James Spencer Northcote | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1821-05-26)26 May 1821 Feniton Court,England,British Empire |
| Died | 3 March 1907(1907-03-03) (aged 85) Stoke-upon-Trent, England, British Empire |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, Priest |
| Children | 3 sons and daughters |
James Spencer Northcote (26 May 1821 - 3 March 1907) was an English Catholic priest and writer. He served as president ofSt Mary's College, Oscott for seventeen years.
He was the second son of George Barons Northcote. Educated first atIlmington Grammar School, he won in 1837 a scholarship atCorpus Christi College, Oxford, where he came underJohn Henry Newman's influence. In 1841 he became B.A., and in the following year married his cousin, Susannah Spencer Ruscombe Poole.[1] They had three sons and three daughters.[2]
TakingAnglican Orders in 1844 he accepted acuracy atIlfracombe; but when his wife was received into the Catholic Church in 1845, he resigned his office. In 1846, he himself was converted, being received atPrior Park College, where he continued as a master for some time.[3]
From 1847 to 1850, Northcote was in Italy, where he became acquainted with archaeologistGiovanni Battista de Rossi, and developed an intense interest in the archaeology of Christian Rome. He then settled in Clifton for a time, pursuing literary activities.[2] In 1851, he undertook jointly withEdward Healy Thompson the editorship of the series of controversial pamphlets known as "The Clifton Tracts".[4]
From June 1852 until September, 1854, he acted as editor ofThe Rambler, founded by his friend John Moore Capes. After his wife's death in 1853 he devoted himself to preparation for the priesthood, first under Newman at theBirmingham Oratory inEdgbaston, then at theCollegio Pio, Rome. On 29 July 1855, he was ordained priest atStone, where his daughter had entered the novitiate.[3]
He returned to Rome to complete his ecclesiastical studies, also acquiring the learning in Christian antiquities which was later to be enshrined in his major work,Roma Sotterranea. In 1857 he was appointed to the mission ofStoke-upon-Trent, which he served until 1860, when he was called toOscott College as vice-president, and six months later became president, a position he held for seventeen years. He was made a canon ofSt Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham in 1861.[5]
In 1865, Northcote donatedStations of the Cross, imported from Belgium, to his previous parish ofOur Lady of the Angels and St Peter in Chains Church, Stoke-on-Trent.[6]
Failing health caused him to resign in 1876, and he returned to the mission, first at Stone (1868), and then again atOur Lady of the Angels and St Peter in Chains Church, Stoke-on-Trent at Stoke-on-Trent (1881).[3] In 1905 organ was erected at Our Lady of the Angels to commemorate the golden jubilee of Northcote's priesthood.[6]
He had been made canon-theologian of theDiocese of Birmingham in 1862, and provost in 1885. In 1861, the pope conferred on him the doctorate in divinity.[2]
TheNational Archives has copies of his correspondence with Newman,Acton, and others.[7]
His scholarly works include the authoritativeRoma Sotterranea; or an Account of the Roman Catacombs, Especially of the Cemetery of St. Callixtus, compiled from the works of Commendatore De Rossi (London, Longman, 1869; new expanded edition 1879), on theCatacombs of Rome, written in conjunction withWilliam R. Brownlow, afterwardsBishop of Clifton.
Other works were:
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "James Spencer Northcote".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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