Harold Francis Davidson (14 July 1875 – 30 July 1937), generally known as the Rector of Stiffkey, was a Church of England priest who in 1932, after a public scandal, was convicted of immorality by a church court and defrocked. Davidson strongly protested his innocence and, to raise funds for his reinstatement campaign, he exhibited himself in a barrel on the Blackpool seafront. He performed in other sideshows of a similar nature, and died in Skegness after being attacked by a lion in whose cage he was appearing in a seaside spectacular.
Before his ordination in 1903, Davidson had a brief career on the London stage as an entertainer. As a young curate he became actively involved with charitable activity among London's poor, an interest he maintained following his appointment in 1906 as rector of the rural Norfolk parish of Stiffkey. After the First World War, in which he served as a naval chaplain, he devoted himself primarily to his London work. Styling himself the "Prostitutes' Padre", his declared mission was the rescue of young girls he considered in danger of falling into vice. In this role he approached and befriended hundreds of girls and, although there was little direct evidence of improper behaviour, Davidson was frequently found in compromising situations. His neglect of his local duties over many years strained relations with his parishioners in Stiffkey; after a formal complaint, the Bishop of Norwich instituted disciplinary proceedings through a consistory court. Davidson's defence was severely compromised by his eccentric conduct, and was damaged beyond repair when the prosecution produced a photograph of him with a near-naked teenage girl.
Davidson's later career as a showman earned him much notoriety but little money. His attempts at legal redress were unsuccessful, despite recognition even in church circles that he had not been fairly treated by the consistory court. After his death the case continued to attract public interest for decades, through fictional, stage and screen versions of the story. His descendants have continued to assert his innocence of any wrongdoing, and later commentators have generally accepted that however unwise and inappropriate his behaviour, his basic motives were genuine and he did not deserve the humiliations he endured.
Family background and childhood
left|thumb|St Mary's Church, in [[Sholing, Hampshire]]
Harold Davidson was born on 14 July 1875 in Sholing, near the south coast port of Southampton, to the Reverend Francis Davidson and his wife Alice. Francis Davidson was the vicar of St Mary's, Sholing, a post he had held since 1866; as many as 27 members of the Davidson family were or had been Anglican clergy. Alice Davidson, née Hodgskin, was a great-niece of the educator and Rugby School headmaster Thomas Arnold. Sholing was a poor parish, with a mixed population of dock labourers and itinerant workers, many of whom had little interest in churchgoing. Francis Davidson, described by Harold Davidson's earliest biographer, Tom Cullen, as "a tiny man ... with a luxuriant beard that gave him the appearance of a gnome", served the parish for 48 years. Here he became an enthusiastic amateur actor, encouraged by his friendship with a fellow-pupil, Leon Quartermaine, who later won recognition on the stage and in films. In February 1894 the pair appeared together in a school production of the farce Sent to the Tower. Within a few months of leaving Whitgift in 1894, Davidson appeared on the London stage, at Steinway Hall in Lower Seymour Street, performing a comic routine.
In 1898 Davidson finally bowed to his father's wish that he should study for holy orders, after the intervention of the Reverend Basil Wilberforce, grandson of the abolitionist William Wilberforce and a friend of the Davidson family. Wilberforce was an alumnus of Exeter College, Oxford, and used his influence to secure Davidson a place there despite the latter's lack of qualifications. At Oxford, Davidson's behaviour was notably eccentric; he displayed considerable energy but disregarded rules, was persistently unpunctual and regularly failed his examinations. He continued to appear on the stage when he could, and decorated the walls of his rooms with autographed pictures of actresses. He once claimed he had left behind a salary of £1000 per year, for a relatively paltry £3 per week as a curate. By 1901 his academic inadequacies were such that he was required to leave Exeter College, although he was allowed to continue studying for his degree at Grindle's Hall, a private hall of the university. He finally passed his examinations in 1903, at the age of 28, and that year was ordained by the Bishop of Oxford—after some reluctance on the part of the bishop to accept so unpromising a candidate.
