Sowden

Sutcliffe Sowden~1841 to 1861

Was a graduate of S. Mary Magdalene's College, Cambridge. He was one of the eight sons of Samuel Sowden, of Sutcliffe Wood, Shibden. In 1839 he became Curate of Cross Stone under the Rev. Joseph Fennell. His appointment to Hebden Bridge two years later seems to have been due to a sermon which he preached at Cross Stone, when the Rev. J. A. Rhodes visited that Church just after the departure from Hebden Bridge of the Rev. P. C. Nicholson. So impressed with the sermon was Mr. Rhodes that he prevailed upon the patron, the Vicar of Halifax; to appoint Mr. Sowden to the vacant charge. When he heard what had occurred Mr. Sowden was so troubled in mind that he went to Mr. Rhodes and explained that the sermon in question was not original. " Well," said Mr. Rhodes, " we will give you credit for making a good selection and let the matter rest where it is."

Mr. Suteliffe Sowden was the intimate friend of the Rev. Arthur Bell Nicholls, who became Curate of Haworth in 1845. Out of this fnendshiip came Mr. Sowden's acquaintance with the Bronte family, whom he had seen, but not met, when he was at Cross Stone. When the Rev. A. B. Nicholls and Miss Charlotte Bronte were married in Haworth Church on June 29th, 1854, the ceremony was performed by their mutual friend the Rev. Sutcliffe Sowden.

Mr. Sowden's end was tragic, for he was found drowned in the canal on August 8th, 1861. It was well known that an illness some two or three years previously had left him subject to occasional fits of dizziness, and it was generally believed that his untimely death 'was due to one of these.

He was only 44 years old when he died and the news of his death sent a shock through the neighbourhood. The newspaper description of his funeral gives a measure of his local support. "The funeral took place on Tuesday afternoon. Many of the principal shops were closed, the procession numbered upwards of 300 persons. First in the order of the procession were the public officers, namely the police, the churchwardens, and the postmen. Next came the lighting and paving committee of which the deceased was a member; next came the committee of the Mechanics Institute and the gentry of the neighbourhood; following these was the congregation of St. James'"

He was buried in the churchyard by his friend the Rev. A. B. Nicholls on August 13th, and the crowd that filled the church and churchyard, and looked down upon the scene from the Eaves while the funeral was in progress, bore testimony to the high esteem in which he was held.

He is said to have possessed in a singular degree the faculty of attaching to himself almost all who knew him in a strong personal regard. The Font is a tribute to his memory from the Parish. There are also two other memorials to him in the Church the middle light of the East window and the brass candlesticks on the High Altar.

The account of Sutcliffe Sowden's death from the Halifax Guardian 10/8/61

Yesterday morning the whole of Hebden Bridge and its district was thrown into a state of great excitement and sorrow by the news spreading rapidly that their incumbent the Rev. S. Sowden had met with his death by drowning. The sad news proved but too true. The body was discovered by Superintendent Tucker of the West Riding police force in the canal just below the iron bridge opposite Mr. Whiteley's mill. We learn that in the early morning two young women were going in the direction of Todmorden along the canal side when the saw what they thought to be the body of a dog in the water and passed on. Not many yards further on they found a book with a paper cover and a umbrella laid beside it. They picked them up and proceeded to Todmorden. On reaching the town they found the Rev. gentleman's name on the book and one of the girls returned with it. Meanwhile Mr. Sowden was missed and the search resulted as above. The body was in an upright position and bore no marks of violence. From enquiries we learn that on Thursday night Mr. Sowden had visited Mr. Edwin Binns at Multure Hall which is on the opposite hill to where his residence is up Heptonstall bank, the canal running in the valley that intervened. He left to go home at about half past ten o'clock and Mr. Binns accompanied him part of the way as far as the Sand bed. The night was a dark one and the wind blew from the west in strong and violent gusts. That the unfortunate clergyman intended to get home by a short cut is evident. By the bridge some alterations are going on and a quantity of loose stones and rubbish laid about. One inference is that in stepping about these he stumbled and fell into the water. And by his struggles and the force of the wind was carried down the water to the place where he was found, a distance of thirty yards. Another is that he was seized by a fit of dizziness, to which he was known to be subject. This is strengthened by the statement of the Rev. T. Sutcliffe late incumbent of Heptonstall, at whose house Mr. Sowden had been at that day and who noticed him to be rather absent in his manner. However be that as it may the painful result was that in a sudden and sad manner the Rev. gentleman met with his death. It was half past five o'clock in the morning when he was found. His watch had stopped at a quarter past eleven, thus showing as near as possible to the hour when the sad event happened. His remains were removed to the Neptune Inn and afterwards to his own home. It is not needful to launch into any eulogy of this worthy clergyman who untimely death has cast a gloom over the whole district. Mr. Sowden was about 46 years of age and was the first incumbent of St. James' Church built in 1835. Of a quiet and somewhat retiring disposition he won the respect and esteem of all - clergyman and dissenters alike. In him the Church has lost a faithful and diligent servant and the poor a generous friend. Of a philosophical turn of mind Mr. Sowden was noted as a geologist and an ardent lover of nature. Excursions into the deep and lovely valleys of this secluded district looked forward to his company with much anticipation and delight. The intelligence of his sad end will cause regret to many distant friends. The inquest was held on the body last night at the Neptune Inn.

