Edward Drax Free

Edward Drax Free

The Reverend Edward Drax Free DD (1764-1843) was an English clergyman.

The youngest son of a clergyman, Edward Drax Free became a member of St John's College, Oxford, where he proceeded to the degrees of BA, MA, BD, and DD and was eventually elected to a Fellowship. He was also appointed Vicar of Oxford St Giles.

In Oxford he lived a very scandalous life and was on the verge of being expelled from St John's when he was appointed Rector of Sutton, Bedfordshire in 1808.

It is alleged that he stole the lead off his own church roof to sell for scrap. He also impregnated several of his housekeepers, allowed swine to desecrate the graveyard, and had been publicly abusive, both sober and drunk.

His downfall came when he had attempted to get the local lord (Burgoyne) fined for non-attendance at church using a law passed during the reign of Elizabeth I of England. He was removed from his living at the parish in 1830.

He died in 1843 when a cart hit him in a road accident.

Further reading

*R.B. Outhwaite, "Scandal in the church: Dr Edward Drax Free, 1764-1843" (London: Hambledon Press, 1997)
*Montagu Burgoyne, "A letter from Montagu Burgoyne to his brother churchwardens in the diocese of Lincoln, giving a summary account of the prosecution, conviction, and deprivation of the rev. dr. Edward Drax Free" (London: n.p., 1830)
*Edward Drax Free, "In his majesty's High court of delegates. The reverend Edward Drax Free against Montagu Burgoyne, an appeal from the Arches court of Canterbury" (London: n.p., 1830)

See also

Harold Davidson

External links

* [http://www.hambledon.co.uk/51651.htm Eddy Free]
* [http://www.foxearth.org.uk/blog/2005/02/rev-edward-drax-free.html More about Free]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Montagu Burgoyne — (19 July 1750  – 6 March 1836) was a politician of Essex.[1] Burgoyne was a younger son of Sir Roger Burgoyne, 6th Baronet (1710  – 1780) of Burgoyne of Sutton, Bedfordshire. He was a member of Trinity Hall, Cambridge where he gained… …   Wikipedia

  • List of University of Oxford people in religion — This is a list of University of Oxford people in religion. Many were students at one (or more) of the colleges of the University, and others held fellowships at a college. This list forms part of a series of lists of people associated with the… …   Wikipedia

  • Sutton, Bedfordshire — Sutton, Bedfordshire, is a small village to the south of Potton, England. Sutton falls under the postal town of Sandy and is also near the market town of Biggleswade.Sutton is well known for the Packhorse bridge and the neighbouring ford which… …   Wikipedia

  • Figuren in den New Gods Comics — Der folgende Artikel bietet einen Überblick über die Figuren der DC Comics Reihen über The New Gods von Jack Kirby, die seit den 1970er Jahren in den Comicserien Forever People, Jack Kirby s Fourth World, Mister Miracle, The New Gods und Orion… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ernle — was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the place where their estates lay. Origins OnomasticOnomasticians say that the surname s origin, in… …   Wikipedia

  • Silver Surfer — This article is about the comic book character. For other uses, see Silver Surfer (disambiguation). Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer #1 (Aug. 1968). Cover art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott. Pub …   Wikipedia

  • List of abbeys and priories in England — Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Article layout 2 Abbreviations and key …   Wikipedia

  • Radical environmentalism — Radical environmentalism, is a grassroots branch of the larger environmental movement that emerged out of an ecocentrism based frustration with the co option of mainstream environmentalism. It is the ideology behind the radical environmental… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Doctor Who villains — The War Chief redirects here. For the Age of Empires III expansion pack, see Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs. Zaroff redirects here. For the fictional Richard Connell villain, see The Most Dangerous Game. This is a list of villains from the… …   Wikipedia

  • heraldry — heraldist, n. /her euhl dree/, n., pl. heraldries. 1. the science of armorial bearings. 2. the art of blazoning armorial bearings, of settling the rights of persons to bear arms or to use certain bearings, of tracing and recording genealogies, of …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”