David James Lewer (

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil ...

, Dorset, 22 January 1919 – 16 April 2005) was an English author, architect, historian and choral musician. Born in 1919 to parents James William Lewer and Emily (née Brown), David was the younger of two siblings. His sister Phillis was born in 1917, but died in 1950. Lewer became a chorister at 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 ...

, London in 1931, remaining in the choir until 1933. Unlike most Temple choristers, he had already begun at

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...

before being accepted into the choir,Lewer, David J - A Spiritual Song (the Templar's Union, 1961) Preface, p. 13 and after his voice broke in 1933, he remained connected with the church for much of his life, initially as Honorary Librarian and a member of the Templars Union, the association of old choristers. Later, he joined the gentlemen of the choir as a

Tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

, and remained a regular member of the choir until at least 1982 and the retirement of 'The Doctor', Sir George Thalben-Ball. He remained an occasional member for several years after this. Following his retirement to Dorset, he was an active participant in the choir of St George's Church, Langton Matravers. After qualifying as an architect, Lewer spent his career in architectural practice. Even after his retirement, he continued to work, designing and project managing the building of his final residence, Quality Court in Langton Matravers,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, which was built partially in the garden of his previous residence, Old Forge Cottage. Starting after the Second World War, Lewer also began to write factual books and pamphlets on a variety of subjects, but specialising in his two great loves:

and its history, and the Temple Church. His most famous work, 'A Spiritual Song', is a comprehensive history of the Temple Church choir, and was published by the Templar's Union, the association of ex-choristers, and was conceived particularly as a memorial to Alfred Capel Dixon: he was granted access to the historical records of two of the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

, the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

and the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

by then sub-treasurer of the Inner Temple, Commander Rodney Flynn. It is notable for containing the complete list of choristers from the foundation of the current choir model under

Edward John Hopkins Dr. Edward John Hopkins FRCO (30 June 1818 - 4 February 1901) was an English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an ...

in 1842 up until the date of publication: a list which was updated in subsequent reprints.

Publications

His publications included: * ''The Lea Valley'' - Footpath guides (1948, reprinted 2011) * ''A Spiritual Song: The Story of the Temple Choir and a History of Divine Service in the Temple Church, London'' - pub The Templar's Union (1961) * ''The Temple Church'' - Pitkin Pride of Britain Books (1967, reprinted 1971) * ''Curiosities of Swanage: Or, Old London by the Sea'' (with J. Bernard Calkin) (1971) * ''The Temple Church'' - Pitkin Pictorials (1973) * ''Story of Swanage: History from Early Times'' - Harewood Publications (1986) * ''Swanage'' (with John Mowlem) - Dorset Publishing Co (1989) * ''Hardy in Swanage: The Author's life on the Coast'' - Dorset Publishing Co (1990) * ''Swanage Past'' (with Denis Smale) - Phillimore & Co Ltd (1994, reprinted 2004) * ''The Temple Church in London'' (with Richard Dark) - Historical Publications Ltd (1997) He was closely associated with the Tithe Barn Museum in Swanage, and was an active fundraiser for the organisation. Throughout his life, he remained close to the affairs of the Temple Church and its choir, and in the early 70's took over the running of 'Temple Camps', summer holidays for the choristers of the church, from his great friend Capt A C Dewar. This ensured he was known to generations of boys. His funeral, at Poole Crematorium, Dorset, was well attended by many Old Templars.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewer, David People educated at the City of London School 1919 births 2005 deaths