In 1901, when Annie Horniman's travelling theatrical company visited Oxford, Davidson fell in love with one of the company's leading actresses, Moyra ("Molly") Cassandra Saurin, an attractive blonde and blue-eyed woman from County Meath in Ireland. The couple were quickly engaged, but the relationship was stormy and was several times broken off.
Rector of Stiffkey
Early years
thumb|left|[[St John and St Mary, Stiffkey, Norfolk]]
Davidson's appointment in 1906 as rector of the Norfolk parish of Stiffkey with Morston came through the patronage of the 6th Marquess Townshend, whose family had a long history of public and political service in the county. The appointment was probably given in recognition of Davidson's role in reconciling the fierce opposition of the Townshend family to the marquess's proposed marriage to Gwladys Sutherst, the daughter of a bankrupt Yorkshire businessman; as curate of St Martin's, Davidson had officiated at the wedding on 8 August 1905. The Stiffkey living was highly desirable, with of glebe land, a large Georgian rectory, and an income in 1906 of £503 per annum, rising during Davidson's incumbency to £800. At the time of Davidson's arrival in 1906, the village, with a population of around 350, was generally impoverished. Although, according to Davidson's 2007 biographer Jonathan Tucker, the village was well-supplied, and did have a few shops and public houses. Davidson was quickly on good terms with most of the villagers, who referred to him with affection as "Little Jimmy"—he was only tall. He was less well-regarded by the local gentry, including the main landowner, Colonel Groom, who fell out with Davidson after the priest rebuked him for keeping a mistress.
thumb|All Saints' Church, [[Morston, Norfolk]]
On 9 October 1906, now settled into a prosperous living, Davidson married Molly Saurin. The Stiffkey rectory became a family home, as children were born at regular intervals. To escape the poisoned atmosphere in Stiffkey he applied for a year's posting as chaplain to a hill station at Simla in India, but the opportunity fell through. Instead, Davidson resumed his pre-war routine of spending his weeks in London, departing early on Monday morning and returning late on Saturday. Sometimes, through a missed rail connection or other mishap, he was barely in time for the Sunday morning service at Stiffkey, and sometimes he would fail to arrive at all.
Davidson, perhaps partly driven by his youthful experience of rescuing a girl from suicide at Thames River 25 years earlier, had convinced himself that nearly all young girls alone in London were in need of rescue from a life of vice. Thus began a friendship that endured for more than a decade. Davidson brought her to the rectory, where she worked for a time in the gardens. He also tried to get her a job with a touring theatre company, took her to Paris to find employment as an au pair, kept her supplied with small sums of money, and paid her medical bills when she was suffering from venereal disease.
According to his own estimate, Davidson approached around 150 to 200 girls a year over a period of 12 years (he later modified these figures to an overall total of between 500 and 1000). His activities usually centred on the innumerable Lyons, ABC and Express Dairies teashops and their staffs of waitresses. Davidson was mesmerised, says Blythe, by "the ineffable harmonies created by starched linen crackling over young breasts and black-stockinged calves in chubby conference just below the hem of the parlourmaid's frock". Many rejected his advances; a number of teashops considered him a pest and barred him. Landladies took exception to his habit of visiting their female tenants at all hours of the night. Commentators have found little evidence that he behaved indecently, or molested the girls; he bought them tea, found them rooms, listened to their problems and sometimes found them work on the stage or in domestic service.
