Wentworth Leigh
James Wentworth Leigh was an Anglican priest in the last decade of the 19th century and the first two of the 20th. He was a very active Freemason, an enthusiastic temperance campaigner, and an ardent social reformer.
Early life
Born at Paris and brought up at Stoneleigh Abbey, Warwickshire in a noble family, he was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge.At the age of sixteen, he attempted to enlist in the British Army to serve in the Crimean War and after leaving university went on a tour with three friends of Egypt, Palestine and Constantinople before studying for ministry in the Church of England at Wells Theological College.
Career
He was ordained in 1862 and became Curate of St John the Baptist, Bromsgrove. Two years later he was appointed Vicar of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. Later, he held incumbencies at All Saints Leamington and St Mary's, Bryanston Square.In 1894 he was appointed to the Deanery of Hereford Cathedral and retired in 1919. In 1920, he served as President of the National Temperance League (Great Britain).