William Sewell (author)

William Henry Sewell (23 January 1804–14 November 1874), English divine and author helped to found two public schools along High Anglican lines. A devout churchman, learned scholar, and reforming schoolmaster, Sewell was strongly influenced by the Tractarians. Born on the 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 Sewell wrote devotional religious books and children's stories. She founded Ventnor St Boniface School for girls.

He was educated at Winchester which he disliked because 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. Still aged only twenty-six he was ordained into Holy Orders. From 1831-1853 was a tutor there, an Examiner in Greats, Librarian to the College, Sub-Rector, and by 1839 he was also Dean. In 1835 he tried for the Headmastership of Winchester but was defeated by Dr Moberley by just one vote. From 1836-1841 he was White's Professor of Moral Philosophy. Sewell, who took holy orders in 1830, was a friend of Pusey, Newman, Keble and R.H. Froude in the earlier days of the Tractarian movement, but subsequently considered that the Tractarians leaned too much towards Rome, and dissociated himself from them, his novel Hawkstone being 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 one of his pupils confessed to the possession of a copy, seized it, tore it to pieces, and threw it in the fire. He was a prolific writer of numerous sermons, commentaries, poetry and translations. There were also a large number of correspondents inckuding William Gladstone. He contributed to the political magazine Quarterly Review on subjects that interested him. Sewell was supremely confident, had a winning manner, but lacked the drole humour of the cloistered acacemics.

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