Edmund Sedding
Encyclopedia
Biography
Sedding, son of Richard and Peninnah Sedding of Summerstown, near OkehamptonOkehampton
Okehampton is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and has an estimated population of 7,155.-History:...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, was born on 20 June 1836: John Dando Sedding was his younger brother. He early displayed antiquarian tastes, which led to his visiting cathedrals, abbeys, and churches in England and France. In 1853 he entered the office of George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
, where he devoted himself to the study of Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. For some time he resided as an architect in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, and, after again spending a period in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, removed about 1862 to Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, where he obtained a large practice.
In Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
he built or restored the churches of Gwithian
Gwithian
beach2Gwithian is a coastal village in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated three miles northeast of Hayle and four miles east of St Ives, Cornwall across St Ives Bay....
, Wendron
Wendron
Wendron is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated three miles north of Helston.The Revd G. H. Doble served for almost twenty years as the Vicar of Wendron . Langdon recorded the existence of eight stone crosses in the parish, including two at Merther Uny...
, Altarnun
Altarnun
Altarnun is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is located on the north-eastern edge of Bodmin Moor at .The parish of Altarnun includes the village of Fivelanes and the hamlets of Bolventor, Treween and Trewint, and had a population of 976 according to the 2001 census...
, North Hill
North Hill, Cornwall
North Hill is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the east side of the River Lynher approximately six miles southwest of Launceston....
, Ruan Major
Grade-Ruan
Grade–Ruan is a civil parish on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom approximately ten miles south of Falmouth....
(modified during restoration), St. Peter's, Newlyn
Newlyn
Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...
, and St Stephens by Launceston, while he had in progress at the time of his death a new church at Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, a rectory, and two churches in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, the restoration of Bigbury
Bigbury
Bigbury is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 582.The parish council meets on the second Wednesday of every month at 7.30pm in Bigbury Memorial Hall...
church, and a mansion at Hayle
Hayle
Hayle is a small town, civil parish and cargo port in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River and is approximately seven miles northeast of Penzance...
for Mr. W. J. Rawlings.
Sedding was a performer on the harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
and organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, and an admirer of ancient church music. He was for a time precentor
Precentor
A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is "præcentor", from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" ....
of the church of St. Raphael the Archangel, Bristol, and organist of St. Mary the Virgin, Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
. He greatly exerted himself in the revival of carol singing, and his books of Christmas carols were very popular.
In 1865 his health failed, and he died at Penzance on 11 June 1868, being buried at Madron
Madron
Madron is a civil parish and village in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is a large rural parish on the Penwith peninsula north of Penzance.Madron village is situated approximately two miles northwest of Penzance town centre....
on 16 June.
He married, on 18 August 1862, Jessie, daughter of John Proctor, chemist of Penzance, by whom he left four children, including the architect E. H. Sedding.
Compositions
His chief musical compositions were:- A Collection of Nine Antient Christmas Carols for four voices, 1860 (6th edition 1864)
- Jerusalem the Golden: a hymn, 1861
- Seven Ancient Carols for four voices,, 1863 (2nd edition 1864)
- Five Hymns of ye Holy Eastern Church, 1864
- Sun of my Soul: a hymn set to music in four parts, 1864
- Litany of the Passion, 1865
- The Harvest is the end of the World, 1865
- Be we merry in this Feast: a carol, 1866
- He supplied 15 quartoQuartoQuarto could refer to:* Quarto, a size or format of a book in which four leaves of a book are created from a standard size sheet of paper* For specific information about quarto texts of William Shakespeare's works, see:...
pages of illustrations for F. G. Lee's Directorium Anglicanum, (2nd edition 1865)