William James Hughes DD[1] (1894 – 5 December 1979) was an Anglican Bishop in the mid 20th-century[2].
Born in 1894, Hughes was educated at the University of Leeds and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree.[3] He was ordained Deacon in 1921 and Priest in 1922 after a course of study at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield.[4] After a period as curate at St Matthew's, Leicester[5] he was appointed Priest in charge at St Hilda's, Leicester.[6] From there, he moved to become Vicar of St Benedict, Bordesley[7] after which he was appointed Rector then Dean of St George's Cathedral, Georgetown, Guyana.[8]
In 1944, Hughes was appointed Bishop of British Honduras.[9] After a very short time in this post, he was translated to Barbados[10], during which time he set up the Barbados Church Association to prepare for disestablishment.[11][12] In 1951, he returned to England[13] to be Vicar of St. George's Church, Edgbaston[14] with the additional title of Assistant Bishop of Birmingham. He was also made an honorary Canon of Birmingham Cathedral.[15] Two years later, however, he was enthroned as the first Bishop of Matabeleland.[16][17] During his time in Matabeleland, he became known for his dry comments on the administration of the region – for example, when it was proposed to have a second capital at Bulawayo, he offered this quote from W. S. Gilbert: "Ambassadors cropped up like hay, Prime Ministers and such they grew as asparagus in May and Dukes were three a penny."[18] After four years, he became the Archbishop of Central Africa.[19]
In 1957, he was awarded a Lambeth degree by Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury.[20] He was a Sub-Prelate of the Order of St John of Jerusalem from 1958[21] and in 1961 he was translated for the final time to Trinidad.[22][23] He retired in 1970 to Canada, where he continued to minister at Holy Trinity, Port Burwell, Ontario.[24][25] He died whilst visiting friends in Harare on 5 December 1979.[26]
| Anglican Communion titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Norman Smith |
Rector & Sub-Dean of St George's, Georgetown 1930– 1937 |
Succeeded by Not replaced |
| Preceded by Oswald Hutton Parry |
Deans of St George's Cathedral, Georgetown 1937– 1944 |
Succeeded by Frank Thatcher |
| Preceded by Edward Arthur Dunn |
Bishop of British Honduras 1944– 1945 |
Succeeded by Douglas John Wilson |
| Preceded by David Williams Bentley |
Bishop of Barbados 1945 – 1951 |
Succeeded by Gay Lisle Griffith Mandeville |
| Preceded by Arthur Hamilton Baynes |
Assistant Bishop of Birmingham 1951– 1953 |
Succeeded by George Sinker |
| Preceded by Inaugural appointment |
Bishop of Matabeleland 1953– 1961 |
Succeeded by Kenneth John Fraser Skelton |
| Preceded by Edward Francis Paget |
Archbishop of Central Africa 1957– 1961 |
Succeeded by Francis Oliver Green-Wilkinson |
| Preceded by Frank Noel Chamberlain |
Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago 1961– 1970 |
Succeeded by Clive Orminston Abdulah |
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