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| “Reproduced
from the “Our Warwickshire” website © Warwickshire County Record
Office (reference CR 2902/84). Warwick Prison, to where the Revd Richard Enraght was taken under arrest on the 27 November 1880. (Prison demolished in 1934) |
The following transcript is from the Sheffield Daily Telegraph 29 November 1880:-
THE RITUALISTIC CONTROVERSY
ANOTHER CLERGYMAN ARRESTED
EXTRAORDINARY SCENE
The long-pending arrest of the Rev. R. W. Enraght, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Bordesley, took place on Saturday. Since the commitment of the Rev. Gentleman his arrest has been almost hourly expected, and the delay which has taken place has naturally excited considerable speculation in the district.
On Friday night the complainant’s solicitor wrote to Mr. Roper, the Sheriff’s officer for the Borough of Birmingham requesting that he would serve it at once.
On Saturday morning intelligence was received by Mr. Enraght that the writ would be brought over by the quarter past twelve train from Warwick. On this information being received, the following notice was posted on the board near the church railings – “Your Vicar will be arrested this afternoon at 1.30. Train leaves for Warwick Gaol at 2.4.”
A little crowd soon congregated on this announcement being made, and it is not a little remarkable that one of the first passer by to glance at the notice was Canon Wilkinson, who chanced to be walking along Camp Hill. As the hour for the arrest drew nigh, the crowd outside the church gradually increased, and, the original object of exhibiting the notice having been served, it was taken down.
Between twelve and one o’clock a number of Mr. Enraght’s most intimate friends arrived at the house to witness the departure for Warwick. Among the visitors were the Revs. C. Boddington, J. S. Pollock, W. Elwin, L. Taylor, G. F. B. Cross, Messrs. Clay and Harris (churchwardens).
Mr. Roper, the sheriff’s officer, arrived about one o’clock with the writ, ans was courteously ushered into the drawing-room, where he took up his stand until Mr. Enraght was in readiness to accompany him. The few minutes that remained passed away without any incident of note, Mr Enraght chatting pleasantly with his friends without appearing in the least degree disconcerted by the presence of the officer of the law. About twenty minutes to two Mr. Enraght having previously retired for a few minutes to complete his preparations, returned, wearing his cassock, and advancing up to the sheriff’s officer, announced his readiness to accompany him.
The sheriff’s officer, producing the writ, replied ; Mr. Enraght I have a warrant here to lodge your body in Warwick Gaol.
Mr. Enraght amidst the cheers of his friends, delivered the following address protest :- I solemnly protest in the name of God and of the Church of England against your arresting me or interfering with me in any way under the authority proceeding from the Court of Lord Penzance, whose jurisdiction over me in spiritual matters I do not acknowledge.
The sheriff’s officer pleasantly remarked that he must obey his instructions and take Mr. Enraght to Warwick Gaol. Mr. Enraght of course had his remedy afterwards. Mr. Harris, one of the churchwardens, addressing the sheriff’s office, said ; “in my name, and in the name of my colleague, I most emphatically protest against this arrest.”
The process of arrest having been completed, Mr Enraght and his friends filed out of the room into the churchyard, which was crowded, and there was another great concourse outside. The sheriff’s officer was among the first to pass down the churchyard, and he was enabled to reach the street unrecognised. Immediately the Vicar appeared among the crowd there was a tremendous cheer, accompanied by deep groans for a certain member of the congregation who instituted the proceedings which now culminated in the arrest.
A number of the congregation
pressed forward to shake hands with the Vicar, who must have felt
extremely gratified with his reception. On reaching the churchyard
gate the Vicar motioned to the crowd that he wished to address them,
and immediately there were cries of “Silence” and “Hats
off.”
The Rev. Gentleman spoke in a firm, clear voice, a few
words of exhortation and hope. The Doxology was then sung by the
crowd, amidst great excitement the Vicar and the Sheriff’s officer,
accompanied by the churchwardens, proceeded to Bordesley station,
where they left for Warwick by the 2.4 train.
Mr. Enraght, who had been hourly expected during the morning, arrived at Warwick by the 2.50 train. He was accompanied by about thirty friends, amongst them being his churchwardens, Messrs. Harris and Clay, Rev. James Pollock, Rev. T. L. Taylor, Curate of St Andrew’s Bordesley, Mr. Rowland Bagnall, Mr. Playne, Mr. Farley, secretary to the Birmingham Branch of the English Church Union ; Mr. Whitworth, secretary to Church of England Working Men’s Society ; Mr. H. T. Ratcliffe, churchwarden of St Alban’s ; Mr. Pearce, secretary Midland District Church Union, and Messrs. Norman Perkins and Fairley, representing the congregation of St. Nicholas, Tower Street.
