George Bernard Cronshaw (1872–1928) was a Chaplain, Fellow and Bursar of The Queen's College

Oxford University 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 ...

and later Principal of

St Edmund Hall St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...

, Oxford. He was well known for his charitable works outside of university life holding governorships of several schools and his association with British hospitals especially the

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. History The initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forw ...

in Oxford.

Early life

George was the second son of Rev. Christopher Cronshaw,

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Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother ...

. Raised in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, which now includes parts of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, he attended

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and went up to Queen's College, Oxford as a Berry

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where he graduated with a first class in Chemistry. Leaving Oxford, he attended

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Clergy School and was subsequently ordained into a

curacy 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 ...

Holbeck Holbeck is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins on the southern edge of Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 postcode district. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is the o ...

, Leeds.''The Times'' (1928a)

Oxford career

George Cronshaw returned to Oxford in 1898 as

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 ...

at his old college, Queen's whilst holding a curacy at St Cross Church, Holywell. He remained chaplain for thirty years during which time he strongly supported the college music society and choir. In 1900, resigned his curacy and was appointed lecturer in Chemistry, whereupon he organised the college chemistry laboratory in

Queen's Lane Queen's Lane is a historic street in central Oxford, England, named after Queen's College, to the south and west. St Edmund Hall, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on the southern end of this street. Location At ...

. In May 1902 he was elected 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 ...

of the college, and in 1905 became Junior

Bursar A bursar (derived from "bursa", Latin for '' purse'') is a professional administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usually hold office only at the level of higher education (f ...

rising to Senior Bursar in 1912 at which time he relinquished all teaching responsibilities. Outside of the college he was Junior

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for the University from 1909 to 1910 and served as a member of the

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from 1911 until 1923. In addition, he acted as Visitor to the Museum, Acting Curator of the

Schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

and a member of the Boards of Natural History and Medicine. He was also chairman and secretary of the Committee of College Bursars. As treasurer of

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...

he oversaw their move to the current premises in

Banbury Road Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' Street, Oxford, St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, Oxford, Summertown, with its local shoppi ...

Schools and hospitals

Outside of university he was a member of the governing bodies of

King Edward VI School, Southampton King Edward VI School (also known as King Edward's, or KES) is a selective co-educational independent school founded in Southampton, United Kingdom, in 1553. The school was founded at the request of William Capon, who bequeathed money in his ...

and both

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and

Keswick School Keswick School is a coeducational 11–18 academy in Cumbria, UK with 1360 pupils on roll. There are 309 students in the sixth form and 40 boarders. The school is the successor of the former free grammar school of Keswick, founded a ...

s. He was chairman of governors for

St. Bees School , motto_translation = Enter so that you may make progress , established = (reformed 2015–2018) , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label ...

. From 1910 to 1928 he was chairman and treasurer of the committee for the

whilst being a member of the committee of the British Hospital Association. At the Radcliffe, he helped to establish the throat and ear, maternity and electrical departments. He helped to obtain for the hospital the

Headington Headington is an eastern suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames valley below, and bordering Marston to the north-west, Cowley to the south, and Barton and Risinghurst to the east. Th ...

Manor House and Children's Convalescent Home in Cowley and established a countywide contributory scheme that put the hospital on a sound financial footing. It was for such achievements that the Oxford City Council recommended that the

freedom of the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

be conferred upon him.

Church and freemasonry

In church life, he undertook the duties of examining chaplain to a number of dioceses: to the

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's seat ...

from 1919 to 1921 and from 1921 to the

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.''The Times'' (1928b) It was observed that he would often cycle 10 or 20 miles out of Oxford on a Sunday to preach or take service in a county parish. He married late in life (1925) to Dorothy Wardle of Scarthwaite near

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; they had no children. An active

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, Cronshaw was three times Master of the

Apollo University Lodge Apollo University Lodge No 357 is a Masonic Lodge based at the University of Oxford aimed at past and present members of the university. It was consecrated in 1819, and its members have met continuously since then. University of Oxford Membershi ...

, Grand Senior Warden of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Oxfordshire and Grand Chaplain in the Grand Lodge of England.

St Edmund Hall

George Cronshaw's continuous hard work took its toll on his health and after a bout of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

in 1928 he was offered, in May of that year, the position of Principal of

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...

which at that time still had close ties to Queen's College. In accepting the position, upon the retirement of G.B. Allan, he agreed to give up all his other duties and appointments. However, it was too late to save his health; he took to his bed ill, weeks after his appointment, and he died in his residence at the Hall on 20 December. He was succeeded as Principal by A.B. Emden who had himself only recently been appointed to Vice-Principal.''The Times'' (1929)

Notes

References

*''

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 ...

'' (1928a) "Rev. G. B. Cronshaw. Principal Of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford", Obituary, 21 December (45082), p. 19 (col. 'A') *''The Times'' (1928b) "University News: New Principal of St Edmund Hall, Oxford", 31 May (44907), p. 16 (col. 'D') *''The Times'' (1929) "University News: New Principal of St Edmund Hall", 9 January (45096), p. 14 (col. 'C') ** Free access to online copies of ''The Times'' is often possible in the UK through membership of a county library service {{DEFAULTSORT:Cronshaw, George Bernard 1872 births 1928 deaths Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Fellows of The Queen's College, Oxford People educated at Manchester Grammar School Principals of St Edmund Hall, Oxford