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SOME OUT-OF-THE-ORDINARY CLERICS
Many clergy have traditionally been known as eccentrics or as researchers of antiquities: Thomas, Rector of Exhall in his continuing work on Dugdale's 'Antiquities of Warwickshire' came into the latter category. In our area we seem to have had a shortage of the former. 'Characters', however, we have had and none stranger than Haselor's vicar of the mid 19th century, Cornelius Griffin. The Rev. Frank Wain, a recent incumbent of that parish, who has made a study of Griffin,puts down his peculiarities to a psychological illness namely a persecution complex. He was suspicious of authority, even his own churchwardens, whom he believed were working against him. Griffin was locked out of church by them, spent a time in the debtors' prison in Warwick and, as a quite elderly man, lived in his own church. His is a sad story, undoubtedly the result of his own imperfections. One day, some-one will surely put Griffins' life to paper and how fascinating it will be.
A very different man was Henry Teongue, one time Rector of Alcester after the Restoration of Chas. 2nd. He left the town for Spernall but wherever he was,he was assailed by debts, the assumption bein9 that gambling was the primary cause. If Griffin's introspective , Tongue was the opposite -- he was flamboyant, he was active and decisive, he had a sense of humour and his diary tells us that he was an old cavalier -- and we are not surprised. His time aboard two of Charles il's warships as chaplain is of the utmost interest. He sprinkles his writings with verses and his love of good food is apparent from them. An example of 1675:-
God bless King Charles; the Duke of York; The Royal Family:
From Turks and Jews that eat no pork Good Lord deliver me.'
Henry was a bit of a clerical scoundrel but one we would probably have taken to.John Chambers was also of Spernall, incumbent from 1799 -1836. He and his brother before him had the living for 73 years. John came from a family of gentlemen (the Chambers of Gorcott Hall) and continued the family ways at the Rectory e.g. some of his supplies he had sent from Birmingham; things such as oysters, lobsters, nectarines, oranges, grapes, pheasants, woodcock, venison, bacon and ham. The heaviest expenditure was on port and sherry. The early 19th century was one of those times when gentlemen went into the church if they had nothing better to do.
© G.E. Saville