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Tisbury was first settled in 1660 by James Allen, William Peabody and Lt. Josiah Standish (son of Captain Myles Standish), after the discovery of Martha’s Vineyard’s by the English Maritime Explorer Bartholemew Gosnald.
Tisbury was named for Tisbury, Wiltshire, England, hometown of Martha’s Vineyard Governor Mayhew, although it is now better known as Vineyard Haven. It was officially incorporated in 1671 by Francis Lovelace, Governor General of New York town and originally included the lands of West Tisbury.
Citizens of the island, unhappy with the leadership of Governor Mayhew, petitioned William and Mary in 1673 for a change of leadership. It was then that the town, as well as the entire island, became a part of Massachusetts.
The town has long thrived on the sea and is now the home of the ferry docks for the island. It is also known for being the home of most of the year-round stores on the island, including Cumberland farms, the only store opened past 11:30 in the winter. The town was divided into its current boundaries of Tisbury and West Tisbury in 1892.
Like the rest of Martha’s Vineyard, is a popular summer resort for the rich and famous. Famous residents of Tisbury have included Art Buchwald, William Styron, Mike Wallace, Lillian Hellman, Carly Simon, Thornton Wilder, Dashiell Hammett, Katharine Cornell and Diane Sawyer.
Richard Warwick Hurford
Richard Warwick Hurford, OAM was Rector of Tisbury from 1972 to 1978.
Richard’s great grandparents emigrated to Australia in 1860, taking with them a large family bible, which he used to swear the oaths of office on when he was ordained bishop.
Richard was born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1944 and ordained by the Bishop of Grafton in 1969. He served for a short time as a curate at Grafton Cathedral and then went to England to study at Salisbury Theological College and Southampton University on a Diocesan Scholarship.
In 1978 he returned to Australia to be Rector of Coffs Harbour in Grafton Diocese, after which he served as Dean of Grafton from 1983 to 1997.
He was latterly Rector of St James, King Street, Sydney before being consecrated as Anglican Bishop of Bathurst on 24 March 2001.
Richard maintained a particular interest in church music and was Vice-President of the international Guild of Church Musicians.
He retired in 2012, having reached the compulsory retirement age of 68. Richard pays regular visits to his old parish in the UK, where he still has many friends.
Bishop Jonathan Meyrick, former Team Rector of Tisbury, now Bishop of Lynn and Bishop Richard’s Commissary in England, participated in his retirement service in All Saints Cathedral.