H. C. (Henry Charles) Beeching

Born in 1859, Henry Charles Beeching was an English churchman and man of letters whose career joined scholarship, religion, and writing. He was educated at Oxford and became known as a poet, critic, editor, and preacher as well as a prominent Anglican cleric.

Beeching held several church and academic posts during his life, and he later became Dean of Norwich, a position he held from 1911 until his death in 1919. Alongside his clerical work, he wrote essays and poems, edited literary texts, and contributed to the thoughtful religious and literary culture of his time.

Today he is often remembered for the lyric "Twilight," with its much-quoted opening about the woods filling with snow, as well as for his hymns and literary criticism. His work has a gentle, reflective quality that still suits readers who enjoy late Victorian and Edwardian poetry with warmth and clarity.