Arthur Tooth

Arthur Tooth SSC (17 June 1839 – 5 March 1931) was a ritualist priest in the Church of England and a member of the Society of the Holy Cross.

After he graduated from Cambridge University, Tooth travelled around the world twice (he became an accomplished horseman and crack shot) and he discovered a vocation to the priesthood – although no satisfactory explanation seems to have been found for what sparked off his interest in ritualism.

His approach combined capable preaching, the introduction of ritualist practices and the establishment of parish organisations designed to help the more needy residents of the area.

He ignored both the judicial warnings that resulted from his non-attendance and the legal attempts to restrain him from exercising his ministry, although he was now facing disruptions when he presided at worship caused largely by people hired for the purpose by his opponents.

This action immediately transformed him in the eyes of Anglo-Catholics from a rebel into a Christian martyr and his story became national headline news.

The agitations that resulted from his arrest and imprisonment played a central role in bringing the Public Worship Regulation Act into disrepute.

A copy of this poster was also fixed to a wall close to Lambeth Palace, which greatly annoyed Archbishop Archibald Campbell Tait.