Edward White Benson: Difference between revisions
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[[File:AbpEdwardWhiteBenson.jpg|thumb|Edward White Benson]]'''Edward White Benson''' (1829–1896) was [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] from 1883 until his death. | [[File:AbpEdwardWhiteBenson.jpg|thumb|Edward White Benson]]'''Edward White Benson''' (1829–1896) was [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] from 1883 until his death. | ||
Benson was educated at King Edward's School, [[Birmingham]] and Trinity College, | Benson was educated at King Edward's School, [[Birmingham]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]. He was a schoolmaster at [[Rugby School]] and later the first headmaster of [[Wellington College]] before becoming Bishop of [[Truro]] (where he devised the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols) and then Archbishop of Canterbury. A story he told to [[Henry James]] became the basis of James's ghost story, ''The Turn of the Screw'', which was later adapted as an opera by [[Benjamin Britten]]. | ||
Benson is thought to have had suppressed homosexual tendencies: | Benson is thought to have had suppressed homosexual tendencies: | ||
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*[[E F Benson]], author of the [[Mapp and Lucia]] novels | *[[E F Benson]], author of the [[Mapp and Lucia]] novels | ||
*[[A C Benson]], who wrote the words to "Land of Hope and Glory" | *[[A C Benson]], who wrote the words to "Land of Hope and Glory" | ||
*[[R H Benson]], priest, author, and friend of Frederick Rolfe | *[[R H Benson]], priest, author, and friend of [[Frederick Rolfe]] | ||
*[[Margaret Benson]], author and amateur Egyptologist. | *[[Margaret Benson]], author and amateur Egyptologist. | ||
*[[Nellie Benson]], who (like her mother) had an affair with the composer [[Ethel Smyth]].<ref name=mail /> | *[[Nellie Benson]], who (like her mother) had an affair with the composer [[Ethel Smyth]].<ref name=mail /> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references> | <references/> | ||
[[Category:Clergy]] | [[Category:Clergy]] | ||
[[Category:1829 births]] | [[Category:1829 births]] | ||
[[Category:1896 deaths]] | [[Category:1896 deaths]] | ||
Latest revision as of 13:06, 10 July 2026
Edward White Benson (1829–1896) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death.
Benson was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was a schoolmaster at Rugby School and later the first headmaster of Wellington College before becoming Bishop of Truro (where he devised the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols) and then Archbishop of Canterbury. A story he told to Henry James became the basis of James's ghost story, The Turn of the Screw, which was later adapted as an opera by Benjamin Britten.
Benson is thought to have had suppressed homosexual tendencies:
- [His sister recalled] "his 'almost romantic attachment' to his headmaster and as a Cambridge undergraduate Benson himself confided in his diary a fear that 'I might on some sudden occasion be led into a step I might all my life repent'."[1]
Benson's wife, Mary Sidgwick, known as Minnie, was lesbian, and lived, after Edward’s death, with Lucy Tait, the daughter of her husband’s predecessor as Archbishop. Edward and Minnie had six children, none of whom married, and five of whom are thought to have been gay:
- E F Benson, author of the Mapp and Lucia novels
- A C Benson, who wrote the words to "Land of Hope and Glory"
- R H Benson, priest, author, and friend of Frederick Rolfe
- Margaret Benson, author and amateur Egyptologist.
- Nellie Benson, who (like her mother) had an affair with the composer Ethel Smyth.[1]