Charles Page Eden

Born in or near Bristol, he was third son of Thomas Eden, curate of St. George's, Bristol, who died when Charles was an infant, leaving a widow and young family in poverty. Charles was educated at a day school in Bristol, and at the Liverpool Royal Institution School. Afterwards he was a teacher for a time in a private school run by his cousin, the Rev. J. Prince, and at Michaelmas 1825 went to Oriel College, Oxford as a Bible clerk appointed by the Provost, Edward Copleston. He proceeded B.A. with a first class in classics in 1829; in the two following years gained the prizes for the Ellerton theological essay and the chancellor's English essay, the latter named "On the Use and Abuse of Theory". In 1832, after two failures, he was elected a Fellow of his college.^[1]

After Eden's ordination (deacon 1833 and priest 1834), he held several university and college offices, and in 1843 succeeded John Henry Newman as vicar of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. In 1850 he was presented by his college to the vicarage of Aberford, near Leeds, where in 1852 he married Miss Landon, a daughter of his predecessor, and where he remained for the rest of his life in 1885. He was elected proctor three times in the convocation of the province of York (1869–74–80) and in 1870 was preferred by the archbishop to the prebendal stall of Riccall. He was popularly called Canon Eden. He died 14 December 1885.^[1]