Frederic Iremonger

Who was Frederic Iremonger?

The Very Rev Frederic Athelwold Iremonger, DD, was an eminent Anglican priest in the first half of the 20th century.

Dr Iremonger was born the third son of William Henry and Mary Sophia Iremonger of Wherwell Priory Hampshire, who were first-cousins, and educated at Clifton and Keble College, Oxford. Ordained in 1906 he began his career with a curacy at All Saints', Poplar after which he was Priest in charge at St Nicholas, Blackwall. Later he was Vicar of St James the Great, Bethnal Green and then Rector of Quarley.

In 1918 he accompanied Dr Cosmo Lang then Archbishop of York as chaplain and secretary on an important mission to the USA. On his return he joined and became chairman in 1919 of the Life and Liberty Movement begun by Dr William Temple and Dick Sheppard in 1917.

In 1923 he came to London to take up his appointment as editor of the Guardian, a Church of England weekly newsletter. However his strengths lay in writing rather than in administration of a newspaper and after four years he resigned and returned to a country parish.