Henry St John Stirling Woollcombe

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Henry St John Stirling Woollcombe[1] (27 December 18691 December 1941) was the inaugural Bishop of Whitby from 1923[2] until 1939; and also of Selby. Born into a clerical family[3], he was educated at Clifton College and Keble College, Oxford before being ordained in 1895. After a curacy in Stepney he became head of the Oxford House University Settlement in nearby Bethnal Green. A brief spell as chaplain to the Archbishop of York was followed by a decade as the parish priest of Armley. Promotion to be the Sub Dean of Diocese of Coventry in 1922 was swiftly followed by elevation to the episcopate [4]. After 16 years at Whitby he made a sideways move to become Bishop of Selby- a post he held only for 18 months[5]. His Times obituary noted his capacity for "getting on with and getting the best out of all conditions of men[6].

Church of England titles
Preceded by
Inaugural appointment
Bishop of Whitby
1923 – 1939
Succeeded by
Harold Evelyn Hubbard
Preceded by
Inaugural appointment
Bishop of Selby
1939 – 1940
Succeeded by
Carey Frederick Knyvett

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Genealogical Progency
  2. ^ “Who was Who” 1897-1990 London, A & C Black, 1991 ISBN 071363457X
  3. ^ His nephew was later Bishop of Oxford
  4. ^ The Times, Saturday, Aug 04, 1923; pg. 9; Issue 43411; col A "Canon Woollcombe, Sub Dean of St Michael’s Cathedral Church, Coventry to be inaugural Bishop of Whitby"
  5. ^ The Times, Friday, Jun 21, 1940; pg. 9; Issue 48648; col D "Ecclesiastical News The Bishop Of Selby Resigning."
  6. ^ The Times, Tuesday, Dec 02, 1941; pg. 7; Issue 49098; col E "Dr H Woollcombe, late Bishop of Selby"