Anne 
 Mackenzie died at a time when the new diocese 
 had for over two years been without a shep- 
 herd. 
 
 At last, in 1878, it was decided to appoint Mr. 
 Allington to the bishopric. He died of fever at 
 Wakkerstroom before he could be consecrated, and 
 it really did seem as if there was to be nothing but 
 trouble for the Church in Zululand. Through it 
 all Sir Lovelace was the mainstay of the friends of 
 the Mission. He, with his characteristic courage 
 and determination, never lost heart himself or 
 allowed others to do so. In 1880 his faith was 
 justified. Bishop Douglas Mackenzie accepted a 
 
 148
 
 FOREIGN MISSIONS 
 
 call to the difficult post which had been for nearly 
 five years vacant. For ten years of anything but 
 peace in Zululand he laboured devotedly, and (to 
 quote again the words of Mrs. Mackenzie) " through 
 the years of his troubled episcopate Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer strengthened and cheered him in many 
 perplexities, as those only can do who have more 
 than a superficial knowledge of foreign mission 
 work. Even with all his own overwhelming work 
 as bishop and parish priest he helped greatly : 
 how much the Church in Zululand owes to his 
 intercessions, then on earth, now in Paradise, who 
 shall say ? " Through all the rest of his life Sir 
 Lovelace Stamer kept up his interest in and work 
 for the diocese of Zululand. There are proofs of 
 this among his papers in the many letters from 
 Bishop Carter, who succeeded Bishop Douglas Mac- 
 kenzie, and in a long letter from Bishop Vyvyan, 
 written at the time when he succeeded Bishop 
 Carter on the latter being appointed to the diocese 
 of Pretoria. To write to Sir Lovelace seems to 
 have been the first thing that any one did who was 
 suggested for the bishopric, or who needed any- 
 thing for the furtherance of the work in Zulu- 
 land. 
 
 When (in 1902) he became Chairman of the 
 Administrators of the Fund for that see, "The Net," 
 
 149
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 the special magazine of the Mission, summed up his 
 work in a few words, which are worth quoting. It 
 said : " We are glad to announce that the Bishop of 
 Shrewsbury has accepted the Chairmanship of the 
 Administrators of the Zululand Mission in England. 
 Probably no one is more intimately acquainted 
 with the history of the Mission than he. In con- 
 senting to fill the place till now occupied by the 
 late Bishop of Carlisle, he reminds us that he had 
 known Bishop C. F. Mackenzie at Cambridge, that 
 he had been one of the first with whom Miss 
 Mackenzie took counsel after her return to England 
 in 1862 as to the best way of perpetuating her 
 brother's missionary work, that he had been present 
 at the consecration of Bishop Wilkinson, and up 
 to the time of Miss Mackenzie's death in 1877 
 had been closely connected with the concerns 
 of the Mission. He also knew Mr. Allington, 
 and had known as much as he could of Bishop 
 Douglas Mackenzie in the brief visits he paid to 
 England." 
 
 Mr. Wigram, who has for so many years been 
 treasurer to the Mission, bears witness to the 
 practical help that Sir Lovelace gave, stating that 
 he was always at the Committee meetings, and that 
 his advice was most useful. 
 
 While Zululand held the first place in his affec- 
 
 150
 
 FOREIGN MISSIONS 
 
 tions it was by no means the only mission in which 
 he interested himself. Several other bishops at 
 work in far distant lands had claims of various kinds 
 upon his affection, and to all he gave his sympathy 
 and what help he could. 
 
 Bishop John Selwyn of Melanesia was, by reason 
 of his father being Bishop' of Lichfield and he him- 
 self having begun his ministry in that diocese, a 
 personal friend whose work appealed strongly to 
 Sir Lovelace, and a constant correspondence was 
 kept up between them. Then there was the son 
 of his old Rugby friend, the Bishop of Dover (Dr. 
 Parry), who was consecrated in 1900 to the Bishopric 
 of Guiana, on which occasion the Bishop of Shrews- 
 bury was one of the two who presented the new 
 bishop. With him, again, and with his work Sir 
 Lovelace Stamer kept in frequent touch. 
 
 With the diocese of Nassau, under Bishop 
 Churton, he had much interesting correspondence. 
 This was only natural, for Bishop Henry Norris 
 Churton, who succeeded to the bishopric in 1902, 
 had, some thirty years previously, been one of his 
 curates at Stoke. Bishop Abraham had brought 
 them together and spoke of the choice of the 
 curacy as " excellent for both chief and subaltern." 
 At all events a lasting friendship was formed be- 
 tween the two future bishops, and when Mr.
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Churton was to be consecrated he wrote to the 
 Bishop of Shrewsbury saying, " It is needless for 
 me to say how deeply I feel your sympathy at a 
 time when I have to take upon myself so great a 
 responsibility. I had been led to expect that as the 
 senior of those to be consecrated I should have been 
 asked to choose the preacher, in which case it was in 
 my mind to ask you : but as the Archbishop has 
 said nothing to me about it, I conclude that the 
 choice does not rest with me." 
 
 Before leaving the subject of Bishop Startler's 
 interest in missions, it is delightful to record that 
 it was by no means solely the bishops and heads of 
 the missions whom he helped. In this, as in all 
 the rest of his work, he was always thoughtful to 
 do what some call small kindnesses things which, 
 as a matter of fact, count for much in cheering and 
 encouraging those who in 'less prominent positions 
 bear much of the heat and brunt of the fray. A 
 letter has just come to hand from a chaplain in 
 Burma (the Rev. W. G. White) telling how, when 
 a curate in England, Sir Lovelace Stamer sent him 
 " The Guardian " every week : how the Bishop 
 took a personal interest in his work, and, when he 
 (Mr. White) was going out to Burma, presented 
 him with a copy of " The Church and the Empire," 
 and wrote asking to have news sent him from time 
 
 152
 
 FOREIGN MISSIONS 
 
 to time from Burma. This is the more remarkable, 
 as it all arose merely from the fact that a friend had 
 given Mr. White's name to the Bishop as one to 
 whom it would be a kindness to send " The Guar- 
 dian." 
 
 153
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 STOKE CHURCH CONGRESS APPOINTMENT 
 AS ARCHDEACON 
 
 ' I V HE year 1875 was an important one in the 
 history of Stoke-upon-Trent, and an un- 
 commonly busy one for its Rector. It was in the 
 autumn of this year that the Church Congress met 
 in that town, and Sir Lovelace Stamer had his 
 first experience of the vast work necessary to 
 prepare for and carry to a successful conclusion 
 one of these great gatherings. 
 
 The idea that the Congress should meet at Stoke 
 did not emanate from him. But when a telegram 
 was sent him two years previously from the Bath 
 Congress to ask, " If the Congress invites itself to 
 Stoke, will Stoke receive us ? " he took upon himself 
 to say " Yes," relying (to use his own words) upon 
 " the ready willingness of all parties in this and the 
 neighbouring towns." It was a signal proof of 
 the fact that he had already made Stoke a well-
 
 STOKE CHURCH CONGRESS 
 
 known centre of Church work that such a proposal 
 should be made, and was as a matter of fact almost 
 a personal compliment to himself. 
 
 In the January preceding the Congress a large 
 number of circulars were sent out to most of the 
 leading people likely to be concerned. The pro- 
 posal to hold the Congress at Stoke met with a 
 good deal of approbation, but some of the answers 
 to the circulars brought remarkable criticisms. The 
 last meeting had been held at Brighton, and for 
 some reason does not seem to have commended 
 itself to everybody. Among Sir Lovelace's letters 
 for he as head of the eight honorary secretaries 
 to the Congress received all the replies are to be 
 found some written by eminent people whose 
 experience of the Brighton gathering was not 
 altogether happy. Thus, the Earl of Shrewsbury 
 wrote hoping that if the Congress came to Stoke, 
 it would be " better conducted than the one at 
 Brighton." The Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Mackarness) 
 in excusing himself from attendance stated that 
 reports which reached him from Brighton made 
 him doubt whether " the more active spirits were 
 disposed to give friendly welcome to any bishops 
 who might attend a Church Congress for the 
 future." The same impression seems to have been 
 conveyed to the Bishop of Manchester (Dr. Fraser),
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 who does not actually mention Brighton, but says, 
 " The tone of Church Congresses so far as I have 
 experienced it has not done me any good, nor do 
 I think that I am altogether a welcome actor in 
 them." 
 
 Then there were people who thought that the 
 difficulties of accommodating a great number of 
 visitors, and of providing a hall large enough for 
 the meetings, made the selection of Stoke unwise. 
 As a matter of fact the question of sufficient 
 hospitality being forthcoming need never have 
 been raised. The residents of the Potteries came 
 forward splendidly, and there were few houses of 
 any size in which accommodation was not offered. 
 So there were encouragements as well as dis- 
 couragements to Sir Lovelace Stamer in the task to 
 which he had set his hand. 
 
 The former he welcomed, the latter served 
 chiefly to strengthen his determination to carry 
 the matter through. Seeing the untiring work 
 that he put into the undertaking, and inspired 
 by his personal enthusiasm and influence, others 
 soon followed his lead and backed him up heartily, 
 though, as usual, he insisted upon doing by far the 
 largest share of the work himself. One example 
 may be given of the way in which he won over 
 others to take a leading part in organising the 
 
 156
 
 STOKE CHURCH CONGRESS 
 
 meeting of the Congress. The Earl of Harrowby 
 of that day wrote to Sir Lovelace in 1874 saying 
 that he had so strong a feeling that a meeting of the 
 Congress in that neighbourhood was not desirable, 
 that he did not feel justified in putting himself 
 forward and encouraging it. He added, however, 
 that if it should appear to be the general wish he 
 would not withhold his name. He thought that 
 Church Congresses met too often, that as they had 
 no authority for action they tended to become 
 flat and lacking in sufficiently wide interest. Sir 
 Lovelace set himself to remove these objections, 
 with the result that Lord Harrowby's name ap- 
 peared in the list of the Executive Committee, and 
 the Bishop of Lichfield at the end of the Congress 
 made special mention of the fact that " the vener- 
 able Earl of Harrowby, when resident in London 
 during the session of Parliament, repeatedly at- 
 tended the meetings of the Executive Committee, 
 coming down from London in the morning and 
 returning in the evening." 
 
 In October the Congress met at Stoke, and 
 was in almost every way an immense success. 
 How great the success proved to be can be 
 gathered from various letters received by the 
 Rector of Stoke when all was over. A neighbouring 
 squire wrote as follows : " Before I touch upon
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 any other subject I must first congratulate you 
 (which I do very sincerely) on the complete success 
 of the Congress. Nothing could be more satisfactory 
 than the temper in which the discussions were 
 conducted, and I fully and gladly admit that my 
 sinister forebodings proved completely groundless. 
 I shall henceforth take a much more favourable 
 view of Church Congresses, and hope that this 
 one at Stoke may not be barren of good results. 
 To your exertions and to the Bishop's tact I 
 consider that its success is mainly to be attri- 
 buted." 
 
 Archdeacon Emery, sometimes called the Father 
 of Church Congresses, considered that the " happy, 
 blessed way " in which everything had passed off 
 had given fresh life and vigour and usefulness to 
 Congress. Lastly, the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 (Dr. Tait) sent Sir Lovelace a message of his 
 recognition of " the great work which the Stoke 
 Congress did." 
 
 It has been stated the Congress was successful in 
 almost every way. Unfortunately there was one 
 aspect in which it could not be looked upon by its 
 promoters with satisfaction, and that was in the 
 matter of finance. The number of members' 
 tickets that was sold was a good deal below what had 
 been usual at Congresses held at other places, and 
 
 158
 
 STOKE CHURCH CONGRESS 
 
 upon the sale of these the financial success or 
 failure of a Church Congress must largely depend. 
 Now Stoke-upon-Trent offered practically no attrac- 
 tion to visitors beyond the Congress itself, and 
 there are always many clergy and others who 
 attend these meetings quite as much for the sake 
 of a little holiday in pleasant surroundings as for 
 any other reason. None of these were likely to 
 visit Stoke, and to that must be ascribed the large 
 falling off in members' tickets. On the other hand, 
 there was the gratifying fact that the inhabitants 
 of the Potteries attended the evening meetings in 
 considerable numbers, an average of eleven hundred 
 tickets per evening being sold. 
 
 The whole expenses, including the cost of the 
 building erected for the large meetings, which came 
 to .1600, was about .2000, and the receipts proved 
 to be just about half that sum. A guarantee fund 
 of 2000 had been raised, so that it will be seen 
 that the guarantors had to pay up ten shillings in 
 the pound. Bishop Selwyn put the matter in the 
 best possible light when, alluding to the splendid 
 attendance at the evening meetings, he said in his 
 closing speech, " We who have put down our names 
 to the guarantee fund have the very great satis- 
 faction of knowing that we have been the means 
 of giving a real Christian source of enjoyment to
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 4356 persons, at the small loss of one half of the 
 amount of our contributions." 
 
 There can be no doubt that one object which 
 Sir Lovelace had in view in furthering the meeting 
 of the Church Congress in Stoke, viz. the arousing 
 of greater local interest in the Church generally, 
 was fully accomplished. 
 
 It was eminently suitable that almost immediately 
 after the close of the Congress the Rector of Stoke 
 should have received the following letter from his 
 Bishop. 
 
 " The Palace, Licbfield, 
 
 20tb Nov., 1875. 
 
 My dear Sir Lovelace Stamer, 
 
 The Reverend Henry Calthorp, who now 
 holds the Prebend of Longdon in this Cathedral, 
 has tendered his resignation. I am sure that I shall 
 be anticipating the wishes of the whole Arch- 
 deaconry of Stafford in asking you to accept the 
 Prebendal Stall, which will give you a place in the 
 Diocesan Chapter, a body growing, I hope, every 
 year in usefulness and public estimation. Beyond 
 the power of doing good there is nothing in the 
 appointment, shorn as it is of all its emoluments. 
 
 Yrs. most truly, 
 
 G. A. LICHFIELD." 
 160
 
 APPOINTMENT AS ARCHDEACON 
 
 Sir Lovelace was duly installed at Lichfield 
 Cathedral at the morning service on Friday, Decem- 
 ber 1 7th, and so received a step in ecclesiastical 
 promotion which was recognised by all as happily 
 coincident with the termination of his labours as 
 Chief Secretary of the Congress. 
 
 This step was followed very closely by another. 
 In the following year (1876) the unwieldy size of the 
 Archdeaconry of Stafford led to a proposal that it 
 should be subdivided, and some correspondence 
 followed between the Bishop of Lichfield and Sir 
 Lovelace Stamer, in the course of which it was 
 suggested that if two archdeaconries could be 
 formed, one for North Staffordshire and the other 
 for South, the former should be allotted to Sir 
 Lovelace. The difficulties that presented them- 
 selves are clearly explained in the following letter 
 from Sir Lovelace and the Bishop's reply. 
 
 " Cliff Ville, 23 Nov., 1876. 
 My dear Lord, 
 
 I do not know how you stand with regard 
 to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners on the question 
 of the Subdivision of the Archdeaconry. But I 
 venture to submit to your Lordship the following 
 suggestion. I understand on good authority that 
 the endowment is the real difficulty : and that the 
 M 161
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Commissioners declined the Bishop of Manchester's 
 request for a similar subdivision on the ground 
 that they could not furnish the 200 a year for the 
 new Archdeacon. Now this occurs to me. Let 
 your Lordship offer as a -prospective endowment one 
 of the residentiary Canonries in Lichfield Cathedral. 
 I would undertake the duties of the Northern 
 Archdeaconry without stipend until a vacancy 
 occurs, when Mr. lies [Prebendary lies, who was 
 destined for the Southern Archdeaconry] could take 
 the canonry in lieu of his stipend as Archdeacon. . . . 
 I am sure you will believe that I do not make this 
 suggestion from any personal ambition to be Arch- 
 deacon, which will increase work and responsibility 
 in far larger measure than it will add to my position 
 or influence. But I have always felt that my large 
 income as Rector of Stoke lays upon me an obligation 
 to do all that I can for the Church in the Parish, 
 and, if called upon, in a wider sphere ; and, be- 
 lieving that it will be for the good of this part of the 
 Diocese, as well as that it is your Lordship's wish that 
 there should be two Archdeaconries for the County 
 of Stafford, I place myself at your Lordship's dis- 
 posal to undertake the work to which you have 
 designated me without salary, if that will assure the 
 consent of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. 
 
 I believe that Bishop Lonsdale made an attempt 
 
 162
 
 APPOINTMENT AS ARCHDEACON 
 
 of the same kind that your Lordship is making now, 
 and he was told that it could be done provided that 
 a Canonry was set apart for the endowment of the 
 new Archdeacon. 
 
 I remain 
 Your Lordship's faithful Servt., 
 
 LOVELACE T. STAMER." 
 
 The Bishop's reply was as follows : 
 
 " The Palace, Lichfield, 
 
 Nov. 24.tb, 1876. 
 My dear Sir Lovelace Stamer, 
 
 I thought your letter so important that 
 I sent it to Mr. Mowbray, M.P., one of the Estates 
 Committee of the Ecclesiastical Commission, in 
 order that he might sound his colleagues upon the 
 main points of it. 
 
 If I am legally competent, I am quite ready 
 to settle a Canonry in Lichfield Cathedral upon 
 the Archdeacon of South Staffordshire, and leave 
 the Archdeacon's income of ^200 per annum for the 
 Archdeacon of North Staffordshire, on the vacancy 
 of the next Canonry. The only point in reserve is 
 the duty of backing up the Bishop of Manchester 
 in our joint fight for additional Archdeaconries. He 
 has no Canonry which he can settle upon the Arch- 
 
 163
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 deaconry in his Diocese, and therefore I must stand 
 by him on the claim for Endowment until we are 
 beaten, which I still hope we shall not be. 
 
 I thank you very much for your letter, which is 
 a most valuable contribution to the fight which will 
 have to be made early in February. In the mean- 
 time I must appoint Mr. lies, subject to the division 
 of the present Archdeaconry into two parts. 
 
 Yours most truly, 
 
 G. A. LICHFIELD." 
 
 The fight to which the Bishop alludes seems to 
 have gone on for some time, for it was not till July 
 3 1st of that year that Sir Lovelace Stamer was at 
 last installed as archdeacon. The Bishop of Lich- 
 field evidently thought matters would be concluded 
 some six months earlier, for on February 3rd, 1877, 
 he wrote the following letter, in which it will be 
 observed he prematurely bestowed the new title 
 upon Sir Lovelace : 
 
 " My dear Archdeacon, 
 
 I am very glad to hear of the successful 
 inauguration of the new Archdeaconry, upon which 
 may God grant an abundant blessing. I have 
 a selfish reason among others, viz. that I shall not 
 
 164
 
 APPOINTMENT AS ARCHDEACON 
 
 scruple to throw upon the Archdeacons many de- 
 tails of work according to the lesson which Jethro 
 taught to Moses. With kind remembrances to 
 Lady Stamer, 
 
 I remain, 
 
 Yours most truly, 
 
 G. A. LlCHFIELD." 
 
 Matters were, however, not so quickly arranged 
 with the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Months 
 went by, until at last in the August number of the 
 Stoke Parish Magazine the following letter made 
 its appearance : 
 
 " My dear Friends, 
 
 Yesterday in Lichfield Cathedral I was 
 formally installed to that office to which, as I think 
 you are aware, the Bishop designated me upon 
 Archdeacon Moore's death a year ago. 
 
 The formalities necessary to obtain the sub- 
 division of the Archdeaconry of Stafford have been 
 protracted ; and it was not until Tuesday, July 
 24th, that the Order in Council constituting the 
 new Archdeaconry appeared in the London Gazette. 
 It is to bear the name of Stoke-upon-Trent. 
 
 165
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 In accepting the appointment of its first Arch- 
 deacon, I trust that I have done nothing which will 
 interfere with the due discharge of the duties 
 which I owe to you. I shall continue to have a 
 sufficient staff of assistant clergy, and I trust they 
 will always be men on whose loyalty and cordial 
 co-operation I may rely. I shall endeavour to 
 arrange my work in the Archdeaconry so as never 
 to be long absent from the Parish. . . . 
 
 Relying on your intercession that God would 
 give me grace and strength for the fresh responsi- 
 bilities laid upon me, I remain, 
 
 Your faithful Friend and Servant in Christ, 
 
 LOVELACE T. STAMER. 
 Aug. i, 1877." 
 
 The new Archdeacon held his first visitation 
 about three weeks after his instalment, summoning 
 the Clergy to the centres of Stoke-upon-Trent, Leek, 
 and Eccleshall. In the course of his Charge, he spoke 
 of the division of the Archdeaconry of Stafford 
 into two parts, and said, " I take it that the main 
 intention of the Subdivision is not that the two 
 archdeacons may have less to do than their pre- 
 decessors in the undivided Archdeaconry, but that, 
 devoting fully as much time and thought and pains 
 
 166
 
 APPOINTMENT AS ARCHDEACON 
 
 to the execution of their office within a smaller area, 
 what is done may be better done." 
 
 And so, taking up his new work in this spirit, he 
 cheerfully added to the heavy burdens he already 
 bore. Well was it, indeed, that the shoulders on 
 which they were laid were broad and strong ! 
 
 167
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE BURIALS BILL, ETC. 
 
 JUST at the time that Sir Lovelace Stamer was 
 appointed to the Archdeaconry of Stoke-upon- 
 Trent, the clergy of the Church of England were 
 greatly agitated as to the proposed legislation to 
 permit Nonconformist ministers to conduct services 
 at the funerals of members of their various denom- 
 inations who might be buried in Churchyards. By 
 far the larger number of clergy were heart and soul 
 opposed to any such concession. Many thought that 
 if the Nonconformist minister were allowed to hold 
 a service in the Churchyard, there was nothing to 
 prevent his doing the same in the church. Others 
 the Bishop of Peterborough (Dr. Magee) amongst 
 them though having no objection to the minis- 
 trations of religious Nonconformists, were so much 
 afraid that the " infidel and blasphemer would 
 march along with the religious Dissenter into the 
 Churchyards," that they too ranged themselves 
 with the opposition. Meetings were held, agitation 
 
 1 68
 
 THE BURIALS BILL, ETC. 
 
 was general, petitions were signed. Thirteen 
 thousand clergymen's signatures were obtained in 
 less than a week to a declaration affirming that they 
 were opposed to any legislation which should permit 
 persons not ministers of the Church of England 
 to claim as a right to officiate in her Churchyards, 
 and to use forms and ceremonies therein which were 
 not sanctioned by the Church. This being the 
 state of affairs, it was impossible that no reference 
 should be made to the proposed legislation in the 
 Archdeacon's primary charge. As a matter of fact, 
 he probably would have preferred to postpone the 
 subject to some occasion more congenial than the 
 first gathering of the clergy of his Archdeaconry. 
 But the subject was in everybody's mind and on 
 everybody's lips, and could not be put aside, even 
 though he was obliged to take a line which he knew 
 would be unpopular with his hearers. 
 
 It has already been mentioned more than once 
 that Sir Lovelace Stamer's sympathies were ex- 
 tremely broad, and that his statesmanlike vision 
 was far-seeing. These two qualities caused him to 
 see the real grievance under which Nonconformists 
 lay, and the uselessness of fighting against the only 
 reasonable proposal for its removal. He scouted the 
 suggestion that it should be left to each incumbent 
 to grant or refuse permission to Nonconformists 
 
 169
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 to conduct funerals in the Churchyards. In the 
 course of his Charge he said that in that case " the 
 chances of Burial Scandals would be . greatly in- 
 creased, and the varying practices of those with 
 whom the power lay, some being easy to grant, 
 and others stiff to refuse the privilege, would cause 
 heartburnings and jealousy which would not be con- 
 fined to those who were the subjects of that unequal 
 treatment. He thought it needless to consider that 
 further. It was certain that Nonconformists would 
 never accept the concession on those terms, and 
 the clergy might well complain of such a difficult 
 discretion being left to them." He further held 
 that the scare as to " the infidel and blasphemer " 
 need not be taken seriously, for his belief was that in 
 no place and on no occasion would such people find 
 themselves at a greater disadvantage than in a 
 Churchyard, and at the burial of the dead. " They 
 may," he continued, " as we know unhappily that 
 they do, catch the ears of men in the days of their 
 health and strength, and pour the poison of their 
 doctrines into hearts careless, worldly, and self- 
 indulgent, glad to catch any suggestion that there 
 is no God to mark what they do amiss, that the wages 
 of sin is not death, that after death there is no 
 judgment : but by the dying bed, when the 
 realities of the unseen world are coming into view, in 
 
 170
 
 THE BURIALS BILL, ETC. 
 
 the hearing of the mourner, in the very presence of 
 their dead, when they need consolation for some 
 dear one whom they have lost, and are clinging to 
 the hope that they have lost him only for a while, the 
 infidel and blasphemer, with their mock litanies 
 and rude denials of a resurrection of the dead, have 
 little chance of being listened to." 
 
 These are noble words, and it may be hazarded 
 that few Archidiaconal Charges have contained a 
 finer passage. The Archdeacon went on to say that 
 he could see no way in which a settlement of the 
 question could be reached short of the proposed 
 concession, though he was " not so presumptuous 
 as to suppose that such an opinion coming from 
 him would carry any weight." 
 
 As a matter of fact, the delivering of this opinion 
 in his primary Charge caused some consternation 
 among the clergy of the district, and in the following 
 November the Rural Deans of the Archdeaconry 
 sent Sir Lovelace a letter to the following effect : 
 
 " Dear Archdeacon, 
 
 It is not without grave consideration that we, 
 the Rural Deans of your Archdeaconry, have decided 
 to write to you on the subject of that portion of 
 your Primary Charge which has reference to the 
 Burials Bill. You know us too well to imagine for 
 
 171
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 a moment that this step implies our abandonment 
 of either our respect for your office, or our personal 
 regard for yourself. Indeed, these very feelings 
 seem to make it incumbent upon us seeing that we 
 are not able in this particular instance to act on the 
 views you have publicly expressed, but are even 
 constrained to act in opposition to them to state 
 frankly and explicitly the grounds on which we 
 adopt this course. 
 
