Description:This is an abridged biography from the Handsworth Magazine. The full version is available as a download. James Merrick Guest's address in 1896 was given as 265 Soho Road in Handsworth.
The worthy gentleman of whom we thus wrote has “crossed the bar” and the tidings upon reaching us from Dorrington, near Shrewsbury, where Mr Guest has resided since his retirement, caused a shock in many of the Handsworth homes as of a personal loss. The sad event, which transpired on Wednesday, the 28th ult., was not altogether unexpected, Mr Guest’s health having been very precarious since the accident he met three or four years ago. The funeral at Dorrington, on October 3rd, was attended by many Handsworth friends of the deceased.
Mr Guest was born at Priory Cottage, Edgbaston, on November 28th, 1830, being descended from a long line of merchants in Birmingham, his great grandfather who lived at the old Monument House being a well-known figure in Birmingham in the last century. He entered King Edward’s School on September 14th, 1840, under the Headmastership of the Rev. James Prince Lee, who was appointed Bishop of Manchester in 1847 and continued at the school for two years under the Rev. Edwin Hamilton Gifford, afterwards Archdeacon of London. Among his contemporaries and most intimate school friends we may mention the late Dr Lightfoot, Bishop of Durham; Dr Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury and the Rev. Canon Hutchinson.
In January 1857, Mr Guest became Assistant Master in the large private school at Overslade, near Rugby, under the Rev. John Congreve, M.A., to whose able guidance and strong personal influence he has always felt much indebted and who became one of Mr Guest’s dearest personal friends. In November of the same year he was elected to an Assistant Mastership, in our own King Edward’s School, returning to work here under his old master, Dr Gifford, and side by side with his old schoolfellows, the Rev. C B Hutchinson, the Rev. W N Gedge and those old Edwardians, the Rev. James Yates, Christopher Parr Male and Thomas Price. Mr Guest remained at the school till Mid-summer 1862, having been ordained Deacon in 1859 and Priest in 1860, by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Pepys, then Bishop of Worcester. On both these occasions he was commended by his Lordship to the examining Chaplain the Ven. Archdeacon Sandford.
Mr Guest remained at King Edward’s School till the retirement of Dr Gifford and welcomed the new Headmaster, the Rev. Charles Evans, who had been Captain of the School when he was a small boy scholar there. Among the cherished privileges of his life Mr Guest considered it not the least that he had enjoyed the friendship of the Rev. A E Vardy and had had intimate relations with the five great headmasters who together have ruled the school for more than 50 years and who raised it to and have maintained it at its great celebrity. The list is a noble one and included Dr Jeune, late Bishop of Manchester, Dr Gifford, sometime Archdeacon of London; Canon Evans and the Rev. A R Vardy and he has known nearly all the assistant masters of the school during that long period, as well as most of the distinguished men who are old Edwardians.
On the erection of the Bridge Trust School, Handsworth, Mr Guest was unanimously elected headmaster out of 198 candidates. Mr Guest held the office for thirty-four years and for that long period of a man’s life he devoted his great abilities, his un-wearying industry and enthusiastic zeal to the work of the school. Acting upon the advice of his doctors, he resigned this important office two years ago. His last meeting with the scholars and their parents was on the Speech day July 31st, 1896.
When he came to the school, Handsworth had the great advantage of having for its rector the Rev. Herbert R Peel and the congenial spirits of the clergyman and the headmaster united, their acquaintance ripened into close intimacy and warm friendship and Mr Guest co-operated zealously in the rector’s many projects for the good of the parish. This was especially seen in the formation of the working men’s club, which was one of the earliest established and the success of which caused it to be taken as a model for many others. Mr Guest was a member of the Committee till its close in 1874. He was also on the committee of the St Michael’s Working Men’s Club established in 1865 by the present Dean of Salisbury with whom he worked till the club was closed on his leaving Handsworth.
On it occurring to Mr Peel to get together the nucleus of a Church at Hamstead, Mr Guest held evening services there for some months in the kitchen of a cottage till they were able to raise the funds for an iron church and the appointment of a curate in charge. This was the origin of the present church of St Paul, Hamstead, and for many years hardly a Sunday passed on which Mr Guest did not help in one of the churches of the parish. He was also a manager of St. James’ Parish School for more than thirty years.
Mr Guest also acted for some time as Chaplain to the Institution established at Sandwell by Miss Selwyn and assisted her in forming a middle school there for boys and girls, to which he acted as examiner. This led to a project for starting a Middle School at West Bromwich, which unfortunately fell through.
Mr Guest was also one of the original members of the Committee of the Birmingham Teacher’ Association, which in common with the Rev. A R Vardy and Mr Frederick Talbot of Spon Lane, he was instrumental in starting and of which he has twice had the honour of being President. He has also worked on the Committee of the Birmingham Higher Education Association, established in 1874. Thus it will be seen that out of Handsworth Mr Guest has not been inactive in the work of education.