Episode 26. Stewart Headlam

SYNOPSIS

Banished from the priesthood and from Anglican service amongst the poor in Bethnal Green for his unconventional views by the Bishop of London , Stewart Headlam (1847-1924) was arguably the most pioneering and tenacious Christian socialist of his generation. He had been greatly influenced whilst at Cambridge University by the personality and theology of F.D. Maurice, the great progenitor of Christian Socialism at the time of the Chartist revolt in 1848. The founder of the Church and Stage Guild in 1879 at a time when a bishop might feel obliged to attend a theatrical performance incognito, Headlam was an enthusiastic supporter not only of Shakespeare for school children, but of music hall and ballet.

Two years earlier in 1877 he had founded the Guild of St Matthew (GSM) to endeavour to “justify God to the people” particularly secularists; to promote “frequent and reverent worship in the Holy Communion”; and to promote “the study of social and political questions in the light of the Incarnation”. Despite a membership which never exceeded three hundred and sixty of whom about a quarter were clergy, the GSM exhibited an impact well beyond its size, prefiguring more moderate and influential bodies such as the Christian Social Union. Headlam combined somewhat autocratic control of his Guild with periods on the Executive Committee of the Fabian Society between 1890 and 1911, and a seat on the London School Board between 1881 and 1903. Even after the demise of the GSM in 1909, Headlam continued with his political activism as Progressive member of London County Council until his death.

GUEST

Professor John Orens is Professor of History at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. His principal research interest is British intellectual history, particularly the relations between religious ideas and politics. He is the author of Stewart Headlam’s Radical Anglicanism (2003). Whilst undertaking research on Headlam, John became friendly with the radical East End priest Kenneth Leech, visiting London to attend the centenary celebrations of the founding of the Guild of St Matthew in 1977.

John’s interview with Simon Machin was recorded online on 22 March 2023.