author
William Benham
1831–1910
A Victorian churchman and hardworking man of letters, he wrote widely on religion, history, and London’s past. His books mix clerical learning with a clear, practical style that helped bring older subjects to general readers.
3 Audiobooks
Mediæval London
by William Benham, Charles Welch
Old St. Paul's Cathedral
by William Benham
The Tower of London
by William Benham
About the author
Born in West Meon, Hampshire, in 1831, William Benham became an English churchman, teacher, and author whose career joined education, parish work, and publishing. He studied at St Mark’s College, Chelsea, later attended King’s College London, and was influenced by the broad-church ideas of F. D. Maurice.
Benham held a range of church and academic posts, including work as a schoolmaster, service in London parishes, and later positions such as vicar of Margate and then Marden, as well as honorary canonries at Rochester and Canterbury. Alongside this work, he built a substantial writing career, producing and editing books on Christian theology, church history, biography, and the history of London.
He is remembered as a notably prolific Victorian author: someone equally at home with reference works, religious writing, and historical narrative. Among the works associated with him are The Dictionary of Religion and books on old and medieval London, which helped make learned subjects more accessible to a broad readership.