Alan Coates Bouquet (24 May 1884 – 4 March 1976) was a minister in the

Anglican church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

, a

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and Recognised Lecturer in the History and Comparative Study of Religions at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

and a prolific writer on religious themes.

Early life

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

descent, he was born in Forest Hill in London in 1884, the son of Elizabeth ''née'' Stow (1852-1916) and Robert Coates Bouquet (1842-1928), Registrar to the Art Union of London for over 40 years until it was wound up in 1912. In his youth Bouquet was in close contact with 19th-century artists and craftsmen. His early education was at

St Dunstan's College St Dunstan's College is a coeducation, co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Catford, south-east London, England. It is a registered charity, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference a ...

before attending

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

in 1901. He attended

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

and was a Lady Kay Scholar at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

where he variously took his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in 1905, his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1910, a B.D. degree in 1918, and was awarded D.D. in 1922. He was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1907 and priest in 1908; he was a curate at

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

in London. While serving in his parish in Putney he met Edith Gertrude Sayer (1881-1952) whom he married on 6 June 1910 at the church of St John the Evangelist in Putney.Alan Coates Bouquet in the London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932 - Ancestry.com
/ref> During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Bouquet served with the Royal Army Chaplains' Department on home service from 1915 to 1919.

Return to Cambridge

From 1920 to 1922 Bouquet was among the honorary staff at

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

. He returned to Cambridge in 1922 where he combined pastoral and academic work, taking his D.D. degree in 1922 with his thesis 'Is Christianity the Final Religion?', published as a book in the same year. He was the vicar at

All Saints' Church All Saints Church, or All Saints' Church or variations on the name may refer to: Albania *All Saints' Church, Himarë Australia * All Saints Church, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory * All Saints Anglican Church, Henley Brook, Western Aust ...

in Cambridge from 1923 to 1945 and in addition held the Hulsean (1924) and Stanton Lectureships at Cambridge and the Upton Lectureship at Oxford as well as lecturing at

and

. In 1929 he took part in a geographical survey of the island of Corsica. He was a delegate to four Anglo-Scandinavian Theological Conferences and in the early 1930s was a Visitor to the universities of

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

and

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...

. In 1935 he lectured at the International Theological Seminar at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

and at a Congress on the History of Religion at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

in 1950. From 1939 to 1941 he was President of the Cambridge University Theological Society, was President of the University Judo Club and was Vice-President of the Cambridge University Anthropological Club. Bouquet served as an Honorary Chaplain to H.M. Forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1952 he travelled to Israel and the Middle East in preparation for his book ''Everyday Life in New Testament Times'' (1953). From the early 1930s to his death in 1976 Bouquet lived at Gilling House on

Madingley Road Madingley Road is a major arterial road linking central Cambridge, England with Junction 13 of the M11 motorway. It passes by West Cambridge, a major new site where some University of Cambridge departments are being relocated. The road is design ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. A. C. Bouquet died at Cambridge in 1976 and left £10,449 in his will.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Alan Coates Bouquet (1976): Boardman-Brown - Ancestry.com
/ref> His wife predeceased him in 1952.

Publications

*''A Point of View'', 1913. *''When He Is Come'', 1917. *''The Greatest Relationship'', 1919. *''Is Christianity the Final Religion?'', Macmillan London, England), 1922. *''Man and Deity: An Outline of the Origin and Development of Religion'', W. Heffer (Cambridge, England), 1933. *''Jesus: A New Outline and Estimate'', W. Heffer (Cambridge, England), 1933. *''The Doctrine of God'', W. Heffer (Cambridge, England), 1934. *(Translator) P. Erich Przywara, ''Przywara's Philosophy of Religion'', 1935. *(Translator) P. Erich Przywara, ''Polarity: A German Catholic's Interpretation of Religion'', Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1935. *''A Lectionary of Christian Prose'', Longmans, Green (New York, NY), 1939, revised and enlarged, 1965. *''Comparative Religion'', Pelican (Harmondsworth, England), 1941, revised, 1971. *''Hinduism'', Hutchinson (London, England), 1949, revised, 1969. *''Everyday Life in New Testament Times'', B T. Batsford (London, England), 1953, revised, 1956. *''Sacred Books of the World'', 1953, revised, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1967. *''The Christian Faith and Non-Christian Religions'', J. Nisbet, 1958, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1976. *''Religious Experience: Its Nature, Types, and Validity'', W. Heffer (Cambridge, England), 1968. *''European Brasses'', Frederick A. Praeger (New York City), 1968. Also author of Modern Handbooks of Religion, four Volumes. Contributor to various encyclopedias and theological publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouquet, A. C. 1884 births 1976 deaths People educated at St Dunstan's College Alumni of University College London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge English theologians Anglican writers 20th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century Anglican theologians Academics of the University of Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II World War I chaplains World War II chaplains