Richard Watson Dixon
Richard Watson Dixon (1833-1900) was an English poet and churchman known for his involvement in the Pre-Raphaelite Movement and his historical writings. Born to Dr. James Dixon, a Wesleyan minister, he received his education at King Edward's School in Birmingham and Pembroke College, Oxford, where he participated in the Birmingham Group, a collective of artists and poets rebelling against the commercial and scientific norms of the time. Although Dixon is often regarded as a minor figure among the Pre-Raphaelites, he found recognition for his long narrative poem *Mano*, published in 1883, and for his first volume of poetry, *Christ's Company*, released in 1861.
Dixon's literary contributions included a six-volume *History of the Church of England*, which he worked on until his death, with some volumes published posthumously. Despite not achieving widespread acclaim during his lifetime, he garnered admiration from notable contemporaries like Gerard Manley Hopkins and Swinburne. Throughout his career, Dixon held various religious positions, including vicar roles in Hayton and Warkworth, and served as a minor canon and honorary librarian at Carlisle. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Oxford University in 1899.
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Richard Watson Dixon
Writer
- Born: May 5, 1833
- Birthplace: Islington, London, England
- Died: January 23, 1900
- Place of death: Warkworth, Northumberland, England
Biography
Richard Watson Dixon was born on May 5, 1833. His father, Dr. James Dixon, was a Wesleyan minister and a student of the history of Methodism. Richard Dixon received his education at King Edward’s School in Birmingham and at Pembroke College in Oxford. While he was not considered a brilliant scholar, he did win the Arnold prize in 1858 and the English Sacred Poem prize in 1863 for pieces—in prose and in poetry—that he had written.
At Oxford, Dixon was a part of the famous Birmingham Group—which meant that he became a part of the famous Pre- Raphaelite Movement. Though considered, himself, a minor Pre- Raphaelite poet—not one of the major Pre-Raphaelite poets, which included such figures as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, William Morris, Charles Algernon Swinburne, and George Meredith—he was a part of that brotherhood, formed in 1848, which became what some have called the Victorian era’s “Beat Generation.” The group is said to have been “in an active state of rebellion against the commercial and scientific worlds that began to dominate their culture.”
Dixon was ordained in 1858. From 1863 to 1868, he was second master of Carlisle High School. He went on to be the vicar of Hayton, Cumberland, and, then, the vicar of Warkworth, Northumberland. In 1868, he was minor canon and honorary librarian of Carlisle; and in 1874, he was honorary canon. From 1890 to 1894, he was a proctor in convocation. He was awarded an honorary D.D. by Oxford University in 1899.
The poetry of Richard Watson Dixon was not widely admired, but it was admired by some significant figures in literary history. Among these was Gerard Manley Hopkins, a student of Dixon’s in 1861. These two poets carried on a correspondence which was meaningful to the two of them and which has become meaningful to students of literary history. Swinburne and Robert Bridges were two others of this company of admirers. It was with his long narrative poem Mano that Dixon gained recognition as a poet. While Mano appeared in 1883, the first of his seven volumes of poetry, Christ’s Company, appeared in 1861.
It was Dixon’s History of the Church of England from the Abolition of the Roman Jurisdiction, which covers the years between 1528 and 1570, for which he was best known. Dixon completed six volumes of his History before his death in 1900. Two of these six volumes were published after his death.