 We consider, then, that the proposal to give to 
 persons not members of the Church of England 
 legal rights in our Churchyards, which they do not 
 at present possess, and to which they have no claim, 
 is unjust to the Church at large, tyrannical and 
 oppressive to the Clergy, and highly dangerous to our 
 institutions, both in Church and State. 
 
 [Here follow detailed reasons for their opinion.] 
 
 We feel ourselves called upon strenuously to 
 oppose any such measure, and we deeply regret that, 
 while it is our firm resolve to work heartily with you 
 and under you in your Archdeaconry, our sense of 
 right and wrong forbids us to act on the suggestions 
 made in your Charge on this subject. 
 
 With every sentiment of affectionate respect we 
 remain, 
 
 Dear Archdeacon, 
 
 Yours most faithfully, . . ." 
 172
 
 THE BURIALS BILL, ETC. 
 
 Here follow the signatures of six of the eight 
 Rural Deans of the Archdeaconry. Of the remain- 
 ing two, Sir Lovelace himself was one, and the 
 other was away from home at the time. All those 
 who signed have passed away except Prebendary 
 Hutchinson, who in his hundredth year still 
 ministers in his church at Blurton. He, in common 
 with several of the others, was a close personal friend 
 of Sir Lovelace Stamer, and this fact must have 
 added to the regret felt on either side at this decided 
 divergence of opinion and policy. But the Arch- 
 deacon, like the Rural Deans, had not taken up his 
 position without grave consideration. Once he had 
 made up his mind that a certain course was right, 
 nothing ever turned him from it. He was absolutely 
 fearless of what others might say or think. At the 
 same time he had a way with him which prevented 
 his making enemies or losing friends. As Mr. Blagg 
 (a Staffordshire lay friend of his) most truly says, 
 " He had the happy faculty of working hard with- 
 out treading on other people's corns." 
 
 So it was in this case. Not one inch would he 
 go back from the'standpoint he had taken, and not 
 one particle was he willing to lose of the affectionate 
 confidence which existed between himself and his 
 brother clergy. This can be gathered from his 
 answer to the Rural Deans' letter. It was ad- 
 
 173
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 dressed to the Senior Rural Dean, and ran as 
 follows : 
 
 " Cliff Ville, Stoke-on-Trent, 
 
 Nov. 1 6, 1877. 
 
 My dear Mather, 
 
 Your letter, with the address of the Rural 
 Deans, on the subject of my utterances on the 
 Burials Bill has just been put into my hands. I 
 cannot sufficiently thank you for the forbearance 
 which the address displays. 
 
 Feeling, as you do, so very strongly on the question 
 you might with fairness have expressed yourself 
 with less consideration towards one who appears to 
 be recklessly separating himself from his brethren. 
 And I might well endure the strongest condemna- 
 tion of the conclusions I have come to, if it is 
 coupled with the assurance that I am not about to 
 forfeit your personal friendship, nor lose the help 
 and counsel which are essential to me in the dis- 
 charge of my responsible office. 
 
 I can assure you that it was with no little hesitation 
 and some pain that I found myself constrained to 
 take a view of the Burials question so different from 
 that of the great majority of the clergy, and to avow 
 it. I am aware that the weight of argument and 
 logical conclusion is on your side, and the further 
 
 174
 
 THE BURIALS BILL, ETC. 
 
 designs which Nonconformists declare they have 
 against the Church, and mean to press for through 
 this advantage, makes the idea of any concession 
 very distasteful. Nevertheless, a grievance has been 
 admitted to exist, and, however insignificant it may 
 appear to you to be, Parliament is clearly deter- 
 mined that it shall be remedied, and that the remedy 
 shall be in the direction of Lord Harrowby's 
 Amendment. Is it wise, with this in prospect, for 
 the clergy to be encouraging each other to un- 
 compromising resistance ? Will it not intensify the 
 difficulty of accepting the new order of things ? 
 Of course I must be understood to be saying this 
 in the conviction that no vital truth or principle 
 is at stake. Were it otherwise concession would be 
 impossible. 
 
 However, I am not going to try your patience by 
 repeating what may be said in support of this view. 
 All I will say is that I trust this will be a solitary 
 difference of opinion and policy between us, and, 
 for the rest, I hope we shall be found united in 
 sentiment and action, labouring together to promote 
 the best interests of the Church in this Arch- 
 deaconry. 
 
 Believe me, yours very sincerely, 
 
 LOVELACE T. STAMER." 
 
 175
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 This incident is worth the space that has been 
 given to it, for it brings out Sir Lovelace's general 
 leaning in ecclesiastical policy, as well as many of 
 the eminent qualities to which reference has already 
 been made. 
 
 176
 
 From a photograph by Elliott F~ Fry 
 
 BISHOP LOVELACE T. STAMER
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 APPOINTMENT TO BE BISHOP SUFFRAGAN 
 OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 A FTER some ten years' experience of the work 
 of the diocese of Lichfield, with its rapidly- 
 increasing population in the Staffordshire manu- 
 facturing districts, Bishop Maclagan came to the 
 inevitable conclusion that it was more than he 
 could accomplish single-handed. Naturally enough 
 on looking round him he saw one man standing 
 out pre-eminently as the helper whom he needed. 
 Sir Lovelace Stamer had been for so long the 
 central figure in all the Church work in the 
 Potteries that upon him the Bishop's eye rested 
 at once. Application was made to the Crown in 
 January, 1888, for the appointment of a suffragan 
 bishop for the diocese of Lichfield, and, when leave 
 was granted, the Bishop at once asked the Rector 
 of Stoke to allow himself to be nominated. The 
 Queen's consent was not long in coming, and by 
 
 N 177
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 the end of the month it became generally known 
 that the Archdeacon of Stoke was to be the 
 new Suffragan Bishop, taking his title from 
 the beautiful old town of Shrewsbury, thus 
 honouring the Shropshire part of the diocese of 
 Lichfield. 
 
 The Bishop of Lichfield on January nth wrote 
 as follows : 
 
 " My dear Stamer, 
 
 The Queen has given her consent, and now 
 nothing remains but to put the matter in proper 
 form ; but till that is done it must be kept secret, 
 as Her Majesty is very particular that nothing 
 should be said in these cases until all things have 
 been done according to rule. It would of course 
 be convenient if you could be consecrated on the 
 same day as Archdeacon Earle, and I will lose no 
 time in taking the necessary steps. 
 
 I heartily thank God that I may now hope to 
 have your much valued help in bearing a burden 
 which, though a very blessed one in many ways, 
 is too heavy for me to bear alone. It will set me 
 free to do much that I have had at heart, but have 
 
 178
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 never found myself free to attempt. You have my 
 earnest prayers for all needed grace. 
 
 Yr. always affect., 
 
 W. D. LlCHFIELD. 
 
 P.S. Of course Lady Stamer may be told. My 
 wife knows, but literally no one else." 
 
 Two more letters came from the Bishop shortly 
 after this. In the first of these he says, " The 
 Archbishop is much pleased by my selection of 
 you as Suffragan." From the second letter the 
 following passage may be quoted : " I trust you 
 will find a first-rate man for senior-curate, and that 
 you will become more the Bishop of your parish 
 than its Rector. Your influence and experience 
 are much needed in other places as well as Stoke 
 and there is a limit to mental as well as bodily strength, 
 although it seems hard for you to believe it." 
 
 It was not only the Archbishop and the Bishop 
 of Lichfield who were pleased. 
 
 The chorus of approval was universal. The 
 appointment was so obvious. Letters poured in 
 by every post full of thankfulness at the choice 
 thankfulness for the sake of the diocese and of the 
 Church at large. Those who criticised at all did so 
 from the point of view that they would have liked 
 to have seen him a Diocesan Bishop. The appoint- 
 ment to the new See of Wakefield was on the point 
 
 179
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of being made, and more than one correspondent 
 expressed disappointment that he had not been 
 nominated to that bishopric. It may, perhaps, be 
 confidently asserted, now that it is possible to look 
 back upon Sir Lovelace Stamer's whole life and 
 work, that he was in many respects better fitted 
 for a Diocesan than for a Suffragan bishopric. A 
 great organiser, with immense powers of setting 
 men to work and keeping them at it, gifted with 
 a rapid grasp of the main bearings of a question and 
 an almost equally rapid decision as to the way to 
 deal with it, he was impatient of any one or any- 
 thing that stood between him and the carrying 
 out of what he thought right. He was, in fact, a 
 man who knew he was right (and he generally 
 was) and meant to have his own way. This is a 
 quality which is perhaps more useful in a command- 
 ing officer than in a second-in-command, and 
 those who knew him to be possessed of it, and who 
 also knew his fatherliness and wonderful personal 
 influence, may be forgiven for thinking that he 
 would have filled with greater advantage a Diocesan 
 bishopric. 
 
 Before dealing with any of the letters which he 
 received at this time from others, the first place 
 must be given to that which he addressed to his 
 
 parishioners. 
 
 1 80
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 "Feast of the Purification, 1888. 
 
 My dear People, 
 
 Although the solemn step that lies before me 
 is by this time well known to you all, yet I desire to 
 address you as though it were a new announcement. 
 
 The Bishop of Lichfield has long felt the need 
 for help in the work of his Diocese which is too 
 much for the time and strength of one man, even 
 after the severance of Derbyshire [this county 
 became part of the new See of Southwell]. At the 
 beginning of this year he applied to the Queen for 
 permission to have a Suffragan Bishop, and, on 
 leave being granted, he expressed to me his strong 
 wish that I should undertake the office. I regarded 
 it as a call that I could not refuse. It involved 
 more work and a greater responsibility. From the 
 latter I felt that I ought not to shrink ; and as for 
 the former I saw that by a process of rearrangement 
 and retiring from engagements that did not strictly 
 belong to me in my ministerial capacity, I might 
 so economise my time and strength that I might be 
 almost as much at your service as I have been since 
 I became Archdeacon. I therefore left myself in 
 the Bishop's hands to nominate me as his Suffragan ; 
 and in due course, the Queen's approval having 
 been signified, I am awaiting Consecration, which 
 
 181
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 is fixed for St. Matthias' Day, February 24th. 
 It will involve, as I think you understand, no 
 change in my position towards you as Rector of 
 Stoke. Though I take the title of Bishop of 
 Shrewsbury, my work will not lie in Shropshire 
 more than in Staffordshire. I am appointed to 
 help the Bishop in whatever part of the Diocese 
 he may require my services. I humbly trust that 
 I may afford him material relief, and also have 
 opportunities of helping my brother Clergy in 
 ways not open to me hitherto. I also trust that in 
 the highest order of the sacred Ministry, and 
 strengthened with the grace that will come to me 
 through my Consecration, I may also be found, 
 for the time that remains to me, better qualified 
 to do a Pastor's work towards you. As far as I have 
 yet learnt, you have received the announcement 
 of my advance to the Episcopate most kindly and 
 generously. Instead of saying that it ought 
 to lead to my resignation of the living of Stoke, 
 you have assured me of your pleasure at finding 
 that no such severance is impending. Be sure that 
 I shall endeavour, on my part, to make the best 
 return I can for such a token of your deep-rooted 
 affection. I will not needlessly increase my engage- 
 ments away from you. And I will make such a 
 
 provision for the work here that you shall have 
 
 182
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 as little cause as possible to complain of my absence. 
 Now what I earnestly ask you all to do, in the 
 prospect of what lies before me, is to PRAY FOR ME. 
 The day of my Consecration, if God wills, is to be 
 the Festival of St. Matthias, who was called to fill 
 a vacant place in the Apostolic body. In the 
 Collect for that day you are taught to pray that 
 ' the Church may be preserved from false Apostles,' 
 and may be ' ordered and guided by faithful and 
 true pastors.' Pray this prayer with me, your 
 Rector, shortly to be made a Bishop, in your 
 minds ; and I shall feel assured of a strength being 
 granted me which will enable me to * use the 
 authority given me, not to destruction, but to 
 salvation, not to hurt, but to help.' And that you 
 may give me the aid I ask for more willingly, read 
 over the Form for Consecrating a Bishop in your 
 Prayer-books, and you will learn the nature of the 
 responsibilities attaching to the Order to which 
 I am about to be raised. 
 
 I have now said to you everything that is in my 
 mind. May I not count that the ties which have 
 bound us to each other for thirty years may not 
 be loosened, but rather strengthened ? And so let 
 me remain 
 
 Ever your affectionate Friend and Pastor, 
 
 LOVELACE T. STAMER." 
 183
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 This was a most characteristic letter. In the 
 first place it reveals the writer's deep sense of the 
 dignity and responsibility of the position to which 
 he was called a sense that was ever with him to 
 the end. Secondly, it gave expression to his 
 definite faith and trust. " Strengthened," he says, 
 " by the grace which will come to me " not 
 " which I hope may come to me." He knew from 
 past experience that he could absolutely count 
 upon his God, and his trust was firm as a rock. 
 
 Then there is in the letter a subtle tone of 
 authority. It could hardly have been otherwise. 
 He was already a sort of unconsecrated Bishop of 
 the Potteries, and for thirty years he had been a 
 ruler loving indeed, but still a ruler of his 
 parish. So that the letter in its dignity has some 
 of the quality of a royal proclamation. But, when 
 the last words were to be written, all this disappears 
 in the rush of warm feeling which came over him. 
 It is almost as if their affectionate friend and pastor 
 had ended by begging his people just to pray for 
 him and to love him still. 
 
 The allusion to " such a provision for the work 
 here " calls for a word of explanation. It was felt 
 both by the Bishop of Lichfield and by Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer that it would be necessary to procure the 
 
 services of some man of special experience and 
 
 184
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 attainments to be a sort of Chief of the Staff when 
 the Rector of Stoke took up his new duties. To 
 this end Bishop Maclagan promised to give 100 
 a year in addition to the ^200 which he would give 
 to Sir Lovelace in place of the similar sum which 
 the latter would lose on his resignation of the 
 Archdeaconry. 
 
 It will be noticed with what remarkable speed 
 everything was arranged and carried through in 
 connection with Sir Lovelace's appointment. From 
 the time of the Bishop of Lichfield's application 
 for permission to have a Suffragan to the date of 
 that Suffragan's consecration less than two months 
 elapsed. 
 
 Although this could not be said to be the doing 
 of the Bishop-designate, except in so far as he at 
 once determined that it was " a call he could not 
 refuse," yet it must have given him pleasure. It 
 was exactly after his own heart. See what ought 
 to be done and carry it out at once, was a principle 
 on which he had always acted. 
 
 But during the few weeks that remained before 
 the 24th of February many preparations had to be 
 made and many things occurred which were most 
 gratifying. Perhaps the chief of these was the 
 receipt by every post of letters of congratulation. 
 Those who have gathered some impression from 
 
 185
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 these pages of the affectionate nature of Sir Love- 
 lace and of the warm place in his heart that he 
 always kept for old friends will realise the pleasure 
 with which he received letters from Turvey and 
 from Long Melford. From the former place his 
 old friend Mrs. Higgins wrote as follows : 
 
 " Turvey Abbey, Feb. i6th. 
 Dear Bishop Elect, 
 
 All at Turvey think and speak of you con- 
 stantly, and many a simple loving heart will re- 
 member you on St. Matthias' Day. I believe our 
 kind rector proposes to have a service in our church 
 on that occasion, which will be a very delightful 
 way of remembering you. 
 
 I pray that God will bless you in all you under- 
 take, and that He will give you strength to under- 
 take all the additional labour that will fall on 
 you. 
 
 Believe me to remain, dear Sir Lovelace 
 
 (for the last time !), 
 Yr. sincere and affectionate 
 HELEN E. HIGGINS." 
 
 From Long Melford came a letter from the 
 rector of that parish saying that before reading 
 1 86
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 the Ember-day collect he had at each service asked 
 the congregation " specially to pray for Sir Love- 
 lace Stamer, Rector of Stoke, and formerly curate 
 of this parish, who will be consecrated Bishop of 
 Shrewsbury on Friday next." 
 
 It is not a little remarkable to find these expres- 
 sions of feeling in parishes where his ministry had 
 been brief and had ended more than thirty years 
 before. 
 
 Then there came a letter from Canon Macaulay, 
 with whom Sir Lovelace started work at Stoke 
 the first of the great band of curates bearing its 
 witness to the qualifications of his old rector for 
 episcopal responsibilities. " Your great power of 
 administration," he wrote, " strong and devoted 
 capacities for work, and large-hearted sympathies, 
 will enable you with God's blessing to be of valu- 
 able service to the Church in your Diocese." 
 
 The late Lord Harrowby wrote a warm letter of 
 congratulation, in the course of which he declared 
 that he knew no selection which would give more 
 general satisfaction or be more rich in promise of 
 blessing to that populous and important neighbour- 
 hood. But he felt it difficult to congratulate Sir 
 Lovelace personally, as he had the gravest appre- 
 hension of the effect upon his (Sir Lovelace's) 
 health of the heavy additional work. He concluded 
 
 187
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 a very charming letter by saying that while, as an 
 old friend, he rejoiced that all honour should be 
 done to Sir Lovelace, yet he could not help begging 
 him to put some limit to his labours. 
 
 This last thought came into the minds of many 
 of his friends who knew his voracity for work. A 
 lay neighbour feared that the arrangement would 
 sorely try the strength of the Rector of Stoke, and 
 then went on to make a forecast by saying, " Surely 
 the proud Salopians will have too much proper 
 pride and self-respect to be contented for long 
 with a Suffragan, and will bestir themselves with a 
 view to the establishment of a new see, or, rather, 
 the resuscitation of an old one." This prophecy 
 has been so far from being fulfilled that Shropshire 
 does not any longer even bestow a title upon a 
 Suffragan ! 
 
 A letter from the Master of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge, after congratulating the Bishop Elect, 
 refers to the process by which a Doctor's degree 
 should be conferred by the University, and men- 
 tions the curious fact that no similar application 
 had ever reached the Council of the Senate, with 
 whom the jurisdiction in such matters rested, 
 because all Suffragan Bishops up to that time had 
 been Oxford men ! 
 
 The Bishop of St. Alban's, Sir Lovelace Stamer's 
 
 1 88
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 old friend Dr. Claughton, sent an affectionate 
 letter beginning, " Few things have given me such 
 pleasure as your appointment to the Episcopate, 
 and Walsham How's acceptance of the See of 
 Wakefield," and ending with the words, " May 
 God ever bless you in the future as He has in the 
 past, and make you a blessing, is my humble fervent 
 prayer." 
 
 From the immediate district round Stoke came, 
 of course, many letters. As an example of the kind 
 of feeling that was aroused by the appointment 
 it may be mentioned that the Vicar of St. John's, 
 Longton, wrote to say that his parishioners of their 
 own accord called a representative meeting, at 
 which a resolution was passed warmly congratu- 
 lating Sir Lovelace Stamer and expressing a hearty 
 desire that he might be spared for many years 
 and be greatly blessed in the work of his holy office. 
 This action on the part of the good people of St. 
 John's, Longton, was prompted by their feeling 
 for one " who had stood so faithfully by them, and 
 been such a friend in their time of need " an 
 expression which might well have been used by 
 many parishes in that neighbourhood and by 
 hundreds of individuals. 
 
 But it was not Church people only who rejoiced. 
 One of the most striking characteristics of Sir 
 
 189
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Lovelace Stamer was his broad-minded sense of the 
 brotherhood of man, which endeared him to many 
 who did not agree with him in religious matters. 
 A leading Nonconformist wrote : " As a Noncon- 
 formist and as a citizen I have always admired 
 the intense zeal you have displayed in all the many 
 labours you have taken in hand, and the kind and 
 Christian way in which you have always treated 
 those who either in religious or social questions 
 have not seen eye to eye with you. And I trust you 
 will pardon me in so far saying that your courtesy 
 shown to me many years ago has always been a 
 pleasure to my mind. No one, I am sure, is more 
 susceptible of the honour placed on this district 
 through you than the many Nonconformists in the 
 parish, and I only echo the sentiments of many 
 when I say inasmuch as you have by God's help 
 done much to promote His glory and the well- 
 being of all, you may in your more high and 
 exalted ecclesiastical position be still more able 
 to promote the spiritual condition of your fellow- 
 men." 
 
 This letter, perhaps, gave Sir Lovelace Stamer 
 as much pleasure as any that he received. He 
 delighted in his intercourse and sympathy with 
 men of all shades of belief. In this connection a 
 passage from the paper of Mr. Beach (who has 
 
 190
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 already been quoted) may find a fitting place. 
 Speaking of the Rector of Stoke he says : " It was 
 always pleasing to hear of his friendly relations 
 with people who had nothing (apparently) in 
 common with him in Churchmanship or politics. 
 The late Mr. Woodall, M.P. for Hanley, was a 
 strong Nonconformist and an advanced Radical. 
 One day I fell in with Sir Lovelace, who told me 
 that he had just come from 'visiting his dear 
 friend, Mr. Woodall, who he feared was sick unto 
 death." 
 
 Finally, two specially interesting letters must be 
 quoted in full, one from inside the diocese, the 
 other from without. The first is from the late 
 Bishop Abraham, one of Sir Lovelace's dearest and 
 most intimate friends. 
 
 " Septuagesima Sunday, 1888. 
 
 The Close, Li ch field. 
 My dear Sir Lovelace, 
 
 The Bishop has just told me of a thing that 
 rejoices my heart, namely, the public recognition 
 of your long and devoted services to the Church of 
 Christ, in this diocese more especially and how 
 he has obtained the sanction of the Queen to your 
 appointment as Bishop of Shrewsbury. 
 
 191
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 I rejoice at it from all points of view you have 
 worked harder than most men it has been my good 
 fortune to know and you worked without any 
 arriere pensee of reward, and therefore have ob- 
 tained it. You will now have to leave the ordering 
 of tables and give yourself more undividedly to the 
 Ministry of the Word and the edifying of the 
 portion of the diocese committed to you. 
 
 I rejoice at it also for the Bishop's sake that he 
 has seen and recognised your work, and at the same 
 time the independent spirit in which you have 
 done that work. And I rejoice at it for the sake of 
 the diocese and the people whom you will stir up to 
 labours of love. 
 
 And then once more * as in private duty bound ' 
 (as we used to hear and say in the University 
 pulpit) I am so pleased to think how Lady Stamer 
 and all the olive branches, that (used to be and still 
 sometimes) are round about your table, will thank 
 God for putting it into the heart of His servant to 
 make public recognition of your ministry. You 
 will, I know, believe me to be 
 
 Your sincere and affectionate 
 
 Brother and Friend, 
 
 C. J. ABRAHAM, Bp." 
 
 192
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 The second letter came from the late Archdeacon 
 Norris, and ran as follows : 
 
 "Bristol, Feb. 5, 1888. 
 My dear old Friend, 
 
 This news makes me very happy, and it must 
 make you happy. The l Friend, come up higher ! ' 
 reaches you through one who knows you thoroughly : 
 and this relieves you of all responsibility, and 
 enables you to say, ' It is of God.' 
 
 This seems to me to make the appointment of 
 Suffragan Bishop happier, so far, than appointment 
 by the Crown through the Prime Minister. And 
 then, again, the office of Suffragan Bishop is in 
 some respects less encumbered with non-spiritual 
 functions than the Diocesan's. 
 
 None but a real man of God can keep himself 
 ' unspotted from the world ' on that perilous 
 bench ! 
 
 In all that is purely spiritual, in the laying on of 
 hands, both in ordaining and in confirming, and in 
 Benediction, you are co-ordinate with the Bishops 
 of the Holy Catholic Church of all time and 
 what a ' Candidatus exercitus ' it is into which the 
 Holy Ghost is calling you ! 
 
 While there is another element of happiness : 
 o 193
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 as you escape snares, so you will be saved much 
 that is most painful in Diocesan work. For I take 
 it that the Diocesan can hardly devolve the several 
 acts of discipline upon his Suffragan. Well ! You 
 have worked most perseveringly in an arduous and 
 in some respects unlovely field of work. And now 
 your residue of years will be spent in more gracious 
 pastures. And this is as it should be. I am longing 
 to know whether you keep your Archdeaconry like 
 Parry and Blomfield : and where your home will 
 be : this last concerns Lady Stamer almost more 
 than you, but I am sure she must be very happy in 
 the prospect. It will be precisely the tonic you 
 must be needing both spiritually and bodily. 
 God bless you, my friend, and give you grace to 
 serve Him in the higher sphere as singly and sincerely 
 as you have served Him in the lower. 
 
 I insist on your not answering this letter. 
 
 Ever yrs. affectly., 
 
 J. P. NORRIS." 
 
 Archdeacon Norris evidently thought that the 
 new bishop would be sure to resign the living of 
 Stoke, but might very possibly retain his Arch- 
 deaconry. As a matter of fact exactly the reverse 
 came to pass. It was intended that by retaining 
 
 194
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 the rich benefice of Stoke Sir Lovelace Stamer 
 might afford to hold the office of Bishop Suffragan, 
 for which no sufficient provision could otherwise 
 at that time be made. For four years after his 
 consecration he carried on the two great works of 
 Rector of a huge parish and Bishop Suffragan. Then, 
 as will be seen, it became too heavy a strain, and a 
 change was inevitable. 
 
