George Maddison was born on June 9th
1809 at Lea, near Gainsborough, the son of the Revd George
Maddison, Vicar of North Reston, and his wife, the former Miss Jane
Baskett, daughter of the Revd Kingsman Baskett, Master of
Pocklington School. He took his B.A. degree at Jesus College
Cambridge in 1832, and his M.A. at St Caherine's College, Cambridge
in 1835. Before coming to Grantham he was curate of Broughton,
Yorkshire in 1832, and Vicar of All Saints Cambridge 1838-1856. He
was appointed Surrogate for the Archdeaconry of Ely in 1846 and
Rural Dean of Cambridge in 1853.
The main part of the restoration of St
Wulfram's Church took place whilst George Maddison was Vicar. When
he left Grantham in 1874, the parishioners wished to pay tribute to
"the untiring energy and faithfulness with which, for over
seventeen years, he had discharged the function of his sacred
office, and the excellent endeavours he had used for the spiritual
and temporal welfare of his people." This appreciation took
the form of a memorial window which is on the south wall of the
church, towards the Lady Chapel. The window was dedicated on
Whitsunday 1875 and shows the Life of our Lord. It is one of the
three windows which followed the designs in the report by the
Venerable Edward Trollope, Archdeacon of Stow (1867).
The inscription on the window reads:
"To commemorate the many valuable services rendered to this
parish by the Revd George Maddison M.A. Prebendary of Lincoln &
Vicar of Grantham from 1856 to 1874 in token of their affectionate
regards his friends present this window to the church in which he
so faithfully ministered. A.D. 1875."
After leaving Grantham, George
Maddison was Rector of Richard's Castle, Shropshire, and Archdeacon
of Ludlow from 1877, until increasing infirmities led him to resign
.The last two or three years of his life were spent at the home of
his son, Revd G H Maddison, Vicar of Tuckhill near Bridgnorth,
where he passed away peacefully on 30th January 1895. He was 85
years old. His body was brought back to Grantham from Bridgnorth by
rail, and his coffin lay in the hall of the Vicarage before the
funeral service at St Wulfram's. The flag on the Guildhall Tower
flew at half-mast.
Many tributes were paid to "the most
successful Vicar that Grantham has ever possessed," and praised his
"great work for the town," describing him as a "staunch friend,
faithful adviser, and true father of his people."
On 5th February 1895 George Maddison
was buried in 'an ordinary grave, lined with ivy and flowers" in
the south-eastern part of Grantham Cemetery, in the same grave
where his wife Jane had been buried in 1891.
(Summarised from Death of the Ven.
Archdeacon Maddison, Grantham Journal February 2nd 1895, and
Funeral of the Late Archdeacon Maddison, Grantham Journal February
9th 1895).