Edwin H. Dodgson - Early Life and Ordination

Early Life and Ordination

Edwin Dodgson was born in Croft-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, the eleventh and youngest child of the Rev. Charles Dodgson, Vicar of Croft and Archdeacon of Richmond, and his wife Frances Jane Dodgson, née Lutwidge. His second Christian name is a tribute to Canon George Heron, a Cheshire friend of Archdeacon Dodgson.

Edwin's mother died when he was four years old and he was raised by his maiden aunt Lucy Lutwidge. He was educated at Twyford and in 1860 he went to Rugby, where the Headmaster was Frederick Temple, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury. He worked briefly for the Board of Trade before entering Chichester Theological College in September 1871. The college was Anglo-Catholic, a tradition which Edwin held dear, to the chagrin of his elder brother Charles.

He was ordained deacon in 1873, and priest in 1874, and served his first curacy at Odd Rode in the Diocese of Chester. Following this he served as curate at Helmsley (1875-1877), and at All Saints, Shrewsbury (1877-1879). His subsequent ministry was one of self-sacrifice and dedication, marred by ill health and depression.