Transcript

of

The Rt. Rev. Alfred Earle, D.D. [Obituary]

Trans. Devon Assoc., vol. 51, (1917), pp. 40-41.

by

Maxwell Adams (Ed.)

Prepared by Michael Steer

The Obituary was read at the Association’s July 1919 Tiverton meeting. The deceased was Bishop of Marlborough from 1888 to his death. He was during his lengthy career,  vicar of West Alvington, South Huish, and South Milton and spent 15 years in Totnes, as the Archdeacon. He then became a rural dean and a Canon Residentiary of Exeter Cathedral. He was installed as Dean of Exeter on 28 August 1900, resigned the Deanery during 1918 and died at the end of that year at Torquay in the week following his 91st birthday. Bishop Earle was given a handsome memorial in Exeter cathedral. The obituary, from a copy of a rare and much sought-after journal can be downloaded from the Internet Archive. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. These books, on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.

Dr. Earle, who died at Torquay on the 28th December, 1918, at the age of ninety-one, was born in 1827, and was the son of Mr. Henry Earle, F.R.C.P., F.R.S., Surgeon-in-Ordinary to the late Queen Victoria. He was educated at Eton, and proceeded to Magdalen Hall (now Hertford College), Oxford, where he was Lushby Scholar. He graduated B.A. in 1854, and after spending some time at Wells Theological College was ordained by the Bishop of Salisbury deacon in 1858, and, priest in 1859. His title was as curate of St. Edmund's, Salisbury, where he remained until 1863, when he was made rector of Monkton Farleigh,. Wilts. From 1865 to 1877 he held the livings of West Alvington with South Milton, South Huish, and Marlborough, Devon, but in 1877 the two latter benefices were separated from the two former, of which Dr. Earle retained the vicariate for ten years. Having served the office of rural dean from 1867 to 1872, in the latter year he was appointed a prebendary of Exeter Cathedral and Archdeacon of Totnes. In January, 1888, it was announced that Dr. Temple, who was then Bishop of London, had nominated Archdeacon Earle as an additional bishop-suffragan for the Diocese of London, the only other bishop- suffragan at that time for the metropolis north of the Thames being the then Bishop of Bedford (Dr. Walsham How, afterwards Bishop of Wakefield). The title Bishop of Marlborough was chosen because it was one of the places mentioned in the Act of Henry VIII.
He was also presented by the Draper's Company to the well-endowed rectory of St. Michael, Cornhill, and eight years later he removed to the still more valuable rectory of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, when it was vacated by the death of the Rev. William Rogers. The fact of holding these rich City livings whilst his episcopal work lay at the West End of London, made Dr. Earle's position difficult, but in spite of these drawbacks he soon won his way into the affections of Church-people.
In 1890 he was appointed a prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral, but continued to serve as suffragan under Bishop Creighton, and in 1900 he accepted from the Crown the deanery of Exeter, which fell vacant through the death of Dr. Cowie, and he returned to the county where he had spent so many years of his ministerial life. He resigned the deanery in July, 1918. Dr. Earle rendered devoted service to the Church in the dioceses of both London and Exeter. He had a high ideal of the episcopal office, and discharged his duties with great conscientiousness and dignity.
He will perhaps be remembered best through his connection with the Colenso controversy when he was offered and refused the Bishopric of Petermaritzburg.
It is interesting to note that the first Dean of Exeter was appointed A.D. 1225, or 175 years after the See had been removed from Crediton to Exeter. Dr. Earle was the 62nd Dean of Exeter, and was the first Bishop to hold that office.
Dr. Earle joined the Association in 1901, but was President of the Association while he was Archdeacon of Totnes when it met at Kingsbridge in 1877.
Dr. Earle married a daughter of Mr. William Roope Ilbert who was Sheriff of Devon in 1837, who died February, 1911, and was buried at West Alvington.
His only surviving son is Lieutenant Colonel F. A. Earle of Bowringsleigh, near Kingsbridge, late of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, who served against the Turks in Egypt and Gallipoli. He is a J.P. and County Councillor for Devon.