Maurice Large writes:

 “Our good friends Kathryn and David Garratt have sent me an extract from the diary of Dean Inge, the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral from 1911 and sometime known (unfairly) as the Gloomy Dean, an epithet bestowed on him by those whom he attacked as peddlers of what we would nowadays call “fake news”. In reality he was much in demand as a public speaker for his erudition, fluency, humour and passion. In his diary for 5th February 1934, Inge records:

“Dining with the Brotherhood I found that Herbert Henson (Bishop of Durham) was annoyed with me for approving of the invitation to a Unitarian to preach in Liverpool Cathedral. I have never read better sermons that those of J. H. Thom, a Unitarian divine, and Martineau’s books are of great apologetic value. I have never found much to differ from in my talks with Jacks, though he goes too far, in my opinion, with Loisy about the historical Christ. Surely there are many subjects on which an Anglican congregation might profit by sitting under a devout and thoughtful Unitarian, or a Quaker. I am all in favour of trying to close schisms, if it can be done without sacrifice of principle. I think an earlier Henson would have agreed with me. Mr. Redfern, the minister to whom the invitation was sent, came to see me; we talked for half an hour.”

L. P. Jacks (1860 – 1955) was a Unitarian minister, and sometime Principal of Manchester College (now Harris Manchester College) Oxford. Alfred Loisy was a French Roman Catholic priest whose works were introduced to British readers by Jacks. Lawrence Redfern (1888 – 1967) was also a notable Unitarian minister while John Hamilton Thom (1808 – 1894) was an Irish Unitarian minister. Both Jacks and Thom served as ministers at Renshaw Street Unitarian chapel, Liverpool, as at one time did our own George Harris before he came to Newcastle in 1845. Renshaw Street chapel closed in 1899 when the congregation moved to Ullet Road, Liverpool where Lawrence Redfern was at one time the minister. Their present minister is Philip Waldron, who was the recipient of our Barnes Award in 2015.

Thanks to Maurice Large, and Kathryn & David Garratt.