The Reverend Thomas Vincent Fosbery, M.A.
1807 - 1875





Thomas Vincent Fosbery was the eldest son of William Fosbery of Ballydonaghue, co. Limerick, by his second wife Ann Monsell, daughter of Exham Vincent.

Born in Ireland in 1807, his ministry was in England where he died in 1875. In 1831 he married Emily Sarah Gooch.


Emily at her Garden Gate

Thomas and Sarah had a large family by today's standards, a modest one for Victorian days, 7 sons, of whom two, Vincent and Clement died while still young; and 4 daughters.


Rev. Thomas Vincent Fosbery and his wife Sarah nee Gooch
In later life surrounded by their offspring
Their sons were George Vincent,   William Thomas Exham,   Henry Thomas,   Leonard Arthur,    Charles and Edward Henry.

The daughters were Emily, Gertrude, Georgiana and Mary.

Thomas Vincent Fosbery was chaplain to Bishop Samuel Wilberforce of Oxford and was instituted to St. Giles in Reading June 2nd 1857. He vacated the living in June 1870 when he went to live at Bracknell and was probably Perpetual Curate of Sunningdale for a time.

There were no board schools in his day and he secured a house in Silver Street and made it into a boys school. St. Giles' church records show that he was the first vicar to be appointed by the Bishop of Oxford.

Rev. Philip D.B. Miller, one time Rector of St. Giles has said of him, "It would be easy to compile a list of what was undertaken between the years 1857 to 1870 when he resigned the living but to describe the zeal and power of that generation is a task beyond the words at our disposal. It was the Vicar's wish that mother Church should be made worthy but as he said 'It cannot be restored, it must when the time comes be rebuilt'. That time has not come but the records tell that influenced by the Tractarians he made considerable improvements. During his incumbency Christchurch was built".

Rev. T.V. Fosbery was the Editor of a devotional book named "Voices of Comfort" and another of "Hymns and Poems for the Sick and Suffering".