Financial problems
To meet the costs of his lifestyle, Davidson needed more money than his Stiffkey living could provide. He sought to improve his financial position when, in about 1920, he met Arthur John Gordon, supposedly a wealthy American company promoter but in reality an undischarged bankrupt and confidence trickster. Gordon not only persuaded Davidson to invest his savings in a range of dubious schemes, but also got him to solicit funds from other investors. Davidson borrowed heavily to increase his investment and by 1925 was in serious financial difficulties. In February that year he failed to pay his local rates and was threatened with imprisonment. He avoided this by borrowing from moneylenders at exorbitant interest rates, but in October was forced to file a petition of bankruptcy with debts totalling £2,924. Eventually a settlement was reached, whereby around half of his Stiffkey stipend was applied to the reduction of his debts. Somehow, however, Davidson managed to continue his London life. He never stopped believing in Gordon's essential honesty, and was certain that one day his investments would pay off. Much of his time in London was spent, not in pursuit of girls, but looking for Gordon.
Although many of Davidson's parishioners accepted that his London rescue mission was entirely honourable, some, including Major Hamond, were less convinced. Hamond was suspicious of the stream of visitors that Davidson brought to the Stiffkey rectory and thought he was neglecting his parochial duties. In 1927 relations between the two men worsened when Davidson, in a letter which Tucker describes as "breathless in its rudeness and insensitivity", upbraided the major for clearing the ground in the Morston churchyard alongside his recently deceased wife's grave: "Morston Churchyard is the private freehold property of the Rector of Morston ... you have no possible right to interfere with it in any way without my permission any more than I have the right to come and annex a part of your garden." On one occasion, Davidson arrived late at Morston to officiate at a communion service, having forgotten the bread and wine; enraged, Hamond ordered him back to the rectory to collect it.
Early in 1931, advised by a cousin who was a priest, Hamond made a formal complaint against Davidson to the Bishop of Norwich, the Right Reverend Bertram Pollock, citing the rector's supposed behaviour with women in London. Under the provisions of the Clergy Discipline Act 1892, members of the clergy could be prosecuted in a consistory court for "immoral acts" and, if convicted, face punishments ranging from temporary suspension to full deposition—"defrocking"—from holy orders. Pollock was initially reluctant to prosecute Davidson, but was advised by his legal counsel Henry Dashwood that the case should proceed. In search of evidence, Dashwood hired a private enquiry agent, who soon found Rose Ellis and persuaded her to sign a statement detailing her ten-year association with Davidson. The statement—which was immediately retracted by Ellis and never presented in court—contained little indication of any intimate relationship other than that she had once lanced a boil on Davidson's bottom.
Enquiries continued for many months. The bishop was initially reluctant to pursue the case—Davidson thought he might be prepared to replace the charges with a lesser one of indiscipline. In February 1932 Dashwood advised Pollock that the matter could not be suppressed in this way; allegations had been printed in the Evening News on 1 February, and the story had been picked up by other papers whose lurid headlines had created much public interest. On 7 February the bishop received a letter from a 17-year-old girl, Barbara Harris, which contained specific allegations of immoral conduct against Davidson and promised more: "I know lots of things against him that might help you ... He has the keys of a lot of girls' flats and front doors." This letter is described by Matthew Parris in his account of the case as "a masterpiece of vituperation";
Consistory court hearing
A consistory court was convened for 29 March 1932, under the presidency of the Norwich diocesan chancellor, F. Keppel North. Davidson was accused of associating with "women of loose character", and "accosting, molesting, and importuning young females for immoral purposes". The prosecution's case was in the hands of a high-profile legal team, headed by Roland Oliver KC and including the future cabinet minister Walter Monckton. Davidson, meanwhile, engaged experienced lawyers to defend him, funding this partly through the sale of newspaper stories. Because of the level of press interest, and the number of London-based witnesses involved, the court sat in Church House, Westminster, rather than in Norwich. Cullen likens her evidence to "a whip of scorpions" that Davidson took full in the face. Davidson had first met Harris in September 1930, when she was 16. He had used a favoured ploy—affecting to confuse her with a well-known film actress—to persuade her to take a meal with him. He then began regular visits to her lodgings, gave her small sums of money and promised to find her work. From time to time he shared rooms with her: "At first he kept to the chair", Harris wrote, "but after the first few nights he did not". In her evidence to the court she said she had not had intercourse with Davidson, though he had attempted this on several occasions; when she had repulsed his advances, she claimed that he had "relieved himself".
