{"id":21,"date":"2019-09-18T20:24:40","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T19:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/?page_id=21"},"modified":"2020-01-28T15:51:05","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T15:51:05","slug":"biography-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/biographies\/biography-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnson Gedge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box  gradient-container-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\"  style='background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;'><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row \"><div  class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion_builder_column_1_1 fusion-builder-column-1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last gradient-column-1 1_1\"  style='margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\" style=\"padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;\"   data-bg-url=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"fusion-widget-area fusion-widget-area-1 fusion-content-widget-area\"><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-widget-area-1 {padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;}.fusion-widget-area-1 .widget h4 {color:#333333;}.fusion-widget-area-1 .widget .heading h4 {color:#333333;}<\/style><div id=\"alg_back_button_wp_widget-2\" class=\"widget alg_back_button_wp_widget\"><a href=\"javascript:history.back()\" class=\"alg_back_button_simple \" style=\"\"><< Return to previous section<\/a><\/div><div class=\"fusion-additional-widget-content\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box  gradient-container-2 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\"  style='background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;'><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row \"><div  class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion_builder_column_3_4 fusion-builder-column-2 fusion-three-fourth fusion-column-first gradient-column-2 3_4\"  style='margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;width:74%; margin-right: 4%;'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\" style=\"padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;\"   data-bg-url=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"fusion-text\"><p><strong>Johnson Gedge (1799-1863)<\/strong> was a respected newspaper proprietor and editor in Bury St Edmunds. At the age of 17, after just one year\u2019s employment at the paper, he took over the reins of the Bury and Norwich Post from his father, Peter Gedge, who had founded it in July 1782. He remained the editor and proprietor of the paper until his death 46 years later.<\/p>\n<p>Gedge was born in Bury and was an important figure in the town, not least as a benefactor and supporter of good causes. Politically he was a Liberal, his paper suggesting he was \u2018somewhat timid and hesitating in forming his opinions [but] not a man, when they were formed, to shrink from their expression and temperate defence.\u2019 He was also respected in the wider community of newspaper owners. When the Provincial Newspaper Society, which represented \u2018a large proportion of the most influential Editors in the kingdom\u2019, was formed in the early 1830s, Gedge was immediately appointed its honorary secretary, a post he held until his death. After ten years\u2019 service he was presented with an heirloom by his fellow-members \u2018in acknowledgement of his truly valuable and most efficient services\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Although his father and other family members are remembered in memorials at St Mary\u2019s Church, Johnson Gedge worshipped regularly at St John\u2019s from its consecration in 1841, serving for a time as a churchwarden. An obituarist in his paper described in some detail his religious convictions. Gedge \u2018was long a painfully anxious enquirer after Divine truth, judging himself most severely as an unprofitable servant, and not knowing God\u2019s way of peace\u2019, the paper reported, noting also that its late proprietor did receive consolation from God and \u2018closed his life in perfect peace with God and man, leaving to those he loved the rich inheritance of a good name, the example of a Christian life, and the remembrance never to be effaced of his triumphant anticipation in death of eternal rest and glory in Heaven.\u2019 Several members of the Gedge family were clergy, including his younger brother Sydney (1802-83), sometime vicar of All Saints\u2019, Northampton.<\/p>\n<p>Such was the respect in which Gedge was held, shops in Abbeygate Street and elsewhere in the town partially closed for his funeral, which the entire staff of his newspaper attended. The service was conducted by the Revd Robert Rashdall, vicar of St John\u2019s, in the presence of the Mayor, the Town Clerk and other dignitaries.<br \/>\nGedge is honoured in the church by a <a href=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/building-history\/features-of-the-church\/windows\/gedge-window\/\">window<\/a> in the Lady Chapel.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div  class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion_builder_column_1_4 fusion-builder-column-3 fusion-one-fourth fusion-column-last gradient-column-3 1_4\"  style='margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;width:22%'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\" style=\"padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;\"   data-bg-url=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-1 hover-type-none\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/St-John-on-Patmos-Window-scaled.jpg\" class=\"fusion-lightbox\" data-rel=\"iLightbox[9576e1c713f96f8de2c]\" data-caption=\"The Gedge memorial window.\" data-title=\"St John on Patmos Window\" title=\"St John on Patmos Window\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/St-John-on-Patmos-Window-scaled.jpg\" width=\"737\" height=\"2560\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive wp-image-386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/St-John-on-Patmos-Window-200x694.jpg 200w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/St-John-on-Patmos-Window-400x1389.jpg 400w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/St-John-on-Patmos-Window-600x2083.jpg 600w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/St-John-on-Patmos-Window-scaled.jpg 737w, https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/St-John-on-Patmos-Window-800x2778.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 737px\" \/><\/a><\/span><div class=\"fusion-text\"><p><em>The Gedge memorial window.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":11,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1071,"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions\/1071"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjohnsburystedmunds.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}