Robert Leslie Pollington "Bobby" Milburn FSA (28 July 1907 – 14 February 2000) 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 ...

in the 20th century. Milburn was educated at Oundle School and

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

and

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 1935. Between then and 1957 he was a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in co ...

and

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

. He was then appointed as the Dean of

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified ...

'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 1975-76'' London: Oxford University Press, 1976 where he served until 1968. During this time he was Librarian and Master of the Fabric and was highly knowledgeable about both. He had the crypt, originally built by St Wulstan, bishop at the time of the Norman invasion, cleaned, cleared and painted. He worked hard to maintain the fabric in good condition. He founded the Worcester Civic Society and was often seen around the city where he always preferred to walk or bicycle to travelling by car. Many local people still remember him with affection and recall that he usually wore the regular dean's uniform of breeches, gaiters and frock coat, which he always said was extremely comfortable. He was then Master of the

Temple Church The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...

until his retirement in 1980, when he retired to Bromyard, Herefordshire. His wife was increasingly disabled and he looked after her with exemplary devotion, eventually moving to the Beauchamp Community in Malvern where she would be nearer the facilities she required. Milburn was a classical scholar, but in the tradition of the Edwardian public school, applied the methods of learning to a wide range of subjects. He read and wrote excellent French and good German and knew a great deal about the natural world, particularly birds. He was much in demand as a witty

after-dinner speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech delive ...

, and was a natural storyteller. The late Canon Iaian Mackenzie, a canon of Worcester Cathedral and a friend of Milburn, commented when he died: "We shall not see his like again", but also pointed out that he looked forward to continuing their discussion about

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...

in the next life and that Clement would be there to arbitrate.

Publications

*''Saints and their Emblems in English Churches'' (OUP 1949, Blackwell, 1961, reprinted Cressrells 1991) *''Early Christian Interpretations of History'' ( Bampton Lectures 1953; A&C Black 1954) *''Early Christian Art and Architecture'', Scolar Press 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milburn, Robert Leslie Pollington 1907 births People educated at Oundle School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Worcester College, Oxford Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Members of the Royal Victorian Order Deans of Worcester 2000 deaths Masters of the Temple