Edmund Roberts Larken (1809–1895) was an English cleric and Christian socialist, a patron of radical causes and author on social matters.
Along with other unconventional views, he was noted as possibly the first parish priest of his time to wear a beard.
[7][8] He became rector of Burton by Lincoln, remaining there from 1843 to 1895; he was presented to the living by his brother-in-law Lord Monson.
[10] Larken was interested in the socialist ideas of Charles Fourier, including an account of them with one of his sermons in 1842.
[17] Larken's eldest son was a medical doctor in the Indian Army, dying at age 26.