 With regard to the Archdeaconry, there was 
 a strong feeling from the first that he must lay 
 down the duties of that office. Archdeacon lies, 
 who, it will be remembered, was appointed to the 
 Archdeaconry of South Stafford at the time the old 
 Archdeaconry was subdivided, wrote full of anxiety 
 on the subject. After offering Sir Lovelace his 
 best wishes and prayers for God's blessing on his 
 " new venture of work," he said, " I am anxious, 
 very anxious about you, as you had before too much 
 to do, and I therefore much hope that you will 
 resign your Archdeaconry. The office of Arch- 
 deacon has mainly secular work, unsuited for him 
 who is called to the highest spiritual work ; and, if 
 by resigning you thereby lose your important work 
 in Convocation, we (i.e. the diocese or Chapter) 
 should be certain to send you again at the next 
 election. 
 
 " But, more than this, no living man can do the 
 '95
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 work of Bishop Suffragan in a diocese like Lichfield, 
 of Rector of 17,000 souls, and of Archdeacon of 
 more than a hundred benefices with some 330,000 
 people. And if you try to do it you will assuredly 
 break down. Surely your aim must be to preserve 
 your health, first for the sake of your great and 
 well-worked parish, and secondly for the sake of 
 the diocese in which you are to have high office. 
 The Archdeaconry only comes third (or fourth 
 when I reckon in your family) in importance. The 
 loss of it now takes from you no dignity, but rather 
 strengthens your position, and certainly strengthens 
 the work of the Church, because you would then 
 have the fellowship and assistance of another good 
 man as Archdeacon." 
 
 The same feeling obtained very largely through- 
 out the diocese. Bishop Stamer himself was perhaps 
 the only person who did not at first see it quite in 
 the same light. He never seems, in his positive 
 greed for work, to have believed that any load was 
 too heavy for his broad shoulders, and, in the next 
 place, he was extremely reluctant to run any risk 
 of losing his seat in Convocation. 
 
 However, he went to see the Bishop of Lichfield 
 on the matter, and next day received the following 
 letter : 
 
 196
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 " Licbfield, iSthFeb., 1888. 
 My dear Stamer, 
 
 I have thought carefully over our con- 
 versation of to-day, and have not failed to ask God's 
 guidance in the weighty matter which you left for 
 my decision. I have come to the conclusion that 
 for several reasons it would be well that you should 
 not continue to hold your Archdeaconry. First of 
 all with regard to your own health. I am sure this 
 has weighed greatly with those who have expressed 
 the same opinion. We know with what earnestness 
 and with what unsparing diligence you throw 
 yourself into any work which you have to do, and, 
 however much the duties of a Suffragan might be 
 made to work in with those of an Archdeacon, there 
 could not fail to be a considerable amount of 
 additional labour under which it is quite probable 
 that your health might give way. 
 
 Further we must bear in mind that in these 
 days there is an increasing prejudice in the minds 
 of Churchmen against the multiplication of offices 
 in one person ; and I think there is no doubt that 
 the great majority will hear with satisfaction that 
 you have resigned the Archdeaconry, although they 
 might not have blamed you if you had retained it. 
 
 197
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 There remains also the hope, amounting I believe to 
 a moral certainty, that you will retain your seat in 
 Convocation as an elected Proctor under the 
 arrangement which I propose. 
 
 I earnestly trust that all this is according to God's 
 will, and that it may be to His glory. 
 
 I hope the day is not far distant when the 
 Suffragan Bishops will sit with us in the Upper 
 House. 
 
 Believe me, my dear Stamer, 
 
 Always affectly. yours, 
 
 W. D. LlCHFIELD." 
 
 This letter, of course, settled the matter, as the 
 decision had been left to the Bishop by Sir Lovelace, 
 and any reluctance he may have felt was entirely 
 overcome when he found that his friend, the pre- 
 sent Dean of Rochester, then Rector of Leigh in 
 Staffordshire, was to succeed him. 
 
 But there is a little more to be said about the 
 expression which the inhabitants of Stoke gave to 
 their feelings when the honour that had been paid to 
 their Rector became known. There was a moment 
 
 198
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 of terrible anxiety as to whether they would lose 
 him from Stoke, but once they were assured upon 
 that point there was a universal sense of pride and 
 joy. Meetings were quickly called, in order that 
 some tangible expression of their feelings might be 
 decided upon. The ladies of the town made up 
 their minds to present him with his episcopal robes, 
 while the rest of the parish determined to mark 
 the sense of the honour done to their Rector by 
 raising a fund to renovate the Parish Church and 
 rebuild the organ, which it had been ascertained 
 was the form which Sir Lovelace would prefer 
 that any testimonial should take. 
 
 The short time that remained before the day 
 of Consecration arrived was spent by Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer in retreat at Alton Vicarage, the home of his 
 friend the Rev. A. Moncrieff, now Vicar of Rugeley, 
 who put his house at Sir Lovelace's disposal for the 
 purpose. How grateful he was for this quiet time 
 was proved by the fact that for all the rest of his life 
 he never failed to write to Mr. Moncrieff on St. 
 Matthias' Day to thank him for what had proved 
 such a helpful time, and to assure him that he (Sir 
 Lovelace) never forgot it. 
 
 St. Matthias' Day (February 24th) saw a great 
 congregation at St. Paul's Cathedral to witness 
 
 the Consecration of two Suffragan Bishops, viz., 
 
 199
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Archdeacon Earle, who was the newly appointed 
 Suffragan for London with the title of Bishop of 
 Marlborough, and Archdeacon Sir Lovelace Stamer, 
 who became Bishop of Shrewsbury. 
 
 The Consecrating Bishops were the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury (Dr. Benson), the Bishop of London 
 (Dr. Temple), the Bishop of Lichfield (Dr. 
 Maclagan), the Bishop of Dover (Dr. Parry), the 
 Bishop of Bedford (Dr. Walsham How), and Bishop 
 Bromby. The two Bishops who presented Sir 
 Lovelace Stamer were the Bishops of Lich- 
 field and Dover, the latter having been a close 
 friend ever since they were boys together at 
 Rugby. 
 
 In the administration of the Holy Communion 
 which followed, the new Bishop of Shrewsbury 
 gave the Cup after the Bishop of Lichfield. 
 Describing this in the Parish Magazine he wrote : 
 " It was a cause of never-to-be-forgotten joy and 
 thankfulness to him that among the Communicants 
 there were, besides his own nearest and dearest, 
 many of his former and present Curates, old and 
 valued neighbours from Staffordshire, together with 
 a considerable representation of his dear Stoke 
 people, headed by his faithful friend and Church- 
 warden, Alderman Hargraves." 
 
 And so began a new epoch in the life of Sir 
 200
 
 BISHOP SUFFRAGAN OF SHREWSBURY 
 
 Lovelace Starrier, an epoch that would naturally 
 be expected to have added to his labours if it were 
 not for the fact that it is difficult to fill a full cup 
 any fuller ! 
 
 201
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 STOKE RECTORY ACT 
 
 TT was in the year immediately following his 
 Consecration (1889) that Sir Lovelace Stamer, 
 Bishop of Shrewsbury, put his hand to the 
 most important undertaking of his incumbency 
 of Stoke-upon-Trent, which had then lasted more 
 than thirty years. There can be little doubt 
 that the experience he was already beginning to 
 acquire of the additional burden which episcopal 
 duties must needs lay upon his shoulders, made him 
 feel that the time could not be very far distant when 
 he would have to give up the charge of his great 
 parish. With this vast place, uncouth enough in 
 outward appearance, but teeming with an ever- 
 growing population of working men and women, 
 and therefore appealing to him in the strongest 
 possible manner, he had become so completely 
 united in interests and affection, that the thought 
 of leaving it without an effort to ensure the appoint- 
 ment of its future Rectors being in proper hands 
 began to cause him considerable anxiety. 
 
 202
 
 STOKE RECTORY ACT 
 
 The living had been in private patronage for 
 250 years, and since 1817 had been in the hands of 
 the Tomlinson family. As the Bishop himself may 
 be said by the year 1889 to have represented the 
 family for such purposes, it may be asked why he 
 should not have let matters alone and been content 
 to feel that either he or his heirs would make a 
 proper presentation to the living. The answer to 
 this lies in the fact that by the wills of the Bishop's 
 grandfather and uncle the patronage was held by 
 Trustees upon trust to realise its value by sale. 
 
 Although no steps had hitherto been taken to 
 carry this instruction into effect, yet the trusts for 
 sale remained, and in fact an Order had been made 
 by the Court of Chancery directing a sale of the 
 Tomlinson property which included the advowson, 
 and it made the Bishop uneasy. In a letter to his 
 parishioners, issued in January, 1889, he used these 
 words : " No attempt has [hitherto] been made 
 to part with the Advowson, though the direction 
 to sell it has been all along, as it is still, in force. 
 Often and often, during these thirty-one years, I 
 have thought anxiously of the future of the parish, 
 and of the flock which has grown to be so dear to 
 me." Any such notion as putting up the cure of 
 souls to public auction was naturally abhorrent to 
 him. So it was that he cast about for some means 
 
 203
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 by which he might ensure the patronage being 
 placed in safe hands for evermore. 
 
 But there was one difficulty to be overcome at the 
 start. The Trustees of the Tomlinson family 
 could not legally part with the advowson except at 
 a fair price. That this price must be large was 
 obvious, for the gross income was not far short of 
 3500, though such outgoings as 1200 a year 
 for curates' stipends, and various charges paid to 
 surrounding parishes, brought the net amount to 
 a much smaller figure. 
 
 What Sir Lovelace Stamer wanted was to make 
 the Bishops of Lichfield patrons of the living. 
 How could this be done while a big price had to be 
 paid to the Trustees ? With his clear business head, 
 and with his unvaried readiness to sacrifice his own 
 interests, Sir Lovelace saw his way. What his plan 
 was cannot be more clearly stated than by quoting 
 from his second letter to his parishioners on the 
 subject, published in February, 1889. In the course 
 of this letter he says : " In my previous letter I stated 
 that there was a fund in existence, created by an Act 
 of 1827, out of which the purchase of the Advowson 
 from its present owners might be made if Parlia- 
 ment would permit it. It is properly called ' an 
 Accumulating Fund,' for it has grown out of the 
 deduction, half-year by half-year, of one-sixth of 
 
 204
 
 STOKE RECTORY ACT 
 
 the interest on the capital derived from the sale 
 of Glebe Lands and Tithes (which would otherwise 
 have been paid to the Rector), and its investment 
 at compound interest ' in the name of the Ac- 
 countant General of the Court of Chancery, ex 
 'parte the Rector of Stoke.' The intention plainly 
 was to augment still further the income of the 
 Rector ; for at any time (as the Act provides), ' on 
 petition of the Rector or Patron or Ordinary,' it 
 might have been invested in land, and as Rector 
 I might have received the rents, as in the case of 
 any other glebe land. But no such investment has 
 ever been asked for by me. For a long time past it 
 has been held to be undesirable that the Clergy 
 should be landed proprietors ; on the contrary, in- 
 creased facilities have been lately given them to sell 
 their Glebes. And so this fund has accumulated 
 until it has reached ^15,730." 
 
 It is interesting to notice here that when the 
 living came to be valued by two valuers, one assessed 
 it at .17,000 and the other at .13,875. The mean 
 of these sums was agreed upon, which, being 
 .15,437, came as nearly as possible to the amount 
 of the Accumulated Fund. 
 
 But the vesting of the patronage in the Bishops 
 of Lichfield was only one part of the scheme. Sir 
 Lovelace Starrier desired greatly that the large 
 
 205
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 funds belonging to the Rectory of Stoke might be 
 partially used in increasing the value of some of the 
 neighbouring parishes. So a second portion of the 
 Act provided for the increase of the endowments 
 of Hartshill, Penkhull, and Trent Vale to 300 
 a year each, exclusive of pew rents, and of that of 
 Fenton to 400. To do this a capital sum of over 
 20,000 would have to be alienated from Stoke. 
 A third provision of the Act was to set aside a sum 
 of 4,000 to build a suitable Rectory House on a site 
 nearer to the Church than Cliff Ville, and to sell 
 Cliff Ville and the land belonging to it, adding 
 the proceeds to the funded property of the 
 living. The site for the proposed new Rectory 
 was already provided, for when in 1864 Sir 
 Lovelace moved to Cliff Ville Bishop Lonsdale 
 of Lichfield insisted on an acre of glebe land being 
 reserved in the centre of the town, in case some 
 such project as this were at any time set on foot. 
 This site was, however, sold to a Mr. Holtom, and 
 repurchased under the provisions of the Act for 
 the purposes of a new Rectory. It may be doubted 
 whether the move from Cliff Ville to the present 
 Rectory was wise. It was certainly the most 
 doubtful part of the Act. At first sight it may have 
 seemed to have been as wise and self-sacrificing as 
 the rest, and no doubt the Bishop of Shrewsbury 
 
 206
 
 STOKE RECTORY ACT 
 
 sometimes wished, when, after a long afternoon's 
 work in the town, finishing up with a cup of tea 
 at the Coffee Tavern, he had to climb the hill to get 
 home, that he lived nearer to the centre of his 
 labours. But he probably did not take into account 
 the benefit to his health of the exercise entailed 
 by the walk to and fro, and by the purer air which 
 surrounded his house at Cliff Ville. It is more than 
 possible that by living in the middle of his flock 
 a Rector of Stoke may find his powers of helping 
 them diminished. It saves time, but time is by 
 no means everything. 
 
 It will thus be seen what was the scope of the Act 
 which Sir Lovelace arranged should be laid before 
 Parliament. The solicitors who were engaged upon 
 it were Messrs. Cooper of Newcastle, Staffordshire, 
 and the counsel who were briefed were Mr. Littler, 
 Q.C., Mr. Jeune, Q.C., and Mr. Wolstenholme. 
 But, strange as it may seem, the proposals contained 
 in the Act, in spite of Sir Lovelace's careful explana- 
 tion of them in a series of published letters to his 
 parishioners, were misunderstood in many quarters, 
 and met with a good deal of hostile criticism. 
 
 First of all, some thought that his main object 
 in handing over the patronage of the living of 
 Stoke to the Bishops of Lichfield was to provide 
 a stipend for a Suffragan Bishop. It was feared that 
 
 207
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 the income would thus be expended rather for the 
 good of the diocese at large than for that of Stoke- 
 upon-Trent. But this was never his intention. Here 
 are his own words, taken from one of the above- 
 mentioned published letters : " I can say no more 
 than I have already said to disabuse your minds 
 of there having been any thought of making the 
 income of Stoke a permanent provision for a 
 Suffragan Bishop. Of course, I cannot bind our 
 present Bishop or his successors, and no doubt 
 a way for the increase of the episcopate through 
 Suffragans, which has found much favour of late, 
 has been their appointment to benefices of con- 
 siderable value. But I would have you notice that 
 they are invariably parishes with small populations ; 
 and I, with the experience of the last year, should 
 certainly hesitate to advise a repetition of that which 
 I have undertaken, viz. the chief charge of a parish 
 of seventeen thousand souls in union with the duties 
 of Suffragan to the Bishop of Lichfield. However 
 ably he might be seconded (and in this I am at the 
 present time the most fortunate of men), the physical 
 strain and mental anxiety are sufficient to overtax 
 him." 
 
 Secondly, there were those who professed to 
 think that the application of the accumulated fund 
 to the purpose of purchasing the living was an 
 
 208
 
 STOKE RECTORY ACT 
 
 unfair use of the money, inasmuch as it would be 
 paid over to the representatives of the Tomlinson 
 family, and so might, in a certain sense, be said to 
 come back, after all, to Sir Lovelace Stamer. But 
 those who argued in this way seemed to have failed 
 to grasp two facts : first, that what it was right 
 for the Rector of Stoke to do in the matter it was 
 right for him to do whatever the accident of his 
 birth, and secondly, that at any time during the 
 past thirty years he might have caused the fund 
 to be applied to the purchase of land from which 
 he personally would have received the rents, but 
 he had never done so. 
 
 Thirdly, Stoke is essentially a " business " place, 
 and there lurked in the minds of many business 
 people a suspicion that the Rector must mean to 
 make something out of the job. No matter that 
 they were shown that by the augmentation of other 
 livings that of Stoke must become less valuable. 
 The unanswerable question in their minds was, 
 " What is he doing it for ? " To this class of man 
 it is inconceivable that any higher motive than to 
 " get " something can influence other people's 
 actions. Just as when Bishop Walsham How refused 
 the valuable bishopric of Durham in order to 
 continue his work at Wakefield, it was a not 
 infrequent comment among the West Riding 
 p 209
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 folk, " Well, it may be very fine but it's not 
 business ! " 
 
 When the personality of Sir Lovelace Stamer is 
 considered, and when it is remembered that for 
 thirty years he had been living on terms of excep- 
 tional intimacy with his great parish caring for its 
 welfare in things social and civil almost as much as 
 in things religious and ecclesiastic so that his people 
 must have known to the full his innate integrity 
 and whole-hearted generosity, it is difficult to 
 imagine such criticisms of his purposes being long- 
 lived. And they apparently were not, for they 
 resulted in no real opposition to the measure, and 
 when, in June 1889, a meeting of the Parochial 
 Conference of Stoke was held, it is recorded that : 
 " After listening to an explanation from the Rector 
 of the Stoke Rectory Bill, it was moved by Mr. C. S. 
 Jones, and seconded by Mr. Hawkins, and carried 
 unanimously, ' That the Parochial Conference 
 desires to express its approval of the provisions 
 contained in the Stoke Rectory Bill.' ' 
 
 But it must not be supposed that all was plain 
 sailing. Opposition to the Bill was not, indeed, 
 forthcoming from Stoke itself, but at the last 
 moment after the first reading in the House of 
 Lords, where the Bill was introduced the trustees 
 of a proprietary chapel, St. John's, Hanley, inter- 
 
 210
 
 STOKE RECTORY ACT 
 
 posed with objections, and contrived to add a good 
 deal to the trouble of getting the Act passed. 
 
 In order to understand how they were able to do 
 this, it should be realised that the ancient parish 
 of Stoke-upon-Trent originally comprised no less 
 than thirty square miles. In 1807 an Act of 
 Parliament separated off a number of chapelries 
 (including such important places as Newcastle-under- 
 Lyme and Burslem) and made them into distinct 
 Rectories. In the year 1827 a further Act, promoted 
 by Mr. John Tomlinson, patron of the living of 
 Stoke, authorised the sale of all tithes and rectorial 
 dues belonging to the Rectory, endowed two new 
 churches, and made certain other provisions. The 
 Rectory of Stoke at that time extended over twelve 
 square miles, and constituted the chief part of a 
 manufacturing district called the Staffordshire 
 Potteries, with a population of 30,000 inhabitants. 
 Of this district Hanley formed a part. 
 
 Now the Church of St. John's in that place was 
 merely a proprietary chapel, depending upon pew 
 rents. It had no definite cure of souls attached to it, 
 and its minister was allowed to live anywhere within 
 ten miles of it. Mr. John Tomlinson evidently 
 did not consider this a satisfactory permanent 
 arrangement, and he had a clause inserted in the 
 above-mentioned Act of 1827 by which it was 
 
 211
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 enacted that if and when the Trustees of the 
 chapel were willing to come to an arrangement 
 with the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, under which 
 the Trustees' right of nomination and presentation 
 to the chapel should be surrendered, and, further, 
 when separate districts for ecclesiastical purposes 
 should have been assigned to this chapel, a sum 
 fixed by the Act at ^500 might properly be paid 
 out of the endowments of Stoke in increase of the 
 endowment of St. John's, Hanley. This sum was 
 only to be allotted when a sum of 500 had been 
 produced by the sale of Easter dues and such-like 
 payable in respect of houses, etc., situate in the 
 township in which the chapel stood. 
 
 This condition had never been fulfilled, and the 
 Trustees of St. John's, Hanley, had, therefore, never 
 been in a position to claim the 500. But this did 
 not mean that the Rector of Stoke had ever been 
 negligent of the interests of the place. In a letter 
 written by Sir Lovelace Stamer and now lying before 
 the present writer, he states that so long ago as 1859, 
 i.e. very shortly after his coming to Stoke, he entered 
 into negotiations with the Ecclesiastical Com- 
 missioners with a view to augmenting the income 
 of St. John's, Hanley, and was met by a distinct 
 refusal to entertain the question so long as the 
 proprietary rights were maintained. Later on he 
 
 212
 
 STOKE RECTORY ACT 
 
 made a further offer to the representative of the 
 Trustees to augment the income of St. John's to 
 ^500 a year, provided that by the surrender of the 
 pew rights the assignment of a district could be 
 assured. A very different offer this to the mere 
 lump sum of ^500 as proposed by the Act of 1827. 
 But it had all been in vain, and therefore it was 
 arranged to leave all mention of St. John's, Hanley, 
 out of the Stoke Rectory Act, an omission that was 
 not prejudicial to the interests of the place, as the 
 augmentation of the income could have been quite 
 well carried out with the consent of the Bishop 
 and the patron under Acts that were already in 
 existence. 
 
 Almost the first symptom of trouble from the 
 quarter of St. John's, Hanley, appeared in a public 
 speech made by a prominent person connected with 
 the chapel, in the course of which the omission of 
 the case of St. John's from the Act was alluded to 
 as " an unfortunate oversight." This naturally 
 gave pain to Sir Lovelace Stamer, who had made 
 efforts, as has been mentioned, to help the income 
 of St. John's on more than one occasion, but had 
 always been foiled by the reluctance of the Trustees 
 to abolish the pew-rent system, or to part with their 
 right to present to the ministry of the chapel. A 
 certain amount of correspondence ensued, but it 
 
 213
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 was not until very late in the day that any formal 
 opposition to the Act was made by the Trustees. 
 There were several interviews in London between 
 the solicitor for the Act and the representative of 
 the Trustees, for it was felt that, if possible, it would 
 be better to come to some agreement with them. 
 After some discussion, the latter gentleman pro- 
 posed (i) that the pew rents should be bought up 
 out of the funds of Stoke Rectory, and abolished ; 
 (2) that a district should be assigned by the 
 Ecclesiastical Commissioners ; (3) that on such 
 assignment (but not before) the income of St. John's, 
 Hanley, should be increased to ^500 a year. These 
 proposals he explained to be subject to the approval 
 of the Trustees, and they appear to have been 
 generous enough in all conscience towards St. 
 John's. Judge, then, of the annoyance of the 
 promoters of the Bill when a futher proposal was 
 made by the Trustees that they (the promoters) 
 should pay all the costs incurred by St. John's, 
 Hanley, in the matter ! Strong objection was 
 naturally taken to this, the promoters considering 
 that, as a very handsome present was being made 
 to St. John's, it was, to say the very least, an un- 
 gracious suggestion. 
 
 This last incident is a slight indication of the 
 remarkable spirit which appears to have actuated 
 
 214
 
 STOKE RECTORY ACT 
 
 those who represented St. John's, Hanley, in the 
 matter. Again and again they were assured that 
 the object of the promoters of the Act was thor- 
 oughly friendly, as indeed the amount by which 
 the chapel was to be benefited was proof. But 
 all overtures of a friendly nature seem to have been 
 met with suspicion and threats of wrecking the 
 Bill. It was a painful episode, but all's well that 
 ends well, and in the end an agreement was arrived 
 at and the clauses affecting St. John's were duly 
 inserted. 
 
 It was characteristic of the Bishop of Shrewsbury 
 that, not content with publishing letters to his 
 parishioners explaining the proposals of the Act, 
 he should, when it finally received the Royal Assent, 
 which it did on August 26th, 1889, have issued a 
 further letter stating exactly what had now become 
 settled by Act of Parliament. After expressing 
 his thankfulness for having attained what he had 
 " so long and anxiously desired," he sums up what 
 had been secured as the consequence of " the 
 annexation of the Advowson of Stoke-upon-Trent 
 to the See of Lichfield." Far the most important 
 results were those to six parishes which had their 
 incomes materially increased. The parish of Harts- 
 hill received 5246 los. 2% per cent Consols; that 
 of Penkhull, 5065 73.; that of Trent Vale, 
 
 215
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 5636 los. ; that of Fenton, 4151 153.; that of 
 St. John's, Hartley, 7500; that of St. John's, Long- 
 ton, ^5784 ; making a grand total of ^33,384 2s., 
 2-f- per cent Consols, which amount of stock was paid 
 out of the Stoke Rectory Fund. 
 
 This last sentence is by itself sufficient to show 
 the generosity of the whole Act. It is delightful to 
 find that, in spite of some hostile criticisms on the 
 part of a few who might very well have been 
 expected to have understood the Rector of Stoke's 
 character better, his action was warmly applauded 
 by many friends to whom he sent a detailed ex- 
 planation of what had been brought about by 
 the Act. 
 
 One friend wrote : " I can only say this, that if 
 they had had most men to deal with your opponents 
 would have found that the business would have 
 ended very differently. I wonder you did not 
 throw the whole thing up. I am sure I should. 
 I think you have acted most generously." Dr. 
 Bickersteth, Dean of Lichfield, sent the following 
 letter : 
 
 " The Deanery, Lichfield, 
 
 September 7, 1889. 
 My dear Bishop, 
 
 Very many thanks for your kindness in 
 
 having sent me your little brochures in re Stoke 
 
 216
 
 STOKE RECTORY ACT 
 
 Rectory. How generous and disinterested you have 
 been throughout, but that you always are ! It 
 will, I am sure, be a great relief to you when all 
 this is settled. 
 
 Pray believe me always 
 
 truly and affectionately yours, 
 
 EDWARD BICKERSTETH, D.D." 
 
 A brother Bishop wrote in reference to the whole 
 question, " It has been nobly and unselfishly done," 
 while the late Lord Harrowby described it as " this 
 great boon which you have bestowed upon the 
 vast population around you," and added, " I do 
 most heartily congratulate you, and I feel that the 
 county owes you a great debt." Many other letters 
 might be quoted especially a warmly congratula- 
 tory one from his own chief (Dr. Maclagan) but 
 these will be sufficient to show what was thought 
 of the Stoke Rectory Act by those who, unaffected 
 by local prejudices, saw the great benefits that it 
 conferred. 
 
