John Taylor (bishop of Sodor and Man)

John Ralph Strickland Taylor[1] (13 December 1883 – 13 December 1961) was Bishop of Sodor and Man[2] from 1942 to 1954.[3]

The Right Reverend John Taylor
Bishop of Sodor and Man
Diocese	Diocese of Sodor and Man
In office	1942 - 1954
Predecessor	William Stanton Jones
Successor	Benjamin Pollard
Orders
Ordination	11 June 1911
Personal details
Birth name	John Ralph Strickland Taylor
Born	13 December 1883
Died	13 December 1961 (aged 78)
Denomination	Anglican
Spouse	Margaret Barrett
Education	Marlborough College
Alma mater	Pembroke College, Cambridge

Early life, family and education

Taylor was born on 13 December 1883 and educated at Marlborough and Pembroke College, Cambridge, and trained for the ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. His father, John Charles, was also a priest who served as Vicar of Harmondsworth.[4]

He married Margaret Barrett in 1913, and they had two sons and two daughters: one daughter, Leila Margaret, was born in 1920; and one son John Vernon was also a priest, later becoming Bishop of Winchester.[5]

Ministry

Taylor was made a deacon on Trinity Sunday (22 May) 1910[6] and ordained a priest the next Trinity (11 June 1911) — both times by Frederic Chase, Bishop of Ely, at Ely Cathedral.[7] He was interviewed for a commission as a Temporary Chaplain to the Forces on 17 January 1917. It was noted that he could speak French but he asked to serve at ‘home only’ and was appointed to the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich.[8] In October, 1918, he was attached to an Essex Battalion based at Hastings but remained there for only two months before demobilisation and appointment to the headship of St Lawrence College, Ramsgate.[9] Later he was Rector of Hodnet[10] with Weston-under-Redcastle (1928–32;[11] for the two years, he was also Rural Dean)[5] then Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford[12] — a post he held until his appointment to be a bishop.[13] He was also, alongside his main appointments, an Examining Chaplain to: Bertram Pollock, Bishop of Norwich (1911–42); Edward Burroughs and Geoffrey Lunt, Bishops of Ripon (1932–42); and John Kempthorne and Edward Woods, Bishops of Lichfield (1935–42); an honorary canon of Norwich Cathedral (1938–42); and President of the London College of Divinity from 1945 onwards.[5]

He was consecrated a bishop at York Minster on the Feast of the Epiphany (6 January) 1943,.[14] His appointment to Sodor and Man was made partly on the recommendation of the Bishop of Worcester who thought that Taylor’s experience at Ridley Hall would help the theological college in the island.[TNA PREM5/338].[15] He retired in 1954 and died on 13 December 1961.

References

1. NPG details
2. National Church Institutions Database of Manuscripts and Archives
3. Feegans Archived 2009-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
4. “Who was Who” 1897–2007 London, A & C Black, 2007 ISBN 978-0-19-954087-7
5. "Taylor, John Ralph Strickland". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 1920–2007 (1 December 2007 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 29 June 2018. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
6. "Trinity ordinations". Church Times (#2470). 27 May 1910. p. 713. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 29 June 2018 – via UK Press Online archives.
7. "Ordinations on Trinity Sunday". Church Times (#2525). 16 June 1911. p. 842. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 29 June 2018 – via UK Press Online archives.
8. Index Card Museum of Army Chaplaincy
9. TNA Service Record
10. National Archives
11. "In Memoriam: Bishop J. R. S. Taylor". Church Times (#5158). 22 December 1961. p. 13. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 29 June 2018 – via UK Press Online archives.
12. Ecclesiastical News New Principal Of Wycliffe Hall The Times, Saturday 30 July 1932; p. 13; Issue 46199; col. G.
13. Ecclesiastical News New Bishop Of Sodor And Man The Times, Tuesday 21 September 1954; p. 10; Issue 53042; col. C.
14. "Personal". Church Times (#4171). 1 January 1943. p. 8. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 29 June 2018 – via UK Press Online archives.
15. TNA PREM5/338