Henry Archdall Langley was an influential Irish-born Anglican priest, of considerable physical strength, who migrated to Australia in 1853, and became the first Bishop of Bendigo from 1902 until his death in 1906. Many of his twelve children made important contributions to Australian society in the domains of business, education, medicine; also, two of them became Anglican bishops.
Family
He came to Australia in 1853 when his entire family emigrated from Ireland: the economic and social consequences of the Irish Potato Famine having greatly affected both boys' formal education at Trinity College, Dublin.
Parents
Born in Dungarvan, on 15 October 1840, Henry Archdall Langley was the third son of Henry Langley, and Isabella Edwards Langley, née Archdall, of Ballyduff, Co. Waterford, Ireland.
Henry Archdall Langley who predeceased Langley's birth, dying of croup aged 16 months.
Frances Elizabeth Uzzell, née Langley, who married William Frederick Boulton Uzzell, the incumbent at St. Paul's Church, Carcoar, New South Wales, in October 1867.
Aphra Maria Isabella Glasson, née Hill, née Langley, who married Frederick Mellin Hill, JP in September 1864.
Then, following Hill's death in 1870, and the death of their daughter, Catherine Isabella Hill, aged 6, in August 1871, Aphra married Richard Glasson in July 1872.
Catherine Isabella Pearse, née Langley, who married William Pearse in March 1866.
Children
Henry Langley had six sons and six daughters with his Australian born wife, Elizabeth Mary Langley, née Strachan:
He was ordained deacon by Frederic Barker, Archbishop of Sydney, in 1865, and priest in 1866. He was curate of All Saints' ChurchBathurst from 1865 to 1867. He later held incumbencies at Holy Trinity Church, Orange, St. Mary's Church Balmain, St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, St. Matthew's Church Windsor , and at the newly built St. Matthew's Church Prahran in 1878. During his time at Prahran, he was responsible for founding St. Alban's Church, Armadale, as a "chapel of ease to that parish" in 1885; and, in 1935, the Golden Anniversary memorial service was conducted by Canon H.T. Langley, "son of the founder, who as a lad was the first to ring the bell of the church". He was Archdeacon of Gippsland from 1890 until 1894. In 1894 he became Archdeacon of Melbourne; a post he held until his ordination to the episcopate.
Bishop of Bendigo
In 1901, the Anglican ecclesiastical province of Victoria, already divided into the dioceses of Melbourne and Ballarat, was further divided into three more sub-divisions — viz., that of Bendigo, Gippsland, and Wangaratta — and Langley was appointed as the first Bishop of Bendigo, serving for four and a half years from 5 March 1902 until his death on 5 August 1906. Not only was Langley the very first Bishop of Bendigo, but he was also the very first graduate from Moore Theological College to be appointed as Bishop.
Bishopscourt, Bendigo
The "See House", situated at the corner of Napier Street and Lyons Street, White Hills, and designed by the Bendigo architects William Charles Vahland and John Beebe, was expressly built for Langley. Generally known at the time as "Bishopscourt" — now known as "Langley Hall" — its Dedication Stone was laid in September 1904, and the Bishop and his family moved in in mid-March 1905. Following the resignation of Langley's brother in 1919, the bishop's residence moved from White Hills to Forest Street, beside All Saints' Cathedral, and the former Bishopscourt building was leased to the Red Cross. A convalescent home for returned soldiers suffering shell shock and other "physical" injuries was opened in the building on 3 December 1919 by Lady Helen Munro Ferguson, the wife of the Governor General, and the President of the Australian branch of the Red Cross. It continued to function as a convalescent home until 1926. For a time Langley Hall was used for the Bendigo Theological College, associated with the Australian College of Theology, under the direction of Rev. Frederick Alfred Philbey. In 1932, Langley Hall was converted into St. Luke's Toddlers' Home, run by the Mission of St James and St John, which continued to operate until 1979, when it moved to a different location, and became St. Luke's Family Care. The building, unused for a time, was completely refurbished, and has operated as bed and breakfast accommodation, as "Langley Hall", since 2000.
Death
The first Victorian Anglican bishop to die while still in office, he died of a cerebral haemorrhage, eleven days after collapsing at his residence. A memorial plaque to Langley, was installed at St. Matthew's Church, Prahran; it was dedicated on 14 November 1907.
Successor
On his death in 1906 he was succeeded as Bishop of Bendigo by his older brother Rev. Dr. John Douse Langley. Langley's brother had not been the first choice: the diocese's intended replacement, who had been unanimously elected to the vacant see, was the Bishop of Gippsland, Arthur Wellesley Pain. Pain refused to leave Gippsland, and continued to serve as Bishop of Gippsland until his retirement in 1917. Langley's brother was one of four candidates: the others were Dr. William Charles Sadlier, later Bishop of Nelson, Canon George M'Murray, formerly of Ballarat, of St. Mary's, Auckland, and William Tucker, later the Dean of Ballarat.
