George Ratcliffe Woodward (27 December 1848 – 3 March 1934) was an English Anglican priest who wrote mostly religious verse, both original and translated from ancient authors. The best-known of these were written to fit traditional melodies, mainly of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

. He sometimes harmonised these melodies himself, but usually left this to his frequent collaborator, composer Charles Wood. George Ratcliffe Woodward

Woodward was born at 26 Hamilton Square,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, North West England, and educated at

Elstree School Elstree School is an English preparatory school for children aged 3–13 at Woolhampton House in Woolhampton, near Newbury in the English county of Berkshire. The school has announced plans to become fully co-educational from September 2020. ...

, then located in

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of t ...

, Hertfordshire, then Harrow School. In 1867 he won a Sayer Scholarship to

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

, graduating in 1872, third class in the Classics Tripos. On 21 December 1874 he was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

by the Bishop of London, to serve as Assistant Curate at

St Barnabas, Pimlico The Church of St Barnabas is a Church of England parish church in Pimlico, London. It is a Grade I listed building. The church is noted for its Anglo-Catholic tradition, and it "was the first church built in England where the ideals and beliefs o ...

. In September 1882 he moved to

St Mary and All Saints, Little Walsingham St Mary and All Saints Church is the parish church of Little Walsingham in the English county of Norfolk. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and All Saints. Little Walsingham (better known as Walsingham) was the location of the shrine of Our La ...

with

Houghton St Giles Houghton may refer to: Places Australia * Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland) Canada * Houghton Townsh ...

, in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. Woodward played the

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

, and the

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...

, sometimes in procession.Barnes, John E, ''George Ratcliffe Woodward, 1848-1934: Priest, Poet and Musician'', (1996: The Canterbury Press), , p 33. Other hobbies included

bellringing Campanology () is the scientific and musical study of bells. It encompasses the technology of bells – how they are founded, tuned and rung – as well as the history, methods, and traditions of bellringing as an art. It is common to collect t ...

and beekeeping and he also published and printed booklets of his own verse. In 1889 he married Alice Dorothy Lee Warner, at St Barnabas, Pimlico, having moved to Chelmondiston, near

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 ...

, in 1888. In 1893, Woodward published ''Carols for Christmas-Tide, Series II''. His wife Alice died in October 1893, and was buried in Walsingham. In 1894, Woodward published ''Carols for Easter and Ascension-tide'', with one original composition: ''

This joyful Eastertide "This joyful Eastertide" is an 1894 Easter carol. The words are by George Ratcliffe Woodward, the tune is from the Netherlands (1624), and the 1894 harmonisation is by Charles Wood. Publication The original carol was published in 1894 in ''Car ...

''. In 1894 Woodward resigned as Rector of Chelmondiston, to return to St Barnabas', Pimlico, as Assistant Priest and

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

. Woodward helped create the St Barnabas Choral Society, and continued his interests in carols and

plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text ...

. In 1897 he published ''Hymns and Carols for Christmas-tide'', and in 1898 produced ''Legends of the Saints'', and then in 1902 and 1903 ''The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus'' and ''Poemata''. In 1899 Woodward left St Barnabas to edit the ''

Cowley Carol Book ''The Cowley Carol Book'' was edited by George Ratcliffe Woodward and was published in 1901 and 1919, in two parts, ('First' and 'Second' Series), and was subtitled as a selection of carols "for Christmas, Easter and Ascensiontide". The First ...

''. In 1904 ''

Songs of Syon ''Songs of Syon: A Collection of Hymns and Sacred Poems Mostly Translated from Ancient Greek, Latin and German Sources'' was produced by George Ratcliffe Woodward in 1904. In 1908, a new and enlarged edition was produced, with the title ''Songs of ...

'' was published, and In 1910 Woodward’s edition of ''

Piae Cantiones ''Piae Cantiones ecclesiasticae et scholasticae veterum episcoporum'' (in English ''Pious ecclesiastical and school songs of the ancient bishops'') is a collection of late medieval Latin songs first published in 1582. It was compiled by Jacobus F ...

'', compiled for the

Plainsong and Medieval Music Society The Plainsong and Medieval Music Society (PMMS), also spelled as the Plainsong and Mediæval Music Society, is an English music society. Founded in 1888, the PMMS primarily researches, promotes and produces publications on medieval music, partic ...

. In 1917, he jointly wrote ''The Acathist Hymn of the Holy Orthodox Church in the Original Greek Text and done into English Verse''. In 1920, collaborating with Charles Wood, ''An Italian Carol Book'' was published. In 1922, ''Hymns of the Greek Church''. In 1924, Woodward and Wood published ''A Cambridge Carol Book: Being Fifty-two Songs for Christmas, Easter and Other Seasons''. It included " Ding Dong Merrily on High" and "

Past Three O'Clock "Past Three O'Clock" (or "Past Three a Clock") is an English Christmas carol, loosely based on the call of the traditional London waits, musicians and watchmen who patrolled during the night, using a musical instrument to show they were on duty and ...

". The same year Woodward received an honorary Lambeth Doctorate in Music. Woodward died at 48 West Hill,

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

on 3 March 1934. His interment was at Little Walsingham, Norfolk, on 8 March 1934, at 2 PM.

References

*Barnes, John E. ''George Ratcliffe Woodward, 1848-1934, Priest, Poet and Musician''. Norwich: The Canterbury Press, 1995.

External links

* * *
The Cambridge Carol-Book: Being Fifty-Two Songs for Easter, Christmas, and Other Seasons
(with scans of original) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, George Ratcliffe British beekeepers 20th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Anglican priests English composers People educated at Harrow School People educated at Elstree School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge 1848 births 1934 deaths People from Birkenhead People from Walsingham