Francis Wegg-Prosser
Francis Richard Wegg-Prosser (19 June 1824 – 16 August 1911), born Francis Richard Haggitt, was a wealthy Englishman and Roman Catholic convert who established the Benedictine community which became Belmont Abbey and so played a significant role in the English Catholic Revival.[1]
Early life
[edit]Wegg-Prosser was born Francis Richard Haggitt, the only son of Prebendary Francis Haggitt, rector of Nuneham Courtenay Oxfordshire.[2] He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford from where he graduated with a Mathematics degree in 1845.
Public service
[edit]He served as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Herefordshire from 1847 to 1852.[3] In 1849, he inherited the very substantial estates (estimated at over £250,000 - equivalent to around £10 million in 2005) of his great-uncle, Richard Prosser, Archdeacon of Durham. At the time of this inheritance he changed his name by royal licence to Wegg-Prosser.[2]
Conversion
[edit]In 1852 he converted to Roman Catholicism and was received into the Catholic Church by Bishop Grant of Southwark.[2]
Catholic revival
[edit]After providing facilities for Catholic worship in his neighbourhood, he built a church on his estate, which, by agreement with the Bishop of Newport and the superiors of the English Benedictine Congregation, became the pro-cathedral of the diocese. On the adjoining land given by him, a monastery was built, to serve as the novitiate and house of studies of the congregation. This became Belmont Abbey which was officially dedicated and handed to Bishop Joseph Brown in 1859. [1]
Wegg-Prosser was also identified with several Catholic interests. For many years he was a member of the Superior Council of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, a member of the Catholic Union, and a representative of the Diocese of Newport on the Catholic Education Council. In his secular life he was devoted to mathematical science, and particularly to astronomy. He wrote a book, Galileo and his Judges (London, 1889), on the question of Galileo.[4] He also translated, under the title Rome and her captors (London, 1875), the letters collected by Count Henri d'Ideville upon the Roman question of 1867–70.[5]
In 1850 he married Lady Harriet Catherine, daughter of the second Earl Somers.[3] She died in 1893, leaving two sons and two daughters.
He died near Hereford, England, in 1911, aged 87.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Stonham, Abbot Paul (2 April 2018). "Music at Belmont, ancient and modern". Belmont Abbey. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ a b c "The Abbey Church of St Michael and All Angels, Belmont". Latin Mass Society of England and Wales. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Obituary Notices: Fellows: Wegg-Prosser, Francis Richard". Harvard University SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ "Galileo and His Judges". Google Books. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ "Rome and Her Captors: Letters Collected and Ed. by Count H. D'ideville, and Tr. , by F.R. Wegg-Prosse". Amazon. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Francis Richard Wegg-Prosser". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
[edit]
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Francis Haggitt (aka Francis Wegg-Prosser)
- RICHARD M. FORD LTD Antiquarian Bookseller website, Six Autograph Letters Signed ('E B Pusey' and 'E B P') to Francis Richard Wegg-Prosser ('W. P.'), discussing his conversion to Roman Catholicism, catalogue listing
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