Other aspects of the odd relationship were revealed during Harris' lengthy examination and cross-examination: her visit to the Stiffkey rectory where she had been made to work as an unpaid kitchenmaid and given only a chair to sleep in; Davidson's repeated promises to divorce his wife and marry Harris;
Harris was followed into the witness-box by a succession of landladies, waitresses and other women, all of whom confirmed Davidson's habitual pestering without making any serious accusation of misconduct. When Davidson himself took to the stand, on 25 May, his light-hearted, even flippant, manner created, says Tucker, "the flavour of a comedy routine with the rector's counsel as straight man". Davidson's disastrous finances were aired—he took great offence when his association with Gordon was presented as a "partnership in crime". He caused disbelief and amusement in the court when, questioned about the boil-lancing incident with Rose Ellis, he professed not to know what a "buttock" was, claiming: "It is a phrase I have honestly never heard. So far as I remember it is a little below the waist." At this stage, only Harris's largely uncorroborated testimony had provided specific allegations of immorality; the rest of the evidence was inconclusive and it seemed that the prosecution might fail. On 6 June, after closing speeches from both sides, the court adjourned until 8 July to allow the chancellor, who alone would determine the outcome, to consider the evidence.
Verdict, sentence, defrocking
During the court proceedings Davidson continued to officiate at Stiffkey and Morston, although his erratic attendance meant that substitutes often had to be arranged. On 12 June 1932 the Reverend Richard Cattell arrived to officiate at the evening service in Stiffkey. He had just begun when Davidson entered the church and attempted to seize the Bible. The two priests wrestled with the book for some seconds before Cattell yielded, telling the congregation: "As nothing short of force will prevent Mr Davidson from taking part, I can see nothing left to do but to withdraw." The crowds of reporters and sightseers at weekends led the Archdeacon of Lynn to issue a statement deploring the "media circus" and asking that "the full spirit of worship" be restored to Sunday services.
thumb|left|Blackpool's "Golden Mile", with the 1894 [[Blackpool Tower prominent]]
On 8 July 1932 Keppel North announced his verdict; Davidson was guilty on five counts of immorality. The sentence would be determined by the bishop; in the meantime, Davidson was entitled to seek leave to appeal to the Privy Council. Sorely in need of funds to meet his continuing legal expenses, Davidson reverted to his early career as a stage entertainer. On 18 July he made his debut with a variety act at the Prince's Cinema in Wimbledon and later toured in the provinces until, possibly dissuaded by pressure from church authorities, theatres declined to book him.
To the consternation of Hamond and some other parishioners, the bishop delayed issuing an instruction forbidding Davidson to preach. When Hamond locked Morston church against him, the rector preached to a large congregation on the grass outside the church. That afternoon he demanded the Morston church keys from Hamond, who sent him away by turning him round and administering a substantial kick. Hamond was later fined for this assault.
In July and again in October, Davidson was refused leave to appeal to the Privy Council on grounds of either fact or law. The consistory court reconvened for sentencing in Norwich Cathedral on 21 October. Davidson was allowed briefly to address the court; he admitted that his behaviour had been indiscreet, but regretted none of his actions and proclaimed his innocence "of any of the graver charges that have been made against me". Then, in what Blythe describes as a "horrible little ceremony", Bishop Pollock delivered the most severe sentence available—that of deposition: "Now therefore we, Bertram ... do thereby pronounce decree and declare that the said Reverend Harold Francis Davidson being a priest and deacon ought to be entirely removed, deposed and degraded from the said offices." Davidson was thus defrocked. As the ceremony ended he made a furious impromptu speech, denouncing the sentence and declaring his intention to appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Gordon Lang.