Henry John Williams

The Reverend
Henry John Williams
Obituary portrait from The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review, 1919
Born(1841-02-01)1 February 1841
Whatley, Mendip, England
Died1 April 1919(1919-04-01) (aged 78)
Aspley Guise, England
Alma materThe Queen's College, Oxford
Occupations
  • Priest
  • writer
  • activist
Known forAdvocacy for Christian vegetarianism; founding the Order of the Golden Age
Spouse
Cecelia Frances D'Arblay Croft
​
​
(m. 1871)​
RelativesHoward Williams (brother)
ReligionAnglicanism
ChurchChurch of England
Offices held
Rector of Tintern; rector of Brympton; incumbent of Kinross

Henry John Williams (8 February 1841 – 1 April 1919) was an English Anglican priest, writer, and advocate of Christian vegetarianism and humanitarianism. Influenced by his brother Howard Williams, he adopted vegetarianism in 1878 and sought to promote it as a moral and religious duty grounded in Christian teaching. He founded the Order of the Golden Age, a Christian vegetarian organisation, in 1881, later serving alongside Sidney H. Beard when it was revived in 1895. Williams was also honorary president of the Scottish Vegetarian Society and a member of the Humanitarian League's Humane Diet department. He contributed essays to the order's journal, The Herald of the Golden Age.

Biography

Early life and family

Henry John Williams was born on 8 February 1841 in Whatley, Mendip, Somerset.[1] He was the son of Reverend Hamilton John Williams, an Anglican clergyman, and Margaret Sophia (née Taunton).[1][2] He was one of seven sons, among them Howard Williams, author of The Ethics of Diet.[3][4]

Williams matriculated at The Queen's College, Oxford in 1860, aged 19.[5]

Ecclesiastical career

Williams entered the Church of England and successively held the rectorships of Tintern and Brympton, later serving as incumbent of Kinross.[6]

Christian vegetarian advocacy

Influenced by his brother Howard, Williams adopted a vegetarian diet in 1878.[6] He later wrote A Plea for a Broken Law, a pamphlet presenting a theological case for vegetarianism.[7]

In 1881 he founded the Order of the Golden Age, a Christian vegetarian organisation formally established the following year. The order ceased operating soon after because of financial difficulties but was revived in 1895 by Williams, Sidney H. Beard, and others.[8] He contributed several articles to the society's journal, The Herald of the Golden Age.[9][10]

Williams also served as honorary president of the Scottish Vegetarian Society[11] and was a member of the Humane Diet department of the Humanitarian League, which his brother Howard helped to found and on whose committee he served for several years.[3]

Personal life and death

In 1871 Williams married Cecelia Frances D'Arblay Croft in Newport Pagnell.[1][12] He died on 1 April 1919 in Aspley Guise.[1] His obituary, written by his brother Howard, appeared in the May 1919 issue of The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review.[6][note 1]

Selected publications

  • A Plea for a Broken Law
  • "Dark Ages, Past & Present". The Herald of the Golden Age. January 1897.
  • "A Call to the Christian Church" (PDF). The Herald of the Golden Age. 5 (12): 143–144. 15 December 1900.

Notes

  1. ^ Howard's obituary gives Williams's year of birth as 1838 and his age at death as 81,[6] but his birth record indicates 1841 as the correct year of birth and his death record gives his age at death as 78.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Descendants of Sydenham Williams of Herringstone". Genealogy Online. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  2. ^ Preece, Rod (2011). Animal Sensibility and Inclusive Justice in the Age of Bernard Shaw. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 167–168. ISBN 978-0-7748-2112-4.
  3. ^ a b Calvert, Samantha Jane (3 November 2011). "'Ours is the food that Eden knew': themes in the theology and practice of modern Christian vegetarians". In Grumett, David; Muers, Rachel (eds.). Eating and Believing: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Vegetarianism and Theology. London: A & C Black. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-567-57736-8.
  4. ^ Gregory, James (2007). Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-Century Britain. London: Tauris Academic Studies. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-84511-379-7.
  5. ^ Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF). Vol. 2. University of Southampton. p. 126. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d Williams, Howard (May 1919). "Rev. Henry John Williams (1841–1919)". The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review – via The Order of the Golden Age.
  7. ^ Williams, Howard (2003). The Ethics of Diet: A Catena of Authorities Deprecatory of the Practice of Flesh-eating. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-252-07130-0.
  8. ^ Calvert, Samantha Jane (June 2012). Eden's Diet: Christianity and Vegetarianism 1809–2009 (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Birmingham. pp. 203–204. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 November 2024.
  9. ^ Williams, H. J. (January 1897). "Dark Ages, Past & Present". The Herald of the Golden Age.
  10. ^ Williams, H. J. (15 December 1900). "A Call to the Christian Church" (PDF). The Herald of the Golden Age. 5 (12): 143–144.
  11. ^ "Vegetarian Federal Union 1889–1911". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Marriages Sep 1871". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Births Mar 1841: Williams Henry John". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Deaths Jun 1919: Williams Henry J." FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
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