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Arthur Groom Parham MC (25 June 1883 – 8 January 1961) was an English Anglican bishop who was bishop of Reading (a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Oxford) from 1942 until 1954.

Family and education

Son of Edmund and Ann, Parham was educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford then Exeter College, Oxford (gaining the degree of Oxford Master of Arts). He trained for the ministry at Leeds Clergy School and was ordained a deacon on Trinity Sunday (6 June) 1909 by John Harmer, Bishop of Rochester, at Rochester Cathedral and a priest in 1910.

Ministry pre-war

Beginning his ministry with a curacy at Bromley, Kent (1909–1912), he was then appointed chaplain and precentor of Christ Church Cathedral and chaplain of Magdalen College, Oxford (all 1912–1921); that period was interrupted with World War I service as a temporary chaplain to the Forces during which he was twice mentioned in despatches and awarded the Military Cross.

Ministry in Berkshire

When peace returned, he became rector of Easthampstead (1921–1926), then vicar of St Mary's, Reading (1926–1946; both in Berkshire), and additionally rural dean of Reading (1934–1942); during this period his became an honorary canon of Christ Church (1934 onwards) and was first elected a proctor in convocation (1935–1954). Remaining, to start with, vicar of Reading, he became also archdeacon of Berkshire and bishop of Reading (a suffragan bishop of the diocese), both from 1942 to 1954. He was ordained and consecrated a bishop by Cosmo Lang, archbishop of Canterbury, at St Paul's Cathedral, on Candlemas (2 February) 1942. In 1946, he both married Margaret Elizabeth Montagu, with whom he had two daughters, and resigned his vicarage (retaining the archdeaconry and suffragan see). He retired in 1954 and continued to serve the Church as an assistant bishop within the Diocese of Oxford; at his death, he lived in Little Wittenham, Berkshire, where he died at home.

References

1. ^ "Parham, Arthur Groom". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 1920–2016 (April 2014 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 16 April 2017. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. "Consecration of the Bishop of Reading". Ecclesiastical News. The Times. No. 49250. London. 1 June 1942. col C, p. 6.
3. "Trinity Ordinations". Church Times. No. 2420. 11 June 1909. p. 803. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 16 April 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
4. "No. 29608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1916. p. 5576.
5. Berkshire Rural Deaneries at the National Archive
6. Archdeacons of Berkshire Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Candlemas at St. Paul's. Consecration of Bishops". Church Times. 6 February 1942. p. 87. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 16 April 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
8. "In Memoriam: Arthur Parham". Church Times. No. 5109. 13 January 1961. p. 16. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 16 April 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.

External links

• Portraits of Arthur Parham at the National Portrait Gallery, London

• 1883 births
• 1961 deaths
• Military personnel from the London Borough of Islington
• People from Highbury
• People from Little Wittenham
• 20th-century Church of England bishops
• Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford
• Archdeacons of Berkshire
• Bishops of Reading
• British Army personnel of World War I
• People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford
• Recipients of the Military Cross
• Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers