Author: Freeman, Philip
Biography:
FREEMAN, Philip (1818-75: ODNB)
Born in Combs, Suffolk, on 3 Feb. 1818, he was the son of Margaret (Hughes) and Edmund Freeman. He was educated at Dedham School in Essex and at Trinity College, Cambridge (matric 1835, BA 1839, MA 1842), where he excelled. He was Browne Medallist in 1837, Craven Scholar in 1838, and Senior Classic on graduation in 1839. He transferred to Peterhouse in 1839; his elder brother John had graduated from that college in 1837 and gone into the Church. Philip also took orders (deacon 1842, priest 1844) and became a clergyman. On 18 Aug. 1846 he married Ann Baber at Ely; they had four children. In the same year he accepted a position as principal of the Theological College at Chichester, a post he held for two years. According to ACAD, he continued as Fellow and Tutor at Peterhouse until 1853. From 1853 to 1858 he was canon and reader at Cumbrae College on the island of Great Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde and pastor of the episcopal congregation there. In 1858 he moved to Devon as Vicar of Thoverton and quickly rose in the church hierarchy as prebendary of Exeter Cathedral (1861), residentiary canon (1864), and archdeacon (1865). He died in London on 24 Feb. 1875 of injuries sustained while alighting from a train at Chalk Farm station, and was buried at his parish of Thoverton. Freeman published extensively on theological issues and church history but his first appearance as a poet is not generally noticed, though the verses he wrote for his mother as a boy are notably pious. One exception to the general rule of earnestness is Guessing Stories (1864), a collection of stories and riddles for children. (ODNB 10 Nov. 2021; findmypast.com 10 Nov. 2021; ACAD; WorldCat) HJ