The Right Reverend Reginald Heber |
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Bishop of Calcutta | |
Church | Church of England |
Diocese | Calcutta |
Orders | |
Ordination |
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Consecration | 1 June 1823 (bishop) |
Personal details | |
Nationality | British |
Denomination | Anglican |
Spouse | Amelia (m. 1809) |
Children | 2 daughters |
Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English bishop, man of letters and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Bishop of Calcutta until his death at the age of 42. The son of a rich landowner and cleric, Heber gained fame at the University of Oxford as a poet. After graduation he made an extended tour of Scandinavia, Russia and Central Europe. Ordained in 1807, he took over his father's old parish, Hodnet, Shropshire. He also wrote hymns and general literature, including a study of the works of the 17th-century cleric Jeremy Taylor. He was consecrated Bishop of Calcutta in October 1823. He travelled widely and worked to improve the spiritual and general living conditions of his flock. Arduous duties, a hostile climate and poor health led to his collapse and death after less than three years in India. Memorials were erected there and in St Paul's Cathedral, London. A collection of his hymns appeared soon after his death. One, "Holy, Holy, Holy", remains popular for Trinity Sunday.
The surname "Heber" probably derives from "Haybergh", a hill in the Craven district of Yorkshire, where the family originated. The Hebers held the lordship of the manor of Marton, and were granted a coat of arms during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1752 Richard Heber received the manor and estate of Hodnet Hall in Shropshire as a bequest from a cousin of his wife. This included patronage of the parish of Hodnet. On Richard Heber's death in 1766 his brother Reginald, who was co-rector of the parish of Malpas in Cheshire, inherited the Shropshire estate and additionally became rector of Hodnet. His first marriage, to Mary Baylie, produced a son, Richard Heber, who became a noted book collector and Member of Parliament for Oxford University. His second marriage to Mary Allanson, after Mary Baylie's death, produced two further sons, the elder, born at Malpas on 21 April 1783, being named Reginald after his father.