 The Dean of Rochester, Dr. Lane, who knew 
 Sir Lovelace Stamer well, and who succeeded him 
 in his Archdeaconry, has written a short apprecia- 
 tion of him, in the course of which he says : 
 
 " The noblest act of his devoted, self-denying 
 ministry, however, was his surrender of the great 
 
 217
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 living of Stoke-upon-Trent to the patronage of 
 the Bishop of Lichfield, and the partition of a large 
 proportion of its endowments and funds among 
 daughter and neighbouring parishes. I suppose 
 that the Bishop of Shrewsbury himself took great 
 pains that it should be done as quietly as possible, 
 but it is astonishing that more was not made of its 
 magnificent generosity at the time. I remember 
 when the Bill was on the point of passing the 
 Houses of Parliament that I was sitting next (at an 
 old Balliol dinner) to a contemporary, and old 
 friend of mine, Sir Joseph Warner, who was legal 
 adviser or Drafter of Bills in the House of Lords, 
 and he said to me : * I say, do you know the Bishop 
 of Shrewsbury ? ' ' Yes,' I said, * I am glad to say 
 I do.' ' Well,' he said, ' what a grand fellow he 
 must be ! I think that Stoke Rectory Bill is quite 
 the noblest bit of self-surrender that I ever came 
 
 across ! 
 
 I " 
 
 218
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 STOKE CURATES 
 
 ' I ^HIRTY years ago scarcely any training ground 
 for Curates could compare with that of 
 Stoke-upon-Trent. That young man esteemed 
 himself lucky who obtained a title from Sir Love- 
 lace Stamer. He probably arrived with a certain 
 amount of trepidation, for it was widely known 
 that the Rector would not for a moment brook 
 slackness of any kind, but, if he proved himself a 
 worker, he left with the certainty that he had 
 obtained in Sir Lovelace Stamer a friend for life. 
 A man once told a friend that he was going to be 
 one of the Stoke Curates. " Are you ? " was the 
 reply. " Well, I lived there once, and used often 
 to see a couple of young Curates hurrying up the 
 street, and the Rector after them with a big stick ! " 
 The words were not meant to be taken literally, 
 but they conveyed a warning all the same. It was 
 not unnatural. A tremendous worker himself, he 
 expected his staff to follow in his footsteps. 
 
 219
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 His system with a new-comer was to appear to 
 leave him very much to his own devices. " There 
 is your district and your work," he would say, " now 
 go and do it." After a few months he would appear 
 on the scene again, and manage to meet the curate 
 somewhere in the streets. Walking along by his side, 
 he would suddenly point to a passer-by and say, 
 " Where does that man live ? " or " What is that 
 child's name ? " and so satisfy himself as to whether 
 the beginner was learning to know the inhabitants 
 of the district. He himself had a marvellous 
 memory for people, and from his own experience 
 had found the value of such knowledge. The 
 Rev. H. Coldham (Vicar of St. Jude's, Stoke-upon- 
 Trent), who was twice Curate to Sir Lovelace, 
 writes : 
 
 " I was conscious from his encouraging words as 
 well as from his decidedly practical questions that 
 he had his eye upon me, and was really watching 
 my work with the aim of keeping me up to the 
 performance of duty, and helping me to know how 
 to do my work more efficiently. I have often 
 thought since that his was a good plan. I had to 
 find my own way about, and so one was trained to 
 be self-reliant ; but, on the other hand, I was quite 
 conscious of a sense of responsibility to the Rector, 
 as well as of the presence of a sympathising friend 
 
 220
 
 STOKE CURATES 
 
 to whom I could appeal at any time for advice or 
 help. 
 
 " He was keenly interested in the Church Schools 
 of his Parish, and expected his assistant clergy to be 
 diligent in taking part in the religious instruction 
 that was appointed to be given in them. . . . 
 
 " He was a thorough believer in regular visiting 
 of the people by the Clergy, and never lost an 
 opportunity of pressing its importance on his 
 curates. ' Get to know the people ' ' Make them 
 feel that you care for them as a friend as well as a 
 Pastor ' these were his mottoes." 
 
 In many letters that have been lovingly preserved 
 by former curates there is evidence of the way in 
 which, while committing the work of their dis- 
 tricts to them, he was himself conversant with the 
 smallest details, and thought nothing beneath his 
 notice. Thus, in letters written by him in 1887 
 and 1888 to the Rev. J. E. Walker, at that time one 
 of his staff and now Vicar of St. Chad's, West 
 Coseley, he goes into details about a children's tea 
 to commemorate the Queen's jubilee, mentioning 
 what he thought their bags of provisions ought to 
 contain, and saying that he should like to see a 
 sample of the mug to be given to each child ; and 
 
 221
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 in the following year interests himself in the 
 preparations for a bazaar to be held for the district 
 of All Saints', Boothen. It may be added that he 
 wrote a short history of this Mission, which was one 
 of the earliest that he set on foot, for the pro- 
 gramme of this bazaar. It was the same in every 
 case. No Curate ever felt that the district of which 
 he had charge was beyond the ken of the Rector, 
 and none ever had reason to think that in after 
 days the work of that particular spot was forgotten. 
 In the very last year of the Bishop's life he wrote 
 to Mr. Bridgwood (Vicar of Forsbrook) on the 
 occasion of the Dedication Festival of Basford, a 
 district formed by Sir Lovelace in 1878, recalling 
 memories of the " first Celebration in the modest 
 little building which was the commencement of 
 the Church's work there." 
 
 One more reference to the Rector's power of 
 inciting his Curates to hard work must be given. 
 Prebendary Waters, now Vicar of Holy Trinity, 
 Hanley, and a former Curate of Stoke, says that he 
 soon felt that Sir Lovelace was a leader to serve 
 under, and one whose untiring energy and devotion 
 to his work as Parish Priest and Pastor was a con- 
 tinual example and incentive to his Curates and 
 helpers. 
 
 But this was only one side of his relations with 
 
 222
 
 STOKE CURATES 
 
 his Curates. He was their chief, but he was also 
 their father. Anything like the personal affection 
 and interest that he bestowed upon them can have 
 seldom been experienced. And this lasted all 
 through his life. He never forgot where any one of 
 them was working, what his special needs were, 
 what his family cares might be, the names of his 
 children, or indeed anything relating to them. 
 This is proved by the many letters which the 
 present writer has been privileged to read, but 
 space for which unfortunately cannot be found. 
 It may be surely affirmed that so long as any of 
 Sir Lovelace's Curates live they will look back with 
 reverence and love to that sturdy genial chieftain 
 who led them on to great endeavours, and at the 
 same time cared for them almost as his sons. 
 
 The mention of his sturdy figure recalls a 
 little story that is still remembered by an old 
 Curate. The Bishop of Lichfield (Dr. Maclagan), 
 who was a man with a small spare frame, had one 
 year paid a visit for some ceremony near Leek. 
 The next year Bishop Stamer visited the same place, 
 and an old woman was heard to say, " Bishop's got 
 main lusty since last year ! " 
 
 But to return to Sir Lovelace's relations with his 
 Curates, nothing better can be quoted than the 
 
 Contribution to the memorial number of the 
 
 223
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 " Stoke Parish Magazine " written by Canon How, 
 now Vicar of Meltham. He said : 
 
 " Thirty years ago Sir Lovelace Stamer was stay- 
 ing with my father in Shropshire. After break- 
 fast one morning he walked round the garden with 
 me and spoke, as so many of us have heard him 
 speak, of the happiness of the life of a Clergyman. 
 I went straight to my father and said, * I want to 
 be Sir Lovelace Stamer's Curate.' Then it was 
 settled that I should begin my ministry at Stoke. 
 I cannot express my thankfulness for having been 
 allowed to be trained in such a school. What did it 
 mean ? It meant that we had constantly before 
 us an example of strenuous work and devotion to 
 duty. This was by itself a very great help ; but 
 we soon found that the Rector was more to us, for 
 he showed us that he trusted us, and he gave us 
 true affection. Occasionally he would show us 
 something of his inner life, and we learned how 
 much he trusted to Prayer. In all things he was 
 real. 
 
 " I could write much of all that I remember 
 about him. Some things stand out in my memory. 
 One is an occasion when he addressed a number of 
 business men of Stoke with intense courage and 
 earnestness on the subject of ' Purity.' I can see 
 him now as he was then, somewhat * strung-up,' 
 
 224
 
 STOKE CURATES 
 
 but speaking with such conviction that his words 
 went right home to every man's conscience. . . . 
 
 " Those who worked under him will remember his 
 deep grief when he heard of any parishioner who had 
 fallen into sin, and how he immediately would sug- 
 gest some means whereby the person could be helped 
 to repentance. At the same time his whole face 
 would shine with joy when he heard of any success. 
 I will only mention his public work to say that it 
 was most evident that this work, whether on the 
 School Board or the Infirmary Committee, or 
 whatever it might be, was always to him a deeply 
 religious work. He went to it with the same strong 
 sense of duty with which he did everything. . . . 
 
 " One last personal word. Since I left Stoke 
 no joy or sorrow has entered my life without my 
 receiving from him one of his own peculiarly help- 
 ful letters. We can never be grateful enough for 
 having been given such a Friend and such a Father. 
 Our work and lives must be better for having 
 known him." 
 
 Yet another side to Sir Lovelace's character as 
 it impressed his curates has been brought to notice 
 by Prebendary Penny, Vicar of Wolverhampton. 
 This was his quick insight into anything that oc- 
 curred in his parish or to which his attention was 
 called. It was wonderful how rapidly he put in an 
 Q 225
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 appearance if anything went wrong. He seemed 
 to have information by some kind of telepathy and 
 was on the spot at once. He was just as quick at 
 diagnosing a case, and gave his opinion promptly, 
 regardless of the sentiments of his hearers, and this 
 he was able to do without giving offence. He 
 would appear at a meeting where some scheme had 
 been laboriously elaborated. In ten minutes he 
 would have it all swept away and a new programme 
 drawn out without any one's feelings being hurt. 
 
 There is a story told illustrating his rapidity of 
 decision, but it is in its want of consideration for 
 the other person concerned so unlike Bishop Stamer 
 that it must have been " improved out of know- 
 ledge." However, it is worth telling and must be 
 accepted " cum grano" The story goes that he 
 once went to the station to meet a young man who 
 was desirous of joining his staff at Stoke. The 
 Rector shook hands, gave the man a good look, and 
 then said, " I am so glad to have seen you. If you 
 will cross over to the other side you will be just in 
 time to catch a train which will take you back ! " 
 
 Whether this story is founded on fact or not, 
 there is no doubt that Sir Lovelace had a gift for 
 selecting the right kind of man. He did not try 
 for great scholars or men of any specially showy 
 attainments. What he wanted was workers, and he 
 
 226
 
 STOKE CURATES 
 
 got them. Himself a man of the unaffected kind 
 who put simple duty first the sort of men who 
 in their different spheres have made England great 
 he chose like-minded men as his assistants. There 
 was need of such men. So long ago as the time 
 when Canon How was curate, he relates that there 
 were always nineteen services in the parish on a 
 Sunday to be taken by the Rector and his nine 
 curates, and the weekday work was incessant. 
 North Staffordshire can congratulate itself to-day 
 upon the steadfast work upon old Stoke lines which 
 is being done by numbers of parish clergymen who 
 received their training from Sir Lovelace Stamer. 
 A short time before he left Stoke the number who 
 had done so amounted to sixty, and when he was 
 holding an ordination in the interregnum between 
 Bishops Maclagan and Legge, he mentioned this 
 fact in an address to the candidates. One of them 
 was heard afterwards to say, " What a crusty old 
 chap he must be for no curate to stay with him ! " 
 not realising the size of the staff at Stoke Parish 
 Church. 
 
 Not many great distinctions have been conferred 
 upon the old curates of Stoke. One (Churton) 
 became Bishop of Nassau, another (Hodgson) be- 
 came Archdeacon of Stafford and Residentiary 
 
 Canon of Lichfield ; and the greatest man of all 
 
 227
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 (George Fowler) was Vice-Principal of Wells The- 
 ological College, and then Principal of Leeds Clergy- 
 School, where he died. 
 
 This is probably the proper place to mention a 
 most interesting gathering of the clergy who had 
 worked with Sir Lovelace Stamer at Stoke. He 
 had long cherished the idea, and it finally took 
 shape in November, 1886. 
 
 On Wednesday and Thursday, November nth 
 and 1 2th, between thirty and forty former curates 
 assembled at the bidding of their old Rector. On 
 the first evening sermons were preached in the 
 Parish Church and in the following district churches, 
 viz. All Saints', Boothen ; St. Paul's, Mount 
 Pleasant ; St. Jude's, Cliff Vale ; Berry Hill ; and 
 St. Mark's, Basford ; the congregation at each 
 having the pleasure of listening once more to one 
 whom they had known in days gone by. On the 
 following morning all were present at a Celebration 
 in the Parish Church, and in the evening of that 
 day a social gathering of Church Folk was held in 
 the Town Hall to meet the former curates. 
 
 It must have been a great pleasure to Sir Love- 
 lace to find himself surrounded by so many dear 
 old friends, and to receive the many letters that 
 came to him afterwards to tell of the pleasure he 
 had given to his guests. One who wrote said, 
 
 228
 
 STOKE CURATES 
 
 " The happy reunion of old friends at Stoke seems 
 almost like a dream to look back upon " ; and 
 another, " I was unable to say good night to you 
 and to thank you for two of the happiest days in 
 my life. I shall not soon forget that meeting in 
 the Town Hall. All were so hearty and enthusiastic. 
 One result of Wednesday and Thursday is that I 
 am determined myself to work with more energy 
 than before." 
 
 Of all the many works by which Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer earned the gratitude of the Church there 
 is not one that can be placed before that of the 
 training of her clergy. The Bishop of Lichfield 
 recognised this when he spoke of the loss that 
 would be sustained in the matter of the training 
 of deacons when Sir Lovelace Stamer left Stoke. 
 
 229
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM STOKE 
 
 TN 1891 came one of the great changes to which 
 the life of a Suffragan Bishop must always be 
 subject. The Bishop of Lichfield (Dr. Maclagan) 
 was appointed to the Archbishopric of York, and so 
 Sir Lovelace Stamer had to face the anxieties 
 accompanying a change of chief anxieties which 
 form a powerful argument in favour of an increase 
 of Territorial rather than of Suffragan Bishops. 
 The Bishop of Shrewsbury knew neither whether 
 the next bishop of the diocese would be willing to 
 retain his services, nor whether he would be one 
 with whom he would find himself sufficiently in 
 agreement to make it possible for the old arrange- 
 ment to continue. It must, then, have been a 
 satisfaction to him when, in July, he received a 
 letter from the Rev. the Hon. Augustus Legge, 
 at that time Vicar of Lewisham, and Bishop-elect 
 of Lichfield, begging him to undertake all en- 
 
 230
 
 DEPARTURE FROM STOKE 
 
 gagements already arranged until the end of the 
 year. 
 
 The new Bishop's responsibility for the diocese 
 was not to begin until September 29th, and it 
 would not be possible for him to conduct the 
 September Ordination. He therefore asked the 
 Bishop of Shrewsbury to ordain in his place. As 
 at first arranged the Ordination was to have taken 
 place just before Bishop Legge's consecration, 
 but it was found that the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury could not commission a Suffragan Bishop to 
 ordain. Consequently the date had to be post- 
 poned until the Sunday after the new Bishop's 
 Consecration, when, as Bishop of the diocese, he 
 was able to commission his own Suffragan to do so. 
 The occasion was one of great interest and pleasure 
 to the Bishop of Shrewsbury, and there are letters 
 in existence which show how greatly his ministra- 
 tions were appreciated. In particular he received 
 one from Bishop Legge, thanking him " for the 
 way in which you have taken charge of the Ordina- 
 tion, and carried it through with so much blessing 
 to all concerned." 
 
 It does not seem, however, that it was absolutely 
 settled for some little time that Sir Lovelace should 
 retain his position as Bishop Suffragan. It is true 
 that on October 3rd, Bishop Legge writing to him 
 
 231
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 from Lewisham, and referring to the Ordination 
 at Lichfield on the following day, said, " I am 
 pleased to think that I have you for a colleague. 
 May God be with you to-day and to-morrow, and 
 bless your words and the service." But a letter 
 from the late Bishop Abraham has been preserved 
 from which it can be gathered that the matter was 
 not definitely determined until towards the middle 
 of November. The letter is valuable as showing 
 the esteem in which the Bishop of Shrewsbury was 
 held by leading Churchmen in the diocese. Here 
 it is : 
 
 "n Beacon St., 12 Nov., 1891. 
 My dear Bishop, 
 
 I cannot tell you what a relief your letter is 
 to me. I was greatly afraid that the Diocesan 
 would part with your services before he knew the 
 requirements of the Diocese or your value. And 
 then I further felt the slight that would have been 
 put upon you in the eyes of other Dioceses, though 
 no one in this would have for a moment considered 
 you and your work discredited. But after all you 
 had sacrificed to please the late Bishop and after 
 the generous spirit in which you had made over the 
 advowson of your Rectory to the Church of the 
 Diocese it would have deeply pained your many 
 
 232
 
 DEPARTURE FROM STOKE 
 
 friends to have seen you set aside so unceremo- 
 niously. 
 
 All this, I thank God for it, has been spared you 
 and us, and the Diocese will now have the benefit 
 of your counsel and frequent supervision. I only 
 trust the Bishop will take you into his confidence, 
 and use the large experience you can bring to his 
 
 help. 
 
 Believe me, 
 
 Ever your affec. friend and brother, 
 
 C. J. ABRAHAM, Bp." 
 
 But further and still greater changes, so far as 
 the Bishop of Shrewsbury was concerned, were 
 coming on apace. It became increasingly clear to 
 the Bishop himself and to all who knew him that 
 even his great physical and constitutional strength 
 would not much longer endure the strain of the 
 double work of Suffragan Bishop and Rector of a 
 huge parish. The new Bishop of Lichfield seems 
 to have very quickly grasped this fact, for early in 
 the following year (1892) he proposed that the 
 Bishop of Shrewsbury should go to the vacant 
 living of St. Chad's, Shrewsbury. This would 
 entail a large loss of income, but the Rectory of 
 Edgmond, in Shropshire, then held by Archdeacon 
 
 233
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Lloyd, had been designed as an endowment for a 
 Suffragan Bishop, and the Archdeacon proposed 
 to pay a portion of the income for that purpose so 
 long as he was Rector, it being understood that on 
 his death or resignation the Suffragan Bishop would 
 succeed to the Rectory. In proof of this there is 
 a passage in a letter from the late Bishop Abraham 
 on the subject of the proposed change, in which he 
 warns Sir Lovelace that he must be prepared to face 
 the possibility that the Rector of Edgmond might 
 not always be Archdeacon Lloyd, and that a new 
 Rector (if Sir Lovelace remained at St. Chad's) 
 might not be willing to pay over part of the income. 
 As a matter of fact it was Bishop Abraham's great 
 desire that the Bishop of Shrewsbury should be- 
 come Dean of Lichfield, the Deanery falling vacant 
 in May of that year. Writing on May I5th he 
 said : 
 
 " My dear. Bishop, 
 
 Probably you have heard what Mrs. Bicker- 
 steth tells me, that the Dean has resigned his 
 office. . . . 
 
 My earnest desire is that Lord Salisbury would 
 make you Dean. It would be a gracious recogni- 
 tion of your services to the Diocese and the Church. 
 But I fear you don't like anything akin to canvassing 
 
 234
 
 DEPARTURE FROM STOKE 
 
 for such a post. Well, we can do one thing, that is 
 to pray the Great Head of the Church to put into 
 the Premier's heart what is most for the glory of 
 
 the Church. 
 
 Yrs. ever affect., 
 
 C. J. A., Bp." 
 
 But to return to the Bishop of Lichfield's pro- 
 posal as to St. Chad's, Shrewsbury. There seem 
 to have been difficulties in the way which at first 
 appeared insuperable. But Bishop Legge did not 
 give up hope. Writing from Chesterfield on 
 April 24th, 1892, he said : 
 
 " My dear Bishop, 
 
 I opened your letter with anxious hope this 
 morning, and certainly with the wish that you could 
 have seen your way to accepting St. Chad's ; but it 
 apparently is not to be. 
 
 Let me say, however, what is in my mind, if I 
 can put my thoughts into some sort of order, and 
 make them intelligible. 
 
 First, then, it is a happiness to me to feel that 
 Stoke, and practically the Pottery district, are under 
 your guidance and influence, and I could wish you 
 never to move. The only regret I ever feel about it 
 (from a Diocesan point of view) is that it prevents 
 
 235
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 you from undertaking the training of deacons, and 
 so far I think that the Diocese is a loser. 
 
 Secondly. After your noble life's work there, 
 I feel strongly that your labours should have 
 received more public recognition at the hand of the 
 authorities than they have done, and I have ex- 
 pressed the opinion in quarters of influence. 
 
 Thirdly. You certainly have a claim to relin- 
 quish the toils of Stoke whenever you feel that less 
 constant anxiety would bring you relief, and make 
 your episcopal work less onerous. 
 
 Fourthly. To come to the future I am so 
 strongly impressed with the conviction that, if you 
 are to leave Stoke, your leadership would be of 
 inestimable value to Shrewsbury, which sorely 
 needs a strong and wise leader, that I should be 
 even now sorry to relinquish all hope of your 
 going there. 
 
 I am sure that you will look at this important 
 question all round, and may God guide us to a right 
 conclusion ! 
 
 Believe me, 
 
 Yrs. affectly., 
 
 AUGUSTUS LICHFIELD." 
 236
 
 DEPARTURE FROM STOKE 
 
 Actuated no doubt partly by this letter, the 
 Bishop of Shrewsbury made up his mind that the 
 call to St. Chad's was one that he could not well 
 refuse, and early in the month of June the decision 
 was made. He had proof of the pleasure he thus 
 gave to the Bishop of Lichfield in a letter from a 
 personal friend, in the course of which the following 
 passage occurred : 
 
 " I was with our Bishop when your final decision 
 reached him, and it would have gladdened you to 
 see what a relief it brought to his mind. You will 
 be a missed man at Stoke, but Shrewsbury at this 
 time needs a head, and you will do a great work 
 there if God spares you, and in this thought I 
 rejoice." 
 
 As soon as it was known that Sir Lovelace Stamer 
 was about to leave Stoke letters poured in, some of 
 congratulation, but more of regret. Before, how- 
 ever, referring to any of these, the letter must be 
 quoted which he himself sent to all his parishioners, 
 and to many outside friends. 
 
 " My dear People, 
 
 I make haste to acquaint you with an im- 
 portant decision to which I have been led within 
 the last day or two, lest, perchance, it should reach 
 you indirectly and uncertainly, when you are en- 
 
 237
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 titled to hear it in the first instance and authori- 
 tatively from myself. 
 
 The conviction has been growing upon me that 
 I am no longer equal to the burden of this great 
 Parish (population 21,600, 4 Churches, 5 School 
 Churches and Mission Rooms, and 5 Schools with 
 12 Departments), with the many anxieties that 
 attend it, and that I ought to make way for a 
 younger man, for your sake no less than for my 
 own. 
 
 A certain provision having been unexpectedly 
 created for the support of the Bishop Suffragan, 
 the Bishop of Lichfield has advised me that I can 
 best serve the Diocese by accepting it and removing 
 to Shrewsbury ; and he has further persuaded 
 me to undertake the charge of the Parish of St. 
 Chad (population 3,500, one Church and one 
 group of Schools) which is shortly about to be 
 vacant. 
 
 After very careful consideration, and guided, 
 I humbly trust, by a higher Power, I have 
 concluded to do this, and in the course of the 
 next three months I shall cease to be Rector of 
 Stoke. 
 
 I can very imperfectly realise at this moment all 
 that this means to me and mine, after a connection so 
 sacred and so happy extending over thirty-four years. 
 
 238
 
 DEPARTURE FROM STOKE 
 
 But I feel that it is best that I should retire before 
 your interests begin to suffer. Ever since I was 
 consecrated Bishop now more than four years ago 
 I have been aware that the calls which the 
 Diocese made upon my time and strength en- 
 croached upon my obligations to you ; and in the 
 endeavour to compensate for this I have laid upon 
 myself a strain which neither mind nor body can 
 much longer bear ; for, though I have had most 
 loyal and helpful colleagues in my ministry, the 
 ultimate direction and responsibility have neces- 
 sarily rested upon me. 
 
 In leaving you it is my chief ground of confidence 
 to know that the appointment of my successor 
 will be with the Bishop of the Diocese ; and you 
 may rest assured that it will have his most patient 
 and careful consideration. You must pray for him 
 that he may be rightly guided in his choice, and I 
 shall look forward to both hearing and seeing that 
 God's work is prospering among you beyond any- 
 thing that we have hitherto known. For, happily, 
 I am not going very far away ; and, as Bishop 
 Suffragan, I may be called upon from time to time 
 to exercise my office in my dear old parish. This is 
 not to say Farewell, but to prepare you for my 
 saying it. Before the time for that comes, you will, 
 I trust, let me know that you approve of the course 
 
 239
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 I am taking, and assure me that I shall have your 
 prayers for a blessing for the remaining years of my 
 ministry in the far less burdensome, but still very 
 real and serious, post of duty, to which by the Will 
 of God, as I am persuaded, and by the desire of our 
 Bishop, I am retiring. 
 
 Believe me to be, 
 
 Your affectionate friend and servant 
 in Jesus Christ, 
 
 LOVELACE T. SHREWSBURY. 
 June \yh, 1892." 
 
