12/10/2026
Here at Tudor House we love to hear our visitors’ questions and will always do our best to answer them to the best of our abilities. One of our recent favourites was from a Worcester local who wanted to know if Richard Cadbury and the Reverend Geoffrey Anktell Studdert Kennedy (possibly better known via his war-time moniker of Woodbine Willie) knew each other.
Richard Cadbury, owned Tudor House from 1908 to 1921. Reverend Studdert Kennedy was vicar of the nearby St Paul’s church from 1914 to 1921. These were two men with much in common albeit their very different economic, social and religious backgrounds (Richard describes himself as being “of another branch of the Church of Jesus Christ”). Given their relentless efforts to help the poor and bring them closer to their God there can surely be little doubt that the two knew of each other even if there is no evidence that they actively cooperated with one another. Both gave freely to the poor, organised clubs, outings and activities for disadvantaged children and conducted outdoor services (amongst other things). Indeed the western edge of the St Paul’s parish abuts Friar Street so the two men were in some respects neighbours and virtually rubbed shoulders.
But there is more. In amongst Richard Cadbury’s effects were a small collection of newspaper cuttings relating to the life of Reverend Studdert Kennedy printed upon his death in 1929. Amazingly, there was also a draft of a letter Richard Cadbury wrote to Mrs Studdert Kennedy offering his condolences. In this we hear of a meeting between the two men and the impact it had on Richard Cadbury. The meeting was facilitated by the Dean of Worcester Cathedral, the very Reverend William Moore Ede, a great friend of Reverend Studdert Kennedy. Richard is obviously greatly moved and inspired by the conversations that this meeting engendered as he ends his letter to the Reverend’s widow thus:
“I felt it to be the most sacred thing I have ever heard from human life, and have ever since had a deep reverence for your husband … I think that that hour will be one of the most sacred in my memory.”
