Charles Voysey

Charles Voysey (18 March 1828 – 20 July 1912) was a former priest of the Church of England who was condemned by the Privy Council for heterodoxy and went on to found a theist church. He was the father of architect Charles Francis Annesley Voysey.

Early life and career

Born in London on 18 March 1828, Voysey was the youngest son of architect Annesley Voysey, a relative of Samuel Annesley and of Susanna Wesley ( Annesley), mother of John and Charles Wesley.

He entered St Edmund Hall, Oxford in 1847 and received his B.A. from the University of Oxford in 1851. The following year he married Frances Maria Edlin and was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1853, becoming the curate of Hessle. Voysey served in that position for seven years, also serving as vice-principal of Kingston College. His eldest son Charles F. A. Voysey was born in Hessle in 1857. Voysey was appointed curate of St Andrew's, Craigton, Jamaica in 1858, where he lived for 18 months.

Condemnation for heterodoxy

In 1863 Voysey was removed from the curacy of St Mark's, Whitechapel after preaching a sermon denying the doctrine of eternal punishment. He was recommended for the curacy of St Mark's, Victoria Docks. After a brief period as curate of North Woolwich he became curate and eventually Vicar of Healaugh near Tadcaster, in 1864, but soon ran into difficulties there.

From Healaugh he commenced writing his most famous work The Sling and the Stone. Originally published in monthly parts, it was eventually collected into ten volumes, the first of which was published in 1865. His youngest son Rev. Ellison Annesley Voysey (born 1867 in Healaugh), was Oxford educated,

His teaching was based upon a pure theism, without a miraculous element. While retaining belief in God, in prayer, and hope for life beyond death, Voysey denied the perfection of Jesus and the authority of the Bible. He would spend much of his remaining career publishing books, sermons, articles, and pamphlets criticising traditional Christian doctrines, and defending his version of theism against critics.

He befriended Guy Aldred, the "Boy Preacher" in Holloway, in 1903, a friendship that would last through conversation and correspondence until Voysey's death. Aldred would credit Voysey with being influential in his intellectual journey and for being an important figure in Britain's freethought movement.

Voysey died at his home, Annesley Lodge, at Platts Lane in Hampstead (which had been designed for him by his son in 1895), on 20 July 1912. His congregation soon dispersed and the Swallow Street building was closed in 1913 and demolished shortly thereafter.

Selected publications

The Doctrine of Jesus Concerning God (1872) Theism: Or, The Religion of Common Sense (1894) Theism as a Science of Natural Theology and Natural Religion (1895) Religion For All Mankind, Based on Facts Which Are Never in Dispute (1903)