William Sewell

William Henry Sewell (23 January 180414 November 1874), English divine and author, helped to found two public schools along high church Anglican lines. A devout churchman, learned scholar and reforming schoolmaster, he was strongly influenced by the Tractarians. Early life Born at Newport, Isle of Wight, the second son of a solicitor and Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford, he had six brothers, four of whom became national figures. Richard Clarke Sewell was a recognised poet, legal writer and Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. Henry Sewell worked in the family firm before emigrating to become Premier of New Zealand. James Edwards Sewell was Warden of New College, Oxford (1860–1903). Elizabeth Missing Sewell wrote devotional religious books and children's stories. She founded Ventnor St Boniface School for girls. Sewell was educated at Winchester, which he disliked as he was bullied. He went up to Merton College, Oxford, where he gained a postmastership and a first in Literae Humaniores. He was elected a Petreian Fellow of Exeter College in 1827, and then won both the Chancellor's English Essay Prize and the Chancellor's Latin Essay Prize. He was only 26 when he was ordained. From 1831 to 1853 he was a tutor at Exeter College, an Examiner in Greats, Librarian to the college, Sub-Rector, and by 1839 also Dean. Tractarians In 1835 Sewell applied for the Headmastership of Winchester, but was defeated by Dr Moberley by one vote. From 1836 to 1841 he was White's Professor of Moral Philosophy. Sewell, having taken holy orders in 1830, became a friend of Pusey, Newman, Keble and R. H. Froude in the earlier days of the Tractarian movement, but subsequently found that the Tractarians leant too much towards Rome and dissociated himself from them. The plot of his novel Hawkstone opposed to Newman's position at the time. When, however, in 1849, JA Froude published his Nemesis of Faith, Sewell denounced the wickedness of the book to his class, and when a pupil of his confessed to possessing a copy, he seized it, tore it to pieces and threw it in the fire.