Charles Marson

Charles Latimer Marson (16 May 1859 – 3 March 1914) was an influential figure in the second wave of Christian socialism in England in the 1880s. Later between 1903-1906 he collaborated with his good friend Cecil Sharp in the collection and publication of Folk Songs from Somerset vols. 1-3, which contributed greatly to the first British folk revival.

Marson’s formative years were spent in Clevedon in Somerset where his father was the vicar of St Andrew's Church from 1871 till his death in 1895. Marson attended Clifton College and then University College, Oxford. Brought up as a strict evangelical, he lost his faith initially but found new direction when working as a volunteer (and then as a curate) under the Rev Samuel Barnett at St Jude’s Whitechapel between December 1881 and April 1884.

This close engagement with East End poverty – the overcrowded and squalid housing, the casual and ‘sweated’ labour, the workhouses and the inadequate charity provision – affected Marson deeply and led him to Christian socialism. He was inspired by the various clubs and schemes at work in the parish – e.g. adult education classes, Mothers’ meetings, youth clubs, work placements. Barnett was at that time developing his ideas of the University Settlement, where students would live and work alongside the poor. The first of these settlements was Toynbee Hall, founded at St Jude’s in 1884.

While at Whitechapel, Marson began writing articles and reviews for the Pall Mall Gazette and was offered a job (which he declined) alongside William Thomas Stead and Edward Tyas Cook on its staff. His acerbic wit and easy facility with words ensured a steady stream of work with various publications throughout his clerical career, supplementing his modest stipend.

In September 1884 Marson took over as Editor of the Christian Socialist monthly newspaper. This networking tool of the burgeoning socialist groups provided political comment, notices of public meetings, reviews of books and pamphlets etc. Its circulation increased markedly under Marson’s leadership until he relinquished the role in December 1886.

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