Herbert Kynaston (1809–1878) was High Master (headmaster) of

St Paul's School, London (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , he ...

, for 38 years. He was also a priest in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...

Biography

The second son of Roger Kynaston, by his marriage to Georgiana, third daughter of

Sir Charles Oakeley, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Oakeley, 1st Baronet (27 February 1751 – 7 September 1826) was an English administrator. He married Helena Beatson, a talented amateur artist, and niece of notable Scottish portrait painter Catherine Read. He was the father of Fre ...

, governor of

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, he was born at

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

in 1809 and educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

from 1823. Kynaston was admitted to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, in 1827, and matriculated on 30 May. He obtained the college prize for Latin verse (subject, ''Scythae Nomades'') in 1829, took a first-class in

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

in 1831, and was appointed tutor and Greek reader in 1836. He graduated B.A. in 1831,

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1833, and B.D. and

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

in 1849. At Oxford Kynaston was university select preacher in 1841, and was subsequently a lecturer at his college in

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

. In 1834 he was ordained, and served as

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 ...

Culham Culham is a village and civil parish in a bend of the River Thames, south of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. The parish includes Culham Science Centre and Europa School UK (formerly the European School, Culham, which was the only Accredited Europea ...

, Oxfordshire. Four years later, aged 28, he was elected High Master of St. Paul's School, London, on the retirement of Dr John Sleath, holding the post for 38 years. Lord Truro, an Old Pauline, presented him in 1850 to the city living of

St. Nicholas Cole Abbey St Nicholas Cole Abbey is a church in the City of London located on what is now Queen Victoria Street. Recorded from the twelfth century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher W ...

, with St Nicholas Olave, which he held until the parishes were amalgamated with St. Mary Somerset in 1866. He resigned the mastership of St. Paul's in 1876, and the only preferment which he held at the time of his death was the

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

al stall of

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

, to which he was presented by Bishop Charles Blomfield in July 1853.

Death and family

He died at 31 Alfred Place West,

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

, on 26 October 1878, and was buried at

Friern Barnet Friern Barnet is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards North Fi ...

on 2 November. He had married in 1838 Elizabeth Selina, daughter of Hugh Kennedy of

Cultra Cultra ( - ) is an affluent residential neighbourhood near Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is part of Greater Belfast. It is in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area. Cultra is home to the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Cl ...

, co. Down. The library at St. Paul's School had a marble bust by George Halse.

Works

Kynaston was a noted composer of Latin verse: he was the author of poetical compositions in praise of Dean Colet, the founder of St. Paul's School, which were produced each year at the apposition. Among these the ''Number of the Fish'', 1855, and the ''Lays of the Seven Half-centuries'', written for the seventh jubilee (1859), became the best known. He was a candidate for the chair of poetry at Oxford in 1867, but was defeated by a college contemporary, Sir Francis Hastings Doyle. Also a writer and translator of hymns, Kynaston did work which Julian's ''Dictionary of Hymnology'' calls "either strangely overlooked" or "unknown to most modern editors". Kynaston wrote: * ''Psittaco suum Chaire'', 1840. * ''Miscellaneous Poetry'', 1841 (contains reminiscences of his life as a curate). * ''Prolusiones Literariæ in D. Pauli Schola recitatæ comitiis maximis'', 1841. * ''Terentii Adelphorum Prologus et Epilogus'', 1842. * ''Strena Poetica'', 1849. * Commemoration Address in praise of Dean Colet, 1852. * ''Ὁ Ἀριθμός τῶν ἰχθύων (Ho Arithmos tōn ichthyōn). By the Scholæ Paulinæ Piscator primarius'', 1856. * ''Ipsum Audite. Hymnus super fundatione D. Pauli Scholæ'', 1857. * ''The Glory of Paradise. By Peter Damiani'', edited, with a translation, 1857. * ''Puerorum centum quinquaginta trium canticum centenarium. Rhythmus in D. Pauli Scholæ auditorio modis admixtis recitatus'', 1858. * ''Rete Coletinum'', 1861. * ''Saturnalium Intermissio. Carmen Latinum in divi Pauli Schola recitatum'', 1862. * ''Occasional Hymns. Original and Translated'', 1862; 2nd ser. 1864. * ''The Number of the Fish. A Poem on St. Paul's School'', 1864. * ''Doce, Disce aut Discede. Carmen elegiacum anniversarium'', 1864. * ''Cantica Coletina, quotidiana anniversaria centenaria'', 1867. Besides a number of minor pieces in pamphlet form, including ''Coleti Torquis'', 1867, ''Comitiorum Coletinorum Intermissio'', 1871, ''Missiones Coletinæ'', 1873, ''Coleti Sepulcrum'', 1873, Kynaston also wrote a long series of Latin hymns in the ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'', the last of which, entitled ''Ichthyōn katalogos'', was recited at the "Winter Speeches" of 1876, when Kynaston retired from office.

Sources

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Kynaston, Herbert 1809 births 1878 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford High Masters of St Paul's School People educated at Westminster School, London