 In order properly to appreciate the above letter, 
 it should be realised how intensely moved the 
 Bishop of Shrewsbury must have been at this junc- 
 ture in his career. Stoke-upon-Trent was more to 
 him than an ordinary parish is to most incumbents, 
 for it meant to him then and always what is con- 
 tained in the word "home." Bearing this in mind, 
 and remembering the warmth of the Bishop's affec- 
 tions and his partly Celtic origin, the unselfish 
 restraint of the letter is remarkable. Just one sen- 
 tence is allowed to express a little of his personal 
 feeling. For the rest, his unselfish desire for his 
 people's welfare inspires the whole. 
 
 It has been said that letters poured in. From 
 Stoke itself came some that gave expression to the 
 
 240
 
 DEPARTURE FROM STOKE 
 
 wish that still lurks in the heart of a few of the old 
 parishioners, that Sir Lovelace Stamer had never 
 looked higher than the position he held as Rector of 
 Stoke, and unconsecrated Bishop of the Potteries. 
 One example of such letters may be given. It was 
 from Mr. Geen, one of Stoke's leading citizens, and 
 ran as follows : 
 
 " i6th June, 1892. 
 My dear Bishop, 
 
 I have received your circular letter with very 
 mixed feelings, and I cannot tell you how much I 
 regret your decision to leave your ' dear old Parish.' 
 I have felt for some time that your Diocesan and 
 Parish work was almost too much for you, and as 
 one of your old parishioners I sincerely wish that 
 you had decided to keep to the latter and relin- 
 quish the former. But as the reverse is the case 
 I hope and pray that God will bless your work 
 for the remaining years (which I trust may be many) 
 4 of your ministry ' in a degree at least equal to 
 that of the past, and if He does so then I am sure 
 that many souls will be won for the Master. 
 
 I am, my dear Bishop, 
 
 Yrs. faithfully, 
 
 FREDERICK GEEN." 
 R 241
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 From outside friends came invariably an ex- 
 pression of pleasure that the great strain which had 
 begun to tell upon the Bishop was to be in some 
 degree relaxed. The Archbishop of York (Dr. 
 Maclagan) wrote to tell his former Suffragan that 
 he had no doubt whatever that he was doing right, 
 while at the same time he felt what a severe wrench 
 the move would be. But the feeling in many 
 quarters of Stoke was that it was a pity that their 
 Rector had ever undertaken any work which would 
 necessitate his severance from the great position he 
 had so long held in that neighbourhood. One 
 friend who had special opportunities of observing 
 Sir Lovelace has given it as his opinion that the 
 Bishop was never the same man again after leaving 
 Stoke, and that some at least of his strong and inde- 
 pendent spirit appeared to depart from that date. 
 
 What was the Bishop's own idea of the responsi- 
 bilities and dignity of the office of Rector of Stoke 
 may be gathered from an extract from his Farewell 
 Letter to his parishioners. " The position," he 
 wrote, " of Rector of Stoke is unique, certainly in 
 this Diocese, for the magnitude of the interests 
 entrusted to him. . . . 
 
 "He need not wish any higher office it is a 
 Bishopric in itself : no dignity within his reach can 
 give him a better title to respect." 
 
 242
 
 DEPARTURE FROM STOKE 
 
 From the columns of the " Staffordshire Sentinel" 
 some idea may be gathered of the estimation placed 
 upon Sir Lovelace Stamer's work at Stoke by the 
 general public. Immediately his resignation was 
 announced that paper had a couple of leading 
 articles on the subject. After saying that con- 
 gratulations to the Bishop on being relieved from 
 some of his onerous duties were not altogether out 
 of place, the first of these articles concluded with 
 the words, " But the uppermost feeling in every 
 heart, we are equally satisfied, is one of sincere 
 regret that a district like our own, which stands 
 so much in need of the service of high-minded and 
 broad-minded public men, should lose the presence 
 and the aid of a clergyman and a neighbour whose 
 delight it has been to dwell among his people, and, 
 as he saw the right and proper thing to do, to 
 further it with all his might in the interests of his 
 parishioners." 
 
 The second article, after summarising the various 
 undertakings to which the Bishop had mainly de- 
 voted himself during his thirty-four years at Stoke, 
 put into words a certain side of his broad-minded 
 character in a striking manner. It reads thus : " It 
 is perhaps more open to us to express what we be- 
 lieve is the universal feeling entertained regarding 
 Bishop Stamer outside Church circles. It is one 
 
 243
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of universal and unquestioned respect, and of high 
 admiration of his sound common sense, and shrewd 
 and sober judgment. In the controversies in which 
 
 j c/ 
 
 he has been engaged, he has so eliminated all per- 
 sonal elements, and has brought his guns to bear 
 so entirely on practical issues, that among his critics, 
 or maybe his opponents, he can have no enemy. . . . 
 
 " It is, as every Churchman and Educationist as 
 well as every Nonconformist in Stoke must recognise, 
 a good deal more than the language of compliment 
 when we say that Bishop Stamer has so impressed 
 himself upon Stoke, that it will be exceedingly 
 difficult to fill his place by the appointment, we 
 shall not say of any single man, but of any ordinary 
 two or three." 
 
 It is hardly necessary to record that various 
 meetings were held to express regret at the Bishop's 
 departure, and to suggest means of doing him 
 honour. The Churchwardens summoned the 
 Parochial Council at once for this purpose, and 
 there was not a body with which the Rector of 
 Stoke had been connected that did not do the same. 
 He specially valued the resolution passed on the 
 occasion by the Town Council, with which he had 
 been in touch as Chaplain to the Mayor ever since 
 the incorporation of the Borough. 
 
 The parishioners of Stoke presented him, at a 
 
 244
 
 DEPARTURE FROM STOKE 
 
 meeting presided over by the new Rector (Rev. 
 J. H. Crump), with an Address which, beautifully 
 illustrated, formed a pictorial record of the Bishop's 
 undertakings since he came to Stoke, and, as a 
 substantial accompaniment to the gift, with a 
 promise to complete the reredos in the parish 
 church. His curates, eight in number, gave him 
 a prie-dieu for his private use, on which was 
 inscribed a beautiful and original Latin inscription, 
 of which the following is a translation : 
 
 To the Reverend Father in God 
 The Friend of his younger Brethren, the Pastor of the 
 
 Shepherds, 
 
 Sir L. T. Stamer, Baronet, D.D. 
 
 on his exchanging the riches of St. Peter's for the poverty 
 of St. Chad's and passing from the Potteries of the Trent to 
 the country of the Severn, Being by the Grace of God 
 successively Rector, Rural Dean, Archdeacon and Bishop, 
 To the man, above all, who so earnestly called his 
 
 people to private family and Public Prayers, 
 This Prie-Dieu, as suitable to one who illustrated his 
 teaching by his practice, was presented by his Fellow- 
 workers in his Parish 
 Presbyters in the Church of God 
 as a token of their gratitude and lasting remembrance. 
 
 Michaelmas, 1892. 
 
 In the December following the Bishop came from 
 Shrewsbury to receive a parting gift from the 
 
 245
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 clergy of the Archdeaconry of Stoke. The pre- 
 sentation took place at the house of his old friend, 
 Prebendary Hutchinson, Vicar of Blurton, a fact 
 that added much to the Bishop's pleasure. About 
 thirty of the clergy attended in person on Monday, 
 December izth, and the Rev. Sanford Hutchinson 
 has written the following account of what took 
 place. 
 
 " The object of the gathering was to present to 
 his Lordship a massive silver inkstand, with candle- 
 sticks and pen-tray to match, together with seven 
 volumes of Ruskin's works, in handsome calf 
 antique binding. A Latin inscription, composed 
 by Bishop Abraham, was engraved on the inkstand, 
 and a mitre with the initials L. T. S. on each silver 
 piece. After a few words of welcome from Pre- 
 bendary Hutchinson, who had acted as honorary 
 secretary, the presentation was made by the 
 Venerable Archdeacon Lane (now Dean of 
 Rochester) with all the courtesy and erudition for 
 which he is so remarkable, and the Bishop feelingly 
 responded." 
 
 Yet one more gift must be recorded here, though 
 it could not be presented until the following April. 
 It consisted of a portrait of the Bishop in his robes, 
 painted by the Hon. John Collier, and was given by 
 
 " some of his friends in North Staffordshire." It 
 
 246
 
 DEPARTURE FROM STOKE 
 
 was distinctly a gathering of laity that met under the 
 presidency of Mr. Godfrey Wedgwood at the North 
 Stafford Hotel at Stoke to make the presentation, 
 and it was a great source of pleasure to the Bishop 
 to receive this pledge of the appreciation and 
 friendship of the laymen of the district, as he had 
 already of his clerical brethren, apart from the 
 delight which both he and his family took in a 
 painting which was not only a good picture, but a 
 most excellent portrait. 
 
 It now becomes necessary to turn over an entirely 
 new page in the life of Sir Lovelace Stamer, and it 
 cannot be done without a certain sense of sadness. 
 No one who is conversant with his career can doubt 
 for a moment that the great work of his life was that 
 which he accomplished as Rector of Stoke-upon- 
 Trent. It was there that he laboured when his vast 
 strength of mind and body was at its zenith. Upon it 
 he poured out the fullest measure of his love. It is 
 there that his body now rests after all his labours. 
 However interesting the remaining years of his life 
 and his episcopal work, it is with Stoke that his name 
 will ever be coupled in the history of the work of 
 the Church of England. It may be noted in con- 
 clusion that although Church people in Stoke may 
 have felt that the pillar upon which their whole 
 edifice rested was being removed, Sir Lovelace 
 
 247
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Stamer's work was too surely founded for disaster 
 to follow his departure. From generation to 
 generation the influence of his labours and teaching 
 will survive, not alone in Stoke, but in the whole dis- 
 trict of the Potteries, where, as Bishop Legge once 
 said, it is most striking to find the number of clergy 
 who are carrying on the traditions in their parishes 
 which they learnt at the feet of Sir Lovelace Stamer. 
 
 248
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 LIFE AND WORK IN SHREWSBURY 
 
 TT cannot be denied that the Bishop of Shrews- 
 bury's departure from Stoke marked the close 
 of his greatest work, and the most interesting portion 
 of his life. Although not what would be called 
 nowadays a really old man, yet he was just sixty- 
 three, and at last the immense strain to which he 
 had for so long subjected his great powers of mind 
 and body had begun to tell. It was time that he 
 should have a change of life, and, although at first 
 he had been anxious to undertake no further 
 parochial work, yet it was probably a certain satis- 
 faction to him still to have the care of a parish, 
 and no doubt it helped to make the break in his life 
 less severe. 
 
 To him the move from the smoke and dreary 
 surroundings of Stoke to the beautiful old town 
 of Shrewsbury, from the perpetual movement and 
 turmoil of a manufacturing centre to the quieter 
 
 249
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 and more soporific if purer atmosphere of the 
 place from which he took his title, meant far less 
 of pleasure than it would to most men. Stoke was 
 fair to him with that fairness with which a man 
 endows a beloved one. The streets might be dull 
 and the houses with no pretence to beauty, but 
 there was scarcely a dwelling in which he had not had 
 at one time or other a friend, and into which he had 
 not taken a message of peace and comfort. For all 
 that, if change was to come, none more delightful 
 could have presented itself than that which he made 
 in the autumn of 1892. 
 
 The parishioners of St Chad's, Shrewsbury, were 
 soon initiated into some of their new Vicar's ways. 
 He was not to be instituted until October nth, 
 but he could not wait till then to send them 
 one of his characteristic outspoken letters. So, 
 on September 26th, he wrote to them as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " Dear Friends, 
 
 Although I have not yet formally been 
 placed in charge of St. Chad's, I have been for so 
 long before your minds as Vicar-nominate, that I 
 feel I may properly address you even as * Friends ' 
 in the pages of your Magazine, which will be current 
 at the date of my Institution, and say some things 
 
 250
 
 LIFE AND WORK IN SHREWSBURY 
 
 which may tend to a good understanding between 
 us from the very first. 
 
 When I made up my mind that I ought to retire 
 from Stoke (by far the largest Parish in the Diocese), 
 and make way for a younger and more capable man, 
 I had no intention of resuming Parochial work. 
 It was thought by those who were most competent 
 to counsel me that, for what remained to me of life 
 and strength, I could best serve the Church by 
 settling at Shrewsbury my See-town from thence 
 to discharge whatever duties our Bishop might 
 assign to me as his Suffragan. But at the moment 
 when this change was impending, the vacancy in 
 your own parish was declared, and the proposal was 
 made to me that I should fill it. This, after careful 
 consideration and good advice, I consented to do. 
 For I realised the importance of the post the 
 ' Metropolitan ' Parish of Shrewsbury, as I have 
 heard it called. And I knew that my predecessor 
 had set on foot good work which, it might be, God 
 was calling me to carry forward. And, though I 
 foresaw that there would be many interruptions, in 
 consequence of my Diocesan engagements, I felt 
 that these would be made good if I brought with me 
 two efficient priests to help me, so that practically 
 the Parish would be served by three Clergy, instead 
 of two as heretofore. 
 
 251
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Since this decision has been come to all my wants 
 have been happily supplied. I am fortunate in the 
 Clergy whom I am bringing with me ; one, my own 
 son, Rev. R. D. Stamer, who has obtained a good 
 report as Curate for three and a half years at the 
 Parish Church, Leek ; and the other, the Rev. 
 R. H. Craft, who has rendered to me valuable 
 help at Stoke. I ask you to give them both a kind 
 welcome. 
 
 I have found a home within the Parish, which at 
 one time seemed doubtful, and as near to the Church 
 as Quarry Place, while for the assistant Clergy I 
 have secured the house which has been so long the 
 residence of the Vicar, though it is not the Vicarage. 
 In this way I hope that every appointment, in the 
 Church and without it, will be kept, and the 
 Parish thoroughly visited by the Clergy in all its 
 parts. 
 
 Already I have had the privilege of conferring 
 with the Churchwardens, and I have good reason to 
 believe that our relations will be as close and cordial 
 as they ougnt to be for the well-being of the 
 Church and Parish. . . . 
 
 I am aware that your Elementary Schools are in a 
 critical condition. I trust it may be given me, with 
 your hearty co-operation, to place them on a footing 
 of efficiency and solvency. It would be nothing 
 
 252
 
 LIFE AND WORK IN SHREWSBURY 
 
 short of a reproach to St. Chad's, as well as a severe 
 check to the hopeful work of the Church in the 
 Parish, if they were to pass from under our im- 
 mediate care and control. . . . 
 
 With hopeful and happy anticipations that you 
 will receive me as one coming to you in the Name 
 of the Lord, to exercise for a while amongst you 
 4 the Ministry of Reconciliation,' 
 
 I remain, 
 Your faithful servant in Christ, 
 
 LOVELACE T. SHREWSBURY." 
 
 There are one or two points in this letter that 
 need a little expansion. The arrival of his son 
 Reginald to work with him as his curate was a 
 red-letter day in the life of the Bishop, and went a 
 long way towards reconciling him to the loss of so 
 much that went out of his life on leaving Stoke. 
 So far as the Bishop permitted to himself any pre- 
 ferences among his children this may be said to have 
 been his favourite son, and certainly was the one 
 who had most interests in common with his father. 
 He remained his curate at St. Chad's, and then at 
 Edgmond, until the spring of 1900, when he 
 accepted a living. 
 
 The Bishop's reference to his acquisition of a 
 253
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 suitable house brings to mind the fact that for 
 some time he was in negotiation for the Whitehall, 
 formerly the residence of Archdeacon Lloyd, a 
 singularly beautiful old house, but situated at the 
 further end of the town from St. Chad's, and not 
 so convenient in its arrangements or its situation 
 as the house in Quarry Place. 
 
 Thirdly, it may be mentioned that the fact that 
 the St. Chad's Schools were in a precarious con- 
 dition to which further reference must be made 
 served (so it is said) to clinch the Bishop's 
 decision to take the vacant living, acting like a 
 trumpet-call to one who had fought so hard and 
 so successfully for education all the years of his 
 ministry. 
 
 It was unfortunate, though, considering all that 
 he had just gone through, not a matter of surprise, 
 that on the Bishop's arrival at Shrewsbury he should 
 have felt in less robust health than usual. The day 
 of his Institution was, however, at hand, and he 
 would not give way to his premonitory symptoms 
 of illness. Before the service took place a large and 
 representative gathering of the parishioners of St. 
 Chad's assembled under the presidency of the 
 Mayor of Shrewsbury (E. C. Peele, Esq.) in the 
 Working Men's Hall, to give a welcome to their 
 new Vicar. The Mayor made a good historical point 
 
 254
 
 LIFE AND WORK IN SHREWSBURY 
 
 in his speech by referring to the tradition that in 
 the reign of Henry VIII the people of Shrewsbury 
 were too proud to have a Bishop. Now, he said, 
 they had grown wiser, and were only too proud 
 to have a Bishop among them. In the name 
 of the old town he gave the Bishop a hearty 
 welcome. 
 
 The late Archdeacon Lloyd expressed the pleasure 
 the clergy felt in having one to live among them 
 who would be their natural leader, Shrewsbury 
 having for some time laboured under the dis- 
 advantage of having no special ecclesiastical head. 
 The churchwardens gave voice to the welcome of 
 the parish, and then the Bishop gave an address, 
 in the course of which he described the circumstances 
 which had brought about his acceptance of the 
 living. He struck a note of some sadness by saying 
 that he came to them with diminished strength, 
 and concluded by referring to what Archdeacon 
 Lloyd had said about his taking the ecclesiastical 
 leadership in the town. He hoped they would not 
 say that he had come to set things straight ; on the 
 contrary, he came simply to continue that pastoral 
 work which had been the joy of his life, _and he 
 wished to assure his brother clergy that the last 
 thing he should desire would be to take any pre- 
 cedence of those who had been in the town for 
 
 255
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 years, and whose title to lead the clergy was gained 
 by past services. He desired to be considered as one 
 of the clergy, and hoped his coming to the town 
 would not turn things upside down. He ended by 
 thanking them warmly for the welcome they had 
 given him. 
 
 After the meeting was over, there was an ad- 
 journment to St. Chad's Church, where Bishop 
 Stamer was instituted to the Cure of Souls by the 
 Bishop of Lichfield, and inducted into the tem- 
 poralities of the benefice by Archdeacon Lloyd. 
 Bishop Legge, in the course of a beautiful and 
 impressive address, took occasion to remind his 
 hearers of the past services which Bishop Stamer 
 had rendered to the Church. He told them that 
 they were greatly privileged in that parish, and it 
 would certainly be a source of happiness and 
 blessing to them to have one to take charge of their 
 souls who could bring in that wide experience to 
 bear upon the work of the parish, which none could 
 bring to so full an extent as the Bishop of Shrews- 
 bury, who took charge of them that evening. He 
 felt sure that they would accord to Bishop Stamer 
 their respect, their obedience, and their affection. 
 They would accord to him, first, respect on account 
 of his office : they would respect him as their 
 Parish Priest, called to come and preach the Word 
 
 256
 
 LIFE AND WORK IN SHREWSBURY 
 
 of God amongst them but they would respect him 
 also for his personal character, and for what he had 
 brought with him, viz. the love of perhaps the 
 most populous and most important parish in the 
 Diocese. . . . 
 
 And he felt sure that ere long they would give 
 him their affection as well as their respect and 
 obedience : he would soon win their hearts. 
 
 Then, turning to the Bishop of Shrewsbury, 
 Bishop Legge alluded in feeling terms to the 
 relations that had existed between them. His 
 heart, he said, was full of gratitude to the Bishop 
 of Shrewsbury, because he had given up a home 
 occupied for so many years, and a work that was 
 very dear to him, in order that he might labour 
 for the good of the Church in another part of the 
 Diocese. He had undertaken the charge of souls at 
 St. Chad's at considerable loss in many ways to 
 himself, but he felt it was a duty to come and give 
 his life for the good of the people in St. Chad's 
 parish. The Bishop of Lichfield ended by begging 
 the people to pray for their new Vicar that God 
 would give him strength in body and zeal to impart 
 the wisdom of God, that so they might have 
 cause to say, " Thank God that He has sent you 
 here." 
 
 Almost as soon as this rather tiring day was over 
 s 257
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Bishop Stamer was taken seriously ill with an attack 
 of lumbago which confined him to his bed for 
 some time, and unfortunately postponed his per- 
 sonal appearance in his new parish. It was only 
 by the exercise of considerable pluck that he got 
 through the long service as he did. He appeared 
 so unwell that the Bishop of Lichfield begged him 
 to retire, but with his usual courage he declined to 
 do so. 
 
 Just as on his first undertaking the parish of Stoke, 
 so now at St. Chad's, Sir Lovelace moved with great 
 caution, being specially anxious not to disturb the 
 minds of his parishioners by any sudden changes. 
 It is rather curious to notice that the only im- 
 mediate alteration in the services was to return to 
 the rather more old-fashioned plan of requiring the 
 congregation to remain in church until after the 
 prayer for the Church Militant on those Sundays 
 when there was a midday celebration of the Holy 
 Communion, instead of the practice which then 
 obtained of having Morning Prayer and sermon, 
 and then dismissing those who did not wish to 
 remain for the Communion Service. 
 
 One of the parishioners of St. Chad's, Mr. W. 
 Gowen Cross, writing about the Bishop's arrival in 
 that parish says : " It was with somewhat mixed 
 
 feelings that we learned that Bishop Stamer was 
 
 258
 
 LIFE AND WORK IN SHREWSBURY 
 
 to be our new Vicar. We owed a deep debt of 
 gratitude to his predecessor, the Rev. E. Stanley 
 Carpenter, for the intrepid way in which he had 
 inaugurated a new order of things, and it was 
 rumoured that some portion or other of the newly 
 gained position would be abandoned. . . . But we 
 need not have feared. The Bishop and his two 
 chosen coadjutors came among us quietly, and 
 strengthened every organisation which required it, 
 fostering every real effort which was being honestly 
 initiated." 
 
 As was the case in each parish to which Sir 
 Lovelace Starrier came in the course of his long 
 ministry, the parochial schools claimed his earliest 
 attention. At St. Chad's things were in a bad way. 
 The schools had been in debt for some time, and 
 Mr. Carpenter, the late Vicar, had gone so far as 
 to write to General Herbert, Chairman of the 
 Shrewsbury School Board, to say that they could not 
 be carried on, and must be handed over to that 
 body. When matters were at a very low ebb a pro- 
 posal had been received from the Kilburn Sisters 
 to provide the funds for a period of five years, the 
 teaching to be in the hands of the clergy. Mr. 
 Heighway, a leading parishioner of St. Chad's, to 
 whom the Kilburn Sisters were referred, sent them 
 
 to Mr. Maynard How, a leading Churchman of 
 
 259
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Shrewsbury, who, in his turn, sent them to the 
 Bishop of Lichfield (Dr. Maclagan). The Bishop 
 did not altogether approve of the suggestion that 
 the Kilburn Sisters should control the schools, 
 and called a meeting in St. Chad's Parish, at which 
 he told the parishioners that, though their schools 
 were 200 or 300 in debt, yet he had known other 
 schools in worse case, and he begged them to make 
 an effort. It was not so very long after this that the 
 Bishop of Shrewsbury came upon the scene. It has 
 been said that one of the matters that influenced him 
 to accept St. Chad's was the possibility that the 
 Church Schools would be given up to the Board. 
 But, however this may have been, with his usual 
 prompt action he upset any such idea. In the words 
 of Mr. Cross, who has already been quoted, 
 " Another meeting was called, at which the Bishop 
 of the diocese (Dr. Legge) presided. Here, as might 
 be expected, a renewal of effort was decided upon, 
 and the schools were saved. It is owing to this step 
 being taken that St. Chad's Parish Schools occupy 
 to-day the position of non-provided schools under 
 Mr. Balfour's Education Act of 1902." 
 
 The Bishop of Shrewsbury's interest in the 
 younger members of his flock did not end here. 
 Just as at Stoke, so at Shrewsbury, he was un- 
 remitting in his efforts to influence for good the 
 
 260
 
 LIFE AND WORK IN SHREWSBURY 
 
 young men and lads after their schooldays were 
 over. 
 
 " He found at St. Chad's three devoted lady 
 helpers in the parish, struggling after hours in the 
 schoolroom with a Boys' Club. The scheme was 
 well meant, and had resulted in the gathering 
 together of some very good boys who had recently 
 left school, mixed with some boys who were other- 
 wise, with the result that pandemonium prevailed. 
 To mend or end this Institution was absolutely 
 necessary, and the Bishop chose the former. He 
 hired a room previously used as a chapel, and got 
 together a band of young men who, in co-operation 
 with the former managers, evolved order and 
 pleasant recreation out of the chaos. So well did 
 this succeed that in a comparatively short time a 
 new club-house became necessary, and premises were 
 obtained which provided accommodation for boys 
 during the early hours of the evening, and also 
 formed a pleasant and helpful place in which 
 young men might spend the winter evenings. 
 This Institution, opened by the then Mayor of 
 the Borough, who was also a churchwarden of 
 St. Chad's, was the object of the Bishop's careful 
 supervision during the whole of his stay in 
 Shrewsbury." 
 
 It was a great matter for the parish of St. Chad's 
 261
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 to have as Vicar, though for so short a time as three 
 and a half years, a man with the vast experience of 
 parochial organisation and the great gift of dealing 
 with his fellow-men, which the Bishop brought with 
 him from Stoke. In these respects he made an 
 immediate and lasting impression upon the place, 
 which has been well described in the following 
 words : 
 
 " Few will forget the admirable system which he 
 (aided of course by Lady Stamer) initiated and 
 established. Although as Suffragan Bishop he had 
 frequently to delegate his parochial duties to his 
 capable subordinates, yet the all-pervading spirit of 
 himself was continually presiding over all our affairs, 
 while his good-fellowship and downright practical 
 fatherhood endeared him to every parishioner, to 
 whatever class he belonged. More than once his 
 fatherly advice exorcised a family feud, and pre- 
 vented an open rupture. Severe with sin, he en- 
 couraged the sinner to escape its toils and con- 
 sequences. . . . He secured that everyone who was 
 employed in the work of the parish, in however 
 humble a capacity, became a member of his in- 
 telligence department, and as a result there was no 
 case of sorrow, joy, or need in the parish which 
 was unreported, and consequently failed to receive 
 
 the attention which he and his coadjutors were 
 
 262
 
 LIFE AND WORK IN SHREWSBURY 
 
 always ready to give. At all the principal functions 
 he was present, encouraging and strengthening well- 
 applied effort, and smoothing difficulties which 
 presented insurmountable obstacles to less ex- 
 perienced minds than his own." 
 
