H. Munro Chadwick

Hector Munro Chadwick (22 October 1870 – 2 January 1947) was an English philologist. Chadwick was the Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and the founder and head of the Department for Anglo-Saxon and Kindred Studies at the University of Cambridge. Chadwick was well known for his encouragement of interdisciplinary research on Celts and Germanic peoples, and for his theories on the Heroic Age in the history of human societies. Chadwick was a tutor of many notable students and the author of numerous influential works in his fields of study. Much of his research and teaching was conducted in cooperation with his wife, former student and fellow Cambridge scholar Nora Kershaw.

Family

On 22 October 1870, Hector Munro Chadwick was born in Thornhill Lees, Yorkshire, England, the third son of Reverend Edward Chadwick and Sarah Anne Bates.

The Chadwick family traced its descent from John Chadwick of Chadwick Hall, Rochdale, who flourished during the reign of Elizabeth I. Edward was the seventh of the eight sons of James Chadwick, who in turn was a son of yet another John Chadwick. John and his sons were all members of the firm of John Chadwick & Sons, who were flannel manufacturers in Rochdale. The firm had a branch in Edinburgh, and it was there that James married Sarah Murray, daughter of George Murray and Margaret Munro, who was probably a sister of General Hector Munro. Sarah Murray was of Scottish descent.

Edward Chadwick was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, and met Sarah while he was Curate at Church of St George, Chester Road, Hulme. Sarah was the only daughter and one of eight children of an Oldham businessman of considerable prominence. Her grandfather was a member of the same business. Her cousin, Captain Chadwick, had served with distinction in the Crimean War. Sarah's father retired early from business and became a farmer at Old Trafford. Sarah's mother died on the day Sarah was to marry Edward Chadwick, allegedly heartbroken over the prospect of losing contact with her daughter. The marriage was subsequently postponed for a while. After finally marrying, Edward and Sarah spent their early years at Blue Pits, where their eldest son Edward was born. Shortly afterwards, the family moved to Thornhill Lees, Yorkshire, where Edward Chadwick senior became a close friend to a member of the Bibby family, which owned the Bibby Line. The Bibbys built a church for Edward in the suburbs of Thornhill Lees, where he became Vicar. It was during this time that the Chadwicks had their three remaining children, Dora, Murray, and then Hector. Edward ended his career as Rural Dean of Dewsbury, and his two oldest sons also joined the priesthood of the Church of England.