Inge, William Ralph (1860-1954), dean of St Paul's and writer

Pessoa singular

Inge, William Ralph (1860-1954), dean of St Paul's and writer

6 June 1860 - 26 February 1954

6 June 1860 - born at Crayke, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the eldest son of William Inge, curate of Crayke, and his wife, Susanna. He was educated by his parents until he was thirteen and then won a scholarship to Eton College in 1874. There he met A. C. Benson (later Master of Magdalene College, 1915-1925), who became a lifelong friend, and with whom he was caned for making an indoor bonfire out of blotting paper.

1879-1883 - undergraduate at King's College, Cambridge. He won the Craven, Bell, and Porson scholarships, took a first in both parts of the classical tripos (1882–3), and was senior-chancellor's medallist. Both Inge and Benson were susceptible to bouts of acute depression, which Inge attributed to overwork.

After graduating Inge spent four years teaching at Eton but felt he was not suited to the role. In 1889 he became a fellow of Hertford College, Oxford, where he taught classics and developed an interest in philosophy.

1888 - ordained deacon but religious doubts meant that he did not proceed to the priesthood for four years.

1905 - appointed vicar of All Saints', Ennismore Gardens, in central London. The same year he married Mary Catharine (Kitty) Spooner (1880–1949). Her father was archdeacon of Canterbury, her uncle, William Spooner was warden of New College. This marriage was very successful, and Kitty succeeded in alleviating Inge's depression and in helping him to overcome his shyness.

1907-1911 - Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity and Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge.

1911-1934 - Dean of St Paul's. He hated choral music, found the daily services 'dreary and interminable’, and was often seen reading a book in his stall. As a modernist he was often at odds with his Anglo-Catholic canons. He had been appointed in order to revive the literary eminence which St Paul's had previously enjoyed and in this respect he was a great success. His writings attained their widest readership through his weekly columns in the Evening Standard, which ran, with some interruptions, from 1921 to 1946. These articles were on literary, political, and religious themes.

Between the wars - Inge was one of the most vociferous defenders of the rights of the middle classes. One of his most pressing social concerns was the shortage of domestic servants, which he called 'a matter of national importance'. Inge was also concerned that the working classes were breeding too fast and that unless measures were taken to stop them they would overwhelm the middle classes. His interest in eugenic theory had deepened through his friendship with Sir Francis Galton, and he served on the council of the Eugenics Society.

1920s - was a leading spokesman for the modernist wing of the Church of England, becoming president of the Modern Churchmen's Union (1924–34).

He was made CVO in 1918 and KCVO in 1930. He received a BD and DD from Cambridge in 1909, was an honorary fellow of several Oxford and Cambridge colleges and was elected FBA in 1921.

Inge and his wife Kitty had three sons and two daughters. In 1923 his 11 year old daughter, Paula, died of diabetes. HIs youngest son Richard was an undergraduate at Magdalene, 1934-1937 but was killed in an RAF training flight in 1941.

1934 - he retired to Brightwell Manor near Wallingford. He was not a pacifist but did oppose Britain's entry into the Second World War on the grounds that she had no quarrel with Germany. After the outbreak of war he continued to call for a negotiated peace.

26 February 1954 - he died at Brightwell Manor.

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