Francis Stainforth

An old engraving of All Hallows Staining where Stainforth and fellow philatelists used to meet.

The Reverend Francis John Stainforth (1797^[1] - 3 September 1866^[2]) was an early British philatelist and the Perpetual Curate of All Hallows Staining church in London where Mount Brown compiled large parts of his catalogue. The church was believed to be the one mentioned by Charles Dickens in Dombey & Son. Stainforth was a former Captain in the Bengal Cavalry before being ordained in 1830^[1] and licensed 5 December 1851.^[2]

Philatelic sources and Stainforth's death certificate all give his forenames as Francis John, however, an 1894 work by the Rev. A. Povah records his names as Frederick J.^[2]

Origins of The Royal Philatelic Society

Stainforth met at the Rectory in 9 Mark Lane, which adjoined the church, on Saturday afternoons with a group of like-minded collectors to pool their knowledge. Apart from Mount Brown, these included Dr. Charles W. Viner, Henry Haslett, Frederick Philbrick, William Hughes-Hughes and Sir Daniel Cooper.^[3] Stainforth in particular was said to have had a very fine collection which largely formed the basis for Brown's catalogue.^[4]

The group that met at the church were thought to be the most serious British collectors of the day and have been credited with being the nucleus that eventually formed The Philatelic Society, London, which subsequently became the Royal Philatelic Society London, the oldest philatelic society in the world. Stainforth was never a member of the Society as he died before it was formed in 1869.^[5]

References