10 Jan Charles Kingsley

Charles Kingsley (1819-75) was an Anglican priest. In 1844 he was appointed Rector of Eversley in Hampshire. In 1859 he became chaplain to Queen Victoria and in 1861 private tutor to her eldest son, the future Edward VII. He was a canon of Chester Cathedral (1870-73) and a canon of Westminster Abbey in London from 1873. These days, however, we remember Kingsley primarily as a novelist. His classic children’s novel The Water Babies (1863) reflects his interest in social reform. His best-known novels – Westward Ho! (1855) and Hereward the Wake (1866) – evidence his passion for history.

The village of Westward Ho! on the north Devon coast was named after Kingsley’s novel. Founded in 1865, it has the distinction of being the only place name in England that ends with an exclamation mark. In the nearby town of Bideford, you’ll find a massive statue of Kingsley on a high pedestal on The Quay. He is also commemorated by a bust in Poets’ Corner in London’s Westminster Abbey.