35 Facts About Henry Raikes

Henry Raikes was an English cleric, chancellor of the diocese of Chester from 1830 to 1854.

Henry Raikes's father, Thomas, was a wealthy merchant, and his mother, Charlotte, was the granddaughter of the 7th Earl of Winchilsea.

Thomas Raikes had become wealthy through his own ability and enterprise.

Henry Raikes was born in Gloucester, where his father, Robert Raikes, had founded the Gloucester Journal.

Henry Raikes served on the committee of several charities, including the Society for Sunday Schools.

Henry Raikes was the only son to reject a career in banking and commerce.

When Henry Raikes was ten or eleven, he went to Eton School.

On 18 May 1800, Henry Raikes entered St John's College, Cambridge, where he cultivated valuable friendships but failed to apply himself wholeheartedly to his studies.

In 1806, Henry Raikes returned home to London via Gibraltar and Lisbon.

Henry Raikes indulged in the pleasures of London society and mixed with some eminent people.

On 16 March 1809, Henry Raikes married Augusta Whittington at St George's, Hanover Square, Westminster.

Henry Raikes was the daughter of Jacob John Whittington of Theberton Hall, Suffolk, a wealthy country squire.

Henry Raikes protected himself from disgrace by having nothing to do with his parents-in-law.

Henry Raikes's two oldest sons were born at Shillingstone; a third son and two daughters were born at Burnham.

In 1824, he inherited more property when his uncle and former tutor, Richard Henry Raikes, left him all his freehold and leasehold lands and buildings.

In 1828, Henry Raikes's prospects changed dramatically when his old friend, John Bird Sumner, was appointed Bishop of Chester.

In November 1830, Henry Raikes was appointed Chancellor of Chester following the death, at the age of 85, of the Rev Dr Thomas Parkinson, his non-resident predecessor who had not set foot in Chester for at least five years.

Henry Raikes delayed moving to Chester for more than a year, using the time to finish and publish Remarks on Clerical Education, a book that proved influential in its call for better training of ordinands.

Henry Raikes became so deeply involved in the running of the diocese that Charles Simeon, a prominent evangelical churchman, is supposed to have remarked that Chester enjoyed a double episcopacy.

Henry Raikes flourished in his new role, working hard and growing increasingly powerful.

Henry Raikes lived at Dee Side House, a fifteen-bedroom mansion near St John's churchyard overlooking the River Dee, staffed by six female and three male servants.

Henry Raikes was a leading contender to be the first Bishop of Manchester but lost out to James Prince Lee, the headmaster of King Edward's School, Birmingham.

Henry Raikes's departure meant the end of their close working relationship and the end of Raikes's term as Examining Chaplain.

Henry Raikes firmly believed in the doctrine of predestination but seldom referred to it in the pulpit.

Henry Raikes's evangelicalism is evident in the religious societies he supported.

Henry Raikes had many scholarly interests, including religion, history, and archaeology.

Henry Raikes was knowledgeable about the early Christian Fathers and Oriental learning.

Henry Raikes served as president of the Chester Architectural, Archaeological, and Historic Society and wrote articles for the society's journal.

Henry Raikes gave the Chetham Society access to early diocesan records and permitted them to publish the antiquarian notes of Bishop Gastrell.

Henry Raikes was active in restoring and preserving the cathedral and many churches.

In 1844, Henry Raikes agreed to edit a memoir of Vice-Admiral Sir Jahleel Brenton.

Henry Raikes died early on the morning of Tuesday, 28 November 1854, aged 72.

Henry Raikes's body was interred at Overleigh Cemetery on the following Tuesday.

Henry Raikes's coffin was covered in a plain black cloth and carried in a hearse drawn by four horses.

Henry Raikes's design was for a monumental tomb, twenty feet high, in the early English style.