Hensley Henson

Religious Leader

1863 – 1947

 Credit »
83

Who was Hensley Henson?

Herbert Hensley Henson was an Anglican priest, scholar and controversialist. He was Bishop of Hereford, 1918–20 and Bishop of Durham, 1920–39.

The son of a zealous member of the Plymouth Brethren, Henson was not allowed to go to school until he was fourteen, and was largely self-educated. He was admitted to the University of Oxford, and gained a first-class degree in 1884. In the same year he was elected as a Fellow of All Souls, where he began to make a reputation as a speaker. He was ordained as a priest in 1888.

Feeling a vocation to minister to the urban poor, Henson served in the East End of London and Barking before becoming chaplain of an ancient hospice in Ilford in 1895. In 1900 he was appointed to the high-profile post of vicar of St Margaret's, Westminster and canon of Westminster Abbey. While there, and as Dean of Durham, he wrote prolifically and sometimes controversially. The Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church took exception to his liberal theological views, which some regarded as heretical, and sought unsuccessfully to block his appointment as Bishop of Hereford.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
1863
London
Religion
  • Church of England
Education
  • University of Oxford
Lived in
  • London
Died
1947
Hintlesham

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Hensley Henson." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/herbert_hensley_henson>.

Discuss this Hensley Henson biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net