 263
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 SHREWSBURY CONTINUED 
 
 TF it was remarkable how much new life and 
 organisation the Bishop of Shrewsbury managed 
 to introduce in the parish of St. Chad's in the short 
 period during which he was Vicar, it is none the 
 less remarkable how keenly he threw himself into 
 all kinds of work for the good of the town generally, 
 and how deeply interested he became in all matters 
 for the social betterment of his fellow-men, whether 
 such things related to education, to hospital work, 
 to the housing of the poor, or to the conduct of 
 affairs by the Town Council. 
 
 An excellent example of the wide-minded sym- 
 pathy that he felt in all kinds of bona fide educational 
 work is found in the impression that he produced 
 on the teachers and girls of the Shrewsbury High 
 School. This school belongs to the Girls' Public 
 Day School Trust, and Church teaching is not, 
 therefore, given unless expressly desired. For this 
 reason the school has not always been looked upon 
 with any special cordiality by some of the clergy. 
 
 264
 
 SHREWSBURY CONTINUED 
 
 Bishop Stamer's attitude was very different. What 
 that attitude was, and what impression his per- 
 sonality made, are well described by Miss Gavin, 
 a former head mistress of the School, in a paper 
 she has kindly written for the purposes of this 
 Memoir. Miss Gavin writes : " The Bishop, as I 
 knew him, was a man overflowing with the milk 
 of human kindness, and yet severe where his 
 judgment told him he did well to be so ; slow at 
 arriving at a decision, but unswerving once his mind 
 was made up ; courteous, upright, sincere, a man 
 who commanded respect. Even where one differed 
 from him one had to confess that his position was 
 always consistent. f Genuine ' seems to me to be the 
 adjective that marked him best, but it was the 
 spiritual force that underlay all his qualities that 
 made them tell. It is with warm gratitude that I 
 remember Bishop Stamer's attitude. * I won't 
 quarrel with what we have because I can't have 
 more,' was a speech of his that I remember : also, 
 * Don't talk of undenominational schools if you 
 mean Christian,' was another. He came to call 
 almost as soon as I arrived, for the school was in 
 the parish of St. Chad's, and in a very short time 
 I knew what a faithful and kind friend we had in 
 our Bishop-Vicar. . . . 
 
 265
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 " The last time I saw him (at Ambleside, on 
 Whit Monday, 1905) we spoke of the Education 
 Bill of the day. . . . 
 
 " He had become afraid that the continued con- 
 troversy might lead to secular education as a solution, 
 and spoke more strongly than I had heard before 
 of the great importance of keeping the Bible in the 
 Schools. When I spoke of a letter of an earnest 
 Churchman that advocated the secular solution 
 as more satisfactory than compromise, he said (as 
 if deeply troubled), ' I can't understand it ; I can't 
 understand it : I don't know what he meant but 
 I know he is a good man.' 
 
 " When we were told in the early summer of 
 1895 that the Bishop was leaving St. Chad's, I felt 
 the blow a severe one to the High School, and to 
 myself. When I said something of the kind to the 
 Bishop, he said that though he ceased to be Vicar 
 he was still Bishop, and it was his intention to visit 
 the school if possible once a term. I remained at 
 Shrewsbury five years longer, and during that time 
 the Bishop only failed once to pay the terminal visit. 
 How closely he respected his promise is shown by 
 the fact that he wrote a note of regret at the end 
 of the term in which he had failed to come. 
 
 " As I look back there are one or two further 
 conversations that stand out in my memory and 
 
 266
 
 SHREWSBURY CONTINUED 
 
 that led to remarks from him that have remained 
 with me. Once we had occasion to speak of the 
 wrong-doing of others, and I ventured to say that 
 I thought he did not make enough allowance for 
 the difficulties of the position. His answer was, 
 ' Aren't you forgetting that with God's help 
 difficulties can be conquered ? ' In 1907 new 
 buildings were erected for the High School, and the 
 Bishop took the greatest interest in all the pre- 
 liminary steps. I showed him the list of require- 
 ments I meant to give to the architect, and he 
 was much amused by the details, and also by the 
 subsequent adjustment between what he called my 
 ' flights of imagination ' and the financially possible. 
 I met him once in the street, and told him we had 
 now reached the irreducible minimum, on which he 
 said, * I do like to see you dauntless young people 
 learning your lessons of life ! ' 
 
 A glance at the St. Chad's Parish Magazines for 
 the years during which the Bishop was Vicar shows 
 another way in which he manifested his interest 
 in the young. His eldest daughter, Miss Stamer, 
 had already for some years been working the Girls' 
 Friendly Society in Stoke, and in 1894 she became 
 Secretary to the Shrewsbury Branch. Both at 
 Stoke and at Shrewsbury the Bishop took the 
 warmest personal interest in this work. In the 
 
 267
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 former town a branch was started in 1879 entirely 
 at his initiation, and was developed under his 
 guidance. For some years he himself presided at the 
 Associates' Quarterly Meetings, and came as often 
 as he could to close the weekly meetings of the 
 members with prayer and a few words of fatherly 
 counsel. Whatever success attended the Society's 
 work in both these towns was due in a great measure 
 to Bishop Stamer's high ideal of its aims, and to the 
 care he took to bring this idea home to the associates 
 and members. His dealings with this work were 
 entirely characteristic. He found time to give it 
 personal supervision in spite of what many people 
 would have called the more important duties which 
 thronged his life. It was only by method and the 
 proper use of every moment of time that nothing, 
 small or great, ever suffered at his hands. Closely 
 connected with this gift of utilising time to the 
 greatest advantage was Bishop Stamer's grasp of 
 business matters. Just as in the old days this 
 quality had proved of such service in the Miners' 
 Relief Association and other public matters to 
 which he had devoted himself, so in lesser affairs 
 it stood him in good stead in Shrewsbury. 
 
 It was impossible for him to stand quietly by 
 and watch a work being carried on in haphazard, 
 unbusinesslike fashion. There was a sort of Peni- 
 
 268
 
 SHREWSBURY CONTINUED 
 
 tentiary work going on in Shrewsbury, of which he 
 became Chairman. It had been started by Mrs. 
 Wightman, wife of Prebendary Wightman, and 
 was being carried on by a committee of ladies 
 who worked it with much devotion, but were 
 unable to keep it on a sound financial basis. When 
 the Bishop found that this was the case, and that 
 the accounts were always in arrear, he persuaded 
 the Committee to close the Penitentiary sooner 
 than carry it on in what appeared to him an un- 
 satisfactory manner. Again, there was the matter 
 of the St. Chad's charities, upon which it is im- 
 possible to do better than once more to quote Mr. 
 Cross, who says : " Perhaps the greatest work which 
 the Bishop of Shrewsbury undertook and carried 
 through successfully was the reorganisation of 
 St. Chad's Charities, in the distribution of which 
 there had been much overlapping, and perhaps 
 considerable abuse. On his initiative an inquiry was 
 held by a Commissioner, which resulted in a new 
 scheme whereby a representative Board of Trustees 
 was secured. This body now distributes to the best 
 advantage the considerable funds into more useful 
 channels, the chief of which is the provision of 
 pensions to the aged and poor denizens of the parish. 
 It was a bold step, which could not have been so 
 well undertaken by any other man. He carried it 
 
 269
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 through without the least friction." It may be 
 added that the scheme was practically the Bishop's 
 own, and that, when the Shrewsbury Town Chari- 
 ties were subsequently reorganised, the lines of his 
 scheme were followed, an undoubted tribute to 
 his business capacity. 
 
 One of the memories of Sir Lovelace Stamer 
 that will live long in Shrewsbury is of the 
 manner in which he performed the duties of 
 Chaplain to the Corporation of that town. It 
 was a most congenial office, and one to which he 
 had already been accustomed at Stoke. As has 
 already frequently been pointed out, all social 
 questions interested him deeply. No better example 
 of this can be found than the fact that when Mr. 
 Joseph Chamberlain first mooted the idea of old-age 
 pensions, Sir Lovelace made a special journey to 
 Birmingham to interview that statesman upon the 
 subject. No one followed the municipal debates 
 in the Shrewsbury Council Chamber with greater 
 keenness than he ; and certainly no one was ever a 
 more plain-spoken critic whenever the opportunity 
 presented itself, especially on the occasion of his 
 annual sermon to the Mayor and Corporation. 
 These sermons were full of vigour, and have been 
 described as " strong and straight." They were 
 also of considerable length. It is said that after he 
 
 270
 
 SHREWSBURY CONTINUED 
 
 had resigned the Chaplaincy, the Bishop on some 
 occasion was attending a municipal banquet. An 
 ex-Mayor rose to propose the health of the Bishops 
 and Clergy, and after saying, " I am sure we all 
 most heartily welcome the Bishop of Shrewsbury, 
 especially when we remember the sermons he used 
 to preach," added in an audible aside, " Was it for 
 forty or only thirty minutes he used to address 
 us ? I forget which ! " 
 
 But something further must be said about these 
 sermons, for it was on these, and similar special 
 occasions, that he chiefly excelled as a preacher. 
 A former colleague of the Bishop, writing on this 
 subject, says : " As a preacher, Sir Lovelace was 
 most effective in his special addresses. He had a 
 happy knack of selecting his texts, as for instance 
 when preaching at the opening of a Mission Church 
 at Joiners' Square, Hanley, which had been built at 
 the expense of Mr. George Meakin, he spoke to the 
 congregation on the words, ' He loveth our nation, 
 and hath built us a synagogue.' Or, again, when 
 preaching one of those memorable sermons to the 
 Mayor and Corporation of Stoke, at a time when 
 there was considerable talk as to the advantages 
 supposed to be taken in trade by some of the 
 Corporation, he chose for his text, ' He that ruleth 
 inen must i?e just, ruling in the fear of God,' and 
 
 271
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 concluded his sermon with the words, ' And when 
 the time of your office, Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, 
 shall be over, may you be able to ask with equal 
 confidence to that of Samuel of old, " Whose ox 
 have I taken, or whose ass have I taken, or whom 
 have I defrauded ? Whom have I oppressed ? 
 or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind 
 mine eyes therewith ? " And may the people be able 
 to say with equal truth of you, as they replied to the 
 prophet, " Thou hast not defrauded us, nor op- 
 pressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any 
 man's hand." I can remember now the thrill that 
 seemed to go through us all, as, in the proverbial 
 silence in which you can hear a pin drop, the 
 Bishop gave utterance to that concluding sentence." 
 The text of this sermon just mentioned was 
 evidently a favourite one with the Bishop, for it 
 was from the same words that in November, 1892, 
 he addressed his strong and straight remarks to the 
 Mayor and Corporation of Shrewsbury on the 
 subject of the state of some of the slums of the 
 town. After some serious remarks on the evils of 
 bribery and corruption, he turned to the main 
 purpose of his sermon. " It was," he said, " a very 
 solemn responsibility that rested on all of those 
 to whom the government of this or any other town 
 
 was committed. To them had been committed 
 
 272
 
 SHREWSBURY CONTINUED 
 
 powers which without fear or favour they must 
 exercise. They might promote the sanitary, social 
 and moral well-being of their citizens. They lived 
 in a day in which attention had been directed to the 
 dwellings of the poor both in town and country. . . . 
 
 " What of Shrewsbury itself ? Behind those 
 old-world residences and picturesque streets which 
 so charmed the eyes of visitors to Shrewsbury, 
 were there no courts and streets in which might be 
 found dwellings in which the conditions of human 
 life must be such as were prejudicial to morality 
 and favourable to the growth of vice ? " 
 
 The sermon concluded with earnest words, urging 
 his hearers to remember that the cause of humanity 
 was the cause of God, and that " If any man say 
 that he love God and hateth his brother the truth is 
 not in him." So did the Bishop sow the seed, but 
 not on very favourable ground. It was clear to most 
 of his hearers that there always had been slums, 
 and that therefore there always must be : besides, 
 had not other towns got some bad quarters too ? 
 So it was a long time before anything came of the 
 Bishop's words. At last, however, in February, 
 1906, they bore a little a very little fruit. It 
 must have been an immense pleasure to Bishop 
 Stamer to receive a letter from a Shrewsbury friend 
 of which the following is an extract : 
 T 273
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 " You have no doubt been surprised and pleased to 
 see that the Shrewsbury Corporation have at last 
 made a beginning to remedy the evils which beset 
 the poor in their dwellings. What I particularly 
 wish you to know, now that you are not so strong as 
 you once were, is that the words you spoke faith- 
 fully and courageously on Mayor's Sundays have 
 been remembered, and borne fruit. . . . 
 
 "I, a short time ago, was put on the Sanitary 
 Committee, before whom came the question of un- 
 sanitary dwellings, and in the discussion I plainly 
 referred to the statements you had made when 
 Mayors had attended St. Chad's, and pressed on 
 the Committee the need of doing their duty, re- 
 membering you had ample means of knowledge, and 
 undoubtedly were correct as to the state of things. 
 After that a resolution was passed, I am pleased to 
 say unanimously, instructing the officials to bring 
 every case of bad dwellings to the notice of the 
 Committee to be dealt with according to law." 
 
 This does not perhaps amount to very much, and 
 possibly no great results have ensued, still, it was 
 something, and the Bishop in his reply to the above 
 letter expressed his pleasure and said that it was 
 encouraging to the clergy to learn that sometimes 
 their words did not fall to the ground, and that 
 even after many days they bore some fruit. 
 
 2/4
 
 SHREWSBURY CONTINUED 
 
 Two other public bodies claimed the Bishop as a 
 member during his residence in Shrewsbury. The 
 first of these needs nothing more than a passing 
 mention. He belonged for a short time to the 
 School Board. It does not seem clear why his 
 membership was of so short duration, but it is 
 possible that after having been for so long Chairman 
 of the School Board at Stoke he did not find suffi- 
 cient scope for his energies in this direction at 
 Shrewsbury. He had a great many calls on his time, 
 and his eminently practical mind would no doubt 
 prompt him to lay aside a position in which he did 
 not find it possible to be of real service. 
 
 The other body to which he belonged was the 
 Board of Management of the Salop Infirmary, 
 to which he was appointed on June 22nd, 1901, 
 after he had been for some years Rector of Edg- 
 mond. His long experience in a similar capacity 
 as a Director of the Staffordshire Infirmary, 
 together with his well-known business capacity, 
 enabled him to render valuable assistance in the 
 matter of Hospital finance, and it was owing to his 
 initiative that many subscriptions were increased in 
 value. 
 
 But he will be chiefly remembered for the action 
 he took with regard to what is called " the Infirmary 
 Service," i.e. a service held in one of the town 
 
 275
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 churches on a date as near as possible to that of the 
 November Hunt Ball, at which service a collection 
 was made for the funds of the Infirmary. Now 
 a very strange and unseemly custom had obtained 
 with regard to this service. A bride and a debutante 
 selected by the Treasurer for the year (who is one 
 of the county gentlemen of Shropshire) have always 
 stood at the end of the church to collect the gifts of 
 the congregation. It must have been a curious scene 
 in the days when these ladies were arrayed in full 
 evening dress. It is said that the Vicar of St. Chad's, 
 where this service was for many years held, used in 
 those " good old times " to walk down first at the 
 end of the service and give cheery greetings to his 
 friends in the pews as he passed, such as, " See you 
 at the ball to-night," and so on. Then he would 
 proceed to put something on each of the two plates, 
 that neither lady might feel jealous, and so go on his 
 way to make room for the congregation, who with 
 much jocularity filed past the ladies, giving their 
 money to whichever pleased them best. The 
 collection was then taken to the vestry and 
 counted, and handed over to the Treasurer of 
 the Infirmary. 
 
 This ceremony, shorn of its accompaniment of 
 evening dress and of much else that in old 
 days was out of harmony with its surroundings, 
 
 276
 
 SHREWSBURY CONTINUED 
 
 was held at St. Chad's until the incumbency of 
 Mr. Carpenter, when, in conjunction with Bishop 
 Maclagan of Lichfield and Archdeacon Lloyd, the 
 Vicar made an effort to get the collection conducted 
 with more decency, and especially to get the alms 
 properly presented to God. 
 
 Some two years before he came to be Vicar of 
 St. Chad's the Bishop of Shrewsbury received a letter 
 from the late Lord Rowton, the Treasurer of the 
 year, asking him to preach at the Infirmary Service, 
 which would be held at St. Julian's Church, to which 
 it had been removed in consequence of the objection 
 of the then Vicar of St. Chad's. The Bishop's 
 answer to this letter gives an excellent insight into 
 the state of affairs : 
 
 " Cliff Ville, Stoke-on-Trent, 
 
 2$tb Oct., 1890. 
 Dear Lord Rowton, 
 
 There is only one impediment to my con- 
 senting, very willingly, to your request that I should 
 be the preacher at St. Julian's on the occasion 
 of the Anniversary on behalf of the Salop Infirmary, 
 on Nov. 1 3th, and it lies in the manner of making 
 the collection. I am certainly at one with the Bishop 
 of Lichfield and the Vicar of St. Chad's in the 
 objection which they have taken to it, and, heartily 
 
 277
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 as I desire to help the infirmary, and to accept the 
 invitation given in such kind terms by your Lord- 
 ship, I am precluded from doing so under existing 
 conditions. 
 
 Permit me to ask wherein is the use of requiring 
 a sermon to be preached, in which an appeal must 
 be based on a recognition of the love of God, and 
 a tender regard for His suffering poor, when the 
 offerings which will presently be made will be a 
 homage to the popularity of the Bride and the 
 Debutante who stand at the door to receive them ? 
 Pardon my boldness in saying that your Lordship's 
 Treasurership would be welcomed by a large 
 number of the most faithful and generous people 
 in the town and county of Salop if you resolved 
 to dispense with the custom, and ruled that the 
 collection should be made by gentlemen whom 
 you selected, and reverently brought to the Holy 
 Table to be presented to God. I cannot believe 
 that the change would cause any loss to the In- 
 firmary. Yet, if it did for this year, I cannot doubt 
 that it would be more than made up in the future 
 when the change became known, and in any case 
 the money given without any taint of mere worldly 
 motive would be better worth having. I trust your 
 Lordship to bear with my freedom. I have stated 
 the condition on which alone I can be the preacher. 
 
 278
 
 SHREWSBURY CONTINUED 
 
 If you tell me that it can be conceded, I will do my 
 utmost to justify the change." 
 
 Lord Rowton's reply stated that so far as he was 
 concerned he was " entirely committed to the old 
 and established method," and therefore regretted 
 that they could not hope to see the Bishop in the 
 pulpit of St. Julian's on November I3th. 
 
 So it was that nothing came of the Bishop of 
 Shrewsbury's protest, and the Infirmary Service 
 remained for the next two years at St. Julian's. 
 When, however, Sir Lovelace Stamer came to live 
 in Shrewsbury as Vicar of St. Chad's he again took 
 the matter in hand. Feeling ran so high among a 
 section of old-fashioned subscribers to the Infirmary 
 in favour of what always had been, and therefore 
 was, in their opinion, the best possible state of things, 
 that the Bishop found that his one hope was to 
 obtain some kind of compromise. He entered into 
 correspondence with the late Vicar of St. Chad's, 
 with Bishop Legge, with Archbishop Maclagan, and 
 with Lord Bradford, the Lord-Lieutenant of the 
 county. The last-named was exceedingly anxious 
 that the service should be held at St. Mary's Church, 
 which immediately adjoins the Infirmary, and he 
 was further in favour of the Bishop of Shrewsbury's 
 
 suggestion that the congregation should remain 
 
 279
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 in church while the collection was taken by the 
 ladies attended by two gentlemen to the chancel, 
 and then reverently presented to God. In Novem- 
 ber, 1893, this plan was pursued, and the service 
 held for the first and last time at St. Mary's. By 
 the time the next anniversary came round in 1894, 
 the Bishop, by his personal influence, managed to get 
 the service restored to St. Chad's, where, in a some- 
 what more reverent vein than of old, it is likely 
 to remain. 
 
 280
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 EDGMOND 
 
 TN the early spring of 1896 Archdeacon Lloyd, 
 Rector of Edgmond, died. What the result 
 of this event was to the Bishop of Shrewsbury 
 shall be told in his own words, extracted from a 
 letter in the St. Chad's Parish Magazine of April 
 of that year. 
 
 " I would have wished that I might have been 
 the first to tell you myself in my monthly letter of 
 my call to succeed Archdeacon Lloyd as Rector of 
 Edgmond, and of the consequent termination of my 
 happy connection with St. Chad's. But the news 
 was bound to get abroad, and all I can do is to 
 confirm it, and to assure you that I make the move 
 with reluctance and regret. I wished for no better 
 position than that which for the last three years 
 and a half I have held as your Vicar. You gave me 
 and mine a hearty welcome when we arrived ; and 
 your continued kindness and support have made 
 
 281
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 our life and my ministry in St. Chad's bright and 
 happy. Though I have sometimes felt the duties 
 of the Parish Priest press heavily when added to those 
 of Bishop Suffragan, and was conscious that both 
 suffered through the combination, yet I looked to 
 be pardoned by you for shortcomings in what I had 
 not undertaken of my own choice, while I sincerely 
 believed that the Parish was at no real disadvantage, 
 seeing that it had the whole time and attention of 
 two earnest and hard-working Assistant Clergy. And 
 so I could have been content to go on to the end, 
 never thinking of, or desiring a change ; but the 
 death of Archdeacon Lloyd has really forced it upon 
 me. You may know, or, if not, you ought to know, 
 that the Patron of Edgmond, Prebendary Corbet, 
 has placed the right of Presentation to Edgmond 
 in the hands of Trustees to be offered by them to the 
 Bishop of Lichfield, as often as a vacancy occurs, 
 that he may nominate to it his Suffragan or Assistant 
 Bishop. But if within three months he fails to make 
 such appointment, then it reverts to the Trustees 
 to appoint whom they please. This has been done 
 accordingly on this, the first vacancy that has 
 occurred since the creation of the Trust, and the 
 Bishop of Lichfield has made no delay in signifying 
 to me his wish that I should accept the provision 
 which has been made for his Suffragan. The 
 
 282
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 objections to my doing so were obvious. I am too 
 old to make another move, and to enter upon the 
 charge of a new Parish. I have been for the greater 
 part of my ministerial life essentially a town 
 clergyman, and country life and its ways will be 
 altogether new to me. By relinquishing St. Chad's 
 I am unsettling the Parish after a shorter tenure 
 of office than my predecessor. On the other hand, 
 the Bishop cannot be expected to miss the oppor- 
 tunity offered him of filling Edgmond with his 
 Suffragan. Were he to forgo it, the Trustees would 
 appoint someone who might hold it for many years, 
 and for so long the provision of a maintenance for 
 a Bishop Suffragan would be inoperative. There- 
 fore the choice lay between laying down my 
 Episcopal duties or making the move. After well 
 weighing the alternative, I concluded that the latter 
 was what I ought to do, though not what I liked to 
 do. Moreover, I felt it due to regard the wishes of 
 the generous Patron, who, in the interests of the 
 Diocese, has surrendered his own rights. And his 
 desire was to see me planted at Edgmond." 
 
 So clear is this statement in its characteristic 
 desire that his parishioners should know exactly 
 what he was about to do, and why he was about to 
 do it, that it seems unnecessary to add anything to 
 
 the Bishop's own words. At the same time there 
 
 2 8 3
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 has been so much uncertainty in the minds of many 
 who are interested in the affairs of the Church 
 in that part of the country as to what was really 
 intended by the Patron's surrender of the living 
 of Edgmond, that it may be as well to try to make 
 this perfectly clear, even at the risk of repetition. 
 With this object in view nothing better can be done 
 than to quote some extracts from the Deed of 
 Conveyance of the Advowson of Edgmond to the 
 Archdeacon of Salop and others, which was dated 
 March nth, 1893. The following appear to be 
 the essential words : 
 
 "Upon trust, whensoever and so often as the 
 right of presentation to the said Rectory and parish 
 Church of Edgmond shall fall vacant that the 
 trustees or trustee for the time being hereof shall 
 permit the Bishop of Lichfield for the time being 
 (if he think fit, but not otherwise) to nominate for 
 presentation to the said Rectory and parish Church 
 any person who at the time of such nomination 
 shall hold a commission from the said Bishop of 
 Lichfield as an Assistant or Suffragan Bishop of or 
 for the said diocese of Lichfield or any part thereof. 
 
 " And it is hereby further declared that if at any 
 time hereafter a new diocesan Bishoprick shall be 
 constituted, including within its boundaries the said 
 
 284
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 parish of Edgmond or any parts thereof, the trustees 
 may in their discretion assent to the said advowson 
 and the revenues of the said rectory or any part 
 thereof being applied or used towards or for the 
 endowment of such new Bishoprick in such manner 
 and upon such terms as the trustees may think fit, 
 and as may be authorised by law." 
 
 All this is important as further reference to the 
 subject will occur when the Bishop's resignation of 
 the living of Edgmond is described. 
 
 There was something singularly suitable in the 
 choice of a pretty country village as the final scene 
 of Sir Lovelace Stamer's parochial labours. They 
 began more than forty years before in the charming 
 country parish of Turvey, they ended in the no less 
 beautiful Shropshire village, which crowns a hill 
 above the little market town of Newport. The 
 comfortable old-world Rectory within a few yards of 
 the church was an ideal home for the declining 
 years of one who had spent the best years of his life 
 in the busy streets of a great town. 
 
