Robert Bickersteth
1816 -
15 April 1884

Family

Robert Bickersteth was the fourth son of Rev. John Bickersteth, Rector of Sapcote, Leicestershire, and of Henrietta Lang. He was the cousin of Edward Henry Bickersteth. In 1846 he married Elizabeth Garde, by whom he had four sons and one daughter.

Education

He graduated from Queen's College, Cambridge, in 1841.

Church Appointments and Service

Following his ordination, from 1841 to 1845 he, as a temporary curate, was moved about from one parish to another. In 1845 he was appointed to the incumbancy of St. John's, Clapham, from which he was transferred in 1851 to St. Giles's-in-the-Fields. In 1854 he was made canon residentiary and treasurer of the cathedral church of Salisbury, and in June 1857 was consecrated as Bishop of Ripon. He took an active part in parliamentary debates, opposing the disestablishment of the Irish Church, advocating the legalization of marriage with a deceased wife's sister, and promoting temperance.

Noteworthy Publications

He published his speech on the Irish Disestablishment Bill (1869) and several charges, sermons, lectures, tracts, and prefaces.

Footnote

"He was regarded as one of the leaders of the evangelical school, and was strongly opposed to the introduction of any ceremonies or doctrines not strictly in accord with the opinions of his party." -- DNB 2: 468