The Rev. Gentleman was met at the station by the Rev. Dr. Nicholson, of Christ Church, Leamington, with whom he shook hands most cordially, remarking those around him, “We are not Ritualists, but simply Churchmen.”
Mr. Enraght at his own desire, proceeded on foot to Warwick Gaol, a distance of half a mile, and upon reaching the prison exchanged a farewell with his friends outside the gaol. He looked somewhat anxious, but appeared in excellent spirits.
Just before entering the prison, Mr. Enraght knelt upon the stones and received a blessing at the hands of the Rev. Dr. Nicholson. A large crowd had meanwhile assembled and cheered Mr. Enraght enthusiastically.
During Sunday several persons called at the prison lodge and left their cards for the Rev. Gentleman. Mr Enraght is said to be in excellent spirits. He is imprisoned as a first-class misdemeanant.
The services at Holy trinity were
yesterday conducted in the precise way adopted by Mr. Enraght and for
which he is now lying in Warwick Gaol. It is not intended to deviate
in the slightest degree from the pronounced Ritual services of the
imprisoned Vicar. At both morning and evening services the church was
densely crowded.
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copyright © PCC of St Alban and St Patrick, Highgate, Birmingham. From the Governor, H. M. Prison Warwick, 29th November 1880.
To:- Revd James Benson Pollock, St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham, You
are allowed to visit The Rev. R. W. Enraght between 2 and 5 on any Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Please
present this Order. John M. Anderson, Governor. |
Mr John Anderson, the Governor of Warwick Prison, who was no High Churchman, said of Fr Enraght to one of his visitors: "The sooner that gentleman is out, sir, the better, for he is altogether in the wrong place". For nearly two months he was kept in Warwick Prison, and during that time a great meeting was held, when Birmingham Town Hall was filled from end to end, and so many came from far and near to protest against the imprisonment; the singing of the Church's one Foundation at the end was something impressive and touching.
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The following letter from Mr. W. Perrins (a Birmingham Jeweller) to the London Church Review, gives an account of the arrest of the Revd. Richard Enraght on 27th November 1880 :-
SIR, Will you kindly permit me to send you a short account of the wonderful scenes that took place at the arrest of our dear friend Mr. R. W. Enraght?
Mr. Dale was taken to prison at night, when but few could see or hear about it, but had we been able to choose our own time, we could scarcely have chosen better. Though it was only known one hour before the arrest, yet so earnest were his friends in their sympathy and devotion that by the time the arrest took place, half-past one P.M., a vast crowd, numbering about two or three thousand persons, assembled, who showed the deepest sympathy with the persecuted vicar.
I arrived upon the scene a few minutes before the vicar left the house, and such a scene I never saw before, and perhaps may never see such a one again. Ladies, with tears in their eyes and quivering lips and anxious faces, thronged around the door; and one gray-haired old man I spoke to burst into tears and said, "Ah, Sir, this is religious liberty in England." There were many working men of the congregation, with their dirty, but sympathetic faces, who had rushed from their work to bid a farewell to one they so loved and venerated, and all looked as though each heart was full.
Before leaving the house the vicar read a solemn protest against his arrest (a copy of which and address I enclose), and then came out accompanied by the Rev. J. Pollock and C. Bodington arm-in-arm, several other clergymen and friends, including the two churchwardens, bringing up the rear.
The vicar, walking to his gate, paused on the step and indicated that he wished to speak to the vast crowd, and then he gave the memorable address, which those who heard will not in a hurry forget. The emotion of the people was intense. We could hardly imagine we were in the nineteenth century, for as we stood after the address to sing the doxology, it seemed like the early Christians going to their martyrdom; but the most touching part of all up to the present was at the close of the singing. The assembly bared their heads, and those around knelt upon the pavement while the vicar pronounced a most solemn benediction. The prisoner then walked to the railway-station, followed by the vast crowd, who cheered most lustily, occasionally giving a hearty groan for "Perkins," etc., etc. During the whole of the proceedings I did not see or hear one dissentient.
The vast crowd of course could not get into the station, in fact very few, or else many would doubtless have gone to Warwick with the prisoner. As it was, about thirty friends went, including the Rev. J. Pollock and the two churchwardens, who, to whose honour, be it said, never left the prisoner till he arrived at the gate of the jail. Immediately we left the train at Warwick the vicar was met by the Rev. Dr. Nicholson, of Leamington, who took the prisoner by the arm and did not leave his side until we reached the gate, walking all the way. The road from the station is a rather lonely one, up and down hill, and as we started upon it the vicar exclaimed, "We are not Ritualists, but simple Churchmen."
