William Alexander was no great scholar, but rose through church to become Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland newsletter.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newsletter.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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A Vanity Fair portrait of Bishop Alexander from 1895
At Oxford he was profoundly influenced by the ‘Oxford Movement’ (which sought the return of the Church of England to pre-Reformation beliefs and liturgical practice) and the sermons of John Henry Newman.
When in 1845 Newman left the Church of England and his teaching post at Oxford University and was received into the Roman Catholic Church, Alexander seriously considered following him to the extent that he took his name off the college books and wrote to his mother stating his intention of converting and then left Oxford.
Doubts began to surface on his journey home. He encountered a Quakeress who managed to calm him. This combined with a torturous night of soul searching in a cheap hotel in Birmingham, resolved his doubts.