The Prime Minister's Son: Stephen Gladstone, Rector
of Hawarden
Ros Aitken
University of Chester £14.99
(978-1-908258-01-4)
Church Times Bookshop £13.50
(Use code CT524)
The architect of St Deiniol's (now Gladstone's) Library, John
Douglas, built a chapel on the north side of the chancel of
Hawarden Church in 1906. This was to accommodate the extraordinary
monument to W. E. Gladstone, the Grand Old Man of British politics,
and his wife, Catherine. Three years in the making, Sir William
Richmond's sculpture of the couple lying in the Boat of Life is too
large for its allotted space, forcing the visitor to squeeze
awkwardly around it - a fit symbol for the parental cramping of a
tender son, which is the central theme of this book.
Even though Stephen Gladstone had resigned the living of
Hawarden three years earlier, it seems extraordinary that his
siblings and brother-in-law did not consult him about the scheme,
after more than three decades of devoted service. But then
Stephen's diffidence provides the base of Ros Aitken's
narrative.
Handicapped by poor eyesight and a sense of inadequacy as the
second son, and later the heir to the great statesman and
intellectual who presided at Hawarden Castle, Stephen nevertheless
managed, by sheer hard work, to survive a ghastly prep school,
followed by Eton and Christ Church, finally gaining his father's
respect when he was ordained and served as curate in a mixed parish
in Lambeth.
When the valuable living of Hawarden suddenly fell vacant (his
clerical uncle, Henry, was struck by lightning), it was inevitable
that the mantle would fall on Stephen, inexperienced and nervous
though he was when confronted with the prospect of a large and
expanding parish at the age of only 28. His father showed laudable
paternal interest in all that he did.
Unfortunately, he also interfered, particularly during
parliamentary recesses and when in opposition. Rattling around in
the large rectory at Hawarden, close to the church and only a brisk
walk from the castellated parental home, Stephen struggled to gain
the approval of both parishioners and family. In the end, he
largely succeeded, very much against the odds, and marriage brought
happiness and a fulfilling family life, in which he himself was now
paterfamilias.
The Prime Minister's Son is written in an informal
style, and tells an engaging story with a special appeal to the
hard-pressed parish priest, or long-suffering clergy spouse. More
valuable for its biographical insights and discoveries about life
in a Victorian parish than for its forays into wider ecclesiastical
history, the book is the work of a former teacher whose father
attended the training college that is now the University of
Chester, in the 1930s. Today, Aitken revels in the glories of
Gladstone's Library, and often contributes to the annual seminar
known as the Gladstone Umbrella.
Professor Wheeler's most recent book is St John and the
Victorians (Cambridge University Press, 2011).