 But it must not be thought that the Bishop 
 consented as yet to a life of even comparative 
 inactivity. He was still busily engaged hither and 
 thither about the Diocese of Lichfield in the 
 performance of his duties as Suffragan Bishop. 
 
 These alone might well have been thought sufficient 
 
 285
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 for the time and work of a man of his age. But he 
 was Rector of Edgmond, and was never the man to 
 shirk what he considered the responsibilities of any 
 position he held. It is interesting and remarkable 
 to find that here, in the peaceful surroundings of a 
 little village, he found opportunities of carrying on 
 exactly the same kinds of work for his fellow-men 
 that had been his chief sources of interest in his 
 former spheres. Education, both elementary and 
 secondary, the houses and sanitation of his poorer 
 neighbours, a Home for girls, an Institute for 
 working men and lads in all these matters he is 
 found busying himself before he had been long at 
 Edgmond. 
 
 The village schools claimed his attention first. 
 The buildings that he found in use had been a 
 barn, and were uncomfortable and unsuited for 
 school purposes. His predecessor, Archdeacon 
 Lloyd, had pledged the place to the Education 
 Department for the erection of new schools, but 
 it was left to the Bishop to fulfil the promise. 
 He set to work at once on a scheme for entirely 
 new premises. The inhabitants of rural districts 
 are proverbially hard to move to new under- 
 takings. But the Bishop was irresistible. It was 
 obvious that the new buildings would cost over 
 _iooo, and he set an example of generosity by 
 
 286
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 giving 200. As a matter of fact the entire 
 cost came to over _noo, and, in addition to his 
 first subscription, he made up a deficit of .211. 
 It will thus be seen that well over one-third of 
 the whole amount came out of the Bishop's own 
 pocket. The speed with which he not only gained 
 his point as to the necessity of new schools, but 
 also hurried on the work, is evident from the fact 
 that the buildings were finished in the September 
 of the year following that of his arrival at 
 Edgmond. 
 
 Situated quite close to both church and Rectory 
 the schools were his great delight. When not 
 away on episcopal work he invariably gave religious 
 teaching in the morning, and as often as not 
 was present to close the school with prayer in the 
 afternoon. He knew all about every child, and the 
 children knew that he loved them, and returned his 
 affection, though there was a certain mixture of awe 
 in their feeling for him, for he could be very severe 
 when any misbehaviour was brought to his notice. 
 Mr. Pitchford, who is still master of the Edgmond 
 Schools, was greatly impressed by the Bishop's 
 unbounded interest. " I never knew," says Mr. 
 Pitchford, " anyone so keen on schools. He knew 
 the moment he came in whether everything was 
 in order and going on properly. It was the same 
 
 287
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 with other things. He always wanted his Parish 
 to be up-to-date and on the go." 
 
 But while already immersed in the affairs of his 
 new parish, a great public event claimed his atten- 
 tion. In the course of the Bishop's first year at 
 Edgmond he was once more called upon to under- 
 take the heavy work of Secretary to a Church 
 Congress, the occasion being the meeting of that 
 body at Shrewsbury in the autumn of 1896. Re- 
 membering that he was not far short of seventy 
 years of age, and that it had been already proved 
 that his many arduous labours at Stoke-upon-Trent 
 had weakened his constitution, it is astonishing 
 to find him facing the work of organising and 
 " running " the Congress with all the vigour 
 and enthusiasm of a young man. Those who w r ere 
 associated with him as members of one or other 
 of the committees will bear witness that he was 
 never quite happy unless the bulk of the work and 
 responsibility rested on his own shoulders. He 
 was still " a one-horse shay." 
 
 So much was said in a previous chapter as to the 
 Church Congress that was held at Stoke-upon- 
 Trent that it is unnecessary to do more in this 
 place than to say that the Shrewsbury Congress 
 was, if anything, even more successful than that at 
 Stoke. As one correspondent said in a letter to the 
 
 288
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 Bishop : " There seemed to be not one important 
 hitch. The Archbishop's sermon to begin with, 
 and our Bishop's (Lichfield) closing of the Eucharist 
 discussion to end with, seemed to me most ad- 
 mirable." 
 
 Canon Lonsdale, writing from his home at 
 Lichfield, where he had been obliged to remain, 
 his great age preventing his attendance at the 
 Congress, said : " I want to add my congratulations 
 to the many of that kind which you must have 
 received, at the signal success of which I hear on all 
 hands, of the Shrewsbury Congress, of which you 
 were the originator, and unless I am misinformed 
 the moving spirit from first to last. ... I am 
 only sorry I was not there to witness your 
 triumph." 
 
 The only part as a speaker that the Bishop of 
 Shrewsbury took in the proceedings of the Congress 
 was to read a paper written by his friend Bishop 
 John Selwyn, who was prevented by illness from 
 being present, and to return thanks at the con- 
 clusion of the Congress for a vote of thanks to the 
 Secretaries, which was moved by Dr. Thornton, 
 Bishop of Ballarat. In the course of the latter's 
 speech he amusingly remarked, " As for the Bishop 
 of Shrewsbury, in putting our vote of thanks to 
 
 him the President might well say, ' Any one of the 
 
 u 289
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 contrary opinion will be escorted to the County 
 Lunatic Asylum.' ' 
 
 Sir Lovelace Stamer's reply was most happy. He 
 said that when they looked at the close of the 
 Congress they had undoubted reason to believe that 
 it was not human or individual effort, but God 
 Himself Who had prospered their work. He 
 believed that there was no fairer town in that part 
 of England, and that never had a Congress Hall 
 been placed in fairer surroundings. Certainly it 
 says something for the genius of the Bishop of 
 Shrewsbury that he made a notable success of two 
 Church Congresses in such vastly different localities 
 as Stoke-upon-Trent and Shrewsbury. 
 
 The Congress once over, it must have been with 
 a feeling of relief that Sir Lovelace returned to the 
 affairs of his quiet country parish. 
 
 One of the matters in which he found that 
 Edgmond was decidedly not up-to-date was that of 
 a proper water supply. Many of the cottagers had 
 to go a long way to fetch their drinking water. To 
 remedy this the Bishop proposed to the Parish 
 Council to construct a scheme on a large and 
 excellent scale for supplying the whole place with 
 water to be paid for by a rate. The scheme would 
 in the opinion of well-qualified persons have paid 
 well, but the outlying farmers were incredulous, 
 
 290
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 and, seeing no benefit likely to accrue to themselves, 
 would not listen to him, and carried their opposition 
 to the verge of rudeness. But the Bishop was 
 determined that somehow or other the villagers 
 should have a convenient supply of pure drinking 
 water, and that, if the Parish Council would not 
 take up the matter, he would act by himself. He 
 therefore put up a windmill to pump water, which 
 was carried to a convenient spot in the village 
 street, where a fountain was erected which has 
 proved a great blessing to the cottagers. " We 
 had to beg water where we could till he gave us 
 the fountain," said one old dame in speaking of the 
 Bishop ; while another told how he had once 
 carried her bucket for her. This little incident 
 was characteristic of his great tenderness to the 
 old, and especially to women. The old villagers will 
 never forget him. He was quite at his best with 
 them. As one of them well put it : " He made 
 himself one with you. He was the same to all ; 
 he loved one and he loved all." No stronger evidence 
 could be given of his love for the people than this 
 splendid gift of the water supply. His friend and 
 neighbour, Mr. Bodenham, gave him the site, and 
 he had one or two subscriptions, but the cost to 
 himself has been estimated at not less then 600. 
 Another benefit conferred upon the village of 
 291
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Edgmond by the Bishop was the gift of the cottage 
 and garden adjoining the Institute. How this came 
 about can be described in the Bishop's own words, 
 prefacing them merely with the statement that he 
 had keenly promoted, ever since his coming into the 
 parish, concerts and entertainments of various kinds, 
 to relieve the monotony of winter evenings and to 
 provide a counter attraction to other less desirable 
 places of refreshment. Here is what Sir Lovelace 
 wrote about it in the Parish Magazine of March, 
 1905 : " I am aware that for a long time past the 
 desire has been growing to provide a larger and 
 more convenient place for our entertainments, and 
 for the purposes of a Working Men's Club and 
 Reading Room, than is to be found in the Foresters' 
 Hall. It was with a view to being in a position to 
 offer a site for this that when there was a sale of 
 property in Edgmond last autumn I became the 
 purchaser of the cottage and garden adjoining the 
 Foresters' Hall. . . . 
 
 " My intention was to convey the whole property 
 to the Parish on condition that responsible persons 
 would guarantee the erection of such a building 
 as might be considered most suitable." 
 
 Considerable delay occurred owing to the sugges- 
 tion of other schemes. One idea, which commended 
 itself to the Bishop, was to purchase the Foresters' 
 
 292
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 Hall and add to it, using the cottage for the residence 
 of a caretaker. But the Bishop's health rendered it 
 necessary that he should resign the living just at 
 this very time. The various schemes were post- 
 poned until a new Rector should be appointed. 
 The suggestion to purchase the Foresters' Hall 
 was abandoned, and it was felt that it would be 
 better to erect an Institute on the site adjoining the 
 cottage. Ultimately, Sir Lovelace conveyed the 
 cottage and land to the Diocesan Trust, to be used 
 for the purposes of the Institute if that building 
 should be completed within two years. 
 
 It will be remembered how keenly the Bishop 
 of Shrewsbury had worked on behalf of the Home 
 for Women and Girls at Stafford, and it must 
 have been a great pleasure to him when in 1898 
 Miss Roddam, a neighbour and close friend of the 
 Stamers when at Edgmond, moved her Home for 
 Friendless Girls from Newport to a specially 
 erected building in Edgmond. It was dedicated 
 by the Bishop of Shrewsbury, and he took a 
 warm interest in its welfare. 
 
 As has been already said, it was remarkable how 
 in so many ways Sir Lovelace Stamer was able 
 to continue on a smaller scale the interests of his 
 former years. At Stoke he started night schools, 
 and at Edgmond he was a strong supporter of this 
 
 293
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 endeavour to carry on the education begun at the 
 Elementary Schools, and he was probably struck 
 by the difference between the scholars in the two 
 places. At Stoke too, as well as at Shrewsbury, 
 he was thoroughly alive to the importance of the 
 work of what have come to be called Secondary 
 Schools, and when he came to Edgmond he soon 
 found considerable scope for his activities in pro- 
 moting the welfare of the Grammar School at 
 Newport. The head master, Mr. J. W. Shuker, 
 has given an account of the Bishop's work in con- 
 nection with the School in the following words : 
 
 " On July 29th, 1896 [i.e. very shortly after his 
 arrival at Edgmond], the Bishop of Shrewsbury, 
 having been appointed a Manager of Newport 
 (Salop) Grammar School by the Court of the 
 Haberdashers' Company, signed the declaration 
 and took his seat on the Board. On April ist, 
 1897, he was appointed Chairman of the Body of 
 Managers, and he occupied this position, being 
 re-elected each year, until he resigned his position 
 on the Board on December 2 1st, 1905 a step 
 rendered necessary by his removal to a residence 
 more than ten miles distant from the School. 
 
 " For some years before he became a Manager 
 it had been recognised that the School premises, 
 which were practically the same as when the School 
 
 294
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 was founded in 1656, were quite inadequate to the 
 needs of modern education, and efforts were made 
 to obtain the sanction of the Charity Commissioners 
 to the erection of new buildings on a site just outside 
 the town. For various reasons this sanction was 
 refused, and the Bishop was the chief mover in 
 formulating proposals for the alteration of the 
 existing premises, with a view to making them more 
 in accordance with modern requirements. Though 
 he encountered serious opposition, he finally carried 
 his point with the Body of Managers, with the 
 Haberdashers' Company, who were the School 
 Governors, and with the Charity Commissioners. 
 The result was that in 1899 he obtained sanction for 
 the expenditure of a sum of .2,000, subsequently 
 increased to .3,500, for the alteration of the 
 School buildings. 
 
 " In 1900 he was appointed by the Managers a 
 Representative Governor of the Careswell Charity, 
 which had the management of estates, the income 
 of which provides seventeen scholarships to the 
 Universities, of which four are allocated to boys 
 educated at Newport. 
 
 " In 1903 Mr. T. Collins, who had been Head- 
 master since 1871, resigned, and was succeeded by 
 
 295
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Mr. J. W. Shuker. At this time there were just 
 over fifty boys in the School, and the Bishop, though 
 by no means inclined to judge the efficiency of a 
 School by numbers alone, was keenly alive to the 
 fact that there should have been more boys in 
 attendance. At this time Greek was an l extra,' 
 and a suggestion had been made by an Inspector, 
 who had been sent down by the Cambridge 
 University Syndicate to report on the work of the 
 school at the invitation of the Managers, that Latin 
 should be an optional subject also. To this the 
 Bishop was strenuously opposed, for, though he 
 fully realised the importance of a more up-to-date 
 curriculum, he approved strongly of a Classical 
 Education, and was resolved that Latin should not 
 suffer as Greek had done. This illustrates the 
 Bishop's views on education. He welcomed the 
 development that had taken place in the direction 
 of science and modern languages, but he at the 
 same time wished to retain all that was best of the 
 old system. 
 
 " He approved of the admission to the School 
 of Elementary School boys who had gained scholar- 
 ships, as affording the advantage of secondary 
 education to those likely to benefit by it ; though he 
 probably would not have approved of the indis- 
 
 296
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 criminate admission of Free Placers ' to the extent 
 of 25 per cent according to present Regulations. 
 
 " It was a source of great satisfaction to him 
 when the numbers in the School began to rise, so 
 that on his resignation there were nearly 100 boys 
 in the School. Still greater was his delight at the 
 greatly improved results in the Cambridge Local 
 Examinations. 
 
 " He visited the School each spring to address the 
 boys and present prizes which he himself gave to 
 those who did best in the Local Examinations. This 
 he continued to do after his official connection 
 with the School ceased, coming from Penkridge in 
 1906, 1907, and 1908 to present his prizes, and 
 speaking to the boys on each occasion in simple 
 language on such subjects as Duty, and the im- 
 portance of their becoming God-fearing men and 
 good citizens. . . . 
 
 " He was essentially a * strong ' man, with 
 decided and well-defined views on educational 
 matters." 
 
 The above account bears witness to the fact that 
 the Bishop of Shrewsbury was to the end vigorous 
 and determined in carrying out whatever seemed 
 to him to be right. Most of the work that has been 
 described as occupying his attention as Rector of 
 Edgmond has been in connection with large matters 
 
 297
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of policy, but if the inhabitants of the village were 
 questioned they would be found to bear witness 
 to the lasting impression he left on the place by his 
 faithful pastoral visiting. As has been the case with 
 so many Bishops, he found that in personal contact 
 with the sick and needy around him he gained for 
 himself spiritual help to meet the strain of wider 
 duties which might otherwise tend to become dry 
 and formal. There is a little story still told in 
 Edgmond of how a labouring man and his wife 
 left the village for another part of Shropshire where 
 the former was run over and killed not long after- 
 wards, and how the Bishop, hearing of it, wrote 
 to the widow and sent her a book in proof of his 
 remembrance and sympathy. It was just an 
 example of the sort of personal thoughtfulness 
 which endeared him to so many people of all 
 conditions. He never forgot the humblest friend, 
 and he delighted to assure them of this by sending 
 out hundreds of Christmas cards, often with 
 special local views and words chosen by himself. 
 Even in his most serious illnesses he never forgot 
 this custom, and would remind his family of the 
 names of those to whom he wished his remem- 
 brances despatched. 
 
 Two things must be borne in mind when speaking 
 
 of the nine and a half years of Sir Lovelace Stamer's 
 
 298
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 residence at Edgmond. One is that he was busily 
 engaged during these years in the many episcopal 
 duties that fell to his lot as Bishop Suffragan. 
 Confirmations, special sermons, opening of churches 
 and mission rooms, committees, and consultations 
 innumerable all these and such-like matters had 
 the first claim. It is well to remember this, that 
 the amount of work he accomplished for Edg- 
 mond and its neighbourhood may be properly 
 appreciated. Secondly, it has to be remembered 
 that from the year 1902 onwards the Bishop's health 
 was greatly broken down. Too much cannot be 
 said for the pluck with which, during the years that 
 immediately followed, he fought against much 
 physical distress and weakness, unwilling to lay 
 down his arms so long as he could anyhow bear 
 them in the service of his master. 
 
 It was in July, 1902, that the Bishop was taken ill 
 rather suddenly with what has been described as 
 " a bad turn." At the end of September he went 
 to Hunsingore (Canon Dent's) with Lady Stamer 
 for a change. There one of his knees troubled him 
 greatly, being badly swollen, and in a week's time 
 he returned home to lie up. This proved to be the 
 beginning of a serious illness, lasting all that autumn. 
 There was congestion at the base of both lungs, 
 and a nurse had to be obtained. It was not till 
 
 299
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Christmas that there was any real steady improve- 
 ment, and it was late in the following March that 
 he was strong enough to take his first Confirmation 
 after his illness. 
 
 In November, 1904, he was taken ill again, this 
 time with a severe cough. All his engagements had 
 to be cancelled early in December, and on the 9th 
 of that month he was so ill that he fell in his study. 
 Throughout December and January he was very 
 dangerously ill, but he rallied at the end of the latter 
 month, and was able to go to Bournemouth with 
 Lady Stamer on February 7th, for a little change. 
 But his strength did not thoroughly return, and 
 he felt so broken that on May 23rd he wrote to 
 the Bishop of Lichfield, resigning his SufFraganship 
 and the Rectory of Edgmond, feeling that he ought 
 not to stand in the way of the appointment of a 
 younger and stronger man to both positions. 
 
 The circumstances arising from this resignation 
 proved to be exceptionally painful to Sir Lovelace 
 Stamer. It will be remembered that Prebendary 
 Corbet had given the patronage of the living of 
 Edgmond into the hands of Trustees, who were to 
 permit the Bishop of Lichfield to appoint (if he 
 wished) a Suffragan Bishop to the benefice. It does 
 not seem that it ever occurred to either Prebendary 
 
 Corbet or the Bishop of Shrewsbury that the Bishop 
 
 300
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 of Lichfield might not wish to perpetuate the office 
 of Suffragan. Yet such proved to be the case. 
 Bishop Legge was probably actuated by a feeling 
 of the unsatisfactory and insecure nature of the 
 office. Also, he may have been reluctant to appoint 
 a younger man over the head of Bishop Anson, 
 who was acting as Assistant Bishop in the Diocese. 
 Anyhow, he decided against appointing a new 
 Suffragan, and his decision came as a great dis- 
 appointment to Prebendary Corbet, and as that and 
 something more to Sir Lovelace Stamer. It was a 
 natural but a mistaken feeling on his part that the 
 abolition of the office would be looked upon as a slur 
 on his own work. He thought people would say 
 that there was not to be another Suffragan because 
 he had not been a success. As if anyone who knew 
 the Diocese of Lichfield and Sir Lovelace Stamer 
 could have had such an idea for a moment ! 
 
 The Bishop of Lichfield first of all proposed that 
 his Assistant Bishop, Bishop Anson, should be 
 appointed to Edgmond, but the latter preferred 
 to remain at Lichfield. The presentation to the 
 living, under these circumstances, reverted to Pre- 
 bendary Corbet, who presented Prebendary Talbot, 
 the present Rector. 
 
 Considerable correspondence ensued between the 
 Bishops of Lichfield and Shrewsbury on the subject 
 
 301
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 of the latter's desire to renounce the title of Bishop 
 of Shrewsbury, and his prebendal stall in Lichfield 
 Cathedral. Bishop Legge was extremely desirous 
 that neither step should be taken, and ultimately 
 Sir Lovelace consented to retain the stall, though 
 he remained fixed in his determination to end his 
 days with no other title than that of " Bishop 
 Starrier." It was a most unfortunate thing that such 
 a grave misunderstanding should have occurred at 
 a time when Sir Lovelace Stamer's health was 
 broken, and the last years of his long and strenuous 
 life were obviously at hand. Had he been in his old 
 vigorous health, it is possible that he would have 
 been able to meet the disappointment with greater 
 complacency. 
 
 The Bishop of Shrewsbury announced his resigna- 
 tion to the people of Edgmond on Trinity Sunday, 
 and in the August Parish Magazine he was able to 
 tell them that he had found a suitable home at 
 Penkridge, six miles south of Stafford. 
 
 On September 25th the churchwardens of 
 Edgmond called a meeting of the parishioners, at 
 which the Bishop was presented with an address 
 illustrated by water-colour views of the church, 
 rectory, schools, fountain, and the cottage attached 
 to the Institute, thus forming a pictorial record of 
 his chief undertakings in the place. 
 
 302
 
 EDGMOND 
 
 So ended the parochial ministry of a great 
 Parish Priest, just fifty- two years from his ordination 
 in Lichfield Cathedral as a deacon. It has probably 
 seldom fallen to the lot of any bishop to continue 
 with such zeal and success the labours of an in- 
 cumbent in addition to those imposed by his 
 episcopal office. 
 
 33
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE LAST YEARS 
 
 HPHE three last years of Bishop Stamer's life were 
 passed at Halingdene, the charming house 
 on the outskirts of the village of Penkridge which 
 is still occupied by Lady Stamer. He was, of course, 
 more or less of an invalid during the whole of this 
 time, but every now and then he would gain a 
 temporary access of strength, sufficient to enable 
 him to visit Stoke for a Miners' Relief Committee, 
 or to speak to the inmates of the Stafford Home. 
 He was also able to preach occasionally in Penk- 
 ridge Church. 
 
 The year 1906 opened badly for him as regards 
 health, but by April 24th he was well enough 
 to go to Shrewsbury and institute the new vicars 
 of St. Chad's and St. Michael's. In the follow- 
 ing month he spent three weeks at Ambleside, 
 greatly enjoying several visits to his great friend 
 Miss Arnold, at Fox How, with whom he had 
 for years carried on a frequent correspondence. 
 
 304
 
 THE LAST YEARS 
 
 Throughout that year his health kept fairly good, 
 as is evidenced by his being able in October to pay 
 a visit to his son Reginald at Leek. It was towards 
 the autumn of the next year (1907) that the Bishop's 
 sight began to fail him seriously a severe addition 
 to his other physical disabilities. 
 
 Such is a brief review of Sir Lovelace's health 
 until the beginning of his last illness in 1908. It 
 is not a little remarkable to find that these last 
 three years were full of incident. They are marked 
 by events, some of the brightest and some of 
 the saddest, of much interest and importance to 
 the Bishop, and by one, the last of all, which 
 called upon him to put forth that calm judgment 
 and decision in affairs of policy which had always 
 distinguished him. It may be as well to mention 
 this matter first, as it was of a less personal nature. 
 The six towns forming what is known as " the 
 Potteries " had for some time been considering 
 the question of federating themselves as one 
 borough. There was general agreement as to 
 the advisability of this course, but great divergence 
 of opinion upon details, especially on such points 
 as finance and the more sentimental question of 
 the name by which the new borough should be 
 called. Considerable time and money had already 
 been expended upon an inquiry by the Local 
 x 305
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Government Board, and before a Committee of the 
 House of Commons. It now appeared likely that 
 there might be a protracted and costly squabble 
 over details before a Committee of the House of 
 Lords. At this juncture the whole district was 
 profoundly impressed by the appearance in the 
 local press of a letter from Bishop Stamer a letter 
 as far-seeing and as able as any that he ever wrote. 
 In it he urged upon the six towns that for the sake 
 of peace and to save delay and expense they should 
 hold a conference, over which Lord Dartmouth 
 should be invited to preside, and settle amongst 
 themselves the terms upon which the desired 
 federation should be arranged. This letter was 
 probably to some extent the outcome of the Bishop's 
 last visit to Stoke, which took place on August 24th, 
 when he had luncheon at his old house, Cliff Ville, 
 then the property of Mr. Geen, with whom he had 
 a long conversation. The letter appeared on Sep- 
 tember 8th, scarcely three weeks before Sir Love- 
 lace took to his bed, from which he never rose again. 
 The impression that it produced showed that the 
 position he had held in the Potteries was still his, 
 though sixteen years had passed away since he left 
 Stoke. No better expression can be given to the 
 feeling aroused by this letter than by quoting 
 
 some words of Alderman Geen's, in a great speech 
 
 306
 
 THE LAST YEARS 
 
 which he delivered at a meeting of the Stoke Town 
 Council on December 3ist, 1908, when he an- 
 nounced that the scheme for federation pro- 
 pounded by Stoke would be accepted with certain 
 modifications, and that the name of the newly 
 federated borough would be " Stoke-upon-Trent." 
 The special words referred to were these : " I wish 
 to take this opportunity of saying a word or two 
 on Bishop Stamer's letter. I felt obliged, at the 
 time of its publication, to remain silent. Had I 
 thought the time opportune, nothing would have 
 prevented me from expressing in public my high 
 appreciation of the Bishop's efforts to bring about 
 a peaceful settlement in financial and other matters. 
 If there ever has been a man whose advice I should 
 unhesitatingly follow, it was Bishop Stamer. I had 
 the infinite pleasure of his acquaintance for over 
 forty years, and during the last thirty it was of more 
 than ordinary character. The last occasion upon 
 which he was out of doors he and I discussed for 
 over an hour the question of Federation, and the 
 difficulties which lay in the way of a solution by 
 agreement. His letter was written, as all his letters 
 were, with a disinterestedness and singleness of 
 purpose which always characterised his actions." 
 
 It is not too much to say that the whole district 
 was profoundly moved by the words of the aged 
 
 37
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 Bishop. It was a fitting circumstance that his 
 last public utterance should have been on behalf 
 of what he felt to be the best interests of the town 
 with which he was so closely identified, and which 
 he loved so dearly. 
 