George Sowden 1861 to l899

Who succeeded his brother Sutcliffe, the benefice having been offered to him the day after his brother's funeral, was educated at Hipperholme Grammar School and St. Mary Magdalene's, Cambridge. He was ordained deacon by the Bishop of Peterborough in 1845

and priest by the Bishop of Ripen the following year. His first Curacy was at Stainland, where he remained for eight years. He then became Curate of Houghton-le-Spring, Durham, remaining there until 1861, when he succeeded his brother as Vicar of Hebden Bridge.

It appears that Mr. Sutcliffe Sowden made a will in which he expressed a strong desire that his brother George might succeed him as Vicar of Hebden Bridge. This wish was supported by the Rev. J. A. Rhodes and without much hesitation acted upon by the patron of the living, Arch-deacon Muagrave. Thus began what proved to be a most fruitful and successful ministry.

How faithful and successful was that ministry may be imagined by recalling some of the schemes that were set on foot and brought to a satisfactory conclusion during the thirty.eight years it lasted. The school 'was built and. later enlarged: the chancel was built and the nave re-modelled: missions 'were established at Stubbings end Charlestown. Side by side 'with all this there had been the building up of a large, regular congregation, for at first the congregations had been but meagre. And the congregation had bean taught to 'worship with reverence and godly fear.

George Sowden was one of the leading Tractarians in the North and well-known outside his parish. It was on this account very largely that he was able to secure for the Church, as preachers on special occasions, so many men whose names were, or became, almost household words in his day. The Rev. W. Foxley Norris, later Dean of Westminster; the Rev.. J. G. Simpson, later Dean of Peterborough; the Rev. John Sheepshanks, who became Bishop of Norwich; the Rev. W. H. Frere, later Bishop of Truro; the Rev. Charles Gore, who became Bishop of Birmingham, and then was translated to Oxford.

By the Autumn of 1883 when he had completed a quarter of a century as Vicar of the Parish, the parishioners marked their appreciation of him and his work by presenting him with an illuminated address and a purse of £221. The presentation took place at a meeting held in the school on October 12^th..

When the See of Wakefield was created in 1888 he was made an Honorary Canon and Rural Dean of Halifax. Both these honours he modestly sought to decline on the ground that a more suitable choice might be made, but the Bishop bade him take the estimate of others rather than his own, and in the end he accepted both. The former he held to his death but the latter he relinquished at the end of 1896.

He died on May 12th, 1899, at the age of 77, and like his brother was buried in the churchyard, the Ven. Archdeacon Brooke performing the last rites.

Writing of Canon Sowden after his death the " Church Times " said: " He was a man of many parts, was fond of folk-lore, loved his books, and even had time to collect old oak and china, while in the midst of his numerous duties and interests he never ceased to work for the good of his Parish, and thus has left behind him a name and a memory 'which will live long in the annals of his Parish, written on the hearts of his people."

Hey I found a picture of his brother, the next Vicar!