Rev. J. S. Treglown

Vicar of Deopham 1895 – 1930

1. Before Deopham:
2. 1895 Appointment to Deopham
3. 1896 Domestic Help needed
4. 1903 Death of Daughter
5. 1930 Retirement
6. Ending of Deopham responsibilities
   1. August 6th 1930
   2. October 15th 1930
7. Summary of his life
8. 1949 Death
9. The 1905 Declaration, signed by Treglown:

Before Deopham:

1895 Appointment to Deopham

Rev John Samuel Treglown arrived in Deopham on March 23rd 1895 at the age of 34. He had been born in Cornwall, and previously served a curacy in Herne Bay. He must have been well outside his comfort zone as an isolated country parish priest. He served in Deopham from 1895 to 1930. In 1931 he studied for his M.A. immediately after leaving this parish and moved to the diocese of Chichester. During his time in Deopham, he also held a post as a lecturer in Wymondham. With this academic leaning and a declared sympathy with scholars who understood that the gospels could not be taken as history (see the 1905 declaration below), he would not have found much common ground with the Primitive Methodists who made up the majority of the village’s population at that time.

1896 Domestic Help needed

On June 20^th 1896 Mrs Treglown advertised for help:

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1903 Death of Daughter

There was correspondence with the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (who were responsible for the chancel) about erecting a marble slab in memory of Ethel. Whilst no objection was raised in principal, the memorial never seems to have been erected.

Both of his sons – Claude and Gordon – served in the forces during the first world war, as Captain and Lieutenant respectively.

By 1920 it appears that he was comfortable with the Primitive Methodists. The EDP of Dec 8th 1923 records:-

On Wednesday a concert was given in the Church House, Deopham, in aid of the Primitive Methodist Sunday School and Choir Funds. The Rev. Treglown presided, and Mrs. C. Leverett was the organiser. Songs were given by the Misses Osborne and Barnard (Attleborough), Mrs. Sutton (Deopham), Messrs. Hart and Jackson (Attleborough), violin and ‘cello solos by Mr. Whitworth (Attleborough). A sketch was given by Mrs. and Miss Etheridge and Miss E. Leverett. Miss Harwood (Hingham) presided at the piano.

1930 Retirement

Image courtesy of Lambeth Palace Library

Ending of Deopham responsibilities

August 6th 1930

The following letter was addressed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners:

Image courtesy of Lambeth Palace Library

October 15th 1930

Although now retired from life in Deopham and resident outside the parish, he was paid a pension by Deopham Parish.

Summary of his life

1949 Death

Rev. John Samuel Treglown died in Sussex in 1949. the following announcement appeared in the Worthing Herald of August 26th 1949:

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The 1905 Declaration, signed by Treglown:

The Clergy and Biblical Criticism

We, the undersigned clergymen of the Church of England,—observing 

(a) on the one hand, the present unsettled condition of Religious opinion, which, while due in the main to the general trend of modern thought, specially connects itself for the clergy with the critical study of the New Testament, and 

(b) on the other hand, a counter tendency to treat the full discussion of many questions arising from such study as inadmissible for our Church, and so to commit us as a body to non-critical views of the New Testament Scriptures,—desire to record:-

(1) Our sense of the grave and manifold religious issues involved in the present critical discussions, and of the urgent need for English Churchmen to combine an earnest faith in the Holy Spirit Who guides into all truth, with as earnest an effort to contribute to a solution of these problems; 

(2) Our desire that, as many of the clergy have already, with advantage to Christian faith and with a general assent on the part of their rulers, welcomed important results of a patient, reverent, and progressive criticism of the Old Testament, so the clergy, as Christian teachers, may now receive authoritative encouragement to face the critical problems of the New Testament with entire candor, reverence for God and His truth, and loyalty to the Church of Christ;

(3) Our fear lest the door of Ordination should be closed to men who patiently and reverently apply historical methods to the Gospel records, and so an increasing number of men both spiritually and intellectually qualified should be lost to the high office of the Ministry;

(4) Our conviction that it is not without grave responsibility and peril that any of us should build the faith of souls primarily upon details of New Testament narrative, the historical validity of which must ultimately be determined in the court of trained research—although many of us, until such final decision take shape, may cling devotedly to the traditional details in question; 

(5) Our confidence that the Faith of the Church in the years to come, whatever historical revisions may await us, will stand, without risk and without discontinuity, upon the spiritual foundations to which Christian experience and the Creed of the Church alike bear testimony.

This declaration was signed by 1,725 clergymen including:- 
TREGLOWN, J. S., B.A., Rector of Hackford and Vicar of Deopham, Deopham Vicarage, Wymondham, Norfolk.

Date	Change
3/5/24	1896 advert
5/4/24	Location of daughter’s grave + photo
11/2/24	1930 termination letters
22/11/23	Extracts from Lambeth Palace Archive
13/6/23	Corrected age of daughter Ethel & added entry from burial register
20/11/22	Published