Albert Augustus David (19 May 186724 December 1950) was an
Anglican
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 th ...
bishop and schoolmaster.
After obtaining a first class degree at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
he lectured at his old college, and had spells as a schoolmaster. From 1905 to 1909 he was headmaster of
Clifton College
''The spirit nourishes within''
, established = 160 years ago
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school
, religion = Christian
, president =
, head_label = Head of College
, head ...
, and from 1909 to 1921 he held the same post at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
. In 1921 he was appointed
Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in the Province of Canterbury.
The current bishop is Martin Seeley. The Bishop's residence is the Bishop's House, Ipswich ...
, a post he held for only two years, being appointed
Bishop of Liverpool
The Bishop of Liverpool is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. .
The diocese stretches from Southport in the no ...
in 1923, remaining there until his retirement in 1944.
Life and career
Early years
David was born in
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, the second of three sons of William David (a priest), and his wife, Antonia, ''née'' Altgelt.
[Grimley, Matthew]
"David, Albert Augustus (1867–1950)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2012 His father was principal of the Exeter Diocesan Training College,
[ and later simultaneously priest-vicar of the cathedral and ]rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of St Petrock with St Kerrian, Exeter. All three of William David's sons became clergymen. David was educated at Exeter School
Exeter School is an independent co-educational day school for pupils between the ages of 7 and 18 in Exeter, Devon, England. In 2019, there were around 200 pupils in the Junior School and 700 in the Senior School.
History
The School traces its ...
and in 1885 won a classical scholarship to Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...
, He gained a first-class degree in literae humaniores in 1889.[Costley-White, Harold]
David, Albert Augustus (1867–1950)
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Archive'', Oxford University Press, 1959. Retrieved 24 May 2012
After graduating David remained at Oxford as a lecturer for a year.["The New Bishop of Liverpool: Dr. David, Former Head Master of Rugby", '']The Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 27 July 1923, p. 11 He then took up a post as a master at Bradfield College
Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is note ...
and moved in 1892 to a similar position at Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
. He was ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
priest in 1895.[ In 1899 he returned to Queen's as a fellow, assistant tutor, precentor and junior bursar.][ In 1901 he had his first contact with the ]Diocese of Liverpool
The Diocese of Liverpool is a Church of England diocese based in Liverpool, covering Merseyside north of the River Mersey, part of West Lancashire, part of Wigan in Greater Manchester, Widnes and part of Warrington and in Cheshire (it was origi ...
, being appointed examining chaplain to Francis Chavasse
Francis James Chavasse (27 September 1846 – 11 March 1928) was an Anglican priest and bishop and father of Captain Noel Chavasse. After serving in parishes in Preston, London, and Oxford, for eleven years from 1889 he was principal of the evan ...
, Bishop of Liverpool
The Bishop of Liverpool is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. .
The diocese stretches from Southport in the no ...
, which post he combined with his Oxford duties.[
]
Headmaster
In 1905 David accepted the headmastership of Clifton College
''The spirit nourishes within''
, established = 160 years ago
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school
, religion = Christian
, president =
, head_label = Head of College
, head ...
, in succession to Michael George Glazebrook
Michael George Glazebrook was a Headmaster of Clifton College, later a Canon of Ely, and is reputed to have once held the world record for the high jump.
Early life
Michael George Glazebrook was born in 1853. He was the son of M. G. Glazebrook ...
, under whom the school had suffered a severe decline in numbers. David's biographer Matthew Grimley writes, "A tall and imposing presence, he was a great success with masters, boys, and the school's trustees. He introduced physical drill into the curriculum, expanded the chapel and grounds, and increased pupil numbers."[ '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' obituarist considered David's four years at Clifton to be among the smoothest and most successful of his life,[ and the paper had commented in 1909, "His work there has been remarkably successful, and at present there is not a vacant place in the college."
In November 1909 David married Eda Mary Miles with whom he had three sons and one daughter.][ In the same month as his marriage David was selected as headmaster of Rugby in succession to ]Herbert Armitage James
Herbert Armitage James, CH (3 August 1844 – 15 November 1931) was a Welsh cleric and headmaster of three leading public schools, who ended his "remarkable scholastic career", as it was later described by Austen Chamberlain, by becoming ...
.[ His return was welcomed by the staff,][ but his unorthodox views on teaching soon met considerable opposition in some quarters. David maintained that a schoolmaster should study his pupils rather than subjects, and that too much attention was concentrated on the few cleverest pupils. He held that very few boys were stupid, and that there should be "a larger measure of controlled freedom in work and a wider choice of occupations should be contrived for the majority".]["Obituary – Bishop A. A. David", ''The Times'', 27 December 1950, p. 6] Some of the older members of his staff considered that David's methods would undermine discipline and damage the school's reputation.[ In 1910, David was awarded a Doctorate of Divinity.][
]
Bishop
Having previously declined invitations to accept a bishopric, David agreed in 1921 to become Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in the Province of Canterbury.
The current bishop is Martin Seeley. The Bishop's residence is the Bishop's House, Ipswich ...
. He was consecrated bishop in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
by Randall Davidson
Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth, (7 April 1848 – 25 May 1930) was an Anglican priest who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928. He was the longest-serving holder of the office since the English Reformation, Re ...
, Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, on 25 July 1921, and was enthroned in St Edmundsbury Cathedral
St Edmundsbury Cathedral (formally entitled the Cathedral Church of St James and St Edmund) is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is the seat of the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and is in ...
on 29 September the same year. In contrast with his predecessor, the first bishop, Henry Hodgson who was a member of the high church
The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
wing of the Church of England,[ David was an ]evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
.[ '']The Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' said of him, "deep spirituality, allied with no little indifference to ecclesiastical forms, and even to dogmatic affirmations, may be said to be Dr David's chief characteristic."[
The largely rural diocese was roughly coterminous with ]Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, and consisted of 436 parishes.[ It was of recent creation, having been established by ]Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
in 1913, hiving off parts of the dioceses of Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
and Ely Ely or ELY may refer to:
Places Ireland
* Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely
* Ely Place, Dublin, a street
United Kingdom
* Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England
** Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral, formal ...
. By an error in the drafting of the Act, the cathedral of the diocese was in Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
and the bishop's residence was in Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
,["Obituary – Dr. H. B. Hodgson", ''The Times'', 1 March 1921, p. 15] and communications within the diocese were not ideal.[ David remained in the diocese for only two years, scarcely time to get to know his clergy or to visit more than a few of the parishes.][
]
In 1923 David was translated to be Bishop of Liverpool. Succeeding Chavasse was a difficult task. ''The Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' said of him, "In Dr. Chavasse Liverpool has enjoyed a true Chief Pastor, a Father-in-God, who, if he was not always right (no man is) was always honoured and beloved."[ A historian of ]Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the ...
, Peter Kennerley, describes David as "imaginative, enthusiastic, an innovator and educator strong on organisation and administrative structures, liberal and yet autocratic in his ways." As the cathedral was unfinished and unconsecrated (except for the Lady Chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...
) there was no Dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
, nor was there a Chapter. David was responsible for the building and for securing the funds for its completion.
The first section of the main body of the cathedral was complete by 1924. It comprised the chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
, an ambulatory
The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...
, chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
and vestries
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquially ...
. The section was closed with a temporary wall, and on 19 July 1924, the 20th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone, the cathedral was consecrated in the presence of George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936.
Born duri ...
and Queen Mary, and bishops and archbishops from round the globe. The building remained David's responsibility until 1931, when by Order in Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
the Dean and Chapter of the cathedral were
incorporated. After eight years of responsibility for the building David found it hard to relinquish control to the new Dean and Chapter. Frederick Dillistone
Frederick William Dillistone (9 May 1903 – 5 October 1993) was the second Dean of Liverpool.
Dillistone was educated at Brighton College and Brasenose College, Oxford. Ordained in 1928, he began his ecclesiastical career with a curacy at St Jude ...
, a later Dean, commented, "To put it bluntly the Bishop found it difficult to keep his hands off the Cathedral."
Relations between Frederick Dwelly
Frederick William Dwelly (9 April 1881 – 9 May 1957) was the first Dean of Liverpool.
From a modest family background, Dwelly worked as a shop assistant in London before the vicar of the church he attended there spotted his potential, and a ...
, Dean of Liverpool
The Dean of Liverpool is based in Liverpool and is head of the chapter of Liverpool Cathedral.
Sue Jones was installed as Dean on 5 May 2018. A former dean, Edward Patey, said that being Dean of Liverpool was "the best job in the Church of Engl ...
, and David were at first harmonious, but soured after Dwelly miscalculated public opinion and permitted a Unitarian to preach at a normal service in the cathedral. David had earlier permitted another Unitarian to preach at a non-liturgical service, but it was regarded by many as intolerable that a non-Anglican should preach in an Anglican service. David publicly supported Dwelly during the ensuing furore, but was obliged to endure the humiliation of being formally reproved by William Temple, Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
(his former pupil at Rugby), in provincial synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
in 1934. David sought to reach out to nonconformists, but found himself embroiled in a controversy with the local Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
diocese over what he described as the "terrorizing methods" used by its priests to prevent Catholics from marrying Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
.[
In 1935 David's health deteriorated, impaired, according to his biographer ]Harold Costley-White
Harold Costley-White (9 November 1878 – 5 April 1966) was an Anglican dean and author in the mid-20th century.
He was educated at Malvern and Balliol and ordained in 1902. He was an Assistant Master at Sherborne and Rugby. From 1910 to 1 ...
, "by the burdens and anxieties of his office".[ He travelled to Australia, and returned "refreshed and with a wider vision of the opportunities of the Church in the Empire".][ After raising a sum of £85,000 for his diocese, he retired in 1944.][ Kennerley writes that David was more respected than loved in the diocese. After he retired there came "a great improvement in the relationship between Cathedral and diocese."][Kennerley, p. 152]
David retired to Trebetherick
Trebetherick ( kw, Trebedrek) is a village on the north coast of Cornwall. It is situated on the east side of the River Camel estuary approximately six miles (10 km) north of Wadebridge and half a mile (800 metres) south of Polzeath.Ordna ...
in Cornwall, where he died at the age of 83.[
]
References
Sources
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:David, Albert Augustus
1867 births
1950 deaths
People educated at Exeter School
Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford
Anglican bishops of Liverpool
Bishops of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
Head Masters of Rugby School
Headmasters of Clifton College
20th-century Church of England bishops