Harold Claude Noel Williams (6 December 1914 – 5 April 1990), commonly known as H. C. N. Williams or Bill Williams, 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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and author. Williams was born in

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

, South Africa and educated at

Graeme College Graeme College is a public English medium high school for boys located in Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It caters for boys from Grade 00 to Grade 12 and offers both boarding and day options to its pupils. ...

(

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

) and

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, where he was a Theological Exhibitioner at

Hatfield College , motto_English = Either the first or with the first , scarf = , named_for = Thomas Hatfield , established = , senior_tutor = , master = Ann MacLarnon (2017–) , undergraduates = 1010 (2017/18) , postgradu ...

. 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 ...

in 1938 and began his ministry as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St Mary with St Paul's Weeke near

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. From 1941 to 1949 he was Principal of St Matthew's College in South Africa. He then returned to England and held incumbencies at St Bartholomew's Hyde, Winchester and St Mary's,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. In 1958 he became Provost of the Cathedral Church of St Michael, Coventry, a position he held for 23 years."Provost to retire".

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 ...

, 29 May 1981, p14

Writings

* ''African Folk Songs,'' 1948 * ''Vision of Duty,'' 1963 * ''Twentieth Century Cathedral: An Examination of the Role of Cathedrals in the Strategy of the Church in the Changing Pattern of a Twentieth Century Community,'' 1964 * ''Coventry Cathedral and its Ministry,'' 1965 * ''Coventry Cathedral in Action'', 1968 * ''Basics and Variables: The Future of the Church in the Modern World,'' 1970 * ''The Latter Glory: The Story of Coventry Cathedral'', 1978 * ''Order My Steps in Thy Way'', 1982 * ''Building A Community'', 1990 (publ.2012)

References

1914 births People from Makhanda, Eastern Cape Alumni of Graeme College Provosts and Deans of Coventry 1990 deaths Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham {{UK-reli-bio-stub