Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

63 Chapter Six The Curate of Portsea; Was Raikes a Muscular Christian? Up until the turning of the year 1839-40, it was thought that the possession of a university degree and attendance at the courses of divinity lectures by the professors of theology were sufficient training for a young man intending to join the Church of England. However, some senior clerics thought that further training was desirable and this led to the foundation of Chichester Theological College in 1839 and Wells Theological College a few months later. As with many innovations, there were a plethora of doubters and much muttering that such institutions were far from necessary; however colleges became the norm rather than the exception. It was originally intended that Wells College should provide clergy to minister specifically in the Diocese of Bath and Wells but it was soon realised that that diocese required relatively few clergymen and ‘graduates’ were permitted to seek parishes throughout the country. George Raikes enrolled at Wells Theological College in Michaelmas, 1896. It is likely that he was one of around 40 students, receiving tuition from a small staff of four. On 23 December, 1897, he was ordained a deacon and appointed to be a curate at St Mary’s Church in the parish of Portsea, the largest parish in the city of Portsmouth and within the diocese of Winchester. At first he served under Rev Cosmo Gordon Lang MA, who had been the Dean of Cosmo Lang (centre), pictured here when he was the Archbishop of Canterbury, played a significant role in the development of George Raikes as a man of the Church.