I then thought, for the first time, he looked lonely, but as though the Divine eye was watching him in his trouble, the rainbow appeared in its beauty, bidding him hope and trust in One who has said, "I will not leave thee nor forsake thee," "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." The vicar's friends had taken care that the luggage should be substantial, but right willingly was it carried by those present, as though each was anxious to do what he could for the one who was to be cast into a prisoner's cell.
Before we reached the Jail we were met by the Rev. S. Harris, of Leicester Hospital, Warwick, who in an excited manner called for cheers for the prisoner, remarking that "that was the reward of hard work and faithful service, also an answer to the question why we could not get more candidates for holy orders." As we drew near the prison gate the vicar let down his cassock so that he might enter as a Priest. At the gate he shook hands with us all, Dr. Nicholson saying, "Let us give him the blessing before he enters," and there, upon the damp stones, the prisoner knelt, and the white-haired doctor, with uplifted hand, pronounced the most solemn benediction I think I ever heard.
Our dear friend then entered the prison-gates, his last words being "The Lord be with you." We could not help responding, "And with thy spirit."
So ended the arrest of one of the best men who ever suffered for his Master, and the impression it has left upon our minds seems to be "disestablishment," for it is too great a price to pay for the advantages of being united to the State.
W. PERRINS.
BIRCHFIELDS, BIRMINGHAM,
Feast of St. Andrew, 1880.
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| (Illustration from the Birmingham Daily Post 28th November 1880)
Fr Richard
Enraght entering Warwick Prison in chains, handing a bag entitled,
"Paraphernalia of Ritualism" to his Curate, the Revd Warwick Elwin
(later
to become the Vicar of St. Andrew the Apostle, Worthing, Sussex.) The names of the Revd T. P. Dale and Revd F. Green appear on the other cell doors. (Dale and Green did not serve their prison sentences at Warwick, the cell doors were added by the artist to enforce the 'Religious Liberty' point in the 'wall text') |
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Fr.
Enraght’s imprisonment became widely known in the USA. On the 19th
December 1880, a sermon was preached in St. Ignatius Church in New York, by the Revd Dr.
Ewer, S.T.D
on the subject of 'The Imprisonment of English Priests for Conscience Sake', he praised the English priests stand, as "simply a
determined resistance to a violation of Magna Charta, and was proud to
make common cause with them, so far as is possible, from this distance,
and feeling that when one member of the Catholic Church suffers, all the
members suffer with him". the text of this sermon was printed in full
in the New York Herald and New York Tribune the following morning.
(There were also four other priests who served prison sentences in
England:- Arthur Tooth, T. Pelham Dale, Sidney Faithorn Green and James
Bell Cox).
While in prison Fr Enraght received a letter of support from the Conference of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament in the USA, "to express the sympathy of the Conference for Fr R. W. Enraght in his incarceration for conscience’s sake."
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The Revd Prof. Edward Bouverie Pusey wrote a letter to the editor of The Times defending both Fr Richard Enraght and Fr Alexander Heriot Mackonochie saying, they have not been struggling for themselves but for their people. The Ritualists do not ask to interfere with devotion of others ….only to be allowed, in their worship of God, to use a Ritual which a few years ago no one disputed. [34] Over the Christmas period of his imprisonment Fr Enraght also received many letters of support and goodwill from his own and former parishioners around the Country as well as Christmas Cards from children in Bordesley [35]
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A Mr. G. Wakelin’s recollections of the events surrounding Fr Enraght’s imprisonment where such:-
“To
describe his leaving the vicarage where his people had ever found in
himself and Mrs. Enraght helpers in all times of need and trouble, is
beyond my power; most pathetic and touching was the going to Warwick
Prison. His friends, and even those who had to carry out the sentence,
were far more touched and overcome than was the vicar himself, who went
through it with a calm fixed patience, with thorough cheerfulness and
resignation".
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| The text above, is from an 1880 protest poster against the Public Worship Regulation Act [58] This poster was attached to walls and hoardings around England, to express the continuing public opposition to the Public Worship Regulation Act. A copy of this poster was also fixed to a wall close to Lambeth Palace, which greatly annoyed Archbishop Tait of Canterbury. |
SEE:- 'Revd Richard Enraght 1874-1883 Bordesley' page
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*N.B. because of his active opposition to the Conservative Government's Public Worship Regulation Act., the Revd Richard Enraght, his wife Dorothea, and their six young children were evicted at Easter 1883, from their Bordesley Vicarage by order of the Lord Bishop of Worcester.
The Enraght Family with the help of the Church Union, moved to Brighton in Sussex, where Fr Enraght could continue his ministry helping his former vicar, Fr Wagner of St Paul's Brighton.
See the 'My Ordinations Oaths' page, written by Revd Richard Enraght while in Warwick Prison in December 1880.
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Transcriptions by D. Sharp 2025