Building Jerusalem – the life and times of Charles Sumner

Description

Farnham and its history were bound up with the Bishops of Winchester for more than a thousand years. Among these great prelates were many who became prominent political figures holding important offices of state, as well as presiding over of the biggest … and richest … of the dioceses of the Church. William Wykeham, Stephen Gardiner and many more played important roles in both Church and state. After the Reformation, the age of the great bishop-statesman was over. Of course prominent men continued to hold the great bishopric of Winchester, George Morley and Lancelot Andrewes for example. But with the eighteenth century a certain weariness began to affect the Church. In the nineteenth century the Ecclesiastical Commission began its assault on the inequitable division of church wealth and the Church was progressively reformed. Bishop Charles Sumner played an important role in this process of reform. He brought an energy and ability to the diocese of Winchester that harks back to the great days of the medieval bishops. Wealthy, well-educated, self-confident, a loving family man, a prodigious builder of churches and schools, he was, indeed, the ‘last of the prince-bishops’.

In this biography of Charles Sumner, the most comprehensive biography written since the nineteenth century, Bishop Chris Herbert brings his own knowledge of the episcopacy, deep theological understanding and a keen feel for the politics of Church and state. Those who have read his other works will know that the style is a delight. Erudite yet readable, this book means that at last we have a worthy account of a great man who, after some early conflicts, became a respected, even loved, figure. Farnham had no great nobleman to act as focus for civic pride, but they had Bishop Sumner. Both nationally, and locally, he performed his duties with aplomb.