Reverend Edwin Hobson

A carte-de-visite portrait of Reverend Edwin Hobson (1847-1936).

Born at Odd Rode in Cheshire in or about 1847, Edwin Hobson was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.

‘The Rev. Edwin Hobson, M.A., Senior Moderator and Gold Medallist, Trinity College, Dublin, Curate of St George’s, Kidderminster, has been elected vice-principal of the National Society’s Training College, Battersea, in succession to the Rev. J.P.Faunthorpe, M.A., Principal of Whitelands’ (Illustrated London News, 25 July 1874).

‘The Rev. Edwin Hobson, M.A., vice-principal of the St John’s College, Battersea, has been appointed principal of the new college for schoolmistresses, to be established under the auspices of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, and the National Society’ (Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 2 August 1877).

This was St Katharine’s College in Tottenham, founded in 1878 as a teacher training college for women, the majority of whom went on to teach in Church of England schools. A student who left in 1880 later recalled that students studied Holy Scripture, Shakespeare, Arithmetic, Needlework, Geography, History, School Management, Botany, Music and Drill (The College of All Saints, Graham Handley, 1978). Hobson continued as the college’s principal until his retirement in 1919. At some point he became, in addition, a Prebendary of St Paul’s Cathedral.

On 2 December 1877 at St Mary’s in Battersea he married Cordelia Catherine Mottram. The marriage produced one son and seven daughters.

‘At the morning service the special preacher was the Rev. Edwin Hobson, Prebendary of St Paul’s’ (Herts and Cambs Reporter, 2 October 1903).

Reverend Edwin Hobson, ‘Prebendary of St Paul’s Cathedral, formerly principal of St Katharine’s College, Tottenham’ died, aged 89, on 16 February 1936. He left an estate valued at £6148.

Photographed by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company.