Harold Davidson

Harold Davidson
Rector of Stiffkey 1906–32 (deposed)
Davidson preaching in 1932
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Norwich
Orders
Ordination	1903 (deacon); 1904 (priest)
Personal details
Born	(1875-07-14)14 July 1875 Sholing, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Died	30 July 1937(1937-07-30) (aged 62) Skegness, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglican
Spouse	Moyra ("Molly") Saurin (m. 1906)
Children	2 daughters (b. 1907 and b. 1911) 2 sons (b. 1909 and b. 1913)

Harold Francis Davidson (14 July 1875 – 30 July 1937), generally known as the Rector of Stiffkey, was a Church of England priest who in 1932, after a public scandal, was convicted of immorality by a church court and defrocked. Davidson strongly protested his innocence and to raise funds for his reinstatement campaign he exhibited himself in a barrel on the Blackpool seafront. He performed in other sideshows of a similar nature, and died after being attacked by a lion in whose cage he was appearing in a seaside spectacular.

Before his ordination in 1903, Davidson had a brief career on the London stage as an entertainer. As a young curate he became actively involved with charitable activity among London's poor, an interest he maintained following his appointment in 1906 as rector of the rural Norfolk parish of Stiffkey. After the First World War, in which he served as a naval chaplain, he devoted himself primarily to his London work. Styling himself the "Prostitutes' Padre",^[1] his declared mission was the rescue of young girls he considered in danger of falling into vice. In this role he approached and befriended hundreds of girls and, although there was little direct evidence of improper behaviour, Davidson was frequently found in compromising situations. His neglect of his local duties over many years strained relations with his parishioners in Stiffkey; after a formal complaint, the Bishop of Norwich instituted disciplinary proceedings through a consistory court. Davidson's defence was severely compromised by his eccentric conduct, and was damaged beyond repair when the prosecution produced a photograph of him with a near-naked teenage girl.

Davidson's later career as a showman earned him much notoriety but little money. His attempts at legal redress were unsuccessful, despite recognition even in church circles that he had not been fairly treated by the consistory court. After his death the case continued to attract public interest for decades, through fictional, stage and screen versions of the story. His descendants have continued to assert his innocence of any wrongdoing, and later commentators have generally accepted that however unwise and inappropriate his behaviour, his basic motives were genuine and he did not deserve the humiliations he endured.