 It was early in November 1905 that the first 
 of the more personally interesting events occurred 
 after the Bishop's removal to Penkridge. The 
 clergy of the Diocese of Lichfield, sensible of the 
 fatherly guidance, the generous help, and the 
 affectionate sympathy which they had always re- 
 ceived from Bishop Stamer during his exercise of 
 the office of Bishop Suffragan, determined to mark 
 his resignation of that office by giving him some 
 present which should be for his own personal com- 
 fort and use. A large gathering assembled at the 
 Borough Hall, Stafford, with the Bishop of Lichfield 
 in the chair. 
 
 The presentation was made by Archdeacon 
 Hodgson an old Stoke curate and consisted of an 
 illuminated address, and a cheque with which to 
 purchase a brougham. This carriage proved of the 
 greatest comfort to the Bishop during his last years, 
 and, as he himself said, he seldom entered it without 
 grateful thoughts of its donors. 
 
 The spring of 1907 saw a great family gathering 
 at Halingdene on the occasion of the golden wedding 
 
 308
 
 THE LAST YEARS 
 
 of Bishop and Lady Stamer, who had been married 
 on April i6th, just fifty years before, in the parish 
 church of Hunsingore. All the Bishop's children 
 and grandchildren were present except one, and the 
 day was one of the greatest possible joy and thank- 
 fulness to him and Lady Stamer. A celebration 
 of the Holy Communion was held in Penkridge 
 Church at eleven o'clock, and afterwards there was a 
 big family luncheon party, while in the afternoon 
 the party was increased by the arrival of several 
 relatives and friends, among the former being Lady 
 Stamer's brother, Canon Dent, the Bishop's oldest 
 and closest friend, who had performed the marriage 
 ceremony in 1857. 
 
 Every child and grandchild was presented on the 
 occasion with a letter printed in gold lettering 
 on a cream ground and tied with gold thread, which 
 was addressed to them by the Bishop and formed 
 a touching memento of the day. The spirit of the 
 letter may be gleaned from the heading, which 
 consisted of the words, "Hitherto hath the Lord 
 helped us." 
 
 In the following July Canon Dent, who was in 
 bad health at the time that he attended the cele- 
 bration of the golden wedding at Halingdene, died, 
 and so Bishop Stamer lost that almost lifelong friend 
 to whom those beautiful letters were addressed 
 
 309
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 which are given in an early chapter of this memoir. 
 The year 1908 found Sir Lovelace with fast-failing 
 eyesight and gradually diminishing strength. He 
 was now unable to read, and Lady Starrier and his 
 daughters spent much time in reading aloud to him, 
 and writing some of his letters, though others he 
 still managed to write himself with the aid of a 
 strong magnifying glass. Not a few of these have 
 been preserved by those to whom they were written 
 as touching memorials of their old friend and 
 Bishop. One example may be given here. It is 
 addressed to Mr. Charles Blagg of Greenhill, near 
 Cheadle. 
 
 " Halingdew, Penkridge, Staffs, 
 
 $th July, 1908. 
 My dear Blagg, 
 
 My daughter has been reading to her blind 
 father the report in the " Staffordshire Advertizer " 
 of the Pan - Anglican Continuation Meeting at 
 Hanley, over which you presided. Your reference 
 to my dear son [Reginald], who has volunteered for 
 service abroad, came upon me unexpectedly, but 
 I recognise gratefully the kind feeling which 
 prompted it, and I need not say it gave me great 
 pleasure. I trust I may not be ungrateful to you 
 for your generous words, or to God, Who has 
 
 310
 
 THE LAST YEARS 
 
 honoured me by calling a son of mine to this work 
 for Him, by surrendering him grudgingly, although 
 at my time of life it must be for this world a lasting 
 separation. . . . 
 
 You will doubt the reality of my blindness as you 
 read this, but by the help of a magnifying glass I am 
 still able to guide my pen. With kind regards, 
 
 Yrs. very sincerely, 
 
 L. T. STAMER, Bishop." 
 
 This letter is specially interesting for its reference 
 to the fact that the Bishop's son, the Rev. Reginald 
 Stamer, who had been his father's curate at St. 
 Chad's, Shrewsbury, and afterwards at Edgmond, 
 and who had been successively Vicar of Lydbury 
 North, and of Leek in Staffordshire, had inherited 
 his father's zeal for missions, and, stirred by the 
 awakening influence of the Pan-Anglican Synod, 
 had suddenly accepted a call to work in Canada. 
 There is no doubt that the Bishop felt the sacrifice 
 he was called upon to make very severely. He was 
 conscious that he had not long to live, and he had 
 hoped to have this dear son with him to the last. 
 His expression in the above letter to Mr. Blagg of 
 his sense of the honour that God was doing him 
 is one more example of the way in which he strove 
 
 3"
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 to put his own wishes entirely in subjection to what 
 appeared to be his Master's will. 
 
 Allusion has been made to the Bishop's failing 
 strength in the early part of the year 1908, and it is 
 of interest to notice that on April 29th he attended 
 his last function of any public importance, jour- 
 neying as far as Newcastle-under-Lyme to the 
 consecration of St. Paul's Church, of which he had 
 laid the foundation stone just three years before. 
 It was evidently a great exertion to him to be 
 present, and his many friends who met him there 
 were saddened to find him so changed and feeble. 
 
 In spite, however, of ever-increasing weakness, 
 he kept up continual communication with number- 
 less friends, whose letters were his chief interest 
 during the summer months that followed. 
 
 On September 27th, accompanied by Lady 
 Stamer, he went to the little country church of 
 Dunston, near Penkridge, where he liked to go now 
 and then to attend a Midday Celebration when 
 there was not one at Penkridge. This was the last 
 time he was at church. He seemed very tired on his 
 return, and was evidently feebler than usual in the 
 afternoon, his cough being most severe. Next day 
 he was distinctly worse, and the doctor, on finding 
 some slight congestion of the lungs, advised his 
 return to bed. 
 
 312
 
 THE LAST YEARS 
 
 In a week's time it was obvious that the Bishop 
 was dangerously ill. Two excellent nurses were 
 obtained, who by their skill and kindness did all 
 that was possible to alleviate the distress arising 
 from his weakness and restlessness. 
 
 On Monday, October I2th, the Bishop of Lich- 
 field paid him a farewell visit, administering the 
 Holy Communion to him and some of the family. 
 For more than a fortnight after this he lingered on, 
 now and then appearing to be sinking, and then his 
 wonderful constitution enabling him to rally. He 
 made frequent references to his son Reginald, asking 
 to have messages sent to him, and he often asked 
 to have hymns read to him. He one day asked for 
 the one about a " grey-haired Saint," and after 
 some search it was discovered in his copy of the 
 Christian Year, with the following verse marked : 
 
 The grey-haired saint may fail at last, 
 The surest guide a wanderer prove ; 
 Death only binds us fast 
 To the bright shore of love. 
 
 These words were often repeated to him during 
 Sunday, October i8th, which was his seventy-ninth 
 birthday. 
 
 The end came on Thursday, October 29th, when, 
 after a period of unconsciousness, the loud and 
 difficult breathing suddenly calmed down, and he 
 
 313
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 quietly drew his last breath soon after seven o'clock 
 in the evening. Lady Stamer with two of her 
 sons (the present Sir Lovelace Stamer and Mr. 
 William Stamer) and her two unmarried daughters 
 were all present. 
 
 Every one who was with the Bishop during this 
 last illness was struck with the patience with which 
 he bore his great bodily distress. One of his nurses, 
 writing afterwards, used these words : " I cannot 
 express how deeply I was impressed by my entire 
 intercourse with the Bishop during his illness. The 
 thoughts left in my mind are too deep for words." 
 So it was that this faithful servant unconsciously 
 carried on his Lord's work to the very end. 
 
 On the evening of All Saints' Day the coffin was 
 brought downstairs, and, as it rested for a few 
 minutes in the hall surrounded by the family, 
 the Vicar of Penkridge said some prayers. Imme- 
 diately afterwards the hearse started upon its long 
 journey by road to Stoke-upon-Trent, where it had 
 been most fitly decided that the mortal remains 
 of the Bishop should rest. Two of the Bishop's 
 sons followed as far as the bridge on the road to 
 Stafford, his eldest son having gone on to Stoke by 
 train to be in readiness to receive the body there. 
 
 Passing through Stafford the route lay by Walton, 
 Tittensor, and Trentham, and so into the town of
 
 THE LAST YEARS 
 
 Stoke, where crowds of waiting mourners bared their 
 heads as the hearse took its way to the Parish 
 Church. Here it was met by a body of leading 
 Church laymen, Messrs. Geen, Harding, Hatch, 
 Peake, Williams, and Woolliscroft, who placed the 
 coffin upon a bier and wheeled it into the chancel, 
 the Rector of Stoke reading the opening sentences 
 of the Burial Service. A purple pall was then 
 placed over the coffin together with the floral cross 
 which had been laid there at Halingdene, and two or 
 three wreaths of beautiful flowers, and three large 
 lighted candles were set on either side. Then the 
 doors of the church were thrown open, and his old 
 Stoke people streamed in, many of them in tears, 
 all of them sad at heart, in apparently unending 
 numbers to look upon the coffin of him whom they 
 loved, and who had loved them, and had been the 
 best friend Stoke had ever known. It was late before 
 the last of these had passed out, but even then the 
 dead was not left alone. Loving hearts, clergy and 
 laity alike, watched through the night till the grey 
 November dawn of the day that was to see the 
 Bishop's body laid to rest in the midst of those 
 whom he always thought of as his people. 
 
 The actual funeral ceremony almost baffles 
 description. It was not only that the Bishop of 
 Lichfield with Bishop Anson and the Archdeacons 
 
 315
 
 SIR LOVELACE T. STAMER 
 
 led the way, that the clergy were present in their 
 hundreds, that influential laity, headed by the Earl 
 of Lichfield and the High Sheriff of Shropshire, 
 were in conspicuous attendance, and that deputa- 
 tions were to be found in long procession, headed 
 by the Mayor and Borough Magistrates of Stoke : 
 it was not these things that made the impression 
 and caused people to say afterwards that they should 
 never forget that day : no, it was the vast crowd of 
 the working men and women of the Potteries who 
 stood in silent ranks, six deep, to see him pass. 
 To the older among them he was a personal friend, 
 to the younger he was a household word. The 
 potters, the miners, the ironworkers, all were there. 
 There was not one among them who did not know 
 how he had cared and striven through the best 
 years of his life for all that could help those fellow- 
 men of his among whom he lived. 
 
 It was the privilege of the representatives of the 
 Miners' Permanent Relief Society to bear the 
 Bishop's body to the grave in the cemetery at 
 Hartshill, in witness of the greatest of his social 
 labours : but so wide had been his sympathies, and 
 so far-reaching his ever-ready help, that there must 
 have been hundreds standing there who felt an 
 equal claim to render him the last service possible. 
 
 The solemn words of committal were read by the 
 
 316
 
 THE LAST YEARS 
 
 Bishop of Lichfield, who also gave the blessing at the 
 end. Other portions of the service were taken by 
 the rectors of Stoke and Hanley. 
 
 Memorial services were held on the same day at 
 Penkridge and at St. Chad's, Shrewsbury. In both 
 these churches, as also in the Parish Church of 
 Stoke, and in more than one parish where his help 
 and counsel are sorely missed, memorial brasses 
 and inscriptions have been placed, but the greatest 
 memorial of all will be found written in the hearts 
 of his people who knew him as Rector of Stoke, and, 
 in everything but name, Bishop of the Potteries.
 
 INDEX 
 
 Abraham, Bishop C. J., 191, 
 
 232, 234 
 
 Accumulating Fund, The, 204 
 Adult Education Society, The 
 
 North Staffordshire, 1 1 o 
 Allington, Mr., 148 
 Anson, Bishop, 301, 315 
 Archdeaconry of Stafford, Sub- 
 division of the, 161 
 
 Stoke, Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 
 installation to the, 165 
 
 - Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 resignation of the, 195 
 Arnold, Dr., 107 
 Miss, 304 
 
 B 
 
 Ballot, The, 29 
 Barnbracks, 1 1 
 Beach, Mr., 104, 105, 190 
 Beauchamp, 7 
 
 Benson, Archbishop, 179, 200 
 Bickersteth, Dean, 2 1 6 
 Blagg, Mr. C. J., 119, 173, 
 310 
 
 Board of Guardians, Dispute 
 
 with the Stoke, 89 
 Bodenham, Mr., 291 
 Boothen, All Saints', 95, 222 
 Bootle, Mr. Fleming's school 
 
 at, 7 
 Bournemouth, Sir L. T. Stamer 
 
 visits, 300 
 
 Boy, Letters to an invalid, 109 
 Bradford, Earl of, 279 
 Bradley, Dr. G. G., 50 
 Bridgwood, Mr., 222 
 Bromby, Bishop, 200 
 Bruce, Capt. and Mrs., 62 
 Burials Bill, The, 168 
 Rural Deans' letter on 
 
 the, 171 
 Butler, Rev. A. J., 15 
 
 Cambridge, 18 
 Carnelly, 2 
 
 Carpenter, Rev. E. S., 259, 277 
 Carter, Bishop, 149 
 Charge, Sir L. T. Stamer's first 
 Archidiaconal, 166, 169 
 
 319
 
 INDEX 
 
 Cheltenham, 28 
 
 Child, Sir Smith, 121, 122 
 
 Children, Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 
 affection for, 100 
 Church Congress at Shrewsbury, 
 
 288 
 
 Stoke, I 54 
 
 Churton, Bishop H. N., 151, 
 
 227 
 
 Clarke, Rev. A., 136 
 Claughton, Bishop, 75, 89, 189 
 Clay Cross, 34 
 Cliffe Ville, 7, 1 1 2 
 Coffee Tavern, The Stoke, 
 
 I3i 132 
 Coldham, Rev. H., 220 
 
 Collier, Hon. John, 246 
 Consecration, Sir L. T. 
 
 Stamer's, 199 
 Cooper, Messrs., 207 
 Corbet, Prebendary, 282, 300, 
 
 301 
 Corporation, Sir L. T. Stamer 
 
 Chaplain to the Shrewsbury, 
 
 270 
 
 Cotton, Bishop, 18 
 Craft, Rev. R. H., 252 
 Cross, Mr. W. G., 258 
 Curates, Gathering of old, 228 
 Stoke, 219 
 
 D 
 
 Dartmouth, Earl of, 306 
 Death, Sir L. T. Stamer's, 313 
 
 Decision, Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 
 power of rapid, 226 
 Dent, Canon J., 21, 46, 48, 
 
 309 
 
 - Mr. W. D., 20, 23 
 Derby, Earl of, 27, 30 
 Discharged Female Prisoners, 
 
 Home for, 134 
 Prisoners' Aid Society, The 
 
 North Staffordshire, 134 
 District churches, The position 
 
 of curates serving, 82 
 Dunston, 312 
 
 Earle, Archdeacon, 200 
 Edgmond, 281 
 
 Deed of conveyance of 
 advowson of, 284 
 
 Men's club at, 292 
 
 Pastoral visiting at, 298 
 
 Patronage of the Rectory 
 of, 282 
 
 Rectory of, 233 
 
 Resignation of living of, 
 300 
 
 Schools at, 286 
 
 Water-supply at, 290 
 Education, Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 
 views on Secondary, 296 
 Edwards, Rev. E. J., 89, 
 
 136 
 
 Ely, Bishop of, 59 
 Emery, Archdeacon, 158 
 
 320
 
 Fenton, 216 
 
 Fight, Sir L. T. Stamer stops 
 
 a, 117 
 
 Fowler, Rev. G., 228 
 Fraser, Bishop, 155 
 Friendless Girls, Home at Eg- 
 
 mond for, 293 
 Funeral, A child's, 49 
 Sir L. T. Stamer's, 315 
 
 Gavin, Miss, 265 
 
 Geen, Mr. F., loz, 124, 241, 
 306, 315 
 
 Girls' Friendly Society, 267 
 
 High School, The Shrews- 
 bury, 264 
 
 Gladstone, Mr. W. E., 112 
 
 Golden wedding, Celebration 
 of, 309 
 
 Goodwin, Bishop Harvey, 21, 
 
 H7 
 
 Goschen, Lord, 1 5 
 
 Gown, The black, 49, 7 1 
 
 Grammar School, The New- 
 port, 294 
 
 Grand Tour, Mrs. Stamer's 
 Diary of the, 3 
 
 H 
 
 Halingdene, 304 
 Hanley, St. John's, 210 
 Harding, Miss, 139 
 
 Y 321 
 
 Hardmead, 36 
 Hargraves, Alderman, 200 
 Harrowby, Earl of, 157, 187, 
 
 217 
 
 Hartley Colliery, 1 20 
 Hartshill, 206, 2 1 5 
 Heighway, Mr., 259 
 Herbert, General, 259 
 Higgins, Mr. C. Longuet, 37, 
 
 4 1 
 
 Mrs. C. Longuet, 186 
 
 Mr. T. C., 37 
 Highton, Mr. H., 12 
 Hodgson, Archdeacon, 227, 
 
 308 
 
 Hook, Dr., 82 
 
 Housing of the poor in Shrews- 
 bury, 273 
 
 How, Bishop Walsham, 103, 
 200, 209 
 
 Canon H. W., 224, 227 
 
 Mr. T. M., 259 
 Hunsingore, 48, 299, 309 
 Hutchinson, Prebendary, 173, 
 
 246 
 
 Rev. Sanford, 246 
 
 lies, Archdeacon, 162, 195 
 Illness, Sir L. T. Stamer's last, 
 
 313 
 Infirmary Service, The Salop, 
 
 276 
 The North Stafford, 141
 
 INDEX 
 
 Jex Blake, Dean, 1 5 
 Jeune, Q.C., Mr., 207 
 
 L 
 
 Lane, Dean, 198, 217, 246 
 Langley, Rev. J. P., 19, 36 
 Legge, Bishop, 230, 235, 248, 
 
 255 
 
 Legh Richmond, Rev., 44 
 Letter on acceptance of Suffragan 
 
 Bishopric, 181 
 
 to the parishioners of St. 
 Chad's, Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 first, 250 
 
 Lightfoot, Bishop, 62 
 
 Littler, Q.C., Mr., 207 
 
 Lloyd, Archdeacon, 234, 254, 
 
 255, 256, 281, 286 
 Long Melford, 60, 186 
 Lonsdale, Bishop, 63, 75, 83, 
 
 87, 206 
 
 Canon, 113, 289 
 Longton, St. John's, 189, 216 
 Lovelace, Catherine, 3 
 Lushington, Sir Godfrey, 1 5 
 Lynam, Mr. Charles, 68, 70 
 Lyttelton, Bishop, 1 1 2 
 
 M 
 Macaulay, Canon, 67, 70, 72, 
 
 75 Ig 7 
 
 Mackarness, Bishop, 155 
 Mackenzie, Bishop C. F., 146, 
 
 150 
 
 Mackenzie, Bishop Douglas, 1 48 
 
 Miss Anne, 147 
 Maclagan, Archbishop, 177, 
 
 178, 185, 197, 200, 223, 
 
 230, 242, 260, 277 
 Magazine, The Stoke Parish, 80 
 Mannheim, Mr. Lovell's school 
 
 at, il 
 
 Massey, Mr., 1 3 1 
 Meakin, Mr. G., 271 
 Mellor, Mrs., 137 
 Memorial services, 317 
 
 tiles, 77 
 
 Moncrieff, Rev. A., 199 
 Monro, Rev. E., 76 
 Munby, Mr., 43 
 
 N 
 
 Newport (Salop), 285 
 Night schools, 1 1 o 
 Nonconformist, Congratulatory 
 
 letter from a, 190 
 NorclifFe Norcliffe, Major, i 
 Norris, Archdeacon J.P., 193 
 Nurses, King Edward VII's 
 
 Home for, 144 
 
 Staffordshire Institution for, 
 138 
 
 O 
 
 Oaks Pit, Disaster at the, 1 2 1 
 Oldham, Mr., 34 
 Ordination, Sir L. T. Stamer 
 holds an, 227 
 
 322
 
 INDEX 
 
 Page, Rev. L. F., 60 
 Parochial conference at Stoke, 
 
 210 
 
 Parry, Bishop E., 15, 151, 200 
 Patronage of Rectory of Stoke, 
 
 Change of the, 203, 207 
 Peele, E. C., Esq., 254 
 Penitentiary work in Shrews- 
 bury, 269 
 Penkhull, 206, 2 1 5 
 Penkridge, 302, 304. 
 Penny, Prebendary, 225 
 Pitchford, Mr., 287 
 Portrait, Presentation to Sir L. 
 
 T. Stamer of his, 247 
 Potteries, Federation of the, 305 
 Preacher, Sir L. T. Stamer as 
 
 a, 271 
 Prebendary, Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 
 appointment to be a, 1 60 
 Presentation from the Clergy, 
 
 Sir L. T. Stamer receives a, 
 
 308 
 
 Q 
 
 Quin Abbey, 3 
 
 R 
 Relief Society, North Stafford 
 
 Coal and Ironstone Workers' 
 
 Permanent, 1 1 9 
 Reigate, 35 
 Rettendean Hall, 2 
 Ribstone Hall, 48, 59 
 
 Riley, Mr., 98, 100 
 
 Ritualism, 85 
 
 Rowton, Lord, 277 
 
 Rugby, 12 
 
 Rural Dean, Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 
 appointment to be, 84 
 Russell, Mr., 38 
 
 St. Chad's, Shrewsbury, 233, 
 
 237 
 
 Boys' Club, 261 
 
 charities, 269 
 
 Sir L. T.] Stamer's institu- 
 tion to, 256 
 
 Schools, 259 
 
 St. Julian's, Shrewsbury, 277 
 St. Mary's, Shrewsbury, 279 
 St. Paul's, Newcastle (Staffs.), 
 
 312 
 
 Salop Infirmary, The, 275 
 Saltley College, 105 
 Scholars, Gathering of old 
 
 Stoke, 1 02 
 School Board, The Shrewsbury, 
 
 275 
 
 Stoke, 104 
 
 School teachers, Sir L. T. 
 
 Stamer and, 101 
 Schools, Stoke Central Church, 
 
 94. 9 8 
 Scrivens, Mr. F., 13 
 
 Selwyn, Bishop G. A., 92, 112, 
 159 
 
 323
 
 INDEX 
 
 Selwyn, Bishop John, 115, 151, 
 
 289 
 
 Sexton, The old, 1 1 6 
 Shrewsbury, 178, 249 
 
 Sir L. T. Stamer's choice 
 of a residence in, 254 
 
 Shuker, Mr. W. J., 294 
 Small-pox, Sir L. T. Stamer 
 
 attacked by, 41 
 Sneyd, Rev. Walter, 143 
 Spanton, Dr. W. D., 138 
 Stafford, Marquis of, 122 
 Staffordshire Sentinel, Articles 
 
 on Sir L. T. Stamer in the, 
 
 2 43 
 Stamer, Colonel George, 2 
 
 Thomas, 3 
 
 William, 2 
 
 Wm. J. A., 6 
 
 General William, 2 
 
 Sir William, I, 3 
 
 Miss, 267 
 
 Sir L. T., his B.A. degree, 
 
 32 
 birth, I 
 
 Celtic blood, 114 
 
 Childish letters of, 8 
 
 Geniality of, 114 
 
 his intention to take 
 
 Orders, 31 
 
 marriage, 62 
 
 as an oarsman, 20 
 
 Personal appearance 
 
 of, 66 
 
 Stamer, Sir L. T., Suitability 
 for a Diocesan Bishopric of, 
 180 
 
 Rev. R.D., 252, 253, 305, 
 
 3ii 313 
 
 Stoke-on-Trent, Announcement 
 of Sir L. T. Stamer's depar- 
 ture from, 237 
 
 Offer of the living of, 63 
 
 Old Rectory of, 65 
 
 Parish church of, 68 
 
 Parting gifts on leaving, 244 
 Stoke Rectory Act, 202 
 Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 
 letters as to, 203, 204, 208 
 Site for, 206 
 
 Valuation of the living of, 
 205 
 
 Stuart, Professor James, 1 1 2 
 Suffragan Bishop, Sir L. T. 
 
 Stamer's appointment to be, 
 
 177 
 
 Bishopric, Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 resignation of the, 300 
 
 Sunday observance, 54 
 Sutherland, Duke of, 126 
 Synod, Organisation of a Dio- 
 cesan, 84 
 
 Tait, Archbishop, 17, 158 
 Talbot, Prebendary, 301 
 Talk o' the Hill, Colliery 
 disaster at, 121 
 
 324
 
 INDEX 
 
 Temperance, Sir L. T. Stamer's 
 
 work for, 1 30 
 Temple, Archbishop, 200 
 Thompson, Mr. W. H., 19 
 Thornton, Bishop, 289 
 Tomlinson, Mr. John, i, 211 
 - Mr. F., 63 
 Training colleges, 105 
 Trent Vale, 206, 215 
 Trinity College, Cambridge, Let- 
 ter from the Master of, 188 
 Turvey, 36 
 Twigg, Rev. R., 89 
 
 U 
 
 University Extension Lectures, 
 1 1 1 
 
 V 
 
 Vyvyan, Bishop, 149 
 
 W 
 
 Wakefield, The vacant See of, 
 
 179 
 
 Walker, Rev. J. E., 221 
 Warner, Sir Joseph, 218 
 Waters, Prebendary, 222 
 Wedgwood, Mr. Godfrey, 
 
 247 
 
 White, Rev. W. G., 152 
 Wigram, Mr., 150 
 Wilkinson, Bishop, 147 
 Wolseley-Lewis, Miss, 140 
 Wolstenholme, Mr., 207 
 Woodall, M.P., Mr., 191 
 Wightman, Mrs., 269 
 
 Zululand Mission, The, 146 
 
 WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LTD. 
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