Edward Stuart Talbot
The Bishop and the fancy top hat
I was in the Antique market yesterday on a very rainy day in Toronto and came across the illustration in this post (it’s a partial from the full size picture). I was able to liberate it (a vintage original print) for a very reasonable price.
Of course I was attracted to the very shiny top hat on the clergyman. It has an interesting design. There seems to be some kind of supports for the brim or perhaps to give the brim a turned up shape? I could not tell it was a curiosity to me. Perhaps some expert can tell us about this top hat design? As well I am very interested in characters in general and this man seemed like an interesting person.
The man was Edward Stuart Talbot who lived a long life from Feb 1844 to January 1933. He is pictured at the age of sixty when he was the Bishop of Rochester (a place in the County of Kent in England). His career in the church was very notable. He was vicar of Leeds and at one time honorary Chaplin to Queen Victoria. The following was said of him at the time of the picture.
He is a fine scholar, theological and otherwise, who won a first (first class honors degree) in Greats (the classics) and another in the old school of Law and modern History; and consequently he has written much good work. Though he is a little lame he is very fond of travelling; and though he is not beautiful he is nevertheless an ornament to his bishopric….he may be confidently expected to rise yet higher in the spiritual world.
In summary an egg head and an interesting character that he was not beautiful seemed somewhat of an understatement but he sure looks interesting. He wore his hat well!
He went on to be the very first Bishop of Southwark in London the next year (1905). In 1911 he became Bishop of Winchester until 1923 (he would have been around 80 when he retired – a real gamer). RIP Bishop Talbot – read more about him at this link.
The bishopric of Rochester goes back a very long time (to 604 AD). The current incumbent has generated a great deal of controversy about his views on the Muslim religion his name is Michael Nazir-Ali a man with both British and Pakistani citizenship.
If you would like a full size reproduction of this image suitable for framing you can obtain it from All Posters -an affiliate of this blog. See the top left side bar on the Many Hatty Returns website it is number 1881938 when you get to the All Posters link. All posters.com has a large number of interesting posters on offer -please support this blog by purchasing a few. If you are lucky you will have a day on which there are substantial discounts. You can also click on the link below.
Edward Stuart Talbot Bishop of (In Turn) Rochester Southwark and Winchester
